Harry Potter FanFiction

[Exarius]

The Lion and the Duel: Part IV

Even in cloudy weather, Hogsmeade was beautiful. The shops were filled with life and color as students and professors flooded the village. Remus separated from the others to visit Scrivenshaft’s Quill Shop. He allowed himself a rare purchase of a new quill. It had a simple and elegant design, but the tip was made specifically for writing lengthy essays. It even had an enchantment on it to keep your hand from cramping. Remus recognized only one other person from Hogwarts in Scrivenshaft’s—Professor Aylesworth, who was purchasing a large bottle of ink and what looked like a set of eagle quills.

“You can never have too much ink, isn’t that right, Mr. Lupin?” Aylesworth called as he collected his purchases from the clerk. Remus nodded eagerly and bid the professor goodbye before heading over to Zonko’s, where he knew his friends would be lining their pockets with gags.

Zonko’s Joke Shop, rather expectedly, was brimming with Hogwarts students. Remus was surprised to find Professor Flitwick bouncing among the students, the point of his hat only occasionally making it above the sea of people. Remus had to literally pull James and Sirius away from a bin of top hats that gave the wearer a donkey tail. Remus’s two friends were still complaining down the street and into Honeyduke’s Sweet Shop before the smell of delicious confections finally made them stop. Peter waited in line behind Madam Sprout to buy a large block of chocolate along with a dozen other sweets. When Remus refused to buy anything for himself, James bought him a box of jelly slugs, pretending to be affronted until Remus began eating. With their tummies heavier and pockets lighter, the boys decided to relax in the Three Broomsticks.

On their way to the Three Broomsticks, they spotted Hagrid standing outside the Post Office. He waved them over as they passed. “Hullo, boys,” Hagrid said. “Bet yer enjoyin’ yer first trip inter Hogsmeade, eh?” Remus smiled while James attempted to hold in his laughter.

“Sure we are, Hagrid!” Sirius said. “This place is great!” Hagrid beamed at them. He clapped Peter on the back, almost sending the small boy to his knees.

“Wotcher, there, Pete,” Hagrid said, his black eyes twinkling. “Now you four had best come by ter see me sometime soon. I’d hate ter think that the only time yeh want to visit is when yeh have detention.” He gave a great chuckle and the four boys joined in. They all readily agreed before exchanging goodbyes with the friendly groundskeeper. “Good luck in yer Quidditch game next week, James!” Hagrid called as the boys continued down the street towards the pub. They waved once more before disappearing around a bend and into the Three Broomsticks.

Remus was amazed by the pub when he entered. It was completely decorated for Halloween, which was less than two weeks away. The air smelled of pumpkin and spice, and the walls were lined with jack-o-lanterns that made faces at the people below. Remus let the others find a table while he went to the bar to order butterbeer for the four of them. On his way back from the bar, he passed a table where Professors Slughorn and Llewindel were sitting, surrounded by some of Slughorn’s more precious students. Remus put his head down and tried to walk by unnoticed, but Slughorn’s keen eye spotted him.

“Remus, lad,” Slughorn boomed, motioning him over. It was clear he had been drinking something a bit stronger than butterbeer. “Remus is one of my most capable students,” Slughorn began to Llewindel. “Why, I can remember his first year when he and his friends. . . “ Slughorn’s story trailed off into a fit of laughter as he remembered their trick with the polyjuice potion. “Speaking of that,” Slughorn said, without ever having really finished his story, “where are Potter and Black? They can’t be far and I’d love for them to join us. . . “ Slughorn began looking around for the names he wanted to add to his list of favorites.

“Er—um…” Remus began, thinking of a way to throw Slughorn off their trail. “I think they’re already outside. They just sent me in for the drinks.” Remus looked down, disappointed.

“Well, next time then, eh, Mr. Lupin?” Slughorn said, slurring slightly. Remus nodded and quickly swept around towards the door. “And if you see Miss Evans anywhere, tell her to come visit me as well. I’ll be here all afternoon,” Slughorn called behind Remus. Fearing he would be caught if he looked back, he just continued towards the door before ducking behind a post. He slowly peeked out to look for Sirius and the others, only to see the three of them looking around for their drinks. It only took a moment for James to spot Remus’s head poking from behind the post. He was about to yell when Remus’s vigorous head shaking made him shut his mouth. With his head, Remus nodded towards Slughorn, then to the exit. James quickly caught on. Moments later, all three of his friends were ducking underneath their table. Less than a minute later, Remus felt a tug on his sleeve and he knew that one of his friends, now invisible under James’s cloak, was leading him away from Slughorn’s grasp.

