Chapter Seven: Into the Forest

It was less than half an hour later that they apparated into the all wizarding German town of Baden Zauberer, which lay just on the edge of the Black Forest. They had stopped off via a muggle town, as Remus had suggested, in the hope of throwing off anyone who might be following them. But it was still with a fair amount of trepidation that they made their way into the town square.

Remus had, of course, rather unfortunately told the Ministry hag that they were headed to Italy. After all - he had no idea, at the time, they would get their true identities exposed and be thrown off the train. Living in such close quarters, he could hardly have told her they were headed somewhere else - she would have all too easily spotted the lie and that would have only made her extra suspicious. And she had been suspicious of them enough as it was.

Now, they could only assume that they had the entire might of the Ministry of Magic scouring central Europe for them, which meant they had to keep their heads down and try and stay out of trouble. With any luck - Umbridge would have sent everyone to Maggiora - assuming that, now they would be apparating, they would head straight there. After all - she didn't know that they were hunting Peter and needed to travel in stages, as they were hoping to catch him long before he reached Albania.

However, there was a chance that, now knowing they were a werewolf and a mass-murderer travelling incognito, Umbridge would assume Remus had lied about their destination - to try and throw her off the scent (if only he had!). Which meant they couldn't afford to assume the other wizarding towns would be safe for them.

How they wished they could avoid wizard towns altogether - stay in the safety of the muggle world. But Peter had no one official chasing him, was presumed dead, would not be recognised and would want to stay close to the wizarding world in case he heard any rumours of his old master's whereabouts. And so they had to stay close to the wizarding world too.

They landed in a quiet street - looking around sharply before they ventured out of the shadows. Unlike Beetje Heks-Stad, Baden Zauberer was almost empty. More's the pity, it would have been easier to hide in a crowd. But this town did not have tourists pouring in for a festival any day now, the train was not yet here and so there were only a few local wizards going about their business.

It seemed an old town. Remus and Sirius were easily by far the youngest people around - and that never happened to them anymore! Any claim to youth that they had was very quickly vanishing out of sight. But all the witches and wizards seemed middle aged, there were almost no young people, no teenagers (although perhaps they were still at school) and not a single child to be seen anywhere at all.

'Keep your head down and your eyes peeled,' Remus muttered, as they crept into the centre of the town.

'What do you reckon - ice cream parlour first?'

'We might as well try where we struck gold last time.'

Sirius gave his bark of a laugh, 'fat, little git.'

They headed for Siegfried Schmidts Speiseeis Salon and - trying to look like two ordinary (albeit wizarding) tourists and not like two hunted men - they entered the parlour and took out the photograph of Peter.

'Guten morgen,' Siegfried himself greeted them cheerfully. 'Womit kann ich ihnen behilflich sein?'

He must have seen their stricken expressions - because he seemed to smile and take pity on them. 'Sprechen sie Englisch?'

They grabbed hold of the one word they understood. 'English - yes - English.'

'Ah - you English, you are never learning ze other languages, no?'

'Well there's so many of them,' Sirius shrugged.

'And what would you gentlemen like today? - I am trying out new flavour eis - gooseberry tart und meringue. Three sickles a scoop.'

'Er - alright,' Remus said - 'we'll try a scoop each, but what we really want is to know if you've seen this man?'

He showed the picture of Peter. Siegfried stopped scooping to squint at it.

'He might have been by in the past couple of days. Maybe stopped in here?'

'Probably ordered something with extra whipped cream,' Sirius added.

But Siegfried shook his head. 'No - I am not seeing him, I am thinking. He has not been here.'

'Are you sure? This is an old photo - he'd be older now.'

'Fatter and balder, more rat like,' Sirius added - his tone was vicious. So much so that Siegfried gave him a funny look.

'No - I am not seeing him. He has not been here.' He finished scooping up the ice cream and plonked the little paper cartons on the counter. Remus paid the six sickles and they carried them out of the shop and headed back into the streets.

...

Baden Zauberer looked like a village of gingerbread houses, brightly coloured and with gabled roofs and twisting chimneys. A stream flowed through the centre and a curved stone bridge crossed over the top. There was a church with a very square steeple and a churchyard filled with wizarding tombstones. The Black Forest surrounded the edges of it and the air was very clear and smelled of pine.

