I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But...

I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione, wourked 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 of my life. They became Animagi.
{...}
They couldn´t keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals.