Chapter 17: Animagi and Boxing Branches

Claire, Harry, Hermione, and Ron stood transfixed with horror under the Invisibility Cloak. The very last rays of the setting sun were casting a bloody light over the long-shadowed grounds. Then, behind them, they heard a wild howling.

"Hagrid," Harry muttered. Without thinking about what he was doing, he made to turn back, but Ron and Hermione seized his arms.

"We can't," Claire said, 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.

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

"Come on," Ron said, whose teeth seemed to be chattering.

They set off back towards 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!" Claire whispered.

"Fudge'll be out here in a minute—" Hermione said urgently.

"He won't—stay—put—" Ron said, continuing to struggle with the rat.

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?" Claire said annoyed.

"I—don't—know—" Ron said.

Harry's eye caught a pair of wide, yellow eyes glinting eerily in the darkness—Crookshanks. Whether he could see them or was following the sound of Scabber's squeaks, Harry couldn't tell.

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

But the cat was getting nearer—

"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 before Harry, Claire, or Hermione could stop him, Ron had thrown the Invisibility Cloak off himself and pelted away into the darkness.

"Ron!" Claire moaned annoyed.

Claire, Hermione, and Harry looked at each other, 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 cat—"

Claire, Harry, and Hermione almost fell over Ron; they skidded to a stop right in front of him. He was sprawled on the ground, but Scabbers was 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—"

But before they could catch their breath or cover themselves again, they heard the soft pounding of gigantic paws….Something was bounding toward them, quiet as a shadow—an enomorous, pale-eyed, jet-black dog.

Harry reached for his wand, but too late—the dog had made an enormous leap and the front paws hit him on the chest; he keeled over backward in a whirl of hair; he felt its hot breath, saw inch-long teeth—

But the force of its leap had carried it too far; it rolled off him. Dazed, feeling as though his ribs were broken, Harry tried to stand up; he could hear it growling as it skidded around for a new attack.

Ron was on his feet. As the dog sprang back toward them he pushed Harry aside; the dog's jaws fastened instead around Ron's outstretched arm. Harry lunged forward, he seized a handful of the brute's hair, but it was dragging Ron away as easily as though he were a rag doll—

Then, out of nowhere, something hit Harry so hard across the face he was knocked off his feet again. He heard Hermione shriek with pain and Claire curse as they both fell too.

Claire, shaking the pain away, withdrew her wand and whispered, "Lumos!"

The wand light showed her the trunk of a thick tree; they had chased Scabbers into the shadow of the Whomping Willow and its branches were creaking as though in a high wind, whipping backward and forward to stop them going nearer.

"Really?" Claire said to herself. "Of all the trees it had to be the Whomping Willow?"

And there, at the base of the trunk, was the dog, dragging Ron backward into a large gap in the roots.

"Ron!" Claire yelled, trying to follow, but a heavy branch whipped lethally through the air and she was forced backward landing on the ground again.

All they could see now was one of Ron's legs, which he had hooked around a root in an effort to stop the dog from pulling him farther underground—but a horrible crack cut the air like a gunshot; Ron's leg had broken, and a moment later, his foot vanished from sight.

"Harry, Claire—we've got to go for help—" Hermione gasped; she was bleeding too; the Willow had cut her across the shoulder.

"No!" Harry exclaimed. "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 got through, then so can we," Claire panted, darting here and there, trying to find a way through the vicious, swishing branches. "Oh, this is ridiculous!" Claire then remembered a spell and pointed her wand at the tree, "Immobulus!"

The tree abruptly froze. The three of them sighed in relief.

"I can't believe I didn't think of using that spell," Hermione muttered to herself.

"Good thinking, Claire," Harry said.

They covered the distance to the trunk in seconds, but before they had reached the gap in the roots, Crookshanks appeared and slid into it with a flick of his bottlebrush tail. Harry went next; he crawled forward, headfirst, and slid down an earthy slope to the bottom of a very low, dark tunnel.

