One day he saw a boy with red hair amerge from under an invisibility cloak and chase after a rat, a rat that Sirius knew very well. 2 other people came out of the invisibility cloak behind him- one had a big mane of bushy curly hair, and the other looked exactly like James, apart from his eyes, he had Lily’s eyes. The boy with red hair-Ron Weasly- caught Pettigrew and Sirius got him and dragged him into the shrieking shack. Harry and Hermione tried to follow, but were stopped by the whomping willow. Sirius had got to the shrieking shack with Ron, who’s leg he had accidentally broken, and Petigrew. A minute later Hermione and Harry had caught up with them. Harry, Ron and Hermione still thought he had murdered Harry’s parents and so were furious with him.

Harry and Hermione dashed across to Ron.

 "Ron  —  are you okay?" 

"Where's the dog?" 

"Not a dog," Ron moaned. His teeth were gritted with pain. "Harry, it's a trap  — " 

 "What  — " 

 "He's the dog... he's an Animagus." 

 Ron was staring over Harry's shoulder.

 Harry wheeled around.

 With a snap, Sirius closed the door behind them. 

  "Expelliarmus!

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

 Harry's and Hermione's wands shot out of their hands, high in the air, and Sirius caught them.

 Then he took a step closer.  His eyes were fixed on Harry. 

"I thought you'd come and help your friend," he said hoarsely. 

"Your father would have done the same for me.  Brave of you not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful... it will make everything much easier...." 

 Without knowing what he was doing, Harry started forward, but there was a sudden movement on either side of him and two pairs of hands grabbed him and held him back.... "No, Harry!

"Hermione gasped in a petrified whisper; Ron, however, spoke to Sirius. 

 "If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!

" he said fiercely, though the effort of standing upright was draining him of still more color, and he swayed slightly as he spoke.  

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

"Did you hear me?" Ron said weakly, though he was clinging painfully to Harry to stay upright.

"You'll have to kill all three of us!" 

"There'll be only one murder here tonight," said Sirius."Why's that?"  Harry spat, trying to wrench himself free of Ron, and Hermione. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew... What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?" 

"Harry!’’ Hermione whimpered. "Be quiet!" 

"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!"  Harry roared, and with a huge effort he broke free of Hermione's and Ron's restraint and lunged forward - 

 Perhaps it was the shock of Harry doing something so stupid, but Sirius didn't raise the wands in time  —  one of Harry's hands fastened over his wasted wrist, forcing the wand tips away;

 the knuckles of Harry's other hand collided with the side of Black's head and they fell, backward, into the wall - 

 Hermione was screaming; Ron was yelling;

 There was a blinding flash as the wands in Sirius’s hand sent a jet of sparks into the air that missed Harry's face by inches; 

But Sirius’s free hand had found Harry's throat 

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

The fingers tightened. Then he saw Hermione's foot swing out of nowhere.

 Sirius let go of Harry with a grunt of pain;

 Ron had thrown himself on Black's wand hand and Harry heard a faint clatter  —  

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

"Argh!" 

Crookshanks had joined the fray; both sets of front claws had sunk themselves deep into Harry's arm;

Harry threw him off, but Crookshanks now darted toward Harry's wand  —  

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

"Get out of the way!"  he shouted at Ron and Hermione. They didn't need telling twice.

 Hermione, gasping for breath, her lip bleeding, scrambled aside, snatching up her and Ron's wands.

 Ron crawled to the four-poster and collapsed onto it, panting, his white face now tinged with green, both hands clutching his broken leg. Sirius was sprawled at the bottom of the wall.

 His thin chest rose and fell rapidly as he watched Harry walking slowly nearer, his wand pointing straight at Sirius’s heart. 

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

Harry stopped right above him, his wand still pointing at Sirius’s chest, looking down at him.

 A livid bruise was rising around Sirius’s left eye and his nose was bleeding. 

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

Sirius stared up at him out of those sunken eyes. 

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

"The whole story?"  Harry repeated, "You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know." 

"You've got to listen to me," Sirius said, and there was a note of urgency in his voice now.

"You'll regret it if you don't....  You don't understand...." 

"I understand a lot better than you think," said Harry, and his voice shook more than ever.

"You never heard her, did you? My mum... trying to stop Voldemort killing me... and you did that... you did it...." 

Before either of them could say another word, something ginger streaked past Harry;

Crookshanks leapt onto Sirius’s chest and settled himself there, right over Sirius’s heart.

Sirius blinked and looked down at the cat. 

"Get off," he murmured, trying to push Crookshanks off him. 

But Crookshanks sank his claws into Sirius's robes and wouldn't shift.

