A Sirius chapter, guys! Enjoy! :D

-Chapter 26-

Dog and Rat

"Sirius!" I yelled, running double my usual speed. "WAIT!"

I had been running for almost half an hour now! It wasn't fair that he could just transform into a dog! That makes him too fast! Too fast for me, anyway...

Right now I was just following the paw-tracks... in the Forbidden Forest...at night...

Jeez this place was scary! The trees looked very old and scraggly; the gaping holes in their bodies glaring at me coldly. The ground was knotted and tangled in brambles and thorns, causing me to trip up more than once. I could have sworn several times that I could hear some rustling and grumbling in the bushes, behind me or in the treetops. I shuddered. Then jumped half a foot in the air when I snapped a twig.

I picked up the pace. If my plan works (and it better), Sirius owes me big time.

Thankfully, the paw prints eventually swerved to the right, coming to a clearing. I followed them eagerly, wanting nothing more than to get away from this forest. How Fred and George could stand it is beyond me!

I sprinted out of the forest, stopping for half a second to see where I was. There was a narrow, concrete path twisting and turning for what looked like a mile. I groaned. It was like cross-country all over again! My gym teacher would've jump for joy if she had seen this track!

Still, I ran it. Not to get 'fitter' or to show off. I was thinking for Sirius, Harry, even Remus's sake. They all deserved a happy ending, one that wasn't really given to them in the actual books...

I mean, yeah – Harry got married, had kids, got a 'family'...But, when you think of it, did he really? James and Lily were his parents; they're killed, Sirius acts like a father-figure; he's killed, Remus is the next father-ish-figure; he's killed too. Heck! Even Snape was a sort-of parental person to Harry and he's slaughtered by a snake! It's almost as though it was planned...

Oops! Silly me! I forgot for a second that this wasn't actually real life. It's Fiction. I've probably just gone insane – or gone to heaven – and am imagining this as I go along. The last book I had read in the real world was Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban. What a coincidence...

I shook my head, breaking my racing thoughts. Now was not a time to ponder – now was the time to find an escaped, innocent convict.

I looked around. My eyes widened. I was in Hogsmede! Must be have been a shortcut... Hmmm... I have to remember that for future use...

I glanced at the ground, where, spotted along the concrete, were a bunch of muddy paw prints. I followed them, this time going at a much slower pace. I wouldn't want any people getting suspicious. Occasionally, I looked up to avoid bumping into people, and even went so far as to pull my hood up to stop anyone from seeing my face. Smooth, Zaria, smooth...

For what seemed to be the hundredth time, I scanned the surprisingly busy village. My eyes came to a stop at an odd clothes shop. There, sitting outside the doorway, was a shaggy black dog.

I made for him. Standing before him muddy, exhausted and slightly light-headed. He wagged his tail, his mouth lifting into a gleaming grin. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Really? You find this funny?" I asked.

He simply wagged his tail in response, letting out a yip of a bark.

"When you're proven innocent, you will have to pay me back for going through this." I promised. "Believe me, unlike you, I did not like this journey...And now we have to go back! Bloody hell!"

He barked again.

"Don't bark at me, you mangy mutt." I complained.

"Excuse me, young lady, what are you doing?"

I turned around. Standing behind me was an old-ish, snobby-looking woman carrying a bag of groceries and potion ingredients. She looked at me as though I was insane.

"You do realise he can't answer back." She continued.

"Is this-is this your dog?" I asked.

"Yes! And, if you wouldn't mind, I need to go now before these ingredients go bad. I promised someone to bring these things as good as gold. Or else I don't get paid."

I blinked. "Uh...Yeah...sure...I got to go now..."

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the muddy paw prints and ran for them. I wasn't sure whether I should fall on the floor laughing, slap my forehead or be worried. But, I mean, how unlucky could a person get – for a woman you bumped into to be in contact with Dumbledore?

Dammit – I jinxed it! Unjinx! Unjinx!

The paw prints led me to another narrow path that climbed up and up to a small mountain. I followed them cautiously. The path was leading me away from public-eye. Of course, it couldn't be any worse than the Forbidden Forest. I doubt anything can be as worse as that.

Finally, after another fifteen minutes of running (by this time my sides were killing), I saw a small dark cave right in the middle of the mountain, hidden with grass and leaves. I determinedly walked right up to the cave. I then roughly brushed away all the wildlife that had grown onto it. There was nothing left for me to do but step into the darkness.

The first thing I saw, highlighted with a rare beam of light, was Sirius. He wasn't a dog anymore. Instead, he was a messy man, pacing around the small space, muttering furiously to himself.

