The Marauders: Year Six #Wattys2017

Plans Being Made

Plans Being Made

Miiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaoooooowwwwww!!!!

The kneazle went running down the hallway of Fallengunder, his claws out, strands of carpet fiber flying about behind him as he moved, his bottle brush tail held high and puffed as he yowled his way along, racing, his yellow eyes gleaming through the dark corridor.

The black dog followed, barking loudly, sliding and very nearly hitting the wall as he tried to make the turn, and he scramble in place a second, then shot once more after the kneazle. He raced along, fur bouncing as he moved, his tail wagging in a frenzy behind him as he went.

The kneazle knew the halls far better than the dog, having lived there for years untold, and he ducked swiftly into a room with two doors, letting the dog follow him in, then skidding back out the second door way and hurriedly doubling back down the corridor the way they'd come.

Snuffles's claws made him skid across the floor, sliding uncontrollably... his paws on the slick surface not being able to get any traction with the velocity he'd been running, and he swept along, spinning about like a top, until he slammed into the pile of books by the window. The books went flying about in every direction, loud thumps like firework explosions as they hit, and he himself broke through a loose wood paneling beneath the build-in window seat - the one Remus enjoyed sitting in - and disappeared into the dusty darkness.

Downstairs, Remus looked up from where he as painting teal trim along a high window, waving his wand to magick the colour onto the wood. The crashing and thumping echoed through the castle. Ned Veigler looked up, too, and a moment later, the sound of the shrieking kneazle, who was racing down the stairs, thinking the dog was still chasing him, echoed in the corridor.

Remus and Ned looked at one another.

"I'll go see what he's done now," Remus said and he lowered the brush and hurried from the room.

Ned Veigler smirked and shook his head, returning his attention to his own work as Remus's footsteps echoed and faded up the stairs.

In the library, Sirius was just coming out from beneath the seatee, in human form, coated with a thick layer of dust, his hair a mess, hanging over his face from behind. The hair fluttered as he coughed behind the curtain of it, crawling out on his hands and knees.

Remus stood over him, "Been chasing the kneazle again, I see?"

Sirius looked up, tossing his head so his hair fell over his shoulders as he uprighted himself. "Whatever that bloody hairball has told you of it, he's the one that's started it," Sirius said.

"Well, seeing as kneazles don't talk, I reckon he's told me nothing of any sort." Remus went over and patted dust off Sirius's back... and his bum. Honestly, he pretended there was more dust on Sirius's bum than there really was, just so he would sweep his hand over it a few extra times. "You're scaring the poor thing."

"Then maybe he ought to stop scratching my nose when I'm sleeping," Sirius said.

"He would never --" Remus started but Sirius interrupted.

"SLEEPING INNOCENTLY.... MINDING MY OWN BUSINESS...."

"Here we go," Remus murmured.

"...DREAMING OF RUNNING THROUGH FORESTS WITH YOU, MY WOLF... AND --" Sirius made a loud scratching sound and motion with gnarled fingers, "---RRRRCCHHHHT! RIGHT ACROSS MY NOSE!"

Remus stared at Sirius.

"My bloody beautiful nose." Sirius pointed.

There was, indeed, a bit of a scratch mark there. Small. Remus wouldn't have noticed it if Sirius hadn't pointed it out. It hadn't been deep enough, apparently, for much of it to carry between the animagus form and the human one. But Sirius clearly thought it was a big deal, so Remus gasped as he was expected to and said, "My star, what's that evil kneazle done to you?" and pulled him over to the seat in the window.