Chapter Twenty Eight: A True Gryffindor

'You know that's the second suitcase we've lost,' Sirius said, gloomily jabbing his fork into his apfelstrudel.

'Yes - it's almost like the universe doesn't want us to have clothes.'

'Ha!' for a moment, Sirius' eyes lit up. 'I'd be alright with that, Moony!'

'I'm sure you would.' The spark in Sirius' eye gave him a moment of hope … but then it died away again just as quickly as it had come.

They had apparated into Germany, back to Baden Zauberer, where they were guaranteed a heroes welcome and wouldn't have to worry about being reported. They were staying with Wolfgang and his father - who were delighted to have them back, and were taking advantage of this safe haven to lie low for a couple of days, see what the newspapers were reporting about them - and discover whether or not their activities at Nurmengard had been picked up on.

So far, it seemed like no one had made the link between the break into the Austrian prison and the two wanted Death Eaters believed to be at large somewhere in the Balkans … and that came as a relief. They weren't being trailed, they were several countries removed from where the Ministry Hag thought they were and they were as safe as they could possibly be, while still being the two most wanted wizards in Britain.

And Grindelwald was clearly staying silent as to who his mysterious visitors had been. His desire to get his message to Dumbledore meant they could count on him to not betray them at least until they were clean away, no matter what methods the guards used to make him talk.

However, for all that things were going as much their way as they could hope for - considering nothing ever went their way - Sirius was still quieter than normal, his expression was more closed and his eyes more haunted. Being at Nurmengard had affected him badly, far worse than he had thought it would, and Remus was worried about him.

He hadn't seen him like this before, even right back at the beginning. Sirius had been a year out of Azkaban by that night in the Shrieking Shack … and though he had been by no means free of all he had suffered, he had long since left behind chains and bars and cramped enclosed spaces. He had grown used to freedom, even if it was an uncomfortable and precarious sort of freedom.

But now he had come face to face with the stuff of his nightmares, brought all those memories to the surface - and gone was his quick laughter and the light in his eyes. And Remus did not know how long it would take for these nightmares to sink back into the sort of nothingness where all distant unpleasantness dwelt. Especially as they had been separated - even if only for about half an hour. That brief time Sirius thought Remus was going to be left alone, locked away - like he had been - had eaten into him, left him afraid - and ashamed to admit it.

Remus held him, when they were alone - and tried to reassure him; tried to get him to open up about Azkaban - and, when that failed, tried to distract him with what they needed to do next. But too often it would not be enough - and Sirius would stare blankly at the opposite wall, his eyes dead, his body stiff - lost in his unbearable memories of unbearable loneliness.

This sudden remembrance about the case, that flicker of light in his eyes, was a good sign - but it was gone too soon. And Remus knew there was going to be no shortcuts to recovery.

They had needed to go to Nurmengard - the information Grindelwald had given them was invaluable, and would help them track down Voldemort when they got home. But some moments it felt like maybe the cost had been too high.

Rome - and their golden days spent there - seemed like a very long time ago now.

Watching Sirius, the way he had shut down - the way he now always seemed on edge, the tense way he held himself, like a coiled spring ready to burst out, Remus began to think they needed to get moving again - and the sooner the better. They needed to be further away from Nurmengard. And - as friendly and welcoming as Baden Zauberer was - they needed to be back out in open spaces.

Perhaps, once they were on the move - the miles between Sirius and the prison growing wider by the moment - things would be easier. Perhaps, when they were no longer staying in a small room, in a small house, in a small town, the walls pressing in on them, Sirius' fear of being trapped would start to recede again.

To that end, Remus spoke to Wolfgang's father - while Sirius stared moodily out of the window and paid no attention to anything around him. There were children playing just outside, their happy voices loud and shrill. The streets were filled with round-faced, smiling children playing games now - and that was all the boys' doing - but Sirius stared moodily past them, unseeing, unhearing.

Meanwhile Remus and the man pored over a map (the pair of them having lost their second map along with their second suitcase) looking for the best route to take back to England, and specifically looking for ways that would take them through remote, rural places - where the land was open and the sky was vast. Remus was sure the openness would make Sirius feel better.

'How does he feel about forests?' Wolfgang's father asked.

