~CoNvIcTiOnS~
"Some of life's challenges must be faced alone. The real test of your convictions will come when no one is watching and you must answer to only yourself..." by anonymous.
Hello. I am Hotpunk, I just wanted to say I hope you like this story, I am not that good a writer but I hope to improve by using fanfic so please tell me how I can improve my stories! thanks! Please read my other stories too! P.S. Madeline is pronounced Mad-uh-Lyn not Mad-uh-line
~*~
Madeline Day Caswell stared at the newspaper, not daring to believe... to believe that the man she loved, caused the death of her best friends... A tear trickled down her cheek and suddenly she felt an outburst of rage come over her. She grabbed a vase from the table next to her and hurled in against the wall. She looked at the picture on the front cover. It was of Sirius; next to it was a picture of Lily and James. She stared at the picture of Sirius. It was taken just as they dragged him away. His face is pulled into a horrified yell. She swore he was yelling "I'm innocent" but she immediately discarded that thought. I'm just seeing that because I want him innocent... that bastard... how could he do that? To... to Lily and James? And Harry... poor Harry... he'll have to live with those muggles... She shook her head again as she watched the picture of Sirius, yelling silent words to her.
~*~
Sirius stared at the wall. He looked back down at the paper. The rat on the boy's shoulder... the rat who deserved this place... the place Sirius had been burdened upon. He knew where he had to go... but how he'll manage it? Who knows... but now's my only chance... he thought to himself as he transformed. He felt the same queasiness he had gotten used to, as his organs mutated to that of a dog. He felt the sudden coldness of Dementors... he heard the door open. He glanced up. He saw his chance to escape... and he did. He ran quickly out of that god-forsaken place never daring to look back. He jumped into the water and swam. He swam for hours. Till his legs ached and he felt himself choking on the water then suddenly he felt land on his paws. He dragged himself ashore and collapsed almost immediately. He dragged himself into a small cave with bushes and brush hiding it from view. He lied down in there but stayed awake.
~--*--~
"I sit down, but I can rest for only a moment
For with freedom come responsibilities,
And I dare not linger, for my long walk
Is not ended." --anonymous
~--*--~
Sirius saw the lights... the lights of searching people. All searching for him. He backed up to the wall in the cave, his eyes lingering on a small carving in the wall... suddenly he realized why this cave seemed so familiar... in the wall the inscription read
SB+MC 4 ever
He sighed. So much for "4 ever". He remembered the day Maddy and himself carved that there... painful memories but good ones. Lily and James had carved too... He looked around the cave then he spotted it in James' messy writing.
JP + LE forever!
He let out a faint whimper. For ever wasn't really that long, was it James? Lily? I'll kill that rat if it's the last thing I do in this cursed world... He thought bitterly. Then he put his head down on his paws. A light shined in there.
"Hey! Guys there's a dog in here!"
Sirius could hear a faint voice, obviously quite a bit away.
"Sirius Black ain't no dog, keep looking!"
~--*--~
"The beginner often sees what the
Expert overlooks. No amount of
Knowledge is more than a genuine
Passion for learning"
--Anonymous
~--*--~
Yeah you think you're so smart... actually Sirius Black is a dog at the moment!
The man shined the light around the cave. He stopped on SB + MC 4 ever.
"Didn't Black used to have a girlfriend? Madeline... Madeline Caswell..." He said to himself thoughtfully. Then he shrugged and walked away.
When the voices and lights receded, Sirius let his eyes droop shut. He slept far into the next day and woke up at sunset, knowing exactly where he needed to go... Hogwarts.
~*~
Madeline (Maddy) Caswell walked along the road at Hogsmede. She loved just coming there seeing what familiar faces she will see and what interesting pranks the Hogwarts students will play. She always prayed she would see Harry but she never spotted him. She only spotted two redhead boys... They must be weasley's... that hair is too recognizable. She thought to herself. She watched a group of boys being scolded. They looked horrified as the large woman scolded them then when she walked away they exchanged glances and broke down in laughter. So much like when we were in Hogwarts. So resilient. We quickly got over the guilt of being in trouble to go cause some more. She smiled slightly and walked to one of the prank shops. She immediately recognized the woman at the counter.
"Oh my god..." She said slowly. The woman looked at her and nearly fell over. She smiled and ran over.
"Maddy!" She yelled as she hugged her.
"O h my god! Fi!" She hugged her friend, Fiora Alana Boarkes tightly. When she pulled back she had tears streaming down her face. "I thought you moved!"
"I did! I came back!"
Maddy couldn't reply she was too happy to find one of her old friends.
Fiora suddenly swung around.
"Hey! Don't touch those! You might-" There was a loud crash as a mirror fell from the wall.
"FRED! GEORGE! BOTH OF YOU! YOUR LUCKY I WON'T TELL YOUR MOTHER ABOUT THIS!" she roared over the commotion. Maddy watched Fred and George who were struggling back laughs.
