AN: So here it is. The first chapter of my newest Marauder story. I was going to put this in the cross over section, but it's not really a cross over so much as a... world swap? I don't really know how to explain it, but there are no Merlin characters in the story, so I don't think it qualifies as a cross over.
If you have any questions, just let me know. You can shoot me a pm, or hit me up on tumblr.
I'm kind of super nervous about this.
Please leave me reviews.
No young man, no matter how great, can know his destiny. He cannot glimpse his part in the great story that is about to unfold. Like everyone, he must live and learn.
~The Great Dragon
Merlin S1E1
Chapter One: The Headless Warlock
Remus Lupin was a warlock.
A sorcerer. A wizard. He might as well have been an enemy war leader for all the love he would receive if anyone were to find out. He was born with magic in a time when magic was banned, punishable by death. Even the whisper of a disgruntled neighbor would be enough at times to get your character called to question, and if one of the king's guardsmen suspected you of sorcery, you'd be lucky to keep your head long enough to watch them raise the axe that would sever it from your body.
After an incident involving a burning barn and a herd of miraculously unharmed cows, his mother felt she had no choice but to send him to the one person that she trusted to help keep her son alive; a man by the name of Albus Dumbledore. Albus used to practice magic before the king had banned it, and so Remus's mother thought that Dumbledore could help him learn to control his powers. Even though the man lived right under the nose of the king as the court physician, she thought he would be safer with Dumbledore, learning to control his powers, than he would be at home in Ealdor where anyone could potentially see something unexplainable happen. Because the next time a miracle took place, they might not be thanking the Gods, but pointing a finger at the scrawny boy who always managed to be around when these miracles happened.
And so that's why Remus had packed his things in a knapsack and walked three days from Ealdor, to Camelot. His mother had offered him a horse, but he didn't want to make things hard for her anymore, as he had the previous seventeen years.
It had been a long and tiresome journey, through miles and miles of thick wood and narrow paths. He had passed only a dozen men on his walk, all of them farmers heading home from Camelot or Diagon Isle, the two large cities that were within walking distance of the farmlands that Remus knew stretched on just beyond the edge of the forest. Ealdor had been mostly one large farm, and a small lake. Most of the land that wasn't a city, or a forest, consisted of farms. The farmers were kind, and shared their scraps with Remus, giving him directions or letting him know when he should change course to get to his destination sooner than planned.
Eventually, the path he had been walking turned into a wide road, and where before people had been far and few, there was now far too many people and not nearly enough elbow room. Small cottages littered the side of the road that was still protected by a canopy of thick trees, but when the forest gave way, Remus had to draw breath.
Even with the large gate that wrapped itself around Camelot, Remus could already see a large portion of the city. Camelot sat on a hill for the most part, the castle at the very top, and covering a good majority of the hill all on its own, but the lords and ladies manors did their best to decorate the remainder of the hill, so that very little of the actual hill could be seen at all. There were a few small patches of bright colors that Remus assumed were gardens, but for the most part, the entirety of the hill was covered in stone buildings.
Remus stepped through the open gate of the city and took in a deep breath, letting the sour air fill his lungs and he tried his very best not to miss the sweet, fresh air of his hometown. This was his home now. He would learn to love the crowded streets and the noise that seemed to emanate from absolutely everywhere.
He readjusted the straps of his bag and then took another step forward, ready to find Dumbledore and take a nice long nap in his new quarters.
Of course, never having been to Camelot before, Remus had no idea where Albus was. Back home, this hadn't seemed like a problem, he couldn't imagine it being to terribly difficult to find anyone, but he had vastly underestimated the size of the kingdom. The castle itself, named Hogwarts, was the largest building that Remus had ever set eyes on. Parts of it were taller than the mountains that Remus could see sprouting up on the horizon not too far behind the castle. The mountains worked with the clouds to form the illusion that the castle towers were swaying to and fro in the sky. It had some of the largest and most beautifully pieced together stain glass windows, alcoves and towers hanging about in places that seemed architecturally unsound, but still it stood, thousands of years old. A landmark that would make anyone think twice about testing the strength of this kingdom.
