18 - Sirius Black

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Third year of Hogwarts was the strangest thing ever.

First of all, a prisoner named Sirius Black had just escaped from Azkaban and had just entered Hogwarts. In fact, he had been seen at the Gryffindor boys' dormitory just last week, and Ron Weasley claimed to have seen Black holding a knife while hovering on top of him.

Harry didn't really care about why a dark wizard would want to kill some random Gryffindor kid, though. He had more pressing matters to deal with, like the fact that Professor Snape had just confiscated the new Firebolt that Harry had received from someone anonymous.

Harry couldn't help but wonder if Snape was secretly in league with Draco. Afterall, Snape had always been particularly biased to Draco, constantly complimenting him and letting him get away with things more than any other Slytherin.

Of course, Snape had always been very lenient with the Slytherins, but there was just something about the way he treated Draco that gave Harry a hunch that Snape and Draco must have known each other even before meeting at Hogwarts.

With the final quidditch championship looming closer, Harry can't help but be suspicious of Snape. Draco's friends had spent the past two years trying to sabotage Harry's quidditch trainings and broom, and with Snape seeming to secretly be on Draco's side, how can Harry be so sure that Snape hadn't just confiscated his Firebolt to jinx it?

Snape had claimed that he was going to have the broom checked to see if someone had jinxed it, but how can Harry be so sure Snape hadn't done just that?

Professor Snape also claimed that he would be having the registration number of the Firebolt checked to see which Gringotts vault was used to pay for the broom.

"I'm sure it's not jinxed, Harry," Daphne told Harry as they made their way to Hogsmeade with Blaise and Theodore.

Harry was wearing his Invisibility Cloak that he had received from someone anonymous that he suspected could be Draco. Harry had been receiving anonymous gifts ever since he and Draco had a fallout, so he had a hunch that the Firebolt had come from Draco too. Who else could afford such an expensive broom?

Harry had been hoping that Draco sending him anonymous presents meant that he still cared about him, even though they were no longer on speaking terms.

This assumption had been triggering a strange sort of pain in Harry's chest. It was just so... sad. But that didn't mean that Harry was just gonna go and send Draco a present in return. No, he was too proud for that.

The truth was, Harry wasn't actually allowed to go to Hogsmeade. All the professors seemed to think that Sirius Black was after Harry, but Harry knew otherwise. Of course Black wouldn't be after Harry, or he wouldn't have gone to the Gryffindor common room and tried to murder Ron Weasley instead of Harry, would he?

Harry and his friends entered the Three Broomsticks and hid under the table when they saw Madam Rosmerta, Cornelius Fudge, Hagrid, McGonagall, and Flitwick gathered around a table in front of theirs.

"We all know what Black's capable of..."

"Do you remember who his best friend was?"

"James Potter!"

"Black and Potter. Ringleaders of their little gang..."

"You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers! Inseperable!"

"So Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?"

"Black betrayed them?"

"He did indeed..."

"Black had shown his true colors as a traitor..."

"An' then he says, 'Give Harry ter me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him'..."

"Pettigrew died a hero's death. Eyewitnesses — Muggles, of course..."

"Black was quicker. Blew Pettigrew to smithereens..."

"We'd better head back up to the castle..."

One by one, the pairs of feet in front of Harry took the weight of their owners once more; hems of cloaks swung into sight, and Madam Rosmerta's glittering heels disappeared behind the bar. The door of the Three Broomsticks opened again, there was another flurry of snow, and the teachers had disappeared.

Daphne, Blaise, and Theodore stared at Harry, lost for words.

Harry was huffing underneath the table, his jaw clenched as he took deep, ragged breaths. Hermione Granger's pet cat Crookshanks wandered past Harry's table, and, taking his anger out on the ginger cat, Harry whipped his wand out and pointed it at Crookshanks, yelled, "AVADA KEDAVRA!" and watched as a jet of green sparks took the cat's life in an instant.

He then turned to his frightened friends, his fists balled and nearly snapping the wand in his hand.

"Let's go," said Harry, climbing out from under the table.

"Where are we going?" Daphne asked as the three of them followed Harry out of the inn.

"We're gonna look for Sirius Black. And when we do, I'm gonna kill him."

Harry didn't even bother wearing his Invisibility Cloak anymore. He had it tucked in his arm. So what if the professors caught him wandering around Hogsmeade? He was about to murder Sirius Black. Everyone would be on their knees kissing his feet once he'd done the deed.

Harry opened the door of the inn and stepped out, bumping into none other than Draco Malfoy.

Harry and Draco locked eyes for a brief moment before Harry swept past Draco.

Draco's hand flung forward and grabbed Harry's arm, pulling him back.

"Potter," Draco mumbled, sounding like he was either scared or shy, Harry wasn't sure.

"What?" Harry snapped, turning to face Draco.

Draco hesitated, seeming frightened by the livid expression on Harry's face. It took him a few seconds to speak.

"I found Sirius Black."

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