The Black Queen | F. Weasley

15. Late night wanderings

Salem was gazing through one of the windows in her dormitory. She was sitting in the windowsill while she listened to the wind howling outside and silently observed Crookshanks, Hermione's cat, running around outside over the hills as well. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw a big black shape barreling out of the Forbidden Forest and was headed toward the bright ginger cat. 

A smile lit up Salem's face as she realised it was Orion. She decided then and there that she was going on a midnight stroll and hoped that she would run into her new made friend. She stood up and walked over to her four-poster bed. Socks quickly covered her feet and she slipped them inside her Chucks. 

As she quickly wrapped a coat around herself and snatched the Marauder's Map out of her cupboard, she quietly made her way through her dormitory and downstairs through the common room. She had almost made it to the portrait until...

"Sal, where are you going this late at night?" A voice asked from behind her. She turned around and was met with her best friends clad in their pajamas. It was Fred who had asked the question, but both of the twins were looking at her expectantly. 

George's gaze landed on the map she had clutched in her right hand and a concerned look overtook his features. "What do you need the map for this late at night? You know that it isn't safe to roam about in the castle anymore since Sirius Black slashed the portrait of the Fat Lady and is now closer than ever."

Salem scoffed, trying to ease his worries, but when his expression didn't change she knew she had to convince them that she wasn't looking for any trouble. She sighed and looked at them with reluctance, why did wanting to go for a midnight stroll on her own have to bring such difficulties. "I'm not afraid of my uncle, George. I wanted to go for a midnight stroll to clear my mind, I've had trouble sleeping lately and I found that walking for a bit helped. And just so both know, I'm not dumb, I grabbed the map in order to stay safe since it shows who is where exactly. If Sirius Black was out there I would know, and I wouldn't look for him... It would be stupid and unwise to go look for a convicted murderer."

But she would, and the unsaid admission hung silently above their heads. The boys knew that she would go look for her uncle, despite him being a sentenced murderer who was sent to Azkaban. Simply, because she had this fantasy in her head about his adventures with Lupin which made her believe that he couldn't be as bad as everyone made him out to be. 

Fred searched her eyes, trying to find any sign that he could persuade her not to go, but as always the girl had determination burning in her eyes and he sighed disheartened. He grabbed her by the arms and pulled her closer, interlocking his gaze with hers. 

"Promise me Salem, promise me you won't go look for him if you see him on the map. He isn't the man from your made up fantasies. He's dangerous and a follower of You Know Who, he wouldn't hesitate to kill you despite you being his niece."

Her heart ached as she took in Fred's words, they stung. His brown eyes were filled with the same concern George had for her, but also a desperation for her to promise him that she wouldn't look for Sirius. 

She bit her lip, she didn't want to make an empty promise. She shrugged herself out of his arms and took a step back, staring at the floor in thought for a few seconds before interlocking her eyes again with Fred's. "I promise. I swear that I won't go looking for Sirius."

Fred and George nodded and let out a relieved sigh. They hugged her close for a few seconds before letting go. "We're heading for bed now Sal, be careful out there."

She nodded and her heart ached once more, she had lied to them. She had lied to them many times before when it came to her powers, but never about something like this, something that made the twins scared for her life.