Mini THC Comp (aka Mini the Comp)
Team name: Daughters of Magic
Type: Standard
Prompt:
- Freddy Fazbear: (Location) Pizza Restaurant
- Mike Schmidt: (Restriction) Takes place during the graveyard shift (specifically midnight to 6 AM)
Word Count: 1158
Warnings: Mild Swearing
Sirius sat down across from Marlene and Mary in the window booth of the 24 hour pizza shop. It was two fifteen in the morning, he was already late. It wasn't his fault though, he had been waiting for Remus to get home so they could travel to the pizza place together, but Remus hadn't come.
"Well look who finally showed up!" Marlene said, leaning forward across the table. "Where were you when you first confessed your love for RL?"
"In the toilet on the Hogwarts express," Sirius responded.
Marlene nodded. "Good, so it's you. Where's Remus? Isn't he supposed to be on watch with you tonight?"
"He didn't come home on time, and that's why I'm late, for the record," Sirius said. He leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms.
Marlene and Mary shared a concerned look. Sirius got that. Remus was one of the most punctual people he knew. He always said it was easier to be on time all the time, than it was to only be on time when it mattered. It wasn't like him to be late for anything, much less something as important as a surveillance assignment.
"Do you think he's alright?" Mary asked.
Sirius shrugged. "I'm sure he'll be here soon," he said. That was a lie, but what else was he supposed to say? He wasn't sure if Remus was alright, and he wasn't sure if he would be here soon. "He can take care of himself. He'll be fine. Probably just upset at being late, for once."
Marlene narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Sirius, but didn't say anything.
"Would you like us to stay with you?" Mary asked.
"No, no, it's fine," Sirius said, shaking his head. "You've been here long enough already, and really what's going to happen at two in the morning anyway?"
"Sirius…" Marlene began.
"Really, I'll be fine. Go, sleep!"
It took some convincing before Sirius finally persuaded Marlene and Mary to go, but soon enough he was alone. Just him and his thoughts. He looked out the window and the dimly lit street outside and the old warehouse that Dumbledore said might be the location of a Death Eater meeting place. It was hard to imagine any of the Death Eaters, or, more accurately, suspected Death Eaters, that he knew meeting in a dingy run-down warehouse. Bella would scoff and complain loudly at it, Lucius would lift his robes and carefully pick his way through the debris, and Reggie would look around with his baby little disgusted face and say nothing—just like he always did.
"One large pepperoni pizza."
Sirius' hand immediately went to his wand and he turned sharply to look at the worker standing beside his table. "I didn't order that," he said, glancing down at the pizza. As delicious as it looked, and smelled, he knew better than to trust free food across from a Death Eater meeting place.
The worker shrugged, seemingly unconcerned by the situation, or maybe he was just too tired to care. "Nah, your friend ordered it for you." He motioned towards a booth on the other side of the pizza place. "Enjoy your pizza, and thank you for choosing Perry's Pizza Palace, the best 24 hour pizza place in London." The worker's voice was monotone as he said what must have been a scripted sentence. For a moment Sirius wondered if he might have been put under the imperius curse, but why would the Death Eaters want a depressed looking pizza place worker on their side.
It didn't matter anyway. The pizza worker was almost back to his counter, and Sirius had a bigger problem to deal with. He stood up, pulling his wand out and turning towards the booth that the worker had pointed out. It was empty. Or, at least, it seemed empty. Sirius looked closely, searching for the telltale signs of the disillusionment charm. Sure enough as he looked closely at the booth he began to notice a person. They were sitting with their back away from Sirius, with their head bent down.
Sirius adjusted his grip on his wand and cautiously crossed the restaurant. "You know, buying me a pizza isn't exactly the most subtle way of saying hello," he said, trying to sound casual, despite the way his heart seemed to be beating out of his chest.
The person turned to face Sirius, who could see them clearly through the disillusionment charm, and Sirius had to stop himself from taking a step back. It was Regulus. "I thought you liked pizza," he said. "And anyway it seemed to have worked."
"What the hell are you doing here, Reggie?" Sirius hissed. Out of all the suspected Death Eaters in his family, Sirius had hoped never to have to face Regulus in battle. The rest he wouldn't mind, but Reggie was different. He was just a kid that didn't know what he was doing.
"You should go home," Regulus said. "It's not safe here, especially not by yourself."
Sirius rolled his eyes. This must be why the other Death Eaters sent Reggie in, they must think he could break Sirius' will. "As if. You should go back to whoever sent you and tell them we're not going to back down. We'll keep watching and figure out what you're planning, and we'll stop you."
"No one sent me Sirius," Regulus said. "And watching this pizza shop isn't going to help you figure out the Dark Lord's plans."
'No one sent me', as if Sirius would believe that. "If you weren't sent, then why are you here?" Sirius asked.
Regulus glanced around, as if making sure no one could see him. That was ridiculous, since the only other person in the room was the worker who seemed to be falling asleep at the till. "I'm here to warn you. The Dark Lord set this up, the rumor about the warehouse was a distraction, it was bate. They want to catch one of you to get information, so they set this up."
"Do you really think I'd believe that?" Sirius scoffed. "You're such an idiot, Reggie. You think I'm so…"
The sound of apparition outside interrupted Sirius. He spun towards the door, just as Regulus disapperated. It was only a few seconds before Death Eaters began pouring into the pizza place.
"Get in the back!" Sirius shouted at the worker. He dove behind the counter and began casting curses at the Death Eaters. Regulus had been right. It was a trap. But it didn't make sense. Why now? Why tonight? He crouched down to take a few quick breaths, and sent a patronus to the other members of the Order. Why tonight, it was no different than the night before, except that… Except that Remus wasn't here. He thought back to the past several weeks. There had been rumors that there was a spy in the Order, but it couldn't be Remus…
Could it?