𝙰 𝙳𝚘𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙰 𝙳𝚘𝚟𝚎 - 𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘

Chapter 8

A few weeks passed, and slowly, the weather had already begun to change. The first full moon of the term was approaching, and on the evening of it, Aurelia was reading in the dying sunlight in the Forbidden Forest, glad for the silence she received.

Though she was a goody two-shoes when it came to her classes, Aurelia had broken more rules than she could count by now. From sneaking out to the library at odd hours of the night to quietly sleeping in the forest all night, she was quite the master at her craft.

She was also an illegal animagus.

Becoming an animagus had been a small side project during her first year, to which she had endured the pain of a mandrake leaf in her mouth for a solid month without one expression of discomfort, so that she was not caught.

Being an 11-year-old animagus was unheard of in every book she had come across, and Aurelia had been quite proud of herself for such an achievement, especially from that of a muggle-born witch.

Kira and Wendy were off studying in the castle all day and had planned on sleeping in the common room that night for the annual party that happened every full moon. They knew Aurelia was in the forest and knew she could manage to sneak back in safely, so she was content with staying out for as long as she wished, under the dawning stars of the early evening.

"Come on, Mr Lupin, it isn't long till nightfall."

Aurelia's head perked up at the sound of Madam Pomfrey's voice, only metres from where she sat, cleverly hidden by rather large shrubs. With a snap shut of her book, she peered through them, cocking an eyebrow in confusion as Remus came into view, ducking his head so that he could enter a small hole near the bottom of the Whomping Willow.

"Surely Remus wouldn't go for a teacher?" Aurelia mumbled allowed to herself. She shook her head, doubting it, and returned to her book, hoping to squeeze in a few more pages before packing it away.

A few minutes passed – as did Madam Pomfrey, who returned to the castle – and Aurelia finally closed her book, just in time to hear three sets of footsteps thunder past, all belonging to three Marauders who were quite terrible at sneaking out.

"Right, hurry up," James hissed, and Aurelia swore she heard a mouse squeak back in a hysterical manner.

"You do realise you are quite loud for such a small creature," she said into the air, knowing that the three would clearly be able to hear her. She quickly placed her books in a neat pile behind a bush and transformed into her patronus, hopping away to also hide.

"Did you hear that?" Sirius barked, his voice sounding the same despite him being a dog.

"It sounded like Aurelia," Peter squeaked, making his way into the clearing she had been in just moments before. Sirius sniffed the trunk of the tree she had been leaning against and whipped his head up.

"Smells just like her too."

"Had experience now, have you Padfoot?" James said, entering the clearing in his deer form. His tall antlers brushed softly against the lower branches of trees, and he shook his head, clearing them of any debris.

"Shove off Prongs. It's dangerous to be out tonight, what on earth was she doing here?"

Aurelia laughed, and the three animals' heads snapped up to a branch on an old oak tree, where a dove of pure white sat, staring at them. "You don't think-"

"-it's possible."

"What's possible?" Peter asked innocently, waving up to the dove with a small paw. He often found himself doing that with every creature he passed, even though he knew they could not understand him.

The dove blinked, before raising its feather in a waving motion.

"It's just balancing itself," Peter mumbled.

"Please tell me you are not that daft Wormtail," James sighed, still staring up at the small creature.

"Don't be so cruel James, it could bite you in the bum one day," Aurelia cooed, flying down to land on the tip of his antler. Her light landing was one she had perfected years before, and she nestled herself comfortably on James' antler, looking down at Peter and Sirius.

"You're an animagus?" Sirius confirmed, and Aurelia warbled, nodding her tiny head.

"Since I was eleven."

"ELEVEN!?" James shrieked, trying to look up at the dove. His constant shaking had begun to resolve in a thumping headache for Aurelia, so she flew down to Sirius head, nestling herself quietly there. Sirius made no attempt to look up at her but grounded himself slightly so that he did not throw the dove off.

"We thought it was difficult doing it as thirteen-year old's," Peter murmured, and Aurelia warbled a laugh, flapping her wings slightly.

"I did not say it was easy Peter," she said with a laugh, hopping down to his level, before transforming back into her human form, revealing a dark red knitted sweater and a denim skirt which she adjusted quickly. Her long chocolate-brown hair was as pin straight as could be, hanging down her back with nothing holding it back.

Sirius also transformed back, after nodding once in his dog form to Peter and James, who scurried back towards the Whomping Willow once Sirius was human again. His clean-shaven chin was a surprise to Aurelia, who had become accustomed to seeing it with a small stubble.

"I'll walk you back to the West Towers," Sirius said, spotting Aurelia's hidden books. He gathered them into his arms, trying to make haste due to the dying sunlight, but Aurelia crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow.

"Why are you acting so strange, Sirius? Have I done something wrong?" She looked through her head to see if she could pinpoint any time, she had possibly offended the boy's friends, but he shook his head, starting to look a little nervous.

"You could never Aurelia, I don't think there's a bad bone in your being. But it's a full moon tonight, and it's not safe for you to be here," he pressed, linking his arm through hers so that she was dragged alongside him whilst going over his words. She went along with him for the sake of not dislocating her arm but could not shake the bad feeling now settled in her mind.

"Sirius Orion Black you stop this instance! All this running is making me nauseous!"

Finally, Sirius stopped at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Aurelia doubled over beside him, trying to catch what breath she could, and Sirius patted her back. "Sorry about that Lia, it's just-"

"-there's something you can't tell me, but you still wish to protect me. It's noble, I'll give you that, and quite chivalrous, just as one would expect from a Gryffindor. If it's not your secret to tell, I won't pry, Sirius. I just hope you know that I'm trustworthy," Aurelia offered, standing up.

Sirius smiled, as some of his dark hair fell over his eye. "I'd trust you with my life, Lia. This secret is a burden that only the boys and I carry but thank you for not prying. I am sure one day, the secret will be told to you, but when it is right."

He opened his arms, having had not received his daily hug, and Aurelia grinned, showing off the dimples in her cheeks, before sliding her hands around his waist, giving him a quick squeeze. "Thank you for escorting me, Siri."

"Siri?"

"You call me Lia; I call you Siri. Don't question it."

With that, she spun on her heel, walking towards the castle, and Sirius felt a smile creep towards his lips as she slowly disappeared from his sight. The warm feeling in his chest made him feel like he had never felt before.