I know I've said that the update frequency was going to drop for 2-3 weeks, and I really hoped that it would be it. Trust me! I didn't expect it to stretch into 2 months, and I'm really sorry for that. I learned the hard way that the older you get, the less free time you actually have during the Summer Holidays XD. So, thank you for your patience.
Also, some time ago, I published a one-shot that is loosely connected to this story, so if you feel like it, go check it out if you haven't done that yet.
And of course, thank you, guys, SO MUCH for over 2000 follows, 1300 favorites, 260 reviews, and over 250000 views! It's really flattering to see those numbers going up like that :D.
And to address one thing that's been mentioned in the comments, regarding my description of the Fidelius Charm: I'm sorry, as I've said, I'm not that familiar with the HP universe, and I believe I've found a similar solution in one of the many stories I've read. Anyway, I'm not changing that – if you like it, that's cool, and if you don't, I'm fine with that as well. Alright then, enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 18
The rest of their journey passed in relative silence, with Remus focused on driving through London's busy streets and Harry unable to say the words that wanted to escape his throat. Yet no matter how many questions he had for his former Professor, he failed to formulate even a single one. Remus' constant nervous glances into the car's mirrors to check if nobody was following them didn't make it any easier for the young boy to break the silence. And so, with nothing else to do, Harry stared.
At the beginning of their travel through London streets, Harry kept his eyes on the surrounding area, attempting to memorize the route to the mysterious Grimmauld Place twelve. However, after a few unexpected turns left and right, as well as a couple of U-turns, Harry lost all sense of direction. He was sure that if they traveled during the night, he wouldn't even be sure which way was up.
And so, he kept glancing at his former teacher from time to time. When the adrenaline from their rapid getaway from the King's Cross Station lowered, Harry started noticing even more changes in Professor Lupin's appearance than before. His face was ashen, causing the long, red scars to seem even fresher than before. His cheeks were sunken, allowing Harry to clearly see the outline of his skull, tendons, and veins underneath the thin and fragile skin. Deep, dark circles stretched beneath a pair of green eyes – eyes that used to be so full of life and joy whenever he would introduce his class to some new creature or tell them about some intricate spell that no one really used. The light in his eyes was dimmed, almost fully extinguished, leaving nothing of the once jovial, though slightly weird, Professor.
It seemed that Professor Lupin didn't care that much about his appearance, or so Harry thought at least, as his gaze traveled up his head. Once neatly combed, although thinning, brown hair was falling on the older man's shoulders in loose, even thinner, graying strands. It also looked as if he hadn't used a razor in quite a long time, as the random spots of thin, weak facial hair suggested.
All in all, Remus Lupin looked like a person who already had one foot in the grave.
"I'm sorry for the way I look," Remus said suddenly, as if he could somehow read Harry's thoughts. After a few seconds, the young boy realized that it wasn't something impossible, considering how little he actually knew about the Wizarding World and all its wonders. "The last full moon wasn't quite… pleasant for me," he informed the young boy without as much as looking at him; his gaze was still focused on the road and their surroundings.
Usually, such an explanation would have been enough for Harry. Now that he knew the truth, he could actually remember Professor Lupin looking strangely exhausted a few times during the previous school year. He overheard a few older students saying that judging by his overall appearance, their DADA Teacher was an alcoholic, hence his odd behavior once in a while.
To be honest, Harry wasn't sure if that would have been a better or worse condition for the man sitting next to him.
But even though Remus lived through multiple full moons during his time as a teacher, he had never looked nearly as pathetic as in that moment.
"But the full moon was over a week ago," Harry countered, blinking rapidly a few times. He never remembered his former Professor suffering for so long.
Remus pursed his thin, pale lips and closed his eyes for a split second; he exhaled heavily through his nose as his grip on the steering wheel tightened. "I know," he replied, focusing on the road once again. "It's just… sometimes it hits harder."
Finally, after over an hour of driving through London's streets, Remus stopped the car in front of a terrace house that stretched well over a hundred meters. From his place in the passenger's seat, Harry looked at the building that looked as ordinary as one could get in London. It seemed as if the architect stopped carrying about the appearance after completing the ground floor as the white tiles were replaced with raw and uneven bricks. At the far corner of the building, Harry could see an old-looking board with the street's name; above every door, there was a board made in a similar manner, though those only contained the numbers. As he scanned the row of identical houses with his eyes, he realized that number twelve was missing, just as his mind indicated it would be the case.
