Here we are...chapter 9!!! I'm still not getting the number of reviews
that I would like to see...but I guess I've gotten over that. I'm really
happy with the reviews I do get though. You reviewers are oh so nice to me
:)
Siri Lupin: You only reviewed the first chapter but I hope you liked the rest too :) Sirius and Remus are my favorites too...I honestly don't think the HP series would even be good without their presence...ok so that's not true because I liked the first two books and with the exception of one mention of Sirius, they're not in those...anyway, yah I'm SOO mad at JKR for killing of Sirius, I guess she thought it was necessary, I think it was just cruel! I hope you like the rest of this!!!
Stuffyzebra: Oh NO! Not a stuffed weasel! LOL cliffhangers are fun, and they get me more reviews...that's why I write them. But here we have it, the cliffy resolved! Enjoy :)
Sexy Black: I was actually trying to have people think it was Peter, since he was missing...I like to make people think things and then turn in the other direction...it's really quite amusing :) And just an FYI, if I do redo INOSH, as you called it, lol, I will take out some of the crying scenes. There will still be ample crying, cuz I can't live without it, but in some scenes it's really just too much, like the reunion with Sorai...it's just bad. But I think I really want to redo it :)
Hp-Azn: Thanks for the review...and do you think I'd actually tell you who attacked Sirius??? Gotta keep reading! You'll find out in a matter of seconds *wink*
StarlessNight18: Thanks for reviewing! Sirius's attackers will soon be revealed :)
Eizoku: Is "Oh!" good or bad? I just can't even tell, lol. But I appreciate the time you took to write that Oh, it made me smile whether it's good or bad :)
Jemma Blackwell: Yup, it was a cliffie, and I pretty good one I thought, though I can do better I swear! Yup, Sirius is kind of weird in going back, I'm trying to portray it that way, but it's supposed to be something he feels the need to do, you know. So this chapter goes into that a bit too...and you'll see what happens :)
And an extra special review to Katie who helped look over this before I posted!!!! I appreciate it mucho and am looking forward to you updating yours...I'll never stop saying that until you update ALL of them...multiple times *wink*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Glass of Water
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I have found the culprits behind the attack on you, Mr. Black."
Sirius swallowed hard. Remus looked between Sirius and Dumbledore several times before settling his gaze on Dumbledore.
"Who did it?"
"Are you sure you want to know?"
"Of course," Sirius mumbled. "Were they students?"
"Yes."
"How did you find them?"
"They got lost in the woods after Mr. Potter disarmed them. Hagrid found them several hours ago when he was going to meet with a centaur. He brought them straight to me."
"Did you expel them?"
"Did I expel you?"
Sirius looked down, biting his lip both in anger and worry.
"Who was it, Professor?" Remus asked, tired of the twenty questions.
"Mr. Black's attacker...ironically was Mr. Black."
"What?" Sirius asked and thought for a moment. "Regulus did it?!"
"Yes, he and another Slytherin of his year, Mr. Lestrange, were behind it. I assume you know him?"
Sirius nodded, appearing quite shocked. "I can't believe this."
"Professor," Remus asked quietly, "What about those wands."
Dumbledore sighed, "Yes, I got that bit of information about them. You've both heard of a rising Dark wizard?"
They both nodded, Sirius's expression darkening even more.
"He's going by the name Lord Voldemort, though his real name is Tom Riddle. He was a student here at Hogwarts from years back. An excellent student who couldn't find a proper direction for his magic. He provided them with the wands."
"That means..." Sirius trailed off.
"They're joining him?" Remus finished.
"Indeed," Dumbledore replied gravely.
"And you didn't expel them?! They're going to spread this through the school!"
"I assure you they're under close supervision. Their punishments have been more severe than yours and one more wrong move and they will be gone. There is not much they can do here without me or one of the professors finding out. I assure you, Mr. Black, it will be alright."
"You don't know my brother, sir. If he's in it he's in it...there's no turning back."
"I'm sorry Sirius, but I can not punish one student one way and another student another. What he's done to you is no different than what you've done to Remus."
"It is different," he muttered.
"And how's that?"
"Because! I'm sorry for what I did! He's not and he never will be sorry! You said that you didn't expel me because you thought I was better than what I did. Do you really think he's better than this?!"
"I think he has the potential to be, yes!"
"Well I don't!"
"I'm sorry but you are not the headmaster Sirius."
"I'm sorry too!" he yelled.
Dumbledore looked to Remus. "Mr. Lupin, how are you feeling?"
Sirius kicked a nearby pillow.
"I'm fine, thanks," Remus said, flatly. He was not so impressed with Dumbledore's decision either. He stood and walked Dumbledore to the door as Sirius continued to harass the pillow.
Before Dumbledore left he said, "Watch out for him Mr. Lupin, make sure he doesn't make any more rash decisions, especially on the matter of his brother."
"I'll try sir," Remus said in a hushed voice. "But are you sure you made the right decision?"
"If I weren't, Mr. Black and Mr. Lestrange would be on their way home. I assure you, I know what I'm doing."
Remus sighed and nodded.
"If you two need it you'll be excused from classes again tomorrow, however, I'd like to see you both attempt to attend."
"Yes sir."
"Good bye, Mr. Lupin."
"Bye Professor."
Remus stood next to the portrait hole for a moment before he looked back at Sirius. The pillow was now by his feet, stuffing spilling out of its seams. Sirius had his head down, resting in his arms upon the table.
"You alright Sirius?"
"This is bad Remus....this is really bad," he muttered, not lifting his head.
"I'm sure Dumbledore knows what he's doing, mate."
Sirius just shook his head ever so slightly. "What about when I go home."
"Sirius I still think you should just not go home. I bet James parents can work out a way to pick you up in Hogsmeade or something."
