Thanks to Firefly for helping me, and to Lynn and Jordi for looking over/betaing. :)

I hope you all enjoy this - I'm not used to writing darker fics.

Written for:

Ultimate Battle - prompt: Historical!AU

The Art of (Black) Murder

Based on Jack the Ripper

Jack the Ripper (also known as the Whitechapel Killer) was one of the first documented serial-killers. He killed back in 1888 and his identity was never discovered. There is information in here that is accurate - the descriptions of the suspect for example and the suspicions over people in certain professions. Of course a lot is altered for this story.

Warning: Torture/Murder

Remus Lupin sat at his desk, glancing around him. All the Policemen were on edge, worried that at any moment they would see their Chief walking in with the same look in his eyes as with the other cases.

That would mean that there had been another death, another murder.

There would be another long-winded examination and investigation to work out if the case was Jack the Ripper or not. There were too many copycats, too many inconsistencies to truly know. Experts arguing with each other, fighting over it.

Remus pulled open a file on the information they contained on the killer. He wasn't as fond of the nickname Jack-the-Ripper, much preferring the Whitechapel Killer, but that's what the media had begun to refer to the killer as. Various sightings proved unhelpful as one man said he had dark hair and an upper-class appearance, another said a shabby appearance with light hair.

No-one seemed to have a clear idea as to what the man actually looked like.

Remus read through the files. Despite the various arrests, there seemed to be no true leads. Remus wondered if they would ever work out the killer's identity, but, so far, it was looking like they didn't have the means.

The door burst open, the Chief of the investigation striding through, demanding everyone's attention. The whispers started again: had there been another murder?

...oOo...

Remus listened in fascination as Chief William Stewart talked about the results and the suspicions that the team had come up with.

It was someone local, the Chief suspected. There was even a possibility that it was an educated upper-class man, maybe a doctor or aristocrat.

The intimidating man looked around at the officers, his eyes lingering on each of them in turn. "The removal of internal organs was very precise," he informed them. "It's as though it had been done by someone with some surgical knowledge. But we need to address the bodies that have been chopped up too. We need to work out whether they were done by the same killer."

Remus frowned slightly. He didn't believe they were done by the same person at all. They were just two very different styles. He wasn't high enough in the chain to be allowed to properly voice his opinions to the chief, so he stayed silent.

"So we would also need a list of butchers, slaughterhouses, anything similar. A list of workers at each place," the chief stated.

He listened to the man bark orders for any surgeons and physicians to be rounded up and brought in for questioning.

Then he was gone and Remus turned back to the folder, looking for any clues at all that would give away the killer's identity.

...oOo...

His hair blew slightly in the breeze as he walked over, a charming smile on his face. The girls know of the risks, but he didn't appear threatening at all to them. He was pleasant, he was smooth. He didn't look like he could hurt them.

He was friendly, his voice soft and reassuring.

They didn't realise that this was all a killer needed to do to make his prey feel safe - to have the courage to go with him. To get them where he wanted them - not that he needed to use soft words - not after the whisper of 'Imperio'.

They didn't realise they were just sheep, being led to a wolf for slaughter.

Things changed quickly, and they weren't in control. They would deny to themselves that they eagerly followed orders, dazed and not able to refuse. Especially upon sight of the strange wooden stick the man wielded.

Grey eyes regarding them in cruel amusement, as they lay themselves down on the table, before they suddenly came to their senses. They found they couldn't move as more strange words fell from his lips.

But it wasn't the strange language that they feared - it was the hand that held the silver knife against their throat.

They pleaded, begging for their lives, their gaze meeting soft, calm eyes seconds before the silver knife dug in, cutting from right to left in a quick, swift motion.

Their head rolled to the side, and their last sight was the man's grey eyes filled with excitement, watching them from the other side of the room, as the life left their bodies.

Only then did the dark-haired man get to work.

...oOo...

The whole of London was on edge, watching the papers, listening for any whisper of the Whitechapel Murderer; or Jack the Ripper as he was now known. Another body had been found in the early hours of that morning.

A handful of men fitting a description had been rounded up. Ones who seemed to have no suitable alibis for the previous night.

That's where Remus found himself - standing in the doorway leading to the cells, his gaze shifting between the four men.

Two of them were slightly shabby looking. One had a beard that needed trimming, one man's clothes were slightly patchy. Neither of them looked like killers to Remus - a bit rough around the edges, but not killers. His gaze moved to the third man, a man who was looking at the first two with thinly-veiled disgust, his suit immaculate and his dark hair pulled back tidily.

It was the forth that demanded Remus' attention. When Remus finally moved his gaze over, the man met it, his amused grey eyes looking Remus over, before an eyebrow raised and a smirk fell on his lips.

Remus raised an eyebrow back. Looking the part of an aristocrat, with his expensive clothes and hat, sat the powerful pure-blood, Sirius Black.

...oOo...

