A/N: So sorry it took forever to update…I was just about to finish the chapter up a while ago, but then my disk got messed up, and I had to reformat it, which in turn deletes everything on your disk…argh I was fuming…so I started from scratch…and then I'm overloading on schoolwork…taking more classes than I can handle…aaah...ok nobody cares, let's move on…oh yea, just note that I probably won't be updating as often as I used to…I'm not exaggerating in the least when I say school is taking up all my time…so, next update…no idea, but probably won't be too soon, sorry.. buuut on the upside I'm thinking at least the chapters will probably be longer (yay!) and uh…we're drawing near the end…just a few more things I needa get in…but just so you have an idea, it's going to overlap a bit with "Long Lost Love" / "Half Blood Prince"-timing…I didn't want to at first, but I realized I couldn't do it any other way…and well..you'll see in good time…lol oh ok and one last thing (I promise..) and I know I say this a lot, but here goes again- to those of you who haven't given up on me (even way after the summer and winter breaks and most of us are busy w/ school…even after you've probably hit some dull chapters here and there…even after it seems as though I've disappeared from cyberspace…lol ok u get the picture..) thank you so much for reading thus far! Thank you so much for reading, and reviewing…and…and…sighs thanks for sticking w/ me…tear stay tuned for the longer-winded version of the thank you speech in a few more chapters ;) lol alright then. I'm sure you guys could do w/out the long winded A/Ns..lol here we go, Chapter 4 :
Chapter 44: Their Letters
Sirius Black stared miserably out the window of the tiny office he was being kept in. He knew it had been too good to be true…Twelve years, bidding his time in Azkaban, and he had finally revealed the truth. He was a free man for a full half hour…his godson even wanted to move in with him…
How could something so good even begin to last? Sirius should've known…with dementors lurking about everywhere…and yet, he was so close…
'Well, at least Harry knows I'm innocent,' Sirius thought, 'him and his friends, and Lupin of course…' that was the important thing. His only remaining friend and his godson knew he was innocent…
Suddenly the doorknob made a clicking sound and Sirius jumped. He turned around, swallowing hard. His muscles tightened instinctively in anticipation of the cold air that would be rushing in at any moment…so this office would be his last memory before he would be wiped out…
'Better than rotting away in Azkaban, right?' Sirius thought. 'At least it's in a place you used to call home…'
The door crept open, but no cold air, no dementors… Sirius relaxed his muscles as Professor Albus Dumbledore entered the office.
"Professor"—he croaked automatically as he looked anxiously at his former headmaster—"you can't let them take me"—
"Let who take you?" Dumbledore asked as he shut the door behind him.
"The dementors…they're going to take me…sir, you can't, it's all been a mistake"—
"The dementors won't be taking you anywhere," Dumbledore said quietly. "when Minister of magic Cornelius Fudge comes up here, he'll bring along a dementor to perform the kiss on you"—Sirius drew his breath in sharply at hearing this statement—"the reason I came to see you was because one of my professors and three of my students were out on the grounds tonight with you. Up until tonight, I had believed Remus Lupin to be completely trustworthy"—
"He still is!" Sirius said hoarsely. "He had nothing to do with me!"
"He didn't help you get into the castle then?" Dumbledore asked.
"No," Sirius replied, "I got in on my own…Harry Potter's female friend, Hermione, I believe was her name…she has a cat that I think is part kneasle...he was very intelligent and he helped me to get in by giving me necessary information like passwords and such…"
"You can communicate with cats?" Dumbledore asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, not always…" Sirius said slowly. "When I assume a certain form, I can…"
"And what form might that be?" Dumbledore asked, looking cautiously at Black.
"I'll tell you if you'll let me explain the whole story…I'm innocent, Dumbledore," Sirius said pleadingly, "It's all been a mistake, and you have to let me tell you everything"—
Dumbledore frowned slightly as he stared at Sirius. "Fudge will be here in ten minutes. You have until then to explain."
Not wasting any time, Sirius immediately delved into his story. "This all started with the issue of me becoming secret keeper for the Potters over twelve years ago." Sirius explained, "See, I never was the secret keeper for the Potters." Sirius looked at Dumbledore cautiously, wondering if he believed him. The latter only stared at Sirius with slightly widened eyes.
