Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters in this story, they belong to J.K. Rowling. This story is an AU based on the story of cellorocksmyworld. The tittle of her story is "Give me up for gone" and it is amazing! Perhaps it would be better if you go check out her story first!
AN: Enjoy your reading!
A meeting in the dark
It was dark, it was cold and it was raining. The two men in the alley huddled closer to each other in a vain attempt to stay warm. They were waiting.
"He's not coming," said the first, it was Ministry Auror Sirius Black. He blew into his hands for warmth. It was autumn and the weather in Bucharest was cold and wet.
"Dumbledore said he would" answered his colleague and best friend, James Potter.
As if on cue, a dark figure appeared at the end of the alley. It was their contact. He approached them carefully, looking nervously in every direction. James elbowed Sirius; who had been studying the other end of the alley and complaining about wet socks; in his stomach. "There he is!"
"Are you Moony?" he asked the stranger when he was close enough. James could see now that the man was very young, a boy really. He had sandy blond hair and a week old beard. He was dressed in Muggle clothes; dark trousers and a grey sweater with a jacket; although all his clothes were clearly old and worn, they did a better job at making him look inconspicuous in the muggle world, unlike James and Sirius who were clad in their wizarding robes. The only sign that he was a wizard was his half-raised wand.
"Who asks?" was his answer.
"Auror Sirius Black and James Potter" answered James, showing his badge "we need to talk to you"
The boy took a step back when James mentioned their job. "I have nothing to say" he answered, and was already turning around to leave, when Sirius, not in the mood for theatrics, stopped him, "Dumbledore said you would be able to help us."
"Dumbledore says and wants a lot of things; he didn't tell me you would be Aurors though, must have slipped his mind?" Moony's tone was sarcastic.
"Look mate, we don't want trouble, we are looking for someone, Fenrir Greyback" James answered.
He took out a beige ministry file with the words 'TOP SECRET' written in bold red letters on it like it wasn't top secret at all from one of the pockets of his robes. He looked through it for a few seconds before grabbing a map and a picture of a snarling and mad-looking man which he handed over to Moony, "Maybe you've heard about him?"
"Yes, I have" he said in a neutral tone, without looking at the picture, "What about him?"
"We got a tip that he's hiding in the mountains, here somewhere" Sirius pointed at the place on the map, "He and his pack are creating havoc, gathering followers... We want to arrest them" explained Sirius "And we need to get up there but Dumbledore told us it was impossible without a guide"
The mountains were indeed difficult to access; a lot of Dark Creatures had taken refuge there after the War with Voldemort to escape retribution and later persecution. They had put up strong wards that overlapped and interacted with each other, with sometimes strange consequences. People that had gotten lost there popped up months or years later with no idea of where they were or what had happened. In fact, only those that already knew where to find the hidden villages were able to go there...
"So, can you find this place?" James asked.
"The place is not difficult to find"
"But will you take us?" Sirius asked.
There was a long pause before Moony finally answered, "Yes, I will"
Both Sirius and James let out a sigh of relief and grinned at each other. "Great! When do we leave?"
"But I have some conditions" interrupted Moony.
"Oh" James' smile fell; when people he worked with asked for conditions, it was more often than not illegal, usually some free pass out of prison or some dark magical artefact the Ministry had confiscated.
"You only arrest Greyback, you leave the rest of the pack alone"
"What?" Sirius exclaimed, "But they're werewolves! Such a big pack is a threat!"
"They're desperate; once you take Greyback away, they'll disperse again" he answered, his composure was tense, but he had a determined look on his face. "Either we do this my way or you can find yourself another guide"
Sirius was about to argue, but James put a hand on his shoulder, "Fine, we will only go after Greyback"
"Good, we leave in a week"
"Why not leave now? You can Apparate us there and we'll be back home for breakfast" Sirius countered again.
He thought the hunt for Greyback had lasted long enough. First, they had had to localise him; which had taken weeks, a lot of questions, some threats of broken bones, some actual broken bones and foremost, money in the right hands; and then they had had to find a guide to take them somewhere guides never went: deep into the mountains. Fortunately, Dumbledore knew someone and had made taken contact in their stead; unfortunately, Moony was very suspicious of strangers and had rescheduled their meeting thrice before finally showing up. All with all, Sirius was fed up with the waiting; it was time for some action and he could not wait to confront Greyback.
Moony laughed -and that was a first!- at Sirius' words, but like the rest of him, it was hard and with a cutting edge. "You're Aurors, are you? I thought they picked you cleverer than that" he said in a mocking voice, "You can't Apparate there, the closest apparation point is at a three-day walking distance"
"But still, why not leave now?" asked James
"You need to make provisions, magic has a strange way of working up there, sometimes it's strong and explosive and other times it's weak. You'll need to prepare yourself, food, tents, muggle camping gear..." At their confused look, he added: "I'll send you a list". He glanced up at the dark sky. Hidden behind the clouds the moonlight was barely visible, "Furthermore, it's almost the full moon"
"I don't see why that's relevant; it'll have passed when we arrive at the village" answered Sirius, also looking up.
"You don't want to be outside up there on a full moon, it would be the most dangerous and stupid thing you could ever do and I don't want to face Greyback when he's at his strongest... So we wait a few days until the effects of the moon have faded. Believe me, he will already be difficult enough to catch as it is" Moony's answer made sense, even if it meant that they had to delay their journey.
"Fine, when do we leave then?" James asked
"We leave on Friday morning, meet me at dawn" and with those last words he left.
"Well, he's a cheerful fellow, isn't he?" Sirius commented, "This trip is going to be fun!"
R&R
