Hagrid had arrived back from his hearing about Buckbeak an hour ago. Rosalyn, Harry, Hermione and Ron were in their way to his right now, but that was when the snappy argument started.

They were walking out the doors and into the courtyard, going to visit Hagrid, when Hermione and Ron resumed what they had started last night.

"Beautiful day," Hermione said as if she wanted to carry on but didn't.

"Gorgeous," Ron replied, he started short but finished scathingly. "Unless of course you've been ripped to pieces!"

"Ripped to pieces?" Harry and Rosalyn said together. "What are you talking about?"

Hermione gave a hearty, yet loud, sigh, and continued walking ahead of them. "Ronald has lost his rat."

"I didn't lose anything!" Ron yelled after her, and some first years turned round at his voice, he scowled at them as they giggled. "Your cat killed him!"

"Evidence?" Rosalyn asked, and Ron made to stamp on her foot, but he missed and stumbled over. Rosalyn sniggered.

"That's rubbish!" Hermione turned all their minds back to the conversation.

"Harry," Ron appealed to his best friend. "You've seen the way that bloodthirsty beast of hers is always lurking about! Scabbers is gone!"

Harry looked very much as though he didn't want to be involved, but Rosalyn spoke up.

"Ron! Can't you see that you have no proof whatsoever?"

"It doesn't matter, I just have a nasty feeling whenever that cat's involved!" Ron retorted, but in Rosalyn's opinion, his response was pretty weak.

Hermione, however, turned round and walked backwards, practically yelling. "Well maybe you should learn to take better care of your pets!"

"Your cat killed him!"

"Did not!"

"Did!"

Rosalyn and Harry stood behind them, and Rosalyn put no further words in all the way down to the Black Lake, where Hagrid was meeting them.

Hagrid was there, still in his furry suit and ancient orange and yellow tie, but his trousers were pulled up and he was knee-deep in the water. Which, for Hagrid was pretty deep. He was skimming huge stones that went miles. Rosalyn felt pretty sure that he didn't want to look at them.

"How did it go, Hagrid?" Hermione asked tentatively. "The hearing?"

"Oh, well, first off, the commitee members took turns talkin' about why we were there," he said sarcastically, and Rosalyn tried not to laugh.

Hagrid skimmed another stone viciously. "Well, then I got up an' did my piece. Told them Buckbeak was a good Hippogriff, always cleaned his feathers!"

He sighed, turned a stone in his hand and looked down. "And then... Lucius Malfoy got up, and told everyone that Buckbeak was a deadly an' dangerous creature, who would kill ya, as soon as yeh looked at him."

"And then?" Hermione asked nervously as another stone rode out to sea.

"And then he asked fer the worst, gid ol' Lucius."

"You're not sacked are you?" Ron asked. Rosalyn and Hermione glared at him for being so blunt.

But Hagrid answered, "No, I'm not sacked," he started to cry, but he still didn't face them. "Buckbeak's bin sentenced teh death!"

He chucked another stone into the lake and Rosalyn was outraged.

She stood up, irate. "I swear when I see that blonde haired, pompous faced, bi-"

"Rosie! Rosie, it's fine!" Hagrid chuckled.

"But it's not fair!" Rosalyn yelled.

But she realised that was stupid. Life wasn't fair. It wasn't. And she was about to learn a fair few lessons about it.

☆☆☆

Once they had got up to the castle, it was already night. Rosalyn got out the marauders map, she wanted to examine it more closely. She was reading it from the light from her wand, and looking at every little detail of it.

Hermione suddenly sat up in her bed. "What's going on? I just wrote an essay on how to recognise and kill your teacher... I need to hand it in to my werewolf immediately..."

She sat back down, and Rosalyn sniggered. She knew Hermione was just sleep talking (and how like her it was to be sleep talking about work) but she wondered what the awake, overworked version of Hermione would say if she heard that. She smiled more at the thought of it.

Anyway, Rosalyn went back to the map, and saw a dot labelled Argus Filch patrolling the third floor. She saw a Severus Snape in his office too. Mrs Norris was on the seventh floor, but she couldn't see anyone else moving.

Until she turned the page.

