Routine Work
SIRIUS
It was no secret: Sirius Black was a city boy through and through. He liked paved lanes, high buildings, chaos and noise. He liked to push through a crowd and not think about who he bump into, to rush through the tubes, to flip off honking cars. It made him feel alive and most importantly – he never had to be alone with his thoughts.
Unfortunately, his current location was the polar opposite of a busy London street – he was in a forest. A very quiet, very deserted forest. The only other human being within eyesight was his partner, James, who was discontentedly trudging through the undergrowth in front of Sirius, from time to time lifting his wand to free his Auror robe from a blackberry bush. Sirirus knew James was mad at him and technically he had every right to – seeing that it was indisputably Sirius' fault they were wandering though a forest in the middle of fucking nowhere instead of being on their usual Auror duties. But as far as Sirius remembered, James had done nothing more useful than having a fit of laughter yesterday when he, Sirius, had put fire to the stack of crime reports in the Auror office. He hadn't done in on purpose of course (really!), but Barty Couch – head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and their very humourless boss – hadn't even let Sirius finish his excuse. Instead, he had yelled at them loud enough for half the Ministry to hear and then assigned them a list of very stupid tasks as a punishment that would keep them busy for days.
One of them that was particularly far beneath their dignity (they were Aurors for fucks sake), consisted of following the tip of an elderly witch who had heard weird noises coming from the woods near her village during the last night and suspected there to be a ghul pack. Sirius and James had talked to her this midday and after forcing each of them to eat half a stone of hazelnut fudge, she had given them a map and marked the location she suspected the noise to come from. Unfortunatly, this location was far up the hills and into the forest and because they couldn't apparate on such unknown territory - “Or do you want to get fucking splinched by a tree, Sirius?” - they had to go there by foot.
That had been two hours ago and Sirius suspected his fine leather boots were irrecoverable scratched now, as they had been meandering through thorn bushes and tangled undergrowth since then. It was already starting to dawn.
“Finally,” James panted and stopped abruptly, causing Sirius to stumble into him.
In front of them, almost hidden by the thicket, was sitting a shabby little shack. There was a small pair of antlers mounted halfheartedly over the front door, but it could not have been more clear that this shack hadn't been frequented by any hunters in probably a decade, covered in moss and the windows boarded up.
Sirius doubted that they would find anything other than a pair of racoons to arrest here. He sighed and lifted his wand. Protocol was protocol. “Let's get this over with,” he said. “I'll go first.”
“Fine,” James shrugged in agreement and pointed his own wand at the wooden door, whispering “Alohomora”.
Nothing happened.
“Aw, don't worry about it, it's been a while,” Sirius grinned, while James cursed under his breath, “You're probably just nervous.”
“Shut it,” James murmured, then pointed his want at the door more resolutely. “Alohomora, you stupid thing!”
The door remained closed.
The grin on Sirius face slowly faded. Could this mission be not so boring after all?
James made a complicated motion with his wand and narrowed his eyes in concentration.
“Ha,” he muttered triumphantly, when the stubborn door finally swung open, leading into a dark corridor.
James and Sirius exchanged a quick glance. Whoever had locked the door had done it using rather advanced magic. Sirius grabbed his wand a little more tightly, then he stepped past James and into the darkness of the small corridor.
Lumos, Sirius thought and the tip of his wand lighted up with a soft glow. The corridor itself was rather plain, a coat rack and a chest of drawers standing against the wall, their doors opened and seemingly empty. A quick glance to his right told Sirius that there seemed to be a tiny bathroom, the white tiles dirty and shattered. The doorway in front of him must lead to the main room of the shack then. Sirius lifted his wand hand and carefully stepped foward.
The room was shredded. Furniture was laying strewn at large, shattered into pieces. The wallpaper was hanging in scraps, as if someone had maltreated it with a large knife. Shards covered the ground, they had probably once been the window panes. Small pieces of metal were laying on the floor and when Sirius looked more closely, he found that they were iron chain links, disrupted and fallen astray. Something was really wrong here. Sirius had just opened his mouth to call in James - when then he heard it.
