FACE TO FACE WITH BLACK

Natasha's mind had gone blank with shock. The four of them stood transfixed with horror under the Invisibility Cloak. The very last rays of the setting sun were casting a bloody light over the long-shadowed grounds. Then, behind them, they heard a wild howling. Natasha could hear Simran sobbing a bit, and Natasha herself was fighting her tears.

"Hagrid," Natasha muttered. Without thinking about what she was doing, she made to turn back, but both Ron and Hermione seized his arms and Simran was just shaking her head saying it was a bad idea.

"We can't," said Ron, who was paper-white. "He'll be in worse trouble if they know we've been to see him…"

Hermione's breathing was shallow and uneven. "How — could — they?" she choked. "How could they?"

"They are the biggest idiots in the world.", Simran said with tears in her eyes. She just hugged Ron for no apparent reason and cried into his shoulders.

"Come on," said Ron, whose teeth seemed to be chattering.

They set off back toward the castle, walking slowly to keep themselves hidden under the cloak. The light was fading fast now. By the time they reached open ground, darkness was settling like a spell around them.

"Scabbers, keep still," Ron hissed, clamping his hand over his chest. The rat was wriggling madly. Ron came to a sudden halt, trying to force Scabbers deeper into his pocket. "What's the matter with you, You stupid rat? Stay still — OUCH! He bit me!"

"What in the world happened to Scabbers now? Are you positively sure it's him?", Simran said. "It maybe another rat that looks just like him."

"I am sure it's him.", Ron said and took it's right paw, "Look. It even has a paw missing."

"Both of you, be quiet!" Hermione whispered urgently. "Fudge'll be out here in a minute —"

"He won't — stay — put —"

Scabbers was plainly terrified. He was writhing with all his might, trying to break free of Ron's grip.

"What's the matter with him?", Hermione asked.

But Natasha had just seen — stinking toward them, her body low to the ground, wide yellow eyes glinting eerily in the darkness — Crookshanks. Whether he could see them or was following the sound of Scabbers's squeaks, Natasha couldn't tell.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione moaned. "No, go away, Crookshanks! Go away!"

But the cat was getting nearer —

"Scabbers —shoo!", Simran said angrily. She didn't want to fight anymore.

Too late — the rat had slipped between Ron's clutching fingers, hit the ground, and scampered away. In one bound, Crookshanks sprang after him, and before Natasha or Hermione or Simran could stop him, Ron had thrown the Invisibility Cloak off himself and pelted away into the darkness.

"Ron, come back!", Simran moaned.

The girls looked at each other, then followed at a sprint; it was impossible to run full out under the cloak; they pulled it off and it streamed behind them like a banner as they hurtled after Ron; they could hear his feet thundering along ahead and his shouts at Crookshanks.

"He has gone mad, isn't he?", Simran asked.

"He always is.", Natasha said.

"Get away from him — get away — Scabbers, come here —", Ron was shouting now.

There was a loud thud.

"Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cat —"

Natasha and Hermione almost fell over Ron; they skidded to a stop right in front of him. Simran was just behind them and stopped just in time. He was sprawled on the ground, but Scabbers was back in his pocket; he had both hands held tight over the quivering lump.

"Ron — come on back under the cloak —", Hermione panted. "Dumbledore — the Minister — they'll be coming back out in a minute —"

"I am going to murder you if you wont!", Simran said angrily.

But before they could cover themselves again, before they could even catch their breath, they heard the soft pounding of gigantic paws… Something was bounding toward them, quiet as a shadow — an enormous, pale-eyed, jet-black dog. Ron and Simran pointed a finger towards it with a terrified look.

Natasha reached for her wand, but too late — the dog had made an enormous leap and the front paws hit her on the chest; she keeled over backward in a whirl of hair; she felt its hot breath, saw inch-long teeth.

But the force of its leap had carried it too far; it rolled off her. Dazed, feeling as though her ribs were broken, Natasha tried to stand up; she could hear it growling as it skidded around for a new attack.