The opened the map further and saw lots of places in the castle, labelled. She didn't, couldn't see anyone else, until she saw a dot labelled, marvelously, with a name she believed became dead twelve years ago.

Peter Pettigrew.

Voices instantly filled her head. Voices from that day in the Three Broomsticks.

"Peter Pettigrew?"

"Little lump of a boy, always trailing after Sirius Black?"

"Black was vicious, he didn't kill Pettigrew, he destroyed him."

Rosalyn knew what she had to do. Her sense of trouble and curiosity outweighed her sense of caution. She begged that Hermione wouldn't wake up again, her tones of caution if she heard what Rosalyn was about to do came to her now.

"No, Rosie! Don't you see? You can't go out of the tower at night, especially with Sirius Black on the run! It's just a fault in the map or something, just go back to sleep..."

But Rosalyn wanted to find out... she needed to find out.

So she slipped out her bed, put on her slippers and walked down the stairs. She didn't want to wake anyone. She couldn't.

When she got into the common room, she whispered, "Nox," to her wand, and it went out. She crept through the common room in the pitch black, her foot suddenly catching on the creaking floorboard.

It gave a loud squeak under the pressure of her foot. "Shit!" She mouthed, begging that no one had heard and quickly ran out the common room.

She put her light on just in time to hear. "What're- what're you doin' here?" From Sir Cadogan, but then he snored and went back to sleep.

Rosalyn said. "On a midnight mission," then she set off along the corridor.

She looked at the dot on the map that was Peter, and set off towards him.

She suddenly realised that she didn't have a plan. If Peter was there, what would she say to him? Would he know her? Like her? Why would he be here? Would he have all the answers she wanted? Would he be able to fill in all the blanks?

She sighed as she turned a corner and walked along a corridor lined with portraits. The corridor that, the map said, Peter was on.

"Put that light out!" A man in a painting shielded his hands with his face, yelling at her.

"Sorry," Rosalyn said distractedly, channelling the light from her wand to the map, walking slower, close as anything to Peter Pettigrew.

She pointed her wand in front of her. Nothing. According to the map, she and Peter would meet in about five steps forward.

But there was nothing in front of her.

She walked forward. Peter was so close... he was there... she was right next to him... and then...

Then he swerved and walked around her, and she turned around with her wand, but got a jump when she saw herself in the mirror.

She turned back to the map, but she couldn't see she had missed her chance. Peter Pettigrew was round a corner and away.

She turned her wand round, pointing it at portraits again, trying to see where Pettigrew had gone. She had to find him, she had to.

"Watch it there, girl!"

"Yeah! We're trying to sleep here!"

Rosalyn sighed and put the light on the map, suddenly having something much worse to worry about. Severus Snape had left his office. He was headed right round the corner to her.

"Mischief managed," she whispered to the map, "nox," she said again, distinguishing her light.

It was only a few seconds until the light came back on again, but from Snape's wand. He was fully dressed in his black robes and his black hair was greasy as ever.

"Potter... what're you doing wandering the corridors at night?"

Rosalyn shrugged. "I could ask you the same question."

Yeah, great job, Rosie. Not your most tactful response

Snape sneered. "How extraordinary like your father you are, Potter, he too was exceedingly arrogant, strutting about the castle."

"My dad probably only strutted when you were there, because he wanted to get away," the words slipped out of Rosalyn's mouth before she could stop them.

Snape narrowed his eyes. His wand was in her face, emitting that bright light.

"Now if you don't mind I would appreciate it if you could lower your wand," she was going get far.

"Turn out your pockets," Snape said quickly, but when Rosalyn refused silently he was more firm. "Turn. Out. Your. Pockets."

Rosalyn reluctantly took the Marauders Map out her pocket.

"What's this?" Snape asked as if he was a predator setting up for the kill.

"Spare bit of parchment," Rosalyn gave the only answer she could think of, but she doubted Snape would buy it.

"Really?" Snape asked intimidatingly. "Open it."

Rosalyn sighed, and muttered. "Fine, I've nothing to hide," then opened up the marauders map. She was happy to see, and Snape was angry, that it was blank.

But then Snape did the one thing Rosalyn had been begging him not to. He pointed his wand at the parchment and said. "Reveal your secret."

