Sirius/Remus Fic
Title: The Marauder's Map Never Lies
Author: Takobob
Rating: PG
Summary: The way Moony experienced that fateful night in “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”.
Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, Remus would have embraced Sirius like a lover, rather than “like a brother”. And I would be FILTHY STINKIN' RICH!
Chapter One
The sun was setting across Hogwarts, casting enormous shadows amongst the blood orange light that covered the grounds and the castle. Remus Lupin sat at his desk in his office, pouring over the map he had confiscated from Harry Potter just before the Easter holidays. His fingers flicked over the familiar folds of parchment, his eyes traveling across hallways, secret passages, and the grounds. Every now and then he would glance over at Hagrid's hut. Hagrid was pacing back and forth inside, just as Remus himself would if he were in such a trying position. Buckbeak was tethered outside, pawing the ground.
Sighing, Remus looked over the castle again. Suddenly, a set of footsteps caught his eye. Hermione Granger was moving quickly down the secret passageway behind the one-eyed witch and out of sight. Frowning, Remus watched the edge of the map for a matter of minutes before Hermione reappeared, moving more slowly this time, for she was clearly climbing the stone slide back to the entrance. Once she had, she raced back to the Gryffindor Common Room, where she joined Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Together they went down to dinner. Sighing, Remus sat back in his chair. He had been sure that he had been on the brink of realizing his suspicions to be true. He knew Harry, Ron, and Hermione to be the closest students to Hagrid, and had thought that they would want to see Hagrid before Buckbeak was to be executed. Biting his lip, Remus pulled a stack of ungraded papers towards him, still keeping the map in his line of vision.
For a while, Remus' focus was completely absorbed in the essays before him. He had almost forgotten the map completely when he noticed movement on the empty expanse of grounds out of the corner of his eye. Looking up, he saw three people, clearly labeled “Harry Potter”, “Ron Weasley”, and “Hermione Granger” walked very closely to each other towards Hagrid's hut, evidently under James' cloak. Forgetting the papers before him, he set the parchment on his lap, staring as Hagrid admitted the three students into his hut. They sat at Hagrid's table for twenty minutes before Hagrid rushed them out, having apparently seen the minister, executioner, and Dumbledore crossing the grounds. The three- wait a minute!
“It's... not possible,” Remus gasped. For not three, but four figures were crossing the grounds back to the castle. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and...
“Peter Pettigrew?” There's no way. He's dead. There must be something wrong with the map. It's passed through several hands by now, right? It had been a good fifteen years at least since I've last laid eyes on it. Someone must have distorted it somehow, yes that's it. But inside, Remus knew. The map never lies.
For a few minutes, Remus watched the map, not really seeing it. It was only after several minutes that he shook himself from his trance. Buckbeak had disappeared off the map. It was over then. The small group of people had moved a good distance from the hut now, but had stopped. Another dot, labeled Crookshanks, was approaching them slowly, as though an animal ready to strike. A moment later, Peter's dot left the group behind, Ron and Crookshanks following shortly after, Harry and Hermione bringing up the rear. They went a short distance before they all caught up with each other, to Remus' horror, very near to the Whomping Willow.
Not a minute later, another dot, labeled “Sirius Black”, appeared, moving fast towards the group. Remus' eyes widened. But... But... His mind reeled. If Peter Pettigrew was still alive... Then Sirius hadn't killed him, as the wizarding world had come to believe.
As Sirius reached the group, they dispersed, with the exception of Ron and Peter. Sirius went for the two, causing the dots to collide with each other. Harry's dot hurried forward to help, but Sirius, Peter, and Ron were already by the base of the tree. Harry suddenly flew back, and Remus knew the willow was awake. The three dots moved up the passageway, out of sight to what Remus knew was the Shrieking Shack. A few minutes later, the dot labeled Crookshanks made it to the base of the tree. Harry and Hermione darted forward and together they followed the first three, disappearing moments later.
It was only at this moment that Remus realized he was gripping the map so hard it was in danger of ripping. He dropped it quickly back onto his desk and stood up. It wasn't a question of where he was going, only what he would find once he reached his destination.
Outside, the sun had given way to evening, and stars blinked blearily in the darkening sky.
