ARCANE - G. WEASLEY

6

"YOU DID WHAT?"

Reyna flinches at the volume of Alicia and Caleb's synced shout after she had finished telling them about why she had trudged in soaked to the bone, followed by George Weasley approximately ten minutes later.

"I understand you two have your issues," Alicia begins, her tone disapproving. "But pushing him off a ledge into the Black Lake may have been a step far Rey"

"I warned him to leave me alone," Reyna shrugs. "Besides, I meant to push him away, him falling was just a happy accident"

"You could have done some serious damage!" Alicia exclaims.

"Weasley is already legally brain-dead," Reyna snorts. "I'm sure he'll be fine, maybe he'll learn to leave me alone"

"She could have done a lot worse," Caleb shrugs his shoulders and Reyna laughs.

"Uhm, Reyna-" Alicia's eyes were locked on something behind the witch and the witch sighs, throwing her head back.

The witch turns around to see George Weasley standing in front of the fireplace, his arms crossed across his chest as he glares at her.

"Can I help you?"

"You pushed me off a cliff,"

"Hardly," Reyna snorts. "That ledge is barely a fifteen-foot drop and you landed in the water. You're acting like you landed on pointed rocks or something"

"You could have killed me!"

"I know, I disappointed myself," Reyna states, inspecting her nails.

"You're insane," George shakes his head as he stares at the witch who was admiring her nails.

"Oh Weasley, you've barely scratched the surface,"

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As Reyna approaches the gates of the castle, she notices a diminutive figure lurking in the shadows. The figure tilts its head, gesturing for her to follow, and as she complies, she realizes the shaggy dog was leading her towards the infamous Whomping Willow. The witch's tense posture relaxes as she shrinks and transforms into a red fox, her bushy tail swishing behind her as she gracefully follows the canine into the dark tunnel.

"I hope you have a good reason for being here," Reyna states to the shaggy-haired man who stood in front of her. "Though I should incinerate you for that stunt you pulled near Privet Drive"

"I needed to see him,"

"We didn't agree on that," Reyna crosses her arms over her chest. "If my father caught wind of this-"

"Everything would fall apart," Sirius finishes the sentence.

"So stop taking risks," Reyna states, her tone was serious. "Sirius, the stakes are too high for sentimentality"

"He's my godson,"

"He thinks you broke out of Azkaban to kill him!" Reyna snaps. "You need to stay away from the castle, I mean it"

"Fine," Sirius raises his hands in surrender. "I'll stop taking risks"

"You better mean it," Reyna replies. "Or else I'll singe all the fur off of your body until you're a bald dog"

"You're evil,"

"Stop taking risks," Reyna ignores the man's comment. "Dementors are crawling every part of these grounds, you can't risk someone recognising you, even as an animagus"

As Reyna utters her final words, she pivots on her heel and departs the decrepit room. The witch descends the crumbling stairs before she once again assumes the appearance of a fox. She moves stealthily across the grass, flattening her body against the earth upon detecting hushed whispers emanating from a nearby location. Reyna's gaze fixes upon George Weasley, who clutches a piece of parchment in his grasp and mutters to himself while scrutinizing the object.

"I know you're here somewhere Lupin,"

With his wand aglow, George surveys his surroundings, his gaze sweeping over the lush grass. Suddenly, his attention is captured by a fox that had been resting quietly in the verdant foliage. As their eyes meet, the creature blinks and its ears flatten, recoiling from the wizard's intense stare.

"It's okay," George whispers. "I won't hurt you"

As George trailed the fox, he noticed a sudden change in her demeanour. She abruptly halted in her tracks and gazed upward at a tree branch that was hurtling towards the unsuspecting Weasley boy. Reacting instinctively, the fox lunged at George, knocking him over and tumbling them both away from danger. The branch narrowly missed them, whipping past the spot they had previously occupied.

George was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling with each sharp pant. He had been knocked slightly off-balance by the force of the fox who was now nudging him urgently with her nose. The chill in the air was palpable, and he could feel it seeping through his clothes. The fox's nudges were insistent, pushing him towards the looming castle in the distance.

"Dementors," George whispers, his breath visible.

The fox nips at George's ankle, eliciting a hiss of pain from the wizard. But the fox pays no heed to the wizard's pain, continuing to shove him towards the castle.

"Alright I'm going," George mutters. "Now where is that-"

George fixates on the fox who clutches a piece of parchment, that was all too familiar to him, in its mouth. He utters a curse under his breath and takes a step forward, intending to seize the invaluable item. However, the fox darts away into the darkness, skillfully camouflaging itself.