The Older Potter // HP Older Sister

57

C H A P T E R  57

Samantha, Ron, and Hermione felt Harry move from underneath the table. He emerged to the chair he was sitting on and instantly stood up.

"Bye," he grumbled and then quickly walked out the door.

Ron went to stand up and probably follow him but Samantha stopped him. "I'll go," she responded and stood up to follow Harry.

She hastened down the path and saw him head into Honeydukes. Samantha snuck into the back room and through the trap door.

"Harry!" she yelled, hoping he wasn't that far off.

About ten feet ahead, Harry took off the cloak and turned around. His face was expressionless but Samantha knew he was both upset and angry.

But it was all lies and as much as Samantha wanted to tell him the truth, she couldn't. Not without proof and not without stealing Scabbers.

She noticed he was much more skinnier and seemed more jumpy.

"Harry," she repeated in a more calm voice.

He looked up at her and their eyes met. She could see the sadness growing in them.

"I...I...don't know what to say," he said, his voice shaking with both anger and sadness.

Samantha bit her lip and sighed. "I'm sorry you had to hear that."

"You...you knew?"

She nodded slowly.

"And you didn't think to tell me?" His eyebrows were raised.

"Harry, I didn't want this to be an incentive for you to go after Black." Plus it was all lies, Samantha wanted to add.

He clenched his fists. "I'm not going to go after him...but if he comes, I'm not going down without a fight."

Samantha wanted to say that Sirius was far more advanced in magic but she of course couldn't. "I won't stop you."

• • • • •

Night couldn't come quicker and Samantha quickly got Sirius' food and made her way to the Shrieking Shack.

Opening up the door, she found Sirius once again reading through her old textbooks.

"I have bad news," she said which got Sirius to turn to her and raise his eyebrow in question.

"Care to elaborate?" he said in an obnoxious drawl.

Samantha narrowed her eyes and then gave him the box of food. She then sat down in the chair and sat back. "So at Hogsmeade...." She then told him the story they heard and could see Sirius growing more and more angry as she went further and further.

She finally finished and saw that Sirius was ripping pages out of her Third year History of Magic book and crumpling them up in his hands. Samantha went to tell him to stop but then realized that she had no care for that subject.

"I wanted to immediately tell him the truth...," Samantha started.

"But we have no proof," he grumbled. "Pettigrew is still living happily as a rat." He used every ounce of anger inside of him when mentioning Pettigrew.