Too Much Trouble COMPLETE

A/N: So no real excuse for this being dormant for so long. Just too many projects on the go at once. I shouldn't be leaving it so long before the next update though.

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Chapter 9
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“Sirius Black’s first day of work,” Remus teased. “All grown up now, aren’t you?”

They had just apparated into the alley next to the building in which Sirius would be working. It wasn’t the greatest job on Earth, but it was all his. The Quidditch League Organisation wouldn’t know what had hit them.

Sirius leaned back against the wall, pulling Remus close. “Are you going to come in with me, to hold my hand?” he asked with a teasing smile of his own.

“You think the pretty girl on the front desk will pick on you?” Remus asked. “I don’t think she looks that dangerous.”

“Looks can be deceiving,” Sirius muttered.

Remus raised a questioning eyebrow.

“She pinched my arse when I came for my interview,” Sirius explained.

“Well, I can’t fault her for that,” Remus replied, his own hand sneaking round Sirius’s back to grope the arse in question. “It’s such a fine specimen.”

“Maybe you should come in with me and make sure she knows that you’re the only one with rights to it?” Sirius suggested, leaning down to nuzzle Remus’s neck.

“You sure you want to go public?” Remus asked. “Just because most people were understanding about us at school, it doesn’t mean the rest of the world will be.”

“I don’t care about the rest of the world,” Sirius replied, tugging Remus out of the alley and stopping in front of the office building.

He glanced inside the window and saw the receptionist, Amy, sitting at her desk. He gave her a wave and signalled that he would be inside in a couple of minutes. He was a little early anyway.

“You ready?” he asked Remus, right before he leaned down to kiss him thoroughly.

When he finally came up for air, he was wishing quite hard that he didn’t have to go to work at all. He had even momentarily forgotten the reason for their little display, although he later confided in Remus that it had been a complete success, and Amy had kept her hands to herself the entire day.

-o-xXx-o-

“Wrong Sirius,” Sirius said as he disentangled himself from Amy, who mumbled her apologies as she flushed with embarrassment.

“Sorry,” Amy said. “You look the same.”

“It’s okay,” Sirius told her with a smile. “I think you’ll find your Sirius is upstairs breaking up a fight with two of our doubles.”

“Again?”

Sirius nodded. They had all been cooped up in the house for over a week, and nerves were starting to fray. The only one who didn’t seem overly bothered by the increase in tension was Remus, who was as irritable as ever.

Amy disappeared out of the door and Sirius turned back to the bookcase, searching for anything that looked useful.

“You should get some sleep,” Remus advised when he came back into the library a few minutes later.

“I’m not tired.”

“You’ve barely slept at all since you got here,” Remus pointed out.

“What do you care?” Sirius snapped. He was well aware that his own temper was as short as any of his counterparts.

Remus ignored his question and tossed a book onto the table instead. “I think this might help solve one of our problems,” he said.

Sirius turned to look at the book, and realised immediately that it was very familiar. The cover was scarlet and the lettering was golden: Gryffindor colours. It was a book he had seen before, one that James had received from his father for Christmas back in their sixth year.

“This is the book that your James found the portal spell in, isn’t it?” Remus asked. Sirius had told Remus all about their previous journeys into other worlds, but he hadn’t realised that the other young man had then decided to track down a copy of the book that had started it all.

Sirius picked up the book and flicked through the pages. “I think so,” he replied. “I never read it all.”

“Well, now would be a good time to start,” Remus suggested. “Have you tried using your Patronus to contact your James again?”

“No word from him,” Sirius confirmed with a frown of annoyance. “Perhaps it only works between worlds if the two people are really in love with each other or something.”

“Romantic nonsense,” Remus replied with a snort of contempt. “More likely your James is in some form of trouble.”

“That really doesn’t do a lot to ease my mind,” Sirius pointed out.

“It wasn’t meant to,” Remus said. “You should try to contact him regularly and hopefully he’ll get a message back to you and get you out of my house.”

“Is it really that bad having me around?” Sirius asked.

Remus sighed with annoyance. “I guess you aren’t quite as annoying as the rest of them,” he admitted.

“Is that a compliment I hear?” Sirius teased.

“No,” Remus muttered.

“Oh, I think it was,” Sirius insisted. “Come on, admit it.”

Remus glared across the table, before burying himself in his book. Sirius grinned for a moment longer before turning back to his own.

-o-xXx-o-

It had taken over a week to locate the werewolf pack, and when they did it was clear that they had been watching Remus and the large black dog that accompanied him for some time. Remus was very relieved that Sirius had not turned back into his human form any time they were in public.

“Forgotten your way?” one of the werewolves asked as he stepped into Remus’s path.

Remus shrugged casually, his heart beating faster as the werewolves surrounded him, blocking his escape on all sides.

