Cat and Mouse

Sirius Black and Fabian Prewitt found traversing the mazed halls of the Flipside more and more complex as time went on. They didn’t seem to have any sort of pattern, just appearing within the vastness of eternity whenever they pleased, sending them in a direction that neither made sense or brought them anywhere they had been before. It was starting to become infuriating, an endless cycle that pushed them further and further into the depths of the unknown, possible to face the creature they had left behind at any given moment. The unease that settled in at that thought had been enough to force the two men to draw their wands again, just in case something were to happen that they would need it. Soon enough, a small humming crossed the ears of Fabian, who had been leading the charge up until this point. He placed a swift hand in the air, signalling for Sirius to stop.

“Do you hear that?” He asked, tilting his head slightly to one side. Listening in close, the Marauder was just able to pick up the sound just off in the distance. He nodded, cautiously stepping forward.

“Sounds almost like a hummingbird. What could it be?” Sirius asked back. Fabian only shrugged, deciding to be brave as he continued the trek forward. The dejected Black waited a moment before following suit, the two turning the corner to be met with a dead end and the mysterious answer to both their questions. At the end of the hallway sat a Fracture of sorts, but unlike these that showed a multitude of different places in time and space, this one only showed a single event that mimicked Platform 9 ¾ that they all have ventured on. If they had to describe it, it looked less like a Fracture and more like a portal. 

“This must be how the Hippogriff got here, they came through this,” Fabian suggested just as the two got close enough to feel the miasma of energy radiating off of it. Sirius hummed, slowly lifting an arm before sticking it through. Even though nothing happened, his friend grabbed it and yanked it out of the portal. “You’re a fucking lunatic, Sirius! That could have maimed you, or even killed you!” Fabian shouted, pushing him away from the rift.

“But it didn’t, and we know these things can be travelled between. We should close it,” the Marauder told him, stepping back to where he had been before as he raised his wand. A stream of blue encompassed the rift-- similar to that of what happens when they combat the rift-- and slowly but surely the portal closes and heals before them. When the process is complete, it is like it had never been there to begin with. Sirius smiled triumphantly. “See? That wasn’t too bad.” Fabian laughed incredulously, shaking his head.

“Sirius Black, sometimes you are even more of a madman than I am, and that’s saying something,” the older Prewitt said. Sirius smiled back, the two turning to retrace their steps back from whence they came to find another pathway that they had not yet explored. They were having fun, even if a hungry hippogriff was lurking around the tunnels that they were exploring blind. In the end, Fabian could not help but think of Gideon and whether or not he was okay. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

With his breath caught in his throat, Peter unconsciously grabbed onto Lily’s arm. Wormtail’s eyes darted between the multiple hippogriffs standing before them with bated breath, doing anything to get his legs to move, however nothing he did worked. Evans appeared just as petrified, eyes wide and hands outstretched with the only movement that suggested she was still there being the delicate shake to her arm.

“Lily… what…?” Peter asked in a hushed tone, an unmistakable quiver to his tone. Even though the question was unfinished, it seemed the woman knew exactly what he was trying to get acrossed. Lily swallowed hard, turning her head to look at where they had come from as an idea slowly came into fruition. The hippogriffs, from what she can gather, are obviously distraught at something, most likely due to the eggs that have been destroyed. They are beyond reasoning or gain respect from, so she did the only thing she could think of. Evans latched onto Peter and booked it. With the two beginning their sprint, the sound of the beast’s enraged roars threatened to shatter their eardrums and the vibration of claws on floor shook the very ground they stood on. Lily took out her wand.

“We’re gonna have to lose them somehow if we want to continue living!” She told him while she thought of a proper spell to use. They turned a corner, the witch stopping just in front of Peter as she raised her wand up. “Bombarda!” A blast of orange slammed into the ceiling, dust and debris falling into the pathway of the hippogriffs just as they had reached the corner that they had turned around. When things settled, the two Marauders faced the collapsed roof of the tunnels, null and void of any creature that managed to slip through to the other side. They had a moment to catch their breath.

“That… I don’t want to do that again,” Peter huffed, placing his hand on his knees. Lily nodded, casting Lumos as now most of the light had been blocked in order to assure their safety from the magical beasts. She could still hear them clawing away at the debris, attempting to get through so they could vent out their anger on them. 

“It is safe to say now that other people have been here,” Lily said. Peter looked at her confused.

“How’s that?” He asked, genuinely puzzled at her conclusion. The two began to walk back down the hallway, Lily guiding their way with her wand.

“Those eggs were destroyed, that’s why they were so pissed off. Only someone with a death wish would smash a bunch of hippogriff eggs with the mothers still in the room, though. Who would be stupid enough to do that?” The witch questioned, although it was mostly directed up in the air. Peter thought for a moment, a dangerous thought coming to mind.

