CHAPTER TWO:
Ghosts from the Past
Fera was currently holed up in her room chewing on a packet of soy sauce.
There was a large Chinese take-out box in her lap, filled to the brim with chicken chow mein, and she had been working at the sauce packet for several minutes now, as it seemed very unwilling to open. Every now and then she made small, unwilling growling noises, but the packet continued to win – that is, until her teeth finally manage to rip it open, causing the packet to empty dark brown sauce into her chow mein. Fera gazed at the take-out box in shock and wrinkled her nose, lifting a chopstick full of noodles to her mouth. She gagged loudly at the intensely salty taste and quickly spit the ruined noodles into a napkin, looking at the offending box with malice.
"Ugh," she groaned in disgust. "Noodles not so good after salt sauce." She pulled out her wand, pointing it at the box of noodles, and muttered, "Tergeo," carefully siphoning away the soy sauce from her food. She looked at it distastefully, wrinkling her nose. Not the same… "Alas, the feast is ruined," she said sadly, and set them aside. She rolled over from her side to her back, and reached out blindly on the bedspread. A thin, sleek square found her fingers, and she lifted it to her eyes dully. Two fifteen-year-olds looked up at her, one, a boy with messy black hair and silver-rimmed glasses and the other, a girl with shoulder-length brown hair and a mischievous smile. They were covered in mud and laughed as she watched them, and she sighed and tossed it towards the end of her bed with what little energy she had.
She hadn't left her room for hours now; actually, it had been a week, but only if one didn't count the trips to the bathroom and the two times she'd had to go to work. If she'd had it her way, she wouldn't have had to see anyone either, but that pesky brother of hers kept insisting on bothering her every few hours. Fera gazed steadily at the ceiling and frowned as the patterns in the white scalloping began to mix and merge. Avoidant. That word had continually reared its ugly head this week, and it had been echoing in her head for the last hours. Remus made good use of it at least once every time he stuck his head in to check on her, and he always used it in a tone that expressed his disapproval. Fera made a crude sound through her mouth and scoffed. Who needed his approval, anyway? Why did he think she should care if he was disappointed in her? Who was he, the Pope?
Except that she did care. And that so bugged her.
Fera sulked and chucked an unopened soy packet across the room. Stupid Remus. She paused and realized briefly that he had probably heard that, before she threw another soy packet as hard as she could at the wall.
What really made her angry was the way he looked at her with that… pity. He was her own brother, and he pitied her? What the hell was so pitiful about her? She narrowed her eyes angrily and flipped onto her stomach, crossing her arms over her pillow and using them as a pillow for her chin. He always thought he was sneaking those pitying looks at her, but she could feel them, and they infuriated her. Every time she felt that look, she wanted to spin around and deck him. And he probably knew it.
With a sigh, she buried her face in her pillows. All she wanted was to be alone. To be away from people, and memories, and the world. Was that such a difficult request? She didn't understand why she couldn't just wallow in peace. So she had retreated to her bedroom for a week. So she spent most of that time lying in a bed covered in pictures of her school days. Was that so wrong?
Well, that stupid little voice in the back of her head kept saying it was.
The stupid little voice would also occasionally pipe that Lily and James wouldn't have wanted her to dwell like she was.
Of course, there was a reason that tiny little voice didn't often add its input – its opinions never stood much of a chance with the much larger, more domineering part of her mind, and it would always be crushed by a gigantic fist of repression. Fera loved crushing that little voice. It gave her an intense feeling of satisfaction.
Still, even the domineering part of her sometimes took a look around at how messy her bedroom had gotten, and at the photographs strewn across her bedspread, and would start to feel a tiny pinprick of realization set in.
