Chapter Eleven: Shattered and Betrayed

...

Although her smile was feeling a little fragile, let it not be said that Elizabeth Lewis couldn't maintain a professional façade in the workplace.

She could act like nothing was wrong.

She could act like she knew nothing about Sirius Black not getting a trial.

She could act like she knew nothing about how, apparently, Black's lack of trial was being covered up.

Yes, Elizabeth knew how she was expected to act – she was supposed to be the perfect assistant who didn't really know much of anything, especially anything related to Sirius Black.

That didn't mean that she had to like it.

Although it wasn't Madam Bones' fault, Elizabeth couldn't help but feel a bit betrayed by what Madam Bones was doing.

Or rather, what Madam Bones wasn't doing.

Elizabeth had always thought that Madam Bones was a paragon of justice, that she would abide by the rules and do what was right, no matter what the consequences were. But Madam Bones was sitting idly by, knowing that Sirius Black hadn't received a trial and that he could be innocent, while Black was being vilified and made out to be a deranged psycho-killer by the press and Ministry personnel.

And maybe Black really was the villain that almost everyone was making him out to be.

But maybe he wasn't.

They couldn't truthfully know until Sirius Black received the trial that was denied to him.

And that uncertainty made all the difference. Without a trial, how could they possibly condemn Black?

But it was likely that Black wouldn't live long enough to receive a trial since the Aurors had been given approval to use lethal force to apprehend Black. To make matters worse, the Dementors had been ordered to kiss Black on sight.

Madam Bones knew all of this and yet she wasn't doing anything.

Yes, Elizabeth knew that it was likely that Madam Bones had some form of confidentiality contract or vow or something hanging over her head, but Elizabeth was pretty sure that if she wanted to, Madam Bones could find a way to work around that and see justice done.

By doing nothing, Madam Bones was helping to condemn a potentially innocent man to death.

Elizabeth wasn't angry with Madam Bones.

No, Elizabeth was disappointed.

She was disappointed in Madam Bones for doing nothing – for letting the Minister and his lackeys cover this whole thing up, but Elizabeth was mainly disappointed in herself.

Maybe if she had just gone to the press first…

Elizabeth would've been fired quicker than you could say "snitch", but the truth of Black's lack of trial would be out there. The likely outrage from the press and the public over Black being thrown in Azkaban without a trial would've forced the Minister's hand – he would've been forced to give Black the trial that he had deserved in the first place.

But Elizabeth had decided to put her trust in the system - she put her trust in Madam Bones. She had trusted that the right thing would be done, that the mistake would be acknowledge, that Sirius Black would no longer be pursued with lethal force and instead be called in for questioning, for a trial.

Maybe a career in the Ministry wasn't the right job for Elizabeth. Clearly she was too naïve, too trusting.

She had trusted Madam Bones to help her – to do the right thing.

And look where that had gotten her.

She'd been slapped with an overabundance of confidentiality contracts, nondisclosure agreements, and secrecy vows whilst people in positions of authority twiddled their thumbs and waited for Black to be hunted down like an animal and killed.

Elizabeth was seriously considering switching careers.

As she sat at her desk, Elizabeth was finishing up filing the last few pieces of paperwork dealing with the illegal potions trade ring that had been caught and disbanded last week when Madam Bones took a few steps out of her office and towards Elizabeth's desk.

She looked up at Madam Bones and the smile that Elizabeth had plastered on her face started to hurt a bit.

"Ms. Lewis," Madam Bones addressed her. "If I could see you in my office for a few minutes. There appears to be some misinformation about one of the bounty hunters that this department is keeping an eye on."

"Of course, Madam Bones," Elizabeth said a little frigidly. Madam Bones nodded at Elizabeth and swept back into her office, leaving the door open behind her.

Figuring Madam Bones wanted some clarification on Solomon Swaurts, the latest bounty hunter with some very questionable morals that one of their Aurors recently stumbled across, Elizabeth shuffled through the most recent case files that were in one of her desk drawers and pulled out the correct file that contained the report filed by Auror Gibbs about his encounter with Swaurts.

With the file in hand, Elizabeth stood from her desk and made her way into Madam Bones office.

"If you would shut the door, please," Madam Bones said from her seat behind her desk once Elizabeth crossed the threshold.

Elizabeth's fake smile turned into something closer to a grimace as she closed the door with one hand.

She used to look forward to working with Madam Bones on a daily basis, but since Elizabeth discovered Sirius Black's lack of trial and Madam Bones' unwillingness to act, she kind of dreaded having to interact with Madam Bones. Mainly because Elizabeth was afraid she'd accidently say something biting towards Madam Bones about the whole thing and get fired over the angry words she said. She had self-control, but sometimes certain things really tried her patience.

"I have the report that Auror Gibbs –"

"Ms. Lewis, I have a question for you regarding the Sirius Black case," Madam Bones interrupted, resting her elbows on her desk and lacing her fingers together in front of her mouth.

Elizabeth pursed her lips and looked over Madam Bones' left shoulder so she wouldn't end up glaring at Madam Bones.

Apparently Madam Bones wanting information on the bounty hunter was just a ruse to get Elizabeth into the office. That was fine – Elizabeth wouldn't let her emotions, her thoughts, about the Sirius Black case cloud her judgement. Elizabeth worked for Madam Bones, so she would be professional about whatever question Madam Bones wanted to ask.

Madam Bones observed Elizabeth for a moment or two. Then she sighed as she leaned back in her chair, unlacing her fingers and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Ms. Lewis, I can tell that you're angry with me for –"

"I'm not angry with you, Madam Bones" Elizabeth quietly insisted.

Although Elizabeth didn't particularly like her job at the moment, that didn't mean that she wanted to lose it. And being angry with her boss sounded like a guaranteed way to get fired or demoted. Elizabeth was also hesitant to speak her mind about her feelings on the subject of Sirius Black; even though, logically, she knew that once the door to Madam Bones' office was shut, silencing wards automatically went up (and only Elizabeth could hear Madam Bones call out from her office since, as Madam Bones' personal assistant, Elizabeth was tied into the wards surrounding Madam Bones' office).

"Ms. Lewis… Elizabeth," Madam Bones said as Elizabeth's eyes widen in shock and she turned slightly to look directly at Madam Bones. In all the time that Elizabeth had worked for her, Madam Bones had never called Elizabeth by her first name. "You've been working for me for a few years now. And I can tell that you're not entirely happy with me at the moment."

"Really, Madam Bones, I'm not angry. I'm just… frustrated with the situation," Elizabeth said cautiously. "And… maybe a little disappointed."

"I understand," Madam Bones said, matter-of-factly as she sat upright in her chair and squared her shoulders. "I am too."

Elizabeth furrowed her brow in confusion as she slowly sat down in one of the chairs that was in front of Madam Bones' desk. She wasn't quite sure what Madam Bones was trying to get at.

"I am deeply trouble by the way that Sirius Black was incarcerated, but I am more troubled, worried even, by the way that Minister Fudge is attempting to cover this whole situation up," Madam Bones stated. "Although Minister Fudge assured me that he would assign a competent legal team to get to the bottom of this, I've been… discretely looking into what Minister Fudge has been doing."

Elizabeth was trying to hold down that little bit of hope that was trying to make its way forward – that little bit of hope that was telling her that maybe her faith in Madam Bones hadn't been misplaced after all.

"It appears that the Minister is using all of his power to make sure that any information about Sirius Black not receiving a trial never reaches the light of day. In fact, he's just deployed about a hundred additional Dementors to patrol around the last place that Black was seen, which is Hogwarts, with the orders to kiss Black and anyone who gets in the way."

Elizabeth couldn't stop the shocked gasp from escaping her.

"But that many Dementors being in such close proximity to the children…" Elizabeth trailed off.

"Yes," Madam Bones grimaced in agreement. "With that many Dementors in the area, they'll be extremely hard to control. It's very likely that there will soon be casualties."

"So what –"

"But that's not why I called you in here," Madam Bones interrupted. "I'll find a way to deal with the Dementors, don't you worry."

"Then why did you want to see me?" Elizabeth asked, confused.

"Concerning the case of Sirius Black, officially, my hands are tied," Madam Bones said. "Under the order of Minister Fudge, I was required to make a magically binding vow to not release any information about Sirius Black's lack of trial to anyone. And the vow I had to make was considerably more airtight than the numerous contracts you had to sign and the vow you had to make. Just talking about this subject with you is skirting the edge of the stipulations of my vow which is giving me a headache," As Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something, Madam Bones held up her hand, "It's nothing I can't handle. It's just the vow warning me that I'm getting close to breaking some of the conditions."

"Officially, I can't do anything," Madam Bones somewhat repeated. "But there might be a way that we can do something about this."

"There is?" Elizabeth asked, a small genuine smile returning to her face. She was glad to know that Madam Bones was planning to do something about Black.

"This all depends on the off-chance that you did something before Minister Fudge and his lawyers made you swear that vow and sign those contracts," Madam Bones said. "And, while it's something that I normally wouldn't approve of you doing, in this instance, it's something that I'm desperately hoping that you did."

"Madam Bones?" Elizabeth questioned.

"I trust your judgement and I know that you are very discreet in your tasks – something that makes you an excellent employee in this department," Madam Bones said as Elizabeth was trying to figure out where she was going with this. "But, over the years that you've worked here, I've noticed that when you're particularly overwhelmed, you rely on others to help you. A very good quality – it's necessary in this line of work to know when to ask for help."

Madam Bones paused for a moment and gave Elizabeth a considering look.

"Ms. Lewis, when I tasked you with finding the supposed missing transcripts for Sirius Black's trial, I didn't realize what a project I was asking you to undertake," Madam Bones said. "With such a large undertaking, I'd be a little surprised if you hadn't asked anyone for help."

And just like that, Elizabeth understood what Madam Bones was saying.