“What if someone did that with the intention of leaving it to someone else to deal with? Like… someone who wants people to die if you know where they are located.” The silence that followed was deafening. It made sense, in a way. They had encountered Bellatrix and her cronies during their first mission and they were extremely capable Death Eaters, this would be something that they are extremely capable of and would do if given the chance. Now that they knew the Marauders were alive again, it makes sense that they would pull something like that.

“Damn it…” Lily cursed, shaking her head. Peter fiddled with his hands, that panicked thing he always did before when he was nervous. It was part of the instinct he got from being a rat for so long, something that Pettigrew would never forgive any of the Death Eaters for. 

“Could that mean they’re still here?” He asked, looking behind him-- even though they had blocked the way to them in order to lose the hippogriffs. Lily shook her head.

“No, they would be foolish to stick around after. What concerns me is that they know we’re here. We’re probably not going to be so lucky as to not see them again,” the witch told him. Peter nodded, deciding to stay silent as their trek continued. They needed to meet back up with the other Marauders, they needed to tell them of their discoveries. If the Death Eaters knew where they were located, it is safe to say they would be back at any time. What they wished didn’t come back was that original hippogriff, more though for the people who she was chasing. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Remus, James, and Gideon had the unfortunate pleasure of coming face to face with her as soon as they turned the corner. They had been relatively lucky thus far as to not having come across the hippogriff but that swiftly ended when they tested their luck one too many times. Remus lagged slightly behind, wincing at the jostling of his shoulder while James looked back to make sure his friend was still there. 

“Be a hero, they said! It’ll be rewarding, they said!” Prongs growled. Moony would have laughed if not for the twinging pain in his arm, however it was nothing compared to what he was about to experience. Gideon decided to turn into another hallway a tad bit too late, thus sending the other two into a momentary panic. James slid, extending a hand to prevent himself from harm while Remus, on the other hand, was unable to, the arm that was injured being the one that was required to do so. The werewolf slammed into the wall, a loud cry escaping from his mouth as James swiftly grabbed onto his good side, pulling him in front of him as they continued to run for dear life. Gideon pivoted to the side, nerves running high as the hippogriff gained distance on them. The ginger pointed his wand at the magical beast.

“STUPEFY!” The Prewitt shouted, a blast of white slamming into the hippogriff as it momentarily howled from being stunned by the spell. He continued running. “It wont hold it for long!” Gideon told them, the three doing their best in navigating the ever changing hallways of the Flipside. It seemed like they were going nowhere, endlessly turning corners and going down stairs and the sounds of the hippogriff were getting closer again. The stunning spell only lasts for so long, after all. They collected into a small outcove, pushing as far out of sight as possible in hopes of momentarily losing the hippogriff. Sweat glistened on their foreheads, however Remus seemed in worse shape out of the three of them. 

Blood now soaked through the ruffled up bandage as he had been forced to lean against the wall to keep himself upright. The werewolf is constantly weakened by the coming of the full moon and the confines of his injury is only slumping his chances of recovery. Marlene will kill him, that’s if they survived this adventure. The hippogriff charged by the outcove without paying any mind to them, the bunch waiting a few seconds before deciding that the coast was clear. Gideon immediately turned his attention to Remus.

“Are you alright?” He asked as James overlooked fixing his sling. Remus nodded weakly, swallowing hard as he blinked away the blurriness. 

“As well as I can be… where do we go from here?” Remus queried back. James exhaled sharply, giving a swift tug that made the werewolf wince. This was not the position Moony wanted to find himself in.

“You’re in no condition to do anymore running but should it become necessary, I did some tweaking to your sling. It should hold your arm and shoulder more tightly now, just in case something should occur during the chase,” James told him. Remus raised an eyebrow, giving a lighthearted chuckle.

“Didn’t realise you were… a nurse, now…” Moony joked at his friend’s expense. James didn’t answer but he did give the larger man a well needed smile. Gideon looked both ways they could go.

“We’re kinda at an impasse, mates. On one hand we could go back from whence we came and hope that the tunnels have changed by now, and on the other we go down that way but run the risk of encountering the hippogriff,” the younger Prewitt laid out for them. They shared a moment of silence, looking between each other as the thoughts and ideas of possibilities ran rampant in their minds. Finally, James huffed in frustration.

“We should head back. It’s better than the possibility of having to run again,” the Marauder suggested. Not voicing any grievances with the plan, Remus pushed himself off of the wall, Prongs helping him balance properly as Gideon led the way. They had gotten just about ten steps before the sounds of bellowing footsteps reached their ears again. The three snapped their attentions back down the hallway, disdain and dismay filling their hearts as they watched the hippogriff charge around the corner, bellowing straight for them. James sighed in dismay.

