Chapter Nineteen
There were pages turned with the bridges burned
Everything you lose is a step you take
They settled into a strange routine after that. Every time they turned a corner, they seemed to find another wall waiting. Necessity led to them sharing Remus’s wand, something Sirius wasn’t shy about simply taking from him at any needed moment, but Remus didn’t mind. It secretly thrilled him to see Sirius performing magic again. At night, they slept apart.
As they moved around, they picked up scraps of information from papers and Harry. When the full moon came around, Remus was able to run freely, kept in check by Sirius as a dog. Trusting him was as easy as breathing, and he woke up wrapped carefully in a warm blanket, without a single new scratch.
Despite everything, they found themselves beginning to enjoy aspects of their situation, and they held onto those moments desperately. Sirius was particularly thrilled to hear that Harry had lost 50 points from Gryffindor by hexing Malfoy and swearing at Snape, and they both laughed at an incredibly poorly-written article someone called Rita Skeeter had published on Harry’s experiences of the Tournament so far, which prompted Sirius to write to Harry.
Incredibly proud of you making it in the press - you’re almost as famous as me now! We’ve framed the article on our mantlepiece. Sadly it’s printed in black and white, so we can’t see your startling green eyes filled with tears, but it’s still quite emotional don’t worry.
“What mantlepiece?” Asked Remus, leaning over his shoulder. In response, Sirius grabbed Remus’s wand from his back pocket, without asking, and roughly transfigured a roundish rock into something slightly more square.
“Very… majestic.”
But they placed the article on it regardless.
Remus focused on these moments of light, willing them to fill his days. All too often, the news was troubling. Their faith in Mad-Eye was mitigated somewhat by his apparent failure to remove Harry from the tournament, and this was exacerbated by the fact that the tournament had brought Karkaroff, an old Death Eater, to Hogwarts.
“What the fuck was Dumbledore thinking?” Said Sirius. Remus had no words at all.
Some time in November, they risked breaking into a house to speak to Harry over floo. Sirius tried to warn Harry, and give him as much information as possible with which to arm himself against the threats he was facing.
When Sirius pulled his head from the flames, he looked stricken. “We were interrupted.” He explained. “I didn’t even get a chance to give him advice for the dragon!”
Remus tried to hide his disappointment. He’d been hoping to speak with Harry too. “Do you believe me now, that Harry didn’t put his name into the goblet?”
“I believe you.”
This time, while Harry competed, neither of them was able to sneak onto the grounds to watch him. All they could do was sit alone in a damp cave, and wait for more information.
*
Remus had never been an early riser. By the time he woke up, Sirius had usually already been out in dog form, foraging for newspapers. Remus could tell by the way he approached the laithe they were currently squatting that he hadn’t found good news.
“Harry?” He enquired, anxiously. They’d had a letter earlier that week, full of anxiety about Barty Crouch’s strange behaviour, and neither of them knew how to respond.
Sirius shook his head, then transformed back into a human. “No. It’s Rubeus. That Skeeter woman’s a real piece of shit.”
He chucked the paper across to Remus, who caught it and quickly skimmed the front page article. “Bloody hell.”
It was not good. Rita had somehow found out that Hagrid was half giant, and was running a smear campaign.
“She can’t write things like this, can she?”
Remus sighed bitterly. “Giants are classed like werewolves - we’re dangerous creatures, and under current laws, the public have a right to know. And there’s no laws protecting the person who is outed, obviously.”
“I thought - when I saw you, teaching at Hogwarts, I thought maybe the world had changed. That you’d be accepted for who you are. But it’s still the same.”
“It’s still the same.” Remus repeated, absently. His mind was whirring.
“Moons? What are you thinking?” Asked Sirius.
“I think… I think I need to go back. To the Unicorn. Just briefly, but I need to help with whatever they’re doing about this.”
“Ok.” Sirius replied instantly. “When are we going?”
“I said I, not we. It’s too dangerous for you!”
“Like it was too dangerous for you to come live with me?” Sirius raised an eyebrow.
“What about Buckbeak?”