He turned his ugly, squashed face to Harry and looked up at him with those great yellow eyes.

To his right, Hermione gave a dry sob.  Harry stared down at Black and Crookshanks, his grip tightening on the wand. Harry raised the wand

The seconds lengthened.

And still Harry stood frozen there, wand poised, Sirius staring up at him, Crookshanks on his chest.

Ron's ragged breathing came from near the bed; Hermione was quite silent. And then came a new sound - Muffled footsteps were echoing up through the floor  —  someone was moving downstairs. 

"WE'RE UP HERE!"  Hermione screamed suddenly. "WE'RE UP HERE  —  SIRIUS BLACK - QUICK!" 

Sirius made a startled movement that almost dislodged Crookshanks;

Harry gripped his wand convulsively 

The door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks and Harry wheeled around as Remus, who seemed to have become a Hogwarts Professor came hurtling into the room, his face bloodless, his wand raised and ready. His eyes flickered over Ron, lying on the floor, over Hermione, cowering next to the door, to Harry, standing there with his wand covering Sirius, and then to Sirius himself, crumpled and bleeding at Harry's feet. 

"Expelliarmus!"  Remus shouted. 

Harry's wand flew once more out of his hand, so did the two Hermione was holding. Remus caught them all deftly, then moved into the room, staring at Sirius, who still had Crookshanks lying Protectively across his chest. Then Remus spoke, in a very tense voice. "Where is he, Sirius?" Harry looked quickly at Remus. He didn't understand what Remus meant. Who was Remus talking about? He turned to look at Sirius again. Sirius's face was quite expressionless. For a few seconds, he didn't move at all. Then, very slowly, he raised his empty hand and pointed straight at Ron. Mystified, Harry glanced around at Ron, who looked bewildered. 

"But then..." Remus muttered, staring at Sirius so intently it seemed he was trying to read his mind, "... why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless"  —  Remus's eyes suddenly widened, as though he was seeing something beyond Sirius, something none of the rest could see, " —  unless he was the one... unless you switched... without telling me?" 

Very slowly, his sunken gaze never leaving Remus's face, Sirius nodded. 

"Professor," Harry interrupted loudly, "what's going on  — ?" 

But he never finished the question, because what he saw made his voice die in his throat. Remus was lowering his wand, gazing fixed at Sirius. The Professor walked to Sirius's side, seized his hand, pulled him to his feet so that Crookshanks fell to the floor, and embraced Sirius like a brother.  "I DON'T BELIEVE IT!"  Hermione screamed. Remus let go of Sirius and turned to her. She had raised herself off the floor and was pointing at Remus, 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'" Remus shouted. "I can explain  — " 

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

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

"You're wrong," said Remus.

"I haven't been Sirius's friend for 13 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.

Everyone's eyes were now on Remus, who looked remarkably calm, though rather pale. 

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," he said. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid.

 I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want 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.

Remus made toward him, looking concerned, but Ron gasped, "Get away from me, werewolf!" 

Remus 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 Remus coolly.

"He assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant.... Did you check the lunar chart and realize that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realize that the boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?" 

"Both," Hermione said quietly. 

Remus 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 Remus "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 Remus. "He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy  — " 

"AND HE WAS WRONG!"  Harry yelled. "YOUVE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!"  He was pointing at Sirius, who suddenly crossed to the four-poster bed and sank onto it, his face hidden in one shaking hand. Crookshanks leapt up beside him and stepped onto his lap, purring. Ron edged away from both of them, dragging his leg. 

I have not been helping Sirius," said Remus. "If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain.

Look  — " 

He separated Harry's, Ron's and Hermione's wands and threw each back to its owner; Harry caught his, stunned. There, said Remus, sticking his own wand back into his belt "You're armed, we're not.

Now will you listen?" 

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

"If you haven't been helping him," he said, with a furious glance at Sirius, "how did you know he was here?" 

"The map," said Remus. "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 Remus, waving his hand impatiently. "I helped write it.

I'm Moony  —  that was my friends' nickname for me at school." 

"You wrote  — ?" 

"The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you, Ron, and Hermione might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his hippogriff was executed.

And I was right, wasn't I" He had started to pace up and down, looking at them. Little patches of dust rose at his feet. 

"You might have been wearing your father's old cloak, Harry — " 

"How d'you know about the cloak?" 

"The number of times I saw James disappearing under it...," said Remus, waving an impatient hand again.

 "The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak, you still show up on the Marauder's Map.

 I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid, and set off back toward the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else." 

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

‘’I couldn't believe my eyes," said Remus, still pacing, and ignoring Harry's interruption. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you?" 

