The Casting Stone 11
Tahoe was exceptionally beautiful – the storms we had the week before left perfect snow, the skies were so blue it hurt to look at them, and I never fell during my downhill skiing!!! Cross-country I'm a whiz at, but the downhill… well, thank goodness I learned to fall properly when I played rugby.
And for the football minded…. Congrats to you Baltimore folks. The Ravens were great; they deserved to win… urg! Well, I grew up with the Baltimore Colts (Dating myself again!) and man, were they the bottom of the barrel – so, I guess, it's better to have at least lost to the team that won in the end. (But can we do something to shut Mr. Lewis up? You won the Superbowl, that's it – I'll be far more impressed with that goofy little dance when you cure cancer.)
We're halfway through…. Remus, Katie & Draco find the young American and try to have a conversation with him. Naturally, he poses more questions than gives answers. They get an idea of exactly what is on the island they are looking for, and the suggestion that Remus was correct in his suspicions that Peter couldn't possibly be alone. They do find the island, but it is not deserted. And we learn what password Sirius chose for his map….
***
"It's like trying to find the one decent flavoured bean in a bag of Bertie Botts'!"
Remus laughed quietly but kept walking
though the shady grove, keeping a sharp ear and eye out for any strange noises,
and trying to catch the scent of the wolf from the night before. Our strange American companion, I know
it. Katie was right; we were foolish
not to have picked up on that and yes, I should have let her try to find him
before last night….
"If you weren't so picky, love, it wouldn't be such a challenge."
Katie made a face. "Picky? Disgusting things. I can't believe you eat them. Why do I always seem to get a sardine or dead moose flavoured one? Are you sorting through them before you talk me into eating the things or something? 'Oh, go on, Katie, love, it's not that bad. Try the red one- I suspect it's raspberry jam!' You've an unfair advantage. In know you can tell tangerine from glue."
"Dead moose? Surely not."
"Every flavour, Remus; and they're not playing around with that claim. Nasty."
Remus chuckled and casually tossed a small handful of grass seed at her after bending to pull at the high weeds they walked through in the cool light of the midmorning sun coming through the thick tree branches. She threw her own handful back, but offered no further comment, just smiled at him and picked up her pace to catch up with Draco, who kept a good twenty odd paces in front of them most of the morning.
"Exactly what does a dead moose taste like?
Katie shot him a quick look over her shoulder then continued forward, calling back, "Glad to know you're feeling well enough to be vaguely obnoxious, love."
"I feel well enough to be totally obnoxious. I must be slipping in my old age."
"Hardly."
Remus stopped walking for a moment as he saw Draco come to a halt near the edge of the trees. Katie caught up to him and she and Draco spoke in low tones about how far they had come, what time it was now, and what the chances were of them actually finding this strange man. Remus wasn't sure if Draco was aware that he could hear everything they said. Katie was, but she could have cared less.
At breakfast that morning they had all discussed the impact of the young werewolf's visit the night before. Remus and Liz felt that this was probably simply a poor Muggle who had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. He wasn't going to live much longer, as Muggles were driven mad by the curse and were destroyed physically by it within a short time of being effected, and he had most likely come to the house out of confusion because he could feel that Remus was there, and was drawn to him.
Draco thought that they were over simplifying the situation. Draco pointed out that the young man had been in the vicinity of the house for almost two weeks without coming to Remus, although considering what the man had said to Remus the first time he saw him, he seemed to know exactly what he was and exactly what Remus was.
"'You too', correct, Professor? He saw you for what you were; he knew you were like him. So I strongly disagree that he is unaware of his situation. I will agree that he seems to have been impacted mentally to some extent. But for all we know, he may have been 'off' as Katie puts it prior to his being bitten at all; how did he put himself in the position to be …." Draco suddenly stopped, and gave Remus a quick look. Remus had one of his rare glimpses of Draco showing a true emotion as he saw sadness in his eyes in that very brief moment. "Forgive me. I am accustomed to participating in conversations such as this from the instigators side. Those who practice Dark Arts are of the belief that victims 'choose' themselves through their actions. I sincerely doubt this man chose to be cursed and condemned to such a painful and slow death; at the very least, I am certain that what happened what not what he expected; how could it possibly?" Draco paused for a moment, and his familiar tense and vaguely scornful expression settled back over him like a mask.
"However," he continued, "the fact is he has known of us but not approached us for quite a while. Why? Either he is watching us, presumably to keep an eye on our actions for someone, or he is with others and last night was his first real chance to …get away from them, I suppose. I doubt very much they would have wanted him around. In his confusion, not really 'aware' that having a conversation would be out of the question, he came here because it was his first real opportunity to speak with Remus."
Draco, I appreciate that you are, by nature, suspicious of most people's actions or intents, but….
Sirius, for once, had agreed with Draco. "Moony, I know that expression well. Draco, he's about to disagree with you, politely but firmly, but I'm going to back you up. There's another possibility too, and that is that he's hiding from someone himself, which is why he's reluctant to come into the open. Last night, transformed, his instinct kicked in and he came here automatically, like you suggested, Draco. He's not really approached us before because he doesn't know if we're to be trusted."