But otherwise, it was just like Hogsmeade, or Diagon Alley or Beetje Heks-Stad. There were apothecaries and wand shops, a book shop, a robe makers, a joke shop and a pub: Zum Zypressenstab - there was a picture of a wand with three stars sparking out of it on the sign.

They were just headed over to it, when Sirius suddenly threw out his arm and pushed Remus back into the shadows.

'What is it?'

'That bloke - over there,' he nodded in the direction of a lone wizard who was standing near the town clock (a magnificent looking thing with twelve hands, lots of runic carvings and absolutely no numbers). 'He looks familiar … I think he was at Hogwarts with us - a few years older.'

Remus looked in the direction Sirius was pointing. His heart sank - he too recognised the man. He had been a Ravenclaw, three years ahead of them - played for the quidditch team and … joined the Ministry when he left school. Remus had had to deal with him one time when an abrupt change to the law had meant that werewolves suddenly needed a whole load of extra paperwork just to be allowed to officially exist.

'Do you think he's looking for us?' Sirius asked.

'I think we have to assume so. Even if he is just on holiday … it's not like he won't recognise us, if we recognise him. You're a little bit more famous than he is.'

'Alright - in here,' he grabbed Remus' hand and tugged him into the nearest shop - Magdalenes Magisch Haustiere. It was a pet shop, selling kneazles and rabbits that turned into top hats and puffskeins and toads. Remus wrinkled his nose at the sight of the warty amphibians … It wasn't their fault, but they reminded him too much of Madam Umbridge for him to take kindly to them.

While he spoke to Magdalene - an elderly witch with a cheerful smile - about whether or not she had seen Peter, Sirius lurked in the window and waited for the Ravenclaw man to disappear.

'Coast's clear,' he said after five minutes, 'any luck?'

'No - he hasn't been in here either.'

'Well - it was a long shot he'd come in here. What's he going to do - buy himself a female rat to keep as a girlfriend?'

'That's…' Remus pulled a face, 'I really wish you hadn't said that.' He shuddered, 'no - that thought's going to stick with me. Thanks, Padfoot, old friend.'

Sirius barked in laughter. 'Perks of being an animagus,' he joked. 'Not only human girls need apply - you should know that being a …' He trailed off.

Remus could feel his face burning - the wolf in the moving pictures from last night was still too fresh in his mind for him to find Sirius' crude jokes funny. And from the look on his face, Sirius seemed to have realised and was looking fairly contrite. 'Come on, then,' he said roughly. 'Let's try the next shop, Moony.'

But Peter had not been in the book shop, or in any of the apothecaries; he had not stopped off at the pub or bought himself new robes or looked around the quidditch store (though they had not really expected to have any luck in there). He had not stayed in any of the inns, and he had not eaten in any of the cafes and he certainly hadn't stopped by the post office (Though Sirius did get a chance to send his letter - so that was something) … If Peter had already passed through Baden Zauberer, he must have done so as a rat - for no man bearing his resemblance had been seen there by anyone.

...

By now it was lunchtime, and the pair of them headed to the final cafe - thinking they could ask after Peter and get something to eat at the same time. A bell rang over the door as they went inside, and a middle aged wizard with a very glum face looked up. 'Guten tag.'

'Yeah - hello,' Sirius said.

'English?'

'Yes.'

He took out the picture of Peter, while Remus studied the menu up on the wall - it was all written in German and he knew Sirius would just refuse point blank to even try and work out what any of it meant.

'We were wondering if you might have seen this man,' Sirius said - showing the picture. 'It's an old photo - he'd be older now but still recognisable. We need to find him - urgently.'

The man peered at the picture, wrinkling up his nose as he looked. Remus finished with the specials board and joined them. The man looked up, shaking his head, 'no I don't zink so -' he caught sight of Remus and his face became hard and angry. 'Your kind are not welcome here. Get out!'

Remus felt his whole body flush with heated shame and embarrassment, 'what do you mean?'