“Where’d the mutt come from?”

Remus cast a quick glance at Padfoot, but Sirius gave no indication that he had heard the insult. Remus knew that his own Sirius would have been unable to stop at least a growl if he had been called a mutt, but this one was still far too dejected to bother to fight back.

“He’s mine,” Remus told the werewolves, growling himself in order to make it absolutely clear that anyone who messed with Padfoot was messing with him.

“The Dark One has been asking about you?” a female werewolf commented. “Seemed to think that we should be keeping an eye on you since the last full moon. Any ideas why that might be?”

“I don’t presume to know the Dark One’s motivations,” Remus said with feigned disinterest. He wasn’t surprised in the least to hear that Grindelwald had sent spies to follow him.

“You sound like you don’t trust your own pack,” the oldest of the werewolves suggested slyly.

Remus gave the other werewolf an appraising look. “I don’t trust you,” he replied. “You seem to have taken over my role as leader of the pack.”

“You accept my challenge?” replied the werewolf, confirming that was his intention.

Remus shook his head. “Not now. I have urgent news for the Dark One. It can’t wait for even as long as it would take for me to show you your place.”

The werewolf looked like he was about to argue, but Remus held his gaze until he backed down.

“This way,” the female who had spoken before said, and Remus followed her deeper into the forest, Padfoot at his heels.

As a wolf, Remus had a marvellous sense of direction, but as a human it was much less so. As such he was very unsure as to exactly where he was when they finally arrived at an apparently derelict building. He soon realised his mistake, and as they drew nearer the spells hiding the true nature of the building disappeared, and allowed Remus to see the building as it truly was: a magnificent palace.

He was brought before the Dark One immediately and waited for the older wizard to speak first.

“You’ve been asking about Dumbledore,” Grindelwald commented after the room had been cleared of everyone except the two of them, and Padfoot of course.

“I have.”

“Why?”

“I knew his double on my world,” Remus replied. “I wished to speak to him about the magic that brought me here.”

“You think he has the knowledge of how to send you home?”

“Possibly.”

“He doesn’t.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

Grindelwald smiled slowly. “Actually, I do.”

Remus raised an eyebrow and waited.

“I’ve known Albus since we were youths, and I can assure you that he has no knowledge of how to open portals to other worlds.”

“You can’t be sure,” Remus repeated.

“He’s my prisoner and the only reading material he has is what I allow him. I would not be foolish enough to provide him with the means to escape his captivity, and if he already knew how to do so, he would have gone long before now.”

Remus frowned, realising that the dark wizard before him had a point. “So, Dumbledore didn’t escape from the prison you put him in?”

Grindelwald snorted at the very idea. “Of course not.”

“Some people say you let him go.”

“Foolish people believe many things.”

Remus wondered if he was one of those foolish people, but managed to stop himself for actually asking the question.

“You wish to speak with Albus?” Grindelwald asked conversationally.

“Can I?”

Grindelwald shrugged. “If you wish. He probably won’t be much use to you, but it will save you from wasting your time and mine by trying to break into my home here to see him.”

“Why are you helping me?” Remus asked. “First you let me leave here unharmed, and now you’re letting me see Dumbledore. Why?”

“Because when you’ve spoken to Albus, I’ll be calling in my favour. The more you owe me, the more likely it is that you’ll co-operate without argument.”

Remus wondered whether it was too late to leave, but quickly realised that it was.

-o-xXx-o-

“This is the spell we used,” Sirius said when he had finally located it in the book.

“Are you sure?” Remus asked.

“Definitely. Though I’m sure you’ve realised what the problem is…”

“Not really,” Remus replied. “From my point of view it’s ideal. You and your Remus communicate through the Patronus charm, cast the spell, open the portal and I have one less Sirius Black to put up with.”

The words were hard, but Sirius didn’t fail to pick up on the small, involuntary smile that accompanied them.

“I was thinking of Remus joining me here,” Sirius said with a grin. “You’ve got more than enough room.”

“I suppose having another Remus would at least be an improvement on another Sirius,” Remus muttered as he turned back to his own book.

Sirius grinned. “I think you like having us here,” he said with a wink. “Go on, admit it.”

“I will not. You’re all costing me a fortune in food.”

“Looks to me like you can afford it,” Sirius commented. “Anyway, back to the spell – I’d rather have him here with me than go to the world he’s in.”

“What difference does it make?” Remus asked. “You can shag him wherever you are.”

Sirius shook his head in bewilderment. “You think that’s the only reason I want him back?”

“Isn’t it?”

“No, it isn’t,” Sirius snapped. “He’s in a world where he’s at the beck and call of a dark wizard. I want him out of that place as soon as possible.”

“Why? Don’t you trust him?”

“I trust him a hell of a lot more than I trust you,” Sirius replied. “More than I trust anyone.”

