Grace shivered, pulling her jumper closer to her as she continued reading. She was nearly finished with the book, only fifty or so pages left. She knew it was getting late, but she was nearly done and she couldn't pull herself away from the chilling pages. She held her wand closer to the pages, letting the blue light shine so the words were clear enough for her to read. There was rustling in the distance, most likely trees or the wind, so Grace didn't pay it any mind.

Bark!

She jumped at the sound of a dog, and frowned, looking around her. She turned to the other side and stared wide eyed at a black dog. Her heart lurched into her throat as she stared fearfully at the dog, who made its way closer to her. Her mind instantly went to the Grim, and she felt as if ice ran through her veins, but when the dog grew closer, it barked again and started wagging its tail. She blinked and frowned, moving her wand to get a closer look. She felt herself relax, and her heart began to slow down. She shouldn't be reading horror books alone.

"Snuffles?!" she asked, surprised. The dog barked as he moved closer, his tail wagging; he rested his front paws on her lap and began licking her face. Grace laughed and started petting him. "Alright, alright,calm down!" she said, pushing him away gently. "What on earth are you doing up here? How did you even find me? How did you gethere?" she asked as she stuck a worn piece of parchment into the yellowing pages of her book. She felt something fluffy rub against her other side and heard a soft purring sound. She turned and saw Crookshanks rub against her, she smiled and scratched the cat on his head. "Hello, Crookshanks... well you answer one of my questions..." she muttered, then turned back to the dog who looked at her with his mouth open, and panting. It was his smiling face.

"How did you even find Hogwarts," She whispered as she continued to pet Snuffles. She knew he was intelligent,extremelyintelligent, but there wasno waythat he was able to find Hogwarts. Even if he was, that journey was long and exhausting, and she was surprised that the dog was even able to make that journey. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, I've thought about you a lot," she continued talking to the dog. "But..." her voice died as she continued to pet him. There was a gust of wind, and she shivered from the cold. Snuffles whined and moved closer to her, bumping his nose with her chin.

"Are you trying to keep me warm?" she asked softly, and Snuffles licked her chin, making her laugh. "You're such a sweet boy," she whispered. She wrapped an arm around Snuffles, who leaned against her, and she brought her knees up to lay her book against them. Crookshanks purred as he jumped onto Grace's stomach and curled into a ball. "Go right on a head, Crookshanks," she said dryly, then opened her book. Snuffles whined and pawed her book. "What?" She asked, and he rested his paw on the book again. "What am I reading?" she asked, and he nodded. "Oh...it's calledThe Haunting of Hill House, it's by an American muggle author. Remus lent it to me, I thought it was fitting since it's Halloween."

Snuffles whined softly, blinking his sad dog eyes at her and nudged her chin with his wet nose again. "It's pretty good, a little spooky but... I suppose that was the point," she shrugged, then pointed her wand over Snuffle's shoulder to her book.

She didn't know how long she was sitting there, but when she turned a page, nearing the end of the book, she heard Crookshanks growl and hiss. She frowned and looked down at the orange cat, who was staring off into the distance, hissing. Grace felt Snuffles tremble lightly in her arms, and he whined quietly, hiding his face under her chin; she shivered, feeling colder than before, and dread tugging inside her. She held her illuminated wand out and noticed Dementors at the flying toward the castle.

"What..." she whispered, putting her bookmark back in. She took hold of Crookshanks, holding the cat close to her chest, and stood up from the ground. She looked up to the sky as the dark clouds moved, revealing the full moon. "Oh no..." she whispered. Her face paled at the moon, and her heart and stomach fell in fear. She felt a tug on her jumper, she looked down and saw Snuffles tugging on the fabric, trying to pull her closer to the school. He looked up at her, whining, and it looked like he was scared for her.

He continued to tug her toward the school but she looked from the dog to the school that was now surrounded by Dementors, then at the full moon. She had nowhere to go. She didn't know why the Dementors were at the school, but she knew if she went then they'd turn to her. She knew she shouldn't linger this far away from the Castle on the full moon, even though sheknewRemus had taken his wolfsbane potion, and she knew he wouldn't hurt her but still...

She jumped at the sound of a howl in the distant, and Snuffles was growling and barking at her now. "I can't," she whispered, shaking her head. "I-I can't go to the school! Those are Dementors! I-I can't face them again!" she told Snuffles, who barked at her then tugged on her jumper again. She turned around, and faced the direction of Hagrid's hut. Shecouldgo to him, but then she remembered the Halloween Feast. She completely missed it, but she knew Hagrid would be at the feast and not in his house. She felt Crookshanks tremble, and growl toward the school, and she held onto the cat tighter. She was stuck, she was alone with only two animals, she was lost on what to do, and she wasterrified.

