Chapter Two

Sirius yawned widely as he rolled out of his double bed, reaching for his wand to turn on the lights in his bedroom. Having turned seventeen the previous April, he was old enough to use magic out of school. Briefly, he wondered what had woken him up, but then Sirius heard it: there was an owl outside the window near his bed, scratching on the glass to get his attention.

The owl flew in and dropped of its package as soon as he'd cracked open the window. It waited impatiently on his bedside table, its leg stuck out expectantly. "All right, all right, here's your money," Sirius mumbled as he tossed a few sickles into the sack the owl carried. Sirius picked up the newspaper and padded into the kitchen of his small flat, tossing it onto the counter top as he began his daily search for food. After a few moments of rummaging through his cabinets and finding nothing more than a few pieces of bread and about an inch of orange juice, Sirius decided that it was time to go shopping. While using his wand to toast the bread, Sirius absently opened the Daily Prophet, doubting there was anything worth reading.

He froze when he saw the headlines: Lupin Heir Disappears! Below this ominous declaration was a photo of Remus, one that had probably been taken at the last Lupin Family Reunion. He looked to be about fourteen in the picture, and was surrounded by people of varying ages who were undoubtedly the Aunts, Uncles, and cousins Sirius knew he hated. Feeling a surge of panic, Sirius gave his full attention to the article, completely forgetting about his toast.

Late last night, the Aurors were called out to Greensfeld, the home of Patrick and Livianna Lupin to investigate the disappearance of their sixteen year old son, Remus. The Lupins were reportedly hosting a dinner party in honor of their niece, Carla's upcoming wedding. Guests said that the young Lupin and his father had an argument, resulting in Remus leaving the party and going to his room. His cousin, Tiberius, went to find him, but the young boy was gone. His clothes and school trunk were still in their places, leaving investigators to conclude that he did not run away.

Remus' mother, Livianna, Deputy Head of Magical Law Enforcement, had this to say: "We have no reason to believe that Remus would have left on his own. Our son is a very happy boy; he would never have run away. We just want him home, as soon as possible." Mr. Lupin was not available for comment.

When asked if the Ministry suspected a Death Eater attack, one Auror, who wished to remain anonymous stated, "We are doing everything we can to find Master Lupin, and to uncover the circumstances surrounding his disappearance. That the boy may have been captured by Death Eaters is certainly a possibility. He is, after all, the only child of two of the most prominent members of the Ministry, one of whom happens to be my boss. However, there is no sign of violence. Also, the house was full of guests. It seems unlikely the Death Eaters could have captured him without anyone noticing. Nevertheless, as I said, we are investigating every possibility."

The Daily Prophet has also received reports that the Ministry has asked Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to aid in the search for the Lupin heir. If anyone has any news about young Mr. Lupin's whereabouts, or would like to help in finding him, they are asked to direct their questions to Dumbledore. Continued on pages 3, 4, and 6.

Sirius stared blankly at the article, a sense of panic springing up inside him. His beloved Remus had disappeared. Sirius knew he had to do something, had to find him. He absently retrieved his toast from its place on the floor, before tossing it in the trash on his way back to his bedroom. He had to get dressed – he was going to the Potter's house, to see if James knew anything about this. If he didn't, Sirius had no idea what he was going to do.

James Potter was woken up much earlier than he would have liked by the sound of his mother calling for him. He groaned as he rolled over and got a look at the alarm clock on his bedside table. It was eight o'clock. That may have been a reasonable time for most people, but James liked to sleep late during the summer – unless he had plans with his friends. James rummaged through his dresser drawers for a few moments before pulling out a pair of faded blue jeans and a t-shirt and throwing them on over his boxers. Having finally gotten dressed, James had only just opened the door when he heard his mum calling for him again.

"James!" She called, sounding somewhat distressed. "Get down here now, please! Professor McGonagall's here to speak to you!"

