Arc III Part VIII:
June 7th of 1985; 6 am:
Only the crackling of flames behind Sirius disturbed the silence in the room. Sirius and Fenrir stared at each other, preparing for the duel that would inevitably follow. Then, in a split second, Sirius launched the fight, sending Fenrir Greyback to smash against the living room's window, ejecting him out of the house before following him outside, waving his wand, and sending the bricks and wood wreckage crash on him. Fenrir dodged them and stood up slowly, looking confidently at Sirius.
"Everything makes sense now…After all, who else in the world is capable of such violence" Sirius said, aiming his wand at Fenrir.
"How much do you know about the world, Black?" Fenrir asked.
"What are you doing so far from England?" Sirius asked.
"Hunting, of course…Why else would I be here?" Fenrir asked back.
"Believe it or not, I'm happy we meet," Sirius said.
"Are you? I don't get that a lot," Fenrir asked.
"Ever since I escaped from Azkaban, only one name hunted my sleep. Peter Pettigrew…Find Peter and force him to confess until I came to think it would be impossible. I was so obsessed with him that I forgot that he wasn't the only death eater still alive…Any death eater could be useful…And look how so far from Britain I meet with Voldemort's werewolf army leader in person! I'll take you back with me to the ministry of magic, and they'll have no choice but to listen," Sirius said, sending a stunning spell at Fenrir, who easily dodged it before bursting into laughter.
"Capturing me? You? How could a stooge have a chance against the king of wolves?" Fenrir asked before adding, more seriously, " You couldn't be more wrong. I should have been more precise earlier...I should have said; I'm here because that's where hunting you led me."
"Me?" Sirius asked.
"Since the bounty was placed on your head a year ago, I went everywhere you went…Remember that boy they found in a dustbin in Stuttgart? He cried when I opened him. From Normandy to Hamburg and Bonn, hoping to lure you out of your hole…Until I got tipped that you would try to hide here in Transylvania. So, I came and butchered at will, confident you'll end up showing up to play heroes," Fenrir said.
"You murdered and raped all those kids, men, and women just to lure me in?" Sirius asked, his hand crisping around his wand.
"Aren't muggles only a way to our ambitions? The least evolved specie is always called to go extinct before the most evolved. It's the natural order…However, the talk is over," Fenrir said, smiling while, despite daylight, fur started to cover his body again, his face contorted, his body grew twice bigger, and his teeth sharpened again.
"No fucking way…." Sirius whispered before the most dangerous Werewolf in the world charged at him.
Fenrir was so fast that Sirius could roll aside to avoid him before disappearing to keep a safe distance between him and the beast. However, Fenrir's eyes found him when he reappeared and attacked again, only this time Sirius was ready and shouted "EXPULSO," his spell hitting Fenrir in the chest. However, despite Fenrir's proximity, the spell's blast only made him step a little back, slightly losing balance.
"STUPEFY!" Sirius shouted, and Fenrir didn't even bother to dodge for the second time.
Fenrir growled and started moving slowly toward Sirius, who, seeing how his spell didn't work, waved his wand towards the trees and made their branches lengthen, spreading to roll around Fenrir's body and retrain him.
Sirius kept swinging his wand, bringing more branched towards Fenrir, turning the ground under the Werewolf's feet into quicksand, in which he forced him to sink. It worked for a while until Fenrir growled, bit the branches, breaking the wood that restrained him, and jumped out of the quicksand.
Fenrir was about to attack Sirius again when Denise and Joan appeared in the garden behind him. They started firing spells at Fenrir, who lost interest in Sirius charging them instead. They quickly understood that their magic would have no harm on the Werewolf's skin, and Sirius saw Joan looking dumbly at the beast, motionless, while Denise kept trying to slow Fenrir. Then, as the distance shortened between them, Sirius ran behind Fenrir before throwing himself on him and taking him along in his disapparition to the first place that came to Sirius' mind.
A second later, they crashed on the council house tower's roof; Sirius pushed away Fenrir, narrowly avoiding his fangs. Sirius stood on the roof, trying to maintain his balance, aiming his wand at Fenrir, who charged again. Sirius raised his wand, lifting with his move the roof tiles before hurling them at Fenrir, forcing him to stop before pointing his wand at the beast, aiming at the beast's forehead, and shouting "HOMORPHUS."
Sirius's spell hit Fenrir right in the sinuses, making the Werewolf growled in pain before slowly returning to his human form, his hands crisped on his face. Sirius hesitated a moment before stuffing Denise's wand in his belt and charging at Fenrir.
