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There were talks in the darkened alleys and in abandoned buildings, in the places where the shunned and the forsaken would gather, about a magical potion so powerful that it could cure any malady. The whispered voices claimed that the family that guarded the formula was so aggressively protective of it that only a suicidal fool would dare even try to breach their magical defenses. It was said that to be caught by them was the same thing as a death sentence.
But how bad could that really be when one, such as Remus Lupin, was already on his knees at the executioners?
Thus came the plan…well, before that came the investigation of the rumors and then confirmation of said data and then the canvassing of the location in which the supposed magical artifact was, then came the utter despair upon realizing that a single, talentless man would be able to accomplish such a feat. Then came the plan. After that came the preparation followed immediately by the catastrophizing, and then the recruitment which all in all, was probably the lengthiest leg of Remus endeavor because it consisted of sniffing around (pun not intended) the aimless witches and wizards of Great Britain to find suitable candidates that would neither shun him nor kill him.
Finally, after a disproportionate amount of time, Remus had found his team.
*-*
Everything Remus was able to find about James Potter sounded promising. He had been popular at Hogwarts, had earned decent marks, had been considered a prodigy at Quidditch but most importantly, he was unemployed. Many young adults were, with the Dark Lord mucking everything up in Great Britain. One would think that with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named stirring trouble all over Great Britain, the ministry would employ the recent Hogwarts graduates at least as grunt workers but seemingly not. Per the most recent headlines, the minster was being cautious to avoid the escalation of tensions between the various factions. Remus thought that was a bit on the daft side but he was neither in politics nor welcomed amongst the wizarding community; his opinion was irrelevant. The Potters on the other hand, had been quite vocal on whom they were not supporting and that apparently mattered to some people. It was amazing no Dark Mark had yet to appear over their roof.
Then there was Sirius Black. Sirius was, in Remus’ frank opinion, hothead. Still, he had promise; overall, he was a bit more difficult to read. What little Remus had discovered during his research was that Sirius had been pulled from Hogwarts early on and been home-schooled just like the children of all the other prominent wizarding families (curiously, the ones that were suspected to have rallied alongside He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named). Despite it all, however, Sirius seemed to have turned out into a relatively decent human being. Sirius had made a name for himself recklessly dueling against anyone who claimed the Dark Lord was right and loudly decrying the pure blood superiority ideology. It was as stupid as it was heroic but Sirius was mostly ignored if not downright avoided by anyone with a hint of self-preservation. Worst part of it was, everybody thought he was some sort of spy for the opposition so whatever he deeds he did were always grossly misattributed. Sirius was an army of one fighting against the storm. Admirable but a bit naive if Remus was being honest.
Regardless, both were perfect for Remus’ plans.
“This place is…something,” James said politely but he couldn’t keep up the smile that he’d first had before meeting Remus outside The Witch’s Hat.
They were in London, in a small tavern that catered to those ‘in the know’ of the wizarding world while maybe not necessarily a part of it. Remus had been introduced to the place after a very nice birdwatcher slash wandering salesman from Japan had taken pity on him a while back. It was big enough that there’d be no fighting for space. Plus, this establishment had privacy booths that one could enchant to avoid being spied on. It worked really well for him because what they were going to discuss was not something that anyone else should find out about.
“Oh?” Sirius said with a bit of mirth. “Is this place hurting your delicate sensibilities? Not what I would have expected from someone of your history.”
“Not at all, what is it, Black?” James said with just about the same mirth. “It is merely an attempt at politeness. I can teach you a thing or two about good manners if you want.”
“Manners. You think I don’t have, manners, what was it, Potting?”
Yeah, no. That wasn’t going to work for Remus. He didn’t need his plans falling apart because these two didn’t want to polite.
“Thank you for meeting me personally,” Remus said as cheerfully as he could. It wasn’t much because he didn’t even remember how to be cheerful but he still tried. The letter A for Effort or something something went the expression.
“Yeah, yeah. Enough poshness,” Sirius said, his hand outstretched on the table, “You bring us out here with all these crazy claims, well. We’re here, so talk.”
“Ah, here comes the waiter with our drinks,” Remus said pointing to a youngish looking guy carrying a bucket of ice with five cans of pop sticking out.
