Hii! Sorry for the month-long wait, I got surprisingly caught up with classes, working with my director on our completed theatre project and prepping for our upcoming show, and now we're back to online classes until February where I live, which is just peachy :) (read: it really isn't). Anyhow, enjoy chapter 15, we're finally getting into the juicy stuff and my personal favourite few chapters of the entire HP series,, ::)

Chapter 15

Cat, Rat, and Dog

Rachel was trembling, tears silently falling down her cheek. They stood transfixed with horror under the Invisibility Cloak as the last rays of the setting sun cast a bloody light over the long-shadowed ground. Then, behind them, came a wild howling.

"Hagrid," Harry muttered. He made to turn back but Ron and Lukas seized his arms.

"We can't," said Ron, who was paper-white. "He'll be in worse trouble if they know we've been to see him…"

Hermione's breathing was shallow and uneven, and Lukas was trembling just as hard as Rachel, his fists clenched and his nails digging into his palms.

"How—could—they?" Rachel choked. "How could they?"

"Come on," said Ron, his teeth chattering.

They set off back toward the castle, walking slowly to keep themselves hidden under the cloak. The light was fading fast now. By the time they reached open ground, darkness was settling like a spell around them.

"Scabbers, keep still," Ron hissed, clamping his hand over his chest. The rat was wriggling madly. Ron came to a sudden halt, trying to force Scabbers deeper into his pocket. "What's the matter with you, you stupid rat? Stay still—OUCH! He bit me!"

"Ron, be quiet!" Hermione whispered urgently. "Fudge'll be out here in a minute—"

"He won't—stay—put—"

Scabbers was plainly terrified. He was writhing with all his might, trying to break free of Ron's grip.

"What's the matter with him?"

Rachel suddenly saw something slinking toward them, body low to the ground and wide yellow eyes glinting eerily in the darkness—Crookshanks. What shocked Rachel was that just behind Crookshanks was Remo, walking along on three paws.

"Remo?" hissed Rachel, shocked and surprised to see that Remo and Crookshanks weren't attacking one another.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione moaned. "No, go away, Crookshanks! Go away!"

But the cat was getting nearer—even Remo seemed to be aiming for Scabbers—

"Scabbers—NO!"

Too late—the rat had slipped between Ron's clutching fingers, hit the ground, and scampered away. In one bound, Crookshanks sprang after him and Remo leaped into the darkness too, and before any of the four could stop him, Ron had thrown the Invisibility Cloak off himself and pelted away into the darkness.

"Ron!" Hermione moaned.

Rachel looked at Harry, Hermione, and Lukas, then followed at a sprint; it was impossible to run full out under the cloak; they pulled it off and it streamed behind them like a banner as they hurtled after Ron; they could hear his feet thundering along ahead and his shouts at Crookshanks.

"Get away from him—get away—Scabbers, come here—"

There was a loud thud.

"Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cats—"

Rachel shrieked when she nearly fell over Ron. They skidded to a stop right in front of where he lay sprawled on the ground, Scabbers back in his pocket. He had both hands held tight over the quivering lump.

"Ron—come on—back under the cloak—" Hermione panted. "Dumbledore—the Minister—they'll be coming back out in a minute—"

Rachel heard the soft pounding of gigantic paws. She turned and ducked just as an enormous, pale-eyed, jet black dog made an enormous leap, its front paws hitting Harry on the chest. They fell, and the dog rolled off Harry.

Ron was on his feet and Lukas was hurrying toward him, but the dog barrelled into Lukas' side and pushed him aside, grabbing hold of Ron's outstretched arm. Rachel screamed and hurried for Lukas while Harry desperately tried to stop. She helped her brother back to his feet and looked around frantically, before both of them were hit hard in the stomach and shoved further back. Rachel heard two dull thuds and a shriek and knew Harry and Hermione had been hit, too.

To Rachel's right, Harry's wand lit up, showing the trunk of a thick tree. Rachel gulped when she looked up and saw the Whomping Willow, its branching creaking, whipping backward and forward to stop them going nearer.

Rachel looked at the base of the trunk. The dog was dragging Ron backward into a large gap in the roots, and Ron was fighting back furiously, but his head and torso were slipping out of sight—

"Ron!" Harry shouted, trying to follow, but a heavy branch whipped lethally through the air and he was forced backward again.

Rachel tried to make a run for it too, only seeing one of Ron's legs now, which was hooked around a root in an effort to stop the dog from pulling him farther underground, and she cringed when Ron's leg broke with a horrible crack, and his foot vanished from sight.

"Harry—we've got to go for help—" Hermione gasped; she was bleeding; the Willow had cut her across the shoulder. Harry's head was gushing blood, and Rachel could already feel bruises forming on her stomach when she touched the tender skin.

