The Battle of Halloween, 1981 (Marauders Era AU)

The Battle of Halloween, 1981

CW: this does go into some very heavy topics, mainly about death, so please read at your own risk. your mental well-being is much more important than reading this!!

Sirius Black awoke on the morning of 31 October, 1981, with absolutely no idea of what was to be coming later that very day.

When he stretched out his limbs, searching specifically for one person, they were gone. Sirius heaved a sigh and sat up in the bed, stretching his arms above his head and stifling a yawn. He glanced around the room to be sure, and, just as he expected, Remus Lupin was no where to be found.

Sirius grumbled something unintelligible to himself and threw his legs over the side of the bed, stepping onto the plush carpet beneath him. The warm Autumn air was circulating the room, creating a nice atmosphere for the still-waking man.

"Remus?" He called, just to be sure that Remus was, indeed, out of the flat.

No response came, and Sirius grew suspicious. Where would Remus Lupin have to go this early in the morning? Could he be meeting with Voldemort? Could he be divulging Sirius's secrets to the man?

Sirius shook the thoughts from his head. He couldn't doubt his boyfriend - not in a war like this. No, he had to trust him. So... why was it so hard to do that very thing?

There was a spy in the Order - there had to be a spy in the Order. Sirius suspected Remus, and Sirius knew that Remus suspected him right back. Not trusting Remus - the man whom Sirius was supposed to be in love with - it was exhausting. Sirius hadn't doubted anyone's loyalties this much since Regulus, his younger brother.

Regulus had assured Sirius for the longest time that he wasn't a Death Eater - that he wasn't working for the man who called himself the Dark Lord. Sirius, however, knew his brother. He knew how much he longed to please their parents. Sirius had tried his best - he really had. He had spent years trying to convince Regulus to leave his parents, to come live with he and James. However, Sirius knew, very deep down, that he never truly would. He knew that Regulus's loyalties lay elsewhere, and that it would get him killed.

Sure enough, Regulus Black had been announced dead in late 1979.

Sirius didn't cry. He didn't react - not physically, anyways. Regulus had been a Death Eater - he had chosen the path that had ultimately killed him. There was nothing Sirius Black could have done to save his brother. Ever since Regulus first heard about Voldemort, he had been as good as dead.

That was exactly how Sirius felt about Remus now. He knew that, out of everyone in the Order, Remus was the most likely candidate. He was a werewolf - he had grown up being scared and discriminated against because of his condition.

Voldemort could promise Remus Lupin things that the Ministry could not - a chance.

A chance to be seen as normal; for once in his life, Remus Lupin could be seen as normal. At least, that's what Sirius suspected was Remus's reason for betraying the Order. The only thing that Sirius needed to do was find proof, and to protect James, Lily, and Harry.

Of course, Sirius could not go visit the two of them. He wasn't Secret Keeper for their Fidelius Charm, Peter Pettigrew was. So, Sirius sat down at the tiny dining table and scribbled a quick note to his best mate, just to be sure he was safe. For, Sirius had a sinking suspicion - one that he could not quite place - that was telling him that, today, something bad was going to happen.

***

Sirius Black was sat on the couch, going through a stack of files which he had found hidden away in one of Remus's dresser drawers. The papers were all spread out across the coffee table, and Sirius was eyeing them suspiciously. None of them seemed to correlate in the slightest - it all looked like utter nonsense. There were birth records for people that Sirius had never even heard of, paperwork that he couldn't quite make out, documents and certificates, applications.