"You were the agreed upon secret keeper, you had said so yourself the day before the fidelius charm had been performed," Dumbledore said as he adjusted his eyeglasses, "the Potters had safely gone into hiding, I tested out the charm to make sure it worked…there was a secret keeper"—
"But it wasn't me," Sirius interjected, "the night I came to perform the charm, I realized it would be too easy for the enemies to know that I'm the secret keeper, I was James's best friend. That night, I convinced Lily and James to get Peter Pettigrew over and make him the keeper instead, I thought it'd be the perfect bluff…no one would ever think to go after him…"
Dumbledore nodded slowly. "That would make sense…"
"So reluctantly they agreed…we made him the secret keeper. And a week later, he turned." Sirius said bitterly.
"You are suggesting that Peter Pettigrew was the traitor?"
"I'm not suggesting it, I'm stating it, plain as day!" Sirius barked angrily. "And when I realized what he had done, I went after him. I cornered that rat, but before I could tell him off, he was ranting and raving, pretending to be grief stricken so he could lay the blame on me. I thought he was a fool. I laughed at him. I underestimated him. Before I could so much as pull my wand out, he had blown up the entire street. He's the one who killed all those muggles…"
"But"—
"Yea, the finger, right, I'm getting to the damn finger." Sirius said, cutting Dumbledore off. "All they could find was his finger…he cut it off…faked his own death…" Sirius looked at Dumbledore, who in turn looked quite somber.
"I know this doesn't make any sense right now," Sirius said more quietly, suddenly feeling guilty of his rude behavior with his former headmaster. "I'll show you what I mean now when I said I assume another form…"
And with that, Sirius closed his eyes and concentrated. Not a moment too soon, a big black dog stood on all fours before Dumbledore.
"Oh!" Dumbledore exclaimed as he took a step backwards to take in the transformation he had just witnessed.
A second later Sirius transformed back. "I'm an illegal animagus, sir." Sirius said simply. "That's how I could communicate with that cat. I've been one since my fifth year."
"Fifth year?" Dumbledore asked. "You spent three years under the roofs of this castle, as an illegal animagus?"
"I wasn't the only one. James Potter and Peter Pettigrew were as well. See, we did it for Lupin"—
"He knew all along you were an animagus?" Dumbledore asked.
Sirius nodded. "In the shrieking shack, he said he was afraid of telling you…since we became animagi for him in the first place…he didn't want you to know that he betrayed your trust while going to Hogwarts."
Dumbledore nodded. "When you say you all became animagi for him…I'm assuming you all did this so you could accompany him during his transformations?"
Sirius nodded. "And as you saw, I turn into a dog. James turned into a stag"—
"A stag you say?" Dumbledore asked suddenly.
"Er, yea…why?"
"Please continue with your story, Sirius. We'll get back to that later…" Dumbledore said, though his mind seemed to be on other things…
"Alright, well…Peter, he turned into a rat…and this is where my story will begin to make sense—that is, if you'll believe me that Peter could turn into a rat."
Sirius glanced up at Dumbledore, who nodded slightly, not in acknowledgement of his story, but for him to continue.
"Well, back to him blowing up the street. After he did that, he turned into a rat and bit off his own front toe, to make it look like I killed him. Disappeared down the sewers or something…now, right before I had broken out of Azkaban, Fudge came for a visit. He had his newspaper with him, and on the front cover was a picture of a family, they were in Egypt"—
"The Weasleys, I believe…" Dumbledore cut in.
Sirius nodded. "Right, the Weasleys. And I noticed one of the boys, who turns out to be one of Harry's friends…he had a rat sitting on his shoulder…I recognized him right away. I had seen him transform so many times…I saw the missing toe…I knew it was him. I saw in the article that the boy was going back to Hogwarts, so I broke out. I knew exactly where Peter would be…if you'll remember, when I broke in, and I had nearly been caught, I was by the boy's bed, not Harry's….everyone thinks I'm out to get Harry. I'm not…I just wanted that damn rat…I wanted to commit the murder I was imprisoned for…" Sirius said, trying to keep his voice even, which was proving to be quite difficult, as his temper was rising again at the memory of Peter.
