Loyalties | Barty Crouch Jr

The Four Boys and a Secret

January 24, 1978 - Tuesday

Leonora was already late to supper as she rushed through the empty corridors, hidden among the shadows casted off the dark walls. As she turned the last corner before the great hall, hushed whispers could faintly be heard in the shadows, making the girl abruptly stop in her path. Squinting her eyes, she could make out the familiar outlines of Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew.

The girl quickly moved to stand behind the closet pillar, hoping that the boys hadn't heard her heavy footsteps. The whispers had temporarily stopped, and she assumed that they were searching around to make sure nobody was nearby and listening in. She had to wonder though, what could they possibly be talking about that they wanted to keep secret?

Once they determined that nobody was in the corridor with them, the whispers resumed. Leonora leaned forward, propping herself against the pillar, straining her ears as much as she possibly could in order to try and make out what they were saying. Unfortunately, though, she could only make out bits and pieces of what was being said.

She definitely heard them say something about tonight, but it was hard to understand the rest. She swore she heard 'shrieking shack' come up at some point, but she wasn't entirely sure. If that was what was said, it sounded as if they were going to the shrieking shack tonight. But why?

The hushed whispers suddenly stopped once again as loud voices could be heard coming towards them from down at the other end of the corridor, most likely coming from students who left supper early. The boys disbanded, heading in separate directions. 

Leonora sunk further into the shadow that concealed her, hoping that Sirius wouldn't spot her as he passed. Luckily, he kept his eyes trained forward, not realizing her presence in the hall.

Once she was convinced that he was far enough away, Leonora rushed out of her hiding spot and ran the rest of the way to the great hall. She quickly scanned the Slytherin table for Regulus, as maybe he'd know something about his brother that would warrant the secrecy.

Her eyes finally landed on him sitting at the furthest end of the table, up towards the front of the room near the professors. She briskly walked the length of the table to where he sat, before noticing that Snape with sitting opposite him. She paused for a moment, unsure if she wanted to talk about it around the boy. Releasing a small sigh, she figured that it probably wouldn't matter.

"Guess who I just overheard whispering?" she spoke to neither boy in particular as she sat down and began to plate up her supper. 

"Who?" Regulus asked, his attention now focused on the girl. Snape only glared at the girl, upset that she had interrupted them.

"Your brother, and Pettigrew. It must have been about something private as well."

"Well, what exactly were they talking about?"

Leonora shrugged. "I could barely hear them, so I didn't catch much. All I heard was 'tonight,' and 'shrieking shack.' I was hoping you might know something about it." Snape glanced to the girl with slightly wide eyes. He looked almost scared. "Do you know something, Snape?" she directed the question towards him as well.

Regulus looked to the boy as well, curious about his reaction. "I have no idea what that's about," he answered, his eyes leaving Snape and looking back towards the girl. Leonora, however, was still watching Snape.

"No," he answered sharply. "And I would suggest you don't go snooping around."

Leonora narrowed her eyes at the boy, looking suspiciously into his, convinced that he was hiding something. "I think you're lying, Snape. I know how much you dislike them; you don't need to protect them." The boy only stared back at her, not bothering to say anything. "Is my brother involved? You must tell me something," she pressed.