Tears stung her eyes as she held Crookshanks, staring off at the school. She was so stupid. She should've went back to the school when it started getting dark, but no, instead she wanted to try and finish her book. She was stupid, stupid, stupid! She was going to get detention for this, she knew she would and she deserved it. She could already hear Professor McGonagall yelling at her about how stupid and thoughtless she was, missing the feast on a full moon,knowingabout her uncles affliction, and after being reassured by him that she knew better. A hundred points, she was sure would be taken from Gryffindor for her stupidity, and she would agree. She was stupid. She knew better.

"I messed up," she cried quietly. "I-I don't know what-what to do!" Snuffles whined, and started pushing her from behind. "I-I'm-"

"Go!Get to the castle, quickly!Now!" A deep, hoarse, voice whispered urgently. She frowned, then whipped around looking for the voice but so no one. She looked down for Snuffles, but he wasn't there. The voice, she knew that voice; it seemed too familiar, yet she couldn't place it. She heard Snuffles bark from a head of her and she blinked, confused. Did...did Snuffles talk? No, dogs couldn't talk... but who... The dog barked at her again and motioned to the castle. 'Get to the castle' the mystery man told her.

There was another distant howl, and Grace turned toward the forest. She thought Remus was going to be transforming at the Shrieking Shack? Maybe because today was a Hogsmeade trip, he decided to not risk it? She would have to ask him tomorrow. Snuffles barked again, and she looked at the Castle. "I'm going," she whispered, looking at the dog and patted his head gently. "I'm going... I'll...I'll be back out tomorrow, I'll bring you some food alright?" She whispered and Snuffles barked impatiently, glowering at her and she nodded. "Let's go Crookshanks," she whispered and scratched the cats head as she began walking to the castle. She wondered if there was a way to get past the Dementors?

Crookshanks hissed, wiggling himself from Grace's arms, and she struggled to keep hold of him. "It's alright Crookshanks! Come on, please! I'm sure Hermione's wondering where you are!" She whispered, trying to calm the cat down. Crookshanks hissed and escaped from her hold and leapt to the ground, then ran away. "Thanks, you stupid cat," she muttered, glaring at the cat, then she turned and started to make her way to the castle again.

With each step, she felt colder, and colder. She could see her breath around her, it was so cold her joints were aching with each step she took. She couldn't tell if she was shivering from how cold she was, or from pure fear. She wanted to hide somewhere, she didn't want to be getting closer to the castle where there were Dementors circling like vultures. It was then that she felt it, a tug from within and she looked up to see a Dementor getting closer to her. It found her,theyfound her. There was another, and she felt the tears that she's been fighting finally start falling down her face.

Howling.

Growling.

"Remus!"

Grace blinked, trying to take another step closer to the castle entrance, but there was another tug, this time it was stronger. Her knees felt weak, her entire body was hurting and she was losing feeling in her fingers. She was freezing, she was scared, she wanted to disappear.

"I'm...I'm not Sirius Black..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "I'm...I'm a student..." she added, but she could barely hear her own voice. Her eyes fluttered with she felt the tug from a dementor again, and she started feeling dizzy. She tried blinking her eyes back into focus.

"Remus!" a ten year old Grace screamed, running through the trees of the forest near her house. "Remus!" she cried out. "Ah!" she screamed in pain as she tripped over a tree root. She hissed in pain as she looked at the scrapes on her hands.

Growling.

Snarling.

Grace slowly looked up and saw a, large, grey wolf standing about ten feet from her. It's snout wrinkled, teeth bared in a snarl, and she could see the murderous look in it's golden eyes. She stared at it in terror. She knew that wasn't Remus. She knew because Remus had tan fur, but she also knew that he had taken wolfsbane. Her mother brewed it for him every month since he started living with them. The wolf growled and bared it's teeth. She froze. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe. She was either going to get bitten or die, or both. She knew Remus would find her in the morning... she knew he was going to be riddled with guilt, he was going to be heartbroken... she was going to die from being stupid.

Her heart lurched into her throat as the wolf leaped. She closed her eyes, waiting for pain, but heard a growl and a whine of pain. She opened her eyes and saw a large, darker grey, wolf in front of her in a defensive position with it's fur standing up. The grey wolf growled as it stood up, and went to attack again, but the dark grey wolf snarled pounced. Grace stared wide eyed at the frightening scene before her. The grey wolf fell to the ground with a whine, then the dark grey wolf turned to her. Her heart stopped at the narrowed, furious glare in it's golden eyes. It was Remus. She blinked away the tears that stung her eyes, and he nodded in the direction behind her, and she turned and saw her tree house.

