A/N: Essentially, what you recognize belongs to the goddess that is J.K. Rowling, and what you don't belongs to lil' ol' me.

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Instead of returning to Gryffindor Tower with everyone else, the group hung back, hiding in an empty chamber until they were positive the entry hall was deserted. Finally, Hermione said, very quietly:

"Okay. No one there - cloak on - "

Though it was a bit awkward, fitting a now sixteen year old girl with three third years, they managed to sneak out of the castle to Hagrid's.

"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid scolded softly as he hurried them in. "An' yeh, Genevieve! Lettin' 'em!"

"Wan' some tea?" asked Hagrid, who was unusually pale and shaky.

"Where'd Buckbeak, Hagrid?" Hermione asked.

Hagrid stammered an answer. "I-I took him outside. He's tethered in me pumpkin patch. Thought he oughta see the trees an' - an' smell fresh air - before - "

Genevieve put a hand on his huge one, which was quivering so much that the milk jug he was holding dropped to the floor, smashing to bits.

As Hermione cleaned up the mess, the rest of them comforted Hagrid, who was growing more upset.

"Dumbledore's gonna come down while it - while it happens. Wrote me this mornin'. Said he wants ter - ter be with me. Great man, Dumbledore . . ."

Genevieve and Hermione had to work to keep from crying in front of him.

"We'll stay with you, Hagrid," she said, but Hagrid argued:

"Yeh're ter go back up ter the castle. I told yeh, I don' wan' yeh watchin'. An' yeh shouldn' be down here anyway . . . If Fudge an' Dumbledore catch yeh out without permission, Harry, yeh'll be in big trouble."

Suddenly, Hermione screeched, "Ron! I-I don't believe it - it's Scabbers!"

"What are you talking about?"

Hermione emptied the milk jug, and Scabbers tumbled out.

"Scabbers!" Ron exclaimed in surprise. "Scabbers, what are you doing here?"

The rat struggled to get free, looking so sick it made Lupin look positively healthy.

Hagrid stood up, rigid. "They're comin'. . . Yeh gotta go," he urged them, trembling. "They mustn' find yeh here . . . Go now . . ."

They readied to leave as Hagrid continued. "I'll lead yeh out the back way."

As they left, Buckbeak greeted them anxiously, as though he was aware of his fate. Hagrid comforted him.

"It's okay, Beaky. It's okay . . ." He addressed them once again. "Go on. Get goin'."

They tried to protest, but he continued with conviction. "Go! It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all! Go quick. Don' listen . . ."

Silently, as though none of them were aware of their actions, they made their way back toward the castle. Until . . .

"No, I can't stand it. I have to see it; I can't stand it otherwise," Genevieve said fiercely. "You guys continue, and I'll meet you back here,"

They nodded, understanding, and she dashed back the way she came. But, just as she was almost there, the wind threw a branch into her way, and Genevieve tripped over it and fell, breaking her wrist.

She stood up again, and made to keep going when she heard the axe thud. Genevieve started sobbing, and ran back, clutching her wrist, to where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were standing in disbelief.

Together, they set off back to the castle, but, out of the blue, Scabbers bit Ron and scampered off. Crookshanks, in the other hand, was coming towards them, despite Hermione's pleads. Crookshanks chases after Scabbers, with Ron sprinting after him.

They let the Invisibility Cloak billow behind them, not thinking, and caught up with Ron. Hermione tried to reason with Ron, out of breath.

"Ron - come on - back under the cloak - Dumbledore - the Minister - they'll be coming back out in a minute - "

Something cut her off: a gigantic black dog that reminded Genevieve remarkably of the Grim. It tackled Harry, otherwise leaving him unharmed. Ron wasn't so lucky. The dog shoved Harry out of the way, clenched his jaws on Ron's arm, and easily yanked him forcefully away.

Then an unsuspecting Genevieve was socked in the leg by a branch; they'd run right into the Whomping Willow's radius. It hit her again, this time in the stomach. She dropped to the ground.

"Ouch! Okay . . . That was a low blow."

She could hear Harry and Hermione meeting the same fate as the dog dragged a fighting and kicking Ron into a tunnel in the tree's roots.

Hermione wheezed, "We've got to go for help!"

Harry and Genevieve were adamant, however. "There's - no way!" she argued. "He could - very well be - dead - before we can get back!"

They struggled to find a way into the tunnel while the tree continued to thwack them mercilessly. Suddenly, Crookshanks wove his way through the thumping branches and pushed on a knot on the tree's trunk. The effect was immediate.

The tree froze, as if suspended in time, not a single leaf daring to move.