Sirius - on the other hand - had flushed with anger. 'Yes - what do you think you mean by "his kind"? What are you saying? What's wrong with him that isn't wrong with me?' The glower on his face was murderous. Looking at him, it was easy to see why people had so readily believed he had killed all those people - he looked like he was going to tear this wizard limb from limb with his bare hands.

But the wizard stood his ground. 'I know it is not human - is animal. Verevolf! You have no right to come into ze village. No right at all. I know what you did. We know what you do - you and your volf pack. You are taking ze children, my son…'

'I never took any…'

'Get out - animal. Beast!' And he raised his wand - aiming it straight at Remus.

But Sirius had also pulled out his wand - and a bright spark of white light shot out of the tip and knocked the wizard to the floor.

'You defend him?' The wizard cried, 'you defend that monster?'

'I'll show you a monster,' Sirius' voice was a deep, bear-like growl and he brandished his wand once again.

But Remus pulled on his arm, tugging him away. 'Come on - forget it. Let's just go.'

'He can't talk about you that way, Moony. He has no right. I won't let him.'

'We can't afford an altercation - let's just get out of here.' He looked around miserably. Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to get as far away from Baden Zauberer as possible.

'No - he's going to pay for what he said - he's going to apologise…'

'No he isn't - he never will; they never do. Come on.' But Sirius stood his ground. 'Please,' Remus begged him. And Sirius relented and allowed himself to be shoved out of the door.

'But you got lucky!' He called back over his shoulder. 'You're lucky Remus is a better and more forgiving man than I am!'

'Is not a man!' the wizard cried defiantly. 'Is monster. Vile, dark creature! Back to ze forest with you, with ze rest of your brothers, verevolf. You are not fit to be around decent people.'

The tinkling bell rang again, as Remus pulled open the door - it's cheery, jangling sound seeming suddenly very incongruous with the tense atmosphere and the insults being levelled at him.

Sirius looked like he was about to change his mind, turn around and start firing jinxes again but - with the image of the wolf from the moving pictures still burning into his memory - Remus shoved him out into the town square and the door slammed shut behind them.

'That bastard!' Sirius spat.

'Just leave it, come on.'

'He can't say those things to you, Moony.'

'He just said them.'

'He had no right.'

'Sirius, please!' He came to a stop and stared at his friend. 'Just leave it. You think that's the first time that's ever happened to me? You think it'll be the last? People can say what they like about me, they choose to believe the worst about me and I have to just put up with it because no one is on my side.'

'I'm on your side.'

'Yes, well - you've been in prison for twelve years and I've been all alone - dealing with that. And believe me when I tell you the best way to handle it is just to walk away.'

'They don't deserve for you to just walk away and not make them pay.'

'I don't do it for them. I do it for me! It's less painful for me. It's less humiliating for me. And if you care about me at all, Padfoot, you'll let me deal with it my way.'

Sirius folded his arms and looked sulky. 'You didn't used to let people talk to you that way.'

'I was a boy. Nobody ever said - no one ever said anything as direct as that to me when I was still a child. I didn't realise - how they all see me. That it doesn't matter what I say or do all they see is …' He trailed off again, thinking of the things they had seen on the screen the night before. He could feel his face still burning with shame.

And Sirius seemed to understand. 'Is this about last night? Because that was … nothing . That was some stupid, muggle thing that...'

Remus shook his head, 'just leave it. Please just leave it alone.' He began to walk through the square, away from the cafe - and after a moment, Sirius had joined him, though he didn't say anything.

Remus was not sure what would ever have broken the tense silence that settled between them, heavy and oppressive - with Sirius both furious and sulkily contrite and him just too embarrassed to even look his friend in the face … However, he need not have worried, for the leaden atmosphere of shame that now existed between them was suddenly punctured by a loud popping sound.

Sirius' head twisted as he looked around anxiously, 'was that someone apparating?' There was another pop, and Remus felt his arm seized in a panicked grip, 'that's Kingsley - Kingsley Shacklebolt!'

But Remus had just spotted something that made his heart sink much lower than the thought of their old friend from The Order of the Phoenix. Across the square, near the wishing well, he had caught sight of a short, squat and toadish presence that could only mean one thing.