He was not alone.
There was a noise in the darkness. A soft, fluttering breath, almost a panting. Sirius ignored the fear in his guts, small and compact and painful, and took a careful step in the direction of the breathing noise.
The light now reached the back wall of the room and illuminated what seemed to be an improvised bed. A ragged couch and a few old sofa cushions, supporting a lanky figure.
Sirius felt his heart drop out of his chest, hitting the dirty ground of the shed and rolling around in the rubbish, getting lost somewhere in the darkness.
Lying on the couch was a young man, looking back at him with wide, fearful eyes, trying to control his heavy breathing.
He was propped up on his elbows, but his arms were shaking, and his left leg was hanging off the couch in an unnatural angle. His worn-down jumper was ripped at the shoulder and Sirius could see flesh and blood glistering in the dim light of his wand. The stranger was hurt.
Sirius lowered his wand and took two quick steps to the bed. The man flinched when Sirius leaned over him to inspect his wound.
“Don't worry,” Sirius said, glancing up to the young mans face and giving him what he hoped was an encouraging smile. “I'll help you. I'm from the Ministry for Magic.”
This didn't seem to calm the other in the slightest. His eyes flickered over Sirius' face, scrutinising. There was a scar on his neck, a pale line, crossing his Adams apple and disappearing under his collar. His light brown hair was sticking to his forehead with cold sweat.
Finally, the stranger spoke. His voice was raspy and deeper than Sirius had expected.
“My wand must be over there, somewhere,” he said. He had a slight accent Sirius' couldn't quiet identify. “If you'd summon it for me, I could heal myself.”
Sirius lifted his eyebrows and with his wand and though Accio. There was a buzzing noise and another wand came flying, landing compliantly in his free hand. The strangers eyes flickered and his lips formed what he seemed to think was a trustful smile as he put out his hand with visible effort. Sirius grinned back. He had never seen someone act so poorly.
The trustful smile disappeared when Sirius put the summoned wand into his own pocket. He was maybe not the brightest flame under the kettle, as Crouch liked to put it, but he was not a complete idiot. This stranger was hurt, yes, but the circumstances were more than dubious.
“I don't think that's a good idea. I'll take you to Mungos,” Sirius answered good-humoredly, inspecting the deep laceration on the boys side and the weird angle his leg was hanging off his body. Now he noticed that these weren't the only injuries. Over the strangers neck and arms extended a pattern of pale, white scars, but some of them were more pink that the others, and a few greenish bruised couldn't been older than a few days. This man had already been pretty beat up before his leg and side were injured.
Or someone else had healed the scratch wounds, but hadn't been able to close up the worse injuries. The door had been sealed from the outside, Sirius remembered suddenly.
“James!” Sirius called - the very second there was a muffled scream from outside of the shack.
JAMES
After his partner had disappeared into the shack, James leaned against the dirty wall and waited. He knew something was fishy about this place. The magic that had sealed the door had been a nice, secure work, better than the average Hogwarts graduate would have done it. Even if the shack was empty there could be someone here, watching them right now. James gave the forest around him a suspicious look. The green leaves and ferns looked not so innocent anymore.
And then, James' Quidditch-trained eye caught a movement to his right, almost behind his back.
Reflexively, James swung around, his wand lifted at eyes level, ready to defend himself – and looked into a pair of almond-shaped eyes, less than six feet in front of him. How the girl could have come so close he had no idea, but she was undoubtedly standing there, between the ferns and bushes, her own wand pointed at his face.
“Stay where you are!” James yelled in the same moment he heard Sirius call his name from inside of the shack.
