p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="center"June 23sup style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 0;"rd/sup, 1994 (Full moon.)/p
hr style="margin: 0.875em auto 1.2525em; border-style: solid; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; width: 359.25px; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.12px; background-color: #ffffff;" /
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Seren looked confused at the revelation. If the rat was Pettigrew then…/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"That sinking feeling had returned./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""You're both mental." Ron's voice cut through the tense silence, "Ridiculous." Hermione whispered, Seren stared at the rat in Ron's hand with pure disgust, "Peter Pettigrew's dead." Said Harry, Seren only shook her head in response, she knew better./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""No…He's not." She, Sirius and Lupin would know better than anyone that Pettigrew was very much still alive, "He killed him, twelve years ago!" Seren followed the accusatory finger back to Sirius./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I meant to." Sirius growled with irritation, his yellow teeth bared, "But, little peter got the better of me. Not this time though!" Hermione's cat was thrown to the floor as Sirius lunged at Scabbers, Ron's yells filled the room as Black fell across his broken leg. "Sirius, No!." Lupin shouted, launching himself forwards and dragging Sirius away from Ron, again./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"This whole scenario made her sick, "Wait, You can't kill him just like that! They need to understand."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I understand…" Seren whispered softly, Remus flashing her a sympathetic look, "You may understand, Love, but these three do not." Remus turned back to the third years, "Allow us to explain?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""We can explain, afterwards!" Sirius shouted, trying to throw Remus off of him so he could get to Peter. "They've…got a right…to know everything!" Sirius was still trying to claw his way back to Pettigrew. It was clear Lupin was frustrated, and Sirius refusing to see reason was not helping matters./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Ron's kept him as a pet, there are parts even I don't understand and Harry…you owe him the truth, Sirius."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Seren found it getting more difficult to focus as time ticked on and it got later into the evening./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Alright then." His eyes still fixed on the rat, "tell them whatever you like, but make it quick, Remus, I want to commit the murder I was in prison for."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""You're all nutter's. I've had enough of this!" Ron shouted, trying to stand, but Lupin had fished out his wand from his pocket and was pointing it at Ron. "You're going to want to hear me out, Ron. Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen" Lupin said calmly./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""He's NOT Peter, he's Scabbers!" Ron yelled, trying to force the rat back into his front pocket. But Scabbers was fighting too hard. Ron swayed and overbalanced, and Harry caught him and pushed him down onto the bed. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Then, ignoring Black, Harry turned to Lupin. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die" he said. "A whole street full of them!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""They didn't see what they thought they saw" Sirius' face was savage, his eyes flicking to Seren for a brief moment, seemingly curious about something before fixing them on Harry, finally settling on Scabbers once more. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter" said Lupin "I believed it myself, until I saw the map tonight."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Because the Marauders map never lies!" Remus quickly hushed Sirius, "Because Peter's alive, Ron's holding him, Harry."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"All parties listened as Remus explained what really happened that night in Godric's hollow, "Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry." Harry looked down at Ron and as their eyes met there was a mutual agreement./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Seren's irritation grew and her eyes flashed a familiar brilliant gold in the dark room, snarling as Scabbers struggled in Ron's clenched fist, "But Professor Lupin, Scabbers can't be Pettigrew, it just can't be true. You know it can't."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Why can't it be true, Lupin asked, an aura of calm slipping into his voice, feeling Seren's irritation wash over him as he gave her a comforting look./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Because…because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an animagus. We studied Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall, and I looked them up when I did the homework. The Ministry keeps records on witches and wizards who become animals. There's even a register that tells what animal they become…in most circumstances."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""There've only been a total of seven Animagi in this century and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list." A gentle smile rested on Remus' face, "That would be true…however, the ministry never knew that there used to be three unregistered animagi running around Hogwarts" Lupin voice remained calm. Impressed with how much effort Hermione put into her studies as he began to laugh./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on Remus" snarled Black, eyes still fixed on Scabbers' every desperate move. "I've waited twelve years! I'm not going to wait much longer!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Alright, but you'll need to help me, Sirius. I only know how it began." Lupin broke off, as a loud creak came from the doorway, snapping Seren, Harry, Ron and Hermione's attention to the broken door, which had opened of its own accord, all of them stared at it./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Lupin turned, striding across the room, opening it just enough to peer outside, there was no one there./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""This place is haunted" said Ron. Seren's gold eyes were fixated, confusedly on the bedroom door, she could smell the unwelcome visitor./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""It's not" Lupin replied simply, his expression matching Seren's now puzzled look. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted. The screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by…me." He pushed his greying hair out of his eyes, "That's where 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."