"It's a Muggle neighborhood," Harry more stated than asked as he watched a couple of kids with sleighs passing them by without a care in the world. He watched with a small smile as they seemed to turn against each other from time to time, starting a sudden snowball fight that would end with nervous laughter each time a stray snowball passed high above their heads and collided with one of the building's many windows.
Harry would have wanted to join them, unable to deny the fun they surely had, if his mind didn't remind him of the last time he participated in a snowball fight, prior to finding out about him being a wizard. His smile faded away as he recalled how many times he had to hide wherever he could during the winter from Dudley and his goons; he was sure that a vast majority of the snowballs sent his way by his cousin had ice pieces inside of them.
"Yes," Remus confirmed, turning off the ignition.
"And no one has noticed anything odd?" Harry asked as his mind, once again, supplied him with the knowledge he shouldn't have had. And yet, thanks to magic, he could clearly envision how Sirius' house was supposed to appear, squeezing itself between numbers eleven and thirteen.
Remus chuckled slightly. "Even wizards who don't know the house's address won't notice anything. Still, it won't hurt us to be careful. Do you have the Cloak with you? Oh, don't give me that look, Harry, of course, I know you have it. You have no idea how many times your dad used it back when we were students at Hogwarts."
"I have it in my case," he informed his former Professor.
"Wait here a minute."
Without a word of protest, Harry watched as Remus waved his wand over his body, changing his appearance back to what he had seen when they entered the car at the parking lot. He quickly exited the car, walking over towards the trunk. He could only listen to what, without a doubt, was the sound of his case being opened; the trunk's door covered Remus' entire frame. After a few seconds, the former DADA Teacher closed the trunk, walking towards the passenger's side with the Invisibility Cloak in his right hand and Harry's case in the left one.
"Put this on," he ordered the boy after opening the door; he turned his head in both directions, scanning the entire length of the street for anything extraordinary. Except for a few kids a few dozen meters away from them, Grimmauld Place seemed to be abandoned. That wasn't to be unexpected though – Harry guessed that the vast majority of London looked like that with people visiting their distant families for Christmas.
Remus locked the car when Harry, hidden by the Invisibility Cloak, walked out on the street, heading towards the spot where he knew Grimmauld Place twelve would appear in no time, though he had no idea how it was supposed to happen. With his case in hand, Remus followed Harry, stepping on the footsteps on the snow left by the young boy.
"Let me through," Remus muttered to Harry, being careful not to speak too loudly; it wouldn't do any of them any good if he attracted the neighbors' attention by seemingly talking to himself. The young boy did as he was asked, observing as Remus placed his hand, with his wand in his grip, against the fence of Grimmauld Place thirteen. Then, Harry could only watch as magic came to life.
He heard about earthquakes a couple of times from the news his aunt and uncle watched sporadically, though he never had the misfortune of experiencing one. Still, that was the only thing his mind could come up with as the street beneath his feet literally started shaking, and the building in front of him stretched even more as if it was made out of rubber, instead of bricks. With his eyes wide opened, and his lips rising in a grin similar to that of a child who experienced Christmas, and all its wonders for the first time, Harry watched as another house, identical to those on the right and left, appeared seemingly out of nowhere. It seemed as if the building fought against its two neighbors, moving them aside as one would push their way through the crowd. The air around them was filled with the sound of bricks rubbing against other bricks and occasionally iron.
The entire building continued stretching until the house with number twelve above the doors stood firmly in front of him and Remus. Harry watched as the window frames moved forward, seemingly locking in place, as well as the iron fence of the balcony on the first floor. Suddenly, he felt himself being pulled backward as Remus' hand gripped his shoulder tightly. Harry didn't fight against his old teacher, and he was immediately rewarded for his choice as from the exact spot where he was standing a few seconds earlier, an iron fence, two meters tall, grew out. Just as was the case with the windows, the gate also seemed to click in place before the building seemed to calm down from all the movement and stretching.
The tent, in which he and the Weasleys stayed during the World Cup, was impressive, but that building was a miracle of an entirely different level, Harry summarized, stepping through the gate with Remus close behind him. The older man walked past him towards the door, knocking three times before a muffled response was heard from the other side.
"Password?" a person on the other side asked. Even though his voice was distorted, Harry had no trouble identifying its owner. A large grin made its way onto his face once again, knowing that Sirius was on the other side.
"We solemnly swear that we are up to no good," Remus replied, once again looking behind his back to make sure they weren't followed by anyone, even if the Fidelius Charm prevented strangers from even seeing the house. "Good stuff never gets old," he added, directing those words to Harry, even though he couldn't see the questioning look on his face.
