Fabian Prewett was leaning against the stone wall on the Embankment, overlooking the foggy Thames. Behind him, Ben's clocktower glowed through the thick cloud cover, showing it a bit before 9:00. A boat chugged its way by, churning water in its wake. Fabian sipped a mug of tea that he had made with a flick of his wand, and waited.
"There you are," he said, seeing his brother, Gideon, approaching through the fog. "Bleedin' kept me waiting an hour! Was about to forget about you and go on without, you git." He paused, watching Gideon's stride. He put down the teacup as Gideon drew his wand. "Ey? Gid? What're you —"
"AVADA —"
"STUPEFY!"
Fabian only just managed at ducking the jet of green, rolling on the stone ground and shooting his stunner over his shoulder at the form of his brother. Gideon dodged it, and Fabian could see the vacant look in his brother's eyes, and it made his stomach double over itself in a knot. "Bloody hell, Gid! Fight it off, man, like ol' Moody taught us to!"
Gideon Prewett's wand slashed, sparks flying at Fabian, glowing red in the fog around them, crackling against the cold January air. Fabian's scarf had fallen off, and lay on the ground as he ducked behind a large war memorial, throwing himself in the relief beside a dimensional iron aeroplane. He pressed his back to the list of war heroes names, gasping for breath from his mad dash. He could hear Gideon's footsteps, and muggle cars zipped past them in the street, the muggles not even paying mind to what was going on along the side of the road. Fabian launched himself down the walkway, heading toward the stairs that would bring him out to the docks where the entrance to the auror training center lay hidden. He didn't want to fight his brother, but he might just have to...
Gideon exploded a bench as he chased after Fabian, their boots sloshing loudly through puddles, rain spattering their grey auror uniforms. Fabian leaped the steps, turned back, and raised his wand - ready when Gideon came about the corner, and with a flick his brother's arms were bound, sending Gideon to the pavement roughly, blood popping from his chin as the concrete scraped it. Fabian stood over him, staring down, wand drawn. He relieved Gideon of his wand with a flick, catching it and looking it over carefully to be sure it was his brother's. He shook his head as Gideon fought against the ropes that held him.
"Eximo," Fabian said, and Gideon went momentarily limp, laying on the sidewalk like a murdered fish. Fabian waited, looking around, watching for shadows and movement in the fog.
"Wh-what's happened? Fab?"
"Gid?"
"Oi what's —"
"You were imperiused..." Fabian said, "And you had a go at trying to kill me, ya lunk."
Gideon looked sick and he shook as Fabian pulled him up from the sidewalk. "Hell," he murmured.
Fabian nodded, eyes still keenly casting about. "You remember who you might've had a run in with?"
Gideon shook his head, "Was coming here to meet you, wasn't I? Just over by St. James, coming from seeing the Minister to Buckingham... Next thing's next, I'm laying here with your ugly mug looking down at me." Gideon's brow darkened, "Let's go and find him, Fab, if somebody's trying at controlling me and nearly had me at doing you in - I'm bloody going to string him up, whoever he is!" And he started to rush forward.
Fabian caught his brother as he nearly tipped over. "Easy there, Gid, you've only just come out of it. "Let's get you inside here at the training center and we'll rest you up, whoever's imperio'd you likely disapparated anyway. And we've got to get in contact with Bil and Chrissy anyway so they know we aren't comin'... C'mon." Fabian dragged Gideon off to the auror training center.
"Seeing as Minnie helped make up this scavenger hunt thing, I'll bet that she's got some of the scrolls either in her office or her classroom!" James said as he and Lily climbed the stairs. Other pairs from the DADA class had broke off going various directions, including Sirius and Remus, but James and Lily were the only pair headed upstairs toward the Transfiguration wing. "Min's gotta have 'em." James was very proud of himself for thinking of it, and Lily followed along, not having any ideas of her own for where to locate the scrolls just yet.
The Transfiguration hall was quiet, void of any of Urquart's students. James hurried ahead of Lily, reaching for the Transfiguration classroom's knob and shoving in the door.
Twelve heads turned to look at James and Lily, including the cluster of Little Seagulls - the third year Gryffindors. "Hullo James!" cried Wally loudly. They had pineapples before them that they were attempting to transfigure into lamps.
James flushed and waved hello to Wally as Lily came in the room behind him.
"Hullo Lily!"
"Oh no," Lily muttered and she ducked back out.
"Mr. Potter," McGonagall's voice rang across the room. "To what do I owe you interrupting my class?" Her mouth was pursed with displeasure.
James rubbed the back of his neck, "Err... Well we're playing Urquart's scavenger hunt game," he explained. "Thought you might have a scroll for me?"
McGonagall shook her head, "No, I do not, Mr. Potter," she said curtly.
James bowed, "Most sorry, then."
"Bye James!" Wally called.
James waved good bye. He was just about to step out the door when he heard, "It's a lovely day for a stroll by the greenhouses, Potter."
He paused.
"Just do be sure to wear your ear muffs, it's cold outside." McGonagall flushed and hurriedly turned back to her lesson.
"Thanks, Minnie!" James exclaimed, then, "Hey? Don't tel Sirius about the greenhouses id he comes by here, eh? We're on a bit of a bet and, well, I'd rather like to win."
McGonagall looked mildly put off by the request, but she simply nodded once, and waved her hand for him to leave. James grinned and ducked out of the room - though not without a mischievous grin and a quick flick of his wrist and pop! Wally's pineapple was a lamp.
