Defending Moony

Remus doubled-over as pain spread through his body like fire. There was a cut on his jaw and his eye was so puffy he couldn't see out of it. A cold voice cut through the haze of pain and said, "You have been a very naughty boy indeed, I will have to punish you for this." A hand slammed heavily into his face and his lip began bleeding anew. The cold voice continued. "You know that when you don't do the things I ask, you will regret it." Remus was pushed into a chair and his hands and feet were bound so he couldn't move. He was stripped of his clothing, blindfolded, and a cloth was put in his mouth to keep him from screaming. He strained his ears to hear what was going on but there was nothing to hear. A few minutes passed. He heard the door open. The sounds of a group of people filing into the room cut the silence like a knife. Remus strained against his bonds. He squirmed and wriggled and pulled at them trying to loosen them enough to get away, feeling the chords cut into his wrists and ankles with every move. Adrenaline pumped through his system. He knew what was coming. He knew what they would do. He was their victim, their first victim, but not their last.

The cold voice spoke again. This time not to Remus but to the assembly of people who were in the room. "My fellow Death Eaters, dear initiates, and honored guests. This is a day to celebrate. Not only are we receiving several new brothers into the fold but we are also given yet another opportunity to punish the Mud-Blood loving slime that sits here before us. May the strongest and bravest among you prove yourselves."

Remus' muscles tensed. One by one they would beat him. One by one they would taste his blood and sweat in their mouths and one by one they would help erode his soul. The first blow was hard but not meant to cause pain... This blow was meant to prove ownership. Remus had ceased to be Remus Lupin, Hogwarts student, and became that thing bound to the chair.

He never knew how many or who they were. All he knew as he entered the dungeons every night was that he would have to relive his greatest fear. And he felt that there was nothing he could do about it.

*****

Sirius rolled over in bed. He looked at the clock on his nightstand for the third time in five minutes. It read 4:35am. He slumped down on the bed. Something was bothering him. The hairs on the back of his neck were sticking up. He was uneasy. His gaze wandered around the room to the other sleeping Gryffindors. One was missing. Where was Moony? Sirius wasn't one to go following an intuition or a gut instinct but this time he threw his skepticism out the window and got up. He dressed as quietly as possible and then began fumbling with the lock on James' footlocker. A few minutes later he left the dormitory under the cover of James' invisibility cloak with the Marauder's Map in his pocket. He didn't know what he was looking for, or exactly where he would find it but his feet carried him to the dungeon. He stopped in front of a small stone gargoyle. He took the map out of his pocket. Behind the gargoyle were two small dots. One labeled Severus Snape and the other labeled Remus Lupin. Sirius blinked and looked at the map again. His own dot pulled at the gargoyle's ear. Sirius pulled the lever as he was instructed and the gargoyle moved to the side to allow him to enter.

*****

Remus was conscious but he didn't dare move a muscle. He opened his eyes cautiously. He couldn't see out of his right eye but there was no need. He could feel the cold black eyes drilling into the back of his head, watching from across the room, waiting for any show or strength, bravery, or pride so he could squash it out just like every other emotion Remus dared to feel. The man watching him stood up ever so slowly He walked purposefully toward the pile of mangled flesh that was Remus Lupin. He looked down at his prey and pushed his greasy black hair out of his face. Remus tried pretending he was still knocked out, but to no avail. Snape was looking down at him, pure hatred in his icy black eyes. Remus hugged his knees to his chest and braced himself for the blow he sensed was coming.

****

Sirius held his wand up to light the corridor in front of him. There was a large wooden door at the end of the hall that was hanging open. It looked as if someone had left in a hurry and forgotten to close the door. Sirius hugged James' invisibility cloak tight to his body and slid effortlessly through the open door. His stomach gave a sickening lurch as he looked at the sight that greeted him. His Remus was lying on the floor, a broken bloody heap. As he looked on, Severus Snape gave Remus another good kick in the rips and Sirius heard the distinct crack of Remus' bones giving under the blow. Forgetting that he was still shrouded by the invisibility cloak he launched himself at Snape and landed a very heavy blow on his overly large nose. Sirius kicked Snape in the groin and he crumbled into a heap on the cold dungeon floor.

****

Hearing Snape's cries of pain, Remus stirred. He lifted his head ever so slightly and saw Sirius straddling Snape and banging his head against the stone floor. The invisibility cloak lay only a few feet from him. Afraid of what Snape might do if he got the upper hand in the fight, Remus grabbed the cloak and crawled with it into the corner. He wrapped himself in it and closed his eyes desperately attempting to block out the happenings of the past few hours.

****

Snape lay unconscious on the floor of his dungeon. His lip was bleeding and he had a broken nose. Sirius gave him one more sharp kick in the chest before turning his attention to Remus. He knew Remus had taken the invisibility cloak but finding him was another matter. "Visibus Maximus," he said. A blue light flashed through the room and lit up the far corner. Sirius walked over to the call of light and knelt down beside it, "Remus..." he began. "Remus it's ok, He's not going to hurt you anymore. I promise."

Remus removed the invisibility cloak from his head. Sirius swallowed hard trying to remove the lump that had formed there. "Can I take you to the infirmary?" he asked gently.

All Remus could do was nod. Sirius stood up and picked Remus up as if he were a small child and carried him to the infirmary vowing each step of the way to take revenge on the man who had caused his friend so much pain and suffering. The last thought to cross Sirius' mind as he laid Remus down on one of the beds in the infirmary was, "He'll pay! I swear it!"