Remus Lupin:
Where are they?
Remus looked around, frowning. It was nearing eight, and the moon was swiftly moving up the sky. Soon it would be up… soon it would be time…
But no one was there yet!
It wasn't like his friends not to show up. Or be late. Or anything- not for a full moon. He could go in alone, of course, but if they surprised him as a grown werewolf right after a transformation…
He shuddered.
Remus looked around again. Nothing. The forest around him was dense, the trees entwining between each other like thick, binding ropes. The ground was damp with old snow, and the air seemes cold enough to freeze his very blood- was it not pumping with exploding energy. Remus shivered, reaching out to the door of the hut in defeat. It will not be a joy to wake up with now fur and the pieces of torn cloths all over the floor…
Steping in, he saw that the cabin wasn't as secure as they had first thought. Had the guys been here, they would have reinforced the walls, magically, to make them stick. They always did those sort of tihngs. He didn't have his wand on him- not after that incident last year. There weren't even any pieces left over to keep that last time...
He closed the door behind him, locking it. It would take effort to break trough the walls, even as a wolf. They kept the wind out, for one thing, and had to stay up for at least ten minutes… they had to. Hopefully someone would get there by then. Remus pulled his coat off, placing it as far out of reach as he could manage, along with his shoes. Everything else was, as of this moment, gone. He sat on the bed, scanning the star-filled sky. A few more minutes of sanity.
On the far side of the room, a broken mirror hang limply, collecting dust. Through it he saw the Remus Lupin that always resides in his nightmares- steel tight muscles; endless, black eyes. He had shaved only that morning, and already, a small beard covered his chin, then neck, hands… he heard a bird chip in the forest, smelled a small mammal hopping a distance away.
Any minute now.
The clouds shifted, revealing a deathly white moon.
He howled.
Sirius Black:
Bellatrix! His mind hissed, gaping at her with shock.
She stood there, her wand pointed at his chest, smiling smugly. Her dark eyes flashed with sadistic excitement, as she stepped forward, placing one long, cold finger on his cheek.
"My first imperious," she said, running it across his face. "Impressive, huh?"
He wanted to grab her hand and break it. It felt like a hot knife on his skin. But his hands wouldn't obey…
"Of course, you probably don't understand anything I'm saying, or at least don't comprehend it. Don't you love that cloudy bliss? Not knowing, not caring… just drifting alone, doing as you're told." She smirked again, her eyes shining. "Completely under my control." She slapped him across the cheek, hard enough to leave a mark. He urged to jump up, protect himself- or, more temptingly, hit her back- but his muscles won't badge. He stared on helplessly as she laughed, delighted.
Bellatrix danced away, her back to him, before turning back again. "My only regret is- you won't remember this in the morning," she said, sounding truly disappointed. "Waste, really. I would have died to see your expression when you realized what you did… will do," she corrected, and giggled like an excited five-year-old. Sirius gulped. What would she have him do?!
And how come he was conscious? He had had the imperious over him before. His parents had seen it as a main course of discipline. He never was aware of his surrounding, not during nor after the curse was set. Bellatrix might have done something wrong- the curse might wear off, then, was she not careful! Sirius's heart jerked with hope. There's a chance, if he could only…
"You don't like hunting muggles, do you, Siri?" Bella asked, stepping closer again. She played with his hair. Sirius tried to control his disgust. "You Gryffindors and your stupid ethics. You are going to love it. And the Dark Lord needs more supporters. As do I,"
Bow to me, said a voice in his head.
Sirius felt his knees fold below him, his hands move as if by themselves.
Not by them selves, he thought, frustrated. By her!
Bella laughed. "I'll make a death eater out of you," she whispered, petting his head, running her icy fingers through his hair.
Inside his no longer private mind, Sirius screamed.
From Alyson Morla's Record of School Hilarities:
I knocked.
There was no answer. No, forget that- there was no noise. The world had gone silent.
I was getting nervous, standing there in a not so good part of highly urbanized London. Alone. A female muggle born, who hasn't even graduated yet.
I knocked again, harder. The thud vibrated around the room, making it seem a lot bigger, a lot scarier. I stepped closer to the door.
"Black? Open up!!"
Standing so much closer, I could hear a sharp intake of breath, and then a giggle. Sirius Black giggles? That doesn't sound too…
Suddenly, the door opened. Sirius Black stood before me, taller and bigger then I remembered. I've never stood so close to him- he towered at least a head above me!
I stepped back quickly, so I could actually see his face. It was set in stone, emotionless and threatening. His eyes, though- they were the usual light gray, staring at me with unfitting helplessness.
He said nothing. His body blocked the view inside the room, and he didn't invite me in. This perfect morning seemed to be centuries ago… but he had every right to be angry. Right?
"I-I'm sorry for barging in like this-"
"I let you in."
His voice was cold, as lifeless as his face. What was going on? How far does anger go?
"Right," I said quickly, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks. "Right. Sorry. I was- I didn't mean to…" I looked at his motionless body helplessly. "Look, you- and I… I wasn't expecting it, ok? It was bloody second year!"