Fera sighed and dug her face into her pillow. She just wanted all the voices in her head to go away. Remus' voice, Lily's voice, James' voice, her own voice, all screaming at her all the time, all saying different things, and she couldn't get them to be quiet. For just a moment, she wanted to stop thinking. She wanted the sweet release of sleep. But she hadn't gotten a full night's sleep since Remus had dropped the bomb that Voldemort had returned. And it looked as though she was never going to get any sleep again.
There was a knock on her door and she groaned. "For Merlin's sake, Remus," she growled. "I told you to leave me alone."
The door opened nonetheless, and her brother's concerned face peered around it. She glared fiercely at him.
"Fey, I brought you food earlier, you can't tell me to leave this time." He let himself and shut the door behind him, and Fera angrily scrunched her knees to her chest. He sighed and sat beside her, clearing a space on the bed. They didn't speak for several long moments, Remus staring out the window contemplatively as Fera glared angrily at the wall. Finally Remus ran a hand through his hair and cleared his throat. "You're not going to lay about the house anymore, Fera," he said, and there was something in his tone that sounded very serious. Fera looked up at him incredulously, and he turned slowly to meet her eyes. She raised a brow.
"I'm sorry, what?" Her voice was challenging and abrasive, and more than a little ominous.
He closed his eyes momentarily and stood. "I'm not going to let you do it anymore. You've been cooped up in this room for a week and you've barely showered. You're done. You're going to get up, get dressed, and we're going out."
Fera glowered stormily at him, and her gaze was thunderous. She stood slowly to keep eye contact and set her jaw stonily. "And how are you going to make me do that, Remus?" she asked stiffly. Her muscled arms were tense at her sides and the set of her face was defiant. Remus met her gaze unabashedly.
"Don't give me that tough act crap, Fey," he snapped. She narrowed her eyes. "You know I'm not, and never will be, afraid of it. Save it for someone who will buy into it, but for now, be out of the shower in twenty minutes."
Furious, Fera gritted her teeth and stood fast, glaring fiercely at her brother, and he glared right back. For several moments played out their silent stand-off before Remus said in his famous, deadly calm voice, "Fera, don't make me prove how serious I am."
Fera gave him the tiniest of smirks and raised a brow challengingly, and Remus sighed, pulling his wand out of his pocket and pointing it towards the bed. Her eyes widened almost imperceptibly and he gave her a pointed look.
"I will destroy every single photograph on that bed if you don't start walking towards that shower in the next ten seconds," he said, his tone giving nothing away, but his eyes were grim and severe. Fera crossed her arms over her chest and didn't budge.
"Those are your pictures as well," she stated blandly. Remus raised a brow uninterestedly.
"Oh, really?" His wand did not move away from the bedspread. "Ten." Fera's brow furrowed ever so slightly, but she was positive he wouldn't burn them. He loved them just as much as she did.
But I don't survive off them,said his voice in her head, and her eyes glittered with hurt. "Nine. Eight." She glared at him.
I do not survive off them, she thought petulantly, and he did not shift his position whatsoever. "Five. Four. Three." Fera began to grit her teeth, and Remus' eyes were bright and stern. His wand arm never wavered. "Two." She screwed her eyes shut, but refused to move.
"One." Remus shook his head regretfully and raised his wand. "Incen – "
"All right!" Fera cried out, chewing her bottom lip, her eyes desperate. Remus lowered the smoldering tip of his wand, and tiny embers fluttered to the carpet and flickered out. Breathing hard, Fera gazed at her brother with shiny eyes full of hurt, and the silence that fell over them was poignant. Fera closed her eyes and looked away from her brother. "All right. You win. I'm going." She turned to her dresser and busied herself with finding a pair of jeans, and Remus took a step towards the bed and took one of the photos in his hands. He gazed at it with remorseful eyes, lightly pressing a thumb to the small faces on the print. He turned back to his twin just as she was slamming a drawer closed and stalking towards the bathroom door.
"Fera," he called to her, and she stopped and spun on her heel, looking at him with eyes full of fury and betrayal.
"What?" she snapped, and he held the picture up.
