Sirius seemed to be all right. Will had missed only last week's trip to Hogsmeade because of his paper, but that had been after Halloween.
Either way, Will decided to go over and take a look. Maybe he needed to let Sirius break into Hogwarts once. If the Dementors all left, how was he supposed to study them?
It was all Lucius's fault. Will had spent too long on his paper, and he still hadn't learned the Patronus Charm. He hadn't begun studying Dementors, hadn't fully worked out the Hippogriff's magic structure, and hadn't even touched Thestrals. Thank goodness he had a Time-Turner, or he'd never get through everything this year.
With that thought, Will strode toward the big black dog. As they walked, Hermione asked, "What was that paper Professor Flitwick mentioned?"
She wanted to know what Will was researching now.
"Nothing too exciting. You'll find out soon enough. Until then, let me keep a little mystery." Will smiled, not wanting to discourage Hermione.
He led her closer to the big black dog.
But as Will approached, he saw something strange: a huge black dog and a large ginger cat were walking side by side, apparently talking to each other.
"Woof!"
"Meow, meow!"
"Woof, woof!"
"Meow, meow, meow."
The sight of a cat and dog conversing was bizarre. Even Hermione looked surprised. "Crookshanks?"
The large ginger cat turned, spotted his owner, and promptly leaped into Hermione's arms, meowing nonstop. Though if you asked Will, Crookshanks was rather ugly. The cat's face was completely flat.
The big black dog's eyes lit up when he saw Will.
"Wait a moment. Something came up last week, so I couldn't make it. Want some more sausage? Come with me." Will didn't reach out to pat the dog's head the way most people would.