The girls eyes flickered over to the building. She must be roughly his age, maybe twenty-four or twenty-five years old. She was wearing muggle clothes, a wide-legged pair of jeans and a sweater that read Football Club of Wales. Her ginger hair almost reached her waist and was unkempt and full of small leaves and branches. Did she live here?
“Look, I don't mean any harm to you,” James said in his most professional, soothing voice. “But I need you to lower your wand.”
The girls eyes flickered from the shack back to his face and then down to his robes. She blinked when she saw the emblem on his chest, a double M which identified him as a member of the Ministry of Magic, next to it the fused letters A and D – Auror Divison.
“Oh”, she said. And then she did the last thing James would have expected – she pushed away his wand, threw herself into his arms and started weeping bitterly.
“Um, Ma'am”, James stuttered, his arms fully of a mane of red hair. “Please. There is no need to be upset. We're here to help -”
“Thank God,” the girl sobbed, and looked up at him through wet lashes. James gulped. Her eyes were the same shade of green as the foliage surrounding them.
“Will you help us?” she asked, clinging at his robes with shaking hands.
“Yes, of course,” James answered in surprise. “That what I just sa-”
“We've been here for almost three days!” the girl exclaimed. There were freckles on her nose, just one shade darker than her skin.
“W-we?” James repeated, hoping she would soon let go of him, so he could get a few feet of distance between them. Maybe then he could regain his dignity and ability to think.
“My boyfriend and I,” the girl explained, not loosening her grip the smallest bit. James' brain operated very slowly. Boyfriend?
“He's in the shack,” she added. “He's hurt. I'm very bad at healing spells and I cannot apparate, so I really thought we were going to die here!” And with these words, she buried her face in his chest again and continued to sob.
“Oh – well -”, James muttered and skittishly started to pat her back. “Don't worry, we found you now.”
There was an amused snort behind him.
“Got a new friend, Jamie?” Sirius, the bastard, asked, strolling out of the shack.
“Dear Sir!” the girl called out, lifting her head off James' chest again. “Have you found my boyfriend? He is hurt badly!”
Sirius caught James' gaze over the girls head and nodded. “Yes, there's someone in there. He is in bad shape. I'll get him, and then we should bring these two to St. Mungos.”
“Good plan,” James answered and Sirius disappeared back into the shack. Finally, the girl seemed to calm down a bit and let go of him, sniffing loudly. James' remembered his mother had taught him at least some manners and conjured a handkerchief for her.
“Thank you,” she snuffled and dabbed her eyes with it. “And thank you so much for helping us.”
“No problem at all, Ma'am,” James answered, relieved she was not clinging to his chest anymore.
“We're here to help. It's not as if you're muggleborn or something,” he joked.
This seemed to cheer her up a little bit. She laughed, then hiccuped and gave him a shy smile. James smiled back.
“I'm James Potter. My partner and I are members of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement”, he remembered to introduce himself. “And what is your name?”
“Petunia”, she answered, still drying her eyes with the handkerchief. “Perkins,” she added.
“May I ask your blood status, Ma'am?”
“I am a half-blood,” Petunia answered. James' was glad to see she was smiling now. “My boyfriend and I wanted to go on a hike. But he fell down a tree and I am so bad at charms! ”
Her lips started to tremble again, but thankfully at that moment, Sirius came out of the shack, supporting a guy almost one head taller than him. There was a nasty flesh would on the tall guys side and one of his legs was obviously broken.
“Honey!” Petunia called out and rushed over to him. Sirius arm was would tightly around the guy, who was obviously not able to walk on his own. He was very pale and had dark shadows under his eyes.
“We'll get him to St. Mungo,” Sirius said. He looked rather worried, which was of no surprise, as the blood of the hurt young man was soaking though Sirius own silk shirt.
“Yes,” James agreed. “Sir, what is your blood status please?”
Sirius gave him an angry look, but James just shrugged. It was the protocol. Crouch would have both of them fired if they'd accidentally brought a muggleborn to St. Mungos.