"Lumos," Harry whispered and the end of his wand emitted a light.

Crookshanks was a little way along, his eyes flashing in the light from Harry's wand. Seconds later, Hermione and Claire slithered down beside him.

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

"This way," Harry said, setting off, bent-backed, after Crookshanks.

"I wonder where this tunnel comes out," Claire said following behind him. "I know it was marked on the Marauder's Map but Fred and George said no one's ever gotten into it."

"Well, I guess we're about to find out," Harry said.

They moved as fast as they could, bent almost double; ahead of them, Crookshanks's tail bobbed in and out of view. On and on went the passage; it felt at least as long as the one to Honeydukes…All Claire and Harry could think of was Ron and what the enormous dog might be doing to him….

"Do you think Ron's alright?" Hermione said suddenly.

But Claire and Harry couldn't give her a definite answer because they weren't sure themselves. And then the tunnel began to rise; moments later it twisted, and Crookshanks had gone. Instead, Harry could see a patch of dim light through a small opening.

He, Claire, and Hermione paused, gasping for breath, edging forward. The three of them 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 glanced at Claire and Hermione, who both looked very frightened but nodded.

Harry pulled himself out of the hole, staring around. The room was deserted, but a door to their right stood open, leading to a shadowy hallway. Hermione suddenly grabbed Harry's arm. Her wide eyes were traveling around the boarded windows.

"Harry," she whispered, "I think we're in the Shrieking Shack."

"Isn't the Shrieking Shack supposed to be haunted?" Claire whispered as she joined them.

At that moment, there was a creak overhead. Something had moved upstairs. The three of them looked up at the ceiling.

"I'll take that as a yes," Claire muttered.

Hermione's grip on Harry's arm was so tight he was losing feeling in his fingers. He raised his eyebrows at her; she nodded again and let go.

"C'mon," Claire whispered to them as she went over to the open door.

Harry and Hermione followed Claire into the hall and up the crumbling staircase. When Claire stepped on one of the steps of the staircase, the wood broke and her foot got caught. She felt pieces of wood digging into her skin.

"Shit," Claire said, as she held onto the railing hoping it wouldn't fall apart too.

"Hold still," Harry said. "We'll get you out."

Harry and Hermione helped Claire get her foot out of the broken step.

"Thanks," Claire thanked them. "Watch your step. Literally."

They continued to climb the stairs until they reached a 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, and then a deep, loud purring. They exchanged a last look, a last nod.

Wand held tightly before him, Harry kicked the door wide open. On a magnificent four-poster bed with dusty hangings lay Crookshanks, purring loudly at the sight of them. On the floor beside him, clutching his leg, which stuck out at a strange angle, was Ron.

Claire, Harry, and Hermione dashed across to him.

"Ron—are you okay?" Hermione questioned.

"Where's the dog?" Harry asked.

"Not a dog," Ron moaned. His teeth were gritted with pain.

"What do you mean?" Claire said. "Of course, that thing was a dog!"

"Claire, Harry, it's a trap—"

"What?" Harry said.

"He's the dog…he's an Animagus….."

"Who's the dog? Who's the Animagus?" Claire questioned.

Ron was staring over Claire's shoulder. Claire wheeled around. With a snap, the man in the shadows closed the door behind them. A mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows. If eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin. It was Sirius Black. Claire raised her wand at him and—

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

Claire's, Harry's, and Hermione's wands shot out of their hands, high in the air, and Black caught them. Then he took a step closer. Harry moved in front of Claire. Black fixed his eyes on Harry.

"I thought you'd both come and help your friend," he said hoarsely, eyes flickering back to Claire and then to Harry. "Your mother and 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….."

Claire felt disgusted by the taunt about her mother and Harry's father. How could he do something like this? Claire thought. Suddenly, Harry started forward, but Claire, Hermione, and Ron grabbed him and held him back…."No, Harry, you're better than him." Claire whispered. "Don't stoop to his level."

