Black's Return {Jade Book 3}

Chapter 14

Kaya, Holly and I were frozen in shock.

I looked up and saw Crookshanks prowling towards the three Gryffindors. Ron was going on about Scabbers.

Finally, I heard a loud squeak and Pettigrew the rat ran past us. Crookshanks ran after him. Ron yelled out and came out from under the Cloak. He raced straight towards the rat and cat.

And that was when hell really broke loose.

Sirius's dog form – Padfoot – ran out of the passageway. Kaya made to stand up and I grabbed her arm. "What're you doing?"

"We've got to either help or get out of here. We shouldn't be here anyway."

I exchanged a glance with Holly, whose eyes were wide. "No, Kaya, we can't! If we're seen, we'll get into huge trouble!" I told her.

She sighed, nodded and sank back to the ground. Absentmindedly, I looked up at the sky.

It was a full moon, I noted. Well, I just had to hope that Professor Lupin didn't turn up anywhere near here.

Holly winced. "We came here to investigate that tree, and what happens? A cat, dog and rat get involved in some kind of chase."

"It's because of me," I observed gloomily.

She looked sharply at me. "What do you mean?"

"Don't you know? I always end up wherever trouble is," I explained. "In our first year, I was there with Quirrell, Voldemort and Harry. I our second, I was in the Chamber of Secrets before even Harry was."

Kaya rolled her eyes. "Heroes. Honestly."

We turned our attention back to the scene in front of us. Padfoot was dragging Ron into a passageway –

"There's a tunnel?!" Holly exclaimed. I put a finger to my lips and nodded.

Then Crookshanks stepped forward and pressed the knot and the tree froze.

Harry and Hermione went into the tunnel.

Immediately, I pulled off the Cloak.

Kaya and Holly stared at me. "What are you doing?" Kaya asked in confusion.

I made a decision quickly. "Right. I am going to explain something to you. You know that dog?" They both nodded. "That dog..." I took a deep breath. "That dog is Sirius Black."

"What?" Kaya looked at me as if I had gone mad. "He's going to murder those three!"

"How...how do you know that's Black?" Holly demanded.

"After the Slytherin–Gryffindor match, I followed the dog and Crookshanks. They went through that passageway. I followed them. Crookshanks revealed me. Then Sirius explained that he never killed anyone. He supposedly blew up one of his friends, a wizard by the name of Peter Pettigrew, but it was actually Pettigrew who blew up that street. He's innocent. And Sirius has been teaching me how to become an Animagus ever since."

The two girls gaped at me.

Holly was the first to regain her voice. "Pettigrew's alive?"

I nodded. "Yeah. He's an Animagus. A rat. Ron's rat."

Kaya frowned. "That's who Black was attacking?"

"Yup."

The girls seemed more inclined to believe me than I had been to believe Sirius Black.

I supposed that it helped that they were being told by a friend, while I had been told by a man I thought to be a murderer.

Holly appeared to be muttering something under her breath. I asked her what she was saying.