A/N: Sorry about the delay my bastard computer is doing bastardly things, grrrr. Thanks for the reviews so far guys keep it up…hint, hint.
WARNING: This chapter involves self harm, if this subject offends or upsets you please skip.
Chapter Three: Questions & Doubt
part 2
"Tal, Tal" Arthur called across the bustling Magical Law Enforcement Department. He ran to a woman who was darting from desk to desk. "Talana I need your help" He said abruptly stopping very red faced in front of the woman.
"Arthur, now really isn't a good time we've been getting reports all night of more Death Eater attacks on muggles. Honestly the way Voldemort's going you'd think there was a shortage" Talana had big black circles under her eyes and a bloodied rag hung from her left arm. "Are you ok?" Arthur asked anxiously staring at her arm.
"I'm fine, had a bit of a scuffle yesterday with a Death Eater" she said brushing it off. "What do you want?" she sighed reluctantly. "A friend of mine has been brought in for questioning on a killing last night just outside London" Arthur didn't want to mention that the victim was a six year old.
"And you want me to get you information" Talana asked already knowing his answer. Arthur nodded hopefully. "Arthur, you know that investigations like this are confidential, if I go around spreading gossip…well it's more then my jobs worth" she replied slightly frustrated with Arthur.
"I know, but I swear I won't tell a soul I'm just really worried about him. And remember when I got your brother off the hook about those enchanted teapots" Arthur said hoping she wouldn't see through his lie. There was a long silence between them for a moment. "Name" was all she uttered.
"Um, Arthur Weasley…ow you mean, Remus John Lupin" Arthur said embarrassed.
"I'll see what I can do, but no promises" within an instant Talana was gone and Arthur felt much more hopeful.
"No, no that's not possible. I remember bolting that door, there was no way I could have left it open" Remus ranted at everyone in the room.
"Did you see the room?" Byron asked sarcastically. After hearing his words Remus thought back and realised that when he had got home that morning he had walked straight past the restraint room.
"I-…no" Remus uttered impassively. Gabriel and Byron continued to bombard him with questions, however he couldn't focus anymore and the world became a blur.
"What?...When?...How?" Remus couldn't even hear what the rest of their questions were until a hand came crashing down on the table snapping Remus back to reality.
"I said, where did you get the hair?…Avery's hair" Byron snarled across the table. "I found it when I woke up" Remus stated bluntly.
"Where did you find it?" Gabriel asked, he was still giving Byron a warning stare. "I woke up this morning in a forest just outside of Muckton. When I got up I noticed a lock of hair by my feet…I don't know why but I took it with me" Remus saw Byron roll his eyes as he finished his reply.
"Why didn't you inform the Ministry when you woke up?" Gabriel questioned while rubbing his head. "I was completely naked, miles from home and my mind was racing. All I wanted to do was get back and then start thinking rationally" Remus was starting to get angry. He had been sitting there for hours all they did was repeat the same questions trying to trip him up while Byron intimidated him. As for Emeray, since her last embarrassment she had decided to just sit next to Remus and take notes on the case.
"For the love of Merlin's beard Arthur what do you think you're playing at?" Talana grabbed Arthur by the wrist and dragged him into an empty office.
"What do you mean?" Arthur asked already expecting her answer.
"Avery Lee, a six year old kid and a werewolf. Honestly Arthur most werewolf cases are never simple but this…" Talana paused for a moment shaking her head wildly.
"Death Eaters, a case file that's completely shocking and lets not forget the politics involved" she ranted while pacing the room. Arthur had not expected this answer at all.
"Talana, slow down and tell me what you have found" Arthur pleaded with her. Talana stopped pacing and stared at Arthur.
"Avery Lee's father, Torin Lee has been brought in on charges linked to the dark arts several times this year. To be more specific, the Ministry have been keeping an eye on him because they think he is a Death Eater" she stopped so he could absorb the information. "How is that linked to Avery's death?" Arthur asked very puzzled.
"Well it's not really, but if you look at the bigger picture then it starts to look a little dodgy" Talana said, her inner instincts telling her that something wasn't right.
"And the bigger picture is?" he pushed. "Torin and his wife Coral have vanished, Avery's autopsy is full of holes, no pun intended and…vital evidence has also gone missing" she finished sighing loudly. "And all in perfect timing" she added with a glum laugh.
