Pat, pat, pat, pat. Sandy focused on the road ahead. It was Sunday and he had gone for a run. He was chasing away last night's shift. He had not been able to sleep. When he could not sleep he went out and ran. It was still cold so he ran in sweatpants and a t-shirt. Joggers were invisible. He looked like any muggle. Nobody bothered him.

Pat, pat, pat - patpatpat pat patpatpat…

The other pair of feet hit the road quicker than his. They came out of nowhere and Sandy twisted to see who it was. Her head was just over his elbow. A sweatband held her brown hair back. She wore a band hoodie and cropped leggings.
"Sandy!" Josie panted. "Fancy seeing you here."

He sped up. "Fu-." Crack!

There she was right ahead of him. Sandy pulled up and turned around. He started running the way he came.
"Come on!" He found it hard to stop the laugh. Josie caught up again. "Sandy! I have articles you need to read." She panted. "You do not answer your owls. I sent five last week. I know you got them. I paid the extra for the post owl. Did you read them? What do you think? Can I come write?" She had rosy cheeks. It was hard work. She had to move her legs twice as fast. She hoped her bum got smaller because of all this running. "Why are you running so fast?"

Sandy was not paying attention. Josie thought he was ignoring her. Sandy was paying attention to their breath. His breath was a cloud. There was frost on the hedges. He had a bad feeling. Dementors had to be nearby. Josie saw it too. They ran hard. Sandy took the lead. He ran home. It was a minute away. Josie was slower. He grabbed her arm and pulled her. She might be a pest but she did not deserve dementors. Sandy's back gate was open. He had a bad feeling. A really bad feeling. There was a handprint in blood on the gate.
"Go home Josie."

She defied him and pushed open the gate. There was more blood. The back door was open. She drew her wand. Someone was hurt. She was not going to run away. Also, this could be a story. Misslethorpe Murders… The stones under her trainers crunched. She walked ahead of Sandy. She gripped her wand tight.

Sandy wished he could get rid of Josie. If he tried to get her to leave now she would have more questions. He was afraid. He could guess who had broken in. When they found him on the kitchen floor Sandy wondered if he was dead. He was still alive. Just.
"I will call for help." Josie suggested. Sandy took her wrist.
"No. I can heal him. Get him on the kitchen table."

And so Josie became an accomplice.

- End -