Perhaps a bit muggle-ish but Remus’ pockets were too shallow to afford anything else.
The waiter put the bucket on the table and slid it towards the other side, then he placed a bowl of peanuts that appeared out of nowhere, right in front of Sirius. “On the house,” he said and then winked in a very exaggerated manner.
Sirius winked back. The waiter smiled and then closed the shutters to leave them alone.
“Now we can speak,” Remus said and pulled out his wand slowly so the other two wouldn’t think they were being attacked. “With your permission, I would like to perform a silencing spell but I’m more than willing to allow either of you to do so, as a show of good faith.”
He really wished either of them would take them up on his offer. See, Remus had never actually gone to wizarding school, being what he was and all. He’d read a few books here and there, watched adults do spells and had stolen a wand from some very unfocused American tourist back in Italy but beyond that, he wasn’t really good at magic.
“Allow me,” James said, whispering silently and waving his wand.
Sirius stiffened but then took a deep breath to relax himself.
“That should be good enough,” James said as he grabbed a can, “do continue.”
Sirius pulled the peanuts towards himself before he too grabbed a drink.
Remus pulled a folded up map out of his pocket and stretched it at best as he could over the table.
“Here, in the municipality of Sluis, reside the Hond van Domes family. Thieves and liars they are,” Remus said, pointing to a little place on the map. This was a lie but he thought he could accomplish more if he could appeal to the other’s sense of justice-seeking. “They collect stolen artifacts from around the world, including the item I mentioned in your letter, Potter, and the item I mentioned in your letter, Black-”
Remus didn’t miss the discrete look they sent each other but he ignored it and kept talking.
“-but every year, the travel to Eindhoven,” Remus moved his finger across the map, “leaving their home and their troves under their protection of their spells.”
Remus looked at them and took a deep breath. He couldn’t show too much eagerness less they start suspecting he was being untruthful in more way than one.
“And you want us to break in and steal everything.” Sirius said.
“I don’t want everything,” Remus said. He looked down just a fraction, to show that he was ashamed, hoping to play on their feelings and whatnot, “just what was stolen from my family.”
That too was a lie but he hoped the others bought his act.
He looked at Sirius first then James, darting between the two, “You may take as little or as much as you desire, I only want what belongs to me.”
Obviously, but by this, Remus meant the cure-all magical artifact.
James put his drink down. “Say I agree to do this. You have a plan? A layout? A time frame? Anything?”
“Of course I do,” Remus said with a scoff, (he wasn’t offended, he just wanted to pretend to be so, his whole act was more believable if they just thought him some selfish boy with no hidden motive.) “I’m not about to reveal everything right away.”
James frowned at him and then shrugged. “Fair.”
“I know what I want,” Sirius said. He nudged his towards James, “and I know he wants something but I don’t particularly care about that. But I’m curious. What you are after?”
Remus nodded, not because he agreed but to buy himself time to steady his voice. “They stole my father’s formula for a powerful potion-” lie, “-and I wish to take it back, he can’t remember it, you see-“ another lie, “-so then maybe his poor self will stop being so bitter and depressed,” another fat lie. He was really tallying them up!
“How noble of you,” Sirius said mockingly.
“And you need the two of us because…” James said with a slight wave of his hand.
“The Hond van Domes are overtly fond of triangles and the majority of their traps require three people to take down.” Remus said, and that was not a lie.
“And you know the spells required to remove them,” Sirius said.
Remus nodded. He knew because they’d once offered him food and drink and then chased him out of the Netherlands before the full moon could affect him. This family was not exactly kind to werewolves but they weren’t mean either. They were genuinely good people who understood bad circumstances but had enough brain to protect their family at all costs. One of the ways families kept themselves rich in the wizarding world was hording their gold and being selective of who was let in their inner circles. Remus couldn’t judge them for doing what they did. He also wasn’t going to feel too guilty about stealing something of theirs either.
“Will you be asking for an Unbreakable Vow?” James asked.
Remus shook his head. “No, I wouldn’t subject that onto myself, quite frankly. A contract of silence and perhaps a gentlemanly agreement to keep it under wraps should suffice.”
A while back, Remus had stolen a magical sheet of parchment from a very vicious woman back in France that worked similar to the Fidelius Charm but geared towards less talented wizards and witches who couldn’t perform that spell. You’d write down specifically what the others couldn’t share in any form, signed it and voila! Secrets secured!
