Wolfhound: Swim in Deep Currents

by

She Walked There

Prologue: Grimoire d'Antant

1

The hustle and bustle on the streets of Diagon Alley, and the comments his three best friends made and laughed at made Remus feel comfortable, at home. He didn't feel at home much any more and he wasn't sure why.

Beside him, three boys laughed and joked, talking about those (very small) sections of their summer spent apart.

In the center of their little group walked a tall boy with naturally unruly black hair and an impish smile (James) who laughed heartily and long at the stockier one (Sirius). In between James and Remus was a boy (Sirius) only slightly shorter and a little stockier than James, with shaggy black hair and a wolfish grin. Sirius laughed and slapped his knees and rubbed tears from his eyes. And at the fringe of the group clung a boy (Peter) who was —no other way to say this, sorry— downright short, with greasy hair, a rat-like nose and a sly, tiny smile.

These three boys were his pack— people to poke fun at, to compete with, to treasure and value as friends.

Remus grinned in turn, with a wolfish grin of his own when Sirius' formerly wolfish grin turned into a dopey, dog-like smile. He watched, his grin growing wider, as Sirius made a bee-line for Florean Fortiscue's.

"Oy! Food!" Sirius called.

"Sirius, you eat like a dog!" James replied.

Sirius answered the taunt with a surprisingly realistic bark, which scared a few smaller children near him.

James sighed and rolled his eyes. "Alright, Padfoot! But if you make me late to meet my parents!"

The shaggy-haired youth only laughed at the empty threat, barking again.

Remus sighed and headed in their direction, bumping into another boy.

"Hey!" Said the boy.

"Sorry!"

The boy looked him up and down, and Remus realized that this stranger was most likely in his early twenties. "Actually, you may just be the person I'm looking for."

"…person…you're…looking…for?" Remus repeated.

The stranger looked him over again, and a slow, strange smile quirked across the man's lips. "In fact, I'm certain that you are. As a favor, could you please… remove a certain Grimoire from my hands?"

"Er…" Remus hesitated.

The man beamed. "SPLENDID! Here you go, the Grimoire d'Antant!" And with that, he shoved a large, heavy leather-bound book into Remus' hands and vanished.

Remus, for lack of anything better to do, blinked.

2

"So, it's the Grimoire d'Antant, eh?" James asked as he laid down a card for Exploding Snap.

"Whatever that is," Remus agreed as he scanned his cards. He chose one carefully and laid it down atop James' card.

"A Grimoire is a book containing magical information which usually pertains to the summoning and control of spirits, the gaining of the Key of Solomon or the making of the Philosopher's stone," Sirius said suddenly. "Most of it's rubbish, but there are a few useful spells in some Grimoires."

"Sirius… I am incredibly amazed," Remus replied. "Where did you learn that?"

"My parents have got a good many Grimoires in their library. I've read most of them." Sirius shrugged. "As I said, mostly rubbish. And what is useful is hopelessly complicated."

"Wow. So, ever heard of the Grimoire d'Antant?" James narrowed his eyes eagerly

Sirius paused. He appeared to be deep in thought. "I think I might have heard about it in conjunction with something called Grimoire d'Numerati Delore. It's means Grimoire of Counted Sorrows."

"Grimoire of Counted Sorrows. I heard about those in the Grimoire Rue Crimnade."

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I wrote part one listening to Cherry Poppin' Daddies' Ding-Dong Daddy of the D-car Line and part two listening to Catch 22's Keasby Nights.