They didn't have to wait long for Sirius to respond. A rattling sound of chains reached their ears before the door swung open a few seconds later.
"We?" Sirius asked with a frown, looking around and behind Remus.
The former DADA Teacher nodded his head and gripped Harry's Cloak before pulling it off the younger boy. Sirius' eyes widened in surprise when his godson materialized in front of him, but the surprise quickly turned into joy as James' almost perfect copy launched himself at him with full strength. It took him a few short seconds before he shook off the initial shock and returned the hug eagerly, wrapping his arms protectively around his godson.
"King's Cross is no more than twenty minutes of walk from here, and Hogwarts Express arrived in London over an hour ago," Sirius said accusingly, staring at Remus. "What took you so long?"
"I wanted to make sure no one was following us," the other man replied, once again canceling the spells he put on himself before exiting the car. With a flick of his wrist, Remus locked the door behind himself. "The Aurors were patrolling the Station, so I couldn't risk apparating us here. I'm sure the Ministry would do whatever it can to find the source and destination, especially if the Aurors reported that someone apparated Harry away. So, I took a long way. It's better to be safe than sorry," he explained, walking deeper into the dimly lit house.
"Look at you, all grown up," Sirius said without as much as acknowledging Remus' explanation as he took a step back to look at his godson. "You've gained a few good inches since the last time I saw you. What are they feeding you? Must be something good, Champion," he added, ruffling Harry's hair.
"It's good to see you, Sirius," Harry replied. He couldn't say that his godfather changed much, though. Of course, he wasn't wearing the same prisoner's outfit he had when they first met, but his physical condition left a lot to be desired. He looked as if he broke out of Azkaban only a day earlier. Whatever he and Remus went through the past couple of months couldn't have been good for them. "What is this place?"
"It's my family house," Sirius informed him, looking around with a somewhat pained expression on his face. "I grew up here, just as any Black has throughout centuries. Now, it stands abandoned, collecting dust and pests, so I have to apologize for its condition. We managed to clean it up a little when we arrived here, but I'm pretty sure its glory days are long gone. Come on; I brewed us some tea," Sirius said, practically dragging Harry through the dark hallway.
A bright light shone through a narrow doorframe at the other end of the hall, causing the young boy to squint his eyes. He saw Remus moving from left to right a few times, carrying something he couldn't quite identify.
Harry stopped abruptly a few steps away from what looked like a living room, as the scar on his forehead reminded him about its existence. After having numerous nightmares during the past couple of months, he had grown somewhat used to the burning pain in his forehead, though that one was different; it seemed to him as if something was crawling underneath his skin, threatening to burst forward at any moment.
"What's wrong?" Sirius asked, noticing Harry standing in front of the door, staring at it.
"What's in this room?"
Sirius pursed his lips. "I have no idea – I haven't entered that room in years," he answered with a heavy sigh, running his hand on the board that contained the name 'Regulus Arcturus Black.' "It was my brother's room when we were younger," he muttered. "Just like the rest of my family, he… he was a Death Eater. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some dark artifacts stored in there. Why?"
"My scar…," Harry trailed off as if it was all the explanation necessary; he didn't even register his hand moving up towards his forehead.
"Come on, there's nothing good waiting for us in there, and the tea is getting cold," Sirius said, dragging Harry away from the locked room. "I'm sorry, Prongslet, but we didn't manage to get you anything for Christmas. It was difficult enough to return to Britain without the Ministry knowing, and we couldn't risk moving around London. I'm afraid we would have attracted too much attention."
"It's okay," Harry replied, smiling at the new nickname. "Aren't you afraid the Aurors might find you either way?"
"Right now, the Aurors are busy searching Paris," Remus replied as they stepped into the living room that was connected to a small kitchen annex. "They have received an anonymous tip that we've been spotted in France. It bought us a few days," he explained, carrying three cups filled with tea to the table.
"Professor, why haven't you replied to any of my letters?" he asked the question that's been bugging him for months, and even more so when he rode with Remus from King's Cross. Remus sighed heavily as he placed the cups on the table while Sirius chuckled slightly, shaking his head as he muttered 'Professor Lupin.'
"I'm sorry, Harry," he replied, sitting at one of the empty chairs; the other two men quickly followed his example. "I thought it would have been for the best."
"I read the Prophet a few weeks ago; I know what the Ministry accused you of," Harry countered. "But even Sirius managed to write back to me a few times, and I'm pretty sure he had to be more careful than you, Professor."
"Don't call me 'Professor,' Harry," Remus countered, shaking his head. "I'm not your teacher anymore." He sighed again. "And I didn't write back to you because I couldn't live with myself, knowing what my stupidity almost caused."
