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Chapter Text

James frowned. “Why not?” 

Most would think sitting across from their English professor and the headmaster would be daunting but not for James. James had had Minnie as his teacher since he was 7, not to mention them being neighbours, and Dumbledore was about as threatening as a butterfly with his odd outfits and twinkling eyes.

Mcgonagall and Dumbeldore shared a look, silently debating who would break the news. In the end, Mcgonagall lost and sighed. “James. The topic you chose for your EPQ is frankly, inappropriate.”

“No it’s not,” James denied immediately. “I’m only trying to find the truth.”

It was well known to most of Godric’s Hollow that James believed Sirius was innocent. Mainly due to James constantly defending the guy and always bringing up his theories.

“James,” Mcgonagall started, her eyes hardening. “This case is extremely sensitive and very personal to a lot of the town’s residents. Not to mention, already solved ,” she emphasised. 

James crossed his arms. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. It isn’t solved!”

Mcgonagall looked just about ready to burst when Dumbeldore finally intervened. “Perhaps you should centre your EPQ around something related to the case? Like the media?” he suggested, popping a lemon drop in his mouth.

James scowled. He had made his mind up a long time ago that he would solve this case for his EPQ. There wasn’t a chance in hell he was going to be doing it around the media of the case. There was no excitement in that. Besides, the case was unsolved. No matter what anyone said, he knew he was right. James had spoken to Sirius and Remus a few times and observed them from afar. They would never do anything to hurt the other, they weren’t capable of it.

“Fine,” James acquiesced. “I'll do it around the media of the case.”

He wouldn’t actually but judging by the matching nods of both Mcgonagall and Dumbledore, his lie was convincing. He didn’t like to lie but he would if it was necessary and it definitely was in this case.

Just as James was leaving, Mcgonagall called out. “Oh and don’t even think of contacting the Lupin’s or the Black’s, do you understand.”

James turned back with a look of faux hurt. “I would never. C’mon Minnie, I’m not that insensitive.”

Mcgonagall nodded, waving him off.

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James pounded the dough into the counter, rolling it out and cutting it into the shape of stars. He figured if he was going to go against the one rule Minnie had laid out, he may as well do it in the best way he could, and what was better than star-shaped raspberry scones?

“What are you baking, Mijo?” His mother asked, kissing him on the cheek as she passed through the kitchen.

James grinned. “Raspberry scones for the Black’s.”

Euphemia cocked her head. “And why would you be making them scones?” she asked, suspicious. 

James scoffed. “Can’t a guy make scones for a socially cut off family?”

“He can,” she said, wiping flour from his cheek. “But can’t a mother question why her son is making scones for people he has never even said so much as a word to?”

James shrugged, popping his scones in the oven to bake for 15 minutes.

“James,” She said, her voice stern and unyielding. 

“Fine,” James gave in. “I need to talk to Regulus Black and I figured scones would make it go a lot smoother,” he admitted.

“Is this about the EPQ?” she asked knowingly.

James’s jaw dropped. “How do you know about that?!” 

“A mother has her ways,” she answered mysteriously, her eyes darting to the view of Mcgonagall’s house through the living room window.

Dammit. Mcgonagall had told his mum about the EPQ which meant she probably knew the rules he had agreed to. Which meant she definitely knew he was breaking them, or in the process or breaking them, atleast.

“Yes, it is about the EPQ and before you tell me off for going to speak to Regulus, you should know I’m going to do it with or without your permission,” James replied, grabbing one of the old biscuit containers from under the sink to put the scones in.

He watched as his mother’s eyebrows crinkled and her pupils shone with concern. “I know how you get about these sorts of things, James. I’m just trying to look out for you.”

“I appreciate it, mum, really, but it isn’t necessary,” he said, the oven beeped, signalling James to take the scones out.

He smiled when he saw the scones hadn’t bloated while being cooked, the shape was still very distinct. 

“But-”

“I better go before it gets dark, love you mum,” He grabbed the now full container and rushed out the door.

"Have you had your meds, mijo?" he heard his mother call out through the door. James rolled his eyes, ignoring her. He hadn't had them yet but he would when he got home. Honestly, she worried way too much.

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James knew exactly where he was going. Grimmauld Place was pretty hard to miss, a dark, three-story brick house looming over the rest of the town, its entrance shrouded by trees. 

“Go, go, go!” A young boy yelled, rushing out the gate of the house and up the street with his friends.

It was commonplace to see kids ding-dong-dashing the house after the police announced it was Sirius who had murdered Remus Lupin.

“Oi!” James yelled, grabbing one of the kids by the arm. “What do you reckon you’re doing?” he asked, looking down at the freckled boy with orange hair.

The kid’s eyes were wide with fright. “I-”

“Well?” James demanded. 

The kid bit his lip, his eyes watering. “I was just doing what Bill did.”

“What’s your name?” James asked, familiar with the kid's face but unsure of who he was.

“Charlie,” he said softly.

“You’re a Weasley, aren’t you?” It wasn’t really a question, there were only two families in Godric's Hollow with orange-red hair and that was the Weasley’s and the Evans’s. James knew that Lily didn’t have a younger brother so he had to have been a Weasley.

Charlie nodded, glancing behind him to see his older brother, Bill, at the top of the street, waiting for him.

“Go home,” James sighed, dropping the kid’s arm and watching as he stumbled away.

The moment the two boys were around the corner, James headed through the gate of the Black Family home and knocked.

No response.

“Hello?” James called through the door, knocking again.

The door opened slowly, revealing the small form of Regulus Black.

“What do you want?” the boy said, looking James up and down with cold grey eyes.

James had had a whole speech prepared but it had flown out his head at the sight of the raven-haired boy. He was shorter than James, not by a lot, but enough that he had to tilt his chin up slightly. His dark hair fell around his face in dark curls that framed his sharp jawline. And his eyes, dear god his eyes. The boy’s eyes were swirling hurricanes of grey and blue, sharp and untelling. “I, uh-” James mumbled, still staring.

Regulus, having lost patience, went to shut the door but James jammed his foot in the way, wincing at the bruise he would no doubt have from it. 

Regulus raised an eyebrow at the foot currently between his door and the wall.

James straightened his back. “I brought scones,” he announced, holding out the tin.

“Good for you,” he said, his face void of any emotion.

“For you. I brought scones for you,” James could feel himself starting to sweat, maybe he should have thought this out better?

“Why?” Regulus asked, ignoring the tin held out to him.

“Oh,” James blurted. “Right. Well I’m doing this EPQ-”

“What’s an EPQ?” 

“Extended Project Qualification. It’s a project you work on alongside your A levels. You can pick any topic.”

“Oh. I never got that far in school. Mum homeschooled me after the whole-” He cut himself off, his face hardening.

“Right. Of course. My bad,” James scratched his neck, smiling sheepishly. “Anyway. I was hoping I could interview you for my EPQ, if you are amenable?”

Regulus sighed loudly. “Let me guess,” he started, his eyes staring into James’s own, revealing nothing but annoyance. “You are doing your EPQ on something to do with my brother.”

James nodded. “Exactly, so-”

The door slammed in his face before he could say anything more.

Chapter Text

Interview #1: Sal Croaker, Bureau of Missing Persons.

James: Hi, is this Sal Croaker?

Sal: Yeah, this is Sal. Is this James? The Lupin Case guy?

James: Yes, it is. First, I just want to thank you for replying to my email. It means alot that you have agreed to this interview.

Sal: Yeah, no problem. I’ve only got about ten minutes to give you, though, so you might wanna get a move on.

James: Right, of course. Do you mind if I record this interview to type up in my project later?

Sal: Yeah, that’s fine. So what do you want to know about missing persons?

James: I was hoping we could start by establishing what happens when someone is reported missing. What is the process and the first steps taken?

Sal: When someone rings up to report someone missing, the police will try to get as much detail from the person as possible so they can identify the potential risks to the missing person and an appropriate police response can be made.  The kinds of details they will ask for can range. They will ask for the basics first, y’know name, age, description, what they were wearing when they were last seen. Once they have that, they will ask for the specifics, things like the circumstances surrounding the disappearance, if going missing is out of character for the person, and details of any vehicles involved. With this information, the police will determine whether the case is low, medium, or high–risk.

James: And what would make the case high-risk?

Sal: Age is a large part of it, for sure. If the missing person is a minor, then the case is automatically filed as high-risk. Another would be disability. We don’t get that as much but it pops up every now and then. The final factor would probably be if the behaviour is out of character. If this missing person goes missing every other month then it isn’t very high-risk, is it? But if this person is the kind to avoid trouble, and hasn’t gone missing before, then it is high-risk because it’s highly likely it was a kidnapping.

James: So, say the missing person was 17 and had never gone missing before. Would this make the case high-risk and a priority?

Sal: Oh, yeah, absolutely. 

James: So what would the police do with a high-risk case?

Sal: There would be an immediate deployment of police officers to the location the person is missing from. The officers would be divided into groups, some would go get more details by knocking on doors and others would begin the search. Recent photographs of the missing person and DNA samples, if available, would also be taken. 

Oh, and the premises that the missing person frequents the most, so his or her home, would be thoroughly searched with the consent of the homeowners to ensure the missing person isn’t being concealed or hiding there.

James: Are any assumptions made during this stage?

Sal: Oh yeah, definitely. When the circumstances of a disappearance are particularly suspicious, officers are told to always think murder. And sure, that isn’t always the case, in fact only a small percentage of missing person cases turn into homicide cases, but it’s easier to think of it as a homicide case.

James: Why’s that?

Sal: I don’t know kid, it just is.

James: Right. So what do the officers do if the initial search comes up with nothing?

Sal: Generally, officers will expand the search to be within the whole town or city. It might seem excessive but it has been proven effective, since a lot of these cases are just kids running off to their friend’s place or their secret boyfriend’s house. Which is another step. Officers research friends and family of the missing person and go to those addresses. 

James: And if that turns up with nothing? 

Sal: Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot to be done after that. If it’s been over a week with no new information or leads, the case is usually left to collect dust until a new tip or source of information is provided by an anonymous person. There are a lot of cases and we can’t spend all our time and effort on just one, I’m sure you understand. Anyways, our time is up but if you have any more questions feel free to email them.

James: Oh, okay. Thanks for your time.

James sighed, his interview with Sal had definitely provided some background information on the steps that the police would have taken with the Remus Lupin Case but it didn’t really help him in taking the next step.

*NEW EMAIL FROM SAL CROAKER*

James frowned, clicking on the popup.

Hey James, 

Here are some statistics you might want to include in your report:

80% of missing people are found in the first 24 hours. 97% are found in the first week. 99% of cases are resolved within the first year.

1% of people who disappear are never found. 0.25% of all missing person cases have a fatal outcome.

Kind Regards,

Sal C

Bureau of Missing Persons

Looking at the statistics, James couldn’t help but wonder where that left Remus Lupin, the tall boy who always had a book or a cigarette in his hand. His case was floating between the 1% and 0.25%, increasing and decreasing as time went on.

His body was never found so maybe there was a chance he was still alive? If so, James felt bad for the guy. Imagine being hidden away for five years, your boyfriend dead and everyone believing you to be dead with him.

James couldn’t help but hope Remus Lupin was dead. If he was alive, the guy would wish he wasn’t.

A knock sounded at the door.

“Come in!” James yelled out, his finger flying across his keyboard, typing out everything he had learnt thus far.

In came his mother, holding a plate of food, a glass of water, and a single, circular, white tablet. 

“How did it go this morning, Mijo?” she asked, setting the plate down on his desk, along with the water and tablet.

“Good,” James replied, never looking away from his keyboard. Then he paused. “Well not good actually, Regulus shut the door in my face. I don’t think he likes me very much”

Euphemia smiled softly. “He will come around, I’m sure.”

“Thanks mum,” James grabbed an enchilada from the plate, taking a bite and grimacing at how cold it was.

“It would be warmer if you had responded to my messages and come down thirty minutes ago,” she said, nudging the glass of water closer.

James took the tablet off the desk and swallowed it. “Happy?” he said, turning back to his laptop.

His mother frowned. “I just want you to be healthy.”

James nodded. “I know.”

“James.”

James turned away from his laptop, taking in his mother’s expectant expression.

“I don’t want you to make this EPQ your whole life, okay?” 

