"No he's not dead. He faked his own death. He's living after that as his Animagus form." Sirius Black said sinking in the bed.
"Yeah and guess what? His Animagus form is a rat," Chris said looking at Ron. Harry and Hermione both looked shocked.
"Ridiculous!" said Hermione faintly.
"Why Hermione? You didn't see Professor McGonagall? Animagus is not an impossible thing." Chris said coolly.
"Because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my howork — the Ministry keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can beco animals; there's a register showing what animal they beco, and their markings and things — and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have only been seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's na wasn't on the list —"
"Was Sirius Black in them, Hermione?" Chris asked raising an eyebrow.
"No. . ." she answered quietly.
"So Ministry don't know about a few Animagus?" Harry asked.
"I think so. But I think Mr Black or Professor Lupin will able to explain it clearly." Chris said looking at them.
"I've to say, you're really an extraordinary Witch, Christina," Lupin said smiling. "I will explain everything, but first, do you think I could have a look at the rat?" he said to Ron.
Ron tried to say sothing but nothing ca out from his mouth. Lupin looked at Chris then sighed and removed the silencing charm.
Then Ron's voice ca out, "You're all ntal."
"See, that's why I put a silencing charm on him," Chris said glaring at Ron.
"Could I see him, please Ron?" Lupin asked again.
"Give him Scabbers, Ron," Harry said suddenly.
"But —" Ron hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes. Scabbers erged, 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 seed to be holding his breath as he gazed intently at Scabbers.
Suddenly Crookshanks was thrown to the floor as Black lunged at Scabbers; Ron yelled with pain as Black's weight fell on his broken leg.
"Sirius, NO!" Lupin yelled, launching himself forwards and dragging Black away from Ron again, "WAIT! You can't do it just like that — they need to understand — we've got to explain —"
"We can explain afterwards!" snarled Black, trying to throw Lupin off, one hand still clawing the air as it tried to reach Scabbers, who was squealing like a piglet, scratching Ron's face and neck as he tried to escape.
"They've – got – a – right – to – know – everything!" Lupin panted, still trying to restrain Black. "Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it even I don't understand! And Harry – you owe Harry the truth, Sirius!"
"Please Mr Black. You told us the truth, I think they deserve it too. At least, Harry, he misses his parents," Chris said calming her voice.
Black stopped struggling, though his hollowed eyes were still fixed on Scabbers, who was clamped tightly under Ron's bitten, scratched and bleeding hands.
"All right, then," Black said, without taking his eyes off the rat. "Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for —"
"You're nutters, both of you," said Ron shakily, looking round at Harry and Hermione for support. "I've had enough of this. I'm off."
He tried to heave himself up on his good leg,
"Ron, Please be a little sensible. Use your brain and STOP TALKING." Chris said with an irritated tone. "I really don't want to punch you. Please."
"Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen," said Lupin quickly.
"HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!" Ron yelled.
"AND YOU'RE AN IDIOT. NOW SHUT UP." Chris growled.
Ron tried 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 back down to the bed.
"There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die, Chris," Harry said. "A whole street full of them —"
"They didn't see what they thought they saw!" said Black savagely, still watching Scabbers struggling in Ron's hands.
"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter," said Lupin, nodding. "I believed it myself — until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's Map never lies — Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry."
"But —" Hermione tried to protest but then thought sothing and said, "What happened actually?"
"Hermione you can't believe them," Ron said fuming.
"I don't want to Ron but — I think — It's possible," Hermione said faintly.
"Right again, Hermione!" Lupin said. "The Ministry never knew that there used to be three unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts."
"If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus," snarled Black, who was still watching Scabbers's every desperate move. "I've waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer."
"All right — but you'll need to help , Sirius," said Lupin, "I only know how it began —" he sighed and began, "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted — the screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by ."
He pushed his greying hair out of his eyes, thought for a mont, then said, "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 —"
He looked sober and tired. Ron started to interrupt, but Hermione said, "Shh!" She was watching Lupin very intently.
