It was bright and sunny on the Wednesday we decided to go to the zoo, Paws For Thought. We picked that day because it just happened to be the one that Dad, Uncle Remus, and Uncle Siri were all off on. (Dad had made sure). I had already invited Ron, Hermione, Blaise, and Ginny. The twins were in trouble for a prank they'd pulled on Ron, transfiguring his teddy bear into a giant spider-Ron's terrified of spiders the way Stevie Perkins is terrified of needles-and nearly making him have heart failure. So the twins were grounded and forbidden to go anywhere fun for the next week or so.

But Dad said we had enough kids along for this first trip and they could come another time. Remus and Sirius arrived at our house jsut in time for breakfast, I think Padfoot planned it that way, he never passed up free food. And since my dad was cooking, he knew it'd be great, so here they were.

That morning Dad had made 3-cheese omelets (Cheddar, Swiss, and Parmesan) and bacon and toast with lots of butter and strawberry jam.

"Mmm . . .something smells wonderful," said Padfoot, as he walked into the kitchen after I'd let them in. He was practically drooling, even though he was human and not a dog. "Whatcha cooking, Sev?"

My dad glanced up from the stove where he was frying the bacon and answered, "I should've known. You can smell free food in a twenty kilometer radius, Padfoot."

"Yes, he's got a nose for food and trouble," chuckled Moony, who was also sniffing deeply of the heavenly smells of bacon, eggs, and cheese.

"Speak for yourself, wolf!" cried Sirius. "Your nose is better at sniffing out trouble than mine."

"That's because wolves are superior to dogs."

"Oh, yeah? Says who?" Sirius bristled.

"Children, if you don't quit bickering, you won't get any breakfast," Dad said sternly, without turning around.

They stopped, knowing it was not just a threat. Dad hated arguments at mealtimes, said it was bad for the digestion, and if you were going to argue, you might as well not eat, since you wouldn't appreciate the food anyhow. I had learned that lesson long ago. Looks like Padfoot and Moony had too.

Remus looked at Sirius and said quietly, "How does he do that?"

"Do what?"

"Sound just like my darned father. It's positively eerie. He can make me feel like I was ten all over again."

Sirius shrugged. "It's a Snape thing, Lupin. He's like an alpha wolf, he's got the whole discipline and respect thing nailed down cold. He'd of made a great teacher."

Remus nodded. "Yeah, no kid would've dared misbehave in his class." They moved over to sit down at the table.

I had to agree with them. But Dad would've made a great anything, in my opinion.

Inky was lying stretched out in the corner of the kitchen, watching Dad intently. He was waiting for Dad to give him his morning treat. He was very large now, over a hundred and fifty pounds, with a midnight black coat with small faintly black dapples on it, like moonlit water. But you could only see the dapples if you looked really close or if the sun shone on him. He was very handsome, a prince among panthers.

Just then Dad turned around and flipped a large barely seared steak out of the pan next to the bacon and sent it flying towards Inky. "Catch, Inky!"

Inky leaped up and caught the steak neatly in his mouth. He never missed.

Then he lay back down and began to eat it, chewing and swallowing so quickly it was a miracle he didn't choke. He loved steak and Dad only fed him the best cuts, like what he bought for us to eat. He said Inky deserved decent meat the same as the rest of us. Daddy really loved Inky, even though he hadn't wanted him to be alive at first. Now, though, we couldn't imagine living without him.

"So, who else is coming along with us to the zoo, Harry?" asked Moony.

I told him.

"Thank Merlin the twin terrors are staying home, because they're enough to give me mange," shivered Remus. Sirius laughed at that. "Too bad your dad couldn't come along, Sev."

"Yeah, he could help us watch the kids," put in Sirius. "He's another one that can make someone obey with a word or a look."

"Where do you think I got it from?" asked Dad, then he added, "He used to be a Royal Marine sergeant, they're all like that. But Dad said he might come along on a later trip, when it was just Harry and maybe one other kid, but no way was he going to mind someone else's kids in public."

"Too bad," Uncle Remus sounded really disappointed.

Then Dad levitated the food onto the table and we all dug in. For ten minutes there was no sound in the kitchen except for people chewing and knocking their forks against the plate and once a request to "Pass the butter, please." Or the salt, or the cream, since the adults were all drinking coffee, which Dad only let me have with a bunch of milk in it. But I was drinking pumpkin juice this morning.

But finally we were all stuffed and couldn't eat another bite.

"That was really delicious, Sev," said Uncle Sirius, pushing his plate away with a sigh. "If I eat any more though, I just might pop."

I giggled. "Like a balloon?"

"Yup. Just like that, kiddo." Sirius smiled over at me.

"Thank you," Dad said, looking pleased. He loves it when someone compliments his cooking. He learned to cook from his mum Eileen and also some from my mum, Lily. I was learning too, by watching him.

