Sirius collapsed under a tree. He wished his sight was better; he could barely see anything, and he didn't have a wand. It was probably better this way, anyway, though. If nothing else, there were centaurs in the forest, and he knew from experience that they didn't like company. After a few moments of shivering in the November cold, he transformed into Padfoot, and curled up between the massive roots.

He felt like an idiot. He shouldn't have gone back into the castle, not with the increased security—meaning Remus' awareness of him. In fact, he shouldn't be lingering around Remus at all. Sirius wondered momentarily if all this looking for the werewolf qualified as stalking. But Sirius Black was not a stalker…right? Right.

…Right?

Once again, he reminded himself of his cause. Peter Pettigrew. 'Scabbers'. In the same dorm as Harry.

You have to concentrate, he told himself. You are not here to chase dreams from the past.

After a while, he managed to lull himself into sleep.

When he woke, it was a beautiful dawn, the sun shining through the now leaf-less trees. What would he do when winter came? Would it be safe to use the Shrieking Shack? There was always the chance that maybe Remus still used it for his transformations, but Sirius reasoned with the fact that, despite the risks, it would still be warmer than sleeping in the forest. He would keep an eye out.

He trotted over to the edge of the forest, and peered out. There was another reason to use the Shack. The fewer tracks left, the better. He was probably skinny enough, even as a dog, to sleep between the boards on the windows or doors. He might even be able to get away with ripping one of the boards off altogether, with the hope that it wouldn't be replaced.

There was the Care of Magical Creatures class, across the lawns. Hagrid was still having them take care of flobberworms. Sirius couldn't think of anything more boring, and it had to be even more so for the Ravenclaws. Even those Hufflepuffs there looked annoyed, although Sirius knew that they were probably way too nice to say anything.

Poor Hagrid. Sirius heard about the Hippogriff incident through student's gossip. Hippogriffs were probably an excellent idea, and Hagrid probably knew enough about them to be able to teach about the beasts and keep control. From the sound of it, the student had been a Slytherin…no wonder there had been a problem.

He moved across to where he could see the greenhouses. Gryffindors in there, but too young. No Harry. Nobody of real interest at all. Maybe sometime Remus would have a practical lesson outdoors. The thought made his heart pound, and a doggy smile appeared on Padfoot's face.

Instantly, he berated himself again. No. Bad. With Remus there, you'll definitely get caught.

Still he couldn't squash all the excitement. He and James always knew that Remus would make an excellent teacher. Sirius wanted desperately to see Remus teach, but there was no way in hell he would take the risk of entering the castle in broad daylight. He was stupid, he knew, but he wasn't that stupid.

Sirius, if I laughed at every stupid thing you did, I would have died from lack of oxygen by now. James had once said that to him, after Sirius had accused James of laughing at him for a particularly stupid endeavor. Another doggy smile, but this time he felt a twinge of loneliness. What he wouldn't give to see his best friend again.

Sirius returned to the Care of Magical Creatures section, and sat down to watch another lesson. Maybe, if he was lucky, he could get away with seeing Remus again tonight.


Notes: Yay! More story updates! I've been working on updating as many things as possible lately. Trying to keep my creative juices flowing. Meanwhile, I've developed a rather loserific hobby of translating fanfiction from German to English…cause I need to keep practicing my German over the summer . .

Thank you to foreverandever, Sir Deranged Reindeer, Carwash007, Evil Chibi Malik, and Amura for reviewing, and I beg people to continue! It keeps the moral and ambition up.