To Paris
Chapter III: Rain, Again
The ride from Paris to Godric's Hollow was only 15 minutes. A bit of magic had hastened the trip, and although the Ministry had instructed Remus not to use magic for the time being, the anxious man had thought the circumstances provided an acceptable reason for exception.
With a wide smile on his face, he strode towards the gate of James and Lily's house. Taking a deep breath, he raised a fist to knock on the door.
The door opened, suddenly. Remus didn't recognize the man on the other side.
"I... must have the wrong house?" Remus asked.
Sirius appeared in the doorway.
"No, I'm afraid you don't, Remus. Come in, before Lily decides it's time for Harry to sleep," Sirius urged, grabbing Remus's hand and leading him into the great room.
Lily and James (still by each other's side) looked up from young Harold and greeted Remus with warm smiles.
"Who's this, Sirius?" James asked jokingly, giving Remus a suspicious look.
"I'm not sure, but doesn't he bare a striking resemblence to that one fellow we knew at Hogwarts?"
James nodded.
"R... R... Remus, wasn't it?" James laughed.
"You two are horrible," Lily said, scrunching her nose at James and Sirius.
James left Lily's side to give his old friend a hug. Remus hesitated for a moment, then released Sirius's hand and threw his arms around James.
"If you ever disappear like that again, I'm going to harm you very badly," James joked.
"He might enjoy that, Prongs," Sirius commented.
Remus blushed. And to think, James never suspected a thing...
After a great deal of 'catching up' had been done (although Remus couldn't say much due to the fact that he was working on something secret for the Ministry), Lily retreated to the bedroom with newborn Harold.
"It's getting late, and James needs his rest," Sirius said sternly.
"Oh, why's that?" Remus questioned.
"Pretty soon little Harry will be keeping you up from sunrise to sunset," Sirius chuckled.
James's face turned green and he gulped.
"I wish I could say that Sirius was exaggerating," Remus smiled.
Remus said his goodbyes and turned to leave. Although the evening had not turned out as he had planned it, he had gotten a chance to speak with Sirius. At least I'm not as nervous, he thought as he pulled the hood of his robe over his head.
I know I can do it, now. I have to, anyways. In no time I imagine he'll be sending me an owl, asking me to explain the message and why I wanted to meet with him.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. He held his breath.
"I'm going to stay here a bit longer, but I'll see you in a couple hours. You know where," Sirius whispered into his ear. The hand left his shoulder and a few moments later, in the great room, Sirius questioned "Who's up for a quick game of Spellcurst?"
Remus released his breath. He felt the blood drain from his face. Swiftly, he fled from the home. It was dark outside, but huge, black, storm clouds could still be seen overhead. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed in the distance.
I'd be wise to get a few winks in before I see Sirius... I haven't slept in days.
Ariel was waiting by the door when Remus entered the apartment. He stepped over her and fell onto the couch. Almost instantly, his eyes were shut and he was asleep.