"Siri's right," agreed Remus. "Not even my house elf Misty can cook like you." He too sighed and rubbed his stomach.

"Nobody cooks like Dad," I said proudly, then I scraped all the leftovers into one plate and gave them to Inky.

No sooner had I done that and Inky had devoured the leftovers, then in came Ron and Ginny via the Floo Network.

"Hi, Ron! Hi, Ginny!" I yelled, upon hearing the swift shush of the fire flaring up.

"Hi, Harry!" called Ron. "Hello, Healer Sev!"

"Hello, Ron," called my dad from the kitchen.

Ginny echoed her brother, she was kind of shy unless she knew you well, then she talked your ear off.

"Hello, Ginny. Have you eaten breakfast yet?" asked Dad.

"Uh huh. Mum made us toast and eggs and oatmeal ‘fore we left," Ginny replied, coming into the kitchen.

She bent and hugged Inky, who licked her and made her say, "Ugh! Your tongue sure is rough now, Inky!" Then she went over and hugged my dad first, then Sirius and Remus in turn. She saw all of them pretty often, and they all treated her like a favorite niece. Ron too.

Ron came in, yawning. Least till he spotted the remaining pieces of bacon on the platter, which I'd been about to give to Inky. "Bacon! All right!" He immediately took two strips and Dad handed him a plate and a napkin. "Mmm . . .this is thebestbaconever," he mumbled through a mouthful.

"Ron, don't talk with your mouth full," Dad reminded him. "You'll choke."

Ron swallowed and then said, "Okay, Healer Sev. Sorry. But this really is the best bacon ever." He went and ate the other piece more slowly.

Dad looked at Ginny who was perched on his lap. "Would you like some too, Gingerbread Girl?" That was his pet name for her and only he was allowed to call her that. She'd gotten the name from eating so many of his gingerbread biscuits last year.

"Yes, please."

Dad gave her the rest of the bacon.

Then Blaise arrived and so did Hermione, only she was dropped off by her dad, Walter, who told me to call him Dr. Wally. "Have a good time, Mione!" he called, waving at her.

"I will, Daddy! Bye!"

"All right. Looks like everyone's here," announced Dad. "We'll leave after Harry finishes washing the dishes."

That was my job in the morning, but since there were extra dishes, Uncle Moony volunteered to help, so we were done in no time.

Then it was off to the zoo, by way of the Floo!

(Hey, that rhymed. I didn't know I could rhyme. Cool!)

* * * * * *

Once we Flooed into Paws For Thought's main entrance, it was shaped like a great big figure-eight, and went through a turnstyle to get into the zoo, Dad made all us kids get name badges. "In case we get separated, people will know who you are," he said. The badges all had a paw and a picture of a lion on them and our names.

We also got a map and a program telling us when they had feeding times for some animals and where you could go to find a bathroom and told us a bit about the zoo and why it was founded.

Paws For Thought had been founded by a wizard who wanted to help animals that had been abandoned and mistreated by people. Some of them had been Muggle pets who were hurt when their owners tried to remove their claws or got too big and their owner didn't want to take care of them any more. Some of them were friendly and liked kids, others were afraid of them. A few of the animals had injuries, like a limp or one eye or a broken tail or a leg or paw missing. But all of them were taken care of wonderfully by the staff. It was an organization that was run by donations, and Dad said St. Mungos donated to it and so did the Auror Department.

The ticket sales went to help feed and take care of all the animals.

We went to see the baby animals in the nursery first. There was a little fawn, who had lost her mum in a car crash, she was smaller than me, but she was very sweet. We were allowed to feed her a little bottle of formula, and she licked my hand when it was my turn.

"I think she likes me, Dad," I whispered to him, as the fawn drank, he was right next to me.

He smiled at us. "Your mum always loved deer, Harry," he said softly, stroking the fawn's soft coat, which was spotted. The spots were so it could blend into the grass and hide. "She used to feed them whenever we were at Hogwarts, if they happened to come onto the lawn in the early morning."

I thought the fawn was beautiful, with her large dark eyes and soft mouth and slender little legs.

Moony kept away from the fawn, however. He said he didn't want to frighten her. Some animals, like deer, could smell that he was a werewolf and were scared he might eat them. He would've, if it had been a full moon, and he'd transformed into a wolf-man. But Dad had made a Wolfsbane Potion which prevented him from changing into the wolf-man, and he only changed into a wolf instead. The wolf was also his Animagus form, and he could change into that whenever he wanted, usually.

"How come Moony isn't feeding the fawn?" asked Hermione.

"‘Cause the fawn would be scared of him, since he's a werewolf," I explained. "Moony says they can smell he's no ordinary person and then they get nervous. He says the wolf nature is kind of strong, and most animals are afraid of werewolves."

"Oh wow!" exclaimed Hermione. "Is he like, under a curse?"

"Umm . . .kind of." I beckoned her over to where Remus was standing just outside the pen. "Uncle Remus, Hermione wants to know if you're under a werewolf curse."

