A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or the series, that's all on J.K. Rowling

Cat, Rat, and Dog

Ella was confused when she arrived inside the Shrieking Shack. Sirius was nowhere to be found and Crookshanks had disappeared as well. She remained in her Animagus form feeling extremely uneasy by the thought that Sirius wasn't in his hideaway. Why would he leave? Her ears were alert, but the house was eerily silent. She paced the floor waiting for something to happen.

Finally, a while later she heard a loud crash which caused her to jump. Something felt very wrong, and Ella thought she shouldn't even be there. She looked around the room with the four-poster bed and saw that there were some decorative drapes pilled in the corner of the room. She scurried over and hid beneath them. If she was lucky, whoever was in the Shack wouldn't look close enough to see her little breathing motions. She could peer out of a little eye hole, but was careful that her snout didn't show.

Shortly after, Sirius dragged Ron in the room in his Animagus form. Ella nearly blew her cover at the sight of the two. Ron was in obvious pain and it would appear that his leg was broken. What the hell was Sirius doing?

Sirius transformed into his human form and Ron's face grew even paler which Ella had thought impossible moments before. Ella couldn't comprehend what she was seeing, but she wasn't the only one. Ron's mouth moved but no words were able to form out of pure shock.

"You!" Ron finally gasped. Ella had to suppress the urge to snort. Of all the things that could've come out of Ron's mouth, it was that. He was certainly related to the twins.

The convict hissed, "If you even think about scurrying away I won't hesitate to kill you." Ella's heart beat faster at that statement when she noticed that Sirius was addressing a little rodent squirming against Ron's chest. Was this changing the future or was this what led up to Ella's vision? Either way she was prepared for things to go wrong and to capture the rat before he escaped. Sirius looked over the room and his eyes briefly rested on her. His expression didn't change, but Ella was nearly positive he saw her there. He moved out of the doorway and stared at Pettigrew. As he moved, the floor creaked beneath him.

Ella watched as moments later Harry and Hermione burst into the room to help Ron who was clutching his leg and trying his best not to let on how much pain he was really in. The fourth year couldn't help but cringe at the sight in front of her. Things were going to go downhill very fast.

"Ron –are you okay?" Harry asked him.

"His leg is clearly broken and his face is as white as paper, what do you think, Harry?" Ella thought with a roll of her eyes. Honestly, boys.

"Where's the dog?" Hermione asked, which Ella found to be the more sensible question.

Ron grunted, "Not a dog…Harry it's a trap."

"What?"

"He's the dog…he's an Animagus!" Ron choked out staring behind Harry towards Sirius. Ella didn't know when it happened, but Sirius had Ron's wand in his hand. She didn't mind him having it, but she would personally punch him in the face if he broke Ron's wand. Ron just got it this year after all.

Sirius took a step forward towards Harry. His voice was hoarse from the emotion he was facing at the moment. Ella could tell by his body language that Sirius was trying to control himself and not rush to Harry. After all, Harry Potter was the spitting image of James Potter, a man who was like a brother to Sirius. It must have taken a lot of willpower for Sirius to not hug Harry or do anything more rash than the current situation had already established.

"I thought you'd come and help your friend. 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," Sirius told him. Ella could tell that he was trying to assuage the students, but even she had to admit he was giving off a sinister air. Ella chanced a glance in Harry's direction and there was no doubt that he only could see evil in Sirius. He was practically shaking with rage and Ella realized that mentioning James was probably a poor idea especially since Harry believed Sirius betrayed him.

Ella was so focused on Harry she didn't notice Ron muster the strength to stand up and tell Sirius, "If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!" A proud smile made its way to Ella's face at the statement. She was thrilled that Ron was willing to stand up for his friends like this.

Concern flickered in Sirius's eyes, "Lie down, you will damage that leg even more." Ron tried to protest, but Sirius wouldn't hear it. "There'll be only one murder here tonight." Ella huffed. What a drama queen. Of all the responses he could've given it had to be one that did the least amount of help in the situation.

