Laughing uncontrollably he let Sirius do the talking, although, it seemed the boy was just as overwhelmed as himself.
"What happened?" It seemed obvious what happened but they needed to hear it from James' mouth.
A scowl set firmly in place and a heated glare sent to his father James said, "My dad made this stuff... It's not that bad!" Bad didn't even cover it. So used to seeing James' unruly locks they were unprepared for the slick neatness that greeted them.
"Why?" Remus managed to choke out as a look from his father sobered him up.
"Dad wanted me to look presentable for the world cup. Apparently he's going to talk with your family," and didn't that just have Sirius on red alert. "But as soon as that's over this gunk is coming off. I hate it. It always makes me look half bald."
"That's because you're so used to seeing your hair anywhere but on your head," Remus quipped. He quieted as his dad came over.
"I'll pick you up when it's over. Be good for Mr Potter, and no causing mischief," his dad mumbled as he pulled Remus into a hug. "It was good having you Sirius," he even pulled Sirius into a small hug. After a whole week of getting to know Sirius Remus' father didn't see any need for an unbreakable vow. That wasn't to say threats hadn't been made if Sirius were to betray their trust.
James, noticing the show of affection, raised an eyebrow at Sirius to explain himself. When that didn't work he verbalised his request with a "Well?"
Sirius just shrugged and changed the subject to where Peter was. They found their other friend inside the Potter's tent, which was definitely magical, he was lounging on one of the many beds that had been set up for them. It turned out Peter was the first to arrive. James had thought Remus would be next and Sirius coming with his family. Revealing that they came together Peter was just as suspicious as James about how this happened.
No amount of prying got Sirius nor Remus to tell them and eventually they dropped the matter. Instead, Remus and Sirius started coming up with names to call James with his new look. Peter took up the game with vigour and by the time Mr Potter came into the tent they were all doubled over with laughter.
"Your parents are here Sirius," he said.
The grin slipped off Sirius' face as his skin turned even paler than usual. Remus watched as before his eyes Sirius' spine straightened. His whole demeanour changed until it seemed like a stranger was standing in front of him.
"Where?" Mr Potter led him out.
"You think he'll be alright?" Remus asked James.
"Sure," James said. Remus didn't believe him. "At least he's coming home with me. One week away from those snakes should be able to help him last the summer."
The air in the tent seemed deflated now Sirius was gone. Remus tried as much as he could to carry on like everything was alright. However, the bruise he remembered on Sirius' neck made it hard.
Mr Potter came back an hour later. Flustered and muttering under his breath he took one look at James and told him he could take the stuff out of his hair if he wanted.
"There's no use trying to be civil with people like that," Mr Potter commented.
"But you don't mean Sirius," James contradicted.
Mr Potter stopped and sighed. "Of course not. Somehow that boy's managed to escape those genes."
James had his hair back to normal as everyone started to gather in the stands. James went overboard with his souvenirs and was near vibrating with excitement as they waited for the opening ceremony.
The game lasted three days. Remus had never seen James this animated in his life, and he had spent the better year pulling pranks with the boy. James swore and shouted manoeuvres to the players. Truthfully, the only reason he wasn't on the pitch was because Mr Potter had a restraining arm around his middle ever since the first lunge.
England lost spectacularly.
True to his word Remus' father was waiting for him as they trudged back to the tent. He too wore a sombre expression as news of England's defeat had reached his ears through the radio. He soon perked up when Remus fell over his own feet.
"Come on you, time to go home," Remus let himself be picked up and went to collect his things from the Potter's tent.
It seemed he walked into some kind of stand off as he walked out. His father teamed with Mr Potter had taken a stance in front of James and Peter. On the opposite side Remus finally got his first look at Sirius' family. Mr Black looked a lot like Sirius, although Remus thought this was probably the other way around. His face was angular and stern where Sirius' was still losing puppy fat. Not to mention it looked like the man hadn't cracked a smile in his life. Mrs Black was worse. Beautiful but intimidating, she sneered down at Remus as he joined James. Sirius was cowering behind his mother with another boy. Younger, it seemed Mr Black had strong genes as he too looked like Sirius.
