"How do they stand it? Locking themselves in a metal box powered by explosions, it seems like suicide."
Remus shot his friend an amused glance. He'd explained the basics of Muggle automobiles on the walk back to his apartment to Sirius bemusement, astonishment, and eventual horror.
"It's perfectly safe as long as they're maintained properly and you know how to drive them," Remus replied, stopping at a crossing. "Unless you're in a movie, of course."
"Movie?"
The pair navigated through the dense streets of London as Remus explained the merits of 80's action films. They'd stayed in the Cafe for longer than intended, and it was now nearing dusk, a vicious Autumn chill having kicked in. The clothes Remus had transfigured for them were barely effective, and their warming charms- notoriously unreliable spells, it was a wonder no-one had invented better ones- wore off about a minute after entering the bitterly cold wind.
"Go through here," Remus said, pointing at an alleyway, "Shortcut, and we get out of this bloody wind."
Sirius nodded, and they stepped into a particularly long and dour passage between a theatre and department store. Overflowing dumpsters lined the walls, completing the grey-and-black colour palette. It was the sort of place that would normally be haunted by unsavoury looking individuals in coats, but was seemingly empty now.
It was therefore a complete surprise to Sirius when his friend suddenly launched a stunner into a nearby dumpster. The scarlet spell impacted against something unseen, a crouching figure perfectly camouflaged against the wall of the bin, their presence revealed with a rippling effect. The Disillusionment charm faded with a muttered counter-spell, and a crimson-robed figure was revealed, slumped unconscious against the wall. An Auror, fresh-faced and clearly not long out of the academy.
Remus hit him with a body-bind for good measure while Sirius watched the entranced to the Alley warily.
"Rookie," the werewolf murmured, covering the body with another Dissolution Charm. "I saw him move as soon as we got into the Alley."
"Do you think they saw us leave?"
Remus frowned. How quick had they been in sending men to watch his apartment?
"It's the ministry, they probably kept tabs on all the old Order members. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a dozen of them waiting inside right now."
Before they could continue, a shout interrupted their conversation. Two more figures had appeared at the end of the alley, wands brandished.
"Stupefy!"
Before Sirius even had time to move, Remus' wand flicked up to summon a hasty shield. The Auror's stunner was just barely stopped, the shield shattering and causing a painful spark to run up Remus' arm from the magical backlash. Thankfully, their other opponents aim was off, her body-bind flying over both their heads.
At least they don't have cast-to-kill orders on me yet, Remus thought.
Before either had the chance to continue the offensive, Sirius sent a Banisher at the closest dumpster, hurling it into their path. A shower of sparks cascading out as it scraped against the brick walls on either side of the alley. He heard shouts of alarm before his improvised projectile abruptly stopped, held a few inches above the air by an invisible force, before being launched violently back towards them.
Sirius responded with another banisher, sustaining it this time, and for a few moments the dumpster was held aloft between the two adversaries, rending and screeching as the forces slowly crushed it between them. Something had to give, and Sirius knew it would be him- after just a few second his arms were already shaking at the exertion, black spots appearing at the edge of his vision.
Before he collapsed completely, Remus grabbed his arm, turning on the spot as he did so, and with a sharp crack the two disappeared. They re-appeared a moment later in a familiar-looking bathroom- thankfully empty.
"The C-cafe again?" Sirius gasped, bent double and trying to recover his breath.
Remus nodded. "First place I thought of, but I don't think we can bloody sleep here. Can you get us to the safe-house?"
Sirius nodded and steadied himself. Once he'd regained some composure they side-along apparated again, directly into the main room of the safe-house. Sirius was glad for the lack of anti-apparition wards on the apartment- he hadn't bothered to memorize a private place nearby to jump to if needed, and dealing with a splinch was the last thing he wanted to deal with.
Collapsing onto the couch, Sirius fought the urge to pass out. He had no intention of showing off just how much that simple bit of magic had taken out of him. The degradation of his abilities was becoming more and more clear to Sirius, and he refused to allow Remus to see how fragile he'd become. The werewolf would almost certainly get himself killed trying to protect him if he found out, and Sirius wouldn't- couldn't- allow that to happen.
Azkaban had weakened him, but he would be damned if he let it take away whatever dregs of pride he had left or lead to the death of his last remaining friend.
Thankfully, it seemed Remus wasn't paying him much attention, instead pacing the length of the room in pent-up frustration.
"Stupid, stupid stupid!" He snarled, barely restraining himself from taking out his anger on the surrounding furniture. "Of course they were watching my apartment. This is the ministry."
"We have this place to stay in until the passage to Ireland opens up," Sirius said, trying in vain to calm him down without actually getting too close.
Remus sat down heavily, and then a second later jumped back up, stalking into the kitchen and back out again. "They probably won't find us here, but it means I'm not going to be doing any scouting missions in the Ministry without Polyjuice. More importantly, almost all my money was in that apartment as well."
That was a bigger problem. It was well known that wizarding money was impossible to duplicate or forge. Less well-known was that since 1902 all Muggle money was printed with runic chains that had a similar effect. Of course, the two would still be perfectly capable of stealing what they needed from the Muggle world, but committing actual criminal activity was something both wanted to avoid where necessary. It seemed like crossing some sort of line.
Remus suddenly shuddered, eyes shutting tight in pain for a few seconds before breathing out a heavy groan. "We have a more immediate problem. The next full moon is tomorrow night, and this place doesn't have a cage to lock me up in."
Well there, at least, was something Sirius could find a solution too.
"Bugger the cage Moony, I've a better idea."
As dusk neared on the next day, Sirius and Remus appeared on the outskirts of Hogsmeade with a sharp crack.