He looked over at my friend and said, "Well, Hermione, I was bitten when I was five, a little younger than you are now. The werewolf who bit me was mad and he passed the curse onto me. Since I was bitten and not born, like some weres, I could only change into a wolf-man, and I went crazy on the nights of the full moon. Until Sev made me the Wolfsbane and now I can drink it and just remain a wolf, like a true were."

"What's a true were?" asked Hermione, fascinated.

"A true werewolf is one that is born, not bitten. They can change into full animal form and remember everything that was said in their other form, plus they aren't driven crazy by the full moon. Me, I'm a kind of hybrid, since though I was bitten, and have a curse within me, I can control it somewhat with potions and with my will, since my Animagus form is a wolf."

"Could you make someone into a werewolf if you bit them?"

"I don't know. Yes, perhaps, if I bit them in my wolf-man form, but no if I nipped them in my true wolf form. But my curse only activates at the full moon, the rest of the time it's dormant because of the Wolfsbane I've taken. I still have keen senses though and am stronger than most people."

"And can a silver bullet kill you?"

"Yes, that's part of the legend that's true. I'm allergic to silver and if I get a high enough dose of it, I'm poisoned and could die. But it needs to penetrate my skin, just touching it won't hurt me." He gave Hermione an amused look. "Any more questions, Miss Granger?"

"No. Not now."

"Wait five minutes," I told Remus.

He laughed. "I don't mind, Harry. That's how you learn, after all."

We moved on to the next animal in the nursery, which was a baby wyvern. It had just hatched and it liked to eat small bits of meat, which we fed it with a long fork, since it could bite if we weren't careful. There were signs all over the pen that read DO NOT PET and BEWARE, THIS ONE BITES!

"Keep your hands out of there, understand?" said Sirius, glaring at Ron, who was slowly reaching a finger into the pen. "Those teeth are needle sharp and it could bite your finger off without meaning it."

We all shivered, but we fed the wyvern its breakfast then moved onto the next pen where there was a baby unicorn, golden colored, and that one anyone could feed, though it loved Ginny and Hermione the best. That's ‘cause they were girls, and unicorns have a thing for girls.

We got to feed and pet a bear cub and hold a baby grass snake too. There was a litter of kneasel kits too, they look kind of like cats but are smarter and magical. They were Hermione's favorite.

Ron looked at the program and cried, "Let's go feed the goats over here."

Next to the nursery was a large pen and a sign that read: Purchase Goat Food, 1 Sickle for a Bag of Feed Corn. There was a small box where you could put the money, and when we did it, a bag of feed corn appeared inside the box.

Sirius bought us all a bag of corn, but before we could all go inside, Ginny tugged on Dad's sleeve. "Uh, Healer Sev?"

"What's wrong, Ginny?" Dad asked, for she was biting her lip and dancing from foot to foot.

"I gotta go potty really bad."

Dad looked a little startled, clearly he hadn't been expecting that. "Oh. All right, let's find a bathroom." He picked her up and Apparated to a bathroom nearby.

I looked at Ron and asked, "How's he gonna take her to the bathroom? She's a girl, she can't use ours."

Ron shrugged. "I dunno."

"He'll wait outside the girl's room for her," chimed in Hermione. "That's what my dad does."

"Oh, right." I felt really dumb for not thinking of that.

There could only be two people in the goat pen at a time, and I let Hermione and Blaise go first. Hermione threw hers on the ground for the goats to nibble and Blaise held his until one came to him and ate out of his hand.

"Wicked, Harry!" he cried. "You've got to try this."

"I will if you'll get out," I said, rather testily.

Blaise gave me a look. "Okay, keep your pants on." Then he came out of the gate, followed by Hermione.

Ron and I entered, holding out paper cones of feed corn.

The goats were all bunched together in the middle of the pen. There were black ones, brown ones, white ones, gray and white and even a few spotted. They were mostly nanny goats, with small horns, but one big one with long curling horns was a billy goat.

When they saw us with the food, they all trotted towards us, maa-ing. I held out a few pieces of corn to the one nearest me, and it ate it. Then another one came and licked my hand.

That was when it all went wrong.

Ron was standing there holding his cup out, but the billy goat started towards him instead. The billy goat was bigger, and he also was more impatient. He bumped two or three herd members out of the way so he could get to Ron quicker.

Ron was standing there, frozen, his feed corn in his hand, looking petrified.

The billy goat ran at him, head lowered a little, and Ron screamed and went to run away.

The billy goat raced after him around the pen, for he still had the cone of feed in his hand.

"Maa-maaa!"

"Help! Padfoot! Moony! Anybody! The goat's gonna eat me!"

I busted out laughing, for goats weren't carnivores. Then again, Ron had never grown up with ordinary Muggle animals.

"Ahhh!" screamed Ron as the billy goat head-butted him in the bum. Ouch!

