To Malak's surprise, the potion's master actually followed the map to the base of the Whomping Willow.
The magical plant was not attacking and crushing its surroundings, thus meaning that someone had been there before them and used Crookshanks' clever trick to avoid the fury of the violent tree.
The absurdity of the situation made Malak want to laugh, but of course she knew better than that. If Snape were to find Sirius, the situation could take an ugly turn that she needed to be prepared to face.
The prisoner of Azkaban was weakened, but he seemed to be an able wizard — hopefully her professor would have a hard time dueling both of them if it came down to it.
If the worst came to happen, Malak could apparate them out to Beit-l-Gheit — nobody would be able to find Sirius there.
These thoughts occupied the Egyptian's mind as she carefully climbed the wooden stairs of the Shrieking Shack, trying hard to mirror Snape's moves as not to make a sound.
Yet loud voices could be heard from upstairs.
Sirius Black was not alone.
Have I made a mistake? Are those Death Eathers? Malak started to second-guess herself.
"... very hard against my appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job" a familiar voice echoed in the distance.
Lupin? Who is he talking to?
"He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I am not to betrusted. He has his reasons... you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me —" the DADA instructor kept on explaining.
Snape held his ground at the stairs, not wanting to reveal his presence just yet, as he waited for the appropriate chance.
"It served him right," now it was Sirius voice that Malak heard. "Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to... hoping he could get us expelled..."
"Severus was very interested in where I went every month" Lupin told whoever else was in the room.
Malak could not be sure, but if she were to guess, she would definitely place her bet on the luckiest trio of the school. How fortunate.
"We were in the same year, you know, and we didn't like each other very much" Lupin's tale went on.
"He especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James's talent on the Quidditch field... anyway Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward the Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it would be amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able to get in after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it — if he'd got as far as this house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf — but your father, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his life... Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time on he knew what I was..."
"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," Harry's voice spoke slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"
Malak watched Snape make his move, yet she decided it was not yet her turn, so she decided to patienly wait in the shadows and watch the situation unfold.
"That's right," the cold voice of the potion's professor sneered, his wand pointing directly at Lupin, who seemed to be the only armed man in the room.
From her standing point, the Egyptian witch could not see Snape's face, but the ring to his voice told her that he was just delighted to be there, savoring the moment to the fullest.
"You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here? I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did... lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."
"Severus" Lupin began, but Snape overrode him.
"I've told the headmaster that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the proof. Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout."
"Severus, you're making a mistake," said Lupin urgently. "You haven't heard everything. I can explain. Sirius is not here to kill Harry —"
"Two more for Azkaban tonight," said Snape in an almost maniac tone.
Not on my watch thought the Egyptian girl, still not letting her presence be revealed.
"You fool," said Lupin softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"
Snape reacted immediately, snake-like cords bursting from his wand to prevent Lupin from uttering one word further and twisting around his limbs so as to restrain his movements.
An enraged Sirius charged towards the Head of the Slytherin House, who held his wand against Black's forehead.
"Give me a reason," Snape demanded in an angered whisper. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."
As Sirius stopped dead, Malak watched the confused expressions on the faces of the three third-year students.
None of them knew what to do, but Hermione dared speaking in a very breathless voice, "Professor Snape... it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w-would it?"
"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school," Snape spat. "You, Potter, and Weasley are out-of-bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. For once in your life, hold your tongue."
"But if... if" she tried to retort, in vain.
"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape shouted, looking suddenly quite deranged."DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!"
"Vengeance is very sweet," Snape breathed at Sirius. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you..."
"The joke's on you again, Severus," Black snarled. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle, I'll come quietly..."
"Up to the castle?" said Snape silkily. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the Dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black...pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I dare say... I —"
"You-you've got to hear me out," Sirius almost pleaded. "The rat..."
"Come on, all of you," Snape spoke, flicking his wand. "I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the Dementors will have a kiss for him too..."
Now seems like a good ti- but before Malak could finish her thought, Harry crossed the room hurriedly and stood in front of the door that led to the stairs, blocking it with his stretched arms.
"Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already," Snape growled. "If I hadn't been here to save your skin —"
"Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year," Harry said. "I've been alone with him loads of times, having defense lessons against the Dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish me off then?"
"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," hissed Snape. "Get out of the way, Potter."
"YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Harry yelled at the top of his lungs. "JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN —"
"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape shrieked, looking madder than ever. "Like father, like son, Potter! I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bended knee! You would have been well served if he'd killed you! You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black — now. GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER!"
Snape directed his wand at a trembling Harry, but just as he was opening his mouth to articulate a spell, the invisibility cloack fell from Malak's shoulders and she snuck elegantly under Harry's extended arms, to be standing between the two — just mere inches away from the face of the maddened professor.
Malak smiled deviously as Snape's wand shattered into mere splinters, and the face of the Potion's Master contorted in disgust and anger.
"Not you... Gheit" her last name was uttered with absolute repugnance, showing just how much Snape loathed the witch.
And rightfully so.
He was send flying to the other end of the room in the blink of an eye — even if he had a wand, he could not have defended himself against the magestic and powerful non-verbal spell of the Egyptian sorceress. He had been knocked out.
"Thank Godric you are all witnesses to this" Malak spoke to the amusement of the other people in the room, "otherwise Fred and George would never believe me!"
"Are you out of your right mind Malak!?" Hermione shouted, clearly panicking. "You attacked a teacher, Malak!! You are going to be in so much trouble — WE ARE GOING TO BE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE."
Malak snickered. "Yeah, yeah, don't tell me he didn't deserve it..."
Meanwhile, Sirius contained his reaction to her actions, occupied with helping Lupin out of his bonds. Both men stared at the Egyptian girl with wide eyes.
"I don't think you've done the right thing here, Malak" Harry spoke harshly to her, in a very cold tone.
"Then don't think, Potter" she replied with equal harshness to her tone.
Malak extender the palm of her right hand, and the Weasley's family rat flew towards it, as if attracked by a magnet.
"So you were into this!?" Harry snarled, incredulous, seeing that Malak did not even need to be briefed into the situation and she went straight for the animal. "I can't believe you! And then you go telling me that I am always welcome in Egypt and all that bullshit!"
The Egyptian witch was not listening to his bickering. Instead, she held the rat out and snapped the fingers of her other hand, triggering the transfiguration of the small animagus.
A rather hairy, short man, with rodent-like features and mannerisms stood before Malak Aboul Gheit. The girl's eyes bore holes on those of the man, making him quiver under her gaze.
Malak's head turned slightly to one side, as her index finger tapped onto the ratman's forehead, and his memories flooded her.
He fell victim to her natural legeremancy habilities. In other circumstances, towards another person, she would have been more lenient to her target. Yet this time she was not going to show the least leniency towards the man. Not after seeing what she was seeing.
Not after the pain he had inflicted on her father.
And on her mother.
Her poor mother.
Looking in the memories of Wormtail, Malak learned about her mother's suffering. She learned about her uncle's sin. She learned Fawzia's deepest secret. A sin that could not be atoned for.
"Rania?" the man dared whispering, extending his own hand to reach for her pale cheek.
Malak knew that he knew perfectly well she was not her mother. But the mere mention of her mother's name shook her to the bone.
One single tear fell from her eyes.
"No" she spoke in a broken whisper. "But you know that already. Wormtail."
Sirius Black had had enough. The hands of Peter Pettigrew were not going to spoil the purity of the Egyptian girl with his filthy touch. Not while he was still capable of breathing.
"If you do so much as to think about touching her," Sirius' voice was deadly, yet stoic — authoritative and terrifying. Everybody in the room held their breaths, not wanting to fall victims of the wrath irradiating from the Prisoner of Azkaban.
"I swear Peter, not even after the cruelest of deaths will you rest in peace, for I will hunt you to the ends of the afterlife if you dare laying one single finger on my daughter."
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