James had no idea what she was worrying about. Sure, he could get a little into things sometimes but it was no reason to worry. 

“Okay, James?” her usually calm demeanour was starting to crack, her voice raising slightly.

“Yeah, yeah, okay.” he agreed, shrinking into his seat.

His mother kissed the top of his head. “Just making sure, Mijo,” and with that, she left, closing the door softly behind her.

2 Years Ago

James was standing on the edge of the house, his eyes closed as the brutal wind slammed into his unguarded skin.

“James?!” His mother’s voice called out over the thunder and rain.

“Yeah?” He responded, taking a deep breath and inhaling the smell of the skies' anger.

“What are you doing up here?” James opened his eyes and turned around. She looked calm and collected but there was a waiver in her voice and a falter in each step she took to get to him.

“I'm calming down the sky. He’s angry,” James responded, turning back to face the sky. Wasn’t it obvious?

He felt his mother come up behind him, grabbing his frozen left hand in her own. “Of course, yes, of course. But….maybe it would be best if you came inside?”

“Inside?” James snorted. “How would that calm down the sky?”

“Maybe the reason he is angry is because you are up here, putting yourself in danger?” she choked out, her eyes darting towards the dark grey clouds ahead.

The door to the roof opened again, his father stepping out this time. “Effie? James? What are you doing up here?” He asked incredulously.

“The sky is angry,” his mother responded, her eyes never straying from James’s form. 

“What are you-”

“The sky is angry,” she repeated, looking back at Fleamont. “James is trying to calm the sky down,” tears began to fill her eyes. “Isn’t that sweet, Monty?” 

Fleamont, seemingly understanding what his wife was trying to convey, nodded and headed back inside.

James turned at the sound of the door shutting and glared. “Where is he going? Doesn’t he care about the sky?”

“Of course he does,” his mother replied, her usually constant smile wobbling. “He cares so much, in fact, that he has gone to call some backup.”

“Back up?” James’s eyebrows creased.

Euphemia nodded. 

It was only a few minutes later that the door opened once more, the lithe form of Marlene Mckinnon visible even through the heavy sheets of rain.

Marlene took one look at the scene and steeled herself. “Euphemia, you should head back inside and get warm.”

“What?” James said, his voice outraged. “She can’t go back inside. She has to help calm the sky.”

Marlene held her ground. “No James. Euphemia doesn’t need to help. She needs to go back inside. Isn’t that right, Effie?”

Euphemia glanced between James and Marlene before nodding hesitantly.

The moment the roof door clicked shut James scowled. “Nobody wants to help the sky.”

“I don’t think the sky needs helping right now, James,” Marlene grabbed James’s shoulder to steady herself as she stepped up onto the ledge with him.

“What are you talking about? Look at him!” James gestured towards the stormy clouds above.

Marlene shook her head. “I think the sky is fine, James. It’s the sun that needs helping, right now.”

“The sun?”

Marlene nodded, taking James’s hand and stepping down from the ledge. “C’mon James, we have to go help the sun.”

James bit his lip, looking up at the storm that surrounded Godric’s Hollow.

“James. Don’t you want to help the sun?” Marlene tugged on his hand slightly.

James nodded, having made up his mind. “You’re right. If the sun needs help more than the sky then we should go help the sun.”

Marlene beamed at him. “Always so kind,” she complimented, leading him inside.

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Regulus had counted four ding-dong-ditches in two days when a knock echoed through the house. Walburga was at the grocery store with Kreacher, leaving Regulus home alone.

He ignored the knock, figuring it was just another annoying kid trying to appease his friends.

Another knock.

This kid was persistent, Regulus would give him that.

Another knock.

Regulus sighed, standing up and heading to the door. They were probably trying to seem brave by getting a glimpse of one of the famed Blacks.  He swung open the door to see a tall brown boy around the same age as him, possibly older.

The boy had wavy brown hair that looked an absolute mess but also completely suited him. His eyes were wide and his smile even wider, glasses obscuring his features slightly. And he was tall, so very tall. Regulus would guess around 6’2. 

“What do you want?” he asked, blatantly staring at the boy, but who could blame him? 

“I, uh-” the boy stumbled over his words. Oh great, the one hot guy Regulus sees in five years turns out to be illiterate.

He grabbed the door handle and swung it shut only for it to jam. Regulus looks down, seeing the boy's foot in between his door and the wall. Who the hell was this guy?

The boy straightened up, his smile returning. “I brought scones,” he announced, holding out the tin. 

“Good for you,” Regulus responded, glancing down at the tin. Scones were his brother’s favourite snack but Regulus wasn’t a fan, much preferring savoury to sweet.

“For you. I brought scones for you,” The boy shuffled his feet.

“Why?” Regulus asked, ignoring the tin. They were probably poisoned.

“Oh, right. Well I’m doing this EPQ-”

Regulus scrunched his nose. “What’s an EPQ?” 

“Extended Project Qualification. It’s a project you work on alongside your A levels. You can pick any topic,” The boy responded.

“Oh. I never got that far in school. Mum homeschooled me after the whole-” He stopped. Kreacher insisted that Regulus should talk about it, that it would help, but he would rather just push it all away from his mind. 

“Right. Of course. My bad,” the boy scratched his neck, smiling sheepishly. “Anyway. I was hoping I could interview you for my EPQ, if you are amenable?”

Of course this hot boy was only talking to him for information about Sirius. “Let me guess,” he started, staring at the boy with contempt/ “You are doing your EPQ on something to do with my brother.”

He nodded. “Exactly, so-”

Regulus took great satisfaction in slamming the door in the boy's face.

It was slightly less satisfying when Regulus started crying.

The door opened, pushing into Regulus’s sobbing form.

“Regulus Arcturus Black, what on Earth are you doing?” His mother’s shrewd voice snapped.

Regulus looked up to see his mother and Kreacher standing at the door. His mother with an appalled expression and Kreacher with a weary one. “My apologies, mother,” he quickly wiped his face, hoping he wasn’t too flushed.

His mother turned her nose up at him and brushed past him. “Honestly,” she muttered under her breath as she went. “Don’t know what I did to deserve such a mess of a son.”

Regulus clenched his fists. At least he wasn’t as much of a mess as Sirius, Sirius had actually killed someone but you don’t see her muttering about that. Well, okay, that’s not entirely true. Sirius never actually killed anyone, Regulus was sure of it. But apparently a 12-year-olds opinion didn’t matter to the police nor to the populace of Godric’s Hollow.

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“Mother, where are the eggs?” Regulus asked, poking his head in the fridge.

His mother scowled at him. “How am I to know? Perhaps you have already eaten them.”

That wasn’t possible. His mother had only gone out to the shops yesterday and the egg cartons usually contained at least twelve. 

“May I have a few pounds to go buy some more?” He asked, his eyes flickering to Kreacher who was grabbing his mother another bottle of wine to replace the one she had just emptied.

“No you may not. If you want eggs, then you can go get yourself some eggs,” she grabbed the new wine bottle from Kreacher and read the label. “You idiot,” she screeched, throwing the bottle at the wall. “I asked for 1842 not 1942!”

Kreacher bowed his head. “My apologies, mistress. Allow me to rectify my mistake.”

“You better,” she sniffed.

Kreacher nodded and went back to the cellar, presumably to grab the 1842 bottle.

Regulus had seen enough and decided he would just go buy eggs himself.

Chapter Text

James hummed as he heard the telltale ding of the door. He was browsing through the animal treat aisle, looking for Padfoot’s favourite snack.

“You aren’t welcome here!” James’s head snapped up at the sound of Horace’s voice.

Horace was an old, tubby man that managed “Sluggy’s Corner Store” and was known for his jovial attitude. It was odd that he would say something so…unlike him.

James looked over the top of the aisle, seeing Regulus Black holding a carton of eggs in one hand and a scrunched up 5 pound note in the other. 

“I just want to buy eggs,” he snarled. 

Slughorn shook his head vigorously. “I won’t have your lot coming in here.”

Regulus cocked his head, a viscously beautiful smile spreading across his face. “And what would be my lot?” James’s eyes widened, realising what Regulus was insinuating.

“I- well, I don’t mean, obviously, I don’t mean Japanese people, no, of course not, I mean, well-” Slughorn stuttered, eyes flickering to the other patrons who had stopped to watch. 

“Slughorn!” James called out, having had enough of watching the scene unfold. The old man sighed in relief at the intervention whilst Regulus looked murderous. James winked at Regulus, grabbing the carton of eggs out of his hands and placing it on the conveyor along with Padfoot’s treats. “Thanks for grabbing my eggs, Reggie!”

Regulus’s glare could have killed a hundred men.

Slughorn frowned but obliged, checking out the eggs and the treats. “That’ll be 12 pounds and 99 cents,” he declared, typing the amount into the card swiper. “And a little bit of advice for you, James. Stay away from that lot, yeah? They bring nothing but trouble.”

James nodded, clenching his fists to avoid blurting out something that would get them both kicked out of the store. “Right O,” James grabbed the shopping bag in one hand and Regulus’s hand in the other, walking out the door as calmly as he could.

The moment the door dinged shut, Regulus stole his hand back. 

“What the hell was that?!” Regulus yelled, shoving James away.

“What?” James bulked. “ That was me helping?!”

Regulus scoffed. “That was you butting in where you aren’t wanted just so I’ll agree to your stupid interview.”

James made a face. “Do you think the only reason I defended you was to get an interview from you?”

“Well why else would you?!” Regulus threw his hands up.

“Because he was treating you unfairly,” James said, his lips downturned.

Regulus stared blankly at him before holding out his hand. “Give me my eggs.”

James snorted. “Right,” he dug into the bag and took out the carton, handing it over.

Regulus nodded, turning on his heel and storming off in the opposite direction.

James watched as he went, trying to make himself look smaller as he passed a group of mothers coming back from pilates. The mothers whispered as he went, causing him to walk even faster. James couldn’t comprehend how people could treat Regulus so badly for something that wasn’t his fault.

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“We just got some new books in if you want to look at them?” Dorcas said, hefting a large cardboard box filled with books. “Most are poetry, which I know you like, and the rest were ordered by popular request.”

Regulus nodded, his mind elsewhere. He couldn’t stop thinking about the boy, James (Regulus was sure that was his name since Slughorn had called him by it and he wasn’t nearly old enough for Alzheimer’s). 

“Because he was treating you unfairly,” James said, his lips downturned.

Regulus bit his lip, unable to stop replaying the boy’s words.

It had been a long time since anyone had cared about how he was treated, well, other than his friends. 

“Are you even listening?” Dorcas crossed her arms, drawing Regulus back to the present.

“Yeah, of course,” he responded automatically.

Dorcas snorted. “Oh yeah? Then what is the name of the hot girl I met yesterday?”

Shit. “Uhh.”

She shook her head, fondly. “You’re full of it,” she remarked. “And her name was Marlene.”

The door rang, signalling them to another customer. 

“What a coincidence,” a familiar, bright voice exclaimed.

“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Regulus responded, turning in his chair to see James standing by the door, with a book in his hand. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Mum wanted to buy the rest of the series for this book she bought a few weeks back,” he grinned, holding up the book in his hands. “I offered to come down here for her.”

“You're stalking me,” Regulus deadpanned. 

James held a hand to his heart, making a face of faux hurt. “How presumptuous of you! I would never offer to go to the bookstore for my mum just because I know a certain person of interest can be found skulking around there most evenings.”

Dorcas laughed, drawing James’s attention. 

“Marlene says hello,” James smirked watching as a dark pink flushed her face.

“Shut up and go get your mum her books,” she grumbled. 

James saluted, disappearing behind the stacks.

He could feel Dorcas burning a hole into the back of his head but ignored it, pulling one of the new books out of the box and flipping it open. 

A few minutes later, James returned, a stack of six books blanched precariously in his arms. “Ring me up!” He grinned.

Dorcas rolled her eyes, taking the books from his arms and scanning them.

“So…” James started, plopping down in the chair next to Regulus. “I know you already said no but I don’t think you understand how important an interview with you is.”

Regulus scowled.

“I just want to prove that Sirius is innocent and I know that with your help I could get there-”

“Wait what?”

James paused, his eyebrows furrowing. “What what?”

“You-” Regulus cleared his throat. “You think my brother is innocent?”

James nodded. “I’ve got a few theories but nothing fully developed.”