"Sirius, he's spoken with you…."
"Liz, I don't think he meant to bump into us that day, and he vanished pretty quickly. He didn't even speak to Draco when Draco saw him, and disappeared even faster."
Harry spoke up at this. "Look, we should try and see if maybe we can find him; we're not going to get anywhere speculating. Remus, it's doubtful, I think, that's he's with anyone else. If he were with the werewolf who bit him, they both would have come here because beta werewolves will always run with their alpha if they are actually together, correct?"
"Correct."
"As for being with other wizards, they certainly wouldn't let him roam loose, as he would be a danger to them, firstly, and secondly, he would most likely draw attention to them they presumably don't want. He may be here with Muggle friends, if he's actually with anyone, and they certainly won't know what's wrong with him, but they are in mortal danger from him. Or they were last night. Liz, we need to go into town and see if the young wolf…see if there were any attacks last night."
Liz gave a grim nod.
"I'm with Sirius on the idea that he is in hiding, and last night he was overcome by instinct to finally approach Remus, not the rest us. We need to know who he's hiding from, I should think. If it's Muggles, or if he's just laying low in general because of the confusion he feels in his situation, it's of no import. But," here Harry looked closely at Draco; "I suspect he's most likely hiding from wizards, because he is aware, on some level, of us and of what we are. Not just Remus; he waved at Malfoy too. Probably a side effect of the curse; he can't do magic, but he can sense it in us, because we all know very well that lycanthropy significantly alters the victims' senses. At the very least, he is probably hiding from the wizard who did this to him. That concerns me, and I think concerns all of us. Perhaps he is not alone in keeping an eye on us."
Draco gave a curt nod and stood up. Then he looked at Katie.
"Katie, what have you got to say?"
"I've wanted to find him all along for the simple fact that he's got a family somewhere who are probably going starkers trying to figure out what happened to him. We can't save him, but we can try and do something to make it easier. Maybe send him home so he can be with his family in the end. We can alert the authorities so that if he's alive next full moon they can do something. As painful as it will be for his family to watch him die…. I think it will be far worse to never know. And to live a lifetime with the false hope that one day he might walk in the door would be too cruel." She said this quietly with a closed expression, not looking at anyone as she started out the window. Malcolm and Roarke. I would go mad if they ever simply vanished, as would she. We do need to at least try…for their sake if nothing else.
Remus had agreed to take Katie and Draco and go looking for the young man while Liz and Harry went into town to see if there was any word of any strange attacks or incidents from the night before. Sirius had cheerfully volunteered to stay at the house to keep an eye on things, but Remus knew that he was really looking forward to whenever Callum finally put in an appearance. Katie had left behind a strong anti-hangover remedy and made Sirius swear that he would in fact give it to Callum. Remus noticed that she made no mention of when he was supposed to give it to him, and it was a safe bet that Sirius would drag that event out as long as he thought he could get away with it.
Remus walked forward to catch up with Katie and Draco. Draco had retreated a bit from them again after this morning's discussion, growing silent and pensive. He's convinced there are dark wizards about behind all this with the Muggle, I know it. But he's obviously in no mood to discuss that. Interesting that he told me the arrival of the werewolf had in fact woken him up just before I went after it. He could feel that darkness moving towards the house, and that's got to have upset him.
Draco looked up at Remus as he reached them, but did not return his smile. "This young man could be concealed behind wards, you know, Professor."
"I doubt that very much, as he certainly can't set them himself. He's got to be somewhere around here; he'll be too ill to get very far, I think. I know he seemed to vanish from the beach last night, but that can't be true…."
"Unless someone took him from the beach," Draco added rather testily. Remus was still tired and drained from the transformation and he could feel his temper starting to rise a bit. Draco's stubbornness could be annoying at times, and Remus was in no mood to debate with him.
"Draco, listen to me. I appreciate that you are concerned that this man is not alone, but I do not believe there were any confederates involved here. Why weren't you attacked in any way once I was drawn out of the house, if that was the intent? You are reading far to much into this."
Draco glared at him, but Remus saw that he recognized the no-nonsense tone in Remus' voice meant that this discussion was over. Katie raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing herself. She knows better. Draco turned and marched on up the grove, silent again.
Remus stared after him a moment, then rubbed his eyes and sighed. He motioned for Katie to start walking again and they followed Draco, keeping a few yards back. Remus watched Draco's tight set shoulders closely to see if he relaxed a bit, but if anything he seemed to be getting angrier at each step. Nothing like telling a Slytherin they're making incorrect assumptions. He'll sulk for days. Or until he's proven right.
Katie finally spoke up again, carefully saying nothing about the last subject and instead moving back to the relatively safe topic of speculating on the condition of the illusive werewolf.
"This is probably his second moon, based on what you've all said of his behaviour. He won't live much longer. You know Muggles rarely make it past the second or third moon. They just can't deal with the curse, mentally or physically. Maybe it's a good thing their minds…."
