IMAGINE ｡ SIRIUS BLACK

14. THE QUIDDITCH FINAL

chapter fourteen; the quidditch final

"HAVE YOU FOUND ANY LEADS YET?" REMUS ASKED AS HE BUTTERED A PIECE OF TOAST, GLANCING OVER AT TEMPEST. The woman jumped a little at the address, far too tired to be alert of her surroundings. Remus sighed softly, pushing forward his plate of food so that she could eat something. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she forced a smile, though she felt the complete opposite. She hadn't slept a wink the past few days; she had been wide awake, stressing about the secret she was carrying. She wanted to tell her friend everything, but she knew it wasn't the best idea in any sense. He would hate her for speaking to the 'enemy', to the 'traitor'. 

It had taken her days to convince herself that the words she had been trained to think were lies. 

Checking her old pocket watch, the woman exhaled anxiously. She new that it was time to see him again; to learn more about what had actually happened so long ago, and how she could help him become a free man. She looked up at Remus, who was watching her with a concerned expression. "Have you seen Ron Weasley?"

"He should be helping Harry get ready for the Quidditch final today," Remus responded, before nodding towards the entrance of the Great Hall. "There he is now."

Tempest followed where he was looking, her eyes resting on the trio who were speaking outside in the corridor. She cleared her throat, before offering Remus a soft smile. She pushed herself up from the bench and got to her feet, brushing off her grey robe. "I'll speak with you later Remus."

With that, she left the professor sitting alone, as she strode into the corridor to see the golden trio muttering under their breaths. Upon seeing the woman, Hermione Granger smiled politely, before she nudged Harry. The spectacled boy's head whipped around to spot her, and a wide grin appeared on his face. He rushed over to embrace Tempest, who chuckled softly at his newfound energy. "Tempest! Are you coming to the Quidditch game?"

"Of course I am," she responded warmly, to which Harry brightened at. She then looked over at Ron, who was clearly happy that his best friend was happy. "Ron, I have a bit of an odd question for you, if that's alright."

Ron shrugged.

"How's your pet rat...Scabbers?" she inquired, and his face contorted slightly in a worried fashion. He shifted from foot to foot, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the animal, who squirmed frantically upon seeing the woman. 

"He's been quite awful lately, actually," he muttered, holding the rat out towards Tempest, whose eyes narrowed in its direction. Terrified shrieks sounded, and she made a taunting 'hmph' sound, playing off a concerned expression. "He's losing hair and keeps hiding whenever he sees anything, like Hermione's bloody cat."

"It's not Crookshanks fault!" Hermione snapped, stomping her foot defensively. Ron rolled his eyes, before returning his attention to Scabbers. 

Tempest hummed, scratching her chin as the rat continued to struggle in the Weasley boys' grip. As Sirius had noted, the animal was missing a toe, and it had a striking resemblance to the ugly animagus the tubby boy had back in Hogwarts. So, as Tempest stared it in the eye with a thoughtful expression, she tilted her head. "Well, I'm sure he's scared for a reason, Ron. Just make sure you don't let him out of your sight, alright? The poor thing probably couldn't last an hour on his own, especially in this state."