“He's a half-blood too”, Petunia answered quickly, giving her boyfriend a worried look. He caught her gaze and then looked down at James.
“Yes,” he confirmed in a hoarse voice. “I am.”
“And may I ask your name then?”, James pushed, even though Sirius' gaze was deadly by now. The tall guy eyed him calmly. There was a dark, wet patch on his temple.
“Howell,” he answered then. “Gareth.”
James couldn't think of a searched for muggleborn named Howell. He gave the guy a warm smile. “Great,” James said, “Then we can get you now to -”
But Sirius had already apparated, taking Gareth with him, undoubtedly right in front of the St. Mungos main door.. James sighed.
“Shall we?”, he asked Petunia. She gave the small shack a last glance. For a moment she almost looked scared. But then the lines on her forehead disappeared.
“Yes,” she answered and took the arm he was offering. James smiled at her reassuringly and spun on his heels.
LILY
Lily stared at the lime-green ceiling of the St. Mungos Intense Healing ward. She had been sitting in this corridor for a whole hour now, her only distraction being the big warning sign for Dragon Pox on the opposite wall, informing her that it was Pox Season Again! Ask your healer about your yearly immunisation spell.
Of course, the sign hadn't really worked as a distraction from Lilys racing thoughts and it was almost impossible for her to sit still by now. Every time she heard steps coming down the corridor, her heart was pounding in her chest and her head screamed Run! Run! Run!
But until now, they hadn't been caught. The only people interested in them had been the two young Aurors who had found them in the shack, Potter and Black. She had forgotten who was who, but the one with the messy hair and glasses was sitting to her right, only a few seats away. His colleague had wandered off, probably to get them a pair of handcuffs. No, Lily remembered, wizards didn't use handcuffs. They'd just conjure silver chains out of thin air and then they'd lock her and Remus away forever. Or they'd have their souls sucked out by a Dementor, to save budget.
The young Auror lowered the book he was reading when he noticed her looking at him. Quidditch Through the Ages. She'd give a her left hand for a book.
"How are you?“ Black-or-Potter asked politely and his free hand wandered up to ruffle his hair. He did that quiet often, Lily had noticed.
“Better,” she answered and smiled up at him. She couldn't believe how lucky she and Remus had been to be found by what must be the two dumbest Aurors in the Ministry.
“I hope I can see him soon,” she added. Every moment he was talking to her was a moment he couldn't think about how they'd found them in a wrecked shack in the middle of the woods, one day after the full moon, with deep cuts on Remus chest. Or actually do some research and find out that there was no half-blood under the name of Petunia Perkins and that Gareth Howell – Remus' favourite Alter Ego - was a muggle fisherman in Wales.
“I'm sure Gareth will be alright,” messy hair answered. “So – why didn't you call for help when he was injured? You had your wand, right?”
Thoughts raced through Lilys mind. “I-I cannot conjured a Patronus,” she lied, still smiling. “I've just never been able to.”
Messy hairs smile faded the slightest bit. “But didn't your family wonder where you were?”
“They're on holiday!” Lily answered, a little to quickly. “In France. We have a cottage there.”
“And you -” The door opposite of them swung open, much to Lilys relief. A young healer with a long, blonde braid stepped on the corridor, a clipboard in hand. Her lime green robes matched the ceiling above.
“Miss, um” the healer squinted down at her clipboard, “Miss Perkins? Your boyfriend is awake. You may come to see him now.”
“Thank God,” Lily sighted and jumped up. Auror Messy Hair rose with her, putting away his Quidditch book.
“If you don't mind,” Lily said carefully, giving him another innocent look through her lashes, “I'd like to see him alone for a moment. I've been really scared for him,” she added, for effect.
He looked utterly confused. “Of course,” he answered then. “Go ahead.”
“James?” the healer asked when Lily walked past her. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”
With a bad feeling, Lily stepped into the small hospital room and closed the door behind her.
