A Sirius Problem

Into the Thick of It

The doors to the large room opened and I walked in speechless—every year. I walked to the Ravenclaw table and sat next to Pandora. Lily leaned over.

"Welcome back!" She said, throwing her legs over the bench. I smiled and did the same. We hugged for a while until Marlene whispered to Mary and Dorcas,

"It's like they haven't seen each other all summer," Mary and Dorcas laughed as we pulled apart.

"Yeah, you'd also think she'd care about seeing us too," Dorcas said, smiling. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah the git," Mary sarcastically added. I laughed and hugged them each as well.

"Yes, yes, it's amazing to see you girls. I've missed you," I announced quietly. They nodded.

"Meet up after dinner?" Marlene asked. Dorcas, Mary, and I nodded but Lily bit her lip.

"That will be after you're supposed to be in bed and I have rounds," she said. We all sighed.

"Look Lily," Mary leveled. "We haven't seen her in ages and you want to wait even longer to hear about her summer? Wow," she said. Lily sighed.

"Fine. I'll switch rounds but if we're caught you all owe me," she said, smiling broadly. We nodded and I turned back to my table.

"How was your summer, Pandora?" I asked. She looked away from Xenophilous.

"It was quite good!" She said happily. Her smile warmed my heart. I noticed her eyes slightly drift to the side. I didn't even need to look over my shoulder. I knew and it made me mad. She was too good for the Roisers. "I tried a few experiments," she said suddenly. I laughed.

"Oh Dora, do be careful," I begged. She laughed.

"Am I not always?" she said then turned back to listening to Xeno, who hadn't noticed she'd stopped listening. He was always telling us about these creatures, I had never seen any of them but oh well. I smiled as he went on talking about Nargles, my favorite of his creatures. 

"Xeno," I said. He kept talking with his hands. I rolled my eyes as Riley laughed next to me. "Xeno," I said with force. He turned and smiled.

"Oh, hello Arabella. How was your summer?" He asked. I shrugged.

"Good, quite busy," I said. He nodded. "Yours?" I asked.

"Understandable. Mine was filled with travel. It was fantastic," he said and continued. We ate dinner and soon left for our dormitories.

"Dora, can you cover for me tonight?" I asked. She grinned and nodded.

"Have a good time and tell me how they are tomorrow at breakfast," I hugged her lightly. I knew she was hoping to hear about Regulus. He stopped talking to us this summer. I could take it, but Pandora lost her companion.

"I will but I don't think I'll hear about him," she pulled away and nodded. Her eyes dropped to the ground, we knew he was doing something big but we were stumped on what it was.

"I'm just scared for him," she said. I nodded. He needed to ask for help and every time I prayed he would.

"I know," I said. If I was honest, I was scared too. Regulus, regardless of whether he was Sirius's brother, was kind to me and Pandora so I cared. I smiled. "Thank you!" She laughed and waved as I rushed outside to the warm embrace of the free air.

 I hurried to the far tree line with a wide grin. I turned and looked up. A full moon. I kept wandering to the meet spot. A small clearing that had the moonlight gracing it. I walked to the middle and collapsed to the ground. I smiled and lay there, motionless. The moon shined on me, happily. The wind chilled my skin; the joy of being home warmed my soul. 

A branch snapped and I sat up expecting the girls but instead, I saw big black eyes. Rushing to my feet I backed up slowly. The thing advanced. I turned to run but tripped over a branch. When I looked up and saw a huge werewolf looking back at me. My heart pounded in my head as I scooted back. My eyes watered as he got closer. Just as he went to do things I couldn't imagine a big shaggy black dog jumped over me protectively. 

I looked at the dog surprised. He barked loudly, the werewolf growled but the dog held its stance. My mind was running a mile a minute. They stood off for a while and when the werewolf lunged at me I cringed away. The bite of a werewolf didn't come but a dog scratch instead. The dog and a deer were fighting the werewolf. I sat shocked, not even bothering with my bleeding leg that was cut very deep. 

I was convinced this was the oddest and scariest thing I'd ever experienced but the oddest was when a little mouse crawled on my leg and pulled on my skirt, then scurried away. I looked at the shaggy dog and then followed the mouse. When he stopped I saw Lily, Mary, and Marlene.

"Where's Dorcas?" I asked, scared she was gotten.

"She's okay," Marlene said. "Mark pulled her away," she said, rolling her eyes. I laughed as best I could.

"Are you alright? You look pale," Lily asked. I shrugged and eyed the mouse. They didn't see the werewolf. "Oh MY!" Lily yelled. I looked down where she was.

"I'm okay," I said, eyeing the large cut the dog left. "I'll clean it later, so y'all start," I said. They laughed at my American accent and sat down on the grass. The mouse left and came back a few times. 

Eventually, it was time to leave. Many a time, I hated that I was a Ravenclaw and not a Gryffindor. They had more time together and I was just a secondary friend. They hugged me and went ahead. I stayed out and went to the quidditch pitch. 

The field felt like home, as a chaser I spent many hours in the air. I sat against the stands and closed my eyes. The pain in my leg throbbed. I lay there for a while and noticed the shaggy black dog approaching. He walked over and rested his head on my lap.

"Hi," I said scratching behind his ear.

"Thank you," he looked at my leg and whimpered. I laughed softly. "I'm okay," the dog nudged my leg and I cringed. He looked back at me and I swear he raised an eyebrow. He licked away the excess blood, then rested his head on my lap. I pet his head and neck as I leaned back on the quidditch stands and closed my eyes.