Fanfic: Something's rotten in the state of Denmark
Title: Something's rotten in the state of Denmark
Fest: This was written for the shaggydog_swap
Art: Sun Up, Wind High by pandafoot105
Word Count: 10677 words
Rating: PG-13
Contains: *Alternate Universe, I guess I should warn for Pre-Slash*
Summary: Remus never expected that when he was sent on a mission to Denmark, he would have none other than Sirius Black as his babysitter.
Notes/comments: As this fic is taking place in Copenhagen, I have used the words "København" and "ulv" in the fic, they mean Copenhagen and wolf. Also thanks a lot to the patient shaggy mods and my wonderful beta.
After Fest Notes: I really enjoyed writing this fic, even if it came with a few bumps. I loved the art, and the whole concept of the fest of being able to write for fanart, it made writing process so much easier (not that it went any faster but the idea was there at least XD ). Thank you again to the amazing mods for giving me an extension, my awesome beta and those wonderful reviews I have received on the fic! And I'll shut up now. XD
Remus wasn’t exactly an outgoing person and sometimes, being in a group of people who had all gone to Hogwarts, who all knew each other in some way, made him feel left out. If it weren’t for Dumbledore he wouldn’t even be here, let alone have a wand nor be able to do any magic at all.
Still, he couldn’t help but wonder if this had ever been a good idea. A werewolf with a wand, the Ministry officials had laughed when they heard about it, and all the wizards he had known until now had looked at him if he was nothing more than a piece of filth. Here, in the Order it was different, but still he had the nagging feeling that people were talking behind his back and it was still not within his measures of understanding why Dumbledore had ever made him join.
“Remus,” a voice called out, and Remus looked up, his expression growing composed as he saw Dumbledore walking up to him. Just the man he wanted, because he didn’t want to delay his departure any longer. There was a train to catch after all, and he didn’t want to stress himself by being delayed.
“I would like to introduce you to Sirius Black, he will be joining you on your mission,” Dumbledore continued and only then Remus noticed the man behind Dumbledore. He of course knew Black from seeing him at the meetings. Stupid too good-looking for himself Black, who always needed to have the last word, always needed to be right and have his ego boosted in every way possible. He blanched at the thought of having someone like him accompanying him on a mission that might very well last a few months.
“Sir, I am sure I can manage,” Remus replied instantly, looking up at Dumbledore with what he hoped wasn't a pleading expression and then back at Black. Apparently, the other man had known about this longer, because there was this trademark smirk on his face, and a huge backpack heaved over his shoulder. He bared his teeth for the shortest of seconds and then looked back up at Dumbledore, who by now was looking at him with that smile that meant that Remus would definitely not have any kind of say in this and if he tried, he would be getting himself into a big load of trouble. Swallowing the profanities that were threatening to leave his lips, which weren’t a lot really and not exactly rude either, Remus heaved a deep sigh.
“Sirius, this is Remus,” was Dumbledore’s only reply, stepping aside to let the two men greet properly. Remus was immediately greeted by Sirius’s outstretched hand and he pushed himself into being civil with this man, because, after all, he was going to have to spend a lot of time with him, and reached out to shake it. It was a firm shake, and Remus thought he could see the smirk disappear from Sirius’s features for a moment, but he must have imagined it because seconds later it was there again.
“Nice to meet you, Remus,” Sirius said with a broad smile, managing to flash his absolutely straight and white teeth. Pushing away all thoughts of how good-looking Black could be, Remus simply nodded at him in return and then reached down for his backpack. They would have to get to the Liverpool station soon to catch their train to Harwich and then continue from there on.
“I hope you have packed everything you needed, Black, Denmark is supposed to be pretty cold during the winter,” Remus noted, wondering if the man knew what he was getting himself into and inwardly cursing Dumbledore for his crazy idea of sending Black along.
“Got everything I need, grumpy pants,” Sirius replied and the words simply made Remus want to hit the man and cry out in frustration. Instead, he turned back towards Dumbledore, hoping for some kind of luck to strike, making the old man decide that Remus didn’t need a protector guarding his back.
“You will find everything you need once you arrive at the location. Keep contact to a minimum, we don’t want to have any owls intercepted. Also, remember, you’re living in a Muggle area, I shouldn't have to remind you to keep magic at a minimum. Here are all the tickets you will need to get to your location, and some extra money for the journey,” Dumbledore said firmly, handing Remus a small purse with the said essentials. Knowing he had lost any chance of voicing his complaint about Black accompanying him, Remus took the purse with a small nod and placed it in his bag where it would be easy to find. Making sure once again that all the pockets were closed and that he had indeed packed everything he needed, Remus pulled the backpack over his shoulders.
“Of course, Professor. We will contact you as soon as we’ve settled,” Remus replied and then walked past Dumbledore and Black over to the door. When he didn’t hear any footsteps behind him, he looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at Black. “Come on, Black, what are you waiting for, you’re not going to get a special invitation,” he said, his voice irritated and then, without another glance, stepped outside. It wouldn’t be a long walk to the train station, and if Black was actually going to catch up they wouldn’t be late.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Remus was just about to turn back when he heard footsteps behind him, soon realising that it was Black as he heard the other man’s voice. “You know, I do have a first name,” Black remarked and the urge to punch the other man was growing inside Remus with every moment. He wondered what Dumbledore was trying to achieve with this, picking out Sirius to join him. He was sure the older man knew what Remus thought of Black, or what he thought of Black and Potter in general. Sighing heavily, Remus once more glanced at his watch and then increased his pace a little.
“I know, Black, now keep up, we have a train to catch,” Remus simply replied and without another word lead the way to the station. He didn’t speak for the rest of the way, and not even in the train when they had found their seats. Black had tried several times to get his attention, and Remus had done his best to ignore it as much as possible. By the time they had reached Harwich, and had found their way to the harbour where they would take the ferry to Denmark, Remus could feel himself growing hungry. He hadn’t packed anything to eat, and he knew that Black would probably be hungry as well. And while Remus wasn’t keen on communicating with Black, he wasn’t going to forget his manners and ignore the other man's possible hunger.
“We’ve still got 40 minutes until the ferry arrives, let's grab something to eat,” Remus ended up saying as a matter of fact, not sparing a glance at Black as he headed for the small shop that was right in front of them. They each bought a sandwich and something to drink, ending up sitting on the pier next to their bags and enjoying the last rays of the somewhat warm sun.
“You don’t talk much, do you,” Black said after the first few bites of his sandwich, and Remus guessed that Black’s patience must have grown rather thin by now.
“I don’t see the need to,” Remus simply replied, taking another bite of his sandwich. He admitted that it hadn’t been the best idea to sit out here on the pier, the wood was rather cold but the chairs had looked like they were going to fall into pieces if one sat down.
“Well, since we’re probably going to be spending some valid time together, I think we should get to know each other better,” Sirius deadpanned, and there was that broad grin that Remus had wanted to punch off the other man’s face ever since he had seen him the first time. He just couldn’t understand how someone could be so cheerful the whole time, add to that Black's apparent level of energy and the fact that the man was never able to keep his mouth shut, and Remus was sure that he was going to go around the bend after one week of them living together.