Fiora took a deep breath and spoke calmly. "Clean up this mess and I won't make you buy it." The twins nodded and began sweeping it up as they already got the picture they weren't aloud to use magic.
She turned back to Maddy and grinned. "Fred and George Weasley. Big time troublemakers. Of course this doesn't happen much with causing trouble inside the shop but I've seen them plenty of times outside of here."
"How long have you been here?"
"Since August. Why haven't I seen you around here before?"
"So you've been here for 6 months. Wow I don't know, I've been coming here I guess you just weren't in."
"Yeah, I usually come during the week... but its much more interesting on weekends..." She said glancing at the twins with a twinkle of amusement in her unusually colored eyes. Fiora was a little strange in many ways, same with Maddy. Fiora's most unusual feature was her eyes. Her eyes were brown with a red tint that shone brightly but they had green and blue flecks giving a beautiful illusion with her fluttery blond hair. Maddy's hair was naturally brown with a tint of plum... everyone thought she dyed it but those were her natural color. Her highly unusual deep violet eyes shone brown when she was bored or in a bad mood. Her eyes at the moment were shining the brightest violet they had been in ages.
Maddy laughed at Fiora's comment. "Oh, yes, I have been coming to hogsmede on weekends for a year or two now just to see the Hogwarts kids and the pranks they pull. Last year I even helped with one."
"Not out of the old tricks eh?" Fiora said with a hint of amusement in her eyes again.
"No, I'll never grow out of the old tricks!" she laughed. Fiora grinned.
"Well I better get back to working... Send me an owl sometime... you know where my flat is!"
"Same one as it used to be?"
"Same!" She said as she walked across the store.
Maddy turned and walked out of the store smiling broadly. She noticed how young Fiora looked. Not a gray hair in sight! She thought. Maddy's hair, which had the tendency to blend her gray hairs to look plum, had no gray but she knew it was only because of her unusual bloodline. Instead of getting gray hairs Maddy got plum hairs. How amusing. She thought grimly then laughed. She looked around wondering where to go next.
~*~
Sirius ran into the forbidden forest, panting harshly. Stupid... stupid... stupid... he thought to himself as he looked back up at the school. Jesus, I have to learn to control my temper... Sirius thought. He had just done a rather stupid thing and lost his temper when the fat lady wouldn't let him into the Gryffindor area. He sighed. This will be harder than I thought... but I will do it... I don't care how long it takes or how much I hurt myself doing it... I will kill Peter Pettigrew...
~--*--~
"The first step is the hardest. Take the
Inniciative to act, and the momentum
Will carry you further than you ever
Thought possible."
--Anonymous
~--*--~
Days past and months past. Maddy was beginning to feel restless but she always felt this hopeful stab whenever she spotted a black dog. She knew it was bad to hope that a convicted murder was ok... but she had loved Sirius... she had loved him more than life itself and it was hard to make that feeling go away.
It was now the end of June. Hogwarts students were heading home. Maddy headed out to find Fiora who had been meeting her regularly in Hogsmede on Saturdays.
"Maddy! MADDY!!" she heard Fiora calling. She looked to her right. Fi was running towards her.
"Hey Fi. Whats up?"
Fi looked very serious. "What is it?" Maddy repeated.
"look at this." Fiora handed Maddy the Daily Prophet for today.
'Black Escapes Yet Again'
Maddy read it aloud.
"Yesterday, Sirius Black was caught at Hogwarts. He had put a spell over three students so they believed he was innocent. Prof. Severus Snape had brought in Black after the Dementors knocked him and the students out. According to Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, Black just seemed to have disappeared while he was checking on Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, the three students also involved. We warn you all that Black could be anywhere but we are leaning towards the fact that he has fled but-"
Maddy stopped. She couldn't continue reading it.
Fiora, sensing the sadness she felt, took the paper from her. "I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have shown you that..."
"No. It's ok... I just... I just... I don't think Sirius is guilty... but I know he is... but I just can't believe that! Am I making sense?"
"Yes. I understand. Come on. Let's go have some fun... get our minds off of this? I just heard that Remus is part of it too... I just think you might want to know... he claimed Sirius was innocent too..."
Maddy looked up.
Fiora continued. "I normally would trust him right away, but I am not sure about this one... Do you have the urge to find Remus and ask him?"
Maddy begged she would say that and immediately nodded at that, feeling unable to talk. Remus never lies... and he's strong enough to overcome some curse like that...
~--*--~
"The impact of our actions goes far beyond
Our own lives. Take into account how
Others will be affected by what you say
And do"
--Anonymous
~--*--~
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like? Don't like? Tell me in a review! Oh and if I don't get a resonable amount of reviews I don't think I'll continue.
~Hotpunk