The rest of the town seemed to disperse around the castle, with the more noble houses being closer to the castle walls, and the more rudimentary homes being on the out skirts of the town. A grand lake had wrapped itself around the base of right side of the castle and a river meandered about the town, connecting the lake to the ocean, which rested half a day's walk left of the castle.
Between all the shops that separated the nobles from the commoners, the houses, and the farms, Remus was sure that it would be days before he found Dumbledore.
Though he was the court physician, surely people must know him.
Remus looked around, spotted a red haired girl who looked about his age and walked up to her.
"Excuse me," Remus said, twisting his fingers nervously. "But you wouldn't happen to know where I can find the court physician, would you?"
"Dumbledore?" The girl asked, smiling kindly at him. Remus's heart gave a leap at her immediate response about the man he was looking for. "He'd be up at the castle around this time I'm sure. Did you look there?"
"No I hav-"
"You were hoping he'd be walking around? Yes, well I can understand, though he doesn't normally treat just anyone. Can you imagine having one doctor for the entire city? You might want to try Madam Pomfrey." She then narrowed her eyes, lifted one of her petite hands and laid it against his forehead. "You look a bit peakish, but you don't feel warm. Though it could just be my hands, I've been out in the sun all day running errands. Do you feel like you have a fever?"
"No, you misunderstand me." Remus said quickly. "I'm not ill."
"Oh." The girl said, her lips slightly parted. "Of course not." She said quickly, wiping her hands on her skirt and looking woefully embarrassed.
Remus laughed, feeling a bit more at ease now. "I've just arrived at Camelot and I'm supposed to be staying with Dumbledore. I don't know where he lives though."
"Oh!" She said again, her smile returning. "Well, I'm headed back up to the castle now. I've got one more errand to run, but if you're in no hurry then I'll gladly take you to him myself."
"That would be very helpful. My name is Remus." He said, holding out his hand.
"Lily." She replied, mirroring his gesture. "And I'm terribly sorry I said you look ill."
"Don't worry about it. I can't look all that great. It's been a long walk from my home to here."
"Where is home?"
"Ealdor." Remus said, to which Lily cocked her head to the side. "It's a very very small village just outside Camelot's boarders. You probably haven't heard of it."
"I don't think I have." She agreed. They approached a cart filled with an abundance of colored cloth and Lily excused herself from Remus. She returned a moment latter with pale blue silk draped over her arm. Remus examined her current dress, which was plain and a bit too large for her, and was about to inquire about the silk when she asked, "So why'd you leave home?"
"Er… Well-"
"I'm being rude aren't I? All the questions, sorry. I'm just curious."
"It's no problem." Remus assured her, though they were making him a bit nervous. He had had three days to prepare for this though, and the story that he and his mother had come up with for him was a simple one. "I came here because Dumbledore is a friend of my mother's and she wants a different life for me." Lily nodded, her eyes drifting up the street. They had reached the castle moments ago and were now entering the courtyard. "She thought Camelot offered the best chances."
"Oh dear." Lily said quietly. Remus looked over at her, confused. He didn't think he had said anything that warranted that response. Lily wasn't looking at him however, her eyes were locked on something up the street a ways. "Not again." He followed her gaze up to a crowd of people standing around a raised wooden platform. A young man was being dragged up onto the platform by two guards in intimidating metal helmets and red vest with the Potter crest on them.
"What's going on?" Remus asked.
"An execution." She shook her head. "Welcome to Camelot." She said dryly.
"What'd he do?" He asked.
"Looks like he's been accused of sorcery. He's got that red band tied around his neck." Lily replied. Before she could say more, a voice rang out overhead.
"My good people of Camelot," The crowd that had gathered in front of Remus and Lily quickly fell silent, and they were now looking up at a castle balcony where King Charles was standing.
This was the first time that Remus had ever seen King Charles. He had heard a countless number of stories about the man, most of them portraying him in a negative light, but he had never seen him before. He was tall and thin with grey short hair. He was older than Remus thought he would be and he just didn't look like the cruel man people said he was. He looked grandfatherly, gentle and kind. It almost made Remus rethink his opinion of the man.
But then he spoke.
