Remus tapped his pen on the paper absent-mindedly. The clock ticked. Aside from those two noises there was silence.
He glanced out the tower window at the moonless night. Even though he was in complete recession, he still retained many wolf qualities, and could see almost perfectly. He was currently correcting papers in the dark.
When he first heard that Sirius had escaped from Azkaban, he asked Dumbledore to be a teacher in the school, his main intention to watch over Harry. But then he came upon the thought that maybe his old lover wasn't after his godson, but Remus himself. He had been spotted first near where the two of them used to live, then a home that the two of them had before that. However, after Halloween, Remus couldn't fool himself any longer.
Except, somehow there seemed to be a lingering smell in his quarters that reminded him of Sirius. It drove him mad, first with hatred, then with longing for the way life had been before, and at last sadness. And today it was stronger than normal, making it nearly impossible for Remus to get his work done.
Finally, he put down his quill and stretched. He'd get up early tomorrow and finish then.
Partway through the night, he awoke again. There was a faint creak, as if somebody was stepping on the floorboards, and the Sirius-smell was stronger than ever. It was clear from this smell that he hadn't washed in days; his body odor was very strong, with a faint stink of garbage cans.
Carefully, Remus rose from bed and quietly grabbed his wand. He didn't bother with slippers—they wouldn't only slow him down, and he was quieter in bare feet.
He pushed the door to his sitting room open slowly, and when he saw nothing he moved across to the room to the door into the corridor. When the werewolf peered out, he saw a shadow move quickly out of sight.
Quickly and quietly, Remus followed the direction the shadow went. The smell seemed to be trying to get away from him. Upon turning the corridor, he gave a gasp as he nearly ran straight into another figure.
"Remus?"
Heart pounding, he looked at Minerva McGonagall and took deep breaths.
"Jesus……" he gasped. "You scared the shit out of me."
"Oh?" she said. "What were you doing that required being so startled.
"I thought I sm—saw—"
She gave him a sharp look at glanced around. The corridor was completely empty now, and the smell had faded into that of traces on the floor.
"You're tired Remus. You probably just imagined it," she said, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You've been worrying so much about this, you're making yourself sick."
"Yeah," he replied. "You're right. I should probably concentrate on teaching."
She left him with a small smile. But even after he was back in bed, the faint smell of Sirius remained.
Notes: Yay! A new story! Oh—and thanks a lot to the people who R&R Avoiding Love.
Bellia Lokki – if you read this, I was wondering—what is your first language, then?