Because You Love Me

77. The Fat Lady

 It was a walk down memory lane as Sirius walked down the hallway on the seventh floor, on his way to his former Gryffindor home. The protrait of the Fat Lady was a welcome sight for his eyes after staring endlessly at the cold and damp walls of Azkaban prison for twelve years. Sirius felt like he was eleven years old again and seeing the huge portrait for the first time. A little smile crept onto his lips. Nothing seemed to have changed. He walked right up to her.

Without even looking at him, she said, "Password."

Merlin's bloody beard! Sirius thought. That was one thing that had not really crossed his mind. The Fat Lady was not going to let him in without a password. He thought about leaving, but he knew it might be his only chance to get to Pettigrew. He still couldn't believe that poor excuse for a human was alive. And what was he doing at Hogwarts anyway? His master was back in town. Why wouldn't the coward be with him? Then it hit him. Pettigrew was in Gryffindor Tower, Harry's home when he was at the castle. Sirius could have slapped himself silly for not realizing it before. It all made sense now. Peter Pettigrew was the 'plant' Lucius had been talking about, and he was in the perfect position. He had to get inside.

"I forgot the password," he said innocently.

The Fat Lady looked up at him and cried out. "You! You're not a student!"

"I was once a student here. Please let me go in. There is a murderer in the castle." His tone was light and calm. He was surprised at his own self-control.

"I know there is. You're the one they all talk about! The murderer who escaped from prison! Sirius Black!"

Sirius looked around to make sure he was still secure. No one was around thankfully. "I need into that tower," he said through gritted teeth. His calm demeanor was quickly fading. She didn't understand how urgent it was or how many lives he could save. He knew what it must look like to her. He was still wearing the prison clothes he had been wearing when he escaped, but that didn't matter. He knew that he was innocent and that was all that did matter at the moment. He just had to convince her.

"I'm sorry," the Fat Lady said haughtily, "but I will not let you in. If you don't leave, I will fetch the Headmaster."

"The Headmaster is on leave to Hogsmeade at the moment. Let me through."

She shook her head and Sirius clenched his fists at his sides. He was running out of time and he didn't want to waste it playing games. He slammed his hands against the portrait. She nearly jumped right out of it.

"LET ME IN!"

Frightened, the Fat Lady screamed at the top of her lungs. Her sudden outburst angered Sirius even more than he was already. He started ripping the portrait apart. He wanted her to shut up. The Fat Lady hopped from portrait to portrait until she found a place to hide. Sirius continued to rip the picture to shreds and tried to kick in the wall, but it didn't work. It was useless to try and he knew it deep down, but he didn't want to give up because that meant that he had failed. There was no way Harry was going to be safe with Pettigrew sleeping in his dormitory.

A sudden noise made Sirius jump and he turned and ran down the staircases to the nearest secret passage. He glanced back just before he disappeared and saw a very frail and tired looking Remus Lupin coming up the stairs where he was. He was at least a floor away from the Fat Lady's portrait, so hopefully Lupin wouldn't see the damage he had done. Lupin looked like he was patrolling or something. Sirius, a lot calmer now than he was a few seconds ago, smiled sadly to himself. He missed Remus a lot. He couldn't imagine what Remus must think of him. The truth was, he probably didn't want to know. It hurt his heart to think about the possibility that Remus thought of him exactly as everyone else did: a mad murderer who had just broken out of prison. He disappeared into the secret passageway and headed back toward the Shrieking Shack.