"No! That thing's big enough to eat him; we haven't got time—"

"Harry—we're never going to get through without help—"

Another branch whipped down at them, twigs clenched like knuckles.

"If that dog can get in, we can," Harry panted, darting here and there, trying to find a way through the vicious, swishing branches. Lukas followed him, but neither could get any closer.

"Oh, help, help," Hermione whispered frantically, dancing uncertainly on the spot while holding onto Rachel's shoulder, "please…"

Crookshanks darted forward. He slithered between the battering branches like a snake and placed his front paws upon a knot on the trunk.

Abruptly, as though the tree had been turned to marble, it stopped moving. Not a leaf twitched or shook.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione whispered uncertainly. She tightened her grasp on Rachel's shoulder. "How did he know—?"

"He's friends with that dog," said Harry grimly. "I've seen them together."

"Remo," Rachel called, and the three-legged cat came into view beside Crookshanks. "Did you see him too?"

Harry shook his head, "I haven't. Come on—and keep your wand out—"

They covered the distance to the trunk in seconds, but before they had reached the gap in the roots, Crookshanks had slid into it with a flick of his bottlebrush tail. Harry went next, followed by Lukas, and then Rachel. She crawled forward, headfirst, and slid down an earthy slope to the bottom of a very low tunnel. Crookshanks and Remo were a little way along, their eyes flashing in the light from Harry's wand. Seconds later, Hermione slithered down beside them.

"Where's Ron?" she whispered in a terrified voice.

"This way," said Harry, setting off, bent-backed, after Crookshanks. Hermione, Lukas, and Rachel followed him.

"Where does this tunnel come out?" Rachel asked breathlessly.

"I don't know… It's marked on the Marauder's Map but Fred and George said no one's ever gotten into it… It goes off the edge of the map, but it looked like it was heading for Hogsmeade…"

They moved as fast as they could, bent almost double; ahead of them, Crookshanks's tail bobbed in and out of view and Remo's tail swished about. Rachel was anxious about how long it took them to get to Ron.

And then the tunnel began to rise; moments later it twisted, and Crookshanks and Remo had gone. Rachel saw a patch of dim light.

The four of them paused, gasping for breath, edging forward. They all raised their wands to see what lay beyond.

It was a room, a very disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were all boarded up.

Harry and Lukas went up first, and helped Hermione and Rachel up. The room was deserted, but a door to their right stood open, leading to a shadowy hallway.

"Harry," Hermione whispered suddenly, "Rachel—Lukas—I think we're in the Shrieking Shack."

Rachel shivered and looked around. She saw Harry looking at a wooden chair near them, which was missing large chunk and one entire leg.

"Ghosts didn't do that," Harry said slowly.

Overhead, something creaked from movement. Harry, Hermione, Rachel, and Lukas looked up at the ceiling, and then promptly crept out into the hall and up the crumbling staircase as quietly as they could. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust except the floor, where a wide stripe shone in dim moonlight.

They reached the dark landing.

"Nox," they whispered together, and the lights at the end of their wands went out. Only one door was open. As they crept toward it, they heard movement from behind it; a low moan, a meow, and then a deep, loud purring. They exchanged a last look, a last nod.

Harry kicked open the door.

On a magnificent four-poster bed with dusty hangings lay Crookshanks and Remo, purring loudly at the sight of them. On the floor beside him, clutching his leg, which stuck out at a strange angle, was Ron.

Harry, Hermione, Rachel, and Lukas dashed across to him.

"Ron—are you okay?"

"That looks awful—"

"Does it hurt?"

"Where's the dog?"

"Not a dog," Ron moaned. His teeth were gritted with pain. "Harry, it's a trap—"

"What—"

"He's the dog… he's an Animagus…"

Ron was staring over Harry's shoulder. There was a snap as the door closed which caused Rachel to whirl around and gasp upon the sight that stood in front of her.

Sirius Black, his hair a filthy and matted mess that hung to his elbows. His skin was waxy and his face looked like a skull, and yellow teeth were bared in a grin.

"Expelliarmus!" he croaked, pointing Ron's wand at them.

Harry's, Hermione's, Rachel's, and Lukas' wands shot out of their hands, high in the air, and Black caught them. Then he took a step closer. His eyes were fixed on Harry.

"I thought you'd come and help your friend," he said hoarsely. His voice sounded as though he had long since lost the habit of using it. "Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful… it will make everything much easier…"

Harry started forward, but Rachel and Hermione caught him and held him back.

No, Harry!" Hermione gasped in a petrified whisper; Ron, however, spoke to Black.

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!" he said fiercely, though the effort of standing upright was draining him of still more color, and he swayed slightly as he spoke. Lukas quickly grabbed onto his arm to balance him.