Regulus contemplated that. “Will you stop stalking me if I agree to your stupid interview?”

“A: It isn’t stupid and B: I’m not stalking you.”

Regulus raises an eyebrow. “Do you want the interview or not?”

James beamed. “I knew you’d come around!”

“Whatever,” Regulus mumbled.

“So when can we meet up?’ James asked, grabbing his phone from his pocket. “I’m free tonight?”

“Why don’t we just do it here? Get it over with,” Regulus picked at his nails, self consciously. 

James shook his head. “That’s a no go, sorry. I have an interview with Rita in 20 minutes.”

Regulus scrunched his nose. “Skeeter?”

James grimaced. “Yeah. I wish it wasn’t necessary but it will help me piece together if there were certain assumptions made that led to a hasty conclusion for the case, y’know?”

Regulus nodded. That was logical. After all, Skeeter was the main reporter on the case and she obviously made quite a few assumptions that the police chose to believe for the sake of closing the case. “How about tomorrow morning then?”

“Perfect!” James held out his phone, expectantly.

Regulus stared at it, blankly. “What am I supposed to do with that?”

James rolled his eyes. “Put your number in it, obviously.”

Regulus could see Dorcas grinning madly over James’s shoulder and swallowed, taking the phone and shakily entering in his number. 

“I won’t always reply immediately,” he warned, handing the phone back. 

“Nor would I expect you to,” James said, easily. 

“Your books are all ‘rung up’ as you say” Dorcas called out, holding out a bag and some leftover change.

“You’re an angel! I’ll make sure to mention to Marlene how helpful you are,” he wiggled his eyebrows. James kissed her cheek, taking the bag and exiting the store.

“Idiot,” Dorcas muttered, taking the receipt James left behind in his haste and throwing it out.

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Interview #2: Rita Skeeter, chief reporter on the Lupin Case.

James: Hi Rita. This is James, James Potter. We were emailing earlier about the Lupin Case.

Rita: Oh yes, you wanted to pick my brain about the case, didn’t you?

James: Exactly. Do you mind if I record this?

Rita: Of course, dearie. 

James: Alright, so first, you attended the court hearing that established Remus Lupin as dead. Correct?

Rita: Oh, isn’t this cute? You’re like a little detective. But yes, I did.

James: Since the national press didn’t report much further on the verdict, I was wondering if you could tell me what kind of evidence was presented?

Rita: Hmm. It was a long time ago but I believe the main investigator, Mad-eye, outlined the details of his disappearance, like the times and such. Then he went on to present information that linked Sirius to the murder. The main piece of evidence was the blood in the boot of his car, I remember they made a rather large deal about that.

James: Who is they?

Rita: Bartemius Crouch and Mafalda Hopkins. The court likes to act like everyone has a say but at the end of the day, it’s them that makes the decisions.

James: Right. So how does the blood in the boot lead them to Sirius?

Rita: Well, Mad-eye made it clear that the blood indicated he was murdered and his body was transported somewhere else. I remember Umbridge saying something along the lines of “It seems clear that Remus was the victim of a sexually motivated murder, and a lot of effort was put into making the body disappear.”

James: And did Detective Moody or anyone else provide a timeline of the events of the night and how Sirius allegedly killed Remus?

Rita: I believe so. This younger one, Shacklebolt I think it was? He said that Remus left home in his car and at some point on Sirius’s walk home, he intercepted him. It was unsure who was driving since the CCTV footage was poor quality but they went to a secluded place and Sirius murdered him. He put Remus in the boot and then drove somewhere else to hide the body. Impressive I’d say, that it’s been five years and the body is yet to be found. Anyways, Sirius ditched the car on Monroe road and walked home.

James: So because of the blood in the boot, the police believed Remus was murdered and then transported elsewhere?

Rita: Yep.

James: Okay. And would you say you were racially biassed about the case in any way?

Rita: Pardon?

James: I only mean to say that in a lot of your articles, you refer to Sirius as a “killer” and “a monster”. You do know that without a solid conviction, you are supposed to use the word “Allegedly” when reporting criminal cases?

Rita: Are you trying to tell me how to do my job? It was obvious that Sirius killed him and the guilt of the murder drove him to suicide.

James: Why are you so convinced that Sirius is guilty?

Rita: Too many things to list. If we put aside the evidence, Sirius was the boyfriend and it’s always the boyfriend. Not to mention him being Japanese.

James: I did notice you mention how Sirius is Japanese in a lot of your articles but surely you know that Sirius was born and raised in the United States.

Rita: Doesn’t matter, does it? He was of Japanese heritage.

James: I’m struggling to understand how that’s relevant?

Rita: I’m a seasoned reporter, so I know a lot about this sort of thing and I know that they have a different way of life from us. They don’t treat the gays the way we do. Sirius probably couldn’t escape those built in discriminations and killed Remus.

James: You- How do you still have a job?

Rita: Look kid, unlike you, I’m an actual reporter. I know what I’m talking about and everyone knows it, hence why I have a job.

James: I don’t agree, funnily enough. I think you are irresponsible to publicly call someone a murderer without using “allegedly” when there is no conviction. Your readers trust you to give them the truth, and you are failing at it. ‘

Rita: Excuse you-

James: And don’t think I didn’t notice how you talk about The Godric Strangler vs. Sirius because I have. You call The Godric Strangler, who murdered five people, a lovesick man while you call Sirius, who allegedly killed one person, a wretched being deserving of the worst punishments man can dish out. Is it because The Godric Strangler is white?

Rita: How dare you! I am only saying it how it is. Besides, the guy is dead, whose it hurting?

James: His family?! Y’know, the ones that aren’t dead !

Rita: This is a waste of my precious time. You think he’s innocent? You think you know better than the police force who has kept our town safe for centuries?

James: There are gaps! Gaps that don’t make sense!

Rita: Yeah well maybe there wouldn’t be so many gaps if the kid hadn’t offed himself.

James: That was incredibly insensitive.

Rita: Yeah well, I find it insensitive that he killed his boyfriend.

James: Allegedly!

Rita: There is no allegedly! Sirius killed Remus and if what you have isn’t enough proof then you should know a death-threat note was found in Remus’s locker. Sirius threatened him and then murdered the poor guy in cold blood. Still think he’s innocent?

James: Maybe he is! Maybe you are just a racist, incompetent-

(Rita hangs up the phone)

“Son of a bitch!” James curses, throwing his phone at the wall. He was breathing heavily, pacing the room. 

“James?’ his mother knocked on the door. “Is everything okay in there?”

James grabbed one of the pillows on his bed and screamed into it.

“James?” his mother’s voice was more frantic now, having heard the muffled scream. “Do I need to call Marlene?”

James took a deep breath. “No mum,” he called back. “I’m fine.”

There was a moment of silence before his mum replied. “Alright, Mijo. I’m gonna start making dinner. We are having tacos tonight.”

“Okay mum. Just call me down when you are done.”

An affirmative came from the other side of the door but James’s attention was already gone, focused on his wall.

He walked up and started tearing down numerous posters and polaroids until the wall was empty. Pulling out his laptop, he started printing the pieces of information he had found thus far, sticking them to his wall and connecting them with lines of gold string. 

James grabbed the gold paint pen off his desk and drew a wobbly timeline on one side of the wall, adding in the times of the events and where the gaps were.

Soon he was lost. Drawing maps of Godric’s hollow and messily scrawling potential routes that Sirius could have taken.

The door to his room opened, his mother walking in with wide eyes. “Mijo? I called you down fifteen minutes ago?”

James paid her no mind, continuing in his scribbling.

“Oh dear,” Euphemia muttered.

“So many inconsistencies,” James mumbled. “So many.”

“What was that, Mijo?”

James turned to his mother, a wide grin on his face, his cheeks flushed. “Remus and Sirius both left where they were at around 10:30 pm, right?” He pointed to the timeline. “So they must have planned to meet up, right? But that’s the thing, the police never mentioned any phone calls or texts between Sirius and Remus that spoke of a meet-up. And if they planned it together, in person, why didn’t they just agree that Remus would pick up Sirius from Snape’s house? Something is off. I don’t think they planned to meet up, mum.”

She took a step closer to inspect the map better, indulging her son. “So you think that they met up as a coincidence? And then Sirius just decided to kill Remus? That doesn’t make sense.”

James nodded his head vigorously. “Exactly!” he exclaimed. “It doesn’t make any sense. Which only enforces the opinion that Sirius didn’t kill Remus.”

His mother stared at him for a long moment before sighing. “You should get some rest, James.”

James frowned. “I can’t. I have to figure this out. I have to-”

“You have to sleep!” she snapped. James flinched back causing his mother to slump. “You can’t figure it out if you don’t sleep, right?” James nodded. “Then you should sleep.”

“Yes, You’re right! I should sleep and then I’ll have more energy for tomorrow.”

“Right you are, James,” She smiled, leading him to his bed. “Have you had your tablet?” she inquired.

James shook his head. “They make it harder to think.”

Euphemia shook her head, pulling out a sheet of tablets from her pocket and handing him one. “You need your tablets, Mijo.”

James sighed, popping the tablet in his mouth and taking a sip of day-old pepsi. He made a big motion of swallowing. “There! All swallowed.”

She smiled and kissed his forehead. “Goodnight, Mijo,” she said, closing the door behind her as she left.

“Night mum.”

She didn’t need to know that James hadn’t actually swallowed the tablet. That he had spat it out the moment she left the room. She just didn’t understand; the tablets made his head hurt when he thought too much. And he had to think a lot for this EPQ. 

Whatever, he’d just start having the tablets again after he’s finished with the EPQ.

Chapter Text

“I brought ice cream and Mama Mia,” James announced, hopping onto Mary’s bed and settling in beside her.

“Mama Mia?” Marlene said, snatching the dvd. “I said to bring Hamilton?!”

James crossed his arms. “And I told you Hamilton was way too long!”

“It doesn’t matter! It’s Mary’s favourite movie!” Marlene argued.

James scoffed. “ABBA is her favourite band.”

“Guys!” Mary sniffed. “Mama Mia is fine, thank you.” 

James shot Marlene a smug look before turning his attention back to Mary who had already opened the ice cream tub and appeared to be cuddling it as she ate large scoops. “Uh, Mare?”

“Yeah?” She looked up, her eyes watery. 

“You said it was an emergency but, uh, what is the emergency?” Marlene cut in, putting Mama Mia in the dvd player.

Mary broke down in sobs. “She broke up with me!” 

Marlene whipped around. “She what?!”

James was just as concerned. It was common knowledge that Lily Evans and Mary Macdonald were in love and the ultimate couple. 

Mary took a deep breath. “She- she said, said that I deserved better, said she was done- done with relationships and needed- needed, needed time-” she cried, swallowing a particularly large spoonful of cookie batter ice cream.

“Fucking hell, Mare. When did this happen?” Marlene asked, nestling in between James and Mary.

Mary rubbed her eyes on her sleeve. “Yesterday night.”

James rubbed her back, unsure of how to comfort his heartbroken friend. 

“Forget that bitch!” Marlene snapped, causing Mary and James to giggle. “I never liked her anyway,” Marlene turned up her nose.

James snorted. “You thought she was the second coming of Christ, don’t even.”

Marlene turned away, refusing to acknowledge James had said anything.

“Did she give you a proper reason, Mare?” James grabbed a hair tie and pulled back the girl's curly hair, grimacing at the tears and snot that was intermingled in the coils.

Mary shrugged. “Something about being damaged? I told her she wasn’t- I assured her that I didn’t think she was damaged but she shook her head. Blocked me on all platforms too.”

James frowned. “I’m sure she was just in an emotional state at the time. Give her some space to think.”

Mary nodded, giving James one of her soft appreciative smiles. “Why don’t you distract me, James.”

“How?” James asked, finishing her braid.

Mary shrugged.

“Oooh tell us what you are doing for your EPQ!” Marlene said. “You haven’t told us anything.”

“I thought it was obvious?” when neither of the girls said anything, still waiting, he sighed. “I’m doing the Lupin Case.”

Mary shared a look with Marlene that didn’t go unnoticed by James.

“What?’ James asked, looking between the two.

“Well,” Marlene said, her voice gentle. “We just know how caught up in these things you get. Maybe you should do something less involved?”

James scowled. “I’m not an invalid, Marls. I want to do this.”