"And with every Ministry employee that you interacted with during your search under a similar set of confidentiality contracts," Madam Bones continued. "Perhaps there was someone else you consulted with, someone else you asked for help with this case who is not employed by the Ministry? Someone else that the Minister is unaware of and therefore didn't place under such a contract?"

Elizabeth didn't know if Madam Bones actually knew or if she was just guessing, but Elizabeth was suddenly reminded why Madam Bones was the head of the entire department.

"Tell me, Ms. Lewis," Madam Bones asked with a hint of a smile, "Have you told anyone else about the Black case?"

Madam Bones was brilliant.

"If I have?" Elizabeth asked.

"Officially, I'd have to tell you that this person would be required to come in and also be sworn to secrecy on this subject matter," Madam Bones responded, raising an eyebrow.

"And unofficially?" Elizabeth asked, feeling almost giddy with relief that maybe she – they – still had a chance to get Sirius Black a trial.

"Well, if a concerned citizen happens to come to the same conclusions that you did and this citizen just happens to go to the press to report it," Madam Bones leaned back in her chair. "I'm afraid that there wouldn't be anything we could do about it, now would there?"

"Madam Bones?" Elizabeth asked, standing up.

"Yes?" Madam Bones asked conversationally.

"I think I'll be taking an extended lunch break," Elizabeth said with a smile.

"Take as long as you need, Ms. Lewis," Madam Bones said.

"Will that be all, Madam Bones?" Ms. Lewis asked.

"That will be all, Ms. Lewis," Madam Bones said as Elizabeth turned around and headed for the door.

Elizabeth closed the door behind her as she walked out of Madam Bones' office and towards her desk. Quickly refiling Auror Gibbs' report, Elizabeth made sure that everything on her desk was in order before she left for her lunch break.

As she made her way towards one of the fireplaces, Elizabeth hoped that her fiancé was still at his law firm and not out consulting with a client.

Throwing down a bit of Floo powder and clearly saying the name of her fiancé's law firm, Elizabeth left the Ministry. Once Elizabeth exited the fireplace, she walked up to the law firm's reception desk.

"Ms. Lewis," the receptionist greeted cordially.

"Hey Eugene," Elizabeth smiled. "Is Greg around?"

"Yes," Eugene confirmed. "He's in his office. I believe he's reviewing a few files for an upcoming case, so feel free to go on in."

"Thanks!" Elizabeth said, walking past the reception desk and towards the back of the building where Gregory's office was located.

Sharply rapping on the door, Elizabeth heard her fiancé say, "Come in."

As Elizabeth opened the door, Gregory looked up from the file he had in his hands. A smile crossed Gregory's face and his eyes lit up when he saw that it was Elizabeth at his door.

"Lizzy!" Greg exclaimed, putting the file down on his desk as he stood up. Elizabeth smiled back at him as she entered the room and shut the door behind her. Greg crossed the room and greeted Elizabeth with a quick peck on the lips and a twirling hug that caused her to give a started laugh.

"Greg! Put me down," Elizabeth laughed as she lightly smacked his arm when he set her down.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?" Greg asked with a note of concern in his voice, his arms still lightly looped around her waist.

"Madam Bones gave me an extended lunch break and I thought I'd spend it with you," Elizabeth explained with a wry smile.

"Lunch break?" Greg asked, confused. "It's almost nine in the morning. I mean, we could do an early brunch, I suppose, but I get the feeling that you're here for more than just surprising me with a meal together."

"Yeah," Elizabeth breathed. "Do you have some time to discuss something rather important?"

"For you?" Greg asked. "I always have time."

Elizabeth smiled and said, "Sap."

Greg grinned goofily at her.

"It may take a while," Elizabeth warned. "And it'll likely end up with us, or actually just you, going to the Daily Prophet and maybe a few other news offices."

"Well, you couldn't've chosen a better day," Greg said with a sigh. "I don't have any client meetings scheduled for today. And I still have two more days to finish reviewing my case files."

"So, should we stay here or…" Elizabeth asked, trailing off.

"My office has quite a few silencing wards and other protections to help keep what is discussed between me and my clients confidential, so it might be best if we stay here," Greg suggested, guiding Elizabeth to sit down with him.

"Alright," Elizabeth took a deep breath. Greg placed a supporting hand on her knee. "Do you remember when I dragged you with me to help look at old newspapers for information about Sirius Black?"

At Gregory's confirming nod, Elizabeth continued, "Well, it's about Sirius Black's trial… or lack thereof."

And since Gregory already knew about Black's lack of trial from their unsuccessful search for information through the news archives, she could tell her fiancé all about how the Minister was trying his hardest to cover up everything related to Black's lack of trial, despite the confidentiality contracts she signed and the secrecy vow she was forced to make.

Loopholes were amazing things.

...

"Tell me, Harry," Professor Lupin said, folding his arms across his chest and looking directly at Harry. "What do you know about Sirius Black?"

"Umm…" Harry wondered if that was supposed to be a trick question. "He's the murderer who betrayed my parents?" That came out as more of a question than Harry wanted it to be, but he was thrown by the fact that Professor Lupin was asking him about Sirius Black.

When Professor Lupin had asked to speak to him, Harry figured it'd be about a complaint against Snuffles or something since Lupin had told Harry to bring his dog with him.

"Is that all you know?" Professor Lupin asked. There was something that sounded a little off in Professor Lupin's voice, but Harry just couldn't put his finger on what it was.

"Pretty much, yeah," Harry said, running a reassuring hand over Snuffles' head. "Uh, there might be some other things, but that's pretty much the gist of it."

"And what do you know about your dog?"

If Harry had thought that Snuffles was tense before, it was nothing compared to now.

"What does Snuffles have to do with anything?" Harry questioned as Snuffles let out a barely noticeable whine.

"Please, humor me, Harry," Professor Lupin briefly looked at Snuffles before returning his gaze to Harry. "What can you tell me about your dog? Specifically, about his behavior towards you."

Harry didn't know what Professor Lupin wanted him to say, but Harry saw no harm in answering the professor's question.

"Snuffles is like my best friend," Harry said, continuing to pet Snuffles. "He defends me, sometimes to the point of being overprotective," Harry teased, glancing at Snuffles as he said this, but Snuffles remained unreactive. Frowning slightly, Harry continued, "He's friendly and he goes with me practically everywhere."

"Has he ever been aggressive?"

"What are you getting at, professor?" Harry narrowed his eyes, offended on Snuffles' behalf that Professor Lupin would even suggest that Snuffles was in anyway violent.

"Please, Harry, answer me."

Sighing, Harry said, "No. No, he's never been aggressive."

Professor Lupin gave Harry a disbelieving look.

"I recall hearing about an incident involving Snuffles around the time that you were sent to the Hospital Wing," Professor Lupin said lightly.

Harry pulled back a bit, confused. It almost sounded like the professor was fishing for information to use against Snuffles.

Harry took a moment to recall all the times he'd been in the Hospital Wing since he got Snuffles before he realized what Professor Lupin was referring to.

"An incident?" Harry asked somewhat incredulously. "Alright, yes, Snuffles was a bit… on edge. But he was only ever defensive! He was worried about me and he was trying to make sure I wasn't, you know, dying or something. He was only trying to defend me from other people… not that I actually needed him to do that, but still… Snuffles never hurt anyone! He just growled a bit and then stuck to me like a particularly stubborn burr."

"So, your dog has never harmed you or anyone else?" Professor Lupin clarified.

"No!" Harry exclaimed. "Snuffles has never hurt anyone! What's this all about, Professor? I really don't appreciate you saying or asking these things about Snuffles. He's a good dog! A good friend!"

"Harry," Professor Lupin said firmly. "What I have to say next will be difficult to hear, but I want you to pay attention and listen to all that I have to say, alright? Try not to interrupt until I've explained my reasoning. Can you do that?"

"I suppose," Harry agreed dubiously.

Suddenly feeling nervous, Harry rested his hand on top of Snuffles' head. Snuffles stayed still for a moment before he leaned into Harry's hand and then shifted to briefly rub his head against Harry's leg.

Professor Lupin was intently gazing at Snuffles, so Harry cleared his throat to bring the professor's attention back to him.

Looking directly at Harry, Professor Lupin seemed to steel himself before saying, "I have reason to believe that your dog isn't just a dog."

Harry almost interrupted Professor Lupin when he said that, but he managed to restrain himself.

"I'm afraid that your dog, Snuffles, is an animagus," Professor Lupin finished.

'Animagus,' Harry mouthed with a furrowed brow, holding back the question he wanted to ask.

"An animagus is a witch or wizard who can transform themselves into an animal," Professor Lupin lectured, noticing the question that was obviously written across Harry's face. "In this case, and please try to remain calm, I believe that your dog is actually Sirius Black."

Harry couldn't stop the snort of disbelief even if he wanted to.

"Snuffles is really Sirius Black?" Harry questioned skeptically. "Try the other leg, Professor."

As Professor Lupin was speaking, Harry noted that Snuffles appeared to be breathing really hard, almost as if the dog was close to hyperventilating or something.

'Maybe,' Harry thought, concerned. 'I should take Snuffles to get check out by Hagrid after Professor Lupin lets us go… Or, well, maybe after I can convince Professor Lupin to go visit Madam Pomfrey because clearly the professor is having some kind of psychotic break.'

"Just try to keep an open mind about this," Professor Lupin kindly demanded. "Now, back when I was a student at Hogwarts, I had three close friends: Your father, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew. The four of us did almost everything together. And my once close friendship with Sirius is how I know that he's an animagus. In fact, all three of my friends were animagi. James' animagus form was a stag, Peter was a rat, and Sirius could transform into a dog – a large, black, Grim-looking dog."

Harry opened his mouth to poke holes in Professor Lupin's theory about Snuffles, but Professor Lupin didn't allow him the chance.

"I know what you're about to say," Professor Lupin continued. "Just because Snuffles looks like a Grim, that doesn't mean that your dog is Sirius Black."

