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February Catch-All

[Hillingdon - closed to Annie]

While it wasn't really his intention, Sirius has become something of a familiar face at Hillingdon house. He can usually be seen around, though he doesn't interact with a whole lot of people, outside of those he already knows and is familiar with. Those that do remember him have thankfully kept their distance (no doubt due to his family's influence) and Sirius has to admit that he doesn't mind. He wasn't there to renew those old bonds, just develop something of a place of security. He hopes.

Mostly he can be seen at the task board, taking up various odd jobs, and that's where he is currently, considering what was available.

[Barnet - Shopping, early February]

If there was one thing on this world that he could do without, Sirius decided, it was shopping. Grocery shopping in particular. It was just an exhausting chore in his mind, not to mention dangerous given his present state. Wandering the aisles and trying to make sure he wasn't noticed was always and adventure, and not the fun sort. He left the store with a vast amount of relief and headed home. He'd eat out all the time if he could, but money was something he had to pay attention to and eating out also posed risks.

He missed the days when he could risk a little more in his life.

[Valentine's Day and Lupercalia]

The holidays, Sirius reflected, were doing an absolute terrible job at being holidays. He couldn't remember the last time he'd managed to enjoy himself over a holiday. Not that he'd had a lot of reason to do so, but it was the principle of the matter.

Take Valentine's day for example. It used to be he could have a good time on Valentine's Day, could usually find a date of some sort. Now? Now he had to worry that someone would recognize him and the police would get involved and it would all just be a mess. So instead he was drinking alone in some seedy pub. Absolutely terrible job.

Lupercalia wasn't much better, not that Sirius had ever really celebrated it. It just brought up memories of his family and the few rituals he had attended, but never been comfortable with. Again, absolutely terrible.

'What am I going to do with myself?" he muttered, staring at his half-empty glass.

[Choose your own adventure]

Whatever you'd liked

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"Seems to be a popular opinion among a lot of people, and the witches themselves," Sirius mused, at least based on his observations. He did his best to stay out of it (despite some niggling sense of obligation and the fact that Norell paid pretty well).

"Is everything alright? You seem a bit nervous about something?" Which made him a tad concerned, though he didn't want to betray it.

"Isn't it?" She says in response, though as to what Sirius has actually said, she realizes too late that she had no bloody clue, because he's a wanted murderer, and she was alone in a room with him.

She glanced at her pocket and took a step back. He was catching on, he had to be. Why else would he ask? She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Oh! Yes- yes, I'm okay. Just- just need to- need to call." The police. She needed to call the police immediately. Her hand moves to her phone.

He almost wants to ask who she's going to call, more out of curiosity than anything else, although he then considers that that would probably be rude. Especially if it was her boyfriend or something. And he didn't want to make her any more nervous than he apparently already had.

There are times when he forgets that those who haven't met him would assume he's a dangerous convict. It takes a little bit longer for him to clue in that now is likely one of those times.

Normally he deals with these kinds of situations by running, getting away as fast as he can and hiding somewhere until the danger has passed. It's not his favourite solution, but getting himself thrown back in jail is not going to help his efforts. And it's not going to help now either. He can't be chased from Hillingdon House again just because he's been recognized. It's a stretch, but it seems his only option is to try to talk his way out of it.

"Please don't."

Annie shakes her head, her movements short and tight. She has her hand on her back pocket, where she keeps her phone, the other firmly planted in her hair. "N-no." She took another step back. "I- it's-. No. No, no, no- I've got to. You're-" Annie's eyes flash towards the door, then back to Sirius, trying to weigh the distance, how quickly she could make it out the door. She assumed he was simply human, like her.

"-You're a- a criminal." And that was bad, and it was her job to fix it. She wouldn't consider herself a bounty hunter, but that was precisely what so much of Hillingdon's money came from. That was the very reason they had a board like this. He was probably here to try to take the poster, and she was lucky she'd been the one to find it.

"I'm sorry- have to." And just like that, the phone is in her hand and Annie's heading towards the door.

Sirius barely had time to register the amount of curses flooding his mind before he takes off after her. He'd agree that the situation was bad, for entirely different reasons. Namely that he did not want to have to deal with the police, go back to jail, or go into hiding again.

While he didn't have time to shift into his dog form, which did allow for a bit more speed, he was still plenty fast and managed to catch up. He doesn't want to do anything drastic (that won't help his case), but he's got to do something.

"Please, you've got to listen to me! I'm not a criminal!"

