Beyond Azkaban

Chapter Nine

***

Sirius had first feared that the chill in the air was the nearness of the dementors, but the icy rain convinced him otherwise. According to Crookshanks, it was now December, almost Christmas. The Owl Order had been successfully delivered, or so the cat had claimed, and the Shrieking Shack, Sirius soon discovered, had no heating charm or any sort of spell on it. Most of his nights were spent curled up in a ball on the bed in a room upstairs, sometimes with Crookshanks curled up next to him.

The cat came to the Shack more than routinely, which surprised Sirius at first; he had thought the cat's sarcastic and rather pompous nature was saved for those he hated, but evidently not. Today's piece of news was that it was Saturday, a Hogsmeade weekend, meaning Sirius had better keep inside and out of the small village.

"Doesn't your human wonder where you are?"

"Not really, but the red-head is always mad because I'm allowed to go wherever I please. He seems to think you can keep a cat locked up. He really is rather thick. But I think that's what makes him so much fun to jump on," the cat added as an afterthought.

Padfoot looked towards the trapdoor regretfully. "When's the curfew for the students?" he asked Crookshanks.

"Why should I know?" the cat asked rudely. "But probably before nightfall," he answered as Padfoot bared his teeth playfully.

"Don't you want to go outside at all?" Padfoot whined.

"Not really," Crookshanks answered matter-of-factly. "There's snow on the ground, and it'll make my paws wet."

"You cats are impossible. Well, I'm going outside, and you're coming with me−whether you like it or not," Padfoot demanded.

"And you dogs are such idiots−or maybe that's the human in you," Crookshanks shot back. "What if someone catches you?"

"No one knows me, so what does it matter?" Padfoot asked, ignoring the warning bells in his own head.

"What if you run into dementors?"

"I've fooled them before, haven't I? Besides, they don't go into Hogsmeade; the Ministry can't possibly allow that, especially when there are students running about."

"Maybe so, but-"

" 'But' nothing. I'm bored out of my mind and I'm going out," Padfoot interrupted Crookshanks determinedly as he walked to the trapdoor as Sirius Black and opened it. "Are you coming?" he asked Crookshanks. The cat quickly got up and calmly walked across the room and to the door, heading down the tunnel. Sirius walked followed Crookshanks and closed the trapdoor after himself, transforming into Padfoot along the way.

***

"Padfoot, you're insane," James yelled at him from the window of the Gryffindor boys' dorm, as Sirius stood knee-deep in the snow with only his pajamas on.

"I realize that, Prongsy. Why don't you join me in all the insanity? Or maybe you already have..." Sirius grinned.

"Just come back in − you can't really be having any fun," James pointed out exasperatedly.

"Well, how can I have any fun if no one will join me? Maybe Moony in there is bored and wants to play."

Suddenly appearing in the window, Remus yelled, "Leave me out of this!"

"Oh, come on, Moony. You know you love to play in the snow," Sirius said as he bent down, secretively moving his hands about in the snow. "And I just want someone to play with," he finished mockingly as he stood up and threw a snowball at his friends, miraculously hitting Remus.

Sputtering out snow, Remus yelled, "That's it Sirius! You're dead!" With that, he disappeared from the window.

"Coming down, Prongsy, or do you need a bit of an incentive, too?" Sirius asked mockingly.

"Nah, I'm good up here."

"Are you sure?" Sirius asked, preparing to throw another snowball towards the window.

"Don't waste a perfectly good snowball on him," Remus yelled from behind Sirius.

Sirius turned around to meet a snowball in the mouth. "Hey! You could've knocked my teeth out!"

"Maybe that was the point." Remus grinned.

"Oh, you're so dead, Moony!"

"I wouldn't be too quick to say that," Sirius heard James say behind him. He turned again to meet two snowballs in the face; James and Peter stood in front of the castle.

"This isn't fair," Sirius whined. "Three against one!"

"Get over it, Padfoot," Peter retorted, throwing yet another snowball at him.

Sirius glared at James, Peter, and Remus, who now stood by James and Peter, responding by throwing a snowball at the line. With that, the four sixth year Gryffindors continued fighting until Professor McGonagall came outside, took a good look at their frozen hair and soaked pajamas, and turned around, walking wordlessly back to the castle.

***

"You cats are so weird," Padfoot accused Crookshanks as they walked back into the Shrieking Shack from the lake after romping about in the snow.

"How can you like being wet, cold, tired, and hungry at once?" Crookshanks asked.

"Who said I enjoyed it? I just enjoy the fun."

"Yeah, that was fun," Crookshanks mumbled. "I just love getting chased around by a large dog who looks like he's ready for his next meal."

"You could've left," Padfoot pointed out.

"And miss all the fun?" Crookshanks said sarcastically.

"You are the most annoying cat I've ever met."

"Why, thank you. We cats live to hear that."

"I figured," Padfoot mumbled as they entered the living room. "I'll start a fire," he said. "It's awfully chilly in here."

"Are you thick?" Crookshanks hissed. "Someone will see the smoke."

