Disclaimer: No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Furthermore, this was written in accordance to the Ministry of Magick's Public Fiction Code Article X and brings no harm or hex to the reader before, after or during the reading of the piece. However, it was not written in accordance with the Ministry of Magick's Public Fiction Code ILII which states that, beyond holding hands, relationships between two men or two women are strictly forbidden.

Pairings: sbxrl, rianxquin, jp(plus)le, jp(plus)pp, jp(plus)ss

Summary: In which Remus is paranoid... or is he?

Warning: OOC!Dumbledore, sap, fluff

Remember like, way back in Chapter 15, when Remus bumped into what he identified as a Death Eater meeting. We'll, heh, i figured that they had to appear. Woot.

i (heart) Perri Baxley. i did mention that she was my rp character from last year. My pb was Natalie Portman, she wasn't quite that pretty. If, for whatever reason, you want her bio, feel free to ask. i felt the need to include her. Remus needs more intelligent people to talk to and the rp died before i got to know Perri too well.

audi

Chapter Twenty-Six
In which enigmatic circumstances evolve.

Monday. I headed down to the Hall, as I had for the past six years, significantly earlier than my roommates. Granted, Sirius woke when I left, but he was still slow in getting up. I sat, as I always did, with Lily and Jemmying. They silenced me when I sat, and gestured with their heads to the Slytherin table.

'A sickle says it was Black's idea,' Jemmying snickered.

'Two sickles say it was Potter's,' Lily countered.

'Two it is,' she agreed. The two looked at my expectantly.

I laughed into my tea cup. 'What? It wasn't my idea.' Lily kicked me under the table. 'Okay, so maybe I did the planning, but it wouldn't have worked if I hadn't.'

'But whose idea was it?'

'James,' I shrugged. Jemmying rolled her eyes and pulled out the sickles. 'Sirius and I were asleep at the time.'

''Morning,' Perri slipped in next to me. Since it was breakfast on a Monday and the Slytherins were making a scene, no one seemed to notice (or care about) the Ravenclaw prefect now sitting at the Gryffindors' table. 'Have you read The Prophet yet?' the three of us shook our heads to the negative. 'Here,' she slid an opened copy under my nose.

MUGGLE MURDERER AT LARGE

A Muggle investigation in London conducted by the group known as Scotland Yard continues today after a thirteenth body mysteriously appears in the Kensington area. Investigations have taken hold and searches are skirting the Diagon Alley area, so wizards just outside the barriers are warned to be careful.

Each of the thirteen bodies was found by the roadside shortly after daybreak. The Muggle coroners, or post-mortem investigators, could find no plausible cause of death. Each body appeared healthy and there were no signs of any disease, cancer or poison (hazardous potion). As of now, they are listed under 'cause of death unknown' but that will not stop the investigation.

When asked for their opinion on the baffling death of the Muggles last week, Ministry officials refused to comment. However, after the appearance of more bodies, they are starting an investigation of their own. It is marked as low-priority and, as expected, completely independent of Scotland Yard's.

Lily had found a copy and she and Jemmying were reading. As Muggle-borns they took a personal interest. But it just, well, it didn't read right. Sirius sat, gave me a kiss and stole a bite of my toast. I pushed the article to him.

'See, that's the problem with Muggles, they can't stop killing each other.'

'Shut it, Black,' Lily hissed.

'I don't think it's Muggles,' I whispered, hating the taste of the words.

''Course it's the Muggles, Moony, the article says so.'

I rolled my eyes. 'That sounds,' I choked, 'like,' I lowered my voice to where the others had to strain to hear me, 'Avada Kedavra.'

Sirius laughed and patted my back scrupulously. 'Now you're being paranoid.'

'That's what I thought,' Perri sighed. 'What else leaves no sign of death?'

'The Unforgivable Curses,' Lily reread the article, her eyes glazing over the words as if she were trying to get more. 'Do you think the Ministry is hiding something?'

Perri shrugged, 'if someone is out there using the Unforgivable Curses like this, I think so.'

I gave Perri's copy back to her and took my own. 'Class,' I muttered as I gave Sirius a kiss on his cheek.

'Wait!' Perri stood. We had Defence together. 'Who would do that?' she asked me as we made our trek.

'I don't know, Perri, and I have a feeling that I don't want to, either.'

Fourth Year, I ran into a group of Slytherins. I identified Malfoy by his hair, his back was to me. He was standing up, talking to the others, who were sitting. Snape was among them, and Rosier. Crabbe and Goyle. The two Lestrange boys. Rockwook and Bole. Parkinson and Zabini. Bletchley and… Oh yes. The three Blacks; Regulus, Bellatrix and Narcissa. The audience noticed me, and Lucius felt the attention leave him, he turned to face me.

I shook my head. That couldn't be it. Still the memory plagued me. It had when it had happened, too, but remembering hurt. Something was not right about it. Something was not right about the killings, too. 'Not right' as in, 'seriously not supposed to happen'.

I stopped walking and Perri did, too. 'Remus?' I bit my lip and turned the other way. 'Um, class is this way,'

'Go to class, I… need to see Dumbledore.'

'I'm going with you.'

'No, go to class, take notes for me.'

'As if you need them!'

'Perri!'

'Uh-uh,' she childishly shook her head. 'C'mon!' She took my arm and started back towards his office. I could pull from her grip, but it didn't seem worth it. There we were, two prefects running though the halls to see the Headmaster and… and what? I didn't have a plan and I knew that.

She knocked at the statue obscuring his office, asking to be let it. It does seem like the best way. (The other, of course, is to randomly start listing candy flavours.) The stairway was revealed – he had heard us. We tread up to find him sitting in an overstuffed chair talking to his phoenix, Fawks.

'Good morning, Monsieur Lupin, Miss Baxley,' he gestured for us to sit, we did so.

'Headmaster,' I began, 'there was something interesting in The Prophet this morning.'

'I do believe the answer is "thestral".' Perri and I blanched. 'In the crossword, 58-down, "dead man's horse".'

'No, have a look at this,' I pushed the article to him.

'"Muggle murderer at large"?' He read the article and when he looked up we asked him what he thought. He gave the question back to us:

'It sounds to us like Avada Kedavra,' I replied.

'Avada Kedavra,' Dumbledore considered. 'It's not for you to worry about besides.'

I told him what I saw, eliminating the names, I told him I was worried.

'I fear the Ministry knows something,' Perri put in.

'To class,' he pressed, 'as of now there is nothing to fear.'

We didn't speak on the way back and we didn't stop thinking about it all day. I was at the point of distraction. It didn't feel right. Eventually, when we were studying in our room after class, Sirius threw a pillow at me.

'Oi! Paddy!'

'Where've you been?'

'I, sorry,' I shook my head. 'S'nothing.'

He pulled me into his arms. 'No, it's something. Tell me?'

'The article.'

'Now that's nothing.'

'I don't think so, Siri. I've a feeling.'

'Article?' James asked.

'The one Evans was talking about this morning.' James and Peter nodded.

'I've a feeling,' I mumbled. I told them what I had told Dumbledore. 'Maybe it's cause I'm a "dark creature", but there's something wrong out there. I'm suddenly not so happy Quin and Rian are in France.'

The other three exchange glances. 'You're no dark creature,' Sirius said into my hair.

'Everything'll be fine,' James added.

''Hope so,' I sighed, not believing it at all.