The next morning, I had an idiotic idea. But, it was my idea, so it couldn't be that idiotic.
This is crazy, this is crazy, I repeated in my head as I approached the Whomping Willow.
Without Crookshanks with me to press on the knot at the bottom of the tree, I had to use a long stick. The branches froze in place and I crouched to enter into the opening, finding that I could stand up straight inside.
Signs of animals remained along the underground path, fur and paw prints scattered along the ground. I found the entrance to the Shrieking Shack and held out my wand.
If Sirius Black was, indeed, hiding in here, Professor Lupin would eventually find out.
I walked up the rickety stairs and opened two doors that led to what seemed to be a bedroom.
When I entered, I heard something move behind me and I turned to see a dog with black, shaggy fur seated beside the door. My head tilted. "It was just a dog...?"
I placed my wand into my robes and knelt down, holding out my hand. The dog slowly stepped towards me and rested his chin in my palm without sniffing it. "Quite trusting, you are," I whispered. "Were you the one howling here yesterday?"
Despite a shared love for animals, neither me nor my father had ever thought about keeping a pet that would be considered normal.
I scratched the back of the dog's ears and he pushed his head into my hand.
"Are you friends with Crookshanks?" I asked as if he were going to answer. He let out a quiet bark. "Odd... I was sure that cats and dogs weren't supposed to like each other. Eh, I guess there's always the ones that are a bit different."
I sat down and placed my bag beside me, pulling out Hogwarts: 1971-1972 without looking around for the first time. The dog plopped next to me.
I opened the page to Sirius Black's photo, continuing to admire his collar-length hair and kind-looking features despite his notorious bloodline. The dog buried his face in the page and I scratched his head. "Find someone pretty on here?"
However, his nose began trying to turn the page and I, who believed that animals definitely knew things that humans didn't, obliged. I turned the pages as the dog seemed to instruct until I reached those whose last names began with P.
He suddenly began barking at the page, trying to bite the page out of the book.
"Hey!" I snapped, making the dog recoil. I raised the book above my head and pointed at him. "We do not destroy books, no matter how much we like or dislike it! Understand?"
The dog looked down and, unlike what most do, he didn't make a sound.
I placed the book on the window sill and placed my hands on either side of the dog's face. "No destroying books. Books are sacred." I grinned. "Aw, who could stay mad at that face?"
I opened the book again, going to the page with Professor Lupin. The dog seemed very fond of this page, his eyes seeming to glisten at the sight of it.
"D'you like someone on this page?" My finger began dragging across the parchment and once my fingertips touched Professor Lupin's photo, making the dog press his nose against my arm. "You like Professor Lupin?"
Maybe he's met Professor Lupin during his frequent visits.
My hand went to scratch the dog's ears again. It seemed like the scratching wasn't quite what brought him joy but the simple touch, as he kept nuzzling up to my hand but not seeming to try and get my nails to intertwine with his fur.
I got up. "I've got to go. I have to head to class." I rubbed the top of the dog's head. "I'll be back, I promise."
•••
"Where have you been?" Cedric questioned when he noticed me walking towards Ravenclaw Tower.
"Just outside."
"It's dangerous to be outside."
"Wasn't Sirius Black rumoured to be inside? It's fine, Ced, I can handle myself." My gaze traced down Cedric's figure, dirt and grass stains on his uniform. "Were you just at Quidditch practice?"
"Yeah, the game's coming up soon."
I furrowed my brow. "I thought that the one coming up was Slytherin and Gryffindor?"
"Slytherin backed out because their Seeker had a broken arm-" which isn't true, "-so Hufflepuff's filling in."
I hummed, realizing that I'd probably have to watch the game instead of lock myself in the Shrieking Shack for the weekend. "I'll be rooting for you," was all I could think of saying before walking off, trying to avoid any more interrogation from my brother.
I went to Ravenclaw Tower and to my dorm, where my friends were whispering around Sue's bed.
"What are you guys talking about?"
"We learned why all the students had to sleep in the Great Hall last night," Sue answered in a hushed voice. "Sirius Black attacked the Fat Lady! The painting that protects Gryffindor Tower!"