"No one was with us!"  said Harry. 

"And then I saw another dot, moving fast toward you, labeled Sirius Black....  I saw him collide with you;

I watched as he pulled two of you into the Whomping Willow  — " 

"One of us!"  Ron said angrily. 

"No, Ron," said Remus, "Two of you." 

He had stopped his pacing, his eyes moving over Ron. 

"Do you think I could have a look at the rat?"  he said evenly. 

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

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

Ron hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes.

Pettigrew emerged, thrashing desperately;

Ron had to seize his long bald tail to stop him escaping.

Crookshanks stood up on Sirius's leg and made a soft hissing noise. Remus moved closer to Ron.

He seemed to be holding his breath as he gazed intently at Pettigrew. 

"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 Remus quietly. "He's a wizard." 

"An Animagus," said Sirius, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

It took a few seconds for the absurdity of this statement to sink in. Then Ron voiced what Harry was thinking.

"You're both mental."

"Ridiculous!" said Hermione faintly.

"Peter Pettigrew's dead!" said Harry. "He killed him twelve years ago!" He pointed at Sirius, whose face twitched convulsively.

"I meant to," he growled, his yellow teeth bared, "but little Peter got the better of me...not this time, though!"

And Crookshanks was thrown to the floor as Sirius lunged at Scabbers; Ron yelled with pain as Sirius’s weight fell on his broken leg.

"Sirius, NO!" Remus yelled, launching himself forwards and dragging Sirius 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 Sirius, trying to throw Remus off. One hand was still clawing the air as it tried to reach Pettigrew, 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!" Remus panted, still trying to restrain Sirius. "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!"

Sirius 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," Sirius 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, but Remus raised his wand again, pointing it at Pettigrew.

"You're going to hear me out, Ron," he said quietly. "Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen."

"HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!" Ron yelled, trying to force the rat back into his front pocket, but Pettigrew was fighting too hard; Ron swayed and overbalanced, and Harry caught him and pushed him back down to the bed. Then, ignoring Sirius, Harry turned to Remus.

"There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die," he said. "A whole street full of them..."

"They didn't see what they thought they saw!" said Sirius savagely, still watching Scabbers struggling in Ron's hands.

"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter," said Remus, 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."

Harry looked down at Ron, and as their eyes met, they agreed, silently: Black and Lupin were both out of their minds. Their story made no sense whatsoever. How could Scabbers be Peter Pettigrew? Azkaban must have unhinged Black after all -- but why was Lupin playing along with him?

Then Hermione spoke, in a trembling, would-be calm sort of voice, as though trying to will Remus to talk sensibly.

"But Professor Lupin...Scabbers can't be Pettigrew...it just can't be true, you know it can't..."

"Why can't it be true?" Remus said calmly, as though they were in class, and Hermione had simply spotted a problem in an experiment with Grindylows.

"Because... 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 homework -- the Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become, and their markings and things...and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have been only seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list."

Harry had barely had time to marvel inwardly at the effort Hermione put into her homework, when Remus started to laugh.

"Right again, Hermione!" he said. "But 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," said Sirius, 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 me, Sirius," said Remus, "I only know how it began..."

Remus broke off. There had been a loud creak behind him. The bedroom door had opened of its own accord. All five of them stared at it. Then Remus strode toward it and looked out into the landing.

"No one there..."

"This place is haunted!" said Ron.

"It's not,' said Remus, still looking at the door in a puzzled way. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted...The screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me."

He pushed his graying hair out of his eyes, thought for a moment 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 Remus very intently.

"I as 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 me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform...I'm 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 became a fully fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I would 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. He said that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't come to school...." Remus sighed, and looked directly at Harry. "I told you, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. The truth is that it was planted because I came to Hogwarts. This house" -- Remus 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 me while I was dangerous. 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 rumor...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 time ever, I had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black...Peter Pettigrew...and, of course, your father, Harry -- James Potter."

"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 home to see her...I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione, worked out the truth...."

"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."

"My dad too?" said Harry, astounded.

"Yes, indeed," said Remus. "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 James 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 me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals," said Remus. "A werewolf is only a danger to people. They sneaked out of the castle every month under James's Invisibility Cloak. They transformed...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 me. Under their influence, I became less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while I was with them."

"Hurry up, Remus," snarled Sirius, who was still watching Scabbers with a horrible sort of hunger on his face.

"I'm getting there, Sirius, I'm getting there...well, highly exciting possibilities were open to us now that we could all transform. Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village by night. Sirius and James transformed 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 Hogsmeade than we did... And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map, and sign it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs."