There was something breathtaking in the scream. Not just any scream - he liked the scream as they felt the knife begin to pierce their neck. The sound they made as the knife slashed beautifully through the skin, leaving a red-trail behind.

He didn't much care about the fear in their eyes - they thought if they begged and looked scared, he would give in and free them. But fear made it better. He liked watching them, listening to them. They could be as loud as they wanted - he had silencing charms on his side - that and a Muggle repellent. No-one would disturb them.

He calmly observed the blood flowing from the tidy wound across her neck, taking a moment to admire his handiwork. before deciding where to start first.

Swiftly moving around the body, he pulled the clothes out of his way, smiling softly to himself as he worked. It wasn't the art he was used to, unfortunately.

He didn't have much time, but he wanted them to know that he had struck again.

Muggle policemen were such fools!

...oOo...

London was still reeling from the news of the murder that morning. What they hadn't expected was a second murder the very same day.

The body had been left out in the open, yet not one person saw a single thing. There were no witnesses, the reports only mentioned that the body hadn't been there, and then suddenly it was. It was like magic.

The police had no idea what to do. All they knew was that the four men that had been taken into custody for questioning, had to be innocent. Their valuables were returned to them, even the odd stick that one of the men carried.

...oOo...

Remus had headed straight back upstairs to the office after looking in at the prisoners. His time had mostly been spent reading through the reports, apart from the time he was in the storage cupboard.

"Another body," came the announcement, Remus' head shot up at the news.

"Any leads?" he called back. "Witnesses?"

"Nothing, it's like the body just appeared out of thin air. All that people registered was a loud cracking sound before the body appeared and another loud one just after they found her."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Wonder what that noise could have been?" he murmured, turning back to his reports.

He knew that the police was full of Muggles. He would be the only one to know the sound.

Apparation.

...oOo...

The body was easy to conceal and move. Magic made the process easier. Not that he used magic when slicing the body - it was more enjoyable to feel the blood flow through his fingers.

A drink of polyjuice to be on the safe side, and he didn't look like himself anymore. Shaggy hair was replaced with dark brown waves. Soft eyes were now stunning blue. Spells relied on focus and he didn't know if he could keep it up, knowing what he was about to see!

He disillusioned the both of them, before apparating to the centre of town. The corpse was laid out carefully, before he took the disillusionment charm off the body alone, quickly moving out of the way.

He listened to the screams as the body was discovered and watched for a long moment, before apparating back and drinking a second potion with his own hair inside. No-one would even know he had left.

He had known that they were watching Sirius - but they wouldn't any more - Sirius had been locked up during the murder, therefore in their eyes, he was innocent.

Yes, they could have obliviated people, but this way was much more enjoyable.

...oOo...

Two men walked down the street, the backs of their hands brushing each other's with almost every step.

Had they been alone, their hands would be tightly grasped together. Had they been at one of their homes, their hands would no doubt be running over every inch of each other's bodies. But out on the streets, well, Muggles weren't very accepting to two men being together.

Their gaze moved over the people around them. There were very few people around in the evenings and people weren't meeting their gaze, instead they were hurrying home to the false sense of security their homes offered.

After all, one of the girls had been found in her own bed! What home was truly safe? Especially to those that held magic, able to open a lock with a single word. Able to set Muggle-repellent wards, silencing charms and so much more. No-one was safe once they had been chosen.

One man froze, the other stopping quickly, following his companion's gaze. The man with the fair hair stared at a woman standing half in the shadows, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"That one?" the second man murmured, his fingers moving to push dark hair from his face. "Are you sure that's the one you want?" He was eager, his gaze darting between his companion and the woman in excitement.

The first man nodded his head. "You want her too, Sirius?"

Sirius licked his lips, his fingers eager to reach for his wand to stupify her right there. "I want to give her to you," he whispered, his voice little more than a growl. He moved his hand away from his wand, it wouldn't do to get caught again. They had already proven his innocence after all.

He turned his head to look at his companion. His excited grey eyes met a pair of soft amber eyes. He wondered how Remus could be so calm with the girl right there!

"Calm down," Remus murmured, walking straight past the target, with a deep breath to gain her scent. Satisfied that he would be able to track her home that night, the two men continued walking. "If you calm down, I'll let you do the honours of slitting her throat. You are too excitable; the last girl's throat was a mess." He spoke fondly, letting his fingers brush Sirius' hand.

"Not like you, love," Sirius replied adoringly. "I love watching the way your hands move. It's like poetry."

"I prefer seeing how inventive and creative you can be with the knife," Remus murmured in response. "It's like art, the way you work. I should have expected that when I allowed you the silver knife."

Sirius swallowed thickly, his head moving up and down. "It was just so beautiful," he said. "I couldn't stop myself."

"I'll teach you," Remus promised. "Now, let's go and relieve some tension, so we're relaxed for when we return."

Review Please - let me know at what point you began to suspect Remus was more involved. :)