Harry still couldn't contain his anger, "Why's that? 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?" Ella felt herself unconsciously back up at Harry's heated words. This wasn't the sweet boy she'd seen in the Common Room or talked to his first year.

"Harry! Be quiet," Hermione whimpered from behind him.

"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" Harry bellowed. He broke free of Hermione and lunged towards Sirius. Suddenly, Ella wasn't in the same room as the others. She was somewhere in the future.

Instead of anger, Harry looked At Sirius with pride and excitement. The two looked at each other as a connection to James. It was clear to see a bond between them, but no hatred was present. Multiple scenes swirled around her, but the general theme was the same. Harry Potter would not hate Sirius Black his whole life. This was only the beginning of their relationship.

By the time Ella had pushed her visions aside, the fight had ended. Sirius looked worse for wear with a bruise growing near his eye and bloody nose. He looked upset like he'd finally realized what he got himself into. Part of Ella wanted to help him fix the mess, but she knew she couldn't allow herself that.

Sirius was urgently trying to tell Harry, "You've got to listen to me. You'll regret it if you don't… You don't understand…" It was true he didn't understand, but in all reality Sirius hadn't helped his case.

"I understand better than you think," Harry snapped. His voice was shaking, "You never heard her, did you? My mum…trying to stop Voldemort killing me…and you did that…you did it…"

Ella's heart felt like it was breaking into a million pieces. Part of that came from Harry hearing his mum sound like that, then knowing how painful that'd be for Sirius, and finally Ella felt a little pain for herself. Lily's screams still echoed in her own head during nightmares or in random moments like this. Ella wasn't sure if she'd ever rid herself of the sounds or sights she'd seen. She could identify with Harry that the pleads were nothing anyone should ever have to hear, especially if they were your mother's.

There was a pause, and Ella was certain she'd missed something while being lost in her own thoughts. Harry had his wand pointed at Sirius and Crookshanks who sat protectively over Sirius. Ella's ears twitched as she heard footsteps below them. It took a moment before the others heard them as well. Hermione did the thing only a sensible young girl would do.

"WE'RE UP HERE! WE'RE UP HERE! –SIRIUS BLACK –QUICK!" She screamed. The footsteps quickened and the door burst open with red sparks. Professor Lupin stood in the doorway for a moment surveying the scene in front of him. Ella shrunk further into her hiding spot to avoid being spotted. There was enough madness going on in the room without seeing a baby fox hiding under some drapes.

Without a second thought, Lupin disarmed Harry and spoke in a tense voice, "Where is he, Sirius?" Ella's eyes widened. He had taken her advice and watched the Map. He knew that Pettigrew was still alive. For a moment Sirius stood there –no doubt shocked by Lupin's appearance. Then Sirius pointed towards Pettigrew, which the others thought was Ron in reality.

"But then…why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless –" Lupin's eyes widened. "Unless he was the one…unless you switched…without telling me?" Ella watched Lupin cautiously.

"You knew that! I told you!" Ella's mind raced dramatically. Then it dawned on her –Lupin may have changed his mind about what he wanted to say in front of Ron, Hermione, and Harry. He must have realized that Pettigrew was showing himself now because he knew Voldemort was rising in power. Saying this to a group of third years would've led to their panicking, and it explained why he paused so much. It seemed to everyone in the room that he was getting reassurance from Sirius about something else, namely the Secret-Keeper position, but Ella could see the truth. She could put together what really was going through the Professor's mind.

Ella was broken out of her thoughts by Hermione's scream of, "I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" As she took in the scene before her, Ella noticed that Lupin and Sirius had just embraced like the lost brothers they were. "You…you…" Obviously, Hermione's knowledge about Lupin's werewolf problems were coming out. He definitely seemed like a villain at this moment in time, but Hermione was struggling to believe Lupin had helped Sirius. Ella wondered if her own assurances were making this more difficult for Hermione to judge.