"This man before you," The king said, addressing the people. "Has been found guilty of sorcery, and with sorcery being one of the greatest crimes you can commit, there is only one punishment I see fit to give. I sentence this man to death, by beheading."
"What?" Remus said slightly louder than he meant to. He looked around and, but no one else seemed at all surprised by the king's sentence. They all looked somber, but no one seemed to think that this was wrong. Remus looked back up at the boy, who was now sobbing and begging for his life, he couldn't have been older than seventeen. "He can't do this." Remus said, looking at Lily. She bit her lip but didn't say anything.
The king's hand dropped and with it, the executioner's blade. There was a collective intake of breath and then everyone looked back up towards their king.
"Another evil has been disposed of. We can all sleep easier now." The king's speech went on for a while longer, but Remus stopped listening. His blood had run cold and he was shaking slightly. He couldn't decide if he were more angry or terrified. The king had mentioned no actual crime, aside from having magic, what had that man done to be deserving of death? And why had Remus's mother sent him here if this is what happened to sorcerers. He was a sorcerer, he had magic, and he couldn't always control his magic. Was he going to meet the same fate as the man on platform?
He had known that the guardsmen had been known to behead people in the name of the king, but Remus had assumed that these men were cruel and drunk on power, and that was what had made them act so vile towards the common people. This was the king's order though, not some man acting in the name of the king.
He had looked so calm as well. As though sentencing a man to death was just another part of his day.
"Remus?" Lily said, gently grabbing his arm. "Are you sure you're not ill?"
"They just killed that man." Remus said. Lily's gaze softened.
"Was that your first execution? They are horrible aren't they?" She said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "But drastic measures have to be taken. Magic is dangerous."
"That doesn't mean that boy should have died. He was just a child." Lily cleared her throat and looked over her shoulder.
"The king is only doing what he thinks it right."
Remus didn't say anything, but followed Lily away from the crowed.
"Well, this is it." Lily said after a few moments. "Dumbledore's room is right up these stairs." She pointed at the staircase they had stopped in front of. Remus had hardly noticed that they had entered the castle. "It was nice meeting you, Remus."
"You as well." Remus replied.
"I'll see you around I'm sure."
"Of course." She turned away and started walking down the corridor a little ways, then she spun around to face him once again.
"Oh and Remus, don't worry about what happened earlier. It doesn't happen all that often. I'm sorry if I made you think it did."
"It's fine." Remus said. Then she was gone. Remus turned towards the stairs and started up them. He didn't understand how anyone could be so cavalier about a man dying. Lily had just brushed it off as though it was nothing. She didn't have a reaction of any kind while watching the execution.
When he reached the top of the staircase, he was met with a very thin wooden door. It was slightly open and he could hear humming coming from within the room. He knocked quietly, but there was no response, so he pushed the door open some more and stuck his head inside.
"Albus Dumbledore?" He called out.
"Yes, yes come in." A voice called. "I'll be out in a moment."
Remus pushed the door open and was instantly hit with a very strong aroma. The room smelled like every herb he had ever smelled, rosemary, basil, mint, chamomile, all mixed together. And then chocolate.
"How can I help you?" Albus asked, walking out from behind a wall of bookshelves. He was old. Extremely old. He walked with a slight hunch and he had a beard that went almost all the way down to his knees. He was looking at Remus over a pair of half-moon glasses that rested on the bridge of his nose.
"My name is Remus Lupin," He said, pulling his rucksack in front of him and digging through its contents. "My mother wrote you this note." He said, pulling a slightly wrinkled piece of parchment from his bag and handing it to the older man. He opened it and skimmed the page.
"Of course!" He said after a moment. "I don't know why your name didn't ring a bell. It must be my old age. I'll need to start putting some rosemary in my tea I suppose." Remus didn't know what he was talking about but nodded politely. Albus smiled at him. "I've cleared the back room for you, you can put your things in there. It's not much I'm afraid, but I think it will do nicely."
He turned to point to the door in the back of the room and as he lifted his arm, the sleeve of his cloak caught on the table and it lurched causing a bucket on the end to fall off. Before the contents of the bucket could spill, or the bucket could hit the ground, it froze in midair. Remus quickly grabbed the bucket and placed it back on the table.
