All the Young Dudes ( Sirius' Perspective )

Fourth Year : Competition

Remus appeared to be in a marginally better mood by the time they all stepped off the train—at least, he’d agreed to come back to the carriage once Sirius had finished his cigarette, and he’d stopped scowling at everyone. But all of Sirius’s hard work to cheer him up was almost immediately negated; there were only twenty minutes or so until sunset by the time they arrived in Hogsmeade, and Madam Pomfrey was waiting for Remus at the station.

“Good luck, Moony,” Sirius breathed as they parted ways, moving towards the horseless carriages with James and Peter. Remus gave him a grim nod, and then Pomfrey was seizing him by the elbow and dragging him away.

It felt strange, attending the Hogwarts Welcome feast without Lupin. Normally, the marauders delighted in watching him shovel second and third helpings of everything onto his plate, taking bets about how much he’d manage to eat. His seat remained conspicuously absent—and the marauders weren’t the only ones to notice.

“Where’s Remus?” Lily asked, sitting with Mary and Marlene a little ways down the table.

“Hi, Evans,” James said, dreamily, at the same time that Sirius said, “What’s it to you?”

Lily rolled her eyes. “Remus is our friend, Sirius,” she said scathingly, ignoring James, “I’m just asking why he isn’t here.” Next to her, Marlene giggled nervously.

“He’s in the hospital wing!” Peter piped up, and Sirius turned to glare at him. Lily’s sarcastic expression immediately became concerned.

“Really?” She leaned forward a bit, “Why? Is he alright?”

“It’s private,” Sirius said, frowning reproachfully. “If you’re so curious, you can ask him about it when he gets out—but if you’re his friend, maybe you should keep your nose out of his business.”

Lily looked both mildly abashed and mildly irritated, clearly unsure of how to respond to this admonishment. But Mary just rolled her eyes, saying,

“Alright, Black, no need to be so prissy about it. We can talk to Remus later—come on, I’ve got to finish telling you about Darren...” This last bit was directed to her friends, and the girls huddled closer as Mary lowered her voice.

Sirius stabbed at his food with a fork, annoyed by the entire exchange. Leave it to Evans to go poking about when should be minding her own business—nothing had changed there. James sighed, watching her giggle with Mary and Marlene, and mumbled,

“You didn’t need to be so harsh, mate...”

“She should mind her own business.” Sirius grumbled, skewering a potato. Peter glanced back and forth between them, anxiously.

That night, after the others had gone to bed, Sirius carefully pulled out the yellowed newspaper clippings that Remus had given him. He unfolded them, casting a quick Lumos and holding up his wand so that he could see.

The Daily Prophet, April 1964

WEREWOLF ATTACKS ON THE RISE – COULD YOUR CHILDREN BE NEXT?

The Ministry of Magic has today confirmed that the recent spate of murders both in the muggle and wizarding communities is the work of dark creatures – namely werewolves. Ministry officials are particularly concerned that in many cases the victims of the attacks have been children under the age of ten.