Remus was sitting in a bed next to a window through which they could see London by night. The sky was a depressing grey mass, too brightened by the city light to let them see any stars. On the other side of the room stood a second bed, in which an old wizard snored peacefully.
“How are you?” Lily asked and stepped next to the bed. Remus gave her a tight smile.
“Brilliant”, he answered in a low voice. “We're in a building full of Ministry people who want us dead and it is only a matter of time until one of the healers decides to test my blood for some stupid potion allergy and then they'll be very keen to hear why it comes pack positive for lycantrophy.”
“I think they're already suspicious,” Lily whispered back, scanning the room for escape ways. There were two doors, one leading back into the corridor and another to their left. “The healer just wanted to talk to the Auror after she called me in here.”
“Shit,” Remus sighed. “I assume we can't apparate?”
Lily shook her head. “Not in the building. We have to get four floors downstairs and outside before.”
Remus groaned and rubbed temples, a gesture of despair. Lily had to admit that the healers of St. Mungo seemed to know what they were doing. Remus face had regained some colour, the deep scratch in his side was healed and his leg seemed to be okay again.
In another world, Lily would have liked to become a healer. In a world were muggleborns were allowed to work real wizarding jobs again.
The letter had come five months ago. Until then, Lily could still pretend that all these horrible things weren't happening. Or maybe that they were happening, but they didn't affect her. Muggleborns being excluded from the wizarding community, being forced to provide identification for themselves. The Hogwarts school, which had once taught magic to everyone, unbiased by their blood-status, had been closed four years ago - when Abraxas Malfoy became Minister for Magic and Albus Dumbledore was life sentenced to Azkaban for “plotting against the Ministry”. Of course it was no secret who really conducted that lawsuit. Malfoy was nothing but a scarecrow, managing the everyday business of the Ministry, turning two blind eyes to the Death Eaters crimes and probably receiving instructions by Voldemort himself. After Malfoys nomination, everything had happened very quickly. Dumbledore was condemned, Hogwarts was closed. Halfblood wizards had to rummage around their attics in search for old genealocical tree documents to prove that they really had wizards or witches in their blood lines. And muggleborns had to get registered at ministry, where they've been asked to give back their wands and “reintegrate with their own kind”.
And then, this spring, Lily had received the letter. It had been delivered via muggle post, a very bad sign. She had burned the red paper in their fireplace after reading it, but the words would never leave her mind again.
Dear Miss Evans, as our previous efforts to contact you have not been answered, we are now forced to take legal measures. As you have not appeared in the Ministry for Magic to confirm your blood-status, we will assume that you are muggleborn. In this case you are illegally carrying a wand and performing spells at the moment, which we cannot accept. The Department for Illegal Use of Magic has filed a criminal charge against you and you'll be hold accountable for your delinquency.
Yours respectfully, Peter Pettigrew, O.M. (second class), Secretary of the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot
“We need to get out of here,” Remus said now, pushing himself off his hospital bed. The healers must have washed him, at least was there no more dirt on his face and hands. Lily nodded and frowned.
“We need a distraction. If we can reach the front door, we can apparate.”
“I don't have a wand anymore,” Remus said miserably. “The Auror with the dark hair took it.”
“They both have dark hair.”
“The good-looking one.”
“With the glasses?”
“No, the go – never mind,” Remus sighed. Lily rolled her eyes.
“I still have mine, I can take you side-along with me,” she answered. Then her gaze was caught by the other bed, occupied by the silently snoring old wizard.
“Did they empty your pockets?” Lily asked Remus thoughtfully.
“My pockets? No,” he answered in confusion.
“Do you still have that ampulla of bubotubler pus?”
“I – yes,” Remus answered and pulled the small glass bottle out of his pockets. For a while, they had tried to make his more visible scars disappear without needing a wand, but it hadn't worked. “Why?”
