Disclaimer: Harry Potter is life, but it isn't mine.
The work was hard, but Remus knew that it would be worth it if it made Sirius a free man again.
The Death Eaters' had not been easy to track as they moved around a lot. It had taken Remus over two months to finally find them. When he did find them though, he made sure not to let them out of his sight. The lycanthrope followed the Dark wizards, watching and observing them. There were three of them in total; Remus recognized two of them as Walden Macnair and Thorfinn Rowle from his friends' tales of them during the war. The third though, he could not fathom.
Rowle was almost as tall as Remus, Macnair being slightly shorter. Through the werewolf's observations, he had deduced that they acted as the brawn of the group. The third member, naturally, was indeed much shorter than the first two. He was sharp and fast. He had a pointed nose and piercing, hawk-like brown eyes. He had auburn hair that was gelled back smoothly. He clearly dominated the trio.
Remus watched them now from where he was hiding behind some brushes. His fingers dug into the ground in anticipation and general feral instinct. The feel of dirt beneath his fingertips was refreshing for the lycanthrope as it allowed him to embrace the wolf inside of him; temporarily unlocking the cage Moony was trapped in prior the full moon and allowing his senses to run wild.
The Death Eaters' journey brought them to a small village, where they entered a local Tavern. Noting that the village was muggle populated, Remus followed suit with caution. The group were at the bar, ordering drinks. The third member of the party seemed to have some basic knowledge of the muggle world, as they ordered their Brandy without any inconvenience and made their way to an empty table, free of eavesdroppers.
Remus continued to watch them for a few minutes after making his own way to the bar. To make himself appear inconspicuous, he ordered a glass of water at the bar as began to lightly sip at it. In his head, he was carefully planning his next move. Even in school, Remus had always been the strategic one and knew that without decent planning, he would never hope to accomplish his task.
Remus knew how to play the game. He had played it many times before during his Werewolf missions.
The time was now.
Making his move, he stood from the bar and strolled over to the table -he posture was relaxed albeit threatening at the same time. His left hand was placed inside his pocket, grasping at his wand. Remus made himself known to the Death Eaters', who were immersed in a light conversation, by coughing ruggedly. The three wizards immediately ceased their conversing and turned to face him. Macnair lit a cigarette to make his appearance appear bolder, although he did not pull it off well as he was staring at Remus apprehensively.
'What do you want?' He snapped aggressively, appearing very blasé towards the supposed intruder.
Remus was unconvinced.
The werewolf tapped his wand gesturing the Death Eaters towards it. It was not a threatening move, he was just informing them of his status and warning them not to try anything on him. When spoke, his voice was confident and practised well.
'I am one of you, but you have no reason to fear me' He stood at his fullest height, towering over them. Rowle began to rise from his chair to challenge the werewolf, but the third Death Eater placed a firm hand and Rowle's chest and pushed him back down in his seat again. Then, he turned to observe Remus questioningly.
'Who are you?' He asked, bemused.
'John Moony.' Remus replied easily, not offering a handshake. 'Why? Who did you expect me to be?' He asked out of genuine interest.
'None of your damn business.' a very surly Rowle replied, mopily.
'No one.' The third interrupted, eyes never leaving Remus's. 'Forgive me for my friends' behaviour. We did not expect to happen upon a wizard in an area like this.'
Remus nodded in acknowledgement to the Death Eater's words, as he studied him intently. The man was cunning; a snake in the grass. He was a true Slytherin. Remus would have to be careful with him.
'Why did you come?' Macnair questioned, cigarette hanging from his chapped lips. Remus broke from his thoughts and turned towards him.
'The same reason as you.' He replied. Then, he lowered his voice and mumbled. 'Supporters of what is right for wizarding kind are more excluded from society than Mudbloods.' He spat the word. 'Supporters of the Dark Lord are hard to find now a days, especially those who wish to resurrect their mater.'
Rowle and Macnair still appeared weary of the lycanthrope and looked towards the third member of the group, whose face remained impassive as he nodded for Remus to continue.
'Why did I come, you ask? Well, it's simple: I am more rejected from society than you three put together. I am labelled the lowest of low. I came here today to join you once I heard that you were in search of our Dark Lord. It is my wish to join you and bring him back to his former glory.' He paused as his mouth curled into a sneer. 'I must inform you, I will be an easy man to work with 28 days out of 29.'
