86 Sirius Black and the Shrieking Shack! Part-2
{An Alley in London}
{10th Sep 1991}
{3rd Person POV}
Sirius looked at the man. He was a typical grunt, exactly someone he expected to take this route. He let go of the brick and, with surprising agility, grabbed hold of the wand lying on the ground. He hadn't exactly used any magic in this knockdown, so he wasn't worried someone would come here. Still, this was an apparition point, and he didn't want to stay here.
He looked at the grunt for a moment before he once again morphed into his animagus form, his tail wagging around as he swiftly dashed out of the alley. He wanted to take his clothes as well but decided against staying around.
'I should be safe. A grunt like that would avoid auror, so there should still not be an investigation, just in case. I should avoid using apparitions from anywhere close by.' Sirius thought. He didn't go far, though. A couple of blocks made it so he wouldn't be traced as easily or at all.
'My tracks would be gone in an hour at most, and the chance of him being able to track me without a wand is practically zero.' Sirius concluded. Now in a similar-looking dark alley, he transformed back and looked at the wand.
Since he didn't win the wand in a magical duel, it showed some resilience to his mana when he cast Lumos. Still, after a slight delay, the tip of the wand lit up, and he heaved a sigh of relief. Even though the wand showed some resistance, he concluded it wouldn't be too dangerous to appear with it.
He closed his eyes and, after a moment, thought about the one place he knew he could go.
...
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{Shrieking shack, Hogsmeade}
{10th Sep 1991}
{3rd Person POV}
"Ugh~" Sirius grunted as he collapsed on the floor. His eyes scanned the dirty surroundings as red-hot pain erupted from his left hand. He had spliced himself. The cut wasn't that deep, but considering his physique had taken a beating during his time in Azkaban. He curled into himself and looked down at the cut that connected his elbow to his wrist.
"Fuck-" Sirius cursed, he tumbled over on his back and let out a shuddering breath. He looked at the old wooden ceiling above him. Familiar scratches adorned the old structure. They would look menacing to some, considering that they were clearly made by a werewolf, but Sirius, who had shared a dorm with him.
"Episkey~" Sirius said as he pointed his wand at his injured hand. He used the full wand movement to counteract the resistance of the wand, but even then, his wound didn't close properly.
"Episkey~"
"Episkey~"
After two more attempts at the most basic healing charm, the wound on his hand finally closed. Sirius didn't dare try any more intrusive charms, as this one worked just fine. He slowly leaned up and panted.
The paranoia about being hunted was gone for now, though, as he looked at the familiar basement. 4 chains were attached to a wall, even though they hadn't been used after they had been able to maintain their animagus forms. Fond memories of them frolicking in the forbidden forest during the full moon emerged in his mind, even though they were tainted by the presence of the rat.
Hot raw anger emerged as a boiling pit as he started at the claw marks. His face, a mixture of anger and resentment, glared at the remainder of a broken friendship that he himself had caused due to an unwarranted suspicion. Still, his long stint in Azkaban showed him how to control his emotions and prevent them from taking over. A calm chill overtook his thoughts as he looked at the marks with narrowed eyes.
'I need to hunt down the rat after meeting with Rigel...' Sirius thought in anger. He morphed back into Padfoot, ignoring the surge of pain that erupted from his front paw as he swiftly approached the hidden tunnel in the basement.
Anyone else might have hesitated, but someone who had breached the school's curfew thousands of times flew through the narrow tunnel, his destination clear as he needed any advantage he could get right now.
After a while, he emerged from the secret tunnel. The whistling sounds of the Whomping Willow were a welcoming noise, and with practiced ease, Sirius placed his paw on the small knot near the base. The air froze as the tree stilled. Sirius stared at this familiar phenomenon for a moment before running through the Hogwarts grounds.
The Whomping Willow was quite far from the Hogwarts entrance. It was planted in a discreet location, especially so that Remus didn't have a large chance of being seen as he sneaked to it. At the same time, a hidden passage was created in Hogwarts. Sirius stooped moments before running headfirst into the walls of the castle. With a tentative step, he pushed his head against the wall, and like he was expecting, his head phased through it like the wall wasn't there.
It was their most commonly known secret passage, and after pushing back another bout of nostalgia, he ran once again. Even if he blamed Dumbledore for not believing in him, he knew that the old man was quite powerful, and he did not want to take chances right now. Rushing through the familiar hallways, he quickly approached the large gates of the Entrance Hall.
His eyes quickly caught room number 234-00, the room was in an obscured area, and that gave him the confidence to move forward with his plan. Since it was night time Filch would surely be out trying to catch anyone breaking the curfew. He slowly morphed back into his human form and pointed his wand at the door.
"Alohomora~"
...
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AN—What do you guys think? If Sirius breaks through into Hogwarts, he will surely try to get the map first, right?
P.S - 40+ Advanced Chapters on P.atreon!