Not feeling the urge to reply right now, Remus turned his gaze away and took in the view, frowning a little at the sight of the rough waves crashing on to the shore. He had never been on a boat before, and he wasn’t entirely sure what his mind would think of having to be aboard one. Alright, so maybe a ferry was a bit bigger than a simple boat, in the sense that it wouldn't roll as much in the waves as a yacht, but still it would move in ways Remus’s stomach probably didn’t appreciate.
“Alright, I’ll start off then. I was born into the most noble and ancient house of Black, lots of bullshit if you ask me. Went to Hogwarts, and got sorted into Gryffindor…”
“Figures,” Remus interrupted, not yet looking at Sirius.
“Why do you say that?” Sirius instantly asked and Remus immediately regretted letting himself answer. Letting out what he hoped to be an annoying sigh, maybe Black would finally catch the hint that Remus didn’t want to speak with him, Remus looked up with a disinterested expression.
“Well, first of all, you always want to be in the middle of everyone’s attention; have the tendency to boast whenever you find the chance and third, think you are the best and don’t at all mind to have your ego stroked whenever possible. Typical Gryffindor,” he explained, then took another bite of his sandwich.
Remus thought, maybe even hoped, that Black would feel majorly insulted at what Remus had just said and would decide to leave and let Remus go on the mission on his own. What he hadn’t expected was for that expression on Black’s face to grow into an amused grin which was then followed by loud barking laughter. He couldn’t help but simply stare at the other man, utterly shocked, wondering if he was even more around the bend that Remus had imagined. This only seemed to amuse Black even more, whose laughter just got even louder in the process.
“You’re not exactly used to being around Gryffindors, are you?” Black asked once he had somehow managed to get that loud laughter under control, and the shocked expression quickly disappeared from Remus’s face again. Closing his mouth, he swallowed audibly and then tried his hardest to look annoyed again. He wasn’t going to let the other man charm his way through to Remus, no, he wasn’t as susceptible to his charm as some of others in the Order.
“How could I possibly be? I didn’t go to Hogwarts,” Remus replied cooly and this time he was glad to see that his words had surprised Black.
“But you’ve got a wand and you're a member of the Order,” Black replied rather dumbfounded and Remus let out a soft snort. He looked into the distance across the sea for a moment, reminding himself that life was never going to change and that people still tended to forget what he was, and all the prejudices that came along with it.
“And, as you know, I am still very much a werewolf,” Remus muttered. Pushing himself up on his feet, he wrapped the rest of his sandwich up in the plastic wrapper and but it into his backpack. He had seen the ferry coming in the distance and he didn’t want to spend hours standing somewhere in the back of a long line, continuing to freeze off valuable parts of his body.
He only noticed now that the pier had seemingly filled itself with more people, especially around the small shop where they had gotten their food. It was interesting to see how many people were still interested in travelling by boat.
“That’s not a reason not to go to Hogwarts,” Black interjected, getting off the ground as well and brushing the dirt off his trousers.
“Well, apparently for the Wizengamot it is,” Remus spat out bitterly and then pulled his backpack over his shoulders and stared stoically at the sea. He didn’t want to admit that Black had managed to hit a nerve with that question, and neither wanted to show that he was very much confused that the man had seemingly looked past his Lycanthropy without batting an eye.
Neither of them said another word until the boat came, watching quietly as masses of people departed from it. When they were finally allowed to board the boat, Remus felt like his bag was going to cut off his shoulders some time soon and he wished for a nice comfy bed where he could sleep until next day. His dream was quickly erased as they finally reached the cabin they had to share. It wasn’t that small, but also just barely big enough for two people, a window leading outside and a bunk bed to the side.
“I'm sleeping on top,” Black said, throwing his bag on to the floor and instantly climbing on to the top bed.
“Suits me,” Remus muttered, sitting down on the bottom bed and resting his head in his hands. This was going to be a very long trip.
After both of them had gotten an hour's rest, Black’s hyperactivity had become visible again. So after a while, they had left their cabin to explore the boat. Remus told himself that he had only gone out with Black because he could no longer stand listening to his constant whining, and not because his mind was having the crazy idea of actually wanting to get to know the other man. They had ended up at the boat's restaurant, having a small and rather dreadful dinner, and Remus had found himself almost smiling when Black had ended up making the situation almost comical, by praising the food as the best he had ever eaten in his entire life.
Then, they had headed out to the deck and had noticed that the waves were getting rougher, something that Remus didn’t find too entertaining. Black, however, seemed to be having the time of his life, and while he had let the man stay outside to enjoy it, Remus had returned to their quarters to hopefully catch some sleep before the next day.
It had taken a while for Remus to fall asleep, and even then his sleep had been very light. He had awoken again as soon as Black had returned to their cabin, leaving him to lie awake in bed for a few hours, trying his hardest not to get seasick, and when he had finally managed to fall asleep again it seemed only a moment before he was awoken by Black staring down at him, grinning like a fool.
“Good morning, sunshine! I brought you tea,” the man said in a way too cheerful voice that Remus couldn’t really reciprocate right now. At the mentioning of tea, however, he slowly pushed himself up to sit on the bed and made a grab for the plastic cup, narrowing his eyes as Black immediately held it out of his reach. “No no… get up and get dressed, you’ve got to come outside with me, it’s beautiful out there,” Black said in his still very cheerful voice and Remus imagined for a moment what it would be like if he could transform right at that moment and bite off the other man’s balls. Maybe then, Black would stop being so cheerful.
Opting to glare at the other man instead, Remus pushed himself out of bed and pulled on the clothes he had worn yesterday. He had checked out the washing facilities the night before and he had to admit that he doubted that the water the shower had to offer would even still be warm.
“Not much of a talker in the mornings, are you?” Black asked once Remus was dressed, walking backwards with the cups still in his hands and leading the way out of the cabin out onto the deck.
“Not when people wake me up so rudely in the morning and then withhold tea from me. What time is it anyway?” Remus asked, glad that he had brought a jacket as he suddenly found himself standing outside on the deck.
“Somewhere around 7 am,” Black retorted, leading Remus over to the railing and only then handing him one of the cups.
“7 am?! Are you mad?!” Remus growled, almost ready to go back inside and tell the other man to royally fuck off as his eyes gazed along the horizon. The sea had calmed down since the night before and the sky had taken on an orange glow, the sun seemingly peeking over the edge of the water. Remus couldn’t help but be completely distracted from all his disgruntled emotions as he was enthralled by the sight. Taking a sip of his tea, which to his dismay tasted rather good, he let himself enjoy the view for a while.
Black, in the meanwhile, seemed to be attempting some sort of suicide mission. He had climbed up on the first bars of the railing, his legs spread for leverage and his arms raised up into the sky with his eyes closed.
Original Art Here
“I wonder if anyone would notice if I pushed you into the water,” Remus drawled, still not ready to forgive him for waking him at such an early hour of the day.
“Aww come on, you wouldn’t do something like that,” Black replied, looking at Remus with that trademark smirk that Remus had seen often enough during Order gatherings.
Letting out a small huff, he turned around and headed back inside. He was starting to get cold and a little hungry. It would take another six to seven hours before they reached Denmark, and then they had another long train ride ahead of them and Remus didn’t want to spend it being exhausted the whole time. He looked up in surprise as he heard footsteps following him, not having thought that Black would come along but guessed that he wouldn’t be able to stop him.