"These photos mean everything to me," he said quietly. Her face softened very slightly, but her eyes were still shiny with tears she refused to shed. "But… you mean more," he finished, his eyes full of meaning. Fera looked away from him and heaved a sigh. She was silent for a moment, and finally nodded, turning back to the bathroom. Remus began to round up the various photos on the bed, giving each only a passing glance and he retrieved their designated home, an old, worn shoebox, from the floor. He stacked them all neatly inside the box and carefully slid it underneath the bed, and turned his back to the grim reminders of the past.
Welcome home, Leigh thought glumly as she stepped out into the street, careful of the puddles forming from the rain. The sky was full of grey clouds, with the occasional thunder and lightning. How fitting. She sighed and quickly began looking for a taxi to take her to the Leaky Cauldron – or rather, the street it was on, since the place didn't actually exist to muggles.
To her relief, it did not take long to find one and she slid into the backseat. Gathering enough courage, she smiled at the driver as he climbed back into the car, her luggage safe in the trunk. Rattling off an address, she let her thoughts and memories take over.
Almost fifteen years, fifteen long years since she had been down these streets. Fifteen long years since she had done magic. A grin worked its way to her lips; well, maybe that not that long. She'd had trouble giving up magic. It was a part of who she was and who she would always be, and just the thought of it made her hand tingle, wanting to clutch her wand to her chest.
Nothing had truly changed, she realized – much to her pleasure. Looking out the window of the taxi, she leaned her forehead against it, basking in the coolness it brought. Her stomach was in knots. Soon she would be making her way to Diagon Alley, and then finding a way to Floo to Hogwarts – or at least Hogsmeade, for she didn't trust herself to apparate just yet. It had been fifteen years since she had tried that, and she didn't fancy splinching herself – that was all she needed. She could see it now, the Daily Prophet having an article about how she'd left an arm or a leg behind while trying to apparate after fifteen years.
Coming out of her thoughts as the car pulled up the curb, she quickly handed the driver his money, mentally praising herself for remembering to exchange some American money into pounds before she'd come back, and with a deep breath, she climbed out of the car. With her luggage in hand, she hurried through the people on the sidewalk trying to get out of the rain, and without a second glance, entered a pub. Not wanting to be noticed, she kept her head down, focusing on the pointed toe of her shoes and managing to remember the way to the back, to the brick wall she'd used to enter into the magical world so many times before.
"Well, here goes nothing," she mumbled to herself, reaching carefully into the bag on her shoulder and pulling out her wand. For a second, she stared at the smooth wooden stick in her hands, holding it as though it were a sacred object. In a way, it was; it was the core of her magic, as she'd always been terrible at wandless magic. 9 inches, cherry wood, with unicorn hair for the core…
The corners of her mouth lifted into the smallest smile, and as if the wand gave her strength, she lifted it without shaking hands, and tapped on the brick wall.
Up. One. Two. Three. Across. One. Two.
Up. One. Two. Three. Across. One. Two.
Up. One. Two. Three. Across. One. Two.
Her heart was beating wildly in her chest as the wall parted slowly, little by little showing a courtyard. And as though she were eleven years old once again, she couldn't help the excitement that began creeping up as she stepped through the entryway, the wall closing behind her. Letting go of her luggage for a moment, she searched through her bag for the cloak she had found and slipped into it. The soft green material felt familiar on her skin, making her shiver as she ran her fingers over the hood, and she slid it up and over her head to shadow her face. She didn't want to be noticed, and if she was, she didn't want to be recognized. Not yet.
Now, to find somewhere with a floo connection so that she could floo to Hogsmeade. The walk up to the castle would give her time to think, although she couldn't help but wonder if this would be for the better or the worse. It took some time, but she managed to find a fireplace, where she flooed to The Three Broomsticks. Much to her surprise, she stepped out of the fireplace without losing her balance – she'd managed it almost as well as she had all those years ago. Adjusting her hood, she was just about to sneak towards the door when she stumbled into someone.