Ron was on his feet. As the dog sprang back toward them he pushed Natasha aside; the dog's jaws fastened instead around Ron's outstretched arm. Natasha lunged forward, she seized a handful of the brute's hair, but it was dragging Ron away as easily as though he were a rag doll.

"Ron!", Simran screamed at him. Hermione was looking at the scene with a horrified face.

Then, out of nowhere, something hit Natasha so hard across the face she was knocked off her feet again. She heard Hermione shriek with pain and fall too. Simran was hit on her chest and fell down with a yelp.

Natasha groped for her wand, blinking blood out of her eyes

"Lumos!" she whispered.

The wandlight showed her the trunk of a thick tree; they had chased Scabbers into the shadow of the Whomping Willow and its branches were creaking as though in a high wind, whipping backward and forward to stop them going nearer. And there, at the base of the trunk, was the dog, dragging Ron backward into a large gap in the roots — Ron was fighting furiously, but his head and torso were slipping out of sight.

"Ron!" Natasha shouted, trying to follow, but a heavy branch whipped lethally through the air and she was forced backward again.

All they could see now was one of Ron's legs, which he had hooked around a root in an effort to stop the dog from pulling him farther underground — but a horrible crack cut the air like a gunshot; Ron's leg had broken, and a moment later, his foot vanished from sight. Simran tried to run after him, but the tree was still in an attacking mode. Her robes were torn where the tree had hit her.

"Natasha — we've got to go for help —" Hermione gasped; she was bleeding too; the Willow had cut her across the shoulder.

"No! That thing's big enough to eat him; we haven't got time —"

"Natasha — we're never going to get through without help —"

"There is absolutely no time!", Simran shouted. "We have to go now!"

Another branch whipped down at them, twigs clenched like knuckles.

"If that dog can get in, we can," Natasha panted, darting here and there, trying to find a way through the vicious, swishing branches, but she couldn't get an inch nearer to the tree roots without being in range of the tree's blows.

"Oh, help, help," ,Simran whispered frantically, dancing uncertainly on the spot, "Please…" Crookshanks darted forward. He slithered between the battering branches like a snake and placed his front paws upon a knot on the trunk.

Abruptly, as though the tree had been turned to marble, it stopped moving. Not a leaf twitched or shook.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione whispered uncertainly. She now grasped Natasha's arm painfully hard. "How did he know —?"

"He's friends with that dog," said Natasha grimly. "I've seen them together. Come on — and keep your wand out —"

"How in the world do you know that?", Hermione asked.

"I just saw them one night.", Natasha said.

They covered the distance to the trunk in seconds, but before they had reached the gap in the roots, Crookshanks had slid into it with a flick of his bottlebrush tail. Natasha went next; she crawled forward, headfirst, and slid down an earthy slope to the bottom of a very low tunnel. Crookshanks was a little way along, his eyes flashing in the light from Natasha's wand. Seconds later, Hermione slithered down beside her and then Simran.

"Where's Ron?", Simran whispered in a terrified voice.

"This way," said Natasha, setting off, bent-backed, after Crookshanks.

"Where does this tunnel come out?", Hermione asked breathlessly from behind her.

"I don't know… It's marked on the Marauder's Map but Fred and George said no one's ever gotten into it… It goes off the edge of the map, but it looked like it was heading for Hogsmeade…"

They moved as fast as they could, bent almost double; ahead of them, Crookshanks's tail bobbed in and out of view. On and on went the passage; it felt at least as long as the one to Honeydukes… All Natasha could think of was Ron and what the enormous dog might be doing to him… She was drawing breath in sharp, painful gasps, running at a crouch…

And then the tunnel began to rise; moments later it twisted, and Crookshanks had gone. Ahead Natasha could see a patch of dim light through a small opening. The girls paused, gasping for breath, edging forward. They raised their wands to see what lay beyond.