The breakfast on board was nothing special, and while Remus decided to have just enough to soothe his hungry stomach, Black seemed to be keen on stuffing himself with as much food as possible. Remus, however, kept his thoughts to himself, and once both of them had satisfied their need for food, they had once more headed out on the deck to enjoy the sunshine and whatever warmth it still had to offer. The winter would be hard enough and Remus was sure that it was going to be colder then it had been in England.
Finding their way to the train station wasn’t that hard. Everyone seemed to be rather friendly and helpful, and while neither of them spoke any word of Danish, communication with hand signs and the train ticket helped them to find the way. The train ride was quite uneventful and Black seemed to have accepted that Remus wasn’t the talkative kind until they reached Copenhagen main station. All the pent-up energy seemed to be bubbling out of Black, and Remus watched as the other man turned his head in every possible direction.
“Oh look, they have scones too, I wonder what they are called here,” Black intoned as they were walking past some small shops to get to the center of the station. The place was filled with people, and Remus for a moment felt a little lost. He realised quickly that his mind was settling into a cautious and slightly scared mode. Being in a country where he didn’t know the language, suddenly seemed more than he could handle and it made him want to be back in England, in his old and run down cottage with a cup of tea.
“Hey, Remus, everything alright?” Black suddenly asked and Remus almost jumped in surprise as he heard the man’s voice. It was followed by a hand on his shoulder and Remus could feel his whole body tensing in surprise. It had been such a long time since another human being had touched him, even if it were only a friendly touch like this one, and it made him almost snarl in surprise, his defenses rising quickly inside of him.
“Yes… everything fine, I think we need to head this way,” Remus mumbled as he pulled himself together again, pointing towards the sign where it said ‘spor 5-6' and then pulling his backpack from his shoulders. Putting it down on the floor, he opened the small pocket in which he had stowed all the tickets away and pulled out the ones they needed for the last ride, including a note with the address and directions on how to get there.
Carefully re-reading the directions, he nodded and then pulled the backpack over his shoulders and lead the way towards the platform.
Black seemed to be content just to follow him at the moment, and only voiced his worry when they were standing on the platform and they were about to miss the train, and once again as they stepped out of it 3 stations later and found themselves in a quite different-looking area. “Are you sure this is it?” Black asked and Remus couldn’t help it this time and glared at the other man.
“Maybe, you should show us the way then if you’re that worried,” Remus snapped, and he didn’t really mean to but the long travel and the unfamiliar area set him on edge.
“I don’t have the directions.”
“Well, then better shut up and follow me,” Remus continued and without looking back walked down the stairs from the platform and out of the station. In front of them was a parking lot, and when he looked to the right there were bikes parked everywhere, and he couldn’t help but stare for a moment. He had never seen so many bicycles in one place before, and he wondered whether everyone just travelled like this and did this mean he would have to learn how to ride one of those things.
“The Danes look like a healthy bunch of people, huh?” Black commented and Remus just nodded.
Once he had recovered from this surprise, which in the process had somehow helped to reduce his anxiousness, he lead the way across the carpark and then the street.
“At least, we don’t have to walk far to go grocery shopping,” he could hear Black say as they walked past a 'Netto', obviously a supermarket, and down the street. It seemed like a reasonable, orderly neighbourhood, even if Remus felt like he had been transported to Germany with all of these rectangle-looking houses, the style the Germans had picked up after the second World War.
It took Remus two tries to find the right street where their flat was.
At first, he had turned one street too early.They had stood in front of the house attempting to unlock it and had almost used magic to open the door, because the bloody key had just not wanted to work. Black had then suggested that they might simply be in the wrong street. Remus, having denied this very idea at first, pulled out the note with the directions again, and had then flushed crimson when he realised that Black had been right.
“Ooops,” Remus said quietly, and Black laughed loudly, making Remus join in with a shy quiet laugh.
“Well then, lets try this again,” he added and lead the way into the next street, where surprisingly the key turned in the main entrance door and miraculously in the door of the flat as well.
"They have got to be kidding me," Remus said quietly under his breath as he entered the flat, the tension of unfamiliar surroundings once more penetrating his senses.
It consisted of one bathroom, a small kitchen, followed by a small bedroom and a larger living room. The flat was a good size and Remus wouldn't have minded it, if he weren't sharing it with another person and if there actually had been more than the one bed.
"I guess we won't get cold during the winter then," Remus could hear Black teasing in the background and Remus wondered if there was seriously nothing that could ever unsettle the other man. Growling softly, Remus put his backpack down on the floor and headed into the kitchen.
There was everything they would need, pots, pans and most importantly a kettle. What worried him, however, was that the flat didn't seem to have any kind of cellar, at least nothing he could see. Well, he still had another 20 days to worry about small things like that, the more important matter right now was that he needed to convince Black to sleep on the couch for the entirety of their stay. He had to admit that it wouldn’t be exactly nice of him, but he could care less right now. If it were up to him, Black could still return to England, letting Remus show Dumbledore that he didn’t need some kind of babysitter.
He was just about to turn around and tell the man about his fabulous idea as he heard a call from the living room. "Hey, grumpy pants, there is a letter," Black shouted, letting Remus groan inwardly at Black’s futile attempt to lighten the mood. However, it made Remus wonder why Dumbledore had left them a letter when he had already given him all the instructions before coming here. Maybe there was still a cellar, or at least a second bedroom that was hidden somewhere and all you needed was to tap a wall with your wand. That would solve one of their current problems at hand, even if not the major one.
"Well, then read it to us, macho man," Remus replied heading for the living room where Black was standing by the dining table, holding an envelope.
"I am getting to it. No need to stress yourself, it won't run away," Black teased and Remus just glared. They had been travelling for two days now, on very little sleep and his patience was running thin with the constant mockery. All he wanted right now was to curl up on the couch, with a mug of tea and a good book and hopefully later sleep deeply for several hours.
"Yes yes, I am getting to it, so stop your glaring" Black grumbled, the first time openly reacting to Remus’s offensive reaction. Opening the envelope, the man pulled out a short letter and laid it flat on the table to read.
Dear Remus and Sirius,
I hope you have managed to get safely to Copenhagen without any major complications. I hope you will find everything you need and that the accommodation is to your liking. As you may have already noticed there is a supermarket just up the street and apparently the Muggle transportation is very easy to use. There is a cellar under the flat which Remus will be able to use during the full moon. The trap door is hidden under the carpet in the hallway.
I have taken the liberty to open up a bank account in the Danske Bank, please find enclosed all the information you will be needing. There should be enough money to cover your expenses during your time here.
I must remind you again to keep the use of magic to a minimum, this is a Muggle neighbourhood and it wouldn’t be good if I have to come over to discuss the use of magic with the Danish magical law enforcement. They don’t speak English very well.
Good luck on your mission.
Albus Dumbledore
P.S. I apologize for not stocking up the fridge, the lady at the supermarket didn’t seem to take well to someone wearing pink robes in the shop.