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Remus looked so tired, Ron looked like he wanted to say something but Hermione interrupted him, Watching the Defense against the dark arts professor intently. "I was a very small boy when I received my bite, my parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The potion that professor snape has been making me…us…" he trailed off, his eyes once again flicking to Seren across the room, "is a very recent discovery. Makes us safe, you see, as long as we take it in the weeks preceding the full moon we can keep our minds during the full moon. We're able to curl up in my office, two harmless wolves waiting for the moon to wane again." Seren's eyes finally seemed to drift away from whatever she had been trying to find, three curious sets of eyes on her now./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""So then…" Harry seemed to be the first to catch on, surprisingly. "When you let me down at the Christmas party?" Hermione seemed to realize what was being said, "You and Professor Lupin?" she gave a small, sheepish nod, "The staff just allowed that to happen?" Hermione seemed shocked, "A teacher dating a student, that's completely unethical."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""It's would be unethical if she were a regular student, like yourselves. And were that the case I likely would not have pursued the relationship, but as it stands…" He moved to stand beside Seren, "It was certainly a moral dilemma in the beginning, and I hadn't intended for it to happen…" he reached over, taking her hand in his, "But getting back on the topic." It was relaxing to be close to Remus, especially given how stressful tonight seemed to be getting,/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Before the wolfsbane potion was invented, however, I became a fully fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I'd 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," Lupin continued. "He said that as long as we took certain precautions there was no reason why I couldn't come to school." He sighed and looked over at Harry. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I told you months ago that the Whomping Willow came the year I came to Hogwarts. The truth was that it was planted BECAUSE I had come to Hogwarts. This house and the tunnel that leads to it were built specifically for my use. Once a month I was smuggled out of the castle into this place to transform. The whomping willow was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was dangerous."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Harry, Ron and Hermione seemed confused as to where this story was going, but were listening raptly, all the same. The only other sound, apart from lupins voice, was Scabbers' frightened squeaking, "My transformation's in those days were…terrible. It's very painful to turn into a werewolf, I was separated from human's to bite so…I but and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumors, even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it. Apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life" Lupin was saying. "For the first time ever, I had friends. Three great friends. Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and of course, your father Harry, James Potter."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He hadn't mentioned this part when he'd told her about himself back at the leaky cauldron, and Seren listened intently as he carried on, "It hardly went unnoticed by my friends that I would disappear once a month I made up all sorts of stories, I told them that my mother was ill and that I had to go home to see her. I was terrified that they would desert me when they found out….what I was."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""But of course they, like you Hermione, worked out the truth" Lupin continued. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""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."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""My dad too?" asked Harry, astounded. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Yes indeed" Lupin said. "It took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were the best students in the school. And lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong, one reason why 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, each able to turn into a different animal at will."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""But how did that help you?" Hermione asked, "they couldn't keep me company as humans, so they'd kept me company as animals. A werewolf is only a danger to people. They snuck out of the castle every month under James' invisibility cloak and transformed, Peter, as the smallest so he would slip beneath the willows 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 wolf-ish but my mind seemed to become less so when I was with them."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Hurry up Remus" Sirius snarled, still watching scabbers with a horrid sort of hunger evident on his face, "is it the same with…?" Hermione finally asked, Remus' eyes fell on the young woman beside him, following Hermione, Ron and Harry's curious looks, "we're both usually under the effects of Wolfsbane, so we're lucid, but…our relationship is a bit more complicated."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""We um…we're…" Seren was trying to formulate a sentence that made sense without sounding inappropriate, "They're mates." Sirius stated, bluntly, trying to keep them all on topic, as Remus carried on with his story, "I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did. And that's how we came to write the Marauders Map and sign it with our nicknames" Lupin continued. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Sirius is Padfoot, Peter is Wormtail and James was Prongs."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""What sort of animal-" Harry began, but Hermione cut across him. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""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?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""A thought that still haunts me" said Lupin heavily, Seren giving his hand a soft squeeze to help calm him down, "there were a few near misses, we laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless and carried away with our own cleverness. I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust. Of course, he'd admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmaster would have done so and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he'd set down for my own and others safety. He never knew I'd led three fellow students into becoming animagi illegally. However, I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. I haven't changed."