My brows raised. "Really?"
"Three slashes in the canvas!"
I placed my hand on my chin. Sirius Black was certainly after Harry - why else pass every other tower and classroom if he weren't? If not Harry, then who else would he be after?
I glanced at the notebook resting on the nightstand that connected to Draco's, all the way back in the dungeon. Sirius Black, from what I had found, was related to him.
"You're not planning on talking to him, are you?" Lisa questioned with her nose scrunched up. "He's the reason Care of Magical Creatures got so boring." She wasn't one who would join in on the conversation unless she felt it to be necessary, so it felt like I had to listen.
"Right... yeah." I didn't even know what I was planning on asking him. I placed a heave of books on my bed, including Hogwarts: 1971-1972. "We should go to Defence Against the Dark Arts."
When I entered Defence Against the Dark Arts, I was cruelly reminded how tiring werewolf transformations are... by Snape standing at the front of the class.
"Turn to page 394," he enunciated.
I furrowed my brow. Werewolves?
"As Professor Lupin has not left a record of the topics you have covered so far-"
"Please sir," Hermione said quickly. "We've done Boggarts, Red Caps, grindylows, and we're just about to start-"
"Be quiet," Snape snapped. "I did not ask for information. I was merely commenting on his lack of organization."
Knowing how spiteful Snape could be, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a record of what we had learned but he just didn't want to acknowledge it.
Studying werewolves, now? That was no mistake nor coincidence. He knew that we weren't supposed to do werewolves for weeks, but he wanted us to know.
"Which of you can distinguish a werewolf from a real wolf?"
Hermione raised her hand but he was quick to ignore her.
I raised my own and his brows raised, but not in surprise. "Miss... Griffin."
"Werewolves have shorter snouts, tufted tails, and human-like eyes. Behaviour-wise, werewolves are more aggressive, and tend to attack humans more frequently than normal wolves."
"And how could you possibly know that?" There was an air of pride in his voice, as if he had just caught me in an act.
I shrugged. "Common knowledge?"
"Can anyone else distinguish a werewolf from-"
"Please sir," Hermione said, her hand in the air perhaps higher than mine. "A werewolf-"
"That is the second time you've spoken out of turn, Miss Granger. Do you take pride in being an insufferable know-it-all?"
Ron snapped. "You asked us a question and she knows the answer! Why ask if you don't want to be told?"
While he was right, Snape didn't like the idea of Ron Weasley being correct in anything if he was the one that was wrong. "Detention, Mr. Weasley."
For a grown adult, he was rather childish when it came to Harry, Hermione, and Ron - or the whole Gryffindor House, for that matter.
The last thing he said to the class was something about an essay that I most certainly wasn't about to do.
"But sir, there's Quidditch tomorrow," Harry reminded him.
"Well then, looks like you'll have to make arrangements."
I noticed something fly towards Harry - a paper crane, it was - from Draco.
Once we were dismissed, I walked up next to him. "You sent him a paper crane? What else did you send him, flowers and your nudes?"
His face burned and he pushed me. "Shove off!"
"Aw, look who's embarrassed!"
•••
The match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff came around, a storm painting the sky with grey clouds and lightning.
The players zoomed through the sky, the Quaffle shooting across the field, Bludgers being bashed back and fourth.
With the rain making everything appear shiny, the Snitch was no where to be seen.
I stood under an umbrella with Neville, with almost no one from my house actually attending the game. "You look worried," he noted.
"So Quidditch is cancelled because of a giant snake that wasn't even outside but it's not cancelled because of a raging storm?" I shivered, hugging myself for warmth. "That's bull."
My eyes travelled to the ground and I spotted a black dog hidden in the stands, much like the one I met in the Shrieking Shack. I didn't look away until Neville began slapping my shoulder. "They spotted the Snitch!"
I followed his finger and saw Cedric and Harry both bulleting through the air, a golden glitter speeding away from them.
"Go Harry!" Hermione screamed with Ron pumping his fist in the air beside her.
Somehow, even louder cheers erupted from the Hufflepuff stands. "Get that Snitch, Cedric!" one of his friends roared.
The Snitch changed directions and started going out of bounds.
