The Violet Hour

3

The violet hour

When the sun and the stars can't be seen, we live in between.

Monday 6th June, 1994

Professor Snape lay in a heap of robes by the door to the largest room of the shrieking shack, having just been blasted backward by a spell from Harry, Ron, and Hermione all at the same time. There was a chill in the air that was not entirely due to the boarded up windows and doors hanging off their hinges. It blew through Hermione's bushy brown hair and tickled Ron's ginger-freckled nose. In between them, the boy called Harry Potter stood quite still, his round glasses askew and his face a mask of pure hatred.

The three students, two heaps on the floor, and an exhausted looking Remus Lupin were the only occupants in the dilapidated room. Well, other than Ron's rat, Scabbers, who was squeaking quite madly at the moment. The squeaking added to the din of enraged and scared yells currently filling the room.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?" bellowed Harry, glaring at both Lupin and at one of the heaps on the floor.

"Shh, quiet down, Scabbers!"

The lump on the floor moved and the traitor, Sirius Black, all but unrecognizable with dirty stringy hair, white skin with a slight greenish tinge, and the appearance of one who has been deflated, raised his head.

"I...need...him." he groaned, pointing straight at Ron, who was looking bewildered and terrified, still trying to quiet down Scabbers.

"Well you can't have him!" Hermione and Harry were pointing their wands at Sirius Black, still on the dirty floor. Both were muttering protests but looked very confused all the same.

Remus ignored them. He turned toward Sirius and put his wand back in his pocket. Remus could hardly bear to look into Sirius' gaunt face and dull eyes, but he stared anyway, hoping as hard as he could.

"It's him, isn't it," he whispered, with a glance toward Ron.

Sirius nodded and a great weight left Remus instantly. He hustled over to Sirius's side to clutch at his arms. Lupin grunted and heaved Sirius to somewhat standing before pulling him in very close. He heard gasps, but he did not let go. Remus was shaking but pulled back enough to look into Sirius' eyes again. They were dull and slightly damp but he could swear he saw a flicker of something in them as he stared.

"I –" Lupin faltered, "I believed." His voice shook so much but he lowered it so that only Sirius could hear. "I believed, but I never stopped... I never stopped loving you." This last part was almost inaudible, but Sirius seemed to understand.

"I'm back." And Sirius moved his hands to Remus' face and kissed him. A soft, small kiss. A kiss that said they had much to talk about still, but that he was here. Back. For Remus.

A strangled, betrayed noise startled the old friends back to their surroundings. It had seemed for a long moment that they were the only two in the room. This was, of course, incorrect.

Looking around, Lupin met the hostile gaze of the three students. Harry looked downright furious.

"Professor Lupin... YOU? And- And HIM?" he managed to get out, struggling to speak in his fury. "HE KILLED MY PARENTS!"

Remus stepped lightly in front of Sirius to shield him from Harry's wand and rage. He took a shuddering breath and gave the man behind him a slight smile.

"No, Harry, he didn't. But we have a lot to explain."

Amidst the protests and angry shouts, Remus managed to start the story he knew he would have to tell in full before this night was out. He talked for a long time, with Sirius jutting in every so often and giving dark looks toward the rat, Scabbers. It came out that this was not actually a rat at all, but the presumed dead Peter Pettigrew, who had been one of Sirius' and Remus' good friends. This Peter had been the one to actually betray the Potters and he had apparently been hiding this whole time, letting Sirius take the blame for his crimes.

At this point in the story, Sirius very nearly killed Peter, who had been transformed back into a human, but was stopped by Harry, who looked as if the action had taken all of his willpower.

"No. Let him go to Azkaban." he spat at where Peter sat crying and whining pitifully.

And so the necessary part of the story came to an end and everyone, looking rather more exhausted than when the story began, started the long journey back up to the castle, where they knew they would have to do a lot more explaining. Peter, escorted as a captive and being kicked intermittently by Ron, followed Sirius out the passageway and back to Hogwarts grounds. Harry and Hermione hurried after them and Remus, levitating Snape, brought up the rear.

The group emerged underneath the whomping willow and made quick progress silently across the grounds. They were almost back to the castle without incident when Lupin, slowing, felt an awful foreboding sensation that could mean only one thing.

"Noo..." he moaned to himself. "Not now..." He grimaced, but had no choice but to look up and sure enough, there above him he saw the moon. That terrible moon, he thought bitterly as he tried to shout out for Sirius, but nothing came out.

"Sirius!" Harry yelled, apparently noticing Lupin had stopped and was starting to shake and fold in on himself. "Sirius! It's Professor Lupin!"

Sirius whirled around instantly and rushed at Lupin who felt a pressure as Sirius grabbed him tightly against himself. "Remus! No! Look at me! You can control it, you have to!" Sirius begged, but the words seemed to spin and drift far away from Lupin.

Vaguely, Remus saw dark figures streaming out of the doors of Hogwarts toward them and heard someone still shouting his name. An animal rage overtook him and he was no longer himself.

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