The Untold Story

Chapter 15: Where is Remus?

November 2, 1971

"Do you think Remmy will be okay?" Peter asked.

"He will be fine…" Sirius muttered but didn't seem so sure.

James was waiting outside the Hospital Wing. "Madame Pomfrey kicked me out. She says he needs to rest and nobody is allowed to see him until tomorrow."

"But...maybe we can sneak in." Peter proposed.

James and Sirius turned to look at Peter in surprise and grinned. "Looks like our mischief-making is rubbing off on you, Pete." Sirius said.

"Ok, we can sneak back tonight when everyone's asleep." James proposed.

The two boys nodded in agreement and the boys then headed back to the Gryffindor dorms.

Later that night…

"Ow!" James yelped as Peter stepped on him foot.

"Shh!" Sirius put his finger to his lips as he turned and glared at his friends.

"But he…" James began to protest and stopped when he saw the Black heir's glare.

"I'm sorry." Peter whispered mournfully as he stared at the floor ashamed. James sighed before he nudged him and grinned, nonverbally forgiving Peter's clumsiness.

"We're here." Sirius said as he nodded at the closed doors. "Alohomora." He said quietly. A quiet click resounded in the empty corridor. Sirius grinned as he slowly pushed open the door. The boys quietly slipped inside. Peter quietly closed the door behind him and the three tacitly agreed to split up. Quickly, they searched for Remus.

"He's not here." James whispered. Sirius nodded.

"Maybe he's in the common room?" Peter suggested meekly, doubting his own question.

"No." Sirius reasoned. "We'd have seen him."

"We could still go check. There's no harm in looking." James shrugged. They quickly went back to their dorm only to find it empty.

"Where is he?" Peter asked panicked. "We should tell McGonagall." Peter said.

"Wait," James said. "We could get Lupin in trouble."

"He's right." Sirius said as sat on his bed. "We'll wait till tomorrow morning. If he's not back, then we'll tell McGonagall." The three agreed and went to bed, although neither of them slept very well.

November 3, 1971

Sirius stared at the letter, his little brother's neat handwriting made him smile as he carefully opened it.

Dear Sirius,

I'm sorry about the howler Mother sent. Pay it no mind, she'll calm down eventually. You might even be able to come back for Christmas. I hope you're doing well.

So, how is it? Is it really as great as Andy described? Do you like your classes? Is there actually a ghost professor? Did you make any new friends? What's Gryffindor like? And what about the Great Hall?

I'm doing well. Although, I do have to admit, it's not as much fun without you.

Sincerely,

Regulus

Sirius smiled at the letter. His brother, at least, had not changed in the past two month. I'll write back today, he promised himself as he tucked the letter into his pocket.

James and Peter slipped in next to Sirius. "... didn't check properly!" James cried out as the two piled breakfast onto their plates.

"So?" Sirius asked.

"He was in the hospital wing all along." Peter said happily as he took a bite of his sausage. "We probably mistook him for someone else in the dark." Peter grinned before continuing to eat.

"Madam Pomfrey said he still needs his rest, so we can't visit him today. He'll be back tomorrow." James shrugged as he took a bite of his toast. Sirius frowned internally. He was positive that Remus hadn't been in the hospital wing. I probably missed him Sirius reasoned. After all, it had been dark in the hospital wing. His train of thought disappeared as he spotted his cousin reading a letter with a slight smile.

"We should go to class! Or we're going to be late!" Peter squeaked as he stared at his watch and quickly stuffed a piece of bacon into his mouth.

"We have time." James said as he leisurely ate his eggs.

"We'll be late." Peter countered as he tugged at James's robe.

"No we won't." James replied.

"Yes, we will!" Peter respond as he peeked at his watch. The three eventually ended up running to their class, but managed to make it there on time.

Severus sat down next to Lily and smiled. She returned his smile and passed him a discreet note. The past few weeks really helped to patch up their friendship, and they had even settled into a familiar routine. Lily and Severus met up at the library, and in Potions talked quietly, or passed each other notes.

"Snape!" Rosier turned around and gestured for Severus to join him.

'I promised him, I'd help him. I couldn't refuse.' Severus quickly scribbled down on the note Lily passed him. He quickly picked up his books and book bag, shot an apologetic glance at Lily, and settled down next to Rosier.

