Y/N's POV

Today was the day of Buckbeak's execution and the four of us were planning to go to Hagrid's. Things were awkward between me and Hermione since we kissed.

We made our way outside and unfortunately ran into Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, all looking smug.

"Come to watch the show?" Malfoy said maliciously.

"You foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach!" Hermione shouted angrily before grabbing her wand and pointing it at him. Malfoy backed up against the stone wall behind him, looking terrified.

"Leave him Hermione, he's not worth it." Ron said, looking at Hermione.

Hermione turned around and pocketed her wand, Malfoy started laughing with Crabbe and Goyle and in one swift motion, she turned around and punched him in the face. He then rushed off.

We reached Hagrid's cabin and knocked. He opened the door and let us in.

"Isn't there anything anyone can do, Hagrid?" Harry asked, sitting down next to him. "Dumbledore-"

"He's tried," said Hagrid.

Hermione let out a small sob.

"We'll stay with you too, Hagrid," she began.

"Yeh're ter go back up ter the castle. I told yeh, I don' wan' yeh watchin'."

Silent tears were now streaming down Hermione's face, but she hid them. She offered to make tea, grabbed the milk jug and let out a small shriek.

"Ron, I don't believe it-it's Scabbers!"

"What are you talking about?"

Hermione carried the milk jug over to the table and turned it upside down. With a frantic squeak, Scabbers the rat came sliding out onto the table.

"Scabbers!" said Ron blankly. "Scabbers, what are you doing here?"

Just then, something hit me on the back of the head, I turned around, looked out the window and saw people walking down towards Hagrid's hut.

"They're coming..."

"Yeh gotta go," said Hagrid. Every inch of him was trembling, "they mustn' find yeh here, go now..."

Ron stuffed Scabbers into his pocket. "I'll let yeh out the back," said Hagrid.

We had no choice but to go. We hid behind some of Hagrid's pumpkins, made sure it was clear and then ran back up to the castle.

When we were near the top, we looked down, saw everyone gathered around Buckbeak, I turned away and heard the swish and thud of an axe.

Horrified, we set off back toward the castle, walking slowly.

"Scabbers, keep still," Ron hissed, clamping his hand over his chest. The rat was wriggling madly. Ron came to a sudden halt, "what's the matter with you. Stay still, OUCH! He bit me!"

Scabbers was plainly terrified. He was trying to break free from Ron's grip.

"What's the matter with him?" I asked.

"Scabbers...NO!"

The rat had slipped between Ron's fingers and scampered away and before anyone could stop him, Ron had ran off into the darkness.

"Ron!" Harry shouted as we followed him.

There was a loud thud, we almost fell over Ron. We skidded to a stop right in front of him. He was sprawled on the ground, but Scabbers was back in his pocket, he had both hands held tight over Scabbers.

But before we could say anything, we saw something coming toward us it was an enormous, jet-black dog.

All of a sudden, the dog made its way to Ron and seconds later, was dragging him away. I didn't know where we were so I grabbed my wand,

"Lumos!" I whispered.

The light showed me the trunk of a thick tree, we had chased Scabbers into the shadow of the Whomping Willow and its branches were whipping backwards and forward to stop us going nearer.

And there, at the base of the trunk, was the dog, dragging Ron backwards into a large gap in the roots. Ron was fighting furiously, but he was slipping out of sight.

"Ron!" Harry shouted, trying to follow, but a heavy branch whipped lethally through the air and he was forced backward again.

All we could see now was one of Ron's legs, which he had hooked around a root in an effort to stop the dog from pulling him farther underground, but then we heard a horrible crack. Ron's leg had broken, and a moment later, his foot vanished from sight.

"We've got to go for help-" Hermione gasped.

"No! That thing's big enough to eat him, we haven't got time-" said Harry

"Harry, we're never going to get through without help-"

I then rushed forward, ignoring the horrified screams of Hermione, and tried to dodge the branches, one of them hit me in the arm and then my face, I could taste my blood as I laid face-down on the floor but I carried on. Ignoring the excruciating pain. With a lot of luck, I made it to the hole and started clambered down, leaving Hermione and Harry.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, I arrived somewhere. It was a very dusty room. The room was deserted, but a door to my right stood open, leading to a hallway.

At that moment, there was a creak overhead. Something had moved upstairs. I looked up and crept towards the stairs.

"Nox" I whispered and the light at the end of my wand went out. Only one door upstairs was open. I moved towards the door.