"Right," Harry chimed in. "So –"

"And yet, Snuffles looks exactly like what I know to be Sirius' animagus form," Professor Lupin interjected. "But, I know that I won't be able to convince you of this on looks alone. So, let's consider Sirius', well, Snuffles' behavior."

Harry knew that Professor Lupin didn't want to be interrupted, but Harry couldn't help himself.

"So, you think that Snuffles is Sirius Black because of his behavior? Snuffles?! He's been nothing but protective and friendly towards me," Harry said emphatically. "Sirius Black is a psycho-murderer who I've been told has a grudge against me and is actively trying to hunt me down and kill me. And Snuffles… Snuffles is my overprotective dog! Not a murderer pretending to be a dog! Snuffles is just a dog!"

"Harry," Professor Lupin was starting to sound a little exasperated. "I understand that this is a difficult concept to come to terms with, but please, you must admit, you are biased in your view of Snuffles –"

"And I think you're biased in your view!" Harry snapped.

"Harry!" Professor snapped back.

Both of them stared intensely at the other. Harry was the first to look away.

Harry didn't know what to say. Obviously his professor was having a nervous breakdown in front of him.

"I know how this sounds, but it's true," Professor Lupin said, sounding tired. "Sirius is –"

"Professor, just… think about what you're suggesting," Harry coaxed. "Maybe we should go talk about this with –"

"Harry. Sirius is an animagus. His form is a large, black dog – he looks quite similar to a Grim," Professor Lupin stated. "I've seen his form many, many times. I've had to put up with his antics in his canine form for many years. I'm not sure what his motivations are, but your dog, Snuffles, is most certainly Sirius Black."

"No matter how many times you say it, that doesn't make it true," Harry said, unsympathetically. "And I don't believe you, so you can just stop repeating yourself."

"Please, Harry," Professor Lupin said firmly, but with a slight pleading note to his voice. "I know that this sounds insane, that this sounds paranoid. I know this. I had to convince myself that I wasn't just looking too far into things. And maybe I'm going about this the wrong way, but please, please, believe me when I say that I just want to keep you safe. Please, Harry, just trust me on this."

Harry looked down at Snuffles and saw that the dog hadn't really moved at all during the course of the conversation. Harry placed a comforting hand on top of the Snuffles' head.

"Okay… Okay, let's say that… as impossible as this all sounds, let's say that I believe you. That I believe that Snuffles is… is Sirius Black," Harry said haltingly, deciding to play along with Professor Lupin's delusion in the hopes that it would get the professor to release Harry and Snuffles soon. Harry squashed the small thought in the back of his head that said that maybe the professor wasn't entirely off his rocker with what he was saying.

Professor Lupin nodded encouragingly at Harry.

"If he really is… Sirius Black… then why hasn't he attacked me or something," Harry said, trying to point out an obvious flaw in Professor Lupin's reasoning. "And if you're so sure that Snuffles isn't really just a dog, then why haven't you tied him up or told anyone else about him? Why hasn't my dog tried to make a run for it then? He should've tried to run off the moment you mentioned him being Sirius Black. If my dog really is who you think he is, then why haven't you done something to him?!"

"I've often wondered the same thing," Professor Lupin muttered under his breath before speaking up. "I don't know what Sirius' motivations are, but since he hasn't harmed you, I didn't say anything because of the Dementors that are out there, patrolling the grounds and hoping to catch him. I've tried to figure out what he's thinking, but the only way that I can see his reasoning for remaining in his animagus form, for staying with you and protecting you, is that," Professor Lupin briefly paused with a pained grimace and looked down at Snuffles, "perhaps, Sirius Black didn't betray your parents."

Snuffles jumped as if someone had just hit him with a jolt of lightening. Harry watched as Snuffles raised his head to look at Professor Lupin with wide eyes.

"If Sirius Black didn't betray my parents, then who do you think did?" Harry shakily asked, not wanting to believe a word that Professor Lupin was saying, but decided to encourage the conversation anyway when it became clear that Professor Lupin wasn't going to say anything else.

If what the professor was saying was in any way true…

Harry couldn't believe that he was even seriously considering what Professor Lupin was saying. It couldn't be true. None of it was true. Sirius Black was the murderer who betrayed Harry's parents and Snuffles was just a dog – a dog who could understand English – but just a dog nonetheless. Professor Lupin was just… confused.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I'm beginning to think that it might've been Peter Pettigrew," Professor Lupin said, a little hesitant but mostly sounding confident with his answer.

"A dead man?!" He couldn't be serious.

"Peter Pettigrew is alive," Professor Lupin said.

"No. He's not," Harry denied. "That's crazy-talk, Professor."

"You said it yourself," Professor Lupin insisted. "You saw Peter Pettigrew on the Marauder's Map that one night. It was why you were out of bed investigating, was it not?"

"The Map must've been wrong," Harry said. "Because Pettigrew's dead and I didn't actually see him. I just saw the name."

"The Map is never wrong, Harry," Professor Lupin said with conviction.

"So by that logic, then Snuffles should've appeared as Sirius Black on the Map, right?" Harry asked, but quickly continued, not giving Professor Lupin the time to answer. "Snuffles showed up as Snuffles on the Marauder's Map. Sirius Black's name was nowhere to be seen. So Snuffles isn't Sirius Black."

Professor Lupin looked considerately at Harry before responding.

"There are ways for certain people to conceal their true names from the Map, but only if they have access to it," Professor Lupin said conversationally. "Tell me, Harry, where did you leave the Marauder's Map when you didn't have it on your person? Did you leave it somewhere in your room? And perhaps, did you leave… Snuffles alone in your room as well? If he had just a few minutes alone with the Map, Sirius could have, and I assure you – he did, change the way his name would appear on the Map from Sirius Black to Snuffles."

Harry stared at his professor in disbelief.

"I know it's hard to beli–"

"Oh!" Harry interrupted Professor Lupin as he raised his voice incredulously. "So now you're an expert on the Map?!" Harry dropped his voice to mimic Professor Lupin's voice. "The Map is never wrong, Harry," Harry returned to speaking in his own voice. "And now you're saying that the Map is wrong in this instance."

"No! No, that's not what I'm sa–"

"That's exactly what you're saying!" Harry exclaimed, fed up with the professor accusing Snuffles of being Sirius Black. "That's what you're telling me. The Map isn't wrong and it identifies everyone correctly – except for right now. Except that you're saying that even though the Map shows Snuffles as Snuffles that Snuffles is actually Sirius Black! What?" Harry asked with a bit of hysteria. "Did the Map have a hiccup or something? Is it going on the fritz? And I'm just supposed to believe you about it because you're this all-knowing expert on the Marauder's Map?! How in Merlin's name would you know?!"

"I know, Harry," Professor Lupin said, purposefully keeping his voice even. "I know because I created the Marauder's Map alongside your father, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew. The four of us made the Map during our time as students here at Hogwarts. So, yes, I do know all about the Marauder's Map because I helped create it!"

"You…" Harry trailed off.

"As I've said before, I was the best of friends with your father, and yes, with Sirius Black as well, which is how I know about Sirius' animagus form and about the Marauder's Map," Professor Lupin explained.

Harry stared disbelievingly at his professor.

Professor Lupin was being entirely serious. The man actually believed that Snuffles was Sirius Black.

Maybe…

Maybe, Snuffles really was…

No.

No, Professor Lupin was just confused. He was dreadfully, horribly confused and Harry and Snuffles were caught in the middle of the professor's delusion.

Yes, Harry decided, opening and shutting his mouth a few times without making any noise, that was the only way that Harry could make sense of what his professor was saying since it appeared that Professor Lupin had utterly gone 'round the bend.

It shouldn't've been that shocking.

Actually, Harry should've seen something like this coming. In his first year, the Defense professor was possessed by Voldemort and then… died. So he didn't come back for Harry's second year and that left the position open for the fraud who ended the year by getting his memory wiped. Apparently the curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor that Harry had heard some of the older students muttering about was real. And, apparently, the curse was making Professor Lupin go to paranoid levels of crazy.

It was just too unbelievable to be real.

"Snuffles isn't Sirius Black, Professor," Harry said, trying to sound calm as if his own head wasn't spinning with the thoughts of what it could mean if Professor Lupin was actually correct. "It's a… nice theory you have, but it's wrong. And I think it's time for me, for us, to go."

Harry looked at Snuffles, but the dog wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Let's go, Snuffles," Harry made a motion to stand up, but stopped when Professor Lupin spoke up.

"Harry, I'm afraid that I can't let you leave with the dog," Professor Lupin said slowly, as if he was afraid he was going to spook Harry into doing something stupid. "I don't know what he's playing at, but I can't in good conscious continue to let Sirius Black roam around the castle."

That was it. Harry was done playing this stupid game with Lupin. He was tired of his professor harping on about Snuffles being Sirius.

He shouldn't have to sit here and listen to this.

And so he wasn't going to. Harry was done. He was so done with all of this.

"No. No! What are you… What are you saying?! Now you want to keep my dog?! Do you think that I'm just going let you take Snuffles away from me?! And only on your word, on your suggestion, your theory, that my dog – who I've had with me for the entire year, mind you! – that Snuffles is Sirius Black. That's… That's insane! You're insane!" Harry shouted, abruptly standing up. It was time to go. He and Snuffles needed to get out of the room and away from Professor Lupin

"Harry, please, just listen –" Professor Lupin started to say.

"NO! No! I won't. I don't have to listen to this!" Harry said vehemently. "There is no way that Snuffles is Sirius Black! I mean," Harry exhaled noisily, "he's Snuffles! He's a dog. Just a dog!"

"Harry –"

"No! Stop it! Just stop it! Shut up!" Harry started slowly backing away from Professor Lupin and moving towards the door. "Just… Come on, Snuffles. We're leaving! This is… You've been cursed or something, Professor. You need help. So, I'm going to take my dog and leave."

Snuffles hadn't moved at all. The dog was still sitting next to the chair that Harry had just vacated.

