Catch Me If You Can → George Weasley

Twenty-Two

The two clawed and jumped at each other. Soon enough, Apollo managed to knock the dog down. The dog dropped the notebook at last, and Apollo quickly turned back into himself to grab it, and take out his wand. He pointed it at the dog, his hands steady as he clutched the notebook close to his chest. His shoulder was in pain, and he felt it more than he did as a wolf. He hissed, but did not lower his wand. He kept it trained on the dog as he slowly backed away, back towards his spot by the tree.

Then, before his eyes, the dog turned into a person. Just as Apollo suspected. The only thing more shocking was who this person was.

Sirius Black.

Apollo raised his wand higher, wincing as he did. It was one thing when he truly believed that this mass murderer was not after him, but after he really did get hurt by this man's hands? He was going to be wary.

Sirius carefully put his hands in the air. "Take it easy," He said, his voice raspy.

Apollo narrowed his eyes. "What the hell do you want?" He demanded.

"Put the wand down and I'll talk," Sirius said.

Apollo scoffed. "Nice try. Do I look like an idiot to you?" He glanced behind him to make sure he would not trip, and took a step back. In that same time, Sirius quickly jumped forward and took his wand out of his hand. Apollo went to stop him but couldn't. He hissed when he moved his injured shoulder again. He watched cautiously as Sirius pocketed the wand.

"I'm not going to hurt you, kid," Sirius stated, approaching the boy slowly. "Let me help."

Apollo did not trust this man. Not only was he an escaped mass murderer, but he was the one to give him this wound in the first place. "Don't touch me," Apollo snapped when he got too close. "I'll be fine. Just answer my bloody question."

Sirius sighed, but stopped in his steps and let his arms fall to his sides. "I needed to know what you knew," He explained gruffly.

Apollo just scoffed and turned to walk back towards his tree, throwing the notebook on the floor in front of Black's feet. "Knock yourself out," He muttered, annoyed.

Sirius followed him back to the tree after picking up the notebook. He watched as Apollo got to his knees, trying to gather the rest of his things, along with Otto. Sirius made the decision to help him back to his feet, but Apollo just slapped him away.

Apollo stood, high on alert, as Sirius flipped through the notebook, carefully reading the words on each page. It made Apollo uncomfortable. This guy was a murderer, after all. One who tried to kill him.

"Peter is alive," Sirius whispered as he finally reached the blank pages.

"Sorry?" Apollo was both confused and startled by the quiet and angry tone.

"Pettigrew is the one who killed them, not me," Sirius stated, louder this time.

Apollo blinked. He had no reason to believe him. But, as if to prove his point, Sirius handed the boy the notebook back and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a picture from the newspaper. He showed it to Apollo, pointing at the picture of the Weasley family in Egypt. Apollo raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"What are you trying to show me?" He asked bluntly.

"The rat! That's Pettigrew," Sirius said loudly.

Apollo winced, and tried to calm him down. "Okay, okay... but why should I care? You don't even know my name, and you tried to kill me."

"I only want to kill Pettigrew. Then at least I will be imprisoned for a crime I committed." Sirius dropped to the floor. "I need to avenge them..."

Apollo was in the most awkward situation he ever had been in. He did not know how to respond, and he really wanted to return to the castle to bother Lupin to fix up his shoulder.

"What's your name?" Sirius asked quietly.

"Apollo Payne," Apollo replied uncertainly. Was this a trap? A trick?

"You're a smart kid, Apollo," Sirius mumbled. "I was so close tonight-"

"Hold on, tonight? You broke in, tonight?" Apollo asked, his voice raising. This was not good. If they were forced to sleep in the Great Hall again, someone would notice his absence. And that would not be good.

Sirius ignored him. "I almost had him..."

Apollo took a step back. And I thought I was going insane, he thought. "Uhh, can I have my wand back, please?" He asked, his tone sounding almost scared. "I really have to go-"

Sirius stood back up. He pulled both sleeve up, showing the boy his arms. "I'm not a Death Eater. I don't have a mark. I would never betray James and Lily," He ranted. Then, he sighed, and handed Apollo his wand back. "This was a bad idea," He muttered to himself.

You could say that again, Apollo thought. He spared one last look at the murderer-but-not-murder, and then ran.