Summary: Remus and Tonks meet Sirius at the Shrieking Shack and the past is revealed. A contrast to the first chapter, ie, not quite fluffy.
SHRIEKING SHACK
Lupin and Tonks followed the Weasleys past Srivenshafts and Gladrags as they made their way through Hogsmeade. The twins came out of Zonko's with Bill just as Hermione was telling Ron, "And not a word to Harry that we've been to Puddifoot's."
"I'm labeling it as a nightmare myself, so it can't be a real memory," replied Ron.
As the voices drifted ahead of him, Lupin saw a black shadow flitting behind the buildings and deemed it to be Snuffles. He tapped Tonks' hand to direct her attention to the form.
She whispered, "Is he going to Honeyduke's? I thought he gave you money to buy Harry some chocolates?"
"He did, but Honeyduke's has a trapdoor that leads to Hogwarts," said Lupin.
"He'd risk Dumbledore finding him? Sirius might be reckless, but he's not stupid," said Tonks.
"Let's be quick with the purchases, Auntie Nyms," said Lupin as he opened the door to Honeyduke's for the gray haired Tonks.
Ron and Hermione immediately stopped their arguments over chocolates as they heard his voice. Tonks was making purchases of her own and soon the Weasleys were taking the floo out of Hogsmeade. Lupin and Tonks disappeared into the alley by Honeyduke's, but were soon back inside through the stealth afforded them by the Disillusionment Charm. The Auror level charm would defy any shoplifting wards active in the shop.
"Here, shrink this until we get back to London," directed Tonks as she pointed to their own bag of chocolates.
Lupin perused the contents for a moment. "You've got a month's supply in here. No wonder it was so heavy."
"It's for our private club, Remus," said Tonks. "You can't have a Chocolate Lovers without Lovers club if you don't have chocolates, now can you? It's in the charter I've written up."
Lupin didn't pursue the line of questioning. Instead he led Tonks into Honeyduke's again and through the trapdoor.
"Lumos," said Lupin as they entered the tunnel. He turned to find Tonks had lost the senescent disguise and now stood beside him with her typical pink hair. She took a step forward and stumbled a bit, but he offered her his hand and said, "Just walk beside me. I think Sirius is expecting us."
Tonks reached out and clasped his hand while she held her wand at the ready. The dark tunnel was rather spooky, but it was easy to endure with the warm hand that led her.
After at time, Lupin stopped abruptly and seemed to face the earthen wall.
"Remus, we're trying to find Sirius, not stare at earthworms," admonished Tonks.
"He's going to the Shrieking Shack," whispered Lupin. He turned to Tonks and explained. "We created a detour that only the four of us knew about so that we could leave the Shrieking Shack and get to Honeyduke's to roam around Hogsmeade."
"Are you sure it hasn't been sealed?" asked Tonks.
"Let's find out," said Lupin as he waved his wand. The dirt undulated like a curtain. Lupin was about to move the draperies aside when Tonks stopped him.
"It could be a trap, Remus. Malfoy knows who Snuffles is and could be setting this up. Let me check for wards," she insisted. Her voice was completely serious, so he let her do her work. She used three different disclosing spells, which would have made Mad-Eye Moody proud, before she said, "All right, we can go."
Lupin hesitated a moment. "Perhaps you should go back to London now. I'll make sure Sirius gets back to the house."
Tonks understood his hesitancy, but said, "Remus, are you implying that a mild-mannered professor can handle the Shrieking Shack better than a fully fledged Auror? Ha! Moody would never let me hear the end of it. I'm going."
Lupin seemed reluctant, but accepted her answer. He then pushed aside the earthen curtain with one arm while he again reached for her hand. They followed the short detour tunnel and were soon climbing up the steps to the Shrieking Shack.
Sirius was standing nonchalantly as he leaned against a wall. "You know, I think I prefer this place to Number Twelve."
"Wotcher, Sirius," said Tonks. Then she turned in a circle as she surveyed the room. "So this is the famous Shrieking Shack?"
"Why did you bring us here, Sirius?" asked Lupin as he stood facing his friend with his hands in his pockets.
"I couldn't very well set foot in Puddifoot's, now could I? Some of us still have our standards," replied Sirius calmly.
Tonks stopped to watch Lupin as he moved to a wall and his long fingers traced a series of scratches left there. He looked up when he caught her staring and looked away as if uncomfortable.
"You shouldn't even be out. Come on, let's go back to London," said Lupin.
