By: Max Pilote
Chapter Eight – Black Dogs and Purple Bruises
"Is he going to be alright?"
"I can assure you, Miss Granger, that Harry will be perfectly fine."
Voices. They sounded familiar, but he couldn't seem to figure out who they belonged to. His head wasn't working efficiently enough at that moment to really get anything out. All his thoughts and questions came out in one jumbled up mass of nothing.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. Three familiar faces loomed over him. The eldest chuckled softly at seeing him awake and placed a piece of chocolate in his hand.
"Eat it, it'll warm you up and make you feel much better."
Harry groaned and started to say something sarcastic, but stopped as he saw the same look that was given to his father. It was a warning that he shouldn't say what he wanted to say. His mother also used it, maybe something she picked up from him. After all, she had become somewhat of a Marauder thanks to her husband and his friends.
With a defeated sigh, Harry ate the chocolate and sat up. True, it did make him feel much warmer than when he woke up. It didn't set his mind at ease, though. He looked at the others and frowned, "Anyone bother to tell me what the Dementors were doing on the train?"
"They may be looking for Sirius," said Hermione with a frown. Only Hermione and Ron knew that Sirius was his godfather. From everything their friend had told them, they weren't ready to believe that Sirius was evil or capable of everything they made him out to be.
"Do you suppose he's coming after you?" asked Ron, averting his gaze from the window.
It was the first time Harry had noticed the train was moving. He shrugged at his friend's comment and decided best not to comment on such a thing. Besides, there was no use in talking about something he couldn't do anything about. His father had forbidden him from going after Sirius Black. Would he go against his father just for a chance to even glance at his godfather again?
He decided that it was time to change the subject. Harry looked at Remus and smiled, "Thanks for the help, but what are you doing here?"
"I am your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," replied the wizard with a smile.
She looked as if she were contemplating whether or not she wanted to face the consequences if she killed him. Anger was a present emotion in the room, but it felt a lot like frustration at that time. The fiery red head was staring at her husband, as if she were trying to set him ablaze with her emerald eyes.
"Really," said James, starting to argue once more, "I'll be keeping Harry out of harm's way and doing a job that the Ministry probably couldn't pull of or could pull off if they hadn't fired me."
"Don't lie to me," commanded Lily sternly as she turned away from her husband. "I've been married to you for fifteen years now! You think you can still lie to me? You're going to Hogwarts to make sure the Ministry doesn't catch him because we both know what they're going to do to him if they catch him."
He shuddered at the very thought of what she was implying. They wouldn't do that to Sirius, would they? It was inhuman and cruel.
"If they catch you, James, they're going to toss you in Azkaban! It doesn't matter that you defeated Voldemort! It doesn't matter how friendly you are with the Ministry! If you help Sirius Black, they'll throw you in Azkaban and Harry is going to have to live the rest of his life without his father!"
"It's not that dire, dear," replied her husband as he sighed and reached for his coast. "I am not going to look for Sirius, though. I don't even know if Sirius is sane enough to remember me. For all I know, he's at Hogwarts trying to kill Harry!"
"Hogwarts is safe."
"Of course," stated James sarcastically, "they watch everyone like hawks. If anything suspicious happens, they're right on it. Please, Lily, we got away with nearly everything when we went to Hogwarts. There is nothing to say that Sirius can't get to Harry."
"That still isn't the only reason you want to go to Hogwarts. You're going to look for Sirius Black!"
Slipping on his coat, he gave his wife an apologetic glance before placing his wand in his pocket. "I'm going."
"No!" yelled Lily. "I forbid it! You aren't going to Hogwarts! What if you get hurt?"
As his hand touched the doorknob, he almost looked back. Still, he didn't want to see his wife glaring at him or crying.
"I swear to god, James, if you walk out that door don't you dare come back!" This was the only way she could think of to keep James here. He wouldn't risk losing Lily, would he? She didn't want him running off and getting hurt or killed! Sirius was always dangerous, but after escaping from Azkaban. He might even be trying to kill James.