Katie stopped speaking abruptly and quickened her pace. Remus jumped forward to catch up with her and took her hand to force her to look at him.
"What? Why's that a good thing?"
Katie just gave his hand a squeeze and shook her head. They walked on in silence for a bit. It's a good thing because then they really don't know what's happening to them, is that it Katie? You can say that to me; I think you're right. The worst part of this curse is knowing exactly what you're capable of; of how much you want to let go…of feeling the darkness always waiting to find a way out, and be just as terrible as it can be.
Remus glanced at Katie quietly, but she stubbornly kept her gaze straight ahead. What a day this is turning out to be.
Suddenly Draco stopped and looked sharply to his right. He looked back at Remus and Katie and nodded in the direction he had just turned. He took out his wand and walked forward in a very determined fashion into the trees. Remus resisted the urge to tell Katie to stay where she was, as that would have repercussions he didn't feel like dealing with, and instead he and Katie both simply took out their own wands and jogged to catch up with Draco.
Draco had come to a small clearing in the grove. There, curled up against a large rock under a filthy blanket, the strange young man lay asleep. His dark hair was wild and unkempt, and he was talking to himself quietly even in his sleep. He had a very fevered look to him, no doubt from the after effects of the transformation that morning. Remus noted the familiar looking dark circles under his eyes, and a number of small scratches and cuts on the man's face. I don't think he did that; that looks like something he did during the transformation probably from thrashing on the ground.
"Katie," he whispered, "Draco, let me wake him up. We don't know how he'll react, and if he does fight us, he may well bite you and he is still dangerous so soon after the transformation. Understood?"
They nodded and Draco looked around carefully. "Draco," Remus continued, "have a look about and see if you can see anyone else or any evidence of anyone else. It looks like he's been camped here for a while," Remus indicated a small pile of belongings that was, oddly, carefully folded and lined up along the other side of the rock from where the man lay. Draco moved away without a sound back into the grove of trees.
Remus moved forward and knelt down in front of the man quietly. Touching him would not be a good move, as the man would be startled and would probably attack him.
"Hello? Hello? Are you alright?"
The young man stopped muttering to himself and slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were still glazed and vaguely haunted, a look Remus had seen for years in the mirror. But there was also the unsettling look of a mind not quite comprehending what was happening around it. The young man stared at Remus for a few moments, but neither moved nor said anything. Remus just waited, watching the man slowly realize that there really was someone speaking to him.
"Hello," he said in a rasping voice, in a vaguely surprised tone.
"Hello. I'm Remus. Who are you?"
"Jack."
"Jack. Are you alright?"
"No. No, something's wrong again." He sighed deeply.
"Again?"
Jack nodded slowly. "I get sick sometimes. I can't remember…." His eyes filled with tears and he shook his head. "No soup to make it better."
"Soup?"
"My mom doesn't bring any soup to make it better." Remus didn't dare take his eyes off of the man to look back at Katie but he could imagine the expression on her face at this statement.
"We can give you something. Would that be alright?" There was no immediate response to this, and the young man just stared at him with a puzzled expression as the tears quietly ran down his face. Remus tried again.
"Jack, I saw you last night, but you left before I could talk to you. Do you remember that?"
"No. I'm sorry; I'm sorry…."
"That's okay…." Suddenly however the young man seemed to spring to life. His whole face seemed to light up with a wild and scared expression and he sat up, twisting the old blanket in his hands. Remus couldn't help but notice that they were covered in blood.
"Oh, oh it is you. Yes, you must leave! I tried to tell you last night! But…but…something happened. I can't remember…. I tried!"
"Yes, yes…thank you. We're here now…"
"They saw you!"
Remus sat back a bit. Draco may be right…. Remus did glance back at Katie now, and saw that she was looking around them, presumably searching for Draco. The young man seemed to notice Katie for the first time, and was startled by her. He reached out very quickly and grabbed Remus' arm.
"Who's that?" he whispered.
Remus was startled at the strength of the man's grip. That's not the grip of a new wolf, that's the grip of an older wolf. Remus had met about a dozen other wolves in his life during the years he wandered, some very new, some much older than himself. The werewolf's strength became part of the human self slowly, unlike the werewolf senses. Those were immediate, and Remus remembered how startling it had been to him as a small boy when his entire perception of the world had changed so drastically overnight. At first, before his first full transformation and the realization of what had happened to him had become real, he had thought it wonderful and fascinating. He hadn't understood why his mother had cried so hard when he had run into the house and asked her when the cookies she was baking would be ready. Told her I could smell them all the way down the road.
Remus took a deep breath, and slowly removed the man's hand from his arm. "That's Katie. She's with me; it's okay."
"No no – she's like them! She's one of the others!"
"No, Jack, I promise…."
"She's not like us!"
"No she's not, but she's not going to hurt us. Please believe me."