"What sort of animal --?" Harry began, but Hermione cut him off. "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?"

"A thought that still haunts me," said Remus heavily. "And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless -- carried away with our own cleverness."

"I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course...he had admitted me 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 time we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. And I haven't changed..."

Remus’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 meant admitting that I'd betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting that 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. And so 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."

"Snape?" said Sirius harshly, taking his eyes off Pettigrew; for the first time in minutes and looking up at Remus. "What's Snape got to do with it?"

"He's here, Sirius," said Remus heavily. "He's teaching here as well." He looked up at Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defense 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 me --"

Sirius 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." Remus told Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "We were in the same year, you know, and we -- er -- didn't like each other very much. He especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James's talent on the Quidditch field...anyway Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward 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 me. Well, of course, Snape tried it -- if he'd got 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...Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time 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?"

"That's right," sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Remus.

Severus Snape was pulling off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointing directly at Remus

Hermione screamed. Sirius leapt to his feet. Harry felt as though he'd received a huge electric shock.

"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," said Snape, throwing the cloak aside, careful to keep this wand pointing directly at Remus’s chest. "Very useful, Potter, I thank you...."

Snape was slightly breathless, but his face was full of suppressed triumph. "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" he said, his eyes glittering. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did...lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."

"Severus --" Remus began, but Snape overrode him.

"I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the proof. Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout --"

"Severus, you're making a mistake," said Remus urgently. "You haven't heard everything -- I can explain -- Sirius is not here to kill Harry --"

"Two more for Azkaban tonight," said Snape, his eyes now gleaming fanatically. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this...He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin...a tame werewolf --"

"You fool," said Remus softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"

BANG! Thin, snakelike cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Remus’s mouth, wrists, and ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move. With a roar of rage, Sirius started toward Snape, but Snape pointed his wand straight between Sirius’s eyes.

"Give me a reason," he whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."

Sirius stopped dead. It would have been impossible to say which face showed more hatred.

"Professor Snape -- it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w-would it?"

"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school," Snape spat. "You, Potter, and Weasley are out-of-bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. For once in your life, hold your tongue."

"But if -- if there was a mistake --"

"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape shouted, looking suddenly quite deranged. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" A few sparks shot out of the end of his wand, which was still pointed at Sirius's face. Hermione fell silent.

"Vengeance is very sweet," Snape breathed at Sirius. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you...."

"The joke's on you again, Severus," Sirius snarled. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle" -- he jerked his head at Ron -- "I'll come quietly...."

"Up to the castle?" said Snape silkily. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the Dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black...pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay...I --"

What little color there was in Black's face left it.

"You -you've got to hear me out," he croaked. "The rat -- look at the rat --"

But there was a mad glint in Snape's eyes that Harry had never seen before. He seemed beyond reason.

"Come on, all of you," he said. He clicked his fingers, and the ends of the cords that bound Remus flew to his hands. "I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the Dementors will have a kiss for him too --"

Before he knew what he was doing, Harry had crossed the room in three strides and blocked the door.

"Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already," snarled Snape. "If I hadn't been here to save your skin --"

"Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year," Harry said. "I've been alone with him loads of times, having defense lessons against the Dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish me off then?"

"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," hissed Snape. "Get out of the way, Potter."

"YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Harry yelled. "JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN --"

"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape shrieked, looking madder than ever. "Like father, like son, Potter! I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bended knee! You would have been well served if he'd killed you! You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black -- now get out of the way, or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER!"

Harry made up his mind in a split second. Before Snape could take even one step toward him, he had raised his wand.

"Expelliarmus!" he yelled -- except that his wasn't the only voice that shouted. There was a blast that made the door rattle on its hinges; Snape was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall, then slid down it to the floor, a trickle of blood oozing from under his hair. He had been knocked out.

Harry looked around. Both Ron and Hermione had tried to disarm Snape at exactly the same moment. Snape's wand soared in a high arc and landed on the bed next to Crookshanks.

"You shouldn't have done that," said Sirius, looking at Harry.

"You should have left him to me...."

Harry avoided Sirius’s eyes. He wasn't sure, even now, that he'd done the right thing.

"We attacked a teacher...We attacked a teacher..." Hermione whimpered, staring at the lifeless Snape with frightened eyes. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble --"

Remus was struggling against his bonds. Sirius bent down quickly and untied him. Remus straightened up, rubbing his arms where the ropes had cut into them.

"Thank you, Harry," he said.

"I'm still not saying I believe you," Harry retorted

"Then it's time we offered you some proof," said Sirius. "You, boy -- give me Peter, please. Now."

