Chapter Three
It took Remus much longer than he'd thought it would to reach the village, but he finally an estate that he knew was on the outskirts of the town in the early evening. Thankfully, none of the wizards who lived there were outside – he was still wary of being seen. Ignoring the aching of his feet, and the growling of his stomach Remus continued on his way to the village.
The sun soon began to dip down behind the trees of the forest that surrounded the village, gilding everything in a reddish-orange glow, and Remus knew he ought to hurry. Sleeping in some alley in town would be much safer than spending the night in a huge forest, especially one that he knew was home to many magical creatures. However, Remus paused as he neared the village, listening. He could have sworn that he could hear something – or someone – moving around in the woods. Remus tried to convince himself that it was just some animal, but he was almost certain it wasn't. Even non-magical animals could since that there was something different – something dangerous – about him, and as such, they all tended to stay away from him.
Remus continued on, moving as quietly and quickly as he could. When he continued to hear the snapping of twigs and the distinctive sound of something moving in his direction, Remus knew he was being followed. He told himself again that it was just an animal, something that just wasn't close enough to tell he was a werewolf. Nevertheless, Remus reached inside his robes, searching for his wand. He sighed in relief when he grasped it. But his relief was short-lived. Just as the first buildings of the town came into view in the distance, Remus sensed something moving just behind him, on the road. The werewolf knew then that whatever it was that was following him was either a very large animal, one that wouldn't be afraid of a werewolf, or it wasn't an animal at all.
He took a sniff of the night air as he quickened his pace, hoping to reach the village before he was overcome. The scent that Remus caught told him that he was in very great danger. He wasn't being followed by an animal. He was being followed by a human – or rather, Remus realized as he took another whiff of the warm night air – several humans. He knew they were wizards – he could practically feel their magic coming off the group in waves. Remus also knew that they weren't Aurors. Aurors would have spoken to him, tried to get his attention. That meant that he was more than likely being tracked by Death Eaters, who – fortunately – didn't know he was a werewolf.
If they had known, they would have done a better job of staying hidden. Obviously, his stalkers thought they were still far enough away from him that he wouldn't know he was being followed. Remus wondered vaguely why they hadn't attacked yet, but decided to take it as a blessing and broke into a run. Unfortunately, the Death Eaters saw him take off, and knew he'd heard them. They attacked, sending curse after curse at him as they chased the Lupin Heir. Remus ran fasted, doing his best to dodge their curses, and he even managed to get off a few spells of his own. He knew he'd managed to stun at least one, having heard someone yell in surprise before one of their companions hit the ground.
Finally, Remus managed to reach the village, but was distressed to see that no one was out. All of the houses were dark. Remus kept running, hoping that he would run into someone who could help. He was tempted to try and wake some of the residents, but knew that that would take too much time, and Remus was certain that none of the homes he was passing belonged to wizards. As far as he knew, none of the witches and wizards who lived hear actually lived within the town limits. Remus could hear the pounding of feet along the road behind him, indicating that not only was he still being pursued, but the Death Eaters were also gaining on him. Despite his shortening breath, Remus ran faster.
Henry Potter sighed in frustration, running a hand through his unruly black hair. "Albus, I just don't understand what's going on," he said angrily. "I mean, I know the Lupins, Remus especially. Whatever problems he was having with his family, Remus wouldn't have just run away – not without a cause, at least. But at the same time, what Patrick and Livianna are telling us, it just doesn't make sense."
"I know," Dumbledore said, a worried expression on his face. He and Mr. Potter had just finished interviewing the Lupins and their guests, and were currently checking the extensive grounds for any sign of the boy before leaving. They didn't expect to find anything, of course, but it was better to check everything before moving on. "Clearly, something happened that they do not want anyone to find out about."
"But what could it be?" Henry said angrily. "And why would they try to hide something that could help us find their son? Certainly they know the danger Remus is in, now that the whole community knows he's missing – the Death Eaters are bound to be searching for him."
"No doubt," Dumbledore said, raising his eyebrows slightly. "It is obvious that something is going on, something they don't want us to know about. Unfortunately, both Mr. and Mrs. Lupin are very skilled Occlumens; their thoughts were well hidden."
Henry sighed in resignation as they reached the boundary of the estate. "Well, if there's something going on with Remus' family that Mr. and Mrs. Lupin don't want anyone to know about, Remus might have spoken with his friends. Perhaps we should go on to the Pettigrews'."
Dumbledore nodded in agreement, and they both Apparated to the Pettigrews' home in London.
Sirius was still at the Potters' when Mr. Potter and Professor Dumbledore returned, with Peter in tow. He and James both moved to greet their friend, glad that he'd decided to come. "Oh Henry!" Caitlyn Potter called when she saw her husband. "Did you find anything?"
"No," he said with a sigh, slumping down into the nearest chair. "After we interviewed Peter and his parents, we went around to some of the neighbors' to see if maybe they knew anything, but no such luck."
"Well," Caitlyn said as she began rubbing his shoulders soothingly, "Sirius here thinks he might know why Remus would have left."
Just as Mr. Potter and Professor Dumbledore turned to Sirius, their expressions questioning, the fireplace erupted with green flames. Everyone turned to look, and saw a woman's head floating in the fire, her blonde hair disheveled and her expression tense. "Oh! Mr. Potter, Professor Dumbledore, thank goodness you're there."
"Charlene?" Henry asked, getting up from his seat and approaching the fire. "What is it? What's happened?"
"The Death Eaters. They've attacked Ottery St. Catchpole," She said, her panic evident.
"That's not far from where Remus lives," Sirius said in surprise.
Mr. Potter swore, reaching for his wand and preparing to leave.
"Wait, Mr. Potter, there's more," Charlene said, stopping him in his tracks. "A witness said that it looked like they were out to capture someone, a young boy. The description that was given of the boy matches that of the Lupin boy."
Caitlyn Potter let out a muffled sob, clutching James to her. "Did they get him? Where is he now?" She asked.
But the other woman merely shook her head, saying, "We have no idea."
A/N: Well, I hope everyone likes this one! Sorry it's so short, but I thought that was a good place to stop. Anyway, don't expect anymore updates for a while – I'm leaving Saturday to spend a week in Kentucky. But don't let that keep you from reviewing!