Team: Holyhead Harpies

Position: Keeper

Prompt: November: Sirius Black

Astronomy: Write about someone making an incorrect assumption.

Word Count: 2596

The Conspiracy

4th April, 1912

Sirius lay in bed next to his lover, Remus. It was his favourite time of day when he was able to simply be with Remus after their lovemaking. His least favourite time of day was when he had to leave him and return home. In truth he would love nothing more than to lay next to Remus every night, wrap his arms around him and fall asleep.

"Sirius," Remus whispered, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Hmm," Sirius replied sleepily.

"I, erm, I heard something a few days ago about The Titanic," Remus told him.

Sirius perked up slightly at the mention of The Titanic. Remus so rarely spoke about his work on the luxury cruise liner, and Sirius was eager to find out any snippet of information he was willing to share.

"Oh, really," Sirius replied, detecting a hint of uncertainty in his lover's voice—whatever he was about to share must be extremely confidential. He rolled over onto his side and propped his head on his hand. "Is everything going well?"

"Yes and no," Remus answered.

"What does that mean, love?" Sirius asked, moving a lock of hair out of Remus' face.

"Everything is going well," Remus replied. "The thing is—it's not The Titanic."

Sirius frowned—not The Titanic? "What do you mean, Remus?"

He could see the hesitation in Remus' face as he sat up in the bed they shared and turned to face him.

"I overheard a conversation between Mr Ismay and my boss, Mr Pettigrew," Remus started, casting his eyes down. "There was talk of insurance fraud, and a substantial loss of life. They're switching out The Titanic with The Olympic. I don't know why, but I know one thing, Sirius—when the ship sets sail, you cannot be on board. 'The Titanic' will sink and thousands will die."

Sirius stared at Remus, allowing what he had just told him sink in. Mr Ismay was a trusted friend of the Black family, and Sirius knew him personally from many dinner parties his parents had held. There was no way he was capable of such a scheme.

"No, that cannot be true," he finally said, shaking his head. "You must have heard incorrectly, Remus."

"I'm afraid not," Remus whispered. "Believe me, I have tried to rationalise what I heard a thousand times but every time I try, I come to the same conclusion: White Star Line intends to allow The Olympic to set sail in place of The Titanic, and when, not if, she sinks they will collect the insurance money. You do know they significantly increased the amount The Titanic is insured for just days ago. There is no other explanation, Sirius."

Sirius didn't want to hear any more of what Remus had to say—he was wrong about the ship. He flung his legs over the side of the bed and began to get dressed.

"Sirius, what are you doing?" Remus asked. "Where are you going?"

"I—I have to get out of here, Remus," he replied quickly, making his way to the door. "I'll—I'll think about what you told me and come by and see you again soon."

He hastily opened the door and walked out, sparing a moment to glance over his shoulder and offer Remus a weak smile.

~o~o~o~

5th April - 9th April, 1912

The days that followed were a world wind of social events which he was forced to attend with his fiancée.

Remus' words played on his mind. Sirius hadn't seen or spoken to him since Remus had told him about the supposed insurance fraud Mr Ismay was planning. No matter which way Sirius looked at it, the only explanation was that Remus was wrong. He hated mistrusting Remus, but such a conspiracy was ludicrous. Why would Mr Ismay risk the reputation of White Star Line by allowing one of their ships to sink—and on its maiden voyage? He wouldn't. He couldn't. There was too much at risk—too many variables.

With each passing day though, doubt creeped into his mind and he became less sure of what was fact and what was fiction.

The only thing he did know was that on April 10th he would be on board The Titanic with his future wife even though was the last place he wanted to be.

~o~o~o~

10th April, 1912

Sirius exited the carriage he was sharing with his mother, father, and Marlene, his fiancée. Ever the gentleman, he offered his hand to Marlene to assist her out, before promptly letting go of her hand. It didn't escape his notice that a look of displeasure crossed her face—it didn't faze him though, he was used to it by now.

Instead of paying attention to her, he gazed up at the ocean liner—the ship of dreams—The Titanic.

