Chapter 46 - Sirius - Bad Rat
Friday 16th January – Waxing Gibbous
Day 161 of hunting Peter.
Sirius was taking a stroll around the Hogwarts grounds, an activity that had become something of a ritual since his arrival a few weeks ago. His mind was filled with nothing but his newfound purpose which drove him forward.
Kill Peter.
Killing that traitorous vermin was the only way to avenge James and Lily, protect Harry and to begin to heal his broken life.
He padded the now-familiar route, scanning every entranceway for the dozenth time to see if there was anything that he had missed. Gaining entry wouldn't be too difficult, he surmised. Passing the dementors was laughably easy, a fact that he had discovered whilst in Azbakan. So long as he remained on four legs they paid him no attention whatsoever. The difficulty would instead be remaining undetected whilst inside and finding the damned rat within the labyrinth of the school.
He had concluded that he needed to try at nightfall. Peter would most likely be with the redheaded boy, who would be in the Gryffindor tower at night time. And when the castle was sleeping perhaps he could sneak in, kill Peter, and sneak out again with nobody being any the wiser. The part of the plan that stumped him was how to get into the Gryffindor tower.
Sirius was halfway around his lap and just passing the Astronomy tower when he smelled something new. It smelled like a cat. But not one of the many student's cats he had come to learn since his arrival. This was a new cat for sure, and there it sat before him, big and ginger and cleaning itself on the steps to the West wing. He wagged his tail. In a life as dull as his chasing cats was one of his favourite pastimes. He was downwind and so was yet to be spotted. He lowered himself onto his belly and began to gradually approach the cat. Finally he announced his presence with a bark and leapt up from the grass. But the cat didn't run. In fact, much to his disappointment, it didn't even flinch at all. Instead it lowered its leg that it had been washing and regarded him with big, soulful eyes.
Nice try, meowed the cat. Sirius wasn't fluent in any animal languages, and certainly not in cat, but he had picked up the basic gist over the last six months living as a dog. Sirius growled and stepped closer, trying to make the cat flee, but it just flicked its tail in amusement. Sirius sat back on his haunches and whined at his game being ruined.
Bored, he said.
Bored, agreed the cat.
Sirius cocked his head to the side and pondered for a moment. This cat belonged to a student, and therefore wouldn't be suspicious entering the castle. And it certainly seemed a lot smarter than all the other cats he'd met.
Help me? He asked.
The cat regarded him with a bored expression, and Sirius wasn't sure if he understood.
Help me? He repeated with a whine. Bring the rat.
The cat blinked.
Bring the rat, please? He whined.
Why? came the reply, with a lazy swish of its tail.
Danger. He didn't know how much more detailed vocabulary he would be able to get across. The cat seemed to consider this new information with interest.
Bad rat?
Sirius nodded. Bad rat, danger.
The cat yawned and stretched before climbing to its feet.
Fetch bad rat, it meowed before sauntering back up to the castle.
Sirius wagged his tail.
