LIKE LIGHTNING | Harry Potter x Reader Fanfiction

⁕ padfoot returns ⁕

We left the castle at noon the next day. The weather was warm and the sun's golden rays had all four of us taking our cloaks off even before we got to Hogsmeade. Harry and Ron had snuck some food into a sack bag and we traveled off to a part of the town we had never been to before. The winding lane lead us through the wild countryside where the grass grew tall. We turned a corner and saw a very large, shaggy black dog, which was carrying a newspaper in its mouth. 

"Hello, Sirius." Harry said happily when they had reached him. 

Sirius sniffed Harry's bag eagerly and wagged his tail before leading us through a path towards the mountains. It was easy for Sirius to climb the steep incline of the mountain but the rest of us panted as we followed him. It was nearly half an hour as we followed him higher and higher up the mountain until finally, Sirius slipped out of sight behind a rock. We squeezed into the crevice where he had disappeared into and found ourselves in a cool, dimly lit cave. 

Sirius was wearing ragged gray robes; the same ones he had been wearing when he escaped from Azkaban. His black hair was longer than when I had seen him in the fire and he looked very thin. Harry pulled open his bag and gave the contents to Sirius who said a quick thanks before practically inhaling the chicken legs and loaf of bread. I would too if I looked as hungry as he did. In between bites he said, 

"I've been living off rats mostly. Can't steal too much food from Hogsmeade; I'd draw too much attention to myself." He and Harry shared a grin with each other. 

I had met Sirius only once in person, when Hermione, Harry, and I had helped him escape from certain death the previous year. 

"So what are you doing here Sirius?" Harry asked. I knew he hadn't been too keen on seeing Sirius, as he was a runaway "convict" and the ministry was currently looking for him. 

"Fufilling my duty as godfather." Sirius replied, gnawing on the chicken bone. "Don't worry about it, I'm pretending to be a loveable stray." He was grinning up at Harry but I could see the anxiety on Harry's face and he said more seriously, "Your last letter, well let's just say things are getting fishier. I've been stealing the paper every time someone throws one out, and by the looks of things, I'm not the only one who's getting worried. 

I grabbed the Daily Prophet off the floor and read the headlines. Mystery Illness of Bartemius Crouch, and the second, Ministry Witch Still Missing - The Minister of Magic Now Personally Involved. 

I read parts of the article and said, "They make it sound like he's dying." I gave the article to Harry and he did the same, reading over the newspaper quickly. 

"My brother's Crouch's personal assistant." Ron informed Sirius, "He says Crouch is suffering from overwork." 

"But he did look ill," said Harry, "The night my name came out of the goblet." 

"Crouch sacked his house elf right?" asked Sirius. 

"Yeah, at the Quidditch World Cup." said Harry as he launched into the story of the Dark Mark's appearance. I just listened to him; I hadn't been at the World Cup, so I couldn't explain. 

Sirius stood up, waving around his chicken leg, "Let me get this straight, Crouch didn't turn up for the match?" 

"No. I think he said he'd been too busy." Sirius paced around the cave and then he said, "harry did you check  your pockets for your wand after you'd left the Top Box?" 

"Erm.. No." He said. "Are you saying whoever conjured the Mark stole my wand in the Top Box." 

"It's possible." said Sirius. "Who else was sitting behind you?" He asked.