"Did you do that?" Dumbledore asked, staring at Remus in awe.
"I didn't mean to." Remus said quickly, looking at the space on the floor directly above his feet. "I'm sorry. It just happens sometimes. My mum told me that you could-"
"What do you mean it just happens? Did you say an incantation? How did you do it?"
"I don't know how I did it. I don't know any spells. It just happens."
"Remarkable." Remus looked up in surprise. His mother had never spoke ill of him for his magic, but she had never seemed impressed. Dumbledore was beaming at him. "Though it would be best not to let anyone else see. I'm afraid they won't share my wonder."
Remus nodded. "I saw the execution earlier." Dumbledore's smile vanished and he clasped his hands together.
"Tragic." He said somberly. "The poor boy wasn't even a sorcerer. I'm afraid that Charles is so blinded by his fear that his judgment when the crime is magic cannot be trusted anymore."
"Even if he was a sorcerer…" Remus said, looking through his lashes at the old man.
"Oh, of course." He said. "I know. It still would have been awful. Charles fears magic, which is why he does this. He thinks he is protecting people though, he really does. That doesn't make him right though." Remus nodded again. "Now, go put your things away. I've got an errand for you to run if you don't mind."
"Not at all." Remus said, though his legs were aching and his eyes were stinging. He had not slept well since he had left home. He walked into the back room and tossed his bag on the bed, not letting himself dwell on the thought of how comfortable it looked for too long. It wasn't much, but it was nice. There was a dresser, some shelves, a bed and a nightstand. There was also a window with a view of the entire village surrounding the castle.
"I normally do this myself," Dumbledore said, drawing Remus back into the main room. "But I'm getting on in years, and it would be much easier for you to do it. It will be good for you anyway, to get to know your way around." He picked up two vials of colored liquid. "This one," He said, lifting the blue one. "Is for Sir Elphias Doge. He's a dear old friend, but his years as a knight have made him almost completely blind and deaf. One too many blows to the head I'd say." Remus chuckled appreciatively. "And this one," He held up a purple vial. "Is for Musidora." He handed them both to Remus, gave him simple instructions on where to find the two patients and then sent him on his way.
Sir Elphias had a room in the castle as well, so he wasn't too difficult to find. Remus's encounter with him was mostly Elphias shouting, squinting and grabbing at the air.
Musidora lived in the middle of town however, so Remus did get to take another look around Camelot. He passed Lily in the courtyard, where the platform had already been taken down and there was no evidence anywhere to suggest an execution had taken place earlier. They had waved at one another, but she seemed as though she was in a hurry and Remus wondered what she did exactly that had her in and out of the castle so much and buying silk.
Finally he reached Musidora's home, which was nestled awkwardly in-between a tavern and a blacksmith's shop. The house looked as though someone was pushing one end of the roof towards the ground. There was a pigpen in front of the only window on the small house, and there were three pigs, all very fat, laying in a bit of mud. Remus knocked on the door and it opened right away.
"Dumbledore?" The woman asked. Upon seeing that Remus was not Dumbledore, she slammed the door.
"Wait!" Remus called. "Dumbledore sent me! I have your medicine!" The door opened again and the woman placed her hands on her hips.
"Well there's no need for ya to be telling the whole of Camelot, is there?"
"No, ma'am. I'm sorry." He gave her the vial and then had the door slammed in his face again. "Well that was rude." He muttered, shaking his head.
He was halfway across the courtyard when he was nearly knocked off his feet.
"Pardon me." A boy mumbled, shuffling in the opposite direction. "I didn't mean to run into you." The boy looked a few years younger than Remus, and he was carrying a large wooden circle that was half his size, painted to look like a target.
"It's fine." Remus said. "Do you need help with that? Where are you trying to get it?"
"Would you stop running into people, you buffoon?" There was a sharp whirring noise and then the boy fell to the ground as a dagger made contact with the board he was carrying.
"Sorry, sir." The boy said, only slightly louder than his apology to Remus had been.