"You think Tonks can't handle it, Remus?" asked Sirius as he met Lupin's direct gaze. "So, what do you think, Tonks? Go on, give it your best Auror inspection. What do you see?"
Tonks wasn't sure who Sirius was testing, but when she looked at Lupin, he merely gave her a resigned nod. Tonks then closed her eyes and concentrated. She began to move her wand in an elaborate, but graceful pattern as she slowly turned in the room and gathered its secrets.
"There is no part of the wall that isn't scratched. The bed sits on the floor because the legs have been chewed away. There's traces of fur still caught on the hinges of the door where it's been rammed by a body. There is no beam of wood on the floor that isn't bloodstained. Even, even under the bed, the blood would flow."
"That's enough," said Lupin. His voice sounded hoarse and he wouldn't look at her.
"You left this place uncleansed," observed Tonks. "You hid the evidence quite well, but in all these years, you didn't remove the residuals of your transformations."
"I couldn't stand to come here unless it was the full moon," said Lupin weakly as he swept a hand through his hair. "I got rid of most of the blood in the mornings. It was the first wandless magic I learned to do. But the stains would go so deep, I just hid them. Cleansing for residuals didn't seem important, no one ever comes here."
"No one but escaped convicts and traitorous rats, you mean," said Sirius as he stood to face his friend. "Now do you see why I brought you here, Remus? I noticed it last time I was in the Shack at the end of spring. Had nothing better to do than to stretch my senses. Thought I might find something of Peter so I could hunt him down, but instead I discovered your residuals. I practically flew out of here when they touched me."
Tonks realized the implication and sounded like an experienced Auror as she began her lecture. "Remus, someone could use this against you. There's enough residual in what you left behind for the Dark Arts to be effective. You're lucky no one has discovered this before now."
Lupin looked away from them, "I don't know if I can face it. Each residual will set off a memory."
"But you have to be the one to do the calling. There's too much here for a simple cleansing spell." Tonks took his hand in hers as Sirius came to his side.
"I knew you wouldn't come here unless you had a strong motivation." Sirius put his hand on Lupin's shoulder and added, "It's time to erase the past and look to the future, Remus. Isn't that the essence of what you were telling me you wanted the other day?"
"Let us help you, Remus," said Tonks.
Lupin sought her eyes and found no contempt, no condemnation. He could only see true purpose there and it was the same determination he saw in Sirius.
"It's genetic, isn't it? This propensity to bully me around?"
Tonks and Sirius just grinned at him for a moment before Sirius said, "But we do it with such charm."
Lupin looked around the room. He detested it wholeheartedly, but they were right. It would be foolish to leave it uncleansed during these dark times.
"All right," Lupin sighed. "What's the best approach?"
"You call the residuals; Sirius and I will purify," said Tonks. "I may not be able to do scourgify, but I'm bloody good at decontaminatus. Sirius can amplify my spell."
"Let's do it, then. I always hate housecleaning," said Sirius.
"It's going to be a draining process," said Tonks as she unshrunk her bag of chocolates. "We'll need those for later." She looked at Remus and her voice held authority. "Begin with the easiest. Purge the fur that has been left and see how you feel."
Lupin walked to the center of the room and closed his eyes. "Pilus purgo."
A wind seemed to sweep through the room as the strands of fur floated into oblivion. Lupin opened his eyes and took a deep breath. Getting rid of the hair had not required much energy.
Tonks made a gesture with her wand as she surveyed the room. "I think you got it all. And you're still standing, so that's a good sign, but you better kneel when you start on the blood."
Lupin nodded and fell to his knees. Calling the residual blood would not only take more energy, but would also be more emotionally draining. Every drop would carry the memory with it. It would be overwhelming, but the presence of Tonks and Sirius at his side reinforced his strength.
"Cruento." Lupin moved his wand in an arc as he called the bloodstains from the floors, the walls, and even the ceiling.
The floorboards and several patches on the wall began to turn red. There was a spot on the ceiling near the door that was dripping with residual blood. Some stains were crimson, others were darker, but all began to form droplets of blood. Soon the salty stench surrounded them.
"Decontaminatus!" cried Tonks and Sirius as they swept their wands around the room. The bloodstains seemed to shimmer and turned so dark they were prisms for a moment before they vanished.
Tonks could see that Lupin's head was bowed, but when she checked for the residuals, she regretted having to say, "Again."
They had to repeat the procedure five times before Tonks was satisfied that all the residuals were eliminated. The three staggered against each other for a moment with Tonks and Sirius both kneeling beside Lupin as he put his arms around their shoulders.