Jack stared at Katie, who gave him a smile, but said nothing. Jack was startled at that and instinctively smiled back for a moment, before looking back at Remus and shaking his head.
"I don't understand….You need to leave. Please."
"Who saw us, Jack?"
"The others. Like her. When you were back…at the other place. They came to get me, because I went through the gate, and they needed me. They don't know how to read. Only I can read. Only me."
"The other place? By the ocean?"
"Yes. Where it happened, you know. Where the …the…where it happened. I tried to go back there, so I walked through the gate. They saw you…"
Jack was getting more agitated by the moment, and with a snarl of frustration, threw his head back and smacked it on the rock behind him. He seemed not to notice however and just went on with his strange dialogue.
"Please, please they were very angry to see you. You're in places you shouldn't be! They were angry with me for leaving, and it's not nice at all. Look…." Jack twisted where he sat and lowered the blanket off of one shoulder to show Remus something that made his blood run cold.
"Katie, come behind me and have a look at this."
Katie moved carefully behind Remus and glanced at the man's shoulder. There were the remains of a bad burn on his skin.
"Katie…"
"I get it Remus. Jack?"
Jack pulled the blanket back around him and looked at her suspiciously.
"Where is your family?"
"My family?"
"Where do you come from, sweetheart?"
"Oh, I come from…from…um…not this place." He looked around him miserably. "It's too hot here. I don't like it."
"Do you come from America? The United States?"
"Land of the free, home of the brave. I play baseball, you know. Or I used to; there's nobody here to play with, so…."
"Do you want to go home?"
"NO!"
Remus instinctively stood up and put himself between Jack and Katie at that outburst. He could sense that the young man was now fully awake and very agitated, and he was uncertain if their conversation would last much longer.
"Jack, why don't you want to go home?"
"I don't live in a nice place. I used to…"
Something suddenly occurred to Remus. "Where did you used to live?"
"What she said."
"And where do you live now?"
"Right here."
"On this island?"
Jack looked surprised. "What island?"
At that moment Draco appeared. What happened next was too fast for any of them to see, let alone try to stop. Jack took one look at Draco, snarled at him, and took off into the trees. Remus instantly ran after him, astonished at the speed of the young wolf, and only caught a brief glimpse of him before the young man disappeared around the ruins of an old stone structure. Remus ran around the corner, and stopped dead. Jack had, once again, simply vanished. Worse, Remus felt a bitter dark coldness come over him. Gates. He means doors. There's a Spelldoor here; and something has opened it.
He turned quickly and walked away from the ruin, his head clearing a bit as he moved away. Draco and Katie came running up at that moment, Draco clearly startled by the sheer speed with which the wolves had moved.
"Where is he?"
"Gone. Stop right there; there's a Spelldoor over there. That must be how he's moving about. He can use them because of the curse; it's just enough for him to use them. There must be one on the beach, too. Let's get back to the house immediately. I think, based on that discussion, that we need to be leaving as soon as possible."
"What did he say to you?"
"Nothing very coherent. But I suspect he's running from Peter, and it sounds like Peter's not alone."
"He said that?"
"No, Draco," said Katie quietly. "He's got a burn on his shoulder in the shape of a hand. Peter has a silver hand."
***
They apparated back to the house to find that Liz and Harry had returned, and Callum had in fact risen at long last. Remus had actually hoped that Callum wouldn't be up just yet, so they could all speak together, but he was quietly relieved that Callum seemed no worse for his adventure the night before.
"Oh, hey there. Sorry I overslept," he gave Draco a suspicious look but Draco simply walked past him into the other room without a word. "Are we going out this afternoon?"
"Yes. Feel like an adventure, Callum?"
Callum did smile broadly at this comment. "Always! What've you got in mind, Remus?"
Remus smiled at him and indicated he should sit down at the table with him. "We've got an old map of the area we found in a used bookstore back in England. Interestingly enough, it shows one island that we can't seem to find on the current maps of the place. Thought it might be entertaining to sail out that direction and see if maybe there's some sort of rock or something that was accidentally classified as an island. If nothing else, it will be a good afternoon's sail."
He saw Katie smile quietly and shake her head out of the corner of his eye before she left the room.
"Old maps were mostly copied, you know. Probably the maker just accidentally mapped the same island twice."
"Probably. But still, like I said…."
"A good afternoon's sail. You know, we should take a nice picnic with us. Then we can land somewhere and have a nice swim and take it easy for a while."
Feeling a little tired?
"Excellent idea!" said Sirius, loudly, appearing in the doorway with, Remus was startled to see, the map in one hand and his wand in the other. Padfoot, what are you up to?
Sirius sat down next to Callum, who was suitably stunned that Sirius was sitting next to him and smiling widely at him. Remus thought he would actually faint with shock when Sirius reached over and clapped him soundly on the back.
"We'll take some champagne to celebrate." Oh, here it is.
"Um, sure! What are we celebrating then?"
"November 12." Padfoot, you're being cruel.
"What's November 12?"