Padfoot turned around and saw Ron being chased by the goat and then he transformed into a dog and jumped the fence.

Ron was still running and yelling, dropping the corn all over the place, so all the goats were now following Ron.

Sirius changed into a man and said, "Hey, satyr cousins, over here!"

Then the billy goat turned and struck at Sirius. Actually it lowered its head and charged him.

Sirius was surprised, for most animals loved him.

Guess there was something wrong with that old goat.

"Bloody hell!" he yelped. "What's wrong with you, you crazy animal?" He chucked the corn at it and ran, just managing to get over the fence in time. It hit the fence so hard it shook.

"Problems, Padfoot?"

Sirius was very redfaced. "That damn goat is dangerous."

"Ahhh! Help, Moony!" Ron was still running in circles around the pen, and the feed corn was going all over the place.

"Oh, for the love of Merlin!" cried Remus.

Then he climbed the fence and stood directly in the charging goat's path. "Knock it off, you brainless steak." His eyes, which usually are brown, were a shade of yellow, and the werewolf nature was coming off him in waves.

The goat stopped dead, nearly crashing into Moony. "Maaa? M-a-a-h!"

Then it tried to run backwards.

I think it had just realized what it was facing and it was so scared it peed on the ground.

"Eeew! Gross!" yelled Hermione.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Remus said smugly, glaring the other goats down.

None of the other goats gave us any problems.

"Ron, quit running, it won't hurt you," said Lupin.

"It's after me! It's after me!" Ron squealed, and Remus caught him by the sleeve as he went by.

"Ron, it's okay. They're not after you any more. " Remus said, pulling him into his arms. He fastened a stern look on the lead goat. "Get, you mangy thing!"

The goat backed away and Lupin climbed over the fence with Ron.

He was laughing at Sirius, who was looking a bit miffed at being shown up by a werewolf.

"Aw, shut up Moony!" growled Padfoot.

"You all right, Ron?" asked Remus, putting him down.

"Yeah," Ron murmured, rubbing his behind. "Ow!"

Just then, my dad came back with Ginny. "What happened here?" he asked, I guess he could tell by our faces something had gone on.

Remus told him. Dad started laughing at Sirius too. "You must be losing your touch, Padfoot. And here you thought you were the animals' best friend."

"That dumb goat was possessed or something," grumbled Sirius. "It tried to kill me."

"And it hit me in the behind too, Healer Sev," sniffed Ron. "Now it hurts almost as bad as when I fell off my broom."

At that, Dad said, "Let me see," and took out his wand and performed a quick diagnostic. "You're just bruised, Ron. Hold still and I'll fix it." He gently turned my friend around and tapped his backside with his wand, muttering something.

A second later a blue mist came out and Ron was healed.

"Thanks!" Ron said gratefully.

After that we decided to visit the next section, which had animals in cages and enclosures with signs next to them telling us their age, their name, and background.

There was Bob the Boa Constrictor, he had been donated by a family because he'd outgrown his tank, he was about twelve feet long and liked to curl up on you.

"Wicked! Now there's a snake!" said Blaise. "Too bad we can't pet him."

"He could eat you, Blaise," said Ginny. "Swallow you whole in one gulp."

Blaise shook his head. "No he wouldn't. He likes to eat rabbits and goats, I think."

"Yuck!" Ginny looked sick.

Further down the row we came to Larry the Lame Lion, who had once been the pet of cruel wizard who had beaten him so badly, he went lame, he'd been found in a dark basement in a cage too small for him, half-dead. But now, thanks to the staff at Paws, he was healed and enjoying his new home. He had a black mane and he limped badly on one leg.

"Poor thing!" said Hermione. Her eyes flashed. "I'd like to break his master's leg!"

"Mmm . . .so would I," agreed Padfoot.

"He ought to be in jail for cruelty to animals," added my father.

Larry looked at us through the enclosure and huffed softly in agreement.

We saw Annie the Alligator, she had most of her teeth removed by her previous owner and they had to make her new ones so she could eat. Then we saw a pack of wolves, all of which had been gathered from different people, and some of them had a toe missing or an ear or an eye.

But they were still very cool looking and some of them came right up to the fence when they smelled Remus, wagging their tails and whining.

"Aww, look, Moony! Your fan club!" teased Sirius.

Remus swatted him on the back of the head. "Oh, you're a riot, Siri."

"Can you understand them?" asked Hermione.

"A little," Remus answered. "Right now they want me to come play with them." There was a quiver of longing in his voice.

"Remus, no. Now is not the time for you to run with the wolves," Dad said sharply, and Moony blinked and came out of the trance he'd been in.

"Sorry, Sev." He flushed lightly. "Let's go see that black panther in the other cage."

"Where? I want to see!" I yelled, and Dad hushed me.

Sure enough, there was a black panther inside a cage. Her nameplate read Softpaw, because her front claws had been removed. She was bigger than my Inky by maybe a hundred or so pounds, sleek, and licking her fur lazily.

