1

Merlin! Where was he? People were screaming, crying … it sounded like a war zone. Had he been mistaken, switched the time turner too many times? No, he had been sure, calculated everything down to the last minute. This had to be it.

Remus tucked the turner inside the shirt and tried to cover a yawn. It had been a full moon two nights before, and he was still all worn out, though he'd never admit it. And he certainly had no time to be tired now, that was way too risky.

He could see how the trees around him made room for a meadow further ahead, but somehow the light from the sun was blocked out. What was going on?

They looked like a big bee swarm, and all the audience made sure it sounded like one too. The players swirled in the sky, not as fast as James or Sirius, but at least as good, if not better. He kind of sort of wished he'd told them about this. But would they have believed him?

"Hey, Padfoot, Prongs, guess what? Yeah, my son just gave me a visit. Um, no, I know I don't even have a girlfriend …" Not likely. Not very wise either. What if they decided he was as loony as Sniv- that Snape kid? What if next time it be him hanging upside down? No, probably smarter to keep that sort of thing to himself. And it was definitely smarter not to have Wormtail tagging along. Peter would just end up in trouble, or give them away. No, Remus was better off alone, for sure.

He went closer, but all he could see were backs. About a million of them. A million dress robes in every colour ever invented. Like someone had eaten a whole bag of Bertie Bott's every flavour beans and then hurled it all up again.

"Um, 'scuse me, sorry, 'scuse me …" He made his way through the crowd, feeling like someone'd used an ironing spell on him. He was skinny enough as it was, thank you very much.

He wasn't even really sure who – or what – he was looking for. The only image he had seen of the One Who Must Not Be Named was in the Prophet, and You Know Who'd probably look nothing like that this early. If he did, Remus probably wouldn't be the one looking, at least. Not very easy to hide when you're pale as a vampire and have the features of a snake. He'd tried to ask some of the teachers, but they'd all just shrugged and pretended they didn't hear him. The only thing he'd been able to find out was the first name … Tom.

Maybe he'd better wait for the game to finish. It would be impossible to find anyone in this crowd, unless he used some kind of spell. But he couldn't be sure that You-know-who wouldn't notice. And after all, it wasn't too many his age who could say they'd seen the world cup back in 1942.

"This seat taken?" he asked a lean, good-looking kid sitting alone on a bench. The boy gave him a scrutinizing look before he answered.

"No. Take a seat", he said, as if it was he who owned the whole place. He probably still was at Hogwarts. Must be in Slytherin. Maybe he'd know this 'Tom'.

"Thanks", he said. "I'm Remus, by the way."

"Marv", he introduced himself. "Where are you from?" he demanded to know.

"Henly-on-Thames, England", Remus answered automatically.

"Really?" the boy said and stared at him with dark brown eyes. "Then you must go to Hogwarts? I've never seen you there."

Remus realised his mistake. "No, actually, I don't. I …" Bugger, why didn't they talk more about other schools in class? This kid would definitely know if he were making things up.

"Oh, you already graduated? You don't look 17."

Remus was a little bit offended, but not surprised. Not many believed him when he told them he was 16, and that was the truth. Luckily, Marv didn't seem to care.

"Which house were you in?" he asked.

"Gryffindor", Remus answered.

"Hm." Marv turned to look at the game.

"And you?"

The boy didn't answer.

"Sorry, I'll let you watch in peace", Remus said.

"I don't care about the game", Marv said and waved his hand.

"No? Then why are you here?"

Marv give him a stare. "It's the world cup. You don't miss the world cup."

Remus took a guess. "Your friends made you? Maybe someone named Tom?"

His eyes seemed to flash. "No one tells me what to do", the boy said. "And I hate that name."

Remus raised his hands. "Okay, sorry." So he probably wouldn't know where this Tom was. And he'd probably not get much from this kid, he'd better leave it be. He turned just in time to see one of the players dressed in purple swing the bat in one of the opposite player's head. An "oosh" went through the crowd, but the boy next to him didn't even flinch. Weird kid.

The judge didn't seem to notice the cheap trick, and the crowd started protesting. It was almost impossible to hear anything but the shouts and booing. Another boy, bigger than the first one, made his way up to them.

"Out of my way!" he said and pushed people aside. As he came closer he seemed to calm down a little. "Are you sure you don't want to watch with us, Marv?" he asked the boy. "We have great seats."

"No, Avery."