'I think he likes them - there was a forest at our school, we have a lot of happy memories there … from my transformations. He hid in it for most of this last year when he was on the run.'

'Gut - vell, zere is ein forest,' he tapped the map. 'Der Diemersteiner Wald. Is beautiful place - clean air, trees … Ja, zere is some,' he bounced his head from side to side as if he was weighing up his words, 'creatures in zere - it is best to avoid ze wild hunt - but I am sure you vill be fine. You rescued our children, you boys can handle yourselves. Take him there, travel through on foot for a ways to let him see the outdoors and then…' His finger traced higher up the map. 'Next stop Bonn - see the river. It is great, blue ribbon rushing past. But only stay if he wishes - it is ein city und he may wish to move on. Und zen to ze border … with Die Niederlander. Lots of open space in Die Niederlander. The country is flat - you can see for miles.'

'That should be good. And then, if he's feeling up to it, maybe we can stop off in Amsterdam. He liked it when we stayed in Rome. And he liked the canals in Venice.'

'Zere is no shortage of canals in Amsterdam… Und then, is small hop back to your own country.'

'We've been on the run so long, I almost can't believe that we might ever possibly get there.'

'You will get there. You have got this far, nein?'

...

It was still early in the morning when they touched down in the Diemerstein forest. The air was clean and the dappled sunlight shone through the canopy of leaves overhead. Remus took out his wand, murmured 'point me' and waited until his wand had finished spinning and was now pointing due north. 'I think we want to head in that direction, then,' he said, pointing off vaguely to his left.

'Alright …' Sirius' voice sounded dull, and Remus tried not to let his heart sink, as he took hold of his hand and started walking the way he had pointed. Sirius followed along with no complaint … for a while at least. The path underfoot was rough; tree roots snaked through the ground and then bumped upwards; loose stones slid and crunched as they walked; big boulders blocked their way and … although it wasn't especially steep, there could be no denying they were walking uphill.

'Why aren't we just apparating through to the next place, again?' Sirius finally asked, when he had tripped over his tenth tree root. He sounded put out … which was definitely a step up from his blank monotone.

'I just thought it would be nice for us … Fresh air, it's pretty, sort of romantic… it's not like we're in a hurry.'

'Hmm hmm ,' he made a disbelieving sound through his nose.

'Well - OK - I thought it would be good for you. I know you like forests, I know you need big, outdoor spaces … so here we are. We won't be here long if you don't want to be.'

'No - it's nice here…' He tripped over another tree root and swore. Remus smiled to himself.

'You know there are goblins under the ground here?' he said, after a while, when Sirius had gone quiet again.

'Huh? What?'

'Goblins,' he repeated. 'This is where their enchanted silver mines are. Apparently there are whole warrens of workrooms and forges under the earth. This is where they dig up the silver and then make all the goblin made armour and weapons and jewellery that wizards pay ridiculous amounts of gold for - and weave their spells into them.'

'Huh - you think they're short changing us on the silver in those too? Like with the sickles?'

'Maybe… but then again, I think they take more pride in the... stuff they create than in the coins they cast. You know, they don't really think goblin-made items can be bought by wizards? They think we just hire them. We pay our hundreds of galleons and then we get to keep whatever it is until we die - but the way the goblins see it, it then reverts back to their ownership. They take a very dim view of wizard inheritance laws.'

'Yeah … I remember something about that in a History of Magic - something about an enchanted belt buckle and a war that raged for hundreds of years.'

'You remember something from a History of Magic?' Remus was impressed. 'I didn't remember what I'd heard five minutes after leaving the class … I couldn't remember what Professor Binns was saying before he even got to the end of his sentence. The only thing about that class I remember is the day he died and came waltzing through the blackboard, as if nothing had happened. You really are a big brain.'

'I got the full package. It's why I'm such a catch.'

Remus laughed, 'believe me, I know!' He tried to hide how pleased he was that Sirius had made a joke … he didn't want to frighten him back into moroseness. He kept on talking - as it seemed to be working a little.

'I heard one of the enchantments they put on their silver is that it can always be called back to the place it was mined from. Apparently there are great heaps of treasure under the ground here, where things have just apparated back by themselves - and the wizards who owned them are never any the wiser as to what happened to them. The muggles don't know it - but this whole forest is completely hollow - and just teeming with goblins and metal and magic beneath the ground.'