"Sirius will be fine with us for a few more days," Mr Potter. If Mr Black wasn't acting as a shield Remus had no doubt that Sirius would be back at the Potter's house by now. "James has been looking forward to it."
Being civil did nothing. These kinds of people would always look down their noses at others. Remus didn't k ow what to do as he stood there. His father seemed to have a pretty food idea as he hauled Remus from the stand off.
"But-"
"We'll do more harm than good," he snapped and took Remus' bag from him. "If you want him to come over again then the less they know about us the better."
Remus could understand that, and willingly let his dad apparate them out. He didn't know what happened to Sirius and only found out from James two weeks after that Sirius ended up going home instead of with him. It wasn't a nice thought what he was going through so Remus tried writing to him. He only problem with that is that he ran out of things to say when it was just a one sided conversation. Sirius never wrote back.
By the time the train whistled on September 1st Remus was one step away from climbing over people's trunks to get a glimpse of Sirius anywhere. He found him already on the train staring forlornly out the window.
Not caring about Sirius' mood he pounced on the boy. "It's good to see you."
The hesitance at which Sirius returned the hug had Remus subtly trying to see if Sirius was hurt. "You too."
Not wasting anymore time Remus told "Well the good news is that my dad liked you enough to invite you around again. If you want."
"I dunno..." something was different. It was almost like Sirius had drawn into himself.
Thankfully James had chose that time to burst into their carriage. "We're back!" he whooped and sat himself between them. "Isn't it wonderful, another glorious year at school."
"There's something not right with you," Remus joked. "No one gets excited about school."
James rethought his line "Alright. Another glorious year of pranks then. Happy now Mr Right. I swear Sirius we don't even need to be at school before we encounter a professor."
Remus shoved him for the name calling before sobering along with James as they realised Sirius was still not his usual self.
Deciding this was something better addressed together Remus went off to find Peter. He found him trying to haul his trunk on the train and gladly helped.
"Something's wrong with Sirius," Remus caught up. "I think his parents might have said something."
"We'd better hurry then. Merlin knows what James is saying to him." they managed to get Peter to their carriage safely and entered into a shouting match.
Even if he was screeching like a banshee it was nice to see Sirius acting like himself. James kept egging him on when it looked like he might calm down. As it was Sirius shouted for three hours straight about anything and everything before collapsing from exhaustion.
"Feel better?" James asked.
"Much," Sirius croaked.
"Good. Next time you feel like that you just have a nice little shout. It's bad enough they have you over the summer, don't let them take the rest of your year," James said.
They had missed the trolley and spent the rest of their time bemoaning their empty stomachs. As soon as the train stopped they were pestering a prefect about how they got to the great hall. Even when they got there they had to sit through the first year sorting.
"So this is why everyone glared at us," Peter observed.
"Is it just me or do those first years look tasty?" James growled.
"And I thought I was the animal here," Remus mumbled to Sirius. He heard a chuckle in his ear.
"Maybe you're not the only one with a moon problem at this table," Sirius shot back.
James was drooling by the time the last first year sat at their table. Remus watched as he perked for all of three seconds before Dumbledore took the podium.
"Do you think if we killed him the food would come faster?" Peter theorized. The others took the idea on board. By the end of his speech they had a fool proof plan of assassination that was only thwarted as the food came.
Stomachs full they toddled up to their dorm for their first night back. No energy was left to talk. They had the earliest night of their Hogwarts careers and were asleep by half seven.
The next night was a different story. Having no homework to speak of the talk of pranks were at the top of their list.
"I know there's something brewing in there," James said as he knocked on Remus' head.
"Nothing of interest," Remus brushed off and retreated to his side of the room as James tried to flatten him. "I got a warning off my parents because of you three. You're a bad influence. So this year I'm focusing on my school work."
"I smell lies," Sirius joined and hopped onto Remus' bed. "He's lying James. He has something juicy for us."
"Why don't you ask Peter. If you ask me he's been too quiet. Something's up," Remus said and sent a mouthed 'sorry' to Peter as the two boys rounded on him.
