The Songbird and the Serpent

Part II: The Wolf Discovered

Lupin's second year at Hogwart's...

Chapter 5

Remus was woken far earlier than he would have liked as the other boys got ready for their final day of detention. Their faces were all plastered with a look of joy and relief as they noisily prepared to join Hagrid for the last time, but Remus's face showed something altogether different in the early morning light. He'd had perhaps three hours of sleep after the night's ordeal, and was in no mood for James's 'optimistic morning person' attitude. He rolled over in bed and clamped his pillow over his ears, hoping that someone might notice and take it as a cue to be quiet.

"…oh, sorry Remus. We're off now anyway, so you can sleep in peace...see you later!" James whispered, and along with Peter and Sirius, crept out of the room. After a few moments, Remus was asleep once more.


"FREEDOM!"

"Shhh…Remus might still be trying to sleep, you git."

"Well, it's about time he woke up, isn't it!"

"Yeah, James…it's mid-afternoon…"

"Well, that's no excuse for shouting in the halls, is it?"

"YES, I THINK IT IS A MARVELLOUS EXCUSE FOR SHOUTING IN THE HALLS!"

"You're a twat, Sirius…you know that, right?"

"You love it. Remus! You're awake!"

"Now I am…how was your last day of detention then?" Remus said, opening the door of their dorm room as the others approached from the stairs. He was still dead tired, but couldn't in good conscience let himself sleep any more of the day away.

"It was alright…knowing you won't have to be there again makes it feel a lot better than it probably was." James said, removing muddy gardening gloves and tossing them onto the foot of his bed. Sirius and Peter nodded in agreement, removing their own soiled garments.

"Slept all day, then?" Sirius asked, and Remus nodded, yawning.

"Yeah…but I feel like I could still sleep for a week."

"Isn't the full moon coming up soon? That could be part of it…" Peter suggested, and Remus shrugged.

"I suppose so…"

"Well, what do all of you say to a little exploration expedition this evening?" James asked with a grin, and Remus was hit with a feeling of impending doom. However, his need to spend some time with his long-detained friends was stronger.

"Yeah, alright…how about one of those passages?" He suggested, and the others nodded, excited grins spreading across their dirt-streaked faces.


After much deliberation, it was decided that they would explore the passage through the statue of the humpbacked witch. Sirius had found the passage when he'd been alone at the school; by running up and down the halls saying every opening and revealing spell he knew. It took him a moment to remember the spell that opened the tunnel, while the others kept an anxious watch.

"Dissendium!" He said at last, and the four boys climbed carefully into the dark tunnel. They crawled along the small, dark passage for what seemed like an eternity, and finally came to a dead end.

"Great…it doesn't go anywhere." Sirius grumbled, but James was carefully examining the walls by the light of his wand, unwilling to give up so easily.

"Wait…I think I see something up there…James, point that at the ceiling." Peter said, noticing a small amount of light coming through a gap in the ceiling of the tunnel that had been difficult to see because of their own lights.

"Hey…you're right! It's a trap door…no idea where it goes, though." James said, prodding at the ceiling with his finger. The ceiling was low enough that their heads just about touched it, and they could push open the door easily, provided it wasn't locked of course. However, they were apprehensive, wondering if there would be someone on the other side. They were very likely trespassing, and certainly didn't feel like getting caught and put back in detention.

"So…should we look? I mean…if we crack it open just a little bit…just enough to see through…then we'll see if anyone's in there, right?" Peter asked nervously, and the others decided it was worth a try. Otherwise they'd have come all this way for nothing.

"Sirius…you're tallest. You're the only one that'll be able to see up there easily…" James said, and Sirius sighed.

"Fine. But if I get in trouble, I'm taking you all with me." Sirius replied, and prepared to push the door open.

After an excruciating few seconds, he shoved against it and it creaked open a few inches. He rested it on his head and peered through into the room above. The others waited in anticipation for the verdict. Finally, he turned and faced them with a grin.

"Coast is clear…and you'll never guess where we are."