Remus reached out to take the letter from Black’s hands, turning it over once to see if there was maybe another p.s. note hidden somewhere, and then reading it again. Right now, he didn’t know how he was supposed to be dealing with Dumbledore's dry humor, and he found himself wanting nothing more than to curse the other man into the seven hells of glory and make sure that he would never come back.
“Well, I’ll better go out to do some grocery shopping then,” Black said after a while, seemingly calm and not at all perturbed by the situation at hand.
“I am not sharing a bed with you,” Remus couldn’t help but suddenly blurt out, feeling his head spinning from all the stuff that had been happening in the last 24 hours.
“Sure, suits me,” Black simply replied, and without saying another word grabbed the keys to the flat and left.
So much for passive agressiveness, Remus thought to himself and walked back into the bedroom to unpack.
Living the first week with Sirius Black was a very interesting one. On that first night, Remus had found out why Black hadn’t seemed too bothered about their sleeping arrangements. When the evening had drawn to an end and Remus had prepared to go to bed, the man had simply turned into a dog, curled up on the bed next to Remus and had quickly fallen asleep. At first, Remus hadn’t really known what to do about that. He was now, at least, able to understand why Dumbledore had decided that Sirius was the one to play his babysitter, but Remus admitted that he would have liked to know it in advance.
Things became more complicated as Remus started to prepare for his mission, where a human like Sirius would seriously be out of his boundaries. Rumors had it that Fenrir Greyback had started gathering werewolves outside of England, and that he had now settled down in Denmark to form a new pack of followers. There was no one in the Order who understood werewolves better then Remus, so the decision had been made; Remus would go to Copenhagen for a few months, try to gather as much information as possible, without it being too suspicious, of course, maybe even manage to stop this whole movement, and then return to England when he had all the information he needed.
There were only a couple of small disadvantages about this whole situation. Fenrir knew him personally and would probably be able to detect his scent from far away, and then there was the issue of werewolves not being allowed to use magic in Denmark due to certain regulations. It complicated matters just a little bit, but Remus hoped he would be able to work around it, somehow.
Black was more of a problem.
After Remus had been out in the city by himself a couple of times, attempting to find any sort of trace of werewolves, the man had complained. They had gotten into their first proper fight that day and after slamming doors and wishing for life to be easier, Remus had given in at the end. He didn't really have any other choice but to agree, because he really didn’t need to have to deal with a moody Black. After all, who knew what the other man could get up to when seriously bored and having nothing better to do than repeatedly kicking the wall.
They had agreed that Sirius would join him as Padfoot, that was the name he had given his animagus form, and that he wouldn’t intervene in any kind of way unless he found it absolutely necessary. Black, apparently, had no problems with agreeing to that, and when they had tried it the first day Remus had to admit that he rather enjoyed the company of the Black dog.
It had taken him two weeks to find any kind of werewolf in Copenhagen and then, it was only because they had bumped into each other in a pub that either of them had caught the other's scents. The other man was tall and skinny, he had bright blue eyes and black well kept hair, somehow familiar to what Black looked like, only that Black had more muscles.
At first, the man said something in Danish, and Remus was certain he had recognized some words that seemed similar to English. Still, Danish was a very difficult language to understand and it reminded him how difficult this mission actually was.
“I haven’t met your scent here before,” the man said quietly, and Remus was surprised to hear the other man speak such a perfect English, even if the Danish accent was still very pronounced with each spoken word.
“I have only been in Copenhagen a short while. You speak English,” Remus couldn’t help but reply in surprise.
“Many people here do, can I buy you a drink?” the man asked, and Remus instantly felt a nose against his palm, his hand replying by gently stroking the dog's black fur.
“Sure,” Remus replied and then followed the man out of the pub and down a narrow street into a different, smaller pub. There wasn’t a lot of light in the place, it smelled stuffy as if this place hadn’t experienced an open window in ages and there was a lingering heavy scent of pot. It irritated his senses, and it took him a few moments to get used to the smell, only relaxing a little again when they sat down at an empty table in the corner.
“What can I get you to drink?”
“Just a beer, thanks,” Remus said and then watched the man cross the room to the bar. He then looked down at Padfoot who had settled next to his chair, his ears twitching slightly as he looked up at him with a calm expression.
“Good dog,” he teased, reaching out to gently ruffle through the dog’s fur and then turned his attention back to the other man as he was returning with two bottles of beer.
“There you go, Carlsberg, our local beer,” the man said putting the bottles on the table and then moving to sit down across from him. After clinking their bottles together, Remus took a sip from his beer and then put his bottle gently back down on the table.
“I am sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, I am Tristan,” Tristan held out his hand, making Remus immediately reach out to shake it. “Remus.”
“So you’re new to København?” Tristan asked, taking another sip of his beer.
“Yes, since two weeks.”
“How does an ulv like you find your way to this city?” the man asked, and Remus took a sip of his beer before he answered.
“A what?”
“A wolf, of course, you are a lycanthrope, aren’t you?”
“Yes, of course.”
“So?”
“I was looking for a change of scenery,” he replied calmly. He had never had problems with lying to people he didn’t know. He had been forced to keep secrets throughout his entire life, one more or less didn’t really make any difference.
“An ulv with a wand looking for a change of scenery in København, where laws couldn’t be any stricter, humor me,” Tristan countered and Remus felt the colour drain from his face, his hand instantly reaching out to touch his right arm where his wand was hidden under his jumper. The other werewolf couldn’t have seen it, he was sure of that.
“How did you know?” Remus couldn’t stop himself from asking, reaching out for his bottle of beer again, feeling the coolness against his skin soothing his nerves a little.
“I can smell it,” Tristan calmly replied, Remus felt himself calm down a little, even if this added another point to the list of problems that he would have to deal with later.
Taking another sip from his beer he let his eyes scan the pub. This seemed like the place to go if you didn’t want to attract too much attention to yourself, and he was sure that the guy standing in the corner was a vampire. He looked down at Padfoot who by now had moved to lie down by Remus’s chair, his eyes open as they seemed to watch everything around them with passive curiosity.
“So how much do you know of København so far?” Tristan asked after a while, and Remus let himself relax at the normality of the question.
“Not that much yet, really, still attempting to get settled,” he replied.
“If you want I can show you around a little. Be your personal tourist guide, and introduce you to some other ulve,” Tristan proposed, and Remus couldn’t help but grin shyly at the prospect.
“That would be great. I never thought it would be so difficult to find my way here, I would be glad for any help I can get,” he then replied earnestly, hoping that he would somehow manage to gain Tristan’s trust and find out more about the werewolves here in Copenhagen. Maybe it would even mean the chance to head back home sooner, and as such not have to deal with Black’s constant company, even if it was rather bearable when the man was a dog. Not that Remus would ever admit that out loud.
“No problem, at all. We’re ulve, we help each other out wherever we can,” Tristan said with a broad smile, and with that the matter was settled.
They spent a few more hours talking and had agreed to meet up at the central train station the next day, to start with a sightseeing trip through the city. The day spent together had been as pleasant as the evening in the pub, so the two of them met often. Until it was time for the full moon and, while there had been the offer to spend it together, Remus had declined. He didn’t do well with transforming in unfamiliar places, and now that it was his first full moon away from home, he was worried that it would leave him an easy target when the morning came around.
