Little Red |Sirius Black|

Ghostly Petting Zoos - Sirius

Screams echoed across the desolate countryside, as the Gryffindors rushed out of the Shrieking Shack.

"Keep running!" Sirius shouted, when the Gryffindors seemed to slow down. He exchanged an amused look with the rest of the Marauders and could barely contain the whoop of laughter that threatened to escape him.

Scaring the Gryffindors out of the Shack had been much easier than they had anticipated. The Gryffindors had already been on their toes when they entered the place, eyes flitting around nervously. All the Marauders had to do was distract the rest of them while Remus transfigured a piece of Honeydukes candy into a candlestick, and James charmed it into crashing against the wall in front of them loudly.

Then just for kicks, the Marauders had looked towards the end of a corridor and screamed rather loudly, turning towards the rest of them with a dramatic "Run!"

The Gryffindors didn't need to be told twice as they tore out of the house, the Marauders at their heels. They didn't stop till they were back in the thick of the village again.

"That," Arianna began, hands on her knees as she regained her breath. "was awesome!"

Everyone looked at her incredulously. Sirius couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him.

"Let's go to The Three Broomsticks." Fabian suggested, shaking his head at Arianna. "I think we've all earned a pint of butterbeer." The others murmured in assent, and set out towards the inn.

"There's something weird about the Shack." Sirius could hear Arianna say to the girls. The Marauders exchanged a nervous look.

"What do you mean?" Dorcas asked, and the rest of the girls looked at her curiously.

"There were footprints in the dust, and some of them weren't even human." she told them, and Sirius' heart stopped. "I saw paw prints going both towards and away from the door."

"But how is that possible?" Lily asked, her expression quizzical.

Sirius decided to act. He hurried towards the girls and put an arm around Arianna. "There can be only one reason for that." he said solemnly. "The ghost family decided to get a petting zoo!" he said mockingly.

"Not that you can blame them." James said, playing along. "The economy is harsh these days and they have such a big house to maintain!"

Arianna narrowed her eyes at him as everyone burst out laughing. "That's hysterical." she said stonily. She tried to walk away from them, but Sirius caught her wrist and pulled her towards him.

"Stray dogs must have come in for shelter, before being driven away by the ghost." Sirius murmured into her ear, enjoying the feeling of her pulse racing wildly underneath his fingertips. "Honestly Little Red, you're reading too much into it." he said, pulling back to look into her eyes, hoping that she'd buy it . Arianna looked at him wide-eyed for a moment, her eyes flicking to his lips and back to his eyes so quickly that Sirius was sure that he had imagined it. Without even thinking, Sirius moved closer to her.

That seemed to break the spell, as Arianna abruptly stepped away from him, freeing her hand from his grasp. "I guess you're right." she said unconvincingly, as she entered the Three Broomsticks. Sirius pointedly ignored the death glare from Lily and the knowing looks from James and Dorcas, as he followed her in. The inn was warm, crowded, and a bit smoky, but clean and welcoming. Sirius made it a point to sit next to her, as the others left to get their orders. They spent the next few hours drinking butterbeer and bantering before they were interrupted by an excited squeal from Lily.

"They're here!" said Lily, interrupting Sirius' conversation with Arianna.

"Who's here?" Arianna asked, seemingly as confused as he felt.