A/N: Many thanks to my readers/reviewers!
I know there are grammatical errors at the beginning, but it's just for Ron's letter. I didn't figure he'd be up to snuff in the literacy department. Now, if it had been Hermione...
It was eight o'clock that morning when Pig the owl flew into Harry's bedroom window, hooting madly and zooming around Harry's head. Harry made several frantic grabs at the pint-sized owl before closing his hand around him.
"You really need to calm down, you know that?" an exasperated Harry told the owl. Pig merely hooted happily as Harry rolled his eyes and pulled the roll of parchment off the bird's leg. Pig hopped over to Hedwig's water bowl and Harry unrolled the paper from Ron. Ron just wrote the other day, thought Harry. I wonder what he wants? Harry began to read.
Dear Harry,
I really hate to be the bearer of bad new, but Dumbledore trusted me with the task of sending you this letter. Something's happened here at the Order, and we (me and Dumbledore) didn't want to leave you in the dark. Again.
I'm not sure how to say this, Harry, so I'm just going to tell you what I've been told by my parents (I wasn't actually there).
Professor Lupin has been taking Sirius' death really hard. He even started secluding himself in Sirius' old bedroom. Dumbledore told everyone to just let him be and go though the grieving process however he needs to, you know? But last night, while they were having an Order meeting downstairs, Lupin burst in looking really happy. Dad said that he was bleeding a lot from one of his wrists, and Dumbledore's real worried that he...you know...cut himself on purpose. Anyway, he spilled a whole bottle of healing potion on his wrist, tossed the phial on the floor, told Dumbledore that he "couldn't protect any of them", but that he'd "bring him back", then grinned and disapparated. The Order's been trying to find him all night, but they haven't come up with anything yet.
I'm going to head off and keep an eye on what they're doing, and see if I can learn anything else. Send Pig back and I'll owl you as soon as I know anything.
-Ron.
Harry frantically re-read the letter in hopes that he had misunderstood, but Ron had made it crystal clear – Lupin was gone. Oh God, worried Harry. What if they can't find him? What if he's hurt himself – again? What if he's... But Harry refused to let his mind finish that thought. It just wasn't an option he could allow himself to consider just yet. At least, not so soon after losing Sirius.
I should have written to Lupin, asked him how he was coping. I should have been there for him! We should be going through this together.
Harry sighed and stared out his window with a determined look on his face. He knew that, while Ron would owl him when he heard anything he felt Harry needed to know, even the information Ron would receive may be censored by his parents. His chances of hearing anything – or being able to force them to tell him something – would be greater if her were actually at Grimmauld Place. He scanned the street, finally spotting a pile of garbage on the side of one of the houses at the end of the street. He recognized the trash to be none other than Mundungus Fletcher. If Harry timed himself just right, he could be gone before Dung even had a chance to react.
Knowing that he wouldn't be able to drag his trunk all the way to Grimmauld Place, Harry grabbed a small knapsack from his trunk and packed a few things he knew he'd need – some clothes, his homework, some toiletries, and his wizard money. He pulled the bag onto his back and slipped his want up his sleeve. Harry went downstairs and casually walked towards the front door. He knew he'd have to be as quick as possible once he stepped outside.
"Boy, what are you doing?" barked Vernon Dursley from the sitting room. Harry ignored him, rushing through the door and down the front steps. He looked down the street and saw Dung lift his head. This was his chance. He pulled his wand from up his sleeve and flung out his right hand. With a sharp CRACK!, the triple-decker purple Knight Bus appeared out of nowhere. The door opened, but Harry ran up the stairs before anyone could get out. The driver looked at him quizzically.
"Grimmauld Place, London," Harry rushed out. He tossed some coins at the conductor. "Go! Just drive!" he shouted. The driver put it in gear without a word, and with a loud CRACK!, the bus was on it's previous course. Harry drew in a breath of relief and hastily made his way to the back of the bus, making sure to keep his head down so as not to be recognized.
