Regency in Diagon Alley [Theodore Nott | Harry Potter AU]

Chapter Twenty

Remus Lupin woke being kicked lightly. He opened one eye at the jolt and saw Tonks still in her nightdress and a robe telling him to hide. He was about to ask but then the woman covered his mouth with her hand and told him as quietly as she could, "Hide in the bathroom, no questions." Still confused, he was going to ask again but then heard a knock on the door.

That's right, men were not allowed in the building.

Grabbing his clothes and the makeshift bed he had on the floor – throwing the pillows on her bed – Remus quietly ran to the bathroom, holding his shirt and coat over his nude top and closed the door. He pressed his back against the door and listened.

"Celia, what brings you to my door this early in the morning?" Tonks spoke.

"Tonks, you weren't there for breakfast." Said Celia.

"Oh, right – sorry, I overslept, it was a long night at work. You know what it's like." With that, Remus wondered what kind of story Tonks told these women because there were a few job opportunities for women unlike with men. If she were a servant, she would have lived with her masters, if a baker or a modiste... probably.

"Well, I brought you something – don't let the old hag catch you with it, though, or she'll have my head."

A slight clatter of china was heard. Remus stifled a laugh as he imagined Tonks clumsily holding the tray. "Thank you, for this Celia," she told the woman. "Goodbye!" the door closed. A few minutes later she called out to him. "It's safe!"

Remus exited the bathroom. Tonks have set the breakfast on the bed while she fixed the pillows he threw. "Eat up, we both have a long day. Which reminds me, what do you plan on doing?"

"I'm going back to the catacombs, try to find a ghost or attempt to summon one – which reminds me, how do you summon a ghost?" He tore the croissant into two and ate the other half.

Tonks chuckled. "You're asking the wrong witch, Lupin."

Since Remus' encounter with Sirius in the canal, they have been visiting the catacombs in London to find a ghost that could give them a hint on Sirius' movements. They marked each entrance, path, and bone they passed, hoping to find a ghost that could find a man who was doing a good job of staying hidden. Sirius did his job well in hiding. Getting rid of his tracks by continuing his journey as a dog, using the stench of the canals to distract Remus' strong nose. For days, they walked in the dirty and gut-wrenching canals and found nothing. He wanted to kill Sirius for this.

While the days he spent in the sewers with Tonks and the city filth had him cursing Sirius, he was thankful that the man had not done anything brash when it came to his daughter. Since losing sight of him, Remus and the others have been keeping watch on when, where, and how Sirius plans to make his presence known to his daughter or if he plans to do so. The man knew that his secret was no longer one and was in the hands of people he did not want to be involved. Theodore Nott has not shown signs of telling Carina – probably because he knew best to stay out of it, probably because he kept his bargain with Regulus and kept it secret, or maybe he had something more up his sleeve. No one knows what thoughts ran through the Duke in the North's mind. No one knows of his intentions.

And that made him a problem.

But Regulus told them that if Theodore Nott, truly, held feelings for Carina, he would know better to keep his mouth shut about Sirius Black... for now.

Until they knew why Sirius was in London and why there was someone walking around with his face, no one from inside that room that night in the Potter house would know the secret they held.

"While you hunt in the sewers, I have to go to work. His Grace has summoned the Aurors under his jurisdiction." Tonks said, taking half of the croissant and ripping apart from its half. "I'll meet with you at the entrance as soon as I'm free."