Harry blinked a few times in surprise. "Nothing happened, Pro- Remus," he replied. He had to admit it felt weird to address his former teacher by his first name. "You haven't done anything wrong."
Remus snorted at that, shaking his head before he took a sip from his cup. "I haven't done anything wrong?" he asked, staring at Harry as if he had suddenly grown out a second head. "The full moon isn't something that a werewolf simply forgets – I knew perfectly well what was going to happen that night, and yet, I acted without thinking," he said, running his hand through his thinning hair. "If it wasn't for my own stupidity, Peter wouldn't have run away, and you and your friends wouldn't have been placed in unnecessary danger! So how can you say that I've done nothing wrong, Harry? I could have killed you – all of you that night!"
"But you didn't!"
"But I could!" Remus countered, slamming his hand against the table; the three cups shook slightly at the impact. He breathed in deeply before continuing. "And I couldn't forgive myself for what I've almost done to my friends' son. I couldn't look in a mirror without seeing what everyone sees when they look at me: a monster."
"You've always been quite ugly, Remus," Sirius countered, taking a sip from his cup.
"The point is," he continued, ignoring Sirius' jibe. "After calming down and reliving the events of that night, I couldn't bring myself to even think about you, Harry. Because of me, Peter managed to escape, and you and your friends were in grave danger."
"I needed you," Harry countered, looking at his former teacher; the older man's face contorted in shame. "I needed you and Sirius when the Goblet spat out my name. Everyone else turned their backs on me."
"I'm sorry. As I've said, I thought it would have been for the best."
"Then what changed?"
"I knocked some sense into him," Sirius replied, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the room as his voice was filled with nothing but joy. "Believe me; it was difficult."
"I don't blame you for anything that happened that night, Remus," Harry spoke softly.
"Well, I blame myself," Remus replied. "I almost killed the son of a person who was nothing but kind to me, even when she learned about my… condition. Lily was the first person, outside of my family, who didn't judge me because of what I was and insisted on trying to help me. Yes, your mother figured out I was a werewolf before anyone else. It was… back in our second year, I guess. She was very talented when it came to Potions, and she was one of Professor Slughorn's – our Potion Master – favorites. And so, she used her position to convince him to teach her how to brew the Wolfsbane Potion, justifying it with her academic curiosity or something like that. He agreed without hesitation, and every month since then, Lily would bring me a freshly brewed Potion that helped me survive every full moon somewhat decently and not result in me looking like that," he said, gesturing to himself. "It's almost impossible to get a hold of that Potion if you're an unregistered werewolf, and it's extremely expensive to brew it on your own. That didn't stop her, however, from delivering a new flask to me every month before the full moon. And how did I repay her? By almost killing her only child," Remus continued, sighing heavily as he slumped down his chair. "And I've allowed Peter – the man responsible for their deaths – to run away," he muttered, hiding his mouth behind the teacup. "Do you see now why I couldn't bring myself to get in contact with you?"
"Pettigrew's escape wasn't your fault, Remus," Sirius countered. "We both could have done more to ensure he wouldn't run away. And we will find him again one day, I swear it to you."
Remus snorted at that. "And what next? What are you going to do when you finally find him? Are you going to kill him?" He shook his head, hiding his face behind his hands. "That's one more thing, Harry – Peter. I think I know what your thoughts are about that man, but… it's not so simple for us."
"Speak for yourself," Sirius interjected. "If I see him again, I'll make sure that this time a finger is all that remains after him."
"Okay, it's not so simple for me, then," Remus corrected himself. He took in a deep breath before lifting his head to look at Harry. "I know it's easy for you to hate him because all you really know about him is that he betrayed your parents, and I can see why it's easy for Sirius as well. But for a second, for a split second, try to look at it from my perspective… both of you. I've known Peter since our first year, and between your father and your godfather, Harry, he was the first one, after Lily, of course, to figure out that I was a werewolf," he said, staring absentmindedly into his tea. Sirius let out a strange sound – something between a snort and a bark upon hearing Remus' words. "He followed me once when I attempted to hide myself from the world. He saw me turning into the abomination that I am – a monster designed to kill those around him – and he watched as I suffered because of my condition. Do you know, Harry, what he did the next day? He persuaded both your father and Sirius that it would be a great idea if they all became Animagi, so they could, and let me quote him, 'check out the lands at nights.' I hope it goes without saying that neither James nor Sirius needed much persuading in the first place," Remus added, shaking his head again. "It was at the end of our second year. Sometime later, when both James and Sirius finally figured out why I wasn't studying with them, Peter told them about my secret and the true reason why he insisted on the three of them becoming Animagi – he wanted me to have company during the full moon," Remus explained, and Harry could swear that he saw a tiny tear running down his cheek. "You have no idea how surprised I was when Peter turned out to be the first one to complete his transformation," he added with a watery chuckle. "I honestly suspected that it would be Sirius or James."
