Chapter One Hundred Six
Black, Buckbeak, and Broomsticks
Could you remind me to forget?
The things I did, the things I said
I hope that you can bring me back
I gotta make it right
(Crash and Burn - Lifehouse)December 18th, 1993Padfoot watched from the edge of the Forbidden Forest while the students made
their way down to Hogsmeade, looking for a red-headed boy and the rat he generally kept
stashed in his pocket. When he finally did spot the boy, he could smell that the rat was not
in his possession. Which meant that Wormtail was still inside the castle. He thought to try
and make his way back in again, but he knew that they would be looking for him. Not to
mention, he still did not have the password to Gryffindor Tower.
Eager for food, he made his way down to Hogsmeade to play "adorable puppy" for
the students. Most would likely be willing to part with a few treats from Honeydukes,
maybe a slice of bread or two from the Three Broomsticks, and Merlin bless anyone who
might be willing to offer a stray dog a sip of butterbeer. Firewhisky, of course, was out of
the question.
It was just outside of Honeydukes that he saw it: a familiar shifting against the air
that so few would ever be able to properly spot, but Sirius knew it well. James's Invisibility
Cloak—Harry's Invisibility Cloak now.
He inwardly grinned and ducked behind the buildings as he followed the slightest
bit of a change in the view as Harry trailed after a pair of students into the Three
Broomsticks. Padfoot stopped at the door knowing that he could not venture inside.
Instead, he crept around the building and sat at the open back door where Rosmerta had
placed a large stack of empty butterbeer crates. It was not the best spot, of course, and the
smell of Rosmerta's lamb stew was so powerful he had practically forgotten his name
before he remembered why he had gone there, to begin with. Putting a little more focus
on his sense of hearing instead of smell, he tried to spy on his godson.