Secrets and Misery

THREE

CHAPTER 3

In the school days there are some in which you found that there is nothing more to do but to procrastinate. I, myself, am in that very position right now.

Thanks to the only thing I like that my father has left me, the only thing I cannot get rid of, these types of days can be a little more fun. I like to go to the Forbidden Forest and enjoy that one secret between him and me. What a second ago would have been identified as a student would now simply be a black panther.

And then I ran. I know I cannot escape myself but it is the next best thing.

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I had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady after a long Quidditch practice with Angie and Alicia. Everyone was gathered around it, which was weird. Once I had a better look at the portrait I saw it was slashed and that the Fat Lady was missing, maybe this is why we were all here, even Dumbledore.

"You'll be lucky!" said a cackling voice. It was Peeves, bobbing over the crowd and looking delighted, as he always did, at the sight of wreckage or worry.

"What do you mean, Peeves?" Said Dumbledore calmly, and Peeves' grin faded a little. He didn't dare taunt Dumbledore. Instead, he adopted an oily voice that was no better than his cackle.

"Ashamed, Your Headship, sir. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful," He said happily. "Poor thing." He added unconvincingly.

"Did she say who did it?" Said Dumbledore quietly.

"Oh, yes, Professorhead. He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see. - Peeves flipped over and grinned at Dumbledore from between his legs." Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black.

Everyone began panicking. Even if we knew he was out there, no one was hoping for him to be here in the castle. Thankfully Dumbledore acted quickly and managed to calm everyone.

Every student was to sleep in the Great Hall while the teachers searched the castle. It was like a really big sleepover. The Great Hall was filled with sleeping bags most of them were filled with a student who had already gone to sleep. I had just finished getting ready to go to bed, or the sleeping bag. I approached the place where Alicia had saved me next to her. The sleeping bag next to me was empty, for now.

I lay down and tried to sleep. That wish wasn't met as soon as someone came in and took their place in the sleeping bag that was previously empty.

"Oh, of course" the person next to me whispered under their breath. I recognized that voice. I turned around to be met with none other than the one and only, Fred Weasly. He had a disgusted look on his face, clearly annoyed he had to share the air with me.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I don't want to sleep next to you either." I said quietly and turned back around.

I heard him move and assumed he had turned around like I did and tried to sleep.

"I know you're loving this" A whisper in my ear came out of nowhere. I didn't know how to respond to him so I said nothing. I knew I was letting him win that way but it was so late and I was so tired that at that moment, I didn't care.

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Anything everyone could seem to talk about for a few weeks was Sirius Black. Thankfully no one knew my relationship to him or else I would also be a topic of conversation, well no one but the Weasleys. Still, the Fat Lady refuses to return to her portrait until Black is caught. Consequently, Sir Cadogan the Mad Knight, was put in her place and I can truthfully say that no one was happy about that. Both because he changes the password, which are ridiculously complicated, twice a day and because he's for the most part extremely annoying.

Classes had re-started a week ago and still Sirius Black was on the loose. I had even subscribed to the Daily Prophet to keep an eye on any news about my father. But still no news about him. I didn't want to admit it but I was hoping to hear something about him, even a mention that someone had spotted him somewhere. I didn't care what it was.

"Nothing! Nothing!" I said after reading today's Daily Prophet.

"Oh come off it, stop worrying about him. Let's do something fun." Said George.

"I don't know. Is not because I don't want to, I'm too worried. I mean I know he is not after me," We had overheard a conversation between Harry, Ron and Hermione in which Harry told his friends that Sirius was his godfather and that Mr. Weasley had told him that he was after him. "but still the fact that he is related to me just makes me wonder, am I capable of doing that? Am I just like him?" I responded.

"Are you serious? Of course not! Elle come on, yes you are scary, a little crazy and you could kill someone if they pissed off you the right amount." At that moment I punched George in the arm, how could he say that? "Ouch, I didn't mean it like that, but anyway, you would never do something that bad to an innocent person, you are not missing your brain"

"Thanks, George. Somehow that helped." I said.

"Of course, it did, I'm the best, which means that everything I say is the best opinion too." Said a cocky George.

"I am not so sure about that. I think you are as bad as him. You are related to him by blood after all." Fred said, to no one's surprise.

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The quidditch team was practising one last time for our next match. Oliver had given us some notes on things to correct before practice so that we could apply them. After none of the matches, practice finished.

Everyone rushed out of the pitch except Angie and I. We had been talking about practising our management of the ball a little more. We got on our brooms and started passing the quaffle around. Time passed and the weather started getting heavy. Strong winds and a soft rain were presenting themselves.

"Angie I think it is time to call it done!"

I did not hear a response. She did start going down and so I assumed she heard what I said. I started descending but before my feet could touch the floor, the quaffle appeared right next to me. I was quick enough to cover my face with my arm, but I was not quick enough to completely stop it from causing damage.

A few seconds later I was on the floor. Thankfully I was near the ground so the fall was a short way down and could not cause an injury. The hit of the quaffle, on the other hand, did manage to do something to my arm.

"Are you okay?" Angie came running down after seeing me fall off my broom.

"Yeah, the fall was nothing."

"I was not talking about that, look at your arm."

I looked down at it and she was right to be worried. It had turned a light purple and it was swelling.

"Oh, I swear it looks worse than it feels."

"I do not care, here let me take you to Madam Pomfey." She said and extended her hand so that I could get up.

And so she did. Madam Pomfey took little time to get my arm back together, even so, she did say to stay off quidditch for a couple of days to let it cure fully. Wood was going to kill me.