Writing formed on the map, and Rosalyn squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to think about what was going to happen to her. She was dead, Snape was going to bust her-

But when she opened her eyes, the map didn't have the usual greetings, but some words for the potion master, and not positive ones.

Snape looked down at the map evilly, as Rosalyn angled the parchment towards him. However, she could read it too. There were five little paragraphs on the parchment, and she read the first interestedly:

Mr Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business.

Snape froze and Rosalyn had to bite her lip hard to stop herself from sniggering. She read the next one:

Mr Prongs agrees with Mr Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git.

He is, Rosalyn thought, now having to work to stop herself from laughing. She read the next one:

Mr Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a Professor.

Rosalyn allowed herself a silent snigger and read the fourth one:

Mr Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wear something other than his dirty black robes.

Rosalyn hid a grin from Snape as she read the last one:

Ms Scarlett would like to recommend shampoo to Professor Snape's greasy hair, and advises him with conditioner as well.

"Why you insolent little-" Snape began as he finished reading. Rosalyn thought she was going to get ripped to pieces, never mind the parchment-

Until a voice said. "Professor."

Lupin had come round the corridor, and Snape seemed to be annoyed that he was there. Rosalyn, however, was glad.

"Well, well, well. Lupin. Out for a little walk, in the moonlight? I wonder..."

Rosalyn didn't know what he meant, but even if Lupin did, he didn't let it phase him.

"Rosalyn," he said, striding past Snape. "Are you alright?"

Snape, who had kept his wand on Lupin, snatched the map from Rosalyn. "Well, that remains to be seen. It have just confiscated a rather curious artefact from Miss Potter take a look, Lupin, this is supposed to be your are of expertise and it's clearly full of dark magic."

Lupin quickly and calmly denied this. "I seriously doubt it, Severus, it looks to me as if it's merely a parchment that tries to insult anyone who reads it. I expect it's a Zonko product." Snape snatched at the parchment but Lupin held it back. "Nevertheless, I should investigate any hidden qualities it possesses. As you say, this is my area of expertise. Rosalyn, would you come with me? Goodnight, Professor," he said to Snape before walking away.

Rosalyn strode away from Snape with him gladly, as he glared after them, getting told off by a portrait for his light.

Lupin led her to his classroom, saying. "Come in," to her, which she was going to do anyway.

He walked up the gap in the desks and gave her a warning. "Now, I haven't the faintest idea, Rosalyn, how this map came to be in your possession-"

"You know-" Rosalyn cut across him, but he cut across her.

"Yes, I know it's a map." Lupin said hurriedly. "But I, quite frankly, am astounded that you didn't hand it in," he swirled round, and held the map in his hand, shaking it at her. "Did it not occur to you that this in the hands of Sirius Black... is a map, like it is to you?"

Rosalyn said timidly. "No sir."

Lupin walked towards her, talking harshly. "Now your father never set much store to the rules either, but he and your mother gave their lives to save yours and Harry's. And gambling their sacrifice by wandering around the castle unprotected with a killer on the loose seems to be a pretty poor way to repay them!"

Rosalyn looked down in shame, and Lupin spoke on, but more quietly. "Now I will not cover up for you again Rosalyn, do you hear me?"

"Yes, sir," Rosalyn barely whispered.

"Now I want your to return to your dormitory, and stay there." Lupin looked at her and saw real shame in her eyes.

"Yes sir," Rosalyn repeated before she walked back down between the desks.

"And don't take any detours, if you do, I shall know," Lupin said as she walked away, tapping the map.

But at the end of the classroom Rosalyn turned back. She didn't know why she told Lupin, but she did.

"Professor, just so you know, I don't think that map always works. Earlier on, it showed someone in the castle. Someone I believed to be dead."

"Really? And who was it that you saw?"

"Peter Pettigrew."

This must've meant something, or quite a lot, to Lupin. Because as soon as she said it, he froze and his eyes went wide.

"Impossible..." escaped his lips quietly, but loud enough so that Rosalyn heard him.

"It's just what I saw," Rosalyn said somewhat defensively.

Then she walked off, giving Lupin, and of course, herself, a lot more to think about than before.