Weirdly enough Peter did have something to contribute to the conversation. "It's about the map," which piqued everyone's attention. "I had this idea over the summer. See, even if we do explore every crevice of Hogwarts we're bound to leave something out. We had rats over the summer and dad used this spell to find them. It looked into every corner of the house to find them and I thought if we could find a spell like that. One that looks in to every crevice and reports back to us, then we'll have even the hidden parts of Hogwarts we can't find on our map." For a while everyone sat in silence. "Or not, I mean-"
"Peter shush," James ordered and went over to inspect Peter's head. "Can you believe it Sirius?"
"I know. Who'd have thought our little Pete..." Sirius trailed.
Remus flashed a grin at Peter "Genius."
"So you think it's possible?" Peter asked eagerly.
James just shushed him again. "Even if it's not don't ruin it just yet with questions."
Remus sensed a hesitance within everyone with Peter's idea. It was too good. If it turned out such a thing wasn't possible he knew it would crush them. Which is why he did it alone. Together James and Sirius would have been jittery and inconsolable. Alone he could at least face the disappointment and try and find another solution to soften the blow to the others.
So, one night whilst the others were sleeping, Remus set off. He left James his cloak. Not having need of it after weeks spent breaking in last year without it. As he crept amongst the shelves he was more than surprised to find Peter cowering under one of the tables.
"What are you doing here?" Remus hissed and joined him in case there was someone else there with them.
"Same as you," Peter mumbled back. "I couldn't leave the idea alone so I thought I'd check it out."
Remus spied a book in Peter's hands and asked "Find anything then?"
Peter shook his head and crawled out from under the table. "I think I might be looking in the wrong places."
"Maybe," Remus agreed as he took the book from Peter's possession. "We'll start with charms and work our way to defence. That's where the locating spells usually are. We should find something at least."
Handing off books he grabbed he let Peter take them to one of the tables, listening with a small grin on his face at Peter's eagerness as he quickly glanced at the index before coming back.
"I hope I'm right," Peter confessed. Remus was looking through a defence book about locating dark creatures and happy for the distraction.
"I hope you are too. It'll save us years exploring this place." Not to mention help James and Sirius with their plans to take over the school by seventh year.
"That too," Peter said and this time Remus really looked up.
He had a feeling about what was eating at Peter. It happened to him too on days he couldn't believe his luck. "Just because you're not on their wavelength doesn't mean they don't like you."
"I know," Peter waved off quickly. Remus was just about to go back to his book when Peter said, "It's just that I don't really have that many good ideas. Even the ones I do have usually turn out... well you remember what I thought you were. I just want to prove that I'm as good as them."
"You are," Remus agreed. "It doesn't matter if you're the one with good ideas Peter you're our friend. Besides, I'm not exactly like them either. I think they're idiots most of the time. Especially when they're being handed out detentions."
"Yeah but you're smart," Peter pressed. "Even when you don't join in you complain about how they could have done something better. They spend most of their times after pranks thinking over what you tell them you know. I don't get that."
"You don't need it," Remus tried again. "And if you do then you can spend the rest of your life gloating over the fact that, without you, there would be no complete map."
He let that sink in. "You found something?"
Remus pointed out the paragraph and had Peter helping him steal the referenced books to take back to the dorm. Sirius poured over the information the next night. Remus remarked to himself that if school work was half as interesting to him as pranks Sirius would be top of his class. James was torn between checking the information Sirius gathered and grovelling at Peter's genius. The boy himself was eating the attention up and eagerly told James about some of the spells that could be their salvation.
"So how are we going to do this?" James asked one night. They were all huddled on Peter's bed looking over the stolen books. After extensive research and more than one calamity in the dorm they had perfected the spell they needed. It acted like a sonar that spread however long the caster wanted it and came back with a complete picture it showed once it had finished in a map like formation above the wand.
"I say like last year," Sirius said. "We all take a section of the castle and write it up. Bring it back here for our scribe," James bowed. "To perfect on the real thing."
"I want the dungeons," Remus called first.
"Damn, fine I want the lower levels," James chimed in.
"I call the classrooms," Peter butted in.
"What?" Sirius whined, "I don't want the towers."
"Should've called first then," James grinned and started making plans for their nightly excursions.