Mary laid a hand on his arm. “We know you aren’t an invalid, James. We just want to make sure you are taking care of yourself.”

James nodded stiffly. He wanted to tell them about the tablets but it wasn’t a big deal, he was sure it wasn’t. So why was there a nagging voice in the back of his head telling him it was?

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James had gone straight to Regulus’s house from Mary’s. He knocked a few times and waited patiently.

The door opened to reveal a short, wrinkly man that James recognised as the butler.

“Er- Hello!” James greeted. “I’m here to speak with Regulus?”

The man nodded, opening the door wider. “Follow me.”

James obeyed, following the man down the narrow corridor into a large room with couches and armchairs. Regulus was already seated and waiting, picking at his nails.

“Hey Reg,” the boy scowled at the nickname.

“My name is Regulus.”

James ignored him, sitting down and pulling out his cards.

“What are those?” Regulus asked, indicating towards the cards.

“Oh these are just my prepared questions,” James answered, placing his phone down on the coffee table.

Regulus’s eyebrows raised. “You are really into this aren’t you?”

James grinned. “It’s part of my charm.”

Regulus rolled his eyes. “Are we going to start or what?”

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Interview #3: Regulus Black, brother of Alleged killer (Sirius Black)

James: So, how old are you?

Regulus: Is that really one of your prepared questions? How old I am?

James: *nods*

Regulus: Okay, I just turned 17.

James: And Sirius was three years older than you?

Regulus: He was, yes.

James: Do you remember your brother acting strange on Friday, April 18th, 2014?

Regulus: I took you as a small talk kinda guy but I guess not. I wouldn’t say Sirius was acting strange or differently. He was the same old Sirius, overly energetic and shining.

James: And what about after he returned from Snape’s?

Regulus: I was already asleep. Mother has strict rules about curfew, not that my brother ever followed them. But the next morning, he seemed to be in a pretty good mood. It wasn’t until he got a call from one of Remus’s friends saying he was missing that he started worrying.

James: So neither of Remus’s parents nor the police contacted him?

Regulus: Not that I’m aware of. The Lupin’s weren’t very involved with Sirius. He never met any of them except Peter.

James: How long had they been together by this stage?

Regulus: About four months. Sirius did have a few missed calls from one of Remus’s best friends, I think Christopher? At like 2 am.

James: So what else happened on Saturday?

Regulus: Well after Sirius found out Remus was missing, he was glued to his phone and called him every few minutes. It always went to voicemail though, which worried him more because Remus always picked up for Sirius.

James: Wait. So Sirius called Remus’s phone?

Regulus: Yeah, a lot. Throughout the whole weekend and Monday he was constantly calling.

James: Would you say that’s the kind of behaviour Remus’s murderer would have?

Regulus: I think you already know that it isn’t. Nobody would waste their time calling someone they knew wouldn’t pick up.

James: What else happened that day?

Regulus: My mother told Sirius not to go to the Lupin house because police would be searching it. So he just sat at home, trying to call him. I asked if he knew where Lupin might be but he was stumped. I remember he also said that everything Remus did was deliberate, that if he ran away then it was on purpose, to punish someone. 

James: Who would Remus be trying to punish?

Regulus: I wasn’t particularly close with Remus but I’d say Lyall, his dad.

James: Why Lyall?

Regulus: I just overheard some stuff. I don’t remember anything specifically but from what I heard, their relationship wasn’t the best.

James: So when did the police contact Sirius?

Regulus: It was Saturday afternoon. They called and asked if they could come over for a chat. Mother insisted we be in the room during the whole thing but the cops wouldn’t let us, made us wait in the kitchen.

James: Did Sirius tell you anything about what they asked him?

Regulus: Kind of? He was definitely freaked out that they were recording it.

James: The police recorded it? Did they get consent from Sirius to do so?

Regulus: I don’t know but I’d assume not since Sirius didn’t seem comfortable with it. The police said it was routine though, and asked him about where he was that night and who he was with. Also asked about the relationship between Sirius and Remus.

James: And what was their relationship like?

Regulus: I was his younger brother, so he didn’t tell me much, but I’m an observer. I saw how deeply in love they were. It was hard not to. The way Sirius looked at Remus was the way someone would look at another if they were struck by cupid’s arrow. It was whole and impossible to ignore. Sirius was a star, there was no doubt about it, but when he was with Remus it was like he was the star. If you know what I mean?

James: Did your mother like Remus?

Regulus: Mother was indifferent to Remus. By this point, mother had given up on Sirius and practically disowned him. She couldn’t care less about what Sirius did with his life anymore.

James: Did anything else happen after the police interviewed him?

Regulus: Snape and Erin dropped by. Snape didn’t want to be there, Snape hated Sirius and Sirius felt the same, but Erin dragged him along. They were just checking to see if Sirius was okay.

James: Is this when he asked his friends to lie to the police and give him an alibi?

Regulus: I guess.

James: Why do you think he did that?

Regulus: I’m not sure. Sirius was probably panicked after the interview and didn’t want to be seen as a suspect.

James: Presuming Sirius’s innocence, do you have any idea where he could have been between leaving Max’s at 10:30 and getting home at 12:50?

Regulus: No. He told me that he started walking home at 12:15. 

James: What happened on Sunday?

Regulus: On Sunday afternoon, me, Sirius, and Erin volunteered to put up Missing posters. On monday I didn’t see much of him at school, but it must have been difficult to show his face with everyone talking about Remus.

James: I'm sure.

Regulus: Police were there too. I saw them searching Remus’s locker. Sirius was definitely unlike himself that night, for obvious reasons. Anyway, the next day-

James: You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.

Regulus: No, I can do it. We walked into school together, united front and everything. I went off to registration, leaving Sirius in the parking lot. He wanted a moment to himself. That was the last time I ever saw him. I…I knew the police were at school; rumour was they were talking to Erin and Snape. It wasn’t until two that I saw my mother had been trying to call me. I went home and my mother told me that the police really needed to speak to Sirius and had I seen him. I think the officers were searching his bedroom. I tried to call him but it went to voicemail. My mother then opened her phone and showed me the last text Sirius had sent her.

James: Do you remember what it said?

Regulus: Yeah, it said “It was me. I did it. I’m so sorry.” Later that evening, the cops came back, they said they had found a body in the woods. I figured it would be Remus but…but it wasn’t.

James: I don’t want to cross any lines here but do you know why Sirius might have sleeping pills on him?

Regulus: They were mothers. She needs them to sleep. He must have taken them.

James: Did Sirius ever appear suicidal?

Regulus: No. Sirius was…Sirius was a force. He was the happiest person there was, well, except for maybe you. You are intolerably optimistic, just like he was. I think you’d get along. Anyway, no, Sirius never appeared suicidal. 

James: I only have one more question. Do you think Sirius killed Remus?

Regulus: No. I knew my brother and he wasn’t a murderer. He was the greatest big brother anyone could have, always taking hits for me and making sure I got what I needed even if it meant he missed out. Even if he was capable of doing something like that, he loved Remus. He would never have hurt Remus for anything.

James: I understand. I believe that’s all the questions I need to ask for now.

Regulus: Can I ask you something?

James: *nods*

Regulus: Why are you doing this?

James: I- well, my best friend’s sister…she’s Erin Mckinnon.

Regulus: Oh. I never liked Erin. She was a follower, not a leader. It’s why I was so surprised when she came forward about lying to the police. I would have thought Erin was the kind of person to stick to what someone told her.

James: I like her just fine but her younger sister, Marlene, is my favourite.

Regulus: Right. So you are doing all of this for Erin?

James: No, actually. I knew Sirius. Well, sort of. He was once babysitted Marlene and I. He let us watch an R-rated movie and played board games with us. It was a blast.

Regulus: Yeah that’s Sirius. He was a blast to anyone he met.

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James smiled nervously as he swivelled in Fenrir’s desk chair. He had never felt uncomfortable around Erin in the past but there was something about the whole situation that made him shift.

“So..Could you tell me what you were all doing at Snape’s that night?” He asked gently, knowing that Erin was very fragile when it came to the topic of Sirius. Understandably so.

“We were just drinking, talking, and playing Xbox- nothing exciting.”

“And taking pictures, right? I saw that you had a few from that night up on Facebook,” he pointed out.

Erin fiddled with her rings. “Yeah, a few.”

“But there isn't any of Sirius from that night, which is odd because Sirius always liked to be in the spotlight.”

“I guess he left before we started taking them,” she answered, her eyes anywhere but on his.

“Was Sirius acting strangely that night?”

“I- I wouldn’t say so, no.”

“Did he talk about Remus at all?”

Erin shifted slightly. “Yeah, a little bit.”

“What did he say about her?” James inquired, leaning forward.

“Um.” Erin paused. “He said something about having a disagreement with her, or something.”

“Why?”

“I don't really remember but Remus was kind of a nightmare,” she chuckled before holding a hand to her mouth, horrified. “Shit sorry, I don’t mean to disrespect the dead or anything. It’s just that Remus was a mess, all over the place. He and Sirius fought constantly.”

“Did they?” That was odd considering Regulus had said pretty much the opposite. “What about?”

“Stupid stuff like Sirius worrying over Remus’s flare ups.”

“Flare ups?” James asked, his eyebrows furrowing.

Erin looked confused before realising. “Oh, right. Sirius told Snape and I that Remus had Lupus. Remus was keeping it a secret from everyone so it isn’t common knowledge. I think Remus just didn’t like being fussed over or something, which is why they argued, cause Sirius always fussed.”

“Did Sirius tell you at any point that he was leaving early?”

“No, no he didn’t.”

That was also strange. If Sirius planned to kill Remus then he surely would have told his friends he was going to leave early, so that he met up with Remus at the right time. From what he has learnt, Sirius and Remus meeting up must have been a coincidence, but that doesn’t make sense, why would Sirius murder Remus randomly one night? 

“What time did he leave Snape’s?”

“Around 10:30?”

“Did he say anything before he left?”

“Yeah,” she said, biting her nail. “He said he wasn’t feeling well and was going to walk home.”

“And what time did you leave Snape’s?”

“I didn’t. I slept over in the spare room. Fenrir came and got me the next morning.”

“What time did you go to bed?”

“Around 12:30?”

“When did you first hear that Remus was missing?”

“I think Sirius texted me around 9 on Saturday morning.”

“Can you tell me about when Sirius asked you to lie to the police?” This was one of the key components of the case and essential to James’s investigation.

After a long pause, Erin finally spoke, her voice breaking a little. “We went over on Saturday evening to see how he was doing. And we were talking about what happened, and Sirius said he was nervous because the police had already been asking him questions. And because he was Remus’s boyfriend, he thought he would be a target. So he asked if we minded saying he left Snape’s a little later than he did, like 12:15, so the police would stop focusing on him and focus on looking for Remus. It didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, I- we thought he was just trying to be sensible.”

“Did Sirius ever tell you where he was between 10:30 and 12:50? That’s quite a large gap.”

“Um. I can’t remember,” she answered. “Actually, no, he didn’t,” she corrected.

“You didn’t ask? Didn’t you want to know?”

“I dont- I don’t remember-” she sniffed.

“Okay. That’s alright,” James realised he was perhaps too blunt and quickly adjusted his voice. “So the police called you on Sunday and you told them that Sirius left Snape’s at 12:15?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“So, I have to ask, why did you and Snape change your mind and decided to tell the police on Tuesday about the fake alibi?”

“I…I think we realised how much trouble we could get in for lying. Neither of us thought Sirius was involved in what happened to Remus, so we didn’t see any issue with telling the police the truth.”

“And you discuss this between the two of you? You discussed what you were going to do?”

“Yes. Snape was perhaps more open to it than me but he made me see reason.”

James frowned. Maybe Regulus was right, maybe Erin was a follower, a lamb herded by a shepherd dog.

“You didn’t tell Sirius you were going to the police?”

Erin shook her head. “I didn’t want to upset him.”

“Okay, I have one last question,” James watched as relief flooded Erin’s face. “Do you think Sirius killed Remus?”

Erin bit her lip, choosing her words carefully. “Not the Sirius I knew,” she said. “Sirius was the best, always making people laugh. He loved Remus,” her face turned bitter at this. “Love Remus more than anything. I don’t know what happened but I don't think he did it, or I don’t want to think he did it.”