"No they can't!" Sirius nearly yelled, his head still down.
"Why not?"
"Because Remus! I don't want them to know what my parents have done! They'll kill me if they find out I've told."
"Can you at least look at me?" Remus pleaded.
Sirius violently lifted his head. His eyes held a fury Remus had never seen in them before.
"You could tell them, Sirius. You could tell them that they can't make a big deal about it, but just tell them! It will help Sirius!"
"NO IT WON'T!!!" he roared, standing up. Remus unconsciously took several steps back. Sirius slammed his head back down to the table as he resumed his seat.
"Sirius," Remus said in a small voice a few minutes later, trying to be brave and not just drop the issue. "I just don't want to see you get hurt. And I know that by going home...you will."
Sirius looked up again. His eyes were red and watery, "That's what you don't seem to understand, Remus...I'm going to get hurt either way." He wiped his eyes roughly. "It won't help to tell them Moony, it'll just make the hurt worse."
"Okay," Remus mumbled and reached out a hand to Sirius, who grabbed it willingly. Remus pulled him to his feet and led him over to the couch. "Sit," he commanded. Sirius did as told and Remus sat beside him.
"Hey Rem?"
"Yeah?"
"You think I'm being stupid by going home first don't you?"
"Yes, I do. But I trust that you know what you're doing."
Sirius sighed and let himself fall to the side, curling up on the couch, using Remus's left leg as a pillow.
"I wish I could make you understand. But...James parents can't know about the thing with...Jack. They can't. And I don't want them to know about this thing with Regulus either. If they find out they're likely to say something to Dumbledore...what if they pulled James from school?!"
"They wouldn't do that," Remus said, pulling a few strands of hair out of Sirius's eyes.
"I don't know...I just know they can't know!"
Remus smiled sadly.
"I really do wish I could go straight there...but it just couldn't happen."
"I know, I know."
"Gah!" Sirius exclaimed, punching the side of the couch.
Remus ran his hand over Sirius's hair repeatedly. It seemed to help as he literally felt the tension slowly leave his friends neck and shoulders. Sirius played with a loose thread on Remus's sweats and stared off into space.
"Thanks Remus," he mumbled quietly. Remus didn't say a word, just continued running his hand over Sirius's hair. Minutes later Sirius was quietly snoring, his head still resting on Remus's knee.
Remus summoned his book from across the room and began to read. Fifteen minutes later the portrait opened and in came James, seemingly out of breath. He walked straight towards Remus and dragged a chair up beside him.
"How's it going?" he asked curiously.
Remus marked the page in his book and put it down.
"Not so good...Dumbledore found out who did it."
"Really?!" James asked.
Remus nodded and sighed. "Regulus and that Lestrange kid."
"NO!" James said, almost disbelievingly.
"Yes," James replied.
"Thank God he isn't going home this summer...poor kid."
Remus shifted uncomfortably. "Actually...he is going home."
"No he's going to my house...what are you talking about."
"I should let him tell you this. I don't really understand it all."
"No, I want to know why he isn't coming to my house all of a sudden!"
"He still plans on going to your house. But he says he has to go home first."
"What? That's stupid."
"That's what I said. He actually has really good reason's behind it," Remus said, shaking his head. "And don't try to tell him otherwise. I tried and for a second I thought he was going to kill me."
"Are you serious?"
Remus nodded. "I finally got him to calm down and now...here he is."
James shook his head sadly.
"How were classes?"
"Alright, Binns was almost more boring than usual...if that's possible. Defense...we have a paper due next week on the killing curse...such a happy subject...that's about it."
"Where's Peter? Or do I even want to know."
"Have you looked at the time Rem?"
Remus looked at his watch. There was still an hour of classes. "Why are you back?"
"Divination was cancelled...and since Peter's taking arithmancy instead, he's still in class. Why he took that I'll never understand."
"Me neither."
"Anyway, it's gorgeous out so most of the school will probably be outside all afternoon. I was planning on attempting to take him flying again. Think he's up for it?"
"He seemed pretty out of it physically earlier, but when he flipped out at me, he seemed fine. I guess we'll see when he wakes up."
James nodded.
"So did Dumbledore expel Regulus and his friend?"
Remus just shook his head.
"Are you kidding me?"
"No, Sirius was pissed, to say the least. The kid admitted he was working for that dark lord!"
"No...Sirius can NOT go home."
"Again, I tell you he's firmly set in going home."
"I'll talk him out of it."
"Sure you will," Remus said sarcastically.
"Anyway, why the Hell didn't Dumbledore expel them?!"
"He said it was the same thing as Sirius did to me and Snape...and it is."
Sirius shot up and looked at Remus, a hurt expression spreading over his face. "You think it's the same thing?!"
"Shit! God Sirius, NO! First off, why do you feel the need to pretend you're asleep?"
"Because I didn't want you guys to feel bad for waking me up."
"We wouldn't have felt bad," James quipped. Sirius glared daggers at him.
"Secondly, you didn't let me finish. I was going to say it is the same thing...but it's also different. Because like you said, you're sorry, he's not."
Sirius's cheeks turned slightly pink as he mumbled an apology. He wiped the sleep out of his eyes and looked at James, who was looking at him quite pointedly.
"What?" Sirius asked.
"You know what? Why aren't you coming over right away?"
Sirius sighed and leaned back hard. He tried to explain it to James just as he had to Remus.
"I don't like this Sirius. I'm going to talk to my parents."
"NO!" Sirius exclaimed. "What the Hell?! I NEED to go home! And your parents CAN'T know!"
"Sirius. What if you can't get away?"
"If I'm not there in a couple of days tell your parents to call the ministry. But that's only as a last resort. I think I can take care of myself!"
