Harry Potters Twin Book Four

The Return of Padfoot

Harry, Ron, Hermione and I left the castle at noon the next day to find a weak silver sun shining down upon the grounds. The weather was milder than it had been all year, and by the time we arrived in Hogsmeade, all four of us had taken off our cloaks and thrown them over our shoulders. The food Sirius had told us to bring was in Harry's bag; we had sneaked a dozen chicken legs, a loaf of bread, and a flask of pumpkin juice from the lunch table.

The warm wind swept over us as we walked towards the direction of Gladrags Wizardwear to buy a present for Dobby. My hair flowed slightly behind me even though I had tied it in a ponytail and my boots sunk a couple of inches into the soft dirt.

At half past one, we made our way up the High Street, past Dervish and Banges, and out toward the edge of the village.

It felt wrong walking here because it was unfamilar to me. I had never been in this direction before and I always went on high alert when I went somewhere I never been before because you never know what to expect.

The winding lane was leading us out into the wild countryside around Hogsmeade. The cottages were fewer here, and their gardens larger; we were walking toward the foot of the mountain in whose shadow Hogsmeade lay. Then we turned a corner and saw a stile at the end of the lane. Waiting for us, its front paws on the topmost bar, was a very large, shaggy black dog, which was carrying some newspapers in its mouth and looking very familiar…

"Hello, Sirius," said Harry when we had reached him.

"Snuffles," I said teasingly to him. He made a bark that sounded suspiciously like a laugh as we both remembered the name I gave him when I thought he was just a stray dog.

The black dog sniffed Harry's bag eagerly, wagged its tail once, then turned and began to trot away from us across the scrubby patch of ground that rose to meet the rocky foot of the mountain. Harry, Ron, Hermione and I climbed over the stile and followed.

Sirius led us to the very foot of the mountain, where the ground was covered with boulders and rocks. It was easy for him, with his four paws, but Harry, Ron, Hermione and I were soon out of breath. We followed Sirius higher, up onto the mountain itself. For nearly half an hour we climbed a steep, winding, and stony path, following Sirius's wagging tail while sweating in the sun.

Then, at last, Sirius slipped out of sight, and when we reached the place where he had vanished, we saw a narrow fissure in the rock. We squeezed into it and found ourselves in a cool, dimly lit cave. Tethered at the end of it, one end of his rope around a large rock, was Buckbeak the hippogriff. Half gray horse, half giant eagle, Buckbeak's fierce orange eye flashed at the sight of us. All four of us bowed low to him, and after regarding us imperiously for a moment, Buckbeak bent his scaly front knees and allowed Hermione to rush forward and stroke his feathery neck. Harry stared at his godfather and Ron breathed loudly, panting after the long climb.

"Jeez, Sirius, kill us with the climb, why don't you?" I said, bending down to catch my breath.

"I didn't think it was so bad," Sirius grinned widely, the papers still in his mouth. It was his voice that caught my attention. And after m eyes swept over his waxy and hollowed face, they eyed his clothes. Sirius was wearing ragged gray robes; the same ones he had been wearing when he had left Azkaban.

His black hair was longer than it had been when he had appeared in the fire, and it was untidy and matted once more. He looked very thin.

"Chicken!" he said hoarsely after removing the old Daily Prophets from his mouth and throwing them down onto the cave floor.

Harry pulled open his bag and handed over the bundle of chicken legs and bread.

"Thanks," said Sirius, opening it, grabbing a drumstick, sitting down on the cave floor, and tearing off a large chunk with his teeth. "I've been living off rats mostly. Can't steal too much food from Hogsmeade; I'd draw attention to myself." He grinned up at Harry, but Harry returned the grin only reluctantly.