Hermione was baffled. "Crookshanks! How did he know - "

"He's friends with that dog," Harry explained seriously. "I've seen them together. Come on - and keep your wands out - "

Without battering wooden arms attacking them every moment, they reached the tunnel quickly and entered it without hesitation.

"Where's Ron?" asked a frightened Hermione.

They followed Harry through the tunnel, which, Genevieve remembered, was written on the Marauder's Map. The Marauder's Map, however, has never said where it led to, only going in the direction of Hogsmeade.

Finally, they exited the tunnel in favor of a very dilapidated and, essentially, decimated house.

"Guys," Hermione whispered cautiously. "I think we're in the Shrieking Shack."

Genevieve's eyes widened. "Of course. Of course. The dark tunnel at the base of a hitting tree leads to a house full of violent spirits. I love my life."

Harry pointed to a chair that had been ripped to smithereens. "Ghosts didn't do that."

"Greeeeat. Not violent spirits, but creatures that can tear chairs into teeny, tiny little pieces. My day's really looking up."

They looked at her.

"Sorry; I can get a little sarcastic in stressful situations, and I think this qualifi- "

Before Genevieve could finish her sentence, however, something creaked in the room above them, and, through quiet agreement, they moved upstairs. Everything was heavily coated in dust except a streak in the floor, where something had been pulled through.

The trio stepped through the only open door to see Crookshanks laying contentedly on a bed, and Ron on the floor next to him, his leg bending in a way legs really shouldn't bend.

"Ron - are you okay?"

"Where's the dog?"

"Are you okay?"

Ron groaned as he answered. "Not a dog. Harry, it's a trap - "

"What - "

"He's the dog . . . he's an Animagus . . ."

Genevieve whirled around to see none other than Sirius Black, looking less than dead. He managed to rasp out, "Expelliarmus!"

Genevieve sighed anxiously as her wand landed in his hand. "Great. Amazing. Just great. I'm disarmed and there's a murderer who wants to kill us."

Black made a sudden movement, and, to Genevieve, it almost appeared as though he were about to laugh. He turned to Harry, speaking as though his voice hadn't been used in a long time, though, Genevieve supposed, with Azkaban, it hadn't.

"I thought you'd come and help your friend. Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful . . . it would make everything much easier . . ."

Harry moved to charge him, but Genevieve held him back. "He's not worth it," she murmured in his ear, shooting a pounding is glance at Black.

Ron stood up, though the pressure he was putting on his leg caused him to sway. He spoke bravely, though. "If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!"

"Lie down," warned Black gently, as though he were trying to protect Ron and not to harm him.

"Did you hear me?" Ron persisted, the strength draining from him. "You'll have to kill all four of us!"

Black smiled mysteriously. "There'll be only one murder here tonight."

"Okay, could you tone down the creepy, please? Just five percent?" Genevieve intervened.

Harry, though, stared daggers into Black. "Why's that? 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 . . . Now would be a really good time to shut up!" Genevieve hissed.

"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" Harry bellowed, making it clear all reason had gone from his head as he once again tried to attack Black, managing to shove the both of them into a wall.

Black began to strangle Harry, saying, "No. I've waited too long - "

At that moment, Hermione kicked Black, forcing him to release Harry, and Ron tackled his wand hand, Genevieve rushing to check on Harry. Crookshanks tried to defend Black, but Harry punted him away, screaming, "NO YOU DON'T!" before addressing the rest of the group. "Get out of the way!" Genevieve knew which battles to pick, and this wasn't one of them. She stumbled away from a blind-with-rage Harry, her free hand clinging to her wrist, which was aching more than ever.

"Going to kill me, Harry?" Black breathed as Harry aimed his wand right for his chest.

"You killed my parents."

"I don't deny it. But if you knew the whole story."

This infuriated an already furious Harry. "The whole story? You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know."

"You've got to listen to me," pleaded Black. "You'll regret it if you don't . . . You don't understand . . ."

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

In a last ditch effort to shield him, Crookshanks jumped onto Black's chest, blocking Harry's wand from directly hitting him. It would've all been very touching if he wasn't protecting a murderer.

As horrible of a person as he no doubt was, Black wasn't willing to let the cat die for him, whispering for it to get off. Crookshanks, however, stayed rooted to the spot. Harry kept his wand pointed at Black, as though he was willing to kill a cat if it meant killing Black. But he didn't do it.

He stood there, unmoving, deciding, until finally there was the sound of footsteps below them.

"WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione shrieked. "WE'RE UP HERE - SIRIUS BLACK - QUICK!"

