ink - sirius black

wrists and wandlight

October 16, 1976
12:57 am
Hogwarts

The instant Sirius stepped out into the torchlit corridor, before he even had time to pull on the cloak, the Fat Lady pointed him in the right direction.

"You chasing after that poor southern girl?" the plump woman asked in a gossiping tone, having been lacking entertainment recently. "She went down that corridor."

"I am not chasing after her," Sirius called out behind him, but the Fat Lady just gave him a disbelieving humph.

How did she get so far so fast? he asked himself, his socks moving faster into a jog against the carpeted corridor.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Sirius muttered, tapping his wand to the parchment.

Ink blossomed from the rough, yellowed surface like it was rising up from where it had sunk, creating an incredibly detailed map of the corridors. He unfolded the segment to where he was standing, and then scanned the area all around him.

There was a tiny ribbon in the Owlery that read Anneliese Callaway in black lettering that was completely still, not even pacing.

He shoved the Map back into his sweatpants pocket after locking it, sliding the cloak on in case any professors or Peeves decided it would be a good time for a midnight stroll. His legs burned as he climbed up the outdoor staircase, the cold air hitting him with refreshment from the stuffy corridors.

Upon entering the circular, drafty room with windows void of any glass so that the owls could fly in and out freely, Sirius saw Anneliese with her back pressed against one of the strips outlining the windows.

The wind was blowing in on either side of her, and if she moved over even slightly, she could easily fall out of one of the open air squares. Her wavy blonde hair was swaying around her shoulders as she pressed her forehead against her knees, which she had hugged into her chest to either stay warm or comfort herself.

Sirius had seen her angry, but he had never seen Anneliese truly upset.

It bothered him more than he expected it to.

"Lumos," he muttered, the room almost completely black before the spell.

Not having heard his quiet arrival, Anneliese whipped her head up in alarm to see him standing there with wide grey eyes and his wand next to his face.

She noticed for a few moments how the dark shadows cast made his already chiseled face and high cheekbones even more prominent than normal. For some people, the angle of the lighting would have made them look like a gaunt skeleton, but for Sirius, he just looked even more attractive than usual.

"Go away," she muttered halfheartedly. "I don't walk to talk about it."

"Who said I was here to talk to you?" Sirius asked with a slight grin. "I'm here to send an owl."

Anneliese looked at him without amusement before just giving up on getting him to go away, too drained for even an argument with him. She placed her forearm on her knees and buried her head in them once more, just like he wasn't standing a few yards in front of her.

Sirius was fully alarmed at her lack of protest that he was there.

Quickly sitting down with his feet apart and elbows on his knees, he leaned against a barrel of owl feed with his wrists dangling and wand in one hand as he looked at her with concern.

"This is the second time you've had a nightmare and you've been awake," he stated, trying to get her to talk. "That I know of. Something is clearly bothering you."