Fenrir blinked at him and received Sirius' first punch in the face. He tried to retaliate by lacerating Sirius' face with his fingernails. Still, Sirius dodged and placed a powerful liver blow on Fenrir's left side, then kept landing punches on Fenrir's body, continuously apparating around him, pushing him towards the roof's edge while he battered him.
"It must be the first time you fight someone older than a five-year-old boy?" Sirius asked before his last punch hit Fenrir's chin, ejecting him from the roof.
Fenrir growled and fell from the roof until his back crashed on the council's square pavement under the alarmed eyes and screams of the people who witnessed their fight on the roof. Sirius followed him down to the square and trampled Fenrir's chest, his wand aimed at the Werewolf's head, forcing him to stay down as silver handcuffs appeared around his wrists.
"It's over… You'll never hurt anyone again, Fenrir," Sirius said.
Fenrir smirked and replied, "Kill me now, Black. Azkaban won't hold me forever…I'll be out one day, and I swear I will butcher until you curse this day."
Sirius spat on him. "That day, I'll swear I'll be the one on the hunt, and you won't find a hole deep enough to hide from me," Sirius said, while the people started gathering around them, taking pictures of the scene, while the police tried to reach them, blowing their whistles to disperse the crowd.
A few hours later, Sirius slowly opened his eyes, his head dizzy as it had become usual lately. A glance around him confirmed his faith would always be to wake up in places he didn't know with a headache. He lay on a small camp bed inside a dusty cabane filled with cardboard boxes. Beside him, a chair was pulled next to a white plastic table with an empty pizza box.
Sirius tried to leave the bed, but his handcuffed wrist pulled him back to the bed's metal. He was about to transform to free himself but heard footsteps followed by a soft voice.
"Did you sleep well, sweetheart?"
Sirius looked up to the man drying his face with a towel; he followed him silently with his eyes while he folded the towel to put it on the table before sitting on the chair beside the bed.
"Sorry about the handcuffs, but after Hamburg and Bonn, I started to believe I wouldn't get any other chances," Remus said, waving his wand slightly to make the handcuffs disappear from Sirius' wrist.
"Remus…Is it really you?" Sirius asked.
"Would you like us to stay locked here until the next full moon to be sure?" Remus asked back, smiling.
"What are you doing here?" Sirius asked.
"I'm obviously here because you are," Remis replied.
"I mean, what are we doing here…I was expecting another outcome for our next meeting…Particularly after the last one," Sirius said.
"That's why the handcuffs were for," Remus said.
"All right…So, what now?" Sirius asked.
"They must have finished rebuilding the council's house roof and obliviated everyone in Brasov by now, so I guess we could go for a drink," Remus said, checking his pockets.
"What…are you talking about?" Sirius whispered.
"Well, it's only 2 in the afternoon, and I just finished eating. You know how I am the day after a full moon night…So, I hope you won't mind snacking on something until dinner, right?" Remus said.
"CUT THE BULLSHIT!" Sirius shouted at him.
Remus chuckled and threw at his face a copy of the daily prophet. Sirius took the newspaper in his hand and looked at the front-page showing Fenrir Greyback in an Azkaban uniform, along with an inmate number. Then, his eyes looked at the headline above the picture.
National hero Sirius Black ends Fenrir Greyback's killing spree!"
"Wait until I'm done reading it before drooling over it, please," Remus said.
"Hero…" Sirius whispered before slowly looking up at Remus, confused.
"It's the word used to describe someone who has performed a dangerous or extraordinary task for the good of another person or community," Remus said.
Sirius looked dumbly at him, asking, "How do I fit that description?"
"At least for a Norman village, another in Germany and Brasov since this morning," Remus replied.
"I don't follow," Sirius said, looking back at the daily prophet.
"That might be your snail's IQ at work…Sirius, I didn't kill you, nor you're already back to prison because you've been cleared more than a month ago," Remus said.
"What?!" Sirius asked.
"Peter got captured and confessed everything in his trial…He explained how and why he joined Voldemort, pushed us to turn one against the other, became the secret keeper instead of you, framed you for the mass murder in London…Everything," Remus said.
"You must be kidding me!" Sirius said.
"No, I'm not…The news has traveled the world, and the Aurors who at first had as orders to kill you at sight, received new ones to bring you alive and only alive," Remus said, before drinking from his flask, then asked, "Remember Kingsley?"
"Tall, black, boring?" Sirius asked.
"The same one…He became an Auror and a good one. Apparently, he didn't buy the first story and summoned me for questioning in the Auror's office in London. The next time I heard of him, he had built a solid case before going to Mad-eye and Crouch, and it led them to arrest Dolohov," Remus said.