“Okay. Thanks for answering my questions, Erin, I know it can’t have been easy.”

“That’s okay. I hope-” she hesitated. “I hope you find what you are looking for, James.”

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Five Years Ago:

“How could you keep this from me!” Sirius yelled. Remus flinched back.

“Because I knew you would react just like this! I don’t have the money you do, Sirius.”

“I would have provided for you, Moony,” Sirius looked heartbroken as he paced around the room.

“I don’t want your pity money Sirius!” Remus ran a hand through his hair. “ I’m fine with running away with you, Sirius, you know that, but I couldn’t afford it. I was just doing what I thought was best-”

Chapter Text

Interview #4: Severus Snape, friend?? Of Sirius Black

James: Before we begin, I’d just like to ask if you and Sirius were friends or not? From what I have heard you hung out a lot but didn’t like each other?

Severus: Black? *scoffs* Black was a menace; an immature menace. Erin is my friend and Sirius was hers. That meant I was stuck hanging around him quite a bit, but no, we did not like each other.

James: Thank you. We can begin now. So…You are 20, correct?

Severus: Obviously.

James: Right. So, jumping right in, can you describe what Sirius and Remus’s relationship was like?

Severus: It was nauseating. They thought their relationship was this century's Achilles and Patroclus. Which it wasn’t.  

James: And how did their relationship start?

Severus: They hooked up at one of my calamities, some time around christmas.

James: Okay and did you know Remus prior to his relationship with Sirius?

Severus: No. I would never associate with someone so…unclean.

James: Sorry, what do you mean by that?

Severus: He was diseased. 

James: Right but Lupus isn’t contagious?

Severus: Aren’t you supposed to be interviewing me, Potter?

James: Right, you’re right. Anyway, on Friday, April 18th, everyone was at your house. Do you remember Sirius acting strangely?

Severus: Not particularly. A little quiet, though.

James: Did Sirius talk about Remus at all that night?

Severus: No. 

James: He didn’t mention anything to do with an argument?

Severus: Not at all.

James: And how well do you remember that night?

Severus: I have an impeccable memory. I remember every detail of that night perfectly. We drank and then I had to clean up the kitchen because Sirius had spilled beer all over it, nuisance that he is, or was.

James: This was after Sirius left?

Severus: Yes.

James: And where was Erin while you were cleaning?

Severus: Not there.

James: You don’t know where she was? She wasn’t there?

Severus: She was upstairs.

James: What was she doing upstairs?

Severus: I don’t know. You should ask her.

James: How long was she upstairs for?

Severus: How am I to know?

James: When Sirius left what did he say?

Severus: He left quietly, slipped right out the fro nt door.

James: Okay…And the next evening, you all went to Sirius’s after Remus was declared missing?

Severus: Yes. Erin insisted we check in on him.

James: And Sirius asked you to lie about his alibi?

Severus: Yes. He was rather blunt and panicked. Said it was a favour he would repay. I never did get that favour back. Bastard died before I could redeem it.

James: Do you think Sirius killed Remus?

Severus: Is that even a question? Of course. There was plenty of evidence that made it clear Sirius had done it. Not to mention, the Blacks have a history of madness.

James: Okay. Those are all my questions.

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The murder wall had expanded to two walls after his interview with Snape. James had replayed the recordings of Snape and Erin’s interviews a million times to make sure he wasn’t mistaken but no, he was right, they were lying.

Erin had said that Sirius announced he was leaving and talked about his disagreement with Remus while Snape was adamant that Sirius slipped out and didn’t mention Remus at all that night. It was difficult to remember something from five years ago but not so difficult that their answers would be opposites of each other. 

Not to mention the portion of time that Erin was upstairs doing god knows what. He hated to even think it let alone actually write it down but it wasn’t completely unpicturable. 

Erin kills Remus in a jealous fit and Sirius stumbles upon the scene. Because he is a good friend, Sirius helps hide the body but the guilt gets to him and he kills himself.

It could be nothing but he would be remiss to ignore it. There was no time for sentiments while investigating such a serious crime.

There was also the undeniable contempt that Snape held for both Remus and Sirius, making it entirely possible that Snape killed Remus or Sirius, or perhaps he killed them both. Snape had called Remus unclean, and he had called Sirius a nuisance. Was that enough to motivate him to kill? Even if it wasn’t, James still added him to the list.

Then he remembered. 

“Who would Remus be trying to punish?”

“I wasn’t particularly close with Remus but I’d say Lyall, his dad.”

“Why Lyall?”

“I just overheard some stuff. I don’t remember anything specifically but from what I heard, their relationship wasn’t the best.”

Lyall and Remus had a poor relationship according to Regulus and James trusted Regulus.  With an unsteady hand, James jotted Lyall’s name below Snape’s.

Suspect List:

Erin Mckinnon

Severus Snape

Lyall Lupin

His suspect list was shaky at best, but it was there and that was what mattered. He had made progress, no matter how small.

James shook his hand, trying to shake off the tremors running through his nerves.

The door opened. “I know you didn’t invite me over but Fenrir was acting all shifty and I- woah,” Marlene stopped mid sentence, her eyes frozen on James’s murder map. 

James wiped his forehead. “Hey Marls-”

“What the hell is this,” she whispered, eyes wide.

He ran his hands through his hair, mucking it up. “I think I’m finally starting to get substantial information, Marls!” He walked over to the wall, pointing at his suspect list. “In my interview, Snape lied. Or, well, maybe Erin lied? I don’t know but one of them lied! Or both of them! And- And Regulus, y’know Sirius’s brother? Dorcas’s best friend? He said that Lyall and Remus had a poor relationship, which leads me to believe that Lyall might have killed Remus.”

Marlene took a careful step forward, as if approaching a feral cat. “James…”

James swallowed, swaying slightly. “And-” He placed a hand on the wall to steady himself. “And I think maybe Erin could have killed Remus out of jealousy! It sounded crazy to me at first too but she was clearly in love with Sirius, well that's what Regulus said, and Sirius didn't love her back. It's a perfectly good motive! Or Snape killed Remus because he said in the interview Remus was unclean or something." James moved over to his desk and looked for the recording.

“James, you’re sweating like crazy,” she pointed out, putting her hand to his forehead. 

“No? No. No, I’m fine! Listen Marls, you aren’t listening! I have solid, well, maybe not solid, but evidence! I have evidence!"

Marlene closed her eyes as tears began to fall. “James.”

“No! You aren’t listening!” He yelled. “I am making progress, I am!” James was rummaging through the drawers of his desk, throwing papers to the floor. "Where the hell is it?!"

“James!” she snapped. “You are not making progress! You are driving yourself crazy! I mean look at yourself! You are sweating, hyperventilating, and look like you are ready to drop, not to mention you've gone so insane you wrote my sister down on your stupid suspect list!”

James clenched his fists. “I’m not insane,” he said, his face flushed with anger. “Just wait until you hear the interview- Where is it?!"

"It's right next to you, James."

James looked up at her, his eyes wild. "What? No it-" he paused, seeing that his phone was in fact right next to him. "Right. I'm so forgetful," he joked, grabbing the phone and searching through it.

"Maybe you should get some rest, James," Marlene suggested, trying to grab hold of his arm. He shook her off.

"Don't touch me! In fact-" his breathing was heavier and faster. "Infact, you should leave."

Marlene scoffed. “You’re crazy if you think I’m gonna leave you here like this.”

“Stop that! Stop calling me insane and crazy! I'm not fucking crazy!” 

"Okay, James," Marlene held her hands up. "Okay."

"This fucking phone!" James threw the device at the wall, bits of the phone landed across the room.

Marlene didn’t move an inch. “James.”

“Whatever,” James muttered, moving back to the murder wall to put up more gold string.

Marlene went to message Effie but stopped when she saw what was in the bin by James’s bed. Tablets. At least a week's worth of tablets, dumped in the trash. “James,” she whispered, horrified. “Have you been throwing out your tablets, instead of taking them?” she asked.

James ignored her, too busy cutting up strings.

“James!” she yelled. “Stop ignoring me and answer the damn question!” 

No response. More cutting.

“That’s it. I’m calling Dr. Tonks.”

“What?!” James jumped to his feet. “You can’t do that! I’m fine!”

“No you aren’t,” Marlene cried, grabbing his bin and tipping it upside down. Tablets fell to the floor, scattering across the wooden planks.

James stares at the pearly white pills. “They- They- I don’t feel like myself when I take them,” he looks up at Marlene, his eyes wide with fear. “I just want to be me! They change me, and I can’t- I don’t-” James’s breaths quicken.

“Oh James,” Marlene wraps her arms around him, holding on tightly. 

James chokes on a sob. “I just wanted to be me,” he cries, sinking to the floor.

“I know, James. I know,” Marlene whispers in his ear, pulling him closer. “I know.”

“Please don’t call Dr. Tonks,” James grabbed hold of Marlene’s hand, staring into her eyes. “Don’t call her.”

Marlene bit her lip, tears racing down her face. “You know I have to, James.”

James makes a wounded sound. “I’ll- I’ll start taking them again, I will! Just, please, don’t tell anyone.”

Marlene searched James’s face for a lie but found none. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed one of the tablets off the floor and held it out. 

James eyed the tablet with distrust.

“Take it or I call Tonks.”

James swallowed, taking the tablet from her hand with trepidation. 

Marlene grabbed his face with her hands and pulled his forehead against her own. “Please, James. I need you to do this. For me,” she guided his hand up to his mouth. “Take it.”

James nodded, tipping his head back and swallowing it. The tablet was small, not requiring any water, though James generally took water with it to wash away the taste of chalk.

Marlene let out a sob, her shoulders shaking as she collapsed against him. “Thank you, James. Thank you,” her voice muffled against his shirt. 

James reached up and cradled her head. Silent tears cascaded down his face and onto her messily cut, blonde hair. 

“James, We’re home!” the sound of his mother’s voice echoed through the house.

“You won’t tell them?” James whispered, worry seeping through his voice.

Marlene looked up and shook her head. “I promised, didn’t I?’

Chapter Text

Though James had started taking his tablets again, the tremors in his hand had yet to subside. Marlene had googled it and found on Mayo Clinic, which according to her was “The real deal, James”, that it was an aftereffect of withdrawal. 

Marlene had gone behind his back and told his mother and father that James would be staying with her for the week, for quality friend-to-friend bonding. It was more that she wanted to make sure he was taking his tablets and doing okay, but James appreciated that she didn’t bring it up, always watching but never saying anything. It made him feel normal. Almost.

“James, I don’t know about this,” Marlene was tuning her cherry red, electric guitar. She had been hired, anonymously, to play at the next calamity party which was a huge deal for her since it was her first gig.

James rolled over so he was upside down, his head hanging off the bed. “What do you mean?”

“Sit up before the blood goes to your head, you numpty,” Marlene threw her pick at him. “And- I mean that Fenrir is insane.”

James rolled his eyes. “He’s hardly insane, Marls.”

Marlene paused in her tuning. “You and I both know that’s not true.”

She was right of course. Fenrir was anything but sane. Marlene and Erin had been adopted six years ago after their parents had passed away. They didn’t have any other family so they were put into the foster system. Luckily, or unluckily, they were picked up pretty quickly but Fenrir. 

Truthfully, James was pretty scared of the man. He appeared normal, acted normal, and anyone walking past him on the street wouldn’t look twice but…There was something about how calculated the man’s words were. There was something about the way the man’s eyes would linger on his students for longer than normal. It made James shiver. 

“Still, you know how much backstory I could get from him? He knew Sirius pretty well,” James reached out to take one of her twizzlers only to have his hand slapped away. He pouted. “C’mon Marls.”

Marlene shook her head. “It’s your own funeral.”

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Interview #5: Fenrir Greyback, Foster father to Marlene and Erin Mckinnon

James: Okay, so I’m gonna be recording this if that’s alright?

Fenrir: That’s fine.

James: So how long had you known Sirius?

Fenrir: I started teaching at Hogwarts in 2011. I first taught Sirius in sophomore year for Adanced UK History and then his senior year for Advanced Gov. That’s three years. But I did see him on the street before them. He was a cute kid, not the cutest, but he was a looker.

James: Right. Did Sirius take all Advanced classes for history?

Fenrir: He took all the Advanced classes that Hogwarts offered. He was smart, clever, never one to slack off. 

