ENIGMATIC • 𝐓𝐎𝐌 𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐋𝐄

XLIV. Sirius Black Sighted

"So why was that necessary?" I ask Draco as he grins at me, sitting in the hospital bed.

"Well, if I get hurt, we can blame hagrid and get him fired." Draco says as Hermione sighs annoyed and punched the bridge of her nose.

"What about buckbeak? They'll kill him!" Hermione says as Draco's eyes widen in realization.

"Oh." Draco mutters as I sigh and hit him on the head.

"I already sent an owl to my father..." he mutters as I sigh nervously, why am I so worried over an animal?!

———

"Does it hurt, Draco?" Pansy asks in worry as Draco shrugs.

"It comes and it goes. Still, I consider myself lucky. According to Madam pomfret, another minute or two, and I could've lost my arm. I couldn't possibly do any homework for weeks." Draco says as Pansy nods in acknowledgement.

"He's been sighted! He's been sighted!" Longbottom suddenly announces as I glance over to the Gryffindor table.

"Who?"

"Sirius black!"

My eyes widen as I walk over to the Gryffindor table, looking at the paper.

"Dufftown?! That's not far from here!" Ron says as Neville nods nervously.

"Y-you don't think he'd come to hogwarts, do you?" Longbottom asks as I read the paper upside down.

"With dementors at every entrance?"

"Dementors! He's already slipped past them once, hasn't he? Who is to say he won't do it again?"

"That's right... black could be anywhere. It's like trying to catch smoke. Like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands."

I stare at the photo as a blank look figs over my face. Why does Sirius black seem so familiar...?

———

I walk back towards the forest as I notice the familiar furry black dog sitting by the edge.

"I'm back!" I exclaim as the dog perks up and wags it's tail, barking happily.

I toss some cut up green apples towards the dog as it hurriedly eats them.

I sit down next to the dog as It looks at me curiously.

"Sorry, that's all I could manage to get— for some reason, Draco has so many extra apples in his dorm." I laugh slightly as the dog barks as sprints around in the grass.

"The Sirius black situation is really... weird." I mutter to the dog as it seems to wince at the mention of the name.

I look at the dog curiously before shrugging and petting it again.

"Something's off about it. I doubt that Sirius black went through the trouble of escaping Azkaban just to kill two kids for the dark lord. It just doesn't make sense! Plus, another weird thing is the fact that he didn't even get a trial!" I rant as the black dog lays down next to me.

"I don't know... something's just off about the situation and I don't like it..." i mutter as the dog wags its tail and stares at me with a comforting look.

I smile as I continue to pet the dog, eventually the dog falls asleep as I glance at the dog before walking off.

I walk down the empty corridor as I notice a figure fading into the view, I glance at them as I notice the long, blonde hair which was a similar color to Draco's.

The girl, who I now recognize as Luna lovegood, walks up to me as she holds something in her hand.

I pause as the girl stops infront of me, a dazed smile laying on her face.

"I'd figured I'd run into you here." She says as I grin in amusement at the girl.

"I'd like to give you something." She explains as she puts the item in my hands, a bracelet?

"Huh? Why? I haven't done anything worthy of this..." i mutter, confused as she simply smiles before putting the bracelet on me.

It was a simple bracelet, it was made out of string which had been sewn together. The color was a mix of blue, gold, green, and silver. Seemingly representing the ravenclaw and Slytherin house.

"I'd like to be your friend." She simply states as I look at her confused before a small smile forms on my face.

"Of course, Luna." I respond as she looks at me with a soft smile.