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[Exarius]

The Lion and the Duel: Part V

The four friends allowed their butterbeers to keep them warm as they walked down the cold streets of Hogsmeade. “Oi,” Sirius said suddenly, “I have an idea.” He began leading the others down a side-street until an all-too familiar building appeared around a corner. The Shrieking Shack looked as ominous from the outside as it felt on the inside. Sirius continued walking, but Remus stopped in his tracks.

“Come on, Remus,” Sirius said. “We’ve never been in there and we want to see what it’s like. Now’s the perfect time. . . Especially since, you know, you’re not all hairy.” Remus wasn’t smiling. The last thing he wanted was for his friends to see how he suffered during the full moon. He did not want them to know what the inside of that building was like because of him.

“No,” Remus said flatly. “I don’t want you to see what it’s like in there.”

“Yeah,” Peter agreed. “I doubt we could even find a way in there.” Though he was certain Peter’s actions were motivated by fear, he was thankful for the support.

“Come off it, I know we can find a way in,” Sirius said. “And I want to know what it’s like for you. Don’t try to push us out. You’re our friend and your furry little problem is our problem as well.” James nodded in agreement.

“But—“ Remus began to protest, but he was distracted by shouts coming from the village behind them. All four of the boys stared for a moment before James unfolded his cloak and motioned them all underneath. They hurried down the main street, past the Three Broomsticks and the Post office. Remus could make out a variety of professors ushering students and villagers alike into the nearest buildings. Once all of the students were in, some of the professors stood sentry outside various shops. He could see Professor Sprout nervously gripping her wand outside Honeyduke’s, and Hagrid twirling a large pink umbrella outside the Post Office.

Remus was still looking around for the cause of all the shouting when Sirius whispered, “There.” Sure enough, at the very end of the street were two men shouting at one another, wands exposed. Nearly everyone else had made it to the shelter of a building, but the four boys continued to edge closer to the confrontation. One of the men was doing most of the shouting. He had a long, gaunt face, and a mess of dirty blond hair. He stumbled a bit as he circled the other man, which gave Remus the impression that he had been drinking more than Slughorn that afternoon. The other man looked like one of the local shopkeepers. He was much younger than the other man, but he was holding his ground firmly.

“A real wizards’ duel,” James muttered. Sirius elbowed him for quiet. The deranged man’s shouts grew louder and Remus could now clearly hear what he was saying.

“Time’s almost up for you, blood traitor,” the drunk man was saying. “For you and that filthy muggle wife of yours. Can’t you see we don’t want you in our village?!” Before the other man could respond, the first wizard shot a spell. The younger man deflected the jet of black smoke, but it struck a nearby window, which erupted in flames. There were screams from inside. More spells began to fly, and Remus nudged the others to take cover behind a nearby house. They had just made it behind a brick wall when a faint popping echoed throughout the village. Remus and the others peeked around the corner to see half a dozen wizards apparate and surround the dueling wizards. There were equal shouts of “Stupefy!” and “Expelliarmus!” before the two wizards collapsed.

Slowly, professors began emerging from the various shops with students in tow. Remus saw Professor Flitwick put out the small fire that had been confined to the window of one of the houses. Professor Aylesworth led a small group of Ravenclaws out of Scrivenshaft’s. Soon, all of the Hogwarts students were being herded back up to the castle.


Once they were back in the common room, the boys unloaded their pockets and began a hushed conversation about what they had just witnessed. Their former excitement about witnessing a real duel was overshadowed by the dark sentiments of the one wizard.

“Things really are changing,” James said, shaking his head. “There have always been duels, but there hasn’t been one like that in public in ages. At least not in a quiet village like Hogsmeade, so close to school.” Sirius was oddly quiet.

“The teachers must have expected trouble,” Remus said. “There wasn’t a single shop we went into today that didn’t have a teacher. Dumbledore must have been worried.” Sirius remained quiet, so Remus shot him a look. Sirius refused to look him in the eye, but he rose from his chair by the fire and said,

“I’m going to bed. Goodnight.” Without another word, he took the stairs to their dormitory two at a time and closed the door behind him.

“He must be thinking of his parents,” James said. “After all, they would have been cheering for the drunk nutter.”

“I’ll go try to talk to him,” Remus said, following Sirius up the stairs. When he got to the dorm, however, Sirius was already asleep, or at least pretending, so Remus also went to bed.



Talk of the incident in Hogsmeade floated around the castle for days. No less than a dozen students claimed to have been clipped by one of the flying spells, though it was obvious to everyone that nobody had actually been hurt. The Daily Prophet reported that the aggressor was sentenced to a few months in Azkaban, but it was little more than a slap on the wrist.

