There was little time that surprise afforded Ron, but he was able to cast a stinging hex followed by a stunner in quick succession at Sirius Black, the obvious antagonist. Black dodged them while still getting in a spell of his own. Ron flinched as the red jinx approached him, his hand too shaky to make a proper shield. The bolt of magic however was absorbed by Luna's own defence. Black turned his attention to the other wizard to only see that the enemy had vanished. Luna still maintained her weakening shield, yet in the lull Ron noticed something about Black. They would never win a fight against someone this good let alone escape unless his hunch was correct.

"We surrender," Ron announced as he dropped his wand. Luna's fell to the ground shortly afterwards.

"You're serious about that? Surrendering to a convict?"

Ron swallowed. He had nearly blurted out an awful pun. "That spell you casted was Expelliarmus. Not the most lethal thing to use for a felon. By your movements, I'd say we'd be dead if you wanted us that way."

Ron was bracing himself for the reply. The almost maniacal laughter that came out of him. "Either you're an idiot or a genius, probably both. Now if you don't mind me borrowing these, I think I've got a lot to tell you." Sirius summoned both wands with a simple flick of the wrist. Next thing they knew they were following the man to a remote part of town. At every turn Sirius' looks changed; his hair turned from black to blonde, his face smoothened, and his nose became shorter.

By the moment Black had stopped in front of a pub, his appearance was practically unrecognisable aside from height and gender. "We can talk in here," the convict said. The shabby sign read Hogshead, hardly the sort of establishment Ron could expect Percy recommending. Black led them inside the dingy room to a table practically out in the open. Ron scanned the area; the patrons were no better looking than building interior, and sitting in such an exposed place practically made him feel naked. Luna, however, showed no qualms in sitting, which led Ron to do the same.

Their companion returned from the bar with two butterbeers and a firewhiskey in hand. "Don't worry, I cast a cleaning charm on them before the barkeeper filled them," Black said, yet it somehow made Ron feel more unsettled.

"Why sit here?"

"The corners only work if you don't stick out there. With you two that's practically impossible," Black explained.

"I don't follow," said Ron.

"I think he's saying that people don't look for Nargles since they hide out in the open," Luna added.

"I guess that works," Black said and proceeded to explain why he was wrongly accused. At the end of the story, even Luna looked amazed.

"So why did you bother telling us all that?" asked Ron. "It's not like we can be of much help."

Sirius nursed his drink a bit. "When I was in Azkaban, sitting there as punishment for a crime I didn't do, things were… sad. In those years I've wanted to at least tell the truth to someone. I've spent far too long on my own." He finished the rest of his drink with a gulp. "Well, onto the next problem: I doubt that your girlfriend should even be here." Ron almost bashed his head against the table. "Luckily;" Sirius continued; "I know a discreet way back to Hogwarts."

The destination was a decrepit old house Ron would never visit on his own, yet Luna's naive assurances prodded him forward. Oddly the building had no entrance until Sirius used a blasting charm to blast through part of a wall, repairing it once everyone was inside. Granted, aside from the gaping hole Sirius had made, little else could be described as being in good order. Luna and Ron stepped around the clutter of broken furniture and debris until they reached a small hole. "That should lead you to the Whomping Willow. There are enough entrances to take aside from the main entrance if you want to stay out of sight," Sirius said and winked.

"Thanks… and I believe you, I think," Ron said as he and Luna turned to walk through the narrow tunnel, only guided by the light of their lumos spells.

"You think we should tell anyone?" Luna asked. Ron thought of options; few came to mind from Hufflepuff. Gryffindors seemed trustworthy enough, but there seemed to be little purpose to that idea. In Slytherin Harry was probably Ron's closest friend. Even then Ron could tell that he would be of little help, preferring to spend his time brewing potions. Hermione Granger was completely out of the question, and no other Ravenclaw (aside from his companion) seemed to pay him any notice.

"I doubt they'd believe us." Ron shivered at the fact that an animagus had been sleeping with him for the past two years. The two entered Hogwarts and parted with an awkward handshake. As Ron walked inside the Hufflepuff Common Room, his day got exponentially worse as water drenched his robes. "Rats."