"That could be Inky's mum," said Ginny.

"Could not!" said her brother.

"Why?"

"Because Harry's Inky's mum. He brought Inky to life. Don't you know anything, Ginny? Bloody hell!"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "I know one thing, Ronnie."

"What?"

"That Mum's gonna wash out your mouth for swearing."

"Tattletale baby."

"Ginny, Ron, that's enough," Dad ordered in that silky soft tone that nevertheless meant business. "Ron, mind your mouth, before I wash it out."

"Yes sir."

They stopped arguing, for they knew better than to test Dad and make him give Molly a bad report.

"I think she's lovely," I murmured, but before I could say anything else we were moving on to the next cage, which had a Bengal tiger inside.

The tiger was a large male and named Tony, he had an old scar across his hip from being shot at on a safari.

I giggled at the tiger's name. "Hey, it's Tony the Tiger. Like on the cereal commercial."

"Huh?" Blaise looked clueless.

"For Frosted Flakes," sang Hermione, who had watched Muggle TV all the time like I did. "They're gr-r-eat!"

"I'll bet that's why they named him Tony," I said. "I like Frosted Flakes, but my dad won't let me eat them all the time for breakfast. Got too much sugar."

"Mine either," sighed Hermione. "Mum says Frosted Flakes are the ruination of children's teeth. So I can only eat them sometimes."

"Parents!" I muttered to her.

"Come on, I wanna see the hawks and owls!" cried Blaise. They were his favorite animals besides tigers.

So we went to the aviary and saw some red-tailed hawks, falcons, owls, even an eagle. They also had a firebird and a phoenix, which were distant cousins. A phoenix could come back from ashes, but a firebird couldn't. But a firebird could enchant with its song and heal with it. A phoenix had magical tears though that healed many wounds and poison. Dad used phoenix tears in his antidotes and healing potions.

I wanted to go back and see the panther, and Blaise wanted to look at Tony and Hermione wanted to see the little bobcat, Mini, that was undersized for her kind. Ron and Ginny wanted to see the wolves again, so Remus took them there and I ran ahead of Dad and Sirius to the big cat cage.

They were still looking at the birds, and I didn't want to wait. Hermione followed me.

I stared through the bars longingly at Softpaw, and thought of how much I'd like to pet her. There wasn't a sign that said we couldn't, but I guess the people who owned the zoo thought it'd be too dangerous to let a bunch of people pet their panther. Still, I knew that she would probably like me and I sighed and wished I could just walk into her cage and stroke her head.

The next thing I knew there was a pulling and tugging sensation in my bellybutton, like when Dad Apparated us somewhere. When I opened my eyes, I found myself right inside Softpaw's cage!

The big panther looked at me curiously and made a soft huffing sound, like Inky does when he's puzzled and she rose and came over to sniff me. I didn't dare move, she was much bigger than I'd thought, bigger than me and she sniffed me thoroughly from head to foot.

Guess she must've decided I was okay though, because she started to purr and then I reached out a hand and stroked her head. "Wow. You sure are big," I whispered.

Softpaw had large amber eyes and they looked right into mine. I looked away, towards Hermione, for cats hate to be stared at.

Hermione was looking at me with a horrified expression on her face. "Harry!" She hissed. "Get out of there! You're not s'posed to be in there. Now get out before somebody sees. You'll get in awful trouble."

"I know, but I don't even know how I got here," I said, only now realizing that if Dad came and saw me inside here, he'd be furious. "My magic did it, Mione."

She shook her head. "Harry, unmagic yourself, quick!"

I tried, but nothing happened. Softpaw rubbed against me, nearly knocking me down. I scratched her ear. "I-I can't, Mione! My magic isn't working now."

I ran to the cage door and pulled it, but of course it was locked. Rats! Oh Merlin, now I was stuck in here, and if Dad saw he'd never let me come here again. "Help me," I cried to my best friend.

"How?"

"Open the door."

"It's locked."

"Well, use your magic!"

"Okay. I'll try." She shut her eyes tight and I could almost feel her thinking, Open the cage door, open the cage door and let Harry out. Let him out NOW!

Suddenly her whole body glowed, like she was surrounded by blue light. Then the cage bars vanished and I could jump out. "Thanks, Mione!"

I landed next to her, but so did Softpaw. "Uh, Mione? Umm . . .we just let the panther out."

"Oh, no!" she cried, opening her eyes.

Oh no was right. Remember what I said about accidental magic? Well, sometimes the magic takes what you want too far. And now we'd accidentally let out of their cage half the animals in the zoo, all the ones within range of Hermione's spell.

Softpaw was free, and so were all the big cats, the snake, and a bunch of other creatures, like the wolves, the goats, the herd of sheep. "Oh NO! Harry, what do we do? " Hermione was crying. "I didn't mean to let them all out! My mum's gonna kill me!"

