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Catching Remus Up


Lily sat in the tunnel beneath the trapdoor. She thought about unlatching it and sneaking a peek into the Shrieking Shack a couple of times - after all, she’d never seen a werewolf before - but it seemed like every time she thought about it, there would come a scraping movement on the door above her head and dust would fall from the cracks and she realized that the werewolf was directly over her and she’d shiver and hug her knees, fearful of being so close to such a dangerous creature…

She wondered where Sirius and James had gone off to, and if they’d found a way to go to the Lestrange Manor, if Peter and Ali and Frank would be alright, if she’d ever see any of them again…

It seemed like forever in the dark beneath the Shack. It was easily the longest night of her life. But finally, as she was nodding between sleep and wake, she heard a different sort of scratching on the door overhead… and a cracking… and she shivered, remembering what Sirius had said - that she’d be able to hear Remus’s bones - and her stomach churned a bit. She shuffled up to her knees and reached for the latch, gingerly undoing it and slowly inching it up so that only an itty bitty crack of light came along the very edge… Pale sunlight ran in dust-filled shafts from the cracks in the window coverings… and Remus Lupin laid on his side on the hardwood floor, his eyes closed.

Poor Remus was paler than usual, which was fairly alarming because he always had a rather colourless complexion as a result of his Furry Little Problem. A new, narrow cut ran across his nose, crossing slightly with the scar that was already there, and one from his upper lip across his mid-cheek as well. He looked peaceful, despite the cuts on his face. Lily pushed the trap door open further and crawled through, sitting on the edge of it and tugging her knees up to her chest to be able to close the door.

She blushed when she looked over at Remus again - like Sirius had been, Remus was only wearing his undershorts. Clearly they’d been up to something. She blushed even harder at that thought, and hurriedly looked away from him. Her eyes landed on some blankets on the floor by the hearth and she got up and collected one. It smelled like dog. She wrinkled her nose up, and shook it out… loads of black fur came out of the folds of the blanket.

Funny, in all her imaginings of Remus as a wolf, she’d never once pictured him with black fur.

She carried the blanket over to where Remus lay and put the blanket over him, gentle, trying not to wake him, but wanting to give him his modesty, too. She was careful not to look at anything as she covered him up… but even as much as she kept her eyes averted, she couldn’t help but see some of the scars that marred his chest and arms, hot pink against his pale skin.

Lily sat down beside him.

Though she’d known about Remus’s condition ages ago, it had never really occurred to her how terrible the experience must be for him. She looked about the shack, feeling the cold nipping at her skin and giving her goose pimples, even through her nightgown and jacket, and imagined spending long nights out here. She tried to imagine going through a transformation that made bones crack the way Remus’s had - loud enough to hear through a heavy wood door! - and all the horrible things that must’ve happened to cause the scars that striped him. It made her throat ache to think that gentle, sweet Remus Lupin had been through all that.

Lily reached down and ran a hand over his forehead - he was burning with fever - and pushed the curls back.

“Padfoot? That you?” he murmured, a sleepy smile coming over his face as he stretched, having not yet opened his eyes, “Getting frisky so early, are you? Bloody hell, didn’t you get a fair enough share of snogging last night when we were ---” He opened his eyes and saw her and Lily blushed again. “You’re not Sirius,” he said in dismay.

She shook her head.

Panicked, Remus hurriedly pulled the blanket to cover himself even more as he sat up, clutching it in his fists, peering over the edge of it with nervous eyes.“But how are you -- wasn’t I --?”

“I waited in the tunnel until you’d turned back.”

He hesitated, trying to remember, but the wolfish thoughts still far off… “Did I know you were here?” he asked.

“You were scratching at the trapdoor, but I don’t think you knew it was me,” Lily replied.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry if I scared you… I don’t… I don’t mean to be scary… It’s what werewolves do…” Remus looked at her with wide, desperately apologetic eyes.

“It’s alright,” Lily replied gently.

Remus tugged the blanket tighter. He’d never felt so exposed in all his life. “Where’s Sirius?”

Lily said, “He’s gone with James to save Peter and Ali and Frank.”

“Save Peter, Ali, and Frank?” repeated Remus, “What’s happened? Are they alright?” Then a thought occurred to him. “Oh no. Sirius was going to go -- and check on Peter -- last night… but he didn’t want to leave me -- and - and I talked him into calming down and -- something’s happened now and -- oh, no, no -- it’s my fault.”

“It’s not your fault,” Lily said thickly, “Oh Rey, you had no way of knowing. It’s Mopsus that’s done it, after all…”

“Mopsus? For certain?” Remus asked.

