(no subject)
Fandom: Harry Potter
Author: Darkkitten
Pairing: Lupin/Black
A/N: I figured JKR's own deus ex machina was fair game. Written in 100 minutes. I went over, because I'm lame. And slow. Eep!
[Deus ex machina, n. An unexpected, artificial, or improbable character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction to resolve a situation or untangle a plot.]
___________
Remus saw it among Hermione's things, on the last day of the term.
He'd come to see Harry before the boy went to the Dursleys' for the summer. They talked in the Gryffindor dormitory while Harry tossed items into his trunk, wadding his clothes into angry balls with his face set and frustrated.
Because of the Dursleys, of course. But also, Remus was sure, because his own presence reminded Harry of Sirius.
It was on his way out that he saw it. A thin gold chain, glinting among Hermione's carefully folded piles of clothing where her trunk stood open on the floor of the common room. Remus did not even cast a ward, only glanced to be sure no one was watching. He seized the chain and its tiny sparkling hourglass, his motion more like the strike of a snake than a wolf, and tucked it into the pocket of his robe.
* * * * *
He didn't know how to use what he had taken, but that was easily remedied by a visit to the Restricted Section. Madam Pince had always had a soft spot for him, and gave him his old staff access without question. Once Remus had located his book - not thick, and for the Restricted Section strangely quiescent - he sat down and read it, his tongue between his teeth as he turned pages. He did not hurry. He did make neat careful notes on a scrap of parchment.
* * * * *
The battered call box in front of the Ministry of Magic issued him a badge that said "Remus Lupin, Rescue Mission". He decided after a moment of considering, while the call box rattled lower and lower into the earth, that it was a kind of endorsement. He pinned it on the front of his robe.
* * * * *
Seeing the stone archway and its ragged, fluttering veil sent ice through Remus's body. Silent and shaking, he withdrew into the room's darkest corner and took out the much-folded parchment covered with his notes, though he knew well enough what it said. His likelihood of success was greatest if he went backward exactly where the event had happened that he wanted to change.
Remus began turning the glass, over and over and over again. He watched the shapes of Ministry wizards and witches appear and disappear in jerky, sped-up motion. His hands grew numb with the turning.
When he saw spell-flashes, he knew he had found the battle. Now he started counting backward as he turned, his lips moving as if he were a child.
* * * * *
Outside the Ministry, Remus drew a deep breath and walked past the front entrance, his pace slow and deliberate. He bought a Daily Prophet from the old witch who was always there with her umbrella and her stack of papers. He looked down at the front page, seeing neither the moving front page photo nor the headlines, which always shouted themselves aloud for the first few moments after the paper was purchased.
The date was correct.
Remus disapparated.
* * * * *
When Harry's head appeared in the fireplace, this time the long kitchen of Grimmauld Place was not empty. Remus and Sirius stood by the table, Sirius looking annoyed as Remus shoved a plate of biscuits at him. "I was finishing with Buckbeak," he said. "I'd only have been another minute." He was interrupted by Harry's frantic call from the fire.
"Sirius! Sirius, are you there?"
Sirius was there instantly, kneeling in front of the fire. "I'm right here. What's wrong?"
Harry's eyes widened as he saw Sirius. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. But you don’t look fine. What's the matter?"
Harry closed his eyes for a moment. He looked sick. "I had a dream and I saw you, just like I saw Arthur Weasley. Voldemort had you. He was going to kill you."
Sirius shook his head, looking worried. "It was only a dream. It's all right, Harry."
Harry bit his lip, looked behind him. "I have to go, " he said. "I'm in Umbridge's office." And he disappeared, leaving Sirius staring in confusion and concern into the empty fire.
Behind him, Remus dared to breathe.
* * * * *
Arguing Sirius out of going to Hogwarts was much easier than Remus's failed attempt to keep him from going to the Ministry. In the end, Remus fire-called Snape. Ignoring Sirius, who stood behind him glaring and bristling with hatred, he asked Snape to check on Harry and give him a message. Snape's gaze flicked once to Sirius, his lips twisting in a sneer. But he agreed to do as Remus asked.