"If you want to kill Harry and Claire, you'll have to kill us too!" Ron said fiercely, though the effort of standing upright was draining him of still more color, and he swayed slightly as he spoke.

Something flickered in Black's shadowed eyes.

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

Claire raised her eyebrow. Why would he care about that? She thought to herself.

"Did you hear me?" Ron said weakly, though he was clinging painfully to Harry to stay upright. "You'll have to kill all four of us!"

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

"Why's that?" Harry spat, trying to wrench himself free of Claire, Ron, and Hermione. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew? I bet if you weren't caught Claire and her parents would've been next…..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, Claire's, and Ron's restraint and lunged forward—

He had forgotten about magic—he had forgotten that he was short and skinny and thirteen, whereas Black was a tall, full-grown man—all Harry knew was that he wanted to hurt Black as badly as he could and that he didn't care how much he got hurt in return—

Perhaps it was the shock of Harry doing something so stupid, but Black didn't raise the wands in time— one of Harry's hands fastened over his wasted wrist, forcing the wand tips away; the knuckles of Harry's other hand collided with the side of Black's head and they fell, backward, into the wall—

Hermione and Claire were screaming; Ron was yelling; 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 felt the shrunken arm under his fingers twisting madly, but he clung on, his other hand punching every part of Black it could find.

But Black's free hand had found Harry's throat—

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

The fingers tightened, Harry choked, his glasses askew.

Then he saw Claire jump on Black's back. Black let go of Harry as he tried to get Claire off his back. Black was able to pry Claire off him and she landed painfully on her back. Ron then threw himself on Black's wand hand and Hermione then swung her foot and Harry heard a faint clatter—

He fought free of the tangle of bodies and saw his own wand rolling across the floor; he threw himself toward it but—

"Argh!"

Crookshanks had joined the fray; both sets of front claws had sunk themselves deep into Harry's arm; Harry threw him off, but Crookshanks now darted toward Harry's wand—

"NO YOU DON'T!" Harry roared, and he aimed a kick at Crookshanks that made the cat leap aside, spitting; Harry snatched up his wand and turned—

"Get out of the way!" he shouted at Ron, Hermione, and Claire.

They didn't need telling twice. Hermione, gasping for breath, her lip bleeding, scrambled aside, snatching up her, Claire's, and Ron's wands. Ron crawled to the four-poster and collapsed onto it, panting, his white face now tinged with green, both hands clutching his broken leg. Claire moved to where Ron was, panting and trying to ignore the pain in her back.

Black was sprawled at the bottom of the wall. His thin chest rose and fell rapidly as he watched Harry walking slowly nearer, his wand pointing straight at Black's heart.

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

Harry stopped right above him, his wand still pointing at Black's chest, looking down at him. A livid bruise was rising around Black's left eye and his nose was bleeding.

"You killed my parents," Harry said, his voice shaking slightly, but his wand hand quite steady.

Black stared up at him out of those sunken eyes.

"I don't deny it," he said very quietly. "But if you knew the whole story."

"The whole story?" Harry repeated, a furious pounding in his ears. "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," Harry said, and his voice shook more than ever. "You never heard her, did you? My mum…..trying to stop Voldemort killing me…..and you did that….you did it…."

Before either of them could say another word, something ginger streaked past Harry; Crookshanks leapt onto Black's chest and settled himself there, right over Black's heart. Black blinked and looked down at the cat.

"Get off," he murmured, trying to push Crookshanks off him. But Crookshanks sank his claws into Black's robes and wouldn't shift. He turned his ugly, squashed face to Harry and looked up at him with those great yellow eyes. To his right, Hermione gave a dry sob.

Harry raised his wand and suddenly Claire appeared by his side.

"Harry, don't do it," She said looking into his eyes.

"Why shouldn't I, Claire?" Harry said, his eyes not leaving Black. "He killed my parents."

"I know, Harry," Claire said. "But would your parents really want you to avenge their deaths by becoming a murderer?"

Suddenly, a new sound came. 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!"