Lily wouldn't actually bar him from the house. At least, he thought she wouldn't. She loved him, right? Even though he was impulsive, brash, stubborn, and a bit of a prat at times she still loved him. At least, he thought she did. She just didn't understand! This was something he had to do! He couldn't just come out and say that he was going to Hogwarts to kill Peter Pettigrew! As much as she hated Pettigrew, Lily didn't condone that kind of action.
It was still clear. Lily Potter and James Potter were married. That meant that she loved him, so she would forgive him. With a heavy sigh, he made his decision.
The door creaked as it opened. "Good-bye."
Remus sighed as he read over the newspaper articles once more. Today was definitely going to turn out to be a very eventful year, if not a distressing one. Of course, he knew that James would come to Hogwarts. There was little that could stop the wizard from coming to exact revenge upon the one that he had trusted with such a fragile thing.
He looked down at the scraps of paper in his hand. There was the Weasley family smiling and waving at him, a shivering rat curled up on the youngest boy's shoulder. Behind that picture was the wanted photo for Sirius Black. If that man was sane it would be a miracle. The next newspaper clipping had just words, no pictures.
James had been debating this one for such a long time. It was an interview for the paper; the only one James had done since Halloween that detailed the story of his fight against Voldemort. Before then, he and Sirius had done an interview for the Daily Prophet about their Auror positions. He was sure James had that saved somewhere.
The door creaked open before he had the chance to look over the article again. Remus sighed and hastily put the articles away as he saw Minerva McGonagall enter the room.
"Ah, Professor," he stated with a charming smile, "what brings you here?"
"Well, I wanted to see if you needed any questions answered before the start of the term," she replied, standing in the doorway.
"Do come in, Professor. While I don't have any questions that need to be answered, I would so enjoy a cup of tea with my former educator," he replied, getting the pot of tea he had just finished making.
"It was quite surprising," said McGonagall as she took a seat across from Remus's desk. "Never did I think I would be teaching along side one of my former pupils."
"Nor did I expect to be teaching," remarked Lupin as he served her a cup of tea and sat down to his own. "And I'm teaching here at Hogwarts. Dumbledore is most gracious for giving me the job. It is nearly impossible for me to get a job these days."
He smiled softly as he remembered the days when he was at Hogwarts as a student instead of a professor. Few were his worries, but the ones that he had were heavy. There was always the chance that someone would discover his secret or that he might hurt those who already knew. A smile crossed his face and he chuckled.
"I've lost track of what James was up to over the years," said the Transfiguration professor after they spoke for a few moments on Remus's school days. "Well, it's almost like he's disappeared since Halloween that year, save for the outstanding job that he's doing in Quidditch."
Remus took a deep breath and released it. He wasn't sure what James would want him to tell, or if he would want anything to be told at all. Of course, she would eventually find out.
"He got fired from his job at the Ministry. Well, he was forced to retire, as our Minister of Magic so nicely put it," explained the werewolf with a tone of sadness in his voice. "After the fight with Voldemort, he began having panic attacks. At times, he would become confused. Reality and nightmare sort of blended together and he would attack the wrong people Fudge ordered him to go to a recommended therapist. He was diagnosed as a danger to himself and others in his current field of work."
"That explains why James became a Quidditch player," remarked the elderly woman before him.
"Oh, he didn't have to wait long for that to happen. The day after he retired, he was recruited for the England Quidditch team as a filler for Chaser. Now he's a permanent addition.
"It's a good thing," continued Remus with a smile, "that he's back in the air again. It's done wonders for his spirit and his mental state."
The large clock behind his desk chimed and Remus realized that it was well past midnight. Classes started tomorrow and he didn't want to keep the professor up all night.
"It has truly been a pleasure speaking with you again," she said earnestly as she stood. "Good luck on your first lesson. Don't let the position scare you."