Remus showed them the parchment and watched with anxiousness as they read it over.
They both signed with very little fuss.
Then Remus explained everything.
*-*
A week later, Remus found himself hidden in an abandoned barn in Belgium, tied to the wall with some very flimsy chains. He hadn’t wanted to go so far away but the only ride he’d managed to hitch had been going east and the driver had offered him money to help unload his things at his destination and Remus couldn’t, in good conscious, refuse that money. He still had plenty of times to catch up with Sirius and James in the Netherlands by the agreed upon date. He’d suffer the full moon in this thankfully desolate area and then walk all the way back if he had to. Maybe he could steal a bike from somewhere later on.
*-*
The wolf was angry.
The wolf was hurt.
The wolf was sad.
A sudden warmth covers the wolf as if saying, “I am here. I am here. I will protect you.”
The wolf had not felt that since the last time his mother hugged it.
*-*
The day was bright and sunny, completely opposite to how Remus felt after the full moon. He walked away, searching for the nearest road. An expert hitchhiker, Remus knew it sometimes paid to look scabby and downtrodden.
And how interesting that only a short walk away, Remus found both a bike and a wizarding broom just lying on the ground. What a fortunate sign. Maybe his luck was finally turning around!
*-*
Remus lost all optimism when he ran into Sirius and his brother around Ghent.
“Ah, Remus,” Sirius said loudly as he got off his broom. This was after he’d nearly scared Remus off the road.
“What are you doing all the way out here?” Remus asked trying not to stare the younger boy that had landed shortly behind Remus.
“Well, I’m on my way to our rendezvous point.”
“Shouldn’t you be traveling from England? How’d you get to Belgium?”
“Well, I flew, of course. That Potter fellow made a very compelling argument after our first meeting at that watering hole you took us too. And now Reg and I are here.”
‘Reg’ waved politely.
Remus frowned. “Huh. And your guest will be leaving…?”
Sirius laughed. “No, no. He’s here to help with our-” Sirius closed his mouth when no sound came out. He gasped, shook his head and then chuckled, “-right, can’t say that word, then adventure. Reg here is going to help us on our adventure.”
“No.” Remus said.
“Yes!” Sirius said and getting close to Remus, “That madman and his ilk have been sniffing around my little brother, trying to get him in their ranks,” Sirius whispered. “Everyone is pushing him to it curry favor but I’ll be damned if I see him entangled with that trash.”
Very well, when said like that, could Remus really turn away that poor soul? Besides, he may have looked young but not enough that Remus would feel guilty if something happened to him. ‘Reg’ wasn’t a child.
Sirius clapped his shoulder, “Bah! Calm yourself, doggy. He’ll be with me the entire time.”
Remus frowned at being called a dog but Sirius ignored him as he walked back to his brother.
“Oi, introduce yourself.” Sirius yelled.
“I’m Regulus Black!” Regulus said almost sprinting towards Remus. “My brother says you’re on a mission but I am not to interfere.”
They shook hands.
If Regulus thought anything about Remus’ tattered clothes or scratched hands, he didn’t let Remus know with any facial expressions. He smiled politely and looked Remus straight in the eye.
“Ah, here they are,” Sirius yelled as he pointed to the sky.
Two people on broomsticks headed straight towards them.
“Is that Potter?” Remus asked. He may have sounded a bit hysterical. What was going with these two? How or why would they bypass their promise of secrecy?
“Yep, that’s Potter alright. Brought along the apple of his eyes.” Sirius said.
Regulus nodded, “Nice lass. She’s too good for him.”
“You hardly know the man.” Sirius said almost with a pout.
“He likes you and your company. There is clearly something wrong with that bloke.”
James and his guest landed perfectly next to the group.
“Ahoy, mates.” James said with a ridiculous accent. “Remus, you must meet this lovely, intelligent, compassionate beyond compare future wife of mine!”
“Excuse you?” the woman said, “I don’t see an engagement ring on my finger.”
“Evans! How dare you! You know full well the jeweler is behind on schedule because of the current situation!”
“Yes well, I said I didn’t need gems from South Africa nor gold from Mexico.”
“Wait,” James said, freezing in place, “does that mean you really will marry me?”