"But all he managed to achieve was turn himself into a rat," Sirius countered, crossing his arms over his chest. It wasn't hard to guess that he didn't share Remus' sentiment towards their former friend. "At least James and I had something useful and cool."
"Remind me one thing, Sirius, because, apparently, my memory is not so good anymore," Remus said, slamming his hand against the table. "Was it a dog, a stag, or a rat who visited every single nook of Hogwarts Castle, allowing us to create the Map?"
"James and I scanned the grounds around the Castle," the former prisoner replied, attempting to hide himself behind his own cup, knowing fully well that his argument was invalid.
"Well, if I recall correctly, it wasn't you who found all those secret passages," Remus said, glaring daggers at his friend. Once again, he took in a deep breath. "The point is, to me, Peter was like a brother I've never had, Harry," he continued. "And then, after the War, I've spent twelve years believing that one of my friends betrayed or murdered the people I could have called my family. And when I finally started coming to terms with that, accepting that there was nothing that I could have done and that at least Sirius received a just punishment, I learned that for twelve years I lived in a lie," he chuckled humorlessly. "But do you know what's the worst part of this story, Harry? It's that nothing has changed for me. Nothing!" he informed the younger boy when he shook his head. "Not for the better, at least. I had to accept the fact that one of my friends was wrongfully put in prison, while the first person I ever dared to call brother turned out to be the real traitor and avoided any punishment whatsoever for his crimes! Only the traitor's name has changed from Sirius to Peter," he muttered, chuckling humorlessly into his cup once again. "That was the biggest change for me."
"Thanks," Sirius commented, finishing his tea. "I've always liked being compared to that rat," he spat. Remus' eye roll was almost audible.
"You know what I mean, Sirius. You and James were inseparable at Hogwarts – you were like brothers. I guess that, at some point, I've started seeing Peter as a brother as well. And it certainly didn't help that at the beginning of the War, we knew that we had a rat in our ranks," Remus continued, looking at Harry. "And both Sirius and I suspected each other to be the spy."
"W- why?" Harry stuttered, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Well, my last name seemed to be binding for my family," Sirius informed the young boy with a humorless chuckle. "As I've said, my family has been supporting everything even remotely dark for centuries."
"And many werewolves have joined You-Know-Who's ranks," Remus added. "So yeah, near the end of the War, we didn't trust each other so much, and after learning what happened to your parents, I've been cursing myself for years for not stopping Sirius when I had the chance. It didn't help that when the dust had fallen, and the casualties were counted and announced, I learned that many of our schoolmates that we, as the Marauders, helped to relocate during the War, were murdered by the Death Eaters."
"What?"
"When we first approached Dumbledore about wanting to help in the war efforts, he decided that we were too young to participate in any combat-related activities," Sirius replied, allowing Remus to calm down a little from reliving the painful memories. Harry moved his eyes towards his godfather in an instant. "In the beginning, he ordered us to help relocate other families who sought refuge from the Death Eaters – many of those families were our former schoolmates from Hogwarts," Sirius said with a small smile. "At first, all four of us worked on that assignment. After a while, Pettigrew started missing some of the actions; we never really noticed that. Then, when your parents went into hiding with you, it was mostly just me and Remus doing the relocating. You can imagine the tension between us when neither James nor Wormtail were there to calm us down," he added with a chuckle.
"When I told you about Daphne Greengrass, you said 'they lived,'" Harry recalled. "And she told me some time ago that she overheard her parents arguing that her family owes both you and Remus."
"Greengrasses were one such family that we helped to relocate," Sirius nodded his head, glancing at Remus. "Cyrus and Roxanne Greengrass, to be precise, and a small bundle that I believe you know now as Daphne. They came to us near the end of the War, asking us for help. You see, the families we helped were, at some point, approached by the Death Eaters with an offer to join You-Know-Who. And He certainly didn't take a 'no' for an answer. Some were wise enough to seek refuge, while others believed that they were safe. The Greengrasses were one of the last families we relocated before the War's end; your parents were already in hiding, and Pettigrew wasn't with us that day. That's why I reacted like that when we talked – it's always a consolation to know that at least some of the people we've helped have survived.."