"Liz's and my wedding day. We decided on the date this morning while you were asleep. That's something to celebrate, I think."
Callum did look crestfallen, Remus noted, while Sirius' smile actually seemed to widen. Remus also noted the wicked twinkle in his eyes that bode no good for Callum. He's not finished with you, old man.
"That's great. I'll be sure to keep my calendar clear." Remus just managed to avoid laughing out loud and covered by giving a cough to get Sirius' attention.
"Sirius? We need to get moving soon. Why don't you let Callum take Draco and Katie to start getting the boat ready?"
"Oh, they're already down there with Harry and Liz. Busy making preparations. Liz says to be sure and not leave Pig here this time." So they got the message that we need to leave immediately. Good.
"Callum, let me show you where we're headed," Sirius continued in his most pleasant tones, and unrolled the map. Remus had to groan inwardly, as his worst suspicions about Sirius' current behaviour were realized. The map was blank.
Callum stared at the parchment for a moment, then glanced at Remus with a puzzled expression. Remus kept a carefully neutral face and decided to just let Sirius get on with it. He's not going to remember anything about this anyway, best let Sirius get it out of his system.
Sirius picked up his wand with a flourish, and tapped the centre of the parchment.
"I drink to the general joy of the whole table."
Callum gave Sirius an odd look, his expression becoming more confused, and Remus saw, a little more apprehensive with each passing second. Picked the wrong group to tick off, Mr. Maccreedy.
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "What? You don't read Shakespeare? Macbeth, you know…." Sirius chatted on about Macbeth while Remus waited for Callum to notice what was happening on the once blank piece of parchment. Remus could see the map starting to appear slowly, the elegant lines Sirius had drawn so beautifully winding lazily about as the images took shape. It rather had the appearance of the little islands seeming to rise directly out of the ocean. Callum looked back down and gaped as he watched the map finish its spell with a small pop. Sirius, that's grandstanding, that is.
"Wow…how…how did that….?"
"Magic."
Callum laughed nervously. "Right. Is this some sort of fancy new flat screen computer?"
"What? Look, here's where we are," Sirius pointed at the map and instantly one of the small sections seemed to roll and grow, zooming in on their current location and bringing out the greater detail of the islands around them. Remus couldn't stop a small giggle escaping this time before he clamped his hand over his mouth and glared at Sirius. Sirius just made a face and turned his attention back to Callum, who now looked totally flabbergasted.
"Damn! What is this thing?"
"It's a map, Callum, like we said. Here's where we need to go." Sirius pointed at the small island he had drawn in approximately where they guessed it was located. "Can you get us there?"
"Yeah, sure…where did you get this thing?"
"Bookstore. Now, get up and let's get going. Best run up and grab a jacket, right?"
"Right…." Callum stood up slowly and left the room with the same expression of astonishment on his face. Remus waited until he heard Callum's footsteps fade as he climbed to the upstairs landing before laughing out loud.
"You're still a brat, Sirius. Poor fellow; and the day is young for him."
"Serves him bloody well right. Now go grab Pig and come down to the boat. We've already set protection charms and everything, and we're all set to find our way through these wards. And I want details on what that man said."
"He's seen Peter, Sirius. And it sounds as if maybe Peter is not alone, as I suspected. The young man got away from us by running through a Spelldoor."
"That doesn't sound good at all. What did Malfoy say about that?"
"Nothing, and I didn't take time to discuss it with him. I think that there may be a chance we'll catch up with Peter on this island. Jack, that's his name it seems, said that Peter had seen us on the mainland, and was unhappy. I have no idea how Jack got here from the mainland, but my guess is a Spelldoor. It all suggests that these places are linked up so people can move back and forth between these relevant sites, don't you think?"
"Sounds that way, yes. So you think this island we're going to will have Spelldoors that will take us to where we need to go next?"
"Yes. The question is, is Peter there trying to figure them out or has he already done that and moved ahead. Jack said something about being the only one who could 'read'. Remember when we were in Nafplion? The enforcement wizard Draco and I spoke with said that a muggle professor had recently been killed. An ancient Greek scholar. That man had been a regular visitor to the area for years, and brought his students with him. Three years ago, one of those students vanished when a 'monster' dragged them off. I suspect that there is a very real possibility that Jack was that student. He told us that he was trying to get back to the place where 'it happened'."
"Three years ago? How could he have possibly lived that long?"
"I don't know. Maybe some Muggles can make it. He was much stronger than a young wolf, Sirius. He had the strength of someone who has lived with the curse for a while. But where has he been all this time? He has to have been hidden somewhere protected not to have been found by either the Muggles or us. I think, and this is my best guess mind you, that he has been on that island the whole time, and only just got away from whoever was holding him and using his knowledge to translate all of this. They followed him back to Nafplion where, by chance, he had managed to find his old professor again. They killed the Muggle when they came for Jack, but he got away and lost them through the Spelldoors. I think there must be any number of them about, or they would have easily followed him immediately to this place."
Sirius shook his head and smiled. "You still amaze me, Remus."