"Ah, yes, the dreaded curse of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I think we may have started that," remarked Remus with a chuckle as he shook her hand and held the door for her. "I believe it was Sirius who chased off that one professor."
A smile crossed her face as she remembered the old Sirius Black, the innocent Sirius with a knack for trouble. She left, and Remus sighed heavily. Moving across the room to the window, he gazed out at the sky. It was almost as if the sky were different at Hogwarts than anywhere else. His gaze fell on the ground and he noticed a pair of eyes, glowing slightly from the reflected light of the window, staring at him from the dark.
A cloud moved out of the way of the waning half-moon, allowing what little light it gave off to grace the ground below. The pair of eyes were now connected to a body. It was no better than peering at them in the dark. The body connected to it was the form of a rather large dog with shaggy black fur.
Remus shook his head and frowned, "Sirius, you idiot."
He was delighted by the fact that the first class of his day was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry was well aware that Remus, as reserved and calm he seemed, had a knack for making things that seemed boring rather exciting.
This was confirmed when they were gathered inside the staff room at the beginning of class, crowded around a shaking cabinet. The students muttered between one another, not quite knowing what to expect from their new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor or lessons.
Professor Lupin cleared his throat as he stood in the middle of the crowd, but a distance away from the shaking cabinet.
"Alright, class, keep your distance," he instructed with a smile. "Today, we're studying Boggarts. Boggarts are creatures that dwell in dark places, so there are plenty dwelling in Hogwarts. I was lucky to come across this one and asked that they keep it here for my lessons a little while. Now, who can tell me what a boggart does?"
He looked around and smiled at Hermione, "Yes, Miss Granger?"
"A boggart depicts its target's worst fear," she explained, as if the answer were obvious.
"Very good, five points to Gryffindor. Now, this is sort of a defense mechanism for the boggart to scare off any who may approach it. The way to defeat a boggart is to confuse it with laughter. Think of something funny and then say the spell. Riddikulus! Let's practice that."
"Riddikulus!" chanted the class.
Lupin smiled at them. "Great job! Now, line up and we're going to practice on the actual boggart. Everyone think of something funny. Once you have cast this spell, the boggart will turn into what you are thinking of."
Before he could open the cabinet, the door to the staff room opened. The entire class turned to watch as James Potter stepped in. He smiled at Harry and then to Remus.
"Is this a bad time?" he asked as he stood by the wall near the door. "I can come back later if you don't want me in this class."
"Well, who better to help me in Defense Against the Dark Arts than a former Auror, right?" remarked his old friend with a smile. "We're about to study boggarts. Why don't you demonstrate to the class how this is done?"
The wizard shook his head and chuckled, "Now, Remus, why would I want to upstage you in your own class?"
"Stop being such a prat and do it," retorted Lupin as he pulled James and pushed him in front of the cabinet. "What do you have to be scared of besides your wife?"
"I'll kill you for this," muttered James as the werewolf walked to the side of the small crowd of students with a small smirk on his face.
"This'll be fun," remarked Remus.
Sighing in defeat, James drew his wand and got ready. With a flick of the professor's wand, the cabinet flew open and the boggart burst from the dark. The entire class watched in silence as the creature formed into a huddled figure on the floor, rocking back and forth, and speaking in jumbled words to itself.
Harry watched as his father paused for a moment. His eyes glanced at Remus, who was getting ready to jump in should James need help. Averting his gaze back to the boggart, he watched as the huddled figure looked up at James. Black hair fell down to his shoulders. Dark eyes stared up at him with a deep sadness within them. The robes were that of a prisoner, tattered and torn. He continued to rock back and forth, before bursting into insane laughter, speaking nonsense and jumbled words.
This was what he was scared of. He recognized the creature in front of him as Sirius, his spiritual brother. He should have known. It was obvious that this was his worst fear.
It was one of his first thoughts when he had learned about his friend's escape from Azkaban. What if Sirius Black was not the same Sirius they had known? What if that horrible prison had sucked what little sanity Sirius had from him?