"Peter didn't betray only your family, Harry," Remus added. "To prove his loyalty to the Death Eaters, he betrayed every single family he helped us to relocate," he muttered. "In the beginning, I was too furious to see that the murdered families were only those that Peter helped us to hide, so, naturally, I blamed Sirius for that as well. I even believed that he murdered them himself, just like he, allegedly, murdered those twelve Muggles. You have no idea how I felt when I saw how small your year at Hogwarts was, Harry. If all the people we tried to help have survived, there would be at least twice as many students in your year."
You weren't the only one to lose parents all those years ago, Neville's words echoed in Harry's mind as he slumped down on his chair. He had to admit that never before had he thought about how others have suffered because of the War and Voldemort.
"Do you see now why I didn't contact you?" Remus continued; his voice lacked its previous fervor. Instead, his tone was resigned, broken. "I just couldn't accept my failures."
"Enough with that soppy shit now," Sirius announced, clearing his throat. "The past is in the past – there's no point in dwelling on that right now. Especially since we have the future to focus on and the youngest Triwizard Champion is here with us!" he said, gesturing his hand at Harry with a wide grin on his face as if their previous conversation never took place. "Never before have I heard about someone using a Patronus to distract a dragon," he laughed.
"And how exactly do you know that?" Harry asked, somewhat puzzled that his achievements had reached the two men sitting in front of him.
"You know, with Rita Skeeter at the Tournament, it's impossible to miss even a single second from what's going on at Hogwarts right now," Sirius informed him, completely missing Harry's groan of irritation upon hearing the reporter's name. "And it's not that difficult to get a hold of a copy of the Daily Prophet, even on the run. Trust me, when I was reading that article, I felt as if I was there at the stands, watching your performance," he added with a wide grin that Harry found too difficult not to mimic.
"Not many people can praise themselves with conjuring a corporeal Patronus, Harry, especially ones your age," Remus added, seemingly also forgetting about their previous conversation as his face beamed with pride and joy. "Did you bring the Egg as I've asked you?"
"Yes, it's in my trunk."
"Bring it here."
"If you have the Map with yourself, can you show it to me?" Sirius asked as Harry stood up from the table. "I'd like to take a look at it one more time."
A few minutes later, the Golden Egg was standing at the table. Remus was staring at it with barely concealed fascination while Sirius was studying their greatest creation with a childlike glee, muttering some incomprehensible words from time to time. Harry, however, didn't share the werewolf's fascination. He glared at the First Task's prize as if expecting it to attack him at any moment.
"Fascinating," Remus commented after a moment of studying the intricate patterns on the Egg's shell.
"Remember when we pulled that prank on Filch in that empty classroom?" Sirius asked, moving the Map right under Remus' nose with his finger pressed against the parchment. "Ah, the good old times," he sighed.
"This isn't a dragon egg," Remus stated, completely ignoring the other man.
"Well, it's golden, and you can open it without cracking it," Harry countered, scratching the back of his head.
"I don't mean the obvious, Harry," Remus replied, tracing the patterns with his finger. "These embroideries… none of them represents a dragon or any other creature related to them," he said, attempting to decipher whatever was hidden on the Egg's shell.
"I didn't know you were an expert when it came to dark creatures, Moony," Sirius commented, momentarily stopping his admiration of the Marauder's Map.
"I'm a dark creature myself, Sirius," Remus countered without even looking at the other man. "Besides, Defense Against the Dark Arts isn't only about defending yourself from other wizards. You said that it's possible to open the Egg, Harry, right?"
"Yes, but I don't think it's a good idea to do that," the young boy replied, looking nervously at the Egg; the screaming was still fresh in his ears. "It's nothing pleasant."
"Go on. Open it," Remus ordered, ignoring his protests. Taking in a deep breath, Harry gripped the latch on top of the Egg and unlocked it with an effortless flick of his wrist.
"No way Moody is-" Sirius began, only to be silenced by the Egg.
Just as he expected and dreaded, the offending scream filled the relatively silent house, causing both older men to pluck their ears with both of their hands. It took Harry a few good seconds of struggling against the opened shell and the latch before he managed to lock the Egg once again.
"What the fuck was that?" Sirius asked when the screaming ended; his hands were still pressed against his ears.
"That is a clue that is supposed to help me with the Second Task," Harry replied, glaring at the Golden Egg. "I have no idea how, though. I guess it means I should lose my hearing or something like that." He moved his eyes towards Remus, hoping to see some kind of recognition on his face that would help him solve the riddle. Unfortunately, he saw nothing of that sort on the older man's face.