Something flickered in Black's shadowed eyes.

"Lie down," he said quietly to Ron. "You will damage that leg even more."

"Did you hear me?" Ron said weakly, clinging to Lukas. "You'll have to kill all five of us!"

"There'll be only one murder here tonight," said Black, and his grin widened.

"Why's that?" Harry spat, trying to wrench himself free of Rachel and Hermione. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew… What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?"

"Harry!" Hermione whimpered. "Be quiet!"

"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" Harry roared, and with a huge effort he broke free of Hermione's and Rachel's restraint and lunged forward—

Black didn't raise the wands in time. One of Harry's hands fastened over his wrist and forced the wands away, and Rachel screamed when Harry punched Black and they fell backward into the wall.

Hermione and Rachel were screaming; Ron was yelling; Lukas ran forward to try and pull Harry back; there was a blinding flash as the wands in Black's hand sent a jet of sparks into the air that missed Harry's face by inches; Harry kept punching.

Black's free hand found Harry's throat and Rachel trembled even harder, frozen with shock.

"No," Black hissed, "I've waited too long—"

Harry started choking and Hermione's foot swung out of nowhere. Black let go of Harry with a grunt of pain; Lukas threw himself on Black's wand hand, and Hermione and Rachel hurried to help Harry.

Harry freed himself from the tangle of bodies, but Crookshanks sunk both sets of front claws deep into Harry's arm. Rachel shrieked and dodged Black's swing, but the second swing hit her on the cheek and she stumbled back, clutching her face.

"NO YOU DON'T!" roared Harry. Rachel saw him kick away Crookshanks and dive for his wand as she hit the windowsill with her back.

"Get out of the way!" Harry shouted at Lukas and Hermione.

Hermione, gasping for breath, her lip bleeding, scrambled aside and snatched up the four wands Black had dropped. Lukas crawled away and hurried to Rachel, one of his glasses' lenses cracked and one of his eyes red from a burst vein. Ron's white face was tinged with green.

Black was sprawled at the bottom of the wall, breathing rapidly as Harry walked closer with his wand pointed at Black's heart.

"Going to kill me, Harry?" he whispered.

Harry stopped right above him, his wand still pointing at Black's chest, and he looked down.

"You killed my parents," said Harry, his voice shaking slightly.

"I don't deny it," Black said very quietly, and Rachel grasped painfully hard onto Lukas' shoulder. "But if you knew the whole story."

"The whole story?" Harry repeated furiously. "You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know."

"You've got to listen to me," Black said, and there was a note of urgency in his voice now. "You'll regret it if you don't… You don't understand…"

"I understand a lot better than you think," said Harry, his voice shaking. "You never heard her, did you? My mum… trying to stop Voldemort killing me… and you did that… you did it…"

Crookshanks and Remo suddenly streaked past, settling themselves right over Black's heart.

"Get off," he murmured, trying to push the two cats off of him.

But Crookshanks sank his claws into Black's robes and wouldn't shift, while Remo hissed. Crookshanks turned his ugly, squashed face to Harry, and Hermione let out a dry sob.

Rachel waited, breaths shaky, scared to death what would happen. She didn't want her best friend to become a murderer. But as the seconds lengthened, nothing happened. Harry stayed frozen, Hermione stayed quiet, Rachel refused to let go of Lukas' shoulder, and Ron's breathing was ragged.

And then came a new sound—

Muffled footsteps were echoing up through the floor—someone was moving downstairs.

"WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione screamed suddenly. "WE'RE UP HERE—SIRIUS BLACK—QUICK!"

The door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks and Professor Lupin came hurtling into the room, his face bloodless, his wand raised and ready. His eyes flickered over Ron, lying on the floor, over Hermione, cowering next to the door, to Rachel and Lukas holding tightly onto each other, to Harry, standing there with his wand covering Black, and then to Black himself, crumpled and bleeding at Harry's feet.

"Expelliarmus!" Lupin shouted.

Harry's wand flew out of his hand; so did the four Hermione was holding. Lupin caught them all deftly, then moved into the room, staring at Black, who still had Crookshanks and Remo lying protectively across his chest.

It was silent for several moments. Then Lupin spoke, in a very tense voice.

"Where is he, Sirius?"

Black's face was quite expressionless. For a few seconds, he didn't move at all. Then, very slowly, he raised his empty hand and pointed straight at Ron. Rachel's breath caught in her throat.

"But then…," Lupin muttered, staring at Black so intently it seemed he was trying to read his mind, "…why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless"—Lupin's eyes suddenly widened, as though he was seeing something beyond Black, something none of the rest could see, "—unless he was the one… unless you switched… without telling me?"

Very slowly, his sunken gaze never leaving Lupin's face, Black nodded.