The boggart came at him in the form of Sirius and James pulled himself together.
"Riddikulus!"
There was a small pop. The boggart had stepped a distance away from James as it took the form of a much younger Sirius Black, smiling and laughing as if he had just been told a funny joke. With a wave of his wand, Remus sent the boggart back into the cupboard.
Whispers broke out amongst the students.
"If the boggart shows their worst fear, does that mean James Potter is scared of Sirius Black?"
"Wait, he defeated You-Know-Who! Why would he be scared of Sirius?"
Classes came and classes went before dinner was finally ready to start in the Great Hall. Students poured into the large room and sat down at their respective tables according to their houses. The ceiling was dark, stars dotting the nearly black background. As always, the professors were seated at the staff table. There was an extra chair beside Professor Lupin, but it was empty.
Remus shook his head as he looked around. "James better not try something stupid," he muttered to himself as he scanned the Great Hall once more. "He's a grown man, yet he would still be willing to play a prank or two? I don't think I'll ever get through to him."
As disappointed in his friend's inability to mature past the age of fifteen, he still smiled. It was really James and Sirius that had kept him smiling. Good news for him was a rare thing to come by. There were always laws being passed by prejudiced morons that made it almost impossible for him to get a job, even though he needed to live just as much as the next person.
People and their half-breed prejudiced were beginning to drive him up the wall. He was still human, even if he did turn into a snarling beast once a month. The human part of him didn't eat humans or attack people in a bloodthirsty rage just because he was an uncontrollable beast. The human part of him ate normal food and talked with normal people without eating them. The human part of him had to get a job to survive just like everyone else, had to eat just like everyone else, and had to get a job to buy what he needed to survive just like everyone else. Even with the creation of the wolfsbane potion, werewolves were still getting no better treatment.
Remus's attention snapped back to his friend as James came into the Great Hall. Even though Dumbledore had a place at the staff table prepared for him, James decided that he wanted to sit beside Harry and his friends. That was just like him. He loved and adored his son. Most opportunities they had to spend together they seized readily. Most people agreed that such a strong father and son bond was a very rare thing to come by.
James smiled as he sat beside Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville. Harry blinked as he looked up at his dad.
"Why aren't you sitting at the staff table? I assumed the extra seat was for you," said Hermione.
"It is," replied Harry for his dad. "Dad is just...odd."
"I'm not odd. I'm unique."
Before dinner appeared, Dumbledore stood from his seat and cleared his throat. This called the Great Hall to attention. He smiled his mysterious smile and spoke.
"I'll keep my announcement brief. I think it is an honor that we have a special guest here at Hogwarts that is planning to stay the remainder of the year. While he seemed to be currently missing from his spot here at the staff table, I'd like you all to welcome James Potter."
James stood and gave a short wave as people applauded before he sat down. He was used to the attention and celebrity that came with defeating Voldemort and being a national Quidditch player. Of course, he wasn't going to be modest and pretend that it was really nothing. It would really be an insult to all those who had fought Voldemort and died at his hands to say that he just came along and defeated the Dark Lord with a flick of his wand.
"I'd like you all to show him the respect that is known in Hogwarts students. While he is not a professor, he is a guest and he should be treated politely. Now, with that being said, dig in."
Food appeared on the tables and dinner started. James smiled as he began to make a bread roll pyramid on his plate.
"So, how do you like your classes this year?" he asked his son as his pyramid toppled and the bread rolled across the table. "Is Snape giving you trouble? I'll set him straight."
"I like my class, actually," replied Harry with a laugh as he watched his father call the rolls back and attempt to build the pyramid again, a roll in his mouth. "Professor Snape isn't giving me any trouble."
"Speaking of Professor Snape," started Ron. "It's a shame your dad didn't get to see Neville's boggart! That was hilarious!"
