Written by Lizzy and Liza

For: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Care of Magical Creatures - #1 Write about unexpected havoc being wreaked upon an unsuspecting group of people. Prompt: Pirate!AU

Rough Waters

Remus knelt on the uncomfortable wooden planks that made up the deck of the large ship. The knees of his trousers were wet from the water as he scrubbed at it hard, cleaning the old deck as well as he possibly could. The water in the bucket was quickly turning dirty, but Remus didn't want to get up to get clean water.

Getting up would draw attention from the crew or even from Greyback himself, and Remus didn't want to ever be the focus of their attention. He didn't feel like part of the crew as Greyback hadn't given him a choice about whether to join or not. It was basically a join or die situation.

Remus found he liked the menial tasks because more often than not, he would be left alone by the crew and that would allow him to lose himself in his memories. His favourites were the memories of his parents who he had been sailing with before Greyback. The last memory of them was Greyback breaking a hole in their ship after forcing Remus on board his own, leaving his parents and the rest of the crew—the members that were alive—in the ship as it began to sink.

He returned to scrubbing, putting all of his weight into the brush, as he heard footsteps behind him.

"Still not finished, boy?" Greyback said, roughly grabbing Remus' arm and pulling him to his feet. Remus dropped the brush in surprise, his feet slipping on the wet planks. Usually he was more alert when it came to Greyback, but somehow he had lost his focus more than usual.

"A-Almost, Captain," he stuttered, quickly lowering his gaze. Greyback sneered.

"You would do well on my crew, if only you would accept your place with us."

Remus was saved from answering as another crewman ran forward.

"Captain?"

Greyback growled his reply, letting go of Remus. The only thing the captain hated more than time-wasters was being interrupted.

"I'm sorry, sir, but another ship has been sighted."

"Set course to go after it."

"But, Captain, sir… it's coming right for us." The crewman pointed behind him, and Remus saw the ship too. Even from far away, the skull and crossbones flag was easy to see.

Remus ran below deck as Greyback and the crew readied themselves for an attack. He was almost glad for it, because it would take the focus away from him and on the other ship. He knew Greyback dominated the sea, but maybe one of their cannons would get a lucky shot or someone would injure Greyback and Remus could escape.

He allowed himself a moment to fantasize about escaping the ship during the upcoming fight, before sighing softly. Greyback would never allow Remus to escape the boat. When he had first arrived, he had made several attempts to get free, to no avail. After the harsh punishments, he had given up all attempts.

A few crew members rushed past him, heading to the cannons below-deck and starting to ready them for attack, but Remus headed for his bunk, keeping himself tucked against the wall as the ship rocked violently with each blast from the cannons.

He could hear shouting from his hiding place, but he didn't dare move for fear of being forced to fight as well. His eyes fell on an abandoned sword, but taking it meant he'd have to move. He stayed where he was, huddled against the small bunk as he listened to the sounds of fighting above deck. Soon it grew quiet and the ship settled to its regular, calm swaying.

"This is a waste of time," he suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice say from outside the cabin.

"Cap'n's orders," said another man.

The voices were growing closer. Remus shuddered, fearing what would happen if he was found by the pirates. Greyback was bad, but the stories said pirates were even worse.

He could hear the tapping sound of a peg-leg and the heavy footfall of what could only be a large man as they got even closer and Remus felt like he couldn't breathe. He was going to be found, and would be lucky for a quick death. He'd never see his parents again—assuming they were alive—or be free. Quietly he slipped from his bunk and obtained the sword.

The door swung open and Remus held the sword up, his eyes fixed on the door. Remus watched as two men walked into the cabin. The first moved slowly, looking unafraid of Remus. His wooden leg clicked on the floor. The second barely fit through the door. He smiled kindly at Remus.

Remus had no chance against the men and he knew it. He lowered his sword hoping that he could somehow talk his way out of whatever tortures the pirates could think up. His eyes moved warily between the pair.

"It's alrigh'." The large man reached out a hand to take the sword. "We're not gonna hurt yeh."

"What do you want? I don't have anything."

"Everyone up on deck," the first man said gruffly. When Remus didn't move, the man limped forward and grabbed him by the shirt, pulling Remus toward the door. "Upstairs, or I'll have Hagrid carry you."

Remus reluctantly made his way up to the main deck. He didn't doubt the first man's words and knew he'd be taken more seriously if he walked onto deck rather than be carried. The two men followed, and, for a moment, Remus considered running. The idea was quickly dismissed as he stepped onto the deck to find that Greyback and his crew were all on their knees with swords against their necks, whilst a crew of pirates stood around looking pleased with themselves.

Remus' eyes loitered on Greyback for a long moment and he wondered if he was expected to kneel with them and beg for his life. He looked around, waiting for instruction and searching for the pirate captain. His eyes fell on a dark-haired man around his age, who was walking through the crowd with the posture of someone in charge.

"Everyone stay calm. We're not going to harm anyone." He paused in front of Remus, looking him over. "You'll be coming with us." The man moved on before Remus had a chance to react.