'Ministry Hag! Ministry Hag!' he gripped Sirius' arm right back.

'Where?'

He pointed, 'there - come on!' And before Madam Umbridge could turn and spot them, he had tugged Sirius right down a side street - their feet were hammering across the cobbles as they fled past gabled roofed house after gabled roofed house.

Their way was punctuated by popping noises - as more and more Ministry wizards apparated around them - and, clinging onto each other, they ducked and dived and dodged and raced their way through the narrow streets; turning corners; fleeing down alleys; abruptly changing direction as they found their way barred - the suitcase gripped in Remus' hand and banging against his leg as he ran - until finally, breathless and panting, they reached the very edge of the little town.

...

The Black Forest grew thickly around the Baden Zauberer border, and - gratefully - they lunged inside the treeline, getting swallowed up in the piney darkness. Crunching over the needle strewn ground, they stumbled their way along a winding path, deeper into the forest - until they finally dared come to a stop and catch their breath.

'Well - I think it's fair to say they're definitely looking for us,' Sirius said, sinking to the ground. He was clutching at his midsection, nursing a stitch. His breath was ragged - and Remus was suddenly reminded that his friend was not yet fully recovered from his years of misery and starvation in Azkaban.

'Are you alright?' he asked - he raked his eyes over Sirius, feeling a pang of worry.

'I will be. A chase on top of jumping out of a moving train is a bit much... but, I'll be fine.' It was Sirius' turn to look worried. 'What about you? The full moon wasn't that long ago.'

'It was over a week ago - honestly, Sirius, this is as good as I ever feel.' His bruised ribs gave a twinge, 'the jumping out of a moving train part not withstanding.'

'I dunno, Remus - how did we ever get so old and broken? This was never meant to happen to us.'

'At least we got to grow old … James didn't.'

'Yeah…' He struggled his way back to his feet. 'Come on then, let's get moving. It isn't safe to sit around - waiting to get caught.'

They started to stumble their way down the path again. 'Do you think any of them saw us?' Remus asked.

'Nah - we would have heard the yelling but…'

'But if they ask around, we spoke to everyone in that town - they'll know we were right there.'

'We need to get further away. They shouldn't find us in here - it's dark, the forest is huge… and with any luck they'll assume we saw them and apparated right away. We could be in Moscow by now for all they know.'

'Yes - I suppose the pair of us are a needle in a haystack the size of Europe. As long as we don't wander straight into the path of the Ministry Hag we should be alright.'

Sirius spat. 'I hate that Ministry Hag,' he said darkly.

Remus felt himself flush. 'I think she hates me more than you hate her.'

But Sirius barked in laughter. 'Oh I really don't think that's true, Moony. I don't think I really knew what hate was until I met the Ministry Hag and she said those things about you.'

Remus flushed again. 'She only said the same as what that wizard said back there. What everyone says.'

'Well - everyone's a - a … dick. And what did he mean telling you to get back into the forest?'

'Werewolves must live in here - we should be careful.'

'Why? They're probably only in here because the idiots back there won't let them live in the town.'

'If they've been pushed to the margins - if they're desperate… Even good people can become dangerous when they're desperate.'

'You could never be dangerous, Moony.'

And despite the shame he felt at being seen and treated the way he was, and at having Sirius witness how the world saw him - what it thought of him - he still felt his heart beat faster at the thought that at least Sirius refused to think badly of him. At least Sirius loved him … though only as a friend, of course.

...

They kept on walking - feeling hot and sweaty and tired. It was shady in the forest, at least. Although the sun shone brightly in the sky overhead, there was plenty of coverage to keep the worst of the heat off them. However it was still warm, and their robes were thick and their hearts were beating too fast after their near capture - and so the perspiration poured off them.

When they had walked for hours, and covered many miles (they hoped - there was no way to know what direction they were going in, and they could have been walking in circles) they finally decided it would be safe to stop. Even if they were still embarrassingly close to the wizarding town, the Ministry wizards must have long since decided they were gone and disapparated away to search for them elsewhere.

They came to a clearing, with a small heap of mossy boulders piled up in the glade. By now the sun was far over to the west, and - in the dwindling light- they sat down, resting their backs against the stones and started to discuss their situation.