"Oh, goodness! I'm sorry!" she said, reaching out to help steady herself and the body before her.
"Not to worry," assured a familiar female voice. "No harm done."
Madam Rosmerta turned around, a friendly smile on her lips, but still Leigh began to panic. Would she be recognized?
Rosmerta tipped her head slightly, trying to see beneath the hood. That voice sounded vaguely familiar to her. By chance, she managed to get a good look and her eyes widened. "No! It couldn't be!" Her hands went to her hips. "Is that Leigh Bledsoe under that hood?"
She could have lied and said that she hadn't the slightest idea whom the woman was talking about, but Leigh was a terrible liar. So with a weak smile she nodded. "Hello."
"I heard you ran off years ago! But here you are! In the flesh! Oh, the memories I have of you and that group of yours, the… what did they call themselves?" Leigh didn't have time to answer before Rosmerta had remembered. "Ah yes, the Marauders! Always good for a laugh, that lot!" She patted Leigh's arm. "Why don't you let me get you something to drink? On the house, as a toast to their dear souls."
Leigh frowned, unsure of what the woman meant. "I really would; however, I'm in a bit of a hurry. I have a meeting with the Headmaster and I would feel simply awful if I was late!" She hoped the woman bought it, for it even sounded fake to her own ears.
"I understand," Rosmerta smiled. "Maybe another time."
With a final goodbye, Leigh hurried onto the busy streets, hoping more than anything that she wouldn't be spotted again.
Fera had already been angry when they'd left the house, but now, she was angry and whiny, and she kept her arms crossed over her chest as she followed Remus down the sidewalk. Once she'd finished her shower and dressed, she had sulkily asked him where he had decided they were going, and that was the first time he had declined to tell her. Now, twenty minutes later, she was in the middle of London, trudging down the street in high-heeled boots, and she hadn't even been allowed to eat lunch. To say that she was annoyed was quite an understatement. Remus ignored more of her protests, or waved them off with a cryptic comment about how she'd see when they got there, and he didn't want to ruin the surprise. But he was also blocking her from his mind, and Fera got the sneaking suspicion that she was not going to like whatever this surprise was one bit.
She was putting her foot down, she decided. Quite literally. Fera stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and waited for her brother to notice her absence. He spun on his heel and gave her a questioning look, and she glowered at him. "I am not walking one more inch if you don't tell me where you're taking me, Remus John Lupin," she said sternly, and Remus gave an exasperated sigh.
"Fera," he groaned. "Can't you please just trust my judgment and not ask questions?" She gave him a funny look.
"Hell no," she said, as though this answer were obvious, and her brother couldn't help but chuckle.
"All right then," he conceded, and he took one step towards her and hefted her right over his shoulder, like a sack of potatoes. Fera yelped and beat as hard as she could against his back, and he didn't so much as flinch.
"Okay!" she yelled, smacking him upside the head. "Put me down, you stupid git! I'll follow you."
Remus grinned and let her down, and she straightened her sweater huffily, giving him a fierce glare. He raised a brow, and continued down the sidewalk, leaving her to trot after him in a brooding sulk.
The weather was definitely more cheerful today than it had been all week, and this unnerved Fera. There were some days that she just didn't trust the sun, as though it was only teasing her so that it could retract its warmth just as things got rough. Fera glanced around at the pedestrians who passed her on the streets, all of whom gave the two Lupins strange glances. She had never understood that. All their lives they had gotten just those sorts of looks, as though the people passing them somehow knew they were magical, or that they weren't quite normal even by magical standards. Fera gave these passersby equally strange looks, and they stepped around her warily, making her chuckle to herself. Remus gave her a scolding look and she grinned innocently at him. If he's going to force me to go out, I may as well make it difficult for him, she thought mischievously, and he looked back at her again, sending her the message that he had heard her thoughts. Fera rolled her eyes and looked about her, at the black taxis that sped by or at the enormous red buses. She was starting to get a strange, tingling sensation, something deep within her body that was telling her that she had been here before, or that there was something about her surroundings that was oddly familiar. She furrowed her brow and looked around her for any sort of street marker or establishing landmark.