"I came face to face with him yesterday evening," Sirius continued, "Only thing, that boy was holding him, so I dragged him down the Whomping Willow with me. I had no intention of hurting the boy though. Harry and his other friend came after me, trying to save the boy"—
"Ron Weasley?" Dumbledore interjected.
"Ron, yes I think that's his name." Sirius said. "Next thing I knew, Harry had attacked me, and he had his wand pointed at me. I wonder if he really would've killed me…but just at that moment Lupin came running in, and he disarmed the kids. He had realized the truth"—
"He used the marauder's map to find out?" Dumbledore asked.
Sirius looked at him puzzlingly. "How did you know?"
"Severus Snape showed the map to me…Lupin left it on his desk…"
"Well, it was another thing we pulled off during our years at Hogwarts, that we were quite proud of…"
Dumbledore nodded. "Now that you mention it I do remember hearing the word marauder associated with you and your group… And when did you create this map?" Dumbledore asked.
"Shortly after we became animagi, in our fifth year. We signed it with our nicknames. Anyway, it got confiscated in our seventh year, and somehow Lupin got a hold of it. He said he was studying the map tonight because he knew Harry and his friends would go visit Hagrid today. He said he saw my name on the map, as well as Peter's, so he knew something was up."
"Interesting…" Dumbledore said. "Well"—A knock on the door was heard, causing the two to turn their heads immediately—"enter…" Dumbledore said.
The door crept open and Professor McGonagall peeked her head inside. "Minister Fudge has just arrived, sir." She said, though she looked at Sirius with utmost revulsion. "He brings along a dementor"—
"Professor McGonagall, if you'll step inside for just a moment," Dumbledore said quickly, motioning for her to come inside the room, "Close the door please, thank you…now, Minerva, am I right in thinking that I could trust you to carry out any task that I ask you to?"
"Of course…" McGonagall said briskly, looking rather offended that Dumbledore had questioned her integrity.
"Excellent," he said, paying no heed to the looks McGonagall gave the two men, "what I need you to do is stall Fudge…I need to think of a way to get Sirius out of here"—
"I beg your pardon?" McGonagall asked sharply, throwing an angry look at Sirius.
"So you believe me?" Sirius asked, looking hopefully at his former headmaster.
Dumbledore nodded. "I do believe in your innocence, Sirius. Though it wasn't only your story that convinced me…it was your manner…"
"Er"—
"Can I trust you to carry out this task for me?" Dumbledore asked, turning to McGonagall.
"I don't understand…" McGonagall stammered.
"I'll explain the story later, but upon my word, this man is innocent and we can't let him go to the dementors. And in my past experience with the minister, I know for a fact I will be unable to convince him of the truth without evidence…Just please go and stall Fudge. Hex him while he isn't looking if you need to…" Dumbledore said quickly.
Professor McGonagall nodded and turned to leave, though she still looked rather confused. As the door shut again, Dumbledore turned to Sirius.
"I'm truly very sorry that you've had to suffer twelve years in Azkaban, and that we all believed you to be a murderer," he said quietly.
Sirius shrugged. "I probably would've been one today if Harry hadn't stepped in and protected Peter."
"I'm sorry?"
"Lupin and I explained everything to Harry, and he believed us. So we were going to kill Peter together, but then Harry stepped in and said we should take him to Azkaban instead. So that's what we were going to do…but then it was a full moon…Lupin had rushed out of his office so quickly he forgot about his potion, so he transformed into a fully fledged werewolf…we all had to get away immediately, and in the process Peter got away…"
Dumbledore sighed as he headed towards the door. "Well, Peter is now indebted to Harry for saving his life…"
"Sir, where are you going?" Sirius asked suddenly.
"We need to get you out of here, and time is short….but…" Dumbledore's facial expression changed into something thoughtful. "…of course…if we had more time…"
"Er, Dumbledore"—
But it was too late; Dumbledore had already left the office. Strange man, Dumbledore was. Great and all, but still, very strange. Sirius sighed as he took a seat behind the desk and waited.
Several minutes went by, but no one came. 'Well, better no one than a dementor…' Sirius reasoned. Just then, a loud screeching sound came from outside. Sirius quickly got up and went to the window.
"What the hell…" he murmured as he stared at the sight. Harry and his friend Hermione had appeared at his window side, on top of a hippogriff. At once, he tried opening the window, but it was locked. "damnit!" he said aloud.
