Remus Lupin and the Prisoner of Azkaban (#Wolfstar)

Chapter Nine- The Secret Tunnel

Wordcount: 1514

Did Remus Lupin help his old friend break into the castle, while everyone was at the feast? Indirectly, yes, probably. Did he mean to? No, of course not.

When Dumbledore opened the doors to the Great Hall, there were all four houses, looking back at him, confused and anxious. Prefects and the Head Boy and Girl were standing at the front.

"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle," Professor Dumble told them, as Minerva, Filius and Remus started to close all the doors into the Hall. "I'm afraid for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the Prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the Hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately. Send word with one of the ghosts."

Remus saw Percy Weasley looking proud and important. Then the headmaster flicked his wand casually and the long tables flew to the edges of the Hall and stood themselves against the walls; another wave and the floor was covered with hundreds of squashy purple sleeping bags.

"Sleep well," said Professor Dumbledore, closing the door behind him.

The hall immediately began to buzz excitedly; the Gryffindors were telling the rest of the school what had just happened.

"Everyone into their sleeping bags!" shouted Percy. "Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!"

Remus still hadn't moved. Nobody was paying attention to him. For what felt like the longest time, he just stood there, looking at the students. A few feet away from him, a Ravenclaw girl was holding her shaking friend in her arms, trying to comfort her as best as she could. "He can't slip through all of the teachers' fingers. Shhh, don't worry, love, you're safe here," she whispered to her.

How could Remus cover up for someone who leaves that amount of terror, everywhere he went? This was so not the Sirius he knew. His Sirius would act all tough, but he could never make a child cry. Remus had to find him, he knew so much more about this man than everyone else, if someone was able to catch him, it would be Remus. Then it hit him like a gunshot. Of course! There was only one place in the school that neither students nor teachers knew. The one secret tunnel not marked on the Marauders Map!

Remus was out of the door in no time, carefully trying not to step on any sleeping bags. In the left corner at the very back, he saw Harry, Ron and Hermione talking in ushered voices to each other. If Harry only knew that the man who just broke into his home did it because he wanted to kill him, and, on top of that, was his godfather. Remus would have to keep a closer look at Harry if they didn't catch Sirius tonight.

After he left the hall and smiled at the Hufflepuff prefects guarding it, he hurried up the stairs to the Charms classroom. His steps echoed down the corridor when he passed a certain carpet. It was hung up on the stone walls, its purple and dark red fibres were covered in dust like it hadn't been used for years. Remus knew exactly what could be revealed when the carpet was moved. Since he was back at Hogwarts, he must have walked by it a hundred times, but always forced himself to not think about or react to it. But right now he was desperate.

The teacher checked left and right if anyone was in the corridor with him, which wasn't the case so he stretched out his hand and tickled the dusty carpet.

It erupted in tiny giggles and rolled itself up with a shudder, exposing a secret tunnel. There it was, the one single tunnel not marked on the marauder's map. The four of them wanted it to be theirs. No one should ever know about it.

Remus set a foot in the dark, cramped hallway and the carpet rolled down again, leaving him in complete darkness. When he took another step, the torches on the walls started burning, illuminating the walls.

The teacher started walking slowly, taking everything in. Sirius just had to be here! This was their hiding spot! "Sirius?" he called out. Probably not the best idea he had ever had. After all, this was not the man he knew anymore, but a sentenced murderer. Remus drew his wand out of his sleeve. "Sirius? Padfoot? It's me, Pads. It's Remus!" At this point, he was frantically jogging along the secret tunnel, waiting for a big, black dog to block his way.

About halfway through the corridor, he stopped and admitted he was wrong. Sirius wasn't here. Remus was losing his mind. Why would he have stayed in the castle anyway, he knew he would've gotten caught. Dejectedly, he walked a few more steps until he reached the very middle of the tunnel and crouched down.

There, a few centimetres above the floor were four names carved into the cold stone wall. Remus stretched out his hand and brushed over the carvings with his fingertips.

Prongs. James had placed his name on top, leaving space for his friends to join in. It had been his idea from the start. He wanted to be remembered by the castle forever. And it worked.

Moony. Remus smiled at his own name. He remembered clearly how bloody his hand was after finishing that. They didn't want to use magic, fearing the spell would wear off one day, so they used the long knife Sirius used to own that was sharp enough to cut almost anything and could also pick locks, which had come in handy many times. Remus wasn't the best at using it, it had cut his hand a lot.

Wormtail. When Remus connected his fingertips to that carving, he had a lump in his throat. Poor Pete. Why did he try to confront Sirius alone? He had always been the weakest link of the group, but also the glue that held them together. He died for James, Lily and Harry.

Padfoot. Remus shuddered. Sirius Black. The man he loved. Also, the man that killed his best friends. Also, the man that brutally murdered thirteen strangers. Also, the man that was now on the run after escaping the safest prison on earth. Also the man he should loathe with a passion, but never quite could.

Remus sat on the floor and leant against the wall with his back, staring at the names. There were so many memories inside these walls. Whenever they needed a place to hide that wasn't in the forbidden forest, they would always come here. So many hours of him and Sirius sitting exactly here. If he didn't hide here, he wasn't anywhere in or near the castle.

In trying to clear his thoughts, Remus shook his head. How could he even think about it? James was dead, so was Peter and if Sirius really was out to kill Harry, he would get probably get killed by the Dementors immediately if they got him. Remus could never forgive himself.

He stood up and brushed the dust off his robes. It wouldn't come that far. Even if Sirius managed to get onto the school's grounds, which was almost impossible, there was still Dumbledore. And there was Remus himself. He wouldn't let anything happen to Harry. He owed that much to James and Lily.

Remus quickly exited the secret tunnel, that conveniently ended on the first floor, so he only had to walk a few steps down to the Great Hall. At that point, he could feel the fatigue through his entire body. It must be hours past midnight.

He raised his hand to open the big doors to the Hall when he heard steps behind him.

"Professor Dumbledore, has the search been successful?" asked Remus as soon as he identified the headmaster behind him. Next to him, Severus was looking rather unpleased.

"Unfortunately it has not", said Dumbledore calmly. "If you would excuse me, I will have to talk to Mr Weasley. I will meet you in your office later, Remus." The teacher nodded, and Snape followed the headmaster into the Great Hall.

Exhausted, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher stumbled rather than walked up the stairs to his office. He sat behind his desk, his head in his hands. His eyes soon grew too tired to stay open, yet his mind couldn't slow down. A question he asked himself often was if Sirius ever thought about him anymore. Not a single day went by since the Black had been imprisoned that Remus didn't think about it, about him. When Sirius promised him forever, did he already hate him and their friends so much that he plotted on betraying them and ratting them out to Voldemort? If so, why?

Over those thoughts, Remus fell into a dark, deep slumber, accompanied by a dream neither horrifying nor pleasant.