"Antonin Dolohov?" Sirius asked.
"Yes…That moron incriminated himself, telling an incoherent story to cover Peter and bring you down. After the trial, I guess my answers confirmed Kingsley's, mine, and Dumbledore's doubts…So, hearing your side of the story became crucial, and Dumbledore asked me to capture you before the Aurors."
"And you miserably failed!" Sirius said.
"I looked for you for a year…We received intel telling you were in Angola, so I went looking for you there, then to South Africa before going to Chile…Until Dumbledore called me back home after Peter got captured," Remus said.
"How did Peter get captured?" Sirius asked.
"You'll never guess," Remus said.
"He tripped and fell right in front of the Auror's office, hands tied behind his back?" Sirius asked.
"That's all you can do?" Remus asked.
"Azkaban matured me," Sirius replied.
"That must be the reason then…So you'll know, your cousin captured Peter," Remus said.
"Andromeda?" Sirius asked, surprised.
"No, your other cousin," Remus said.
"NARCISSA?!" Sirius shouted, even more surprised.
"Are you stupid? No! Nymphadora and another kid from Hogwarts," Remus said.
"I don't have any cousin named Nymphadora," Sirius said, shaking his head.
"Then, she'll be glad to hear that she put her sickles into a reward for a guy denying her existence," Remus said.
"I seriously don't know her…And what reward are you talking about?" Sirius asked.
"Nymphadora is Andromeda's daughter…Anyways, Peter pretended to be a rat to get adopted by a wizard family," Remus said.
"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THAT SON OF A BITCH WOULD DO! HE'S NOT WORTH ANY BETTER! HE HAS NO DIGNITY! AND…" Sirius shouted before Remus interrupted him.
"Are you done?" Remus asked.
"Sorry, but thinking about him makes me want to vomit and burn the world…Go on, tell me how he spent years locked in a cage, eating grains, drinking water no one changed for a week, and how he found himself in a disturbed family with a kid who loves torturing his pets…Don't spare any details," Sirius said.
"Quite to opposite…He got adopted by a loving family, and the kid who found him loves animals…Too much, according to Minerva," Remus said.
"There is no justice in this world," Sirius said, sighing.
"You'll feel better after knowing he's, the moment we speak, locked in your old cell in Azkaban," Remus said.
"I am…So, tell me how the best little cousin in the world managed to catch him," Sirius said.
"You didn't know she existed two minutes ago," Remus said.
"The-best-in-the-world," Sirius said.
"Alright…Call it faith if you want, but she's best friends with the kid who adopted Peter. They tried some spells on him that must have forced him to reveal himself. One thing leading to another, Ted Tonks knocked him out before alerting Dumbledore and the ministry of magic," Remus said, before drinking again, " He woke up in a cell in the ministry where he stayed until his trial," Remus.
"Who were his judges?" Sirius asked.
"Dumbledore, Crouch, and Bagnold," Remus replied.
"Good, tell me more…What happened next?" Sirius asked.
"They sent him to Azkaban, end of the story…If you feel better, we should go to the Balasko's; a portkey will take us back to London tomorrow morning," Remus said, standing up.
"I'm not going back to England," Sirius said, shaking his head.
"Why not?" Remus asked.
"I still have things to do before…First, I have to go to Germany and see a friend who's been in trouble because of me," Sirius replied.
"Oh…Didn't I tell you?" Remus asked before sitting back on the chair, "After the trial, you also had a hearing to clarify what happened in France and Germany after you escaped"
"A hearing?" Sirius asked.
"That's what I said," Remus said.
"Are you sure?" Sirius asked.
"Yes…All the wizengamot, Heads of departments, delegations from the French and German ministries of magic, the press, head of houses…Everyone!" Remus said, counting on his fingers.
"Was the defendant present? Did the accused have a chance to talk?" Sirius asked.
"No, he was busy playing dolls with twelve-year-old kids around Europe," Remus replied, "Anyways, people came to testify on your behalf…"
"Like who?" Sirius asked.
"The villagers you saved from being slaughtered in De Reis' crypt…They came with delegates from the French ministry of magic. Could you believe it, muggles in the ministry?... I mean, those who were discharged from the psychiatric ward," Remus said.
"Who else?" Sirius asked.
"Your friend Alexa came with her mother and four other girls. Her testimony took an eternity; she talked for an hour! then we had to take a break when she started crying…" Remus said.
"Yeah, she does that a lot," Sirius said, nodding.