"I don't think you can!" James yelled.
Sirius looked outraged. He stood and walked as fast as he could to the stairs.
"James!" Remus exclaimed. "Why did you have to say that?"
"Because he can't! Not against his parents."
Remus shook his head and followed after Sirius. He turned the corner to head up the stairs and then stopped dead. Sirius was sitting on the third step, appearing to be highly pissed off.
"What are you doing?" Remus whispered.
"It hurt too much to go any further."
"So you aren't feeling any better?"
Sirius shook his head.
"I can take care of myself Remus!" he muttered.
"I know you can, mate," Remus replied.
"And I do too...I'm sorry Sirius...I just don't want you to take this risk," James muttered.
Sirius looked up into James's face and saw the sincerity. "I know...I don't want to either but I have to. And I know you don't understand why and I know Remus doesn't understand why...but just trust me, okay?"
James nodded.
"Thank you!" Sirius exclaimed.
"I'm going to be worrying about you like mad though!"
"Remus informed me you'd be...and himself as well. I'm scared too...but I'll make it out alive. I promise."
"You better mate!" James exclaimed.
Sirius smiled at him and then turned to Remus. "I am SO sick of this common room! How about you?"
"Pretty much...we've been in here all day and all night."
"I wish I could get out of here...but there is no way I'm letting you guys carry me through the school."
"Who said we would?" Remus asked cheekily.
Sirius swatted at Remus's head, missing as Remus ducked out of the way.
"Well why don't we get out of the stair well," James said, helping Sirius to his feet. "Exploding Snap anyone?"
Remus shrugged and Sirius nodded. They settled on the floor in a circle and began to play. They were joined a while later by Peter. They filled him in on the day's happenings; he too was shocked by the situation.
"So James told us about your day yesterday," Sirius said cheekily to Peter.
Peter flushed. "It was not a good day at all!"
"Did you really turn that girl's hair to wool?"
Peter nodded, staring down at the floor. "She kicked me for it today too. It's back to normal I don't see why she has to dwell on it!"
"What was her name? Mabel Adler?" Remus asked.
"That's the one," Peter mumbled.
"I never liked that girl," Sirius stated thoughtfully.
"Why's that?" James asked.
"I don't really know..." Sirius said with a shrug. "I guess this reinforces my dislike though. She knows it was an accident!"
"Yeah, and I apologized a lot!" Peter said, excited to be getting the support from Sirius.
Sirius shook his head as if Mabel's anger was completely unjustified.
Remus and James exchanged looks and then laughed.
"What?" Sirius asked, confused.
"Nothing, Padfoot," James replied, smiling.
Sirius mock glared at him and then sighed. "I'm hungry. Rem and I didn't have lunch. Dumbledore only sent a house elf up with breakfast!"
"Really?" James asked. "I asked him to send one with each meal."
"I think it's punishment," Remus said.
"Why?" James asked.
"Because I yelled at him," Sirius said, sighing.
"Well, Pete and I will go raid the kitchens and we'll all eat up here. Alright?"
They all nodded.
The rest of the night was a peaceful affair. They all went to bed fairly early and the next day Remus and Sirius were both feeling well enough to return to classes. Remus was a little nervous about seeing Snape again, but luckily they both wanted to stay as far from each other as possible. There were no further confrontations between the two.
Remus hoped it would last. He did not want to lay eyes on Severus Snape ever again. He had suffered too much due to Snape's mere existence. Remus knew that the feeling went both ways, however, and had to beg the other boys not to prank him further. He just wanted to forget that Snape even existed.
The rest of the year flew by at a record speed and things had returned to normal for the marauders. It seemed that pain and agony had taken a leave of absence from the lives of the four.
However, as the very last day of school approached, tension again rose. Sirius was walking around like a loose canon. He would run into a first or second year and nearly bite their heads off, when he and the others knew it was his own fault for not looking where he was going. He was even short tempered with his friends, especially Peter.
It was the night before they were scheduled to leave and Sirius was literally freaking out. A third year had walked past him with a glass full of water and somehow managed to spill it all over Sirius.
Jumping to his feet Sirius pulled the younger boy by his collar and pushed him up against the wall. "What the HELL did you do that for?!"
"It-it was a-an an accident! I'm sorry!"
"Does sorry dry my fucking pants?!" Sirius roared, pushing the kid harder against the wall. The boy looked ready to either cry or pee his pants.
"Sirius leave him alone!" James called.
"He didn't mean to do it!" Remus added. Sirius held the boy in place, however, glaring daggers at him.
"Sirius!" Remus yelled. "You need to stop this shit!" He pulled Sirius away from the boy who ran away immediately.
"Why don't you go take a bath Remus!" Sirius yelled. Remus's face contorted in anger and hurt.
"Clear out everyone!" Remus yelled in a voice that allowed no room for disagreement. Every person except James and Sirius obeyed his orders.
"You did NOT mean that!"
Sirius looked down. "No, I didn't. Sorry."
"I know you're scared, Sirius. But you can't take it out on innocent people! The kid spilled water on you! It's not like it was dragon's blood or something!"
"I..."
"No, Sirius. We're all a little scared right now, but it's no excuse to act like a fucking troll!"
"But..."
"No! You can't get yourself out of this by excuses! We know you're dealing with a lot of shit right now but nobody else does. They just think you're being an ass hole! You scared the SHIT out of that kid and it was completely unnecessary!"
Sirius stared at Remus with his jaw set.
"You were almost ready to beat that kid to a bloody pulp! Do you even realize that you let yourself get like that?!"
Sirius bit his lip and looked at Remus for a moment. Abruptly he turned on his heel and headed for the stairs.