Oh no, he was pursuing her. Annie was small, and it didn't take much for Sirius to catch up with her. She stops, trying to turn on a dime to rush down a perpendicular hallway.

"Then why-" she calls. Why did he have a poster like that? Why was he chasing her? "Stay 'way!"

"If you stop running I'll explain," he says, though he really doesn't have the time to when he should be focused on stopping her. Finally he's within reach and grabs her arm, which the Remus-sounding voice in the back of his head says is a bad idea but we're not listening to Remus right now.

"Please, just let me explain."

She feels his hand wrap around her upper arm and Annie freezes, blue eyes wide as they get.

"Let me go!" She tells him in no uncertain terms. "There's no explanation!"

"Yes there is!"

It's a lousy counter-argument but it's all he's got in at the moment since he's also focusing on getting her to stay and not call the police, but also not hurt her.

"Look, I was framed! I'm not actually a murderer."

"No there's-" wait. Yes. Yes, there is an explanation, and a very good one at that. Sirius gets his wish and Annie stills.

"You were- I'm-?" Her hand is off her phone. "Don't believe you."

"I don't blame you for that," Sirius replies, almost with a laugh. He really hasn't acted like an innocent man, which probably hasn't helped his chances all that well.

"But I'll let go if you promise to listen to my explanation. After that, you can decide for yourself."

Annie looks at where he's got her hand and makes a face. "Fine. What happened?" She's still going to call the cops.

Sirius takes a breath, before pausing and trying to find the right place to start. The last time he'd had to explain this had been so much easier.

"Twelve years ago, or thirteen now I guess, there was a murder. The victim was a very close friend of mine, someone I would have laid my life down for. And the actual murderer made it look like I had done it. The only reason I escaped so that I can track them down and clear my name."

And possibly exact revenge, if he had anything to say about it.

Annie gives pause and considers the story. This poor man, if it were true. To have been locked away for so long- Annie had been miserable when she'd been institutionalized, and couldn't imagine how awful it would be in prison. And even if that wasn't the truth, it was a real good lie.

"How- how were you framed?" She's not struggling anymore, she just wants to make an informed decision.

"There...there was evidence that pointed to me, and whatever alibis I had were written off. I didn't have any eyewitnesses to vouch for me. Admittedly, I was too shocked by the events to really fight back."

He lets go of her before clenching his hand into a fist. It still makes him angry, at himself more than anyone else.

"That's why I'm in London now. To find the real killer."

Annie's eyes were soft when she looked up at Sirius. It was as if she were seeing him for the first time. He really was on a redemption quest, a quest for revenge. So many of them seemed to be- and Annie was lucky that the Guardians only had to speak to her once before she was written off as a suspect in the attacks on District 4.

Annie reaches into her pocket and pulls out the poster, and holds it out to him.

The look of relief on Sirius's face is a visible one. He hadn't really considered what he would have done had she not believed him, and honestly it wasn't one he wanted to consider. He takes the poster.

"Thank you," he says quietly. "I'm sorry I scared you."

Annie pressed her lips together.

"It's, uhm- not ah, that hard-? to scare me, I mean." Pathetic, in a hunter.

"Well, I wasn't trying to," Sirius replied, though that was an interesting piece of information. Why choose that career, if that was the case? "So there's that."

"Oh," she shifts her weight from one foot to the other. "Sorry."

"Uhm- I'm Annie, by the way. Annie Cresta. Just thought it was ah, fair. To tell you my name."

"Annie. I'll remember. Though I suppose I should be the one apologizing. Now you've got to find a new job."

His, he suspects, will be hunting down wanted posters and destroying them. He'd prefer not to have this situation happen again.

"Oh, it's alright. I'll find something." She didn't trust him, though she did believe him. But Annie never really trusted easily.

"If I see any more of those posters, I'll take them down." She pauses. "And uhm, I want you to know that, ah, I'd use the money? For Hillington. Not- not myself." So that he can know she's at least charitable.

Sirius breathes a sigh of relief, taking it as a sign that he can possibly extend her a bit of trust, though he doesn't have a lot of it these days either.

"I'd appreciate that." He's certain that new ones will go up, but it's something. "Good to know that it would go to a good 'cause at least."

Another nod. "Yeah. I don't- I don't need it. So I wouldn't- wouldn't it be doing it for money. Uhm... Yeah..?" Like that made it any better. Annie shuffled awkwardly from side to side. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Sirius replies with a shrug. "Really. I guess I don't mind knowing that no everyone after me is doing it for the money."

Though it did highlight that he really did need to clear his name somehow.

February Catch-All

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