Sanctuary

Chapter 82

When Sirius, McGonagall, and Flitwick reached the castle, McGonagall insisted on escorting Sirius to the Hospital Wing for a check-up to make sure he was unhurt, despite his insistence that he was fine. They arrived to find James with his shirt off and his back to Madam Pomfrey, who was hovering over him with her wand out.

'What happened?' Sirius asked, hurrying over.

James waved him off. 'It's just some cuts and bruises. Nothing exciting.'

'Where is Miss Evans?' McGonagall asked.

'Peter took her up to the Tower to get some sleep. We thought it better if she wasn't here to see Remus missing all night.'

'She's not hurt?'

James shook his head. 'No, that Lord Voldemort guy shot a Killing curse at us, but we dodged it and it blew up the wall of the tunnel. That's how I got these,' he pointed over his shoulder, 'But I stopped any of it hitting Evans.'

Professor McGonagall smiled. 'Very chivalrous.'

'What's happening with Remus?'

'He's loose in the Forest,' Professor McGonagall said, looking towards the window. 'Hopefully, he stays in there until morning. Not that there's much we can do about it.' She sighed heavily. 'And I have no idea how we're going to find him.'

Sirius looked at James with a raised eyebrow, and James hesitated for a second but nodded, so Sirius turned to McGonagall. 'About that. I... um... that is to say, we... we have a way to find him.'

'How?'

'So, um, a while ago we did a spell,' he said. 'It links us together so we know when one of us is in danger and we can find each other.'

'Why would you do such a thing?'

Sirius shrugged. 'It was after that time Professor Tenebris took Remus and we had to find them, remember? You helped us. We wanted to make sure we could find each other next time.'

'The results were much more intense than we expected,' James said. 'But we're getting used to it. Came in handy tonight, actually.'

'How so?'

'Well, we're linked in a circle,' James said. 'We're not all connected to everyone. And the alert comes in the form of what the person is thinking when they realise their life is in danger. We've been practising and we're pretty good at sending intentional messages to each other now. When Sirius found out where I'd take Voldemort, he told Peter, and Peter fetched Professor Tenebris and met us at the other end, letting me know he was coming telepathically. It wasn't needed in the end, but if the trap hadn't worked, the backup would have been welcome.'

'The point is, I can use the tracking part of the spell to find Remus when the moon sets,' Sirius said.

'I can't find any damage from the spell,' Madam Pomfrey said. 'I've checked him thoroughly. They must have done it correctly.'

'Can it be removed?' McGonagall asked.

Madam Pomfrey shook her head. 'As far as I can tell, the spell is designed to be permanent. I can't even find any sign of it. It's fully integrated into their own magic.'

'Good,' Sirius said. 'I don't want it removed.'

'Yeah, me neither,' James agreed.

McGonagall shook her head, closing her eyes briefly. 'Let's just hope you remain friends for the rest of your lives, because you'll definitely regret this spell if you don't.'

'We will,' James said, sounding absolutely certain of it, and McGonagall smiled fondly at him.

'Professor?' Sirius asked. 'What happened to the guy that opened the door? He was still alive when we last saw him, but...'