A/N: I know, I know, it took me FOREVER to get this update out, but here it is. This is the first chapter that I wrote something right alongside cannon, only in Remus' POV rather than Harry's third person omniscient. I hope you enjoy the chapter! (oh yeah, and the one Lupin scene I was talking about belongs to JKR, not me)
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Chapter Seven
- Sirius -
His eyes opened slowly, weighted down by fatigue and copious amounts of water. After he had opened his eyes, it took a moment before he could see anything at all, but when his surroundings finally did come into focus, everything was in the monotones of white and black.
Groggily, he stood, first on four legs, but after a few seconds he only had two, as he had returned to his natural form. Sirius looked around in a daze, wondering just how far from Hogwarts he was.
What had once been black and white was now vibrant in color, from the bluish green of the ocean water to the brilliant blue sky, clashing sporadically with the white wisps of clouds, or the occasional flying creature.
The sun was out in full force, baking him to the bone, transforming the sand beneath his feet into an oven of nature, fit to burn the flesh from his feet.
But none of this mattered to Sirius now, he was free. Free from the confines of his miniscule cell, free of the horrid cold that was dementor breath, once again free to hold a happy thought, without it being taken from him by a bloodthirsty monster.
He stretched wearily and took long strides across the golden beach towards his future, where he would confront his past.
- Peter -
Peter had been having quite the time in Egypt. He had to admit that after living so many years with the fire headed Weasley's that he had grown somewhat fond of them. Of course, he would not protect them with his own life, never would he do that, there was nothing in his mind that warranted death.
But it was a day like all the others, the youngest Weasley boy, Ron, was being tortured by the twins Fred and George, while the last Weasley boy in Hogwarts, Percy, stood by and tutted in annoyance and disproval.
Of course, he hadn't been like that the entire time, Percy always was quite the strict and law-abiding Weasley child, but he had let his guard down and had some fun in Egypt, until Fred and George attempted to lock him in a pyramid. After that, Percy was back to his same old self, berating his younger siblings for acting like children and polishing his Head Boy badge every chance that he got.
Peter remembered, perched on Ron's shoulder, watching Percy polish his badge for the thousandth time, how James had reacted when he got his Head Boy badge…
James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus were all sitting around one of the corner booths of Diagon Alley's finest pub, The Leaky Cauldron. All four of them were clutching their Hogwarts letters, as they had just been delivered that day, and they all decided to meet for a butterbeer and to see who got the coveted badges.
Though they couldn't be for sure, the Marauder's were fairly positive that one of them would get the Head Boy badge, and another would certainly get a prefect badge. Now normally this wouldn't have mattered at all to James and Sirius, but with the prospect of Lily Evans being Head Girl (though that wasn't confirmed either, there was really no one else to contend with her), James was praying for that badge so that he could spend more time with her.
Sirius ribbed him constantly for how much he had reformed himself trying to get Lily to see him as anything more than an obnoxious prat, but James didn't care. He firmly believed that he and Lily were the perfect couple, and that if he got Head Boy, she would think of him more fondly for it.
"Who wants to open there's first?" Remus asked, glancing around.
Sirius in response, raised his glass of butterbeer and said, "I say we do it at the same time! Who's with me?"
Laughing, the other marauder's lifted their glasses and spoke their mantra, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good!"
After each boy took a long swig of butterbeer, they ripped apart their envelopes, to which James gave a yelp. "YES! Head boy!"
Remus and Peter gaped at him, while Sirius cracked up and was rolling on the floor in laughter. James, throwing all sense of dignity away, jumped up on the table and started dancing and whooping, flashing his badge around for all to see.
At just that moment, Lily Evans walked in, a mixture of amusement and disgust on her face when she saw James dancing on the table, spraying the contents of his butterbeer all over the place.
James had his back to her as he danced, ignoring the warning signs he was getting from Peter and Remus as he started chanting and dancing horribly out of tune.
"Oh yeah! Me and Lily sharing a room,
So she can help me polish my broom,"
At this point Sirius was crying in laughter, while Peter had started to chuckle and Remus was trying to stay loyal, but the corners of his mouth were starting to curve upwards. Lily did not seem to pleased at all.