She didn't think she recognized this place… Of course, that was the problem with London – everywhere you went you had the vague feeling you'd been there before, and yet everything always seemed new. Fera screwed up her brow in thought, it was about the time that Remus stopped walking that she realized where they were.
"Remus," she said sharply, looking at the streets beside her. "You better hope we're not where I think we ar – oof!" Her threat was cut short by the wind being sufficiently knocked out of her lungs as she ran headlong into her brother. She gave him a glare and he suppressed a grin.
"Sorry."
She shook her head and looked up at the buildings he'd been focusing on. Sure enough, she was looking up at Number 11 and Number 13, Grimmauld Place. She turned to give her brother a fierce glare. "I don't know what we're doing here, but no matter the outcome, you're in serious trouble," she growled angrily, and he rolled his eyes.
"Fera, please. I brought you here for a reason. This… this is the new Order headquarters." She gazed at him incredulously. "I just want you to come inside, see everybody again, talk to Dumbledore." She was already shaking her head and he placed to firm hands on her shoulders. "Fera, I'm not giving you a choice. I want you to give it a try. And if you still say no after this, I'll leave you alone."
Fera was still shaking her head, and she stared in horror at the building that was slowly appearing between 11 and 13. There was absolutely no way she would set foot inside that house. No way in hell was she going to let him trick her into entering the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Fera turned on her heel and stalked away from her brother, furious. Remus gave a very audible groan from behind her and trotted after. He seemed to be doing quite a lot of that lately.
"Be reasonable, Fey," he protested as he caught up to her, grabbing her arm. She spun wildly on him, and her eyes glinted threateningly. She wrenched her arm from his grip and held her face close to his, her fury radiating from her in waves.
"This is too far, Remus," she snapped. Remus sighed, biting his lip to keep from interrupting her. "You told me to trust you, so that you could bring me to a place you know I'd rather be dead than set foot in! You knew how I'd react, and you did it anyway!" Her voice was shrill and full of hurt, and he could see the betrayal in her eyes. He looked down at the sidewalk guiltily, and Fera's jaw set coldly, her eyes scanning his face. "I can't believe you actually expect me to give this a try after that," she said, her tone finite. Remus looked back up at her as she turned away from him once more and began to walk away.
"I suppose I never thought you'd go to such great lengths to run away," he called to her. She stopped walking and stood still, her body rigid. Remus took a deep breath, but this time he didn't try to catch up to her.
"You've spent the last fourteen years running from the past, Fera," he said, quietly but not pulling any punches. "And yet for someone who is always running away, you just can't let go."
Remus gazed at her with eyes full of emotion. She didn't turn to look at him, but instead stared steadily the lamp post in front of her. He had tricked her into doing something she was absolutely terrified of doing, and now he was telling her that it was she who was in the wrong. She gritted her teeth. And yet, his words had struck a note within her, and there was a little nagging thought at the edge of her mind that told her he was right. Her eyes felt wet, and she roughly wiped them on the sleeve of her sweater. She thought of all the faces she could be expected to see if she walked into that building… old friends, old coworkers – old comrades. And then they were ploughed over by the faces of those she had worked with, and would never see again – the Prewetts, Caradoc Dearborn, Marlene McKinnon… these were people she had known well, and had thought highly of – and they'd been destroyed brutally by Voldemort and his followers so many years ago.
