Sanctuary

Chapter 88

By the time Remus had finished telling them about the cauldron-making instruction manual in Professor Tenebris' office, and his crazy plan for them to break in and steal it, the smoke had cleared enough inside the cave for them to return and inspect the damage. Considering the cave was an enclosed space, Peter was wondering where it'd all gone because it hadn't dispersed into the passage where they'd taken cover. That was until they actually walked back into the cave and it became obvious where the smoke had gone.

'Pretty sure there used to be a wall there,' Sirius said, stating the obvious.

Remus hummed in agreement. 'The one we took the mica from. We must have weakened it.'

'There's a lot of light coming in through the hole,' James observed, walking towards it. 'Yep, that would be the outside. I think we just made a new secret passage out of school. That's pretty cool.'

Peter, Remus, and Sirius joined him, gazing out through the hole they'd accidentally blown in the cave wall. They seemed to be situated about a hundred feet up the mountain that bordered Hogsmeade, and they could see the village nestled below with Hogwarts towering over it in the distance. The incline to reach where they stood wasn't particularly steep, and it looked like it would be easy enough to climb down and back up again.

'Yeah, pretty cool,' Peter said. 'Except there's a crazy madman that wants to get into the school, and we just created a way in with no security.'

'Shit,' James said.

'That about sums it up, yeah,' Remus agreed.

'Guess we know how we're spending the rest of today,' Sirius said. 'What security spells do we know?'

'I know a few from when I was researching spells for the passageway trap,' Remus said. 'But I don't think that's the kind of thing we need for this.'

'No,' James agreed. 'We need to conceal the entrance, not just trap anyone who tries to use it. And then we need to protect it with a password or something.'

'We're going to need some books,' Remus said. 'Pete and I can go back to the library. You and James stay here to guard it.'

'You're better at defensive spells than me,' James argued. 'You should stay.'

'True, but this is just a precaution. I doubt anyone is actually going to discover it that quickly. And I know my way around the library better than any of you.'

James had no argument for that, so Peter and Remus left, leaving James and Sirius to guard the newly created entrance into the school, and headed for the library. Remus wasn't lying when he said he knew his way around the maze of books and he led Peter around at speed, pausing only long enough to scan a shelf and grab a book, passing each one to Peter to carry as he moved onto the next set of identical-looking shelving.

When the stack of books in Peter's arms was high enough that it was threatening his ability to see, Remus finally decided they had enough, and they headed to the front desk to check them out. Madam Pince eyed them suspiciously, but Remus had a bit of a reputation for strange research by that point and it probably went a long way towards explaining why she didn't question them. The outcome would undoubtedly have been different if James had been the one with Peter instead.

The lack of alarms from James and Sirius, while they were completing their book retrieval quest, was comforting, and they weren't surprised to find them unharmed and laughing together, sitting on one of the mattresses from the tent, when they returned to the cave with their 'treasure' (if books could be considered treasure). Okay, he might be taking the quest concept a little far. Although Remus would definitely consider them treasure, so maybe not. Anyway, the point was, no one had tried to force their way in during the hour Peter and Remus had been gone, and that was good.