Carried on from the last chapter.
James and I met every hour, though both our searches proved fruitless every time. As the first few rays of weak, pale yellow sun fanned over the field, what little hope we both had left in us died with the fading moon. Grudgingly we accepted that we would simply have to wait for Remus to make his way back to us, and since the moon had gone in he was at least a little bit safer. We located our clothes and began to pull them on. A thought dawned on me.
"He'll be running around naked," I said.
It would have been comical if the situation hadn't have been so terrible.
"We'll leave his clothes here, just in case he comes looking for them," James suggested.
"But that's his favourite jumper," I said, picking up the maroon wool, "If it goes missing, he'll be devastated."
I shrugged off my T-shirt again and put it down beside Remus's jeans, winding his jumper around my waist. Bare chested, I followed James back to the manor. We walked in quietly, thinking everybody would be asleep, but found Lily, Andromeda, and Peter sat around the kitchen table clutching mugs of tea. Their eyes searched eagerly behind us.
"Where is he?" Lily asked.
"We can't find him," I admitted.
"So you just gave up?" Peter accused.
"I didn't see you coming back to help us," I snapped. Peter looked sheepishly in to his mug.
"Where's Ava? What did you tell her?" James said.
"She went to bed early yesterday, said she felt sick. She hasn't got a clue what's going on," Lily explained.
"Which is good, I suppose," Andromeda added.
Lily made us all fresh tea and we sat silently around the table, our eyes either glued to the clock or the door. And then we heard the front door click open. The five of us made a dive to get up, tripping over each other in the doorway. Somebody was coughing hoarsely in the hall. I'd know that cough anywhere.
"Moony!" I cried.
Remus was stumbling in through the door, smeared in mud and fresh cuts and bruises. He had gone back for his clothes. His jeans were ripped at the knees, as if he had fallen a few times on the way home, and my T-shirt was drenched in sweat. He was pale and shaking, his forehead clammy. He was always queasy looking after a full moon, but I had never seen him look so desperate and ill. Lily rushed over to put an arm around his waist, helping him to walk.
"We're sorry mate. We should have been faster," James said, running over to Remus's other side.
Remus shook his head. "Never mind. Not your fault," He mumbled.
Lily guided him in to the living room. Remus flopped down on to the sofa and closed his eyes. We all stood around him, unsure of what to do. Lily was crying.
"What's wrong with him?" She sobbed, "Why is he like this?"
"He just needs some rest," James said quietly.
"And food," Andromeda added, "I'll make him some food."
They all left, but I slumped down on to the floor, resting my head against the sofa. I wanted to be there when Remus woke up. When he finally did his cheeks appeared a little rosier, but he still looked dreadful, all frail and fragile like a broken doll. I clutched his limp hand.
"Moony mate I promise I'll never fucking loose you like that again," I said in a hard voice.
"It wasn't your fault," Remus insisted.
"We looked for you. Me and James, we searched all night," I went on.
"I woke up in a barn somewhere," Remus explained, "I must have fallen asleep as a wolf. I'm bloody lucky nobody found me. What exactly happened?"
"There was a gun shot and you went running off after it. We tried to catch up with you but you just disappeared," I explained, "You're all right now though, aren't you? I mean, obviously you aren't, but..."
"I don't think anyone got hurt," Remus said.
"Good," I said, "Fuck. If anything had happened..."
"We'll have to go in to the village," Remus said seriously, "Keep our ears out for anybody saying something suspicious."
"We'll do that, mate. You stay here," I ordered.
Remus yawned. "All right. I could do with some more sleep, I suppose," He said.
"I got your jumper, by the way. Just in case," I said, unwinding his jumper from around my waist and draping it over him.
"Thanks Pads," Remus said with another yawn.
I got up and left, the guilt weighing down my shoulders. Andromeda had managed to persuade Lily to pass over her wand, and she was calmly making some sort of stew on the stove. James was sat at the table with Lily perched on his knee. She was curled up against him, her eyes closed, her breathing even. Peter was washing the pots.
"Moony suggested going down to the village to check if anybody saw something. I told him we'd go," I announced to James.
Peter looked over. "I'll turn in to Wormtail so I can sneak around without anybody noticing me. I can get in to all the little nooks and crannies that way," He suggested. I think he wanted a chance to redeem himself.
James gently woke up Lily so that he could get up. He explained where we were going. "Fine. Be careful. I think I'll go to bed," Lily yawned.
I thought of my own bed upstairs, warm and assuring. I was tempted to slope off to my room but knew that the task at hand was far more important. I trooped on beside James and Peter, trying to remain upbeat, hoping against hope that we weren't about to stumble upon bad news.
The village was surprisingly busy despite the time of morning. Peter became Wormtail, scurrying off to hide in the rafters of cafes and in to the houses of waking families. James and I split up. My first stop was the green grocers, which, like most of the shops in the village, was tiny and crammed. I sauntered down the aisles, picking up random potatoes and apples as I went. The old man at the till was watching me.
"Can I help you son?" He asked, obviously convinced I was about to loot his pears.
"Just browsing," I said, then allowed a pause before adding, "You haven't heard any strange stories, have you?"
"Strange stories? About what?" The old man questioned, growing more suspicious of me by the second.
"I'm not sure. I've heard rumours about something running in the fields last night," I shrugged, "Probably nothing."
"Mr Gregor - that's the farmer who delivers for me - he's already been by this morning. If anything had happened I would have heard it from him, I'm sure," The man replied.
"Ah. All right. Good," I said, "Bye now."
I turned around and walked out of the shop, feeling a little more optimistic than I had before. I tried the post office next, nothing. The tea shop, nothing. The library, nothing. I met up with James and Peter at the war memorial in the middle of the village. They were both smiling too.
"Not a dicky bird," I announced happily.
"Me neither," James agreed.
"One woman said she saw an animal running through the field behind her house last night," Peter said, and my heart sank, "But it was just a dog. Most likely you, Padfoot."
My heart resumed its beating. "Let's go back and tell Moony, he can stop torturing himself then," I said.
James sandwiched himself between Peter and I on the walk home, draping his arms around our shoulders. "We're not a bad little team, are we fellas," He said cheerfully.
As soon as we got back to Alfred's I got straight in to bed. I haven't been to sleep yet though, I'm still busy writing away in this thing. My eyes are drooping now though and my head feels fuzzy. I think it's time for some sleep.