The next weekend they were all prepared. Their minds were set and wands bright as they set off from Gryffindor tower. Sirius didn't have to venture far since he argued if he was doing the towers he would start with their own. Remus was eager to hear of any hidden passageways Sirius found and almost wished he had asked for the towers.
But he had chosen the dungeons for a reason. Not only so he could sneak into the Slytherin common room one of these weekends but because he wanted to look in the real dungeons again. He remembered what James said about rat bones being found and after listening to Peter's stories about rats in his own house he thought the bones being there were a tad suspicious. Sure, it could have been cats but what were the rats doing down there in the first place?
Any creature looked for a safe place to nest. A rat liked places dark but it would need to be near somewhere that would give it food as well. As far as Remus could tell the only source of food they would have would be from the Slytherin common room which was too high up from the dungeons to be an easy source.
As Remus cast light on the bony tails and tiny skulls he noted the decomposition. He searched around to see if he could find fresh ones. Further and further he went. Down stairs and down some more and still the bones went on. Finally at the third floor the dungeons went down Remus cast the spell they had learnt. A spark of red shot off from his wand and echoed out into the dark cavern. When it came back the red gathered itself above his wand to form the floor of the dungeon. Three corridors that sectioned off into cells before leading to another set of stairs.
"How far does they go down?" He asked himself and set his wand to the floor as he sketched the schematics onto a sheet of parchment. Deciding to come back and test the depth of Hogwarts next week he trailed back up to the second and first floor to add them onto his shoddy map. Taking one last look to the bones under his feet he swore to himself he would find out what had killed these creature. And they had been. The layout they were set in and the dents in some of their skulls could only indicate to some kind of murder. One which had piqued his curiosity.
James was last to come back to the room. Having the kitchens on his levels the three remaining boys knew he would be spending most of his time there before coming back. They just thanked Merlin that he had the cloak with him. No doubt he would get caught otherwise.
Sirius was naturally waiting for them as they came in. Pouting on his bed he waited all of three minutes before showing them the passageways he had found in Gryffindor tower.
"That one leads to the girls dormitories," Peter mumbled in wonder. He then snatched the parchment for a thorough examination.
"Merlin help us when puberty strikes," Remus muttered and heard Sirius snort behind him.
James had the decency to enter the room laden with muffins. He spilled them into the centre of the room as he asked the others for their rough sketches.
A frown pulled over his face as he looked at the one they had previously drawn up. "We're going to have to scrap this one aren't we?"
"Suppose," Sirius agreed. After all they couldn't leave it lying around for anyone to find. They also couldn't keep it since Sirius' new sketch of the tower showed they had missed some things. "How about we burn it tomorrow. Give it a proper goodbye with cakes and music playing in the background."
"Whatever you want Sirius," Remus comforted. He handed over his own scrap to James and showed him how best to lay it out. The way Remus saw it their design last year was always doomed to fail. This time they should put the great hall in the middle. "It's the focal point of Hogwarts," He argued and explained how the great hall led to everywhere. There would be passages that would lead to his own work on the dungeons and another to James' floors and the kitchens. "Then we can put the towers here."
"It's going to massive," James noted.
"It needs to be," Remus said. James got to work.
Unfortunately Remus couldn't go back to the dungeons the next week. The reason why hit him suddenly on Wednesday. He was in the middle of History of Magic when he noticed his hands tapping loudly on the desk. His legs were starting to cramp from being seated so long and, as much as he tried, he couldn't pay attention to what was being said. He put it down to Professor Binn's teaching methods but the same happened in potions. It was as his sleeping concoction that was putting everyone else to sleep around him blew up that Remus finally asked what the date was.
For the first time since being bitten he had forgotten about the moon. The day dulled around him as his plans vanished with the upcoming night of horror. Sirius caught his eye and after class told Peter and James that he was taking Remus to the dorm for a lie down. He must have looked sick since they wished him a speedy recovery.
"I just forgot," Remus mumbled.
"I know," Sirius said. He locked their dorm door. "Do you think you'll be alright tonight?"
"Doubtful," Remus shuddered at the thought. "With going home for two months and then being back here it's bound to be confused."