To everyone's surprise, it was Lupin who bolted into the room, pale, but analyzing the situation in front of him. Then he yelled, "Expelliarmus!"

Once again, all wands went flying, this time towards Lupin. Harry looked defeated.

Rigidly, Lupin asked, "Where is he, Sirius?"

Genevieve's face contorted in confusion. Who was Lupin refering to? Then Black pointed a shaking hand at - Ron?

Lupin was concentrating, as though trying to figure out the last piece to a puzzle. "But then . . . why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless" - his eyes widened in realization. " - unless he was the one . . . unless you switched . . . without telling me?" Black nodded.

Then Lupin walked to Black, helped him up, and hugged him as though they were family. Genevieve was stunned. Hermione was outraged.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!"

Everybody looked at her in interest.

She jabbed the air, pointing furiously at Lupin. "You - you -"

"Hermione -"

She was beyond reason.

" - you and him!"

"Hermione, calm down - "

Genevieve saw where this was going.

"I didn't tell anyone! I've been covering up for you -"

"Hermione, listen to me, please!" Lupin begged. "I can explain -"

Anger filled Genevieve as well. "I supported you! I didn't tell anyone, told you that I would stand by your side despite all odds, and all this time - all this time, you've been with him?"

"And I am extremely grateful, for that as well, Genevieve, just let me explain - "

Harry cut him off.

"I trusted you and all the time you've been his friend!" He was red with fury.

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

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

Everybody went dead silent. Lupin maintained composure, even though so many accusations had just been flung at him.

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione. Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have now been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Harry dead . . ." He paused, a shudder overtaking his face. "But I won't deny that I am a werewolf, which Genevieve, of course, already knew."

Again, Ron tried to get up, but instead sunk back down, whimpering in pain. Lupin tried to help, looking concerned, but Ron choked out:

"Get away from me, werewolf!"

That stopped Lupin in his track. He focused his attention on Hermione.

"How long have you known?"

"Ages. Since I did Professor Snape's essay . . ."

"He'll be delighted. 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 the biggest turned into the moon when it saw me?"

"Both."

Lupin laughed unconvincingly.

"You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione. You as well, Genevieve."

"Not really," spat Genevieve in disgust. "I regret not telling everyone else."

Hermione chimed in. "If I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!"

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

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

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

"AND HE WAS WRONG!" bellowed Harry, who'd apparently had enough of sitting in stony silence. "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!"

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

He tossed each other their wands back to them. Genevieve tried to catch hers, but her wrist emitted a fresh surge of pain, and she let it clatter to the floor before picking it up in her other hand, wincing.

Lupin looked at her in a concerned manner, then continued. He stuck his wand in his belt. "There. You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"

Genevieve considered her options before nodding. Harry was less convinced. "If you haven't been helping him, his did you know he was here?"

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

"You know how to work it?"

"Of course I know how to work it. I helped write it. Genevieve also discovered this, though she didn't tell me. I'm Moony - that was my friends' nickname for me at school."

"You wrote - ?" Harry began incredulously.

"The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening because I had an idea that you, Ron, Genevieve, and Hermione might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't it? You might have been your father's old cloak, Harry - "

Did everyone know about the cloak except for her? Genevieve thought wildly.

"How d'you know about the cloak?"

"The number of times I saw James disappearing under it . . . 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? No, we weren't!"

"I couldn't believe my eyes. I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you? And then I saw another dot, moving fast toward you, labeled Sirius Black . . . I saw him collide with you; I watched as he pulled the two of you into the Whomping Willow - "

"One of us!" Ron interjected.

"No, Ron. Two of you."

Realization struck her. "Scabbers," Genevieve breathed in disbelief. Lupin nodded.

"Do you think I could have a look at the rat?"

"What? What's Scabbers got to do with it?"

"Everything. Could I see him, please?"

Reluctantly, Ron reached into his robes and pulled out the rat, who was struggling wildly. Crookshanks growled. Ron was still confused.

"What? What's my rat got to do with anything?"

"That's not a rat." Black said.

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

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

"An Animagus." Black agreed. "by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

Genevieve froze. Peter Pettigrew was the wizard Black had murdered along with the thirteen Muggles. How could he be alive? The others weren't quite so tongue-tied.

"You're both mental."

"Ridiculous!"

"Peter Pettigrew's dead! He killed him twelve years ago!" Harry jerked a finger at Black, who flinched.

"I meant to," Black snarled. "but little Peter got the better of me . . . not this time, though!"

He dived for Scabbers as Lupin protested, "Sirius, NO! WAIT! You can't do it just like that - they need to understand - we've got to explain - "

"We can explain afterwards!" Black snarled, trying to get around Lupin. Lupin thought otherwise.

