April 10th; Remus and Sirius Who?: Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. What?: Finding each other! - And realizing that something is VERY wrong with this picture. When?: Afternoon Where?: 4th Floor Rating?: PG Status?: In progress. Note?: Moved to April 10th because... April 10th seemed dead.
Remus understood maps. In Hogwarts, he had been the artistic and legible genius behind the Marauders’ Map, having been nominated by the other three because of his neat and precise handwriting. The theory and magical properties had been left up to James and Sirius, while Peter had offered his own little quirks and ideas. So, having drawn one very complex map out before, made reading a map with a few of the same properties a breeze for him.
He had explored a bit the past two days, but not too much. His encounter with Abigail had left him a little shaken, afraid of meeting with another dark creature hunter extraordinaire. He much preferred the safety of his room and studying the map that had been provided. Not that he didn’t think the could protect himself sufficiently if faced with such problems – he hadn’t been top of the Defence Against the Dark Arts Class for nothing – but he didn’t find the idea of hexing Muggles all that appealing.
That was what he was doing now as he lounged back in his bed, chewing on the end of a quill, and the map in the opposite hand. Things were constantly changing, he noticed, similar to Hogwarts, but it was not only limited to the building itself. People were forced to shift and change according to the mansion’s will. Such as one ‘Bellatrix Lestrange’ (a name that had rung as familiar in his head, but he couldn’t quite place where he had heard it before) that had been present in the dungeons for a short while and was now missing completely from the map.
Yesterday morning, actually, he had woken up lacking his sense of smell and it was still mostly gone today. It really was not that big of a deal, except for the fact that without smell, he could not taste all that well either. So, his meals had all been bland odourless experiences. He was lucky. Throughout the mansion, he heard people freaking out over other losses – sight, feeling, taste, and hearing – which only backed up his original assumption.
His eyes trailed over the map thoughtfully from the first floor to the second to the third to the forth – and froze. A name gleaming from the forth floor, the closest occupied room to his own actually, caught his attention. He must have skipped over that name a dozen times or more. But it must have been a mistake. But it couldn’t have. But it couldn’t be…
Remus shot up from his bed, grabbing his wand off the end table as he practically flew from the room. Who would supposed that Sirius Black was here as well?