Chapter 3: Hogwarts
Chapter Three, yay. Read, enjoy, and review!
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters nor the plot in this literary piece. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling, an ingenious and published author.
Sirius slipped back into the shelter of the shadowy night as he glanced one last time at the spot where his godson had stood a few minutes earlier. He knew now that it was time to start his journey to Hogwarts. He felt energized and wired presently and decided to begin his trip by traveling in the dark. The night was young, and he had plenty of time for his voyage.
His doglike form crept out of the suburban area and once again commenced its trip through the rural community. Sirius vaguely had a sense of where Hogwarts was; he remembered that in his youth, on the Hogwarts Express, Lily, with her crazy and yet ingenious Muggle devices, had showed him a strange thing called a compass. The needle inside had pointed north as the scarlet train had carried the kids to school. Sirius looked around in his direction and confirmed that he was traveling north, then continued his expedition, knowing that as he got nearer to the castle, he would sense the magic inside of him getting stronger. He stopped for a moment, panting, and continued running.
After about three days, the magic started to call him and tugged at his strength as he got closer to the wizards' school. With renewed energy, he ran with a fiercer, stronger will. Feeling a strange sense of urgency, he hurriedly sprinted toward the school, hardly noticing the pain and need for air in his gaunt, thin legs and starved body. Finally he spotted something that looked startlingly familiar. He paused and stared at it for a second, waiting for the memory to come back to him, and finally recognized the dark mass of trees. It was the Forbidden Forest on the Hogwarts grounds. He had done it. He had reached his destination. Now all he had to do was to find that horrible traitor, Peter.
Sirius slipped under the dark, black gathering of trees and fell to the ground, exhausted. His eyes closed almost instantly under the secure hiding place, and his body finally relaxed after three days of nonstop running. Waves of sleep hovered over him as he fell asleep, relieved at last.
He didn't know how long he slept in the forest. He had been so tired that perhaps he hadn't even woken up for days, or possibly even weeks. When he finally awoke, it was still dark (as the Forbidden Forest always was), but rays of sunlight were trying to penetrate the massive canopy. His body, recovered from exhaustion, made him realize his lack of food. Consequently his stomach growled hungrily. Without thinking he went off in search of rats, then realized that since now he was on Hogwarts grounds, he might eat Peter in his Animagus form. He shuddered at the thought. However, he had to eat. As he explored the forest he gathered up any edible food that was available. After he bathed in a small, unknown pool he lay down, pondering his situation. How was he to get to Peter? If the Weasley boy kept him as a pet, then the rat would most likely be staying in the castle. He couldn't just walk into the castle, a smelly, skinny old dog. He was also most likely on the news by now, and the students and teachers there might become suspicious. Nobody knew about his Animagus form now, except Peter (and it wasn't possible for him to transform) and Remus…but Remus surely wasn't teaching at Hogwarts? He was more of an author or such, writing textbooks for the education field. He couldn't be at Hogwarts.
That afternoon Sirius discovered that he was not alone in the Forest. Later he chastised himself for it; the Forbidden Forest was always full of unexpected magical creatures, as he knew from previous experiences from his youth. This cat, however, didn't seem to be extraordinarily magical. It seemed…it almost seemed as if it were an Animagus like him. But that wasn't possible, because then it surely would have reported him by now. He shook his head, trying to clear it of worries, and went back to thinking about the cat he had met. It had ginger hair and was unusually ugly; it looked like someone had been so annoyed with it that he or she had smashed its face into a brick wall. Sirius didn't blame the person who might have done it. The cat was a little too smart for its own good. It had known at once that Sirius was not a real dog and had attempted to fight with him, which annoyed him greatly. Surely he would seem like a real dog to other animals by now. He had been in his Animagus form for so long. After he had bared his teeth and glared at the cat (his glares had been notoriously strong in warding off unwanted companions) it had scampered off, but not before it seemed to search him with its eyes. With its bottlebrush tail held arrogantly high, it had marched off back to its owner and away from the dog. Sirius growled angrily and irritably. That cat…that cat knew he wasn't a dog, and he didn't like it.
As the night closed down on the world, Sirius decided to explore the castle grounds a little more. He had been famously good at sneaking around on the grounds when he was a student at Hogwarts, and he didn't suppose it would hurt to test his skills in this time period. His black shape cast dark shadows on the moonlight as he crept around on the lawn, watching warily for the cat and for other humans. Not meeting any challenges, he walked boldly closer to the castle, hoping to catch a glimpse through the windows of its familiar hallways and corridors. The castle, however, was pitch-black, and he slunked off, disappointed.
The night grew old quickly and Sirius sprinted back to his safe shelter in the forest. He heard voices coming from the lawn and his ears perked up. Two girls were talking about Quidditch, and as Sirius peeked through the trees, he saw them turn and disappear to the other side of the school. Presently he heard the laughter and yelling of a Quidditch training session and the swish of broomsticks in the air. Out of curiosity he went towards the voices, always keeping a low profile, until he found the Quidditch pitch. The team, dressed in scarlet robes, was warming up in the air. It was the Gryffindor team and Sirius felt a renewed elation as old memories came back to him of James and his childhood at Hogwarts. He knew, however, that it was not safe to stay there watching, and he went back to the forest reluctantly. Weary from the lack of sleep, he once again closed his eyes and fell asleep with a great sense of relief.
A/N: Please review this fic, it means a lot to me! I'd really appreciate it. Thanks to all previous reviewers—majiklmoon, sassee, and Screech. I'm glad that they reviewed and would appreciate it if you did the same.