Cedric and Harry went after it, then flew into the clouds.
After a while, I saw a flash of lightning and a very clear figure began falling from the sky.
Screams of horror and worry echoed through the air as Cedric began plummeting to the ground.
I ran forward, as close to the field without getting out of the stand as possible, and cupped my hands around my mouth. "Cedric, don't you dare let that broom hit the ground!!"
Stopping inches away from the grass, he swerved upwards and I let out a sigh of relief. He held up a thumb and flew back into the clouds.
Not long after, however, Harry came as well, falling without his broom clutched in his hands.
The difference was that he was definitely not conscious, leaving no chance to catch himself.
Dumbledore held out his hand and Harry's fall slowed - it was as if he were gently placed on the ground.
Cedric came back down a while later, the Snitch held in his hand. The Hufflepuff stands roared and cheered; for the first time, Harry Potter didn't get the Snitch.
The game came to a close and I rushed to the field, running to Cedric. "Idiot," I muttered as I wrapped my arms around him. He laughed quietly, putting his hand on my back. "Were you worried?"
"You wish."
Dumbledore's fury could be felt through the entire field. He stormed onto the field and raised his wand, a silver light radiating from its tip, making the flying dementors flee.
Cedric turned, noticing some people crowding around an area. "What happened?"
"Harry fainted on his broom!" someone replied in a panic.
Cedric's eyes widened and he ran over. "Is he alright?" he asked as Madam Pomfrey knelt beside Harry.
"He's alright, perhaps a bit shaken."
Hermione looked up, noticing the dementors drifting through the clouds. "It was the Dementors!" she exclaimed. "Harry fainted when he saw a Dementor back on the train, it must have been those!"
Cedric's brows drew together.
"Cedric?"
He walked up to Oliver, whose hand was on his forehead as if someone just died. "Um, Wood?"
"Hm? Oh, Diggory... What is it?"
"Do you want to redo the match?"
Oliver gave him a flabbergasted look. "Seriously?"
"It's not Harry's fault that there were dementors on the field. Do you want a rematch? One where Harry doesn't faint, that is."
Oliver looked as if he would cry, then he hesitated, and ultimately refused. "You won fair and square, Diggory. Besides, you did get struck by lightning. Scared your sister here, didn't you?"
"Shut up, Wood."
Cedric gave an unsure look but nodded. "Okay, if that's what you want."
Despite Oliver assuring him that it was alright, his expression made it seem like he really wanted that rematch.
I glanced to the corner of the field, the black dog that I had seen now gone.
"I'll be right back," I told Cedric before running off.
I followed a set of pawprints in the mud that led me to the Whomping Willow. "Oh god..." I whispered, finding the splinters that were once Harry's Nimbus 2000.
I pulled a blanket from my bag and wrapped the pieces with it.
That's when I saw Crookshanks again. He paused and gazed up at the tree, and I swear he nodded at me. "What are you doing here?"
He meowed and entered the opening under the trunk again.
I shook my head and entered the castle to visit Harry.
He was still unconscious by the time I entered the hospital wing.
"Um... Is now not a good time?"
"Not a good time for what? What happened?" Hermione and Ron turned away from Harry's lying figure.
I slowly reached into my bag and pulled out the broken broom. Ron was especially devastated. "No!" he cried. "Not the Nimbus 2000! This is more expensive than all my lunches of the year put together! You can fix it, can't you Hermione?"
"Ron, this is in splinters!"
"By the way, Hermione, I saw Crookshanks in- near the Whomping Willow."
"Is he safe?" she asked desperately.
"Yeah, he's fine. I just thought you should know."
"That stupid cat," Ron uttered. "You oughta tell it to leave Scabbers alone!"
I scoffed, clearly favouring the cute, fluffy orange cat instead of the old and dying rat. "Ron, he's probably died on your bed already. Why's the rodent so important to you anyway?"
"He's been in my family for twelve years!"
"And he definitely doesn't have any magical properties?"
"No, I'd have noticed them."
I scoffed. "Then how-"
The hospital wing doors burst open to interrupt me and Mandy and Sue stood in the doorway. "Y/N, something's happened!"