Remus traced long scar crossing his eye. 'Fenir Greyback may be the most well known of my kind to be in league with the Dark Lord, but I am the one he trusts the most. Greyback lacked understanding, charisma and knowledge. I was brought up in the Wizarding World, where he was not. I had, and still have, all the skills he did not.
'It is my mission to find my Master and bring him back, as is yours.' He finished smoothly, looking at the trio challengingly. The third Death Eater spoke up first.
'You have a wand. Can your kind perform magic?' He asked in interest, nodding towards Remus's left pocket.
Remus nodded in response.
'Show me.' He commanded.
Remus raised a sardonic eyebrow, but released his wand, twirling it around his fingers absent-mindedly.
'Wandless or not?' He asked without looking at the Death Eater, who in turn raised his own eyebrow at the question.
'Any you choose.' He replied, curiously.
Remus nodded once and returned his wand to his pocket. He stood firmly in front of the Death Eaters and gazed at them all in turn with his piercing emerald eyes without moving his head once. The three all waited anxiously for Remus to make his move, but he did not. The only movement he made was that of his long hair which blew with the breeze that entered in through the window. After a while, Macnair broke the silence with a mocking laugh,
'Ha! I knew it! He's nothing but a half breed-'
But he never got the chance to finish his statement as Remus turned his head towards him and winked. The cigarette between Macnair's lips roared as the stick ignited fiercely. The Death Eater had just enough time to spit the fag from his mouth, panting as he stared up at the werewolf in shock, eyes wide. Remus flashed him a cocky smile and took out his wand to extinguish the flames before curious Muggles could cast their prying eyes over.
The third Death Eater let out a bark of laughter, apparently satisfied with Remus's magical ability. He motioned the seat next to him, which the lycanthrope took, being cautious not to touch the evil man. He drank from his glass of water, feigning a relaxed countenance as the Death Eater calmed and spoke,
'Oh, my friend you are in. We could do with a man like you.' He cried ignoring the hisses the other two made from the side of him. He sobered up quickly and began in a more serious tone, 'So tell me, John: how did you find us? I was under the impression that we were untraceable.'
Remus chuckled, and replied before taking another sip,
'Never underestimate a man set on his mission.'
'Indeed.' Rowle added, apprehensively. 'But that does not answer my friend's question.' He pointed out. Remus turned towards him and addressed him defensively,
'I admit that I knew I could not undergo my mission alone, so I have searched many a month for people like you for me to join. When I saw you three enter this village today, I sensed that you were magical, and I detected that you had the same interests as me. Now, one does not pass such a brilliant opportunity easily, so I simply had to interact with you, and make you accept me as the servant just as dedicated to their Lord as you are.' He finished.
Remus had been trained in this area very well for many years. He knew how to play his cards right. He looked towards the Death Eaters in acknowledgement, which they gave with a nod of understanding. Remus knew then that he had won them over. 'Now I'm afraid, however...' He continued, they looked at him, almost frightened, '...that I still do not know the names of my new companions.' He finished, wallowing in the amusement of seeing the trio relax.
'Forgive me.' The third replied, 'Allow me to introduce ourselves. Firstly, this is the man of whom you almost burned his face off: Walden Macnair.' He gestured to the said Death Eater, who lifted his head, glaring at Remus.
'Apologies, Macnair, for my earlier intentions. I had not intended to put you in any danger.' Macnair accepted the apology swiftly; the grudge dissipated. The third continued.
'This is Thorfinn Rowle.' Moving his hand, he was now pointing towards the large man next to Macnair, who was pouting petulantly. Remus acknowledged him with a short smile. He had to get these people to like him if he had any chance of gathering information.
'Moony.' He man replied moodily.
'The pleasure's all mine, Rowle.' He joked, subtly. Rowle did not catch on so the third Death Eater continued their introduction,
'And finally, I am Viktor Sharp. Glad to make your acquaintance.' He held out his hand for Remus to shake. Remus contemplated the said hand before gripping it back forcefully, inwardly squirming.
Keep it together, Lupin. Think of Sirius.
The Death Eater released his hand smiled at Remus in acceptance, persuading the other two to follow with a look. 'Well, now that we know one another, I say another round of Brandy is in order!' Sharp declared, standing and making his way over to the bar, while Macnair and Rowle nodded enthusiastically.
