Chapter 6
Remus
Remus had officially decided that he, under no circumstances, will like Sirius Black. No matter how cool he looks in his leather jacket or on flying his death machine or when climbing up a cliff with hot molten lava pouring down it. Not when he laughs, barking like a dog, nor when he smiles, and the stars above seem to twinkle brighter above. Nope. Remus has no sort of fondness for Sirius Black. Sirius Black is simply not his cup of tea.
Remus rang these thoughts through his head over and over as glares over at Sirius during dinner. The two days since he has arrived at this gods-forsaken camp have transpired exactly the same. Remus sits through breakfast glaring at Sirius Black. Remus then joins his large cabin at their various morning activities. Next, Remus glares at Sirius Black over lunch. Following, Remus joins his large cabin at their various afternoon activities. Finally, and unsurprisingly, Remus spends his dinner glaring over at Sirius Black. Somehow, despite Sirius being seated at the farthest table in the front all by himself, Sirius was in the middle of a conversation with seemingly half of the camp. This whole damn place seems to revolve around him. Remus can’t even get a good nap in without having to hear some of the younger cabinmates going on and on about “Sirius this” and “Sirius that”. Well, Remus is certainly getting tired of it.
Remus had just finished beating his hamburger to a pulp as he glared towards the other end of the pavilion when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Next time if you don’t want to eat that, just pass it over to me. I’ll take care of it,” a boy spoke with a strong country accent. Remus looked him up and down, taking in his mousy hair, shorter stature, and the mischievous glint in his eye.
“Remus,” he said putting out his hand
“Peter,” the other boy answered, shaking his hand. “You don’t seem too fond of hamburgers, or Sirius Black for that matter.”
Remus, whose face had morphed into the closest thing to a smile than it had at any mealtime immediately went back to a grimace.
“He is just so freaking irritating.”
“And how is that?” Peter asked, his mouth forming a smirk.
“He just... he just is. By simply being there he is annoying.”
“Whatever you say, newbie,” Peter answered as he started to get up and gather up his things.
“Where are you going?” asked Remus, confused as dinner normally didn’t end for another half hour.
“We,” Peter emphasized, “are going to get you ready for capture the flag. If you really want to get back at Black, you will need to help us beat him.”
This is how Remus found himself suited up in armor with his two daggers tucked into his belt. He had tried his luck with a sword during training that morning, and quickly realized that he was no swordsman. The daggers, however, felt right. He could throw them quicker than an arrow, and with them he was more flexible than with a sword. While initially embarrassed at his unique choice of weapon, Peter assured him that most campers wielded a range of weapons, from a sword to a spear, to even an axe. They were just finishing up in the armory when Mary and Marlene entered laughing, Marlene retelling some story about Sirius Black. Traitors.
Peter took the time with the three of them together to explain the rules.
“Tonight, Hermes is allied with Demeter, Athena, Aphrodite, and Dionysus. The point of the game is to, as the name implies, capture the other team’s flag and bring it back into our territory while simultaneously preventing them from doing the same to our own flag. The other team will be Zeus, Ares, Apollo, Hephaestus. The smaller cabins are split among us. What we have going for us is the fact that most of Ares doesn’t get along well others. That and the fact that Poseidon was set to be on their team, and with James Potter gone, well, their chances of winning go down.”
James Potter. Remus feels like he could say his name in his sleep by now. Probably describe him perfectly from memory two, despite never meeting him. Remus misspoke earlier when he said the whole camp seemed to revolve around Sirius, the whole camp actually revolved around the two of them. By now, Remus could tell you all about how James Potter and Sirius Black were practically brothers, how they somehow fought monsters while also planning pranks around the camp, how some say that they are the two greatest heroes since Heracles. Remus couldn’t tell what to think about him. Part of him resented James, simply due to how much Remus was now having to hear about him. That and the fact that Remus hated anything Sirius liked, simply on principle. However, the other part of him hoped that wherever he came from, he was being missed half as much as the way people seemed to miss James Potter.
At this point, Peter was rambling on about the odds of either team, their weaknesses and strengths. Remus tuned most of it out, only perking his ears back up when he heard his name.
“You, Remus, will be stationed right over here.”