'I suppose the question is, do we think we're ahead of Peter or not?' Sirius said.

'They hadn't seen him in the town,' Remus was thoughtful, 'but that doesn't mean he was never there. He could have moved on already, or maybe didn't even stop by.'

'He was in Belgium though. And he was hardly going low profile - stopping off for ice cream sundaes. I don't think he'd pass up the opportunity to stop somewhere else - greedy, little bastard. And we're that much closer to Albania -'

'Not that much closer…'

But he continued as if there had been no interruption. 'So he might be able to pick up more rumours about Voldemort's whereabouts. I think he would stop in Baden Zauberer. And if no one has seen him, I think it's because we've managed to get ahead of him.'

'Well as far as we know he doesn't have a wand.'

'So unlike us he can't apparate.'

'So - what? We hang around for a couple of days - see if he turns up?' He sighed. After what that wizard in the cafe had said, hanging around the German town was the last thing he wanted.

But Sirius seemed to think that was for the best. 'If we can head him off all the way up here, then he never gets close to Albania and that's got to be better for us. The closer he gets to Voldemort, the more risky our job becomes.'

'All right - we'll stay. But we stay out here. We only go back into the town to hunt, and only for short bursts of time.' He became aware of Sirius watching him closely.

'If that wizard says anything to you again, I'll hex him into next Tuesday. I mean it. I don't care if it means the Ministry catch me.'

'Don't be ridiculous…' though his heart beat a little faster and he felt all warm at Sirius' words.

...

With the sun sinking ever lower, they conjured up a couple of goblets and then used the Vino charm to conjure fountains of wine right into their cups. They lit a portable fire, which blazed merrily on the ground, and lamented Gamps Laws of Elemental Configuration, which meant they could not conjure up something to eat. The Gooseberry tart and meringue ice cream was a very long time ago now, and the holey cheese and rolls longer ago still.

Still, with the fire and the wine they were at least warm, now the sun was gone - and their heads were pleasantly buzzing, and they had not been caught by the Ministry, locked in Azkaban and had their souls sucked out of their mouths by dementors so … things could be worse.

Once it was fully dark, they conjured sleeping bags and laid them out on the ground.

'But, Sirius, you're not getting into the sleeping bag with me, understood?' Remus said, as he climbed into his own.

'What if I get cold in the night?'

'Conjure a sweater.'

They lay still for a while. Remus stared up at the stars, which spread out across the inky sky like a twinkling blanket. He tried to ignore the thin, silver sliver of the crescent moon which also peered down into the forest clearing.

After a while, he became aware of Sirius staring very intently at the side of his face. 'What?' he asked.

'Nothing - I was just … thinking … remembering.'

'What?'

'Do you remember Mary McDonald?'

'Yes,' Remus said slowly, he furrowed his brow - wondering where this was going.

'Do you think she was pretty?'

'Well - everyone thought she was pretty, She was pretty. I imagine wherever she is right now she still is pretty. I think everyone knew she was the best looking girl in our year.'

'James didn't…' there was a very definite smile to his voice.

Remus smiled as well. 'Alright - no, James never had eyes for anyone but Lily…'

'Lily was pretty too.'

'Yes - she was very pretty. But Mary McDonald - she had all that long, wavy, blonde hair. And her nose turned up. Retrousse it's called. Whereas Lily's nose - it was no different to anyone else's.'

'I kissed her once, you know?'

'Lily?' He was both horrified and scandalised … which after all these years seemed a little daft, even to him. But it would have been such a betrayal of James…

'No!' There came that familiar bark of laughter. 'James would have jinxed me sidewards if I'd dared. No - I kissed Mary McDonald, once. Behind the broom sheds. In 6th year.'

'Oh…' He wasn't sure what to say to that, or where this was going.

'I kissed one of Lily's muggle cousins at James' wedding as well.'

'I remember.'

'She was pretty too.'

'Sirius - are we just going to lie here while you reel off the list of every girl you've ever kissed?'

'Er - well - I just did. Mary McDonald and Lily's muggle cousin. That's it.'

'Right - well - can we go to sleep then?'

'Have you ever kissed anyone, Moony?'