"I was a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The Potion that Professor Snape has been making for is a very recent discovery. It makes safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform— I am able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again. Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, I beca a fully-fledged monster once a month. It seed impossible that I would be able to co to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children exposed to . But then Dumbledore beca Headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He said that, as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't co to school —" Lupin sighed, and looked directly at Harry. "I told you, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I ca to Hogwarts. The truth is that it was planted because I had co to Hogwarts. This house —" Lupin looked miserably around the room, "— the tunnel that leads to it — they were built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across while I was dangerous."
Chris was listening with full attention and felt very bad for Lupin. The only sound apart from Lupin's voice was Scabbers's frightened squeaking.
"My transformations in those days were — were terrible. It is very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumour — even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it — But apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. For the first ti ever, I had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black — Peter Pettigrew — and, of course, your father, Harry — Jas Potter." A smile appeared on his face. "Now, my three friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month. I made up all sorts of stories. I told them my mother was ill, and that I had to go ho to see her — I was terrified they would desert the mont they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione, worked out the truth — and they didn't desert at all. Instead, they did sothing for that would make my transformations not only bearable but the best tis of my life. They beca Animagi."
"My dad, too?" said Harry, astounded.
"Yes, indeed," said Lupin. "It took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong — one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he could get from Jas and Sirius. Finally, in our fifth year, they managed it. They could each turn into a different animal at will."
"But how did that help you?" said Hermione, sounding puzzled.
"They couldn't keep company as humans, so they kept company as animals," said Lupin. "A werewolf is only a danger to people. They sneaked out of the castle every month under Jas's Invisibility Cloak. They transford — Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. They would then slip down the tunnel and join . Under their influence, I beca less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seed to beco less so while I was with them."
"Hurry up, Remus," snarled Black, who was still watching Scabbers with a horrible sort of hunger in his face.
"I'm getting there, Sirius, I'm getting there — well, highly exciting possibilities were open to us now we could all transform. Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village by night. Sirius and Jas transford into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in check. I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsade than we did — And that's how we ca to write the Marauder's Map, and sign it with our nicknas. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. Jas was Prongs and I'm Moony."
"What sort of animal —?" Harry began, but Hermione cut across him.
"That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten sobody?"
"A thought that still haunts ," said Lupin heavily. "And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless — carried away with our own cleverness."
"Oh, Hermione. You've also broken lots of rules for your friends' happiness." Chris said smiling. "You tried to report Harry for his own safety but couldn't because — you simply love your friends. I think Harry's father and Mr Black wanted to change Professor Lupin's haunted mory to a beautiful one."
Black's lips curved into a smile but his eyes were still on Scabbers.
"Indeed. They tried that but I still felt guilty sotis about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course — he had admitted to Hogwarts when no other Headmaster would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others' safety. He never knew I had led three fellow students into becoming Animagi illegally. But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every ti we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. And I haven't changed —" Lupin's face had hardened, and there was self-disgust in his voice. "All this year, I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. But I didn't do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have ant admitting that I'd betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting that I'd led others along with — and Dumbledore's trust has ant everything to . He let into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using Dark Arts he learnt from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it — so, in a way, Snape's been right about all along."
"Snape?" said Black harshly, taking his eyes off Scabbers for the first ti in minutes and looking up at Lupin. "What's Snape got to do with it?"
"He's here, Sirius," said Lupin heavily. "He's teaching here as well." He looked up at Chris, Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my appointnt to the Defence Against the Dark Arts job. He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I am not to be trusted. He has his reasons — you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved —"
Black made a derisive noise.
"It served him right," he sneered. "Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to — hoping he could get us expelled —"
"Severus was very interested in where I went every month," Lupin told them. "We were in the sa year, you know, and we – er – didn't like each other very much. He especially disliked Jas. Jealous, I think, of Jas's talent on the Quidditch pitch — anyway, Snape had seen crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led towards the Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it 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 . Well, of course, Snape tried it — if he'd got as far as this house, he'd have t 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 — Snape glimpsed , though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden to tell anybody by Dumbledore, but from that ti on he knew what I was —"
"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," said Harry slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"
Lupin nodded.
"And that's why he hates all the Gryffindors?" Chris said surprised. "I an that's childish. He even took half of my potion marks today, when my potion was perfect." Chris looked up and saw everyone staring at her. She added, "well, It's not like I care but — he also bullied Harry — and Neville — and Hermione — and Ron."