Ron clutched Pettigrew closer to his chest.

"Come off it," he said weakly. "Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean..." He looked up at Harry and Hermione for support, "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat -- there are millions of rats -- how's he supposed to know which one he is after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"

"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," said Remus, turning to Sirius and frowning slightly. "How did you find out where he was?"

Sirius 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 summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Pettigrew.

"How did you get this?" Remus asked Sirius, thunderstruck.

"Fudge," said Sirius. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page on this boy's shoulder...I knew him at once...how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts...to where Harry was..."

"My God," said Remus softly, staring from Pettigrew 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 Sirius. 

"Of course," Remus breathed. "So simple...so brilliant...he cut it off himself?"

"Just before he transformed," said Sirius. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. 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 Remus. "The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger."

"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages, right --"

"Twelve years, in fact," said Remus. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"

"We -- we've been taking good care of him!" said Ron.

"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" said Remus. "I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again...."

"He's been scared of that mad cat!" said Ron, nodding toward Crookshanks, who was still purring on the bed.

"This cat isn't mad," said Sirius hoarsely. He reached out a bony hand and stroked Crookshanks's fluffy head. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted me...Finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me..."

"What do you mean?" breathed Hermione.

"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't...so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me...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." croaked Sirius. "This cat -- Crookshanks, did you call him? -- told me Peter had left blood on the sheets...I supposed he bit himself...Well, faking his own death had worked once."

These words jolted Harry to his senses.

"And why did he fake his death?" he said furiously. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"

"No," said Remus, "Harry--"

"And now you've come to finish him off!" 

"Yes, I have," said Sirius, with an evil look at Scabbers.

"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted.

"Harry," said Remus hurriedly, "don't you see? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down -- but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father -- Sirius tracked Peter down --"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP. HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"

He was pointing at Sirius, 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 James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me...I'm to blame, 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 realized what Peter must've done...what I'd done...."

His voice broke. He turned away.

"Enough of this," said Remus. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat."

"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked Remus tensely.

"Force him to show himself," said Remus. "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."

Ron hesitated. Then at long last, he held out Pettigrew and Remus took him. Pettigrew began to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head. "Ready, Sirius?" said Remus.

Sirius had already retrieved Snape's wand from the bed. He approached Remus and the struggling rat, and his wet eyes suddenly seemed to be burning in his face.

"Together?" he said quietly.

"I think so", said Remus, holding Pettigrew tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. "On the count of three. One -- two -- THREE!"

A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands; for a moment, Pettigrew was frozen in midair, his small gray form twisting madly -- Ron yelled -- the rat fell and hit the floor. There was another blinding flash of light and then --

It was like watching a speeded-up film of a growing tree. A head was shooting upward from the ground; limbs were sprouting; a moment later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands. Crookshanks was spitting and snarling on the bed; the hair on his back was standing up.

He was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry and Hermione. His thin, colorless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has 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 and his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow. Harry saw his eyes dart to the door and back again.

"Well, hello, Peter," said Remus pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old school friends around him. "Long time, no see."

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

Sirius’s wand arm rose, but Remus 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, "you don't believe him, do you...? He tried to kill me, Remus...."

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

"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew squeaked suddenly, pointing at Sirius, and 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...."

Sirius’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 Remus..

"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 Remus, 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!"

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

"Voldemort, teach me tricks?" he said.

Pettigrew flinched as though Sirius had brandished a whip at him.

"What, scared to hear your old master's name?" said Sirius. "I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"

"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 Sirius. "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 Remus. "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 Remus evenly.

"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!"

Sirius'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," Sirius hissed, so venomously that Pettigrew took a step backward. "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."

Pettigrew was muttering distractedly; Harry caught words like "far-fetched" and "lunacy," but he couldn't help paying more attention to the ashen color of Pettigrew's face and the way his eyes continued to dart toward the windows and door.

"Professor Lupin?" said Hermione timidly. "Can -- can I say something?"

"Certainly, Hermione," said Remus 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?"

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

"I'll tell you why," said Sirius. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for 12 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 of 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...."

Pettigrew opened his mouth and closed it several times. He seemed to have lost the ability to talk. 

"Er -- Mr. Black -- Sirius?" said Hermione.

Sirius jumped at being addressed like this and stared at Hermione as though being spoken to politely was something he had 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. Sirius was frowning slightly at Hermione, but not as though he were 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 toward people by feeding off 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 realized 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 Sirius as though hypnotized.

"...ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies...and 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 honors...."

"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 came to watch you play Quidditch, of course. You fly as well as your father did, Harry...."