"Come on, Snuffles!" Harry's voice cracked as he begged his dog. "Please, Snuffles! Let's just go!"

"Harry, please –" Professor Lupin started to say, looking very concerned.

"NO! You just shut up and leave us alone!" Harry yelled, not caring how he was acting towards a professor.

Professor Lupin gazed at Harry for a moment before he sighed and turned to look at Snuffles.

"Are you going to transform willingly or will I have to use an animagus revealing spell and force the transformation?" Professor Lupin asked softly. Harry just now noticed that the professor had his wand in his hand and was starting to angle it towards Snuffles.

"Don't you dare point your wand at my dog!" Harry ordered frantically. "Come here, Snuffles! Please!"

Snuffles took a deep breath and got up.

Harry watched with bated breath as Snuffles walked up to him. This would all be over soon. Once Snuffles reached Harry, then Harry and Snuffles could leave the room and get away from Professor Lupin.

"Let's leave, Snuffles," Harry prompted when it became apparent that Snuffles wasn't going to go charging out the door with him.

Snuffles brushed up against Harry's legs and looked up at him with a woeful expression.

"Snuffles?" Harry questioned softly.

The dog whined in response, so Harry reached down and moved his hand over the top of Snuffles' head. Snuffles closed his eyes and leaned into the touch before returning his sad gaze to Harry.

Snuffles turned away from Harry and padded back towards the chair that Harry had been sitting on.

"Snuffles, come back! Please," Harry begged. Harry didn't like the way that things were starting to look. He wanted things to go back to normal. He just wanted to leave. He just wanted to leave with Snuffles. "Please… don't… don't do this!"

Snuffles gazed at Harry for a moment before closing his eyes.

The transformation from dog to human took seconds.

A few seconds, and yet it felt like a lifetime to Harry.

A few seconds was all it took for Harry's world to shatter.

The man was a bit scruffy looking, with ragged prison clothes and long, shaggy hair. His face looked fuller and he was definitely cleaner, but Harry remembered the picture of Sirius Black that he had seen in the Daily Prophet. And the man who was once his dog, who was once Snuffles, could be none other than Sirius Black.

"No," Harry denied in a small voice. The room was slanting – no, that was just him. Harry caught himself before he fell over. He was shaky and his knees wobbled like they were about to give out.

This wasn't happening.

"Harry –" The man, Black, began to say in a somewhat raspy voice.

"No!" Harry denied again and, to his horror, Harry felt tears start to well in his eyes. "I… I trusted you! You were… You were… I thought you were my friend!"

"I am! Harry, please, you were in danger from that rat! You've got to understand! I –" Black was interrupted again.

"NO! I don't understand! I don't have to understand. I won't!" Harry blinked rapidly to try to keep his tears from falling.

"Harry –" Professor Lupin gently began to say, looking at Harry with pity in his eyes, but he still had his wand pointed at Sirius.

"Shut up!" Harry's voice cracked, his eyes flickering back and forth between Professor Lupin and Sirius Black.

This couldn't be happening.

Harry felt his legs wobbling, so he leaned back against the closed door with a shuttering exhale to keep himself from falling to the ground.

Sirius cautiously approached Harry with his hands held out in front of him, as if he was approaching a wild animal.

"Sirius," Professor Lupin warned, but the man ignored him. Sirius kept his attention firmly on Harry, acting as if Lupin wasn't even in the room.

Sirius was only a few steps away from Harry, but Harry couldn't move, couldn't think. Harry didn't know how he was supposed to react. He had… Harry had been deceived by… by someone he thought would never be able to do so, would never want to do so. And it hurt. It physically hurt.

Sirius slowly reached out a hand towards Harry.

"Don't touch me!" Harry violently flinched away. "You don't get to do that!"

"Harry," Sirius looked devastated as he dropped his arms to his side. "Please, I know what I did was… was wrong, but I did it, all of it, to protect you. Pettigrew is a rat and he would've hurt you, given half the chance. I had to protect you!"

"No! Protect me?!" Harry sounded hysterical. "You don't get to say that! I trusted you and you betrayed me!"

"Harry –" Sirius started to say.

"I can't! I-I can't!" Harry was frantically searching for the doorknob behind his back, but kept his eyes on the two men in front of him.

Finally getting a grip on the doorknob, Harry quickly threw the door open and raced out of the room, not willing to chance a glance behind him.

Harry's heart was beating so loud that it drowned out just about everything around Harry. Everything, except for a shout coming from the room he had just fled from.

"Harry!"

Harry wasn't sure if that was Professor Lupin or Sirius Black who had called out to him.

He didn't care.

All he wanted to do was get away.

He wanted to forget about what had just happened, what he had just learned.

So, Harry ran.

...

"Harry!"

Sirius' anguished shout seemed to reverberate throughout the room.

What has he done?

What has he done?!

"Sirius," Remus called his attention away from the door that Harry just fled through. With a slight sigh, Remus pointed his wand at the door and the door slammed shut.

"Remus," Sirius said brokenly. He turned to face Remus and saw that Remus had his wand pointed at him.

"Sirius, I have some questions for you," Remus said seriously. "And I'm going to need you to answer them honestly."

"Veritaserum?" Sirius asked, sounding resigned.

"No," Remus said. "I don't think we need Veritaserum just yet. I can tell when you're lying."

"It's been twelve years," Sirius stated. "I'm not who I once was."

"Neither am I," Remus said.

Sirius looked at Remus before turning back to the door.

"Harry's all by himself," Sirius said. "I need to get back out there to protect him. Pettigrew's out there. I know you know it. I heard you telling Harry about him."

"I can't just let you go, Sirius," Remus still had his wand pointed directly at Sirius.

"Why the hell not?!" Sirius turned to Remus with a vicious snarl. "Harry needs to be protected. He's vulnerable right now. That rat bastard could easily snatch him away and hurt him!"

"I need to makes sure that you're not a danger to Harry or the other students," Remus paused for a moment, looking at Sirius as if he was considering something. "or a danger to yourself. I won't let you go off on another harebrained scheme and get yourself captured or killed by Aurors or Dementors."

"So you don't want me captured by Ministry lackeys?" Sirius asked, sounding dangerous. "Why not? It's my fault that… that James and Lily are dead. It's – It's all my fault!"

"I think I've put together most of what actually happened that night on my own, but I need you to fill in some blanks," Remus said calmly. "So you're going to tell me about what happened and what your current plans are. And then, if I find what you've said to be satisfactory, we'll go find Harry together. Harry should be safe enough within the castle's walls for the time that it will take for us to discuss this."

"And if what I say isn't to your satisfaction?" Sirius testily asked.

"Then I'll turn you over to the Aurors myself," Remus said, his wand still pointed at Sirius.

Sirius was silent for a moment as he stared at Remus.

"Very well," Sirius said, crossing his arms across his chest. "What do you want me to say? What can I say that will get you to let me go after Harry?"

"The truth, for starters," Remus responded.

"The truth? About that night?" Sirius asked, sounding slightly unhinged. "Or about how I escaped from prison? Or about why I've stayed with Harry as a dog?"

"All of the above, I suppose," Remus said with a wry twist of his lips.

"We shouldn't be wasting time with talking!" Sirius suddenly exclaimed. "Harry's unprotected and –"

"And I'm sure he'll be safe for the next few minutes while you convince me that you're not a danger to Harry," Remus finished firmly. "Should you try to leave right now, Sirius, I can assure you that you won't make it past the door."

Remus shifted his wand to emphasize his point.

Giving an explosive sigh, Sirius uncrossed his arms to run his fingers through his hair.

"Okay… okay, alright. But it'll be the short version because I don't feel comfortable with Harry out there alone when I don't know where that rat is," Sirius said.

"And that's the reason why I'm willing to hear you out," Remus said.

Sirius squinted his eyes at Remus, showing his confusion.

"Your willingness and determination to protect Harry," Remus explained. "I don't believe that the true betrayer of James and Lily would be so quick to defend their son."

"So you… don't really believe that I…" Sirius trailed off, his voice tinged with cautious hope.

"Why don't you tell me about what really happened that night and the events leading up to where we are now?" Remus suggested, though Sirius knew it was more of a demand than anything else.

Sirius sighed deeply and gave a longing glance at the door that Harry had just disappeared through. Turning back to look at Remus, Sirius began his tale, "Well, I guess it all started when the thought protecting James, Lily, and Harry's location by using the Fidelius Charm came up…"

It was a disheartening story. So much could've been prevented. If only Sirius had trusted the right people. If only… If only Sirius had trusted Remus.

Back then, at the height of the war, the Order knew that there was a spy within their midst. Someone was giving information to the Death Eaters; and with so many dark creatures willing to join up with Voldemort's cause, it was easy to assume that the traitor was a werewolf – that the traitor was Remus.

Sirius should've known better.

Remus had been one of his best friends for years – Sirius should've known that Remus would've never betrayed them.

But Sirius thought that it was possible, that Remus was likely a traitor, a spy. In fact, many Order members believed that Remus was most likely the spy. So it had been decided to keep the true identity of the Secret Keeper confidential. Only James, Lily, Sirius, and Peter would know the truth. They agreed to lead the others to believe that Sirius was the Secret Keeper.

Sirius hadn't trusted Remus when he should have. Instead, Sirius placed his trust in his other friend, in Peter. And Peter turned out to be the spy, the traitor, the rat.

It all came down to trust.

James and Lily died because they had placed their trust in the wrong person.

Harry became an orphan because his parents and his godfather had placed their trust in the wrong person.

Sirius lost two great friends, failed his godson, and was thrown into Azkaban because he had placed his trust in the wrong person.

They had trusted a rat.

And that was what brought Sirius to where he was today.

He had stayed with Harry in the only way that Sirius knew he'd be allowed to remain – in his animagus form. It hadn't been his plan at first, but Sirius made the decision to stay. He stayed with Harry all this time because he couldn't face letting Harry down again. Sirius stayed to protect Harry.

