A/N: Thanks again to the remarkable remuslives23 and the marvelous BadMum. Where would this story be without you two? :)
Disclaimer: I am not JKRowling. My birth certificate and bank account will prove that. I mean no harm by using Ms Rowling's wonderful characters and I am making no money from this.
"Werewolf!"
Screams followed the shout and Remus cringed.
"Get him!"
Hands grabbed him and he was falling...
He jerked himself awake and lay there rigidly, waiting for his galloping heart to slow. The only good thing about the dream was that it was the usual 'Help! Dangerous Dark creature!' sort, and not one of the more recent nightmarish kinds about Sirius.
The bottle beside the bed was empty. Actually, both of them were, so Remus got out and stumbled to the bathroom for a drink of water.
"Nightmare, Moony?"
"Yeah."
"You okay?"
"Yeah. Go back to sleep, Peter."
Peter's bed had been across from Remus' and he was the first one to notice—and the only one to care at first—that Remus had frequent nightmares. He was the first one to offer clumsy comfort by following Remus to the bathroom and leaning against the doorframe while Remus splashed cold water on his face to bring himself to full, peaceful wakefulness. Peter was the first one to suggest to the house-elves that Remus would benefit from a cup of chamomile tea before bed. After that, there was always a cup of hot, perfectly steeped tea on the table beside his bed each night for the first year or two until he was comfortable enough to forgo the crutch.
Remus reached into the medicine cabinet behind the mirror and pulled out a green bottle.
"Remus, I think I know what's causing your headaches."
"Oh, gods, Peter, can't it wait until my head stops feeling like it's going to explode?"
"I think it's the valerian you've been taking to help you sleep. I think you've been taking too much of it..."
"So, I'll get addicted to sleeping potions instead, Peter," Remus mumbled, measuring out a careful dosage of the liquid from the green bottle.
Remus briefly pressed the heels of his hands against his bleary eyes and the headache that had formed behind them and then knocked again at the large teak door.
"Yes? How is I helping you?"
He froze, wondering where the voice was coming from since there was no one there.
A slight clearing of the throat brought his gaze downward and he blinked at the house-elf that stood there. "Is there something you is wanting, sir?"
"Oh, yes. Sorry. I was looking for Mr Diggle."
"Master is at work." The house-elf's tone implied that Remus should be likewise occupied.
"He asked me to stop by and see if he had an Augurey nesting nearby." Remus tilted his head in the direction of the woods to the left, and instantly regretted it because the pain in his head shifted with the movement and seemed to pool in one violent red-hot lake.
The elf peered up at him, raising an eyebrow that seemed to question Remus' ability to handle an Augurey since he couldn't seem to handle the simple moving of his head.
"Master said you'd be by," he admitted in a sceptical tone.
"I'll just take a look, then?"
The house-elf nodded. "Master says to see him at the Leaky Cauldron at noon for lunch and payment."
Remus couldn't help but wince. Just what he wanted: to hear more gossip about himself today. He nodded, however, and stepped away from the door so the house-elf could dismiss him with a proper closing of the door.
As it was looking like cats and dogs were going to tumble from the sky at any minute, the Augurey was ridiculously easy to find. It was perched in a patch of thorny branches, letting everyone know that it could feel the impending precipitation.
"Gods, you're a big one, aren't you?" Remus muttered.
It stopped its cry and cocked its head so it could see him more clearly.
"Come on, Moony, just let me see what you wrote!"
"You're not copying my essay."
"I'm not going to copy it! I'm just going to... use it. To help me with mine."
"How about if I just tell you what I know about Augureys, and you can write it based on that."
"Oh, right. Like I'm going to let you do that. You'll deliberately give me the wrong information!"
"Now, why ever would I do that, Sirius?"
"Because you're a sneaky bastard."
The greenish-black bird watched as he enlarged a cage he'd bought that morning from a pawnshop. It had originally been meant for budgerigars and he hoped that enlarging it wouldn't stretch the metal bars so much that they would be brittle.
"Sorry, mate," he said quietly. "I'm going to have to Stun you."
The bird threw its head back and cried again.
"Look, I'll tell you what I wrote. 'An Augurey is a harbinger of doom. If you hear its cry, you're doomed to die within the next forty-eight hours'."
"Really? I thought..."
"Sirius, why don't you just do this yourself?"
"Alright, fine. Keep talking."
"It is blue in colour and is the size of a parrot..."
He snorted softly in amusement. That had been the only time Sirius had ever received a grade lower than an A on anything, and...
Damn it, Lupin. Stop thinking about him.