Harry nodded, "I didn't know Neville had it in him. Do you remember meeting Neville's grandmother once?" He turned to his father, who had finished his bread and had successfully built his bread roll pyramid.
"The old woman in the funny clothes?" he asked as he glanced at Neville, whose face had turned a bright red in embarrassment.
"Yeah, well, his boggart had turned into Snape and Neville had dressed it in his grandmother's clothes to counter it!"
"Congratulations, Neville," remarked James with a smile. "You're a true Gryffindor."
The Quidditch pitch was always peaceful when there was no one on it. What he wouldn't give to be in the air, but he was at a loss for his broom was locked in a closet at the home he was no longer allowed in. Of course, he was always on a broom. He had made a career out of his passion. Right now, though, he needed to clear his head.
He shook his head as he looked out onto the grounds of the school, veiled in the darkness that came with night. The lake was placid, for the squid was sleeping peacefully at the bottom, and the stars reflected faintly off the liquid, seeming black in the night. A light breeze blew across the school grounds.
With a heavy sigh, James Potter reached up and ran his hand through his hair. He did this partially to move it out of his face and mostly because he was nervous. After the incident in Remus's Defense Against the Dark Arts class earlier that day, he had a lot on his mind.
His wife hated him, his former friend was so close to his son that it made him sick, and his best friend was possibly insane and wandering the halls of Hogwarts. Those were the main worries that were on his mind at the moment.
Thus, he stood in the stands of the Quidditch pitch, leaning against the railing as he wished his worries away. This is the way Remus Lupin found him as he went searching for his friend. It would be stupid if he didn't check the Quidditch pitch first. His first destination had been the correct one for he found what he was looking for there.
Silence ruled between them as Remus silently too a seat behind James, waiting for one of them to speak.
"Moony, is it silly for me to be scared of Sirius?" asked Prongs as he took his seat once more, breaking the growing silence between them. He looked at Remus and seemed to be searching his eyes for anything that might say that it was silly.
"You're not scared of Sirius," replied Moony with a chuckle. "You are scared of what Sirius may or may not have become. Being as resourceful and clever as he is, maybe he found a way to keep his sanity. He was good at protecting what little sanity he had."
Cleaning his glasses and replacing them on his face, James stood from his seat once more. "I'm going to go get a broom," he said more to himself than anyone else. "Maybe I'll join the Gryffindors at their Quidditch practice."
"That's not what you came here for," said Remus with a frown.
"Well, I can't just walk up to Ron and say, 'Hey, you're rat is actually a dirty, lying little bastard who handed my family to Voldemort with a neat little bow and a smile on his face. Mind giving him to me so I can kill him?'"
This was a stupid idea. Well, it seemed like one now. Sirius sighed, or would have sighed if he were in his human form, and continued to slink through the hallways. He had broken out of Azkaban to get Peter Pettigrew, but he had stayed true to his personality and didn't think before he came to Hogwarts.
Thus, he was wandering through the corridors of Hogwarts in the dead of the night with no lights. Being a big black dog, though, he was less likely to be seen in the dark. So, he wasn't really complaining about the lack of illumination. Of course, Dementors didn't need lights to find him. They didn't even have eyes. Meaning that he had to stay in his dog form or they'd find him. Rather hard to use some secret passages when you're a dog.
"No, I thought I could do this all by myself. I thought that I could remember where everything was even after all these years."
He lifted his head up and tried to peer through the darkness. Footsteps reached his sensitive ears as they echoed faintly in the hallway. Lifting his nose to the cold air, he sniffed at it as if he were searching for some familiar scent.
"Probably took some secret passage to get through the castle quicker," said the voice once more. Whoever was talking must be a real nutter, for he was continually talking to himself.
There were two ways to go. Behind him there was a locked door. Or rather, it had been opened when he forced his way through it but he was pretty sure that it had locked itself. Then, he could just run forward and hope that whoever was there wouldn't notice him. Of course, one would normally realize when one was just passed by a huge black dog.