Go to Part 2
Fest: This was written for the shaggydog_swap
Art: Sun Up, Wind High by pandafoot105
Word Count: 10677 words
Rating: PG-13
Contains: *Alternate Universe, I guess I should warn for Pre-Slash*
Summary: Remus never expected that when he was sent on a mission to Denmark, he would have none other than Sirius Black as his babysitter.
Notes/comments: As this fic is taking place in Copenhagen, I have used the words "København" and "ulv" in the fic, they mean Copenhagen and wolf. Also thanks a lot to the patient shaggy mods and my wonderful beta.
After Fest Notes: I really enjoyed writing this fic, even if it came with a few bumps. I loved the art, and the whole concept of the fest of being able to write for fanart, it made writing process so much easier (not that it went any faster but the idea was there at least XD ). Thank you again to the amazing mods for giving me an extension, my awesome beta and those wonderful reviews I have received on the fic! And I'll shut up now. XD
Remus wasn’t exactly an outgoing person and sometimes, being in a group of people who had all gone to Hogwarts, who all knew each other in some way, made him feel left out. If it weren’t for Dumbledore he wouldn’t even be here, let alone have a wand nor be able to do any magic at all.
Still, he couldn’t help but wonder if this had ever been a good idea. A werewolf with a wand, the Ministry officials had laughed when they heard about it, and all the wizards he had known until now had looked at him if he was nothing more than a piece of filth. Here, in the Order it was different, but still he had the nagging feeling that people were talking behind his back and it was still not within his measures of understanding why Dumbledore had ever made him join.
“Remus,” a voice called out, and Remus looked up, his expression growing composed as he saw Dumbledore walking up to him. Just the man he wanted, because he didn’t want to delay his departure any longer. There was a train to catch after all, and he didn’t want to stress himself by being delayed.
“I would like to introduce you to Sirius Black, he will be joining you on your mission,” Dumbledore continued and only then Remus noticed the man behind Dumbledore. He of course knew Black from seeing him at the meetings. Stupid too good-looking for himself Black, who always needed to have the last word, always needed to be right and have his ego boosted in every way possible. He blanched at the thought of having someone like him accompanying him on a mission that might very well last a few months.
“Sir, I am sure I can manage,” Remus replied instantly, looking up at Dumbledore with what he hoped wasn't a pleading expression and then back at Black. Apparently, the other man had known about this longer, because there was this trademark smirk on his face, and a huge backpack heaved over his shoulder. He bared his teeth for the shortest of seconds and then looked back up at Dumbledore, who by now was looking at him with that smile that meant that Remus would definitely not have any kind of say in this and if he tried, he would be getting himself into a big load of trouble. Swallowing the profanities that were threatening to leave his lips, which weren’t a lot really and not exactly rude either, Remus heaved a deep sigh.
“Sirius, this is Remus,” was Dumbledore’s only reply, stepping aside to let the two men greet properly. Remus was immediately greeted by Sirius’s outstretched hand and he pushed himself into being civil with this man, because, after all, he was going to have to spend a lot of time with him, and reached out to shake it. It was a firm shake, and Remus thought he could see the smirk disappear from Sirius’s features for a moment, but he must have imagined it because seconds later it was there again.
“Nice to meet you, Remus,” Sirius said with a broad smile, managing to flash his absolutely straight and white teeth. Pushing away all thoughts of how good-looking Black could be, Remus simply nodded at him in return and then reached down for his backpack. They would have to get to the Liverpool station soon to catch their train to Harwich and then continue from there on.
“I hope you have packed everything you needed, Black, Denmark is supposed to be pretty cold during the winter,” Remus noted, wondering if the man knew what he was getting himself into and inwardly cursing Dumbledore for his crazy idea of sending Black along.
“Got everything I need, grumpy pants,” Sirius replied and the words simply made Remus want to hit the man and cry out in frustration. Instead, he turned back towards Dumbledore, hoping for some kind of luck to strike, making the old man decide that Remus didn’t need a protector guarding his back.
“You will find everything you need once you arrive at the location. Keep contact to a minimum, we don’t want to have any owls intercepted. Also, remember, you’re living in a Muggle area, I shouldn't have to remind you to keep magic at a minimum. Here are all the tickets you will need to get to your location, and some extra money for the journey,” Dumbledore said firmly, handing Remus a small purse with the said essentials. Knowing he had lost any chance of voicing his complaint about Black accompanying him, Remus took the purse with a small nod and placed it in his bag where it would be easy to find. Making sure once again that all the pockets were closed and that he had indeed packed everything he needed, Remus pulled the backpack over his shoulders.
“Of course, Professor. We will contact you as soon as we’ve settled,” Remus replied and then walked past Dumbledore and Black over to the door. When he didn’t hear any footsteps behind him, he looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at Black. “Come on, Black, what are you waiting for, you’re not going to get a special invitation,” he said, his voice irritated and then, without another glance, stepped outside. It wouldn’t be a long walk to the train station, and if Black was actually going to catch up they wouldn’t be late.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Remus was just about to turn back when he heard footsteps behind him, soon realising that it was Black as he heard the other man’s voice. “You know, I do have a first name,” Black remarked and the urge to punch the other man was growing inside Remus with every moment. He wondered what Dumbledore was trying to achieve with this, picking out Sirius to join him. He was sure the older man knew what Remus thought of Black, or what he thought of Black and Potter in general. Sighing heavily, Remus once more glanced at his watch and then increased his pace a little.
“I know, Black, now keep up, we have a train to catch,” Remus simply replied and without another word lead the way to the station. He didn’t speak for the rest of the way, and not even in the train when they had found their seats. Black had tried several times to get his attention, and Remus had done his best to ignore it as much as possible. By the time they had reached Harwich, and had found their way to the harbour where they would take the ferry to Denmark, Remus could feel himself growing hungry. He hadn’t packed anything to eat, and he knew that Black would probably be hungry as well. And while Remus wasn’t keen on communicating with Black, he wasn’t going to forget his manners and ignore the other man's possible hunger.
“We’ve still got 40 minutes until the ferry arrives, let's grab something to eat,” Remus ended up saying as a matter of fact, not sparing a glance at Black as he headed for the small shop that was right in front of them. They each bought a sandwich and something to drink, ending up sitting on the pier next to their bags and enjoying the last rays of the somewhat warm sun.
“You don’t talk much, do you,” Black said after the first few bites of his sandwich, and Remus guessed that Black’s patience must have grown rather thin by now.
“I don’t see the need to,” Remus simply replied, taking another bite of his sandwich. He admitted that it hadn’t been the best idea to sit out here on the pier, the wood was rather cold but the chairs had looked like they were going to fall into pieces if one sat down.
“Well, since we’re probably going to be spending some valid time together, I think we should get to know each other better,” Sirius deadpanned, and there was that broad grin that Remus had wanted to punch off the other man’s face ever since he had seen him the first time. He just couldn’t understand how someone could be so cheerful the whole time, add to that Black's apparent level of energy and the fact that the man was never able to keep his mouth shut, and Remus was sure that he was going to go around the bend after one week of them living together.