It had taken the better part of a day to convince Remus to spend the full moon outside of a trunk. Well over a decade had passed since he'd transformed alongside the Marauders and ran through the forests surrounding Hogsmeade, and the man was clearly terrified that he would end up killing someone. Sirius had cajoled and begged him until he eventually agreed out of a resigned weariness- and only if they went deep into the forest away from the town.
The point they'd chosen was just out of vision from the town below, hidden in an untamed grove of pear trees and just behind a steep hill marking the edge of Hogsmeade. Both remembered the area well. A circular clearing covered in bright green, faintly luminescent moss, the entire place had an ethereal, otherworldly feel to it, like a dream- though perhaps nostalgia was clouding Sirius' vision.
The very first time the Marauders had left the Shrieking Shack on a full moon night, they had slept in this clearing.
"I remember waking up here at dawn," Lupin said, kneeling down to run a hand along the ground. "It was the first time I could really remember what happened while I was transformed. We came so close to the town, I could have broken away from the rest of you so easily. I should have done, if everything we know about werewolves is true."
Sirius nodded, grabbing a pear off a nearby tree and testing it for ripeness. "Never could explain that. The three of us learned how to become Animagi because Werewolves only attack people, but it shouldn't have stopped you going loco' this close to town."
"Yet, somehow I didn't. You three stopped me, and none of us knew how."
"I don't think any of us really wanted to know how. It worked, right? No need to mess up what worked."
Remus smiled as he reminisced about simpler times. "And every month I told you not to let me out, but I... I always secretly hoped you would."
"We knew. Wouldn't have done it if we didn't know."
The men fell into a comfortable silence as the sun slowly set, words unnecessary as they relived their shared memories.
Remus happily noted that he felt none of the stomach-churning sickness that normally heralded the transformation, nor the deep-set ache of his bones. He felt unusually calm, peaceful even. Was this the influence of Sirius, the air of nostalgia that surrounded them, or simply the result of freedom away from his usual cage? It had been so long since he'd last transformed like this that he'd forgotten what it felt like.
He realized, in a detached, dreamlike way, that they should have been deeper into the forest by now. Hadn't he only agreed to come here if they did that? And yet, despite how wracked with anxiety Remus had been before apparating, his worries completely evaporated in the clearing.
The moon rose.
Despite a newfound optimism, the transformation was still painful. It would always be agonizing to feel his bones snap and reform, skin stretch and warp around a new structure, regardless of mindset. There was no true equal in the wizarding world to a werewolf's transformation. Self-transfiguration or Polyjuice potion were completely different- uncomfortable, yes but not outright painful.
But he could handle the physical effects- Remus had felt the touch of the Cruciatus curse more than once, he could handle pain. It was the mental trauma that was far more uncomfortable. Remus had never got used to the sensation of feeling his own mind become a snarling animal, while being completely helpless to stop it.
When Remus was first learning about his condition, a book had described the 'Wolf' and 'Man' as two separate beings forced through unholy magic to share a body, but that was wrong. He wished he could blame it on a malign spirit possessing him once a month, but in truth the 'Wolf' was Remus- Remus with everything but rage and instinct stripped away, but Remus nonetheless.
That never changed, even when he ran alongside the Marauders and could remember the nights, or when he took wolfsbane potion. What did change- and what he could feel happening to him now- was far more complex. Remus could still feel his own mind warping, but into something else, a balance where the animalistic fire was dampened by a measure of civilization, just enough to keep the worst parts of him in line. Not human, not
With a sharp crack his entire spinal column shattered and reformed, nerve endings re-wiring into new patterns, and the transformation was complete. The creature that was once Remus shook itself and looked at the world with new eyes.
Sirius looked at the werewolf warily. In his Animagus form he saw the world differently, but the horror of the transformation rang true regardless of how his senses functioned. A hideously loud snap rang throughout the clearing as the final changes to Remus' body were completed, and he sat, panting. Slowly, his eyes opened.
For a long minute the two simply stared at each other, neither moving. Sirius' hackles rose and he stepped forward, letting a low growl of warning ripple through his throat. The werewolf remained completely still, not even acknowledging him, as though immobilized. An unseen battle was being fought behind his eyes, a war that would decide the qualities of Remus' mind. Sirius had seen this before, the first few times they'd joined him in the transformation. Has it been too long? Have we made a mistake?
Finally, after what felt like hours of anticipation, Remus stood, rearing back on his hind legs, and let out a monstrous howl that pierced through the grove, echoing through the town below and the trees around them. Sirius joined him a moment later, the two cries elevating each other to louder and greater heights until Sirius was sure it would wake up the students of Hogwarts.
Lupin fell forward, landing heavily on his front legs, and with one final cry sprang off into the forest. Sirius was close behind him, barking joyfully.
The sun rose slowly on the next day as the two returned to the safe-house, silent, sharing nothing but the memory of the night. Both were indulging in nostalgic bliss, remembering the adventures they had shared with James and Peter many years ago.
Unfortunately, once they were in the safety of Sirius' hideout, reality had to be confronted.
The tunnel to Ireland, apparently located in Liverpool, would open in four days- four days without money or supplies, at least while the Aurors continued to watch Remus' apartment. That unfortunately meant thievery was their only option- easy for a wizard in the Muggle world, but something neither were thrilled about having to resort to. They decided after much debate to write down everything they took and pay it back later.
Much more worryingly was the lack of wizarding supplies they would have. Getting into Diagon Alley would be possible, but pointless without Galleons to spend. Sirius' account was long since seized, and Remus' consisted of an enlarged trunk he kept under his bed. That meant no healing potions or, most annoyingly, brooms. Both would make their journey significantly safer and quicker.
