PART ONE: INTERVALLO

If measured, Remus Lupin's heart rate would have been the highest at that very moment than it had ever been in his short twenty-two years on the Earth.

"What do you mean you're taking me?" he roared over the hubbub of the city below. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Remus had just arrived from San Francisco four months ago to pursue a PhD. The fast-paced life of the East Coast was something he still had to get used to. The glittering neon lights of Chinatown, the jaywalking, the crowded, sweaty subway stations, the explosive parties and the treacherous traffic he could get used to. They hadn't rattled him very much yet. But now, he was standing in his living room, utterly rattled.

Is getting arrested in the middle of the night the norm in cities like this? He had gone out with his new friend James that evening. The whole lot of them had gone out: Gideon, Fabian, Marlene, Dorcas, Frank, Benjy, Emmeline. Although he had only met James two days ago, he found him to be very agreeable. James and his friends were the most popular at university, and loved by all. They were turning out to be his first real friends in the new city.

Remus had in fact, been surprised, when James had taken a liking to him two days ago.

As per his usual schedule, Remus had been stretched out on his park bench. It was the last class of the day and because the weather was rapidly turning warm, the students were skipping in droves. Multitudinous, they wandered the park, sitting under the shade, by the river and falling asleep on park benches.

Remus fell amongst the latter category. He was currently stretched out on the bench, completely immersed in the Brief History of Time. He was trying not to think of a certain pair of dark eyes. Out of the corner of his eye he registered James Potter and his friends had come and plopped themselves down by the nearest tree. Blinking the sun out of his eyes, Remus glanced around.

The bright light reflected off the gleaming skyline certainly did not help Remus in this matter. He dazedly saw that James was on his laptop FaceTiming someone. Marlene was leaning over James' shoulder and teasing the person on the laptop. "You're such an idiot, who told you to go to Moldova yesterday?"

The reply was faint, and a moment later James was announcing to raucous laughter: "He says he needed to see the once-unhappiest country in the world for himself."

Fabian grinned. "Of course, that makes us—"

"Very, very proud," finished Fabian. "A mark of a true prankster is to explore for his own."

"I most certainly agree, my dear sir," nodded James in affirmation, without a trace of mirth.

Fabian and Gideon had been legendary pranksters in their time at the university. James and his friends (mostly James) had vowed to keep the legacy going, and it was widely known that James took the twins' words as law.

The twins had come to the city from England to go to university. They had been followed by James. All three of them had been old friends since childhood. They had also attended the same high school. Fabian and Gideon were now working in the city: one in the fashion industry and the other at Wall Street. James, having finished his under-grad was now pursuing post-graduate studies in Biotechnology and thus, was in a lot of Remus' classes. James still retained his British accent; and even though he had been in the city for four years, he still claimed to be confused by the city. He was now being wrestled to the ground by Emmeline and Benjy. The laptop lay forgotten on the ground, webcam facing his way.

Remus' stomach gave a slight jolt. He wished he had had been better at making friends. Even back in San Francisco, he had had no friends. Of course, he had classmates who were nice to him, but he had never had a real friend. His secluded childhood had caused that.

Remus quickly cleared his mind of the bitter thoughts. He tried to focus on the book, but the sun was too hot. He was trying and trying to grasp what Hawking had meant in the second chapter when—

"Blimey, mate. You look like you need a break from all that studying." James Potter was hovering above him.

"I'm not studying, it's just light reading," Remus blurted out and felt stupid. Why can't I be better at talking?

"That is not light reading!" James interrupted. "You're in my Mechanics IV class aren't you? Why don't you come and sit with us?"

"Aren't you busy FaceTiming your friend?" Remus asked hesitantly.

"Nah mate, I finished that ages ago. Come have a drink with us." James looked very eager. "I need some calm friends."

Remus smiled. James seemed genuine. "Sure, I'd love to," he said.

Over the course of the two days James had found out that an uninhibited Remus was the exact opposite of calm. Remus was also surprised to find himself that the top of a bar table with Dorcas loudly belting out Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You." And Remus wasn't even tipsy. And Remus was most definitely not thinking about a pair of dark eyes.

And now Remus was most definitely not being arrested.

"You have the right to remain silent. If you do say anything, what you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult with a lawyer and have that lawyer present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you if you so desire. If you choose to talk—"

"Aren't you listening? I didn't do anything!" Remus was exasperated. Here he was, a graduate PhD student working on his Antimatter dissertation and having a nice dinner in his flannels when his door was rudely broken at two in the morning.

The two officers glared at him. "We have occurred a warrant for your arrest," one of them said. "Our division head, Alice said you were responsible." He was burly and well-built, someone that Remus did not want to argue with.

"What am I being arrested, for then?" Remus snapped, holding his thick Particle Physics textbook like a weapon.

The other one, a red-haired woman of his age flashed him her FBI detective badge. The gleam in her green eyes was disturbing. She was a woman he did not want to cross.

"You, sir, are under arrest for committing the murder of Sirius Orion Black."

Remus gasped and for the second time that night his heart rate peaked as he glanced down into the dark, bustling metropolis of New York City.

And as he was dragged away along the wide, swanky shops of fifth avenue, he remembered the story of how he had met Sirius Black, the owner of the dark eyes.