The sad thing is- I wasn't making sense to myself. And I was the one talking.
I wanted to rub my temples to make the throbbing pain go away, but that would be rude. Hadn't bothered me before, but this is different… or is it?
I took a big breath, stepped up once again, and looked the bloody git right in the eye.
"What I mean to say is- you're a Black. I thought you hated muggleborns- and of course, I am one. I didn't think it would work. But today you told me about your family and everything and I realized that maybe you aren't like them. Maybe you're different. So I… gave you a chance. And I ended up liking you- a lot more then I wanted to. So when you kissed me, I panicked. I seriously panicked from a kiss!" I laughed nervously. He was staring at me, his eyes wide beyond the still stony expression. It was like two different people, glaring at me at the same time.
Seriously creepy.
"Are you gonna say anything?" I asked. This didn't turn out like I thought. If he was any other guy I would have turned around to leave long ago, but the taste of his lips still lingered on mine, strong and mysterious and salty. And the memories from earlier that day flashed in my mind, every breathtaking one of them, making my subconscious fly. I wanted more- a lot more. I wanted Sirius Black.
"Actually," he said, his voice a coarse whisper, as if it cost him a lot to say it. "Actually, you were right the first time… I don't date mud bloods."
He smiled, smirked, but his eyes filled with horror. I looked around nervously. This didn't feel right at all…
"On the contrary," his voice was back to normal, strong and powerful, bloody smug- "I much rather see the end of your kind, Morla," He tilted his head to the side, grinning at me like a vampire… His eyes flashed, and my confusion deepened. What was going on?!
"Expelliarmus!" he called, his wand cutting the distance between us, making me stumble backward. My own wand was thrown out of my pocket, to be caught by…
"Hi there, Mudblood. Missed me?"
Bellatrix Black.
Oh, the joy of the holidays.
From Lily Evans' Record of Past Events:
Blinding sunlight filtered through my eyelids.
I breathed, shifted in bed. Bloody daylight…
Was still there.
Grr.
I sat up, blinking sleepily. I was lying in bed, dressed in dirty, damp robes. My hair was a wet mess on my head, pointy and rough. My eyes felt big, and puffy, and stinging from tears and weird chemicals. Was I crying?
My gaze landed on a trail of wetness leading from my bed to the open bathroom door.
Oh, yeah. I was crying.
Memories of last night flooded my mind. Peter, the potion… I started making my way to the bathroom, hesitant and frightened. The potion! Had I destroyed the potion?
One look at the ruined room told me that, no, I had not. The floor was a small ocean, a brownish liquid hiding the stone. It seemed like an explosion happened, a volcano eruption of snake scales and spider venom. The walls were splattered in the dark thing, the bath over flowing with it… the air was thick with heavy, suffocating scents, the air itself so dense that I could see it all around me, a yellow sort of fog…
And right in the middle of it all, my cauldron. Pushed to its side, the fire upon which it stood before long gone. The opening faced me, dark and glistening with left over that hadn't spilled outside.
A lot of left over.
Too much left over.
Enough left over, for the potion to work.
I stepped forward, my heart pounding. This couldn't be. I did all this- such a stupid mistake- and now- the marauders---!
The brownish water was like mud, making my hike inside a full on battle. I dashed forward, tears again flowing down my cheeks. This couldn't be it. This couldn't be it…
I crunched near the cauldron, tilting it upward. The liquid inside moved slowly, rolling to a new position. A cry escaped my lips, carrying the horror, defeat, despair. This was enough. This was enough to make the potion work, after all.
There was nothing I could do to stop it now… Peter Pettigrew will become a werewolf. Remus Lupin will face a monster. Sirius Black will be lost in a dark place, and James Potter would spend his Christmas alone and helpless.
Unless…
Unless the potion was temporary. Unless it would only work for forty-eight hours, before it just… faded away.
And if I could manage to keep them safe until then, they maybe- just maybe- everything will be fine.
I looked up, new found hope shining in my eyes. There was a chance. Maybe I was crazy to think so, but I did- there was a chance. A chance to save them.
Or at least one of them. Peter Pettigrew. The most vulnerable. The one whose fear is most specific, most disastrous. The one whose fear isn't possible to conquer. Potter could survive two weeks with no contact with his friends. Black could find his way out of the darkness, or be man enough to call for help. Remus could fight his monsters… and win. But Peter- his fear is to become a werewolf. No running away from that…
I stood up, determined to stop this evil I created. How could I be so stupid?! Now I had to get Peter, drag him somewhere safe, force him to stay there until the danger was beyond gone… he would fight me, but he wasn't that great a wizard, to say the truth, and-
But where was he?
I paused briefly, horror and panic again overcoming my every cell. I'll figure it out on the way. I had to.