"It's just a theory, Sirius."
"Sounds good to me. But I get that the key points, no matter how accurate you are in that little theory, are that Peter has been about, we're getting closer, we've been spotted by whoever came after that werewolf, and we're dealing with some very nasty ancient magic if Spelldoors are about. Of course, after our meeting with the Servant of the Lord of the Northern Sky we had that bit already figured out."
"Yes."
"Right, let's go then." Sirius stood up and reached to pick up the map.
"Sirius, how do you close it?"
"Oh, well…I had the misfortune to set that spell when I was really mad at Maccreedy. I confess it's a bit childish."
"Worse than what you chose to open it?"
"I thought that was rather inspired, actually."
"I remember that passage, Padfoot, and it was not Mr. Shakespeare's intent to have his toast used as a put-down, I believe."
"What put-down? Callum's drinking was to the general joy of the whole table."
"Indeed. Well?"
"Callum Maccreedy is a flaming arse."
"Sirius, change it."
"Not on your life, Moony, old friend."
"Liz will be…."
"Delighted. It has her blessing. Let's go, shall we?"
"Yes, I'd best tell Draco he was right. I suspect he'll be a more pleasant companion with that."
"I am not going to make a comment."
***
Liz gave Callum a rather potent distracting charm as soon as he stepped onto the boat. It had the effect of making him happily oblivious to the large spell circle they had drawn on the front top deck to protect the boat and the fact that his companions all now stood about with their wands drawn and intently watching a small cauldron boiling on a fire that didn't seem to burn the deck. The potion in the cauldron would start to change colour as it came into contact with concealment spells, so they would get an idea of when they were getting closer to the island. Draco and Harry positioned themselves on the bow of the boat, waiting to see if in fact storms were going to rise up in front of them.
While they sailed the open waters heading for their destination, Remus wrote a letter to Hermione and Ron, to let them know what was about to happen and to ask a few quick favours from them. He also wrote one for them to give to Malcolm.
Ron & Hermione –
We are currently sailing for an island we suspect has been hidden on the south side of Paros. Based on the letter from Peter in Draco's book, I am assuming that this location will be the key we need to identify where in Egypt we will need to go next. Also, based on an encounter with a young werewolf we had, I believe that this island contains Spelldoors that will in fact take us there directly.
We have confirmed that Peter has been around here, and suspect that there is a possibility he is aware we are following him. Once we reach Egypt, we will contact Bill to let him know what is happening and to check in, as it were. Please share this with Dumbledore. Also, send word through Bill if there have been any developments with Percy. We've seen nothing in the Daily Prophet that would suggest he has made public his accusations, so we're hoping that is still something he is keeping to himself.
The trail of clues we have been following are hidden deeply in the ancient Greek and Egyptian myths, primarily those of Demeter and Set. This combined with the evidence of the Spelldoors leads me to believe we are dealing with an ancient wizard cult; it remains to be seen if it is still an active group. Hermione, if you could check with the foreign office to see if they have any mentions of cult activity in Egypt, I would appreciate it.
Also, please take
the enclosed letter to Malcolm. He'll be happy to see you, of course, and his
mother and I would be grateful if you'd let us know how he and Roarke are
doing. It was kind of you both to volunteer
to take care of them, thank you, but this is definitely Grandparent duty. We'll loan Malcolm to you for a weekend
later on if you're looking to get an idea of what you're in for. That should be enough for you. Katie
suspects it will horrify you, but we promise it feels very different when
they're your own children running you ragged. Also, Katie says that Malcolm has
asked if he could have a cat for his birthday. Not in my house, no offence to Crookshanks. I've told him he could ask his Grandfather to take him to look at
puppies. Would you mind very much
emphasizing to my father-in-law that a cat is absolutely not
allowed? He's a rather soft touch when
it comes Malcolm. Tell him I'm very
allergic to them, please. Werewolves
and cats do not mix, but that he doesn't need to know.
We truly hope to conclude all of this prior to the equinox, as we are all anxious for this to finally end. Just so you know, keep November 12 clear. We'll be having an event that day I am certain you will not want to miss; no matter what happens here with all of this.
Love,
Remus
Malcolm-
Mummy and I miss you very much. Are you having fun with Grandmama and Grandpapa? You'll laugh when you see me, my little marauder, as I have turned rather pink from being in the sun so much. And Mummy has freckles just like Ron's all over her nose and cheeks!
Mummy said you asked if you could get a cat for your birthday. How about we get a puppy instead, would you like that? Tell Grandpapa I said you could pick out a puppy if you see one you like. Try not to pick one as big as Padfoot, please. A corgi or a terrier would be nice, I think.
Are you helping to take care of Roarke? I'm very proud of you for watching out for her. She'll be more fun when she's older, do keep that in mind.
Padfoot sends his love as well.
Love,
Daddy & Mummy
Remus gave the letters to Pig and sent him on his way. Charles and Elvira finally came out from under the steps once he was off, chittering rather nervously. Draco clucked at them.