“Why is that?” Remus asked as he looked around the small empty clearing on the edge of the forest. It was obvious from looking around that there was nothing around he should be guarding.
“Trust me, Remus,” Peter said as he slapped his back, “all will be understood in good time.”
Peter then turned to the others, instructing them that they would be with him. Mary and Marlene chatted as they followed Peter further into the forest, leaving Remus all alone. Once the horn sounded, indicating the start of the game, time moved inconspicuously. Remus could not tell whether it had been 20 minutes or 2 hours. After pacing back and forth the hundredth time, Remus finally heard a noise coming from his right. He immediately took guard, his hands moving in front of him, his daggers at the ready. Instead of another camper coming to fight him, however, a large black dog appeared. Once in the clearing the dog moved slowly towards Remus. Remus, uncertain, sheathed one of his daggers, but left the other in his hand. Remus then put out his empty hand, slowly petting the dog once he was close enough. The dog at first seemed to thoroughly enjoy his petting, before backing up and tilting his head at Remus. If Remus didn’t know better, he would say that the dog looked confused.
Suddenly, however, the dog disappeared, and in his place stood none other than Sirius Black.
“Where is it?” Sirius asked aggressively, while scanning the clearing wildly. “I… I could of sworn this was where it was.”
Without second thought, Remus threw his dagger at Sirius, clipping his shoulder as he grabbed his other dagger from his belt. Sirius grimaced as he swung his head back towards Remus, holding a large spear that appeared out of nowhere. The spear crackled with lightning as Sirius held it, dark clouds forming above the clearing. Just as he did in from the mist on Cadillac Mountain, Remus again felt a familiar energy from the clouds. Acting on instinct, Remus raised his hand, calling the mist between him and Sirius. The mist separated the two boys just as Sirius raised his spear to strike Remus with a bolt of lightning. Remus instinctively closed his eyes, but instead of being burnt to crisp, Remus looked to see that the mist in front of him had absorbed the lightning, becoming swirling storm. Unsure how he knew how to do this, Remus manipulated the mist and surrounded Sirius with it. Now, instead of seeing the clearing, Sirius was surrounded with views of a dark and old forest.
While this was all going on, Remus could faintly hear a mix of yelling and cheers, followed by the sound of a horn, indicating that the game was over and one of the teams had won. At the horn, Remus dropped the mist from around Sirius, slightly exhausted by the magic he had performed. Sirius looked slightly dazed before he rushed at Remus, pushing his back into a nearby tree with his spear poking underneath Remus’ chin.
“What the hell was that?”
Remus moved his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. Instead, Remus became speechless as stared into Sirius’ eyes. They were a dark grey color, and Remus swore he could see lightning striking within them. Remus was so mesmerized that he missed the sounds of the other campers entering the clearing on their way out of the forest. Remus and Sirius continued to stare at each other, Sirius’ grimace now gone, and mouth slightly parted but arms still firm in pushing Remus back towards the tree. It wasn’t until the clearing had gone eerily silent and Dumbledore’s voice rang out that the two broke out of the stupor and Sirius finally let go of Remus.
Sirius
Nothing, and absolutely nothing, was going to plan. First, Sirius yet again had failed to find James. Secondly, despite being liked by seemingly everyone else, Remus Lupin had some sort of vendetta against him. It’s not his fault that he accidentally attacked Remus when first meeting him, right? Despite Sirius trying to smooth things over with the new kid, Remus simply glared or ignored him. Luckily the other two new kids, Mary and Marlene, were cool and seemed to like him just fine. Now that it was time for their weekly capture the flag, Sirius was trying to push these thoughts from his mind. This week the camp had the more campers than it had had since summer as many kids were visiting for Christmas break. Sirius was determined to win, especially since this would be the first time he had played since James had gone missing.
As soon as the horn sounded signally the start of the game, Sirius changed into Padfoot. Throughout the past few months without James, Sirius had been spending more and more time as Padfoot. It was easier, he felt less… less human that way. Less bogged down by emotions and heartbreak and loneliness. Sirius hadn’t felt this way since he went back home, looking for his brother only to find out that he was dead, and before that when he was surviving on the streets of New York City all alone as an 8-year-old. Those years had been dark, really dark. Sirius had set off trying to find a better life for his little brother, and once he found it at Camp Hogwarts, he went back home only to find his little brother dead. It wasn’t until three years later, when James came to camp that he ever truly felt happy again. And now, James is gone, and Sirius is back to being alone.