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Remus' face had hardened, and there was self-disgust in his voice, "All this year, I have been battling with myself, wondering if I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an animagus. But I didn't do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting I'd led others along with me. And Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me. He let me into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave me a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. He led me to Seren, he trusted me with her, encouraged me to help rehabilitate her, tutor her. I never would have imagined that night at Rosier Manor would be a night that changed my life. From there I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using dark arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an animagus had nothing to do with it. So in a way, Snape's been right about me all along."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Snape?" said Black harshly, taking his eyes off Scabbers for the first time in minutes and looking up at Lupin. "What's Snape got to do with it?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""He's here Sirius" said Lupin heavily "he's teaching here as well." He looked from Ron, Harry and Hermione,/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defense against the Dark Arts job. He's been telling Dumbledore all year that I'm not to be trusted. He has his reasons, you see, Sirius here played a trick on him that nearly killed him. A trick which involved me."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Black made a derisive noise. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""It served him right" he sneered. "Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to, hoping he could get us expelled."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Severus was very interested in where I went each month. We were in the same year you know, and we….er….didn't like each other very much. He was jealous, I think, of James' talent on the quidditch pitch. Anyway, snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madame Pomfrey one evening as she led me towards the whomping willow to transform, Sirius thought it's would be…er…amusing…to tell snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick and he'd be able to get in after me. Well of course, Snape tried it. If he'd gone as far as this house he'd have met a fully grown werewolf, but your father, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back at great risk to his life."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""He could have been turned…that's why he's been so insistent we cover topics related to werewolves this year…" Hermione whispered, horrified at the prospect, Lupin gave a somber nod, "Snape glimpsed me though, at the end of the tunnel and he was forbidden to tell anybody by Dumbledore. But from that time on…he knew what I was."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""So that's why he doesn't like you" Harry asked, "because he thought you were in on the joke!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""That's right!" sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Seren and Remus. Severus Snape was pulling off the invisibility cloak, Seren's eyes flashed bright gold again, watching snape with a dangerous intensity, his wand aimed directly at the two werewolves and before she knew what was happening…/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Incarcerous."/p
hr style="margin: 0.875em auto 1.2525em; border-style: solid; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; width: 359.25px; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.12px; background-color: #ffffff;" /
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Seren looked confused at the revelation. If the rat was Pettigrew then…/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"That sinking feeling had returned./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""You're both mental." Ron's voice cut through the tense silence, "Ridiculous." Hermione whispered, Seren stared at the rat in Ron's hand with pure disgust, "Peter Pettigrew's dead." Said Harry, Seren only shook her head in response, she knew better./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""No…He's not." She, Sirius and Lupin would know better than anyone that Pettigrew was very much still alive, "He killed him, twelve years ago!" Seren followed the accusatory finger back to Sirius./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I meant to." Sirius growled with irritation, his yellow teeth bared, "But, little peter got the better of me. Not this time though!" Hermione's cat was thrown to the floor as Sirius lunged at Scabbers, Ron's yells filled the room as Black fell across his broken leg. "Sirius, No!." Lupin shouted, launching himself forwards and dragging Sirius away from Ron, again./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"This whole scenario made her sick, "Wait, You can't kill him just like that! They need to understand."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I understand…" Seren whispered softly, Remus flashing her a sympathetic look, "You may understand, Love, but these three do not." Remus turned back to the third years, "Allow us to explain?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""We can explain, afterwards!" Sirius shouted, trying to throw Remus off of him so he could get to Peter. "They've…got a right…to know everything!" Sirius was still trying to claw his way back to Pettigrew. It was clear Lupin was frustrated, and Sirius refusing to see reason was not helping matters./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Ron's kept him as a pet, there are parts even I don't understand and Harry…you owe him the truth, Sirius."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Seren found it getting more difficult to focus as time ticked on and it got later into the evening./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Alright then." His eyes still fixed on the rat, "tell them whatever you like, but make it quick, Remus, I want to commit the murder I was in prison for."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""You're all nutter's. I've had enough of this!" Ron shouted, trying to stand, but Lupin had fished out his wand from his pocket and was pointing it at Ron. "You're going to want to hear me out, Ron. Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen" Lupin said calmly./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""He's NOT Peter, he's Scabbers!" Ron yelled, trying to force the rat back into his front pocket. But Scabbers was fighting too hard. Ron swayed and overbalanced, and Harry caught him and pushed him down onto the bed. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Then, ignoring Black, Harry turned to Lupin. