The Mysterious Case of Sirius Black

.Seven.

Harsh rain pattered against the broad windows in the room. Rose and Martin were sat at their desks, eating a simple breakfast brought to them by house elves.

"What are you thinking about so hard?" Martin asked curiously as Rose stared blankly at her plate. She was still quite disappointed that they had not been able to find Black the day of the break in. She had received a strongly worded letter from Rufus Scrimgeour, who couldn't seem to wrap his head around why Black was able to sneak into the castle undetected. 

On top of that, the students at Hogwarts could not seem to stop talking about Sirius Black. A few people had begun to question the use of Dementors at Hogwarts since Black could get inside the castle with no issue. 

"I just don't understand Black's motive," she admitted, feeling more frustrated than ever, "Why the hell is he trying to enter Gryffindor Tower if he didn't kill Pettigrew? Shouldn't he just be laying low somewhere he could be free? That's what I would do if I escaped Azkaban."

Martin sighed, "I know. It doesn't make sense to me either. Every time we take one step forward, it feels like we take ten steps backwards." Rose shook her head, trying to clear it.

"What's a dementor's weakness?" Rose asked, "Besides light. Are they allergic to something? Can they not do something? I just want to understand how Black is avoiding them so much."

"I heard that they can't see animals," Martin said, leaning back as he bit into an apple, "They can sense them or anything it's like they're invisible." Rose's eyes snapped to her nonchalant partner's face. He had no idea that Rose's mind started to form a seemingly insane theory. 

"You're on duty for the Quidditch match today while I stay in the castle," Martin reminded her happily, swallowing a bite of toast. Rose groaned, knowing how annoying it'd be to stand in the freezing rain. The weather was dreadful that day. It was like the world wanted to punish Rose for letting Black inside the castle.

"Sucks to suck," Martin teased, moving to lounge on the dark brown couch. She laughed, putting on a raincoat over her cloak. She could use warming charms and other things of the sort to keep herself warm, but she couldn't keep away the rain without a jacket. She paused for a moment, a thought coming to her mind as she looked at the portrait of a dog and his human hanging in the room.

"Have you ever seen a dog at Hogwarts?" Rose asked, turning slightly to face her partner. The dog paw prints she had found outside the castle had stayed in the back of her mind, haunting her even before she fell asleep. 

Her partner shook his head in response.

"Never," he paused, "literally never. It's strange given that people like dogs more than cats, but I've never seen a dog at Hogwarts in my life." She sighed, leaning against the door.

"Me neither," she said quietly, thinking about the paw prints again. Martin laughed at the solemn look on her face.

"Ha ha Martin," she grumbled, opening the door to leave. She left quickly, not eager to be outside.

Rose watched the Hufflepuff-Gryffindor match with disdain. It was freezing and Rose was soaking wet. She had cast an umbrella charm as well as multiple heating charms, but they didn't seem to help the poor girl escape the biting cold. The match wasn't even enjoyable, given that she could barely see and the usual proud roars of students were drowned out by the flood of rain and wind. 

Rose was suddenly snapped out of her angry thoughts as a body fell from the sky. Albus Dumbledore's booming voice was heard throughout the stadium as dementors crowded throughout the sky.

"Expecto Patronum!" Rose shouted, raising her wand to the sky. Light boomed out of the wand and powerfully swept away the dementors. She watched as the Hufflepuff seeker came to the ground holding the snitch proudly in his hands. The whistle was blown and the Hufflepuffs began to cheer. Rose could see the seeker beginning to protest as the boy spotted Harry's body on the ground.

All of a sudden, Rose's eyes caught a dark figure sitting alone in the stands. It was a dog. A black shaggy dog that should not have been on Hogwarts grounds. 

"Auror Turner where are you going!" Professor McGonagall called after the auror, but was ultimately ignored as Rose pursued the dog. The auror's crazy theory had wriggled its way to the front of her mind, but she still wasn't one hundred percent sure.

Rose ran down the stairs to the stands, but the dog had vanished from sight. She cursed foully, disappointed in herself once more. 

"What are you doing down here, Auror Turner?" The two ginger twins spoke simultaneously. Dressed in their soaking wet Quidditch robes, the two boys watched the auror expectantly. 

"No reason," she answered, letting the annoyed look on her face fall, "What are you two doing here?"

"We're going to get Harry's broom. George here saw it hit the Whomping Willow," Fred informed her, pointing at his brother. 

"I'll come with you. That tree might hurt you guys if you get too close," She said, starting to walk. They trailed alongside the girl and she couldn't help but notice their dejected faces.

"Hey if it's any consolation I think Gryffindor did amazing out there! You two really are a great duo of beaters. It's been a while since I've seen talent like that," she said gently. They grinned at her, surprised by her positivity.

"Thanks Auror Turner," they said in unison. The trio arrived at the Whomping Willow and was quick to spot the shattered broomstick.

"Immobulus," Rose cast the charm, pointing her wand at the tree. The tree froze and the trio walked forwards.

"That's neat, I didn't know you could freeze the tree," George said. 

"I didn't either I just wanted to try it out," the auror laughed, grateful the spell worked. 

As the trio picked up the broken pieces of the Nimbus 2000, Rose noticed something around the tree: paw prints. There was a bit of mud on the side of the tree and a few prints around it.

"I think that's everything Gred," One twin said, causing Rose to snap out of her thoughts.

"Right-o Forge," the other said, "We can take those from you." Rose smiled gratefully, glancing back at the tree.

"You can go on, I need to check something out," she said, not removing her eyes from the tree. They nodded and shouted their thanks before leaving. 

Rose looked around, thankful to see nobody nearby. She tapped the spot where the muddy print was on the tree, then pressed down after nothing happened. A shriek ripped through her mouth as the ground opened up and she slid through a tunnel.

"What the hell is this?" She breathed in shock as the slide came to an end. It was a passageway, but to where?

She made her way forwards through the dark tunnel, her wand lit up dimly. She arrived at an old worn staircase, and hesitated for a moment.

"Do I really want to know what's up these stairs?" she murmured. She mustered up as much bravery as she could before stepping on the first stair. She jumped as it creaked loudly. The auror ignored the sensation that somebody was standing behind her and walked up the stairs. 

She arrived at a scratched up room with wooden walls and wooden floors. Everything made a noise as she took a step into the room. The room brought chills to her soul. A four poster bed stood alone, sheets ripped apart and completely ruined. There was some dried blood on the walls, and some fur on the ground.

"A newspaper?" Rose whispered curiously. She picked it up hesitantly, and horrifying noticed the familiar photograph of the Weasley family and their rat standing in front of the Great Pyramids. 

"Sirius Black was here," she breathed. As the words left her mouth, arms wrapped around her and she was tackled to the ground. Her wand was tossed out of her hands and the man scrambled for it. 

"Stupefy!" Sirius Black yelled, allowing a stream of blue light to emerge from the wand and hit its owner.