"Professor," Harry interrupted loudly, "what's going on—?"

Rachel was shocked with what she saw. Lupin lowered his wand, gazing fixedly at Black. He then walked to Black's side, seized his hand, pulled him to his feet so that Crookshanks and Remo fell to the floor, and embraced Black like a brother

"NO!" Hermione suddenly screamed, and Rachel jumped and looked at her friend, chest heaving for air. "UNBELIEVABLE!" She looked at Lupin with wide eyes. "You—you—"

"Hermione—"

"—you and him!"

"Hermione, calm down—"

"I didn't tell anyone!" Hermione shrieked. "I've been covering up for you—"

"Hermione, listen to me, please!" Lupin shouted. "I can explain—"

"I trusted you," Harry shouted at Lupin, his voice wavering, "and all the time you've been his friend!"

"You're wrong," said Lupin. "I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now—Let me explain…"

"NO!" Hermione screamed. "Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too—he's a werewolf!"

There was a ringing silence. Everyone's eyes were now on Lupin, who looked remarkably calm, though rather pale.

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," he said. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Harry dead…" An odd shiver passed over his face. "But I won't deny that I am a werewolf."

Rachel's mouth fell open and she shuffled closer to Lukas. Ron made a valiant effort to get up again but fell back with a whimper of pain. Lupin made toward him, looking concerned, but Ron gasped, "Get away from me, werewolf!"

Lupin stopped dead. Then, with an obvious effort, he turned to Hermione and said, "How long have you known?"

"Since Snape's essay," Hermione hissed.

"He'll be delighted," said Lupin coolly. "He assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant… Did you check the lunar chart and realize that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realize that the boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?"

"Just the chart," said Hermione. "But the symptoms checked out."

Lupin forced a laugh.

"You're one of the cleverest witched I've ever met at your age, Hermione."

"I'm not," Hermione whispered. "If I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!"

"But they already know," said Lupin. "At least, the staff do."

"Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf?" Ron gasped. "Is he mad?"

"Some of the staff thought so," said Lupin. "He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy—"

"AND HE WAS WRONG!" Harry yelled. "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!" He was pointing at Black, who suddenly crossed to the four-poster bed and sank onto it, his face hidden in one shaking hand. Crookshanks leapt up beside him and stepped onto his lap, purring. Ron edged away from both of them, dragging his leg.

"I have not been helping Sirius," said Lupin. "If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look—"

He separated Harry's, Ron's, Hermione's, Rachel's and Lukas' wands and threw each back to its owner; Rachel caught her swiftly and felt relieved that she was holding her wand again.

"There," said Lupin, sticking his own wand back into his belt. "You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"

"If you haven't been helping him," Harry said, with a furious glance at Black, "how did you know he was here?"

"The map," said Lupin. "The Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it—"

"You know how to work it?" Harry said suspiciously.

"Of course I know how to work it," said Lupin, waving his hand impatiently. "I helped write it. I'm Moony—that was my friends' nickname for me at school."

"You wrote—?"

"The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you, Ron, Hermione, and Rachel might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I?"

He had started to pace up and down, looking at them. Little patches of dust rose at his feet.

"Lukas was a surprise, I must say. I never saw him hang out with you four much… You might have been wearing your father's old cloak, Harry—"

"How d'you know about the cloak?"

"The number of times I saw James disappearing under it…," said Lupin, waving an impatient hand again. "The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak, you still show up on the Marauder's Map. I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid, and set off back toward the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else."

"What?" said Harry. "No, we weren't!"

"I couldn't believe my eyes," said Lupin, still pacing, and ignoring Harry's interruption. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you?"

"No one was with us!" said Harry.

"And then I saw another dot, moving fast toward you, labeled Sirius Black… I saw him collide with you; I watched as he pulled two of you into the Whomping Willow—"

"One of us!" Ron said angrily.

"No, Ron," said Lupin. "Two of you."

He had stopped his pacing, his eyes moving over Ron.

"Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" he said evenly.

"What?" said Ron. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?"

"Everything," said Lupin. "Could I see him, please?"

Ron hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes when Rachel nodded at him. Scabbers emerged, thrashing desperately; Ron had to seize his long bald tail to stop him escaping. Crookshanks stood up on Black's leg and made a soft hissing noise, and Remo hissed and backed away very slowly.

Lupin moved closer to Ron. He seemed to be holding his breath as he gazed intently at Scabbers.

"What?" Ron said again, holding Scabbers close to him, looking scared. "What's my rat got to do with anything?"

"That's not a rat," croaked Sirius Black suddenly.

"What d'you mean—of course he's a rat—"

"No, he's not," said Lupin quietly. "He's a wizard."

"An Animagus," said Black, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew."