J.K. Rowling owns everything you recognize and I'm not making any money from this.

Six Days in Winter

"Professor?" The young woman stared at him, wide-eyed, like an animal cornered by a predator. He pressed his finger to his lips, and slowly extended his hand in a calming gesture.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said quietly. "I need you to come with me quickly and silently." She stood perfectly still except for the rapid rise and fall of her chest. Her eyes darted around the room looking for a means of escape. Finding none, she opened her mouth and inhaled sharply.

She fell to the ground, stunned, before the scream could escape her lips.

"I'm sorry that was necessary, Miss Parkinson." Remus Lupin sighed regretfully as he scooped the unconscious woman into his arms and Disapparated.

"How is our guest settling in, Remus?" Albus gestured to an empty seat, inviting Remus to sit down and join the meeting.

"Much better than I expected, actually." Remus gratefully accepted a cup of tea offered by Molly. "She didn't come willingly and she's frightened. But she's also calm and compliant."

"Naturally, she's Slytherin." Severus emerged from a shadowy corner in the kitchen of Number 12 Grimmauld Place and paced the length of the room. "Do not mistake the absence of hysteria for compliance. Her father is a Death Eater. Her husband-to-be is a Death Eater. Be assured, she's been coached on what to do in a dangerous situation. Her first order of business will be to fashion a weapon and to search for a means of escape." All eyes turned to the head of the table toward the sound of Alastor Moody's gravelly laugh.

"Snape's got the measure of her all right." Moody's magical eye spun madly in his head. "Even as we speak, she's doing a corner to corner search of the room." He paused for a moment, his eye glued to the ceiling, and then laughed. "Excellent! She's righting the room to cover her tracks." He leveled a stern look the younger members of the Order. "You'd do well to remember that if you find yourself in a similar situation. Can never be too careful. The devil's in the details."

"She can search all night if she pleases," Remus remarked, unconcerned. "She won't get past my wards without this." He removed a delicately tapered rosewood wand from his sleeve and handed it to Severus. "Is it sufficient?"

Severus examined the texture of the wood with his fingertips and tested the wand's balance in the palm of his hand. He closed his eyes and centered himself by drawing deep, even breaths, before placing the wand to his temple. Remus watched with interest as Severus drew a thick silver strand from his mind and quickly replaced it. "Severus?"

"It is sufficient, but just barely for the volume of thought we'll need to extract." He placed the wand in front of Remus and regarded him contemptuously. "Under the present circumstances, I sincerely doubt Miss Parkinson will be able to muster the concentration necessary to complete the task. This plan of yours is a waste of valuable time, Lupin." Remus slowly rose from his seat and met Severus's stare.

"And you believe your plan is preferable? What kind of person --"

"Gentlemen, sit down." Albus's voice was soft, but carried an air of authority that quieted not only Remus and Severus, but also the entire room. "Severus, we agreed that we would only use force as a last resort. However," he gazed somberly at Remus over the top of his half-moon glasses, "Severus is quite correct. Time is of the essence. If you are not able to obtain the information we need within the hour, we will have no choice but to proceed with Severus's plan." Remus nodded that he understood and rose from his chair.

"Then I'd best get started." He slid the rosewood wand up his sleeve and took his leave of the Order.

"Good Evening, Miss Parkinson." Remus entered the room where Pansy was being held without knocking. "I trust you're comfortable?"

"Take me home. Now."

Remus might have been offended by the haughty tone of the young Slytherin's command if her body had not been trembling with fear. He took a step toward her and she flinched, but quickly recovered her composure.

"I'm afraid that's not possible. You will be my guest for the next six days. I don't intend to harm you, but I do need your cooperation. Now, if you'll please take a seat right here…" Remus placed his hand on her shoulder and directed her to an armchair in the center of the room.

"Take your hands off me, you filthy animal!" Pansy spun away from his touch. "I know what you are. Stay away from me!"

"Yes, yes. I'm a werewolf," said Remus with a bored sigh. "However, Miss Parkinson -- May I call you Pansy? -- You can see that I'm certainly not filthy and I'm not an animal tonight. So if you please…" He gestured to the chair once more. Pansy stood frozen on the spot, her breath coming in short frightened pants.

"I don't take orders from beasts," she said through clenched teeth. Remus couldn't help but laugh at her arrogance.

"Beast?" he chuckled. "Surely you can do better than that, Pansy." She looked at him with eyes filled with fear and confusion, her mouth clamped firmly shut. Remus continued, "How about half-human, or mangy cur, or fleabag. There's a favorite." He smiled at her indulgently, as one would smile at a child who simply doesn't know any better. "We have the next six days to trade insults. Right now, I want you to sit down. We have much to do, and not much time to do it."

"I will not." She crossed her arms defiantly. Acutely aware of the time, Remus dropped all pretenses.

"I don't think you appreciate your position, Miss Parkinson. I require your memories. You can put them in a pensieve voluntarily, or I can call a Legilimens to take them from your forcibly. Either way, I will have what I need."

"Then call your Legilimens, because I'll never willingly assist you."

"As you wish." Remus moved toward the door. "But you should know that once the Legilimens enters the room your life is over. Once we have what we need, I will kill you to protect his identity." Pansy swallowed hard. His tone spoke volumes. She believed without reservation that he was telling her the truth.

"Then it's true what they say. You, and the others…you are murderers. You would kill me when you could simply Obliviate me?" Remus shook his head sadly and gestured to the chair once again. He was not at all surprised that she complied this time. Regrettably, death threats were an effective tool for gaining cooperation. He took the seat across from her and spoke to her in calming tones.

"Pansy, if you had paid attention to your studies you would know that there is nothing simple about an Obliviate. You wouldn't have access to your memories, but a skilled Legilimens with an idea of what he was looking for would have no trouble unearthing the information. We simply can't take that chance." Remus stood and paced in front of the hearth, carefully choosing his words. He had to make an impression on her and quickly. "This is a war, Pansy, and you are a bystander. I have no desire to make you a casualty, but the information in your mind could help us save many lives. Make no mistake; I will sacrifice your life to save many others. I need to know now, Pansy. Will you cooperate or not?"

She let out a deep sigh and cradled her forehead in her hands. Remus could see the cloak of arrogance fall away as she struggled with her decision. He willed himself to wait patiently for her to come to the conclusion that cooperation was truly her only option. When she finally did look up at him he was struck by how little she had changed from the thirteen-year-old girl he taught, who had flat out refused to face a boggart.

"But Professor," she pleaded, "I don't know anything."

"Don't worry about that. Just follow my directions and you'll be fine." Remus uttered a spell and retrieved a Pensieve from a magically concealed cupboard. He placed it on the table between the two armchairs. "Have you used a Pensieve before, Pansy?" She nodded her head. "Excellent, then this should be a simple exercise for you. Oh, but before we begin, I need to pull a hair from your head." She looked at him with an expression of confusion that suddenly sharpened with understanding.

"Polyjuice. You're going to have someone pretend to be me, and you need my memories so they can get away with it. That's it, isn't it?"

"Clever girl," Remus smiled. "You could have gone far if you'd applied yourself. That's also why you'll be my guest for the next six days. One Pansy out and about is enough, wouldn't you agree?" He stood behind her and pulled one hair from her head, doing his best to be gentle. He carefully folded the short dark hair into a piece of parchment and placed it in his pocket. "So, shall we begin?"

With a slight flick of his wrist, Remus dislodged her wand from his sleeve and slid it across the table that separated them. He smirked at her reaction as her fingers curled around the smooth wood. It was clear that Miss Parkinson was on the horns of a dilemma. He decided to make her decision a bit easier.

"You don't want cross wands with me, Pansy," he warned her kindly. She looked up at him, alarmed that he had read her so clearly.

"Of course not, Professor."

"Good girl. Let's get started." Remus rubbed his hands together, pleased that his plan was succeeding. "This is quite simple, really. I'm going to say a word and you're going to take the first thoughts that come to your mind and put them in the Pensieve. That's not difficult at all now, is it?"

"No sir."

"Good. The first word is 'friends'." Remus watched with concern as her face screwed in concentration before she brought the tip of her wand, shaking, to her temple. She pulled it away several times with no result. "No, Pansy. Pansy. Stop."

"I'm trying!" she cried.

