We got through the Whomping Willow and Lupin told me to keep my wand out.
"Do you know where this tunnel leads to?"
"Yes, the Shrieking Shack. The Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts, this passage has been here for many years"
We continued along the tunnel and eventually ended up in a very dirty, dusty and disordered room, and suddenly we heard Hermione screaming from upstairs.
'WE'RE UP HERE. WE'RE UP HERE – SIRIUS BLACK – QUICK!"
Sirius Black?!
We pelted up the stairs and burst into the room at the top. I had a few seconds to process what I could see in front of me. Lying on the floor against a wall, with none other than Crookshanks on his chest, was Sirius Black. Harry was standing over him with his wand pointing at Black's chest. Ron was lying next to a bed, with his leg stuck out at a very awkward angle. Hermione was on the other side of the room.
"Expelliarmus" Lupin called, and Harry's wand as well as the 2 Hermione had flew out of their hands. Lupin caught them, then moved into the room. I was pretty relieved, we had caught Black, who Lupin would now surely turn in, and Harry was ok. In fact, it looked like he had been about to kill Black, let alone the other way around!
"Where is he, Sirius?" Lupin said
What on earth did this mean? I looked from Lupin to Black, who seemed to understand, and then pointed at Ron! I glanced at Ron, as did Harry, very confused. What was going on here?
'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 us 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 Lupin,' Harry interrupted loudly, 'what's going –
Harry never finished the question, and what happened next shook me to the core. Lupin walked over to Black, pulled him to his feet, and hugged him!
'I DON'T BELIEVE IT!' Hermione screamed. Lupin let go of Black and turned to her. She had raised herself off the floor, and was pointing at Lupin, wild-eyed. 'You – you –'
'Hermione –'
'–you and him!'
'Hermione, calm down –'
'I didn't tell anyone!' Hermione shrieked. 'I've been covering up for you –'
'Hermione, listen to me, please!' Lupin shouted. 'I can explain –
"What can you explain?!" I said savagely. "What the actual fuck can you explain?! Consorting with a convicted mass murderer, what is wrong with you?!"
'I trusted you,' Harry shouted at Lupin, his voice wavering out of control, 'and all the time you've been his friend!'
'You're wrong,' said Lupin. 'I haven't been Sirius's friend for twelve years, but I am now … let me explain …'
'NO!' Hermione screamed, 'Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too – he's a werewolf!'
There was a ringing silence
"First of all" Lupin eventually said "Ginny, if you use that type of language with me again I will put you in detention. Secondly, that's not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione,' he said. 'Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Harry dead …' An odd shiver passed over his face. 'But I won't deny that I am a werewolf.'
Ron made a valiant effort to get up again, but fell back with a whimper of pain. Lupin made towards him, looking concerned, but Ron gasped.
'Get away from me, werewolf!' Lupin stopped dead. Then, with an obvious effort, he turned to Hermione and said, 'How long have you known?'
'Ages,' Hermione whispered. 'Since I did Professor Snape's essay …'
'He'll be delighted,' said Lupin coolly. 'He set that essay hoping someone would realise what my symptoms meant. Did you check the lunar chart and realise that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realise 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,' said Lupin. 'At least, the staff do.'
'Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf?' Ron gasped. 'Is he mad?'
'Some of the staff thought so,' said Lupin. 'He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy –'
'AND HE WAS WRONG!' Harry yelled. 'YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!' He was pointing at Black, who had crossed to the four-poster bed and sunk onto it, his face hidden in one shaking hand. Crookshanks leapt up beside him and stepped onto his lap, purring. Ron edged away from both of them, dragging his leg.
'I have not been helping Sirius,' said Lupin. 'If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look –' He separated Harry, Ron and Hermione's wands and threw each back to its owner; Harry caught his, stunned.
'There,' said Lupin, sticking his own wand back into his belt. 'You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?
I gripped mine extra tightly. I hadn't been disarmed tonight and that was going to remain the case.
'If you haven't been helping him,' he said, with a furious glance at Black, 'how did you know he was here?'
'The map,' said Lupin. 'The Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it –'
'You know how to work it?' Harry said suspiciously.
'Of course I know how to work it,' said Lupin, waving his hand impatiently. 'I helped write it. I'm Moony – that was my friends' nickname for me at school.
"As a werewolf, no wonder" I muttered
'You wrote –?'
'The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you, 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? Only" he turned to me "I didn't expect that you'd be joining them, Ginny"
"Why wouldn't I? I'm very close with all 3 of them and Hagrid, of course I was going to come, once they told me what was going on"
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 …' said Lupin, waving an impatient hand again.
'The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak you 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 towards the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else.'
'What?' said Harry. 'No, we weren't!"
"It was just the four of us Professor, what are you talking about?" I said
'And then I saw another dot, moving fast towards you, labelled Sirius Black … I saw him collide with you, I watched as he pulled two of you into the Whomping Willow –'
'One of us!' Ron said angrily.
'No, Ron,' said Lupin. 'Two of you.' He had stopped his pacing, his eyes moving over Ron. 'Do you think I could have a look at the rat?' he said evenly
This situation was getting even weirder. How could Scabbers possibly have anything to do with this?
'What?' said Ron. 'What's Scabbers got to do with it?'
'Everything,' said Lupin. 'Could I see him, please?'
Ron hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes. Scabbers emerged, thrashing desperately; Ron had to seize his long bald tail to stop him escaping. Crookshanks stood up on Black's lap 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,' said Lupin quietly. 'He's a wizard.'
'An Animagus,' said Black, 'by the name of Peter Pettigrew.'
