Pure Sinners

Remus awoke to Lily’s finger in his face. 

“The fuck” his voice was gruff, and he tried to turn away from her with little success. 

“Run?” Lily said sweetly as she pulled open his curtains, letting the monstrous morning light blind him. Remus growled. 

They climbed down the fire escape in order to avoid the landlord who’s rent they still had not paid and ran a few mile until they came across a coffee shop. Lily’s cheeks were pink from the late November wind and Remus pulled his hat further over her ears before following her inside.

“So” Remus asked, dragging out the word until Lily looked up.”what do you want” He took a sip of the hot chocolate before him, relishing the way it burnt his tongue. 

Lily looked down at her hands, wringing them as she spoke. “We’ve got a job tomorrow. A big one and I'm..” she trailed off, finger moving to stir the spoon in her cup.

“You worried about James?” Remus could have laughed “Why?”

Lily said nothing, still staring at her mug. “He’s a grown man Lily he knows what he signed up for” his voice was firm. As nice as James was he had made his own choice to join the DE.

Lily nodded absently, not really acknowledging anything Remus had said. 

“Lily!” his fist slammed down on the table, shaking the mugs against their saucers. Her green eyes jumped to his, as did the eyes of the other patrons of the shop, all eager to witness the lovers quarrel happening at their table. 

Remus felt the rage building, blinding hot against the fragile skin of his face. 

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Remus breathed. 

“It’ll be fine” 

Lily nodded.

They left the shop soon after, feeling warmer and a little steadier on their feet. They entered the grocery store and Lily began slipping small items into her jacket pockets whilst Remus began loading their shopping basket with larger necessities. Milk, eggs, bread, couple cans of beans, pasta, some fruit and veg .

He walked to the till quickly, chatting with the worker as he paid for the items with the cash from their kitchen jar. 

“Get us anything nice?” Remus asked they walked back towards the flat. Her responding smile was more criminal than her actions previously. 

She pulled out a large bar of Cadbury milk chocolate and pressed it into Remus’s coat pocket “Don’t share it” she warned him as they approached the fire escape. They climbed quickly, rushing to put the food into the fridge before it went off before their eyes. 

“You’re home” Sirius called from the sofa “What’s for dinner?”. Lily rolled her eyes at the man-child and Remus snickered “Why don't you get off your ass and come see” he called behind him as he began unloading the groceries. Lily began pulling items out of her coat as the two other members of their team appeared in the doorway.

“Whatcha got Lil?” Sirius asked as the boy next to him looked confused at Lily pulling items out of her clothes like a magician.

She described her hall as she placed it on the table in front of her “I got some vitamin tabs, and some paracetamol, got a few boxes of toothpaste and a new brush for Remus, two boxes of tampons and a bottle of sunscreen” she finished, carrying the tampons and toothpaste towards the bathroom.

“She stole that?” James asked bewilderment on his face. Remus laughed at his innocence “of course she did, we can’t afford this shit..” He said holding up the milk in his hands “Let alone that”. 

Sirius turned to James wrapping his arm across his shoulders as he spoke dramatically “The world is cruel my friend…Don’t worry we never take anything we don’t need and only from chains who can make up the difference.” He finished his soap-box speech sans soap box. 

Remus shook his head at Sirius’s flair as he began boiling water for their dinner. 

As they sat and ate Lily told them about their mission for the following day. “So there’s this guy called Vernon Dursley who..” Lily began before being interrupted by James who looked very interested in this mission all of a sudden. “Dursley isn’t he some big arms dealer, who killed a bunch of people back in March.” James asked and Lily nodded. Remus stared at him, and the sudden furrowing of his brows.

“Yeah the very same. He was on Riddle's payroll but the murders were unplanned. He stopped dealing with him after the killings. Riddle just found out he’s been involved in a plot to expose him and he wants to know what he knows.” Lily took a large bite off her plate before continuing. “We're leaving at daybreak so we can ambush him when he reaches the hotel. Remus you’re on security for the hotel, I need you to hack the cameras to make sure the footage showing us is gone…” Remus nodded he could do that he just needed…Lily slid a piece of paper across to him. He unfolded it; access codes for the hotel's IT system. He nodded pocketing the piece of paper to review later. Lily continued talking “I also need you on coms” Lily said as she handed him a small black case containing 4 ear coms. The expensive equipment did not go unnoticed around the table but wisely everyone remained quiet as he safely stowed the items with his kit in the cabinet under the sink. 

“Brown you're with Sirius and I,” Lily concluded the discussion quickly, before retiring to her room.

The next morning the four pale-faced villains piled into the station wagon Riddle had left them for the job. It was a grey automatic and Remus appreciated the break from the manual cars he had been driving lately. As he parked a short distance away from the hotel he pulled out his laptop. 