"Ferfucksakes," Sirius grumbled, letting the face plate fall back down on the fifteenth suit of armor he'd checked in a row. He looked around at Remus, "You've got to have some ideas for where to look."
Remus answered, "I told you the library, but you didn't want to hear that."
"It just seems too obvious."
"I mean it isn't as though he's trying to keep us from finding the spells, Sirius, it's supposed to be educational. They want us to find them." Remus sighed with irritation as Sirius persistently opened the next armor's helmet and peered inside. The armor snapped it's face plate shut quickly, nearly nipping Sirius's fingers, as though offended.
"Sorry," Sirius muttered to it, rolling his eyes, "You don't gotta be bloody rude about it."
"Will you stop checking the armor? It's obviously not in those," Remus said, annoyed.
Sirius was headed to the next one, "You never know - and if we give up now —"
"OI - Do any of you have scrolls in you?" Remus shouted. The armor all shook their heads. "That settles that."
It was Sirius's turn to look irritated now. "Fuck! Alright! Let's go to the bleedin' library... I swear, it's as though you don't care if we win against Potter and Evans," Sirius complained.
"Me? I was thinking that about you, rather, seeing as you're the one being illogical and have the most to gain in losing..." Remus turned and started down the hall toward the stairwell.
Sirius bolted after him. "Me? Gain by losing?"
"Gives you the excuse you need, doesn't it?" Remus asked, pausing as Sirius ran about ahead of him and cut him off from walking. When Sirius'a face registered confusion, Remus explained, "The excuse to apologize to your brother."
Sirius looked affronted, "I - What excuse? What would I want an excuse for? If I wanted to apologize, I would! I think James is a nutter for.... Well anyway, I'd apologize on my own if I wanted to. That's why I want to win so bad, being made to apologize against my will! Hmph, might as well imperius me, shouldn't he?"
Remus shrugged, "Whatever you say, Padfoot."
Sirius glared at Remus, spinning the ring on his finger absently - an old nervous habit that he'd started doing again ever since the ring had returned to his finger. He turned and started down the stairs, Remus following after in silence. Several moments had passed before Sirius asked, "He used to bully you."
"And you used to bully Snape, you and James. Doesn't make you lot evil, does it?"
Sirius scoffed, "Snape fucking deserved it, that's the difference! You're a bleedin' angel."
Remus shrugged.
"Are you denying your angelicness?"
"No," Remus replied.
They were quiet a few more steps, then, "What if he's a spy for Moldy and we put all our trust in him and he screws us over, just like my Mother and Father?" Sirius demanded, "What if he puts a bloody knife in my back and churns it up real nice, like the Black family is known for?"
Remus contemplated, "Then I suppose you can tell James you told him so."
"Damn right I would!" Sirius said haughtily. "Not that he'd listen! Thick as porridge that fucker is... he'd trust Voldemort himself if he said he was turning over a new leaf. I can just hear it now... He's changed Sirius! He's taken up knitting and enjoys long walks on the beach now!"
"Knitting and long walks on the beach?" Remus snorted, "Sounds like he's entered himself to a matchmaking service."
"Gods," Sirius laughed, "Imagine being the poor girl - or bloke, I suppose, if that's how he sways - that's got to sleep with that Moldy old wanker?" Sirius shivered.
Remus shrugged. "He isn't entirely bad looking, honesty."
Sirius stopped dead in his tracks, "Hang on. You've got the hots for Voldemort, do you Remmy?"
"No, I'm just saying that he isn't —"
"GROSS!" Sirius shouted dramatically, "Ugh now I'll have nightmares of you and You Know Who doing the Whoodeehoo!"
"The whodeehoo? What in the name of Merlin is that?"
"If we win this bloody game, I'll take you to the Trophy Room Passageway and show you," Sirius smirked, "Three times a day."
Remus rolled his eyes, "You couldn't take three times a day, you wouldn't be able to walk again."
"It'd be bloody worth it!" Sirius answered.
They were standing outside the library now, and Sirius pushed open the door. On a table was a stack of scrolls - some already taken, as others who had thought of the library first had already come and gone. Remus picked one up and started unrolling it to see the spell it contained.
"Quasso," he read, "To jolt or violently shake. The caster will shake his wand as he casts, and the motion of the spell will imitate the caster's motion."
"Do you trust him, Moony?" Sirius asked, not listening even as Remus read the spell's properties and suggested uses.
Remus looked up from the scroll, tucking it into his bag. "What?"
"Regulus," Sirius said. "Do you trust him?"
Remus thought for a moment. "Well. I know James does, and I reckon that's enough for me."
Sirius nodded slowly.
Remus added, "People change, all the time... and he did help us save James last year. And he hasn't given up the locket, even when it would've been easy for him to. He helped James save Lily..."
"Yeah, I s'pose," Sirius ceded.
Remus said, "And I think you're better than how you've been acting lately. Especially towards your brother."
Sirius sighed.
Remus let the conversation sit a few moments and when Sirius didn't say anything more, he suggested, "What about the owlry or the astronomy tower? Reckon he'd have hid something there?"
"Yeah, maybe," Sirius answered.
Remus nudged Sirius's arm. "You know - you can apologize whether we win or not, but if we win we can give that three times a day bit a go."
Sirius's eyes lit up. "Yeah?"
Remus laughed, "I mean if you think you can handle me..."
"If you can handle me is more like!" Sirius dashed off, "TO THE ASTRONOMY TOWER!"