“Yes,” Lily nodded and she quickly told Remus about the note on the Fat Lady’s portrait about Mopsus doing the bidding of the Dark Lord and carrying Peter away to Lestrange Manor. “So James and I raced out here and we got Sirius and he asked me to stay with you, to catch you up, while he went with James because he had a plan how to get there and -- that’s all I know, I’m afraid.”

Remus looked near to tears, “He’s gone to fight You-Know-Who?” his voice trembled.

Lily didn’t dare to touch him, given how exposed he was under the blanket. She looked at him teary-eyed. “I’m afraid he has…”

Remus looked terribly worried and pressed his lips together very, very tight and looked away from Lily hurriedly, staring about the room.

All of Sirius’s things were gone - all his clothes that they’d shed the night before… He saw the whole thing in flashes - like pictures in his head. Sirius’s arms, the mole on his neck, the span of his chest, the place where he’d laughed and pointed at, saying one day he’d get a tattoo there… a small scar on his leg, on the right, above his knee, where he’d cut himself with a letter opener by accident over the summer… the scars on his arm where Remus had scratched him back in second year… He’d kissed all those places, and his mouth had still been warm with Sirius’s when the moon had come through the window and interrupted them, breaking them apart before either were ready… Sirius’s fingers had been on his back, running along his spine, even as his skin had erupted with fur, his eyes staring into Remus’s was the last thing he could recall before the still-empty void of wolfish memory had taken over his mind.

“He’ll be alright, though, Rey,” Lily said and she inched closer, getting braver, and put her hand on his knee.

“But he’s alone.”

“He’s got James,” Lily reminded him.

Remus looked up at her, “But he hasn’t got me.”

Lily frowned.

Remus rubbed his hands over his forehead, across his eyes, and he sighed heavily and folded himself up. “Why can’t everything just -- go smoothly? Why’s it always so bloody dramatic? Why can’t we just be blissfully ignorant to all the problems in the world, the way most people are? Like all the other students in the blasted castle?”

Lily thought a moment. “Because you care too much to ignore the problems of others,” she answered, “Because we all love too hard not to make the world’s troubles our own.” Her eyes met his and she inched closer and put her hands on his cheeks, which were hot to touch with fever. His eyes were deeply sad. “Because you are one of the very best sorts of people, Remus, the sort that puts your own heart in the line of fire for anyone who needs.” She kissed his nose… and a smile played on her lips as she said, “And because your boyfriend is none other than Sirius Black, the most reckless bloody dramatic piece of work this world’s ever seen. I’m sorry to break it to you, but your boyfriend’s mental. Like a ticking bomb, could go off at any time!”

Remus laughed. “That’s not news, Lil.”

She smiled, “I thought I’d tell you incase love was blind enough to blot that whole mess out. The heart marches to a funny beat at times...”

“Even ruddy Mopsus isn’t that blind…” Remus said, but as he said the words… his smile faded and his eyes searched the air before him as his brow wrinkled, something had just occurred to him. “The heart… a funny --- ticking.... But --” he bit his lower lip, “But then -- if we..”

“Yes?” she was watching him, concerned.

“Tell me again about what you noticed about Mopsus in Filch’s office?”




Rudolphus had met, blocked, and horribly struck back against every spell Frank sent his way. Frank was dizzy, his face a mess, and Ali was crouched in the cage, trying desperately to squeeze through to comfort him as Frank was flippendoed right into the wrought iron of it. Ali sobbed silently as she tore off a corner of her robes to try to mop up the nasty, congealing blood at his nose. Rudolphus was crossing the room, anger clear on his face. “That’s it, Longbottom, I’ve had enough. Forfeit now if you know what’s best for you. I’ll make it quick.”

Frank relished the feeling of Ali’s touch on him for just one more second - then he pushed her hand away. She shook her head and tried to hold onto him, grappling at his wrist even as he’d stood… and started to walk away the cage… Honey Pettigrew stood and pulled Ali back gently, wrapping her arms about her, afraid of what was coming next… not wanting Ali to have to watch…

Frank struggled to his feet and stepped toward Rudolphus.

“Mad little boy,” laughed Rudolphus…. Then a grin spread across his face. “Let’s see just how mad you could be… Cruci---

Surely, Rudolphus had been about to set the cruciatus on Frank. Surely he’d been about to inflict some horrid damages… but he was rudely interrupted by a sound that, at first, sounded a bit like a very large insect… except that it grew louder… and became a buzzing… and then louder and louder still until it was a roar --

“What in hell is that?” muttered Rudolphus, turning to look at the window…

From the sky… spiraling toward the Lestrange house… completely out of control… came a great, roaring motorbike…

Rudolphus stared, gaping at it coming spinning toward him… until there was a great and horrible crash as as the motorbike slammed into the front porch of the Lestrange home… knocking out at least two of the great columns that lined the front of the manor as it went down… and burst into flames.