"She's beautiful, isn't she, son?" his father said in a gruff voice, clapping his hand on his shoulder.

Sirius didn't see beauty. All he saw was the ship that had come between him and the man he loved.

He could hear the words Remus had spoken to him days ago swirling round in his head. Words he had refused to believe. Words that, for all he knew, could be true. After all, what did he truly know about the art of ship building or the goings on in a building yard? And in truth, the Mr Ismay Sirius saw was the social man, not the businessman.

Sirius squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to look at the ship any longer and turned to his companions.

"Please excuse me, Mother, Father, Marlene," Sirius said formally. "I feel I need some refreshment before we board. The carriage ride has left me quite parched."

He turned on the heel of his foot and walked away briskly before anyone could reply. Sirius had seen Marlene's face and knew that she would have wanted to accompany him if he had given her a chance to reply.

Sirius came across a bar after a few minutes of walking. He looked the establishment up and down. It was rather shabby on the exterior and the raucous laughter coming from inside was not what you would expect to hear in a place where the so-called upper class frequented. It was absolutely perfect. No one would think to look for him in here.

He'd been in the bar only a matter of minutes before he met James Potter, a man who had followed a redhead to the docks on the off chance she would notice him. The man was absolutely besotted with her even though the first time he saw her was a matter of hours ago. It reminded Sirius of how he felt the first time he laid eyes on Remus. It wasn't long before Sirius felt as though he had known James his whole life.

"She is beautiful," James declared, draining his pint glass. "I tell you now, Sirius, I will marry that girl."

Sirius laughed. "You don't even know her name."

"I don't need to know her name," James replied, beckoning the bartender. "I just need to know that her name will be: Mrs James Potter."

Sirius rolled his eyes. James had confidence—he was so sure of himself—so sure that this redhead was his future.

"Two more pints of your finest ale, please," James said as the bartender reached them. "And a set of darts. I trust you play, my new friend."

"Of course," Sirius replied, although in truth he hadn't played in a few years—not since his brother Regulus had died. After that, darts didn't hold the same appeal.

Half an hour later, they had played two games of darts and they were tied at one game apiece. They were now in the middle of a third—and the stakes were higher.

"Let's make this more interesting," James had suggested. "A wager. My pocket watch and your ticket for The Titanic. Winner takes all."

Sirius had agreed enthusiastically. In truth he didn't care whether he was on board the ship. Not when he would be leaving behind the person he loved.

As James stepped up to the oche, Sirius glanced out of the window, longing to see Remus who would notice him, enter the bar and tell him that he wasn't going to get on board the ship. But he didn't.

"Get ready to say goodbye to that ticket, Sirius," James called, holding his third and final dart steady in the hand. "I just need a bullseye for the match."

Sirius stood up from his chair and moved closer to the oche. James threw the dart and, for a moment, time seemed to slow down as it soared through the air and landed in the red of the bullseye.

James turned to Sirius, grinned and jumped in the air. "YES! My lady love and I are destined to be. Shall we have another pint before I board the ship? I'll buy."

"Too right you will," Sirius jested. "It's the least you can do after winning that match."

In no time at all, James returned with two fresh pints of beer. In his absence, Sirius had decided it was only right that he tell his new friend about the concerns Remus had expressed to him. It wouldn't feel right to keep it from him.

Their pint glasses were almost empty by the time Sirius had worked up the courage to tell James, and explained how he had come about the information.

"Oh, Sirius," James laughed. "You are hilarious. You just want your ticket back, don't you?"

Sirius shook his head. "No, by all means keep it. A whole four months without my parents is great. I just thought you ought to know about the rumour before you board."

"I appreciate your concern," James replied, glancing over at the clock. "But nothing is going to stop me following my love onto that ship which I should be doing now before it leaves port without me."

James jumped up from his seat and walked towards the exit, and Sirius followed suit.

Together the strolled along the dock until they reached the ramp where boarding was taking place.

"See you soon, friend," James said, hugging him.

"Yes, see you soon," Sirius replied, truly hoping they would meet again.