Remus's head whipped towards the direction the dagger had come from. "What do you think you're doing?" He shouted, though he didn't quite know who he was shouting at yet. "You could have killed someone." He heard laughing and saw a group of three men, all wearing knight's robes, and correctly assumed that it was one of them who had thrown the dagger.
"Keep your skirt on," The one in the middle of the group called. "I never miss my target."
"Well, I'd appreciate it if you didn't risk my life the next time you want to show off."
"I told you, I never miss my target." He had dark hair and a slightly crooked grin. "Get up, Bertram."
"Yes, sir." The kid stood and held the target up so it covered his face.
"Bertram?"
"Yes, sir?" He asked, peering out over the top of the target.
"Run!"
"Yes, sir!" He squealed. Then he was running, as well as he could while carrying the target over his face.
The knight sent more daggers flying through the air, all of them hitting the target and making Bertram stumble, until finally he fell to the ground again. The target flew from his hands and landed near Remus's feet. The knights roared with laughter.
"I think that's enough." Remus said, stepping on the target to prevent Bertram from picking it up. He didn't know where all this courage was coming from, but he knew he couldn't just stand there and watch the boy get bullied.
"Is it?" The knight asked. "And who are you to say so?"
"My name is Remus. I have no authority to say-"
"That's right, you don't. So maybe you should learn-"
"I was speaking." Remus said loudly. The knight looked shocked. In fact, the entire courtyard had gone silent and was listening to the exchange raptly. Remus took a deep breath, but for once, the attention of others didn't quell his desire to speak. "I have no authority to say what you can and cannot do. But I, unlike you, have decency. Isn't being a knight supposed to be about nobility and honor? What's honorable about bullying a kid half your size?"
"I wasn't bullying him." The knight said quickly. "I was simply-"
"Humiliating him to impress your friends? To get a laugh out of them?" Remus asked. "I don't care what you call it. It needs to stop. You owe him an apology."
"You can't talk to him like that." One of the other knights said, fingering his sword and stepping forward.
"You are walking a dangerously thin line." The dark haired knight said in agreement. "Do you know who I am?"
"I suppose we can add arrogance to list of your character traits. No, I don't know who you are." The knight actually laughed at this.
"My name is James." He said, taking a few more steps towards Remus and giving him a quick bow. Though, Remus got the feeling that it was more for show than a sign of respect and it made Remus's blood run cold for the second time since he entered Camelot. "James Potter. And you my friend, need to learn how to treat members of the royal family." James smirked and then waved some of the guards over. For a brief moment, Remus thought that James was going to have him killed right there in the middle of the courtyard. He thought of his mother, and what she would do when a letter of Remus's death finally reached her. "Throw him in a cell." James said instead, and then he was being dragged off towards the castle.
oOoOo
James was putting on a show at the moment. Laughing along with his knights at what that Remus kid had said to him. The knights actually thought it was funny, hilarious even, that someone would ever dare speak to James Potter as Remus had. James however, didn't think it was funny. He didn't think it was funny at all.
Bertram was an odd kid, and he was pretty much useless as a training servant, but he was a good kid. He was nice and well mannered, he never spoke ill of James and always seemed relatively happy to see him, no matter what James said or did to him. Maybe James had been taking advantage of that to cause a few laughs. Maybe he had gone a bit too far.
He wasn't bullying Bertram. He wasn't being intentionally cruel. He had gone too far, but he hadn't been cruel.
He supposed, perhaps Remus wasn't completely out of line calling him out. Not that he could do anything about Remus's situation. Remus was a man of no stature as far as James knew, and he was not allowed to talk to James like he had. No one but James' father was allowed to speak to him in that manner, and even the king hardly found it necessary to correct James' behavior.
Which was rather unfortunate for Remus, who was only trying to stick up for Bertram.
James tried to shrug off all thoughts of Remus as he walked to his room to change for dinner. As he reached his door he caught a flash of red in his peripheral vision and turned to see one of the maids walking down the corridor with her arms full of laundry.
She was a pale girl, dressed in simple clothing that was a bit too large on her thin frame. She had dark red hair that was pulled out of her face with a ribbon, but small strands had escaped throughout the day and were now swaying back and forth around her face as she walked. Maybe her most striking feature however were her large, bright green eyes.
