The Wolf and The Raven, Bk 2

Ch 14 - Fallout

Warnings: Underage Drinking

When Remus returned to himself that morning, something seemed wrong. It wasn't the ringing in his ears, the ache running up and down his ribs, or the blood caked around his lips. That was all normal. Something else wasn't right. Then he realised – Branwen wasn't there.

He spun around, crawling across the freezing floor on his bare knees. "Branwen? Branwen, where are you?"

His call was answered by a small moan from the sofa. He made his way over and peered down at her. She was panting, her eyes wide, sweat beading on her brow. He grasped her hand, "Branwen, are you all right?"

Her breathing slowed and her eyes came back into focus. "Remus!" she gasped. "You're all right!"

"I am. Are you?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

He gently pulled her into a sitting position. Forgetting his own nakedness, he summoned his clothes from the tunnel, then draped them over her shivering form.

"You daft idiot," she laughed, peeling off the garments he had layered on her. "You're going to catch your death of cold. Now put your trousers on." Once he was clothed, she pulled him onto the sofa and leaned in close for body heat. "Do you remember anything about last night?" she whispered.

He frowned. "I remember that everything started well. Then there was....a noise. Like someone was coming up the tunnel. Branwen," he turned to her with pleading eyes, "please, please tell me the truth – did I hurt anyone?"

She cradled his face between her hands. "Everything's okay, Remus. I swear."

"What about you?" His eyes scanned her body. "Are you sure you're not hurt?"

"I'm sure. I'm just worn out. It took all of my energy to keep the wolf occupied after we heard the noise. I guess it was harder for this little pigeon than I thought."

"You're not a pigeon, remember?" he smiled down at her. "You're a mighty bird of prey."

"I didn't feel very mighty last night," she laughed.

Remus' brow furrowed suddenly. "Who was it? In the tunnel? Was it one of the boys?"

"I don't know. Nobody ever came in."

"Branwen, if it was someone else....if anyone finds out...." His face drained of colour and his hand began to shake.

"I know, Remus, I know. We're going to find out though. And if it was anyone other than the boys, they won't live long enough to spread the word."



Thanks to Feathers' relentless efforts, Remus had escaped the night with nothing more than a few scrapes and scratches. Rather than take him to the hospital wing, Branwen guided Remus back his dorm. She thought he would have an empty room to rest in all day while the others were busy with their classes. James, Sirius, and Peter were all waiting for them though.

The boys leapt to the their feet when Remus and Branwen entered. They hadn't slept all night; their clothes were dishevelled and their eyes bleary. James and Sirius were sporting five-o'clock shadows.

"Branwen! Are you all right?" James ran to his sister, crushing her to himself.

"I'm fine, James," she gently pushed him away. "But we need to know what happened last night. Remus and I thought we heard a noise in the tunnel, but no one ever came up into the Shack."

The boys glanced at Remus, then turned away. He watched them through narrowed eyes. "Judging from your faces, I'm not going to like what comes next," he said, "so let's just have it out."

"It was my fault, Moony," Sirius stepped forward quietly.

"You bet it was your damn fault!" James shouted. Assured that his sister was safe, he started to shake with fury. "How dare you! How dare you send Snape down that tunnel!"

"What did you do, Sirius?" Remus began to tremble as the truth sank in. Branwen was standing at his elbow, a tight grip on her wand.

Sirius was silent for a moment, then James shouted again. "Tell him what you did!"

His eyes darted toward Peter who looked away. "I – I told Snape about the tunnel – and – and I told him that it led to the Shack. I didn't think –"

"Of course you didn't think!" Branwen erupted and began screaming. "Because if you were thinking, you would know what would happen if Snape ever made it to the Shack!"

"You knew he would find me." Remus' voice was the quietest of them all, but it carried more weight than the rest combined. "You knew what I would do to him."

"I didn't, Moony! I swear!" Sirius was growing more frantic. "I just wanted to get back at Snape for everything's he's done to us – to you!"

"And you thought you would use me as your weapon for revenge?"

Sirius licked his lips, eyes darting around for help that wasn't coming. "You – you're not responsible for what the wolf does."

Remus' fist clenched by his side. "You all seem to be under the impression that the wolf is separate from me. But he's not. He's a part of me. And whatever he does, I have to live with. He only comes out once a month, but I live with the consequences of his actions for the rest of my life." His eyes bored into Sirius. "I trusted you. I trusted you with the biggest secret of my life and you turned it against me."

"He's right, Sirius," Branwen was still fuming. "We made a pact – a blood pact! Did that mean nothing to you? Do we need to Obliviate you now? Do we need to erase the rest of our secrets from your mind? You're nothing but a – a traitor, Sirius Black."

The use of his last name made him flinch. Sirius' face hardened and he glared at Branwen, his jaws working back and forth. "Why don't you just butt out of it, Potter. I didn't do anything to you!" he shouted. "Besides, you're only defending Remus because you fancy him!"

The silence that followed was deafening. If the proverbial pin had dropped, it would have sounded like a crash of thunder.