"Stop!" Remus called, surprised when Sirius actually listened. At the foot of the stairs Sirius froze. He didn't turn back but he didn't leave. "You can't just run away," Remus said in a much calmer voice. Slowly, Sirius lowered himself to the ground. Pulling his knees up to his chest and burying his face in his knees. Remus looked back to James who was still rather shocked by Sirius's outburst. Waving his hand for James to follow, Remus walked up to Sirius who was now slowly rocking himself back and forth. He put his hand over the back of Sirius's neck and sat beside him, cross-legged. James sat on the other side of Sirius.
"Look at me, Sirius," Remus commanded.
Very slowly Sirius lifted his head. His blue eyes held so much sadness and fear in them and Remus's heart went out for him.
"I don't want tomorrow to come," Sirius muttered, staring helplessly at Remus.
"I know...but is yelling at the younger kids going to change that? Is saying cruel things to me going to change it?"
Sirius shook his head, "I'm sorry about all that...it's just when I get angry, it takes away from the fear."
Remus nodded. "Well you're creating a whole lot of fear in those younger kids. You need to stop that. If I catch you yelling at one more kid..."
"I won't. I'm sorry."
James shook his head. "Why are you doing this to yourself Sirius?"
Remus gave James a warning look. The past few weeks they hadn't talked again about Sirius's seemingly irrational decision.
"I have to. I wish you guys would stop questioning my judgment on this! You don't understand what could happen...and I don't want you to find out."
With one look back at Remus, James dropped the subject.
"Sirius, I think we should all go to bed."
"The sooner we go the sooner tomorrow will come," Sirius muttered in a dry voice.
"Yes and the sooner you can get through this. You can't dwell on this so much. Just let it happen," Remus said wisely.
Sirius sighed and allowed Remus to pull him to his feet. He followed Remus up stairs and James went up behind him. They all got ready for bed in relative silence.
Sirius and James got into their beds and attempted sleep, while Remus went back down the stairs.
He found the door to the third year dormitory and knocked. The door was opened by a young boy Remus recognized as Benny Greenwood.
"What do you want?" Benny asked, emphasizing the word you.
"I want to talk to that kid that my friend accosted."
"Well I don't think he wants to see you," the boy said bravely.
Remus looked at him piercingly and he cowered.
"Jonathan!" he called and ran to his own bed. The boy, Jonathan, approached Remus with a terrified expression on his face.
"Hey, don't worry. I came to apologize for Sirius's behavior."
Jonathan nodded and walked a little closer.
"See, Sirius is going through a hard thing right now, and he's not himself. You don't need to be afraid of him or any of the rest of us, alright?"
Again he nodded.
"You should just try to forget about it. He won't do anything like that again."
"Are-are you sure?"
Remus smiled, "Yeah, he's harmless, trust me."
"Okay," the boy replied.
"Goodnight then," Remus said, with a short wave.
The boy just nodded and Remus left.
When he returned to his room James was already fast asleep. Sirius, however, was not.
"Still up, mate?"
Sirius nodded and sat up. "Where were you?"
"I went to see if that kid you attacked was alright."
Sirius looked down, "Is he alright?"
"Yeah...but he was pretty much terrified."
"I should apologize."
"No need, I told him you were sorry and he seemed to accept it. You just go to sleep."
"I can't sleep Rem!"
"Why not, if you sleep you don't have to think about tomorrow."
"But I can't stop thinking about tomorrow! That's why I can't sleep."
Remus sat beside him. "Lay back down."
Sirius obeyed and Remus pulled the covers up over him.
"In your head count backwards from 100."
"What?!"
"Just do it...slowly, and close your eyes."
"Fine," Sirius whispered and closed his eyes. He felt Remus's hand on his head, gently stroking his hair. There was something about the gesture that was so calming for Sirius, he didn't get past seventy-five before he was sound asleep.
Remus smiled to himself as he saw Sirius's breath even out. He closed the curtains to Sirius's bed and then crawled into his own bed. He too was asleep in no time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Wake up boys! It's time to get ready. Train arrives in one hour!" James yelled at the top of his lungs. Remus groaned and sat up in bed. He looked right and saw Sirius pull back his curtains; he looked positively miserable. They all got ready in silence and packed up their things as quickly as possible until the entire room was bare.
Together they made their way down to the carriages which would bring them to the train station. Everyone noticed as Sirius turned around in his seat and watched Hogwarts disappear from view. Remus put his hand on his shoulder as the building disappeared completely.
Sirius sighed and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the seat. The others fell into an awkward silence which lasted long after they boarded the train.
About ten minutes from Kings Cross Station, Sirius spoke, "Almost there."
"Yup," James replied. "Are you still going to go through with this?"
Sirius nodded.
"If you're not at my house in three days, Tuesday night, I'm telling my parents everything and they'll call the ministry. Right?"
"Yeah. I'll try to get there by tomorrow night though."
They fell back into silence until the train stopped. They all stood up and began to say their goodbyes. Sirius first gave Peter a friendly tap on the back. He then hugged James and finally Remus.
As he was about to pull away, Remus whispered, "Please take care of yourself."
Sirius nodded.
They dragged their trunks down the corridor of the train and exited. They platform was crowded as ever. Remus was the first to spot his family. He waved to the boys and took off. Peter soon followed.
Sirius saw Regulus walk past him and looked in the general direction he was heading. He saw his mother and father standing there.
"Three days," James whispered. Sirius nodded and waved.
James sighed and walked deeper into the crowd until he spotted his own parents. As his parents walked with him towards the exit James looked back. He saw Sirius's mother with her arm over Regulus's shoulder, Sirius walking behind the two dragging along two trunks, his and his brothers. James shook his head sadly and left with his parents.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
And that's all for now! It shouldn't be too long until chapter 10 is up. Chapter 10 could very well by the last chapter. If it is not, it'll be second to last.
