AUTHOR: Carmilla
E MAIL: carmilla99@hotmail.com
FANDOM: Harry Potter
PAIRING: Sirius/Remus
ARCHVE: My site, Starfall. Any lists I send it to may add it to their archives. Anywhere else, ask and ye shall receive :-)
SUMMARY: Remus goes to look for Sirius post-PoA
RATING: This part PG
SPOILERS: BIG spoilers for Prisoner of Azkaban
NOTES: This is my first try at this fandom, so be nice. Not beta-ed; any mistakes are my own. Feedback would be greatly appreciated! ;-)
Remus scanned the bleak landscape before him with eager eyes. Nothing. Not a hut, not a cave, not even a tunnel. Nothing that could hide a grown wizard, or shelter him from the bitter weather that lashed the moor. With a sigh, he put away his scrying crystal. The location spell had led him this far, to a barren moor where he was currently staying in a wizard's retreat at ten Galleons a night, but it would not lead him any closer. And yet, it was the only one to give him even a clue as to the whereabouts of his friend. The more common spells had been blocked, and no wonder. With a manhunt to deal with, Sirius would naturally have taken every precaution. But one spell had been unhindered. It was a somewhat obscure incantation known as 'Purus Coranis', which would only show the location of the person sought if the caster's intentions were pure. Remus smiled to himself. Perhaps there was a reason why the spell had not been more precise. Although his thoughts of Sirius were friendly, he couldn't exactly call them pure.
Remus had liked and admired Sirius ever since they had first met. He had been drawn to his recklessness, his daring, his sharp wit, keen intelligence and lazy charm. A quiet, somewhat reserved youth, he had found his friend's devil-may-care attitude an irresistible breath of fresh air. The two became firm friends in no time, and grew closer as the years passed. They took delight in researching obscure spells, bending school rules and teasing their other best friend, James Potter, about his growing crush on Lily, a pretty Griffindor girl from a Muggle family. However, as they grew older, Remus found his admiration for Sirius taking on a new, more uncomfortable form. He frequently caught himself watching him instead of paying attention in class, or admiring his friend's physique when they changed robes. And sometimes, when Sirius smiled at him, his heart would leap, and his stomach would turn over, and it was all he could do to smile briefly back and then look away, before he did something that would embarrass them both. Although he did not count these feelings as wrong, Remus was nonetheless alarmed by them. His rakish friend had his share of female admirers, and Remus had no desire to be teased for his crush the way the pair of them had often teased James. This meant that he lacked a confidant, as Peter Pettigrew was hardly the type that one could make that kind of confession to. So he kept himself to himself. The only person who did suspect was Severus Snape. Odd how a person's worst enemies often knew him better than his friends. Severus' jibes stung, but they were always made in private, and so did less damage than they could have done. After the incident with the Whumping Willow, Severus refrained from speaking to their group altogether, which was one small burden lifted. And so, life went on. Then, shortly after they had left school, the Dark times came. Nobody knew who to trust anymore. The friends dared not speak to each other, for fear that one of them had turned. And yet, Remus never expected what had happened next.
The day of the Potter's murder was still clearly emblazoned on his mind. James' death had been an awful blow; the world had lost a brave man, and Remus had lost one of his closest friends. But Sirius' arrest hit him harder. Although they had not spoken in nearly a year, and then only briefly, Remus still remembered the Sirius he had known at Hogwarts - dashing and brilliant, all dark hair and bright smiles. That Sirius could turn traitor seemed ludicrous - impossible even. And yet, it had happened. Remus had never cried the way he did that night. Silent tears that left him blind and deaf to the world; screams that wracked his body and left him shaking in sorrow and anger. Yes, he was angry all right - furious even. How could Sirius do it? How could he? With one action he had robbed Remus of his two best friends, and more - he had also stolen his childhood's hero, the fantasy of his teenage years, love's young dream. For Sirius to cease to be himself - that was almost as terrible a betrayal as handing James over to Voldemort. Remus couldn't bear to attend the trial; couldn't force himself to look upon that face again, and see a stranger there. Even worse - what if Sirius hadn't changed? What if Remus' charming friend could do such a thing, and still be himself? That was too horrible even to think about.
When the news came out that Sirius had escaped Azkaban, Remus was shaken. He tried to fortify himself against thoughts of his former friend, with moderate success. But still, in spite of everything, he couldn't bring himself to give the information that might help them to capture Sirius. Dumbledore's trust in him was only half the story; no matter what he had done, Remus couldn't betray Sirius into the hands of the Dementors. And looking back, he was glad he had not done so. Seeing Sirius alive, knowing him innocent, was the best feeling in the world. And looking into his eyes, all the old longings had come rushing back.
The next few hours had passed in a blur. All he remembered clearly were his emotions as he heard what had happened: terror at the thought of Harry or Sirius being hunted by the Dementors; anger at Snape and Pettigrew for stealing his friend's chance of proving his innocence; and sheer, numbing, soul-shattering relief when he learned that the convict had escaped. At that moment, he decided to follow Sirius and help him however he could - Snape's spiteful revelations the next morning had merely strengthened his resolve. And so he gathered his materials, and set off on the trail of his elusive friend.
When even the most sophisticated spells failed, he had begun to lose hope. But then he remembered the spell he and Sirius had found, years and years ago, whilst looking for new and innovative ways to cheat at Hide-and-Seek. Sirius had turned to him, and said, 'If we ever want to find each other, we should use this. We must promise each other we'll never block it, and that will show we trust each other. I can always find you, and you can always find me. That is,' he grinned roguishly, 'if your heart is pure enough.' Remus doubted that Sirius remembered this vow; he was an impulsive youth, and routinely extracted oaths of eternal friendship from all three of them. Remus frowned involuntarily; he didn't want to think of Peter now. It could easily have been co-incidence that this one spell wasn't blocked; after all, it wasn't well known, and very few people would think to use it. Still, he had to wonder.......
Remus' train of thought was interrupted by room service - a tray floated into the room with and order form and a quill on it. He settled for Self-Heating Coffee, as it would probably go cold at least three times before he had a chance to drink it. Leaving a generous tip on the tray, he went back to work. The tray floated out again through the service hatch, the door being locked. When it returned with the coffee, he didn't even notice it. He was too busy staring at a map of the area. Of course! How could he have overlooked it? It was only a hunch, but if he knew Sirius.......The tray respectfully nudged his elbow, bringing him back to the real world. He picked up the coffee and sipped at it thoughtfully as room service sailed out again. If he was right, he would have to act quickly. He looked out of the window and shuddered; it was far too stormy to risk a broomstick flight - he would need to brave the elements on foot. Tomorrow would probably be fair; but if he waited for tomorrow, the chance might be lost, and he would have to start over. Making his mind up quickly, he packed his things away into his case, stopping only to remove his warmest, heaviest travelling cloak. He left the room and headed for reception to pay his bill and collect his broomstick. The coffee lay on the table, reheating itself every ten minutes until the maid cleared it away the next day.
END OF PART ONE
To be continued........