"Thank you," he said quietly. He could never have managed it alone, he realized.
They were lost in thought for a moment, but then Sirius said, "That's it. I need some of that chocolate or I'm never making it home."
Tonks stood up to retrieve the chocolates, but turned to find Sirius helping Lupin pull off his cloak and jacket. Lupin's hand was shaking as he moved to loosen his tie, so Tonks moved quickly and shoved a piece of chocolate into his mouth.
"You're too warm," said Tonks as she moved her hand away and brushed it against his forehead.
"Just need to get this off," murmured Lupin, but he could not undo the buttons on his vest.
Without a word, Sirius reached over to undo the vest. Tonks then started on Lupin's shirt, too, but stopped when Sirius said, "I think Moony wants to keep his shirt on, Tonks. Now's not the time to jump him."
Tonks threw an irritated glance at her cousin who merely grinned cheekily at her. She shook her head as she sat down and placed Lupin's head on her lap. She patted Lupin's chest lightly as she said, "I was just going to feel him up, cuz. You ruined my fun."
"Don't talk about me as if I'm not here. I'm tired, not unconscious," interjected Lupin as he settled his head against Tonks with his eyes still closed. The comfort of her body was better than chocolate. What had he been missing all these years?
"And I'm curious, not lascivious," asserted Tonks as she nibbled on her piece of chocolate.
"But, me, I'm always Sirius," quipped her cousin as he chomped a whole chunk of chocolate and flashed a smile.
"If he's grinning, make him stop," directed Lupin to Tonks, who immediately brought up her wand. The threat was sufficient to make the grin retreat.
"Oh, have some more chocolate, Moony," replied Sirius as he leaned back on his arms. "Honestly, you don't know how good it is to get out that ghastly house we call headquarters."
"We need to get back soon. Snape's bringing potion," murmured Lupin.
"I don't know how you can trust him to do it right. He was ready to have the Dementors kiss you not more than a year ago," reminded Sirius.
"Snape's been making the potion for Remus for the past year. Surely if he'd intended to poison him he'd done it before now?" asked Tonks.
"Snivellus gave it a good try the first year you started taking it--and don't shake your head, Remus. He shouldn't have increased the dose without telling you that time."
"He covered my class for me, though, so it was an honest mistake. I expected he'd need to make adjustments to the potion." Lupin sounded as if this were an old argument.
"But the first thing Snape did was bring up Werewolves to your students. Ron and Hermione told me about it," said Tonks as she brushed Lupin's bangs away from his forehead to check his temperature. He seemed to have cooled down.
"Severus has an odd sense of humor," replied Lupin.
"I bet it was one of his special ingredients that made you forget to take the potion the night we found Peter," asserted Sirius.
"Belladonna. He was trying to see if belladonna would help."
"He was treating you like some test animal, Remus."
"Sirius, don't start this," said Lupin as he shook his head. All he wanted to do was focus on how nice it felt to have Tonks rubbing her fingers through his scalp, but he added, "We're all in the Order. We have to trust each other. We can't let suspicions tear us apart like they did the first time."
"Remus is right, Sirius. I've heard how Snape has done a lot to protect Harry, so whether his heart is in it or not, his actions hold true," said Tonks. She glanced quickly between her cousin and Lupin and asked, "How did you lose each other's trust in the first war? That's a part of the story I could never understand."
"You tell her, Sirius," said Lupin, still with his eyes closed. It would take too much energy for him to find the words.
Sirius stood up and began pacing in front of them as he explained what had happened all those years ago.
"After Hogwarts, I worked for Gringott's like Bill does and became a curse breaker, but most of my assignments were on the British Isles," began Sirius.
"Motorcycle," said Lupin.
"I bought my motorcycle to help me get to assignments, yes. I was gone a lot of the time and came across a lot of Dark Magic. I can see why I'd be suspected by the others because I began drinking too much to deal with the job stress. Anyway, James and Remus were training as Aurors. Lily was going into Healing Arts and Peter was in the ministry in the Department of Magical Games and Sports. He couldn't play quidditch worth a damn, but Peter was an avid fan."
Sirius stopped his pacing and sat down in front of Tonks and Lupin again. He gave a sympathetic look to his friend. "Then in the middle of Auror training, Remus gets told that in spite of his talents, he won't be allowed to continue because he's a werewolf."
"Umbridge." Lupin spoke the word as if he detested the person with his whole being.
"Dolores Umbridge? She assists Fudge, rather looks like a toad, really," said Tonks. "How does she fit it in?"