Not feeling the urge to reply right now, Remus turned his gaze away and took in the view, frowning a little at the sight of the rough waves crashing on to the shore. He had never been on a boat before, and he wasn’t entirely sure what his mind would think of having to be aboard one. Alright, so maybe a ferry was a bit bigger than a simple boat, in the sense that it wouldn't roll as much in the waves as a yacht, but still it would move in ways Remus’s stomach probably didn’t appreciate.
“Alright, I’ll start off then. I was born into the most noble and ancient house of Black, lots of bullshit if you ask me. Went to Hogwarts, and got sorted into Gryffindor…”
“Figures,” Remus interrupted, not yet looking at Sirius.
“Why do you say that?” Sirius instantly asked and Remus immediately regretted letting himself answer. Letting out what he hoped to be an annoying sigh, maybe Black would finally catch the hint that Remus didn’t want to speak with him, Remus looked up with a disinterested expression.
“Well, first of all, you always want to be in the middle of everyone’s attention; have the tendency to boast whenever you find the chance and third, think you are the best and don’t at all mind to have your ego stroked whenever possible. Typical Gryffindor,” he explained, then took another bite of his sandwich.
Remus thought, maybe even hoped, that Black would feel majorly insulted at what Remus had just said and would decide to leave and let Remus go on the mission on his own. What he hadn’t expected was for that expression on Black’s face to grow into an amused grin which was then followed by loud barking laughter. He couldn’t help but simply stare at the other man, utterly shocked, wondering if he was even more around the bend that Remus had imagined. This only seemed to amuse Black even more, whose laughter just got even louder in the process.
“You’re not exactly used to being around Gryffindors, are you?” Black asked once he had somehow managed to get that loud laughter under control, and the shocked expression quickly disappeared from Remus’s face again. Closing his mouth, he swallowed audibly and then tried his hardest to look annoyed again. He wasn’t going to let the other man charm his way through to Remus, no, he wasn’t as susceptible to his charm as some of others in the Order.
“How could I possibly be? I didn’t go to Hogwarts,” Remus replied cooly and this time he was glad to see that his words had surprised Black.
“But you’ve got a wand and you're a member of the Order,” Black replied rather dumbfounded and Remus let out a soft snort. He looked into the distance across the sea for a moment, reminding himself that life was never going to change and that people still tended to forget what he was, and all the prejudices that came along with it.
“And, as you know, I am still very much a werewolf,” Remus muttered. Pushing himself up on his feet, he wrapped the rest of his sandwich up in the plastic wrapper and but it into his backpack. He had seen the ferry coming in the distance and he didn’t want to spend hours standing somewhere in the back of a long line, continuing to freeze off valuable parts of his body.
He only noticed now that the pier had seemingly filled itself with more people, especially around the small shop where they had gotten their food. It was interesting to see how many people were still interested in travelling by boat.
“That’s not a reason not to go to Hogwarts,” Black interjected, getting off the ground as well and brushing the dirt off his trousers.
“Well, apparently for the Wizengamot it is,” Remus spat out bitterly and then pulled his backpack over his shoulders and stared stoically at the sea. He didn’t want to admit that Black had managed to hit a nerve with that question, and neither wanted to show that he was very much confused that the man had seemingly looked past his Lycanthropy without batting an eye.
Neither of them said another word until the boat came, watching quietly as masses of people departed from it. When they were finally allowed to board the boat, Remus felt like his bag was going to cut off his shoulders some time soon and he wished for a nice comfy bed where he could sleep until next day. His dream was quickly erased as they finally reached the cabin they had to share. It wasn’t that small, but also just barely big enough for two people, a window leading outside and a bunk bed to the side.
“I'm sleeping on top,” Black said, throwing his bag on to the floor and instantly climbing on to the top bed.
“Suits me,” Remus muttered, sitting down on the bottom bed and resting his head in his hands. This was going to be a very long trip.
After both of them had gotten an hour's rest, Black’s hyperactivity had become visible again. So after a while, they had left their cabin to explore the boat. Remus told himself that he had only gone out with Black because he could no longer stand listening to his constant whining, and not because his mind was having the crazy idea of actually wanting to get to know the other man. They had ended up at the boat's restaurant, having a small and rather dreadful dinner, and Remus had found himself almost smiling when Black had ended up making the situation almost comical, by praising the food as the best he had ever eaten in his entire life.
Then, they had headed out to the deck and had noticed that the waves were getting rougher, something that Remus didn’t find too entertaining. Black, however, seemed to be having the time of his life, and while he had let the man stay outside to enjoy it, Remus had returned to their quarters to hopefully catch some sleep before the next day.
It had taken a while for Remus to fall asleep, and even then his sleep had been very light. He had awoken again as soon as Black had returned to their cabin, leaving him to lie awake in bed for a few hours, trying his hardest not to get seasick, and when he had finally managed to fall asleep again it seemed only a moment before he was awoken by Black staring down at him, grinning like a fool.
“Good morning, sunshine! I brought you tea,” the man said in a way too cheerful voice that Remus couldn’t really reciprocate right now. At the mentioning of tea, however, he slowly pushed himself up to sit on the bed and made a grab for the plastic cup, narrowing his eyes as Black immediately held it out of his reach. “No no… get up and get dressed, you’ve got to come outside with me, it’s beautiful out there,” Black said in his still very cheerful voice and Remus imagined for a moment what it would be like if he could transform right at that moment and bite off the other man’s balls. Maybe then, Black would stop being so cheerful.
Opting to glare at the other man instead, Remus pushed himself out of bed and pulled on the clothes he had worn yesterday. He had checked out the washing facilities the night before and he had to admit that he doubted that the water the shower had to offer would even still be warm.
“Not much of a talker in the mornings, are you?” Black asked once Remus was dressed, walking backwards with the cups still in his hands and leading the way out of the cabin out onto the deck.
“Not when people wake me up so rudely in the morning and then withhold tea from me. What time is it anyway?” Remus asked, glad that he had brought a jacket as he suddenly found himself standing outside on the deck.
“Somewhere around 7 am,” Black retorted, leading Remus over to the railing and only then handing him one of the cups.
“7 am?! Are you mad?!” Remus growled, almost ready to go back inside and tell the other man to royally fuck off as his eyes gazed along the horizon. The sea had calmed down since the night before and the sky had taken on an orange glow, the sun seemingly peeking over the edge of the water. Remus couldn’t help but be completely distracted from all his disgruntled emotions as he was enthralled by the sight. Taking a sip of his tea, which to his dismay tasted rather good, he let himself enjoy the view for a while.
Black, in the meanwhile, seemed to be attempting some sort of suicide mission. He had climbed up on the first bars of the railing, his legs spread for leverage and his arms raised up into the sky with his eyes closed.
Original Art Here
“I wonder if anyone would notice if I pushed you into the water,” Remus drawled, still not ready to forgive him for waking him at such an early hour of the day.
“Aww come on, you wouldn’t do something like that,” Black replied, looking at Remus with that trademark smirk that Remus had seen often enough during Order gatherings.
Letting out a small huff, he turned around and headed back inside. He was starting to get cold and a little hungry. It would take another six to seven hours before they reached Denmark, and then they had another long train ride ahead of them and Remus didn’t want to spend it being exhausted the whole time. He looked up in surprise as he heard footsteps following him, not having thought that Black would come along but guessed that he wouldn’t be able to stop him.
