Snape and Lily's daughter

Werewolf teaching at Hogwarts

Lupin caught their wands then moved into the room, staring at Black. Then Lupin spoke, in a very tense voice.

"Where is he, Sirius?"

Grace and the others didn't understand what Lupin meant. They turned to look at Black again. Sirius raised his hand and pointed at Ron.

"But then..." Lupin muttered. "... why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless" his eyes widened. "— unless he was the one... unless you switched... without telling me?"

Black nodded.

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

Lupin lowered his wand, moved to Black's side, and hugged him.

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

Lupin let go of Black and turned to her.

"You — you —"

"Hermione —"

"– you and him!" Hermione said.

"Hermione, calm down —"

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

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

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

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

"NO!" Grace screamed. "Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too —"

"He's a werewolf!" Hermione screamed.

There was a ringing silence. Everyone's eyes were now on Lupin.

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

Ron made a valiant effort to get up again but fell back with a whimper of pain. Lupin made toward him, looking concerned.

"Get away from me, werewolf!" Ron gasped.

Lupin stopped dead. Then he turned to Hermione.

"How long have you known?" Lupin asked her.

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

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

"Both," Hermione said quietly.

Lupin forced a laugh.

"You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione."

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

"But they already know," Lupin said. "At least, the staff do."

"Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf," Ron gasped. "Is he mad?"

"Some of the staff thought so," Lupin said, looking at Grace. "He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy —"

"AND HE WAS WRONG!" Harry yelled. "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!"

Black suddenly crossed to the four-poster bed and sank onto it, his face hidden in one shaking hand.

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

He separated Harry's, Ron's, Grace's and Hermione's wands and threw each back to its owner.

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

"If you haven't been helping him," Grace spoke, glaring at Black. "how did you know he was here?"

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

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

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

"You wrote —?"

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

He had started to pace up and down, looking at them.

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

"How d'you know about the cloak?"

"The number of times I saw James disappearing under it..." Lupin said. "The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak, you still show up on the Marauder's Map. I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid, and set off back toward the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else."

"No, we weren't!" Grace said.

"I couldn't believe my eyes," Lupin said. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you?"

"No one was with us!" Grace said.

"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," Lupin said. "Two of you."

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

"Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" Lupin asked.

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

"Everything. Could I see him, please?"

Ron put a hand inside his robes. Scabbers emerged, thrashing desperately. Lupin moved closer to Ron.

"What's my rat got to do with anything?" Ron asked.

"That's not a rat," croaked Sirius Black suddenly.

"What d'you mean — of course he's a rat—"

"No, he's not," Lupin said quietly. "He's a wizard."

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