Remus and Sirius sat at the table in silence, waiting for Snape to fire-call back. Sirius destroyed a biscuit without eating it, poked a finger into his tea and made a face. "I'll make some," he said.
Remus didn't much care for tea. But he thought he might explode in amazement and joy as he watched Sirius rummage through the cupboards, his lean body stretching to reach the topmost one, his long tangled hair spilling down his back.
* * * * *
Snape told them he had passed Sirius's message, and that Harry seemed all right. They stood by the fire and watched Snape's head vanish. Sirius snorted, in a way that meant he was not done with the matter, but he looked more relaxed.
"I want you, now," Remus whispered to Sirius as they went upstairs.
Sirius, who smelled of hippogriff and had salve in his hair, looked at him oddly.
"Now," Remus repeated. Sirius laughed. He pulled Remus into the bedroom that had once been Regulus's, which was Remus's in theory, but was also where both of them slept. His arms were strong around Remus as he drew him down onto the bed, and Remus felt as if he were again watching the sped-up dizzying motion of time.
His pace with Sirius was frantic, his touch on Sirius's warm skin at once lingering and almost harsh. Sirius closed his eyes in pleasure, his hands tightening on Remus's arms. Remus was afraid to let him go, afraid that any minute Sirius would disappear.
"Forgive me," he murmured a little later, lost in guilt and the warmth of their pleasure and not quite realizing he had spoken.
Sirius said, "What? Did you do something I don’t know about?"
The hourglass on its gold chain was well hidden in one of Remus's drawers, but it burned in his awareness, as if he could see it directly through the wood from where they lay. He hadn't worked out how to get it back to Hermione, and he wondered if he dared use the thing itself to do so.
"Nothing I'm sorry for," Remus answered. But even in Sirius's arms he felt a tiny nagging chill of fear. In the morning, and all the other mornings to come, he hoped against hope what he'd said would still be true.
Author: Darkkitten
Pairing: Lupin/Black
A/N: I figured JKR's own deus ex machina was fair game. Written in 100 minutes. I went over, because I'm lame. And slow. Eep!
[Deus ex machina, n. An unexpected, artificial, or improbable character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction to resolve a situation or untangle a plot.]
___________
Remus saw it among Hermione's things, on the last day of the term.
He'd come to see Harry before the boy went to the Dursleys' for the summer. They talked in the Gryffindor dormitory while Harry tossed items into his trunk, wadding his clothes into angry balls with his face set and frustrated.
Because of the Dursleys, of course. But also, Remus was sure, because his own presence reminded Harry of Sirius.
It was on his way out that he saw it. A thin gold chain, glinting among Hermione's carefully folded piles of clothing where her trunk stood open on the floor of the common room. Remus did not even cast a ward, only glanced to be sure no one was watching. He seized the chain and its tiny sparkling hourglass, his motion more like the strike of a snake than a wolf, and tucked it into the pocket of his robe.
* * * * *
He didn't know how to use what he had taken, but that was easily remedied by a visit to the Restricted Section. Madam Pince had always had a soft spot for him, and gave him his old staff access without question. Once Remus had located his book - not thick, and for the Restricted Section strangely quiescent - he sat down and read it, his tongue between his teeth as he turned pages. He did not hurry. He did make neat careful notes on a scrap of parchment.
* * * * *
The battered call box in front of the Ministry of Magic issued him a badge that said "Remus Lupin, Rescue Mission". He decided after a moment of considering, while the call box rattled lower and lower into the earth, that it was a kind of endorsement. He pinned it on the front of his robe.
* * * * *
Seeing the stone archway and its ragged, fluttering veil sent ice through Remus's body. Silent and shaking, he withdrew into the room's darkest corner and took out the much-folded parchment covered with his notes, though he knew well enough what it said. His likelihood of success was greatest if he went backward exactly where the event had happened that he wanted to change.
