Chapter 4: Animagi

"Why hadn't you deemed it fit to warn us about Black being a Dog Animagus before, Mr. Lupin?" Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall asked Remus Lupin after he went to Hogwarts and told the Professors about his former friend's secret.

"I didn't want to admit I was hiding secrets from Professor Dumbledore back in my student days, Professor McGonagall." He explained.

"Don't you realize that, if you had revealed the secret from the very beginning, we could have prevented Black's escape or at least recaptured him by now?" Rufus Scrimegour asked in outrage.

"Rufus, I'm sure you don't need to be so rash." Albus Dumbledore gleefully commented.

"Oh yes, I need." Scrimegour replied. "And I need to interrogate him with veritaserum to see how honest he's being. I don't believe the part about Black's animagus form being a dog. A dog is man's best friend and too loyal to be the animagus form of someone who betrays friends like Black did. I'd expect something like a snake or a rat."

"DON'T ILL SPEAK OF THE DEAD!" Lupin shouted in anger and then noticed everyone staring at him. "Sorry, you didn't know. Peter was a Rat Animagus."

"What?" McGonagall asked in shock. "Peter wasn't talented enough in Transfiguration to become an animagus."

"James and Black helped him." Remus replied. "James was a stag."

"Well, the two of them were Transfiguration prodigies, so it's not hard to believe they'd have helped Peter." McGonagall commented. "May we have a Pensieve memory of what they looked like as animagi?"

Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione were having (yet another) argument. "What did your cat do to Scabbers?" Ron accusingly asked.

"Crookshanks was with me the whole time and you know it, Ronald Weasley." Hermione replied.

"You must have snuck some other cat inside the castle to chase Scabbers." Ron accused.

Back at the staff meeting room, Minerva looked like she had seen a ghost before getting used to it. "Professor, what happened?" Remus asked.

"Mr. Lupin, do you remember that a finger was all that it was reported to have been found from Peter Pettigrew?" Professor McGonagall asked, still shocked.

"Yes, Professor McGonagall."

"If the rest of his body were in his animagus form, would you recognize it?"

"Yes but, why do you ask? Black obliterated him, right?"

"I'm no longer sure of it, Mr. Lupin." Professor McGonagall commented, shocking everyone.

Meanwhile, the Slytherin Trio was doing their own fugitive hunting. "Draco, tell me again." Vincent Crabbe asked. "Why are we trying to find Black?"

"Sirius Black is the whole reason Auror Shacklebolt replaced Professor Snape as our Potions Master, Crabbe." Draco explained. "As soon as Black is caught, Shacklebolt will leave, Professor Snape will be back and Hogwarts will be a paradise for Slytherins again."

"Do you really think Professor Snape would return from his sabbatical earlier?" Gregory Goyle asked.

"Professor Snape's sabbatical was just a cover up to explain his absence and the need for a new Potions Master, Goyle." Draco Malfoy explained.

"Aren't you afraid Black would kill us for trying to capture him?" Crabbe asked in fear. "He's said to be even crazier than your Aunt Bellatrix and that's saying something."

"I'm not sure Black was a real Death Eater." Draco replied. "My father told me he remembering seeing Pettigrew and not Black among Death Eaters while imperiused."

"But, he was cold-blooded enough to murder Pettigrew and some filthy muggles with just one blasting hex." Goyle argued.

"I'm not sure Pettigrew really died in that explosion." Draco replied. "All that was ever found about him was a finger while each muggle caught in that explosion left a full, albeit burnt, body."

"Wouldn't Black have told about Pettigrew's survival during his trial?" Crabbe asked.

"Which trial?" Draco asked with a sneer. "Black was never allowed to have any. Crouch simply shipped him to Azkaban without even a basic questioning."

Unbeknownst to the Slytherins, Susan Bones was listening to the conversation. 'Black never had a trial? I must ask Auntie about it.'

Meanwhile, the other students were commenting the upcoming Hogsmeade trip. "Maybe you could use the Invisibility Cloak to sneak out, Harry." Ron suggested.

"Ron!" Hermione was shocked. "It's too dangerous for Harry to go to Hogsmeade with Sirius Black at large! His Uncle and his Aunt did well by refusing to sign his permit."

Harry felt like telling her they wouldn't sign it with or without a maniac after him but eventually decided it'd be an exercise in futility. "Hermione, there are Aurors patrolling Hogsmeade." Harry pleaded. "Black won't bother us."

Professor McGonagall entered the Gryffindor common room. "Mr. Weasley, I need to see your rat immediately!" She exclaimed.

"I have no idea of where Scabbers is, Professor." Ron calmly replied. "Wherever he is, I hope you find him before Hermione's beast does."

"Mr. Weasley, has Scabbers ever been tested for the possibility of being an unregistered Rat Animagus instead of an actual rat?" McGonagall asked.

"Well, one of the Aurors at the Hogwarts express tried to perform said spell on him but changed his mind when he was told we had Scabbers from even before Black escaped." Ron explained.

"Damn!" She swore. "So close!"

"What?" A confused Ronald Weasley asked. "Even if Black is a Rat Animagus, I've already told you. He can't be Scabbers. I bet Black is that dog that attacked Malfoy."

"I believe that as well, Mr. Weasley." McGonagall solemnly replied. "This might be a shock for you, Mr. Weasley, but I'm afraid Scabbers is the Animagus form of Peter Pettigrew."

"WHAT? Didn't Black kill Pettigrew all those years ago?" An even more shocked Ron asked.

"I used to believe so until recently but I've got intelligence that Peter Pettigrew became a Rat Animagus and a good reason to believe Scabbers is said Animagus." She replied.

"Professor, you're scaring me."

"And I have a good reason to, Mr. Weasley. For all I know, there are two unregistered Animagi at large and one of them is a mass-murderer."

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