It didn't take long to get the Augurey Stunned and in the cage, during which time, it started to rain. He then spent more time looking for a nest and younglings. It wasn't the right season for matings, but it wasn't usual for an Augurey to be so near the city, either. Finally satisfied that the bird was alone, he Disapparated to a forest he knew outside York. A quick spell revived the bird and sent it on its way, squawking at its ill-treatment and relocation.
Once he was sure the bird was going to be alright, he Disapparated to an alley near his flat. He left the cage next to some other rubbish in the alley, pulled the collar of his brown leather jacket up to keep the rain off his neck, realising it was a bit late for such an action, and walked up onto the main street.
He hadn't gotten too far when a blonde, curly-haired woman came out from a shop nearby and tugged at his sleeve. "Remus Lupin?"
He felt like the Augurey, cocking his head to look at the woman with suspicion. "Yes?"
She smiled, but it was predatory and he felt a shudder go up his spine. "You're a difficult man to find."
"I'm right here," he said with a shrug.
"My name is Rita. Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Remus glanced at his watch. He had an hour until he was to meet Diggle—plenty of time to get home and change clothes... "What about?"
"You were good friends with James and Lily Potter?"
Shock and fear went straight through him, making him numb and oblivious to the cold and the rain and the few people who were walking around them. He straightened to his full height and looked down at her, demanding, "Who are you?"
"My name is Rita —"
"I got that. Who do you work for?"
"I'm not an Auror, if that's what you're afraid of, Mr Lupin. I suppose you've had enough of Aurors to last you for a while."
He turned neatly on his heel and started walking away from her, in the opposite direction to his flat. He could always double back. Right now, he had no other desire than to get away from this woman.
She trotted to keep up with his long strides. "I work for The Daily Prophet."
"Oh, gods, a newspaper," he muttered.
"There have been many stories about James and Lily after Sirius Black led He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to them. I thought you might appreciate the opportunity to tell your side of the story."
"You want to hear more about Sirius, is what you mean," Remus snarled.
"Well, of course, we all do. We all want to know why he would betray his best friends —"
"Why don't you go to Azkaban and fucking ask him, then?"
"I have my name on the visitor's list —"
Remus halted in his tracks and turned to face her, unable to believe what she was saying.
"—but I'm not a relative or close friend of Mr Black's. I don't think I'm going to be able to get the proper clearances —"
"Don't expect me to help you get them," he said, starting to turn away again.
"I wasn't asking for you to help me," she said fiercely, grabbing his sleeve again. "What I want is to hear your side of things: about your friendship with the Potters and Black and Pettigrew, about your arrest and your interrogation —"
Remus snatched his arm from her grip. "I have nothing to say to you."
"But, Mr Lupin, think of what this could do for you!"
He shook his head and started to walk again. What could exploiting his relationship with James and Lily and Peter do for him? How could it possibly explain the evil that was Sirius Black?
"It might gain you some sympathy. It might get the Aurors off your back—"
He couldn't help it. He swung back around. "I'm not looking for any bloody damned sympathy! And the Aurors are getting their bloody rocks off following me and waiting for me to slip and make some kind of mistake! You want a story? There isn't one here!"
He turned quickly, not watching what he was doing and ran into a man and woman right behind him.
"Hey!" The big man shoved Remus in the shoulder, pushing him back a step or two.
"Sorry—" Remus began, holding his hands up in front of himself to fend off the other man.
Rita pressed up against him. "This won't go away, Mr Lupin. People want to know what happened, and you're the only one who knows—"
Remus didn't wait to hear any more. While the other man's attention was centred on Rita and what she was saying, Remus ducked around him and took off at a run.
He went straight to the Leaky Cauldron and drank a glass of Firewhiskey to calm his shaking hands. By the time Diggle arrived, Remus had convinced himself that there had been no harm done. After all, he hadn't said anything—well, he hadn't said much—and he highly doubted anyone could make an entire newspaper article out of the bit that he had said.
He was wrong. Very, very wrong. The next morning had shown him exactly how wrong he was.
He sat at the table in his kitchen, head in his hands, a Firewhiskey next to his right elbow.
After Voldemort's demise, the papers were full of stories about Sirius and his capture and nearly everything he'd done since he was born. People who had never met Sirius were consulted about how his family and upbringing had affected his mental state.
And then, the Aurors started arresting and bringing in those who were believed to be Death Eaters. The newspapers discussed each person, what they were accused of doing, and then decided their guilt or innocence before the Wizengamot had the chance.