"Honestly, why on earth do you two dislike owls so much? I don't remember anything like that from when we studied griffins."
Liz smiled and patted Elvira on her head as she came to sit on her lap. "I think it's just them, Draco. They may have had a bad run in with an owl when they were newborns, as owls have, I'm sad to say, been known to eat hatchlings. Perhaps some of their clutch was taken by an owl."
"Thank you for giving me something else to worry about, Liz."
"Oh Draco, don't be silly. Charles and Elvira are far too big now for that. They'll grow out of it once they realize that."
They sailed on for about an hour, then noticed the first of the small islands they suspected surrounded their destination come into view. Callum confirmed that this was the northern most island.
"We're going to sail right next to it here," he said, pointing at the map, which no longer bothered him. "This will put us in a direct line to sail across this stretch directly towards the southern island here. If there's anything in between, no chance we'll miss it." Harry rolled his eyes at this, but said nothing.
"Harry, you and Draco keep a sharp eye out for any signs of storms. I suspect they will be illusions, not actual storms, but who knows."
"Right."
Remus and Katie went to watch the cauldron intently while Sirius and Liz helped Callum tend the sails and keep on course. Sirius kept a close watch on the shore of the island as they passed, to see if it suddenly seemed to shift as they were moved or deflected. Just as they passed the island, Remus shuddered.
"Professor!"
Remus went over to Draco.
"You felt that?"
"Yes. Did Liz?"
Remus glanced at Liz as she walked past. She gave them both a quick nod and went to stand next to Callum and keep a close eye on the navigation. They had all agreed that if Callum started to turn them off course they weren't going to mess about, just put him quietly to sleep and take over the steering themselves and risk it. Sure enough, seemingly without noticing what he was doing, Callum suddenly steered them northeastwards, on a course that would take them around whatever was directly in front of them, even though they could only see open waters.
Liz instantly said a spell and Sirius caught Callum and took him down into the cabin, then ran back up.
"Draco, I'd put the griffins in here too."
"I'll do it," said Remus, giving both Harry and Draco a look. They both laughed and nodded. Charles and Elvira were less than thrilled at being locked downstairs with the mad man who had attacked them the previous evening and they snapped at Remus, but he placated them with a huge plate of food and locked the cabin door behind him.
"Remus! Don't lock the door, love; if we need to get off this boat quickly that'll hold us back."
"Good point." Remus unlocked the door but made certain it was firmly shut, and then went to join Liz and Sirius at the helm.
"Are we back on track?"
"Yes, but I really want to turn to starboard."
"Katie? Anything yet?"
"No."
Suddenly the spell circle flared up. "Well, something's here," said Sirius dryly. "Harry, keep a close eye on the water."
They continued forward in silence for a few minutes before Katie finally called out, "We're here." Remus stared ahead of him, but saw nothing still. Odd. Usually I can….
There was a tremendous shudder as suddenly they felt the boat lurch in the water. Everyone grabbed a railing and looked around. Suddenly all sound vanished.
Damn it!
Remus moved to stand between Harry and Draco who were both, Remus was pleased to see, looking rather non-plussed over their move into the first layer of the wards. They were both muttering something, Remus assumed it was a revealing spell of some sort, and kept their eyes focused on the water. Remus glanced over his shoulder to see that Liz was still at the helm but Sirius and Katie had moved to trim the sails that were now shuddering as if trying to tack in a violent wind. Harry grabbed Remus by the arm and pulled him back around to point at something in the open waters. Remus saw nothing at first and shook his head, but Harry mouthed 'wait for it' and pointed out again.
Suddenly in the distance Remus saw what looked like three huge rocks flicker for a moment just to their south. The rocks at the entrance of the bay in my dream… They were only there a moment, but it was enough for Harry and Draco to notice and they focused their revealing charms there. Remus looked back at Liz and pointed, and Liz nodded, turning the boat slightly in that direction. Again, the sails shook and rolled, although they felt no wind and heard nothing. Remus went to stand next to Harry and said his own revealing charm, focusing on the area above the rocks now to see where the side of the cove was. They may not be able to see the island, but they could certainly crash into it. We've just got to get beyond those rocks.
Suddenly the boat lurched again, and all the sound came rushing back. Only now instead of hearing the quiet sounds of the ocean, they heard a deafening roar of wind, even though the sky still remained clear and cloudless. The wind had an unnatural sound and feel too it; sounding almost like a human cry. They crashed forward, the spells they had cast forcing the boat forward through the wards trying to hold them back and the spells trying to distract them. Now Remus could clearly see the three rocks that marked the entrance to the cove on the island, but nothing else was visible.
"Liz! Steer directly towards the rocks!"
Where before they had seemed to get no nearer to the lone outcroppings, now they seemed to rush at them with terrifying speed. Illusion. If we try to go around them, we'll hit the sides of the cove. Go right through them…. They drew closer and closer, Remus glancing back only once to see that Liz wasn't going to be swayed from her course. She simply stared ahead of her, focused on the rocks.