"I don't know," I said, wondering if there were a way to get the animals back in their cages before people noticed. I looked around.

Too late. Other people besides us had come along and been looking at the animals when Hermione's magic acted. And when they saw the wild animals were loose . . .

They ran and screamed and just went bonkers.

So did the animals.

One old lady went running, or tried to run, down the path, and Larry the Lame Lion went limping after her, she was screaming, "Ahhh! Lion! Lion on the loose! Merlin save me!"

Within seconds it was like we were surrounded by people, mums, and dads, and kids, all running and screaming like idiots and the animals were wandering all over the place, some were confused and others were just running, and some of them were running after people.

"Uh oh." I groaned, grabbing Hermione so we didn't get knocked down. "Dad's gonna kill me."

We were pressed up against Softpaw's cage, and Softpaw had decided to take a stroll down towards the cage with the boa. But all the people scared her and so she jumped up and went on top of another cage.

I couldn't see my dad or Padfoot anywhere through the mob of people running.

"The animals are out!"

"Run! Run for your lives!"

"Mummy! Where are you!"

"I don't like this place anymore!"

"Who let all these wild things out?"

Hermione and I ducked under people and managed to get by a bench, where we climbed on top it, hoping to see my dad or Sirius. Hermione was still crying and saying she didn't mean it. "It's all right, Mione," I said. "It was an accident."

Just then Tony walked by . . .with Blaise on his back! "Hi, Harry!" he waved at us as the tiger went along. "Look at me, I'm a tiger rider, like in the circus! Yee-haw!"

Several other kids noticed while they were running, or being dragged by their mothers. "Mummy! Look at the boy on the tiger," cried one little boy. "I want a turn!"

"Me too! Me too!"

"Are you crazy? Come back here, Johnny!" yelled his mum, as the little boy yanked free of her hand and followed after Tony and Blaise, bawling, "No fair! I get a turn next!"

His mum ran after him, calling, "Johnny! Come back! You can't ride a tiger. Johnny! Don't make me count to three, Jonathan Ashford!"

A whole bunch of little kids were now running after Blaise, crying for a ride. Tony just kept going, half running, and Blaise hung on to his neck, laughing.

"Was Blaise just riding Tony the Tiger?" asked Hermione, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Yeah. Cool, huh?" I continued to look for Dad and Padfoot.

Then I heard him calling me.

"Harry? Harry? Where are you?"

"I'm here, Dad!" I yelled, waving my arms. "On the bench, over here!"

I could just make out Dad's head above the crowd of frantic people, good thing he's so tall.

"Stay there and don't move!"

"Okay!" Where did he think I was gonna go?

Now I could just see his head and shoulders above the crowd, and a little further back I saw Padfoot.

Suddenly, the knot of people scattered, dashing down all the paths wildly. A very large woman wearing a red caftan with masses of bright blond hair was stampeding down the path, screeching at the top of her lungs, "A SNAKE! Help! It's AFTER me! S-N-A-A-K-E!"

And behind her came Bob the Boa, only I don't think he was after her. He was just slithering along and happened to be behind her. He certainly didn't look all that hungry. But he was moving along pretty quick, and the lady was huffing and puffing, trying to run as quick as her short stumpy fat legs could carry her.

Her wand was in her hand, but she didn't use it, she was too busy hollering about the snake.

She almost trampled a young witch with a stroller and a little boy in her mad dash.

"Oh, sweet Merlin and Jesus save me!" she gasped, and then she ran right at the tree that was beside the path.

Only problem was, she wasn't small enough to climb it and my dad happened to be right in front of it.

She ran right into him, flattening him against the tree and grabbing him, her hair blowing all over and screaming fit to wake the dead.

"Oh . . .My . . .Gawd! A SNAKE! Help! . . .It's after me . . .Ahhh! SNAKE! Help me, Merlin!"

Poor Dad was squashed against her, and she was trying to climb him, I think, her arms were wrapped round him and the tree, and she was heaving like she was gonna hurl or pass out or something. She looked behind her and there was Bob, gliding along the path behind.

She let out another scream that could've been heard in China.

Right in Dad's ear.

"Sn-a-a-k-e! Oh, Mary Mother of God have mercy on me! I don't wanna die!" She was blubbering and clinging to my father, who looked like he wanted to hex her into next week.

"Madam, please! Get . . .off . . .of . . .me, dammit!"

He managed to get an arm free and was trying to pry her loose, but she wouldn't let go. All she kept saying was the snake wanted to eat her.

"The snake is NOT going to EAT you, you idiot woman!" Dad was yelling, because now he was being crushed against the tree and the lady's, uh, bosoms . . .I think that's what Padfoot calls them. "It's a boa, it doesn't eat people! Now for the love of Merlin, woman . . .get OFF!"

He couldn't reach his wand, I guess, and she was still bawling and screaming, "I'm gonna DIE! I'm gonna DIE! Ooo . . .I hate snakes!"

