Dumbledore is looking for me, he still thinks I have Harry. I won't let Harry be taken away, he doesn't deserve a life with the muggles. Neither Lilly or James would want him to go to those horrible people.
I'll contact you when I find somewhere safe.
Thank you, Moony.
Remus crumpled the note, breathing deeply.
It seemed that everything was a drama. He had heard of the Dursleys, how Lilly's sister had refused any connection to her whatsoever. But Horrible? Who was to say that they were horrible? Remus hadn't met them in person and knew nothing but the stories from Lily's school years. But that had been so long ago, surely a child's fear of an unknown world could be suppressed by the logic of an adult?
And then there was Dumbledore... The Headmaster probably sought to make certain that Harry was healthy, that he hadn't been cursed or tracked or anything of the like. The fact of the matter was... Remus hadn't actually checked the boy for such things, yet.
Calling for Harry, Remus wound his way into the kitchen, checking under tables and in cupboards, only to find Harry nestled in a pile of paper bags that he had evidently pulled out of the kitchen drawer. The boy's eyes lit up in a cheeky giggle and he pulled a bag over his face, apparently convinced that this was considered hiding. Remus couldn't help the hint of a smile that relaxed his features and he knelt by Harry, pulling his wand from his jacket and waving it over the boy while muttering various incantations that would (hopefully) reveal any spells placed on the child.
Nothing reacted and Remus released a sigh of relief that he hadn't known he was holding, loosening muscles that he hadn't even realized were tensed in the first place. Harry peeked out from under the bag, quickly concealing his face once more when he met his uncle's eyes. His failure to suppress countless giggles only made Remus' smile widen, even if it never quite reached his eyes.
Remus stood, leaving Harry to his own devices (no matter how mischievous they may be). He risked a cautious glance through his blinds on the way to the living room and saw no watchers, but that was not to say they were not out there. Despite his reasoning, Remus was bothered by Sirius' letter. If Dumbledore wanted to find Harry, why had he not apparated directly to Remus? It did not take much brainpower to reason that Sirius would turn to Remus in such a time of crisis...
The thought struck him like a stone to the stomach. Had Sirius gone to intercept Dumbledore? Sirius was traumatized, unstable even, and as much as Remus wished otherwise, he was likely bordering the beyond of logical reason. Remus glanced once more at the kitchen threshold, beyond which Harry lay, and considered going after his friend.
Steeling himself, Remus decided, and strode back towards the kitchen and the giggling child.
...
Sirius balled his fists at his sides, infuriated by the nervous woman across the desk from him. The muggle real-estate agent was so difficult to communicate his needs to without referring to magic, and his increasing temper helped none.
"I'm sorry sir, but I'm just not sure what you mean when you say you need a property that is 'well hidden'. If you want seclusion, I can offer you vast spaces of farmland that would be brilliant for a frugal life. If it's small you want, we have many smaller units for sale also. If-"
"No!" Sirius snapped, resting his hands on the table once more. He scored his mind for some way of describing a house with properties to easily hide it from magic. But what were those properties? Sirius didn't know the specifics, he just knew the result.
With a brief apology to the desk-girl, he stormed out of the office.
Out on the busy London street, Sirius breathed the air deeply in an attempt to clear his head. With all the car exhaust fumes permeating the air, it didn't work. Frustrated even further, Sirius turned and began walking, silent and brooding.
At least, until he collided with a short, buck-toothed man.
At first Sirius disregarded the incident as a result of his own distracted-ness, murmuring an empty apology while he waited for the man to pass. His eye was caught, however, when the man did not move on, but shuffled back a few steps, his hands recoiling up under his chin in fright. Sirius raised his eyes to study the face properly and was promptly shocked by what he found.
"Wormtail," he sneered.
Sirius' wand was out before Peter had time to begin his frantic excuses. Wild-eyed and terrified, Peter's cries of mercy fell on deaf ears. Sirius's insides twisted and boiled. Here was the man that had condemned his best friends to their premature deaths. Here was the man who had left his nephew parentless. Here was the man that had been responsible for tearing up those that Sirius had called family.
Sirius raised his wand as Peter fumbled for his own.
And he struck.
AN: Sorry that this one is so short. The transition between this and the next chapter just didn't seem to work well enough as two paragraphs. The next one should be up quite soon, though. Hopefully today.