Sirius furrowed his brow. 'Are you OK then?'

'What do you mean?'

'Well - we're walking over silver mines. Are you OK?'

'Oh - yes. As long as I'm not actually touching the silver...' He felt another stab of pleasure, this time that Sirius had come out of himself long enough to worry about something else. Though obviously he was not hiding how pleased he was as well as he thought.

'I will be OK, you know, Moony,' Sirius said.

'I know.'

'I know you're worrying about me.'

'I'm not.'

'Liar. I know you keep staring at me when you think I'm not paying attention. You have been doing it for days. I can feel it when you do it. It's bothering you that I've gone quiet. You think I'm touched in the head.'

'I do not think you're touched in the head! And it's not bothering me. I'm just worried - I hate to see you being unhappy.'

'Sorry.'

Remus rolled his eyes. 'You don't have to apologise! I want you to feel better, but you don't have to feel bad about being unhappy. I just want to find a way to make you happy again.'

'You do make me happy, Moony. Even if I'm not showing it. You being here … it makes a big difference…' His face went blank and he stared off into the distance.

Remus came to a stop, pulling Sirius to a stand still as well. 'So, if I make you happy - why do you look like someone just died right after saying that?'

Sirius shrugged. 'Because you make me happy. But I don't know when I'll feel better again and … you might get bored of me being miserable all the time. If I can't… if I don't start feeling better soon you'll just give up and leave. I wouldn't blame you. Who would want to be stuck around a black cloud of despair all day? But then I'll be alone again. And I know the answer is to cheer up, but I can't, and then worrying about you leaving just makes it even harder.'

'I'm not leaving! Not ever!' Remus stared at him, thunderstruck. 'Sirius, I spent 13 years all alone because I loved you and you were in Azkaban and I never got to a point where I was ready to move on. I never moved on from you. Now I have you back - you think I'm going to leave because you've gone quiet? You always used to go quiet and sulk, when we were young - I'm used to it. You are a sulker, Sirius Black - you always have been. And I'm a worrier. It is what it is. But I don't want you to feel better because I'm bored of you being miserable. It isn't about me. I want you to feel better so that you feel better. I want you to be happy. That's all that matters.'

'What if I'm never happy?'

'I will never stop trying to make you so.'

'You really think you can put up with me, like this, forever?'

'Sirius, I have been putting up with you since I was eleven. You have always been infuriating and ridiculous and prone to sulking and just going off the deep end and going mental. I have always put up with you. I will always put up with you. I love putting up with you.'

It was just for a moment - but there was a ghost of a smile on Sirius' face. 'That's probably just part of your angsting about being a werewolf - you think you don't deserve any better than someone who is as difficult as me.'

'It probably is. I don't deserve nice things. I got you - and I'm a glutton for punishment, I like having you.'

The smile came back - and stayed for slightly longer this time. Remus smiled back at him … soft and encouraging, hoping to keep the moment going.

There was a sudden rustle in the underbrush. 'What was that?' Sirius asked sharply, his head turning to look.

'Heinz said there were creatures in the forest. Hopefully that was just an animal but … maybe we should get moving again.'

...

They walked along for a few hours, mostly quietly. And although Sirius' eyes still held their haunted look, he was at least looking around and noticing the forest around them. He was not staring off into nothingness - and that had to count for something. Every so often Remus would perform the 'point me' spell to check they were still headed in the right direction.

The sun grew hotter, their shadows shorter. The underbrush continued to rustle - and both of them eyed it warily. 'Er - what sort of creatures did Heinz say lived in the forest?' Sirius asked - as something seeming particularly large slunk past them unseen.

'Well - he didn't actually say. Though he said he was sure it was nothing we couldn't handle. Oh - and there's something called the wild hunt that we should probably avoid.'

'Yes - I don't much feel like being hunted.'

They walked on … the bushes rustled, and Remus was torn between suggesting they move on and apparate straight to Bonn for safety's sake, and letting Sirius wander in the woods for a bit longer. After the scare of Nurmengard, the feeling of freedom, the fresh air and the open spaces was the best thing for Sirius - and the city could not offer him that. But at the same time, the creatures did seem to be getting closer ...