"And they'll think it's a ghost," Padfoot replied as Sirius took his place. "Although I suppose you have a point," Sirius wondered aloud as Crookshanks continued hissing. "Dumbledore would know the difference." He sighed. "You win, cat."

Sirius pulled a musty blanket around himself and sat on the sofa, motioning for Crookshanks to jump on his lap. The cat jumped up and Sirius absentmindedly began stroking his back. "I suppose you should be going -- the third years should be back soon," he told the cat. Crookshanks purred in response, and, with a short meow, jumped to the floor and left for the Gryffindor Tower.

***

As soon as the cat had left, Sirius grew bored, a feeling that came all too quickly after his four months of hiding in the Shrieking Shack. After spending five minutes pacing the small and disordered room, he left the house, heading for Hogsmeade as a haggard and shaggy black dog.

By now, all of the Hogwarts students had left Hogsmeade, leaving only the occasional shout of a drunk in the Hogshead reverberating through the snow-covered street. Though it was still dusk, the day was winding down into night, and Padfoot strolled freely down the street, contently begging passersby for the odd scrap of food.

He heard a door slam and turned his head to see a stout witch walking out of the Three Broomsticks, carrying what smelled to Padfoot as chicken. Wagging his tail and perking his ears up, he ran up to her and gave a playful bark. "Now be quiet!" she scolded. "People don't want to hear a stray barking his lungs out when they're eating." She gestured to the houses up the street.

Padfoot whined in response and cocked his head to the side, his ears erect and his eyes wide and dejected.

The witch's features softened. "Fine, but only if you're quiet," she said as she pulled a piece of chicken out of the bag. "Promise?" She held the chicken in front of him.

He wagged his tail and blinked innocently, agreeing with her.

"Good dog," she said while dropping the piece of chicken to the ground, then quickly patting his head with a mittened hand.

As the witch walked away, Padfoot put his snout to the ground and scarfed down the chicken. As the scent of the delicious meat dwindled, another, more familiar scent caught his attention. He followed it to the Three Broomsticks and gently pushed the door open, welcomed inside by a roaring fire and the tantalizing scent that was now mixed with that of alcohol.

Avoiding Madame Rosemerta, he continued to search for the owner of the scent, which led him under three tables until he finally hit a pair of feet and berated himself for his stupidity.

Curling up under the table, beside the pair of feet, he breathed in the scent of Remus Lupin as Remus drank what smelled like his third tankard of mulled mead.

***

The words were at the tip of his tongue, waiting to take their opportunity to spring out of his mouth and into Remus' ears. "What was it that you wanted to say?" Remus asked him expectantly.
"Oh, nothing," Sirius stammered as his tongue twisted into knots. "Just...congratulations. On the job in France and everything. After all, we're finally finished!" he said a bit too cheerily as his voice almost cracked. He quickly averted his eyes to the North Tower.

"I think I may just miss this place, though," Remus said nostalgically, despite the fact that they were still at Hogwarts, albeit their last day. "But I think I'll miss us the most−'us' being the Marauders, of course," he hastily corrected himself.

"Of course," Sirius readily agreed, his heart sinking.

"Yes, of course..." Remus trailed off.

"Well, I really have to go and...pack. You know me, I'm such a procrastinator," Sirius tried to joke, wincing at his words as they came out of his mouth. He more or less ran away, turning his back on what may be his last private encounter with Remus for at least a year.

"Wait−Sirius!" Remus called out to Sirius' back.

"What?" Sirius asked exasperatedly, emotionally tired of it all.

"I got you..." he took a breath while running towards Sirius, "...one of those...pens..." Remus trailed off as he stopped in front of the former, panting for breath.

Sirius smiled as he took the ballpoint pen from Remus' outstretched hand. He suddenly became aware of Remus' closeness, making his heart beat faster. He rashly shifted his head, leaning in even closer to Remus, who, in turn, moved in towards Sirius. Their lips barely met as each promptly jumped away. "I'm sorry," Sirius said softly, once again walking away.

"I'm not," Remus said defiantly after him, surprising Sirius, who, once again, turned around, smiling.

"Thanks for the pen, Moony."

Remus returned the smile. "You're welcome, Padfoot."

***

No more than five minutes later, Padfoot was startled by the sound of a chair scraping against the floor. He jumped up and followed Remus out of the Three Broomsticks, narrowly avoiding Madame Rosemerta, who was chasing after him with a broom.

He subtly followed Remus until the man stopped in front of Honeydukes, peering at what looked to Padfoot to be a piece of paper posted in the window. Padfoot snuck around Remus and hid behind the dark corner of the store, staring at the man's face. He jumped as he saw Remus' lips move and heard him mumble, "Dementors...patrolling streets of Hogsmeade...after sundown...recapture...Sirius Black." With the last two words, Remus' voice broke and he buried his face in his hands, leaning against the stone masonry of the shop.

Padfoot tore his eyes away from Remus and to the sinking sun, which was barely visible on the horizon. Seeing this, he bolted down the street, leaving light paw prints in the snow as he ran.