Suddenly he saw Hermione pull out her wand and point it towards the window. He quickly backed away as the windows sprang open.
He stared at the two in complete amazement. How the hell did they…
But Sirius had no time to consider the matter. Within moments, the two students had helped him onto the hippogriff and urged him on. "Go!" they had yelled….he had hardly gotten a change to thank them…Sirius looked at Harry one last time as he mounted the hippogriff. He had behaved exactly as his father would have tonight…showing Peter mercy…going at any lengths to save the innocent…Harry was truly his father's son…
Remus moaned as he crawled across the forest floor. His abdomen gave away in pain in the spot Sirius had scratched him last night…Remus sighed as he rested against a nearby tree. He had gone so long without going through a complete transformation…he wasn't used to it anymore…it pained him more than ever…he rested his hand against his tattered pocket, and immediately looked down at it when he felt a large lump in it. He reached inside and pulled out Harry's invisibility cloak. Suddenly, the memories of last night came rushing back to him, and Remus quickly forgot about the pain. Sirius…what had happened to him…what had happened to Peter? Was everyone ok?
Remus slowly got up and steadied himself. The sun was already up and shining…everyone was probably up by now, eating breakfast…he needed to get back, to see Dumbledore…
But Remus looked down at his clothes as he slowly passed by Hagrid's hut. They were completely torn up from his transformation. He couldn't risk being seen in this state…he suddenly remembered James's old cloak in his hand and immediately unfolded it and threw it over himself before he continued on towards the castle…
Once inside his office, Remus quickly threw off the invisibility cloak, and put on one of his normal cloaks. He tucked the invisibility cloak away in his desk drawer and immediately made for the door, when suddenly the knob turned and a moment later, Dumbledore stood at the entrance of his office.
"Remus, I thought I'd find you here. Severus just returned from the forest and said he couldn't find you"—
"Where's Sirius?" Remus asked at once. "And Harry…what about Ron and Hermione? Are they alright? Did Peter"—
But Dumbledore held up a hand to silence him. "Let's sit down, Remus. I'll explain everything in good time."
Remus did as he was told, conjuring up an extra seat for the headmaster. As they sat across from one another, separated only by his desk, Remus waited patiently for the man to speak.
"The first thing I must say", Dumbledore finally started, "is that Sirius told me the entire story last night. He explained how Peter Pettigrew was actually the secret keeper, how he was actually still alive, in the form of a rat"—Dumbledore paused and glanced at Remus with a hint of a smile—"apparently he, Sirius and James were animagi during their years at Hogwarts. Absolutely amazing that they could have accomplished such a feat under my nose without me ever knowing…"
Remus felt himself go warm. His hand immediately went to the back of his neck, rubbing it uncomfortably. "Right…yes…they were," Remus said quietly, looking down at his desk as he spoke, "they became animagi…because…well…Sirius told you, didn't he?" he asked, finally looking up at Dumbledore as he frowned at him.
The headmaster nodded and smiled. "You were a young man, Remus. You were carried away by your youth, by your intelligence, and undoubtedly by your friends. It is the nature of an adolescent to act in that manner…I cannot hold that against you."
"I'm sorry, sir. I should've told you about Sirius…this whole year…I knew, but I didn't say anything"—
Dumbledore held up his hand again to silence Remus. "Yes, you probably should've told me. Keeping information like that from authorities…but, under the circumstances, it has obviously worked to our benefit that you kept this information from me. Had you told me earlier on in the year about Sirius being an animagus, I probably would have told Fudge, and Sirius would have been worse than dead by now…"
A smile slowly formed across Remus's face. "You mean…he's not? He's alright? He's free?" he asked in one breath, trying to keep his excitement at bay. Sirius was free…he was an innocent man…free…they'd be best friends again, just like old times…
"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore said quietly. Remus's smile fell immediately as he looked on to Dumbledore.
