Of Truth and Love
Chapter One
"We have finally acquired it, my lord," a dark-haired woman with a harsh voice said in a low, respectful tone.
"The prophecy?" a shrill voice hissed. The woman grinned evilly and nodded slowly, drawing a smallish turquoise orb from the sleeve of her robe.
"Do it," the shrill voice ordered, and upon his command the woman dropped the orb, letting it smash into a thousand pieces. A misty smoke rose and formed into the shape of a rather nondescript man who began to speak.
"The fall of Lord Grindelwald shall not be his end, for just this night his son was born to carry on his legacy. Only through the first nonmagic spawn in his lineage will the Dark Lord rise once again."
With that the smoky figure vanished.
"Well done Bellatrix," the shrill voice whispered.
"Anything for you, my lord Voldemort," Bellatrix replied with a deep bow and a smirk.
Gwendolyn Quackenbush sighed as she looked at the darkening sky from under the awning of the newspaper where she worked. She had originally applied there as a journalist but was hired as a "secretary", however she thought of herself more as a "mailroom monkey"; at least, that's how she was treated. The only things she really did were sorting files, delivering mail to their respective cubicles, and fetching coffee and doughnuts for the executives.
As Wendy began to walk (she couldn't afford bus fare, let alone a car; mailroom monkies don't earn much) the menacing black clouds finally let loose the torrent of rain they'd been holding back all afternoon with a tremendous roll of thunder.
"Perfect," she grumbled mordantly, bringing out her pink umbrella. The wind picked up considerably as she trudged on. She was having a battle keeping hold of her umbrella and lost, the wind claiming it and whipping it out of her hands and down the block.
"Fine! Take it then!" Wendy shouted to no one. She turned to keep walking, her long straight deep brown locks made wet and stringy within minutes, her clothes soaked through as well. In her mind she was grateful she'd decided against wearing that white blouse today.
By the time she arrived home she looked truly a fright, her hair and clothes sopping wet and windblown, her nose and her mascara running.
"You look horrible!"
"Hello Aunt Irene," Wendy said dully as her aunt opened the door to the small two level house where Wendy lived with her two spinster aunts, Irene and Agatha.
"Honestly, Wendy, how do you expect to ever find a man looking like that?" Agatha asked with distaste.
"That's easy, I don't expect to find a man!" Wendy replied, wringing out her hair. The excess water dripped right onto a fat calico cat which was sent away hissing disgruntledly. Lightning struck and the lights flickered. The aunts looked up from their cross-stitch agitatedly.
"I'm going to get some dinner," Wendy mumbled, heading into the tiny kitchen and opening the fridge. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the options before her: standard old lady food, complete with prune juice.
"I can't believe I'm a full-grown woman and still living with my aunts," she grumbled, shutting the fridge. It was then another lightning bolt flashed, followed by an ear-splitting crash of thunder that sent a different cat streaking past Wendy's feet. Then the lights went out completely.
"Wendy!"
The petulant cry uttered from both her aunts simultaneously sounded uncannily similar to the plaintive mews of their numerous felines.
"I know, I know, I'll go check the fuse box," Wendy said, grabbing the flashlight from atop the fridge, stumbling to find the front door, and heading reluctantly back into the downpour.
The door was sucked closed behind her in the crosswind and she was caught off-balance, falling to her knees in a pile of mud that was once the flower garden. She stood up with a stomach-turning squelching sound and made her way around to the back of the house in ankle-deep mud. It took her several minutes to get the slippery metal front of the fuse box open, then she was startled by an ear-splitting crack of thunder and dropped her flashlight in the mud. Letting out an exasperated cry she bent to look for it, then just gave up on the whole business completely and turned to go back inside. She had some candles in her room they could use, she thought as she turned to head inside.
But she couldn't move.
Her feet had sunk several inches into the mud, taking her at least ten minutes to free herself, and only without her shoes.
"Those were my favorite shoes, damn you!" she screeched at the mud, which only bubbled self-righteously back at her. With an angry cry she finally made her way back into the house.
"Are you sure this is the place?"
"Of course I'm sure- come on!"
With that the two figures approached the front door.
"What?" Agatha asked irritably, yanking open the door. "Oh! I'm sorry- I thought it was Wendy…" she said quickly when she saw the two hunched figures.
"I told you this was the right place," one muttered. The other spoke directly to Agatha.
"May we come in?"
"Well, I-"
But the two men (as it were) were too anxious to get out of the dousing rain to wait for a reply and simply pushed their way in.
"Aren't there any lights in this place?"
"Wendy's out checking the fuse box," Irene said irately, coming to see what strangers dared to intrude. "Now who are you?" She gasped as the lights suddenly went back on revealing two rain-soaked men- one with sandy hair, the other's black as midnight. The latter one was putting his wand away.
Instantly realizing (at least somewhat) what was going on Agatha reacted.
"Oh no! Out! Both of you out! We don't want any of your kind here!" she spat contemptuously.