The breakfast on board was nothing special, and while Remus decided to have just enough to soothe his hungry stomach, Black seemed to be keen on stuffing himself with as much food as possible. Remus, however, kept his thoughts to himself, and once both of them had satisfied their need for food, they had once more headed out on the deck to enjoy the sunshine and whatever warmth it still had to offer. The winter would be hard enough and Remus was sure that it was going to be colder then it had been in England.
Finding their way to the train station wasn’t that hard. Everyone seemed to be rather friendly and helpful, and while neither of them spoke any word of Danish, communication with hand signs and the train ticket helped them to find the way. The train ride was quite uneventful and Black seemed to have accepted that Remus wasn’t the talkative kind until they reached Copenhagen main station. All the pent-up energy seemed to be bubbling out of Black, and Remus watched as the other man turned his head in every possible direction.
“Oh look, they have scones too, I wonder what they are called here,” Black intoned as they were walking past some small shops to get to the center of the station. The place was filled with people, and Remus for a moment felt a little lost. He realised quickly that his mind was settling into a cautious and slightly scared mode. Being in a country where he didn’t know the language, suddenly seemed more than he could handle and it made him want to be back in England, in his old and run down cottage with a cup of tea.
“Hey, Remus, everything alright?” Black suddenly asked and Remus almost jumped in surprise as he heard the man’s voice. It was followed by a hand on his shoulder and Remus could feel his whole body tensing in surprise. It had been such a long time since another human being had touched him, even if it were only a friendly touch like this one, and it made him almost snarl in surprise, his defenses rising quickly inside of him.
“Yes… everything fine, I think we need to head this way,” Remus mumbled as he pulled himself together again, pointing towards the sign where it said ‘spor 5-6' and then pulling his backpack from his shoulders. Putting it down on the floor, he opened the small pocket in which he had stowed all the tickets away and pulled out the ones they needed for the last ride, including a note with the address and directions on how to get there.
Carefully re-reading the directions, he nodded and then pulled the backpack over his shoulders and lead the way towards the platform.
Black seemed to be content just to follow him at the moment, and only voiced his worry when they were standing on the platform and they were about to miss the train, and once again as they stepped out of it 3 stations later and found themselves in a quite different-looking area. “Are you sure this is it?” Black asked and Remus couldn’t help it this time and glared at the other man.
“Maybe, you should show us the way then if you’re that worried,” Remus snapped, and he didn’t really mean to but the long travel and the unfamiliar area set him on edge.
“I don’t have the directions.”
“Well, then better shut up and follow me,” Remus continued and without looking back walked down the stairs from the platform and out of the station. In front of them was a parking lot, and when he looked to the right there were bikes parked everywhere, and he couldn’t help but stare for a moment. He had never seen so many bicycles in one place before, and he wondered whether everyone just travelled like this and did this mean he would have to learn how to ride one of those things.
“The Danes look like a healthy bunch of people, huh?” Black commented and Remus just nodded.
Once he had recovered from this surprise, which in the process had somehow helped to reduce his anxiousness, he lead the way across the carpark and then the street.
“At least, we don’t have to walk far to go grocery shopping,” he could hear Black say as they walked past a 'Netto', obviously a supermarket, and down the street. It seemed like a reasonable, orderly neighbourhood, even if Remus felt like he had been transported to Germany with all of these rectangle-looking houses, the style the Germans had picked up after the second World War.
It took Remus two tries to find the right street where their flat was.
At first, he had turned one street too early.They had stood in front of the house attempting to unlock it and had almost used magic to open the door, because the bloody key had just not wanted to work. Black had then suggested that they might simply be in the wrong street. Remus, having denied this very idea at first, pulled out the note with the directions again, and had then flushed crimson when he realised that Black had been right.
“Ooops,” Remus said quietly, and Black laughed loudly, making Remus join in with a shy quiet laugh.
“Well then, lets try this again,” he added and lead the way into the next street, where surprisingly the key turned in the main entrance door and miraculously in the door of the flat as well.
"They have got to be kidding me," Remus said quietly under his breath as he entered the flat, the tension of unfamiliar surroundings once more penetrating his senses.
It consisted of one bathroom, a small kitchen, followed by a small bedroom and a larger living room. The flat was a good size and Remus wouldn't have minded it, if he weren't sharing it with another person and if there actually had been more than the one bed.
"I guess we won't get cold during the winter then," Remus could hear Black teasing in the background and Remus wondered if there was seriously nothing that could ever unsettle the other man. Growling softly, Remus put his backpack down on the floor and headed into the kitchen.
There was everything they would need, pots, pans and most importantly a kettle. What worried him, however, was that the flat didn't seem to have any kind of cellar, at least nothing he could see. Well, he still had another 20 days to worry about small things like that, the more important matter right now was that he needed to convince Black to sleep on the couch for the entirety of their stay. He had to admit that it wouldn’t be exactly nice of him, but he could care less right now. If it were up to him, Black could still return to England, letting Remus show Dumbledore that he didn’t need some kind of babysitter.
He was just about to turn around and tell the man about his fabulous idea as he heard a call from the living room. "Hey, grumpy pants, there is a letter," Black shouted, letting Remus groan inwardly at Black’s futile attempt to lighten the mood. However, it made Remus wonder why Dumbledore had left them a letter when he had already given him all the instructions before coming here. Maybe there was still a cellar, or at least a second bedroom that was hidden somewhere and all you needed was to tap a wall with your wand. That would solve one of their current problems at hand, even if not the major one.
"Well, then read it to us, macho man," Remus replied heading for the living room where Black was standing by the dining table, holding an envelope.
"I am getting to it. No need to stress yourself, it won't run away," Black teased and Remus just glared. They had been travelling for two days now, on very little sleep and his patience was running thin with the constant mockery. All he wanted right now was to curl up on the couch, with a mug of tea and a good book and hopefully later sleep deeply for several hours.
"Yes yes, I am getting to it, so stop your glaring" Black grumbled, the first time openly reacting to Remus’s offensive reaction. Opening the envelope, the man pulled out a short letter and laid it flat on the table to read.
Dear Remus and Sirius,
I hope you have managed to get safely to Copenhagen without any major complications. I hope you will find everything you need and that the accommodation is to your liking. As you may have already noticed there is a supermarket just up the street and apparently the Muggle transportation is very easy to use. There is a cellar under the flat which Remus will be able to use during the full moon. The trap door is hidden under the carpet in the hallway.
I have taken the liberty to open up a bank account in the Danske Bank, please find enclosed all the information you will be needing. There should be enough money to cover your expenses during your time here.
I must remind you again to keep the use of magic to a minimum, this is a Muggle neighbourhood and it wouldn’t be good if I have to come over to discuss the use of magic with the Danish magical law enforcement. They don’t speak English very well.
Good luck on your mission.
Albus Dumbledore
P.S. I apologize for not stocking up the fridge, the lady at the supermarket didn’t seem to take well to someone wearing pink robes in the shop.