James' hand slipped off his door handle upon seeing her, causing him to lose his balance and hit his head against the door. He quickly stood up straight, shook himself, and then nodded at the girl. She nodded back, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks as she tried her hardest not to grin. And then she walked, slightly faster than before, out of the corridor.
James mentally cursed himself for acting like such a prat. Then he mentally cursed himself again for caring how he acted in front of a simple servant girl. Albeit, she was a very beautiful servant girl, but still a servant girl just the same. She was beneath him and it was pointless to have this annoying attraction to her. Besides, it's not like the girl had ever shown any interest in him. However, this is probably because she knew that there could never be anything between them. It couldn't be because she wasn't interested in James. James was next in line for the throne, he was Camelot's mightiest warrior; he made all the girls swoon. Why would she be an excep-
"Your highness?" James was brought out of his musings by his man-servant. "Would you like me to help you with your chainmail?"
"Um… Yes. Of course, Benjy. I'll be needing my dinner clothes as well." Benjy wasn't actually his man-servant, but a temporary replacement for his man-servant who had resigned from his position to care for his only son after his wife had died of a fever. James wasn't as fond of Benjy as he had been his old man-servant. But Benjy was kind, and good for a laugh, so James was kind in return.
"Of course, sir."
oOoOo
"The lad was completely out of line, shouting at you like he had any right." Amos Diggory said, later that night in the weapons room. The knights had yet to exhaust the topic and it was starting to wear on James' nerves. All through dinner, they had recounted the tale to all the other knights and it had made James rethink having dinner them instead of his father and the king's ward. Amos chuckled while inspecting the blade of his sword, "Though he did look pretty shocked to find out who you were, no?"
"Unfortunately, his ignorance doesn't pardon him." James said, for what he thought was the dozen-th time. It didn't seem to matter how hard he tried to change the subject, the topic of conversation always circled back to Remus. He sat down on one of the benches and rubbed his temples with the tips of his fingers.
"We were being a bit hard on Bertram. The boy just thought he was being helpful." Amos said, picking up his boots and putting them and his sword on the back wall with the rest of his things.
"I wasn't there," This came from Frank Longbottom and James had to turn his head to see him. Frank was older than James by about five years, and about half a foot taller. James respected him a great deal, and had appreciated the fact that Frank hadn't found it necessary to weigh in on the subject until now. "But I'd say it takes a pretty brave man to stick up to three knights on the behalf of someone you don't even know."
"Yes, yes," James grumbled, twisting his leather belt one too many times and causing the material to tear slightly and lighten in color. He threw it to the ground and stood up. "You're both right. Remus is real hero material. I'll talk to my father later about reducing his sentence and having deemed champion of the kingdom or something." He rolled his eyes and took his gloves from his pockets, throwing them against the wall. They fell to the floor and Benjy ran forward to fetch them. James, who had already been bending over to get them himself, gritted his teeth.
"Three knights, James." Arden Weasley said, as he entered the room. He tossed his sword to one of the other servants that were fluttering about and continued addressing the room, "You, Amos and me. Most of the other knights don't tell us when we're being pricks. You should do more than lessen his sentence."
"What are you saying, Arden? You want me to make him a knight?"
"He's got nerve. That's all I'm saying." Arden said, cocking his head to the side and grinning.
James sighed. He was feeling impulsive again and nothing good ever came from him being impulsive. "Fine." He stood up.
"Where are you going?" Amos called after him.
"The cells."
"Now?" Frank asked, running to catch up to James, Arden and Amos did the same. "He'll probably be asleep."
"He's not asleep." Arden said. "Have you ever tried to sleep in the cells? It's bloody uncomfortable."
"How would you know?" Amos asked, giving his brother in arms an amused look.
"I got…escorted out of the tavern a few months ago. Wasn't exactly happy about it so I clocked one of the guards in the face. He thought he'd teach me a lesson."
"You're an idiot." Frank said, shaking his head.
"Seriously James, why'd you let him be a knight?" Amos laughed.
"I'm good with a sword, you swat head."
"Why are you all following me?" James asked, unnaturally annoyed by their presence.