The excitement, and indeed fear, surrounding the events in Hogsmeade lasted through Halloween. The feast was as vibrant as ever, with so much food that the boys could only finish two platefuls before calling it quits. Dumbledore made a short speech in which he assured the students that Hogwarts was the safest place for them, but that future visits into Hogsmeade would be under stricter supervision. That night, the Gryffindor common room hosted a lavish party to celebrate Halloween, and the upcoming Quidditch match against Hufflepuff. Sirius and James had nicked large bowls of sweets from the House Elves, but everyone was so full from the feast that they went mostly untouched.

Sirius remained quieter than usual, so while the party was in full swing, Remus approached his friend and demanded him to speak his mind.

“It’s nothing, Rem, just,” Sirius hesitated for a long moment. Whoops of Go, Go, Gryff-in-dor! Had been taken up by the Quidditch team as it explained how they were going to win the cup that year. “My brother,” Sirius finished with an exhale. “We still don’t know exactly what he’s up to and I’m worried the stupid git is going to end up like the bloke in Hogsmeade.”

“Don’t worry,” Remus said, slapping Sirius on the back and pushing him into the party. “We’ll figure out exactly what’s going on. But for now, let’s just celebrate.”

Sirius stopped and turned to face Remus. “Is that Remus Lupin telling ME to relax and celebrate???” Sirius said even more dramatically than usual. “I must be moping pretty badly if that’s the case.” Laughing, Remus followed Sirius into the crowd of celebrating Gryffindors. They spotted Lily Evans in one of the armchairs, using her wand fashion something out of the green ribbon Remus had seen just before their Hogsmeade trip. Sirius stopped, looked at Remus, then at Lily. Like an energetic dog, he pounced, pulling Lily up by the arm and eliciting a small “Oh” from the girl as Sirius pulled her into the fray. “Come on, Evans,” Sirius said, having to yell to be heard above the crowd. “Tonight, everybody has fun.” Lily looked like she was about to smack Sirius, but her glare turned into a smile and she pushed her way into the crowd to join the fun.

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[Exarius]

The Lion and the Duel: Part VI

The day of the Quidditch match dawned to uncharacteristically clear skies. The air was cold, but the sun offered some warmth. Remus and Peter had to drag James to breakfast and force him to eat.

“Are you coming, Sirius?” Peter asked at the portrait hole. “You’re not out of your pajamas yet.”

“I have something special planned,” Sirius said, grinning. “You two come back and meet me after breakfast and we’ll go down to the pitch together.”

“Ok,” Remus said, “but we might miss the first few minutes. Come on James, you need to eat.”

James was taken away from the breakfast table early so that he and the rest of Gryffindor team could get ready for the match. Remus and Peter also finished their food and hurried back up to Gryffindor Tower to collect Sirius.

“What do you reckon he has planned?” Peter asked as they gave the Fat Lady the password and entered the common room.

“With Sirius, it could be anything,” Remus said, following Peter through the portrait hole. What Remus saw next, he would remember for the rest of his life. Before them stood Sirius, it was clearly him. He had his dark hair, too long now and hanging in his face. The face, however, was completely different. Somehow, Sirius had manage to transfigure his features so that he looked like a Gryffindor lion. Underneath a soft layer of fur were Sirius’s features, but his ears were round and sticking out of the hair on the side of his head. His nose had also grown unmistakably into a short muzzle, and Sirius’s grin was now much toothier. Peter had to help Remus off the floor, where he nearly passed out from laugheter.

“Whaddooyooothink?” Sirius said thickly as he tried to talk with his changed face.

“Wicked,” Peter said, reaching up to touch Sirius’s ear.

“I think,” Remus said, wiping tears from his eyes, “that there is no way you could have done this on your own.”

Sirius nodded. “Clawd Eefenz,” Sirius said carefully, trying to enunciate as clearly as possible. Remus suddenly remembered the whispered conversation Sirius had with the seventh year before the Hogsmeade trip.

“Brilliant, mate,” Remus said. “Bloody brilliant.”


What followed was the most spectacular game of Quidditch Remus had ever witnessed. Not only did Gryffindor demolish Hufflepuff, but Sirius got laughs and cheers out of everyone (save the Slytherins, and McGonagall who looked stern, but impressed). When the snitch was finally caught, Sirius gave his best attempt at a roar. It was a work in process, but it was impressive nonetheless.

In the best spirits they’d been in for weeks, Remus, James, Sirius, and Peter went back to the Gryffindor common room to celebrate with the rest of their house. Satisfied and completely happy, they all vowed to make the rest of their year as exciting as it had been so far.

“To us,” Sirius said, raising his bottle of butterbeer. Remus and the others raised their own bottles, only to laugh as Sirius tried to drink with his transfigured mouth.

“To us,” Remus echoed when he had finally stopped laughing. “To best friends.”