"Why can't we just Floo into this guy's house," grumbled Sirius, biting into a stolen jam doughnut and feeling vaguely guilty about it. Remus didn't justify his whinging with a reply- both men knew it was damn near impossible to get into Ireland without the Ministry knowing about it- instead opting to check the pathfinding book for the eighth time that day. Sirius noticed.
"Moony, we don't have to do this," he said softly. "I'm pretty sure if the Irish have a choice between capturing the most wanted criminal in Britain or a werewolf, they'll choose the latter. You'd be putting yourself in a lot of danger for me."
Remus shook his head. "The more I think about it the more I'm sure we do have to. The two of us might be able to do this alone, but then we're at the mercy of whoever these guys are. And then even if they keep their word, we'd be handing over something very dangerous to probable terrorists."
With that decided, all that was left was to plan.
Four days of tense anticipation followed as the two talked themselves around in circles, both men just about going mad. While it was relativelysafe to go out into Muggle London under disguise, neither was going to take unnecessary risks while there for the sake of relieving their boredom. To Sirius' consternation, Remus didn't count strong drink as 'essential supplies', only increasing their boredom.
Finally, Saturday arrived, and they could leave. While apparating directly from Britain to Liverpool was beyond their abilities, Remus knew enough secluded spots along the way that they could get there without having to drive a Muggle automobile. After an hour of travel- Apparating such long distances required frequent rests to avoid splinching- the two arrived in yet another dingy alley. Despite the heavy disguise both were wearing, Sirius was wary. He remembered how their last adventure through a back-alley went.
Thankfully, the two exited without issue, coming out into a large, cobblestone square filled with wizarding shops. It felt rather like the alley they'd just left. There seemed to be a permanent layer of black grime on every surface, along with a haze of dark smoke that hung low to the ground, obscuring the feet of those shopping.
Liverpool had earned something of a seedy reputation among wizards- Sirius had heard it described as 'an entire city of Knockturn Alleys,' and was seeing no evidence to the contrary. While it seemed there were some regular witches and wizards going about their business in the square, there were also plenty of unsavoury individuals that would have looked starkly out of place in Diagon Alley.
Still, they weren't here for the scenery, and without money had no reason to stick around in the square. The two men moved swiftly onwards, ignoring offers shouted from the several vendors. They soon exited into Muggle Liverpool through a seemingly solid brick wall, Sirius noting that it seemed no better off than the wizarding side.
Remus led the way, having apparently memorized most of the route, and quickly navigated the streets. Sirius wished he could put on a bubble-head charm- despite being considerably less crowded than London, the place stank of smoke and sweat.
"Could have picked a nicer spot to build this bloody tunnel," He muttered darkly. His protests went ignored by Remus, focused on not getting lost.
Finally after fifteen minutes of walking they reached their destination- a squat, run down pub on a street corner, looking about as welcoming as a Dragon enclosure, only a lot smaller. Sirius was reminded of the Leaky Cauldron- however, unlike that pub this place wasn't any nicer on the inside. How difficult is it to install some decent lighting?
Remus squeezed past several burly men in grime-covered work clothes and up to the barman. A weathered-looking and heavyset bloke, busy moving dust from one side of a glass to the other, he spared the wizards a second's glance before returning to his 'cleaning.'
"We're looking to buy some halloumi, with extra spice," Remus said quietly.
"We dun' serve that Muzzie' shit ere'. Bugger off."
Remus face went completely blank for a second before he hurriedly pulled out a crumpled piece of paper out of a pocket, scanning it before shoving it back.
"With some garlic, pepper, sweet-corn and mandarin dip on the side," he said hurriedly, shooting an apologetic look across the bar.
The barman grunted and then gestured to the door behind the bar labelled "Kitchen." As he did, his other hand slipped beneath the bar and turned an unseen nob. The door seemed to flicker out of existence for a split-second before returning.
"Better off askin' the chef then."
With a nod of thanks, Remus walked over to the door and hurriedly moved through it, Sirius following just behind. Unsurprisingly, it didn't lead to a kitchen. Instead, a long stone corridor greeted them, looking older than anything else in the city. At the end was another door, made of heavy black iron. Sirius had the feeling that all the wizards in Liverpool wouldn't be able to break it down if they had years to do it.
"Malicious Melons," Remus murmured, tapping the door four times with his wand.
Impossible slowly, the passage opened, scraping against the stone floor the entire way, creating a horrifically loud grinding sound that echoed through the tunnel. Wonderful.
The tunnel beyond was pitch-black. Sirius tried a quick Lumos, then a more obscure lighting charm when it failed, both to no avail. It seemed that any light was completely swallowed by the cloying darkness. Remus stepped resolutely into the expanse and gestured for Sirius to follow. The effect was strange- despite the complete blackness, Sirius could still see his friend completely fine.
"The Pathfinder said it would be like this. Extra layer of security."
Before entering, Sirius quickly transformed into his Animagus form, as they'd agreed earlier. While the book might have guided them here, neither could be completely sure about what lay on the other side- having a dog's nose might come in handy, especially since apparently neither of them would be able to see.
Sirius wondered what exactly what enchantment could create this sort of effect; endarkening charms were common enough, but he knew of none that would so completely reject a lighting charm- especially the second one he'd used.
Whatever it was had more of an effect than just obfuscation- as soon as he stood into the tunnel a deep, bone-deep cold enveloped him. He was sharply reminded of the chill of a Dementor, and stilled as memories of Azkaban loomed large around him, letting out an involuntary whine. Remus noticed his pause and quickly realized what was wrong.