“I have an idea for a distraction,” Lily said.
REMUS
Remus liked Lilys plan even less as per usual but – also as per usual – he couldn't think of anything better.
With growing worry, he watched her come back into his hospital room, the bespectacled Auror in tow. She left the door wide open and Remus could see the other Auror on the corridor, talking to the blonde healer. McKinnon, he remembered her nameplate. Healer McKinnon said something and she and the Auror turned their heads to look into the room, both frowning. Remus tried a friendly smile. McKinnons frown deepened, but the Auror with the long hair grinned and winked.
Meanwhile, Lily had refound her alter ego and was firing innocent looks at the Auror with the glasses. Potter, Remus remembered. The guy looked absolutely baffled, which was the usual outcome of Lily acting like that.
“And Gareth insisted to thank you in person for saving us back then in the woods,” Lily lied blandly and manoeuvred Potter towards Remus' bed.
“Ah um, my pleasure,” Potter stuttered.
“I was in really bad shape,” Remus joined Lilys charade and forced as smile on his lips.
“You really shouldn't have climbed that tree, darling,” Lily said mock-tauntingly and Remus tried his best to put a rueful expression on his face.“Yes, about that,” Potter said, “The Healer has just told me you wounds are looking not really like a -”
“Oh my!” Lily interrupted him, pointing at the bed on the opposite wall. “What is up with him?”
The old wizard had made a croaking noise and rolled around in his bed. Potter frowned and stepped closer to the bed.
“Sir, are you alright?” he asked, gently putting a hand on the old wizards shoulder to turn him around.
Lily let out a yell which Remus knew was for show, but quiet frankly suited the situation very well. The old wizards face was covered in red blisters, a few of which had already busted open and discharged a thick, yellow liquid. (“Really?” Remus had asked Lily ten minutes after she had explained her plan. “But he is just an old man who has nothing to do with all of this.”
She had given him an icy look. “He'll be fine, Remus. But we won't, if the Ministry catches us. Pull yourself together.”)
“Is that the dragon pox?” Lily asked shrilly, pointing at Potter and the old wizard. Healer McKinnon in the lime green robe rushed into the room, followed by the long-haired Auror.
“Nobody moves!” McKinnon bellowed. Then her gaze fell on the red and swollen face of the old wizard.
“Semovera!” McKinnon yelled, pointing her wand at the old wizard. He was encased by a huge, bubble-like sphere, closing around him and making him float into the air.
Then McKinnon pointed her wand at the door and shouted: “Subitis!”
A stream of tiny red sparks shot out of the tip of her wand and whizzed through the door, splitting up and racing to both sides of the corridor.
The long-haired Auror stared at her. “What was that, Marlene?”
McKinnon gave him a grim look. “An emergency announcement. We have to evacuate this ward before the dragon pox spread out.”
Suddenly, there was movement on the corridor outside. Healers in lime-green robes rushed past their door, pushing beds or levitating patients in front of them. A loud buzzing noise had filled the air, undoubtedly the evacuation alarm.
Remus could see Lily inching closer to the door, through witch a team of four or three Healer now rushed inside, all wearing bubble-head charms over their mouths and noses.
“Over there!” McKinnon shouted and while the healers scurried through the room, Remus slipped out of his bed and towards the door.
“Stop!” Potter shouted through the mass of agitated healers, desperately trying to squeeze past them to reach Lily and Remus.
“He's touched patient zero!” McKinnon yelled and Potter was hit by a quarantine-sphere himself, floating into the air like a human-shaped balloon.
“Get them, Sirius!” he shouted through the soapy wall of the sphere, gesturing wildly towards Remus and Lily, who were now both rushing through the door and into the crowded corridor.
“Quick,” Lily gasped, grabbing Remus sleeve and pulling him into a group of gabbling trainee healers, carrying arms full of colourful potion bottles. “We're on the fourth floor, we need to reach the main door before they understand that it's not the pox.”