The early morning sun shone through the trees, and the birds were singing in the distance. Remus Lupin yawned, slowly awakening. He tried to roll over to stretch, but found that there was something restraining him. He opened a sleepy eye and saw the sleeping form of Sirius Black entangled in his own limbs. Smiling at the sight of his peaceful – and living – friend, Remus was reluctant to wake him. However, he could feel that several of his body parts were dumb and tingling. Remus wiggled a bit, futilely trying to turn his body over. Sirius snorted, muttered something about "The goblin has my money...", and tried to roll over. He slowly opened his eyes when he realized he couldn't move.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," Remus said. Sirius grinned at his old friend, slowly disentangling himself from the other man. He stood up and stretched, letting out a huge yawn. Remus rolled over and curled in a ball.
"I'm hungry," declared Sirius, turning to face his friend. Remus frowned. "What?" asked Sirius.
Remus sighed. "I was just thinking, Padfoot. What are we going to do?"
"Well, first of all we're going to get some breakfast, Moony. Then-"
"Where?" Remus cut him off. "Where are we going to get breakfast? You're still a convicted murder. And do you really want to go back to Number Twelve?"
Sirius made a face and shuddered. "No, I'm not really up for more months on end of incarceration – if I wanted that, I'd go back to Azkaban."
"Exactly," said Remus, standing and brushing himself off. "So where do we go that you won't be hauled off to Azkaban, or locked in a house?"
There were several moments of dead silence.
"Well, Moony," said Sirius cheerfully, patting the werewolf on the back, "I give up. Where?"
Remus looked thoughtful for a moment, obviously looking for an answer that would please his friend. After several long moments of deliberation, Remus gave the only answer he could think of.
"...Hogwarts?"
"Brilliant!" cried Sirius. He grinned and draped his arm around Remus' shoulders, walking forward. Remus ground to a halt after only a few steps. Sirius looked at him questioningly.
"Hogwarts," stated Remus, turning around, "is this way."
"I knew that," said Sirius seriously. He too turned around, transforming into a large black dog. He bound down the path barking playfully, the lycanthrope trailing close behind.
"Anything yet?" Ron asked wearily, trudging back into the kitchen. Dumbledore had left not long before, hoping that he would be able to assist in the effort to find Lupin. Nobody had arrived since before Ron had sent Pig to Harry, and Ron was starting to wonder where in the world Remus Lupin could possibly be.
"I'm afraid not, son," said Arthur, sitting at the table restlessly. Dumbledore had asked him to remain at headquarters and inform him if he heard any news, but so far they'd learned nothing, and Arthur wasn't enjoying sitting around doing nothing. Molly was busily cooking breakfast behind him, making extra in case anyone else from the Order happened to drop in. However, this seemed quite unlikely, because anyone who wasn't on assignment was busy looking for Lupin.
Just then, a blue haired, green eyed Nymphadora Tonks fell out of the fire, knocking down several chairs in the process.
"Oh, sorry, Molly," said the somewhat out of breath young woman, straightening the chairs before she could be reprimanded. "Dumbledore sent me."
"What is it, Tonks?" asked Arthur, rising from the table.
"It's Kingsley," she said, taking a seat at the table next to where Arthur had just been sitting. "He worked overnight in the ministry after the meeting, but was supposed to check in with Dumbledore when he got off so that he could help look for Lupin."
"...But he never contacted Albus?" guessed Arthur. Tonks just nodded.
"He wanted to know if he'd been here, or made any contact at all with you."
Arthur shook his head. "The last person to come or go this morning was Dumbledore. We haven't-"
CRACK!
Everyone tensed. Tonks stood up and whipped out her wand. Ron, Arthur, and Molly did the same, keeping quiet. There was another CRACK!, and they heard the front door open.
"Get behind me," mouthed Arthur, motioning the other three towards the back of the room. They heard footsteps slowly approach the kitchen, and the person on the other side pushed the creaky door open.
"HARRY!" cried Ron, pushing past his shocked father and grabbing his friend by the shoulders. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?!"
A/N: Phewies, Ron was some awful tactful, eh? And bonus points to me for the line, "...said Sirius seriously." Read & Review!Submit ReviewReport Possible AbuseAdd Story to FavoritesAdd Author to FavoritesAdd Author to Author Alert 1. Chapter One2. Chapter Two3. Chapter Three