“Aw for fucks--” 

“RUN!” Gideon shouted, pushing the two Marauders in front of him before the grand chase began again. The Hippogriff screeched, it echoing down corridor after corridor leaving a small ringing in their ears. Poor Remus actually winced, struggling to stay on his feet as he was basically being pulled down the hallway by his two friends. The sounds of the hippogriff charging after them filled James’ head with unkind images. They were going to die again, removed early from the confines of battle because some fool played them, just like before. As if things could not get worse, the three wizards ended up at a dead end, Gideon placing both hands on the wall in anger before slamming a fist against it. Remus bowed his head, understanding just what this meant for all of them while James simply kept his eye trained on the creature approaching them at great speed. Prongs pushed the other two behind him, wand extended in a threatening manner, however he muttered no spell. If anyone was going to die here, he would make sure it was him. 

Remus placed a soft hand on his fellow Marauder’s shoulder, reminding him that he was not there alone. Gideon too had his wand in hand, albeit a lot less confident than Potter was at facing the creature, while the werewolf simply stood back, knowing he was nothing but dead weight at this point in time. His stitches clearly had ripped and made the wound worse, the feeling of blood loss hitting harder the more time went by.

“It’s been a pleasure…” James muttered just loud enough for the other two to hear. Remus’ gaze hardened while Gideon let out a small whimper, the Prewitt masking it as him clearing his throat quite poorly swiftly after. They were all scared and as the hippogriff approached, they realised just how capable they were of dying again. Soon enough one of them was better than any of the others. James couldn’t stomach letting Lily die again. The hippogriff came to a slow stop just as the hallway changed before their very eyes. Just in front of them appeared a hallway leading somewhere else in the Flipside, however the negative thing was the magical creature blocked them from getting to it. They were trapped like mice in a cage. And then, that’s when it happened.

“Periculum!” The entire hallway suddenly lit up in bright lights, tiny explosions wracking the creature as it struggled to cope with the abrupt pause in it’s meal. Eventually it became too much for the poor thing, the hippogriff thrashing its head back and forth before deciding that they weren’t worth the trouble. With a single howl, the magical beast fled, disappearing down the hallway that had just appeared with haste. Just like that, the hallway disappeared, leaving the three Marauders with however their saviours were. And what people they were indeed. Looking down the corridor, the three men graciously smiled as the kind gazes of Fabian and Sirius looked back at them. The younger Prewitt brother was instantly in his brother's arms, both showing relief that the other was still alive. 

“Holy shit, you lucky knobhead! How did you find us?” Gideon asked as his older brother gave him a strong noogie. Fabian shrugged.

“Dunno. We had encountered the creature about twenty minutes ago and managed to lose it through a hole in the wall. Wandered for a bit, avoided getting seen again, and that’s when we just barely saw you blokes running away from it,” he told them. Sirius clasped James’ hand while simply giving a solemn nod Remus’ way, acknowledging him still being alright although dead on his feet. 

“We took chase after you and then saved your sorry arses from that beast. You can thank us now,” Sirius joked, giving a fake bow. Prongs scoffed while Moony only had the strength to give an eyeroll. 

“Always studious in the face of danger, eh Padfoot?” James asked. The group shared a well needed laugh before a thought came to Remus’ mind. He frowned.

“Lily and Peter are still out there somewhere,” he reminded them, taking a few steps forward before turning before them, gathering enough strength to stand on his own without the assistance of the wall. James nodded.

“We need to find them. Merlin knows how much longer Lily can survive Peter’s nervous ramblings,” Prongs chuckled.

“We noticed another portal a ways back, could lead us to somewhere useful. Might even bring us to them,” Fabian brought up, pointing back down the hallway. 

“Then it’s settled,” Sirius started, adjusting his coat confidently before taking his wand out of his pocket. “Let’s get going. The longer we wait the more of a chance that beast finds them before we do.” With the confidence that they’ll be getting out of this situation soon, the group of five led by Fabian and Gideon traversed the hallways until they reached the place that had been described to them. The portal shimmered like water in a cove, reflecting rays of light that were not possible to create where they were located. The blurry visage of a wide open space reflected the miasma of chaotic energy, giving them the inkling that stepping through would put them in a different part of the Flipside. James looked the portal up and down nervously.

“That thing does not look stable…” he pointed out, a hint of distrust in his voice. Sirius laughed.

“Is anything we do lately ever stable?” Padfoot questioned. At the silence of his friend, the dejected Black exhaled. “Fine. After me, then.” Without warning, he stepped into the portal, and the hearts of those he left behind dropped. Nervous that their friend had been scattered atom by atom across the dimension, their worries were quelled when Sirius’ head popped back in. “You guys coming?” Remus shook his head, giving Prongs one sharp slap on the shoulder before he joined Sirius on the other side. James waited a little bit longer until he was sure everything was safe, going in alongside the Prewitt brothers and onto a place that they recognise as a train platform, unlike that of the one they are used to however. The group took a moment to look around before James whistled in appreciation.