Every so often, Sirius would falter for a moment or two, but Remus remained patiently quiet until Sirius finally fell silent, indicating that he was finished.

Although it couldn't have been more than a minute or two, Remus' silence was unnerving Sirius.

"Say something," Sirius softly demanded. "Please."

Remus stayed quiet for a moment longer before simply saying, "I believe you."

"Remus?" Sirius whispered, almost hesitant to say something – as if saying something would make Remus take back his words. Sirius hadn't known how much Remus' belief would mean to him.

Suddenly Sirius was moving.

Maybe he tripped forward.

And maybe Remus had tripped as well.

But before he knew it, Sirius was embracing Remus and laughing – because if he wasn't laughing, then he'd probably be crying.

Remus believed him.

Remus believed him!

And Sirius had his friend back.

Sirius couldn't believe how relieved he felt just knowing that Remus would have his back again.

Oh, he knew that they still had a lot to discuss. It had been twelve years after all.

Twelve years of Remus believing that Sirius was a traitor.

Twelve years of Sirius stewing in guilt, stuck in Azkaban.

And before that, it had been very… tense between Sirius and Remus since Sirius was convinced that Remus was a spy and Remus had known that a lot of people, Sirius included, were thinking the worst of him.

So, yes, the two of them had a lot to talk about, but that would have to wait. First, they had to find Harry and make sure that he was safe and secure. And then they would find that rat bastard and make him pay for what he did.

Clearing his throat as he and Remus parted, Sirius immediately brought the focus back to Harry.

"We have to find Harry," Sirius was still elated by Remus' belief, but he was more concerned by the fact that he had no idea where Harry was at the moment. And that rat was still out there somewhere.

"Yes, we do," Remus easily agreed. "But once we know that Harry is safe and that he's not going to try to do anything reckless, you and I will go to Dumbledore and –"

"And I'll tell him everything I just told you?" Sirius interrupted, suddenly worried for his own safety. "What if he –"

"He'll listen, Sirius," Remus returned the favor by interrupting Sirius. "And through Dumbledore, we might be able to initiate contact with the Ministry and get your name cleared without the risk of some overzealous Auror or Dementor preventing you from ever speaking."

"But first Harry," Sirius said, quiet but firm.

"First we'll find Harry," Remus confirmed, walking away from Sirius and towards the other side of his desk.

"Alright, I can search the first two floors and the grounds," Sirius said, getting ready to shift into his animagus form. "And you should search –"

"Sirius," Remus called, wry humor and affection coloring his words even though Sirius knew they were intended to be a gentle reprimand for Sirius to stop while he was ahead.

"What?" Sirius asked, a little peeved that Remus was shuffling through his desk drawers rather than dropping everything to help him search for Harry right this minute.

"I have something that might make our search a little easier," Remus said as he triumphantly pulled out an old piece of parchment. A very familiar old piece of parchment.

"The Map," Sirius breathed, almost reverently. "I'd almost forgotten you'd confiscated that from Harry."

Sirius took a few quick steps so that he was standing in front of the desk, opposite of Remus, as Remus tapped the Marauder's Map with his wand and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Remus spread the Map out over his desk as ink gracefully appeared on the parchment.

"This brings back old memories," Sirius whispered with a ghost of a smile touching his lips.

Remus looked up from the Map and over to Sirius.

"Yeah," Remus agreed with a slight smile. "It does."

Remus turned his attention back to the Marauder's Map and, after a second or two, so did Sirius. The two wizards poured over the Map, searching for Harry's name.

...

Harry hadn't realized that he was outside until he tripped over an upturned stone and landed hard on his knees. He didn't bother getting up. Instead, he hunched over further and curled his fingers into the soft grass before him, focused on trying to slow down his racing heart.

Harry was breathing hard and not all of that was from his, admittedly panicked, run through the castle.

Snuffles was his friend, but Snuffles was Sirius Black.

Everyone knew that Sirius Black was out to kill him, but Snuffles protected him.

Professor Lupin seemed convinced that Sirius didn't betray Harry's parents, but…

But Harry didn't know what he was supposed to believe or what he was supposed to do now.

Harry stayed there, kneeling on the ground, for about ten minutes or so, just trying to process what he'd been told and what had been revealed to him.

The silence that surrounded him was interrupted when Harry heard someone approaching from behind him. Refusing to move, Harry almost audibly growled when whoever it was that had been walking towards him stopped directly behind Harry.

'I swear to Merlin, if that's Sirius Black or Professor Lupin, I'm going to –'

"Harry? What are you…" Hermione trailed off when she saw that Harry was making no move to stand.

Harry turned to look over his shoulder and saw that Ron was standing to the right of Hermione. Both of his friends were staring down at Harry with concern.

"Are you alright, mate?" Ron asked.

"Fine," Harry snapped.

Harry sighed as Hermione imperceptibly flinched back.

"Sorry, it's just… been a long day," Harry said, uncurling his fingers from the grass and slowly standing up. Ron offered him a hand and Harry took it, nodding at Ron in thanks.

"Well, at least exams are over now?" Ron took a guess at the source of Harry's stress.

Ron was wrong, but since Harry didn't want to get into the whole Snuffles-is-Sirius mess at the moment, Harry didn't correct him.

"Yeah, all that's left is the ending feast and then the train back to London," Harry said.

Later, Harry decided, he would tell Ron and Hermione about what Professor Lupin said and about Snuffles being Sirius Black. But right now, Harry still wanted some time to internally process what that meant. Harry would probably tell Ron and Hermione later tonight or sometime tomorrow. He just needed a little more time to himself to figure it all out.

"So what are you two doing out here?" Harry asked casually, trying to change the subject.

"We got a letter from Hagrid, asking us to come visit this evening. We tried to look for you around the castle but we couldn't find you so we decided to go ahead and see Hagrid. We were hoping that we might stumble upon you on our way to see him and we did. We just didn't think that we'd literally stumble upon you," Hermione said, giving him a knowing glance but apparently willing to leave well enough alone and not ask about his kneeling-in-the-dirt episode.

"If you don't want to, we could go back up to the castle and send a note to Hagrid, asking if we could visit him sometime tomorrow instead?" Hermione offered.

"Yeah, mate, you aren't looking to good," Ron peered a bit closer at Harry. "I think you're looking a little pale."

"No, I'm fine, really," Harry insisted. "We can go see Hagrid."

"If you're sure…" Hermione questioned.

"I'm sure," Harry just wanted to focus on something else, if only for a few minutes.

"Right," Ron said, "Then we should probably get going so we can get to Hagrid and back to the castle before dark."

"Ron's right," Hermione agreed. "Let's go."

It was a short walk to Hagrid's Hut. Harry could feel Ron and Hermione eying him, probably still concerned over finding him hunched down on the grounds, but Harry wasn't about to stop and address their concerns since he didn't really want to think about why he had been kneeling on the ground. Also, they had just made it to Hagrid's door, so now would definitely not be the time to get into it.

Harry stepped up and knocked on the door which gained the immediate reaction of Fang barking like crazy.

"Back, Fang! Back!" Hagrid commanded as he opened the door, not that it stopped the dog from running out the door and enthusiastically greeting the three students.

"Hello Hagrid," Hermione said.

Both Ron and Harry said their hellos to Hagrid as well.

"Harry! Ron! Hermione! It's good ta see ya!" Hagrid said happily, moving to the side to allow the three of them to enter his Hut. "Come in! Come in!"

As he ushered Harry, Ron, and Hermione to sit at the table, Hagrid went over to his cupboards and started pulling out tea cups and plates.

"All done with your exams now?" Hagrid asked, setting the dishes on the table and then returning to set down a big plate of rock cakes.

"Yup! They're finally over," Ron answered, sounding relieved. "For us, anyway. Some of the older students still have exams to take."

Unfortunately, as Hagrid was bringing over the teapot, milk jug, and bowl of sugar, Fang chose to cross in front of Hagrid. Hagrid hadn't seen the dog, so, although he stopped himself from falling over Fang, his grip on the milk jug slipped and the container shattered, spilling the milk all over the floor.

Fang dashed away at the sound of the milk jug shattering.

"Hagrid!" Harry exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

"Yup, don't ya worry," Hagrid said, setting the teapot and bowl of sugar on the table. "Nothing's hurt or broken… Well, except for that jug."

Fang returned with his tail between his legs but eager to lick up the milk that was slowly spreading on the floor.

"Back, Fang!" Hagrid shooed. "I've gotta get those shards cleaned up first so ya don't slice yer tongue open."

"Here, let me help," Hermione offered, standing up from her seat.

"Thanks! I can get this here cleaned up," Hagrid said, indicating to the mess on the floor in front of him. "If you could grab that jug over there on the counter," Hagrid pointed to a jug, "and fill it with some milk, that should work as a good replacement."

Harry and Ron were holding onto Fang's collar to keep the dog out of Hagrid's way, but at the sound of Hermione's shriek, Harry let go of Fang which caused Fang to jerk Ron towards Hagrid before Ron let go of Fang as well. Fang immediately went to the spilt milk and started lapping it up.

Harry, Ron, and Hagrid were all looking at Hermione in concern. Hermione was staring into the replacement milk jug in shock.

"Hermione?" Harry asked, wondering what type of creature Hagrid had managed to unintentionally store in such a small container.

"It's Scabbers!" Hermione exclaimed. "He's here! In this jug."

"Really!" Ron raced over to Hermione's side. "Scabbers! It is you! I thought you were dead!"

Happy at the rediscovery of his friend's pet, Harry was smiling as he took a few steps closer to where Ron and Hermione were hovering near the jug.

Ron was overjoyed to be reunited with his pet rat, but when Ron grabbed Scabbers, the rat began flailing in all directions, refusing to hold still in Ron's hands.

"Scabbers, quit it! It's me, Ron," Ron said, trying to calm his rat. "You remember me, right?"

Staring at the rat in Ron's hands, an ominous thought occurred to Harry. Even though he was trying to forget about everything that Professor Lupin had told him, Harry couldn't help but think back to that conversation.