The device was clunky,. Thick and cheap. Generously gifted to Remus by Riddle after he joined Lil's team. The screen was pixelated and the keys stuck sometimes but Remus was glad of the device. It gave him something to do, a way to help out his friends. 

It made him useful.

The hotel’s internet security was lax. The codes Lily had slipped him might have allowed him entry to the database, but within two minutes Remus controlled it. He could view and disable all of the security cameras throughout the hotel. Clicking through the screens Remus quickly found his team huddled by a thin black door marked obnoxiously against entry. 

Seeing no staff members along the other side of the door or connecting hallways Remus quickly gave Lily the go-ahead.  Remus chuckled as Sirius jumped, his hand reflectively rising to his heart as Remus's voice echoed from the earpieces. 

Moving through the hotel was slow, with Remus having to redirect the trio more than anyone would have liked. When they eventually reached the door to Dursleys room, Lily called down her earpiece.  “four digits “ Her tone was sharp, and Remus watched only mildly amused as she kept looking over her shoulder. James was shaking, his whole body vibrating as he clenched and unclenched his fists. The database was lax, and Remus quickly brought up the room numbers and security keys. “3621” he called back, waiting for the door to close on Sirius before bringing up the lobby footage.  

It took about 30 minutes for Vernon Dursley to arrive and Remus spoke into his earpiece as the rather robust man entered the hotel lift. "he's here" Remus whispered into his earpiece as he watched the door on the lift shut.

"That's not the code phrase" Sirius's voice rang back through the earpiece. It was tinny but amused. The lift settled and Dursley emerged, walking through the hallway to his room.

"He's coming towards you now" Remus tried again, hoping Lily would answer.

Sirius called back through the mic

"No idea sorry"

Dursley fumbled with his key card.

"Eagle is in the nest,” Remus said, more than a little frantic.

"why didn't you say" Sirius whispered as Dursley opened the door. 

Remus lost sight of the man then, relying on the sound broadcasting from Sirius's microphone to keep him in the loop. The slamming of the hotel door, followed by the echoing thud of a man-shaped object hitting the floor, gave him a pretty good idea of what was going on.  

The next 40 minutes were rather boring for Remus as he listened to his friends torture the criminal for information. He didn’t know much and Remus wasn’t surprised. As far as Dursley knew there was a ploy to expose Riddle, however, he didn't know who orchestrated it, nor what information they had on the Death Eaters. 

In short, the man was useless. 

Or mostly useless. 

The repeated pounding of landing punches told Remus that the man was at least a good punching bag. The assault sounded brutal, each second of silence filled by a sickening slap. The man began crying quickly. Thick blubbering wails for mercy went unanswered by the assailant. Who Remus assumed to be Sirius. He could hear Lily in the background, her pacing feet punctuating the gaps between her questions. 

The questions stopped, and the pummeling continued.  

Eventually, the group emerged into the hallway, and Remus began the arduous task of guiding them out of the building. One close call with a cleaner and a quick deletion of the security recordings later Lily was slamming the door to the car. Remus drove off quickly, the silence was suffocating in the small car and Remus couldn’t help but glance in the rear view at James’s bloodied knuckles. 

"Make the call” Lil's voice was stoic and Remus blinked at the traffic lights.  Remus passed her his burner phone and voice changer, pressing the line for tips Lily spoke with an automated voice, “Vernon Dursley is staying in room 405 at the four crossing hotel on Halsburry Street” before she hung up and wiped the phone free of prints. She held the thing anxiously in a tissue before throwing it off the side of the bridge Remus had begun to cross. “Was that the police? Did you just tip the police?” James’s voice was shrill, his high-pitched wining eliciting a rare honest answer from Lily.” I don’t want that guy out on the streets any more than Scotland Yard does” She shrugged and the silence resumed until they arrived at the drop off point.

Lily had told them she would have to report her findings to Riddle when they returned and the boys had gallantly offered to join her. However, as Remus reached the doorway to headquarters he heavily regretted his decision. A wave of tiredness swept over him as he followed Lily into the mouth of headquarters. 

The door to Riddle's office was open and he glanced at Sirius, appreciating the twin look of discomfort on his pretty face. felt as though he had been awake for years. followed The good deed had made Remus feel as weightless as Lil's answering.

The three boys stood in a line by the door as Lily issued a report of the mission and told Riddle the small pieces of information Dursley had known. “Very good.” Riddle had said opening his desk drawer and pulling out a wad of cash. “I’ve taken the liberty of paying your rent for you Lily, next time you ought to tell me before the bank are sending me letters” he scolded fatherly as Lily nodded.

Her shoulders were slack, but Remus’s eyes were drawn to the thick line of tension on her spine.  “Here you go” he said handing Lily a wad of notes which she slipped under her shirt and into her bra. 

