{Library, Hogwarts}
{5th Oct 1991}
{3rd Person POV}
Rigel walked through the doors of the Hogwarts library. Before coming, he had already checked the map to see if the Bones heiress was there. After dealing with the fallout of his infiltration and capture of Pettigrew, now was the time for him to get his cards ready for Sirius's exoneration slowly.
'According to the inquiry results, Gringotts should mail the heir ring to me within the next week. So I should move forward and get things in place,' Rigel thought as his eyes scanned the crowd of people moving into the library.
Trying to find Susan alone was simply not possible. He had stared at the map for a whole day, and Susan was like the Hufflepuff princess. At all times, she was surrounded by one or more girls. Her bright red hair caught his eye as she was sitting with two more students. They looked like they were in his year as he looked at their levels.
...
[Hannah Abbott Lv - 2]
[Susan Bones Lv - 3]
[Ernie Macmillan Lv - 1]
...
While they were laughing and giggling about something, Hannah was the first one to notice Rigel's approach. Her eyes collided with his for a moment, and after a few seconds of staring, she whipped her head at Susan, who was nudging her. Rigel saw Hannah point in his direction with her eyes, and the two other occupants of the table turned around and craned their necks to look at him.
Rigel walked over, cataloging their interactions and expressions. Susan's smile disappeared as she turned back around, hiding her expression behind a polite mask.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Rigel said politely as he walked over and stood a couple of feet from their table, now facing all three of them at once.
"Of course you are, don't you thin—" Ernie started to speak, his tone an octave higher than what Rigel presumed was okay in the library. He saw how Susan's hand clamped onto Ernie's forearm, stopping him.
'Hmm, now that's something new. I didn't know that these two were a couple?' Rigel thought.
"Don't mind, Ernie. Can I help you with anything?" Susan asked with a fake, pleasant tone. He didn't know if he did anything, but either the house prejudice ran deeper than he thought, or something was up.
"...Well, yes, actually, that's why I came here. Can I talk to you alone?" Rigel asked, ignoring the blond boy for now.
Although it seemed like the wrong thing to say as Ernie spoke once again, his voice going a lot higher this time, "She's not going anywhere with you—"
'Okay, something is definitely wrong with this guy,'
"Ernie," Susan scolded the blond as Rigel turned to Hannah for clarification, "Is there something I'm not getting about why he's got his panties in a twist?"
"You!" Ernie fumed as he glared at Rigel. The whole situation was a little funny, but what didn't make sense to Rigel was why the Hufflepuff was so against him.
"Hehehe..." Hannah giggled before she spoke, "Oh, Ernie's just afraid that you'll take Susan and add her to your harem." Her eyes glinted with mischief as she continued, stage whispering her words loudly, "...Susan rejected him quite brutally last week, and he's being a baby about it."
'My Harem?'
"Hannah!" Susan exclaimed as she glared at her friend while her hands patted Ernie's shoulders, trying to calm him down. "I told you it's about the Ritual. The progressive families have decided not to do it as it sends the wrong message about the old power bases in our government and the exclusion of Muggle-borns from our society."
...
"Alright, timeout," Rigel said, stopping an argument that was brewing. I don't care about your high school drama or your views on politics right now. I'm sorry if this seems rude, but can I talk to you? It's urgent." He tried to make sure she understood that this was serious, so he looked dead straight into her eyes.
Then he noticed that her eyes were green, a lighter shade than Harry's but one that complimented her hair and skin quite naturally. It was his first time seeing the redhead up close, and although her face was marred with light brown and red freckles, it somehow complimented her hair and skin tone.
"Oh... alright, can you guys wait for me here? I'll be back in a bit," Susan said to her friends. She stared at both of them until they nodded, the stern look on her face a sharp contrast to her normal youthful energy.
'Likely something she inherited from Amelia...'
Both of them moved away from the other two Hufflepuffs. Rigel stared at the stacked library and decided against having a sensitive conversation by trusting a privacy charm.
"Do you mind if we go to an abandoned classroom? I don't want to be overheard; it is quite sensitive..." Rigel looked at Susan and asked. The redhead gave him a look, hesitation clear on her face, and after a short debate, she nodded.
"Alright, follow me," Rigel said as he led her outside the Library. They didn't have to walk for long as Rigel opened the first locked classroom with the unlocking charm.
"Alohamora~" Rigel chanted and the lock clicked audibly. He grabbed onto the handle and twisted the door open. He walked into the room and kept the door open for Susan who was staring into the dark with apprehension.
'Okay, so this might not have been a great idea...' Rigel thought. Leading a woman to an abandoned classroom was a lot different than doing the same with the Weasley twins. As he opened his mouth to try to persuade her, she hesitantly took a couple of steps before walking into the room.
'Huh... can this be accounted for bravery or blind trust?' Rigel thought.
"I'm going to lock the door so no one can burst through. Is that okay?" Rigel asked. After getting a nod, he cast the locking charm and returned his wand to his inventory.
He showed her his empty hands and offered an olive branch, "See, I put my wand away. There's no need to be afraid. I just wanna talk, okay?"
"I'm not gonna run now, you know?" Susan said after taking a deep breath. She was trying to project some confidence after deciding that Rigel was sure she regretted it.
"Alright, so I'll make this quick. I kind of know the location of the fugitive who is accused of being a mass murderer and is on the run..."
'Now that's one hell of an ice-breaker, right?'
...
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AN - Sirius exoneration plot started! Plus, it's been a while. I'm going to leave this chapter here as an apology. Worklife in my new company has been challenging, though my probation is ending on the 5th so regular update would be starting from the 6th.
With my probation period over, I can slack off again and focus more time on my stories... I'm not a very good worker, am I? I wonder why they fired me from my last company :P
P.S- 50+ chapters on P.atreon.