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die" he said. "A whole street full of them!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""They didn't see what they thought they saw" Sirius' face was savage, his eyes flicking to Seren for a brief moment, seemingly curious about something before fixing them on Harry, finally settling on Scabbers once more. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter" said Lupin "I believed it myself, until I saw the map tonight."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Because the Marauders map never lies!" Remus quickly hushed Sirius, "Because Peter's alive, Ron's holding him, Harry."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"All parties listened as Remus explained what really happened that night in Godric's hollow, "Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry." Harry looked down at Ron and as their eyes met there was a mutual agreement./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Seren's irritation grew and her eyes flashed a familiar brilliant gold in the dark room, snarling as Scabbers struggled in Ron's clenched fist, "But Professor Lupin, Scabbers can't be Pettigrew, it just can't be true. You know it can't."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Why can't it be true, Lupin asked, an aura of calm slipping into his voice, feeling Seren's irritation wash over him as he gave her a comforting look./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Because…because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an animagus. We studied Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall, and I looked them up when I did the homework. The Ministry keeps records on witches and wizards who become animals. There's even a register that tells what animal they become…in most circumstances."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""There've only been a total of seven Animagi in this century and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list." A gentle smile rested on Remus' face, "That would be true…however, the ministry never knew that there used to be three unregistered animagi running around Hogwarts" Lupin voice remained calm. Impressed with how much effort Hermione put into her studies as he began to laugh./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on Remus" snarled Black, eyes still fixed on Scabbers' every desperate move. "I've waited twelve years! I'm not going to wait much longer!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Alright, but you'll need to help me, Sirius. I only know how it began." Lupin broke off, as a loud creak came from the doorway, snapping Seren, Harry, Ron and Hermione's attention to the broken door, which had opened of its own accord, all of them stared at it./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Lupin turned, striding across the room, opening it just enough to peer outside, there was no one there./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""This place is haunted" said Ron. Seren's gold eyes were fixated, confusedly on the bedroom door, she could smell the unwelcome visitor./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""It's not" Lupin replied simply, his expression matching Seren's now puzzled look. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted. The screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by…me." He pushed his greying hair out of his eyes, "That's where 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."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Remus looked so tired, Ron looked like he wanted to say something but Hermione interrupted him, Watching the Defense against the dark arts professor intently. "I was a very small boy when I received my bite, my parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The potion that professor snape has been making me…us…" he trailed off, his eyes once again flicking to Seren across the room, "is a very recent discovery. Makes us safe, you see, as long as we take it in the weeks preceding the full moon we can keep our minds during the full moon. We're able to curl up in my office, two harmless wolves waiting for the moon to wane again." Seren's eyes finally seemed to drift away from whatever she had been trying to find, three curious sets of eyes on her now./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""So then…" Harry seemed to be the first to catch on, surprisingly. "When you let me down at the Christmas party?" Hermione seemed to realize what was being said, "You and Professor Lupin?" she gave a small, sheepish nod, "The staff just allowed that to happen?" Hermione seemed shocked, "A teacher dating a student, that's completely unethical."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""It's would be unethical if she were a regular student, like yourselves. And were that the case I likely would not have pursued the relationship, but as it stands…" He moved to stand beside Seren, "It was certainly a moral dilemma in the beginning, and I hadn't intended for it to happen…" he reached over, taking her hand in his, "But getting back on the topic." It was relaxing to be close to Remus, especially given how stressful tonight seemed to be getting,/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Before the wolfsbane potion was invented, however, I became a fully fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I'd 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," Lupin continued. "He said that as long as we took certain precautions there was no reason why I couldn't come to school." He sighed and looked over at Harry. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I told you months ago that the Whomping Willow came the year I came to Hogwarts. The truth was that it was planted BECAUSE I had come to Hogwarts. This house and the tunnel that leads to it were built specifically for my use. Once a month I was smuggled out of the castle into this place to transform. The whomping willow was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was dangerous."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Harry, Ron and Hermione seemed confused as to where this story was going, but were listening raptly, all the same. The only other sound, apart from lupins voice, was Scabbers' frightened squeaking, "My transformation's in those days were…terrible. It's very painful to turn into a werewolf, I was separated from human's to bite so…I but and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumors, even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it. Apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life" Lupin was saying. "For the first time ever, I had friends. Three great friends. Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and of course, your father Harry, James Potter."