A/N: Oooh, cools now I've gotten ten reviews! *Is happy* Now, for something completely different *grins* a thank you to my reviewers : Kimmy Larisa, Nicky, Princess Jenny, bodie, Maggie, Taracollowen, Vampyr Vixen, and Ax. You all make me feel soo….*sniff* happy.
Anyway, you must thank Ax for this chapter, cuz she was the once who got me to post it, she blackmailed me with hers….*frowns* But anyway, thank you my faithful readers, and I like it when your enthusiastic, so go ahead, and be crazy!
Disclaimer: See first chapter cuz nothing's changed since then. I still don't own the HP universe.
Coming Together
By Lady Lupin
Chapter Three: Apparation Sucks!
A/N2: By the way, some of this may seem a bit far fetched. But remember, this is fanfiction, and I can make it as unreal as I want. My muse said so.
That same day, Remus and Sirius, after arriving at Remus' flat, had begun to pack. Sirius took his bag and threw in things haphazardly, not caring how they landed. Remus however, folded and placed his close neatly, ending up with a much smaller bag than Sirius.
"You know you could fold things and make a neat stack," Remus pointed out to him. Sirius snorted.
"You've lived with me before, you know I'm not logical enough for that," Sirius said as he threw in a sock. Remus just shook his head.
"You got me there, in Hogwarts we never saw the floor in our dorm. You took up the whole room, and you didn't even have that much stuff!" He told him ruefully. Sirius grinned.
"Hey now Moony, I've seen the Shrieking Shack, I know how you really are." Remus laughed, glad to be focusing on the past and not what they were doing. With a flick of his wand he shrunk his bag and stuck it in one of his robe pockets. He did the same for Sirius.
"You ready?" Remus asked.
"I just have to send a couple of owls." Sirius took out some parchment, ink and a quill. He began scribbling madly.
"Hey this place is still the "Lupin Bin" right? For the Floo Network?" Sirius seemed to need this to finish the letters.
"Yep, I didn't have the heart to change it from what James dubbed it. He was right though. The name fits the place." He looked around absentmindedly as Sirius finished his letters.
"Moony, where's Griffith?" Sirius asked looking around for Remus' eagle owl.
"I'm not sure," He turned to the 25 years old kneazle on his bed. "Cassandra, go find him." The black cat trotted away. A minute later Griffith swooped in and landed on Sirius' shoulder. Sirius tied each letter to its legs and told the owl who to deliver them to. He flew out importantly.
"Ready?" This time Sirius nodded. Remus placed locking charms on his flat and they Apparated to the first point.
~~~~~~~~~~
With an audible pop Remus and Sirius appeared in what looked to be a deserted camp in a forest.
"Dumbledore sure picks great spots, eh, Moony?"
"Don't complain, he had to find a place that was safe for you to Apparate to; you are a wanted man remember?" Remus took out his tiny bag and set it on the ground.
"Minor detail," Sirius grinned and followed suit.
"We should stay here and start early tomorrow, the next point is somewhere in Spain. Then across the Mediterranean to Africa and then to the village." Remus said looking over the parchment Dumbledore had given him. Sirius was suddenly pale.
"That soon?! Moony, is it such a good idea to go so quickly?" Sirius asked in an odd voice. Remus sighed.
"Padfoot, Dumbledore wants us back by the end of the summer, this could take a while, especially with me transforming in a week, the sooner we go, the sooner we can go home, with or without Nyah and Lenora." Remus pulled out a sleeping bag from his recently enlarged sack.
"Duplitico." In place of Remus' single sleeping bag, there were now two. He threw one to Sirius.
"Come one let's get some sleep, we'll need it because of all the Apparating we'll be doing tomorrow." Remus told him.
"Yeah, yeah, you sound just like Nyah." Sirius froze. He hadn't mentioned her casually since before Azkaban. Remus was silent.
"Rem, do you think it really is them?" Sirius asked somewhat shakily.
"I hope so, I really do, but what about those other children Dumbledore said was with them. ONE could be Anya, but what of the other two?" Remus seemed to have been worrying about this.
"Do you think they, they married again? I mean you placed a charm on them that made it so they couldn't return without us, right?" Sirius asked, looking up at the sky.