Merlin, this is going to be a long night...Remus thought exasperatedly. He could not deny however, that he was internally jumping for joy at the thought that he was now even closer to saving Sirius.
Remus had always believed that first impressions were often the most important.
Luckily for him, with this group of Death Eaters, his belief was proven to be right. Macnair and Rowle were no longer vexed by him, only a little intimidated -which in all honestly, was understandable considering Remus nearly set one of them alight only several minutes after interrupting the man's conversation to introduce himself.
Sharp, however was warming up to Remus in a more worrying sense. Despite the fact he was basically an outsider, the Death Eater appeared unperturbed by this and would regularly inform Remus of their plans (albeit only the basics). Sharp had told Remus that they were planning on travelling to Albania, as it is rumoured that Voldemort had been spotted there, or some sort of spirit linked to their old master anyway.
It was really quite confusing for the lycanthrope, especially when Sharp idly remarked something about a 'Horcrux', whatever that was... Dumbledore might know, but Remus could've sworn that he had heard the word before. Macnair and Rowle, bless their evil, dense souls, did not seem to have a clue as to what one was either, making Remus feel slightly more intelligent, as he at least recognised the word. Remus guessed that Sharp must have been in the high ranks during the war to know as much as he did about the mysterious Lord Voldemort.
Not long after that conversation, Remus found out that Sharp had only escaped Azkaban after Voldemort's downfall because he was on a mission aboard during the time.
Lucky bugger, Remus thought.
As for the information Remus was gradually finding more and more about, it would be an understatement to say that the lycanthrope was becoming only slightly concerned that the evidence supporting Voldemort's whereabouts was valid and entirely possible. He was also concerned that he had no choice but to aid these Dark wizards in their little quest. The werewolf knew that he had to stop them before any serious damage could be made, but not before he had squeezed every last bit of information out of them concerning Sirius and Wormtail.
It was only when Remus could tell that he had gained their full trust and dissipated all their wariness about him that he began to ask questions (a full three months after introducing himself might he add), although he would not do it directly to Sharp as he, for all it's worth, lived up to his name and is more likely to catch Remus out if he said the wrong word. No, he was going to have his little chat with the other two first.
After they were intoxicated, of course...
'Rowle, Rowle, Rowley, my maaan,' Remus called out, feigning his alcohol induced haze, 'Tell me something,'
Rowle chortled at 'John Moony's' drunken shenanigans as his portly face became as purple as a grape (oh, the effect alcohol had on Vasodilation, Remus thought, holding back a snort of amusement).
'Anything, Moony! Did you know that I absolutely love cats?!' He cried, misinterpreting Remus's words. But thinking about it, to Remus this would be a better topic to start on. He quickly planned his strategy.
'Really?!' He replied, shocked. 'Strange, Rowle, I didn't take you for a lover of anything fuzzy!' This caused Macnair to snigger from beside Remus. His face was also red and blotchy.
'Anything hairy more like.' He giggled, 'You'll have to watch out, Johnny boy.' Rowle glared at Macnair as if looks could cremate his comrade on the spot. He became defensive.
'That's bullshit, Macnair and you know it.' Then his anger vanished and he lowered his voice, bringing his face closer to Remus, beckoning the werewolf to do the same.
Remus, intrigued, obliged. 'I think it's Sharp th't you gotta watch out for, Moony.' He whispered warningly. Remus, least to say, was shocked.
'What on Earth do you mean, my man?' He whispered loudly back. Macnair, overhearing, let out a bark of laughter.
'"What do you mean"?' He mimicked, 'Sharp's a ponce you nit wit!' He cackled, 'Surprised he hasn't jumped you yet! Bloody obsessed that one!' He noted Remus's startled expression. 'My god, man! Don't tell me you haven't noticed!'
'Shhhh!' Rowle interrupted, 'He might be back soon!'
Remus felt somewhat uncomfortable by this new news. So that explained Sharp's recent closeness towards the werewolf and constant presence around him.
Then again, he must have been a little ignorant to this, especially when he realised that only now had he just managed to shake Sharp off him, asking the Death Eater to order more drinks to bring up to the group's room. Sharp, at the time, was drunk as a skunk -much like the other two- but he was still presentable, and so he willingly obliged with a courteous bow to the lycanthrope.