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He hadn't mentioned this part when he'd told her about himself back at the leaky cauldron, and Seren listened intently as he carried on, "It hardly went unnoticed by my friends that I would disappear once a month I made up all sorts of stories, I told them that my mother was ill and that I had to go home to see her. I was terrified that they would desert me when they found out….what I was."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""But of course they, like you Hermione, worked out the truth" Lupin continued. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""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."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""My dad too?" asked Harry, astounded. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Yes indeed" Lupin said. "It took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were the best students in the school. And lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong, one reason why 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, each able to turn into a different animal at will."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""But how did that help you?" Hermione asked, "they couldn't keep me company as humans, so they'd kept me company as animals. A werewolf is only a danger to people. They snuck out of the castle every month under James' invisibility cloak and transformed, Peter, as the smallest so he would slip beneath the willows 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 wolf-ish but my mind seemed to become less so when I was with them."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Hurry up Remus" Sirius snarled, still watching scabbers with a horrid sort of hunger evident on his face, "is it the same with…?" Hermione finally asked, Remus' eyes fell on the young woman beside him, following Hermione, Ron and Harry's curious looks, "we're both usually under the effects of Wolfsbane, so we're lucid, but…our relationship is a bit more complicated."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""We um…we're…" Seren was trying to formulate a sentence that made sense without sounding inappropriate, "They're mates." Sirius stated, bluntly, trying to keep them all on topic, as Remus carried on with his story, "I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did. And that's how we came to write the Marauders Map and sign it with our nicknames" Lupin continued. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Sirius is Padfoot, Peter is Wormtail and James was Prongs."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""What sort of animal-" Harry began, but Hermione cut across him. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""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?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""A thought that still haunts me" said Lupin heavily, Seren giving his hand a soft squeeze to help calm him down, "there were a few near misses, we laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless and carried away with our own cleverness. I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust. Of course, he'd admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmaster would have done so and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he'd set down for my own and others safety. He never knew I'd led three fellow students into becoming animagi illegally. However, I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. I haven't changed."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Remus' face had hardened, and there was self-disgust in his voice, "All this year, I have been battling with myself, wondering if I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an animagus. But I didn't do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting I'd led others along with me. And Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me. He let me into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave me a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. He led me to Seren, he trusted me with her, encouraged me to help rehabilitate her, tutor her. I never would have imagined that night at Rosier Manor would be a night that changed my life. From there I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using dark arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an animagus had nothing to do with it. So in a way, Snape's been right about me all along."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Snape?" said Black harshly, taking his eyes off Scabbers for the first time in minutes and looking up at Lupin. "What's Snape got to do with it?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""He's here Sirius" said Lupin heavily "he's teaching here as well." He looked from Ron, Harry and Hermione,/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defense against the Dark Arts job. He's been telling Dumbledore all year that I'm not to be trusted. He has his reasons, you see, Sirius here played a trick on him that nearly killed him. A trick which involved me."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Black made a derisive noise. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""It served him right" he sneered. "Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to, hoping he could get us expelled."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Severus was very interested in where I went each month. We were in the same year you know, and we….er….didn't like each other very much. He was jealous, I think, of James' talent on the quidditch pitch. Anyway, snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madame Pomfrey one evening as she led me towards the whomping willow to transform, Sirius thought it's would be…er…amusing…to tell snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick and he'd be able to get in after me. Well of course, Snape tried it. If he'd gone as far as this house he'd have met a fully grown werewolf, but your father, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back at great risk to his life."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""He could have been turned…that's why he's been so insistent we cover topics related to werewolves this year…" Hermione whispered, horrified at the prospect, Lupin gave a somber nod, "Snape glimpsed me though, at the end of the tunnel and he was forbidden to tell anybody by Dumbledore. But from that time on…he knew what I was."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""So that's why he doesn't like you" Harry asked, "because he thought you were in on the joke!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""That's right!" sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Seren and Remus. Severus Snape was pulling off the invisibility cloak, Seren's eyes flashed bright gold again, watching snape with a dangerous intensity, his wand aimed directly at the two werewolves and before she knew what was happening…/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Incarcerous."/p