"You okay Padfoot?" He said, trying to keep his tone light.
Sirius grunted, forcibly banishing the depression that had briefly filled him. The cold and dark might be reminiscent of his former prison, but only on a shallow, surface level. He could still remember the feel of sunlight on his skin, the taste of fresh pear, recall the simple warmth of a friends embrace- all things stripped away in the cells of Azkaban. It was nothing more than his mind tricking him, associating one place with another.
He barked once and then bounded ahead.
Remus smiled and the two of them forged ahead through the dimness. After a few seconds the entrance behind them disappeared, and it became impossible to work out how far they had travelled, only the walls of the tunnel guiding them. Soon the walls changed from concrete into rock, then a hard dirt, and finally a loamy, wet sand that seemed like it should surely collapse on top of them. They were, Sirius realized, somewhere underneath the Irish sea.
Finally, after at least an hour of walking, the tunnel opened up into an enormous cave.
It was illuminated, but Sirius couldn't work out from where. It looked like the air around them was somehow producing a dim blue-tinted light all by itself, creating an uncanny effect that gave Sirius a headache. The light didn't extend far enough to reach the walls or ceiling of the cavern, but it did display a massive lake below them, about a hundred feet away, stretching into a murky distance.
A gravelly beach covered the coasts of the lake, sloping steeply into the water. Sirius had a nagging feeling that stepping onto that beach, one would very quickly find themselves sliding irreversibly down into the water. He thought for a moment he saw a dark shadow slip above the surface for a split-second before disappearing- or was that just a trick of the light? Though his Animagus forms sense of smell was far superior to any humans, he could only pick up the cloying scent of salt and rotting seaweed.
The final feature of the cavern was a squat, seemingly barely held-together building at the top of the beach. Next to it was an equally dilapidated platform with a zigzagging, scraggly set of stairs leading down to the water.
As the two walked towards the structure, Sirius could dimly see several squat figures exiting it and lining up at the bottom of the platform. Sirius had a sinking feeling as he recognized the silhouettes.
Goblins.
As they got close enough to make out details, his suspicion was confirmed. The dozen-or-so creatures amassed before them looked nothing like the goblins of Gringotts. They were filthy, covered in boils and scabs. Each one seemed to have a mouth full of either rotting teeth, or none at all. Grimy rags were the only clothing in sight, save one that was wearing nothing but an iron codpiece.
Two had crossbows pointed at the intruders- although only one was actually loaded, Sirius noted with amusement- while the rest were holding rusted and dilapidated blades, most of which seemed to be made of flimsy tin or pig-iron.
Sirius had never seen such a disgusting and all-together pathetic group of individuals. Beside him, Remus swore quietly. The book hadn't said anything about guards.
Only the leader seemed to have any sense of order. Though no less grubby, he at least had the dignity to stand up straight, and seemed to be attempting an imperious sneer, though it came off as more of a grimace. He was holding a cruel-looking scimitar in one hand, and a flag in the other.
The banner was half black, half green, and had the letters "I.L.G" painted on them in yellow- though they clearly hadn't left enough room for the "G" and it was squashed awkwardly into the last quarter.
"If these guys are actual League members," Remus muttered under his breath, "then I am."
The group squinted at the two intruders as they stopped a few feet in front of them, muttering among themselves in Gobbledygook. After several minutes of this, the leader spat a thick glob of phlegm at the feet of Remus and grinned nastily.
"G'Morning to you," He said with a thick, Irish accent, "Not often we get wizards coming through ere'."
"We don't want any trouble," Remus replied calmly, "With you or the League. We just want passage."
The goblin chewed noisily on something unseen, and likely unpleasant. He seemed in no hurry to give a reply, so Remus kept talking.
"If you let us pass then we won't have any trouble."
It was a thinly veiled threat, Remus clearly hoping the goblins natural cowardice would prevail. Nevertheless, he subtle moved a hand down to rest on his wand holster. If it came to violence, Sirius was fairly confident that they could win- in fact, given the quality of the 'soldiers', he doubted it would be much of a fight at all, but neither wizards were keen on killing anyone before even getting into Ireland.
The lead goblin just grinned smugly, seemingly confident. "There's one of you- plus the dog- and thirteen of us. I think if there's trouble then we'll be winnin', don't ya' think?"
Arrogant as well as stupid, Sirius thought.
"What about a bribe, then?" Remus tried. It was a bluff- neither men had any wizarding money on them, or anything valuable enough to buy passage.
The creature in front of them seemed truly conflicted for a moment, the offer of gold more tempting than the threat of violence. goblins were greedy by nature, and this lot were far from the practiced merchants of Gringotts. Some quick transfiguration might well work. The goblin looked conflicted, eyes darting between Remus and the boathouse.
Eventually he reluctantly said, "Cap'n Slipshank trusted us to keep out intruders, so that's what we're gonna do. No gold can buy me a new set o' guts when he rips mine out."
Remus stilled. It seemed the goblins actually were working with the League, though surely not as official members.
Sirius slinked back, hackles up, getting ready to transform and start slinging spells. The disguise he had donned before taking his Animagus form would still be there when he changed back, so there was little chance of the goblins recognizing him, but he still would have liked to avoid a fight if possible. The goblin leader barked something sharply in Gobbledygook to his fellows and hefted his weapon. His troops, or at least the half that were listening, formed up in a rough line opposite the wizards, leering with anticipation.
Remus let his wand slip into his hand, keeping it hidden from the goblins. A quick shield would stop the lone crossbow bolt, and then a few overpowered Bombarda's would scatter the rest so he could pick them off with stunners or body-binds. They would just have to hope that whatever was lurking in the water didn't join in, or that there wouldn't be any more goblins in the boathouse.