'Fuck!' He muttered. The other two nodded, sympathetically. Getting caught up in the gossip, Remus had almost forgotten that he had a reason for getting these lot dunk tonight. He coughed uncomfortably. 'So Macnair, Rowle it seems has an odd fetish to cats! What's yours?'
Macnair looked at him funnily as if he had just asked him which was better: A flobberworm or a Blast Ended Skwert.
'Don't really like animals to be 'onest.' He replied, yawning. 'Don't mind killing them, though.. 'specially birds... maybe a Hippogriff, they're big; they'd make a satisfying noise.' He added casually.
Sensing that the conversation was going to spiral off into a sadistic one if Macnair was not stopped, Remus stepped in, acting hero for Rowle, who looked positively alarmed at the thought of a Hippogriff being beheaded... or maybe just Macnair killing a kitten -Rowle, after all, had the attention span of a Goldfish.
Well, wouldn't anyone be shocked at that? The rational side of Remus reasoned.
'That's nice, Macnair... Did you know though,' His voice increased in pitch slightly to engage them, 'that I absolutely love dogs?!' He declared, taking a swig from his glass.
'Would've thought that'd have been obvious...' Macnair dead-panned, 'being a werewolf and all.' Then his expression became curious and a little mischievous. 'Hey, John, have you ever fucked a dog?'
Remus snorted into his drink.
'How old are you, Macnair?' He questioned, wiping his face with the back of his dirty sleeve.
'Shit, he's not denying it!' The Death Eater cried out, laughing. Even Rowle, after he overcame the obscenity of the topic of conversation, began to chuckle. Remus's face was the only one that was not amused.
'Define dog.' he asked. Macnair, for his part, looked a little put out.
'Animal.' He replied.
'I really fucking hope not.' Remus answered seriously, shaking his head. This only caused the other two to dissolve into giggles once again though.
Then, an idea found it's way into Remus's head. He waited for the other two to calm down before turning to Rowle.
'So, Thorfinn my friend, as a cat lover, what's your opinion of rats?' He asked, nonchalantly. Rowle's laughter ceased immediately and he hissed in disgust.
'Hate the bloody things, John. Can't stand them.' Remus nodded in understanding.
'Know what you mean, mate. Nasty little buggers.'
'What's a nasty little bugger?' Sharp asked, entering the room, levitating the tray of drinks as he opened the door, joining the other three. Remus remained quiet as Rowle explained.
'We were just talking about rats, Viktor.' He took his pint from the tray and added, 'Ta mate.' Remus thought it was a good time as any to prolong the topic of conversation.
'So Sharp, what do you think of rats? Personally, I can't stand them.' He stated. Sharp handed the drinks out and sat down beside Remus in the empty space on the sofa, thinking about the question.
'The animal: Blech! Dirty little pests, but when one talks, you can't help but loathe their entire existence.'
'Interesting view...' Remus pondered, swirling his drink in his hands. 'I assume you're talking about Rat: A despicable person, especially one who has been deceitful or disloyal as opposed to the rodent?' He defined with ease. Macnair and Rowle looked incredulously at him, while Sharp scoffed.
'Obviously.' He answered through heavy lidded eyes. Remus gulped, but still playing his part coolly.
'So, I take it you've known a rat?' He asked, looking back at the Death Eater curiously. Sharp threw a relaxed arm around the side of the sofa and gazed back at the werewolf,
'Inevitably so, yes.' He replied, mysteriously, 'We all have.' He pointed out. Remus played along, already knowing the answer.
'And who would that be?' He asked.
'You mean you don't know?!' Macnair cried from where he was perched at the window still of their room.
'You forget that the Dark Lord assigned me a very secluded mission, Macnair.' Remus defended stoniy, before turning towards Sharp once more,
'But from what the prophet has been spreading, you can't possibly mean that this has anything to do with Sirius Black, does it?' He inquired, curiously. Sharp chuckled, amused.
'It does seem like that, doesn't it? But no, dear friend, Sirius Black was not the rat; the double crosser that double crossed us. No, Sirius Black was wrongly convicted as a Death Eater, but who cares about a mongrel like him? He had it coming anyway, filthy Blood traitor fag.' He sneered. 'So John, you see, the Prophet, the law, Dumbledore have been wrongly informed, you see... the rat was never Black. It was little Peter Pettigrew.'
