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"Madam Pomfrey said another minute and I could've lost my arm."
"Listen to the idiot."
Ron scoffed at Draco's words, glancing beside him to Max who had the same expression.
"He's really laying it on thick, isn't he?"
"At least Hagrid didn't get fired," Harry told the Weasley.
"Yeah, but I hear Draco's father is furious."
"Of course he is," Max agreed with Hermione. "Draco has already gone and whined to his father and Lucius is probably already sending letters to Dumbledore."
"He's been sighted! He's been sighted!"
The panic was clear on Max's face at Seamus' words, the Prince boy rushing over to look at the paper in his hands.
"Who?" Ron questioned.
"Sirius Black."
"Dufftown? That's not far from here."
"You don't think he'd come to Hogwarts?" Neville asked the girl shakily. "Do you?"
"With dementors at every entrance?"
"Dementors? He's already slipped past them once. Who's to say he won't do it again?"
All of the rambling of his classmates made Max's head start to pound, the boy tangling his hands in his, already messy, hair.
"That's right, Black could be anywhere. It's like trying to catch smoke. Like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands."
Max finally snapped at that, hurrying out of the Great Hall without another word.
He ran down the halls as quickly as he could, rushing into the classroom without warning.
"Yes, Maxwell?"
"Did you hear?" His chest was rising and falling as he took short breaths. "Did you hear about Sirius Black?"
Snape paused for a moment, looking at the boy with pursed lips.
"Don't you think you should be talking to Professor Lupin about this?"
"If I ask him he'll lie to make me feel safe. You told me my second year you would never lie to me."
Professor Snape sighed, looking over the boy stiffly.
"Despite what so many other have been telling you, Mr. Prince, I don't think you need to worry about Sirius Black causing you harm."
Max took Snape's words into consideration, furrowing his eyebrows as he tried to block out the headache he had got from all of Seamus' yelling.
"I don't think he killed my father."
A tension that wasn't in the room before settled over the pair, Snape tilting his head as he thought over Max's words.
"My father, his journals, the way he talked about Sirius." The Prince boy shook his head, a sigh escaping his lips. "Everyday up until he met my mother all of his journal entries spoke of Sirius Black."