Before either side had a chance to fire the first shot, they were interrupted.
"Shingshang, put that darn thing away before you hurt yourself."
The voice belonged to a new figure emerging from the structure and into the dim light. A woman, bent double and hobbling on a wooden cane, covered in seemingly endless layers of wrinkles. She was more presentable than the goblins, wearing a set of faded floral robes and pink slippers. There was, however, something wrong about her; she looked on the surface like a harmless old woman, but in his Animagus form Sirius could smell something was off.
She ignored Remus entirely, instead focusing her ire on the amassed goblins, who were all backing away slowly.
"You dearies should pay more attention to who you're talking to," she said, voice sugary sweet, "No sense getting yourselves killed guarding this old place- the only reason you're here is because your bosses don't trust you to do anything important."
Of the goblins, only the leader- Shingshang, it seemed- had enough spine to reply. "We got ordersMetheldula, same as you."
The woman didn't move a muscle, but a moment later Shingshang was yanked into the air by an invisible force, before being pulled backwards at high speed, screaming all the while. In seconds he was dangling by his ankle above the black waters, gibbering incoherently. Sirius could just barely make out a dark shadow begin to circle the goblin.
Hag? No, no hag has magic that precise, Sirius said inwardly, sitting back on his haunches and staring at the old woman.
The woman cheerfully turned away from the goblin, addressing the rest of his cohort. "If you kids really thought you could tangle with two wizards and come out on top, then you must be delusional."
Remus shared a look with Sirius. Two?
"Lucky I'm here or you'd all be at the bottom of the lake by now. Pay attention and you might learn something." She finally turned to the two intruders, still smiling cheerfully, and said, "This wizard smells like dog, and this dog smells like wizard."
The atmosphere changed instantly. The remaining goblins suddenly seemed much more interested, all traces of slovenliness or cowardice disappearing. Sirius could see a mix of greed and hate light up in their eyes. Even the bloody goblins here despised werewolves.
"A wolf-man," one said, seemingly stepping up to take the place of the unfortunate Shingshang, "and an Animagus. Keeping secrets from us, are you?"
Remus kept his tone calm, but Sirius could tell he was itching to grab his wand again, "Our business is our own goblin, and as for you-" he turned to the woman- "I wasn't aware there were any crones left in England, or that there were any toadying for the I.L.G. This lot I can understand, but what did you do to get thrown down here?"
The crone just laughed. "It's a long story dearie, but in short I got caught snacking on the wrong person- if you count goblins as people, I certainly don't- and this is my punishment. 'Seven years and seven days you shall spend in the dark' he said, waving that bloody stick around, as though I give a damn about your lots' silly obsession with numbers."
Sirius was entirely thrown off-balance. The woman was a crone? Mysterious, and exceedingly rare dark creatures, he vaguely remembered learning about them in Defence Against the Dark Arts- a race of witch-like beings, who gained power through devouring other magical creatures, particularly Witches and wizards. Some Magizoologists theorized them to be distantly related to Hags and Veela, or simply were hags that got old enough, while others thought them to be a type of Wendigo. The ministry had classified them as beasts and hunted down every crone in Britain sometime during the 1930's.
It seems some had survived.
Judging by how old this one looked, and by how effortlessly it had thrown Shingshang around, it was clearly powerful. Sirius felt a wave of revulsion run involuntarily through him at the thought of how many wizards she must have devoured over the years.
"I don't suppose you'll be more reasonable than this lot and let us pass?" Remus said, edging back away from the line of slowly advancing goblins.
Metheldula laughed again. "And deny myself a good meal? It's been so long since I had a wizard for dinner."
The new goblin leader- clearly no smarter than Shingshang- turned to Metheldula. "Ministry pays good money for Werewolves. How about you eat the other one and we take him upside?"
The crone snarled wordlessly and turned, seemingly about to smite the foolish creature into oblivion for his insolence. Before she got the chance, Remus' wand was out and a Blasting curse on his lips.
The orange, flickering spell slammed into the ground between the crone and goblins, sending both flying in opposite directions. Sirius leapt back, beginning to transform back. It seemed wandwork would be needed here.
Remus, a quick shield charm having protected him from his own blast, was already casting, hurling another two explosive spells at their opponents. The first succeeded in scattering the few remaining standing Goblins, while the second missed and sailed past Metheldula, seemingly stunned on the ground, instead shattered the supports underneath the Boathouse and sending the rotting structure careening into the water.
With a hideous scream Metheldula roused herself and launched straight into the air, hovering above the growing carnage. All hints of elderly lethargy were gone, cane forgotten or broken in the blast. She was snarling, long hair floating ethereally around her as though underwater, fingernails lengthened into bat-like talons, though apparently the creature could fly without matching wings.
The crone let out a howl and a bright purple flame appeared in her hand, growing with each passing second. With a gesture the fire leapt out of her grasp and towards Remus, who's back was turned, busy dealing the few goblins scared enough of Metheldula to muster up a charge at him.
"Aquamortis!" roared Sirius, wand blurring in a complicated pattern. The wave of magically dead water intercepted the crones fire at the last second, the resulting explosion hurling Remus to the ground and creating a blast of shimmering steam in all directions. It was an obscure spell, difficult to cast without practice, and Sirius was glad to see he could still remember it.
Remus stood up groggily, wand missing, and Sirius darted over, pulling him away. The explosion giving him an idea, he muttered a quick mist-maker charm, pouring continuous power into it to add to the rapidly dissipating cloud. He needed time to plan and hoped the creature wouldn't be able to find them without coming much closer.