"We'll stay up all night,
And I'll show her all my might,"
Peter had now fallen to the floor now as well, rolling next to Sirius, while Remus had to put his head on the table to keep James from seeing his laugh. Lily's mouth was in a firm line, showing that she didn't find this humorous in the least.
"I know she doesn't like to fly, so I'll take her inside,
And show her a whole new kind of ride!"
Most of the pub had caught on to the spectacle now, many of them joining in on the laughter that Sirius, Peter, and Lupin had started. James seemed oblivious to it all.
"If she ever gets sick of writing and has time to kill,
She can put down her utensil and suck on my NINE INCH QUILL!"
After this last outburst, the Leaky Cauldron erupted in laughter, and Lily decided that she had had enough. "Hem, hem."
James froze on the spot. "Bloody hell," He winced, turning around. "Hey there Evans, have a nice summer?"
Lily smiled at him coolly. "Very nice, thank you." She motioned to the older man and woman standing next to her. "James, I'd like you to meet my mother and father."
James groaned as his face went full flush. Sirius and the other marauder's were still laughing hysterically. "Yes, James Potter, Lily's told us all about you…" Mr. Evans said, glaring at James.
After a few more quick words, the Evans' left and James slumped back in his chair, his face as red as a muggle stoplight. "Brilliant Potter, just brilliant…" He muttered to himself, not caring about the laughter that was ringing all around him. How could he ever get Lily to like him now, or her parents approval?
That was one of Peter's favorite memories of the marauder's, back before there was a traitor among them. Before he had joined the dark lord. Why had he joined the dark lord? That was easy - fear. Fear of death. But he hadn't ever been afraid of death before, had he?
Peter let out a small squeak, the pain his thoughts were causing him becoming to much. Instead he focused his eyes across the room, where Arthur Weasley was speaking with his wife Molly, the morning's copy of the Daily Prophet clutched so tightly in his hand that his knuckles were going white.
Peter pondered for a moment over what could possibly be wrong, but judging by the looks on the elder Weasley's faces, it was bad, very bad. As Arthur finished whatever he was saying to Molly, she cast a sad glance at Ron, before wrapping her husband in one of her trademark hugs.
Mr. Weasley dropped the newspaper as he returned the hug, allowing its contents to be revealed to Peter. The face that looked back at him froze him in his tracks. As did the headline. Peter fainted dead away, off of Ron's shoulder and onto the floor.
Sirius Black Escapes From Azkaban
- Sirius -
He had to see him. He just had to. Sirius realized that he was probably risking a lot by doing this, but he did not care. He had to see Harry. He had to see James' son, his Godson.
So now he found himself in a deserted alleyway, only a short distance from the Dursley's. Sirius knew all about the Dursley's, of course. Lily's muggle sister had married some horrible man named Dursley, and together they had had a son, near Harry's age, named Dudley.
Even though Petunia seemed to hate her sister Lily with all her heart, Lily was still very caring of her sister, and made sure that she was as well protected as could possibly be. Sirius knew that the Dursley's were the only choice for young Harry, or at least in Dumbledore's eyes. James would have wanted him to be with Remus…
Sirius squeezed his furry brows at the thought. Remus…they had parted on such horrible terms, Sirius didn't know if they could ever befriend one another again. Each had accused the other of being a spy, and they were both wrong. It had been Peter, it was Peter all along. And Sirius was going to kill him for his betrayal.
And then he was there. Sirius gasped when he saw a miniature James run into the alleyway, he didn't even take the time to wonder what he was doing there in the first place. Then Harry looked right at him.
For a fleeting moment, emerald green eyes met clouded gray, but their eye contact was broken when a large bus apparated into the alleyway, whisking Harry aboard and away. But it had been enough for Sirius. He would protect the boy from anything. Even if it cost him his life.
- Remus -
Because of the fact that he had been appointed Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts on such short notice, Remus was forced to ride the train on the way to Hogwarts. He had been quite the loner ever since his best friends had left him, James and Peter to death, Sirius to Azkaban. In fact, he had not had any friends in the last twelve to thirteen years at all. No one wanted to make friends with a werewolf.
Of course now, he was hardly a werewolf at all, sure he still transformed for every full moon, but with the new Wolfsbane Potion, he would be completely harmless, not a danger to anyone.