'I'm getting hungry,' Sirius said after a while.

'I brought food - Heinz packed us some.'

'That was nice of him.'

Remus smiled, 'when you rescue someone's son from erklings it does tend to bring out the helpful house elf in them.'

They walked until they found a clearing - where there were no bushes to rustle and offer cover to creatures that might sneak up on them - and then sat down in the shade of a tree and took out their picnic.

Although he had said he was hungry, Sirius ate slowly, thoughtfully. 'Do you mean it?' he said at last. 'That you'll put up with me as long as it takes?'

'Of course I do. You put up with me, don't you?'

'You don't take a lot of putting up with. You're never any trouble.'

'Hmmm - say that again at the next full moon.'

'You can't help that.'

'And you can't help this . I don't expect you to be alright right away, Sirius - you came face to face with your worst nightmare. You have all these terrible memories and they got dredged right back up to the surface. I know I don't know what you've been through - what it was like all those years - but I do understand about fear. And how it gets to you. Remember how I was after … Montenegro?' He shuddered.

'You were being an idiot.'

'Maybe - and you put up with me being an idiot … But, I still dream about … him, you know? I still dream about... it . And when I'm awake I still worry about what it means about me. That I killed someone so easily. I do understand why you've gone quiet - and I do not blame you for it. I just want to help you. Like you helped me.'

'Hmmm,' Sirius gave him a speculative look.

'What?'

'I don't think I like you having dreams about men who aren't me.'

Remus laughed. 'Well I don't have nice dreams about men who aren't you.' And, to his delight, Sirius began to laugh too.

And then - to their horror - they heard their laughter being taken up all around them, from strange and wild voices - raucous cackling and hootings. They stopped laughing, but the unearthly and invisible voices did not.

They got to their feet and drew their wands … and that was when they heard footsteps - and hoof steps - and paws bounding on the earth and even the beating of wings in the air … and they were rushing around and around, circling the clearing - though the boys could still see nothing.

The footsteps and the laughter got louder and louder, faster and faster, wilder and wilder … and then a horse broke into the clearing. There was a man on its back - almost completely naked, eight feet tall, painted in woad and with antlers growing out of his head. He raised a horn to his lips and blew …

And as if the horn blast had summoned them there, other creatures began to materialise from thin air: ghosts, and Valkyries, erklings, fairies, ghouls and even slavering hounds were circling the pair of them; moving so fast they were only a blur. The ground trembled beneath their footsteps and the air crackled in their presence.

'Ah,' Remus said, 'I believe the wild hunt has found us.'

...

The hunter on horseback blew his horn again … and the others all came to a stop, and began to press in on the boys. 'So!' the giant man boomed, staring down at them, 'what do we have here? Two more souls for my hunting party! Join us!'

They looked at each other. 'Er - thanks - but we have somewhere to be,' Remus said.

The hunters all laughed their screeching, eldritch laughs again. 'You have a choice, my fine men,' the hunter said heartily. 'You can join my hunt - or be the hunted.'

Sirius rubbed his forehead, he looked like he was getting a migraine. 'Look - you wouldn't believe the things that have tried to hunt us in the past month and a half. I mean, really - if two people ever had the most rotten luck … But here's the thing, Moony and I are still standing … not everything that came after us can say the same. So just … back off. Walk away now - and we won't kill you.'

But that only made the hunting party laugh all the louder. 'Ho ho!' guffawed the giant man. 'I like your spirit! You will make a fine addition to my merry band.' He sniffed. 'You are heroes …' he sniffed again and grinned, 'untouched heroes… that is rare.'

They looked at each other, blushing. 'I told you we should … you know,' Sirius hissed under his breath.

'Well when have we ever had time?' Remus snapped back, he flung his arm out gesturing to the wild hunt. 'This keeps happening to us.'

'We could have in Rome.'

'It was too hot in Rome!'

'Gentlemen, gentlemen,' the hunter grinned down at them. His voice was still hearty. 'There is no need to squabble, I am sure some of my ladies can take care of you before your souls depart your bodies.'

Sirius eyed the Valkyries, with their streaming, long hair, and heaving bosoms popping out of their breastplates. 'Thanks - but they're not my type.'