“Then why aren’t you sending your Patronus to tell him of your plan?”

“Because he’s going undercover to try to contact Dumbledore. I have to wait for him to contact me.”

“Sirius Black being patient, there’s a first.”

-o-xXx-o-

Albus Dumbledore’s prison was much as his office had been at Hogwarts. Cluttered with interesting items and home to Fawkes as well as Dumbledore. But unlike at Hogwarts, the elderly wizard could not come and go as he pleased, and his home was very much a prison.

When Remus arrived in the room, he saw that Dumbledore was feeding Fawkes, and for a moment it was almost as though he had been summoned to the headmaster’s office.

He coughed to get the older man’s attention, and Dumbledore turned to face him.

“A visitor, how nice,” he commented, waving Remus to one of the chairs near a fireplace that was far too small to be connected to the floo network. “I’m Albus Dumbledore, though I suspect you know that. And who do I have the pleasure of entertaining today?”

Remus sat down as he introduced himself. “My name’s Remus Lupin, and although I’m told I’m wasting my time, I’ve come to ask for your help.”

Dumbledore nodded. “Remus Lupin, the leader of Gellert’s werewolves?”

“Not exactly,” Remus replied, before explaining who he was and how he came to be there.

Dumbledore listened quietly as told his story. “Headmaster of Hogwarts?” he commented with a chuckle after Remus had finished.

“Yes,” Remus replied. “If it weren’t for you, I’d never have been able to attend the school.”

Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. “I’m sorry that I cannot return your favour and tell you how to return home. I could not even reply to your message.”

“You received my Patronus?” Remus asked.

“Yes, but I’ve never heard of them being used to send messages to other people. I could not have replied, even if I were permitted to have a wand. I see Gellert is confident enough to let you retain your wand, but he is not so confident to permit me to keep mine.”

“And you’ve never come across any sort of magic that enables a person to travel between worlds?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“He said you wouldn’t be able to help me,” Remus said. “If you did know a way, you’d have used it to escape.”

“Would I?” Dumbledore asked cryptically.

“You wouldn’t?”

Dumbledore shook his head. “These walls and the spells on this building are not what makes this my prison. No, Remus, my prison is of my own making. I am the only thing standing between Gellert and his total destruction of the world as we know it. As long as he lives, I cannot leave this place for fear of what he would do in my absence.”

“Oh.” Remus didn’t know quite what to say to that.

Dumbledore shrugged. “It is my life, such as it is. Now, was there anything else?”

Remus shook his head. “I guess I’d better return to him and find out what favour he wants of me.”

“He probably wants you to turn someone,” Dumbledore told him calmly. “That honour usually goes to the Remus of our world, but since he is absent, Gellert probably wishes you to take his place.”

Remus felt as though the world had suddenly tilted on its axis. “I can’t…”

“You may not have a choice,” Dumbledore pointed out. “And whoever is being turned may wish to join the army of wolves. From what Gellert tells me, the ranks swell by dozens each full moon.”

“I’d never inflict this curse on anyone,” Remus insisted, his voice rising as he rose to his feet.

“If you were imprisoned in a cell with a human on the night of the full moon – tonight in fact – do you really think you could stop yourself?”

Remus groaned as he looked out of the small window. The sun was already completing its arc for the day; he guessed there was maybe an hour until sunset.

Remus began to pace the room. “I have to get out of here.”

“He won’t let you walk out of here,” Dumbledore warned.

“Just before I left to find my way here, I spoke with my Sirius via our Patronuses. He said there was a spell that could literally tear you out of one world and into another…” Remus’s voice trailed off as he pulled out his wand and sent a Patronus to Sirius. He was relieved that it had not been taken from him when he had arrived, though he knew that as outnumbered as he was, there was little he could do with it to escape.

Sirius’s reply came back a few minutes later.

“Remus, that spell won’t work unless you’re in the exact spot where a portal has already been opened. It’s used to trace them, not to open them. But I’ve got good news. The Remus in this world found the book that James got for Christmas and we’ve got the spell we used to open portals originally. I just need to get to where you are and we can open the portal and you can join me here.”

“Dumbledore says this building is in the Hidden Forest of Worcestershire.”

“An address would be helpful.”

“Yes, it would. But that’s all I have.”

“Terrific. What’s the nearest town I’m likely to have been to?”

Remus turned to Dumbledore who produced a map book from one of the shelves.

“It’s an old edition,” he apologised as he opened the book. “I’m afraid I’m not the original owner either, and it doesn’t always co-operate.”

Remus looked at the book and saw immediately what Dumbledore meant. The images on the page were moving all over the place. The Welsh dragon had apparently left the page for Wales and was breathing fire at Big Ben, the clock face of which was pulling faces at the dragon.

Various trees, symbolising forests had also moved about, congregating in various areas of the map where they obscured the view of everything behind them.