"KILL THEM, KILL THEM BOTH!" Metheldula howled through the cloud, and it seemed that judging from the following commotion most of the goblins had survived the explosions.
"Where muh' wan'," Remus said faintly, stumbling out of Sirius' grasp and then falling back onto the ground. Sirius rushed to grab him again, hurrying them both away from the site of the explosion to avoid another attack. As his hand touched the back of Remus' neck, Sirius felt a patch of something wet and sticky running from the top of his head down. Shit.
"Episkey," Sirius murmured, healing the immediate wound as best he could. Proper medical attention would be needed, but for now he needed his friend in fighting condition. "Sorry Moony, this won't be pleasant. Inpulsia."
The resulting shock resulted in a sharp yelp and Remus leaping up, the spell forcibly releasing a wave of magically enhanced adrenaline through his systems. He was about to say something, but Sirius threw a hand over his mouth with a meaningful glare. The dense fog would keep them hidden for now, but a careless yell could give their position away.
"We need to take her out before she finds us," he hissed, keeping his voice as low as possible, "I don't know if the two of us can win in a straight fight, not while she's in the air. I say bombard the ceilingand force her to come closer."
Remus shook his head. "We'd end up buried as well."
The two stilled as a goblin staggered past them only a few feet away from their position, waving a broken pike around at the air around him. Shit, will a stunner be noticed from the air? Can we risk it?
It didn't turn out to be necessary- the pathetic creature walked straight past them, continuing his doomed pursuit, and Sirius turned back to his friend.
"Alright, we don't have time for this. I've got an idea, but you'll need to trust me."
"Always."
Sirius nodded and pointed his wand at a nearby pile of rubble, focusing hard.
Metheldula hovered above the mist. The intruders were cunning, that much was clear- covering their positions with a cloud had effectively neutered her abilities. crone-magic was powerful, but the dark energies she commanded were geared towards obliterating her enemies, not anything as mundane as wind.
Not for the first time she cursed the damnable goblin that trapped her down here. If wizard society had any good ideas, it was taking the little buggers wands away, although in her opinion stopping there was a mistake. So she had eaten one nephew- did she really deserve to have to live in the dark with these creatures? It had only been four years, but felt more like four hundred.
With a snap of her finger the entrance to the cavern collapsed- only adding to the cloud, she noted with annoyance- cutting off the two wizards only viable escape.
Gods, she was hungry. The things in the water were enough to satiate her physical need for food, but did nothing to truly satisfy her. Only the flesh of magical beings could do that, and the magic of the lake-dwellers was so mundane, the thaumaturgic equivalent of boiled cabbage. These newcomers, though, were something else entirely. It had been decades since she'd tasted Werewolf.
The other wizard was also intriguing- he had an intoxicating stench of despair that was intriguing, and Metheldula wondered where exactly he'd come from. She'd encountered that scent before, on one who had been attacked by Soul-Eaters. I wonder...
Metheldula's sharp eyes caught a flash of metallic movement in the mist and sent a rippling bolt of lightning flashing towards it. The resulting scream sounded distinctly Goblin-esque, and she remembered that the two wizards weren't wearing anything metal. Bollocks.
"Come out little wizards," she cackled hopefully, "You can't hide forever!"
Suddenly, a dark shape darted out of the mist, racing on four legs down the slope towards the beach, seemingly ignoring the safety of the raised path. Metheldula snarled, realizing the shape was the Animagus form of the despair-drenched wizard, and swooped down towards it, hands raised. She wasn't about to let the lake-dwellers eat her prize before she had a chance.
The crone raised a hand and the stone in front of her quarry rose up sharply, creating a solid wall of earth, before curling into a circular prison around the dog-shaped wizard. Metheldula grinned as a moment later the rocky walls collapsed down onto him and then pushed down. Even from the air the crone could hear the shattering of bone as the unfortunate Animagus was crushed to death. He'd keep until later.
A flash of purple light lit up her peripheral vision, and Metheldula turned, swatting the magical projectile out of the air.
These intruders were proving to be so much fun.
Remus strode out of the mist, wand blurring into complex patterns as he muttered a series of curses and charms under his breath. The chain of spells he was pouring out was taught as part of Auror training, a series of kill-spells designed for no-prisoner situations. He'd learned it from James- the Auror Academy didn't take werewolves- and while Remus hadn't used it in years, he still remembered every movement.
Entrails-liquefier, Bloodfire Curse, Severing Charm, Bone-breaker, Splinter Piercer, repeat until everything in the room- or in this case the cavern- is dead.
Despite the speed and lethality of his casting, Metheldula dodged or battered aside everything he sent at it, cackling hideously and seemingly enjoying herself. The crone was supernaturally fast in spite of her apparent age, and nothing he did seemed to strain her in the slightest. It didn't matter- so long as she kept toying with him, the plan was working,
The transfigured dog had bought them some time while the real Sirius sneaked around the far wall under disillusionment and silencing charms. Neither wanted to bungle their chance, especially after witnessing just how dangerous Metheldula really was.
Without warning, Remus broke his spell-chain, instead conjuring a wide stream of fire that he sent spinning upwards. It enveloped her, and for a moment Remus thought that he'd actually succeeded, but as the flickering light faded his opponent was revealed unharmed, a perfect sphere of flame held in one hand. With a vicious grin, Metheldula hurled it back down to him.
Remus banished it a second after leaving her hand- it was still only conjured fire, after all- and responded with a piercing curse that came within an inch of hitting her.
Metheldula snarled, and around him the earth rose up into a curved prison.