Remus began turning the glass, over and over and over again. He watched the shapes of Ministry wizards and witches appear and disappear in jerky, sped-up motion. His hands grew numb with the turning.
When he saw spell-flashes, he knew he had found the battle. Now he started counting backward as he turned, his lips moving as if he were a child.
* * * * *
Outside the Ministry, Remus drew a deep breath and walked past the front entrance, his pace slow and deliberate. He bought a Daily Prophet from the old witch who was always there with her umbrella and her stack of papers. He looked down at the front page, seeing neither the moving front page photo nor the headlines, which always shouted themselves aloud for the first few moments after the paper was purchased.
The date was correct.
Remus disapparated.
* * * * *
When Harry's head appeared in the fireplace, this time the long kitchen of Grimmauld Place was not empty. Remus and Sirius stood by the table, Sirius looking annoyed as Remus shoved a plate of biscuits at him. "I was finishing with Buckbeak," he said. "I'd only have been another minute." He was interrupted by Harry's frantic call from the fire.
"Sirius! Sirius, are you there?"
Sirius was there instantly, kneeling in front of the fire. "I'm right here. What's wrong?"
Harry's eyes widened as he saw Sirius. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. But you don’t look fine. What's the matter?"
Harry closed his eyes for a moment. He looked sick. "I had a dream and I saw you, just like I saw Arthur Weasley. Voldemort had you. He was going to kill you."
Sirius shook his head, looking worried. "It was only a dream. It's all right, Harry."
Harry bit his lip, looked behind him. "I have to go, " he said. "I'm in Umbridge's office." And he disappeared, leaving Sirius staring in confusion and concern into the empty fire.
Behind him, Remus dared to breathe.
* * * * *
Arguing Sirius out of going to Hogwarts was much easier than Remus's failed attempt to keep him from going to the Ministry. In the end, Remus fire-called Snape. Ignoring Sirius, who stood behind him glaring and bristling with hatred, he asked Snape to check on Harry and give him a message. Snape's gaze flicked once to Sirius, his lips twisting in a sneer. But he agreed to do as Remus asked.
Remus and Sirius sat at the table in silence, waiting for Snape to fire-call back. Sirius destroyed a biscuit without eating it, poked a finger into his tea and made a face. "I'll make some," he said.
Remus didn't much care for tea. But he thought he might explode in amazement and joy as he watched Sirius rummage through the cupboards, his lean body stretching to reach the topmost one, his long tangled hair spilling down his back.
* * * * *
Snape told them he had passed Sirius's message, and that Harry seemed all right. They stood by the fire and watched Snape's head vanish. Sirius snorted, in a way that meant he was not done with the matter, but he looked more relaxed.
"I want you, now," Remus whispered to Sirius as they went upstairs.
Sirius, who smelled of hippogriff and had salve in his hair, looked at him oddly.
"Now," Remus repeated. Sirius laughed. He pulled Remus into the bedroom that had once been Regulus's, which was Remus's in theory, but was also where both of them slept. His arms were strong around Remus as he drew him down onto the bed, and Remus felt as if he were again watching the sped-up dizzying motion of time.
His pace with Sirius was frantic, his touch on Sirius's warm skin at once lingering and almost harsh. Sirius closed his eyes in pleasure, his hands tightening on Remus's arms. Remus was afraid to let him go, afraid that any minute Sirius would disappear.
"Forgive me," he murmured a little later, lost in guilt and the warmth of their pleasure and not quite realizing he had spoken.
Sirius said, "What? Did you do something I don’t know about?"
The hourglass on its gold chain was well hidden in one of Remus's drawers, but it burned in his awareness, as if he could see it directly through the wood from where they lay. He hadn't worked out how to get it back to Hermione, and he wondered if he dared use the thing itself to do so.
"Nothing I'm sorry for," Remus answered. But even in Sirius's arms he felt a tiny nagging chill of fear. In the morning, and all the other mornings to come, he hoped against hope what he'd said would still be true.