Remus reached out to take the letter from Black’s hands, turning it over once to see if there was maybe another p.s. note hidden somewhere, and then reading it again. Right now, he didn’t know how he was supposed to be dealing with Dumbledore's dry humor, and he found himself wanting nothing more than to curse the other man into the seven hells of glory and make sure that he would never come back.
“Well, I’ll better go out to do some grocery shopping then,” Black said after a while, seemingly calm and not at all perturbed by the situation at hand.
“I am not sharing a bed with you,” Remus couldn’t help but suddenly blurt out, feeling his head spinning from all the stuff that had been happening in the last 24 hours.
“Sure, suits me,” Black simply replied, and without saying another word grabbed the keys to the flat and left.
So much for passive agressiveness, Remus thought to himself and walked back into the bedroom to unpack.
Living the first week with Sirius Black was a very interesting one. On that first night, Remus had found out why Black hadn’t seemed too bothered about their sleeping arrangements. When the evening had drawn to an end and Remus had prepared to go to bed, the man had simply turned into a dog, curled up on the bed next to Remus and had quickly fallen asleep. At first, Remus hadn’t really known what to do about that. He was now, at least, able to understand why Dumbledore had decided that Sirius was the one to play his babysitter, but Remus admitted that he would have liked to know it in advance.
Things became more complicated as Remus started to prepare for his mission, where a human like Sirius would seriously be out of his boundaries. Rumors had it that Fenrir Greyback had started gathering werewolves outside of England, and that he had now settled down in Denmark to form a new pack of followers. There was no one in the Order who understood werewolves better then Remus, so the decision had been made; Remus would go to Copenhagen for a few months, try to gather as much information as possible, without it being too suspicious, of course, maybe even manage to stop this whole movement, and then return to England when he had all the information he needed.
There were only a couple of small disadvantages about this whole situation. Fenrir knew him personally and would probably be able to detect his scent from far away, and then there was the issue of werewolves not being allowed to use magic in Denmark due to certain regulations. It complicated matters just a little bit, but Remus hoped he would be able to work around it, somehow.
Black was more of a problem.
After Remus had been out in the city by himself a couple of times, attempting to find any sort of trace of werewolves, the man had complained. They had gotten into their first proper fight that day and after slamming doors and wishing for life to be easier, Remus had given in at the end. He didn't really have any other choice but to agree, because he really didn’t need to have to deal with a moody Black. After all, who knew what the other man could get up to when seriously bored and having nothing better to do than repeatedly kicking the wall.
They had agreed that Sirius would join him as Padfoot, that was the name he had given his animagus form, and that he wouldn’t intervene in any kind of way unless he found it absolutely necessary. Black, apparently, had no problems with agreeing to that, and when they had tried it the first day Remus had to admit that he rather enjoyed the company of the Black dog.
It had taken him two weeks to find any kind of werewolf in Copenhagen and then, it was only because they had bumped into each other in a pub that either of them had caught the other's scents. The other man was tall and skinny, he had bright blue eyes and black well kept hair, somehow familiar to what Black looked like, only that Black had more muscles.
At first, the man said something in Danish, and Remus was certain he had recognized some words that seemed similar to English. Still, Danish was a very difficult language to understand and it reminded him how difficult this mission actually was.
“I haven’t met your scent here before,” the man said quietly, and Remus was surprised to hear the other man speak such a perfect English, even if the Danish accent was still very pronounced with each spoken word.
“I have only been in Copenhagen a short while. You speak English,” Remus couldn’t help but reply in surprise.
“Many people here do, can I buy you a drink?” the man asked, and Remus instantly felt a nose against his palm, his hand replying by gently stroking the dog's black fur.
“Sure,” Remus replied and then followed the man out of the pub and down a narrow street into a different, smaller pub. There wasn’t a lot of light in the place, it smelled stuffy as if this place hadn’t experienced an open window in ages and there was a lingering heavy scent of pot. It irritated his senses, and it took him a few moments to get used to the smell, only relaxing a little again when they sat down at an empty table in the corner.
“What can I get you to drink?”
“Just a beer, thanks,” Remus said and then watched the man cross the room to the bar. He then looked down at Padfoot who had settled next to his chair, his ears twitching slightly as he looked up at him with a calm expression.
“Good dog,” he teased, reaching out to gently ruffle through the dog’s fur and then turned his attention back to the other man as he was returning with two bottles of beer.
“There you go, Carlsberg, our local beer,” the man said putting the bottles on the table and then moving to sit down across from him. After clinking their bottles together, Remus took a sip from his beer and then put his bottle gently back down on the table.
“I am sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, I am Tristan,” Tristan held out his hand, making Remus immediately reach out to shake it. “Remus.”
“So you’re new to København?” Tristan asked, taking another sip of his beer.
“Yes, since two weeks.”
“How does an ulv like you find your way to this city?” the man asked, and Remus took a sip of his beer before he answered.
“A what?”
“A wolf, of course, you are a lycanthrope, aren’t you?”
“Yes, of course.”
“So?”
“I was looking for a change of scenery,” he replied calmly. He had never had problems with lying to people he didn’t know. He had been forced to keep secrets throughout his entire life, one more or less didn’t really make any difference.
“An ulv with a wand looking for a change of scenery in København, where laws couldn’t be any stricter, humor me,” Tristan countered and Remus felt the colour drain from his face, his hand instantly reaching out to touch his right arm where his wand was hidden under his jumper. The other werewolf couldn’t have seen it, he was sure of that.
“How did you know?” Remus couldn’t stop himself from asking, reaching out for his bottle of beer again, feeling the coolness against his skin soothing his nerves a little.
“I can smell it,” Tristan calmly replied, Remus felt himself calm down a little, even if this added another point to the list of problems that he would have to deal with later.
Taking another sip from his beer he let his eyes scan the pub. This seemed like the place to go if you didn’t want to attract too much attention to yourself, and he was sure that the guy standing in the corner was a vampire. He looked down at Padfoot who by now had moved to lie down by Remus’s chair, his eyes open as they seemed to watch everything around them with passive curiosity.
“So how much do you know of København so far?” Tristan asked after a while, and Remus let himself relax at the normality of the question.
“Not that much yet, really, still attempting to get settled,” he replied.
“If you want I can show you around a little. Be your personal tourist guide, and introduce you to some other ulve,” Tristan proposed, and Remus couldn’t help but grin shyly at the prospect.
“That would be great. I never thought it would be so difficult to find my way here, I would be glad for any help I can get,” he then replied earnestly, hoping that he would somehow manage to gain Tristan’s trust and find out more about the werewolves here in Copenhagen. Maybe it would even mean the chance to head back home sooner, and as such not have to deal with Black’s constant company, even if it was rather bearable when the man was a dog. Not that Remus would ever admit that out loud.
“No problem, at all. We’re ulve, we help each other out wherever we can,” Tristan said with a broad smile, and with that the matter was settled.
They spent a few more hours talking and had agreed to meet up at the central train station the next day, to start with a sightseeing trip through the city. The day spent together had been as pleasant as the evening in the pub, so the two of them met often. Until it was time for the full moon and, while there had been the offer to spend it together, Remus had declined. He didn’t do well with transforming in unfamiliar places, and now that it was his first full moon away from home, he was worried that it would leave him an easy target when the morning came around.
Go to Part 2