"What"—
"He was forced to escape," Dumbledore continued. "After your transformation last night, Peter managed to escape. And without him, dead or alive, there is no way I could convince the ministry that Sirius is innocent. Unfortunately, your word as well as the words of three thirteen year olds will not count for much in the eyes of the ministry. Snape's account of the night's events were far more convincing…"
"Snape's account?" Remus asked suddenly. "But he…he came in late! He didn't even hear everything…and well, I don't mean to belittle any colleague of mine…but you know my history with him…you know his history with Sirius…he was absolutely thrilled at the prospect of having Sirius and I taken away by dementors…"
Dumbledore nodded. "As I said before, without Peter, there's no chance of clearing Sirius's name up. He escaped though, with the help of his godson and Miss Granger. Hermione used her time turner to go back a few hours…it was actually them that helped Buckbeak escape his execution…they used the hippogriff to get to Flitwick's office, where Sirius was being kept, and he used Buckbeak to escape."
"Harry and Hermione helped him escape?" Remus repeated, looking quite impressed.
Dumbledore nodded. "And Harry…this is quite interesting, but he and Hermione were actually attacked by dementors, and Harry managed to drive them all away…According to Severus, his patronus was a stag."
"He produced a fully fledged patronus?" Remus asked, with even more surprise in his voice. He smiled broadly.
"I believe your anti dementor lessons were more successful than you thought…" Dumbledore replied with a smile.
Remus nodded. "James would have been extremely proud…"
"Yes…I don't even think he was able to perform such advanced magic so young…"
"Oh no, I meant that his son's patronus turns into his animagus…he would have been very pleased…"
Dumbledore smiled. "And so he would have. Well Remus, there's one more piece of news I need to convey to you, though I have to admit it's not the happiest bit."
Remus had just gotten up from his seat, but at the headmaster's statement he sat back down again, looking at him with concern.
"Well," Dumbledore started, "Severus, it seems, accidentally let it slip during breakfast the reason you've been absent from class once a month...in front of all the students."
Remus's eyes widened...but he couldn't say anything. They all knew…the whole school knew what he was…the students would be scared of him…their parents would be too scared to send their children to school…they all thought he was a freak…
"Now, I am just hypothesizing, but I fear there will be a great many number of complaints tomorrow morning…" Dumbledore started. "But"—
Remus shook his head. He couldn't do it anymore…no more 'special precautions', no more risking Dumbledore's neck. "I understand their worries…" Remus said quietly. "They have perfect reason to worry about their children."
And with a great sigh, Remus got up from his seat, followed by Dumbledore. "I don't want to endanger anyone. I could've easily bitten Ron, Hermione or Harry last night. And I can't let that happen."
"But Remus, if"—
But he shook his head. He couldn't let Dumbledore carry him on his back forever. He needed to stand on his own two feet. "I hate to do this, but I'm afraid I have no choice. I need to leave, Dumbledore…In the next few hours if I can manage."
Dumbledore slowly nodded in acknowledgement of his decision. "I'll have a carriage sent for you then." He replied. And without further adieu Dumbledore left the office, leaving Remus to wallow in his solitude.
An hour later, Remus had packed away all of his clothes and books—well, except one—'Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts'—was missing. Pity. He always liked that book, and he probably wouldn't see it again. Its borrower had most likely heard about his condition and was too scared to return it to him. Just then, Remus heard someone enter his classroom, which was right below his office. He quickly glanced down at the marauder's map, which he had lain out on his desk several minutes ago.
'Ok, maybe she isn't so scared after all…' Remus thought apprehensively as he tapped the map with his wand, muttering "Mischief managed."
"Nora"—he said quickly, forcing a smile at his student as she entered his office—he had been about to ask her how she was, but as he took one look at her facial expression, he realized he didn't have to. Her face was very pale, and she stood at the doorway, clutching tightly to her book, 'Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts'.
"Um…come in…" he said quietly, turning back to his packing. How could he have expected…she was only twelve…of course she was scared… "I see you've brought my book back. Did you enjoy it?" he asked.
"Well," she said in a pitch slightly higher than her normal one. "I just heard you were leaving, so I wanted to give it back to you…I didn't get a chance to finish it."
Remus turned around to see that she had only stepped a few feet into his office. He sighed. How silly of him to get so comfortable, thinking his students had respected him…liked him….they liked Remus, his humanness…
"Well, it's a very good book…why don't you keep it?" Remus offered as he began to empty out his desk drawers.
"Oh…" Nora said shakily. "No…no, that's ok"—
"I insist," Remus replied. "I don't have much use for it anyway."