'Go. Hide.' She knew that was what Remus was telling her to do. She stood up, shakily, and wiped her hands on her pajama pants. "Remus..." she whispered, taking a step toward him but he growled, and she nodded. She screamed when the grey wolf lunged toward them, but Remus quickly attacked, latching his teeth on the other wolfs neck. Grace quickly ran to her tree house, climbed up the ladder, and shut the bottom door. She looked out the window and watched as Remus and the other werewolf fought.

Growling.

Snarling.

Howling.

She watched in horror as the two wolves clawed at each other. Her heart raced so fast, pounded so hard, she worried it would rip from her chest. Remus was getting hurt... he was getting hurt because ofher. This was all her fault... she didn't know if she could live with herself if something happened to him because she was stupid.

There was a high pitched yelp when the grey wolf flew into a tree. She held her breath as she watched from the window, waiting for the wolf to get up. When it did, it was slow, lethargic, but it snarled again at Remus and lunged one more time. Remus, who was quicker, attacked. Blood splattered on the tree and the ground surrounding them and she watched as the grey wolf fell limply to the ground.

Slowly, the dark grey wolf turned and glared up at the tree house, and she started crying. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She cried from the window.

"I'm so sorry!"

"Miss Black!"

"Remus! I'm sorry!"

"Gracia Black!" Grace's eyes snapped open. Around her was no longer dark and cool, but light and warm. She gasped, looking frantically around her and saw Hagrid, Professor's Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape and Madam Pomfrey; who were all staring at her in various degrees of concern. Snape was the most surprising, though his concern looked more like contemplation. Probably figuring out a way to punish her, which she would gladly take.

"There, there," Professor McGonagall said softly as she sat on the bed beside her. She looked around her, she was in the Hospital wing. "You're alright now, you're safe in the castle." Grace blinked up at her, and her lips started trembling. She couldn't hold back the tears anymore, so she started crying. "Shh, shh," McGonagall whispered, putting a comforting arm around the girl.

"Here, Miss Black, this will help," Madam Pomfrey said gently, holding out a cup of hot chocolate for her take once she had calmed down. Grace took it into her trembling hands, and took a small sip. She could feel her body starting to warm up.

"Miss Black," Dumbledore started gently, and she looked up at him through her tears. "I know this might be difficult at present, however, given the current circumstances we do not have time to waste," he continued, and she looked at him confused. "Please, tell us what happened."

"I-I don't...I don't know," she whispered, shaking her head. "What...why were the Dementors," she whimpered, and she let out a shaky breath as McGonagall rubbed her back.

"Where were you this evening, Miss Black?" Dumbledore asked gently.

Grace frowned in confusion, why were they concerned about where she was? "I-I was re-reading by the lake," she answered. Dumbledore stared at her, silently telling her to continue. "I-I lost track of time-"

"You didn't notice it gettingdark," Snape sneered.

"Severus," Dumbledore warned softly.

"I-I did but..." she started again, and Dumbledore rose his brows for her to continue. "It...it was a really good part, I-I was almost finished. But-but I noticed the Dementors and... and I-I didn't know where to go," she cried. "Or-or what to do!"

"Miss Black," Dumbledore started again, looking at her seriously. "Did you seeanyoneoranythingwhile you were out on the grounds?" he asked and she frowned. She was going to say just Crookshanks and her mysterious stray dog Snuffles, but decided that it was perhaps best to keep that to herself. Then she thought about the voice, the mans voice.'Go. Get to the castle, quickly! Now'. His voice echoed in her mind. It was deep, hoarse, and he sounded so scared. It could've been from the Dementors...or for her. It was best not to mention that either.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "I-I didn't see anyone, sir."

"Are you sure?" he asked gently. Grace nodded.

"Why-why would I have seen someone?" she asked, nervously. "Wha-what happened? Why were the De-Dementors so close to the castle?"

"It seems, Miss Black," Dumbledore started. "That during the Halloween Feast, Sirius Black broke into the castle," fear plummeted into her stomach as she stared at Dumbledore with wide eyes.

"Harry! Where's Harry? Is he alright!?" She exclaimed, but Professor Dumbledore held up his hand to quiet her.

"Sirius Black tried breaking into the Gryffindor Common room," Dumbledore continued, and she opened her mouth to speak again but Dumbledore spoke before she could. "No one in the castle is harmed, and all students are currently in the Great Hall," she instantly relaxed into Professor McGonagall's side. "It was Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Longbottom and Miss Granger who realized you were not at the feast and notified us. We were worried that perhaps Sirius Black had taken or harmed you in the process of getting in, or out of the castle," he explained, and she nodded. "I ask once more... did you seeanything,oranyone?" he asked again. Grace shook her head, and he nodded slowly, but Grace had a feeling that he knew she wasn't being completely truthful. "I think it's best that we leave you here to rest, you've had an eventful evening," he spoke.

