Setting Suns
"Sirius?" Remus fell through onto the cold marble of Sirius' hearth.
Sirius' head poked round the corner and called out to his old friend. "Are you OK? Aren't you in Madrid?"
The mound of black hair disappeared for a moment, and then the whole body emerged, the hands wiping each other with a red chequered tea towel. Sirius dumped the tea towel on a chair in his kitchen. He had always been rather proud of the marble in the fireplace. And it seemed to go with everything he had put in the room. The shiny stone matched the pine chairs and table, and wooden floor. Some blue and black cushions dropped lightly into corners made the kitchen seem that much brighter and bigger.
"I'm actually worried about Lily. I asked her to send me some potion or other. You've obviously realised that it's the full moon tonight." Remus was cracking his long fingers, his dark brown hair drifting over his face.
"Would I sound patronising if I asked; have you tried Apparating recently?! " Sirius seemed mildly amused by his friend's dilemma, who had always had trouble focusing on people to Apparate to.
"Do I look stupid?! I've tried everything I can think of - Apparition, Floo, even James' mirror, although I have no doubt that that is sitting at the bottom of some lake somewhere. I think Peter argued once too much with him.." Remus mused. James was renowned for his fiery temper, and it often resulted in rash actions. "But that was ten minutes ago. So as a last resort, I turn to you." Remus shrugged his shoulders, and looked sideways at Sirius.
"I suppose you tried Apparating to the house, rather than Lily?" Sirius was beginning to feel a bit uneasy now.
"Yes! I can't get there!" Remus was almost frantic with worry. "And I'm not sure I want to see what is there."
"Well, in that case, we'll just have to walk up from the village." Sirius picked up the tea towel again and put it in a drawer. He then quickly stepped out of the room, and came back in a moment, pulling on a large navy blue travelling cloak. On his head was now perched a matching navy blue hat.
"We?" Remus seemed slightly bewildered.
Sirius glanced up from doing up some buttons on the collar of his cloak. "Do you have a problem with that?"
"No. But aren't you on duty tonight? Maybe you should send an owl to the Order." Remus shrugged his shoulders again.
"Oh yeah. Be back in a second." And with that, Sirius walked out of the room again.
It was actually about a minute before Sirius returned, and when he did, he walked over to Remus and clung to an elbow. "What about the well at the bottom of the hill?"
"Sounds OK to me." He paused then gave a single nod to Sirius. The air seemed to move around them as a loud 'pop' issued from where Remus and Sirius had just been standing.
***
A quiet 'pop' came from just beside the well in Godric's Hollow. They are always quieter at destinations. After all, it is just a small part of the sound that you get at the departure point. To human ears, they difference between the first 'pop' and the second one is too small to notice, but for creatures that live very slowly in comparison, like Centaurs, it can be weeks, even months, before the creature turns up. That is why a wizard should never to attempt to Apparate as an animagus or with an animal of some sort. It's very risky, and may result in the death of the Apparator. It stays risky even when an animagus is in the human form, which is why werewolves and animagi don't like to Apparate very much, and generally prefer Floo.
On this particular evening, both a werewolf and an animagus had Apparated, together. The risk therefore incredibly great, but somehow, they seemed to have survived unscathed. The werewolf was the first to turn round and face the road leading up the hill to Lily and James' house. His jaw dropped, and although his arms and face were sprouting fur already, nobody who had been watching could have mistaken the look of terror and anxiety on his face.
Sirius saw his friend turn round and stiffen. He didn't want to see what had caused Remus to change early. It was usually only absolute fear that did that. But he should have thought of this. Both Lily and Harry could do nothing to defend themselves from Remus, apart from hope that James and Sirius took him into the woods behind the house. Although Remus wouldn't go for a human, he had just had the urge to move up to the Potter house, and Sirius couldn't be sure what he was going to do. So Sirius himself had to change quickly into a black dog.
The werewolf let out squeals as the dog jumped onto it, pinning it down. Moony's deep brown eyes seemed filled with pain and worry, so Padfoot quickly jumped off. They both trotted quickly towards the woods, but Padfoot glanced back. He saw what had made Remus, Moony. Against the dark sky, was a shimmering Dark Mark. He stopped but Moony pulled him by the tail, knowing that they couldn't go up to the house until he was Remus again.
Both canines ran into the woods and began to make their way up towards the home of their friends. They slowed, and soon could see the plot of land that belonged to the Potters. In the middle of it, was the house. It was lit up by the moonlight, but made decidedly less eerie by the clucking of chickens from a hen house surrounded by wire fence.
There were no lights on in the house, and only a soft cooing from a sleeping baby drifted out of one of the open windows. Neither Moony nor Padfoot could do anything about it, so both had to sleep uncomfortably on the mossy floor of the undergrowth.