Black made a startled movement that almost dislodged Crookshanks; Harry gripped his wand convulsively—Do it now! said a voice in his head—but then he thought about what Claire had said. The footsteps were thundering upstairs and Harry still hadn't done it.

The door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks and Harry wheeled around as 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 Harry, standing with his wand covering Black, to Claire, standing next to Harry trying to stop him from killing Black, and then to Black himself, crumpled and bleeding at Harry's feet.

"Expelliarmus!" Lupin shouted.

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

Harry stood there, feeling suddenly empty. He hadn't done it. His nerve had failed him. Black was going to be handed back to the dementors.

Then Lupin spoke, in a very tense voice.

"Where is he, Sirius?"

Harry looked quickly at Lupin. He didn't understand what Lupin meant. Who was Lupin talking about? He turned to look at Black again.

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. Mystified, Harry glanced around at Ron, who looked bewildered.

"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—?"

But he never finished the question, because what he saw made his voice die in his throat. Lupin was lowering his wand, gazing fixedly at Black. The Professor walked to Black's side, seized his hand, pulled him to his feet so that Crookshanks fell to the floor, and embraced Black like a brother.

Harry felt as though the bottom had dropped out of his stomach.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Claire screamed.

Lupin let go of Black and turned to her.

"You—you—"

"Claire—"

"—you and him!"

"Claire, clam down—"

"We didn't tell anyone!" Claire shrieked. "Hermione and I have been covering up for you—"

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

Harry could feel himself shaking, not with fear, but with a fresh wave of fury.

"I trusted you," he shouted at Lupin, his voice wavering out of control, "and all this time you've been his friend!"

"You're wrong," Lupin said. "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 and Claire dead too—he's a werewolf!"

There was a ringing of 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 Claire or Harry dead…." An odd shiver passed over his face. "But I won't deny that I am a werewolf."

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 Claire and said, "How long have you two known?"

"Ages," Hermione whispered. "Since I did Professor Snape's essay. I showed it to Claire soon after….."

"He'll be delighted," Lupin said 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?"

"Both," Hermione said quietly.

Lupin forced a laugh.

"You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, 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," Lupin said. "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," Lupin said. "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," Lupin said. "If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look—"

He separated Harry's, Claire's, Ron's, and Hermione's wands and threw each back to its owner; Harry caught his, stunned.

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

Harry didn't know what to think. Was it a trick?

"If you haven't been helping him," Claire said, glancing at Black, "how did you know he was here?"

"The map," Lupin said. "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," Lupin said, 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, Claire, Ron, and Hermione 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.

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

"I couldn't believe my eyes," Lupin said, 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!" Harry said.

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

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

Ron hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes. 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.

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," Lupin said quietly. "He's a wizard by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

Then Claire, who had been listening intently the entire time, spoke.

"Are you implying that Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew in his Animagus form?"

Cliffhanger! The next chapter will be up later this week. What did you think so far?

Reply to Reviews:

Rainpelt the Doctor: I just had extra time so I decided to post another chapter. Good guess about the mask on the rat.

Ghostwriter71: I definitely see your point. I guess it just depends on the people in the relationship. It really is like real life. I mean that's usually how it works out. The people who like each other are always oblivious to one another's feelings. I agree I love the whole paradox they create in the book. Even though this book is coming to a close there's still at least four more books to look forward to. More drama, adventure, romance, and secrets revealed!

NicoleR85: It will stick to the canon in the books for the next few chapters with little things added here and there. I know in one of the last chapters there will be a big surprise and something will happen to Pettigrew.

Themarauders21: No, she didn't get a chance to tell them about her vision in the crystal ball with everything that happened. She'll probably tell them later.

Natekleh: Me too!

HELLO-A: Ok, just thought I'd ask.

TENZA: Glad you liked the prophecy and Claire's vision in the crystal ball. You'll find out soon if Sirius knew that Claire's dad was an alien because to be honest I'm torn between whether or not he should know.