He looked at Harry, who did not look away.

"Believe me," croaked Sirius. "Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."

And at long last, Harry believed him. Throat too tight to speak, he nodded.

"No!"

Pettigrew had fallen to his knees as though Harry's nod had been his own death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees, groveling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying.

"Sirius -- it's me...it's Peter...your friend...you wouldn't --"

Sirius kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled.

"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," said Sirius.

"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead, writhing imploringly in front of him. "You don't believe this -- wouldn't 

Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," said Remus. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrew's head.

"Forgive me, Remus," said Sirius.

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," said Remus, who was now rolling up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"

"Of course," said Sirius, and the ghost of a grin flitted across his gaunt face. He, too, began rolling up his sleeves. "Shall we kill him together?"

"Yes, I think so," said Remus grimly.

"You wouldn't...you won't..." gasped Pettigrew. And he scrambled around to Ron.

"Ron...haven't I been a good friend...a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you...you're on my side, aren't you?"

But Ron was staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion.

"I let you sleep in my bed!" he said.

"Kind boy...kind master..." Pettigrew crawled toward Ron "You won't let them do it...I was your rat...I was a good pet...."

"If you made a better rat than a human, it's not much to boast about, Peter," said Sirius harshly. Ron, going still paler with pain, wrenched his broken leg out of Pettigrew's reach. Pettigrew turned on his knees, staggered forward, and seized the hem of Hermione's robes.

"Sweet girl...clever girl...you -- you won't let them...Help me...."

Hermione pulled her robes out of Pettigrew's clutching hands and backed away against the wall, looking horrified.

Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head slowly toward Harry.

"Harry...Harry...you look just like your father...just like him..."

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" roared Sirius. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"

"Harry," whispered Pettigrew, shuffling toward him, hands outstretched. "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed...James would have understood, Harry...he would have shown me mercy..."

Both Sirius and Remus strode forward, seized Pettigrew's shoulders, and threw him backward onto the floor. He sat there, twitching with terror, staring up at them.

"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," said Sirius, who was shaking too. "Do you deny it?"

Pettigrew burst into tears. It was horrible to watch, like an oversized, balding baby, cowering on the floor.

"Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord...you have no idea...he has weapons you can't imagine ...I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen...He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me --"

"DON'T LIE!" bellowed Sirius. "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"

"He -- he was taking over everywhere!" gasped Pettigrew. "Wh-what was there to be gained by refusing him?"

"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?" said Sirius, with a terrible fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"

"You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Sirius. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"

Sirius and Remus stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised.

"You should have realized," said Remus quietly, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."

Hermione covered her face with her hands and turned to the wall.

"NO!" Harry yelled. He ran forward, placing himself in front of Pettigrew, facing the wands. "You can't kill him," he said breathlessly. "You can't."

Sirius and Remus both looked staggered.

"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents," Sirius snarled. "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family."

"I know," Harry panted. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the Dementors...He can go to Azkaban...but don't kill him."

"Harry!" gasped Pettigrew, and he flung his arms around Harry's knees. "You -- thank you -- it's more than I deserve -- thank you --"

"Get off me," Harry spat, throwing Pettigrew's hands off him in disgust. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because -- I don't reckon my dad would've wanted his best friends to become killers -- just for you."

No one moved or made a sound except Pettigrew, whose breath was coming in wheezes as he clutched his chest. Sirius and Remus were looking at each other. Then, with one movement, they lowered their wands.

"You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry," said Sirius. "But think... think about what he did...."

"He can go to Azkaban," Harry repeated. "If anyone deserves that place, he does...."

Pettigrew was still wheezing behind him.

"Very well," said Remus. "Stand aside, Harry."

Harry hesitated.

"I'm going to tie him up," said Remus. "That's all, I swear."

Harry stepped out of the way. Thin cords shot from Remus's wand this time, and next moment, Pettigrew was wriggling on the floor, bound and gagged.

"But if you transform, Peter," growled Sirius, his own wand pointing at Pettigrew too, "we will kill you. You agree, Harry?"

Harry looked down at the pitiful figure on the floor and nodded so that Pettigrew could see him.

"Right," said Remus, suddenly businesslike. "Ron, I can't mend bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey, so I think it's best if we just strap your leg up until we can get you to the hospital wing."

He hurried over to Ron, bent down, tapped Ron's leg with his wand, and muttered, "Ferula." Bandages spun up Ron's leg, strapping it tightly to a splint. Remus helped him to his feet; Ron put his weight gingerly on the leg and didn't wince.

"That's better," he said. "Thanks."

