Under the Hunters Moon

Waning Moon III

"You asked why I am helping, then take this as your answer," Hestia continues, "It is because I refused to allow this travesty to continue. You will both set aside your self-hatred and your thirst for vengeance to make right the wrongs you have committed, or you will face the rarest thing in this world; My Wrath." As Hestia speaks the Hearth behind her roars spreading an unfriendly cold heat throughout the room, "and heed the words of Hestia if you do not, if you fail the task in which I have given you, no home will shield or welcome you, you will feel no warmth by a hearth, and find no comfort with family. Only the cold fury of a Goddess; do you understand me?" Hestia doesn't threaten, merely telling them what will happen, but both men nod all the same.

"Good," Hestia says, turning from Remus and back to the hearth.

Lupin is quiet for a moment before asking, "How do we even know he's in the castle still? He could have left weeks ago, I haven't seen him on the map either," he says as he runs his hand through his hair, sighing.

"You have the map?" Sirius asks, shocked. He was sure it was gone forever, lost in Filch's office.

Moony chuckles a bit, "Yes, and you won't believe where I found it," he says with a smile, "Harry had it."

Sirius smiles, looking more like himself than ever before, "How the bloody hell did he get that, I thought Filch would have kept it looked up."

"I won't lie, that was the first place I checked for it to keep a lookout for you, but it wasn't there," Moony says, "Harry had it with him a few weeks ago and I had to take it from him to try and find you, but that wasn't all he had, he also had James' old cloak." He says with a smile.

"Had?" Sirius asks, catching the word, "What do you mean had?" His eyes narrow as he tilts his head.

"Well, I wasn't the only one who had caught him sneaking into to see Atalanta, Severus was the first one that found him," Moony says, before Sirius' face turns from one of anger to confusion.

"Snivellus is here?! At the castle!?" Sirius half yells at Moony

Lupin just shrugs and tells him "Yes, and has been for the last 11 years or something like that, he's the potion master now." He tells Sirius shocked face.

"This is dragonsh-" Sirius begins before Hestia coughs just loud enough for both men to hear it before turning to her seeing that her head was turned slightly away from her hearth and was looking at Sirius with an unamused expression, "Spit," Padfoot says, looking at the Goddess with wide eyes, "Dragon spit is what I meant to say," Sirius says, and Hestia just smirks before turning back to the fire.

"We're getting off track, Padfoot," Moony says, "Severus confiscated the cloak after he found Harry sneaking around with it, I took the map but I haven't seen Peter on it at all."

"Snivellus took the cloak!" Sirius says, anger growing in his voice before Moony gives him a look, "Fine, fine. Curse that person when we cross them, the rat first." Sirius says.

"As I said, he could be long gone by now," Lupin says before Hestia speaks again.

"Just because you don't see him on the map, doesn't mean he isn't around Remus Lupin," Hestia says with certainty, "I know for a fact he has warmed himself by the Hearths of the castle in the late hours of the night." She informs them.

Both men look at each other before Remus speaks up, "couldn't you, …snatch him? While he's doing that?" He asks with trepidation.