He wasn't sure if he should be happy to finally be getting away from Greyback, or scared to have caught the interest of the pirates.

As he was led from the ship he had been forced upon almost three years prior, he couldn't help but turn back, trying to get a glimpse of the captain. He wanted to see what type of man he was so he could prepare himself for whatever he needed to expect from whatever life he was about to live on this new ship.

The captain caught Remus' gaze and smirked before shouting orders that Remus couldn't hear. As he finally reached the deck of the other ship, he couldn't make out what was happening on Greyback's ship and he decided he didn't want to know.

He was led to the captain's own cabin and considered trying to escape whilst the majority of the crew were on the other ship, but quickly realised he couldn't. He was unarmed and there was a guard outside of the door.

He glanced at the windows, but couldn't unlock them and there was no other way out of the room. Remus was trapped until the captain returned. "It could be worse. I could have been locked in the brig," he muttered to himself, taking a seat on the chair behind the desk whilst he waited. He hoped that the captain wouldn't be too angry, but the only other place to sit was the bed and Remus didn't want to sit there.

There was no way out, and on the captain's own ship, he couldn't fight his way out. The only thing left was to talk his way out and hope that he didn't end up imprisoned below deck. He tried to calm himself and get his thoughts in order as he heard noise on the deck outside the cabin and realised that the pirates were starting to return.

He stood quickly, scurrying around the desk just as the doors swung open at the young captain walked in, followed closely by a man with messy black hair and glasses.

"Remus Lupin," the captain addressed him, "I am Captain Sirius Black. This is my first mate, James Potter."

James stood by the doors, Remus assumed to block his escape should he try to run.

"Why did you bring me here?" he asked, trying to sound calm. It wouldn't help to panic.

The captain crossed the room to his desk and pulled a piece of parchment from a stack. "We were hired to find you." He read from the paper. "By Lyall and Hope Lupin. They explained that you were taken by Greyback approximately three years ago."

"Yes. But how did you find me?"

The captain smiled. "We're pirates, Mr. Lupin. We tend to hear rumors about where we might find the more unsavoury sailors. Greyback is the worst in these waters. It was a pleasure to get rid of him."

"You killed him?" Remus asked in surprise. He didn't condone killing, even if Greyback had made his life hell for these last years.

James spoke for the first time, startling Remus. "No, but he will pay for what he's done."

Remus couldn't help but smile. His parents had survived. "I thought they might be dead," he whispered. He had never considered that they would search for him, that they would hire pirates. He was glad that the men in front of him hadn't killed Greyback. It made him feel hopeful for his journey on the ship. He knew he had jumped to conclusions about pirates because these men were already showing themselves as kinder than Greyback and he had only known them for minutes.

"Are you bringing me home?" Remus asked.

Sirius shook his head. "Not immediately," he replied. "We're a long way away from your home and we'll need to make a stop for supplies. It'll take a couple of weeks before we get you home."

"A couple of weeks is fine," Remus quickly replied. "And I can be useful. On Greyback's ship I did a lot of cleaning. He tried to get me to cook too but I failed at that. So… whatever jobs you have for me…" he looked between the men hopefully. After all, they were getting him home - the least he could do was pull his weight on the ship.

"Good man," James said, grinning. "I'll deal with your duties starting tomorrow. I think you'll need rest today. You look exhausted."

"I'm fine," Remus said.

"You're not," the captain insisted. "James, get a bed made up in here."

"Sirius?" James asked, frowning slightly.

"You heard me," Sirius insisted, leaving no room for argument. He turned his attention to Remus. "There isn't much space anywhere else," he explained. "Also, though I trust most of my crew, some are new and you're a bit too pretty to be sleeping somewhere else. Nowhere is safer than my cabin."

James left without another word, and Remus faced his saviour, unsure of how to act around him. But the captain didn't seem to notice, clearing the papers from his desk.

"You'll dine with me tonight," he said, smiling at Remus. "And when you're rested I will personally give you a tour of the ship."

"Thank you, Captain."

"Please, call me Sirius. Only my crew call me captain."

"Well then, thank you Sirius," Remus said, unable to stop himself smiling back. Now that he wasn't in fear of his life, he found himself more relaxed. This was the first time he had smiled in years.

Sirius stared at him for a long moment, his eyes trailing across Remus' face, lingering on his lips, before he cleared his throat. "Right, well… whilst we sort out your bed, you are free to use mine as I won't be using it for a while. I'll wake you later when it's time for dinner." He quickly stood up and strode from the cabin, leaving Remus confused as to what just happened.

Remus stared at the door for a long moment, before turning to the desk again. He quickly found the parchment from his parents. Though he trusted the pirates, he wanted to be certain that his trust was well placed.

He read through the words three times before he put the parchment back where he found it and headed to the captain's bed to rest.

For the first time in three years, he slept well, knowing that he was finally going home.

Review please :)

Words: 2122