His voice seemed to come out in a strange gabble - as if the words were tripping up over themselves. But Remus was too busy feeling embarrassed to really register it. '... No.' He said eventually.

'Not ever?'

'Girls never really used to notice me when you were around, did they? You were very much the Mary McDonald of the boys.'

'But I haven't been around for years. You're not so hideous that a girl wouldn't deign to notice you once you were no longer standing in my extremely handsome shadow.'

'Thanks,' Remus said drily. 'But … I can't, can I? There's no point. Werewolves don't marry. I could never risk … I can't risk passing my condition on to a child, so I can't have a wife, so there's no point in having a girlfriend. Why start down a path that's doomed to end in failure?'

'Is that the only reason?'

He felt panic flood through him - but he managed to keep his voice calm. 'What other reason would there be?'

'I don't know…' Sirius' voice sounded small and thoughtful, but then it changed tone - and became curious again. 'So if you've never even kissed someone - you must never have …?' He left the sentence hanging.

'No,' he felt himself blush, even though it was dark and Sirius couldn't see him.

'Oh … well … I never have either.'

'Well, you have been in Azkaban. Dating opportunities were no doubt thin on the ground.'

'My cousin Bella was in there - my family like to marry their cousins.'

'Your cousin Bella is already married.'

'Oh yeah… plus she's evil.'

'That can be a turn off.'

They both laughed - and then went quiet. After a little while Sirius spoke again. 'Yeah but … Do you think Peter ever…?'

'Oh good god, I hope not! That would be depressing. If Peter had managed to get further than either of us. Who between us have managed one quick snog behind a broom shed nearly twenty years ago.'

'And he was a rat as long as I was in Azkaban. So - like you said … dating opportunities… unless ...'

'Don't!'

'I was joking!'

'It's not funny - it's disgusting. It's…'

'You need to forget about what you saw last night, Moony,' Sirius said - and his voice was now matter of fact. Remus wondered if this was what the whole bizarre conversation had been leading up to. 'That was some nonsensical story from muggles who don't know anything about vampires or or -'

'Or werewolves.'

'Yes but - that man wasn't a werewolf. He just ... turned into a wolf. That's totally different. Sort of. It was just a story - it had nothing to do with … you know … you.'

Remus sighed. 'You've seen the way people talk to me, the way they look at me. You've heard the stuff they've said. I- I can't control myself during a full moon. I'm not me any more, though I have to remember everything I did and even if - even if I'm not like... that - that's what other people think of me. That I'm dangerous - an animal.'

'Bollocks to other people, Remus.'

'It's not that simple - you wouldn't understand.'

But that only made Sirius laugh, 'I don't know if you've seen the things they've been saying about me recently…'

'But you can clear your name! You have a chance to put everything right, and everyone will say they're sorry and you can - you can go and marry Mary McDonald if you want to. You can put all this behind you and move on - but me … this is what I am, and always will be. And no one will ever see me as anything different.'

'I don't want to marry Mary McDonald.'

'Well - some other girl then.'

There was a long pause, Remus felt Sirius staring at him - and when he dared a glance in his direction he saw that his expression was sad. 'Night, Remus,' Sirius said, eventually - and then rolled over and went to sleep.

...

Remus woke up, when he felt the rays of the rising sun suddenly being blocked out by a dark shadow looming over him. He opened his eyes, hoping it would prove to be only Sirius, fearful it would prove to be the Ministry Hag.

It was neither.

Sirius still lay beside him, asleep for now, and the person standing over him was a man - not a woman.

The man was tall, his skin was dirty, his hair unkempt. His clothes were threadbare and he had long nails and sharp teeth - and scars, deep scars all across his face. Remus recognised those scars - saw them whenever he looked in a mirror.

He sat up in alarm and looked around - there were more men, just like the first, gathering around the pair of them in a circle. Their eyes and expressions were hungry.

'Well well well,' the man said, leering down at him. 'What do we have here?'

Remus reached out and grabbed hold of Sirius, half to protect him, half to wake him up … It seemed they had been discovered, while they slept, by some of his brothers; his equals. They were now surrounded by a hungry pack of werewolves.