Lupin hoped that he would make some friends at Hogwarts, though he would not even try to make amends with Snivellus. There was really only one person he truly cared about meeting though, and that was one Harry Potter.
How had he turned out? After living with those muggle relatives for so long, would he be just like them? Magic haters? But he couldn't be if he was going to Hogwarts. He had heard from Albus that it was uncanny just how much Harry looked like James when he was child, only with Lily's eyes.
Remus sighed, leaning back and closing his eyes, seeming to all outside observers to be asleep. His thoughts on how long it would be until he met Harry were answered when the door to his compartment suddenly opened.
"Who d'you reckon he is?" Hissed one of the boys, which, Remus did not know, as he had his eyes closed. Rather than reveal himself, he decided to continue his façade of sleep and see if he couldn't discover more about the students at Hogwarts. A little eavesdropping never hurt anyone.
"Professor R.J. Lupin," Whispered another voice, undoubtedly female.
"How d'you know that?" The same male voice asked again.
"It's on his case," The girl responded, sounding slightly annoyed to the trained ear. If not for his enhanced hearing that accompanied his werewolf status, he may have never noticed it. Not that it mattered anyways.
"Wonder what he teaches?" The same boy whispered again, seemingly rhetorical.
"That's obvious," The girl whispered in an all to familiar know-it-all voice that Remus himself had used for years as a student at Hogwarts. "There's only one vacancy, isn't there? Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Well I hope he's up to it," The boy responded, sounding doubtful. "He looks like one good hex would finish him off, doesn't he? Anyway…" Remus felt a pain of embarrassment wash over him. Here was a child that thought he looked to pathetic to be a defense professor? Well, he'd be sure to show him wrong. Remus' thoughts were interrupted when the boy continued his sentence. "What were you going to tell us?"
Remus perked his ears up at this, he had forgotten that he heard three sets of footsteps come in to the compartment. But the voice he heard was one that he recognized, and definitely not one that he expected.
Remus had known that voice ever since he was eleven years old, but the owner of that voice was dead, which left only one possibility. Harry Potter, James' son, was in his compartment. Remus listened intently to the entire conversation, stricken by how mature young Harry must be.
He was a far cry from James, who at that age cared for doing nothing more than sending wind charms up young witches skirts or leaving firecrackers in the potion cauldron's. When Harry was finished with his story, the girl spoke again, her tone dripping with emotion, "Sirius Black escaped to come after you? Oh Harry…you'll have to be really, really careful. Don't go looking for trouble Harry-"
"I don't go looking for trouble," Harry replied, sounding slightly offended. "Trouble usually finds me."
Remus couldn't help but smile at that. James had always been out, looking for trouble. He had always said that his son had better be just as bad a rule breaker as he was or else. It seemed that little Harry didn't need to go looking for it though, because it managed to find him just fine.
After a few more moments of conversation, in which he discovered that the other boy's name was Ron, that Harry would not be allowed to Hogsmeade, and that the young girl seemed to know everything about everything, Lupin was finally forced to break his façade, as the train stopped and the corridors went black, and a few other students entered.
There was shifting around in the compartment, and Remus immediately cast a flaming spell on one of his hands for light, approaching the compartment door. "Stay where you are," He commanded, his voice sounding rather raspy after not being used for so long.
Then, confirming his fears, a dementor peered inside of the cabin, and taking one deep breath, through the youngsters into chaos. Harry feinted dead away, his friends Ron and Hermione dropped next to him in an instant, the girl looking close to tears with fear for her friend. The youngest girl in the corner was shivering madly, while the chubby boy next to her that could only be Frank Longbottom's son stared at the opposite wall, seemingly in a trance of fear.
Gaining his bearings, Remus spoke to the abomination in the doorway. "None of us are hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go." When the dementor did not budge, he pulled out his wand and muttered, "Expecto Patronum." Sending a small white whisp at the dementor, making it flee.
As Harry came to, Remus reached into his briefcase and pulled out a slab of chocolate, snapping it in half with a loud CRACK that made everybody jump. He handed a piece to Harry. "Here," Harry took the chocolate that was offered. "Eat it. It'll help."
