The Immeasurable Marauder

Spotting Dogs

The morning was a sober one. Everyone had taken to sleeping in late but I needed to get out of the castle, I was so agitated. I put on some running shoes, leggings and a tracksuit top fully aware that the air would be biting cold as the weather had taken a turn for the worst. I made my way out of the castle without encountering a single person. A thick fog hung over the grounds but I braced myself and began to run. I made my way down past the Herbology classrooms, towards Hagrid's Hut, and skirted the Forbidden Forest itching to go inside. 

I made my way to the lake where I sat on the dock for a moment to catch my breath. The water was black as night and still, but I knew better than to believe the things just below the water surface were still. I closed my eyes and absorbed my surroundings. I could feel tears burning in my throat but I swallowed them down. Soon everyone would be leaving for the Christmas holidays and I would be left here alone, no family to go home to. I heard a rustling of leaves and looked up to see a shape just visible in the darkness of the forest. 

It stepped closer, nearing the light and I saw a black wolf, its eyes trained on me. I stood hurriedly and took my wand out. It trotted toward the water and dipped his head to drink. His yellow eyes were fixed on me but I didn't feel threatened for some insane reason. I looked a little closer; it wasn't a wolf, rather, a very large black dog. Still watching me with its intelligent eyes, it dipped its snout into the water and flung some into the air playfully a few times before trotting off down the shore. I put my wand away and watched it retreat into the forest before I stood to run back the way I had come. This time, feeling slightly lighter, the run was easier and I pushed harder and harder with each step, feeling my muscles burn in the best way. 

As I reached the Herbology classroom I heard angry voices so I slowed down, trying to make as little noise as possible. The last thing I needed was to be drawn into something else.

"If Sirius hadn't..." I heard a frustrated voice say softly and I stopped dead in my tracks.

"He is becoming impatient..." said the other voice.

"Yes, well we would have had her if it wasn't..."

"Yes, but the fact remains the same, we don't have her." Was that Severus? I leaned in to listen more closely when I accidentally knocked a pot from one of the shelves. I turned to run and collided with Sirius who had obviously been standing right behind me.

"Who's there?" boomed one of the voices and in a moment, Sirius had pulled me from where we had stood, around a corner and underneath something, an invisibility cloak. He put his hand over my mouth and a finger to his lips to indicate that I should keep quiet. He was less than an inch away from my face, his eyes intense, his body casually pressed against mine. I saw a tall weedy looking Slytherin boy peek around the corner and look right past us before turning away, footsteps disappearing rapidly. Sirius had moved his hand but we stayed hidden and silent for a little while longer to make sure the coast was clear. All the while he looked deep into my eyes. 

His forehead was crumpled, his eyes looked sad. There were distinct marks from the clash the night before on his eyebrow where he had hit the ground. It looked like it had been healed but by an amateur. There was stubble covering his face. I hadn't noticed before how full his beard would be if it were to grow out.

He pulled the cloak off eventually and stuffed it into his pocket hastily before he went scouting around the corner.

"They've gone." He said coming back to me.

"Who was that guy?" I asked. Something felt wrong about the whole episode.