Something Wicked This Way Comes

CHAPTER EIGHT

I trekked back into Hogwarts, into the Great Hall, making my way to the Hufflepuff table, I could smell the greatly appealing food. I was about to sit down, seeing my friends congregated when I heard a kid behind me yell, "He's been sighted! He's been sighted!"

I turned around to see a commotion at the Gryffindor table. Ron called out, "Who?" My stomach churned, waiting to hear it. Please don't say- "Sirius Black!" Others gasped and made their way over to the table. I can't help but turn to my friends, holding up a finger to signal to wait for a moment. I rushed over and tried putting my eyes on what they were all gathered around about, a newspaper.

Hermione frowned as she read it, "Dufftown? That's not far from here..." She muttered. The students that collected around all had looks that spanned across horror, dread, and concern. I knew what they were all thinking, what did that mean for the rest of us? What would happen to us?

Neville Longbottom, the poor kid who gets too much crap handed to him, says what everyone thought, "You don't think he'll come to Hogwarts, do you?"

"With Dementors at every entrance?" Ron asked with a look of disbelief. Someone needed to at this point because the fear was starting to seep even into me. I silently thanked Ron for being even-keeled just this once.

The first kid who brought the newspaper spoke smothering that last bit of hope, "Dementors? He's slipped past them once, hasn't he? What's to say he won't do it again?"

Then another boy spoke up, "That's right, Black could be anywhere, it's like trying to catch smoke," Merlin, this kid was ominous, "Like trying to catch smoke with your bear hands," I watched Harry's face as it turned to one of silent worry. He would be scared most of all, after hearing what he had said on the train. I recalled him talking about how even the Minister of Magic was concerned for his safety. If he was worried then it had to be something serious... No pun intended.

I remembered as well my conversation with Professor Lupin;

"Take care of Harry, make sure he stays safe. I have a feeling he will need as many people keeping an eye out for him as possible..." I had agreed to it too. Not that I would take any of that back. I would protect any kid that needed it. Harry didn't deserve at the ripe age of 13ish to be tracked down and killed.

This man... I gazed down at the moving picture, hands coming out from the sides, grabbing him by his neck and shoulders as he silently screamed at the camera. He looked absolutely mad. His eyes glinting with rage. It made me shiver, I hoped I never came across this man. The hands clawed at his throat and scratched at him as he fought against them.

Sirius Black, a mass murderer, a psycho. An intriguing man indeed. I had always had a fascination with macabre murderers and criminals, not because I believed they did a job well done but because I was interested in their minds. For example, what would make Sirius Black want to kill someone? I started looking into him a bit over the summer, anything to get my mind off of... all of that. His case popped up in the newspaper at the best moment, "Prisoner of Azkaban Escaped!" That was the title of it.

That was when my intrigue spiked, I looked into a few records, old newspapers. The information I found, was so loose. Something wasn't tied up. I needed to find that loose end. In the paper, it spoke of a man and a woman, Lily Potter and James Potter, killed by Voldemort on the night of October 31, 1981. The most confusing part I found was that Sirius Black was known to be best friends with the two, since their Hogwarts days. Why was Sirius Black condemned to Azkaban for life? How was he involved?

This paper was my start. I leaned over, "Hey where did you get that?" I asked the boy. He shot his head up, "Oh I got it from me owl!" I nodded, damn, if only I had gotten one. I smiled, "Is there any way I can borrow it for a moment?" He shrugged, "Honestly, if you want it you can have it!"

That was very kind of the boy. I nod to him, "Thank you very much, I appreciate it!" The boy nodded and once they were all done ogling the paper, he folded it neatly and handed it over to me, "Here you go!" I took the paper and bid the table goodbye, making my way over to my table, and sitting down with it. I needed to analyze every word, all the lines between the black and white, while my friends sat around me eating lunch. Time to go to work.