Lily and James Potter…
Their kind and smiling faces appeared in her mind, and she tried to shut them out. But they were persistent. Lily's emerald eyes, so full of compassion and love; James' mischievous grin, and that wink he had always saved, just for her. She stifled a sob and put her head in her hands. She spent so much time and energy trying not to think about them that, inevitably, they became all she thought about anyway. Remus had a point – for someone who tried so hard not to think about her past, she focused on it very hard. Perhaps it was time to face her demons, instead of running from them all her life. Because when was the last time she had felt anything resembling happiness? When was the last time a smile had reached her eyes? She swallowed the sobs that threatened to wrench from her throat and looked up at the grim building that had once been the Black family residence.
Voldemort had taken so much from her – so much from everyone. And she had spent so many years hating him, hating what he had done. So many years being so angry, and so full of unfulfilled thoughts of the many violent things she could do to Peter Pettigrew… But lying awake at night, thinking all these things, was one thing. Here was a chance to be a part of Voldemort's enemies. To play an actual role in destroying him. And she was running, yet again.
Fera turned to face Remus, who was looking at her with eyes full of compassion and love. She took a deep breath and met his eyes.
"I'll go inside," she said hesitantly. Her brother's golden eyes lit up with hope, and she gave him a stern look. "I'm not making any promises," she warned him sternly. He gave her that slight smile he always did when he felt he knew something she didn't, and she rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but give a tiny smile at the wave of exuberance she felt emanating from her brother. She had forgotten to take him into account on this matter, she realized. Remus had been offered a chance to be working toward something, to play an active role in the Wizarding world once again, and she hadn't thought about how happy that would make him; Fera bit her lip regretfully, but felt a wave of reassurance from her brother as he glanced over at her. No worries, Sis, he thought serenely. She smiled at him, a genuine smile for the first time that week, and he took her hand and led her up the steps.
It was at the door that she realized that she wasn't the only one who was very nervous about this. Remus took a deep, steadying breath, and she looked at him oddly. I thought you'd already been over here, she thought curiously. He looked at her and shrugged.
Well… I hate to tell you, but it doesn't get easier right away, he replied matter-of-factly. Fera sighed deeply.
Let's just get this over with, she thought, and Remus chuckled, pushing open the door.
Fera had only ever been inside this house once in her life, and it had been stifling and horrid then. But now, to say even that would have been positive. The foyer was dank and dingy and full of cobwebs. Grotesque silver statues of snakes and gargoyles hung from the light fixtures, which were lit only very dimly, and the wallpaper was dirty and peeling. She furrowed her brow as she looked around, and the floorboards, which were cracked and grey with age, squeaked underneath her feet. Remus tapped her on the arm and pointed towards a large door with a hideous silver knob, and then held a finger to his lips, gesturing for her to be silent. She looked at him quizzically, but followed him.
The door opened to a large kitchen with an enormous, dingy table in the middle of it. Many of the chairs for this table were missing, but the few that remained were high-backed and made of, of course, silver, with intricate designs on the legs and back. The kitchen looked positively unused, and some of the cupboards were hanging off their hinges. It was perhaps the saddest thing Fera had ever seen, and Remus looked over at her in amusement.
Try not to worry about this kitchen. Nobody's used it to cook in years, he told her in a comforting tone. She looked at him in alarm.
And that's not sad how? she asked in amazement. Remus chuckled and Fera turned away from the sad sight of the cupboards.
"Well, this place is lively," she remarked. Remus quickly shushed her, looking about in alarm, and she looked at him very strangely. I don't understand. You said this was Order headquarters, yet there's nobody here, and I have to be absolutely silent? Remus didn't look as though he knew much more than she did, and he pushed open another door, which seemed to lead to some sort of sitting room.
There were quite a few people here last time I was here, Remus told her, his tone confused.