"And I hate you! Aghkh!" cried my dad, trying to heave his shoulder against her. "Sirius, don't just stand there! Help me!"

For Padfoot was standing a bit down the path, laughing his head off. "Sev, buddy . . .give me . . .a . . .minute . . .okay? Hahaha . . .!" He was laughing so hard tears were rolling down his face.

I guess it was pretty funny.

"Damn, I wish . . .haha . . .I had a camera!"

"SIRIUS!"

"Calm down, Sev." Padfoot managed to stop laughing long enough to point his wand and levitate the boa off the path and then the dumb lady quit screaming and Dad managed to make her let him go after a minute.

She gasped and licked her lips when she saw who she'd been holding onto. "Oh . . .I'm dreadfully sorry . . .but snakes . . .I'm absolutely phobic . . . .my, but you're a fine one, aren't you, luv?"

Dad gave her a Look and she backed off.

Then she turned and went off in the opposite direction, bouncing and swaying like a red rubber ball.

Sirius was still chuckling. "Close encounter there, huh, Sev? But I think she had the hots for you."

"Shut up, Black!" Daddy ordered. He felt along his ribs. "Damn, but that woman had a hug like a grizzly! I think she bruised my whole ribcage." He waved his wand over himself. "There, much better!" Then he looked up. "Harry? Where are you?"

"Over here, Dad!" I waved again and this time he saw me.

"Thank Merlin, son!" He ran over to us and picked me up. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine."

Sirius had picked up Hermione. "It's okay, sweetie, don't cry," he was saying and awkwardly patting her back.

"Have you seen Remus, Blaise, Ron, or Ginny?" asked Dad.

"Umm . . .Blaise was riding Tony the Tiger, Dad," I said helpfully.

"Tony the Tiger? From the Frosted Flakes commericial?" He felt my forehead. "Are you sure you didn't bump your head, Harry?"

"Yeah," I jerked my head away. "Blaise was riding the tiger, he's named after Tony, but he's a real tiger, remember?"

"Oh. Right," said Dad, then I heard him murmur, "I must be losing it. That damn woman cut off the oxygen to my brain."

"They went that way." I pointed back down the path.

We made our way back, ducking through knots of people, some of whom were still looking over their shoulders and such, trembling and whimpering.

Then a whole crowd of ten or twenty people came by, yelling, "Run for it! The wolves are out!"

And behind them came the soft howl of a wolf hunting.

Dad and Sirius just managed to get off to the side in time.

The people raced by and they were followed by four wolves, who were panting and trotting along.

"Padfoot." Dad said softly. "Shift into your dog form, now."

Sirius handed him Hermione, then he became the large black mutt.

The wolves growled and glared at him, but Padfoot stood in front of us and growled right back.

They moved on.

We continued down the path and when we got to the wolf enclosure, we saw Ron, Ginny, and whole bunch of other kids and mums pressed up against the fence, frozen in terror, as a big gray wolf with three toes and teeth the size of knives growled at them.

Behind him were six other wolves, and all of them had their heads lowered and were growling too.

Ron was holding onto Ginny, who was crying, and he looked terrified.

"Ron! Ginny! Where's Moony?" Dad called upon catching sight of them.

"He . . .he . . .uh . . ." Ron stuttered, unable to form words.

Suddenly a gigantic gray wolf appeared from off to the side of the wolf habitat. It was easily the biggest wolf I'd ever seen, it was way bigger than Three Toes, and it jumped right in front of the little kids and their mums, some of whom were so scared they didn't even draw their wands.

The great gray wolf, who I knew was Moony, lowered his head and snarled loudly.

Three Toes looked startled. He was used to being boss of the pack, but Moony was bigger, stronger, and he was a werewolf.

He growled back, but Moony wasn't going to put up with his talking back to him.

Moony moved, quick as lightning, for a werewolf can move FAST, and had Three Toes by the scruff of the neck and was shaking him hard and growling.

"Neat! A fight!" cried one little kid. "Go, big wolf! Eat ‘em up."

"Hush, Martin!"

Three Toes was whimpering, and struggling, but he couldn't break free, and in another minute Moony had him on his back, with his throat showing, and Three Toes gave up and surrendered.

Moony nipped him hard on the chin, that's an alpha wolf's way of smacking a bad wolf upside the head, I think. Three Toes whined and wriggled, submitting.

Moony stood over him, head up and snarling in warning, tail raised. "I'm the boss! Now knock it off!" was what it looked like he was telling the other wolf.

Three Toes got up, his tail between his legs and licked Moony under the chin. Then he kind of crawled back behind the other six wolves, who were standing in a ring about them.

Moony looked at the other six and barked, sort of.

The other wolves immediately tucked their tails and ran off, because Moony was the boss of them now that Three Toes surrendered. Remus had explained to me that a pack leader can be challenged by another wolf, and if he loses, then that wolf is now the boss and the rest of the pack does what he says.