"Remus?"
"Hang on Harry; we're going to have to go right into the rocks to get through the last wards."
Sure enough, at just the moment when it looked as if they were going to smash full speed into the rocks, they suddenly vanished, along with the wind, and they sailed forward on perfectly still waters into a cove of an island which seemed to shimmer into existence all around them. The sand on the beach was white, which Remus hadn't noticed in his dream, but he could plainly see the line of the trees and make out exactly where the path into the forest was.
"Liz, hold it. Let's drop the anchor here."
They dropped anchor and Liz went downstairs to check on Callum. Katie came over to wrap her arms around Remus for a few moments.
"Well, that was exciting. Nice wards they've got here. Think it will be the same getting out?"
"Probably."
"How on earth are we going to send Callum on his way?"
Sirius smiled. "Actually, since we're reasonably sure that we're taking Spelldoors to get off this island, I would suggest we portkey Callum out of here. Liz is rather good at those. Send him back to Paros with a wiped memory. And I mean totally wiped. Sort of 'how did I get here' wiped."
Draco smiled. "He'll lose the deposit on the boat, won't he?"
"Yes. But there's not much we can do about that, is there?"
"Oh I shall miss him so," said Harry with a dramatic sigh.
"Here, here," deadpanned Draco.
"Stop it you two," smiled Katie. "You had your revenge on him. Let him go with a whimper, not a bang."
Remus was uncomfortable to see that Sirius gave a dangerous grin at this comment. Katie caught it too.
"No, Sirius."
"No what, Katie-girl?"
"No to whatever you're thinking. No. No. No."
"You have no idea what I'm thinking!"
"I've a damn good idea what you're thinking. Leave him alone. You won; not that you were ever in any danger of losing, you git."
"Hey, I've done my penance….This is just a little goodbye gift. You already had your go at him."
"Shoelaces?"
"Nothing compared to what you did with your little suggestion." Sirius winked at Remus and went to join Liz below decks.
Harry was grinning now as well, and didn't even try to hide his delight. Even Draco looked vaguely amused as he surveyed the shoreline. Charles and Elvira hopped up on deck a moment later and went to stand next to Draco after Elvira gave Remus a light nip in the ankle to let him know that she was still unamused with him.
They waited for a few minutes before Sirius and Liz came back up, giggling.
"Well, I have to ask."
"I'm not sure I want to confess," said Liz. "Won't just accept that Callum is safely back in one piece on Paros?"
"If I have to."
"Good. I'd hate to see the look on your face if I was forced to tell you he seems to have lost all his clothing."
Harry, Draco and Katie all burst out laughing while Remus shook his head and smiled.
"That's the best you could do? Amateurs."
"Oh really? And what might you have done, Mr. Lupin?"
"We'll never know now, will we?"
"Hmmm. I'll have to think about that one. I certainly know better than to underestimate you, Remus."
"Missed my opportunity to witness Moony mischief again, it would seem," laughed Harry.
"No worries, Harry," smiled Sirius; "we'll coax it out of him."
"You are totally on your own for that, Mr. Black," said Liz. "I have no intentions of starting a war I can't win. So, shall we see where we are?"
They apparated onto the beach at the foot of the pathway leading into the groves. Remus was surprised to note that the forest was made up of huge palm trees. They waited for the griffins to fly over and join them, and then started into the grove. Sirius and Remus took the lead as they walked forward into the darkened path under the fronds of the trees that towered over them. There was low undergrowth covering most of the ground but the path was obviously kept clear of this. There's someone here for that to happen. After about a quarter of a mile the path started to get steep and wander back and forth along a hillside. Finally, they reached the top and found that the trees opened up along the crest of the hill they had just climbed. Moving slowly forward, they peered over the hillcrest and down the other side.
On the valley floor below them laid the remains of a huge temple. Some of the structure still looked intact, but it was obvious that there had been no settlement here for a long, long time.
"Egyptian," whispered Sirius in his ear.
Remus nodded and looked to see if he could spot any movement anywhere. But there was nothing to be seen. Finally he turned back and addressed the group.
"Okay, well, we should wait right here until nightfall at least to see what happens. We may see someone returning here, if they are elsewhere on the island, or we will see lights come on if anyone is down there. You all noticed that the path is fresh, so someone is here, or has been here recently. Any other suggestions?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Right. Well, best find a comfortable place to sit for a while. If it's all the same to you, I need a nap. Sirius…."
"I'll keep an eye out with Harry for the first go; you rest. Draco and Liz, you should also rest up. Could be a long night."
Katie sat down away off the pathway and rested against a tree trunk. Remus lay down and put his head in her lap, letting the exhaustion take over.
"Katie? You rest too, love. Last night didn't mean much sleep for either of us…."
"I'm just fine. Sleep. Dream about ponies and silly things, won't you?"
"I'll try."
Remus fell fast asleep listening to the soft quiet sounds of the birds in the trees, and feeling more optimistic than he had since they had set out that they really were going to finally get their hands on Peter.