The trials were still going on, but there were fewer of them each day than there had been in mid-November.
Now, with things slowing down, the papers needed to find something else to dwell upon, some new angle to Voldemort's defeat and the Potters' deaths and Sirius' betrayal.
And Remus was the new angle, according to one Rita Skeeter.
"Remus Lupin finds it difficult to speak about James and Lily Potter. His expressive blue eyes fill with tears as he cries, 'No! I have nothing to say!' Obviously distressed, he turns away from this reporter. But is his protestation because of grief? Or is it guilt?
"There are very few people who don't wonder what went wrong in the strong friendship between one James Potter and one Sirius Black. Their friendship seemed to transcend explanation. Black was Potter's best man and the godfather of his child. But that nearly fraternal relationship was shattered, sacrificed on the altar of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Was it Black's family legacy and his upbringing that brought Potter and his bride to their deaths?
"And what about the brave Peter Pettigrew? He chose to stand defiantly against a man who was already known to have betrayed one friend—and lost his life. How could he hope to stand against such evil as Sirius Black?
"Remus Lupin was a close friend of Potter's and Black's and Pettigrew's. He was there as their friendship grew at Hogwarts. He remained close to them after they left school. He was part of their circle, their little clique that they named 'The Marauders'. How much did he know about what Black planned?
"On the day of Black's capture, Lupin was also taken by the Aurors for questioning. What transpired during the next three days has been classified as 'Confidential', and no public record exists. One source did verify that Lupin was administered a large amount of Veritaserum and that other simple but effective interrogation techniques were applied. After those three days, Lupin was released. A copy of a pardon was procured from the Ministry (see photograph below) that states that Remus J. Lupin is not to be considered in any way an accessory or accomplice to Sirius Black in the crimes of murder or treason that Black committed.
"However, since then, by Lupin's own admittance, Aurors continue to follow him. "They get their rocks off following me," he says slyly. "They follow me around, hoping that I'll make a mistake." There is a challenging look in his eyes as he says this, as if he is daring them to catch him doing something wrong. Why do the Aurors still follow him, if he's received a pardon from the Wizengamot? What exactly do the Aurors think they can catch Lupin doing? If he was not an accomplice to Sirius Black, whose accomplice was he?
"His reply? 'Why don't you go to Azkaban and ask Sirius Black?'
"It seems as if Mr Lupin may hold the key to unlock the secrets of the Potter-Black friendship. We can only hope it's not because he was in league with the infamous, nefarious murderer who killed his best friend and his wife, leaving their son orphaned and alone."
"Fuck," he whispered.
How could he defend himself against allegations that really weren't allegations?
"Why in the hell did you talk to this Skeeter woman?" Moody demanded. He'd arrived an hour ago with The Daily Prophet in hand, banging and yelling almost incoherently at the door until Remus had let him in.
"I didn't!" Remus protested, briefly lowering a hand so he could glare at the Auror properly. "She grabbed my arm and told me she wanted to talk about Sirius and James and Lily. I told her to fuck off—nicely—and she kept going on about how people wanted to know what had happened... So I ran."
"Did you say the things in this article?"
Remus squirmed a little. "I think I did. It happened all so fast, though. I certainly didn't say or use those comments in the context that she presents them."
"Well, I'm going to get back to the Ministry and start threatening everybody not to tell this woman anything about you. You'll be lucky if she doesn't find out you're a werewolf..."
Remus groaned.
"So, for Merlin's sake, Lupin, lay low. Don't even poke your head out the door."
"How in the hell did she figure out where I lived, though?"
"Any information can be got for the right price. She could have even seen you and followed you. That's why you need to be very, very careful about where you go during the next couple of days."
Remus suddenly sucked in a sharp breath. "The moon—"
"What about it?"
"It's full tomorrow."
Moody swore, rather creatively, and then sat back. "Where were you going?"
"Back to the Ministry," Remus said quietly but firmly.
"You almost killed yourself there last month."
"It was going to happen no matter where I was," Remus pointed out. "At least they can heal me in the morning. If someone hadn't been there to stop the bleeding, I'd have died."
"Well, we'll have to sneak you into the Ministry somehow, then. I'll work something out and let you know. "
Remus nodded. "Okay."
Moody again shook his head as he got to his feet. "That damned Skeeter woman. Causes more trouble than she's worth." His sudden chuckle both startled and alarmed Remus. "Have to admit, though: she's good."
"Gods, Moody, don't —"
"If I hadn't been part of your interrogation, I'd sure as hell be wondering about you right now."
Remus didn't find that amusing. At all.
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