"They've - got - a - right - to - know - everything!" Lupin argued. "Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it even I don't understand! And Harry - you owe Harry the truth, Sirius!"

At the mention of Harry, Black stopped fighting, though he still glared holes into Scabbers.

"All right, then. Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for . . ."

Ron, once again, gathered up his strength and tried to leave, but Lupin stopped him.

"You're going to hear me out, Ron. Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen."

Ron shouted adamantly, "HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!"

Harry addressed Lupin. "There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die. A whole street full of them . . ."

Black interrupted insistently. "They didn't see what they thought they saw!"

Lupin continued. "Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter. I believed it myself - until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's Map never lies . . . Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry."

Hermione cut in. "But Professor Lupin . . . Scabbers can't be Pettigrew . . . it just can't be true, you know it can't . . ."

"Why can't it be true?"

"Because . . . because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework - the Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become, and their markings and things . . . and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have only been seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list - "

"What if he was unregistered?" Genevieve asked, beginning to see holes in the original story. Lupin laughed. "Right again, Hermione! But Genevieve's right also; the Ministry never knew that there used to be three unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts."

"If you're going to tell them to story, get a move on, Remus," urged Black roughly. "I've waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer."

Lupin began to explain that the Shrieking Shack had never been haunted; he'd been the source of the screams and howls the villagers had heard.

"That's were all of this starts - with my becoming a werewolf. None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitten . . . and if I hadn't been so foolhardy . . ." he added.

"I was a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform . . . I am able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again.

"Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, I became a fully fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me.

"But then Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He said that as long as we took certain precautions, there was not reason I shouldn't come to school . . ." Lupin looked at Harry and Genevieve. "I told you, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. I didn't tell Harry the truth - that it was planted because I came to Hogwarts. This house, the tunnel that leads to it - they were built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was dangerous.

"My transformations in those days were - were terrible. It is very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encourages rumor . . . Even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it . . .

"But apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black . . . Peter Pettigrew . . . and, of course, your father, Harry - James Potter.

"Now, my three friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month. I made up all kinds of stories. I told them my mother was ill, and that I had to go home to see her . . . I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione and Genevieve, worked out the truth . . .

"And they didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi."

"My dad too?" Harry asked, sounding surprised.

"Yes, indeed. It took them the best part of two years to work out how to do it. You father and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong - one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he could get from James and Sirius. Finally, in our fifth year, they managed it. They could each turn into a different animal at will."

"But how did that help you?"

"They couldn't keep my company as humans, so they kept me company as animals. A werewolf is only a danger to people. They sneaked out of the castle every month under James's Invisibility Cloak. They transformed . . . Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. They would then slip down the tunnel and join me. Under their influence, I became less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while I was with them."

"Hurry up, Remus," Black said.

Lupin explained that they were soon able to leave the Shrieking Shack and explore the grounds, along with Hogsmeade, discovering more than most anybody else knew. They'd created the Marauder's Map, signing it with their nicknames: Padfoot (Sirius), Wormtail (Peter), and Prongs (James).

Hermione berated Lupin. "That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?"

"A thought that still haunts me. And there were many near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless - carried away with our own cleverness.

He described the feeling of guilt about betraying the trust Dumbledore had given him, and that this year, he'd been debating with himself whether to tell him about Sirius' being an Animagus, especially when Dumbledore had shown him so much generosity. He finished with:

" . . . so, in a way, Snape's been right about me all along."

"Snape?" questioned Black with unmistakable hatred in his voice. "What's Snape got to do with it?"

Lupin informed Black that Snape was a teacher at Hogwarts, and, to the rest of them, that they'd attended school with Snape.

"He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I am not to be trusted. He has his reasons . . . you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me - "

Black responded contemptuously. "It served him right. Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to . . . hoping he could get us expelled . . ."

Lupin stated that Snape was always curious on where he'd go every month, having a bit of a rivalry with James. Sirius had told Snape how to get past the Whomping Willow, and, if James hadn't stopped him, Snape would have been killed by a werewolf Lupin.

"Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time in he knew what I was . . ."

"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," Harry pieced together. "because he thought that you were in on the joke?"

Suddenly, causing Genevieve to jump in surprised and terror, Snape emerged from under what Genevieve realized was the Invisibility Cloak, pointing his wand at Lupin and spitting snidely, "That's right."

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A/N: That's the longest chapter I've ever written and ever want to write. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a good place to cut it off. So, thanks for bearing with me here, and hopefully the next will be more bearable.