'Professor Lupin said that Sirius Black was an animagus with the form of a dog and he was right. Snuffles transformed into Sirius. He said that his other friends were animagus too. That my dad was a stag and that…' Harry's stomach gave an unpleasant lurch. 'And that Pettigrew was a rat.'

"Calm down, Scabbers! It's alright now!" Ron exclaimed, trying to get his pet under control.

'Even Ron has admitted that Scabbers has lived an awfully long time for a regular rat and according to Ron, Scabbers has been unwell since the summer… well, since around the time that Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban became known to the public.'

"Maybe you should sit down with him? Away from Fang?" Hermione suggested to Ron.

'And Ron said that his rat was called Scabbers because he's missing a toe.'

"Yeah, alright, I'll try that," Ron agreed, moving away from the milk mess that Fang was eagerly cleaning up and sitting in a chair that was as close to the opposite side of the Hut as Ron could get.

'All they could find of Peter Pettigrew was his finger.'

An icy chill ran its way down Harry's back.

'This can't be happening.'

"I'm sorry, Hagrid, but I think I should get Scabbers back to the castle," Ron said apologetically as he continued to keep a tight hold on the rat. "Maybe being somewhere more familiar will help him relax."

'Scabbers is just a rat.'

"You've probably got the right of it," Hagrid said. "Tha' poor little blighter."

Harry tried to ignore the traitorous thought crossed his mind, 'Just like how Snuffles was just a dog?'

"We'll can come back and visit you tomorrow," Hermione offered.

Although he, Ron, and Hermione said their goodbyes to Hagrid and started walking back towards the castle, it was all a blur to Harry.

Harry contemplated telling Ron and Hermione about his suspicions that Ron's rat might not actually be just a rat, but then he remembered how crazy he had thought Professor Lupin sounded when the professor tried to convince Harry that Snuffles was Sirius Black. And if Scabbers really was Peter Pettigrew, like Harry was beginning to suspect, then Harry really didn't want to tip him off. It would be better to take the rat to someone who could actually handle the situation.

As much as Harry didn't want to see him again, Harry knew that it would be best if he could get the rat to Professor Lupin.

"Why won't you stop wiggling, Scabbers?" Ron somewhat rhetorically asked.

"Maybe someone cursed him or something?" Harry suggested, a plan to get the rat to Professor Lupin starting to take form in his mind. "We could stop by Professor Lupin's office to get Scabbers checked out, just in case?"

"Why would someone want to curse Scabbers?" Ron asked, sounding slightly offended.

"Who knows? But better safe than sorry, right?" Harry insisted.

"Well, it couldn't hurt," Hermione said. "I don't think Scabbers is cursed – I think he's just frightened. But like Harry said, it might be better to get Scabbers looked over. If only to eliminate that possibility."

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "Yeah, Lupin's office isn't too far out of the way. We can just stop by for a minute or two on our way to the Common Room and see if Lupin can find anything."

"Professor Lupin," Hermione corrected with a sigh.

"Yeah, him." Ron said, sounding strained as Scabbers started struggling harder to break free of Ron's grip.

"Oh Merlin!" Hermione suddenly hissed, staring at the path ahead of them.

Harry and Ron both looked away from the rat and gazed in front of them to see what startled Hermione. There was a figure getting closer to the three of them.

"Is that...?" Ron trailed off incredulously.

The figure seemed to notice Harry, Ron, and Hermione at that moment and picked up his pace, making a beeline towards them.

"Well, fuck," Harry muttered.

Harry couldn't believe it and didn't know what he could be thinking, approaching Harry out in the open when Ron and Hermione were standing right next to him.

Harry wished the figure would just turn around and leave because whatever he was planning, it couldn't be good.

...

"I'm going to kill someone, preferably Potter, but really, any Gryffindor will do."

"Potter, hmm? Don't think I haven't noticed that you've been avoiding all mention of him for pretty much the entire year and now you're willingly bringing up his name. What's the occasion?" Blaise asked, reluctantly looking up from his book as Draco sat down in the armchair that was opposite of Blaise. "Besides homicide, of course."

Draco scoffed, breaking eye contact with Blaise to stare into the fire that was merrily crackling in the fireplace to his left, "I haven't avoided talking about Scarhead, I've just… had better, more important things to discuss."

Out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw Blaise smirk and raise an eyebrow at him. Despite the silence, Blaise's disbelief was loud and clear.

Draco harrumphed and turned his body so that he was fully facing the fireplace, determined to not look at Blaise.

After a few more minutes of not looking at Blaise, Draco discreetly glanced at Blaise. Since Blaise was once again reading, Draco briefly scanned the Slytherin Common Room, debating on whether or not to remain in the room or go and search out the object of his frustration.

Draco made up his mind when he saw Pansy wander into the Common Room from the girls' dormitory. As she sauntered towards where Draco and Blaise were seated, Draco abruptly stood and made his way towards the entrance of the room.

"Good luck," Blaise drawled, not looking up from the book in his hands.

"Where's Draco going?" Pansy asked Blaise as she sat down in the seat that Draco had just vacated.

"To kill Potter, apparently," Blaise said dryly.

"Oh! Draco!" Pansy called out.

Draco paused at the entrance of the Slytherin Common Room and turned around to face Pansy with a slightly aggravated but mostly questioning look on his face.

"Remember, premeditated murder is harder to pardon, but crimes of passion are easier to ecuuuuse," Pansy teased with a singsong lilt in her voice. "Make it look like a modern day Romeo and Juliet – but make sure that you survive, Romeo. Or are you Juliet? Not that it would be easy to get away with murder, but really, I'll bet that your father –"

Draco gave an indignant squawk, which he would deny, as he turned on his heel and stormed out before Pansy could say more.

Really, it was best to leave before Pansy could really get going. A strategic retreat was a thousand times better than being subjected to Pansy's… quirky sense of humor.

With nothing better to do at the moment, Draco decided to track down that frustrating Gryffindor.

After a less-than-thorough search of the castle (Draco hadn't wanted to make it obvious that he was looking for someone), Draco figured he might as well take a quick walk around the grounds, just in case Potter was out there with his mangy mutt.

Hopefully, whenever Draco caught up to him, Potter would be alone, but if he wasn't, well, Draco had confidence that he could make it work.

Since aimlessly wandering around the grounds turned up no results, Draco decided to walk towards that oaf of a gamekeeper's ramshackle hut.

Draco would return to the castle if Potter wasn't around. He could always find the stupid Gryffindor tomorrow.

As it turned out, Draco did find who he was searching for. Potter was walking back up towards the castle, but, unfortunately, he wasn't alone.

With a grimace, Draco made his way towards Potter, determined to ignore the Weasel and the Mudblood that always seemed to be attached to Potter's side. Draco wiped the grimace off his face and settled his features into a blank mask once he noticed that the three Gryffindors had stopped and were warily watching his approach.

It was curious, though, Draco noted as he got closer to the three, that Potter's mutt wasn't at his side. Draco knew, well, everyone knew that Potter didn't go anywhere without that dog at his side. Perhaps the mutt was off making a nuisance of himself elsewhere on the grounds.

"Malfoy," Potter said, sounding distinctly put out.

"Potter," Draco returned the greeting, sounding just as annoyed. "I need a word."

"Like hell you do!" Weasley exclaimed. Draco thought that if he hadn't had that utterly disgusting rat in his hands, that the Weasel would've likely drawn his wand. "Go away, Malfoy!"

"I don't have time for whatever this is, Malfoy," Potter said, a lot more levelheaded than Weasley was.

Gritting his teeth, because really, did Potter have to be this difficult? Draco said, "I'm sure that you'll want to make time. After all, this concerns you. It would be… unpleasant if you were to ignore this any longer."

"Threatening us, Malfoy?" Hermione asked defensively, palming her wand and casually pointing it in Draco's direction. "How cute."

Draco purposefully positioned himself so that he was blocking their path and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked at Potter with a slight smirk, daring Potter to ignore him.

"What. Is. It. Malfoy?" Well, didn't that just make Potter sound a bit constipated. It was always fun to get a reaction from Potter.

"Really, Potter, this is hardly fair – three on one? Why don't you send your," Draco sneered, "friends away? I assure you, it doesn't concern them."

"No, I don't think I will," Potter said defiantly, glaring at Draco. "Whatever it is you need to say, say it and leave. I – we – have places to be."

Realizing that Potter wasn't going to cooperate, Draco decided to be vague enough that it wouldn't be obvious, but Potter would be able to know what Draco was talking about. Really, it might be easier to try to discuss the favor that he owes Potter for the hippogriff incident some other time, but Potter had proven that he either forgot about it or elected to ignore it. And Draco didn't want this favor he owed Potter to continue to hang over his head for the summer and into the new school year in the fall. Draco would force Potter to name his favor tonight so that Draco could put this whole mess behind him and return to the fun sport of tormenting Potter in the fall.

"Surely you recall the… events… of Halloween night prior to the Black break in," Draco said rather than asked since he knew that Potter would remember.

"Yeah, you pulled me into an empty room to talk," Potter said, looking like he wanted to set Draco on fire.

Weasley went bug-eyed and it seemed that he was tightening his grip around that squirming rat in his hands. Granger glanced between Draco and Potter, looking shocked.

'Well, well, well… Looks like Potter didn't tell his friends after all.' Draco thought, feeling surprisingly smug. Of course, all feelings of smugness faded the moment Potter opened his mouth again.

"You said you owed me a favor or something."

'Really, Potter?! There's a thing called discretion!' Draco thought despairingly. The whole point of Draco being somewhat vague was so that this situation stayed between him and Potter. Draco hadn't wanted to involve the other two-thirds of the Scarhead Squad.

"A favor?" Weasley sounded absolutely delighted.

"What's this about, Harry?" Granger asked, turning to face Potter and looking concerned.