The woman ignored him. “Lily Evans,” she said as she approached Remus. She stretched out her hand for a handshake. “James brought me along so you will actually succeed in this quest of yours.”
“You wound me, woman. Truly.”
Remus shook her hand, “Pleasure,” Remus said despite feeling no pleasure at all at these strangers. It was already hard enough for him to trust Potter and Black. How was he going to trust the fiancée(?) and brother?
“Good, good, we’re all acquainted.” James said, “now how about we get some breakfast.”
“We are in Belgum,” Regulus said, “it’d be a shame to not enjoy some traditional waffles.”
“Is that their traditional food?”
“Who cares? They are delicious and James is paying, let’s go!” Sirius said as he grabbed Remus’ shoulder and pulled him away. “You can apparate with me, moon-lover.”
*-*
The waffles had been absolutely delicious and it wasn’t because they were free.
Somehow, eating good food with good company made Remus hopeful that when he was cured, he’d get to make friends too in the future.
Maybe he could find someone just like James and Sirius had seemingly found each other…(who calls themselves best friends with a person they met a few weeks ago?)
*-*
The Plan:
Step one. Distract the guards dogs patrolling the estate. Regulus volunteered for that.
Step two. Get the elves out of the way. Regulus also volunteered for that. Sirius preened at how useful his brother was being. He even poked Remus’ ribs and said, “See! That’s why they’re trying to poach him.”
Remus didn’t know the specifics about Regulus’ plan, just that maybe it involved the Black Family elf, Kreacher.
Step three. Bring down the barrier from the focal points. Due to a minor argument between the lovebirds, Lily took over one of the focal points leaving Remus to partner up with James. Which actually meant: watch James do magic and try to act normal. This was actually better than the original plan of him being the one helping break the barrier; Lily was a trained witch (and not a werewolf with a stolen wand) so she was more likely to perform the spell without error.
Step four. Break into the estate by deactivating three individual spells at the same time. Interestingly enough, Lily and Sirius worked really well together, despite only just recently meeting. Remus thought James would perhaps get jealous but no, James reveled that he was the one that brought Lily along. In fact, he and Sirius had a very effusive argument as to which one had brought along the better companion, insisting Remus chose a winner between the two.
(Remus was somewhat glad to be included in their banter.)
Step five point one. Meet in the middle of the estate.
Step five point two. Stand by as Lily discovers and deactivats an unknown trap.
Step five point three. Ignore James’ gloating.
Step five point four. Ignore Sirius heckling Regulus ‘to do something thrilling’ and ‘to prove’ his already well-earned worth.
Step five point five. Break into the family’s vault.
Step five point six. Ignore Sirius complaint about the family not using Gringott services.
“They have the best security and you know it!”
“Obviously, but it’s to our good fortune they don’t so cut it with the negativity.”
“I’m just saying…”
“No one is asking!”
“Hmph, some friends you lot are.”
Step six. Wander away from group to look for the magical artifact.
“Wait, Remus,” Lily said. “Let’s search together. There might be more hidden traps.”
“That will take longer, though. We really shouldn’t prolong our unwelcome presence.”
“No, no, no, Remus!” James said dragging Remus with him. “Evans has a temper, don’t set her off!”
Addendum to step six. Go along with the group that is now acting more like children than a bunch of thieves that literally met less than a month ago.
“In another universe, you and I would’ve been soulmates.”
“Uh, mate? I don’t think it’s smart to call my brother your soulmate when the lady you fancy is right here.”
“You’ve young and inexperienced, Regulus, this is perfectly normal.”
“No, it’s not, don’t pay attention to him.”
Step seven. Find the Potter treasure.
“Sweet Walburga! Is that an actual, legitimate invisibility cloak!”
Step eight. Find the infamous Wand of Power.
Correction! Discover a fake wand made of clay and listen to Sirius grumble that he’s not getting anything out of this whole adventure.
“Potter gets his cloak. Remus will get his medicine! But me? Nothing!”
“But Sirius! What of our friendship?”
“But Sirius! What of our brotherly bonding?”
“But Sirius! What of the delicious waffles we ate earlier?”
Step nine. Find the potion that will cure Remus of his curse.
“So what does it look like exactly?”
It’s a potion and will most likely be labeled.”