It was a room, a very disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were all boarded up. Natasha glanced at Hermione, who looked very frightened but nodded.

"Where in the world are we?", Simran asked.

Natasha pulled herself out of the hole, staring around. The room was deserted, but a door to their right stood open, leading to a shadowy hallway. Hermione suddenly grabbed Natasha's arm again. Her wide eyes were traveling around the boarded windows.

"Girls," she whispered, "I think we're in the Shrieking Shack."

Natasha looked around. Her eyes fell on a wooden chair near them. Large chunks had been torn out of it; one of the legs had been ripped off entirely.

"Ghosts didn't do that,", Simran said slowly. "Looks like the work of some kind if a creature."

At that moment, there was a creak overhead. Something had moved upstairs. Three of them looked up at the ceiling. Hermione's grip on Natasha's arm was so tight she was losing feeling in her fingers. She raised her eyebrows at her; she nodded again and let go.

Quietly as they could, they crept out into the hall and up the crumbling staircase. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust except the floor, where a wide shiny stripe had been made by something being dragged upstairs. They reached the dark landing.

"Nox," they whispered together, and the lights at the end of their wands went out. Only one door was open. As they crept toward it, they heard movement from behind it; a low moan, and then a deep, loud purring. They exchanged a last look, a last nod.

Wand held tightly before her, the three of them kicked the door wide open. On a magnificent four-poster bed with dusty hangings lay Crookshanks, purring loudly at the sight of them. On the floor beside him, clutching his leg, which stuck out at a strange angle, was Ron. Natasha and Hermione dashed across to him.

"Ron — are you okay?", Simran asked going close to Ron. She was relieved to see him relatively unharmed.

"Where's the dog?", Hermione and Natasha asked.

"Not a dog," Ron moaned. His teeth were gritted with pain. "Natasha, it's a trap —"

"What do you mean?", Natasha asked.

"He's the dog… he's an Animagus.", Ron said pointing a finger behind her.

Ron was staring over Natasha's shoulder. Natasha wheeled around. With a snap, the man in the shadows closed the door behind them.

A mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows. If eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin. It was Sirius Black. Simran let out a small scream.

"Expelliarmus!" he croaked, pointing Ron's wand at them. The other's wands shot out of their hands, high in the air, and Black caught them. Then he took a step closer. His eyes were fixed on Natasha.

"I thought you'd come and help your friend," he said hoarsely. His voice sounded as though he had long since lost the habit of using it. "Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful… it will make everything much easier…"

The taunt about her father rang in Natasha's ears as though Black had bellowed it. A boiling hate erupted in Natasha's chest, leaving no place for fear. For the first time in her life, she wanted her wand back in her hand, not to defend himself, but to attack… to kill. This was an emotion she was unfamiliar with. Somehow it seemed to come deep within her brain. Without knowing what she was doing, she started forward, but there was a sudden movement on either side of her and three hands grabbed her and held her back. "No, Natasha!" Hermione gasped in a petrified whisper; Simran was shaking her head furiously ; Ron, however, spoke to Black.

"If you want to kill Natasha, you'll have to kill us too!" he said fiercely, though the effort of standing upright was draining him of still more color, and he swayed slightly as he spoke. Something flickered in Black's shadowed eyes.

"Lie down," he said quietly to Ron. "You will damage that leg even more."

"Did you hear me?" Ron said weakly, though he was clinging painfully to Natasha to stay upright.

"You'll have to kill all three of us before you can get to her!", Simran and Hermione said fiercely but Natasha was deaf to all that.

"There'll be only one murder here tonight," said Black, and his grin widened.

"Why's that?" Natasha spat, trying to wrench himself free of the other three. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew… What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?"

"Natasha!" Hermione whimpered. "Be quiet!"