The cellar of Honeyduke's Sweet Shop was better than any of them could have imagined. They gorged themselves on everything they could find, feeling safe in the knowledge that the shop was closed for the night and no one would be around to catch them. At least, they hoped no one would be around.

"Should we go upstairs?" Sirius asked, peering towards yet another trap door leading into the main area of the shop.

"I wouldn't…there's nothing up there that isn't down here, I'll bet…and we wouldn't be able to leave the shop or anything, since the front door's probably locked." Remus said, and Sirius nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so…"

"Shall we head back? I think I'm starting to feel a bit ill…" Peter groaned, his hands clasped to his midsection.

"Me too…I really don't think I should have had that last handful of Jelly Slugs…" James replied, looking decidedly green himself. Sirius didn't seem to be suffering at all, but he was obviously bored with being stuck in the dark cellar, so he readily agreed that leaving was the thing to do.

The four boys filled their pockets, taking full advantage of the bounty of "free" wares around them, and left through the trap door, careful to leave everything as close to how they found it as they could. They sluggishly clambered through the tunnel back to Hogwart's, some feeling a bit worse for wear but all feeling a great sense of accomplishment at having discovered something so wonderful, not to mention useful.

Reaching the end, or beginning of the tunnel once more, they climbed back out of the statue, careful not to be spotted, and made their way back towards the Gryffindor common room. They briefly considered bragging about their discovery, but thought better of it when they considered the possibility of someone narking on them, or even worse, going there themselves. It wouldn't be nearly so much fun if just anyone could do it, after all. They did however consider starting a profitable little smuggling business, selling sweets to those unable to get out to Hogsmeade.

They were pondering prices for chocolate frogs when McGonagall came into view at the end of the hall. The boys' hearts froze as they realised they were probably in a lot of trouble. James, Sirius and Peter all frowned at the prospect of returning to detention again so soon, but McGonagall completely ignored them and instead went straight for Remus.

"Mr. Lupin, could you please come with me. The rest of you, return to your rooms at once, please." she said, the usual sternness absent from her voice. The four boys glanced at each other, both confused and relieved, and the other three said goodbye to Remus as he followed McGonagall down the hall. He began to worry, wondering what he was needed for. Was he in trouble? But what had he done if he was? He couldn't think of anything, other than his little incident with the rusalka, and Tsepesh had said he wouldn't be punished for that. Had he changed his mind?

His head was so occupied with these questions and more that he barely noticed as he followed McGonagall up into Dumbledore's office. It was only when Dumbledore himself spoke that Remus became aware of his whereabouts once more.

"Remus, please sit down." Dumbledore said calmly, offering him a chair, which he nervously took. The look in Dumbledore's eyes told him something horrible had happened, and he almost didn't want to know about it, whatever it was. He braced himself.

Dumbledore continued to eye him calmly, obviously trying to think of the best way to put whatever words were about to follow. McGonagall stood just behind Remus's chair, and he could see her wringing her hands in the corner of his vision.

"Remus, we've just been informed that your father is missing."

His heart stopped. He knew it was going to be bad, but he had certainly not been prepared for the shock of it. McGonagall's hand grasped his shoulder, and she shot him a heartbreaking look. He looked back to Dumbledore, who was still calm as ever.

"What? Missing? B-but…"

"Now Remus, I know what you're thinking, but you must not think it. Missing does not mean dead. There are hundreds of possible explanations for his disappearance, so don't jump to conclusions." Dumbledore said sternly but gently. However, all Remus could think of was what had happened to Zoe's mother. Zoe probably heard the very same speech from someone over the summer when her mother disappeared, and a few months later, they found a body. She was a muggle, just like his father…and that Voldemort character had been in the papers time and again with his talk of cleansing the wizard gene pool…

"The Ministry is doing everything they can to find your father, and the muggle police have also been informed. Remus, what with it being so close to the end of the school year, you are free to go home early. Comfort your mother, stay in the house, and be careful. We must, of course, hope for the best…but always be prepared for the worst."