James: And when did you start to get to know Sirius?

Fenrir: His senior year. He had gotten an interview for Yale and I was helping him prepare since I was a Yale alumni. He got accepted as well. I was very proud.

James: Did you have class with Sirius on that Monday after Remus disappeared?

Fenrir: Yes. I remember talking to him after class and asking if he was alright.

James: Was he acting strangely?

Fenrir: He was worried.

James: For Remus?

Fenrir: I’d assume so.

James: What about on Tuesday? Did you see him at all that day?

Fenrir: No. I called in sick that day. 

James: Do you think Sirius killed Remus?

Fenrir: Yes. The evidence was all there. I know I might sound blunt but that is how I must be. I was fond of Sirius. It was incredibly jarring to hear that he killed Remus. However, if the evidence indicated it was him then it was him.

James: What about Remus? Did you know him?

Fenrir: No. He was in the same class as Sirius in sophomore year but unfortunately I did not know Remus well. 

James: Okay. Thank you.

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“So…?” Marlene asked the moment James reentered the room.

James slumped down in the chair opposite her. “I learnt nothing except that Fenrir isn’t much of a chatter.”

“Told you.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

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The next day, James was back at his house, searching through all the evidence he had found. 

“James!” his dad called from downstairs. “Someone is here to see you!”

James frowned, checking his phone for messages from anyone. He had a lot of friends, sure, but the only ones who came to his house were Mary and Marlene. He put on his jacket and took the steps two at a time.

“I don’t want to be a bother or anything-”

“Couldn’t be one if you tried.” James rounded the corner to see Regulus Black chatting with his dad.

Regulus seemed to notice James’s presence and grimaced. “I wouldn’t have come but my phone was flat and I wanted an update on how the whole EPQ is going.”

His dad frowned. “James.”

“Yes?”

“Did you go to the Black’s even after Mcgonagall was clear in telling you not to?”

“No-”

“Yes.”

Both Regulus and he spoke at the same time.

His father raised an eyebrow causing Regulus to blush.

“Anyways…I have errands to run so can we talk about it as we walk?”

James grinned. “Are you asking me out, Reggie?”

Regulus glared. “Nevermind,” he turned, striding down the front path.

James quickly shoved his shoes on, hopping after Regulus as he tied his laces. “Wait up- I was just kidding-”

By the time James caught up to Regulus, the boy was turning the corner to his house. “You wanted updates, right?” James asked.

Regulus nodded stiffly. “Wouldn’t hurt.”

“I currently have a few suspects based on a few theories,” James started. “My first suspect is Erin Mckinnon-”

“Erin as in your best friend’s sister?” Regulus raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t look at me like that,” James sighed. “I have to be objective.”

“Right, okay then, so what is your theory?”

“During my interview with Erin she said that Sirius had talked about Remus that night he was at Snape’s and had loudly announced he was leaving. In my interview with Snape he said the opposite. So one of them is lying, which leads me to my next suspect being Severus. However, Snape said that Erin had disappeared upstairs for an extended period of time after Sirius left. It’s possible that during this time she was off murdering Remus out of jealousy because, as you said, she wanted Sirius and couldn’t have him.”

Regulus nodded. “That makes sense I guess. There is also the fact that they lied for Sirius only to change their minds two days later. It's a bit odd, isn’t it?”

“Exactly,” James replied. 

“Who's your next suspect after them?”

“Lyall Lupin.”

“Because of what I said?”

“Sorta? You said that he and Remus had a strenuous relationship but I looked up a few videos of Lyall talking to the press and in each one he looks extremely shifty.”

“That isn’t very solid evidence, you know?” They were now at the rusting, old gate to Grimmauld.

James shrugged. “I’ve got an interview lined up with Christopher, Remus’s best friend and I’m hopeful for an interview with Thomas.”

“Well, good luck with that,” Regulus grabbed his house key from his pocket and twisted it in the door. 

James frowned. “That’s all? You came all the way to my house just to hear my theories?”

Regulus sighed. “No. No I didn’t.” He gestures for James to follow. James stepped into the creepy house for the second time in his life, shivering at the cold temperature. Regulus lead him up the stairs to the second story, stopping in front of a black door with a “Enter if you dare” sign. 

“Is this…?”

Regulus nodded. “I wasn’t- Well, I want you to prove my brother’s innocence, and I wasn’t going to but then you- Look just- C’mon in.”

The door screeched slightly from the disuse of the hinges. James’s eyes widened at the room he was seeing, it was a bright burst of red with accents of black, reminiscent of his own room. There were flags of teams that James, himself, supported and photos stuck all over the walls. He could see a few red crates filled with records from Bowie, Queen, Black Sabbath, and even some ABBA. 

Regulus smiled sadly. “I did say that you guys would have been friends, didn’t I?”

James nodded. His hands brushed against the dusty, red canopy. “He has taste. Red is my favourite colour.”

“Sirius used to buy me tons of red stuff just because my favourite colour was green, he always said that red was superior and that I would come around to it eventually.”

James grinned. “And have you?”

“Not even slightly. Red is a heinous colour that I consider a personal cruelty against my eyes.”

James barked out a laugh. 

“Anyways,” Regulus walked over to a large black drawer with red sharpie scribbles all across it. Opening up the top right drawer, he pulled out a phone. “This was Sirius’s.”

James’s jaw dropped. “The police didn’t take it?!”

“They did but after Sirius killed himself, they decided it wasn’t needed anymore,” Regulus unlocked the phone, handing it to James.

“You can’t be serious?!” James grabbed the phone from his hands like it was a precious gemstone.

“No that would be my brother, and for the record, I hate myself for making that joke.”

James beamed at him. “This is incredible, Reg. Thank you!” He leapt forward, wrapping the younger boy in a tight hug.

“You have till the count of three to remove your arms from around me, Potter.”

James quickly stepped back, clearing his throat. Regulus was sporting a wicked blush that clashed with his venomous glare.

“Open up the messages, you might find something useful.”

James clicked on the messages icon, opening up the most recent message Sirius had sent, which was to his mother.

Chat: Walburger The Worst

WTW: What do you need from the grocery store?

Sirius: why r u going to grocery store

WTW: We are all out of milk. What do you need?

Sirius: can u get me sum chocolate

WTW: Yes. What kind?

Sirius: the 1 i always get

Sirius: It was me. I did it. I’m so sorry.

James read over the confession text a few times before looking back at his old texts to his mother. The punctuation in the confession text was perfect but in all the other texts, his grammar and punctuation were shoddy. 

Regulus leant over, seemingly reading his mind. “I told the police about the punctuation back when they came to investigate but they said it wasn’t a significant piece of evidence.”

James shook his head. “They were wrong. This is significant. Very significant.”

“Check the call logs.”

James clicked out of the messages app and went to the call log. There were over a hundred calls to Remus from the weekend of the disappearance.

“Look,” Regulus pointed at the missed call from Remus to Sirius at 9:00pm the night of Remus’s disappearance. “Now go look at the messages between him and Remus and the times they were sent.”

James went back to Sirius’s messages and opened up the conversation titled ‘My Moonage Daydream’.

Chat: My Moonage Daydream

MMD: Please answer, Siri

Sirius: I’m not talking to u until u stop

Sirius: Moony, answer the phone, plz

Sirius: I need to know ur safe

“What was it that Remus was doing that Sirius disagreed with? Do you think it could have been what got Remus killed?” James’s head was spinning. 

“I don’t know but feel free to take that home with you. I can’t have that here anymore, I’ll just find myself staring at it for days on end like I did when we first got it back.”

James nodded, slipping the phone into his pocket. “I better get going so I can type all this up.”

“I’ll show you out.”

James took one last look at the vibrant room. Sirius had had his whole life ahead of him, he was on his way to Yale. And now…Now he’s dead.

Regulus opened the door to let him out only to find Dorcas standing with her hand raised. The girl looked shocked for a single moment before smirking.

“Why hello James.”

“Hey Dorcas,” James squeezed past the girl. “I should get going but thank you, Reg.”

“Reg?” Dorcas mouthed. The boy elbowed her before waving James off.

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James was practically bouncing in his seat as he clicked the call button. Christopher had agreed to an auditory interview.

Interview #6: Christopher Bunsin, Best friend to Remus Lupin.

James: Hello Christopher, this is James, I’m calling for the interview we discussed

Christopher: Hey James. Yeah I remember. Shoot.

James: When did you find out that he was missing?

Christopher: It was around 1am that night. The Lupin’s called my parents and Thomas’s parents. I tried to call Sirius as well but he didn’t answer.

James: Did the police contact you?

Christopher: Saturday morning, yeah. 

James: Did they ask you questions?

Christopher: Yeah. They were asking about where Remus was but I told them I didn’t know. They also asked about Sirius.

James: What did you tell them about Sirius?

Christopher: Only that, at school I saw him and Remus fighting that week.

James: What were they fighting about?

Christopher: I have no idea. Remus said that Sirius was being an ignorant idiot about something, though.

James: Oh. So Remus didn’t have plans to see Sirius on Friday?

Christopher: No, not at all. Remus didn’t have plans to do anything that night, he was just gonna stay home.

James: How come?

Christopher: I don’t know if I should say…

James: If it isn’t relevant it won’t go in my project, I just want some more insight as to the events of the night.

Christopher: Okay. Well, Remus’s adopted brother, Peter, was hospitalised for self harm several weeks before. The Lupin’s had to go to a dinner party so Andie was asked to stay home and look after Peter. 

James: Oh.

Christopher: Yeah. Poor guy. And Remus left him alone that night, too. Looking back, I can understand how it may have been difficult having Remus as an older brother.

James: How do you mean?

Christopher: I just- I don’t want to speak ill of him. Remus was great. But…I don’t like the person I was when I was with him, y’know.

James: Was he a bad friend?

Christopher: No, no, nothing like that. It’s just- Remus was very self-involved. He was so focused on people not focusing on him that he pushed people away, and sometimes, when he did, it wasn’t kind. Everytime I tried to talk to him about his flare ups or ask if he was doing okay he would snap at me, start picking me apart. It wasn’t easy being his friend. He was smart, attractive, and witty in that dry kind-of humour way. But he wasn’t kind.

James: Was Remus like that with everyone?

Christopher: Yeah, yes, I’d say so. I think it was a product of his childhood. I don’t mean anything against the Lupin’s but Lyall wasn’t kind, he was absent and verbally abusive. Hope, she was just as absent, maybe not physically but definitely mentally. And Peter? I saw how Remus was with Peter. Peter was the apple of Lyall and Hope’s eye which meant Remus hated the guy.

James: From what you’ve said, Remus didn’t like his parents, so why did he care so much whether they liked Peter more?

Christopher: Remus didn’t care that they liked Peter more, he cared that Peter liked them just as much despite how they treated Remus.

James: One more question, do you think Sirius killed Remus?

Christopher: I mean, if the police say so then it must be true, right? I can totally understand why Sirius might have snapped and done it. I don’t condone murder or anything but Remus was unbearable sometimes.

James: That’s all my questions, thank you.

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The interview had definitely revealed some key information. It turned out that Regulus was right; Remus and his parents didn’t have a good relationship. On top of that, he and Peter seemed to have an even worse one. 

An interview with Peter would be incredibly revealing but James didn’t see that happening any time soon. Peter was a closed off guy who didn’t interact with the outside world too much. It would be difficult getting him alone and even more difficult getting him to agree to an interview. 

James grabbed his paint pen and wrote Christopher’s name on the suspect list. Christopher had outright said that he could understand why Sirius had killed Remus, which was an incredibly odd thing to say. It was unlikely that Christopher had done it but it couldn’t hurt to add him to the list.

*NEW EMAIL FROM THOMAS NAKIL*

Hey James,

I’m free for this interview of yours tomorrow. Meet me at Leaky Cauldron.

Cya then,

Thomas.

Chapter Text

James straightened his collar in the reflective windows of The Leaky Cauldron before stepping into the dingy bar. It was filled with drunks. Lovely.

“James?” he turned, the source of the voice coming from a blonde-haired boy, wiping down glasses behind the counter. “I’ll be with you in just a moment.” James nodded, taking a seat at the nearest table. 

It took 12 minutes before Thomas finally came out from behind the bar and sat across from him. “Apologies,” he said, sheepishly. “I had more dishes to wash than I thought.”

