Book One: Under the Hunters Moon

A Hound and a Hearth

The castle was quiet as a shadow snuck through the corridors, stopping every now and then to slip into a secret passage or a hidden door to hide from those who patrol the halls or the ghosts who were keeping a lookout. But, thankfully, the castle was large and easy to make your way through if one knew how to. Sirius Black and Padfoot certainly did know how to, they had spent seven years exploring the castle with other boys in his year, James, Ramus, and the rat. He remembers a map, but doesn't remember much else about it, he thinks it shows people on it. Maybe if he could find it again he could catch the rat if he ever tried to leave. But it didn't matter, hopes and wishes could only get so far, he needed to focus and a healthy dose of luck, which so far he has had.

The fireplaces and torches seemed to dim as he passed, the sound of footsteps echoing louder than normal, the quiet of the castle and how it seemed to guide him to the stairs of Gryffindor tower. Not to mention the best stroke of luck he could ask for, a list of the passwords for the portrait guarding the tower, he had found it in front of the fireplace in the Shrieking Shack of all places, some Gryffindor must have broken in on a dare and dropped it. It doesn't matter in the end, he was close to the rat, he could finally end this and make sure he wouldn't hurt...hurt...someone, Sirius guessed, it doesn't matter, only the rat mattered, only revenge. So when Sirius got to the fifth-floor landing for the tower, instead Of the fat lady he was expecting he was met with Knight. He was dozing, leaning back against his horse, dressed in black and gold armor, with a windmill in the background of the painting of farmland.

"Umm, Hello?" Sirius whispered to the knight, tapping on the frame.

The knight snorts before pushing up his visor "What!? Who goes there!? State your business scoundrel! Or perhaps you are here for combat, eh?" The knight says as he gets to his feet and draws his sword.

"Shh, I'm not here to fight, just keep it down," Sirius whispers looking behind him, to see if anyone was coming, the knight looks put off by his statement but says nothing.

"Then what are you here scoundrel, speak up!" The knight says as Sirius flinches at the volume of his voice.

"I just want into the tower, that's all," Sirius says while still looking behind him, keeping low in the shadows.

"Password?" The knight says in a dejected sigh.

"Oh, umm I've got a list, one moment," Sirius says as reaches into his pocket, pulling out the said list and looking for the right day and starting at the top.

"Pig snout?" Sirius asks.

"Nope!" The knight says gleefully.

"Dracarus?"

"No."

"contemne legem, posside meretricem;" Sirius had no idea how the knight came up with these passwords.

"Wrong!"

"filium oblitum, canis meminit," Sirius says.

There's a moment of pause with the knight, as he was about to answer no once again, but the portrait swings open, and Sirius smiles and enters through the hole behind it, never noticing one of the other paintings leaving a portrait. As Sirius enters the tower, a familiar warmth washes over him, as he looks around the gold and red common room of his youth, he couldn't help the past that he had forgotten drag him backwards.

"Hey, Padfoot, your back later than planned, run into Minnie?" James says from the chair by the window, his face a blur but the snitch buzzing around his head.

It was like he couldn't help it as he looked over at the chair, "No," he whispered, "The map worked like a charm, those snakes won't know what hit them in the morning."