Well, here's another chapter. Better than the first, but still not very good. Oh well. Some people are reading it anyway.

The Watson Investigation

Luther Watson slowly paced his study, sipping a small glass of brandy. He had not heard from his daughter in a few days and she seemed to have disappeared. He remembered that she had recently taken a case on an old friend from Hogwarts, one Sirius Black. Sirius had been Katerina's boyfriend in their last year and that had continued until his arrest in 1981, the year that their best friends, a married couple by the names of Lily and James Potter, had died, due to Sirius's betrayal. It had taken Kat a while to believe it, but when the fact that Sirius was their Secret Keeper came forward it had to be true.

Mr. Watson stopped before his desk and looked at the papers sitting atop it. He had written down a few notes, concluding the following:

Katerina – missing two days and counting
December 14 – went to Azkaban to write a paper on Sirius Black
December 18 – was supposed to meet me for dinner at the Waterton, never showed
Later that evening – owled her without a reply
December 19 – owled the Daily Prophet, she had quit the previous day and disappeared
Later that evening – reported missing by my wife, Caroline

That was yesterday. But this morning he hired a private inspector, Jonathon Page, to search for her, dead or alive. Inspector Page was a young man with stamina and brilliance, and was very trusted by Kat's good friend Remus Lupin. Remus, who had also been friends with Sirius Black, was very trustworthy and kind, though he seemed to get ill an awful lot. Mr. Watson thought naught of it and continued to roam his mind in concern. Page went to work quickly, learning all he could from Mr. and Mrs. Watson before taking off to search for Katerina Watson.

Jonathon Page sat down next to his good friend Remus Lupin. "So tell me what happened in the past few days. You said Miss Watson was acting weird in the last day you saw her. How exactly?" he asked, trying to act as professionally as he could.

"Kat was acting like she had in seventh year at Hogwarts: a little giddy," replied the werewolf. "Of course, I'm pretty sure that resulted from seeing Sirius again. They had been in love—well, at least she with him. I'm not so sure if he actually loved her anymore. He did betray us, after all."

"What do you mean by giddy?"

"Well, when I saw her on the 15th, she was all angry and upset. It was just after she returned from the island. It must have been really hard talking to him after what he did. But the next day she returned, she seemed excited and happy. Then on the 17th, she was sad. I tried to get her to tell me what she knew—what went on—but she wouldn't budge. She said that she really wanted to tell me, but she couldn't. I wish I knew what had happened. Maybe we could find her if she had. I'm sorry, Jon. I can't help you anymore. Nothing else happened."

"Thanks, Remus," replied Jonathon. "I am truly sorry, you know."

"I know," he sighed, looking down at his mug of Butterbeer.

"I wish I knew her before this happened."

"You make it seem as if she is already dead."

"I can't tell. I don't know. I wish I did. But whatever it is, her way of reaching us is dead, whether she herself is or not."

"I wish I knew what happened at Azkaban. You should probably check in on Sirius Black at the prison. I don't think he'll tell you what happened, but it is worth a try. He could tell you one small thing that could help."

"I will tomorrow. In half an hour, I am meeting Victoria Henderson to talk about why Miss Watson quit. Maybe that could help." Jonathon stood up and made his way to the door with Remus behind him. "Thank you for your help. I will tell you when I find something. Goodbye." He nodded and stepped out the door.

A half hour later, Jonathon Apparated to the Daily Prophet and went to see Victoria Henderson, Kat's previous boss. Knocking on her door, her secretary, Lauren Meeks, opened the door to him. After acknowledging his appointment with Mrs. Henderson, Miss Meeks allowed him entry. He slowly stepped inside the office and said hello to the lady behind the desk. "Good evening," he said.

"It doesn't seem so good. After Mr. Watson called to ask about Kat and tell me of her disappearance, I've been worried sick. I do hope she is all right. Please don't tell me she's dead, will you?" the woman pleaded.

"I'm sorry to say that I don't know, Mrs. Henderson."

"Well, buddy, what questions have you? I don't know where she went off to. She said she had to fix things in her life. She told me about her past at Hogwarts: something about You-Know-Who and Black in Azkaban. Lily Evans and her husband dead, Emmeline Vance and Remus still her friends. But she mostly spoke of her past with Black. I asked her about her past with him. She told me all that and that he didn't do the crime he was put in Azkaban for. Then she just quit. It didn't make any sense to me. But what do I know? I'm just her employer—ex-employer, mind you. Questions?"