If you review I'll love you forever!!!
Siri Lupin: You only reviewed the first chapter but I hope you liked the rest too :) Sirius and Remus are my favorites too...I honestly don't think the HP series would even be good without their presence...ok so that's not true because I liked the first two books and with the exception of one mention of Sirius, they're not in those...anyway, yah I'm SOO mad at JKR for killing of Sirius, I guess she thought it was necessary, I think it was just cruel! I hope you like the rest of this!!!
Stuffyzebra: Oh NO! Not a stuffed weasel! LOL cliffhangers are fun, and they get me more reviews...that's why I write them. But here we have it, the cliffy resolved! Enjoy :)
Sexy Black: I was actually trying to have people think it was Peter, since he was missing...I like to make people think things and then turn in the other direction...it's really quite amusing :) And just an FYI, if I do redo INOSH, as you called it, lol, I will take out some of the crying scenes. There will still be ample crying, cuz I can't live without it, but in some scenes it's really just too much, like the reunion with Sorai...it's just bad. But I think I really want to redo it :)
Hp-Azn: Thanks for the review...and do you think I'd actually tell you who attacked Sirius??? Gotta keep reading! You'll find out in a matter of seconds *wink*
StarlessNight18: Thanks for reviewing! Sirius's attackers will soon be revealed :)
Eizoku: Is "Oh!" good or bad? I just can't even tell, lol. But I appreciate the time you took to write that Oh, it made me smile whether it's good or bad :)
Jemma Blackwell: Yup, it was a cliffie, and I pretty good one I thought, though I can do better I swear! Yup, Sirius is kind of weird in going back, I'm trying to portray it that way, but it's supposed to be something he feels the need to do, you know. So this chapter goes into that a bit too...and you'll see what happens :)
And an extra special review to Katie who helped look over this before I posted!!!! I appreciate it mucho and am looking forward to you updating yours...I'll never stop saying that until you update ALL of them...multiple times *wink*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Glass of Water
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I have found the culprits behind the attack on you, Mr. Black."
Sirius swallowed hard. Remus looked between Sirius and Dumbledore several times before settling his gaze on Dumbledore.
"Who did it?"
"Are you sure you want to know?"
"Of course," Sirius mumbled. "Were they students?"
"Yes."
"How did you find them?"
"They got lost in the woods after Mr. Potter disarmed them. Hagrid found them several hours ago when he was going to meet with a centaur. He brought them straight to me."
"Did you expel them?"
"Did I expel you?"
Sirius looked down, biting his lip both in anger and worry.
"Who was it, Professor?" Remus asked, tired of the twenty questions.
"Mr. Black's attacker...ironically was Mr. Black."
"What?" Sirius asked and thought for a moment. "Regulus did it?!"
"Yes, he and another Slytherin of his year, Mr. Lestrange, were behind it. I assume you know him?"
Sirius nodded, appearing quite shocked. "I can't believe this."
"Professor," Remus asked quietly, "What about those wands."
Dumbledore sighed, "Yes, I got that bit of information about them. You've both heard of a rising Dark wizard?"
They both nodded, Sirius's expression darkening even more.
"He's going by the name Lord Voldemort, though his real name is Tom Riddle. He was a student here at Hogwarts from years back. An excellent student who couldn't find a proper direction for his magic. He provided them with the wands."
"That means..." Sirius trailed off.
"They're joining him?" Remus finished.
"Indeed," Dumbledore replied gravely.
"And you didn't expel them?! They're going to spread this through the school!"
"I assure you they're under close supervision. Their punishments have been more severe than yours and one more wrong move and they will be gone. There is not much they can do here without me or one of the professors finding out. I assure you, Mr. Black, it will be alright."
"You don't know my brother, sir. If he's in it he's in it...there's no turning back."
"I'm sorry Sirius, but I can not punish one student one way and another student another. What he's done to you is no different than what you've done to Remus."
"It is different," he muttered.
"And how's that?"
"Because! I'm sorry for what I did! He's not and he never will be sorry! You said that you didn't expel me because you thought I was better than what I did. Do you really think he's better than this?!"
"I think he has the potential to be, yes!"
"Well I don't!"
"I'm sorry but you are not the headmaster Sirius."
"I'm sorry too!" he yelled.
Dumbledore looked to Remus. "Mr. Lupin, how are you feeling?"
Sirius kicked a nearby pillow.
"I'm fine, thanks," Remus said, flatly. He was not so impressed with Dumbledore's decision either. He stood and walked Dumbledore to the door as Sirius continued to harass the pillow.
Before Dumbledore left he said, "Watch out for him Mr. Lupin, make sure he doesn't make any more rash decisions, especially on the matter of his brother."
"I'll try sir," Remus said in a hushed voice. "But are you sure you made the right decision?"
"If I weren't, Mr. Black and Mr. Lestrange would be on their way home. I assure you, I know what I'm doing."
Remus sighed and nodded.
"If you two need it you'll be excused from classes again tomorrow, however, I'd like to see you both attempt to attend."
"Yes sir."
"Good bye, Mr. Lupin."
"Bye Professor."
Remus stood next to the portrait hole for a moment before he looked back at Sirius. The pillow was now by his feet, stuffing spilling out of its seams. Sirius had his head down, resting in his arms upon the table.
"You alright Sirius?"
"This is bad Remus....this is really bad," he muttered, not lifting his head.
"I'm sure Dumbledore knows what he's doing, mate."
Sirius just shook his head ever so slightly. "What about when I go home."
"Sirius I still think you should just not go home. I bet James parents can work out a way to pick you up in Hogsmeade or something."
"No they can't!" Sirius nearly yelled, his head still down.
