Author's Note: Ciao everybody and thank you for stumbling into my story! It should be blatantly obvious to all at this stage in time, that I am NOT J.K Rowling. My work isn't anywhere near that good and I own none of the character's except Carmen who, as many of you clever people will note, was never an original Potter character and was never mentioned once in the Potter chronicles. So please sit back and enjoy, if you can, the following piece of Potter FICTION!
Chapter one: Clinging to a cruel memory...
"I don't see why we
need to keep following him. After all he'll be at school, and you
can hardly expect the teachers will be lenient about any of the
student's security, most particularly Harry's."
Carmen,
her chin in her hand sighed to herself, her focus slipping away from
the conversation, as she absentmindedly began to twirl a piece of
cotton from her dress round her fingers underneath the table.
Of course she knew she should be paying attention, she was an integral part of The Order of the Phoenix and could quite possibly be putting her life on the line. But it wasn't like the meetings they had in the original Order, like something out of a Hollywood action movie.
Back then she had
always been out, rescuing documents, stalking Death Eaters, fighting
duels, and still time for a heated romance or two! She had felt like
she was making a difference. Now all she seemed to do was sit and
listen, nothing felt like it was getting done. She supposed she
should be happy. If she wasn't out fighting no one was under
threat. But she could feel the impending danger grow everyday,
bubbling and growing larger and fiercer, like a pot of water on the
stove. She didn't like sitting back and letting it grow. It made
her nervous...
Suddenly she felt a soft hand on her shoulder.
"Darling?"
She looked up with a start at her husband
Remus, his hand on her shoulder, shaking her back into focus, and
noticed that the entire table was staring at her. Her cheeks flushed,
well as much someone whose cheeks were as olive brown as hers
could.
"Yes?"
"What do you think?" asked Mrs.
Weasley with a note of impatience. Carmen looked about a little
desperately.
"A-about?" she pushed, her voice quiet. Mrs.
Weasley let out a great 'Tuh!' of impatience.
"Do you
think someone should watch over Harry back at Hogwarts?" Remus
said, trying not to smile.
"Oh!" Carmen said, her face
dawning with comprehension, "Oh well, I don't know really. After
all Dumbledore is there, and you know he's the only one Voldemort,"
everyone flinched, "was ever afraid of. And it's not as if they
allow students to wander about after dark-"
"But Harry
always seems to find a way," interjected Mr. Weasley, "Remember
his first year and the Philosopher's Stone? And when the Chamber
was opened? And then 2 years ago when Pettigrew came back? All in all
he's found his way into the Forbidden Forest at least 4 or 5
times!"
"That is true," she sighed, "Then there was
the time Remus caught him sneaking into Hogsmeade. I always thought
it would be a great investment to install a video camera or two."
She added. "But I'll be there, I can keep an eye on him. And
surely given these particular circumstances-"
"The current
circumstances will have no affect whatsoever on Potter, he has no
regard for any rule or danger whether it be minor or major. One could
say he seems to believe he is a law unto himself."
Everyone
jumped a little as the sardonic voice of Severus Snape echoed from
the end of the table. It was the first time he had really spoken all
evening. He sat now, arms folded tightly across his chest in the semi
darkness at the end of the table. He always seemed cast in the
shadows. Or maybe he just attracted them. He flickered his cold, dark
eyes onto Carmen.
"Wouldn't you agree, Mrs. Lupin?" he
asked, placing a heavy amount on sarcasm on the word 'Mrs'.
Carmen felt Remus' body stiffen with anger next to her and grabbed
his hand under the table, squeezing it tight.
"Why should we
believe a thing you say about Harry?" Remus spat, "Even
Dumbledore knows you've got it in for that boy!"
"Remus!"
Carmen said warningly.
"Why don't you let your wife speak
for herself Lupin?" sneered Snape, his eyes flashing, "You may
have married her but you cannot control her beyond forbidding her to
speak to anyone outside the school."
"That's not in the
least bit true!" he shouted, rising to his feet.
"Isn't
it? After all the fuss you made when I spoke to her last year at the
Yule Ball?"
"What's a video camera?" Mr. Weasley interjected.
"Oh and we all know
what that conversation was about!" Remus hissed, his voice now
icy.
"What?" asked Mundungus. Carmen jumped to her
feet.
"Remus! Stop!" she demanded, starting to feel
embarrassed. Slowly she tried to look at Snape, not wanting to meet
his gaze. "No I don't think Harry is in the least bit arrogant
Severus. It's true he is what you might call a...mischief-maker,
but whenever he has bent the rules it has always been for some
greater good. It's not like he got up to put fireworks in the
toilet's or anything."