Turning the closest of the rapidly forming walls into loose gravel- not having the time or ability to do anything more- and leapt through the resulting gap as his would-be prison crashed together. Narrowly dodging another bolt of lightning, Remus sent an overpowered banisher at the pile of loose rubble that had formed where he'd been standing a moment before. Metheldula was forced to dive low to dodge the hail of stone, but even as she did Remus felt a thick piece of rock slam into his gut, dropping him to the floor and hurling his wand out of his hand with a gasp. Shit.
Cackling, Metheldula swooped down closer to Remus, using one hand to slowly raise the wet earth up around his body, thick mud clinging tightly to him and trapping him in place. As the crone grew closer, grinning with rotting teeth, Remus swallowed hard. Come on Sirius, where are you.
Sirius moved as slowly as he could, not wanting to disrupt the disillusionment charm covering him. The crone's senses were sharp, that much was clear, and it had been a gamble that his trick would work at all. He'd been relying that time and distance were a factor, and it seemed he'd been right- Metheldula's efforts were now entirely focused on Remus, who seemed to be putting up a decent fight.
He remembered learning that spell-chain alongside James, and later teaching it to several members of the order. James had never liked no-prisoner techniques like that, even against Death Eaters, but Sirius doubted he'd have any objection to using it against the creature hovering above them. The creature was clearly absurdly powerful and had to have eaten hundreds of magical beings. It was a wonder that the Ministry hadn't caught her years ago.
He was almost directly behind where the crone would be if she descended a little bit further. Unless he was completely out of sight of the creature, Sirius didn't dare cast anything- he'd seen how easily she'd swatted aside Remus first spell.
Behind him, the dark, lurking shape of a Goblin noticed the strange rippling of air and perked up.
Sirius cursed as a bright flash of lightning caught him by surprise, Metheldula's attack narrowly missing Remus but successfully sending him stumbling to the ground. He blinked rapidly, white impressions remaining on his eyelids of the rocks around him as he did so. Great. He's got a concussion and now I'm going blind.
Before Sirius had a chance to move any further, his misfortune was compounded as a hail of rocks flew past the crone and directly towards him. Swearing, he conjured a flickering yellow shield to block the projectiles, shooting a dark- and completely pointless- glare at Remus. The shield he'd used wasn't subtle, and his disillusionment charm had already broken with the rapid movement- It was up to luck now whether Metheldula was paying attention to what was going on below her.
Thankfully, she was seemingly completely pre-occupied with Remus, now wandless and trapped, swooping low to talk to him. The crone was directly in front of him, less than fifty feet away- one well-aimed curse would blow her to pieces before she knew what was happening. Sirius readied his wand.
As he did so, the Goblin, propelled by an unfortunate mixture of ambition and stupidity, leapt from a rock with its dagger drawn.
"You'll make a fine roast, dearie," Metheldula crooned, voice dripping with malice. "Nice and plump, and werewolves are always so juicy. It's a shame I'm stuck down here without proper ingredients- you'd be lovely with some garlic and onion.
The crones free hand lit up with flickering blue fire. The heat it put out was intense, unnaturally so, and Remus felt like his skin was about start bubbling.
Any time now, Sirius.
"I'll do it quick, so your skin is nice and burnt but the meat stays juicy. That's the secret to a good roast, you know- speed. Pity about your friend, he's all skin and bone. I'll have to boil him in a stew."
Remus didn't dare look behind the crone, in case he gave away a hint of their plan. Metheldula was moving closer and closer, the fire in her hand growing hotter with each second. I need more time!
"Wait!" He yelled desperately, throwing out the first words that came to mind as the crone began preparing to hurl the flames at him. "You kill me- you die tomorrow. I guarantee it."
That gave her pause, and she assessed Remus, hunger and caution warring behind her eyes. After a few seconds caution won out and her arm dropped. The fire dulled as she did so, reduced to a flickering purple light sitting obediently in the palm of her hand.
"Talk."
"We're working with the British ministry- you kill me, and they'll send a platoon of Aurors down here to flush you out."
Metheldula said nothing, so he kept talking, desperation creeping into his voice. "Every crone in Britain was hunted down. As soon as they realize who killed us, they'll stop at nothing to get you- you said yourself, you can't leave."
"Then surely you'll tell them about me once you get into Ireland, and I'll be dead anyway," she said simply.
Remus swallowed hard, casting around for an answer. "Not necessarily. I can tell the Ministry that a cave in killed Sir- my co-worker. I'll even make an unbreakable vow to prove it if you don't believe me."
Metheldula smiled, but as she did so the fire in her hand suddenly grew to gigantic proportions, stopping only inches away from Remus' face. A second later it retracted back, leaving him wide-eyed and gasping for breath desperately. The crone just giggled at his panicking and started talking again.
"This sounds like the bluff of a man about to die- I've played enough poker to recognize that. Why would the ministry send a werewolf of all people into Ireland?"
"Covert mission," he said, sweat pouring down his face, from a mixture of heat and anxiety. "But the I.L.G will only talk to a someone they know, and I have prior experience with one of their senior officers."
"Who?"
"Grimtooth," he said, making up a suitably Goblin-esque name and hoping she wasn't actually familiar with the League's organization. "I worked with him during the war."
The crone looked thoughtful for a few long seconds, the fire dancing around her hand. Is she buying it?
"Oh? I've never heard of a Grimtooth in the League."
"Do you know every single League member?" He replied simply.
Metheldula snorted. "Of course not. I barely bothered to remember this lot's names, and they've been my only company for a year."
"It seems," Remus said, still trying desperately to buy Sirius as much time as he could, "That the safest thing to do would be to let me go- you already have my co-worker to eat if you wish."
"That's true," the crone allowed, looking thoughtful. "But I am very hungry."