"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" Natasha roared, and with a huge effort she broke free of other's restraint and lunged forward — She had forgotten about magic — she had forgotten that she was short and skinny girl and thirteen, whereas Black was a tall, full-grown man — all Natasha knew was that she wanted to hurt Black as badly as she could and that she didn't care how much she got hurt in return — Perhaps it was the shock of Natasha doing something so stupid, but Black didn't raise the wands in time — one of Natasha's hands fastened over his wasted wrist, forcing the wand tips away; the knuckles of Natasha's other hand collided with the side of Black's head and they fell, backward, into the wall —

Hermione was screaming; Ron was yelling; Simran was sobbing. They were all shocked to see how her best friend was behaving. There was a blinding flash as the wands in Black's hand sent a jet of sparks into the air that missed Natasha's face by inches; Natasha felt the shrunken arm under her fingers twisting madly, but she clung on, her other hand punching every part of Black it could find.

But Black's free hand had found Natasha's throat. "No," he hissed, "I've waited too long —"

The fingers tightened, Natasha choked, her glasses askew. Then she saw Hermione's foot swing out of nowhere. Black let go of Natasha with a grunt of pain; Ron had thrown himself on Black's wand hand and Natasha heard a faint clatter, Simran hit Black on back of his head— She fought free of the tangle of bodies and saw her own wand rolling across the floor; she threw himself toward it but

"Argh!"

Crookshanks had joined the fray; both sets of front claws had sunk themselves deep into Natasha's arm; Natasha threw him off, but Crookshanks now darted toward Natasha's wand —

"NO YOU DON'T!" roared Natasha, and she aimed a kick at Crookshanks that made the cat leap aside, spitting; Natasha snatched up her wand and turned —

"Get out of the way!" she shouted at Simran, Ron and Hermione. They didn't need telling twice. They were scared of the furious expression that they were seeing on Natasha's face. Hermione, gasping for breath, her lip bleeding, scrambled aside, snatching up her and Ron's and Simran's wands. Ron crawled to the four-poster and collapsed onto it, panting, his white face now tinged with green, both hands clutching his broken leg.

"What in the world is wrong with Natasha?", Simran asked fearfully.

"I have never seen her this angry before.", Ron agreed.

"Yeah.", Hermione said. "We need to help her."

"But I don't think she will allow us.", Ron said.

Black was sprawled at the bottom of the wall. His thin chest rose and fell rapidly as he watched Natasha walking slowly nearer, her wand pointing straight at Black's heart.

"Going to kill me, Natasha?" he whispered.

Natasha stopped right above him, wand still pointing at Black's chest, looking down at him. A livid bruise was rising around Black's left eye and his nose was bleeding.

"You killed my parents," said Natasha, her voice shaking slightly, but her wand hand quite steady. Black stared up at her out of those sunken eyes.

"I don't deny it," he said very quietly. "But if you knew the whole story."

"The whole story?" Natasha repeated, a furious pounding in her ears. "You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know."

"You've got to listen to me," Black said, and there was a note of urgency in his voice now. "You'll regret it if you don't… You don't understand…"

"I understand a lot better than you think," said Natasha, and her voice shook more than ever. "You never heard her, did you? My mum… trying to stop Voldemort killing me… and you did that… you did it…"

Before either of them could say another word, something ginger streaked past Natasha; Crookshanks leapt onto Black's chest and settled himself there, right over Black's heart. Black blinked and looked down at the cat. It was as if the cat was trying to defend Black.

"Get off," he murmured, trying to push Crookshanks off him. But Crookshanks sank his claws into Black's robes and wouldn't shift. He turned his ugly, squashed face to Natasha and looked up at her with those great yellow eyes. It was as if Black was looking at her pleadingly. To her right, Hermione gave a dry sob.

Natasha stared down at Black and Crookshanks, her grip tightening on the wand. So what if she had to kill the cat too? It was in league with Black… If it was prepared to die, trying to protect Black, that wasn't Natasha's business… If Black wanted to save it, that only proved he cared more for Crookshanks than for Natasha's parents. For a moment she even forgot about Hermione and how her friend will think if she would kill her cat.