"Well…thank you, sir…" she said in a timid voice. She turned on her heel to leave, obviously wanting to get out of his sight—
"By the way, how's your aunt?" he asked suddenly.
Nora turned around, looking a bit startled. "She's well." She replied. "She says hello."
Remus nodded and forced a small smile. Perhaps it was best if he finished packing and left as soon as possible…
"Well…thanks Professor Lupin, for the book…and everything…" Nora said quietly, who also seemed to be forcing a small smile, but failing miserably…she looked genuinely petrified…
"No problem," Remus replied. "Take care…" And witch a heavy sigh, Remus watched as Nora turned on her heel for the second time to leave.
15 June 1993
Padfoot,
While no news is good news, I must confess my surprise in not receiving a single letter from you these past few days; you're usually quite good at marauding about, I figured you wouldn't have any trouble stealing parchment and quills from some poor unsuspecting target. Well, I suppose your lack of inclination to prowl should be taken as a good sign…
From what I hear, your parents' home is now vacant (save Kreacher…I hear house elves have very long life expectancies), so you could always go back there. Then again, seeing as how you're probably making a face right now, and making mental notes as to how you'd insult me when you get the chance, I do have another suggestion. I have an extra room in my cottage that you are more than welcome to take. Being as pigheaded as you are, I'm assuming you won't take up on my offer. Nonetheless, I'd really like to have you over sometime—you don't have to risk sending me word—just surprise me. If I'm not home (which will be unlikely considering my current state of unemployment), feel free to break in; I'm sure you'll have no trouble with that. I hope to see you in sometime.
Moony
P.S. use the address on the envelope.
Sirius quickly folded up Remus's letter and tucked it away in his tattered robes and immediately returned to his dog state, continuing his walk in the forest. He had been very glad to hear from Remus…so lonely all these days with nothing to do except getting away as far as possible from Hogwarts, allowing himself to be spotted only once so as to get the dementors away from the vicinity of the school.
As he neared the edge of the forest, Sirius was able to see many houses in the distance. So he must've reached some small town or neighborhood…excellent…
'Time for a little marauding…' he thought, grinning broadly.
He was quite keen on responding to Remus's letter…he had wanted to write him earlier, but the last time he had snuck into someone's house, he only had enough time to write one letter—to Harry.
As he neared the town, he saw something that made him quicken his pace—school children…
He was so hungry…they were the perfect prey…he barked happily as he trotted over towards the children—they were having their lunch on the benches outside the school. His reaction was just as he had hoped. Several children squealed with delight at the sight of him.
"Look at him Tasha!" A small girl said, tugging the sleeve of the girl next to her. "He's a big doggy!"
The young girl's exclamation drew the attention of several more students, and within seconds, Sirius was encircled by a large group of children, many of whom were trying to pet him.
Sirius barked happily at the attention, but quickly squeezed through a small gap between two students, and headed towards the abandoned lunch bench. The children quickly followed—several students grabbed their lunches out of his reach, but several others excitedly broke off bits of their sandwiches and dangled them in the air for Sirius, which he very enthusiastically took. When it seemed as they had finished giving away their lunches, and were only looking onto him for entertainment, Sirius decided it was time to go. He barked once more, did a fancy jump in the air and took off, leaving behind a confused group of students.
His stomach no longer rumbling, Sirius headed down the street and quickly came upon a quaint looking neighborhood…and almost immediately, he saw what he was looking for: an elderly looking couple had just stepped out of their house across the street. They walked hand in hand and were talking pleasantly to each other. As they turned the corner of the street and disappeared in the distance, Sirius headed towards their house. Thinking that neighbors or passerby might notice him, he headed towards the back, and to his luck, found a back door. He tried it with his paw, but it wouldn't open. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, Sirius transformed into his human form and quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a hairpin. He had stolen it several months ago from a woman who had let him into her home to feed him. It had come in quite handy, allowing him to break into several other homes—very good of muggles, developing a technique like this…
After a few moments of tinkering, the door clicked and Sirius allowed himself in, taking his dog form as he entered, just in case anyone else was in the house. Fortunately, no one seemed to be home. Sirius immediately transformed back to a human and headed for one of the bedrooms, and went to the desk. To his surprise though, he found no muggle lined paper, or pencils or pens. Instead, he found several rolls of blank parchment tucked inside one of the desk drawers, alongside with a bottle of ink and a quill.