"Probably the stupidest thing I have ever done, including the time when I was bitten. I mean what if they needed to come back or something? What if they could have gotten you out of Azkaban?" Remus fell silent again.
"Moony, it is NOT your fault! How could you have known? You just did it to protect them." Sirius fell silent as well. They drifted off to sleep under the half full moon.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Padfoot! Padfoot, good God you are a heavy sleeper! Wake up! Hey Sirius, I've got and idea for a prank," Remus resorted to what he and James used to do to wake up Sirius. Sirius bounded up looking eager, which was kind of strange for a 35 year old man.
"Really! What? Tell me now!" Sirius commanded. Remus chuckled.
"Sorry, false alarm!" Remus told a suddenly grumpy Sirius. He grinned as Sirius became more cranky.
"Ha, ha, ha. So funny Moony, why do we have to get up so early?" He asked as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Remus raised his eyebrows.
"Uh, Padfoot? Its 10:30, I let you sleep an hour extra." Remus said bluntly. Sirius grinned.
"Well them, let's get a move on." Sirius bounded out of the sleeping bag and they picked up their camp.
"Mooonnnyy," Sirius whined. "I'm hungry!"
"No, you are Sirius." Remus told him seriously. "Don't worry, we can eat somewhere in Spain when we get there." Sirius grinned at him.
"I just love it when you're all responsible and everything. Brings me back to the good old days!" Sirius placed his hand over his heart and looked at the sky dramatically. Remus snorted.
"Yes the days when all you worried about was how to prank Snape next." Remus said, causing Sirius' eyes to "tear".
"Yes that and bugging the girls!" Sirius added, causing Remus to smile.
"Ok, ok, we can visit memory lane later, we should go now," Remus said, trying to return Sirius to the present.
"Yes, let's go there soon. I haven't visited there in quite a while." Sirius said, nodding somewhat seriously. Remus snorted with laughter as they Dissapparated.
~~~~~~~~~~
All was quiet in an isolated Spanish field when two men appeared out of nowhere.
"Well I like the digs, much better, send my compliments to Dumbledore." Sirius said as he looked around the weed-infested field. Remus rolled his eyes.
"Sirius, for once, be yourself! Now come one let's find people." With that a large gray wolf appeared in Remus' place. (A/N: Ok in all my stories Remus is an Animagi too. It just makes things easier. Remember, it is FAN fiction) Sirius followed suit and soon the two canines where running towards a small town. When they reached the outskirts of the village they popped back.
"What do you think? Can I risk going in?" Sirius asked, surveying the town.
"I can put a charm on you that makes you only recognizable as you if the people know you or have a strong bond." Remus said thinking. Sirius nodded in agreement.
"Serclisio," Sirius didn't appear to have changed but as no one ran away screaming when they entered an inn, they assumed it worked.
"Buenos dias muchachos," a pretty Spanish bartender greeted them. Sirius and Remus looked at each other in confusion.
"Do you speak English?" Remus asked slowly.
"Yes, of course. Now what would you like to eat?" She asked, smiling. Sirius grinned.
"Scrambled eggs, bacon, ham, sausage, toast and a pitcher of orange juice!" Sirius said licking his chops like the dog he was a lot of the time. The woman looked at him like he was nuts, shook her head and turned to Remus.
"Ok senor, and you?" She said eying Remus.
"Just scrambled eggs and some toast Miss." She winked at him and placed the order. Almost immediately the food was ready and Sirius dug in enthusiastically.
"Rem, do you really think we'll be able to find them?" Sirius asked as he nursed his bacon.
"Sirius Lee, we will find them. Dumbledore wouldn't have sent us if he wasn't mostly positive." Remus told him confidently, using his full name to reinforce his statement and make a joke. Sirius sighed.
"I hope so." They paid for their food and left. Just to be safe they trotted back to the Apparating site in their other forms.
"Ready?" Remus asked, Sirius nodded.
*Well off to Africa* Remus thought as they again disappeared.
~~~~~~~~~~
It was quiet and peaceful, well as quiet as a jungle with hundreds of wild animals in it could be. But suddenly it wasn't so peaceful.
"Ahhh, Dumbledore sent us straight to the jungle. How wonderful, can you hear all the animals Moony?" Sirius asked, looking around.
"Padfoot, are you ever going to be happy with the Apparating sites?" Remus asked.