Fera looked up in alarm at the sound of footsteps on the stairs in the foyer, and she looked at Remus helplessly. He shook his head and popped his head out the kitchen door, and a look of confusion crossed his face. Fera peered around the doorway, and saw a tall, muscled, man who looked to be roughly in his mid-forties making his way down the stairs. He had short blond hair and a handsome, careworn face that struck a note of familiarity in Fera, but she couldn't place where she may have seen him before. He looked up as he reached the bottom of the stairs and, noticing them in the doorway, looked slightly confused as well, and he pointed to the kitchen. The two Lupins backed away from the doorway and the man stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. He stopped and crossed his arms, giving them the once-over before shaking his head.
"I'm sorry; I guess I don't know you. Are you here looking for Dumbledore?" he asked. His voice was muted, but friendly. Remus nodded.
"I was here a few days ago, talking to Dumbledore about joining the Order. I told him I'd come back today," he replied. The man looked slightly surprised.
"You haven't even become a member yet and they've shown you the location?" He raised his eyebrows and looked impressed. "Dumbledore must trust you a lot."
Remus shrugged and held out a hand. "I'm Remus Lupin," he said, his voice friendly. "And this is my sister, Fera."
The man didn't shake Remus' hand, but looked at the two of them in amazement. Fera furrowed her brow and eyed him warily. "Bloody hell, you are," he said in an astounded tone. Remus looked confused. The man looked the two of them over and laughed. "Bloo-dy hell," he repeated.
"I'm sorry, do we know you?" her brother asked, and the man clapped him on the shoulder jovially.
"You don't recognize me?" he asked, the laughter remaining in his voice. Fera blinked and her jaw dropped.
"Fera? Remus? Can I see you both, please?" Fera looked up at the sound of her father's mild voice, and she bit her lip, wondering for a moment whether she should obey him. She stood and trudged to the door, poking her head out of it and looking down the hall. Another brown head of hair was poking out of the door next to hers, and she met her brother's amber eyes questioningly. He shrugged and, together, they made their way down the stairs. Bastian Lupin was standing at the bottom of them, and his ragged face looked almost… happy. Fera couldn't help but scowl at him, and Remus looked sad and forlorn.
"What?" she asked impertinently and her father gave her a stern look of warning. He put a hand on both his children's backs and gave them a gentle push towards the kitchen, where a very strange young man was standing, looking about the kitchen with a curious look on his face. He was dressed in the oddest clothes Fera had ever seen. He wore a white tee shirt over a revoltingly multicolored sweater, bright blue shorts with a yellow scarf tied round the waist, and shiny black loafers. To top this all off, bright blonde hair assaulted her eyes from underneath a tall black top hat with a fervor she'd seen on no head before. Startled, Fera asked rather loudly, "Who's he?" The man turned to her and grinned while her father looked rather alarmed at her rudeness.
"'Allo, little miss," he said kindly. "I suppose you'll be Fera, then, right?" Fera narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him and he chuckled. Her eye twitched. She hated adults who pretended they thought everything she did was cute, or funny.
"Fera, Remus, this is Mr. Owen Thackett." Her father smiled rather conspiratorially. "He's going to take us shopping." Both of the young Lupins gave him a baffled look, and he laughed. "Do either of you remember Diagon Alley? Your mother used to take you there." Remus' face brightened.
"Isn't that the place with all the floating things and people wearing funny hats?" he asked with a slight grin. Thackett grinned at him and flicked his own hat.
"Like this'n, you mean?" he asked with a wink. Remus nodded. "That's the one."
"Why are we going there?" asked Fera, and her harsh and rather petulant tone had disappeared. Now, she was merely confused and a little excited, and couldn't help but wonder whether she would be able to chant her much-beloved "I was right" song at Remus. Their father smiled.
"We're going to shop for your school things," he said. Remus looked confused and Bastian's smile only grew. "Both of you." Fera smiled toothily and Remus looked disbelieving.
"Did the Headmaster…?"
"He got my letter, and he said he can have something arranged for you, my son."