Draco resisted the urge to snarl and instead rolled his eyes, trying to play it off as if the favor wasn't a big deal. And really, it wasn't… it was just that… well, he did owe Potter something. Draco was the Malfoy heir and he wouldn't let this potential favor go unresolved. He didn't want this to come up later and be blown out of proportion – as long as he could control the situation, it would just be a small favor (Potter pushing him out of the way of the hippogriff) for a small favor. A favor that Potter would decide tonight, or so help him…

He didn't like this anymore than Potter did, apparently, but Draco would tie up this loose end so that things could finally go back to normal.

...

"Look, Potter –"

Malfoy was interrupted when Ron shouted out in pain. Harry quickly looked over at Ron and saw that the rat had bit Ron hard enough to draw blood in its desperate attempt to escape.

"Don't let that rat go!" Harry commanded when it looked like Ron was loosening his grip.

The alarmed looks being shot in his direction made Harry quickly follow up his demand with a softer excuse of, "I wouldn't want you to lose Scabbers so soon after finding him again."

Although Hermione was still looking at Harry with concern, Ron seemed to accept it as he continued to struggle to keep a hold of the rat. Malfoy was still blocking their path, but he now had an indecipherable look on his face.

Harry just wanted Malfoy to leave because he really didn't have time for this. Ron was quite probably holding onto Peter Pettigrew and they needed to get the rat to Professor Lupin as soon as possible. Malfoy was throwing a wrench in his plans.

Somehow, Harry needed to quickly deal with Malfoy so that he, Hermione, and Ron could get the rat secured in Professor Lupin's hands before it escaped.

"Bloody hell!" Ron hissed in pain as the rat bit him again, but this time, Harry saw a possible reason why the rat was struggling so hard to escape.

Crookshanks had made an appearance.

The feline was meandering its way towards the four students. Crookshanks glowing eyes seemed to be locked on to the rat in Ron's hands

It was then that Hermione also noticed Crookshanks' slow advance.

"Oh no! Crookshanks!" Hermione exclaimed, before more gently saying, "Go! Go on – get out of here! Stay away from Scabbers!"

"Hermione! Your bloody cat's making this worse!" Ron accused, trying to tighten his grip on the thrashing rat in his hands.

"Well, I'm trying to get him to go, but yelling at me is not helping anything!" Hermione bit back.

Ron had to readjust his grip on Scabbers when the rat started struggling anew.

Malfoy was amused with the whole situation, if the smirk on his face was any indication.

Harry was just itching to knock Malfoy down a peg or two, but, unfortunately, that would waste time. And Harry needed to get the rat to Professor Lupin as soon as possible.

Just as Harry was about to tell Malfoy where he could stick his supposed favor and drag Ron and Hermione back up to the castle, he heard a loud growl.

A loud familiar growl.

Malfoy whirled around faster than Harry could blink and took a step backwards, towards the three Gryffindors, in alarm. As Ron and Hermione stopped bickering to look further up the path, Hermione warily shifted a step closer to Ron. The rat in Ron's hands froze.

Stiffening, Harry directed his attention to the source of the growl.

All four students watched as Snuffles – Sirius – threateningly prowled towards them, snarling with his teeth bared and ears back.

"Harry?" Hermione quietly and hesitantly questioned, looking very uneasy.

Ron grunted when the rat, now extremely panicked, began struggling for all its worth.

"Scabbers!" Ron frantically whispered. "Stop that!"

"Potter!" Malfoy hissed, glancing at Harry out of the corner of his eye, still facing the menacing form of Snuffles.

Harry visibly hesitated.

Snuffles – no Sirius, that was Sirius – was almost upon them

"Harry!" Hermione prompted. "Do something!"

"Si-Snuffles," Harry stumbled over the name before clearing his throat and trying again, "Snuffles, it's alright. Everything's under control. Don't… Don't do anything rash, Snuffles."

Harry was getting panicked looks from Ron, Hermione, and Malfoy because it was apparent that Snuf-Sirius wasn't going to listen to Harry. The dog was still snarling and advancing towards them.

"It's okay, Snuffles," Harry called. "Calm down."

It was at that moment, that Hermione cried out in relief, "Professor Lupin!"

And indeed, there was Professor Lupin, looking a little out of breath as he came running down the path from the castle and towards them.

"Siri-Snuffles!" Professor Lupin cautioned, only having to slightly raise his voice as the professor was only a few meters away from the dog.

Snuffl-Sirius jerked his head around to face Professor Lupin. Once the dog's attention was no longer on him, Scabbers made his escape. A third and final bite to the skin between the thumb and index finger on Ron's right hand caused Ron to drop the rat with a shocked exclamation.

Ron chased after the rat with Snuf-Sirius hot on his heels. Harry was only a second or two behind Ron.

It barely registered to Harry as he was running that they were almost upon the Whomping Willow.

Ron dove and managed to catch the rat, but at that moment, Snuffl-Sirius pounced forward, intent on attacking the rat.

Harry lurched forward and managed to grab ahold of Snu-Sirius just before the dog could clamp his teeth around Ron's left leg. Snuf-Sirius yelped as Harry tackled him to the side.

Harry could see that Professor Lupin had caught up to them and, after a moment or two, Hermione and Malfoy appeared behind Professor Lupin. All three of them had their wands out, although Hermione and Malfoy looked a bit confused and held their wands out to the side whereas Professor Lupin looked thunderous and had his wand pointed at Ron and the rat.

Just as Harry thought that maybe, with the rat firmly in Ron's hands and Snuffles – Sirius – pinned down, just maybe things could calm down a bit, but Ron's muttered, "Damn it!" told Harry that things weren't quite over yet.

The rat managed to wiggle out of Ron's hands and run towards the Whomping Willow.

Seeing that the rat was on the move, Harry was unceremoniously tossed off of Snuffl-Sirius' back as the dog shook him off and gave chase.

Ron frantically ran after the rat and Harry ran after Ron, in pursuit of both the rat and Snuf-Sirius, peripherally aware of the swinging branches of the Whomping Willow.

Harry was sure that either he or Ron was going to get brained by a branch of the Whomping Willow when the light of a spell flew right by him and struck a knob on the trunk of the tree, causing the branches of the Whomping Willow to suddenly freeze.

Looking back over his shoulder, Harry saw Professor Lupin with wand in his hand and his arm extended, obviously the one to have shot off the spell. Facing forwards once again, Harry saw Ron slide down through a hollow of the Whomping Willow and, not seeing the rat or Snuf-Sirius, Harry assumed that they too had went down the hollow.

When Harry slid down the hollow mere seconds after Ron had, Harry saw that the hollow wasn't just a hole at the trunk of the tree, it was a passageway. Harry ran as fast as he could down the path, trying not to trip in the dark passage, and finally caught up to Ron.

From the sounds coming from behind them, Harry figured that Professor Lupin and Hermione had followed Ron and Harry into the passage.

Ron briefly paused at the end of the passageway, but Harry charged on through, a little shocked to finding himself inside a house. The building was in obvious disrepair and covered in layers of dust.

And when Harry saw the tracks in the dust, he picked up his pace to follow the trail.

As he was running up the stairs, Harry heard a scuffle – the sound of things breaking, claws catching on wood, and growling. With Ron right behind him, Harry slowed down a bit as he approached the room that the sounds of a struggle were coming from. The door to the room was hanging off of its hinges, so Harry had his wand out in front of him as he appeared in the doorway.

Which turned out to be a good thing, because the moment that Harry took a step into the room, the rat came charging at him, desperate to escape. In less time than it took to blink, Harry was firing off a stunner.

And it connected.

The rat was down.

With the rat stunned, Snuffl-Sirius leaped on top of the rat, looking like he was about to bite the rat's head off; so, for the second time that night, Harry tackled Snuf-Sirius.

Harry was pretty sure that Snu-Sirius let Harry tackle him, because Snuff-Sirius was a rather large and heavy dog.

Snuffles – Sirius, damn it! – curled around Harry rather than try to pounce on the rat again. Since Sn-Sirius was staying put, Harry kept a good grip on Snuf-Sirius' scruff (just in case) and looked away from the dog and over to the stunned rat.

It turned out that Ron had picked up the rat when Harry had been occupied with keeping Sirius from committing murder.

"Why did you stun Scabbers?" Ron asked sounding slightly angry.

"Because that rat is extremely dangerous," Professor Lupin answered for Harry as he appeared behind Ron in the doorway.

"What?!" Ron asked, cradling the rat protectively as he was forced to step aside to let Professor Lupin enter the room. "Scabbers isn't dangerous!"

Professor Lupin had his wand pointed at the rat in Ron's hands.

"What's really going on here, Professor? Harry?" Hermione asked, sounding uneasy as she followed Professor Lupin into the room as well.

Harry was honestly surprised to see Malfoy appear from behind Hermione. Malfoy stayed in the doorway, not yet entering the room and seeming to ignore Crookshanks who was winding himself around Malfoy's feet.

Crookshanks left Malfoy and came to sit next to Snuf-Sirius.

The dog beneath Harry's grip shifted and then transformed. Suddenly Harry was off-balance and falling forward; he was still on his knees, but falling to the side. A grip on Harry's elbow kept him from face planting.

Looking up to see who kept him from ending up face down on the floor, Harry was once again looking into the face of Sirius Black.

"We've finally caught him!" Sirius crowed, sounding slightly manic in his excitement.

Harry slowly stood up, still not quite sure what to do or how to act around Sirius, but remained by Sirius' side since Sirius still had a light grip on Harry's arm. Thinking back to how Sirius kept insisting that he wanted to protect Harry, Harry figured that Sirius didn't want him to get any closer to the rat in Ron's hands – which is probably why Sirius hadn't let go of Harry yet.

"Holy shit, Black's going to kill Potter," Malfoy whispered, barely audible as he fell back against the doorframe in shock.

"If you want to kill Harry, you're going to have to kill us too!" Hermione exclaimed, pointing her wand at Sirius.