So they weren't muggles…interesting…Sirius sat down at the desk and had reached over for the quill and ink bottle, when suddenly an idea came to him…
Sirius raced over to the living room, and howled with joy. There was a large fireplace, and on top of the mantle, next to all the vases, sat a large glass bowl that was filled with powder. He immediately recognized it to be floo powder. He quickly grabbed a handful and jumped into the fireplace. He smiled broadly as he recited Remus's address and dropped the powder…imagining the look on Moony's face when he arrived in his fireplace…
Kierra hurtled over her mess of suitcases in her living room as she raced to answer the door.
"Pierre, Bonjour!" Kierra said excitedly as she opened the door to her friend. She pulled him inside and pecked a kiss on each of his cheeks while he did the same to her. "Come in! I'm just about ready…"
Pierre followed his friend through the living room, careful not to trip over the luggage that lay strewn across the floor. "Kierra, you do know zat zis trip iz only two weeks! You don't need so much luggage…" he said.
"Well I expect to do a lot of shopping, Pierre…I've never been to Egypt, you know…and I have a brother, a sister-in-law, a niece, and several friends and colleagues to buy souvenirs for…and then there's myself…"
Pierre only shook his head. "We will be working ze entire time, or going to ze lectures…we will not 'ave time for shopping…and what are we still doing 'Ere? We need to leave!"
"My mail just came," Kierra replied, pulling a knut out of her pocket and dropping it in the delivery owl's pouch. "Oooh, look! Nora wrote me! Gimme a second Pierre, I want to read this!" she said as she took a seat at the kitchen table.
Pierre groaned. "We will never make it to ze excavation in time…"
"Stop whining, Pierre…" Kierra muttered as she tore open her niece's letter and unfolded the parchment. She was surprised that it wasn't nearly as long as her usual letters, but shrugged it off as she began to read:
14 June 1993
Dear Kierra,
I hope you get this letter before you leave for Egypt! School is out at last, and I've survived another year at Hogwarts. I'm really looking forward to next year, as we'll be getting to take a whole bunch of new classes. I signed up to take a few new subjects—ancient runes, care of magical creatures, and divination, though I have to say I'm not looking forward to divination. I heard from my friend Ginny, whose brother just finished his first year of divination, that all he ever does is complain about how horrible the professor is. Her name's Trelawney, I've seen her once…she looks weird.
Anyway, mum told me she wrote you the day I came back, telling you about the whole thing with Sirius Black…how he ACTUALLY came to Hogwarts again, and they caught him…but then he got away…again. Can you believe it? Hogwarts is supposed to be really safe and have lots of protections. I wonder how he got out… Anyway, the main reason I'm writing is about Professor Lupin…I couldn't believe this…but, a couple days before we were due to leave, it leaked out that Professor Lupin is actually a werewolf! Can you believe it? Professor Lupin…a werewolf…all this time… It was such a shock, Kierra…I mean, he's always been so nice, and I know you used to know him and everything, but you never said anything about him being one so I was assuming you didn't know…Fortunately, he's leaving. Everyone says he resigned, but a few people are saying that he got sacked…it's kind of hard to imagine Dumbledore firing someone for being a half-breed…but if he did, I think he was right to…Anyway, I'll bet he did it because we so angry at Professor Lupin for hiding something like that. I mean, he could've killed one of us! I don't get why they didn't check on him…I mean, isn't there a werewolf registry or something? Anyway, I need to go now…mum wants me to get started a little on my summer homework. Which reminds me, Professor Lupin lent me a book a while ago, and when I found out about his werewolf thing, I tried returning it to him…but when I told him I hadn't finished it, he told me to keep it…I should go figure out what I'm supposed to do with it…maybe I should just go leave it somewhere in some shop in Diagon Alley…Well, anyway…I hope you enjoy your trip, and that I hear from you soon!
Love,
Nora
Kierra stared down at the letter from her niece. How could she…they were related! How could someone related to her talk like that?
"Kierra!" came Pierre's voice from outside the kitchen.
"What!"
"Come outside right now or I vill leave wit' out you!"
"Five minutes Pierre! Let me respond to my niece!" Kierra shouted.
"C'est impossible! Kierra"—
"FIVE MINUTES PIERRE! IT'S IMPORTANT!"
