Oh, Merlin

5.0

Every night after dinner, Morgan would sneak out of the castle and run down to a certain patch of grass. Once Max saw her, he would come out of the shadows and sit next to her, his head rested in her lap. Morgan would give him some food she smuggled under her robes and while he was eating, she'd tell him about everything going on with her. He must've understood what she said, as he'd wag his tail at all the good stuff and lower his ears at all the bad stuff.

The hungry dog had just finished his food. "I just don't know Max, she hasn't said anything about the boggart since the night we met." He seemed to frown, as he stood up and leaned his face right up next to hers. He then rested it in the crook of her neck, bringing his enormousness body to sit on her. She couldn't help but smile as she wrapped her arms around him, resting her own head on his fur.

"I need to remember to bring down a brush for you." She muttered after a lengthy amount of time . His fur was still extremely matted but he had gained a significant amount of weight since their first meeting. "Might even need to find a way to give you a bath. I'm pretty sure this is blood." She pointed at a patch of extremely matted hair, stuck with dried red liquid.

"I need to go, Max." She mumbled sadly, met by his whines. "I know boy, I don't want to go either." She pushed him off her, "but I've got homework to do and my friends will start to worry about me."

She then stood up, brushing dirt off her robes. "I don't think I'm bringing you enough food, I'll sneak some more out tomorrow."

She then wished Max farewell and made her way back up to the castle. Y/N had noticed her daughter's frequent disappearances but didn't question her about it. She knew that Morgan would never keep a secret from her, so she trusted her enough to come to her if something was wrong.

However, she had to admit that the close bond they shared seemed to be slipping. Morgan talked to her less and couldn't hold eye contact. She looked almost guilty like. But what did she have to be guilty about?

On the 31st of October, Y/N made her way to the grand hall with all the other teachers. She had taken a seat to Remus's left but couldn't seem to eat anything. Her stomach twisted and turned. Something was wrong.

"I'm going to go to bed early," she mumbled to Remus.

He looked up at her, eyebrows furrowed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she lied. "Just tired."

She then pushed her chair back in and left the hall. Her mind wondered to the Gryffindor common room, a place where she made several memories. On instinct, she found herself walking towards it. The Gryffindor house's portrait, the Fat Lady, was in sight. However, a looming figure stood before it. He yelled and then a sound on ripping paper filled the hall.

"Excuse me, are you okay?" She spoke loudly, stepping into her duty as a Hogwarts teacher.

The figure turned around, but still stood in darkness, making it impossible to make out any features. The broad soldiers and lack of curves told her it was a man.

"Sir, did you need help?" Her voice seemed to echo off the hallway.

The figure then headed towards her, the anticipation making the footsteps far too loud. He was just a step away now, a step away from the light.

"As you're asking, yes. I do require some resistance."

Her blood ran cold. Even after all these years, his voice still sounded the same."S-Sirius." She scolded herself for stuttering as her heartbeat rang in her ears.

"Y/n."

and then he stepped into the light.

He looked older than she remembered, his eyes sunken and hair long and matted. He wore an insane smile, blood splattered on his rag like clothes.

Y/n's mouth opened and closed a few times, but she just couldn't seem to find the words. She wanted to scream, to alert everyone, to get Harry and shield him, yet she was stuck to the floor.

"Cat got your tongue?"

She blinked a few times, closing her mouth and shaking her head. "Are you going to kill me?" Her words were merely a whisper but they caused Sirius to burst into a laugh.

"Me kill you?" He laughed some more. "Don't be ridiculous."

Y/n's hands shook as she struggled to reach into her robes. "T-then why are you here?"

He took a few more steps, now standing at her side. "Someone's going to die, Y/N." He leaned into her, lips resting just above her ear. "But it won't be you."

She closed her eyes, trying to shut out the image of Morgan in a bath of her own blood, or Harry with a knife hanging out his heart. "Who?"

But she got no reply, she snapped her eyes open and searched for him. But he was gone.

"Okay, tell me again." Remus begged, pacing across the room.

"I didn't realise it, but he had just ripped the Fat Lady." She took a deep breath. "Then he told me he was going to kill someone."

Remus sighed, coming to stand in front of her. "what did he look like?"

"Worse then I could ever imagine." A tear rolled down her left cheek, she hurried to rub it away. "Is it bad that I still care so much?"

Remus came and kneeled beside her. "Of course not." He took both her hands in his. "I think you should go get some rest, clear your mind. We can go talk to Dumbledore again in the morning."

Morgan could never remember a time her mother had looked so stress, not including after the boggart. She sported dark bags under her eyes, a worried frown and even a nervous twitch. Every time she heard a noise, she'd jump 10 feet in the air. She even started looking behind her back every two seconds. Yet, she refused to speak about it. well, to Morgan anyway. She'd seen Y/N pull Harry away from class, whispering something to him. His expression turned from confusion to straight up fear, before he quickly gathered his cool and made his way back over to the group.

"What was that about?" Ron asked, beating Morgan.

Harry looked at Morgan for a second, before talking in a hushed voice. "She warned me about Sirius and told me that he's planning to kill someone. She was absolutely terrified."