The Marauders: Year Four

The Clocks

The Clocks

Lily was helping to keep Remus standing... "Faster..." he begged, even as he tripped over roots in the tunnel leading back to Hogwarts. "We've got to go faster..."

"You're barely going the speed that we're going," Lily argued.

"We have to get to Mopsus's clocks - quick - before anything bad happens to Peter and the others..."

"I still don't understand how the clocks are going to help."

"They will. You will. I just --" and Remus tripped, his knees hitting the dirt. He struggled back up. Usually, at this time after a full moon, he was still asleep, the strength still returning to him. He felt so dizzy... Lily pulled him up to his feet.

She stared at him imploringly, "Remus, we can't go faster."

"Then you need to do it."

"Do what?"

Remus tugged out of her grasp and he dropped himself into the dirt packed floor of the cave, wincing as his joints folded and his aching back touched the wall. He looked up at her, "You've got to go and destroy those clocks. All the clocks. Every bloody last one of the clocks in Mopsus's classroom. Especially the ones in that little room. Smash them to absolutely irreparable pieces."

Lily stared at him, "But why? Why does destroying an old man's clock collection have anything at all to do with what's happening?"

"I haven't fully worked it out yet but I have the idea that those clocks are somehow a part of Mopsus," Remus said.

"What?"

"Yeah, think about it. When Sirius touched the clock, adjusting the time on it, the clocks all freaked out. He messed with one and it affected them all. They started chiming and - and making that horrible screaming sound, like they were in pain, like they'd been injured. Like they were alive..." Remus started, "And then, Mopsus, the seer who's proven time and again he sees everything, he must've known where we were - he goes to his clocks first. We saw him on the Marauder's Map at his clocks. Not only that but he must've sent Filch to us. How would Filch have known where we were hiding down the hall like that otherwise? Filch had to have heard the clocks going off when he came up those stairs - it was loud enough we could hear them in the classroom - but instead of going to investigate that, Filch comes for us in the empty classroom down the hallway? He never would've thought of it on his own! Mopsus knew where we were and he was busy with his clocks so when Filch came to check - he sent him after us."

"That makes sense," Lily ceeded, "But... but why would he send Filch after us just to come down and get us out of trouble like he did?"

"Because when he sent Filch, he was distracted by the clocks. By the time Filch got us down to his office and all that, Mopsus had investigated the clocks, seen we hadn't done much by way of damage to them, and come after us..." Remus took a deep breath, "Lily, you said when he came in the office there, Mopsus looked a lot older than usual. Well maybe he was older than usual. Sirius turned the hand on the clock, see? If the clocks are a part of Mopsus... Sirius could've... could've aged him... with the clock."

Lily blinked in confusion, "But... Is that even possible?"

Remus shrugged, "Magic, Lily. And Mopsus is a really old man, Merlin knows what sort of insane dark magic he's encountered in his lifetime."

"You think it's dark magic, these clocks, then?"

"I can't imagine that storing life time in a clock could possibly be anything but dark."