Professor McGonagall? Why on Earth would she be here? James wondered. Nevertheless, he knew his mother was waiting for him so as he made his way out into the hall of his second-floor bedroom, he said, "Coming, Mum!"

James heard voices coming from the sitting room when he reached the first floor landing and turned left, heading towards them. Sure enough, when he entered the room, his mother, Caitlyn Potter, was sitting on an armchair near the fireplace talking quietly with Professor McGonagall, who was perched on a sofa near her. Between them, on the coffee table, James could see a copy of that morning's Daily Prophet. Both women looked up as he entered the room.

"Morning Mum, Professor McGonagall," he greeted them politely, wondering again what was going on.

"Hello Potter," McGonagall said, nodding curtly at him when he sat down in another chair across from his mum. He still hadn't looked at the newspaper. "I suppose you're wondering what I'm doing here."

"The thought had crossed my mind, Professor," James said, raising an eyebrow at her.

He saw his mum nervously push her long, raven hair out of her heart-shaped face before leaning forward slightly, saying, "James, I really don't know how to tell you this, son, so I'm just going to say it. Remus disappeared last night."

James' eyes widened, and he went pale. "Disappeared?" He choked out. "What do you mean, he disappeared? What's happened?" He asked, looking at the two women searchingly.

"Apparently," McGonagall said, handing him the newspaper, "Mr. Lupin had an argument with his father last night during a dinner party they were hosting. He ran out of the room, and no one has seen him since. That's all we know. I was hoping you might be able to tell us something, as you're one of Lupin's closest friends."

James quickly read through the article, before looking back up at his mum and his professor, concern showing clearly in his eyes. "Shouldn't you be talking to his parents? I don't know anything about it."

"Your father and Professor Dumbledore have already left to do that, dear," Caitlyn said. "When Henry found out it was Remus who was missing, he personally requested to be put on the case. He and Dumbledore are also going to be speaking with the Pettigrews later this afternoon, and if we can get in touch with him, Minerva and I were planning to talk with Sirius."

James nodded mutely. His dad, Henry Potter, was one of the top Aurors at the Ministry. He turned to Professor McGonagall. "What do you want to know?"

McGonagall leaned forward, and when James got a good look at her face, he could clearly see the dark circles under her eyes. She was obviously almost as worried as James was about the safety of one of her favorite students. "We don't know for certain that Remus ran away from home," she said. "But can you think of any reason he have for leaving on his own?"

James raised his eyebrows and said, "He hates his family," as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"What do you mean, he hates his family?" McGonagall asked, surprised. As far as she and anyone else knew, the Lupins were a very loving family.

"Exactly that," James said matter-of-factly. "Mr. and Mrs. Lupin may be very popular, but according to Remus, they are also incredibly prejudiced. They're almost as bad as the Blacks and Malfoys with their pure-blood mania. The only difference is that they don't practice the Dark Arts. Remus told us that the only reason they've never disinherited him for being a werewolf is that he's their only child – removing him from the will would mean entailing everything to his cousin, Tiberius."

"So the Lupins aren't as caring as everyone thinks they are," his mother mused. "But do you have any idea why he would have left now?"

James shrugged. "I suppose if the argument he had with his father was vicious enough, he might have decided it was time for him to leave. What was the fight about?"

McGonagall shook her head. "No one who was at the party will say. I was hoping you might have an idea."

"I don't-" James was interrupted when a fire ignited in the fireplace, and someone fell out of it seconds later. The tall, dark haired someone pulled himself to his feet, coughing to clear his throat. "Sirius!" James exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I was hoping you might know what happened to Remus," Sirius said, his voice cracking slightly from worry when at his boyfriend's name, before noticing the others in the room. He had the grace to look somewhat embarrassed at his appearance when he saw that he and James weren't alone – Sirius' normally spotless jeans and t-shirt were covered with soot and his hair was a mess.

