I Solemnly Swear: Book 1

Bark Bark, Salope

I stumbled down corridor after corridor, not even realizing it had gotten so late at night that the windows showed a pitch-black sky full of gloomy grey clouds in my disoriented state. All I could keep thinking was what I had heard, what I had seen, and what I should've realized. Moments passing through my mind as if they were snapshots taken by a camera, my mind flicking through the images over and over and over. I finally stopped, somehow having thought that I was far enough away from the pale blonde hair, dark cloak, and delicate yet imperialistic voice.

How could Dumbledore let this happen? How could students and a teacher... a teacher! They slipped by in the folds of drama within the school while the masochist, sadistic cult leader infected the school with his disease, one person at a bloody time. Yet they did it so perfectly that I didn't even truly notice until it slapped me across the face with its horridness. I could've told someone that a teacher was being controlled weeks ago and I hadn't even thought to with my own self-concerned thoughts clouding my mind. I felt as if I were on the verge of hyperventilating and throwing up at the same time.

I heard voices coming down the hallway, I ducked myself in the shadow of a windowsill and rested my head against the wall, trying to control my thoughts and emotions.

"You need to quiet down, we're going to get caught! You're as loud as a barking dog, Sirius!"

"Woof woof! BARK BARK!" Sirius was practically yelling at Remus, making rather obnoxious barking noises as they continued down the corridor.

Thankfully some of the only people I trusted were here in my time of need, I jumped off of the windowsill and ran in their direction, effectively scaring all of them to the bone. Sirius and James shrieked rather girlishly when they saw me pop out of nowhere.

Remus smirked, "All bark and no bite, huh?"

Sirius thwacked him on the arm and turned to me in curiosity. His eyes looked at me worriedly when he saw the state I was in.

I was whispering unknowingly, I had been for the past half hour, "Black, that bloody Black did it. I can't believe this, I just-" Sirius grabbed me by the shoulders and focused my attention back on the group, all of them looking at me with concerned expressions.

"Hey, hey, hey. Are you okay? What did I do?" He looked at me rather confusedly.

I waved my hands, "Not you. Your blasted cousin, that bit-"

"Narcissa? What could she possibly have done that's gotten you in such a worked up state and at this hour?"

I told them all I knew, leaving Remus and James looking rather shell shocked and Peter was stress eating pumpkin pasties. Sirius walked around in circles, his hands up in his hair, and saying incoherent things in what I assumed was French.

"We need to do something about this, dealing with this at home is bloody hard enough but at school too? That salope and her troop of lèche-culs deserve to go straight to the deepest pit in hell. If I ever saw Moldy Voldy I would just," He swung at the air repeatedly with both fists, seeming to get out his frustration that way.

Remus looked at him oddly, "Let's not do anything rash here, we're dealing with some very serious matters here. We don't know the depth of all of this."

"Then let's figure it out!" Sirius' eyes went a dark shade of grey, "I have enough bloody connections to the Dark and Dumb Lord that I could probably see how deep this went into the school if I really wanted to! All I have to do is wait until Christmas and act like the picture-perfect son and get some information from my mental parents!"

Sirius didn't even seem to be talking to us anymore, just yelling out his frustrations at the air. The condescending tone in which he said all of this made me worried, he sounded so resentful, so hurt. James and I shared a look and I nodded my head towards Sirius, telling him discreetly to go and calm his best friend. James walked over and threw an arm around his shoulders and started walking him towards the common room with Peter trailing close behind.

Remus looked at me and saw I was close to tears seeing as I had held it all in, in front of the others.

"Oh, Cas." He walked over and hugged me as silent tears ran down my face from being overwhelmed.

He moved back and looked at me in mock sternness, "Now, now. Dry your tears, emotion is understandable but entirely unnecessary."

I laughed, he had quoted my favorite line from my favorite book, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. He threw an arm around my shoulder and we walked in content silence on the way back to the common room, happy that we could be there for each other when life got hard.