Hi! Again, as with the last few stories I posted, this was written before HBP was published so things might not line up with the last two books. Also, though this is sort of a sequel to "The Calm" you don't need to read that story and there's a time lapse between them (sorry to anyone who was hoping I'd pick up right where I left off).

This story is complete and I will post a part a week until it's all online. It's nine parts plus the prologue and epilogue. Today I'm posting both the Prologue and Part One since the Prologue is rather short. Please note the story takes a little to really get going so please give it to the end of Chapter One before deciding whether to keep reading it or not. Thanks!

Title: Watching the Horizon

Author: Erika ()

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Sirius thinks he knows exactly what the curse of being a werewolf entails. Every month there's a full moon and during that full moon, Remus transforms into a wolf and is stripped of all human reason. But what if there's more to it than most people realize? And what if it's worse than Sirius could have imagined?

Timeframe: Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter are seventh-years.

Spoilers: For PoA

Category: Angst (trust me, this is seriously not a happy story), POV.

Disclaimers: Hogwarts and all of its characters belong to JK Rowling, I'm only borrowing them to have a little fun and I promise to return them unharmed (well, at least mostly unharmed =0). I'm making no money from this and this is written for entertainment purposes only. Any characters that are not recognizable as being part of the HP universe belong to me, but you guys probably figured that out, right?

Feedback: Both positive feedback and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated and will be cherished!

Archive: Please ask first. =)

My Website:

Author's Note: This is a sequel to the story "The Calm" (it takes place a couple weeks later) but it also stands alone. To understand all the references, you'd have to have read the aforementioned prequel, "Moonlit Perdition," the "Absolution" series, and "Injustice For All." However, I've tried my best to explain everything you need to know for this story. If you have specific questions, feel free to e-mail me!

Things enclosed in 's are italic

Watching the Horizon

~Prologue~

Sirius:

Everything was quiet when I entered the dormitory. James and Peter were waiting for me on the Quidditch field and Remus was probably in the library, studying. Immediately, I crossed the room and began searching through the pile of things at the foot of Prongs' bed. He needed the most recent issue of Quidditch Pro. It diagramed a new play that he wanted to try out during practice.

Shoveling through his haphazardly strewn clothes, I came across a stack of class books. I'd seen James looking through the magazine in Potions so it was probably tucked into the pages of his textbook… Yes! There it was. Hastily, I grabbed it and jumped to my feet. I was about to leave the room when I caught sight of an indistinct figure out of the corner of my eye.

Startled to find that someone else was here, I spun to face whoever it was.

Remus! He was standing in front of the window with his back facing me. I hadn't seen him before because he was completely motionless and I had been in a hurry. I was about to ask him if he wanted to join us on the Quidditch field when it occurred to me how unusual this situation was. It was daytime. Though Moony quite often stared in morose silence out the window he was always resignedly tracking the waxing of the moon.

Was something wrong?

"What are you doing?" I asked concernedly, wondering if he was all right.

Remus didn't immediately answer, nor did he turn to look at me or otherwise acknowledge my presence. I was beginning to wonder if he'd heard me at all when finally, he spoke, tone indecipherable and nearly inaudible. "I'm watching the horizon."

I didn't understand. "What are you looking for?"

Still, my friend did not move. "Have you ever heard of Banshee Vipers?" He didn't wait for me to respond. He knew I hadn't. "They're indigenous to Africa. They're extremely large birds of prey – some can actually reach dragon size. They get their name from the shape of their head, which resembles that of a viper, and from the wailing sound they make as they fly over their prey. The sound is so painful that humans immediately pass out. Some even die."

"Sound pretty dangerous," I commented. I didn't know what this had to do with 'watching the horizon' but was sure that Remus would explain in his own way.

"They are," he agreed. "Fortunately, they usually avoid humans and never travel in flocks unless they sense a storm forming. When they do, hundreds of them will gather and fly ahead of the approaching storm, screeching so loudly that they can be heard from miles away. The cry of that many Banshee Vipers is fatal." Remus fell silent.

I took half a step forward. This conversation was very…unsettling but I could not say why. Where was he going with all of this?

"When my uncle first began working in Africa, it was in the region where they are the most common," he continued almost tiredly. His uncle studied the possible existence of supposedly mythical creatures. "He constantly had to be on the lookout for them. Every morning, he would wake up and watch the horizon for signs of their approach. Every night, it was the last thing he did before going to sleep. The first time he saw them he didn't immediately realize what was happening. It was like a great cloud had fallen over the land."

Cold prickles covered my skin as I finally understood what Remus was referring to. "You're watching for Banshee Vipers?" I murmured, voice strangled.

"I'm watching for signs of the approaching storm."

I barely heard his words. My own thoughts and emotions were too overwhelming. Our first six years at Hogwarts had been so…carefree. Yes, things in the Wizarding world had constantly been worsening but for the most part the increasing disappearances had been easy to ignore while at school. It was strange how quickly things changed. Voldemort. He was gaining power. Every day, more and more people were turning to his cause. Every day, more and more people were turning up dead. Or not turning up at all.

Few were talking about it – fear was a powerful weapon – but it was obvious how much of a threat he posed. Too obvious to disregard. I wasn't sure exactly what the future held but I knew that it was something so terrible it was beyond my ability to imagine. It was something more horrible than Remus almost being executed when Evelyn Milay – a Hogwarts student – had been killed by a werewolf. It was something more horrible than James being hit in the head by a Bludger and nearly dying. An unshakable foreboding left no doubt in my mind. A storm was coming. Soon, we'd see the real warnings. Soon, we'd see the Banshee Vipers.

The entire Wizarding world was teetering on the brink of a precipice and yet there was a sick certainty that I felt in the depths of my heart. It told me that this approaching tempest would strike very close to me. I felt it in the quiet moments, moments I spent with my friends when no one was saying or doing anything of consequence. Sometimes I'd look at James or Remus or at James and Lily and I'd know…everything was going to shatter. I would know that somehow it was related to Voldemort, somehow it was related to the shadows that were descending over us all, though I didn't know how.

When the moments of certainty passed I'd be left with only confusion. What was I really worried about? Dark wizards? Voldemort? My friends? What storm was I waiting for? One that'd strike the entire Wizarding world or one that would only strike the Marauders? Or was it one storm that would encompass both? The moments of certainty told me it was both but the hours that followed those moments left me wondering. In the end I knew only one thing. The entire Wizarding world was teetering on the brink of a precipice. What would happen when it fell and why did I feel that my friends and I would be standing under it when it did?

Abruptly I realized that my grip on the magazine had tightened to the point where I was wrinkling the pages. Swallowing, I forced my hands to relax. When I raised my head I saw that Remus had turned to study me. Our gazes locked first in uneasy assessment and then in shared understanding. "Let me know if you see it coming," I requested weakly.

He nodded.