"That wasn't a dragon roar for sure," Remus commented, rubbing his chin.
"Yeah, I figured as much."
"And that's all they've said to you?" Sirius asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "That this Egg contains a clue, and you have to figure it out?"
"Yeah," Harry muttered.
"That's some bullshit," Sirius sighed.
"Do you have any idea, Remus?"
"No," the former DADA Teacher shook his head, still staring at the Golden Egg. "I mean, I think I've seen those marks somewhere, but I can't remember where. I'm sorry, Harry."
"Okay, the Second Task is in what? Two months?" Harry nodded his head in confirmation of Sirius' question. "Then I say we have plenty of time to figure that shit out. Come on, it's Christmas! You shouldn't worry about the school stuff at this moment."
"If it only was school stuff," Harry sighed. "You know there's a good chance that if I don't figure out this riddle, I won't survive the Second Task, right?"
"As I've said, we have plenty of time for that," Sirius dismissed Harry's concerns with a wave of his hand. "Now, how come you've never told me that Mad-Eye was your new DADA Teacher?"
"It must have slipped my mind. You know, with the whole bloody Tournament going on," Harry replied, glaring at his godfather. Didn't he hear a word I've just said?
"I have to say I envy you, Harry," Sirius said, completely missing the accusatory tone in the boy's voice. "I mean, many people would kill for the opportunity of being taught by Moody himself, you know? Boy, do I want to board the Hogwarts Express and attend his classes."
"Those twelve years in Azkaban have surely changed you," Remus commented, though he couldn't argue with Sirius' words. "You've never been one to enjoy the lessons."
"Speaking of Azkaban," Harry cleared his throat. "I wanted to talk to you about a dream I've been having for a couple of nights."
And so, he conveyed the strange vision to the two men, describing the dream with as many details as he could possibly remember. Their faces were filled with concern and worry as he told how he saw Voldemort moving through the halls of Azkaban. He ended his tale with the description of his conversation with Professor Dumbledore.
"Voldemort indeed broke into Azkaban at some point during the War," Sirius nodded his head. "No one knows why, though. And regarding your question, Harry… I didn't have much time to explore that cursed place, but… I know for a fact that Azkaban only has three hundred floors."
"Then what was it that I've seen?"
"I have no idea," Sirius sighed, staring at some random point at the table. "Is he always standing like that?" he broke the silence, which fell between the three people, gesturing at the Map where the dot with Moody's name was, unmoving. "I've been looking at it for a few minutes now, and I swear he hadn't moved an inch!"
"I think the Map isn't working on him," Harry replied, describing to them how he stumbled upon Professor Moody near the Dungeons one night when the Map showed he was in his office. He didn't mention that Daphne was with him under the Invisibility Cloak.
"Well, Moody has always been paranoid," Remus commented. "I wouldn't be surprised if he cast some intricate Antitracking Spells on himself wherever he went."
"Maybe," Sirius agreed. "And what exactly have you been doing in the Dungeons at night? Sneaking out to meet with a Snake?" Harry's silence and a slightly red face were all the confirmation he needed; a large grin found its way onto Sirius' face. "My, my. Sneaking out at night to meet with a Slytherin girl, Harry? That Daphne really must be something."
"It's not like that," Harry protested immediately, crossing his hands on his chest as his cheeks burned with embarrassment. "She's… she's just my friend, and if it wasn't for her help, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have survived the Frist Task. I just wanted to thank her, so we went to Hogsmeade-" Sirius whistled loudly, eliciting a heavy groan from the young boy and a small chuckle from Remus. "And after that, we were just practicing dancing for the Yule Ball, and-"
"You went with her to the Yule Ball?" This time it was Remus who interrupted him while Sirius laughed at Harry's embarrassed face.
"Look at him, Moony," Sirius said after calming down a little. "He's just like James used to be when it came to Lily." If it was possible, Harry's cheeks reddened even more. "Which reminds me, do you remember that thing we pulled off at the beginning of our seventh year?" Remus nodded his head with a small smile dancing in the corners of his lips. "Ah, that was our best prank," Sirius sighed.
"What did you do?" Harry asked warily, though he wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer.
"Well, we knew, we just knew, that we had to start our final year with something big. Something huge!" Sirius said, leaning against the backrest. "All four of us have spent the entire summer figuring out a way to change all the Slytherins' robes to Gryffindor colors. I'm sorry, Harry, I understand how you feel about the Snakes now, at least some of them, but they were our primary targets back in our days," Sirius added, causing the young boy's face to heat up in embarrassment once again.