"Then, after resuming, we had to stop again after she called Crouch a Nazi. However, she told everything you did for her, and the other girls corroborated her story," Remus said before looking uncomfortable and asking, "She seemed very attached to you…"
"Yes, we became very close. I slept on her bedroom's floor for weeks," Sirius said.
"And the age gap is…." Remus said before Sirius looked darkly at him.
"SHUT UP! She's my friend, we helped each other, I trained her, THAT'S IT! The simple fact that you could imagine anything else makes me want to vomit! You're a pervert! Fucking Werewolf! Monster! Evil! I should punch you!" Sirius told him.
"Sirius! I was joking!" Remus said.
"Well, it's not funny! If someone my age tries something on her or my cousin, I'll murder him!" Sirius said.
"Good to know, and sorry if I offended you. I apologize! Anyways, she received formal, written apologies from the German ministry, a medal, and Dumbledore offered her a place in Hogwarts. Even if the board objected because she's not British, the ministry of magic gave Dumbledore its green light," Remus said.
"So, she's in Scotland now?" Sirius asked.
"No! She declined the offer; she wanted to stay close to her parents and become someone in her academy…Although she told me that both of you had to talk," Remus said.
"I'm relieved…I was afraid I'd screw up her life. But Remus…The dates don't add up. I've been here for two months, and Peter's capture news traveled the world," Sirius said.
"Think, Sirius, think!" Remus said.
Sirius stared at him silently until he remembered how everyone's behavior had suddenly changed in the house a few weeks ago and said, "Ohhh…I'm going to murder each one of them."
"Ludvik said part of your deal was that he wouldn't report you to the ministry as long you respected your part. He respected his part." Remus said, shrugging.
"That's because I thought I was still wanted! The asshole! He manipulated me into staying…Wait a moment! Didn't you say something about a reward?" Sirius asked.
"Yes, you got acquitted, but nobody knew where you were…So, your friends chipped in to offer a reward to bring you back home safely. Dumbledore, Hagrid, McGonagall, Andromeda, her daughter, her friend, and me…Even your elf did," Remus said.
"Kreatur?" Sirius asked, frowning.
"Yes, a pound of mice poop, and says he collected and weighed it himself," Remus said.
"Seven people…I thought Frank, Alice, and the other order members would have participated…." Sirius said.
"They would have if they could," Remus said.
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked.
"The same day you were arrested, Bellatrix tortured them to insanity, and since that day, they've been in St Mungo. Bellatrix, the Lestrange brothers and Crouch's kid, have been sentenced to life in Azkaban for the crime," Remus said.
"That's why they got arrested? I saw them walk past my cell when they arrived in Azkaban…The kid died in his cell. If I remember, they had a daughter, right?" Sirius said.
"No, a son…Neville, he lives with his grandparents," Remus corrected him.
"Neville? Are you sure?" Sirius asked.
"Yes…Neville," Remus said.
"Okay…However, the reward explains why they lied to me…Those fuckers split the money between them and now that you said it, their attitude towards me changed these last weeks…And I was stupid to think I might have changed their mind about me," Sirius said.
"I strongly doubt he split with them, but rather blackmailed them someway. And by the way, you owe me five hundred gold galleons. However, I'm not in a hurry! So, take your time!" Remus said.
"I never asked anybody to raise money for me! So, you won't see a coin from me!" Sirius said.
"I'm not talking about the reward…Balasko kept a book about all the time you spent in his house, food, and other spendings. He had a bill ready for me when I arrived. There is also another form bill from a Dominic…Did you really spend so much on six bottles of scotch?" Remus asked, annoyed.
"Oh, Remus…You're so cute, so easy to scam… But, don't worry, I learned a lot that could bring him a lot of trouble, so you'll see your gold back. I promise," Sirius said, looking up and down at Remus and saying, "Anyways, how did you pay? I mean, no offense, but you can barely afford food…wait a minute! You're wearing new, neat clothes. Your hair is well combed even after a full moon night! REMUS RACHELLE LUPIN! Are you prostituting yourself?" Sirius asked.
"My middle name is Jon," Remus said.
"RACHEEELLLEEE!" Sirius shouted.
"I'm not a prostitute…I work at Hogwarts. I'm Dumbledore's personal assistant," Remus said.
"You mean, like a teacher?" Sirius asked.
"I do substitute some teachers when they're not available. Well, I have a salary and all the privileges the staff has. Only, I don't live in the castle! I bought a small apartment in Hogsmeade. It's close to Hogwarts and the shack. You already know why," Remus said.
"Professor Lupin…That's worse than prostitution! You switched to the enemy! That's treason!" Sirius said.