"Hmmm," Sirius thought for a moment. "No I think I'll complain. It's much more interesting, don't you think?"
"Riiight, whatever you say Padfoot." He paused. "Hey isn't that Hedwig?" Remus pointed. Sirius grinned.
"It sure is, come here Hegwig," Sirius cooed. (A/N: Odd mental picture huh? I know Hedwig couldn't really find them that fast, but work with me here). The owl dropped the letter on Sirius' head and landed on Remus' shoulder expectantly.
"Here, all we've got is water." The owl looked pained but drank the water. Sirius shoved the letter in Remus' face.
"Here, read this." Remus looked it over.
Dear Sirius (and Moony too, I suppose)
So on a mission for Dumbledore? Well good luck. At the end of August I'll be at Hermione's, Ron's dad set her up with the Floo Network. So if you want to visit the name is "Know it All's". Guess who came up with that? Ron. (Big surprise). Hermione hates it. I can't understand why. :-D Well I must go. Good luck and try to be back before the term starts. I'd like to see you both.
Harry
PS: Dumbledore wrote and said something about three transfer students who he wants me to help get to know the school. Have any idea what that is about? Oh well. Bye.
Remus looked at Sirius and grinned.
"Ron's got quite a sense of humor." Sirius said taking the letter back.
"I should say so; he annoys Hermione like you annoyed Nyah," Remus said thoughtfully. Sirius nodded in agreement.
"Moony, what time is it?" Sirius asked suddenly. Remus looked at his watch.
"About two thirty. Why?" Remus looked at him.
"I was thinking about a nap," Sirius grinned. Remus rolled his eyes.
"Go right ahead, you git. I'm going to explore a bit I guess." Sirius shrugged.
"Fine with me." He laid down on the carpet of moss and fell asleep. Remus changed forms and left silently. About two hours later he came back to find Sirius tossing on the moss.
"Sirius! Sirius!" Remus grabbed the water bottle and poured some on his sleeping friend. Sirius woke up sputtering.
"What?! Huh? Did it rain?" Sirius asked stupidly.
"No you prat, it's time to go," Remus laughed. Sirius looked sheepish.
"Oh, well then let's go. Wow, I slept for two hours. A record for in the jungle on moss." Sirius grinned as they Apparated away.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Great! We've got an hour walk or run I should say!" Sirius looked pained. "You know sometimes this Apparation thing sucks!"
"Calm down Sirius. Dumbledore sent us here because we couldn't Apparate too close to the village. We'll get there, don't worry." Remus said anxiously.
"Fine," They headed out, smelling their way to the village.
~~~~~~~~~~
As they reached the outskirts they popped back and looked around.
"Padfoot, stay as a dog. We might need you sense of smell." Sirius popped out. They walked into town. Remus looked around and immediately saw the potions shop and healing center, right next to each other. He ran up to them, and tried to open the doors, but both were closed. Someone behind him spoke in an African dialect. It was an old man in a loincloth.
"Umm, do you speak English?" The man shook his head. Remus sighed.
"Does anyone here speak English?" The man stared at him for a minute and them pointed to the potions and healing signs.
"The potions and healing master do?" Remus asked eagerly. The man nodded.
"Can you take me to them?" The man motioned for him to follow. They took off at a run with Sirius behind them. They came to a large hill that held two houses on its peak. The man pointed.
"Women live there." He grunted and ran off.
Remus and Sirius ran up to the first house and knocked on the door. Remus looked about and gasped. He pointed to a plaque that read, "Nyah Smith, Potions Mistress."
"Did she change her name, or marry, Padfoot?" The grim at his feet remained silent. They waited and waited but no one was there. They went to the other house and knocked on the door (rather loudly) and also saw another plaque. "Lenora Smith, Healing Mistress"
"The same name, so maybe they just changed it." Remus said hopefully. Sirius must have smelled something familiar because he let loose a great booming bark. A minute later they heard running feet and the door swung open.
A/N: MUAHHAHAHAHA! I am evil. It's now time for revenge; I hate it when others do cliffies. Hahaha, Ax, and you thought you won!!! Remember to review, my muse, (whose name is Tim) is very protective and won't let the next chapter come out without 5 more reviews……Happy reviewing….