"Sorry?" Arthur queried. "Arthur, don't you read the Daily Prophet anymore?" Talana replied exasperated. "In 1904 the Werewolf Constitutional Act was devised, this means that if someone is killed by a werewolf the accused can't be trailed for murder. The court decided that because they have no will power over the full moon they can't be held responsible." Arthur nodded with every word.
"Anyway, a few weeks back Anti-Werewolf protesters demanded that the constitutional act be thrown out. And they were good, they'd done research beyond anything we had anticipated and they also had a top barrister. Thankfully, they lost but they didn't take it too well if you know what I mean" Talana finished and raised her eyebrows. Arthur just stared at her.
"Think about it a blonde haired, blue eyed angel is savagely killed by a werewolf, several weeks after a high profile case about werewolves being trailed for murder is thrown out. This case stinks of foul play to me, I just don't know which lead is stronger"
Arthur stood on the spot completely shocked by all the information. Talana walked over to the door and drew the blinds, she turned back to Arthur who hadn't moved an inch. "I managed to get my hands on a copy of the case file" she said withdrawing the file from the inside pocket of her robes. "Don't go flashing this about, if anybody but you sees what's in this file our necks are on the block as well as our jobs" Talana handed him the file then darted out of room leaving Arthur completely stunned.
"How long are you planning on detaining my client for? You do realise it's a full moon tonight and you need a signed court order to keep a werewolf over night?, it's stated clearly in paragraph two section three of the Werewolf Con–" Emeray started sternly before Byron cut her off.
"Yes we know about the constitution, and we will keep him as long as we want" Byron spat at her through gritted teeth. As much as Remus hated Byron he recognised his feeling, for the last few hours Emeray had only dictated Werewolf Rights to the Auror's.
"No let him go" Gabriel sighed rubbing his eyes. Byron looked surprised at his boss then began to protest however yet again Gabriel stopped him.
"For the night I mean, when we've collected a few more statements and gone over all the evidence once more we'll need to talk to you again" Gabriel said addressing Remus with a sympathetic smile.
Remus was overjoyed that he could finally go home, then he remembered the faces of the people at the Ministry. How they had looked at him with complete disgust, suddenly the thought of leaving the room terrified him. What was waiting for him on the other side of that door?
Sirius stood up and felt every bone crack, they had been waiting for Remus to emerge for hours.
"What's the time?" He asked James, James moved his hand gently trying not to wake Lily who had fallen asleep on his shoulder.
"Half five" He replied. They had been waiting for four and a half hours to be more precise. James and Peter had stopped acknowledging each other several hours ago and the atmosphere was getting very tense.
The door separating the waiting area and the Ministry swung open, Emeray, Caden, Byron and Remus walked through.
Sirius' face lit up and he began to walk over to his friend. However Remus raised his hand as a gesture for him to stop, as he continued talking with the Ministry workers.
"Try to get some sleep you look awful" Caden said smiling weakly at Remus. He nodded but deep down he knew that it was going to be another long and painful night. Caden patted Remus on the shoulder then left, Byron however was stood firmly on the spot staring Remus down.
"I'd better get going, unless you'd like me to…er, stay for legal advise" Emeray said nervously; in the clearer light she could see how attractive Remus was as she looked for a reason to accompany him.
"I'll be fine, I think I can state the Werewolf Constitutional Act off by heart now" he replied trying to smile. He was never good at picking up signals, and at a time like this Emeray's indication was completely lost on him.
"Okay" she nodded desperately clutching at the stack of papers under her arm as she left. Sirius was still standing there observing, he couldn't understand why Remus had told him to stay back.
"Smooth" Byron laughed watching Emeray leave. "I guess you can never tell what depraved things people get off on" Byron was talking about Emeray being attracted to a werewolf however there was an underlying message directed at Remus. "Sweet dreams" he growled before leaving.
Lily had woken up and was standing next to James silently wondering what was going on, Peter was still skulking in the corner and Sirius wasn't sure whether to approach Remus or stay put.
"Are you okay?" Sirius uttered not realising his voice had dropped to a dull purr. "How did you find out?" Remus asked staring at the floor, he couldn't bring himself to look into his friends eyes.