"You shouldn't of gotten caught...It will only be a matter of time and they'll find you...throw you back into that hellhole..."

I cleared my throat, sounding a lot like Umbridge.

His head snapped up and he slowly turned around. He looked just as bad as last time: dirty, savaged and ill. I tried not to wince as he gazed at me, trying to tell the adrenaline that he was actually a good man. That the real bad guy was in my pocket, squirming and squealing.

"Look," I started, raising my hands so that he would know I wasn't armed. "I'm not here to hurt or capture you. I know you're innocent."

His face lit up for a second before dropping. He shook his head and took a step back. "A trick. You're lying."

"No! I promise you! Unbreakable oath if that's what it takes!" I exclaimed.

He cocked his head to the side, looking more animal than man. His eyes were uncertain. It was progress.

"Drop your wand and I might believe you."

Goddammit!

I sighed. "Look – I know it was Peter Pettigrew who actually killed Lily and James Potter, I know he was the Death Eater, and I know he was the traitor," I said firmly. "You have to believe me. Please."

So now I was resorting to begging? Begging for someone else's happiness. Wow.

"You...you know..." he stated incredulously. "How do you know?"

I shook my head. "That's a completely other story. For now, let's just focus on proving you innocent."

For the second time, his face lit up. Only this time it stayed like that. Okay – now he looked a little bit more like Gary Oldman instead of a dog. He let out a great laugh that rung through the cave. It lasted for almost five minutes. I knew this because I was looking at my watch, wondering how long it was going to last. Now that the tense-est bit was over, I could go back to normal. Almost.

He grabbed my hands, twirling me in a circle as he danced around. I was freaked out. Had Azkaban screwed him up more than the books told or was this the normal him?

"So," he said a big grin on his face. "How are we going to do it?"

I slapped my hand on my forehead. I hadn't thought this far. "Shit!"

-Snape's POV-

I sat behind my desk, organising files while I waited for my new potions ingredients to arrive. I had appointed a friend of the Headmaster to retrieve them for me, after Lupin got me anxious over the 'Halloween' craze. Truth be told, I found Night's disappearance to be good luck rather than bad. Finally! The peace and quiet I have been longing for years! Now if only those Weasley Twins would disappear too...

I slammed the papers down. When I thought about it a second time, about how much panic had ensued after Night's disappearance, perhaps it wasn't so much as a good thing. The brat was probably hiding somewhere, too amused at the entertainment to come out just yet. I swear, when I find that little brat for causing so much havoc... She'll be sorry she even stepped into this school...

A soft knock sounded on my door. I stood up curtly. If that was the wolf knocking to ask yet again if I'd seen the brat, then there will be hell to pay...

"Enter."

Mrs Stevenson entered my office, my potion ingredients in hand. I smirked. This was about the only woman from the Headmaster's friends list that I could stand. She was snappy, sarcastic and feared. Enough said.

"Thank you for retrieving my ingredients – it is much appreciated." I said with a short nod. I walked over to take the bags off of her.

"Yeah, yeah," she grumbled. "Here's something interesting for you: while I was out 'retrieving your ingredients', some girl was outside of the shop chatting with my Dexter! Barmy people nowadays, I tell you!"

My eyes widened slightly, fists clenched. Sudden anger engulfed me. "Brown hair, green eyes – looked about thirteen of age?"

Mrs Stevenson looked up into my eyes, startled by the sudden change in my tone. "Yes."

I began to quiver with rage. I had thought wrong. That little monster was actually so idiotic as to go chasing a dangerous convict! Not even kidnapped or threatened by him – but to go on her own free will...

"NIGHT!" I roared.

-Zaria's POV-

My head snapped up, eyes wide in alert.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"Something bad just happened." I told him. "Something really bad."

"Is there someone coming?" he asked, tense as he prepared for an onslaught of wizards or, even worse, Dementors.

I shook my head, relaxing. "No, no – more along the lines of 'I'm going to be murdered as soon as I step onto the Hogwarts grounds'."

Sirius cracked a smile. "Ah. I know the feeling, believe me."

We had trekked through the Forbidden Forest for almost half an hour. It was almost midnight. I was very tired. In fact, I was dragging my feet and shaking myself every two minutes.

Sirius looked at me. "Maybe we should stop to rest."

That woke me up.

"Rest? Here? Are you mad?"

"No, I'm Sirius." He quipped.

I groaned. "I was wondering when I was going to hear that."

He grinned, before becoming sombre. "C'mon! You're dead on your feet and I'm knackered. Let's stop to rest. Hogwarts will not have gone by the morning."

I sighed, stopping. "Fine."

I sat down. He followed suit, sitting down beside me.

This was going to be a loooooong night...