"What?" she asked, looking wide eyed from Dumbledore to McGonagall. "Can't...can't I stay in Remus' room? Please?" She asked, looking back at Dumbledore.

"While we are aware of your relationship withProfessorLupin," Dumbledore started softly, subtly reminding her that Remus was a professor and should be regarded as such. "And that you are aware of his...condition, we cannot have you stay in his quarters. It will be perceived as inappropriate to not only other staff members, but students as well, Miss Black."

"But-butplease!I-I want myuncle!" She pleaded, blinking aware the tears that were swelling in her eyes. "I-I know he won't be back tonight but...butpleaseI just-I justneedhim!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Black," McGonagall whispered gently. "You need to rest-"

"Here?" She asked, staring fearfully at her head of house. McGonagall nodded, and then Grace started shaking her head. "Please... please I don't-I don't' want to be here alone! I-I can't be alone!" She pleaded. McGonagall was about to protest but Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"Perhaps, Minerva, she will feel more comfortable sleeping amongst her friends and family in the Great Hall," he suggested. "I'm sure our residential Weasley's, Miss Granger, Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom will be able to provide the comfort she needs tonight."

"Of course," McGonagall nodded, and stood up.

"Drink up, Miss Black," Madam Pomfrey nodded to the hot chocolate. "You'll feel better."

"Once you're finished, I'll escort you to the Great Hall," McGonagall told her and she nodded.

Not wanting to be away from her friends much longer, she quickly downed her hot drink and stood from the hospital bed. The walk to the Great Hall was silent. Grace didn't want to talk, but she could feel McGonagall's sorrowful stare on her. When they walked into the Great Hall, heads turned, and Grace wanted to hide when she noticed every eye and head was turned to her.

There were colored sleeping bags, matching each house, lined along the Great Hall. Percy and Penelope were trying to get everyone to settle and go back to sleep. Grace didn't know what time it was, she presumed it was late and well past curfew. Her eyes trailed along the red sleeping bags until she found a familiar pair of emerald green eyes. Harry stood up from his sleeping bag, alerting Ron, Hermione, Neville and other members of Gryffindor.

"Back in bed!" Percy exclaimed, only noticing Harry and Ron; but when he turned and saw McGonagall, then noticed Grace beside the teacher. Percy's body relaxed, and he looked relieved to see the young girl.

"Grace!" familiar voices exclaimed. Before Grace could respond, she was hit with a warm, strong hug. The scent of broom polish and firewood surrounded her, and she knew instantly that it was Harry. She relaxed in his arms and returned his hug. When he pulled away, she saw Ron, who looked relieved and then wrapped his arms around her. Grace held onto Ron tightly and hid her face in his shoulder. It was then that she let herself cry again. If she couldn't have Remus, she wanted Ron.

"I ask that no one ask her what happened tonight," Professor McGonagall said softly. She felt Ron nod as he rubbed her back.

"Is she alright, Professor?"

"A good night's rest among friends is what she needs right now," McGonagall answered.

Grace felt Ron guide her to the sleeping bags, where the rest of their friends and the Weasley's were waiting impatiently. There was an empty sleeping bag between both Ron and Harry's, and she was thankful because she didn't want to be separated from Ron, not tonight. When he let go, she shivered, even though the Great Hall was warm, the last effects of the Dementors lingered.

"Here," Harry whispered, she turned and saw Harry tug off his black hoodie and hand it to her. "You're cold, take it," he said and she gave him a small smile before pulling it over her head.

She lay in the sleeping bag, lying on her back and staring at the enchanted night sky of the Great Hall. Sirius Black had broken into the castle, and escaped, and slipped through the Dementorsagain. Why did he break into the castle and go to Gryffindor Tower when everyone was at the Feast? If he was after Harry... why did he wait until a time thatno onewould be in the common room? It didn't make sense. Grace played with the strings of Harry's hoodie as she replayed everything in her mind. If Sirius Black slipped past the Dementors again... why didn't she see him? Wouldn't she have seen him outside?

'Go! Get to the castle, quickly! Now!' the mans voice returned. Grace wondered if that voice belonged to Sirius Black. The man the voice belonged to had disappeared in thin air... and like Seamus had said before: Catching Sirius Black was like catching smoke with your bare hands. However, if Sirius Black was as deranged and dangerous as everyone claimed him to be then why help her? If the voice did belong to Sirius Black... then why would he risk getting caught just to keep her safe?