Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter and its characters are not mine.
A/N: Written for the following 3 Sentence Ficathon prompt: Harry Potter, Any, I don't need no silver sickles to have fun tonight.
Gravity
In the witching hour, Sirius cast off his human self and transformed into his black dog form. As though a veil was lifted from his senses, a strange yet familiar world opened up before him, a world that was his and his alone. Stars sparkled in the moonless sky, but his attention lay elsewhere. Feeling the pull of the wild, Padfoot bounded across the grounds of Hogwarts and ventured into the forbidden forest.
The crisp smell of autumn and the earthy smell of the forest mingled with the scents of various creatures in the dark—animals and magical creatures and nameless things. There were things stirring and rustling in the shadows, movements that no human eye could detect, and sounds that no human ear could catch. Padfoot perceived them all, and he feared nothing.
Some of those things in the dark were wary of him, some of them were curious about him, and some of them ignored him. None of it mattered to Padfoot, whose mind was overtaken by animal instinct and a touch of restlessness. Embracing his animal self, he roamed about in the forest and explored to his heart's content, relishing and revelling in the freedom that was denied of his human self.
At length he stopped and perked up his ears. Something was moving amongst the trees and the undergrowth, and it was coming ever closer towards him, its hoofs treading softly on dead leaves. Turning his head this way and that, he sniffed the air. Amidst the myriad scents that permeated the woods, one particular scent stood out in his mind like a spark in the dark—a familiar, peculiar blend of human and stag and a pocket of sweets. It was a warm and inviting scent.
His human heart skipped a beat, and a warm feeling welled up inside him. He knew whose scent it was: it was the scent of someone he longed for and loved. Like phantom fingers the scent coiled around his psyche and took hold of him. His wanderlust all but forgotten, Padfoot howled and chased after the scent.
The scent led him to a clearing that opened up to the starlit sky, and there he came upon a stag with magnificent antlers. He would recognise the stag anywhere, the stag that was his best friend, his partner in crime and so much more.
Prongs—James.
At the sight of Padfoot, Prongs threw his head back in greeting, his thin face as stoic as ever, but Padfoot could imagine James grinning at him. Letting out a playful bark, Padfoot ran towards Prongs, who leapt away with ease and evaded him. Undeterred, Padfoot tried again, and before long the dog and the stag were playing a friendly game of tag. They danced around each other, drawing close and leaping away and drawing close once more.
When Padfoot had gotten tired of running around, he lay down on the ground and beckoned to his companion. A beat or two later, Prongs came over, gave him a nudge, and settled down beside him. Like the best of friends they nestled against each other and enjoyed a moment of companionable silence. The mere presence of Prongs, so warm and tangible and real, at once comforted Padfoot and stirred up a different kind of restlessness in him.
Hungry for more, Padfoot shook off his animal form and became Sirius once more. The world around him reverted to its dim, shadowy state, and the night grew ever deeper before his eyes. The only thing that felt real on this moonless night was Prongs by his side. Sitting up, Sirius reached out and held onto Prongs' smooth, velvet antlers. In the dimness of the night, the antlers resembled a pair of winter dead trees.
"I caught you," Sirius said.
In the next beat, the antlers vanished like a dream, and Sirius found himself grasping nothing but air. The stag had become a boy, the boy whom Sirius could not help but gravitating towards, whom he could not help but be drawn to. Letting out a chuckle, the boy sat up and wrapped his arms around Sirius.
"There," James said as he drew ever closer to Sirius, his warm breath teasing Sirius' lips like a ghost of a kiss. "I caught you too."
Finis.