"What about Professor Snape?" said Hermione in a small voice, looking down at Snape's prone figure.

"There's nothing seriously wrong with him," said Remus, bending over Snape and checking his pulse. "You were just a little -- overenthusiastic. Still out cold. Er -- perhaps it will be best if we don't revive him until we're safely back in the castle. We can take him like this....

He muttered, "Mobilicorpus." As though invisible strings were tied to Snape's wrists, neck, and knees, he was pulled into a standing position, head still lolling unpleasantly, like a grotesque puppet. He hung a few inches above the ground, his limp feet dangling. Remus picked up the Invisibility Cloak and tucked it safely into his pocket.

"And two of us should be chained to this," said Sirius, nudging Pettigrew with his toe. "Just to make sure."

"I'll do it," said Remus.

"And me," said Ron savagely, limping forward.

Sirius conjured heavy manacles from thin air; soon Pettigrew was upright again, left arm chained to Remus's right, right arm to Ron's left. Ron's face was set. He seemed to have taken Scabbers's true identity as a personal insult. Crookshanks leapt lightly off the bed and led the way out of the room, his bottlebrush tail held jauntily high.

Getting back into the tunnel was difficult. Remus, Pettigrew, and Ron had to turn sideways to manage it; Remus still had Pettigrew covered with his wand. Harry could see them edging awkwardly along the tunnel in single file. Crookshanks was still in the lead. Harry went right after Sirius, who was still making Snape drift along ahead of them; he kept bumping his lolling head on the low ceiling. Harry had the impression Sirius was making no effort to prevent this.

"You know what this means?" Sirius said abruptly to Harry as they made their slow progress along the tunnel. "Turning Pettigrew in?"

"You're free," said Harry.

"Yes..." said Sirius. "But I'm also -- I don't know if anyone ever told you -- I'm your godfather."

"Yeah, I knew that," said Harry.

"Well... your parents appointed me your guardian," said Sirius stiffly. "If anything happened to them..."

"I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle," said Sirius. "But... well... think about it. Once my name's cleared... if you wanted a... a different home..."

"What -- live with you?" he said, accidentally cracking his head on a bit of rock protruding from the ceiling. "Leave the Dursleys?"

"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to," said Sirius quickly. "I understand, I just thought I'd --"

"Are you insane?" said Harry, his voice easily as croaky as Sirius's. "Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"

Sirius turned right around to look at him; Snape's head was scraping the ceiling but Sirius didn't seem to care.

"You want to?" he said. "You mean it?"

"Yeah, I mean it!" said Harry.

Sirius’s gaunt face broke into the first true smile Harry had seen upon it. The difference it made was startling, as though a person ten years younger were shining through the starved mask; for a moment, he was recognizable as the man who had laughed at Harry's parents' wedding.

They did not speak again until they had reached the end of the tunnel. Crookshanks darted up first; he had evidently pressed his paw to the knot on the trunk, because Remus, Pettigrew, and Ron clambered upward without any sound of savaging branches.

Sirius saw Snape up through the hole, then stood back for Harry and Hermione to pass. At last, all of them were out.

The grounds were very dark now; the only light came from the distant windows of the castle. Without a word, they set off. Pettigrew was still wheezing and occasionally whimpering. "One wrong move, Peter," said Remus threateningly ahead. His wand was still pointed sideways at Pettigrew's chest.

Silently they tramped through the grounds, the castle lights growing slowly larger. Snape was still drifting weirdly ahead of Sirius, his chin bumping on his chest. And then -

A cloud shifted. There were suddenly dim shadows on the ground. Their party was bathed in moonlight.

Snape collided with Remus, Pettigrew, and Ron, who had stopped abruptly. Sirius froze. He flung out one arm to make Harry and Hermione stop. Remus’s silhouette. He had gone rigid. Then his limbs began to shake.

"Oh, my --" Hermione gasped. "He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!"

"Run," Sirius whispered. "Run. Now."

But Harry couldn't run. Ron was chained to Pettigrew and Remus. He leapt forward but Sirius caught him around the chest and threw him back.

"Leave it to me -- RUN!"

There was a terrible snarling noise. \Remus's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Crookshanks's hair was on end again; he was backing away --

As the werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared from Harry's side. He had transformed. The enormous, bearlike dog bounded forward. As the werewolf wrenched itself free of the manacle binding it, the dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backward, away from Ron and Pettigrew. They were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other.

Harry stood, transfixed by the sight, too intent upon the battle to notice anything else. It was Hermione's scream that alerted him -- Pettigrew had dived for Lupin's dropped wand. Ron, unsteady on his bandaged leg, fell. There was a bang, a burst of light -- and Ron lay motionless on the ground. Another bang -- Crookshanks flew into the air and back to the earth in a heap.