Natasha raised the wand. Now was the moment to do it. Now was the moment to avenge her mother and father. She was going to kill Black. She had to kill Black. This was her chance… The seconds lengthened. And still Natasha stood frozen there, wand poised, Black staring up at her, Crookshanks on his chest. Ron's ragged breathing came from near the bed; Hermione and Simran was quite silent. Even Natasha didn't know what was making her do it. Natasha felt as though, someone inside her was telling her to kill black. Like an evil version of her.

And then came a new sound — Muffled footsteps were echoing up through the floor — someone was moving downstairs. "WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione screamed suddenly. "WE'RE UP HERE — SIRIUS BLACK — QUICK!"

Black made a startled movement that almost dislodged Crookshanks; Natasha gripped her wand convulsively — Do it now! said a voice in her head — but the footsteps were thundering up the stairs and Natasha still hadn't done it.

The door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks and Natasha wheeled around as Professor Lupin came hurtling into the room, his face bloodless, his wand raised and ready. His eyes flickered over Ron, lying on the floor, over Hermione, cowering next to the door,to Simran sitting next to Hermione with a look of relief when she saw Lupin, to Natasha, standing there with his wand covering Black, and then to Black himself, crumpled and bleeding at Natasha's feet.

"Expelliarmus!" Lupin shouted.

Natasha's wand flew once more out of her hand; so did the others that, Hermione was holding. Lupin caught them all deftly, then moved into the room, staring at Black, who still had Crookshanks lying protectively across his chest. Natasha stood there, feeling suddenly empty. She hadn't done it. Her nerve had failed her. Black was going to be handed back to the Dementors.

Then Lupin spoke, in a very tense voice. "Where is he, Sirius?"

Natasha looked quickly at Lupin. She didn't understand what Lupin meant. Who was Lupin talking about? He turned to look at Black again. Black's face was quite expressionless. For a few seconds, he didn't move at all. Then, very slowly, he raised his empty hand and pointed straight at Ron. Mystified, Natasha glanced around at Ron, who looked bewildered. Even Hermione and Simran were looking at Ron with a confused expression.

"What does all this got to do with Ron?", Hermione thought to herself.

"This just got confusing.", Simran thought and turned to Ron.

"I have no bloody idea what is happening.", Ron mouthed quietly.

"But then…" Lupin muttered, staring at Black so intently it seemed he was trying to read his mind, "… why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless" — Lupin's eyes suddenly widened, as though he was seeing something beyond Black, something none of the rest could see, "-unless he was the one… unless you switched… without telling me?"

Very slowly, his sunken gaze never leaving Lupin's face, Black nodded. "Professor," Natasha interrupted loudly, "what's going on —?"

But she never finished the question, because what she saw made her voice die in her throat. Lupin was lowering his wand, gazing fixed at Black. The Professor walked to Black's side, seized his hand, pulled him to his feet so that Crookshanks fell to the floor, and embraced Black like a brother.

Hermione thought that she would faint anytime. Ron's eyes widened in horror. Simran's jaw just dropped onto the floor.

Natasha felt as though the bottom had dropped out of her stomach. "I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione and Natasha screamed. Lupin let go of Black and turned to both of them. Hermione had raised herself off the floor and was pointing at Lupin, wild-eyed. "You — you —"

"Hermione, Natasha—"

"– you and him!", Natasha said angrily.

"Natasha, calm down —"

"We didn't tell anyone!" Hermione shrieked. "We've been covering up for you —"

"Hermione, listen to me, please" Lupin shouted. "I can explain —"

Natasha could feel himself shaking, not with fear, but with a fresh wave of fury. "I trusted you," she shouted at Lupin, her voice wavering, out of control, "and all the time you've been his friend!"

"You're wrong," said Lupin. "I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now — Let me explain…"

"NO!" Hermione screamed. "Simran, Ron I don't think we can trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too — he's a werewolf!"