"Why not?"
"Because Remus! I don't want them to know what my parents have done! They'll kill me if they find out I've told."
"Can you at least look at me?" Remus pleaded.
Sirius violently lifted his head. His eyes held a fury Remus had never seen in them before.
"You could tell them, Sirius. You could tell them that they can't make a big deal about it, but just tell them! It will help Sirius!"
"NO IT WON'T!!!" he roared, standing up. Remus unconsciously took several steps back. Sirius slammed his head back down to the table as he resumed his seat.
"Sirius," Remus said in a small voice a few minutes later, trying to be brave and not just drop the issue. "I just don't want to see you get hurt. And I know that by going home...you will."
Sirius looked up again. His eyes were red and watery, "That's what you don't seem to understand, Remus...I'm going to get hurt either way." He wiped his eyes roughly. "It won't help to tell them Moony, it'll just make the hurt worse."
"Okay," Remus mumbled and reached out a hand to Sirius, who grabbed it willingly. Remus pulled him to his feet and led him over to the couch. "Sit," he commanded. Sirius did as told and Remus sat beside him.
"Hey Rem?"
"Yeah?"
"You think I'm being stupid by going home first don't you?"
"Yes, I do. But I trust that you know what you're doing."
Sirius sighed and let himself fall to the side, curling up on the couch, using Remus's left leg as a pillow.
"I wish I could make you understand. But...James parents can't know about the thing with...Jack. They can't. And I don't want them to know about this thing with Regulus either. If they find out they're likely to say something to Dumbledore...what if they pulled James from school?!"
"They wouldn't do that," Remus said, pulling a few strands of hair out of Sirius's eyes.
"I don't know...I just know they can't know!"
Remus smiled sadly.
"I really do wish I could go straight there...but it just couldn't happen."
"I know, I know."
"Gah!" Sirius exclaimed, punching the side of the couch.
Remus ran his hand over Sirius's hair repeatedly. It seemed to help as he literally felt the tension slowly leave his friends neck and shoulders. Sirius played with a loose thread on Remus's sweats and stared off into space.
"Thanks Remus," he mumbled quietly. Remus didn't say a word, just continued running his hand over Sirius's hair. Minutes later Sirius was quietly snoring, his head still resting on Remus's knee.
Remus summoned his book from across the room and began to read. Fifteen minutes later the portrait opened and in came James, seemingly out of breath. He walked straight towards Remus and dragged a chair up beside him.
"How's it going?" he asked curiously.
Remus marked the page in his book and put it down.
"Not so good...Dumbledore found out who did it."
"Really?!" James asked.
Remus nodded and sighed. "Regulus and that Lestrange kid."
"NO!" James said, almost disbelievingly.
"Yes," James replied.
"Thank God he isn't going home this summer...poor kid."
Remus shifted uncomfortably. "Actually...he is going home."
"No he's going to my house...what are you talking about."
"I should let him tell you this. I don't really understand it all."
"No, I want to know why he isn't coming to my house all of a sudden!"
"He still plans on going to your house. But he says he has to go home first."
"What? That's stupid."
"That's what I said. He actually has really good reason's behind it," Remus said, shaking his head. "And don't try to tell him otherwise. I tried and for a second I thought he was going to kill me."
"Are you serious?"
Remus nodded. "I finally got him to calm down and now...here he is."
James shook his head sadly.
"How were classes?"
"Alright, Binns was almost more boring than usual...if that's possible. Defense...we have a paper due next week on the killing curse...such a happy subject...that's about it."
"Where's Peter? Or do I even want to know."
"Have you looked at the time Rem?"
Remus looked at his watch. There was still an hour of classes. "Why are you back?"
"Divination was cancelled...and since Peter's taking arithmancy instead, he's still in class. Why he took that I'll never understand."
"Me neither."
"Anyway, it's gorgeous out so most of the school will probably be outside all afternoon. I was planning on attempting to take him flying again. Think he's up for it?"
"He seemed pretty out of it physically earlier, but when he flipped out at me, he seemed fine. I guess we'll see when he wakes up."
James nodded.
"So did Dumbledore expel Regulus and his friend?"
Remus just shook his head.
"Are you kidding me?"
"No, Sirius was pissed, to say the least. The kid admitted he was working for that dark lord!"
"No...Sirius can NOT go home."
"Again, I tell you he's firmly set in going home."
"I'll talk him out of it."
"Sure you will," Remus said sarcastically.
"Anyway, why the Hell didn't Dumbledore expel them?!"
"He said it was the same thing as Sirius did to me and Snape...and it is."
Sirius shot up and looked at Remus, a hurt expression spreading over his face. "You think it's the same thing?!"
"Shit! God Sirius, NO! First off, why do you feel the need to pretend you're asleep?"
"Because I didn't want you guys to feel bad for waking me up."
"We wouldn't have felt bad," James quipped. Sirius glared daggers at him.
"Secondly, you didn't let me finish. I was going to say it is the same thing...but it's also different. Because like you said, you're sorry, he's not."
Sirius's cheeks turned slightly pink as he mumbled an apology. He wiped the sleep out of his eyes and looked at James, who was looking at him quite pointedly.
"What?" Sirius asked.
"You know what? Why aren't you coming over right away?"
Sirius sighed and leaned back hard. He tried to explain it to James just as he had to Remus.
"I don't like this Sirius. I'm going to talk to my parents."
"NO!" Sirius exclaimed. "What the Hell?! I NEED to go home! And your parents CAN'T know!"
"Sirius. What if you can't get away?"
"If I'm not there in a couple of days tell your parents to call the ministry. But that's only as a last resort. I think I can take care of myself!"
"I don't think you can!" James yelled.
Sirius looked outraged. He stood and walked as fast as he could to the stairs.