"What happens?" Sirius asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, where do you... change?" he amended.
"Ah," Remus nodded. "The Shack in Hogsmeade. Dumbledore had it all planned out when he came to see us. Madame Pomphrey comes to collect me on a morning."
"Wait, she doesn't walk you in?" Remus shook his head. "Why not?"
He shrugged. "It's horrible Sirius. Even before hand. I mean, what if I was late getting to the shack and she walked me in. I'd be a murderer come morning."
"Still," Sirius argued. "She could at least, I dunno... can't she slip you something. Just so you won't gnaw on yourself?"
Remus, again, shook his head. "It doesn't work like that. The amount of potion it would take to knock my other self out would kill me before it got the chance to work. It's better I just suffer through it and have her patch me up."
Sirius had started pacing restlessly in the dorm. It wasn't unlike the times he was pranking with James and they had encountered a problem. His face drawn he would usually continue these motions until whatever was bothering him sorted itself out in his head. This time Remus knew he would be pacing until he died. He couldn't be solved.
"Sirius it's fine."
"It's not," He snapped. "I can't believe this happened to you."
"It happens to others, why should I be the special one," Remus shrugged back. "Sirius, there's nothing you can do. I've had this since I was six. We spent years looking for a cure or a way to make it better. There is none. The sooner you accept that the sooner you can take me out for a run." He was starting to get restless again.
"Fine," He pouted and grabbed his cloak. "We'll go for a run but I'm promising you now. On my oath as a prankster and your friend, I'm going to find a way to help you." Remus couldn't help smiling at the sincerity in Sirius' voice.
They skipped the rest of their lessons to spend it outside in the September sun. The lake was fun and secluded with most other students being back at the castle. Sirius told all sorts of stories about the merpeople that lived in the black lake. Remus didn't believe half of them but Sirius swore that at least one of them were true since it happened to a cousin of his.
Finally, just as the first students started trickling out, they seated themselves under a tree near Hagrid's hut.
Remus didn't want to dwell on the minutes that were passing him by. His need to run had been sated for the time being so he turned his mind to other matters.
"James told me you didn't go to his."
"My parents didn't think him a suitable friend," Remus could practically taste the sarcasm.
"But they let you come to mine. Surely a half blood is worse than a blood traitor," He had heard James call himself one proudly many a times.
"Yeah," Sirius agreed. "Which is why they didn't know I was with you," he confessed. "My uncle was around for a few dinners as I came back. He's nice and I told him about you and James and Peter. Truthfully I thought I wouldn't get to yours either and was waiting until the last minute to send a letter off but my uncle caught me. He took me down and said to my mum that he was having me for the week. He said he would drop me off with Potter for the World Cup and it was only when he asked for your address that I realised he'd lied for me."
"So your parents didn't know you were at mine," Sirius shook his head even though it wasn't a question. "Sneaky. You'll have to do the same next time."
"Did your dad really like me?" Sirius asked. "Or was he just being polite because you do?"
"I think he liked you," Remus remembered his dad asking if he had heard from Sirius recently. It seemed his parents knew something funny was going on in Sirius' house. "If nothing else at least James' parents like you. From the letter I got they were almost going for custody by the end of the summer."
"Ha ha," Sirius mocked.
"It's true," Remus remembered the letter well. "They probably think your James' twin they lost at birth." Speaking of whom the boy had found them after looking sitting on Peter's shoulders.
Running over Remus didn't give them a chance to sit down as his energy had came back. Instead he led James on a merry game of tag that ended when Hagrid called out it was getting dark.
True to what he said the wolf didn't like the change of scenery. Remus woke up on Friday morning with a headache and a freshly chewed leg.
"I don't know what it is about that specific leg," Madame Pomphrey fussed.
"Me either," Remus told her. He had taken one look when he woke and found it still bloody. The skin hadn't grown back in some places and the matron told him it would take another two days before it would.
"Then there's your head," She tutted and inspected it. "It seems you banged it last night. Although you would have had to do it a lot. It's pretty deep. I was surprised you were even alive." So, chewed up leg and the wolf had repeatedly banged its head. Remus knew there was no way he was keeping this from James and Peter. "Your hair will be back by tomorrow as well," She concluded with and gave him a concoction to drink.