“Yes, I was there when you explained the plan, Lily,” Remus snapped, ducking behind a roll car that made its way through the crowd on its own. “Hurry, the other one will surely follow us.”
“We're too noticeable,” Lily hissed. “We should split up and meet in the entry hall. I'll squeeze into the elevator, you take the stairs.”
Remus felt his heart drop, but he nodded. They approached a heavy metal door, which obviously marked the end of the ward and therefore the end of the evacuation zone. Behind it, the crowd calmed down, healer were leaning against the walls or calming down patients. The alarm had fell silent the moment they had rushed through the door.
“Don't go without me, Lils,” Remus muttered, as he and Lily goose-stepped past the exhausted medical staff, directly towards the golden grid doors of the elevator.
Lily looked up and brushed her hand against his. “I would never,” she whispered. Then, a group of people pressed into the elevator and she disappeared with them.
Remus took a deep breath, then looked around. A inconspicuous door next to the flashy golden elevators was marked with a stair sign. Remus rushed into the staircase and was greeted with delicious silence. It seemed like abolutely no one at St. Mungos took the stairs in case of an emergency.
Remus had sprinted down two stairheads when he heard the squeaking of the door above his head. His heart raced. Could the young Aurors have guessed their plan? It was not a very refined one at least. One of them was hopefully still on the fourth floor, floating in a quarantine-bubble, but the other one could have probably followed them, even if they hadn't seen him in the crowd. How had Potter called him? Sirius.
Remus forced himself to rush down the stairs even faster. His muscles were still aching from the moon and his head felt dizzy from the pain potions they had given him. His until-recently-broken leg worked fine though.
Above him, another pair of steps rushed closer. Remus last hope, that at least one of the Healers was following basic safety rules and did not rely on the elevator, fizzled out.
Then, finally, Remus saw the end of the staircase in front of him, another inconspicuous door marked with the promising words “Entry Hall”. He took his last ounce of strength and barrelled through the door.
He found himself in a dark and empty corridor. On its ending he could see the glistering of the entry hall, hear muffled voices and clatter. Remus sprinted forwards and for a glorious moment, he thought he could manage to get away.
Then suddenly, his feet felt like they were filled with lead. Remus groaned in pain, when his muscled ached, but his feet were glued to the ground, immovable. He could feel his pounding heart in his chest when a dark figure, without any hurry, strolled around him. Remus watched the Aurors movements until they were standing face to face. Black, his name had been.
He was really quiet handsome, Remus noticed, growing annoyed. His pale face was framed by shoulder-long, dark hair and he was wearing one of these three-day stubbles that were supposed to look careless, but probably had to be groomed constantly. Underneath his Ministry robes, Remus could still see the rusty blood-stain on his shirt from where he had supported him in the shack.
“What a nice little hunt,” Black said in a conversational tone. His grey eyes were scanning Remus with interest. “But I have a wand and you do not – werewolf.”
Remus heart stopped for a moment when he heard that word. Then he snorted and straightened up to his full height – his last small gesture of rebellion.
“Not so dumb after all then?” Remus asked, holding the Blacks gaze.
The other one laughed barkingly. When he smiled, his face looked more human and less like a marble-statue.
“Took me long enough,” he admitted, his wand still casually pointing at Remus' chest.
“Are you searched by the Ministry?”, he asked then. Remus gave him an angry look.
“Aren't all werewolfes searched by the Ministry?” he shot back.
“Most of them, yes,” Black agreed. “I should really arrest you now,” he mused then.
“What's stopping you then?” Remus' attempt to sound haughty was no match to the others pretentious drawl. The Auror was looking bemused.
“Do you expect me to turn that into a pick-up line?” he asked sarcastically, tilting his head and giving Remus' a bright smile.
Remus stared at him, utterly irritated. “A – what?”
