They ended up in a sort of house. It was wooden and, navigating by Ron's yells of fright and terror.

"We're in the Shrieking Shack, aren't we?" Hermione breathed.

"Yep, my hunch was right," Rosalyn tried desperately to keep the shaking out of her voice.

And she was right. A long staircase lead up to a banistered second floor.

"Come on," Rosalyn said, as they reached the top landing; a few planks of wood, really.

They looked in old rooms with slashed curtains, ripped posters and burnt out fireplaces, but he wasn't there.

"Ron!" Harry suddenly yelled, and the three of them rushed into the room their best friend was in.

It was bedroom, with a broken four-poster bed in the corner of it. There was a piano with many keys missing and a table that looked a thousand years old.

Ron was in there, whimpering. He was sitting on a dusty old footrest and when Rosalyn asked. "Ron, are you okay? Where's the dog? And the fox?"

Ron answered quickly. "Harry- Rosie- It's a trap! He's the dog - he's an animagus! And- so's the fox!"

Rosalyn's heart went cold as she looked at the ground. There were dog prints on the floor, and fox paw prints...

But half way along the floor, they changed... into two sets of human's foot prints. And they went behind the door. When the broken, old door closed, Rosalyn realised that someone had been holding it open for them.

Sirius Black stood there, with a woman, who had red hair, by his side.

Before she killed him (or she killed her) Rosalyn took a moment to take them in.

Black was as ragged as he was in the newspaper. His hair was greasy and dank, his face was pale and his cheeks were sunk. He wore robes that might have been quite nice when he'd put them on, but had been ripped and covered in mud and dirt through the years.

And the woman beside him... well, she was... a lot like Rosalyn. She had red hair, a very Rosie expression on her face, and she looked quite angry. But her eyes... they were hazel. The exact hazel that everyone said Rosalyn got from her father. But this woman... she had them too. Her jaw was set and she was clenching her fists, but it wasn't at Rosalyn or Harry.

It was at Ron.

The attention turned back to Black as he took a step towards them.

Ron, however, wasn't having that.

With his injured leg, he stood up, limped over, and stepped in front of Rosalyn.

"If you want to kill Rosie you'll have to kill us too!" He shouted, even though the pure exertion of standing up was draining his face of colour.

Rosalyn felt a surge of kindness towards Ron, and Hermione and Harry when they stepped forward with her.

But Sirius Black retorted, his voice as ragged as his clothes. "No, only one will die tonight."

Rosalyn didn't know what made her do it, but she stepped in front of Ron and ran forward, getting a firm grip on Black's neck and bellowing. "And it'll be you! You killed them! YOU'RE THE REASON THEY'RE DEAD!"

She knocked him to the ground and left one hand on his neck, slowly strangling him. She took out her wand with the other hand and pointed it at his face.

She wanted a reaction, but all she got was a laugh. Sirius Black laughed, his yellowish teeth bared, his voice cracked more than once, but he just asked. "Are you going to kill me, Rosalyn?"

The woman, who was still standing behind the door, said. "Listen, Rosalyn, if you kill him, you will regret it-"

"Who are you?" Rosalyn yelled at him. "You don't know anything about-"

"Oh, believe me, I do," the woman said.

"Okay, then, so you must know that this man is a murderer-" Rosalyn started.

"No, I know another story," the woman said. "And as for who I am... my name is Isabelle Daisy Black. But prior to my marriage, they used to call me Izzy... Potter."

Rosalyn stood, frozen. The girl Lupin talked about... the woman Black had been with that night... she was related... to her?! And married... to Black?!

But before she could say anything else, Remus Lupin burst through the doors and yelled. "Expelliarmus!"

Rosalyn's wand spun through the air and Lupin caught it, signalling for her to get up.

She did.

Then Lupin turned to Sirius, saying rather casually. "Well, well Sirius, looking rather ragged aren't we?" Rosalyn was shocked, he couldn't be...

But Lupin just continued. "Finally the flesh reflects the madness within."

"We'll you'd know all about the madness within, wouldn't you, Remus?" Sirius retorted. Turn him down, Rosalyn internally begged. Turn away, you're not his friend, turn him down...

Lupin kept his wand on Sirius but moved closer to the mass murderer. Rosalyn didn't know what to think of what was going on.

Slowly, Lupin bent down and offered his hand to Sirius. Sirius smirked as if he knew this was going to happen and took Lupin's hand, standing up with a bit of help.

Then Isabelle, who was still standing, smiled to Lupin and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "It's been twelve years, Remy," she smiled.

Lupin turned to her, smiling as well. "It sure has been... Izz."

And then, without warning, the three of them hugged tightly. Hermione frowned at what was happening, but Rosalyn was just afraid that there were now three people that wanted to kill her in the room. She just couldn't believe Lupin would...

The two of them were uttering some words but Hermione's were the loudest.

"NO!" She screamed across the room, and, just now, Rosalyn didn't get why she was so wound up. But she would as Hermione continued. "I trusted you! And all this time- you've been his friend!"

She turned round to Rosalyn, Harry and Ron but kept her finger pointed at Lupin. "He's a werewolf, that's why he's been missing classes! He's been helping Sirius get into the castle and he wants you dead, too Rosalyn!"

Isobelle grinned. "Is she the mini-Lils, then?" She smirked.

"If you say one word about my mother again I swear I will hex your lips together," Rosalyn retorted angrily.

Meanwhile, her supposed relative just laughed. "You know, Rosalyn, when James and Lily first introduced me to you I knew you would be just like me, I just didn't know how much."