"Excuse me ma'am but we're here to see Miss Gwendolyn Quackenbush!" the sandy haired man said offendedly.
"We are her legal guardians and we say out with you!" Irene squawked, pointing at the door.
"I believe a woman of her age can make her own decisions," the dark haired one replied curtly. "Now we have come to speak with Gwendolyn-"
"Speak to me about what?"
The sudden sound of Wendy's voice from the door made all of them jump, her entrance not heard above the storm and banter. She looked even worse for wear now with her skirt tangled and plastered around her thighs and her legs up to her knees coated in mud, shoeless.
"Nothing- these men were just leaving!" Agatha said tersely.
"No, these men just got here, meaning to speak to you," the dark one snapped.
"Well?" Wendy looked expectantly at the other man who had yet to do anything more than stare at her.
"Miss Quackenbush, perhaps you should sit down," the dark one said, turning to her.
"Not on my furniture she doesn't!" Agatha protested angrily. Wendy rolled her eyes.
"Fine," the dark man said tensely with a cold glare in Agatha's direction, then turned back to Wendy. "My name is Severus Snape, and this is my… colleague, Remus Lupin"- his lighter-haired partner bowed slightly with a half smile- "and we're here to ask if you wouldn't mind coming with us."
"What are you guys, Scotland Yard or something?" Wendy asked nervously, taking a step back and looking between the two men. Severus glared at her aunts.
"You haven't told her anything, have you?" he spat.
"Of course not!" Agatha spat right back. "After that happened to Adam and Kate? Never!"
"We wanted her to have nothing to do with…with… your kind!" Irene threw in.
"Their kind…? After what happened to my mum and dad?" Wendy demanded, looking to her aunts. But they remained as tight-lipped and scowling as ever.
"What do you know about your parents, Miss Quackenbush?" Remus asked softly. Wendy looked at him sharply.
"They died in a car crash when I was a baby." She replied, shocked to see him shake his head. Severus was still glaring at the aunts, his gaze glacier.
"Far from it," Remus went on. "Your parents were wizards, Miss Quackenbush, as are we." He indicated Severus and himself.
"What?!" Wendy looked at him like he was insane.
"It's true," Severus said gravely, turning back towards them. The aunts still stewed in their corner.
"I think I need to sit down," Wendy breathed bemusedly.
"Here, allow me-" Remus pulled out his wand and, giving it a wave, produced an overstuffed armchair right beneath Wendy's sinking bottom. She looked at his wand in alarm, then at the chair below her in surprise, jumping up with a cry.
"You are wizards!" she gasped. An incoherent murmur of disapproval sounded from the aunts, glaring from their corner.
"Please sit down Miss Quackenbush," Severus said. Wendy sank automatically, not taking her wide eyes from these two strangers. Remus knelt down by her left arm.
"You're parents were wizards… and they didn't die in a car crash," he spoke gently. Another titter arose from her aunts but they were now completely ignored.
"They were killed," he went on softly, looking at her meaningfully. Wendy looked down and was startled at the breath-taking shade of amber of his eyes.
"Who? Who would do that?" she demanded.
"Another group of wizards," Severus said after a pause. "A foul bunch. They call themselves the Death-eaters." Wendy looked back to Remus to see his eyes no longer met hers but were cast down at the floor.
"You see, Miss Quackenbush," Severus went on after another long pause, glaring swiftly at Remus, "Your parents worked with us- well, our… organization. We call ourselves the Order of the Phoenix, and have set ourselves against the Death-eaters."
"But what do you want with me?" Wendy finally asked after Remus still would not meet her eyes.
"We need you to come with us- for protection," Severus answered. "Once the Death-eaters discover who you are they will undoubtedly wish to kill you."
"What? Why?" Wendy asked, her head spinning. This was just too much at once.
"It's… well, it's… it's involved. We'll explain once we get you somewhere safe," he said quickly. "Remus, we've got to go." Remus finally looked up at hearing the urgency in his voice and stood to leave.
"You will not be taking her anywhere!" Irene suddenly shouted, reminding Wendy of their temporarily forgotten presence.
"I am afraid that since Miss Quackenbush is well beyond the legal age you have no say in the matter," Severus said coldly. Irene looked appalled but held her tongue.
"Please, you must come with us!"
Wendy turned and immediately saw the exigency in Remus's burning amber eyes.
"A-a-alright, I'll go," she stuttered startledly.
"Good, let's go," Severus said quickly as lightning flashed, opening the door and bolting outside. Remus turned in the doorway as Wendy hesitated, reaching his hand out to her.
"Don't you dare go out that door," Agatha hissed dangerously. Wendy looked between them, then to Remus, his eyes pleading and anxious. Slowly, she took his hand.
"Gwendolyn Frances Quackenbush you come back here this instant!" Irene shrieked.
But that was all Wendy heard as Remus's warm hand closed upon her own and he whisked her into the storm-tossed night, the door slamming shut behind them forever.
Please review? I don't care if you flame me- just please review? Look, the little button looks so lonely… one little click takes such little effort…