'Come now, enough talk.' He raised his horn to his lips again - blasted it once, and suddenly Remus and Sirius found themselves being seized by a swarm of Valkyries and ghouls and erklings. The giant man turned his horse and rode away - and the hunt followed him … Sirius and Remus being dragged along with them.

...

The hunters raced through the forest, jumping over tree roots and skipping over boulders. The fairies flapped around, their wings making buzzing noises. The ghosts moved more silently - but they made up for it by screeching and wailing as they went. Every so often the horn would blast.

The boys were pulled along, helpless and with no idea where they were going … until they reached a mighty oak tree standing in the centre of the forest. It looked to be hundreds and hundreds of years old, with sturdy roots and gnarly boughs …. And there was a hollow in the trunk, as high and as wide as a cave opening.

As the giant man rode towards it, it stretched even higher - allowing his antlers to pass under without even brushing the bark - and then the rest of the hunt followed on … taking Remus and Sirius down into the dark with them.

The hollow tree led into an earthy passageway that wound down and down, until they were deep beneath the forest - in the underground warrens Remus had spoken of.

As they were dragged along, they caught sight of goblins, in the distance, working the earthen walls - mining the silver for their craftwork.

The hunting party swept on. Remus was pushed and shoved and nudged along the uneven path. He stumbled in the dark and put his hand out to balance himself. It hit against the walls … and he immediately felt his palm burn - and a hideous burning smell rent the air. He yelped in pain.

'Moony?' He heard Sirius' worried voice.

'I burned myself. I'm OK - there's silver in the wall.'

Eventually they were taken into a large underground cave … where great heaps of treasure glinted, even in the darkness. When the giant man lit a flaming torch, Sirius and Remus saw piles and piles of goblin made riches: diadems, and belt buckles, breast plates, and helmets, shields, swords, goblets … anything a wizard might want fashioning from silver lay here in glinting mounds. Enchanted objects summoned back spontaneously to the mine where they had been fashioned. And though the treasures were clearly hundreds of years old, they were not rusting or blackened with age. They glowed as brightly as the day they had been forged … for goblin silver only took in that which made it stronger.

Remus cringed away from the treasure trove - and felt Sirius wrap his arms around him, as if to protect him from the harm the gleaming metal posed to him.

By this time, the giant man had dismounted his horse - though he seemed no less giant for it, his antlers brushed the ceiling of the cave. He strode towards them - still hearty and red faced.

'So what do we have here? What have we found - two heroes … this one.' He pointed at Sirius, 'he has a mark on him, some magic - a curse or an enchantment or … Frieda.' He snapped his fingers at one of the Valkyries, 'reveal what it is that marks this wizard.'

Frieda stepped forward. She wore a long, white robe over her armour and carried a long wooden staff. She struck the ground with the staff. Green sparks flew into the air, and she began to mutter in some strange tongue. Not German - it was older, and more guttural sounding.

Sirius just stood there looking surprised, he had no idea what it was the giant man saw on him.

Frieda made a complicated gesture with her left hand and finished her chant, striking her staff on the ground once more. The green sparks flew again, this time hitting Sirius - and wove their way around him … until they settled on his right hand and wrist, where they turned into tongues of flame - three of them - which encircled his arm like chains...

'The unbreakable vow,' Frieda announced. 'This one has made the unbreakable vow … and has not yet fulfilled his bargain.'

The hunting party began to laugh and jeer and hoot, their cackling voices bouncing off the walls and magnifying a hundred times. The giant man blew his hunting horn again, 'enough!' They went silent.

'Very well!' He was grinning, his cheeks were ruddy red and his eyes were glinting. 'We shall have merry sport with this one. We shall leave him alive - and see how long it takes for the unbreakable vow to kill him. We shall lay bets.' He addressed Sirius, then, clapping him on the shoulder in a friendly sort of way. 'Do not fear, my friend, your soul will still join my party once the vow has taken your life.'

He turned then to Remus. 'And this one is afraid of silver … I wonder…' He sniffed again - and once more his face lit up in delight. 'Oh - this one only hides behind a human face. It will be more fun by far for our hunt if we keep him in his other form. Frieda!' He clicked his fingers again. 'A separation ritual,' he said to the Valkyrie. He signalled some of the others. 'Hold him in place.'