"James!" Remus exclaimed. "Why did you have to say that?"
"Because he can't! Not against his parents."
Remus shook his head and followed after Sirius. He turned the corner to head up the stairs and then stopped dead. Sirius was sitting on the third step, appearing to be highly pissed off.
"What are you doing?" Remus whispered.
"It hurt too much to go any further."
"So you aren't feeling any better?"
Sirius shook his head.
"I can take care of myself Remus!" he muttered.
"I know you can, mate," Remus replied.
"And I do too...I'm sorry Sirius...I just don't want you to take this risk," James muttered.
Sirius looked up into James's face and saw the sincerity. "I know...I don't want to either but I have to. And I know you don't understand why and I know Remus doesn't understand why...but just trust me, okay?"
James nodded.
"Thank you!" Sirius exclaimed.
"I'm going to be worrying about you like mad though!"
"Remus informed me you'd be...and himself as well. I'm scared too...but I'll make it out alive. I promise."
"You better mate!" James exclaimed.
Sirius smiled at him and then turned to Remus. "I am SO sick of this common room! How about you?"
"Pretty much...we've been in here all day and all night."
"I wish I could get out of here...but there is no way I'm letting you guys carry me through the school."
"Who said we would?" Remus asked cheekily.
Sirius swatted at Remus's head, missing as Remus ducked out of the way.
"Well why don't we get out of the stair well," James said, helping Sirius to his feet. "Exploding Snap anyone?"
Remus shrugged and Sirius nodded. They settled on the floor in a circle and began to play. They were joined a while later by Peter. They filled him in on the day's happenings; he too was shocked by the situation.
"So James told us about your day yesterday," Sirius said cheekily to Peter.
Peter flushed. "It was not a good day at all!"
"Did you really turn that girl's hair to wool?"
Peter nodded, staring down at the floor. "She kicked me for it today too. It's back to normal I don't see why she has to dwell on it!"
"What was her name? Mabel Adler?" Remus asked.
"That's the one," Peter mumbled.
"I never liked that girl," Sirius stated thoughtfully.
"Why's that?" James asked.
"I don't really know..." Sirius said with a shrug. "I guess this reinforces my dislike though. She knows it was an accident!"
"Yeah, and I apologized a lot!" Peter said, excited to be getting the support from Sirius.
Sirius shook his head as if Mabel's anger was completely unjustified.
Remus and James exchanged looks and then laughed.
"What?" Sirius asked, confused.
"Nothing, Padfoot," James replied, smiling.
Sirius mock glared at him and then sighed. "I'm hungry. Rem and I didn't have lunch. Dumbledore only sent a house elf up with breakfast!"
"Really?" James asked. "I asked him to send one with each meal."
"I think it's punishment," Remus said.
"Why?" James asked.
"Because I yelled at him," Sirius said, sighing.
"Well, Pete and I will go raid the kitchens and we'll all eat up here. Alright?"
They all nodded.
The rest of the night was a peaceful affair. They all went to bed fairly early and the next day Remus and Sirius were both feeling well enough to return to classes. Remus was a little nervous about seeing Snape again, but luckily they both wanted to stay as far from each other as possible. There were no further confrontations between the two.
Remus hoped it would last. He did not want to lay eyes on Severus Snape ever again. He had suffered too much due to Snape's mere existence. Remus knew that the feeling went both ways, however, and had to beg the other boys not to prank him further. He just wanted to forget that Snape even existed.
The rest of the year flew by at a record speed and things had returned to normal for the marauders. It seemed that pain and agony had taken a leave of absence from the lives of the four.
However, as the very last day of school approached, tension again rose. Sirius was walking around like a loose canon. He would run into a first or second year and nearly bite their heads off, when he and the others knew it was his own fault for not looking where he was going. He was even short tempered with his friends, especially Peter.
It was the night before they were scheduled to leave and Sirius was literally freaking out. A third year had walked past him with a glass full of water and somehow managed to spill it all over Sirius.
Jumping to his feet Sirius pulled the younger boy by his collar and pushed him up against the wall. "What the HELL did you do that for?!"
"It-it was a-an an accident! I'm sorry!"
"Does sorry dry my fucking pants?!" Sirius roared, pushing the kid harder against the wall. The boy looked ready to either cry or pee his pants.
"Sirius leave him alone!" James called.
"He didn't mean to do it!" Remus added. Sirius held the boy in place, however, glaring daggers at him.
"Sirius!" Remus yelled. "You need to stop this shit!" He pulled Sirius away from the boy who ran away immediately.
"Why don't you go take a bath Remus!" Sirius yelled. Remus's face contorted in anger and hurt.
"Clear out everyone!" Remus yelled in a voice that allowed no room for disagreement. Every person except James and Sirius obeyed his orders.
"You did NOT mean that!"
Sirius looked down. "No, I didn't. Sorry."
"I know you're scared, Sirius. But you can't take it out on innocent people! The kid spilled water on you! It's not like it was dragon's blood or something!"
"I..."
"No, Sirius. We're all a little scared right now, but it's no excuse to act like a fucking troll!"
"But..."
"No! You can't get yourself out of this by excuses! We know you're dealing with a lot of shit right now but nobody else does. They just think you're being an ass hole! You scared the SHIT out of that kid and it was completely unnecessary!"
Sirius stared at Remus with his jaw set.
"You were almost ready to beat that kid to a bloody pulp! Do you even realize that you let yourself get like that?!"
Sirius bit his lip and looked at Remus for a moment. Abruptly he turned on his heel and headed for the stairs.