Branwen's eyes welled up with tears. Her hand tightened on her wand and the room filled with tension, waiting for her reaction. But she placed the wand back into her cloak, lifted her head, and left the room.

James, however, didn't have the self-control of his sister. As soon as the door shut behind her, he raced across the room and slammed his fist into Sirius' jaw. The boy fell to the ground, smashing his head against the wall. Peter started to help him up, but a glare from James had him backing off.

"Get out of here," James said.

"What?" Sirius' eyes were bloodshot and wild.

"You're not welcome here any more. There's only one more night until we leave for holiday. Find one of your girlfriends to shack up with, or sleep in the common room. You're not a Marauder any more and we don't want you here."

Sirius glanced desperately around the room, but both Remus and Peter avoided his eye. He pulled himself up, then stumbled from the room.



Before the Hogwarts Express left on Saturday for its return trip to London, Remus was called into Dumbledore's office. The Headmaster assured him that Snape would never reveal the secret he had uncovered. Remus wanted to argue, to shout and ask why he should believe him. But he was tired. So tired. He was barely one day out from the full moon; he only wanted to sleep and forget everything that had happened. On the train ride, he asked James and Peter for some space to himself. He wasn't angry with the two boys, he just needed rest.

The two of them agreed and found themselves in a compartment with Frank, Kingsley, and Sturgis Podmore. Podmore had brought along a half-drunk bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky which they passed around, despite Peter's protests about liquor and what his mother would say if she found out.

Branwen avoided all of them. She had told Alice and Emmeline about Sirius revealing her feelings to Remus. The girls, determined to cheer their friend, kept her busy during the entire trip. Charity and Dorcas joined them and they played Exploding Snaps and feasted on chocolate frogs and cauldron cakes. They all felt guilty over their lack of support during Branwen's relationship with Regulus and, though they knew nothing of lycanthropy, they were no strangers to love. Their comforting chatter echoed into the corridors, providing a bit of warmth on the otherwise cold, grey journey.

Sirius sat by himself. None of the Marauders would let him sit with them and they discouraged anyone else from doing it either. Marlene and Mary stopped by his compartment, but he turned them away. Sirius had his own stash of mead though, and spent the rest of the ride alone with his regrets.

When the train arrived at Platform 9 ¾, the Potters, Lupins, and Pettigrews were surprised to see their children so subdued (though Walburga looked pleased when her son parted ways with his friends). The parents would never learn the true reason behind the melancholy though. To tell the whole story – to include the tunnel and the Shack and the near-death-experience – would mean revealing Remus' condition. James, Peter, and Branwen would never consider such a betrayal and Sirius had learned his lesson.

Remus was determined not to tell his parents either, afraid that his father would Apparate to Grimmauld Place and put an end to Sirius once and for all. Even though there were moments he wished the worst for Sirius, Remus didn't want his father to get in trouble.

On Christmas Eve though, Lyall was forced to work late at the ministry. Hope, in an effort to comfort her son, baked a small Christmas cake and brought it up to his room with a tray of tea.

Remus was laying on his bed, clutching a pillow, his head turned toward the wall. He was watching a picture that had been taken after a Quidditch match. Sirius was leaping onto James' back, waving his Beater's bat in the air while Peter applauded their antics. Branwen was still hovering on her broom. She had the winning snitch in her hand and she was giving Remus a kiss on the cheek. Thanks to the moving photo, he could watch her kiss himself again and again and again....

"Darling?" Hope knocked on his open door.

"Oh. Hey, Mum." He sat up and wiped his sleeve across his nose.

Hope's heart tightened. It had been years since she had seen her son cry. Despite his monthly ordeals, which never failed to bring him one step closer to death, he never broke down.

She walked quietly into the room and set the tea and cake on his bedside table. His lips were trembling as she sat beside him. When she opened her arms, he fell into them, weeping. The story of Sirius' betrayal fell from his mouth between broken, choking sobs.

Hope was furious; her whole body was taut with anger at the boy who had taken advantage of her son's most closely-guarded secret. But there was something else under all that rage, a different kind of passion. She was fiercely joyful that his other friends had defended him so well. It was rare to find such loyalty in life, even more rare for someone like her son.

When he had cried himself out (too soon, for Hope's liking, for she missed being able to hold her boy), he wiped his eyes and murmured something under his breath.

Hope pushed back his hair. "What was that, darling?"

"I said, 'Branwen fancies me.'"

"Is that a surprise to you?" she chuckled.

"It's not a good thing, Mum."

"Why not? She's pretty, clever, kind....exactly the kind of girl I would want for my young man."

"Mum, you know I – I can never...."

"Why not, darling? She knows your secret already. She didn't run away or tell anyone else, like most people would do. Besides, from what you tell me, she seems to understand what it would take to....well to be with you."

"She doesn't, Mum. She doesn't know what you and Dad have been through all these years. The Potters are some of the richest wizards in the world. She's only ever known luxury and safety. I could never give her those."

"We can't help what we're born into. Who's to say that she wants luxury and safety? Darling," she paused when he turned his head away. "Darling, if....if things were different, would you be happy with her?"

Another tear slipped down his cheek, and he nodded.