“I hope these people are organized. Professor Slughorn, I mean Horace Slughorn, has a very efficient system, it makes me jealous.”
“Okay, but will it be labeled in English or Dutch? I can’t read Dutch.”
“Potions are usually named in Latin…”
“I reckon there’s an easier way to do this,” Regulus said, “Kreacher, fetch me the potion Remulus wants, please.”
(“Ha! Take that, James! Regulus has more than one trick up his sleeve!”)
They heard a crack. Then the sound of thunderbolts. Then a horrid screeching sound. Regulus disappeared in a blink. Then Remus felt himself be pulled by his intestines. He fell to the ground, his knees hitting a cement floor.
“What happened?” James asked, looking stunned but with his wand in hand looking ready for a fight.
Regulus whispered with Sirius, both of them getting more frantic by the moment. Then, Sirius smacked his face and let out a muffled groan.
“Mates,” Sirius said. He spun around, taking a deep breath as if to calm himself. “I come with bad news,”
“The artifact doesn’t exist,” Lily said with certainty.
“What?” Remus asked. He stood up. It seemed they had been transported to an empty city park.
“Kreacher. He couldn’t get the artifact to cure you because it doesn’t exist.” Regulus said. He looked so young twisting his hands together.
“The magic of house elves, it won’t let them disobey an order,” Lily said, “If Kreacher couldn’t get it-”
James placed his hand on Remus’ shoulder. “I’m sorry, Remus.”
Stunned, hurt, breathless.
Remus nodded. He knew a bit about the magic of house elves and believed what they were saying. “No apologies are required.” Remus said pushing James away. “I shall take my leave-”
“Wait!” was the shout of many.
“Where are you going?” Sirius asked at the same time James said, “You don’t need to go.”
“Remus,” Lily said, “it will be okay.”
Remus said nothing. He couldn’t say anything. All his hopes of finally getting his life back had been for nothing. He had to avoid thinking about less he start crying like a child. He wasn’t going to start crying.
“Please,” Remus said, “it’s best if I leave.”
“Ah posh! I’ll just come out and say it,”
“Sirius, no!” Regulus said as he tried to pull Sirius back.
Sirius slipped away from his grasp. “We know you’re a wolf. We don’t care.”
“What the devil?” Remus blurted out without meaning to.
Sometimes, people feel like their brain stops working. Their capability to think stops like in a snap, they don’t process any of their senses, time stops. That was what Remus experienced when his deepest sin was said out loud.
“I’m a monster.” Remus said calmly, he was barely cognizant that he did it.
It was true! He was a monster! He lost his humanity, he lost his free will, he lost his right to live amongst civilized people. He’d chased a rumor thinking it would give him his soul back but it turned out to be a lie. The forces of the universe had deemed Remus unworthy of anything good—
“Rubbish!” James said viciously.
“Monsters are those beasts with skulls and snakes branded on their arms,” Lily said. “They hurt people, the steal and they destroy and they do with a smile on their faces. They are soulless monster. Not a lonely man who hasn’t been given a chance to prove their goodness.”
“I’m not.” Remus said. If his eyes prickled, he didn’t acknowledge it.
“You are, friend,” Sirius said, “I can smell evil people a mile away, you are not one of them.”
“Let us prove it to you.” James said. “Here, right now, I offer you a vow of friendship and I promise I won’t judge based on something beyond your control.”
“You shouldn’t—”
“Nope, too late,” Sirius said as he leaned on Remus’ other shoulder. “James has claimed you as his. You can’t stop it. He did the same thing to me and all of a sudden I’ve been declared the Best Man in the upcoming nuptials. He didn’t say it verbally but it was implied.”
Regulus sighed, “Merlin’s Beard, Siruis. At least let the man actually ask you.”
“That’s right, Sirius,” James said, squeezing Remus’ shoulder. And didn’t that feel absolutely delightful? “You have robbed me of the opportunity to make a thing out of this.”
Lily busted out laughing, “Oh dear, oh dear,” she said between gasps. “Yes, it must be Sirius, just think of ‘Tunia’s face when she has to share the stage with him!”
Then she bent over as she continued to holler.
“That doesn’t sound good,” Sirius said.
But you know what did sound good?
Having friends.
Remus really, really liked the sound of that.