“Hippogriffs aren’t pets. They survive on their own all the time! Besides, Buckbeak sleeps 14 hours a day at the moment. He’ll be fine.” Sirius glanced at the Hippogriff. “I’ll leave him some chicken.”
Remus considered his options. He was surprised that Sirius would want to come with him. Some days it felt like he wanted Sirius as far away from him as possible, and he wondered if he should have come at all. But then there were moments like this, where they felt so intrinsically linked it seemed impossible even to contemplate leaving him behind. It was all very confusing, but his heart had already decided. What was one extra risk, alongside all the others? So he nodded, and they headed for London.
They went straight to Eloise’s, deciding not to notify her beforehand in case they were intercepted. She lived in the muggle Borough of Haringey, which made things easier. She seemed a little flustered at the door, and Remus supposed that it was one thing for her to know that the convicted criminal that was constantly all over the news was actually innocent, and another thing to be confronted with him in person, at your own door.
“I’m sorry Eloise, but it’s really important. Can we come in?”
“Er…” She paused, but only for a second, and then ushered them in. “Yes, yes of course, erm. Sorry. It’s a mess… also, your friend’s here… just thought you should know.”
Shit. Remus and Sirius both stiffened. Remus realised then what a stupid plan this had been; five minutes in London and they’d instantly blown their cover.
“Wotcher” Came a voice from the living room, and Tonks strolled through the door, leaning on the frame with her arms crossed. “I knew you thought he was innocent, too, you sly bastard.”
She turned to Sirius, who was still frozen in place. “Hello, cuz.”
Eloise glanced round at Remus and Sirius’s confused faces, and burst into laughter. “I think we all have some catching up to do. Firewhisky, anyone?”
Four glasses shot across the table and into their hands. “Take a seat, everyone. I’ll go first.”
She flapped her hands, commanding them all towards the sofas. “Right. Hello, Sirius, nice to meet you. I’m Eloise, I don’t know what this one has told you about me, but since everyone’s been abandoning The Unicorn left right and centre, I’ve sort of been left in charge.” She gave Remus a hard stare, but her eyes crinkled into a smile at the edges, so he knew she was just teasing. “Tonks is here… well, she’s my inside man. I don’t know if you’ve seen the news… but wizard aggression towards other magical creatures is at an all time high right now. We’re trying to combat it.”
“I work for the ministry.” Tonks cut in. “But it’s not at all what I thought it would be - I thought Aurors, at least, would have some sense between them. But half of them are total bigots. It’s bullshit. Kingsley’s alright, but the rest of them -”
“Kingsley Shacklebolt?” Sirius interjected. He exchanged a glance with Remus.
“Oh, you know him?” Tonks seemed pleased to have been addressed by Sirius.
“We… worked with him. Before.” Remus wasn’t sure how much he should share about the Order. Thankfully, Tonks didn’t press it.
“Well, that’s us!” Eloise clapped her hands. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?”
“This.” Remus lay his copy of The Prophet onto the table. “Have you spoken to Hagrid? We can’t get near the school, and figured it would be a bad time to risk sending him an owl. We got any lawyers in at the moment who can do anything?”
Eloise smoothed the corners of the paper, thoughtfully. “We’ve been in touch.” She said. “But the official line of the law is that the public have a right to know.”
“Not if she came by the information illegally though!”
“True… but we can’t prove it. There’s something up with that one… she always seems to be able to find stuff out. And we don’t know how. Even if we did - the information’s out now. There’s no law to protect him from the consequences. Wizard law is fucked, basically.”
“Is Hagrid’s job safe?”
“He still has it for now, but it’s tenuous. Obviously, Dumbledore has his back, but there’s the school governors to consider. Do you have a plan in mind?”
Remus did, as it happened. He remembered too well how Malfoy’s involvement on the board had contributed to Hagrid’s incarceration the year the Chamber of Secrets was opened; but he also remembered how several members had been against it too. With the right actions, maybe the board of governors could be swayed.
“I reckon I can convince a few students to hold a protest, show the governors how popular Hagrid is. Most of them have the student’s best interests at heart.”
Eloise straightened her SPEW badge, considering. “We can send some people up to Hogsmeade to support them. Do you have students in mind?”
Remus smiled. “I do.”