Arden shrugged. "Seems like more fun than heading off to bed." Frank and Amos nodded.
When they reached the cells, the guards seemed more than a bit surprised to see James, for he rarely made it his business to come down to this part of the castle, but they handed over the keys without question.
"Remus," James called when he reached the correct cell. The boy stood up, looking quite surprised and then, when he saw who it was, he scowled. James was baffled by this boy. He showed no fear, no remorse, he only looked angry. He had sandy blonde hair and deep, forest green eyes that were narrowed into slits. His jaw was set and sharp. He couldn't be older than James was, and it was obvious that he had never done much manual labor before, but there was something about him that made him intimidating and James couldn't put his finger on it.
"Come down here to-"
"I'm going to stop you from saying whatever it was that you were about to say." James said, putting his hand in the air to show he wanted Remus to remain silent. "You were out of line earlier today. That was no way to speak to a knight, let along the king's son. However," He paused to take in Remus's reaction, which was almost nonexistent, "I fear that we were also out of line. The king's son or not, I have no right to treat my subjects like I was and I want you to know that I have apologized to Bertram, so have Arden and Amos." The respective knights nodded.
Remus didn't look impressed or glad that he had made any sort of impact on them. He just stood in his cell, fists clenched at his sides and looked James dead in the eye, his face void of emotion. James shifted his weight from one foot to the other and crossed his arms over his chest. "I also want you to know that we admire your bravery and I do not think that it is something you should be punished for. Like I said, I was out of line and someone needed to tell me."
"Seriously?" Remus said after a moment's pause. "That's it?"
"Well," James said, clenching his fists. "I'm also letting you out."
"You do realize that-" Remus stopped talking and squeezed his eyes shut. "Never mind. I'm not too keen on spending the night in here. Thank you for your mercy, your royal highness."
James reached round his belt and pulled the keys off; found the correct one and unlocked Remus's cell. "You're welcome." He said awkwardly, a bit unsure of how he was supposed to react to that. He heard Arden chuckle behind him and wanted to elbow the knight in his gut, but refrained.
Remus brushed past him and took off towards the exit. "You could be a bit more grateful." James called after him, regretting this decision almost instantly.
Remus stopped walking and, without turning around said, "You're the one that had me locked up in the first place, why should I be grateful?" Then he quickly stalked off.
"All spit, fire and rage that one." Amos sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. James had the sneaking suspicion that he wasn't the only one that found Remus to be intimidating.
"Of course he's upset!" Arden said, not sharing James and Amos's feelings. "He was locked in a cell all afternoon. He'll come 'round."
"Why do you like him so much?" Amos asked. "He's really not too fond of you."
"Eh. I wouldn't be too fond of me either if I were him." Arden shrugged. Arden Weasley was an extremely good natured man, always ready for a laugh at his own expense. James envied his carefree behavior at times. "Feel better now, James?"
"Yes." James lied. "Now let's all get some sleep. We're running drills in the morning."
"Of course, your royal highness." Arden smirked, dipping into a bow. "Sleep. That means no going to the tavern Frank, you hear?" Frank smiled, but didn't say anything to that. They all started walking out of the dungeons.
"You're not fooling anyone, Arden." Amos said. "Not that you were trying."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Arden said.
"You know," James sighed. "You're not that good with a sword." Then he walked away, leaving one insulted knight whose smirk had yet to fade completely and two others laughing. Normally, that would make James feel pretty good, but not tonight.
Once he was out of the dungeons, he started jogging. Remus couldn't have gone that far and for some reason, James really wanted to talk to him.
He was about to turn left, towards the village, when he heard footsteps coming from the right. Sure enough, it was Remus.
"Oi!" James called out. "Re- You there, stop for a minute!" Remus turned around and had the same reaction he had in his cell to seeing James.
"What now? Were my thanks not sincere enough? Are you going to throw me back in-"
"Would you stop with that?" James asked, coming to a stop before Remus. "I really am sorry that I threw you in the dungeons. It's just, I couldn't let you get away with speaking to me like that. There were too many people around."
"You're not very good at apologizing." Remus sighed, turning away. James reached out and grabbed his shoulder.