"Lumos," said the approaching figure. He was obviously holding a wand for the tip of it lit up as he came around the corner. Before he really had time to react or see anything with the aid of the newly created light, though, Sirius had attacked. The large snarling creature tackled his target, growling and snapping at him with his large and angry fangs. There was the clatter of wood against stone as the victim's wand flew from his hand and across the floor. Another small sound, drowned out by the snarling and snapping, sounded like some odd material skidding across the stone floor of the corridors.
The person beneath the rabid black dog struggled for several minutes, his left arm clenched tightly in the jaw of the angry dog as it shook it vigorously in an attempt to break it, and his right arm trying to push the dog off. Their ferocious struggle went on for several moments before the shout rung out in the hallway faintly.
"Reducto!"
As the body of the dog flew across the floor, his body twisted and grew into that of the known Sirius Black. The figure he attacked got to his feet and retrieved his wand and the other foreign object quickly. Flicking his wand, a few torches on either side of the hallway lit up and illuminated the small area.
"Sirius Black, I should feed you to the Dementors for that one. You're damn lucky I'm your friend or you'd be marching your ass to Azkaban right now."
Recovering from the initial shock of the curse, Sirius rolled onto his back and sat up, staring up at the man he had attacked. He looked at him in bewilderment for a few moments. Then, the man put on a pair of glasses with black rounded frames.
"James!" cried the fugitive as he leapt to his feet and embraced the man he had just attacked only minutes before, nearly throwing them both to the ground once more.
"I missed you, too, Padfoot," whispered James softly as he slipping his good arm around Sirius and smiled. "It's been too long, but we can't have a proper reunion without Remus."
"Moony is actually here? I saw him early, but I didn't think it was him. He looks so much older," remarked Padfoot as he continued to hold James against him. It was like he was scared that if he let him go he would never see him again.
"Speaking of," said James. He pulled away from Sirius, but held onto his arm, "I'm sure he'd want to see you."
"I don't know, he was really mad at me when I was arrested."
"Oh, don't be silly."
They hurried down the hallway, James practically dragging his old friend as he made his way for Remus's room. He didn't even knock before he burst in. Then again, neither of the Marauders had developed the habit of knocking unless it was a bathroom door or there were women on the other side. Well, even that couldn't deter Sirius, but it was expected of him.
James came in and smiled at Remus. "Happy birthday," he announced with a smile. He turned and pulled Sirius into the door and pushed him across the classroom until he was standing in front of Remus's desk.
The werewolf looked up from his work and stared at Sirius for a few moments. The silence in the room was almost deafening, broken only by the scrape of Remus's chair as he stood from his desk and walked around it. For several more moments, he stared up at Sirius as they stood in front of him.
It was like looking at a ghost. Azkaban had made Sirius pale, sickly thin, his eyes holding only a fraction of the light that it had once held. Hesitantly, he reached out his hand to touch the broken wizard's face.
Just a few centimeters from touching the stubble of a beard that had grown on his friend's face, Remus stopped. He clenched his fist, as if debating whether or not to really touch him. It looked for a moment as if he might be scared that if he touched Sirius, he would shatter.
It happened without warning. Without even so much as a breath, Remus struck Sirius with his closed fist. Padfoot reeled from the punch, stepping back a few moments.
"I have been waiting twelve years to do that," said Remus. There were hints of a wicked grin tugging at the corner of his lips.
"I damn well deserved it, too," replied Sirius with a smile.
No apologies had to be exchanged; no words had to be said. Remus simply pulled Sirius into a hug and smiled softly, more than happy that the Marauders were back together.
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: Okay, since I have a hard time keeping up with reviews, I'm only going to answer really important questions that cannot be obviously answered by the fanfiction. Of course, if applies to something that may or may not happen in the future, I most likely won't answer it.
Anyway, thank you for all the great reviews! Enjoy this chapter and the must more adventure that happens in the next!