The Marauders: Year Four

Warning Sirius

Warning Sirius

Remus snuck out of the dormitory that night, after the other two had fallen asleep, and carried the Marauders' Map with him as he moved down the steps by his wand light. James and Peter had insisted that Remus refrain from going to the Shrieking Shack that afternoon, afraid that Moody would be keeping his magical eye on the lot of them, hoping that Remus would go to Sirius to warn him. "It could be a trick," James pointed out, "He might've fed you a load of tosh just hoping to have you lead him right to Sirius." But as Remus lay there in the pale silver light of the night, the sound of James and Peter snoring filling the dormitory, Remus couldn't stand not telling Sirius even another minute. He had to go or he'd have gone mad...

He managed his way through the castle without incident and across the grounds. He breathed a sigh of relief as he slid into the tunnel that led to the Shrieking Shack and started off down the corridor, his hands scraping the sides of the tunnel, feeling the stone and dirt and roots that stuck out along the way. His wand glowed blue-white in the dark. At the trap door, Remus climbed up and pushed the door open carefully, the hinges on it creaking. He could hear Sirius's stereo playing from upstairs and he smiled - it was the Rolling Stones, he recognized Mick Jagger's voice but not the song itself.

When he got upstairs, Remus found Sirius asleep on the bed, one leg hanging over the side, his mouth open wide, arms flung about carelessly... Remus might normally have considered leaping on the bed, Sirius-style, and smooshing him to wake up, and if the subject that he'd come to discuss wasn't such a seriously pressing matter, he might've done just to revenge all the times Sirius had done it to him... but it just wasn't that sort of visit.

Remus sat on the side of the bed gingerly and reached for Sirius's shoulder, shaking him awake gently. "Padfoot," he whispered, "Wake up. I need to talk with you.'

Sirius opened his eyes blearily. "Moony?" he murmured, "What're you doin' out here?" he squinted against the moonlight's brightness, his eyes adjusting to being awake.

"I have to talk with you."

"'Bout what? Bloody hell, what time's it?" Sirius was struggling to push himself up from the mattress, his hair sticking up all funny-like.

"Nearly two," Remus replied.

Sirius stared at him a moment, then fell back against the pillows, "You ruddy wolf, bloody go to sleep like a normal human person!"

"I can't. I can't stay. I gotta go back to the castle after this, I have classes in the morning. But I had to talk to you. It's important."

"It'll still be important in the morning," Sirius murmured and he pulled Remus down onto the bed by the fabric of the pyjamas he was wearing.

"No, Sirius, listen to me... It's about your parents," Remus said.

Sirius's eyes, which had been closed in mock sleep, popped wide open. He studied Remus a moment. "What about them? What've they done now?"

Remus said, "Moody says they're lying and they're telling the Ministry that you're still there but they're really searching for you everywhere. Voldemort's gone and put a price on your head! Sirius, there are bounty hunters looking for you about the country!"

Sirius stared at him, a bit of a flicker of shock and fear playing on his face. "You're kidding," Sirius murmured.

"I'm not," Remus replied. "Moody told me."

Sirius paused, thinking on the idea of what it was like to be a wanted/marked man. He felt instantly more rebellious than he'd ever done in all his life and a smirk crawled across his face as he looked up at Remus. The grin danced in the flecks of his grey eyes. "How much am I worth, Moony?"