“What a place… do you think we’re close to the Sanctuary then?” He asked, turning to his fellow Marauders. Remus shrugged.

“Can’t be sure. We don’t know this place as well as we think we do, could be anywhere. This place is always shifting,” the werewolf pointed out. Sirius turns back to the portal and takes out his wand, casting the same spell he did when they came upon a portal before having met up with the group of three. The strands of magic constricted the rift in time before it closed, leaving nothing behind that suggested it had even been there.

“Guess it’s safer that way,” Gideon commented, a little unnerved at the fact that one of their easier escape routes had just been closed behind them. 

“So where do we go from here?” Fabian asked. Before any of them could answer, a voice sounded out from across the way.

“JAMES!” Looking in the direction it came from, the group watched in horror as Lily and Peter sprinted towards them, an abundance of hippogriffs on their tail. James cursed under his breath as the group began to run away, however that proved less than useful as they were quickly surrounded. The Marauders-- now together-- huddled as close to one another as physically possible, wands out and ready to defend themselves if need be. The magical beasts did not move from their encircling position. The original hippogriff stepped forward, wings outstretched and claws extended with the intention of harm. 

“Well, we’ve gotten ourselves into quite the predicament, haven’t we?” Sirius asked, a bothered smile stretched across his face.

“Nothing less than what we’re used to, isn’t that what you said, Sirius?” Remus prodded, having been shoved slightly in the middle due to his lack of energy at the time being.

“This can’t go in our favour,” Fabian said softly, his hand resting on the back of Gideon’s. The brothers were clung to one another like death themselves were threatening to seperate them again and they were determined to fall together once more if need be. 

“We’re gonna die again…” Peter trailed off, flicking his eyes between each of the magical beasts in front of them. James pondered for a moment, thinking back to his Magizoology classes and all the times he had spent in the company of Hagrid as a memory came to mind. 

“Do any of you know why they might be upset?” James asked softly.

“Peter and I discovered a room full of destroyed eggs. We think someone came through and destroyed them all, thus killing the children,” Lily informed, tilting her head in confusion. “Why?” Prongs, however, said nothing. He slowly put away his wand, stepping forward with his hands outstretched, showing that he meant the creature no harm. The others looked at him incredulously but said nothing, afraid that even the slightest cough would trigger the beast’s wrath.

“Mythicals of the wild, we beg your forgiveness. We are not the ones who harmed your young, we are simply people who wish to bring order back to the places of our world. If it will please you, we will hunt down those responsible and give them the credence they deserve. We give nothing but our respect to you,” James said out loud, giving the hippogriff and all of the others a slow and meaningful bow. For a moment, nothing happened. The weight of the situation hung heavily in the air. Through all the uncertainty and concern, eventually, a miracle happened. The hippogriff in front of James mirrored the bow, folding her wings in and letting out a small chirp. The surrounding mythical beasts backed off almost immediately, James and the hippogriff raising at around the same time. She let out a loud chuff, three more of the creatures approaching as they motioned to their backs. They had accepted their words and were willing to take them to where they needed to go.

“Are you sure about this James?” Peter asked anxiously, still a little unsure about the idea of getting on their back. Prongs gave the man a bright smile, he and Lily hopping onto the original while Sirius and Remus hopped on another. The poor werewolf looked about ready to fall over at any given moment, and Padfoot kept one hand on his form at all times to keep him sturdy. The Prewitt brothers and Pettigrew shortly followed suit, the four hippogriffs and their passengers flying off into the ceiling as the entire thing shattered like glass, appearing on the platform they recognise the Sanctuary residing on. Giving a few laps in the air, they eventually landed, the beasts allowing the seven to hop off before flying off again. The original stayed behind, but only for a moment. She locked eyes with James again, giving the Potter another swift nod of acceptance while he gave her one in return.

“Thank you,” James said, the group watching the mother fly back in the direction they came from. Turning around, he found his friends giving him strange looks, and it did not take a genius for him to figure out what they were snickering at. The wizard rolled his eyes. “Sod off, you all would have been eaten if I hadn’t thought of doing that.” Lily walked up to him, grasping his hand with hers.

“You’re right, my knight in shining armour. Even a blind squirrel can find a nut every once in a while,” his wife mocked. The group shared a laugh, Potter muttering the phrase as they entered the Sanctuary once again. Though the situation has been resolved, it could have quickly gotten out of hand. The Marauders are gaining the confidence to do things again that they had lost since perishing to Voldemort’s forces, and the Prewitt’s were happy they could be useful for once. Maybe there is hope that people not bound to the Shattered Realm can go out some day. For the time being, Fabian and Gideon Prewitt will cherish this memory until they can, and maybe they would settle for something less Cat and Mouse.