"I think Fred and George did that
in their 2nd year." Mr Weasley said absentmindedly.
"That
is enough! All of you!" Mrs. Weasley interjected shrilly. Now both
Remus and Snape were on their feet, glaring at one another, Carmen
looking warily from one to the other her entire face now flushed. "We
haven't anytime for this pointless bickering! I think we should
call it a night."
There was a pause following this
declaration in which all that could heard was the heavy breathing of
Snape and Lupin, there eyes still fixed on one another. Finally,
Snape turned and grabbed his black travelling cloak off the back of
his chair.
"Very well." He said curtly, "I shall be here
tomorrow." And with that he strode from the room, all eyes fixed on
him as he left.
"Right," Mrs. Weasley said after another
slight pause, "I best go bring the children down for dinner." As
she left the scrape of chairs followed, as everyone dispersed and
began chatting, leaving Lupin still staring at the doorway.
Carmen
softly rubbed his shoulder, placing a kiss on his cheek, but it was
no use. He shrugged off her hand and headed for the Drawing Room,
Sirius following after him. She sighed and sank back down onto her
chair, her forehead in her shaky hand.
"Are you sure you're OK?" Mr. Weasley asked softly. Carmen managed to give him a weary smile.
"Yes. Yes don't worry about me." He smiled and made his way hastily to Mundungus before Mrs. Weasley noticed, who had started his pipe up again.
Carmen made sure everyone was occupied before slowly slipping out into the hallway.
Fastening the final buttons of his cloak about his throat, he shut his eyes tight and sighed with agony. It had been 17 years, and it still felt like a shard of glass in his heart whenever...no, he would not go through this again. It hadn't worked then it would certainly not work now. He would forget and if he had to, he would continue on, plunging into his work, twisting and writhing in his sleep, waking up sweaty and panting, until the day he died. But he would NOT lead himself to hope.
"Severus?"
Snape heard the gentle click of a woman's high-heeled shoes, followed by Carmen's sultry lilt. He slowly turned to face her, keeping his eyes cold and his face neutral.
"What did I ever do?" she had the distinct air of an animal protecting her young, her eyes fierce and hawk-like, her quivering voice betraying her front.
"It's not what you did," his voice was so quiet it was almost inaudible, keeping his mouth so tightly clenched, almost as if to stop himself from crying. But Severus wasn't that type of man as he had proved several times over, "It's what you didn't do."
"It wasn't what I wanted. It would have been far crueller to lie to you."
"Cruelty?" Snape asked, his voice now had a definite shake to it. "You don't know the meaning of the word cruelty!" And with a swish of his cape, he vanished out the door, into the waking night.
After
dinner Carmen made her way quietly up the stairs, passing Ginny and
Hermione's room as she went. She heard hushed voices and the
squeaking of bedsprings and smiled to herself. It seemed like Ron was
right. Ginny had immediately been filled in on what happened after
Mrs. Weasley thundered her from the room.
When she entered her
bedroom she quietly closed the door behind her and found Remus, in
his pyjama pants washing his face in the washbasin of the dresser.
Without a word she walked past him to fetch her nightgown and began
to change, he eyes never leaving her husband. When she began to slip
her nightgown over her head and let her chest-length black, curly
hair down, she finally spoke.
"You can't let him get to
you like that." She said quietly. Remus put down his towel and
sighed, then went to pull back the covers without saying a word.
Carmen took her place on the edge of her bed and continued to stare
hard at Remus, hoping to penetrate the answer from him. Finally he
spoke.
"I know I just...I don't want anything
like...well...I just don't want it to happen again."
"Nothing
happened." She told him firmly, "He just said that-"
"I
know what he said," Remus said shortly, "I don't want to be
reminded of it. But just that thought that he looks at you
and-"
"You can't stop him looking at me," she laughed
a little, "But nothing will come of it, he can't jinx me with his
eyes. Unless of course," she lowered her gaze, "You don't trust
me."
Remus who was now in bed, looked reproachfully at
Carmen, and pulled her gently to his side. "Of course I do," he
whispered, "I just, I don't like you being so close to him all
the time."
"Well unless I quit there's very little we
can do about that." She smiled, her heavy Sicilian accent lending
her words an alluring quality, "Just know that I love you."
"I
love you too." He smiled. He lifted her chin and kissed her gently
as Carmen wrapped her arms about his neck feeling at peace.
Hours
after Remus had finally dozed off, Carmen found herself still awake,
running through the events of the night, hell the events of the last
17 years. 17 years...
17 years since she had first joined the
Order.
17 years since she had met Remus Lupin.
17 years
since she had been sent on that dangerous mission.
17 years
since she had first met Severus Snape.
And 17 years since the
trouble had begun...