"Why do you always sit with her?" Rosier questioned as Severus placed his potions textbook on the desk. Severus froze, how should he answer that question. Fortunately for him, Rosier didn't give him enough time to answer. "You're one of us now. You shouldn't sit with her." Severus almost snorted, but refrained from doing so. Rosier just wanted to associate with him now that the Black and Malfoy houses supported him. Can't blame him, after all, that's what I'm trying to do Severus thought as he gave Rosier a small curt nod and focused on Professor Slughorn who had just begun his lecture. How am I going to tell Lily? Hopefully, she'll understand.

Sirius had seen the interaction and frowned. Clearly, Snape was better at climbing the social ladder than he'd given him credit for. That potion probably put him in a better light though, Sirius thought as he focused on James who'd slid into Severus's spot.

"Good morning Lily Flower!" He greeted her. She rolled her eyes and turned away. Sirius grinned. This was going to be entertaining. Just then, Slughorn walked in. He began lecturing them about the potency of frog legs and Sirius zoned out. Slowly, he began to write his letter to Reggie.

Dear Reggie,

I'm doing great. Hogwarts is amazing. I can't wait till next year. We'll have so much fun together. Think of all the things we will do. Don't worry, nothing bad, we might break a few rules though (kidding, not really). The classes aren't bad, and don't worry, I'll give you tips about all the teachers and the best shortcuts when you get here.

How are Mother and Father? I'm just glad that Lord Black decided not to estrange me from the family.

What about you? How are you really? Did she punish you when I got sorted? Don't worry, you only have a year to go. Then you'll get to escape that madhouse.

With love,

The Most Magnificent Sirius Black (wink)

P.S. Don't worry I'll come home for Christmas. I don't care what she thinks or will do. We'll have fun. Also, stop writing so formally. Goodness, people'll think you are forty!

P.P.S. Tu me manques petit frère

The bell rang as he neatly folded up the note.

Classes had ended a few minutes ago, and Sirius frantically searched for his notes. It was in my pocket he thought as he retraced his steps. He had calmly told James and Peter to save him a spot in the library after he'd noticed the missing letters. He didn't mind that he'd lost his, he could rewrite it, but he was quite upset about losing Reggie's letter to him. Call him sentimental, but he saved all his letters from his little brother. It had started out as a way to spite his Mother. Now, it meant a bit more to him. "Have you lost something?" The Charms teacher looked at Sirius as he searched for his letter. Sirius straightened up, his muscles tense as he tried to figure out where he could've dropped something.

"No, have a good evening professor." Sirius turned around and power walked out of the classroom. He started running, retracing his steps, as he searched for his letter. Where is it? He thought as he desperately tried to think of where he might have dropped it. Panting, he sprinted and quickly turned around a corner only to bump into someone. He tumbled to the floor, and landed awkwardly on his side. He groaned, as he pushed himself up. "Are you okay?" He asked the other person as he rubbed his ribs. He turned his head to find Snape sitting upright, cradling his arm, his face twisted in pain. His black eyes flicked up and all of a sudden the expression of pain disappeared, replaced by an emotionless expression.

"Ever heard of walking? It's said to be a safe method of travel when inside a building." Severus asked sarcastically as he slowly stood up.

"Have you seen a piece of parchment?" Sirius asked. His grey eyes looked at Severus desperately. Severus blinked in surprise. "It's folded into a square, about this big." Sirius used his hands to make a square with his fingers.

Severus put his hand in his pocket and handed Sirius something familiar. "They fell out of your pocket, after potions." Sirius blinked.

"And so you kept them?" Sirius accused as he grabbed both pieces of parchment.

"I gave them back didn't I? Plus, I doubt your friends would appreciate you associating with a slimy snake." Severus explained. He watched as guilt flashed across Sirius's face.

"Thank you." Sirius finally said. Snape had clearly thought this through better than he had. Severus nodded curty as he absentmindedly rubbed at his bruised arm. "You should probably get that checked out." Sirius gestured. Severus arched an eyebrow before smirking.

"Worry about yourself Black." Severus turned on his heel, black robes billowing behind him. Surprised, Sirius blinked before his own mouth curled into a smirk. Finally, he too turned and walked towards the Owelry to send his letter.

AN: Hello to our new follower Ainulin2! We hope you continue reading and feel free to share your thoughts. If you are uncomfortable leaving reviews, feel free to PM us.