There was a ringing silence. Everyone's eyes were now on Lupin, who looked remarkably calm, though rather pale.

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," he said. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Natasha dead." An odd shiver passed over her face. "But I won't deny that I am a werewolf."

Ron made a valiant effort to get up again but fell back with a whimper of pain. Lupin made toward him, looking concerned, but Ron gasped, "Get away from me, werewolf!"

Lupin stopped dead. Then, with an obvious effort, he turned to Hermione and said, "How long have you known?"

"Ages," Hermione whispered. "Since I did Professor Snape's essay…"

"Me too.", Natasha said. "Even I figured out that, you are a werewolf."

"Snape'll be delighted," said Lupin coolly. "He assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant… Did you check the lunar chart and realize that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realize that the Boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?"

"Both,", they both said with a glaring look.

Lupin forced a laugh.

"You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione, and you are just like your mother, Natasha. Even she figured out such."

"How dare you talk about-", Natasha said but Hermione interrupted her.

"I'm not," Hermione whispered. "If I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!"

"But they already know," said Lupin. "At least, the staff do."

"Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf," Ron gasped. "Is he mad?"

"I think that is a question that, everyone asks at school.", Simran said.

"Some of the staff thought so," said Lupin. "He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy —"

"AND HE WAS WRONG!" Natasha yelled. "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!"

She was pointing at Black, who suddenly crossed to the four-poster bed and sank onto it, his face hidden in one shaking hand. Crookshanks leapt up beside him and stepped onto his lap, purring. Ron edged away from both of them, dragging his leg.

"I have not been helping Sirius," said Lupin. "If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look —"

He separated Natasha's, Ron's, Simran'sand Hermione's wands and threw each back to its owner; Natasha caught her, stunned.

"There," said Lupin, sticking his own wand back into his belt "You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"

Natasha didn't know what to think. Was it a trick? "If you haven't been helping him," she said, with a furious glance at Black, "how did you know he was here?"

"The map," said Lupin. "The Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it —"

"You know how to work it?" Natasha said suspiciously.

"Of course I know how to work it," said Lupin, waving his hand impatiently. "I helped write it. I'm Moony — that was my friends' nickname for me at school."

"You wrote —?"

"The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you four might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his Hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I?." He had started to pace up and down, looking at them. Little patches of dust rose at his feet.

"You might have been wearing your father's old cloak, Natasha—"

"How d'you know about the cloak?"

"The number of times I saw James disappearing under it…" said Lupin, waving an impatient hand again. "The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak, you still show up on the Marauder's Map. I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid, and set off back toward the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else."

"What?" said Natasha. "No, we weren't! There were only we four under the cloak"

"I couldn't believe my eyes," said Lupin, still pacing, and ignoring Natasha's interruption. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you?"

"No one was with us!" said Natasha.

"And then I saw another dot, moving fast toward you, labeled Sirius Black… I saw him collide with you; I watched as he pulled two of you into the Whomping Willow —"

"One of us!" Ron said angrily.

"It was only Ron.", Simran said. "But if you count Scabbers its two."

"Yes, Ron," said Lupin. "Two of you.". He had stopped his pacing, his eyes moving over Ron. "Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" he said evenly.

"What?" said Ron. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?"

"Everything," said Lupin. "Could I see him, please?"

Ron hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes. Scabbers emerged, thrashing desperately; Ron had to seize his long bald tail to stop him escaping. Crookshanks stood up on Black's leg and made a soft hissing noise.

Lupin moved closer to Ron. He seemed to be holding his breath as he gazed intently at Scabbers.

"What?" Ron said again, holding Scabbers close to him, looking scared. "What's my rat got to do with anything?"

"That's not a rat," croaked Sirius Black suddenly.

"What d'you mean — of course he's a rat —"

"No, he's not," said Lupin quietly. "He's a wizard."

"An Animagus," said Black, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew."