The Dark Witch

P.O.V. – Albus Dumbledore

The great hall dissolved around me and I found myself in another area of the castle, the Gryffindor common room. It was empty, the soft glow of the lit fireplace and the twinkling stars outside the windows alluded to the hour, it was very clearly night. I looked around me, glancing at every nook and cranny I had found in my youth, but I could not see Sirius.

I tilted my head in puzzlement and took a few steps towards the nearest window, then I understood, it was a full moon. The marauders had been roaming around together on school grounds. It was very likely that Sirius and the others were merely on the other side of the painting waiting for entrance.

A creaking sound came from behind me and I turned around, expecting to find my hypothesis correct, it was. Sirius, James, and Peter, cut up and slightly bloodied stumbled into the common room, all three looking exhausted. Sirius was the first to collapse on the couch, dabbing at the sweat on his face with a torn sleeve. James moved to stand beside me, a painful look on his face as he stared down at the whomping willow, and I knew he was worried about his friend. Peter, meanwhile, still remained beside the fat lady’s portrait, acting bewildered as he was attempting to push it closed.

“Wormtail,” Began Sirius with a slight edge of tired amusement in his voice as he flipped his head in a way so that his overgrown black hair was pushed back from his face, “What are you doing?”

I would like to know the answer myself. I thought, my eyebrows raised, as James turned away from the window to stare at his friend bemused.

“I…am…trying…” Huffed Peter, putting all his weight against the painting, “to…get…it…to…close…but…something…is…”The overweight boy slunk to the ground, sweat pouring from his face, “blocking…it.” Finished Peter, gasping for breath.

James frowned, “What?” he asked as he began walking boldly towards the common room entrance, flanked by Sirius, who had wearily stood up to follow him.

They were soon blocked by Peter, who had collapsed directly in front of the gap, “Move over, Wormtail.” Requested Sirius, giving his panting friend a gently kick to his side, “We can’t get around you.”

My gaze had been so fixated on the three of them, that I hadn’t noticed, and neither had they, that the portrait was closing. I felt my mouth fall open for a mere second, but then I smiled, it was her.

“Wormtail, come on, move already.” Said Sirius exasperatedly, giving Peter a much harsher kick.

“Alright…”Puffed the boy, heaving himself forward, away from the closing entrance.

The air was pierced by a short girlish scream, as Peter collided with an invisible object. Both James and Sirius jumped back in alarm, I was merely un-surprised and amused.

“What…what?” Stumbled Wormtail, bewildered, looking around wildly and noticing the entrance had finally closed itself, passed out from surprise and strain. He never did have much stamina. Meanwhile, James and Sirius took a more sensible approach and whipped out their wands.

“Who’s there?” Demanded James, pointing his wand directly at the empty space just behind Peter, while Sirius pointed his wand at different spaces around the room, guarding James' back, “Show yourself.”

Instantly, the empty space on the other side of Peter was filled in by a young woman, Maria. Her long black hair placed in a pony-tail, and her pale skin lit up by the gleam of the fire, as she clutched her blue robe, “I didn’t have to do what you said you know. Consider it,” She paused tilting her head, her eyes flickering back in forth between James' and Sirius' wands, “a courtesy.” Maria smirked and stepped over Peter’s unconscious body to place James’ wand directly in her face, “Is this,” She made a gesture towards the wand, “supposed to scare me?”

“Why did you follow us?” Asked James sharply, un-flinching as Maria locked him in a staring contest.

“What makes you think I followed you. I could have been just sneaking into the kitchen for food. You know tickling the pear. Oops!” She giggled, clapping a hand over her mouth, “That’s where you guys went first tonight isn’t it?” She looked between the two friends with mock confusion, “Before you explored the school grounds with the werewolf Lupin?” Maria gave an embarrassed smile and shrugged, “Oops again. I’m not a good liar you see. I haven’t had much practice.”

James blinked and for a split second turned to look at a furious Sirius standing next to him. That was all it took. Maria gave him a sharp kick in the stomach and had wrenched his wand from him before anyone could blink.

“Now listen, guys. I’m not going to hurt you,” She shot an apologetic look towards James, “severely. If I had wanted to do that you’d already be in St. Mungo’s. I just don’t want you to hurt me.” Her face wore a serious expression, and although I believed the first part of her speech, I highly doubted that James or Sirius could harm her if they tried.

“What’s your problem?” Growled Sirius, protectively stepping in front of James to face Maria directly, “You’ve hated us since the day you’ve met us, especially me. What did my family hire you or something? What’s it to you what Moony is or what we do?”

The pale witch smiled, “Moony, how quaint.” She met Sirius’ deadly gaze with one of her own, “I can safely assure you, Black, that your family takes, nor would have ever taken, a great enough interest in you to have you and your friends spied upon.”

Sirius twitched, and for the first time I thought Maria might have met her match, in fury at least.

Maria gave him a brief wicked smile, a cruel gleam in her stormy eyes, and continued, “In fact, I believe you were actually disowned, but you knew that already.”

From the moment the words had escaped her mouth I knew she had gone too far. Sirius snapped and, forgetting his wand, punched her hard in the face.

Maria stumbled backwards, clutching her left eye, her mouth open in shock, “You didn’t!” She said shrilly in pure disbelief as she dropped James’ wand to the floor, her eyes shining with a mixture of feelings, respect, disbelief, and rage, “I can’t believe you!” Said the young woman sharply, her face turning almost hawk-like in anger and she marched off towards the girl’s dormitory stairs.

“Coward.” Hissed Sirius at her retreating form, “Vindictive coward. I don’t know how you got sorted into Gryffindor.”

Maria stopped abruptly on the second step and whirled around to face him, he was the only one that mattered. Pure unbridled rage was etched on her features and she released her hold on her face, showing off a newly formed black eye. He must have hit her hard for it already to be visible, “I…”She stuttered off, at lost for words, before shaking her head, and I could have sworn I saw at least one tear, “Neither do I.” Then she vanished up the staircase as Sirius and James (who had just picked up his wand) glared after her.