redrum

Murder in the First

AU in which Remus' "soul mate mark" is a sort of dog, but he doesn't understand why his soul mate would be a dog.

Remus pulled his thick jacket tighter around him; he absolutely hated the cold rain that drenched Scotland. The cobble stone streets were fairly empty. His flat was still a block away, but the buses were down that day for Soul Day. This year it was celebrated April 9 because that was the anniversary of when the Head of Scotland, Orion and Walburga Black met. The day changed every year they got a new Head, which bothered the noodles out of him.

Remus never really cared for the whole "soul mates" poppycock, however he was in the minority. Everyone had cool marks or things that made sense: James' Mark was a lily flower, and his fiancé Lily Evans had rectangular glasses like what James had worn since elementary. Remus however, had a few dots connected with thin lines, forming a rectangle, with some sticks for legs and a tail. When he doodled on his class work of it, he thought it looked like the anatomy structure for a dog, but Alice Fortescue said it looked like a dick. Nevermind her, though, because her mark is a fudging cupcake.

Remus ran his finger over the constellation-like mark on the inside of his wrist subconsciously. He wasn't even watching where he was going, and stopped suddenly with a small squeak. His brown shoes now soaking wet from a fairly deep puddle. He picked up his foot, water running off his worn oxfords, but he could feel the water had gone all the way to his sock. "Son of a gun--," he whispered, cutting himself off and looking around. The word gun could get you major fines in 2096 Scotland.

"I heard that." A voice sounded from the alley between a local barbers and the American food buffet restaurant (both closed for holiday.) Remus physically sunk down an inch. He couldn't pay for a fine, he was already paying for Hogwarts private school! He slowly turned around, whispering a goodbye to his education and future.

"Y-you gonna snitch?" His voice was just above a whisper, he stepped into the alley, the stench of the fried American Buffet waist bin overwhelming the brick walkway. A man was standing at the end, his back to the metal gate fence that separated the abandoned street from the next street over. He was a few inches shorter than Remus with broad shoulders. He had dark hair hair almost shoulder length with grey, almost almond shaped eyes.

"Na, in order to do that, I'd have to confess selling weapons." He opened his jacket, showing several different knife blades lining the inside. Remus' bright green eyes widened in disbelief. He could probably get off the hook for saying 'gun' if he reported this guy. Remus scratched the dog starlation on his wrist nervously.

"D-Do you know how to use those?" He got up close, awkwardly close. Remus himself was lanky and slender, and to the blade thug, probably intimidatingly taller. The stranger ran a hand through his hair, tossing it over his shoulder sassily.

"Of course I do!" He rolled up the sleeves of his windbreaker and began demonstrating the proper usage of a knife. Remus noticed his mark, however, and wasn't paying attention to a word. It was in dark black, a front shot. A wolf, only an inch long and an inch wide. It had snapping jaws wide open, teeth showing and lips curled. Remus looked open, frozen.

"Oh! Happy Soul Day, where are my manners? Er.. What's your name? I'm Remus Lupin." He broke in suddenly, his mind off of blades and onto soul marks.

"Sirius-- You believe in that crap?" Sirius growled.

"I think it's real, but my soul mate probably died and I'm a dud. Peter Pettigrew, the old man in my flat, had that."

"Oh I know Pettigrew. He's the guy who got his hand chopped off in the last war!"

"So you haven't found your soul mate?"

"Don't got one. Who the hell is some wolf with rabies?" he brought his wrist up.

"No idea! Mine's a bloody connect-the-dots." He showed Sirius his wrist.

"That's a constellation." Sirius dawdled out the answer, "it's the one near the Orion constellation..." he tapped his
pointer and middle finger against the underside of Remus' freckled wrist on the mark.

"Alice says it's a dick." Remus informed.

"Good luck being gay, you know how many homophobic parents there are now-a-days?" Sirius laughed.

"What constellation is it, anyway?"

"Mm. It's a dog, that's for sure. Canis Minor maybe? Or was it Sirius Major..."

"Son of a gun!"

"Talk any louder and we'll have to continue this conversation in a holding cell... Oh! Son of a gun!"

AN
I said it once and I'll say it again: endings aren't my forté and they're lame.