"Just like that? She quit just like that?"

"You bet your boots, she did. I said that I still didn't understand and she told me that she loved him—Black. Just think of it. That murdering traitor. Of course, because she loves him, I'm not surprised that she thinks him innocent. Love can ruin the senses and clog up the mind, after all. Is that all or do you need more information? Not that there's much information I can give you."

"No, that's just what I needed. Thank you for the time."

Jonathon walked along the beach, as he did almost every night, thinking over his cases and trying to piece together the great puzzle that had formed. The shore was so rocky that he hardly noticed the large black spot ahead. The sun, having been down for nearly an hour, did not light the sky, so he was unable to see the thing coming up. Suddenly, he tripped on a large soft something. He fell, tumbling to the earth. When he sat up, he lit a match and held it over the body, examining it while the small light shined. The fire burned his fingers and he dropped the match onto the wet sand. Then he remembered his wand and pulled it out, muttering, "Lumos!"

The sudden fire at the tip of his wand lit Katerina Watson's face and body. He examined her water-beaten corpse and nodded his head: it was indeed the missing person. After comparing it with Remus's picture of the girl, he was positive it was her.

Mr. Watson sighed after hearing the news from Inspector Page. "What was the cause of death?"

"It was the force of hitting the surface of the water. From the bruising, she hit face down, which means she was probably not pushed, although that is not a fact. It could have been murder. But from all the accounts, I don't think anyone would be out to get her. I think it was suicide. No matter, I am going to see Sirius Black at Azkaban. Even if he won't give me any information, he still deserves to know she is dead. Besides, Remus told me he needs to know."

"Thank you, Jonathon," Luther Watson said, bowing his head and taking a large gulp of brandy.

Sirius Black's cold gray orbs stared at the door of his cell, leaning back against the wall. Soon Cornelius Fudge and some "pretty-boy" walked down the line and stopped before cell number 286. "Good evening, Mr. Black," said Fudge, carrying a paper of the Daily Prophet.

"Hey, Fudge," he said quietly. "What do you want now?"

"Mr. Jonathon Page, a private inspector here, would like a word with you." He turned to the man beside him. "Do you mind if I stay here or should I go?"

Inspector Page glanced at him. "Stay," he said. He walked closer to the cell. "I'm here to talk about Katerina Watson, Black."

"What about Kat? She hasn't been here for three days," said Sirius.

"I need to know what you two were talking about when she was here."

"Why?"

"We are investigating something important."

"What important thing would have to do with Kat?" He stood up and walked toward the bars to look closely at the inspector inquiring him.

"She's dead."

"Dead?" he asked, his eyes widening in shock and sadness. "How? Was she murdered?"

"Possibly," the inspector said.

"What do you mean possibly? You should know by now!"

"Easy, bud," said Page. "Don't make me frustrated. But we need to know what happened here. She quit her job after her last day here, telling her employer she needed to clean up her life. We don't currently understand what she meant by that."

"Why would I know?"

"You were the last one to talk to her before that."

"She must have tried to get away. I told her not to come back, for her own safety."

"Aha!" exclaimed Fudge. "You threatened her and had one of your flunkies kill her by pushing her off a cliff!"

Sirius ignored him. "Doesn't Remus know? Why isn't he here?"

"Mr. Lupin knows of your crime and wanted to stay far away," said Fudge.

"She didn't tell him?" snapped Sirius.

Page sighed. "Mrs. Henderson did say that Miss Watson thought you innocent, but blamed that on the ignorance of love. Miss Watson only told her employer that, not even Lupin or Vance."

"Damn!" barked the caged dog.

"Can't you just tell us what you told her?" Page questioned. "If you are innocent, we can help."

"I'm not telling you a thing. All I know is that only Voldemort's men would murder her if anyone would. All the same, they wouldn't have pushed off a cliff. They would have tortured her first and you should know that. Why would I have flunkies push her off a cliff? I loved her, always have. I can search for the rat on my own."

Jonathon thought on the matter, wondering why Black had used the term rat. To sniff out a rat would mean to find the traitor. And, if Black was sniffing out a rat, it would mean that he was innocent of the crime. But Black didn't say sniff out a rat. He said search for the rat. What did he mean by that? What did rat mean?

Thanks for reading. Please leave me a review!

Anatui