Dwelling on Dreams (A Marauders Fan Fic)

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black (Present Part Five)

Sirius put the bottle back on the dresser and crept towards the curtain, where a tiny chink let the light sneak in. With a quick wave of his wand Sirius wrenched them open, flooding the room with autumn sun and momentarily blinding himself. As he looked out of the window Sirius felt the need to escape overtake him and, without a second thought, he sprinted to the front door, wrenching it open and transforming on the top step, just out of sight of the Muggles.

The crisp autumn air rejuvenated him, filling him with hope and joy as it filtered through his lungs and replaced all the pain and bitterness with excitement. Muggle children laughed as they watched the big black dog frolicking in the park, running round and round with a comical expression of happiness on its face, and he didn’t mind being the source of their entertainment – he was finally free!

As evening drew in the large dog strolled through the streets of London; occasionally people would look at him and wonder where his owner was, but for the most part he was left alone. As darkness fell and Sirius succumbed to hunger and his old trouble-making ways, he chose an abandoned alley and transformed back.

Looking a little dishevelled but passable he strolled into a small café and ordered some food, a greasy sandwich and a cup of something tasteless and grey which was masquerading as a cup of coffee. As he sat in one of the booths, he sensed someone watching him and scrambled for the door; racing through the streets he tried to keep ahead of them as his heart pounded and he relished the adrenaline running through his veins, the risk of getting caught. Sirius could tell that a number of people were following him, perhaps five or more; he weaved between crowds, ducked in and out of shops and strode between cars as he tried to outpace and lose them. Suddenly he heard a shout from somewhere behind him, “Get him! It’s Sirius Black!” and a man a few metres ahead of him turned around.

Sirius instinctively dived into another nearby alley as he hoped the man hadn’t seen him, the noise from the street fading behind him as he ran away, cursing his luck when he saw that it was a dead end. He changed back into a dog as quickly as possible and tried to look innocent.

“It’s a dead end!” swore one of the wizards as they rounded the corner, seeing only a dog and a couple of dustbins. “We’ve lost him now and it’s all your fault!” he hissed at the man who had been in front of Sirius.

“I swore he came down here!” he cried. “Where could he have gone? I saw him come this way with my own eyes!”

“Well you obviously didn’t, did you? There goes the reward!” growled another as they turned around and headed back up the alley, their grumbles carrying back towards Sirius, who let out a quiet bark in laughter before heading back to Grimmauld Place.

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“Constant vigilance!” shouted Moody as he stomped through the house, his magical eye pinning Sirius with a glare, co-operating with his real one for once. “You nearly blew the whole operation! Imagine if you’d been caught Sirius! You would have been sent back to Azkaban or killed and half of our caution would have been for nothing!”

“I wasn’t caught though,” Sirius objected.

“But now the Aurors who are looking for you know that you’re in London; or they did at least. All of Kingsley’s work in leading them astray has been useless,” he growled. “People in the Department are beginning to question his sources and his loyalty. Not to mention that you disobeyed a rule set by Dumbledore himself!”

“I won’t do it again,” Sirius said dully, already cursing Moody for finding out that he’d left the house.

“Damn right you won’t! Some of the best wizards have been caught by Aurors because of a mistake, that’s how we caught half of Voldemort’s Death Eaters.” Moody paused for a moment, obviously aware that nothing he was saying would convince Sirius not stay put. “Remember Cassie Jones,” he said, rewarded with a wide-eyed stare from Sirius, who turned deathly pale, “she was one of the best Aurors in her year Sirius… I liked her,” he mumbled gruffly, “and she died for you! She fought off Voldemort and died refusing to tell him where you were. Now it seems to me that throwing caution to the wind and strolling round London is not an adequate way to repay her!”