Sirius watched on as James boarded the ship. He desperately hoped that Remus had been wrong. The man who had won his ticket didn't deserve to die—and if he did, it would be all his fault.

James turned and waved at him before he ducked his head and walked through the door. Sirius stood, looking at the ship for a few more moments, and then decided it was time to face the wrath of his parents as well as end his engagement to Marlene.

~o~o~o~

11th April - 14th April, 1912

Sirius spent the next few days in a daze. Each day was the same: he woke up, had breakfast, attended church, took lunch at a quaint cafe, attended church again, went home for tea, returned to church, before finally going back home and observing silent prayer.

In all his life, Sirius had never been as religious as he had been since The Titanic set sail.

He felt guilty for not trusting Remus, and not visiting him, especially after he didn't board The Titanic. Sirius just didn't know what to say to him. He wasn't even sure if he could look Remus in the eye after how he had left things between them.

He felt guilty for allowing his new friend James to board The Titanic to follow a girl he barely knew. Sirius was sure there was something more he could have done to stop James boarding the ship.

Sirius prayed that his new friend would safely reach New York, and that one day he would have the courage to go to Remus and apologise for his actions.

~o~o~o~

15th April, 1912

"And to repeat our main headline of the evening:

The Titanic, which was making its maiden voyage to America, struck an iceberg late last night and sank. The word is that as many as 1500 people have gone down with the ship."

Sirius felt his heart in his mouth as the radio host shared the awful news in a grave voice.

Remus! he thought. He'll think I'm dead! He'll think I died believing him to be a liar.

In an instant, Sirius jumped up from his armchair, dashed to door, grabbing his coat on his way out and raced down the streets of Belfast to Remus' house.

It took him half an hour to reach Remus' modest house. He stood in front of the white door pounding on it, hoping beyond hope that Remus would answer quickly. Rain was falling thick and fast from the sky, no doubt mourning the senseless loss of life. He didn't mind how wet he got though. The only thing that mattered was seeing Remus again.

The white door in front of him opened, and there stood Remus. He looked almost as bad as Sirius felt. He clearly hadn't been sleeping very well, and he had been crying.

"Sirius," Remus breathed, throwing his arms around him, "what are you doing here? I thought you had got on The Titanic?"

"I nearly did," Sirius whispered, "but I couldn't. Your warning rang in my ears as I looked at the ship and I couldn't do it. I couldn't leave you behind. I ended my engagement to Marlene. Mother and Father were far from impressed and have since cut me off from the family fortune. And—and just now, I heard on the radio that she sank—you were right."

Sirius didn't think now was the time to tell Remus he had in fact lost his ticket in a game of darts, knowing his opinion about gambling—the affliction which had left his father in serious debt.

Remus sniffled quietly and buried his face in Sirius' shoulder.

"What's wrong, my love?" Sirius whispered.

"It's all my fault," Remus told him. "Those lives that were lost—I could have done something about it. I should have done something about it."

Sirius took Remus' face in both his hands and looked deep into his eyes.

"And then what would have happened?" Sirius asked. "You saw how I reacted and I love the bones of you. If you had told anyone else they would have had you locked away in an asylum with a bunch of 'crazy' people. There was nothing you could have done."

"Do you really think so?" Remus asked.

"I know so," Sirius answered, looking deep into Remus' eyes. "The only people to blame for this are those arseholes that own White Star Line."

"Say it again," Remus whispered, taking Sirius' hand into his own.

"What?" Sirius asked, grinning. "About them being arseholes?"

"No, the other thing," Remus said, leading his lover inside. "You know, when you said you loved me."

"Oh, that," Sirius laughed. "I, Sirius Black, love you, Remus Lupin."

"Good, because I love you too," Remus replied with a smile. "But if you ever put me through that kind of worry again, I might just have to reconsider my feelings."

Sirius gave Remus a predatory smile, his eyes darkened with lust.

"You could never stop loving me," he whispered huskily, guiding his lover up the staircase and towards his bedroom. "You'd miss my sweet arse too much."

Sirius grinned broadly as Remus laughed at him. From this day, and every other day that followed, he would remain by Remus' side—family and obligations be damned.