" said Lupin. "Two of you." 
He had stopped his pacing, his eyes moving over Ron. 
"Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" he said evenly. 
"What?" said Ron. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?" 
"Everything," said Lupin. "Could I see him, please?" 
Ron hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes. Scabbers emerged, 


thrashing desperately; Ron had to seize his long bald tail to stop him 
escaping. Crookshanks stood up on Black's leg and made a soft hissing 
noise. 

Lupin moved closer to Ron. He seemed to be holding his breath as he 

gazed intently at Scabbers. 
"What?" Ron said again, holding Scabbers close to him, looking scared. 
"What's my rat got to do with anything?" 


"That's not a rat," croaked Sirius Black suddenly. 
"What d'you mean -- of course he's a rat --" 
"No, he's not," said Lupin quietly. "He's a wizard." 
"An Animagus," said Black, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew." 
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 
MOONY, WORMTAIL, PADDFOOT, AND PRONGS 
It took a few seconds for the absurdity of this statement to sink in. 


Then Ron voiced what Harry was thinking. 
"You're both mental." 
"Ridiculous!" said Hermione faintly. 


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

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

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

."Sirius, NO!" Lupin yelled, launching himself forwards and dragging 
Black away from Ron again, "WAIT! You can't do it just like that -- they 
need to understand -- we've got to explain --" 

"We can explain afterwards!" snarled Black, trying to throw Lupin off. 
One hand was still clawing the air as it tried to reach Scabbers, who 
was squealing like a piglet, scratching Ron's face and neck as he tried 
to escape. 

"They've -- got -- a -- right -- to -- know -- -everything!" Lupin 
panted, still trying to restrain Black. "Ron's kept him as a pet! There 
are parts of it even I don't understand, and Harry -- you owe Harry the 
truth, Sirius!" 

Black stopped struggling, though his hollowed eyes were still fixed on 
Scabbers, who was clamped tightly under Ron's bitten, scratched, ad 
bleeding hands. 

"All right, then," Black said, without taking his eyes off the rat. 

"Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit 
the murder I was imprisoned for..." 

"You're nutters, both of you," said Ron shakily, looking round at Harry 
and Hermione for support. "I've had enough of this. I'm off." 

He tried to heave himself up on his good leg, but Lupin raised his wand 
again, pointing it at Scabbers. 

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

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"HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!" Ron yelled, trying to fore the rat back 
into his front pocket, but Scabbers was fighting to hard; Ron swayed and 
overbalanced, and Harry caught him am pushed him back down to the bed. 
Then, ignoring Black, Harry turned to Lupin. 

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

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

"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter," said Lupin, nodding. "I believed 
it myself -- until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's map 
never lies... Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry." 

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

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

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

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

"Because... because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an 
Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I 
looked them up when I did my homework -- the Ministry of Magic keeps 
tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register 
showing what animal they become, and their markings and things... and I 
went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have 
been only seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the 
list." 

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

"Light again, Hermione!" he said. "But the Ministry never knew that here 
used to be three unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts." 

"I you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus," said 
Black, who was still watching Scabbers's every desperate move. "I've 
waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer." 

"All right... but you'll need to help me, Sirius," said Lupin, I only 
know how it began..." 

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

"No one there..." 

"This place is haunted!" said Ron. 

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

He pushed his graying hair out of his eyes, thought for a moment then 
said, "That's where all of this starts -- with my becoming a werewolf, 
None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitter... and if I 
hadn't been so foolhardy..." 

He looked sober and tired. Ron started to interrupt, but Hermione, said, 
"Shh!" She was watching Lupin very intently. 

"I as a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried 
everything, but in those days there was no cure. The potion that 
Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. It 
makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week, preceding the 
full moon, I keep my mind when I transform.... I'm able to curl up in my 
office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again. 

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"Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, I became a fully 
fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I would be able 
to come to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children 
exposed to me. 

"But then Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He said 
that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I 
shouldn't come to school...." Lupin sighed, and looked directly at 
Harry. "I told you, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the 
year I came to Hogwarts. The truth is that it was planted because I came 
to Hogwarts. This house" -- Lupin looked miserably around the room, -"
the tunnel that leads to it -- they were built for my use. Once a 
month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. 
The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me 
while I was dangerous." 

Harry couldn't see where this story was going, but he was listening 
raptly all the same. The only sound apart from Lupin's voice was 
Scabbers's frightened squeaking. 

"My transformations in those days were -- were terrible. It is very 
painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so 
I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and 
the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent 
spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumor.... Even now, when the house 
has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it...." 

"But apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been 
in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, three great friends. 
Sirius Black... Peter Pettigrew... and, of course, your father, Harry -James 
Potter." 

"Now, my three friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared 
once a month. I made up all sorts of stories. I told them my mother was 
ill, and that I had to go home to see her... I was terrified they would 
desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, 
like you, Hermione, worked out the truth...." 

"And they didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me 
that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times 

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of my life. They became Animagi." 

"My dad too?" said Harry, astounded. 

"Yes, indeed," said Lupin. "It took them the best part of three years to 
work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were the cleverest 
students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus 
transformation can go horribly wrong -- one reason the Ministry keeps a 
close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he 
could get from James and Sirius. Finally, in our fifth year, they 
managed it. They could each turn into a different animal at will." 

"But how did that help you?" said Hermione, sounding puzzled. 

"They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as 
animals," said Lupin. "A werewolf is only a danger to people. They 
sneaked out of the castle every month under James's Invisibility Cloak. 
They transformed... Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the 
Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. They 
would then slip down