Remus felt himself snatched up again, he struggled - but the Valkyries holding him were firm.

'You have nothing to fear,' the giant man said to him. 'For a creature of duality, such as yourself, this will not hurt. One blast from Frieda's staff and the wolf and the man will separate forever … The man will die of course, but your soul will live on in wolf form - ravening and slavering and hungry … You can join my other dogs.' He indicated the pack of hounds.

'No!' Remus struggled harder, 'please.'

'There is no need to fight - this will set you free. You will be your true self forever.'

'No - please - don't do that…' He twisted in the Valkyries arms and fought as hard as he could. His heart had turned to ice at the thought of being wolfish for all eternity, unable to control himself … But though his heart was ice, the shame was burning inside of him - red hot and sickly. 'Just kill me - please - but don't …' tears were shining in his eyes. 'Sirius!'

'Moony!'

'You may want to step back,' the giant man told Sirius in his booming voice. 'A separation spell will not hurt the wolf - but for any other mortal it will result in the most agonising, slow death. Even for immortals like us … it can be nasty. Believe me - back away.'

'Remus was still fighting. 'No - please - anything - but that … don't make me the wolf, don't make me be the wolf …'

Frieda raised her staff.

'No - please! I'm not the wolf! I'm not the wolf!'

She spoke an incantation … and Sirius elbowed his own captor in the face as hard as he could and broke free. As the green spark shot from the end of the staff he dove in between it and Remus, shielding him from the spell.

He braced himself ready for it to hit, ready for agonisingly, slow death … when something silver winked in the air above him and - without even thinking he reached out and grabbed it.

It was a sword. He took it by the hilt and - again without thinking - swung the sword with all his might.

The green spark hit the blade - instead of him - bouncing off the silver, refracting, expanding and crashing onto the gathered hunting party.

By the time Sirius had finished swinging the sword, half the hunting party were on the floor - Frieda and the giant man included … and they were screaming. The skin was peeling from their bodies - and their limbs were slowly pulling apart, being disjointed, cracking as if they were being racked. They writhed and screeched, their eyes rolled in their heads and their cries mingled with the tearing of their flesh as they were separated from themselves. It was like watching a roast chicken get torn apart … there was gristle and bone and meat ... It was the most horrible thing Sirius had ever seen. He looked away.

He pointed the sword at Remus' captors. 'Let him go.'

They did - with no arguments, shrinking away from the blade - and the man who had torn apart their leaders. Sirius grabbed Remus' hand and - still with the sword raised - ran past the agonised hunters being ripped apart, and their horrified, panicking companions, and back through the tunnels until they reached daylight.

...

They collapsed on the ground outside, panting and sweating. 'Are they - dead?' Remus asked.

'I don't think so - I think they're just hurt. They're immortal - they'll get better. We shouldn't hang around.'

'Why did you … why did you?' He gasped and held onto a stitch in his side. 'Sirius - that could have killed you. It would have been a horrendous death, you saw what happened to them and they are immortal. Why did you jump in front of me like that?'

Sirius had collapsed, prone, on the ground, but he opened one eye and squinted up at Remus. 'When we were in Nurmengard, you knew we were about to get trapped. You knew those bars would come down and I would be locked behind them … You had a moment, you could have saved yourself. You didn't. You saved me. Because it was my worst fear - you made sure I didn't have to face my worst fear and you put yourself in danger instead. Well - I know what your worst fear is too - and Remus, I would die a thousand slow, agonising deaths rather than let you get trapped as the wolf for all eternity.'

'You're an idiot.' He lay down on the ground beside him, his whole body was trembling.

'So are you.' They held hands, squeezing them tight while they struggled to get their breath back.

'I don't understand,' Remus said, eventually. 'Where did the sword come from?'

'I don't know - it wasn't there and then it was. It was like it came out of thin air.'

'It must have been mined in the chamber - it must have been summoned back.'

'That was lucky,' he forced himself back up and examined the ancient sword he had just been presented with. It was a beautiful weapon, it glistened in the sunlight. Large rubies were embedded in the hilt and there were words inscribed beneath them. He peered at it. 'Hey, Moony, look at this.'

And holding the sword carefully, so Remus didn't have to touch it, he showed him what was written on the sword. It was just two words - a name:

Godric Gryffindor