Avery shrugged his shoulders. "Fine. Who's he?" he said and glared at Remus.

Now it was Marv's time to shrug.

"Hey! What's your name?" Avery said in a harsh tone.

"Me?" Remus said.

"No, the bench, moron. Yes, you."

"Remus. Lupin."

"Lupin, huh? What does your parents do?" Remus knew the question. It meant 'Are you a pureblood?'.

"My father works at the Prophet and my mother at St. Mungos. What about yours?"

Avery ignored his questions.

"You a Hufflepuff?"

"No, I'm a Gryffindor." He always felt proud saying that, even though he wasn't sure why he'd ended up there in the first place.

"Really?" Avery said, his eyes narrowed. "Well, we're Slytherin and so is this bench. Beat it."

"No, he stays", Marv said.

Avery looked confused, but he didn't argue.

"Look at that", he said instead, with a disgusted voice. "How can they let someone like that come here?"

Remus and Marv looked. Surrounded by robes of all kinds was a pretty girl in a white muggle dress. She clinged tightly to a young wizard's hand and her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head.

"I didn't think muggles were allowed", Remus said.

"That's not a muggle. See who she's holding on to? That's her brother. She's a Squib. I can't believe they dare showing their faces here."

Remus said nothing.

"Don't you agree?" Avery asked. His hands clinged into fists.

Remus shrugged, but discreetly checked where he had his wand. "She has the same right as anyone else to be here, doesn't she?"

"No fighting", Marv said. Avery relaxed at once and looked oddly ashamed. Such a weird kid. He seemed so polite, but yet there was something that didn't fit. "You can go now, Avery."

"Are you sure?" Avery said with a look at Remus. He only got a glare as a reply. "Fine. You know where we are if you want to join us."

As Avery left, Marv rose from the bench. "Come", he said. Remus didn't even consider saying no. Although, when they left the stadium and got out in the forest again, Remus started getting suspicious.

"Where are we going?" he wanted to know. He wasn't surprised when he didn't get an answer. He was surprised though, when Marv suddenly turned around, got his wand out of the robes and pointed it at him.

"Imperio!" the boy said, and suddenly Remus didn't find it odd anymore. He didn't have any thoughts about anything, as a matter of fact.

"What's your name?" Marv asked. Hissed, almost.

"Remus John Lupin", Remus answered.

"How old are you?"

"16."

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for Tom."

Marv flinched at the name. "Tom who?"

"He who mustn't be named." Remus knew that much, at least.

"I'm telling you to give me his name. Say it."

Remus didn't even blink. "Lord Voldemort."

The blood disappeared from Marv's already pale face. His symmetric features looked like they were made of wax.

"Who told you that name?"

Remus tried to remember, but it was blank. Had he ever actually heard it, or just read it somewhere, or had he in fact always known? "I don't know", he answered.

"Of course you do!" The hand that held the wand started shaking. "Tell me!"

"It might have been professor Dumbledore", Remus thought. "After all, he is the only one who says the name out loud."

Marv froze. "Dumbledore? Dumbledore knows?"

"Yes", Remus said.

Black strains were falling out of his organized hairdo. Impatiently he stroked them away from his dark eyes. Remus giggled. Funny, they almost seemed red in this light.

"Who else?" he hissed. "Who else knows?"

"Everyone", Remus said. "Well, not the muggles, but everyone in our world."

Marv's eyes narrowed into thin slits.

"You're lying. Imperio! Tell. Me. The. Truth."

"I am", Remus said. "Everyone knows that You-know-who is rising."

"Rising?" A strange glistening awoke in Marv's gaze. "Rising, you say? Which year were you born, Lupin?"

"In 1960."

Marv's mouth turned into a smirk. "Is that so?" he said. "And how did you come here?"

"I used the Time turner around my neck."

"Give it to me."

Remus took off the chain and handed it over. The boy forgot about his hair blowing in the wind as he looked at the small golden object. Without taking his eyes off it, he asked Remus one more question.

"And when you find this man whose name is so feared no one even dares speaking it, what will you do?"

Remus somehow knew he shouldn't say it, knew he should stay quiet, pick his wand up and do something, knew this would be bad. Still, he couldn't help himself. He answered the question.

"I will kill him."

It was a strange sound. Unfitting, somehow. Wrong, even. The birds flew away; the animals on the ground ran. The boy's laugh was like the hissing of a snake.

"Good", Marv said. "Absolutely perfect. And now … obliviate!"