“Just saying,” Black shrugged. “What's stopping you then? Sounds like you want me to answer your beautiful eyes or your ample lips or something like that.”
“I-,” Remus stared at him. “I didn't want you to answer that.”
“Oh, good,” Black said, suppressing a yawn. “Because that's not really my style.”
“Your st-,” Remus was speechless. “Why are we talking about this?” he finally asked, deeply confused. Black or his wand hadn't moved an inch.
“I am lazy,” Black answered. Remus stared at him.
“No surprise there,” he said, frowning, “But what does that have to do with -”
“Whenever I can, I like to work smarter, not harder,” the Auror said and his lips curled into a small smile again. And them, finally, Remus understood.
“She's gone,” he said quickly. Black laughed.
“No, she isn't,” he answered, now smiling brightly again. “She didn't leave you in the shack and she even came here with you, accompanied by two Aurors, right into the Basilisks hole. She wouldn't just leave you now.”
“Yes, she would,” Remus lied feverishly. Lily, he was waiting for Lily. Who, undoubtedly, would come. Lily was brave and pragmatic, but above all, she was loyal to the bone.
“She's muggleborn, isn't she?” Black asked. “Or does she just have a werewolf kink?”
“The latter,” an angry voice said.
Black spun on his heels and swung his wand, just in time to block Lilys curse. She was running through the corridor, her hair whiping behind her like a red rag.
“Ebublio!” she shouted. A flash of blue light shot over Blacks shoulder, but in order to dodge it he stumbled a step back – within Remus' reach.
Remus had never been great in physical fights, but he did have a pretty strong survival instinct. Without hesitation he looped his right arm around Blacks neck and pulled him closer. The Auror made a surprised gargling sound when Remus pushed his wand-arm down with his other hand and wound the wand out of Blacks pale fingers.
“Stupefy,” Remus gasped when his own fingers had closed around the dark wand and turned its tip against its formal owner. The red flash hit Black right in the temple and he slumped heavily against Remus' chest.
Carefully, Remus let the unconscious Auror glide to the floor. His lashes were already fluttering, the stunning spell must had been very weak. Blacks raven hair, before neatly combed and shimmering, was now ruffled like a scarecrows. Gently, Remus put his head down on the stone floor.
“Finite,” Lily said, pointing her wand at Remus. Instantly, the weight was lifted from his feet, leaving nothing but a unpleasant tingling.
“Thanks,” Remus panted, feeling a lot safer now he had a wand and could move again. “Twice,” he added and Lily gave him a small smile.
“We should hurry,” she said, giving Black a wary look. He was mumbling something and seemed to come back to his senses already. Remus nodded and she grabbed his wrist, pulling him down the corridor and towards the entry hall.
There were only a few people there, sitting on benches and reading papers or sleeping soundly. The reception was unmanned. Calm music was playing in the background.
“Somebody stop them!” an angry voice shouted behind them, but Lily and Remus had already sprinted halfway through the hall at that point. A confused wizard with a lilac cylinder send a half—hearted spell after them, but Remus ducked and it fizzled above his head.
“Remus!” Lily yelled a few feet in front of him, holding open the revolving glass door that lead them outside.
Remus scampered into the small compartment with her and they pushed with all their strength. In the reflection of the glass, Remus could see the face of the handsome Auror, wandless and angry, yelling commands or cursewords. Remus waved his own wand at him. “Oh this?” he mouthed through the glass, “I keep it, okay?”
Black stared at him with utter hatred, his handsome face distorted with rage. Remus grinned back and then, he and Lily gave the revolving door one last push and were rewarded with a surge of cold, fresh air.
They stumbled out the door and onto an small, abandoned place surrounded by shabby office-building, both of them panting and full of adrenaline. Lily made a choked noise, half sobbing, half hysterical laughter. Then she resolutely grabbed Remus' wrist and spun them around, taking them away from London, from St. Mungos, from the Ministry and from dark-haired Aurors with wide smiles.