Spending time as Padfoot also reminded him of his memories with his little brother. Sometimes Sirius is afraid that he is beginning to forget Reggie, that one day he won’t be able to remember the way he looked when he smiled or sounded when he laughed. That one day he wouldn’t recognize the sound of his voice. But as Padfoot, all of his memories of chasing after his brother and running through the woods with Regulus on his back come rushing back. Sirius found his ability to turn into Padfoot at a young age, although then Reggie had called him Snuffles. Regulus was small enough that Snuffles could pick him and run throughout the woods behind their house as they hid from their mother. It was hard for Sirius to even imagine his poor, sweet baby brother ever dying.
The summer that Sirius was eleven was the summer that James Potter had shown up. Before then, while liking Camp Hogwarts, Sirius had struggled to fit in and make friends. He couldn’t get over how his brother was supposed to be with him. He hadn’t left the camp, not since he snuck out originally to look for his brother. But with James, Sirius finally had a best friend. They didn’t get along at first, the fact that their dads were about to start a war against each other influencing them. However, once Sirius heard that James was going to go on a quest to the Underworld, Sirius knew that he had to go with him. Sirius’ big dreams of finding his brother were snuffed out, however, once Hades informed him that Reggie was not in there. Sirius realized that he must have been reborn.
After that quest, James and Sirius were thick as thieves. They had both seen each other at their best as well their worst. Since then, they have been together through countless monster fights and saved the world together. Sirius can’t help but feel useless as he once again has lost a brother.
As he runs through the Forbidden Forest, Sirius lets his instincts take over. Sirius’ team almost always wins Capture the Flag as Padfoot is always able to sniff out the flag. This time, Sirius’ instincts take him to a clearing on the edge of the forest. He treads lightly, seeing if he can sneak up on whoever is guarding the flag. When he walks into the clearing, he sees Remus watching him and slowly putting away one of his daggers. Without thinking, Sirius walks up to him, allowing him to pet his fur. Padfoot whines internally, loving the attention, before Sirius remembers his purpose. As he sniffs around, he cannot smell the flag. Unsure why his gut told him to come here, he cocks his head toward Remus, before changing back into himself.
“Where is it?” he questioned, scanning the clearing. “I… I could of sworn this was where it was.”
In his peripheral vision, he sees a blur of movement before he felt a pain in his right shoulder. Looking down, he sees a dagger embedded into his skin. Sirius grimaced as the pain radiated through his left side. Summoning his spear, he drew lightning from the sky as clouds formed around him, fueled by his anger. Now staring down the other boy, Sirius watched as he lifted his hand into the sky. Unsure what he was about to do, Sirius pointed his spear towards Remus and released a bolt that would (only slightly) electrocute him. However, before he could smugly watch Remus be electrocuted, the lightning hit a cloud of mist that had formed between them. The mist absorbed the lightning before disappearing. All around him, Sirius could only see a much different forest than what he was used to. This forest was in the mountains, with clouds of rain ahead. The trees were huge, looking centuries old. It was dead silent, except for the faint sound of howling in the distance. Sirius started to make a step forward when it all went away, and he was left looking at Remus Lupin once again.
Angered, Sirius ran forward, thrusting the taller boy against a tree and poking his spear into his neck. Sirius’ ears rang in his anger as he snarled, “What the hell was that?” Remus said nothing as he stared back into Sirius’ eyes. As Sirius stared back, his anger began to melt away. He felt hypnotized as he stared at the deep brown eyes in front of him. There were silver specks in both eyes, forming crescent moons. Sirius could hear voices behind him, but he ignored them as he continued to watch the moons in Remus’ eyes. It wasn’t until Dumbledore spoke that Sirius let go, stumbling back as he watched a golden triple moon appear above Remus’ head.
“Hecate. Sorceress, Controller of Boundaries, Guide through Darkness, and Protector against Evil. Hail, Remus Lupin, Son of the Goddess of the Night.”