"I know. I know you are. You're trying too hard. Just relax…. Take a few deep breaths…that's it…a few more…better now?" She nodded to him. "Good, let's try again. -- Friends."

Pansy's body shook and tears rolled down her cheeks when several more attempts to capture her thoughts failed, despite her best efforts. "I can't do this," she cried. "I'm trying so hard. I can't." Resigned, Remus took her wand from her hand.

"I know you tried. This isn't going to work. Just…try to calm down." Remus sat back in his chair and steepled his hands in front of his face. She was a non-combatant. There had to be a way to get what they needed from her without killing her. He simply wasn't ready to concede defeat to Severus. Time was short and his options were few.

He considered how even the simplest tasks became difficult when one was forced to perform under pressure. The poor girl was terrified and trying too hard. What could he do about that? A Cheering Charm was out of the question because it suppressed unpleasant emotions and memories. Her compliance wasn't an issue, so Imperious was useless. There had to be a solution. He pondered the situation for several minutes, far longer than he should have, and then suddenly snapped his fingers as the answer came to him. Wasting no time, he rose from his chair and moved to the door quickly.

"I'll be right back," he assured her. Pansy's screams, begging him to give her another chance, echoed in his ears as he shut and warded the door behind him and made his way down the hall. When he returned he found her sitting where he left her, hugging her knees and her eyes screwed tightly shut.

"Pansy, look at me."

"No."

"Pansy, you will look at me when I address you," Remus sternly warned her.

"If I don't see him, you won't kill me. Please let me try again. Please!

"No, Pansy," he gently reassured her. "You don't understand. I didn't bring a Legilimens. I brought you a calming draught. Here." He took her hand and pressed the flask into her palm. "Drink this and we'll try again."

Pansy peered at the flask in her hand and then ventured a look at Remus. Seeing that he was indeed alone, she uncapped the flask and brought it hesitantly to her lips.

"Go ahead, drink it. It won't hurt you. It's…well, it's from my personal stores." He felt a slight flush of embarrassment when she looked at him skeptically. Most people considered calming draughts to be a crutch used by the high-strung and the unbalanced. "I get edgy before my transformations. The draught helps."

"Oh, I see," Pansy answered hesitantly. Her discomfort with being reminded of his condition was not lost on Remus. He watched as she tipped the contents of the flask into her mouth and grimaced at the acrid taste of the thick gray fluid. He observed her closely, and in a few short moments she held him in a calm, steady gaze.

"Are you ready to try again?"

"Yes, please." Her voice was steady and assured. They proceeded through his list of one hundred and sixty words in just over an hour. Their task complete, Remus took her wand and picked up the Pensieve.

"Thank you, Pansy. I hope that wasn't too unpleasant for you. Perhaps one day you'll even be glad you did it. Rest. I'll bring a meal to you shortly." She didn't speak, but he could see her profound sense of relief in her eyes and in her posture. It was clear to him that she was grateful to come out of the experience alive.

"You're twenty minutes late, Lupin."

"I'm aware of the time, Severus." Remus placed the Pensieve on the table. "I think you'll agree that the quality and quantity of the information I was able to retrieve because she was cooperative was well worth a twenty minute wait."

Severus peered into the Pensieve skeptically. "That remains to be seen. I trust you remembered --" Remus handed Severus the packet containing the hair from Pansy's head before he could complete his sentence. "Very well then," the Potion's Master stated in a clipped tone, "I'll be back at dawn with the potion. If you begin immediately, Madam Vance might have time to sort through enough of Miss Parkinson's memories to credibly pass herself off as the girl. Lucius Malfoy won't be charitable if he discovers the ruse."

"Thank you for that timely reminder, Severus," said Albus, putting an end to the discussion. "Once again, you are correct. There is much to do, and little time. So, I believe everyone knows what to do…" The men and women of the Order scurried into action after Albus gave a significant look to them all. Albus took the Pensieve and retreated to a quiet study to prepare Emmeline for the mission.

Remus sat alone at the table looking at his hands. His work was done, and he wasn't exactly sure what to do next. He was used to being the busy one, the one out in the field taking the risks. His role in this mission was a disappointment. He was simply a babysitter -- a jailer to a frightened, pampered, pureblood child. He sighed deeply and resigned himself to a tedious week.