ink - sirius black

telescopes and concealments

November 4, 1976
10:21 pm
Hogwarts

The crash of a dozen brass telescopes and shattering glass against stone broke the peaceful silence of the Astronomy Tower that had only been broken by soft voices before then, making Anneliese and Sirius pull apart from one another quickly with panic.

The southern girl's hand was already on her wand, while Black had stood in front of her defensively. Anneliese looked at his poised state with a tiny smile at how he had immediately moved to protect her first before himself.

The air was completely silent for a few seconds, and not a single sound could be heard besides the pounding in their ears.

Leaning his head back and down slightly while still keeping his eyes straight ahead, Sirius whispered to her in a low tone.

"What do you think-"

"Really through you two lovey doveys for a loop, didn't I?" came a loud, demonic shout from behind them as Peeves whizzed through their stomachs. "You should have seen your faces!"

The two Gryffindors let the tension fall from their shoulders, but that relief quickly turned to both annoyance and amusement that was commonly associated with the poltergeist.

"Andddd it's past curfew!" he squealed with glee, clapping his chubby hands together. "STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF-"

"Peeves!" Anneliese shrieked, furiously narrowing her eyes. "We have agreed not to do this to me!"

"My alliance is only to you," Peeves replied with an evil grin. "I can cause a distraction for you to escape, but he I have sworn no loyalty to."

Black gulped as the two pranksters stared at each other before Anneliese leaned forward and whispered something to him, standing on her toes.

"Fine," Peeves said, sticking his tongue out at Sirius with a loud, immature noise. "You're lucky she's so clever, otherwise dear Argry would have a visitor tonight."

"What the bloody hell did you say to him?" he asked with wide eyes as he jogged slightly to catch up to where she had already started walking quickly back to the common room. "He seemed mildly scared."

"Holes in logic, remember?" Anneliese replied with a sly grin. "Easy to find."

Sirius was about to ask something else before she held her arm out in front of his chest and used a surprising amount of strength to slam his back against the stone.

Looking down with a slight smirk, Black simply accepted it before turning his gaze back to her.

"I heard someone, and you would have walked right into them," Callaway whispered in a way of explanation, her head still looking around the corner. "Didn't you just hear footsteps, too?"

"No," Sirius whispered back, leaning forward against her arm as well. "I think you have better hearing than I do, though."

Anneliese silently knew that it was true. Her seeking skills were a testament to that, as well as when she had heard Regulus crying from a corridor away.

"They're gone now," she said in a hushed tone after pausing for a few seconds. "We should be good to go. Lord, it would be so much easier if we could see through walls or something. There should be a spell for that."

Sirius thought of how much she would love the Map with a small smile that she couldn't see in the dim torchlight.

"Do you think it was a professor?" he asked quietly from a few paces behind her. "If it was, I don't think they would have left quite yet. Damn, where is James's-"