Constellations of Black

Chapter 16

That morning was horrendous. Cetus hadn't been able to sleep the rest of the night, leaving him utterly exhausted that morning. He had left his dorm at some ungodly hour, deciding it would be easier not to wake the other three students again. He had spent most of the night drafting letters to his father or doing most of his much-needed homework, trying to keep his mind occupied and off of the fact his uncle had been watching over him.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Cetus walked into the courtyard, all four a mix of emotions. Hermione was trying to keep collected, Harry was dazed, Ron was furious, and Cetus was forcing himself awake. The dark circles under hazel eyes were a strong contrast to his pale skin. Maybe he should have stayed back in his dorm to try and sleep.

"Beautiful day," Hermione remarked. Cetus nodded, politely covering his mouth as he yawned.

"Gorgeous," Ron replied, malice behind his words, "Unless, of course, you've been ripped to pieces."

"Ripped to pieces? What are you talking about?"

"Ronald has lost his rat." Hermione strode forward from the group.

"I haven't lost anything!" Ron's voice cracked. "Your cat killed him!"

"Rubbish."

"Harry, you've seen the way that bloodthirsty beast of hers's always lurking about. Scabbers is gone," Ron complained. Cetus rolled his eyes.

"Well, maybe you should learn to take better care of your pet!" Hermione retorted.

"Your cat killed him!"

"Did not!" Hermione argued.

"Did to!" Ron bickered.

"They just keep arguing like a married couple," Cetus mumbled, looking at Crookshanks. The orange cat was sitting peacefully outside. Harry snorted, failing to conceal his laugh.

"Cetus Nerro!" Hermione hissed, flustered. Cetus put his hands up in a pathetic attempt to defend himself.

"My bad, my bad," Cetus grinned.

The group of four continued, heading towards Hagrid's hut.

Lyra spent much of her day hidden in the library, researching. News had circulated quickly that Sirius Black had tried to attack the youngest Weasley boy after getting into the tower for the second time. She knew something had to be connected between the black dog and her uncle being able to break in. And Lyra had a hunch of just what it was.

She had lied to most of her friends about needing to do homework, giving her the chance to be alone. Lyra had two stacks of books on either side of her, a pile of parchment between them, and crumpled pages of notes littered around the rest. While a few homework assignments were in a separate pile, a cover in case someone came close to her. Lyra had a book on the history of the Animagus transfiguration open, scribing notes with her enchanted quill. If this was how her uncle became a black dog and got in and out of the castle, she needed all the information she could get in her clutch.

The library was quiet, with very few students there, mostly Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. The Nerro girl was the only Slytherin in there, at least from whom she could tell. Lyra flitted her wrist, and the quill set itself in the inkwell. She stretched, elbow popping as she did, looking around.

"I need to see if Father knows about this," Lyra mumbled aloud, skimming over her notes. It was a mix of Italian and English, effectively hiding most of the examination without charming it.

"Buckbeak's been sentenced to death!" Hagrid refused to look at the group of four students, still knee-deep in the lake.

Cetus felt his heart drop. The poor creature was to be executed because of his cousin's irresponsibility. The half-giant threw another thin stone, it skidding across the water before sinking. Cet wanted to comfort the giant, but his rational fear of water kept him a metre and a half away from the shoreline.

The group was quiet, solemnly taking in the news. Cetus felt nothing but anger towards Lucius and Draco. Even if the younger Malfoy was his cousin, he despised him even more.

Lyra packed away her notes with a frustrated sigh, needing a change of scenery. All she could smell was old parchment and it was beginning to give her a headache. She walked on quiet feet, putting all of the books away except one. She was only halfway through another book about Animgi. Lyra grabbed her backpack, tossing the rolled parchment in loosely, only being more prudent about the quill and inkwell.

Lyra opened the door to the library, slipping out and heading towards the same exit Cetus had shown her when they first encountered the black dog. Subconsciously crossing her index finger over the middle, she bit back the entirely real possibility of not stumbling across the dog for a second time. She just wanted explanations for her ever-growing accumulation of questions. And the black dog was the only one who could answer them without raising suspicion.

Just before the hallway to the door, Lyra's stomach desperately reminded her of the fact she had skipped lunch. Making a quick detour, Lyra headed into the Great Hall in search of some much-needed food. Lyra nodded to some second years at the Slytherin table as she grabbed a handful of miniature turkey sandwiches and a small bunch of grapes. It wasn't much, but at least it was something. She headed back off on her way to continue her original plan.

Lyra reached the door, quickly glimpsing around, confirming that no one was following, before slipping the handful of grapes into her pocket and going through the door. The fresh air was nice, especially compared to the library. She took the same route as last time, heading to the Black Lake.

The leaves crunched underfoot, reminding Lyra of how close the Yule break was getting, and how the family could run and hide back in Europe soon. Lyra wiped her clammy palms on her jumper. This was fine. Confronting her uncle without telling of blood relation was fine.

Soon crunching leaves became crunching stones and Lyra sat a metre away from where water met rock. She took out the unfinished notes, book, quill and inkwell. She flicked her wrist and the quill began to write as she read once more. It was a peaceful change that was well-needed.

"Animgi don't choose their animal? Hm," Lyra muttered. What animal would she or Cetus be? What animal would her father be?

Lyra closed the book, the quill resting in the inkwell. She looked around, spotting the dog in the treeline, watching. Lyra acted like she did not notice, instead packing away the items neatly. Taking a grape from her pocket, she popped it in her mouth, watching the water lull about. A small crunch of rocks alerted her of the dog coming closer.

"Hello," Lyra greeted.

The dog sniffed the air, hesitant to come closer.

"I have food, do you want some?"

The dog got closer as Lyra held her hand out once more. He gingerly sniffed before licking the back of her hand. Just as a gentleman or high social class man would. Lyra smiled and tossed the last sandwich she had in front of the dog. It began to scarf down the food, clearly hungry.

"I'm sorry that's the only sandwich I had left, I have some grapes, but I don't know if you'd like it," Lyra rubbed the back of her neck.

The dog licked its lips, rubbing against her arm. A wordless thank you. She observed him closer, his fur was all matted, with clumps of dust and other things mingled into the knots.

"You're welcome... Sirius," Lyra flinched, finally saying her uncle's name. The dog backed away, baring its teeth.

"I'm sorry," Lyra was quick to apologise, raising her hands in defence. "It's only my brother and I that know. The boy that was with me last time. You're an Animagus, probably unregistered."

The dog growled in response, lowering itself protectively. So she was right.

"Sirius, I don't mean any harm. You know Anna, Anna Longbottom?" Lyra tried to keep herself calm, there was no way her uncle would purposefully harm her. Right?

The dog stopped growling, still lowered in defence.

"Okay, so you know her... That's my mother, or was."

Sirius lifted himself up, going closer to the girl. Lyra held her hand back out.

"I can keep your secret, but I need a place to floo my father in private. You know how to get in and you know the places around the castle to hide," Lyra explained, "I can give you the Slytherin password if you want to give me the location or give it to my brother. You seem to know how to get in there."