"I'm still not entirely convinced that I have anything to apologize for." He lied. Remus rolled his eyes. "At least not to you. I've already admitted that I was wrong where Bertram was concerned."
"Then what are you doing now?" James shrugged.
"I'm afraid that you got the wrong impression of me." He said, trying to put words to what he was feeling. "I don't make a habit of terrorizing the servants. Honestly, I don't."
"So today was just an off day?"
"It was just a bit of fun." James said. "It was meant to be a laugh."
"Not for the kid." Remus said.
"See," James said. "That's what's bothering me. You don't even know this boy, yet your continue to stand up for him regardless of the personal consequences. Why?"
"Like I said earlier, I'm decent. Or at least I try to be."
"It's more than that." James said. He didn't know why he was tolerating this rudeness. He was raised to believe that people were supposed to talk to him a certain way. They were supposed to conduct themselves in a certain manor around him. Remus was doing the complete opposite of what people were supposed to do when addressing James, and for some reason, James was okay with that. Sure the knights would joke with him, but there was a line that they never crossed. Remus either didn't care about the line, or just didn't know that it existed. "Where were you going anyway? The village is the other direction."
"I know." Remus sighed, rubbing his eyes. James noticed that he looked exhausted. "But I live with the court physician, so I'm not going to the village."
"Since when? I've known Dumbledore since I was young, he doesn't have any family."
"Since this morning." Remus said. "He's a friend of my mother's."
"So that's why you didn't know me? You're not from around here?"
"No, I'm not. I'm from Ealdor. Now, sir, if you don't mind, I've had a very long, exhausting day and I really would like to get some sleep."
"Yes, of course." James said, almost satisfied in how the end of this meeting was going. "I suppose I'll be seeing you around, then." He didn't know why he would be seeing Remus around, but for some reason he knew that he would.
"I suppose." Remus said. He gave James a look of confusion and then walked off.
"Who was that, James?" The king's ward appeared next to James, causing him to jump slightly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."
"You didn't." James said quickly, but he tried his best not to sound defensive.
"Of course not. How could I?" Bellatrix grinned. Bellatrix Black was the King's ward. Her family had died five or six years ago and she had been living with James and his father ever since. There had been a time when people in the court, and even the king himself, expected them to wed one another when they came of age, but how could they? In the years that they had spent together, she had become something of a sister to him, and him a brother to her. They were close and they got along well. She was beautiful of course, her long, thick black hair surrounding her head like a cloud, swirling around and dropping in ringlets, and her deep brown eyes that were always warm and welcoming. But she was family. "Now, who was the boy you were talking to?"
Her maid was standing behind her, the same girl that James had made of fool of himself in front of earlier that day, and he tried his best not to let his gaze linger, Bella would notice if it did. She had a way of noticing almost everything. Though he still chanced a quick look, the torch light bounced off her hair in such a way that it appeared as though it were glowing, and her eyes sparkled and James thought that he had never seen anyone more beautiful. He cleared his through and looked back at Bella.
"His name is Remus. He's new around here. Lives with Dumbledore. Apparently he's from Ealdor."
"Where's that?"
"I've got absolutely no idea."
"Fascinating." Bella drawled. James casted another quick look at Bella's maid, which reminded Bella that she was there at all. "Oh, Lily!" She spun around and grabbed her maid's hand. "I didn't mean to keep you this late, you can head home for the day."
"Are you certain, my lady?" Lily spoke with a certain elegance that James hadn't expected and it dawned on him that this was the first time that he was hearing her voice.
"I think I can manage getting to bed on my own tonight." Bella smiled.
"Then I'll see you in the morning, your grace." Lily curtsied to both Bella and James and then left the corridor.
When James turned back towards Bella, after unwittingly watching Lily leave, Bella was smirking. "She's a pretty little thing, isn't she?"
"What?" James asked, trying and failing to sound indifferent. "I've never really looked, I suppose- I mean she's got peculiar colored hair."
"What is it with you and the commoners today, James?" Bella asked, still smiling.
"I haven't a clue what you're talking about." James took a deep breath and bid her goodnight before finding his own way out of the corridor.