He tried to have another nap. Convincing himself that if he did he might sleep through the whole recovery process. It seemed to be working too, until something nudged him awake.
It was dark with only a few scant lamps lit. Remus couldn't see anything and thought about screaming when a familiar smell drifted to his nose. He let Sirius nudge him and climb in. Careful to keep his leg as far away from the wriggling boy as he could he pulled the stolen invisibility cloak from his head and frowned at Sirius' sheepish grin.
"Thought you might like company," Sirius explained.
"If James finds out you took this without his permission..." Remus trailed. Both of them knew how precious the cloak was to James.
"He won't. I'm going back soon. I just wanted to see you. You're sometimes out by now," Something was shoved into his hands. "Also brought you this." It was a cupcake.
"Thanks but I'm not allowed anything solid until morning," He put it to the side for later nevertheless.
"How come?"
"My leg, the pain makes it hard to keep anything down. Then there's my head. Pomphrey thinks I might be concussed. So, no solids until she says so," Sirius grinned at the Pomphrey voice he adopted at the end of his speech. "You didn't have to come."
Sirius scoffed, "'Course I did. Besides, I couldn't sleep. My bed buddy's taken ill you see."
"Ah, so that's the reason you're here. Not to see if I'm alright but to get a good night's sleep. Merlin Black you are selfish," They giggled quietly into the night.
"Oh, speaking of bedmates I thought you might like to see him too," Something fluffy was placed on his chest. Looking up Remus met the dull eyes of Romulus who had mysteriously disappeared after Sirius left his house over the summer.
"Knew you'd nicked it," He accused.
"I didn't nick it," Sirius defended aghast. "I found him in my bag. Face it Rem, he likes me more."
"I'm surprised he's still alive. Would have thought strict parents like yours might have set it on fire," He felt Sirius shrugging against him. Being careful of his scratches Remus picked the wolf up and set it next to Sirius. "I think he does like you more. So long as you keep him safe I don't have a problem with you keeping him."
"Really? I mean, sure, if you want," Remus grinned at Sirius' attempt at nonchalance and.
"So what do the others think I'm doing? Just so I know in case I slip up," Like he did with Lily and the polyjuice potion.
"You ran off quickly so I told the other two I found you climbing one of the chandeliers and had to bring you to Pomphrey when you fell," A hand tapped his head. "Looks like I got it spot on. These injuries can easily back up that story."
"You're a lifesaver," Remus complimented.
Sirius was right when he said the injuries could be explained by that story. When he got back to the dorm it was to applause and James congratulating him on a whole new level of idiocy being achieved. He even took his camera out for a picture of Remus' fading injuries for later recollection.
"Loony," James called him on their way to Charms.
"Loopy more like it," Peter grinned on his left.
"Loony loopy Lupin, trying to climb one of Hogwarts chandeliers," Sirius snickered. Remus just bore it in good spirits.
That was until he heard "Loony loopy Lupin," Repeated and then sand continuously behind him. Turning they all groaned as they spotted Peeves watching them from a beam. Taking the new song for a test drive he followed them all day singing. Then the next and the next until they always knew Peeves was coming when they heard that tune.
"I swear I'm going to hex him," Remus growled.
"When you figure out how I'm sure McGonagall will want to know," Peter told him.
Thankfully the next weekend they were on track. The others had put on hold their exploring when they heard Remus was in the hospital wing for which he felt slightly guilty for. If he was going to be disappearing every month he didn't want them to start putting things off until he came back. It was stupid and it's going to end up delaying them even further on their quest to complete the map. Even so he didn't dare voice his concerns. If he did then they would know he would be leaving every month and start noticing a pattern. Sirius had already told him they had seen through his sick mother lie. He supposed with Sirius' help he could try and convince them she was actually sick but something told him that wouldn't work for a second time. So he kept quiet and let everyone go to their respecting places in the castle to sketch out their map.
Returning to the dungeons this time Remus pointed his wand down and said the spell. It came back with six floors worth of dungeons running beneath the castle. Eager to see if the rat corpses stretched that far down Remus started in.