"It's alright Christina, we understood your point," Lupin said smiling. "He was always like that but we can't ignore the fact that he agreed to make that Wolfsbane potion for . I don't know what to think about him anymore."
"Just think, he's a selfish git." Black snorted angrily. "Didn't you heard he still take our revenge from Gryffindor students, from Harry."
"I'm still not saying I believe you," Harry retorted. "How did you found out we're here?"
Lupin looked at Chris and she answered, "— Er — well — umm — I saw you on the Map and inford Professor Lupin."
"Wait! How did you find the Map? I lost it months ago." Harry said with a surprised tone.
"Well — you — didn't lose it — maybe — soone — stole it — from your trunk —" Chris said looking away.
"Who?" Ron asked confused.
"Chris?" Harry and Hermione said together.
"What? I was trying to stop you from sneaking into Hogsade. You see, Hermione was worried." Chris replied innocently. "I'll give it back — Mr Black, Pettigrew." She changed the topic before Harry can open his mouth.
"It's ti we offered you so proof," said Black nodding but a little surprised at the formal ntion. "You, boy — give Peter. Now."
Ron clutched Scabbers closer to his chest.
"Co off it," he said weakly. "Are you trying to say you broke out of Azkaban just to get your hands on Scabbers? I an —" he looked up at Harry and Hermione for support. "OK, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat — there are millions of rats — how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"
"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," said Lupin, turning to Black and frowning slightly. "How did you find out where he was?"
Black put one of his claw-like hands inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat, and held out to show the others.
It was the photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous sumr, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.
"How did you get this?" Lupin asked Black, thunderstruck.
"Minister of Magic, Fudge," Chris replied suddenly. "Rember Ron, you told that Black was so normal in Azkaban that he asked for Fudge's newspaper for crosswords." She turned to Black triumphantly. "You took it for crosswords and saw the picture, isn't it?"
"Yes." He smiled a little. "I knew him at once — how many tis had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts — to where Harry was —"
"My God," said Lupin softly, staring from Scabbers to the picture in the paper and back again. "His front paw —"
"What about it?" said Ron defiantly.
"He's got a toe missing," said Black.
"Of course," Lupin breathed, "so simple — so brilliant — He cut it off himself?"
"Just before he transford," said Black. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and Jas. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself — and sped down into the sewer with the other rats —"
"Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" said Lupin. "The biggest bit of Peter they found was —"
"A finger. You told this Ron." Chris said coming forward. "And he's in your family for twelve years. Just think, what happened twelve years ago? Harry's parents died twelve years ago." Ron stared at her. "Look Ron I know you love Scabbers, more than anything, more than your friendship with Hermione but is it ok if your pet is the one who betrayed your best friend's parents? Will it be alright for you?"
"But — What's the proof? Black was the secret keeper. He — betrayed —" Harry said.
"Harry, Please trust my judgnt this ti," Chris said calmly. "Even Crookshanks understands the truth."
"Crookshanks?" Hermione whispered.
Black reached out a bony hand and stroked Crookshanks's fluffy head.
"He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever t. He recognised Peter for what he was straight away. And when he t , he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted . Finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping —"
"What do you an?" breathed Hermione.
"He tried to bring Peter to , but couldn't — so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for — As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table — But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it — this cat — Crookshanks, did you call him? — told Peter had left blood on the sheets — I suppose he bit himself — well, faking his own death had worked once —"
"I knew Crookshanks can understand human language," Chris said looking at Harry. "I told you, didn't I?"
"But why did he fake his death?" Harry asked still confused. "Black said before you ca, he said he killed my parents!"
He looked at Black, who shook his head slowly; the sunken eyes were suddenly over-bright.
"Harry — I as good as killed them," he croaked. "I persuaded Lily and Jas to change to Peter at the last mont, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of — I'm to bla, I know it — the night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies — I realised what Peter must have done. What I'd done."
His voice broke. He turned away.
"Enough of this," said Lupin, and there was a steely note in his voice. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give that rat."
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