In June, two things happened- one that I dreaded, and one that utterly took me by surprise.

The first, of course, was finals. I was a good student, but not a great one, and hours that I could have spent daydreaming were used up studying. I should have been excited about taking a test on magic, something I had longed to be a part of throughout my life, but instead, I hated it. The only classes I knew that I'd do well in were Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts, subjects that came naturally to me. As for everything else... I tried not to think about it.

The second thing was so shocking, I never even saw it coming.

One day, Molly Darkle and I were walking along the lake, testing each other on History of Magic. Nearly the entire school was sitting out there studying, enjoying the gorgeous weather and taking advantage of it. I was struggling to remember why Uric the Oddball had orchestrated a revolt against the Ministry, when Sirius Black tapped me on the shoulder.

"Can you come with me?" he asked, his face serious. I shrugged at Molly's questioning look, and followed Sirius into the building.

"What is it?" I asked when we were finally alone. But Sirius shook his head and gestured for me to follow him down the hall. He walked back and forth in front of it a few times, his head screwed up in concentration, and suddenly a door appeared in the wall. I gasped, but Sirius just clicked his tongue impatiently and gestured for me to follow him in.

When we were safely inside the room, which was a small, soundproof replica of the Gryffindor Common Room, Sirius began to speak. "I need your help. There's been a catastrophe, and you're the only one I can trust enough to tell about it."

If it had been anyone but one of Potter's gang saying this, I would have been flattered. Instead, I was just nonplussed. "What did you get into now, and why me?"

"You're the only person I can tell this to without getting in trouble," Sirius said urgently. "James and Peter saw that Remus was complaining about all the noise while he was studying, so they thought that it would be amusing to lead him somewhere more silent. They blindfolded him, and took him deep into the Forbidden Forest. I decided to stay and cover for them, but they haven't returned for almost eight hours! And it'll be getting dark soon..."

"So?" I asked. Then it occurred to me. "Full moon tonight!"

Sirius nodded soberly. "James and Peter will be trapped out there with Moony on the loose."

"Moony?"

"Remus the werewolf."

Without wasting any time, we ran out of the castle. Nobody noticed us, and we managed to get to the Forbidden Forest about five minutes before sundown. I didn't bother wondering about how Sirius knew that Remus was a werewolf; they spent enough time together to be able to work that out.

Sirius flipped out his wand and whispered, "Discernius!" His wand slowly dragged his hand forward, and soon, we were following the wand. "I keyed my wand to James's a while back," he told me. "It should be able to bring us to him."

"Then why'd you need me?" I demanded. The forest was quiet, and it was getting harder to see. I shivered at the thought of what could be out there.

"I couldn't go here alone!" Sirius looked at me as though I was insane. "It's dangerous, and even I'm not that foolhardy!"

"Oh, so you're hoping that the werewolves will get to me first?" I asked, and then realized how thick the comment was.

"I don't need to reply to that," Sirius said softly. He walked for a while, then turned around and motioned for me to come. I didn't move. "What now?" he demanded crossly.

"I hear something." I shivered suddenly. "It sounds like... howling!"

Suddenly, Sirius's wand turned suddenly towards the direction the howling had come from. It dragged him forward, right toward probable danger!

I ran forward and tried to wrench it out of his hands, but it was like it was glued to his hand. It wouldn't budge, but instead dragged both of us ever closer to impending danger. Finally, I pulled out my own wand, and let go of Sirius's wand. Falling from the speed that we had been going at, I hit a root and banged up my knee. Wincing with pain, I looked up and saw that the distance between me and Sirius was growing, and so was the closeness of Sirius and the howling. "Do something, Magda!" he begged.

I fumbled with my wand, ignoring my throbbing knee. "Finite Incantatem!" Abruptly, Sirius toppled to the ground, sprawled on a thorny bush. He tried to get up, but was stuck to the thorns. "Diffindo," I suggested, and the bush cracked in half. Sirius picked off thorns, looking very embarrassed. "Are you okay?" I asked, concerned.

"I'm fine," he said, "and sorry for dragging you into this."

"Don't worry," I assured him. "Someone had to do it, and I was suitable. I hold no grudges." We both limped on, with one mission now- to find James and Peter before Remus got them. Now as I considered it, I realized just how dangerous this could be. If we were bitten, we could die, or worse- be trapped as werewolves. I had always thought of the Marauders as irresponsible, but now I had living truth. I was about to tell Sirius this, but I saw his pale, scared face and decided to save it.

We approached a small clearing carefully, when someone shouted Sirius's name. We looked up and saw James Potter sitting on a tree branch, and motioning for us to run. Sirius sprinted away, and I tried to follow, but my leg collapsed.

Then a werewolf tore through the underbrush, heading straight toward me!

Visions of what would happen to me if I were bitten flew through my mind. Trembling, I picked up a rock and threw it at Remus. It bounced right off him, but it stopped him for a second. And in that second, Peter, at the lowest branch of the tree, held out his hand. I just barely grabbed it, wondering how Peter expected me to get up the tree with a broken leg. Then I realized that he just wanted me to be able to stand.

All this was for naught, though. In a flash, Remus was on top of me, growling, with his mouth wide open on my throat. Then, Sirius jumped on the werewolf. Momentarily distracted, he struggled to bite Sirius. Remus moved off me, snapping at Sirius's hand, which was quickly pulled away. James jumped down from the tree, running around in circles. Immediately, Remus began to chase James. He held out his wand and roared, "Impedimenta!" Remus stopped short, snarling. Sirius jumped off, looking pale and tired. Peter was trembling, still up the tree, and I understood that it was up to me to clean up.

I used the Mobilicorpus spell to lift up Remus, and James stunned him. We took him to the Whomping Willow, and James tapped the knot Sienna had scratched to freeze the tree with a long branch. I floated the werewolf into an upstairs room, wondering how to lock it. James shook his head. "He won't be able to open it without hands." He looked exhausted, and I felt the same.

We went back to the Forest, found Sirius and Peter, and together, the four of us went back into the castle, making sure that no teachers saw us out after curfew. Peter left to go to Hufflepuff Tower. The remaining three of us whispered the password to the Fat Lady, and separated to go to our dormitories. Sirius paused for a second, then motioned for me to come over to him. Then he turned toward me, looking very sorry.

"Magda... I'm so sorry. Just because you knew about Remus didn't mean that I should have made you come. Out there, when you were about to be bitten, I was really afraid- and I caused it. I feel terrible, and I'll make it up to you somehow. Just tell me how. I was really irresponsible out there, and I'll try never to do that type of-"

"Enough," I interrupted his babbling. "You already made it up to me when you jumped on Remus. All debts are balanced. I was the logical choice, and it would have been even more irresponsible to go alone. I'm serious. The only thing that I need you to do is create an alibi for this leg, for me to tell the nurse. It's OK. Just get some rest." He looked gratefully at me, and traipsed up the steps to his dormitory. He was probably asleep a second later.

I stood downstairs for a moment longer, then walked upstairs. Despite my words of comfort, I was still inwardly fuming about his nerve. At least he had apologized, but despite my apparent camaraderie with the Marauders, I still couldn't stand them. The only thing that bothered me now was that I owed a debt to Sirius for saving me. Although he claimed that he owed me one, and that was why he saved me, they weren't equal in my mind. I owed Sirius Black my life- the most frightening thought of all.