He was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry and Hermione. His thin, colourless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who had lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose, his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow.

I took a moment to let what I was seeing sink in. This man had been living undetected with us, disguised as Percy's and then Ron's pet! He had slept in both boys beds, and hell, even mine on a couple of occasions! Not only that, but if Lupin and Black's story was true, which was now looking extremely likely, we had unknowingly played host to a traitorous murderer for TWELVE YEARS! It was horrifying to think about!

Well, hello, Peter,' said Lupin pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old schoolfriends around him. 'Long time, no see.'

'S-Sirius … R-Remus …' Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky. Again, his eyes darted towards the door. 'My friends … my old friends …'

Black's wand arm rose, but Lupin seized him around the wrist, gave him a warning look, then turned again to Pettigrew, his voice light and casual.

'We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed –'

'Remus,' gasped Pettigrew, and Harry could see beads of sweat breaking out over his pasty face, 'you don't believe him, do you … He tried to kill me, Remus …'

'So we've heard,' said Lupin, more coldly. 'I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so –'

'He's come to try and kill me again!' Pettigrew shrieked suddenly, pointing at Black, and Harry saw that he used his middle finger, because his index was missing.

'He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me, too … you've got to help me, Remus …'

Black's face looked more skull-like than ever as he stared at Pettigrew with his fathomless eyes.

'No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out,' said Lupin.

'Sorted things out?' squealed Pettigrew, looking wildly about him once more, eyes taking in the boarded windows and, again, the only door. 'I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!'

'You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?' said Lupin, his brow furrowed. 'When nobody has ever done it before?'

'He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!' Pettigrew shouted shrilly. 'How else did he get out of there? I suppose He Who Must Not Be Named taught him a few tricks!'

Black started to laugh, a horrible, mirthless laugh that filled the whole room.

'Voldemort, teach me tricks?' he said. Pettigrew flinched as though Black had brandished a whip at him. 'What, scared to hear your old master's name?' said Black. 'I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?'

My mind was now made up. Lupin and Black had been telling the truth the whole time. The man in front of us was the real traitor, and he had framed Black, getting him locked up in Azkaban for so long for a crime he didn't commit, truly, truly despicable! I could only hope that he wasn't somehow able to talk his way out of this situation!

'Don't know – what you mean, Sirius –' muttered Pettigrew, his breathing faster than ever. His whole face was shining with sweat now.

'You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years,' said Black. 'You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter … they all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them … I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information … and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways … If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter –'

'Don't know … what you're talking about …' said Pettigrew again, more shrilly than ever. He wiped his face on his sleeve and looked up at Lupin.

'You don't believe this – this madness, Remus –'

'I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat,' said Lupin evenly.

"An excellent point!" I said, and Pettigrew jumped, as if only just realising that there were other people in the room.

'Innocent, but scared!' squealed Pettigrew. 'If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban – the spy, Sirius Black!'

Black's face contorted. 'How dare you,' he growled, sounding suddenly like the bear-sized dog he had been. 'I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter – I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us … me and Remus … and James …'

Pettigrew wiped his face again; he was almost panting for breath. 'Me, a spy … must be out of your mind … never … don't know how you can say such a –'

'Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it,' Black hissed, so venomously that Pettigrew took a step backwards. 'I thought it was the perfect plan … a bluff … Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you … it must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters.'

'Professor Lupin?' said Hermione timidly. 'Can – can I say something?'

'Certainly, Hermione,' said Lupin courteously.

'Well – Scabbers – I mean, this – this man – he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working for You Know Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry before now?'

I had to admit that this was also an excellent point, though I didn't voice it.

'There!' said Pettigrew shrilly, pointing at Hermione with his maimed hand. 'Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Harry's head! Why should I?'

'I'll tell you why,' said Black. 'Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for twelve years, they say he's half-dead. You weren't about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him …'

These words jolted me to my senses.

"I've got another reason!" I said, striding forward so that I was right in front of Pettigrew. "I'd be prepared to bet everything I own that You Know Who would demand to be the person to kill Harry, and would not allow anyone else to do so! You know that as well as I do, don't you, you pathetic piece of shit!"

Pettigrew cowered, but didn't deny my claim. How could he, after all? I stepped back. To be honest, that was something I should have realised a long time ago! But then again, to be fair, I had no reason to doubt the official story of Black and his reasons for escaping Azkaban, no one did, until now.

"Well said, Ginny, is it?" Black asked, looking at me, and I nodded.

"I must say, you remind me an awful lot of Lily. The good looks, the fiery attitude, the red hair. I can tell that you're going to grow up to be a great witch"

"Uhh, thanks" I said, blushing and biting my lip. I was very similar to Lily? That was news to me!

"Ginny is different in several ways though Sirius, she's much more of the sporty type, unlike Lily, who was more studious"

"Even so, you can't deny that she looks the part- OI, GET BACK HERE!"

Pettigrew had taken advantage of the temporary distraction to transform and attempt to escape through the door. Black turned into his dog form and caught Pettigrew in the nick of time. He turned back into a human, forced Pettigrew to do so again, and bound him in ropes.

Once things had calmed down, Hermione spoke.

'Er – Mr Black – Sirius?" she said timidly.

Black jumped at being addressed like this and stared at Hermione as though being spoken to politely was something he'd long forgotten.

'If you don't mind me asking, how – how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?'

'Thank you!' gasped Pettigrew, nodding frantically at her. 'Exactly! Precisely what I –'

But Lupin silenced him with a look. Black was frowning slightly at Hermione, but not as though he was annoyed with her. He seemed to be pondering his answer.

'I don't know how I did it,' he said slowly. 'I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me … but it kept me sane and knowing who I am … helped me keep my powers … so when it all became … too much … I could transform in my cell … become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know …' He swallowed. They feel their way towards people by sensing their emotions … they could tell that my feelings were less – less human, less complex when I was a dog … but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand … 'But then I saw Peter in that picture … I realised he was at Hogwarts with Harry … perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again …'

Pettigrew was shaking his head, mouthing noiselessly, but staring all the while at Black as though hypnotised.

'… ready to strike the moment he could be sure of allies … to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honours … 'So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive.

'It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the Dementors couldn't destroy it … it wasn't a happy feeling … it was an obsession … but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog … it's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused … I was thin, very thin … thin enough to slip through the bars … I swam as a dog back to the mainland … I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog … I've been living in the Forest ever since … except when I come to watch the Quidditch, of course … you fly as well as your father did, Harry …'

He looked at Harry, who did not look away.

'Believe me,' croaked Black. 'Believe me. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them.

Harry nodded.