"That's not right," he growled. Reaching the fifth floor he had encountered a problem. That problem being there was no sixth. He looked everywhere for a stairwell or a secret passage but found nothing.
Trying his locating spell again it came back with the schematics for a floor beneath the one he was standing on. Narrowing his eyes he also noticed that this one was different to the others. It was open spaced for one and didn't seem to have the same perimeters as the others.
He searched again. And again until he was so tired he wanted nothing more than to curl up with Sirius in his bed. But he knew if he left now he would be kept up all night wondering where the entrance to the sixth floor was.
In the end he just cast a muffling charm around him and pointed his wand to the floor. One quick blast from his wand and he was falling feet first into a sewer pipe. His newly healed leg protested getting up. Parts of the caved in floor had landed heavily on top of him and the other that had fell before him wasn't exactly comfy to land on. Groaning at his stupidity Remus pulled himself to the side of the sewer pipe and helped himself stand.
Why would he have thought there was another room? It was only logical that the castle had some kind of waste disposal and it looked like Remus had found it. Not only found it but broken it. The hole he had came through was quite big and Remus feared it would get bigger.
Ignoring the smell he started forwards. Strangely there were rat corpses in here as well. He supposed the sewer was more understandable to a dungeon. But that didn't explain how a cat got in the sewers, and one must have sine most of them showed the same impact and dents as the others.
There was no way he could tell a teacher what he had done. They would ask why he was down here in the first place then tell him off for being out after hours. Not to mention damage to school property. There would be major repercussions if someone found out about this. He would have to tell James. Or Sirius. Growing up in a wizarding household they probably knew tonnes of spells to repair holes. If not then the library was the place to go. In either case Remus needed to find a way out of this sewer.
A map right now would be ideal Remus mused and scoffed at the irony. Giving one last glance up he knew he couldn't get out the way he came. Not with his leg in such a bad shape. So he went further along the pipe line.
It twisted and turned. Dipped and rose and for hours he walked through miles and miles of Hogwarts waste. There were few pipes he could climb up and he was starting to think he would never be level with the first floor of Hogwarts. Again and again he used his locator spell to see where in the castle he was.
He was near the third floor of the lower dungeons when he tripped and fell down a pipe. Instead of stopping at the next level he slid into another, and another until it was one smooth ride into a bone filled landing. Checking his leg he made sure he could walk on it before trying to figure out where he was. The locator spell did nothing. Apparently he was in a pipe line that expanded for a while then filled into a chamber. Useless since he was trying to get to the upper levels. Groaning at his luck Remus tried to think of a way out. The pipe he slid down seemed to have extended far above where Remus dropped in. If he could somehow climb up he was sure he could get to a place he could blast out of.
Plan in mind Remus looked for something to make his hands stick. There was nothing. No blood or waste which was odd since there were so many bones present. Steeling himself Remus walked further into the pipes looking for something sticky to use.
When he got back he vowed to look up sticking spells. Sticking and repair spells. Maybe invest in a broom as well. Or just stop getting into trouble altogether.
He eventually found something he didn't look too close at and coated his hands and feet in it. Sprinting as best he could back to the pipe he climbed up. It was hard and more than once he fell and had to start again but somehow he made it up. He made it as high up as he could before crawling into a smaller pipe and walking off.
He was so tired he didn't care where in the castle he was and set his wand against the wall. Coming out into daylight stunned him. He'd been away all night and not because of his monthly problem. Taking a look to where he came out he was surprised to find he was in a classroom. One he remembered to be below the girls bathroom housing Moaning Myrtle. He spared a thought to cover the hole as best he could with blackboards and other clutter in the room before trudging back to Gryffindor tower.
"Where the hell have you been?" Sirius greeted him. Eyes blazing and nostril flaring he glared Remus down before having to take a step back because of the smell.
"I fell in a sewer pipe. I couldn't get back up. It took all night to climb but I'm here now," He said and left to shower. He didn't care that he had homework due the next day. Or that his small explanation wasn't helping alleviate the other boy's curiosity. All he wanted was his bed and to sleep for the next week.