I racked my brain. Te potion must have already taken effect. So the only way of finding him, really, was to find out where a werewolf could attack conveniently. There weren't that many werewolves alive today. A few hundreds, but not all of them lived in Britain… I could find full listing to them in the library, in the Ministry notes… wasn't that umbridge person trying to get laws against them or something? There must be something available…
I rushed to the library, throwing some cloths over myself. Maybe the librarian would help me…
I spent three hours in the library, reading. I finally found a huge book full of all the werewolves ever to roam Europe, up until seven years ago. I flipped to the newest list. Read the meaningless names, tears of frustration dropping on the black ink.
This was useless. There were no addresses. Half of these people could be in France, for all I knew, and even if they were here, then where? And would it really matter, with me not knowing where to look for Peter? At all?!
"Lorbtchki, Abram." I read. Skipped a few. "Lutero, Mike."
I changed the page, almost ripping the fragile parchments. My breath caught in my throat, and I started choking on my own spit.
"Lupin, Remus." It said in big, bold letters.
I had found my match.
Before I even had the chance to take in the fact that one of my class mates was a blood thirsty beast, my mind raced forward. Remus would know where Peter was. All the marauders would. I would go to Remus- Coral was bound to have his address somewhere. I would get to Peter. I would force him to hide until this time, tomorrow night.
And everything would be fine.
--
Or not.
"What do you mean he's already gone?!"
Coral blinked at me with surprise. "He left," she said calmly, her eyebrows raised. "He's not here right now."
After leaving the library, I spent precious minutes fighting the fat lady for access into the Gryffindor common room before remembering my Head Girl badge.
Add fifteen more minutes of searching fro the Lupin household in Coral's organized bunk.
Add ten minutes of running to Hogsmeade, and apparating to London.
Add five minutes by the door, pounding my heart out.
Add 32 seconds of yelling at Coral.
And here I was now, the sun setting behind me, standing before her. And she was telling me that Remus was gone. That he was already transforming. That in a matter of hours, maybe less, Peter would be encountered by his greatest fear- and his best friend.
"Well… where did he go?" I demanded, looking at her with concealed hysteria.
Or not so concealed hysteria, by the look she was giving me. "I don't know, Lily. He'll be back in the morning."
"It can't wait that long!" I yelled. Then I turned from her, my hands jerking as if by themselves with unused energy. Adrenaline traced my veins. A different kind of curse run over and over in my mind.
I swirled back around. "Coral, I- I have to talk to Remus. I have to know where he is."
She looked me up and down calmly. "Well, I'm sorry, Lily. You're just gonna have to wait."
"Coral-" I paused, thinking. I had to. I had to. "Remus's a werewolf."
Her jaw dropped.
"I know, I'm sorry," I said hurriedly. "But I think he's going to bite P-someone tonight, and I have to stop him, so please tell me where he is!"
Coral was speechless. She stammered pathetically fro a few seconds. And then-
"I know, Lily. I know he's a werewolf. I… he won't bite anyone. I swear he won't."
My turn fro shock. But there wasn't time. Handled the fact that Remus was a werewolf, and know I'll handle Coral knowing that. "Trust me, tonight's different. I- I know he'll bite someone, unless I stop him. So please just tell me-"
"Don't worry, Lily, he went somewhere where he could never-"
"Damn it, Coral! There's no time!"
I think it was the curse that did it.
Coral backed up, blinking at me with alarm. Aly would have loved this. "I don't know where he is. We don't talk about it."
I stared at her, breathing hard. New curses filled my thoughts. Very bad words I never dreamed of saying. Now they escaped like unstoppable little arrows, puncturing my lungs.
I probably shouldn't write them down, though.
I deflated. The adrenaline stopped running, my heart slowed to a stop. I had one little trail to follow, and I lost it. Not only would Peter become a werewolf, but Remus would be the one to bite him. No one would know where the boys are, and if Remus already left, so did the others.
There was no hope.
I left Coral with not another word, apparating back to Hogsmead, walking back to the castle. By that time the moon was high up. I couldn't run all over the country looking for them. They could be any where on the bloody planet. I had destroyed the life of two human beings. Remus shouldn't be the one to fear monsters- I should. I am one.
But then again, so is he…
I fell to my knees by the lake, hopelessness and despair drowning me. My reflection in the water was tired, exhausted, pale and frightened.
All I saw was a selfish evil demon. Guilt ate away at my insides. I had failed everyone. I had caused a disaster that couldn't be stopped. The one thing that mattered, and I completely failed it.
I sat down on the tall grass, letting the tears drop to the still water, hugging myself for warmth.
Then I let go. I didn't deserve warmth. I deserved to die a slow, painful death. I deserve an entity in hell.
Though the walls of trees hiding me from the outside world I heard yelling, pleading.
"…Aly?"
I'm sorry for the wait, and I'm sorry for the length, and I'm sorry for the un-spell-check-ness, and I'm sorry I didn't answer reviews. I'm just really not focused right now, and writing is seriously not in focus. I've read the first part of the chapter over and I probably shouldn't post it, but oh well. hopefully you'll like it better.
Random Autumn Fact:
School is a waste of time. But I guess you already know that.