"You've changed the Slytherins' robes to Gryffindor ones?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow, trying to understand how it was supposed to be their best prank.
"Of course not. That would have been immature," Remus replied. The silence that fell between the three men and Sirius' wide grin was all the indication Harry needed that it wasn't the end of the tale. "Not when there was a way to make their clothes disappear," the werewolf added with a wicked grin that could easily rival Sirius'. Harry's eyes widened in disbelief. "As Sirius said, we just had to start our final year with something big, something better than everything else we've done previously. So, with countless hours spent on preparations, we've managed to cause all the Slytherins' robes to simply vanish during the Opening Feast."
"Of course, if we only targeted the Slytherins, we would have been blamed instantly," Sirius added, leaning forward in his chair. "So, we decided to extend our little project to all the other Houses as well. Unfortunately, we had to sacrifice the Gryffindors, but boy, let me tell you: it was worth it."
"Yeah," Remus agreed with a chuckle. "Though we might have forgotten to tell James about that. I mean, at some point in our sixth year, your father has changed drastically. He wanted to impress Lily by any means necessary, and he wanted to prove to her that he was above petty jokes. That didn't stop him from scheming with us, though. So, with the new students already sitting at their respective tables, suddenly, all the Slytherins' robes have just vanished. The silence lasted for no more than three seconds before the entire Great Hall erupted with laughter."
"Although the Hufflepuffs quickly shut up when their robes disappeared as well," Sirius laughed. "And then the Ravenclaws… And at the end, the Gryffindors," he continued with the same wide grin. "Poor James… he had no idea what was going to happen, and he was sitting right in front of Lily during the feast." He laughed again. "I'm pretty sure he couldn't look her in the eye for the next two months."
Unable to stop himself, Harry laughed as well, imagining the Great Hall filled with naked students who had no idea what was happening. He doubted if he would be laughing if he was the victim of that prank, though.
"We were, of course, punished for that," Remus continued. "Although there was no way anyone could have traced that thing back to us, the detention was worth it."
"I still can't believe Dumbledore hired you after that," Sirius commented, shaking his head. "And I still can't believe we weren't kicked out of Hogwarts."
"As I've said, there was not enough proof to trace it back to us," Remus replied. "And James' reaction was just too honest to ignore. It's a good thing we haven't told him about our plans. Otherwise, it wouldn't have happened."
And so, they spent the rest of the day in a similar manner, exchanging the tales of their exploits at school; the Golden Egg and Harry's nightmare completely forgotten. Harry's stomach hurt extremely after listening to countless pranks his father and the rest of the Marauders have pulled off during their days back at Hogwarts. That didn't mean the two older men spared him from more embarrassment, though. Harry wished with all his heart that he could forget what Sirius told about Professor McGonagall's… odd feelings towards his father, and what he said about what would have happened had old 'Minnie' been a few years younger. He certainly didn't want to envision the stern Transmutation Professor as his mother.
Hours later, with a simple dinner eaten and Harry in a room that Sirius had prepared for him, the two older men found themselves sitting back in the living room with two glasses of Firewhisky in their hands.
"So, Greengrasses," Sirius said, sipping at his beverage.
"Don't even go there, Sirius," Remus countered.
"Why not? You've heard what Harry has said – they remember what we've done for them," Sirius replied. "And if Cyrus is half the man he used to be, he will help us."
"I'm not going to endanger an innocent family by begging them for help," Remus countered.
"And I'm not going to rot in some foreign country while my godson is here, needing my help! Besides, I know you pretty well, Moony. I know why you don't want to ask them for help. It's not charity if it's earned, Remus!" he yelled. "We've earned the right to ask them for help – you've earned the right to ask them for help. I'm pretty sure you remember Cyrus telling us that they are in our debt!"
"Even if, we have to leave Britain soon," Remus countered, standing up from his chair. "The Aurors will soon figure out that Paris was a red herring, and they will return here."
"That doesn't mean we can't come back in a few months," Sirius replied. "I've spent twelve years locked in Azkaban when I should have been out there, taking care of my godson. Now that I'm free, I won't let this opportunity just slip by while I sit doing nothing! Besides, you won't survive another year without the Wolfsbane Potion, and you know it! Look at you! Roxanne is working at St. Mungo's – she can help you!"
"We'll talk about it later," Remus replied, taking a sip from his glass. "Right now, we have to figure out a way to leave Britain again."
Okay, so that's it for today. This chapter was one of the first ideas I had when I started working on this story, so please share your thoughts with me in the comments below. See you, hopefully, soon!