"I was with Molly, Arthur came home early and told us. He thought you might need a friend" Lily said walking towards Remus. He just walked past her and sat down in the chair that Sirius had been occupying.
"It's okay we're all here for you, and together we're going to find out the truth" James said gently kneeling beside him. "And what if the truth means I'm guilty?" Remus said bluntly still staring at the floor.
At hearing this Lily and Sirius rushed over to Remus surrounding him. "But your not guilty" Sirius stately firmly, Lily nodded fervently along with Sirius' words.
"How do you know Sirius? I don't even know, ask anyone in there and they'll tell you that I'm going to rot in hell for what I've done" Remus yelled leaping to his feet and gesturing towards the Ministry doors. "Moon–" James started before Remus cut him off.
"Don't, I don't ever want you to call me that name" He said forcefully staring directly at James. "Don't talk like this, I know they've screwed your head up in there but I know you're not capable of…" James let his words trail off again.
"Capable of killing a six year old child" Remus finished James' sentence for him. He could feel his eyes begin to sting again, all he wanted to do was crawl into a corner and cry himself to death. Instead he was arguing with his best friends, the men that he had considered brothers since childhood, and he didn't know why.
"Remus, they don't have anything on you they can't have" Sirius stated more to himself then anyone else. "Ow, but they do…it appears that I consumed a dose of Re'em blood last night, I was so drunk I accidentally left the door of my restraint room open. And I had a lock of Avery's hair on me when they brought me in" Remus blurted the words out, a tear finally rolled down his face as he said Avery's name for the first time.
James stood shaking is head wildly desperately wanting him to take back the words, everyone else was completely silent until Peter surfaced from the corner.
"Why are saying this?...It-…it's like you want us to think you're guilty" he said questioningly furrowing his eyebrows at Remus. "Well maybe I am, Pete" That was all Remus said before brushing past his friends and leaving the Ministry, while everyone looked on to shocked and distressed to do stop him.
Remus staggered through the hole where his front door used to be clutching his bottle of Wicked Wanda's Wonder Brew, the strongest spirit on the market. He stumbled up the stair and clumsily wandered into the restraint room.
The walls were covered in scratch marks so deep the plaster crumbled under his feet as he walked through the ruin. The medicine cabinet had been torn down and the phials of blue liquid lay smashed on the warped and dented wooden floor. The wall that had his chains attached had several gaping holes in it where the shackles had been ripped clean out. The pile of metal lay discarded in a corner along with the remains of the rabbit that was starting to rot in the summer heat.
Remus poured the remainder of the alcohol into his mouth and swallowed, he shuddered as its effects hit him again. He stared at the bottle for a moment, peeling the label off and trying not to pass out. It suddenly occurred to Remus that the sun was going to set soon, and with his restrain room demolished he didn't know what to do.
In a fit of rage Remus smashed the bottle against the wall and wailed with despair. He dropped to his knees sobbing gently as he watched the sunlight reflect off of a shard of glass.
Remus watched the glass for several minutes before he reached over and grasped the shard. He knew instantly what he had to do.
He turned the shard in his hand until he found the sharpest point and pressed it against his left forearm. Remus' heart was pounding harder then every before, his hands shook and he let out a slight gasp as he pressed harder and dragged the glass over his skin until the blood fell freely. The intense feeling of physical pain drowned out his screaming conscience, he continued to tare at his skin. The burning ripping sensation swept over him relieving him of all this troubles even if it was the merest of moments.
Again and again he slashed at his arm vigorously; blood poured from his arm and keeping his eyes open was proving a huge problem. He fell face first onto the dilapidated wooden floor watching the blood pour from his throbbing arm; the red fluid covered a surprising amount of wood within a few short seconds.
"NO, REMUS WHAT HAVE YOU DONE"
Remus could tell that a person was screaming at him but the voice seemed so distant it sounded more like a whisper.
A/N: I was really disappointed with this chapter, but the next with be very exciting…hopefully.
Was Remus set up by an Anti-Werewolf gang, and Torin being a Death Eater have anything to do with his daughters death?, vital evidence has gone missing and who was screaming at Remus? Well I guess you'll have to wait until next time to find out…
P.S: Starlollie I love you and I want to have your babies!