Author: Takobob
Rating: PG
Summary: The way Moony experienced that fateful night in “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”.
Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, Remus would have embraced Sirius like a lover, rather than “like a brother”. And I would be FILTHY STINKIN' RICH!
Chapter One
The sun was setting across Hogwarts, casting enormous shadows amongst the blood orange light that covered the grounds and the castle. Remus Lupin sat at his desk in his office, pouring over the map he had confiscated from Harry Potter just before the Easter holidays. His fingers flicked over the familiar folds of parchment, his eyes traveling across hallways, secret passages, and the grounds. Every now and then he would glance over at Hagrid's hut. Hagrid was pacing back and forth inside, just as Remus himself would if he were in such a trying position. Buckbeak was tethered outside, pawing the ground.
Sighing, Remus looked over the castle again. Suddenly, a set of footsteps caught his eye. Hermione Granger was moving quickly down the secret passageway behind the one-eyed witch and out of sight. Frowning, Remus watched the edge of the map for a matter of minutes before Hermione reappeared, moving more slowly this time, for she was clearly climbing the stone slide back to the entrance. Once she had, she raced back to the Gryffindor Common Room, where she joined Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Together they went down to dinner. Sighing, Remus sat back in his chair. He had been sure that he had been on the brink of realizing his suspicions to be true. He knew Harry, Ron, and Hermione to be the closest students to Hagrid, and had thought that they would want to see Hagrid before Buckbeak was to be executed. Biting his lip, Remus pulled a stack of ungraded papers towards him, still keeping the map in his line of vision.
For a while, Remus' focus was completely absorbed in the essays before him. He had almost forgotten the map completely when he noticed movement on the empty expanse of grounds out of the corner of his eye. Looking up, he saw three people, clearly labeled “Harry Potter”, “Ron Weasley”, and “Hermione Granger” walked very closely to each other towards Hagrid's hut, evidently under James' cloak. Forgetting the papers before him, he set the parchment on his lap, staring as Hagrid admitted the three students into his hut. They sat at Hagrid's table for twenty minutes before Hagrid rushed them out, having apparently seen the minister, executioner, and Dumbledore crossing the grounds. The three- wait a minute!
“It's... not possible,” Remus gasped. For not three, but four figures were crossing the grounds back to the castle. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and...
“Peter Pettigrew?” There's no way. He's dead. There must be something wrong with the map. It's passed through several hands by now, right? It had been a good fifteen years at least since I've last laid eyes on it. Someone must have distorted it somehow, yes that's it. But inside, Remus knew. The map never lies.
For a few minutes, Remus watched the map, not really seeing it. It was only after several minutes that he shook himself from his trance. Buckbeak had disappeared off the map. It was over then. The small group of people had moved a good distance from the hut now, but had stopped. Another dot, labeled Crookshanks, was approaching them slowly, as though an animal ready to strike. A moment later, Peter's dot left the group behind, Ron and Crookshanks following shortly after, Harry and Hermione bringing up the rear. They went a short distance before they all caught up with each other, to Remus' horror, very near to the Whomping Willow.
Not a minute later, another dot, labeled “Sirius Black”, appeared, moving fast towards the group. Remus' eyes widened. But... But... His mind reeled. If Peter Pettigrew was still alive... Then Sirius hadn't killed him, as the wizarding world had come to believe.
As Sirius reached the group, they dispersed, with the exception of Ron and Peter. Sirius went for the two, causing the dots to collide with each other. Harry's dot hurried forward to help, but Sirius, Peter, and Ron were already by the base of the tree. Harry suddenly flew back, and Remus knew the willow was awake. The three dots moved up the passageway, out of sight to what Remus knew was the Shrieking Shack. A few minutes later, the dot labeled Crookshanks made it to the base of the tree. Harry and Hermione darted forward and together they followed the first three, disappearing moments later.
It was only at this moment that Remus realized he was gripping the map so hard it was in danger of ripping. He dropped it quickly back onto his desk and stood up. It wasn't a question of where he was going, only what he would find once he reached his destination.
Outside, the sun had given way to evening, and stars blinked blearily in the darkening sky.