𝓟𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓸𝓹𝓱𝓸𝓫𝓲𝓪 | Alternative Chapters

Deleted Scene - After 4.3

Ophelia roamed the darkening halls, shaking a few cat treats in her hand and whispering incoherent greetings for Dusty. 

"Dusty, baby boy, where are you?" She said singsongily. "Dusty, come here please." 

She heard a pair of rapid footsteps from down the hallway, then looked up to see her brother and his best friend. 

"James! Sirius! Have you two seen Dusty tonight?" She asked them while trying to mask her desperation. 

"Nope, sorry." James said, trying to rush back to the Gryffindor common room. 

Sirius seemed more concerned than his counterpart. "Did you lose him?" 

"I think so. He ran off this afternoon around lunch and I thought he would come back soon, but I haven't seen him since." 

"Do you need help finding him?" 

"No, mate, we have to get back to the dorms." James protested. 

Ophelia suspected that James wanted to leave so badly because they had just done something stupid and needed to escape the inevitable professor that would come chasing after them. 

"We don't need to get back right now." Sirius told him. "Plus, you could go, and then we'd be separate and have an alibi." 

He tried to hush that last part, but the girl still heard it. And now she knew for sure that they had done something stupid. 

The two boys seemed to have an argument without saying a single word, then they turned back to face Ophelia when they came to a conclusion. 

"Alright, little miss, I can help you find that precious cat of yours." Sirius said with a charming smile. 

Ophelia's face positively lit up with glee. She was so grateful that Sirius had offered to help her, especially since all of her friends were either in detention or staying after class. 

She practically lunged in to embrace the boy in a grateful hug. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Sirius!"

"No problem, darling. Where did you see him last?" 

Ophelia detached from Sirius and thought about the question. "He jumped out of my arms while I was walking down this hallway after lunch."

"So we'll stay here and look, then move down the school if we can't find him around here. Does that sound okay?"

"Yes, thank you."

James piped up from the outskirts of the conversation. "Fine, then I'll be on my way. Good luck finding your cat." And with that, he went on a jog to the Gryffindor tower. 

Just Sirius and Ophelia were left in the dim hallway, and the student curfew was getting increasingly close. Without a word, the two of them decided to walk together in hopes of finding the animal. 

The silence was broken by Sirius attempting to call the cat over to them. "Dusty, come back, you little git." Despite the slight insult with the words, his tone was incredibly gentle. 

Ophelia let out a small giggle at the sight of Sirius being so gentle and friendly. She knew it wasn't rare for him, but it was definitely uncommon in public. 

The boy hid a smile and turned around to face her. "Why are you laughing?" 

"That was cute, what you just did." Ophelia told him, a simper strung across her face. "It was just amusing to see you call out for my cat like that."

"Well, enjoy it." Sirius smiled at her. "I'll keep doing it until we find him."

The pair continued to wander around the empty school hallways and stairwells. They spent the evening talking about nothing and everything at the same time, almost forgetting the purpose of their walk at certain points. 

Once they reached the divination room, they decided to split up as they checked the large classroom. Sirius noticed a familiar ball of fur under one of the tables, and tried to lure Dusty out by holding his hand out and talking gently to Ophelia's pet.

"Come on, mate, our darling girl has been looking for you."

Curiously, Dusty slowly walked towards him and once he was close enough, Sirius softly scooped him up and let out a sound of triumph. 

"Look who I have," Sirius said singsongily to Ophelia, who was in the opposite corner of the room. 

"You found him!" Ophelia squealed, running towards the two of them. "Thank you so much, Siri!"

The boy raised Dusty closer to his face, then spoke in a baby voice to the cat. "Sweet Ophelia was worried sick about you. The least you can do to make it up to the poor girl is give her a bunch of cuddles."

With a huge smile on her face, Ophelia took her cat in her own arms and gave him a bunch of kisses on the top of his head. 

"Again, thank you, Sirius. I really appreciate it." She told him softly. 

"It's no problem, little lady."

"Want to walk me and this little rascal back to my common room? Or do you have to meet James right now?"

Ophelia wasn't expecting Sirius to say yes, but it never hurts to ask. 

"Of course I'll walk you back." He walked with her towards the exit and held the door open for her. "After you."