"Thank you” she said leaving the expected honorific off her words. 

“That is all” he said and Lily turned toward the door as did they all. 

“Wait..” He called and Lily froze, turning back to the man in his two-piece suit. Riddle stood and Lily leaned rigidly on the doorframe.

“Picked this up for you as well” he said placing a small bag into her palm. Remus ignored the sharp flood of jealousy as she pocketed the drugs.

“Well what are you waiting here for, go celebrate a job well done” he said with a sharp smile the action sending shivers up Remus’s spine. 

The group hurried out of the office, Remus's confusion rising as Lily turned towards the Medical bay. Sirius opened his mouth, ready to call out before Remus hushed him and tried to follow the girl. Her pace was hurried and Remus struggled after her despite his trunk-like legs. 

Lily was already riffling through a filing cabinet by the time he caught up. Her eyes were moving fast, flickering over the brown files inside. Her fingers flicked over the spine of each folder before discarding it for the next. Her movements became more and more hurried with each second Remus watched, she was muttering to herself. A soft murmur that Remus couldn’t decipher. 

She froze suddenly, staring at a waterlogged file. The pages were wrinkled, and a tare ran through the cover of the folder, held together by a strip of duct tape. Remus couldn’t make out the title. A few pages fell from the document as Lily opened the cover. 

Sirius's voice snapped Lily out of her trance-like state, causing her to quickly turn her head towards him. "What are you looking at?" he repeated. Lily blinked a few times, her eyes moving between the folder in her hands and Sirius's expectant gaze.

“I don’t know,” she said, her voice monotoned as she carefully pulled a few pages from the folder. "but I'm going to figure it out'

Remus watched curiously as she stuffed the item into the back of the cabinet before turning back to Sirius with hard eyes.

“Let’s go home,” she said, already pushing past James and out the medical room door. 

Once they arrived back at the flat everyone pilled into the kitchen, Lily quickly counted the money. Shaking her head at the small sum before placing it into the tub on the counter. 

“TV?” Sirius asked already racing towards the sofa. The TV was small, but Remus didn't mind it. When Lily and Sirius had first rented the place the TV had come with it for free. Although, it was shoddy and had poor reception, it still worked, and that was all that mattered.

“What is the capital of Brazil?” The TV host asked and both he and Lily answered immediately.

“Brasília”

Sirius shook his head at their combined voices.

“Rio de janeiro” the woman on the TV answered and a loud buzzer sounded

“incorrect” said the host “the right answer was Brasilia”.

Remus pushed his arm backwards, his hand connecting sharply with Lily’s.  

“Perhaps you two should go on one of these shows. Make some money” James suggested and Sirius started a laugh “that’s what I keep telling them.”

Remus turned his head just in time to see Lily roll her eyes.

 “Who, in 1903, was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize?” Came the voice of the host once again.

“Marie curie” he and Lily said in synchronisation. 

“It’s a little creepy isn’t it..” Sirius said elbowing James in the ribs “..when they talk like that”. 

 “The answer was Marie curie” came the voice from the TV and he and Lily high-five’d again. 

“It wouldn’t be so creepy if you had a brain Sirius,” he said jokingly to his friend. Sirius flushed slightly, his eyes downcast unaware of Remus’s prolonged staring.

James was staring at the TV still, but his mind seemed to be beyond the questions the host was asking. His face seemed long and he kept twisting his bruised hands in his lap. 

“We should train tomorrow,” Sirius said suddenly and Remus turned to him in shock. Sirius never wanted to train, he thought he was perfect just the way he was.

“Why?” James asked but Remus already understood what Sirius was trying to do. Sirius just smiled at James, his desperation for friendship seeping from his pores.

 “Sure” Lily said “but not early alright”

Remus nodded agreeing easily. “You're going to wish you’d never agreed to train with him,” Remus told the messy-haired man. Who looked as nervous as Remus thought he should. 

The sky was dark and Sirius was snoring when Remus found himself in the kitchen. His dreams were always unpredictable. His mother used to call him an “almost-insomniac” and he had laughed every single time. A fake thing he used to let her know he heard her worry, and felt her love. 

Stretching up on his toes Remus pressed his fingers over the edge of the towering kitchen cabinet. The chocolate bar Lily had given him was unharmed and Remus let out a sigh of relief at the sight. Remus tore the wrapper off quickly, braking off a square and placing it between his teeth. He waited, eyes closed as it melted, before swallowing down the melted goodness. 

The moonlight stung his eyes as Remus blinked them open. A soft white glow flooded the kitchen, sinking into the hardwood floor under his feet. The world was silent, and Remus didn’t like it. 

He broke off another square, placing it under his tongue as he gazed at the full moon before him. 

Nothing was quite like heroin, but chocolate was definitely his second favourite drug.