A Little Risk ★𝒮𝒾𝓇𝒾𝓊𝓈 𝐵𝓁𝒶𝒸𝓀☆ |On Hold|

Searching

Chapter 20

Searching

Remus Lupin put his quill into the inkpot once more and proceeded to put his head in his hands, letting out a tired sigh.

The pile of homework assignments that he still had to grade was significantly smaller than it had been after dinner, but it was still rather large. He'd never appreciated his own Hogwarts teachers more, being able to grade so many assignments at once. And his current pile was just for his third-year class. The fourth years' pile still remained, sitting on the corner of the desk, seemingly mocking him.

The typical Hogwarts student would think of doing homework as the most tedious task possible in the place, but grading them was utter torture. Remus rubbed his eyes. It was the night of the full moon, and this only made the situation worse.

He glanced down at the latest essay on his desk and inwardly groaned when he realized it was by one Hermione Granger. A brilliant student, Remus figured she'd have even given Lily a run for her money if she was n school with them. But why oh why had she done 2 rolls of parchment more than what he'd asked for? 

He often wondered if he could get away with not assigning the students anything, if not only for a couple of days, just for a little break. It would give the student's one too, but if Hermione's essay was any indication, she, and perhaps some other students wouldn't have the opportunity to learn as they wanted to. And as their teacher, Remus couldn't bring himself to do that to them. 

He could just finish the essays tomorrow, it was a full moon night anyway. Remus checked his watch, a battered old one that had belonged to his father, given to him by Albus Dumbledore after Lyall Lupin's untimely death. It was half-past 7 already, far too close to the full moon's rising for comfort. 

He checked the map on his desk, the one he and the rest of the marauders had created while at Hogwarts. Harry had somehow come upon it, and while Remus was secretly proud of him for taking after James in his knack for troublemaking, and in particular sneaking around, he knew it wasn't safe for him. Harry was a little too much like James, very likely to do something his father would do, and with Sirius on the loose, and with just as much knowledge of the map, it again wasn't safe. He hoped to return it to the boy when the coast was clear. 

The dot marking Severus Snape was still in the dungeons, and Remus hoped he'd arrive soon. He would get it himself if he wasn't here in the next 5 minutes. Remus checked the map again, hoping on a sheer whim he'd see Snape moving towards his office. But no, he was still in the dungeons. 

A thought occurred to him. Perhaps Dumbledore knew what was going on. He searched for the man on the map, and found him at all places at Hagrid's hut, with Cornelius Fudge, Walden Macnair, and Hagrid himself. He'd heard something about a hippogriff, and Macnair was probably only there as the executioner. 

He figured he'd just go to the dungeons himself and was about to fold up the map when he saw a cluster of 4 dots a little ways away from the hut. Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and... Peter Pettigrew. 

Peter Pettigrew? 

Remus couldn't believe it. The map never lied, it had been specifically charmed to show everyone on the grounds, no matter what disguise or shield they were using. He wiped the map with a quick, "Mischief managed," and folded it. Then he unfolded it, said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," tapping it with his wand. Still, the map continued to show Peter's name.

Remus was still trying to process it, after all, Peter was dead, and why would he be near Harry Potter of all people? Remus sat bolt upright. Unless he wasn't dead, unless he faked everything, and now he was with Harry, planning to take him to Voldemort, or whoever had taken over from the dark side, though Remus was sure that he was coming back. Because Peter was the spy, Peter was the one to blame for all his troubles. Not just his, however, but also the troubles of one Sirius Black. 

He glanced back down at the map, and as though thinking about Sirius had summoned him, a dot with his name traveled at an alarmingly fast rate towards the cluster with Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Peter. However, Ron and Peter were a little farther away from the others, and as Remus watched in horror, Sirius converged on them and appeared to take them to the Whomping Willow. Remus could tell he'd gone in the tree with them, because a moment later, they were all off of the map.

All thoughts other than protecting Harry and his friends shoved out of his mind, Remus bolted out his office door. 

★ 

Severus Snape strode purposefully through the castle, holding a goblet filled to the brim with a smoking potion. He wouldn't have found the task pleasant, to begin with, but doing it for Remus Lupin infuriated him. The werewolf who'd nearly killed him, and who he, Severus, was now supposed to help without complaint. 

But he swallowed his pride and knocked on his office door, then walked in, only to find it empty. He went over to the desk and set the goblet down, wondering where the man could have gone. And that's when he saw it. Laying on the desk was a map, a very intricate map, displaying a place that Severus knew all too well. And on this same map, there were dots, each one having a neat label representing who it was. In this very office, a dot labeled Severus Snape was standing stationary. 

His eyes traveled around the map, searching for Lupin. And there, leaving the castle, he was, heading straight towards... the Whomping Willow. As he neared, two dots near the willow disappeared off the map, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger. 

He snatched up the map and folded it up, stashing it in his robes. Then he followed Lupin's trail, black robes billowing, heading purposefully towards the Whomping Willow. He exited the castle and all but sprinted towards the willow. It had been years since he'd gotten into such close proximity with this tree, and his last encounter was still fresh in his mind, and definitely not a pleasant one. 

He levitated a stone with his wand and shot it towards a knot in the trunk. Missing it by mere inches, he tried again, only to fail once more. In frustration, he picked up another rock and flung it towards the tree, and to his surprise, it hit it. The tree froze, and Severus wasted no time in approaching the tunnel, though before he got there, his foot snagged on something, and he went down.

Cursing, spitting out dirt, he looked back to see what had caused him to fall, only to find some silvery fabric laying in the grass. He picked it up, letting the silky material slide over his palms. An invisibility cloak, and not just any, but one he knew all too well. Oh, the number of times he'd been tripped in the halls only to find no one in a close enough proximity to do so. This was James Potter's cloak and now belonged to his son. 

Well, certainly Potter wouldn't mind if he just tried it on. He put the cloak on and slid down the passageway, sprinting towards its end, not knowing what lay there, and silently hoping it wouldn't be what he'd encountered all those years ago.

Far above, the clouds shifted, momentarily exposing the full moon, majestically lighting up the night.