"I'm sorry, dear," Caitlyn Potter said, shaking her head worriedly before using a cleaning spell on Sirius. "We don't know anything more than what you probably learned from the Prophet – assuming that's how you found out, of course."

"Yeah," Sirius said, slumping down into a chair next to James. "I saw it this morning."

"Mr. Black," Professor McGonagall said, fixing him with a piercing gaze. "Professor Dumbledore and I are heading off the search for Mr. Lupin. Mr. Potter has been telling us a little about why he might have run away – assuming that's what he did. Do you have any idea what Mr. Lupin and his father might have argued about last night?"

Sirius thought for a moment. "I'm not sure," he said slowly. "His entire family hates him, and they are a load of prejudiced gits…I don't know. Maybe- Remus told me in a letter that he and his cousin, Tiberius were going to be sharing a room. Tiberius is the next in line for the family fortune, and according to Remus, he'd do anything to get Remus disinherited. If Tiberius found out something about him that he knew Remus' parents wouldn't like…well, he probably would have told them to get Remus into trouble."

"But what could they have found out?" James asked, puzzled. "What could get Remus so angry that he'd just leave?"

Sirius hesitated before saying anything. He and Remus had both agreed to keep their relationship a secret, even from their friends for the time being. They'd planned to tell James and Peter about them at some point, but neither of them had been ready to come out, even to their best friends when they'd started dating. They wanted to be sure that the others wouldn't shun them first. Sirius sighed. "I can only think of one thing that could get them that angry," he said quietly.

"What? What is it?" James asked, shocked that Sirius knew something he didn't, and that he'd kept it from James.

"You know that Remus' parents are prejudiced, pure-blood maniacs," Sirius said slowly. James, his mum, and Professor McGonagall all nodded. "Well, their prejudice also extends to a lot of other things, including homosexuals. Remus' family is probably the biggest bunch of homophobes I've ever met. And Remus…Remus is gay."

There was a moment of shocked silence before James spluttered, "What? But-why? I mean, why didn't anyone tell me? And how do you know?"

Sirius looked apologetically at James before saying, "I know because Remus and I are a couple. We've been dating for over a year and a half. We'd planned on telling you and Pete when we got back to school – we just weren't ready to come out to anyone else yet. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, James. But I hope you understand."

James sat in his chair for a moment, his eyes wide and staring and his mouth gaping open, before coming to his senses. "Yeah…I understand, I guess. I mean, it's a shock, and it'll take some getting used to, but…It's fine, as long as you guys are happy."

Sirius smiled slightly. "Thanks."

Remus was starving. This was to be expected, as he hadn't eaten since he'd left Greensfeld, nearly twelve hours ago. He wondered how his parents had reacted when they found out he was gone. Remus was certain they'd alerted the Ministry immediately, not because they'd decided they wanted him back, but because they didn't want anyone to know that they weren't the wonderful, caring people everyone thought they were. He shivered slightly as the rain that had started sometime the night before began to seep into his clothes. It may have been mid-July, but it was still cold when it rained at night.

He'd managed to find an empty shack just off the road he'd been traveling on, and had taken shelter in that for the night. However, Remus knew he wouldn't be able to stay there for long – he wasn't entirely certain that it was abandoned, as the shack, though old, was in fairly good condition. It was also very clearly a wizard's home – he'd been attacked by a dustbin as soon as he'd gotten the door open. Unfortunately, there hadn't been any food that he could easily carry (there were several sides of raw beef, but nothing else); he'd been forced to leave just as empty-handed as he'd come.

That had been several hours ago, and now Remus was beginning to wonder if he'd ever reach London. He knew there was a small village not far from where he was, but Remus wondered if he dared go there – a number of old wizarding families lived on the outskirts of the town, and he didn't want to risk being recognized. However, as the time went on and the sun continued beating down on him, and Remus became weak from dehydration and hunger, he decided it might be worth it for him to go into the village. He needed food.