The Light of the Dark: Harry Potter x OC

Chapter Twenty Eight - Year Three

— Year Three —

          "Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today.
          'We are doing all we can to recapture Black,' said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, 'and we beg the magical community to remain calm.'
         Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Confederation of Wizards for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis.
       'Well, really, I had to, don't you know,' said an irritable Fudge. 'Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And let's face it -- who'd believe him if he did?'
       While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse."

I took a deep breath and let it out, setting the Daily Prophet back on the ground and looking at the man's picture on the front. The man's face was sunken in, he had dark circles under his eyes.  His hair was long, brown, and matted. In his picture, he was jumping at the camera, being held back by two guards, the caption underneath it stating 'Black Still At Large'. He looked just as insane as the Prophet had described.
Sirius Black had been in the Prophet everyday for the past three weeks. From what I understood, he was a murderous maniac who murdered twelve Muggles and one wizard in broad daylight. He had escaped Azkaban, the first in history to do so, and was on the run. Everyone, including the Muggles, had been warned about how dangerous he was.

I asked Victoria about him when he had first appeared in the paper, since she was an Auror I figured she would know a lot about him. But, when Vicky had come home that day, she looked frightened. She had rushed over to me and given me a bone crushing hug. Her breathing was heavy and I knew something was bothering her. I asked her what was up, but she refused to say anything. Over the past few weeks, she had continuously checked up on me throughout the day. Every time she came home and saw me, it looked as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. I wanted to comfort her and try to help her out, but every time I asked, she always brushed it off as a stressful day.
I knew it was connected to Sirius Black. No doubt she was working extra to try and catch him, which is a stressor, but it always seemed like there was more to it than that.
My best guess was that it had something to do with my dad. Vicky had explained to me from a young age that my dad had not been a good person. He had joined up with the Death Eaters and left my mum and I. Victoria had also mentioned that he was a murderer. She had never told me who or how many, and I didn't really want to know. Since finding out that Sirius Black had escaped, I wondered if he and my dad had been friends and if he had told him his plans. If so...if my father got out...

I looked at the paper one more time before getting up off the living room floor and walking up the stairs to my room. I folded the paper and set it on my nightstand. I started to walk out of my room when I heard the front door open. "Emily?" I heard Vicky call out. I looked down at my watch and saw that it was almost ten o'clock. She was home early. I quickly rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen where my aunt was setting her stuff down. When she saw me, she smiled, her shoulders relaxing. As soon as she had set down all of her work stuff, she walked over and gave me a hug.

"What are you doing home so early?" I asked as we pulled away. Lately, Vicky had been at work until about three in the morning. She would come home, check on me, and then go to bed. By the time I got up in the morning, she was gone again.

"Well, I took off tomorrow because you're headed off for Hogwarts already." She said, the smile on her face gaining a hint of sadness. "And...you and I are going to Diagon Alley early in the morning." I looked at her, confused.