Rosalyn clenched her fists. "I'm nothing like you!"

The woman smiled. "Oh, you definitely are."

Meanwhile, Lupin was smiling at Hermione. "Not as good as your usual, Hermione, only one out of three. I have not been helping Sirius or Izz, for that matter, get into the castle and I certainly do not want Rosalyn, or Harry, dead. But I do not deny that I am a werewolf."

The three of them, as Ron was already sitting at the back of the room, all backed away in fright. Rosalyn felt betrayed. Not only was Lupin friends with Sirius Black but he had really felt like a friend to her through the year.

That had all flipped in a matter of seconds.

But Lupin asked Hermione. "How long have you known- what I am?"

"Since Professor Snape set the essay," Hermione said quickly. Rosalyn cursed herself for not realising.

"Oh, he'll be delighted," Lupin said coolly, "He set that hoping someone would realise what I was," He smiled sarcastically. "Well, well, well, Hermione you really are the brightest witch of your age I've ever met-"

"Oh, stop talking, Remy! Let's kill him!" Isobelle interrupted.

"Yes, enough talk Remus, I agree with Bells. Let's kill him!" Sirius Black moved behind Lupin.

But it was the gender that confused the girl before them. Rosalyn didn't know who 'he' was. Was it not her they wanted to kill?

"Sirius wait-" Lupin tried to stall his apparent friend, but it just made him more agitated.

"I DID MY WAITING!" Sirius bellowed across the room. "TWELVE YEARS OF IT, IN AZKABAN!"

Lupin looked down, Rosalyn's and his own wand in his hands. She wanted it back. She wanted to cause Sirius enough pain for manipulating Lupin and killing her parents. She wanted to cause Izzy pain for tarnishing her parents's memories. But Lupin seemed to think Sirius and Isabelle were trustable. She wondered what had merited that.

Lupin then gave Sirius Rosalyn's wand and said. "Fine, kill him. I expect you still have your wand, Izz. But wait one more minute and Rosalyn has the right to know why."

"I know why," said Rosalyn in a shaky voice. Walking forward with a courage she had no source for. "My parents are dead because of him!" She jabbed a finger in Sirius' direction. "He KILLED them! And he was their BEST FRIEND!"

"It wasn't Siri who did that-" Isabelle started.

Lupin overrode her. "No, Rosalyn it wasn't him, somebody did betray your parents but it was someone who, until quite recent, I believed to be dead."

"Who was it then?" Rosalyn challenged.

"Peter... Pettigrew!"

That was the answer Rosalyn got, from both Sirius and Isabelle.

She felt like someone was slowly retelling the story of what happened twelve years ago when her parents were killed. She didn't know what happened but what she did know was that she didn't trust Sirius Black yet, not yet.

Black seemed to be overwhelmed with sarcastic happiness. "And he's in this room, right now!" Rosalyn thought he was delirious as he shouted to his old friend. "Come out, come out, Peter! Come out and play!"

"He's not alive you fool-" Rosalyn started.

Rosalyn, Ron, Harry and Hermione were too busy to notice Snape coming up the staircase.

"Expelliarmus!"

Rosalyn's wand was blown out of Sirius' hand and Snape had his going straight for him.

"Well, well, vengeance is sweet. How I hoped I would be the one to catch you-"

"Severus-" Lupin said, and Rosalyn knew he intended to say that Sirius was innocent.

"How about you go and shampoo your greasy hair, you absolute dipshit," Isabelle stepped in front of Sirius.

"Well, well, well, protecting our dearly beloved, are we?" Snape asked, twisting his wand further into Sirius.

"Don't you dare talk to Bells like that-" the man started.

"I would protect anyone from a slimeball like you," Izzy retorted, talking over him.

Rosalyn just stood back, not sure if she should laugh or not. She would normally go on the side opposing Snape, but, at that moment she didn't know what to think. Or who to oppose.

Snape then turned on Lupin. "I told Dumbledore you were helping your old friends into the castle and now... here's the proof."

Sirius was sarcastic. "Brilliant, Snape. Once again you out your keen and penetrating minds to the task and as usual it comes to the wrong conclusion. Now it you'll excuse us, Remus and I have some unfinished business to attend to-"

Snape stuck his wand into Sirius' neck. "Give me a reason, I beg you-"

"Severus don't be a fool-" Lupin said, but he knew it was futile.

"He can't help it-" Sirius said unhelpfully.

Izzy snorted. "He really can't-"

"Sirius, Izz, be quiet-"

"Be quiet yourself, Remus!"

"How embarrassing that must be to be quarrelling like an old married couple. Oh, wait, you already have a-"

"Quit being jealous, you lonely old idiot!" Isabelle yelled.

"Why don't you run along and play with your chemistry set?" Sirius joined in, but it was strained at the end by Snape twisting his wand further into Sirius' neck.

"I could do it, you know," Snape said with a set face. "But why deny it to the dementors? They're so longing to see you... longing enough to give you a little kiss, I should say. Do I detect a flicker of fear?... Yes, dementors kiss one can only imagine what that would be like to endure. It's said to be unbearable to witness but I'll do my best..."

"Severus, please..." Lupin begged.

"He's bloody innocent!" Isabelle also shouted.

"After you," Sirius pointed the way out the house.

Rosalyn had made up her mind, she slowly grabbed Hermione's wand from her back pocket.

She pointed it at Snape, and for a second they just held eye contact. Then she cast the spell.

"Expelliarmus!"