Black’s Revenge

A/N:  Thanks to B for an amazing beta!

Dislaimer: JK Rowling is the genius behind Harry Potter, not me.  Anything you recognize belongs to JKR, everything else belongs to me.   

A shaggy black dog roamed the Forbidden Forest, thinking of his next move.  Sirius Black was frustrated and angry, and his mind wasn’t completely sound after spending twelve years in the hands of Dementors.   A simple thought was jammed in his mind, refusing to budge.  I must get revenge on Peter.  He killed James—he betrayed us.   No--stop it.  Get a hold of yourself.  Moony needs you, and so does your godson.  Harming Peter won’t help you.  No matter how hard he tried to stop it, the thought was incessant.  I must get revenge on Peter.  He killed James—he betrayed us.  I must get revenge on Peter…  He knew transfiguring out of his Animagus form would help clear his mind, but it was too risky.  The creatures in the forest would know who he was. 

Sirius’s last attempts to get inside Gryffindor Tower had been disastrous.  He forgot about the Fat Lady’s portrait.  The idea of revenge was so strong that needing a password had slipped his mind.  All she said was "You are not allowed in without a password."  Angered, Sirius had thrashed the picture with a knife, although it did not help him open the porthole in the least.  He simply fled from the building, hoping he would not get caught committing this crime. 

Sirius sighed.  There was no way to get inside Gryffindor Tower without the password.  From what he’d heard Gryffindor students saying on the castle lawn, their temporary replacement was a horrific guardian.  He changed the password so often that the students couldn’t even remember it themselves, let alone let it slip in front of Sirius.  Sirius remembered Sir Cadogan from when he was a student at Hogwarts himself.  The knight had always been quite annoyingly watchful.    Sirius looked up at the sun.  It was dinnertime at the castle, and he couldn’t resist a stroll around the grounds, hoping to find some sort of clue about the password to Gryffindor Tower.  Perhaps Crookshanks would be able to help.  He roamed along the paths to the greenhouses and the gamekeeper’s hut.  He searched all the greenhouses and the area in which Care of Magical Creatures lessons were held.  Sirius thoroughly inspected everywhere on the grounds he remembered visiting as a student.

Then, Crookshanks found him.  He bounded up to him with delight, proudly showing him a slip of parchment wedged between her teeth.  Sirius took it from him and leapt into the depths of the forest, hoping to transfigure quickly and see if what Crookshanks had picked up was of any use.  

 "Stupid Crookshanks," Sirius muttered, now in his human form.  The parchment she had picked up was simply a list of random words.

He studied the parchment, still thinking about obtaining the password to Gryffindor Tower.  He remembered what the passwords had been like when he was a Gryffindor.  He glanced back down at the parchment.  Maybe these are the Gryffindor passwords, he suddenly realized.  Crookshanks wasn’t being so stupid after all.  Tonigh.t he decided. I’ll go into the castle tonight. 

Sirius transformed back into his Animagus form, and waited for the sun to set.  The time was slow in passing, but darkness eventually fell over the forest.  Sirius waited until several hours after dusk before he set off for Hogsmeade.  The town was empty at the dead of night, and Sirius was unnoticed as he broke into Honeydukes to use the passage to the castle.  He remained as Padfoot until he reached the picture of Sir Cadogan that guarded the entrance to Gryffindor Tower.   

"Password?"  

Sirius took the parchment out of the pocket of words and began reading off words "Oddsbodikins," he said.

"That is not the password."  

"Caput Draconis?"  

"No."  

"Grodric’s Owl?" he tried again.  

"No."  

"Lemonhead?" Sirius said hopefully.  

"You may enter."   Sirius set foot in the Gryffindor Common Room.  It feels good to be home, he thought.  Although Sirius had had loving, wizarding parents, Hogwarts had always been more a home to him than his parents’ house.  He surveyed the common room, recalling memories of times past, spent with the Marauders when they had been less-than-innocent children.  It had been in that chair that Sirius had told Remus that he knew his secret.  It had been at that table that Sirius, James, Peter, and Remus had finished the Marauder’s map.  James had been sitting in that chair when he told Sirius he’d had his successful transfiguration into the stag.  It had been in that sofa that Lily and James had shared their first kiss, although they were unaware that Sirius had witnessed this.  Sirius felt a smile form on his lips for the first time in twelve years.  He knew that the childish glare had returned to his eyes.  He wanted to be a kid again, causing mischief and running around the corridors in the deadness of night.  He wanted his worst fear to be expulsion.  He wanted James and Remus back.  He wanted a normal life.  However, Sirius wasn’t going to get these wants, and the person responsible for the chaos in Sirius’s life was simply up the stairs to the boy’s dormitory.  With a realization of his true purpose here, Sirius climbed the stairs to the dormitories. 

He found the door marked "third year boys."  Sirius smiled once again.  This had been his dormitory when he was a boy at Hogwarts.  He knew that Ronald Weasley, who had been keeping Wormtail as a pet, lived in this room.  Cautiously, Sirius opened the door and allowed himself into the room.  He noticed that Harry was also in Ron’s year, and couldn’t resist the temptation.  He tiptoed over to Harry’s bedside, watching his godson sleep.  His chest rose and fell with each breath, and Sirius could tell he was having pleasant dreams.  He studied the face of the boy-who-lived.  He looked just like his father, most innocent when sleeping.  Sirius noticed the Firebolt resting at his bedside.  Good.  They let him keep it, he thought.  Harry stirred, and Sirius remembered the purpose of his being here.    He crept over to the bed next to Harry’s, and began to search the area for the rat.  Sirius could not find him anywhere.  He held out a knife, searching for his prey, when the boy awoke.    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!  NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ron bellowed.

Sirius frantically slashed at the curtains, trying to escape before he was caught.  He transformed back into his Animagus form before he jumped out of the window onto a section of the roof below.  He was aware that he would be safe doing this.  Ron slept in the bed that had been his all seven of his years at Hogwarts, and this was how Sirius had escaped from the castle on the nights of full moons to be with Moony during his transformation. 

Sirius made his way back to the forest, feeling defeated at his cause.  Someday, I will get you, Peter.  Some way.