"It was her work that led the Ministry to do a background check on the suitability of all employees," responded Sirius. "I kept James from quitting in protest, but his continued training meant he couldn't--"
"Be seen associating with a werewolf," ended Lupin. He nestled against Tonks a bit in order to counter the dreadful nostalgia of being shunned by his friends.
"We would all see each other at Order meetings and kept up a friendly facade there, but that was the extent of our interactions. I tried to talk to Remus a few times on my own, but he always put me off. He's quite good at being evasive when he wants to be, Tonks. Anyway, we began to rely on Peter for information about Remus."
"And I relied on him to tell me how things were with Lily, James and Sirius." Lupin sighed as he remembered.
"Peter was very cunning. He described Remus going through a slow deterioration, kept bringing up how we'd abandoned him. Peter amplified any little argument we'd ever had amongst ourselves to the point that our trust was unraveled. The fact that Remus was keeping to himself didn't help, though. He isolated himself to protect us, but we interpreted this as anger against us."
"It happened so quickly," said Lupin.
"Yes, it did. In the meantime, Peter was telling Remus about his suspicions against me, said that I'd been enjoying delving into the Dark Arts on my assignments. One time Peter even managed to drag Remus along when I was drunk and carrying on about having the ancient power of the Blacks flowing through my veins." Sirius shook his head. "I can be such an arrogant git. I was getting pathetic, so I quit my job at Gringott's in time to be Harry's godfather. Harry was my salvation, you see. I promised James I'd quit the hard drinking so that I could take care of Harry if anything happened to them. We all knew the risks we were taking."
"Then the Potters went into hiding," said Lupin. He opened his eyes this time and looked up at Tonks. "I was out of the loop by then, but Peter worked even harder to paint Sirius as a spy for Voldemort to me, although he never came out and accused him directly. We were such fools."
"No, you were human, you both were just human," said Tonks. She exhaled as she considered the story. "What's important is that we don't forget the lesson."
The men just nodded their agreement. They had spent several nights going over the details, unraveling how things had gone wrong. It didn't prevent the ache in their heart, however.
Lupin propped himself up and said, "I think I can manage an apparation. Let's go home."
Lupin walked Tonks to her flat while she gently held his arm. The noise from the people around them was welcome after the Shrieking Shack. The voices conveyed purpose, emotion, life. It helped Lupin shake off the memories of the past and walk into the present.
As they stood in front of her door, Tonks said, "I've written a new bylaw into the charter of our private club."
"Oh?" asked Lupin. This phantom charter kept getting more intriguing. "And what is this bylaw?"
"Ahem. Well, it says something to the effect that the party of the first part, that would be me, shall expect a token of good wishes from the party of the second part, that would be you, in cases where said parties are alone and bereft of witnesses at the end of the day."
Lupin looked around and noted the absence of witnesses, so he asked, "A token? And what form should this token take?"
"I believe it should require lip to lip contact," said Tonks.
"Ah," said Lupin, but then he bent toward her.
Their lips met in a gentle kiss, but it seemed to satisfy Tonks. She licked her lips when he leaned back and said, "Mmm, chocolate. I think I'm really going to enjoy our club. Good night, Remus."
"Sweet dreams, Tonks," said Lupin. And despite all the horrors he'd had to face today, from tea at Madam Puddifoot's to cleansing the residuals at the Shrieking Shack, Remus Lupin walked back to number twelve Girmmauld Place with a smile.
The End
Author Notes:
nycgirl, I thought Ginny's beau might be Michael Corner, too, but was uncertain of when that started.
The intention was to provide background for what Tonks knows about Remus and Sirius. Hope it stands as a plausible explanation. The residuals and incantations used in the Shrieking Shack, like the Starlight Spell at Puddifoot's, are not canon (sp?). I made them up, but if you find them plausible and want to use any of them, feel free.
As usual, thanks for reading and encouraging me in your reviews, emails or just adding me onto an author alert or favorite stories list. Like anyone, I enjoy the acknowledgement, but what I like best is knowing that the stories are making sense to people.
I have a full moon adventure planned next. It should be up in 7-10 days.
Edited to add:
Corrected a few mistakes. And thanks for verifying Ginny's beau was Michael Corner. I've got my contingency plan for why Ron is in the dark about him in OotP since I thought I'd need an out to correspond with Ron's Big Brother act later. It'll fit in the next story.
And I have found Wolf and Lady LJ. I'm just slow about figuring out format. Thanks for the encouragement.