Project Time-Delayed Eggs

Remus Lupin sat dismally in the living room of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. He was staring out of the window at the flat grey cloud. Remus wondered if it was going to rain. He had just had a catastrophic argument with Molly Weasley. About Sirius Black of all people. Sirius himself, had merely slunk off to the cellar, no doubt to find a bottle of firewhiskey. Remus wished his friend would pull himself out of the metaphorical hole, stop digging, and cheer up a bit. It was killing Sirius, Remus knew, to be cooped up in here for so long.

*

Remus sighed and slumped back in his seat. He didn’t want to think about Sirius. The man he saw now was so different, in many ways, from the handsome young man he had known. It was the locking up in Azkaban that had done it. Confinement had never agreed with Sirius. Confinement didn’t agree with Remus brilliantly either, but Remus stood it for his best friend. If he left Sirius now, he didn’t think Sirius would hold it together. They would argue, Sirius would give up, and Remus’ heart would break. BuckBeak’s hooves clattered across the floor of the room above him.

*

If only Remus could do something for Sirius, something to let him see that life was worth fighting for. Not just other people’s lives, but his own. Staying here was draining Sirius. Similarly, it was draining Buckbeak. It was draining him too, Remus reflected as an afterthought. They were like three caged animals. Well, one was an animal. One was an animal on demand, and the other was, well, a monster.

*

Knowing what the rest of the household would say if they caught him thinking that, Remus quickly checked his self-deprecating train of thought. Okay, so Severus Snape would say something different. But he was a bit odd.

*

Remus didn’t know what was up with Snape. He had been ordered here by Albus, with instructions to stay for the best part of the summer holidays. The other night at dinner, he had suddenly turned as white as a sheet, and bolted out of the room. Fred and George had grinned guiltily, and Sirius had laughed until he choked on his omelette. Remus hadn’t wanted to know. Molly Weasley had rounded on the twins and Sirius, and that was the prompting for Remus’ argument with her. He was shocked; he didn’t know he argued with people like that.

*

Buckbeak stamped on the floor, there was a scrapping, shuffling sound, which Remus knew was the Hippogriff stretching his wings to the limit allowed by his room and brushing his heavy feathers against the walls. Perhaps he needed feeding. Remus frequently wondered how often people remembered that they had a fully-grown Hippogriff living in the same house.

*

How could Remus think with the racket going on in the kitchen? As far as he could tell, Bill and Fleur had turned up unexpectedly, and were arguing with Molly Weasley about something or other. Something involving hair. Remus didn’t want to know. Remus sighed and pushed himself up off the chair. He slammed the living room door behind him and stomped up the stairs, passing a frightened looking Harry on his way up.

*

Halfway across the first floor, Snape hurried past him, asking if he had seen Potter. When Remus answered a negative, Snape sloped off, muttering; “Got to find the whelp. He doesn’t understand. Lily was so vibrant. He must know. Who else will understand? I must talk to him. I must tell him.” Remus stopped, vaguely wondered what had gotten into everyone recently, before deciding that perhaps finally the legendary Black insanity had begun to seep out of the brickwork and into the residents.

*

It was late night, or early morning, Remus didn’t know – he couldn’t sleep. Not with Buckbeak’s cabin-fevered rustlings from the room next to his. Remus bowed slowly, and stood very close to the door, trying not to blink. Buckbeak was always wary around him, probably due to his wolfish smell, but since they had shared the same house, he had begun to accept that Remus was not really a wolf under an Illusion. Buckbeak tossed his head, and then bowed slightly. Remus started forward and began stroking his beak meditatively.

*

“It’s not fair that we all have to be cooped up in here.” Remus murmured. “Sirius from the Ministry. Harry from Death Eaters. Me from civilisation. Snape from everyone. The twins from society – but that’s for society’s safety. And what about you, eh?” Remus asked, looking into Buckbeak’s large amber eyes. They were half closed, not from pleasure, Remus realised sickly, but from boredom and lethargy. “You need to get out more.” He said, unthinkingly. Buckbeak’s said eyes snapped open in a blaze, and he jerked his head out from under Remus’ palm

*

“Okay – it’s okay…I didn’t meant that as an insult. It was meant to be advice.” Remus said hurriedly. “I meant that you’re a wild animal. You shouldn’t be kept locked up in here. And yes, I know that the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures is still out for your head, but seriously, as if they could find one Hippogriff in the whole of the UK. Years have passed since that night.” Remus said quietly, beginning petting Buckbeak again.

*

Abruptly, Remus snapped. ‘Shove rules.’ He thought rebelliously. ‘Shove caution. Shove the Ministry Decree Against Dangerous Creatures. It’s not right’ Remus crossed the room in three long strides and grabbed the halter from its hook. “Come on, Buckbeak,” he said recklessly, “at least one of us is going to escape this hell hole.”

*

Remus stood, dizzily, in the small park in front of Grimmauld Place. He had led Buckbeak down the stairs with difficulty, past Walburga Black’s portrait in trepidation and out of the front door boldly. ‘Shove the muggles.’ He thought. ‘Don’t care if they haven’t seen a Hippogriff before.’ Remus had undone Buckbeak’s halter, gave him one last stroke. “Go on,” he urged quietly, “fly away. You haven’t stretched your wings in years. Go on…Go.”