Magic? || Years 1-5

Sirius Black: Year 3/Summer

It was a mistake, as Stan immediately went white, Ernie jerked the steering wheel and a farmhouse scooted out of the way in the nick of time, and even Amisty went wide-eyed at his loose use of his name.

She gave him a sharp jab with her elbow.

"You outta your tree? 'Choo say 'is name for?" Stan exclaimed, his voice raising a few octaves.

"Sorry. Sorry, I - - I forgot -- " Harry apologized frantically, stumbling over his words at his hastiness.

"Forgot! Blimey, my 'eart's goin; that fast..." Stan's voice was weak, trailing off at the end of his sentence as he sunk back into his arm chair.

"So -- so Black was a supporter of You-Know-Who?" Harry asked softly, his voice apologetic.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's right. Very close to You-Know-'Oo, they say. Anyway, when little 'Aary Potter got the better of You-Know-'Oo all You-Know-Oo's supporters was tracked down, wasn't they, Ern? Most of 'em knew it was all over, wiv You-Know-'Oo gone, and they came quiet. But not Sirius Black. I 'eard he thought 'e'd be second-in-command once You-Know-'Oo 'ad taken over. Anyway, they cornered Black in the middle of a street full of Muggles an' Black took out 'is wand and 'e blasted 'alf the street apart, an' a wizard got it, an' so did a dozen Muggles what got in the way. 'Orrible, eh? An' you know what Black did then?" He leaned closer to them, his voice barely more than a whisper.

For the drama, Amisty supposed.

"What?" Harry and Amisty asked in unison, their voices just as hushed.

"Laughed. Jus' stood there an' laughed. An' when reinforcements from the Ministry of Magic got there, 'e went wive 'em quiet as anyfink, still laughing 'is 'ead off. 'Cos 'e's mad, inee, Ern? Inee mad?" Stan continued.

"If he weren't when he went to Azkaban, he will be now. I'd blow meself up before I set foot in that place. Serves him right, mind you... after what he did..." Ernie replied, his voice trailing off.

"They 'ad a job coverin' it up, din' they, Ern? 'Ole street blown up an' all them Muggles dead. What was it they said 'ad 'appened, Ern?" Stan nodded earnestly.

"Gas explosion," Ernie replied.

"An' now 'e's out. Never been a breakout from Azkaban before, 'as there, Ern? Beats me 'ow 'e did it. Frightenin', eh? Mind, I don't fancy 'is chances against them Azkaban guards, eh, Ern?" Stan took a longer look at the photograph on paper, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Talk about summat else, Stan, there's a good lad. Them Azkaban guards give me the collywobbles," Ernie suggested, shivering.

Stan, rather reluctantly, folded up the paper and tucked it away in his pocket.

Amisty went back to her own bed, now too awake to bother falling back asleep again.

The news of Black out of the streets was too nerve-wracking for her to bear, knowing that if Harry hadn't run away that night that there might have been a chance of her having the same demise as those poor Muggles in the killing.

She, in order to distract herself, pulled out a roll of parchment, her quill, and a bottle of ink.

'Might as well write my reply now, I can just send it once we reach Diagon Alley," She thought to herself, tugging out a textbook as well so her quill couldn't pierce through the parchment.

She placed her quill on the paper, watching the dark gold ink pool at the top. Before it would pool more, she dragged it down the page and started to write.

Dear 'You',

I'm doing alright, much better now that I've gotten away from that neighborhood. Harry;s, he's one of my closest friends, my camp is on his street, Aunt came to visit and she had a dog with her. I've been living there for the past two years without too much trouble, but her dog had sniffed me out and chased me when I was heading back home one night. After that, there was no way I could leave my camp unless I wanted to be sent to the orphanage again. I can't go back there, not now. On the talk of London, I'm headed there right now, actually. By the time you get this letter I'll be in Diagon Alley. It's a long story, just know that I'm alright and that I'll be spending the rest of my summer there. Thank you for the warning about Sirius Black, I'll be careful.