Not exactly what Remus had imagined his first words to James' son being, but they had to do, nonetheless. The conversation then turned to dementors, and the rest of the train ride was quiet after that, other than when Remus had sent an owl ahead to tell McGonogall of the situation. But Remus had achieved one of his primary goals for the evening. He had talked to James' son, and not made a fool of himself. In fact, he had given him some rather good advice regarding dementors.
He rode in the same carriage as Harry on the ride up to the school, amused with the behavior of the young witch Hermione, as she stuck her head out the window to get a better view of the castle.
When they finally departed from the carriages, Harry was confronted by the same boy who had come into their compartment earlier. "You feinted Potter? Is Longbottom telling the truth? You actually feinted?"
"Shove off Malfoy." The red haired Weasley boy retorted. Malfoy…Remus knew the Malfoy's alright. As evil as can be, except for Narcissa, of course. Lucius Malfoy, no doubt this boy's father, had been one of Voldemort's inner circle, but was able to weasel his way out of Azkaban, claiming the Imperius Curse.
No one knew why Narcissa had ever married Malfoy. While not the nicest of people, she had been at least sympathetic to most, or at least to purebloods. She was very foul-mouthed towards muggleborns, as was her upbringing. Remus and the rest supposed that she had eventually been forced into the marriage, as there were no other worthy or suitable pureblood suitors left.
Remus stepped out of the compartment before the Malfoy boy, no doubt by his tone and the way he carried himself just as bad as his father, could start any real trouble. "Is there a problem?" He asked, stepping out of the carriage and looking at the young Malfoy, trying hard not to glare.
"Oh, no - er - professor." The boy responded sarcastically before turning heel with the two brute friends that were beside him following suit.
They walked in silence until McGonogall interrupted them, calling out for Harry and Hermione. Harry he could understand, but why would the headmistress want to see Hermione as well? He did not have time to dwell on the fact as he was lead away to the sorting ceremony, as well as a very unhappy Ronald Weasley, who obviously thought he was being shunted.
Well, let the boy learn, Remus thought bitterly. I've been shunted all my life.
*****
- Sirius -
He wasn't quite sure how he had done it, but he had found it. There he was, a large, black, shabby dog standing in the grass darkened by night in front of the castle that he had once called home.
The students had already arrived, Sirius could see the carriages pulling in, though there was no possible way of telling who was who. Sirius knew that he obviously couldn't stay in the castle, there was no way that he could do so undetected, even with numerous hidden rooms that he had discovered with Remus, Peter, and James.
No, there was only one place that he could stay and not be bothered - the Shrieking Shack. It was where Remus had been taken for his transformations, where they had met up with his for their monthly runs around the Hogwarts grounds, late at night.
That was where Sirius headed now, towards the huge whomping willow on the edge of Hogwarts grounds, it's limbs stationary, but Sirius knew better than to assume the tree harmless.
Sirius found the nearest twig that he could, and transformed it into a long rod, prodding the know with it. He sighed sadly as he put his wand away, wishing he could have his old one back. Sirius had been forced to steal this one from an unsuspecting man who had it sticking out his back pocket. Oh well, the man could buy a new one, Sirius couldn't.
Sirius trudged his way into the back of the shrieking shack, and laid down on the lone bed in the room, sighing at its creak. The bed was uncomfortable, no doubt about that, but it was far better than the cot he had had in Azkaban. His stomach rumbled, rivaling the loudness of the bed's creaks, eliciting yet another sad sigh from Sirius.
All he had had to eat in the last few weeks since he escaped Azkaban were rats. Of course, there was one rat that he wanted to eat above all others, one that would replace the guilt that filled his stomach with satisfaction.
On this thought, Sirius smiled and closed his eyes, drifting into the most peaceful slumber he had had in many years.
*****
A/N: Okay, dunno when the next chapter will be up, hopefully sooner rather than later. Not this coming Saturday, but rather the one after it, I leave for my first vacation of the summer, and I won't be back home till July 5. Then on July…14, I believe, I'll be heading out to Jersey, then Chicago for a triathlon, and won't be back home until August. I really don't know if I'll be able to update during these periods or not. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to while in Joyze, but other than that…I dunno.
Please drop me a review, they're great for my ego!
Cheers!