Wand held tightly, I kicked the door wide open.

On the floor beside, clutching his leg, which stuck out at a strange angle, was Ron.

"Ron, are you okay? Where's the dog?"

"Not a dog," Ron moaned. His teeth were gritted with pain, "Y/N, it's a trap-"

"What?"

"He's the dog...he's an Animagus."

Ron was staring over my shoulder. I wheeled around.

It was Sirius Black.

"Expelliarmus!" he croaked, pointing Ron's wand at me.

My wand shot out of my hand and Black caught it. Then he took a step closer. His eyes were fixed on me.

Seconds later, I saw Harry and Hermione appear, both panting. They had managed to figure out a way to get here.

"If you want to kill Y/N, you'll have to kill us too!" Harry said fiercely.

"Did you hear us?" Ron said weakly. "You'll have to kill all four of us!"

"There'll be only one murder here tonight," said Black.

"Why's that?" I spat. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew. What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?"

"Y/N!" Hermione whimpered. "Be quiet!"

At this moment, I rushed past Black, shoving him in the process and grabbing my wand.

Black was sprawled at the bottom of the wall. He watched me walking nearer, my wand pointing straight at him.

"Going to kill me, Y/N?" he whispered.

I stopped right above him, my wand still pointing at Black's chest, looking down at him. Harry had now joined me.

"You killed my parents," said Harry, his voice shaking slightly.

Black stared up at him.

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

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

"You've got to listen to me," Black said, and there was a note of urgency in his voice now, "you'll regret it if you don't...you don't understand."

"I understand a lot better than you think," said Harry.

I raised my wand. Now was the moment to do it. I was going to kill Black.

But I couldn't seem to do it...

The door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks and Harry wheeled around as Professor Lupin came hurtling into the room.

"Expelliarmus!" Lupin shouted.

My wand flew out of my hand.

Then Lupin spoke, in a very tense voice.

"Where is he, Sirius?"

I looked quickly at Lupin. I didn't understand what Lupin meant. Who was Lupin talking about?

Black's face was quite expressionless. For a few seconds, he didn't move at all. Then, very slowly, he raised his empty hand and pointed straight at Ron.

"Professor," I interrupted loudly, "what's going on-?"

But I never finished the question, because what I saw made my voice die in my throat. Lupin walked to Black's side, pulled him to his feet and embraced Black like a brother.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione screamed.

Lupin let go of Black and turned to her. She had raised herself off the floor and was pointing at Lupin,

"I didn't tell anyone!" Hermione shrieked. "I've been covering up for you-"

"Hermione, listen to me, please," Lupin shouted, "I can explain-"

"I trusted you," I shouted at Lupin, "and all the time you've been his friend!"

"You're wrong," said Lupin, "I haven't been Sirius' friend, but I am now. Let me explain."

"NO!" Hermione screamed. "You can't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants both of you dead too, he's a werewolf!"

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," he said, "only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Y/N or Harry dead. But I won't deny that I am a werewolf."

Lupin then turned to Hermione and said. "How long have you known?"

"Ages," Hermione whispered, "since I did Professor Snape's essay..."

"He'll be delighted," said Lupin coolly, "he assigned that essay hoping someone would realise what my symptoms meant. Did you check the lunar chart and realise that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realise that the Boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?"

"Both," Hermione said quietly.

Lupin forced a laugh.

"You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione. However, Y/N did beat you to it. You're both the cleverest witch and wizard of your age."

"I'm not," Hermione whispered, "if I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!"

"Why have you been helping him?" I asked in a hoarse voice.

"I have not been helping Sirius," said Lupin, "if you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look-"

He separated each of our wands and threw each back, I caught mine, stunned.

"There," said Lupin, sticking his own wand back, "you're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"

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

"The map," said Lupin, "the Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it-"

"You know how to work it?" I said suspiciously.

"Of course I know how to work it," said Lupin, "I helped write it. I'm Moony that was my friends' nickname for me at school."

"You wrote-?"

"The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you, Ron, and Hermione might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his Hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I?

I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid, and set off back toward the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else. And then I saw another dot, moving fast toward you, labeled Sirius Black, I saw him collide with you. I watched as he pulled two of you into the Whomping Willow-"

"One of us!" Ron said angrily.

"No, Ron," said Lupin, "two of you. Can I look at the rat?"

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

"Everything," said Lupin.

"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."