"Don't lump me in with you suicidal fools!" Malfoy hissed at Hermione desperately, keeping a white knuckled grip on his own wand. "I'm not dying for Potter!"

"Let him go!" Ron shouted, cradling the rat in one hand while pointing his wand at Sirius with his other hand. "We won't let you have Harry without a fight!

"Only one will die tonight!" Sirius dramatically stated as Ron, Hermione, and surprisingly Malfoy's faces drained of color.

Harry realized that he needed to do something. Ron and Hermione didn't know the whole story and Sirius was being entirely unhelpful with the things he was saying and the way he was acting. So, Harry elbowed Sirius in the gut, causing Sirius to release a shocked exhale of air.

"You sound insane and you're scaring my friends," Harry muttered in explanation as he remained by Sirius' side. Sirius stared down at him in confusion for a moment before his eyes lit up with understanding.

Harry could've ran over to stand by his friends after he elbowed Sirius, but he was afraid that that might've made Sirius lunge after him. Since he was so overprotective as a dog, Harry didn't know how Sirius was going to react as he was a man. Figuring that it would be better for everyone at the moment, Harry resolved to stay by Sirius' side until this whole rat situation was over.

When everything was over, then…

Well, Harry didn't know what he was going to do about Sirius. Right now, he had to focus on more important problems – like Ron's rat being Peter Pettigrew.

Hermione looked to be getting ready to shoot off a spell at Sirius when Professor Lupin disarmed her, Ron, and Malfoy with a flick of his wand.

"Yes, Sirius, we've caught him," Professor Lupin calmly agreed with Sirius' previous statement.

Ron made a sound like he just swallowed his tongue.

"You… You traitor!" Hermione shrieked at Professor Lupin. "I kept your secret for you because I thought you were one of the good guys! But you're not – you're with Black! I should've exposed you as werewolf long ago!"

"Werewolf?" Malfoy whispered through gritted teeth, his eyes wide with fear.

That was something that Harry hadn't been expecting at all. Professor Lupin was a werewolf?

"I was able to deduce your nature as a werewolf from seeing your Boggart turn into the moon," Hermione continued, "and from noting that you were out sick during each month's full moon!"

Professor Lupin looked at Hermione with a wry twist to his lips.

"You really are quite clever, Hermione, the brightest witch of your age," Professor Lupin commended. "Yes, I am a werewolf, but there's more to the tale of Sirius Black than you know."

"What? That you helped him? That you are helping him right now?!" Ron accused.

"Oh let's just take him and be done with this!" Sirius exclaimed. "The longer we draw this out, the more chances there are that he could escape or someone will interfere."

"No! We won't let you!" Hermione balled up her fists at her side

"You're not taking Harry!" Ron yelled, his face turning red in anger.

"Harry? We're not… What?!" Sirius looked over at Harry as if Harry had the answers. Harry just glared at Sirius in return.

Sounding exasperated, Professor Lupin said, "Sirius, stop. You're just confusing them. Let me briefly explain what's going on and then we can finish this."

"No!" Hermione denied. "Why should we trust what you say? You've been helping him!" Hermione pointed at Sirius.

"I –"

But Ron didn't let Professor Lupin get a word in edgewise.

"Hermione's right!" Ron said. "You –"

Harry tuned out the argument that was happening between Ron, Hermione, and Professor Lupin. Well, it was less of an argument and more of Ron and Hermione talking over Professor Lupin's explanations. Instead, Harry turned his attention to the lone Slytherin in the room.

Malfoy remained quiet from his position in the doorway. Harry didn't know why Malfoy was sticking around because he thought for sure that the Slytherin would've turned tail and ran by now. But Malfoy stayed where he was, his eyes flitting from person to person as he observed the interactions between Sirius and everyone else.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Harry when she realized that he'd been maintaining a wall of stony silence ever since it had been revealed that Professor Lupin was a werewolf. Harry knew that if he'd been in the dark as much as his friends were about what was going on, he'd be shouting his head off and demanding Sirius' death. So, yes, Harry knew that his silence was unusual.

"What's going on Harry?" Hermione asked quietly, interrupting an accusation that Ron was hurling at Professor Lupin. "You know something or else you wouldn't be standing so calmly by your parents' betrayer. You should be furious!"

Sirius made a wounded sound at Harry's side. Harry didn't want to get into this right now – he was still having trouble processing it himself – but it looked like he had no choice but to talk about it, to explain it to his friends. They deserved an explanation, especially considering the circumstances that had led them all to this point.

"Oh, I was," Harry said, sounding worryingly blank. He was determined not to let his anger get the best of him, so he'd try to remain as calm as he could. "But Professor Lupin is right. There is much more to this than you know. I only found out about all of it about an hour ago."

"So you knew he was a werewolf too?" Hermione asked.

"Well, no, I didn't know that Professor Lupin was a werewolf, but really, is that what we're going to focus on right now?" Harry asked slightly irritated.

"Harry? Why don't you come stand over here with us," Hermione gently coaxed, trying to get Harry away from Sirius.

"Sirius isn't going to hurt me –"

"You don't know that!" Ron interjected, worried about Harry's safety.

"Yes, I do!" Harry snapped, before taking a deep breath when he realized that he just defended Sirius to his friends. "Sorry. It's just… let me explain."

And so Harry did.

As Harry was telling his friends, and Malfoy, about how Professor Lupin called him to his office, how Professor Lupin told him his theory about Snuffles being Sirius Black, and how Professor Lupin believed that Sirius wasn't the one who betrayed Harry's parents, Professor Lupin took that time to return Ron, Hermione, and Malfoy's wands to them.

Harry told them about the Marauder's Map and how he saw Peter Pettigrew's name on it one night and about how Professor Lupin believes Pettigrew to be the actual betrayer. Harry explained that his father, Sirius, and Peter were all animagi.

It was then that both Ron and Hermione interrupted Harry.

"I don't believe it!" Ron denied, still carefully holding onto the rat. "There's no way that Scabbers in an animagus! He's been in my family for –"

"Twelve years?" Sirius smoothly interjected. "A suspiciously long life for a common house rat, wouldn't you say?" Sirius asked, sounding saner than he previously had, which Harry was grateful for.

"So?!" Ron asked defensively. "That – that doesn't mean that Scabbers is that man – Peter Pettigrew!"

"I had about the same reaction that you're having, Ron," Harry said. "When Professor Lupin was trying to convince me that Snuffles was Sirius Black. I didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes."

"But there have only been seven registered animagi over the century," Hermione pointed out. "How could your father and two of his friends be animagi?"

"Well, they were unregistered," Professor Lupin admitted ruefully. "They became animagi to keep me company here in the Shrieking Shack, during the full moon, without placing themselves in danger."

"But you're a werewolf," Ron insisted. "Why'd Professor Dumbledore let you back here to teach?! You might not be a danger to animals, but you're a danger to people! And there are a lot of other people living in Hogwarts right now – your students, for example!"

Professor Lupin slumped a bit at Ron's accusation.

"Severus brews a revolutionary potion – Wolfsbane – that allows me to keep my mind during my transformation, thus I remain harmless," Professor Lupin explained, sounding discouraged that his student still saw him as a threat.

"Lupin's right," Malfoy spoke up, suddenly reminding everyone that he was still there. Malfoy looked straight at Harry and then, without moving his head, he glanced out of the door and then back to Harry twice – almost as if he was trying to tell Harry something. "I've read about the Wolfsbane potion and Professor Snape would be one of the only potion masters who could brew it without messing it up. When brewed properly, the potion will make werewolves relatively harmless on the full moon. But it's an extraordinarily complex potion to brew."

Suddenly Professor Lupin was thrown back with the force of a spell and tied up.

"Indeed it is, Mr. Malfoy," Snape said as he appeared in the doorway next to Malfoy, pointing his wand at Sirius with a sneer. "This is quite a curious little gathering that you've found yourself a part of."

...

Author's Note:

Ta da! I'm back! And I decided to make this chapter long since I made you guys wait for it for so long (especially since I left you with a cliffhanger ending on the previous chapter).

Also, my updates are going to be slow – like a hell of a lot slower than before. Maybe once a month or so? I don't really know yet.

Why will the updates be so freakin' slow? Because my life has gotten a bit out-of-control and I don't know when it'll settle back down again (meaning: I'm trying to find employment, trying to get to know the area since I just moved, and trying to make some new friends since I know literally no one in the area yet). The time I once had to dedicate to writing is pretty much gone. The time I now have for writing is next to nothing. So – I will continue updating this fic until it's complete, but, like I said, the updates will be ever so slow. Sorry about that.

Specific references/things in the chapter that might need a bit of clarification:

Elizabeth being able to tell Gregory about the cover up – So, the confidentiality contracts and stuff that she had to sign only prevented her from telling people who didn't already know about Black's lack of trial. The Minister was overconfident in thinking that Elizabeth only consulted with other Ministry employees (because where else would she get any relevant information?) and since Elizabeth is already under a general non-disclosure agreement for her position as Madam Bones' assistant, it never crossed the Minister's mind that Elizabeth would even consider telling anyone else about Black's lack of trial – especially since Elizabeth (purposefully to protect Greg) made it seem like she did everything by herself and immediately reported her findings to Madam Bones. So the Minister thinks everyone who knows about the lack of trial is unable to talk/write/communicate-in-anyway about it.

When Harry and Professor Lupin are talking and Harry says "Try the other leg" that's in reference to the saying of "someone pulling your leg".

Why didn't Remus capture the rat before they made it to the passageway that's under the Whomping Willow? – Remus, rather than shooting a spell at the rat, hits the knob on the tree to freeze the branches because he hadn't wanted to accidently hit Ron or Harry. Also, Remus didn't want anyone to get his by the viciously flying branches of the Whomping Willow.

If there are any spelling or grammar mistakes, it's because I only proofread this once because I was eager to get it out to you all as soon as I could – I didn't want to make you wait any longer!

And I always appreciate any comments/reviews you leave!