"Hungry enough to lose your head over it?"
"No, I suppose not,", Metheldula said, her voice suddenly resuming its earlier, grandmotherly tone. "But before I release you, I have one question."
"Oh?"
"Why would the Ministry send a former prisoner of Azkaban with you?"
Remus' face went slack for a second before he could paint a look of confusion onto it. He tried to talk, but for the first time words failed him as he looked for a suitable lie and drew a blank.
"Hah!" the crone crowed, voice triumphant, "Yer' face is giving you away. Should have thought up an excuse for that one ahead of time laddie. No, I think you're lying, I think your friend wasan escaped prisoner, and I think no-one will be come looking for you after I pick the meat off your bones."
Remus again tried to talk, but the mud keeping him in place had resumed rising up his body as she talked, growing tighter and tighter with every word spoken, until he could hardly breathe let alone speak. In the same moment the purple fire sparked up again, engulfing her hand and then entire arm.
"Now enough talk- hold still dearie, this needs to be just right."
Remus could feel the sweat on his cheek start to steam and hiss as she came closer. He closed his eyes, the heat becoming too much to bear.
Sirius, it's now or never.
There was a flash of silver and blue, visible even through his eyelids, and the burning stopped entirely. In the same instance, his limbs were freed from the cloying mud. Remus fell back, hitting the ground hard and staring up at Metheldula. The crone looked confused, as though even she wasn't sure why her magic had stopped working.
Hand reaching up to her neck, Metheldula blinked as a razor-thin, red line appeared across her throat.
"What... did you do." the crone croaked, blood dribbling from her lips as she spoke.
She swayed forward unsteadily, but when she swayed back again her head didn't co-operate with the rest of her body, detaching entirely and hitting the ground with a dull thud. Metheldula's eyes stared up lifelessly at him even as her body joined her on the ground.
Behind where she had been standing, Remus could make out the bedraggled form of Sirius, breathing heavily but grinning. He was clearly injured, and covered in blood- though most of it didn't seem to be his.
"What took you," Remus gasped, staring at the limp form of Metheldula, "So bloody long."
Sirius shot a distasteful look at the twitching corpse. "That's a nice way of saying thank you for saving me Padfoot. Bloody Goblin tried to shank me, if you must know."
Remus nodded wearily, looking around the carnage of the cavern. There were still a few Goblins running around or watching the two of them fearfully, though most it seemed were hiding. With the crone and their leader both dead, none seemed particularly keen on stopping the intruders. Sirius didn't blame them- Remus had clearly improved a lot since the last time he'd seen him duel, even if it hadn't ultimately been enough to stop Metheldula. He wouldn't have lasted past the first exchange in his current state.
"Speaking of which- they saw you transform, and they know I'm a werewolf. Word will travel fast, your Animagus abilities aren't going to be much use to us if the Ministry puts two and two together."
Sirius swore. Much of their planning had revolved around the assumption that the ministry had no idea about his Animagus form. It seemed their trip to Ireland was turning out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy- it was now certain they'd need the Gilded King's help with the heist. This whole mission was off to a colossally bad start.
"We'll deal with that when we have to," he said instead, striding down to the edge of the beach. "Unless you think we can just kill them all."
Remus joined him, making a face at the thought. "Doubt I'd have the stomach for it. Should have asked me before the full moon."
Sirius nodded and the two headed down to the water's edge, carefully following the wooden path to avoid the loose gravel leading down to the lake. The provided boat was no luxury cruise- indeed, it looked barely sea-worthy, held together with rust-covered nails and rotting wood planks. There also appeared to be no oars, or any other way of propelling it, leaving magic as the only option for movement. Remus just hoped the enchantments were still functioning.
"Last chance to call it quits," Sirius murmured, suppressing a shudder as he thought of the things lurking underneath the water's surface.
"Bloody crone caved in the exit anyway," he said by way of reply, stepping into the boat resolutely. Sirius followed after him a second later, the vessel rocking perilously as they got in it.
As soon as both were seated in the creaking bench, the boat set off on its own, ploughing through the water at high speed. Remus groaned and lay back. It seemed the adrenaline shot Sirius had given him was wearing off- he'd have one hell of a headache tomorrow morning, but with any luck the injury wasn't anything serious.
"Long ride," Remus groaned, throwing a warming charm onto one of the provided blanked and curling up underneath it. "Get some sleep while you can Padfoot."
Sirius nodded, but made no attempt to sleep, waiting until his friend was snoring soundly before moving.
Staying as quiet as possible, he gingerly took off his shirt. The Goblin that had leapt at him had thankfully missed anything vital, instead cutting into arm, causing his wand to fall out of his hand. The silencing charm had thankfully stopped his yell of agony from alerting Metheldula, but to stop the creature from letting out a warning of his own he'd had to strange it to death.
As suspected, a simple healing charm hadn't sufficed in closing his wound. He had stopped the bleeding, but running had partially opened it back up, and the skin around the gash was glowing an angry red. His thoughts went to the rusty, filth-encrusted knife that had cut him and he winced. A cleaning charm- not medical grade, but it would have to do- and another Episkey succeeded in closing it again. He'd have to hope that would be enough to prevent infection.
There was nothing else he could do- just another scar he'd have to deal with. Sirius cast a quick numbing charm on himself, collapsed onto the bench opposite Remus and tried to sleep.
A/N: Well, here's chapter four. Longest one yet at 9k words, and all Sirius this time. Next chapter will be all Harry, a bit shorter, and hopefully a lot quicker to upload.
To be clear: The forest Sirius and Remus went to is not the Forbidden Forest, just one on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. They have nothing to do with whatever is going on in there. Yet.