Kierra quickly grabbed a bit of parchment from one of the drawers in the kitchen and immediately set to work. Within a few minutes, she had already composed her response. She quickly glanced over it to make sure it didn't sound too harsh:
17 June 1997
Dear Nora,
I did hear about Sirius Black from your parents—it was quite surprising news to hear and I wonder too how he managed to escape once again. I'm actually about to leave for Egypt in a few minutes—Pierre is waiting here, getting increasingly impatient with me, so let me be quick: I was very surprised at the story about Lupin. Not about him being a werewolf—I already knew he was one. Yes, I knew he was a werewolf….yes, I knowingly dated a werewolf. The point is that he was a great guy and didn't deserve to be abandoned simply for a condition that only physically changes him once a month. I never told you about it because I figured it wasn't your business—no offense or anything. He obviously didn't want his students to know, and he had good reason. If most overage wizards are too stupid to see past the whole werewolf-phobia, chances are most kids are too. If I know Lupin, he probably resigned. I doubt he could've done anything horrible enough that'd make Dumbledore fire him. And being a werewolf isn't one of them, considering that Dumbledore knew about it since Lupin was a boy at Hogwarts. You, and many others might think Dumbledore's off his rocker for hiring a werewolf, but I think that was nice of him…I imagine Remus has a bit of difficulty finding regular work because of his condition. What else…oh, yea…Nora, please refrain from using the word 'half-breed', at least for werewolves. They're not half-breeds, no matter what books say about it. They're not 'bred' to be wolves…they get bitten and then are cursed with lycanthropy for the rest of their lives.
Judging from the sounds of doors slamming, I think Pierre is ready to leave without me, so I'll end here. Send my love to your parents.
Love,
Kierra
P.S. Hopefully you'll change your mind about leaving Remus's book lying around in Diagon Alley.
Deciding it wasn't too harsh, Kierra quickly folded up the letter and sealed it magically. She beckoned her owl and handed him the letter after scribbling Nora's name on the envelope.
"Kierra! I am leaving zis instant!"
Kierra rolled her eyes as she headed out of the kitchen. "I'm coming!"
Remus shut his book and placed it on the coffee table. As he headed to the kitchen, he rubbed his eyes tiredly. It was amazing how much a person could read in one day when one had no obligations…
As Remus wandered into the kitchen, he glanced at his half-empty cupboards. He should probably go shopping again soon…How he hated the thought. It wasn't that he was completely broke—he was careful to save his income from his job at Hogwarts, and had managed to save up quite a bit through the year—but his savings were slowly beginning to drain, and it worried him since he had only been out of work for about a week. For how long would he have to stretch his money? He would have to start looking for work again…perhaps a few muggle jobs here and there if necessary, which he wasn't keen on doing, as muggle pounds never converted into many galleons…
He pulled out a heavy cauldron and filled it with water. He set it on the stove and reached in the cupboard for a box of pasta. One cup should do it…
How he hated being alone all the time…Remus wondered as he measured out an appropriate serving of pasta, what had become of Dominique. They hadn't spoken in almost two months. He had written her a month before, but she didn't respond. He wrote her again last week, to tell her briefly about Sirius's innocence and asking her to keep secrecy, even though he knew Dumbledore had written to her, telling her the same thing. And yet again, no response. He wondered whether or not it was a bad idea to let Dominique go like that…maybe he should've let her kiss him…maybe he should've kissed her back…things would've been different…maybe they'd be together, and Remus wouldn't be here in his little cottage, cooking a pathetic pasta dinner for one…
Remus tried to imagine Dominique standing beside him, helping him cook an elaborate dinner…he imagined them talking and laughing…but he couldn't allow his imagination to go further than that…They were just good friends….
But two months ago Dominique had shown that she wanted more than that…or maybe she was just desperate…well, Remus certainly felt desperate at the moment. Desperately poor and lonely. Not a good combination…
Just then, an explosion from his living room made him drop his spoon in his cauldron. His eyes immediately darted towards the door that separated the two room. Wondering who had come, Remus quickly began to fish for his fallen spoon. But the next thing he heard made him abandon his spoon altogether.
"OY, MOONY! WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU, MATE!" a hoarse voice shouted from the living room.