Moony had beaten Three Toes, so now he was the boss wolf of the pack and they did what he wanted and left.

Moony shook himself and remained protectively in front of the kids for a few moments.

"Good one, Remus," said Dad.

"Mummy, that big wolf made the other bad wolfs leave," said a little girl. "So he's good, right?"

"Yes, dear, I guess so." She was hugging her child hard.

Then Moony started to glow and suddenly he was a man again.

"Wow, you're an Animagus!" gasped another witch.

Remus nodded. "Is everyone okay?"

Everyone was. "Ron, Ginny, c'mere." he held out his arms and they ran to him. He picked up Ginny, and Ron held onto his hand.

"Remus, what the bloody blazes is going on?" asked Dad. "All of a sudden every animal in the zoo is loose."

"Search me, Sev. We were standing here looking at the wolves when the fence vanished and the wolves were free. People started panicking, running, screaming, and the wolves got excited and ran after them. I don't think they'd hurt anyone, but it's instinct to chase what moves."

"But now they won't?"

Remus shook his head. "No. I told them not to, and they follow me for now."

Zoo officials in blue uniforms were coming around, telling everybody to remain calm and not move while they returned the animals to their cages. "They won't hurt you, but we want you to remain where you are, please, so we can find them and get them back in their home. Please do not be alarmed. These animals are not dangerous."

So we obeyed and the zoo people had all the animals rounded up in half an hour, with Moony's help, he called the wolves back home, and back where they belonged.

"I just don't understand it," the zoo director was apologizing to an angry rich-looking man. "Nothing like this has ever happened before. I'm dreadfully sorry, sir, but I have no idea how this occurred. . ."

By this time, Remus had found Blaise, who put up a fuss about leaving Tony, "But he's my friend! I wanna take him home."

"Blaise, your mum really wouldn't like a tiger in the house," said Moony. "Now say goodbye, okay?"

Blaise sniffled and waved at the tiger. Tony yawned and lay down in his cage and went to sleep. "That's the most exercise he's had in a month," said a zoo keeper. "He's getting old, used to be in a circus act, that's why he didn't mind your little boy riding him."

Remus nodded and came back over to the rest of us, carrying Blaise. "I wish I could take him home. He could sleep under my bed. Mum would never know."

Dad looked at Moony questioningly.

"He wants to take Tony the Tiger home for a pet," Remus explained. "Says he'll keep the tiger in his room."

"Over Maria's dead body." Dad said, raising an eyebrow.

"Harry, didja see the way Moony thrashed that other wolf?" Ron asked me, looking at Remus like he was the best thing since chocolate was invented. "It was like the most wicked fight ever! Wait'll I tell Fred and George! I thought this trip was going to be boring and it turned out great!"

"Sure it did," I heard my dad sigh. "Come on, let's start walking back to the entrance. I think we've seen enough animals for one day."

We all followed him, he had put me down and now I walked beside him, holding his hand. I looked over at Hermione, she put a finger to her lips and I nodded. I'd keep her secret, I didn't want her to get into trouble with her mum.

"I still can't figure out how the animals all got loose at once," said Sirius. "Cage bars just don't vanish."

They do if you've got accidental magic, Padfoot, I thought but didn't say. Hermione was one strong witch. And I was glad she was my friend. This had been a really interesting trip to the zoo.

Ginny ran up and tugged on Dad's sleeve. He stopped and looked at her. "Yes, Ginny?"

"Healer Sev, I wanna come back again tomorrow. This was the bestest trip I've ever been on."

Dad gaped at her. "It was? You weren't scared?"

"Nope. It was like being on Wild Kingdom! You know, that show Mione and Harry watch sometimes." Ginny grinned up at him.

"Can we come back tomorrow? Please, Healer Sev? Please?" Ginny begged.

Dad groaned. "We'll see. Maybe next week. The zoo needs time to recover from this . . .and so do I."

"What happened to you?" asked Remus.

Padfoot started laughing hysterically.

"Don't ask." Dad said, scowling at Sirius. "Please, Remus. Just don't ask."

Sirius was nearly doubled over, he was laughing so hard.

"Act your age, Black!" Dad snapped, and swatted him on the back of the head.

"I'll tell you later, Moony," gasped Padfoot, then he shot my dad a dirty look, rubbing his head. "Damn it, Sev, that hurt."

"Quit whining and get in the fireplace, Sirius," ordered my father. Then we stepped into the green flames and were back at home.

Inky bounded towards us and I ran over to him and hugged him. "Hey, boy, you'll never guess what happened at the zoo. I petted a mum panther and everything!" I whispered in his ear.

Dad groaned. "Merlin, but I need a drink! Too bad I don't have any firewhiskey on hand. I could use a good shot right about now . . ."

"Dad? Why would you want to give yourself a needle?" I asked, puzzled.

"Never mind, Harry. Just . . .never mind."