"Is it?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes! But forget about it…Tell me about Harry. Where is he? What is he like? I want to know everything!" Sirius said, folding his hands behind his head.
"He's fine," Remus said.
"I didn't expect him to be dead, but what else…" Sirius said.
"That's all I know!" Remus said.
"What do you mean that's all you know? When was the last time you saw him?" Sirius asked.
"He lives with his aunt. Dumbledore has forbidden any contact between the magical world and Harry. He explained that the magic that protects him could be altered if we do otherwise, and Petunia made it a condition to accept him in her home. Dumbledore insists we must respect it," Remus said.
"A condition to take in her nephew? Her murdered sister's baby?" Sirius asked.
"Yes," Remus said.
"So, if I understand, you never visited him…And Petunia isn't happy to have him in her house," Sirius said.
"Put yourself in her shoes…Think about what happened to Frank and Alice. She has a son too, and we don't know how many death eaters are still on the loose. Think what Fenrir did these past years to kids! We thought you'd go straight to the Dursleys after escaping!" Remus said.
"Why didn't you take him with you? You have a place now, a paycheck, and you live ten minutes walking from the most powerful wizard in the world, and I don't think he would refuse to watch on a kid, one night a month!" Sirius said.
"Do you think I didn't try? I tried to visit, but as soon as I stepped into Privet Drive, Mad eye appeared behind me and stupefied me!" Remus retorted.
"Alright…Let's not fight…I'm Harry's legal guardian. I'll get him as soon as I get back to England," Sirius said, leaving the bed.
"Dumbledore will fight you on that! He won't let you!" Remus said.
"Dumbledore, Dumbledore…I don't give a shit about him. James and Lily chose me as his godfather, not Petunia or Dumbledore. So, they both can go lick a rock! What is this place anyway?" Sirius said, looking at the boxes.
"A cabin in the woods Ludvik uses to store his contraband," Remus replied.
"Of course…" Sirius said, grabbing the doorknob. But, before opening the door, he turned to look back at Remus," I almost forgot. Greyback did something strange. He transformed even if the sun had already risen."
"That's impossible," Remus said.
"Why would I lie? And his form was very different from yours when you transform…More human…Would you know anything about it?" Sirius said.
Remus looked at him, confused, before replying, "No…I have no idea about what you're talking about. But, wait a second before we go!" he added before Sirius could leave.
"What?" Sirius said.
"Where have you been this last year? I've looked everywhere!" Remus said.
"I was home! Where would you want me to be? " Sirius replied before pulling the door.
Sirius and Remus walked away from the cabin and disapparated, not noticing the two shadows that were discreetly watching them from a distance, concealed by the density of the forest.
"When will we finally start taking him seriously?" Mike asked.
"This night's events are a mere coincidence," Sivatara replied.
"Then, Sirius Black's life is a long list of dangerous coincidences," Mepikh said, leaning his back against a tree, "Unless we want the next coincidence to set chaos, I suggest we kill him now!"
"One hundred thousand years ago, we swear always to respect the decisions we make as a council," Sivatara said.
"Even you can't hide your concern or doubts…Correct me if I'm wrong, but you see in him the same will of the last one," Mepikh said.
"Doubting is awareness," Sivatara said.
"What did you see?" Mike asked.
"Nothing…I receive confusing images. Nothing makes sense, so I stopped trying to prevent my judgment from being corrupted," Sivatara replied.
"As confused you could be, centuries pass, but the pattern remains the same…The alliance is rebuilt before miserably crumbling before our power," A voice said behind them.
"Hibis, I didn't expect to see you here," Sivatara said.
"Black and Greyback's presence too close to Albania had me concerned. So, I went to make sure that Riddle was still there…And, now that Pettigrew won't be going to find him, I released Nagini there instead…" His said.
"Nagini…I forgot about her. How long has she been your prisoner?" Sivatara asked.
"Forty years…She irreversibly turned fifteen years ago but still kept her until I've found a decent use for her," Hibis replied.
"Good…I have summoned the council for an emergency meeting. I think there is nothing else we can do here," Sivatara said, showing them how his hand, on which a dark stain started expanding on his skin.
"As suspected, Ravenclaw cast around Dracul's castle the same curse keeping us away from Hogwarts and the other zones," Hibis said.
Hello everyone! I'm happy to finally turn the 'wanted Sirius' page and untie my hands. It took a lot of time and 43 chapters, but I didn't want to rush it. I'll close this arc with the next chapter, and I'm planning to post it next weekend...Until then, take care of yourselves; please review, fav, and follow!