"I didn't tell anyone! I've been covering up for you!" Hermione yelled.

Lupin shouted back at her, "Hermione, listen to me, please! I can explain…"

Harry's anger surfaced once more, "I trusted you and all this time you've been his friend!" Ella had half a mind to transform back into a human and snap at all of them for being overdramatic and letting their emotions get the best of them, but she refrained. The rat had to be watched in any case.

"You're wrong. I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now –Let me explain…" Lupin tried once more.

"NO!" Hermione yelled, which Ella found quite annoying. "Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too –he's a werewolf!"

A deafening silence took over the room. Ella's pointed ears were practically flat against her head. She had to fight the urge to whimper at the hurt look that momentarily flashed through Lupin's features.

"Not all up to your usual standard, Hermione," Professor Lupin stated a bit coolly. "Only one out of the three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Harry dead… But I won't deny that I am a werewolf."

Ron tried to sit up once more, but ended up falling back on the bed with a whimper of pain. Professor Lupin attempted to help him, but Ron spat at him, "Get away from me, werewolf!" A snarl escaped Ella's mouth before she could stop it, but luckily no one noticed.

Everyone listened as Hermione explained to Lupin about how she figured out that he was a werewolf. Lupin kept his composure, which Ella found spoke leagues about his patience. Lupin had just thrown back their wands when something started to go very wrong.

"Where am I?" Ella thought to herself. A moment ago she was in the Shrieking Shack with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Lupin, Pettigrew, and Sirius, but now she was… Where? Ella could only see darkness surrounding her, but the floor beneath her was wooden.

"Somebody had to act!" Ella heard a voice whisper somewhere beyond the area she was in.

Ella stood up and looked around. It was still impossibly dark, but a flickering light could be seen at the end of a hallway. She crept down the wooden floor carefully. She tried to make sure nothing would squeak and alert the quiet house to her presence.

She stopped dead as a high, cold voice rasped, "Move me closer to the fire, Wormtail." Ella flattened herself against the cool wall behind her and tried to calm her pounding heart. Voldemort was here in this place with Pettigrew. This would be the result if she failed. She couldn't figure out if she was actually alive and in this room or if she was a ghost trapped in the vision. "Where's Nagini?" Even though she didn't have the faintest idea about who Nagini was, Ella knew she didn't want to find out.

"My Lord, may I ask how long we are going to stay here?" Ella heard Wormtail ask. She listened closely hoping that she could find out where they were staying. If she could figure out where the two were, then she would have a nice back-up plan if she were to fail in capturing Pettigrew tonight. But things didn't go as she hoped.

Soon Voldemort began making hissing noises. Ella was sure she missed something –the vision was somehow incomplete. A gasp escaped her mouth before she could stop it as a twelve foot snake slithered past her. She didn't know for certain, but she had a sinking suspicion that this was Nagini…and Ella certainly didn't want to make her acquaintance.

"Nagini has interesting news, Wormtail," Voldemort stated louder than he'd been speaking before. Ella subconsciously backed up from the door.

Pettigrew stuttered, "In-indeed, My Lord?"

"Indeed yes," Voldemort said as Ella continued backing up. A squeaking floorboard covered up what he said next, but Ella heard him finish, "standing right outside this room, listening to every word we say." Ella's heart leapt into her throat. She shouldn't be there. They knew she was listening to them. Ella should be back in the Shrieking Shack…that was where life was happening right now. This was merely a vision of the future.

"Take me back…take me back!" Ella thought wildly with her eyes closed.

She opened her eyes to a sight that wasn't much better than the one she just left. A new person had joined the room and unfortunately, it wasn't Pettigrew. Professor Snape was standing tall in the room staring menacingly at everyone as his wand aimed directly at Lupin's chest.

A/N: So, how was it? The next chapter should be a bit short like this one, but then I promise they'll get some more action! Please Review! :)