James smiled. “No problem.”

“So, uh, how does this work, exactly?” He looked around the bar nervously.

“I’m just going to ask you a few questions, like I have with everyone else, and then I’ll go. I’m going to record, if that’s alright with you?”

He nodded, prompting James to click the record button.

Interview #7: Thomas Nakil, Remus’s other best friend.

James: My first question is how would you describe the relationship Sirius and Remus had?

Thomas: Yeah, good. Sirius was sweet on Remus and Remus was sweet on Sirius. They seemed to bring out the best in each other. Sirius made Remus more outgoing and Remus made Sirius less showy.

James: They were serious?

Thomas: I guess. Define “serious”?

James: Were they sleeping together?

Thomas: That’s…Uh. No. No, they weren’t.

James: Was Remus a virgin?

Thomas: No.

James: But he and Sirius were exclusive, right?

Thomas: *small pause* Yeah- yeah, totally.

James: So who had he-

Thomas: Look, Remus liked his secrets. He didn’t tell Chris and I as much as you might think.

James: Like?

Thomas: Where he got all his money, for one. 

James: Money?

Thomas: Yeah. He used to have huge amounts of cash on him. It was new though, really only started within a year of his disappearance.

James: Do you know where the money came from?

Thomas: No. He didn’t have a job or anything and his dad never would have given him so much cash. It was a mystery to us how he got it.

James: So when Remus first went missing, was there any part of you that thought he had run away? Used the cash he had saved up to leave, say, his dad?

Thomas: *scoffs* Remus had it too good to want to run away.

James: But there was certainly tension between him and his dad

Thomas: I don’t see how that’s relevant to your project. He and I may not have have a perfect friendship but he was still my best friend and he is still dead. It isn’t right to be talking about his personal relationships like this.

James: If I could just-

Thomas: My shift is ending and you should leave.

James took a deep breath, his frustration rolling off of him in waves. Time for Plan B.

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“You want me to do what?” Marlene stared at him like he was insane.

James rubbed his eyes, the exhaustion of the past few days catching up with him. “Please, Marls?”

“Absolutely not, James-”

“I’ll do it?” Mary piped up from her spot on James’s red beanbag.

Marlene shook her head. “You’re better than this, Mary.”

Mary rolled her eyes. “Just give it here.” Marlene opened her desk drawer and threw her pay-as-you-go spare phone at Mary. 

“It won’t work,” she mumbled, going back to polishing her guitar.

“You are the best, Mare,” James skipped over and kissed her cheek. 

“Yeah, yeah.”

Mary opened the phone and typed in Christopher's number.

“How do you know Christopher’s phone number?” James questioned.

Mary sighed. “Before I realised I was a major lesbian I experimented and unfortunately, Christopher was one of those experiments.”

Marlene cackled. “Are you kidding?!”

“Hush!” Mary demanded, her cheeks going red. 

Mary: Hey Chris, it’s Thomas, I just got a new number. So this weird kid from Hogwarts just interviewed me about Remus. Did he interview you too?

“Hey! I’m not weird!” James pouted.

“I know that, James, but I have to pretend to be Thomas and he definitely thinks you’re weird.”

Chris: Oh hey

Chris: And yeah, he did. Called me yesterday and asked a ton of questions.

“Say something about Remus’s love life!”

Mary: You didn’t tell him about Remus’s love life, did you?

Chris: No I didn’t tell him.

Mary: Yeah, me neither. I always wondered if Remus told you who it was tho?

Chris: You know that he didn’t. Hated when we asked questions about where he ran off to.

Mary: Do you think he made up the guy?

Chris: Maybe. I reckon he was older than us though, by a lot.

James leaned closer. “Ask why, Mare.”

Mary: Really? Why?

Chris: Cause otherwise he would have told us, right? And he always met up with the guy at that really expensive hotel. Someone our age wouldn’t have been able to afford something so nice.

“I think that’s all we’ll get out of him about this older guy. Ask about his dad, I sensed something deeper there when I was interviewing Thomas.”

Mary: This kid was also asking about Remus’s dad, do you think he knows?

Chris: Unlikely. Mr. Lupin never seemed like the type to hit, y’know? I wouldn’t have believed Remus if I hadn’t seen the bruises myself.

Mary: Yeah. Listen, I have to go, but we’ll catch up soon, yeah?

Chris: For sure.

James sat back, his face nothing but shock. “Lyall abused Remus,” he whispered.

“Shit,” Mary’s eyes were wide. “James…”

“Yeah?”

“Maybe Sirius really didn’t do it?” she suggested, biting her lip.

James grinned. “I think I just got my first piece of substantial evidence, Mare.”

“Oi!” Marlene yelled, drawing both Mary and James’s attention. “Can we get back to planning our trip, please?”

Suspect List:

Erin Mckinnon

Severus Snape

Lyall Lupin

Christopher Jawlunder

Secret Older Guy?

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“God I hate camping,” Mary whinged as they trekked deeper into the forest.

“Lighten up, Mare!” James grabbed the heavy bag off her shoulder, hefting it onto his own. “Get it? Lighten up? Cause I lightened you by taking your bag-”

“I think we all got it, James,” Marlene rolled her eyes.

A few minutes later, they found themselves in a small clearing.

“This will do nicely!” Marlene declared, dropping her bags to the floor.

“So would have the other six clearings we passed,” Mary grumbled.

“No complaining!” Marlene reprimanded. “It’s my birthday and I say no complaining!”

Mary shared an exasperated look with James but the truth was, she was extremely grateful for Marlene. Originally, Lily had been invited to come along on the trip, since she and Marlene were pretty close. But, to make Mary feel more comfortable, Marlene had politely told Lily they would have their own separate celebration another time as it was easier.

“Uh, Marls?” James held up the tent. “This isn’t a tent. It's a canopy with sides?”

“What?!” Marlene rushed over, holding up the not-a-tent. “Fuck!” she cursed.

Mary smiled, watching as her two best friends quarrelled over what to do. She had met James and Marlene when she was nine years old, at recess.

8 years ago

Mary tugged on her braids self-consciously, watching as all the tables in the cafeteria filled up. She had just moved from Nigeria and didn’t know anybody, unlike everyone else who has been friends with each other for years.

“Oi!” She turned at the loud voice. Sitting in the corner of the room, on the floor, was a blonde girl with an undone tie and ripped fishnets. The boy next to her nudged her. He was slightly taller than the girl and had beautiful brown skin and awkward round glasses, and just like the girl, this boy's uniform was mussed up. His tie was wrapped around his forehead like the ninjas on tv, and his red sneakers had little sketches all over them.

“You can’t just yell oi, Marlene,” he scolded.

Mary bit her lip raw. She didn’t want to come over in case they were calling out to someone else but without anywhere to sit, she had no choice. She took a deep breath and strolled over, her steps robotic and stiff. 

“Er- Hello,” she greeted, waving but aborting the motion as the blonde girl snorted.

“Marlene shut up, she’ll think you’re teasing her!” Mary looked over at the boy with the funny glasses and smiled nervously. “Sorry about her yelling, she has this habit of not understanding the proper way to make friends.”

The blonde, Marlene, shoved him. 

“I’m James,” he held out his hand, a brilliant smile spreading across his face. Mary was temporarily mesmerised by the bright boy. She had never met anyone who could light up the way he did. She felt at ease in his presence.

“Mary. I’m Mary,” she replied, shaking his hand. It was warm just as she would expect from someone who radiates kindness.

Impossibly, his smile grew wider. “This is Marlene.” the girl saluted Mary with a smile so unlike James’s. This smile was not bright nor was it brilliant, it was, instead, sly and mischievous.

“Nice to meet you both,” she shuffled her feet, looking down.

“You can sit down, y’know.”

Mary looked up in disbelief. “Really?!”

“What kind of friend’s would we be if we said you couldn’t,” Marlene remarks, moving slightly to the right to make room for her.

Mary knelt down and sat with her legs crossed. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she leant back up against the wall.

James pulled out a tangerine and peeled it. “Any takers?” He asked, holding it out to them.

Marlene snatched the small fruit. “Mine!” she declared, ripping it apart.

James groaned. “Ever heard of sharing, Marls?”

“I share!” Marlene held a hand to her heart in faux hurt. 

James stuck out his tongue, grabbing another tangerine from his bag and peeling it. “You and I can have this one, Mare.”

“Mare?”

“Oh, it’s a nickname! I hope that’s okay?” He asked, holding out a slice of tangerine.

Mary nodded. “That's- yeah, that’s fine.”

And just like that, Mary had found her people.

“I told you there was a groundsheet!” Marlene shouted victoriously.

James crossed his arms. “Whatever.”

“Sore loser,” Marlene grinned, dancing out of the way when James charged her. 

Mary giggled as James caught up to Marlene, lifting her into the air and spinning her around.

“Put me down, right now, James Fleamont Potter!” she shrieked.

Chapter Text

An eerie darkness surrounded the clearing, the trees shadows dancing as the torch lights shone on their leaves.

Marlene was halfway through her ghost story, the flashlight under her chin making her features appear distorted and grotesque. The story she was telling was a story about three friends, two girls and one boy, all with the same names as them, who were camping in the woods. “And James continues to demolish the last of the twizzlers while Mary drinks a nasty red concoction that looks like blood,” she says theatrically.

“Piss off,” James says around the candy in his mouth.

“James tells the gorgeous, blonde bombshell to shut up-”

“Does this story feel biassed to you?” Mary whispers to James.

“And that’s when they hear it: a scraping sound against the side of their canopy. There is something…or someone outside. Slowly, fingernails start dragging through the side, ripping a hole in the canvas. ‘You guys having a party?’ A manly voice askes. And then he tears open the hole, stepping through and slitting James’s throat-”

“Hey! What did I do?!”

“James collapses, dead. ‘Miss me?’ he shrieks. And the remaining two, beautiful girls realise who it is. It’s the rotting corpse of Remus Lupin-”

James threw a twizzler at her head. “Not funny.”

“Then why’s Mary laughing?” James turns to Mary who is desperately trying to cover up her giggles.

“Sorry James,” she chokes out between laughs.

“If you don’t want to hear my story we can get out the board…” Marlene leans over, reaching into her bag and pulling out a large board that James recognises as Ouiji.

“You think you are soooo funny,” He jumped at her, toppling her over and tickling her ruthlessly.

A white light flashed from within the trees.

James sat up, his eyes darting to where the light had come from. “Guys…” His eyes scanned the trees, the silhouettes of the large oaks unmoving. Until one of said oaks started shifting on two legs. “Don’t look now but I think there is someone watching us from the trees,” he whispered.

“Where?” Mary mouthed.

“Ten o’clock,” he mouthed back. Fear creeping its way through his body.

Marlene stood up abruptly, grabbing her flashlight. “Hey pervert!” she yelled, running out of the canopy and into the darkness.

“Marls!” Mary screamed.

“Fuck,” James cursed. “Mary, stay here. I’ll be back!” James grabbed one of the discarded flashlights and ran off after Marlene, following the slowly distancing light.

A stitch split his side as he ran, dodging logs and swerving around trees. He paused, grabbing onto his stomach, heaving from the effort of running in the dark. “Marls!” He yelled, hoping to draw her back to where he was. The light he had been following had disappeared and so too had Marlene.

“James!” someone shouted into his ear.

He scrambled up to see Mary, breathing just as heavily as him. 

“Mary?! I told you to stay at the campsite!” 

Mary rolled her eyes, holding out her hand to help him up. “As if I’d just sit in that tent, waiting for you to get back.”

“Motherfucker!” A familiar voice grumbled. They both looked up to see a haggard looking marlene trudging towards them. “I lost him.”

“Him? Are you sure it was a him?” James asked, picking a stray leaf out of Marlene’s hair.

She nodded. “100%, I saw how tall and large he was. No way was that a girl, not with those muscles.”

“Let’s just get back to the camp, yeah?” They all started walking back to their canopy. James’s pyjamas were covered in dirt and leaves and Marlene’s were drenched in sweat so they both had to change while Mary kept watch outside the canopy. Mary’s pyjamas were fine since she hadn’t run for very long or very far and was careful as she did so.

James suggested that one of them keep watch for the night but that was quickly shot down when the girl’s realised he was offering himself up.