'Pettigrew?' Remus cried out in shock, 'That can't be right!' Sharp nodded, enjoying Remus's befuddlement.
'Oh yes, no one ever suspected it, did they? Luckily for him, Black managed to finish him off before we Death Eaters' got the chance.' He punched a cushion in frustration. 'I'd have made his death very painful, made him pay for what we did.' He added in confidence, as if he were trying to impress Remus. The werewolf only appeared sceptical.
'You know, I heard that Black never finished off Pettigrew.' He mentioned. He felt three pairs of eyes lock onto him and continued, 'Do any of you read the Prophet?' He asked out of interest.
'Until the New year.' Rowle answered for them, sobering up sightly, 'Why?'
Remus knew what he was doing was slightly risky, but he knew that while they were much more drunk than he was, he could easily gain the upper hand if things got out of hand.
'Did any of you read that article about the Werewolf that visited Azkaban?' He asked. The other three nodded suspiciously. Remus scoffed, and he straightened his posture, 'The Werewolf, goes by the name of Remus Lupin, used to live with one of my many packs back during the War, you know.' He informed them, capturing their undivided attention.
'Lupin came to me after his visit to Azkaban -he trusts me you see.' Remus continued, 'Told me that Black managed to convince him that Pettigrew was in fact still alive, by saying that he could transform into a rat.' He declared.
'You've got to be kidding me?' Rowle cried in disbelief.
'I seldom kid, Rowle.' Remus replied stoically. 'Pettigrew's alive, I know that much, but I was never told the importance of all this until tonight.' He looked at all three in tern, then fixed his gaze on Sharp. 'Now that I know what Pettigrew did, I want him dead also, he sent our master to the Potter's; to his fall.' His teeth were bared, making him look rabid.
'I want him dead.' He repeated, looking at Sharp, longingly. Sharp may be cunning, even while intoxicated, but now Remus knew his weakness, and he intended to play that to his advantage.
'Me too.' Sharp replied sincerely. Remus had him like a ferret to a Hippogriff.
'Before we journey to Albania, promise me that I can kill him first.' Remus whispered seductively to Sharp, who shivered.
The group were still migrating around Britain so the ask was not too much of them, plus any delay on them trying to resurrect Voldemort was a bonus for Remus.
'Anything, John.' Sharp reassured him, smoothly. 'Do you have a plan, though?' He asked.
Remus smiled mischievously and replied,
'Of course...'
Once the other's had fallen asleep, Remus stood from the sofa and walked up to the window to gaze up at the stars. Remus had always loved the stars, but inevitably there was one that he loved most of all: Sirius.
Smiling up serenely, he placed his hands inside his deep robe pockets to find a card like material beneath his right hand.
What's this? Remus thought to himself bringing the object into view and switching it into his dominant left hand. It was the box; Sirius's box. The one he never had the courage to open. He played with the box between his hands before contemplating whether or not to open it.
The time felt right, and Remus could not help but feel a little curious about what was so important about its contents. Also, knowing that Sirius was indeed innocent also sparked a fire inside Remus that made him want to know what was inside the box.
Taking the red ribbon holding the box together, he pulled, opening the package and exposing the insides for Remus to gaze upon.
It was a golden pendant, containing a shining sapphire gem at the centre. It reminded Remus of Sirius's eyes whenever the light would catch them, making the tiny blue fragments of his iris' shine against his usual stormy grey.
Remus smiled as he placed the pendant around his neck. Also, under where the sapphire had lain, he noticed a small note which was written in delicate cursive on the packaging. Remus brought it into the light reflected from the waning moon, and read,
Dearest Moony,
Wear this, and I'll always be with you. Wear this, and I'll always protect you. Forever.
-Padfoot.
'Thank you, Sirius.' Remus whispered, holding the stone around his neck in his fist and looking up at the shining dog star in the sky, hoping that one day, he could thank Sirius in person, when he became a free man.
A/N: Whoo another chapter done and dusted, and my first OC has been introduced... Hmmm... Just a note: When it came to Remus's transformations, they were always able to find a cellar or basement or anything like that, so, yeah... Anyway, I'll try and update soon before Exams resume again after the holidays. Thanks for all the reviews so far. :)