"Sirius?" Remus fell through onto the cold marble of Sirius' hearth.
Sirius' head poked round the corner and called out to his old friend. "Are you OK? Aren't you in Madrid?"
The mound of black hair disappeared for a moment, and then the whole body emerged, the hands wiping each other with a red chequered tea towel. Sirius dumped the tea towel on a chair in his kitchen. He had always been rather proud of the marble in the fireplace. And it seemed to go with everything he had put in the room. The shiny stone matched the pine chairs and table, and wooden floor. Some blue and black cushions dropped lightly into corners made the kitchen seem that much brighter and bigger.
"I'm actually worried about Lily. I asked her to send me some potion or other. You've obviously realised that it's the full moon tonight." Remus was cracking his long fingers, his dark brown hair drifting over his face.
"Would I sound patronising if I asked; have you tried Apparating recently?! " Sirius seemed mildly amused by his friend's dilemma, who had always had trouble focusing on people to Apparate to.
"Do I look stupid?! I've tried everything I can think of - Apparition, Floo, even James' mirror, although I have no doubt that that is sitting at the bottom of some lake somewhere. I think Peter argued once too much with him.." Remus mused. James was renowned for his fiery temper, and it often resulted in rash actions. "But that was ten minutes ago. So as a last resort, I turn to you." Remus shrugged his shoulders, and looked sideways at Sirius.
"I suppose you tried Apparating to the house, rather than Lily?" Sirius was beginning to feel a bit uneasy now.
"Yes! I can't get there!" Remus was almost frantic with worry. "And I'm not sure I want to see what is there."
"Well, in that case, we'll just have to walk up from the village." Sirius picked up the tea towel again and put it in a drawer. He then quickly stepped out of the room, and came back in a moment, pulling on a large navy blue travelling cloak. On his head was now perched a matching navy blue hat.
"We?" Remus seemed slightly bewildered.
Sirius glanced up from doing up some buttons on the collar of his cloak. "Do you have a problem with that?"
"No. But aren't you on duty tonight? Maybe you should send an owl to the Order." Remus shrugged his shoulders again.
"Oh yeah. Be back in a second." And with that, Sirius walked out of the room again.
It was actually about a minute before Sirius returned, and when he did, he walked over to Remus and clung to an elbow. "What about the well at the bottom of the hill?"
"Sounds OK to me." He paused then gave a single nod to Sirius. The air seemed to move around them as a loud 'pop' issued from where Remus and Sirius had just been standing.
***
A quiet 'pop' came from just beside the well in Godric's Hollow. They are always quieter at destinations. After all, it is just a small part of the sound that you get at the departure point. To human ears, they difference between the first 'pop' and the second one is too small to notice, but for creatures that live very slowly in comparison, like Centaurs, it can be weeks, even months, before the creature turns up. That is why a wizard should never to attempt to Apparate as an animagus or with an animal of some sort. It's very risky, and may result in the death of the Apparator. It stays risky even when an animagus is in the human form, which is why werewolves and animagi don't like to Apparate very much, and generally prefer Floo.
On this particular evening, both a werewolf and an animagus had Apparated, together. The risk therefore incredibly great, but somehow, they seemed to have survived unscathed. The werewolf was the first to turn round and face the road leading up the hill to Lily and James' house. His jaw dropped, and although his arms and face were sprouting fur already, nobody who had been watching could have mistaken the look of terror and anxiety on his face.
Sirius saw his friend turn round and stiffen. He didn't want to see what had caused Remus to change early. It was usually only absolute fear that did that. But he should have thought of this. Both Lily and Harry could do nothing to defend themselves from Remus, apart from hope that James and Sirius took him into the woods behind the house. Although Remus wouldn't go for a human, he had just had the urge to move up to the Potter house, and Sirius couldn't be sure what he was going to do. So Sirius himself had to change quickly into a black dog.
The werewolf let out squeals as the dog jumped onto it, pinning it down. Moony's deep brown eyes seemed filled with pain and worry, so Padfoot quickly jumped off. They both trotted quickly towards the woods, but Padfoot glanced back. He saw what had made Remus, Moony. Against the dark sky, was a shimmering Dark Mark. He stopped but Moony pulled him by the tail, knowing that they couldn't go up to the house until he was Remus again.
Both canines ran into the woods and began to make their way up towards the home of their friends. They slowed, and soon could see the plot of land that belonged to the Potters. In the middle of it, was the house. It was lit up by the moonlight, but made decidedly less eerie by the clucking of chickens from a hen house surrounded by wire fence.
There were no lights on in the house, and only a soft cooing from a sleeping baby drifted out of one of the open windows. Neither Moony nor Padfoot could do anything about it, so both had to sleep uncomfortably on the mossy floor of the undergrowth.