“Let’s just go to sleep, okay?” Mary tucked herself into her sleeping bag. “That guy is long gone and was probably just a jogger who got lost.”

Marlene shrugged and turned over, falling asleep almost instantly.

James wasn’t so easily convinced. He was certain that the man had been watching them and no stray jogger hid in the trees, watching teenagers.

He turned, adjusting to get comfortable when he felt something under his pillow. He sat up, pulling out a piece of paper. Glancing back at the two girls, he opened it.

STOP DIGGING, JAMES.

All the breath in his lungs left him with a woosh. Someone knew what he was doing and wasn’t pleased.

That’s when a lightbulb went off in his head. If someone was so anxious about his digging that means there is something to find. It means he was getting closer.

The question was…Who sent it? There were only a few people who knew where James was going to be this weekend. Could it have been Erin? She was the one who had helped them pack everything.

James looked over at the sleeping forms of his best friends. They surely wouldn’t do this, would they? No. No they wouldn’t. They joked from time to time at his expense but they would never mess with him in such a way. 

He shoved the note in his pocket and sat up. There was no way he would be sleeping. Not if there was a potential killer on the loose who knew where they were.

Chapter Text

Interview #8: Christopher Bunsin, Best friend to Remus Lupin.

James: I want to thank you again for agreeing to do this follow up.

Christopher: Yeah, no problem.

James: So firstly, I’ve been asking around about Remus and I’ve heard a few rumours I wanted to run by you. Maybe Remus was seeing someone at the same time as Sirius, someone older? Have you heard anything like that?

Christopher: Who told you that?

James: They asked me to keep it anonymous, sorry.

Christopher: Was it Thomas? It had to have been. We were the only ones who knew.

James: So it’s true?

Christopher: Well yeah. Sorta. 

James: What do you mean?

Christopher: Well…And I’m not proud of this, but Thomas and I were sick of Remus always sneaking around and taking phone calls. So one day while he was taking a shower, we got into his phone; it was like he wanted us to see from how easy his password was, like who puts their password as 1234?

James: Getting a bit off topic..

Christopher: Right. Right. Okay so, we went to his text messages and we saw this contact that was under the name of Wolf. Maybe it was because of his weird ass name, his name translates to Wolf Wolf, which is so weird. What was I saying? Oh yeah. We scrolled through the messages and it was super apparent that this Wolf guy was older. The way he texted and the way he threatened Remus-

James: Threatened?

Christopher: Can this part be…anonymous?

James: Of course.

Christopher     Anonymous : I don’t get the sense that this “relationship” was consensual, if you know what I mean…The guy was constantly threatening Remus and demanding shit. Remus fought back, obviously, Remus never took anything lying down. But this guy….It was like he had Remus in this chokehold and wouldn’t let up.

James: Did you get any names throughout these texts?

Christopher: Nah. There was some mention of Lyall and some of Peter. Lots of threats.

James: What kind of threats?

Christopher: Things like how if Remus went to the police or dared to run away, Peter would take his place. 

James: And did you go to the police? I don’t remember seeing this in any of the reports?

Christopher: Of course not! Are you insane! Like we’d ever go to the police. We didn’t know nearly enough and we would have been dragged into the whole investigation whilst in the middle of mourning a friend and applying to colleges.

James: Okay. I have one more question. Erin Mckinnon, did she ever have a strained relationship with Remus?

Christopher: Sirius’s friend? The blonde one with blue highlights?

James: Yes.

Christopher: That chick hated Remus.

James: Really?

Christopher: Well. I guess she never said upfront that she hated him, especially after he disappeared but…She was downright obsessed with Sirius, always following after him like a lost lamb. I reckon she wasn’t a fan of Sirius being all in-love with Remus and shit.

James: And how did Remus feel?

Christopher: Remus didn’t give two shits about Erin. He definitely wasn’t a fan of one of those Mckinnons, though. I remember him going on about it.

James: Can you think who? Marlene? Fenrir? 

Christopher: That’s it! Fenrir. He was the English professor at Hogwarts, right?

James: Right.

Christopher: Yeah. Remus called him an asshole on at least one occasion.

James: Remus didn’t take English, though?

Christopher: Nah. He said it was a waste of his time. Then again, at this point he was pretty high up, if you know what I mean.

James: Can you elaborate on that?

Christopher: Remus was heavily into drugs and alcohol. It’s sad, really, cause he was the smartest fucker at that damn school.

James: Do you think he started the drugs and alcohol because of this older man?

Christopher: I never really thought about it but it’s definitely a possibility. It wasn’t until we were all 16 that he started getting into it. And now that I’m thinking about it, I remember him saying he did it to cope. So, yeah, it’s likely.

James: Okay, thank you. That’s all of my questions for now. 

James stared at the wall across from him. It was riddled with golden string, papers, clippings, and a harsh scrawl that James could hardly make out. The more he stared the more it started to blur together. 

“I can’t make sense of it,” he whispered, hands clawing at his hair. 

There was evidence, almost too much evidence. But for some reason, he couldn’t see past the blinding red paint. 

The door creaked open to reveal his mother. He hardly spared her a glance, too consumed by the wall.

“James? Are you okay, Mijo?” She knelt down in front of him, gently removing his hands from his hair.

James shook his head. “I- I have so much evidence, mum. I just can’t- I can’t put it together!”

She frowned, grasping his hand. “Tell me the new evidence you gathered. Maybe we can make sense of it together.”

“Well….I just finished my interview with Christopher-”

“I thought you had already had an interview with him?”

James smiled. “Right. So I just finished my second interview with Christopher. He revealed that Remus was, in fact, seeing an older man. However, this older man was threatening and demanding according to Chris who went through the messages between him and Remus. The name that Remus had him under was Wolf, by the way. I don’t know how that’s relevant but I feel like it is. I think Remus purposefully made this guy’s contact name Wolf, like it somehow related to his actual name or occupation or something. It’s like I can feel him, up above, staring down at me and urging me to put the fucking pedophile behind bars. I just know it’s a hint. I can feel it.”

She sat back on her heels, her face contemplative. “Is there anything else?”

James nodded. “Erin. Christopher said that Erin hated Remus, even if she never said it out loud. He made it clear that Erin was jealous of Remus and Remus didn’t care, at all.”

“Interesting,” she smiled. James knew she was only indulging him but it did make him feel better.

“Then! Then, Christopher said that Remus had a poor relationship with Fenrir!”

“Marlene’s foster dad?” she asked.

“Yes! He said that Remus called Fenrir an asshole on more than one occasion. And-” James paused, his face going as pale as a sheet.

“James?”

“I- I have a theory,” he said, his face shifting through a variety of emotions.

“Okay?”

“Just- Just hear me out, yeah?”

“I’ll always hear you out, Mijo.”

“Every time I’ve been around Fenrir, I’ve felt deeply uncomfortable. And, in my interview with him, he said that Sirius was quite the looker as a kid. So what if this older guy that’s threatening and demanding is Fenrir?”

“Wolf,” his mother’s eyes widened. “Fenrir is the name of a mythological wolf.”

James all but jumped out of his seat, running to the other side of the room. He skimmed the evidence until he found the suspect list and wrote Fenrir’s name in bold writing, underlining it several times with a small note next to it that Fenrir was dangerous.

“Remember to gather more evidence, Mijo. Don’t go ruin someone’s life based on small bits of information that you pieced together.”

“This is brilliant! Thanks mum!” He ran back to her and kissed her on the cheek. “I bet it was him!”

“You don’t know that so keep your assumptions and theories to yourself, yes?” She had a stern look in her eyes that left no room for negotiation.

James grinned. “I promise I’ll make sure I have all the facts.”

Chapter Text

“Let’s watch The Great British Bake Off!” Mary declared, snatching the remote from off the floor.

Marlene groaned, her head dropping onto James’s shoulder. “We’ve watched that a million times, Mare!”

Mary shot her a look. “Yes. And we will continue to watch it because it’s the greatest show ever created, got it?”

Marlene looked up at James for support but there was no way he was getting in the middle of this. Marlene may be stubborn but Mary had just got dumped, and nothing was scarier than a scorned woman, as the saying goes.

“Fine,” Marlene relented. “But! Next time we watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine!”

“Do I get a say in this?” James interjected. “Because if I do then I vote for How To Get Away With Murder.”

Mary rolled her eyes. “Of course you would pick that.”

James shrugged.

“Hey guys,” James turned to see Erin at the door holding snacks. “Figured I’d bring you up some snacks for movie night.”

They all thanked her in unison, taking the snacks and sitting them on the bed.  James couldn’t help but watch as she disappeared down the hallway. After the interviews he has had it’s difficult to not suspect Erin, at least on some level. It was made clear by multiple people that Erin was jealous of Remus and was in love with Sirius. That kind of thing was impossible to ignore.

Then there was Fenrir.

It was over three days ago that James had first discovered that Secret Older Guy may be Fenrir. His mother had been telling him nonstop since then to get all the facts. That was part of the reason why he was over at the McKinnons. Obviously he was there for their weekly movie night but also, to snoop.

“You can start without me, I’m just gonna go to the loo,” James said, untucking himself from the blanket.

“Boo!” Marlene threw a piece of popcorn at his head. 

James ducked out of the room, heading downstairs. He knew where Fenrir’s study was but had never been inside of it. From an early age, Fenrir had made it clear that none of them were to ever go inside of his office. Which might have been fair back then, considering they were sticky-handed kids but now? Why couldn’t they go in now? Maybe it was just Fenrir being a private person, or maybe it was because he was hiding something.

James cracked the door open, peeking through to make sure the man wasn’t inside. Empty.

The room was plain. A simple metal desk at the edge, just in front of a pair of windows. There were no books or anything that would make it a study. It was simply a room with a desk and a printer.

James walked over to the laptop sitting atop the desk. Opening it up, he found there was a password. “Fuck,” he swore. What was Erin’s birthday again? He typed in 0506, the girl’s birthdays and prayed. Incorrect. 

“Figures,” James snorted. Fenrir had never been the paternal type. It would have been more surprising if their birthdays were the correct password.

 Taking a chance, he typed in wolf with a capital W. Password accepted.

Well if that isn’t incriminating.

He went straight to settings, looking for where his printer was hooked up. There weren’t many previous print jobs but there was one from the day James went camping for Marlene’s birthday. He clicked reprint and waited.

“James hurry up!” Mary’s voice called from upstairs. 

He had to hurry. “Almost done!”

“Gross,” he heard Marlene call back. 

The printer started flashing a bright green light and a singular sheet of paper was shot out. James walked over to the printer, praying that it didn’t say what he thought it might.

STOP DIGGING JAMES.

Well, fuck.

He tucked the paper into his jeans to stick up on his wall later.

“James?” He whirled around, recognising the voice. At the door was Fenrir with a harsh look upon his face. “What are you doing here? I told you never to come in here!”

“Why did Remus Lupin call you an asshole?” he blurted out. Now you’ve done it, he thought to himself, grimacing. 

Fenrir eyes him before inclining his head towards the kitchen. “Come with me.”

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“Remus was bullying a young girl, a sweet young girl, and I had noticed it. Perhaps I was a little late but I still noticed it. So, being a teacher, I reported him. The blot went onto his permanent record and I don’t believe he ever forgave me for the slight.”

James raised an eyebrow. “He called you an asshole because you got him in trouble?”

Fenrir nodded.

James contemplated this. It was definitely a plausible answer. But that didn’t help that his password was the same name that this Secret Older Guy rapist went by on Remus’s phone. If only James could get his hands on that phone.

“Now I have a question for you,” Fenrir started.

James looked up, realising where this was going. Belatedly, it hit him that he was sitting at a table with what was, most likely, a rapist.

"Why were you in my study?”

James didn’t even think about his answer, knowing that any hesitation would be a sign of lying. “I was looking for you so I could ask you about the asshole thing. I was only in there for a few seconds when you walked in.” 

He crossed his fingers under the table, hoping Fenrir hadn’t noticed his printer was on.

Fenrir nodded. “Alright then. You should go back upstairs,” he stood up, grabbing his keys off the table. “I have to go but I’m sure I can trust you to stay out of my office from now on?”

James nodded, breathing out a sigh of relief when the man left.

“James!” Marlene called out. “Hurry the fuck up!”

“I’m coming, Marls, jeez.”