"Stop!" Remus called, surprised when Sirius actually listened. At the foot of the stairs Sirius froze. He didn't turn back but he didn't leave. "You can't just run away," Remus said in a much calmer voice. Slowly, Sirius lowered himself to the ground. Pulling his knees up to his chest and burying his face in his knees. Remus looked back to James who was still rather shocked by Sirius's outburst. Waving his hand for James to follow, Remus walked up to Sirius who was now slowly rocking himself back and forth. He put his hand over the back of Sirius's neck and sat beside him, cross-legged. James sat on the other side of Sirius.
"Look at me, Sirius," Remus commanded.
Very slowly Sirius lifted his head. His blue eyes held so much sadness and fear in them and Remus's heart went out for him.
"I don't want tomorrow to come," Sirius muttered, staring helplessly at Remus.
"I know...but is yelling at the younger kids going to change that? Is saying cruel things to me going to change it?"
Sirius shook his head, "I'm sorry about all that...it's just when I get angry, it takes away from the fear."
Remus nodded. "Well you're creating a whole lot of fear in those younger kids. You need to stop that. If I catch you yelling at one more kid..."
"I won't. I'm sorry."
James shook his head. "Why are you doing this to yourself Sirius?"
Remus gave James a warning look. The past few weeks they hadn't talked again about Sirius's seemingly irrational decision.
"I have to. I wish you guys would stop questioning my judgment on this! You don't understand what could happen...and I don't want you to find out."
With one look back at Remus, James dropped the subject.
"Sirius, I think we should all go to bed."
"The sooner we go the sooner tomorrow will come," Sirius muttered in a dry voice.
"Yes and the sooner you can get through this. You can't dwell on this so much. Just let it happen," Remus said wisely.
Sirius sighed and allowed Remus to pull him to his feet. He followed Remus up stairs and James went up behind him. They all got ready for bed in relative silence.
Sirius and James got into their beds and attempted sleep, while Remus went back down the stairs.
He found the door to the third year dormitory and knocked. The door was opened by a young boy Remus recognized as Benny Greenwood.
"What do you want?" Benny asked, emphasizing the word you.
"I want to talk to that kid that my friend accosted."
"Well I don't think he wants to see you," the boy said bravely.
Remus looked at him piercingly and he cowered.
"Jonathan!" he called and ran to his own bed. The boy, Jonathan, approached Remus with a terrified expression on his face.
"Hey, don't worry. I came to apologize for Sirius's behavior."
Jonathan nodded and walked a little closer.
"See, Sirius is going through a hard thing right now, and he's not himself. You don't need to be afraid of him or any of the rest of us, alright?"
Again he nodded.
"You should just try to forget about it. He won't do anything like that again."
"Are-are you sure?"
Remus smiled, "Yeah, he's harmless, trust me."
"Okay," the boy replied.
"Goodnight then," Remus said, with a short wave.
The boy just nodded and Remus left.
When he returned to his room James was already fast asleep. Sirius, however, was not.
"Still up, mate?"
Sirius nodded and sat up. "Where were you?"
"I went to see if that kid you attacked was alright."
Sirius looked down, "Is he alright?"
"Yeah...but he was pretty much terrified."
"I should apologize."
"No need, I told him you were sorry and he seemed to accept it. You just go to sleep."
"I can't sleep Rem!"
"Why not, if you sleep you don't have to think about tomorrow."
"But I can't stop thinking about tomorrow! That's why I can't sleep."
Remus sat beside him. "Lay back down."
Sirius obeyed and Remus pulled the covers up over him.
"In your head count backwards from 100."
"What?!"
"Just do it...slowly, and close your eyes."
"Fine," Sirius whispered and closed his eyes. He felt Remus's hand on his head, gently stroking his hair. There was something about the gesture that was so calming for Sirius, he didn't get past seventy-five before he was sound asleep.
Remus smiled to himself as he saw Sirius's breath even out. He closed the curtains to Sirius's bed and then crawled into his own bed. He too was asleep in no time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Wake up boys! It's time to get ready. Train arrives in one hour!" James yelled at the top of his lungs. Remus groaned and sat up in bed. He looked right and saw Sirius pull back his curtains; he looked positively miserable. They all got ready in silence and packed up their things as quickly as possible until the entire room was bare.
Together they made their way down to the carriages which would bring them to the train station. Everyone noticed as Sirius turned around in his seat and watched Hogwarts disappear from view. Remus put his hand on his shoulder as the building disappeared completely.
Sirius sighed and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the seat. The others fell into an awkward silence which lasted long after they boarded the train.
About ten minutes from Kings Cross Station, Sirius spoke, "Almost there."
"Yup," James replied. "Are you still going to go through with this?"
Sirius nodded.
"If you're not at my house in three days, Tuesday night, I'm telling my parents everything and they'll call the ministry. Right?"
"Yeah. I'll try to get there by tomorrow night though."
They fell back into silence until the train stopped. They all stood up and began to say their goodbyes. Sirius first gave Peter a friendly tap on the back. He then hugged James and finally Remus.
As he was about to pull away, Remus whispered, "Please take care of yourself."
Sirius nodded.
They dragged their trunks down the corridor of the train and exited. They platform was crowded as ever. Remus was the first to spot his family. He waved to the boys and took off. Peter soon followed.
Sirius saw Regulus walk past him and looked in the general direction he was heading. He saw his mother and father standing there.
"Three days," James whispered. Sirius nodded and waved.
James sighed and walked deeper into the crowd until he spotted his own parents. As his parents walked with him towards the exit James looked back. He saw Sirius's mother with her arm over Regulus's shoulder, Sirius walking behind the two dragging along two trunks, his and his brothers. James shook his head sadly and left with his parents.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
And that's all for now! It shouldn't be too long until chapter 10 is up. Chapter 10 could very well by the last chapter. If it is not, it'll be second to last.
If you review I'll love you forever!!!