It took some time, but eventually they established which town was nearest to their location and Remus sent a message to Sirius to let him know.

“I’ll apparate there and you can direct me the rest of the way,” Sirius replied through the Patronus.

“Don’t you think that’s a bit vague?” Remus asked as Sirius picked up the book from James and shoved it into the pocket of his cloak along with his borrowed wand.

“I’ve an amazing sense of direction in my animagus form,” Sirius declared. “I’ll find him.”

Remus looked doubtful, though he at least had the sense to keep his mouth shut. Sirius knew that his Remus was counting on him, and that more than anything made him determined to succeed.

Thirty minutes later, Sirius was bounding through the trees of the Hidden Forest, alert for anything that might be the house he was searching for. He hoped it wasn’t a Dark Lord’s hideout in this world, because if it was, he would have a whole new set of problems and no time to figure out a solution.

He was heading north-west – the direction Remus had advised him to go – when he caught the scent of humans somewhere ahead of him.

They were having a barbecue. Sirius could smell the sausages and burgers well before the building came into view.

It didn’t look like a palace. It didn’t even look like a mansion. It looked very much like a regular muggle family home. It was clearly on the expensive end of the market, but it was nothing like Remus had described.

Unfortunately, it also seemed to be in the right location and he was running out of time until Remus was transforming under the full moon.

He raced towards the building and up the steps. The front door was unlocked and Sirius crept inside, listening out for anyone nearby.

Remus had told him that Dumbledore had guessed that he was likely to be taken to the cells, which were located underground and towards the rear of the palace. Sirius hoped this house had a basement.

Thankfully he found that there was a basement and it was unlocked.

He turned back into his human form and sent his Patronus to Remus. This was going to be tricky.

Remus turned to Dumbledore after he had listened to Sirius’s latest update. “He’s made better time than I thought he would,” he said. “What floor are we on? Perhaps he can find this room in the house he’s in?”

“We’re on the fourth floor, west wing,” Dumbledore replied, and Remus sent that information to Sirius.

“Only one problem with that,” Sirius replied. “This building only has two floors and maybe an attic.”

“Can you get to the roof?”

“The roof?” Remus could practically hear the squeak in Sirius’s voice.

“I’m still with Dumbledore. The guards will be fetching me before sunset. I think they’re leaving it until the last minute, so I won’t have time to find a way out of here before the full moon rises.”

“But the roof?”

“Can you apparate up there?”

“Damn it, Remus. If I didn’t love you so much…”

Dumbledore chuckled and looked at Remus. “Do you think he’ll be able to find the exact spot you’re in?”

Remus frowned. He certainly hoped so.

“Gellert merely extended on the original building, which was much smaller,” Dumbledore explained. “This chimney was part of the original building. If Sirius can locate it then there’s a chance you can make sure you’re in the exact right place.”

Remus nodded and sent the message to Sirius, who was now teetering on the edge of the roof and trying not to look down.

“Can we hurry this up?” Sirius replied.

“For Merlin’s sake, Padfoot. You were on the bloody Quidditch team!”

“Quidditch players have brooms!”

“Are you at the chimney yet?”

“There’s more than one; which is it?”

“I don’t know. We’ll have to try them all one by one.”

“Do you remember the spell?”

“Remind me again.”

Sirius pulled out the book and flicked to the page with the portal spell on it. He read through the instructions and sent his Patronus to Remus, repeating them for him. He really hoped this worked.

It wasn’t the first chimney, but it was the second, and Sirius practically whooped as he saw the portal appearing in front of him.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” he called through to Remus, forgetting that he couldn’t hear him. Thankfully, his frantic gesturing was clear and Remus launched himself through the portal, throwing himself at Sirius.

“You believe in cutting it fine, don’t you?” Remus teased. “I could practically hear the guards on the stairs.”

“Let’s just hope they don’t follow you through here,” Sirius said as he hugged Remus close. “I see you’ve bought my double through.”

Remus turned to where Padfoot was sitting behind him, studiously staring at the portal. “I couldn’t leave him there, but we’re going to have to find a way to get him home again.”

Sirius grinned. “Well, what’s one more Sirius to get back home. I’m sure your double will be delighted to have him.”

“I’m detecting some sarcasm there.”

Sirius nodded. “Come here. Let me apparate us all back to your double’s house before those guards join us.”

“But what about the people in this house? We can’t put them in danger.”

Sirius sighed. “I just want you out of danger.”

“The biggest danger was the full moon, and thankfully there doesn’t appear to be one due here for at least a week.”

Sirius pulled out his wand and pointed it at the portal. Remus did likewise, and Padfoot turned back into his human form to join them.

They watched as Dumbledore moved out of sight. Shadows appeared on the floor of the room. The guards had arrived.