"Expelliarmus." Harry yelled, pointing his own wand at Pettigrew; Remus's wand flew high into the air and out of sight. "Stay where you are!" Harry shouted, running forward.

Too late. Pettigrew had transformed. There was a howl and a rumbling growl;Remus was taking flight; he was galloping into the forest --

"Sirius, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!" Harry yelled.

Sirius was bleeding; there were gashes across his muzzle and back, but at Harry's words he scrambled up again, and in an instant, the sound of his paws faded to silence as he pounded away across the grounds.

Harry and Hermione dashed over to Ron.

But then, from beyond the range of their vision, they heard a yelping, a whining: a dog in pain....

"Sirius," Harry muttered, staring into the darkness. Harry set off at a run, Hermione right behind him. The yelping seemed to be coming from the ground near the edge of the lake. They pelted toward it, and Harry, running flat out, felt the cold without realizing what it must mean - The yelping stopped abruptly. As they reached the lakeshore, they saw why -- Sirius had turned back into a man. He was crouched on all fours, his hands over his head.

"Nooo," he moaned. "Nooo... please...."

And then Harry saw them. Dementors, at least a hundred of them, gliding in a black mass around the lake toward them. He spun around, the familiar, icy cold penetrating his insides, fog starting to obscure his vision; more were appearing out of the darkness on every side; they were encircling them....

"Hermione, think of something happy!" Harry yelled, raising his wand, blinking furiously to try and clear his vision as he started to chant "Expecto patronum! Expecto patronum!"

Sirius gave a shudder, rolled over, and lay motionless on the ground, pale as death.

The next thing Sirius knew, he was in a room in Hogwarts, on his own. He went over to the door and tried to open it, but couldn’t, the window was locked too. Sirius realised that he must have been caught. Without a wand, he had no chance of escaping. He felt terrible, just as everything was going to be alright, as he was going to be proved innocent, he had been caught and was probably going to suffer the dementors kiss. Suddenly, there was a sound outside and Dumbledore came in. He seemed to have figured out that Sirius was innocent, but he told Sirius that he had no power to overrule the ministry. He also asked to be told everything, so Sirius told Dumbledore about becoming animagnuses as kids, about changing the secret keeper, about Pettigrew being the person who had betrayed Lily and James, about Remus figuring out the truth and about everything that had happened down in the shrieking shack. Dumbledore believed him, but the ministry didn’t, so Dumbledore left saying that he would try to change their minds but probably wouldn’t be able to and Sirius was left alone again. He knew that there was no chance of the ministry changing their minds and he knew that this would be the end…

Suddenly, there was a sound outside. Sirius looked up and his jaw dropped as he saw outside of his window, Harry, Hermione and a giant hippogriff! He leapt from his chair, hurried to the window and tried to open it, but it was still locked.

"Stand back!" Hermione called to him, and she took out her wand.

"Alohomora!" The window sprang open.

"How -- how --?" said Sirius weakly, staring at the Hippogriff.

"Get on -- there's not much time," said Harry, gripping the hippogriff firmly on either side of his sleek neck to hold him steady. "You've got to get out of here -the Dementors are coming -- Macnair's gone to get them."

Sirius placed a hand on either side of the window frame and heaved his head and shoulders out of it. It was very lucky he was so thin. In seconds, he had managed to fling one leg over the hippogriff, who was called Buckbeak, and pull himself onto the Buckbeak behind Hermione.

"Okay, Buckbeak, up!" said Harry, shaking the rope. "Up to the tower -- come on."

The Hippogriff gave one sweep of its mighty wings and they were soaring upward again, high as the top of the West Tower. Buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements, and Harry and Hermione slid off him at once.

"Sirius, you'd better go, quick," Harry panted. "They'll reach Flitwick's office any moment, they'll find out you're gone."

Buckbeak pawed the ground, tossing his sharp head.

"What happened to the other boy? Ron?" croaked Sirius.

"He's going to be okay. He's still out of it, but Madam Pomfrey says she'll be able to make him better. Quick -- go --"

But Sirius was still staring down at Harry.

"How can I ever thank --"

"GO!" Harry and Hermione shouted together.

Sirius wheeled Buckbeak around, facing the open sky.

"We'll see each other again," he said. "You are -- truly your father's son, Harry..."

He squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels. Harry and Hermione jumped back as the enormous wings rose once more... The Hippogriff took off into the air... He and his rider became smaller and smaller as Harry gazed after them... then a cloud drifted across the moon.... They were gone.