Remus couldn't have time to be happy or surprised, for Fera, with a loud whoop, grabbed both his arms and swung him happily around the room. And of course, she didn't neglect the song that needed to be sung. "I told you, I told you, you didn't believe me but I told you!" Bastian laughed at the absurdity of it all and grabbed them both as they swung by.
"Come now, save it for later. I believe Mr. Thackett's in a hurry – " he ignored Thackett's head shake, " – so let's just follow him and get this done, all right?" The twins nodded at him, but they bounced on the balls of their feet in poorly contained excitement.
"You know, Mr. Lupin, you can just call me Owen," Thackett said suddenly. Bastian smiled and nodded at him. "All right, then," Thackett announced. "Now, shall we off, or do you have a pet rock you need to bring along?" His grin was teasing, and the twins laughed good-naturedly and shook their heads. "Right then! Here's what I want you to do…"
Fera gazed at the man before her in awe. "Mr. Thackett," she blurted, and he laughed, nodding. Comprehension dawned on Remus' face and he looked at Thackett oddly.
"But what are you doing here?" he asked, his face confused. Thackett smiled, and Fera was surprised to see that the strange, cheerful young man that had arrived at their home twenty-four years ago had changed quite a bit. There was a quality of worldliness to him now, a sage quality that one only achieved from years of war or battle. She tilted her head curiously.
"I'm one of the head Aurors with the Ministry," he replied simply. "I joined the Order with Kingsley Shacklebolt." He scanned the two Lupins carefully for a moment and shook his head. "You're definitely not eleven years old anymore, are you?" It was less a question than an observation and they shrugged simultaneously. "That innocence is gone from your eyes," he remarked quietly. Fera met his brown eyes.
"I could say the same about you, Mr. Thackett," she said, and her tone was soft, but matter-of-fact. Thackett smiled and nodded.
"It's been a harsh couple of decades," he replied. "And please," he added with a smile, "call me Owen. You're not children anymore." There was a moment of silence between the three as they surveyed one another, and Thackett broke it with a business-like clap of the hands. "Well, you said you're looking for Dumbledore, aye?" he asked, and Remus nodded. "I haven't seen him in a while," Thackett told them with a shrug. "But I can't say whether he left or not. The man doesn't exactly announce his comings and goings." Fera and Remus nodded in understanding, and Fera took a seat at the table. Remus followed suit, and Thackett took a seat on the table.
Remus looked up at Thackett questioningly. "So where is everyone?" he asked quietly, and Thackett slapped his thigh lightly.
"Now, that one I can answer. The Weasleys – that is, Molly and Arthur Weasley and their five hundred children – come and go as they please, since they have a home of their own. But a girl named Hermione Granger has decided to stay here for the duration of the summer – " Fera noticed that Remus' face lit up in recognition at the unfamiliar name, and she raised a brow. " – and Minerva McGonagall stops by occasionally. At the moment, young Ms. Granger is in Hogsmeade with two of the Weasley kids, and some of the other members that are usually here are probably out and about London at the moment, and will probably be back sometime in the next few hours." He stopped and looked pensive. "It's odd, but as horrible and dingy as this place is, quite a lot of people are here, and quite often." Fera smiled.
It was amazing that even after having known him for one day, twenty-four years ago, she still felt eleven years old in the presence of this powerful-looking man. She remembered how her father had continuously been amazed by Thackett's strangeness, and she had looked up to him quite a bit, even for that one day. She grinned faintly, remembering various small details about that day he had accompanied her to all the shops because she hadn't wanted to be around her father.
"So why on earth did Dumbledore choose this place for the headquarters of the Order?" Fera asked curiously, looking around the kitchen in distaste. Thackett chuckled softly and made a sweeping gesture.
"You mean you can't see the boundless potential in this place?" he asked grandly, and she and Remus laughed. Thackett shrugged. "I guess old Orion Black, who used to live here with his family, charmed the place so that muggles couldn't find it. Real uptight about all that pureblood nonsense, you see," Thackett added, and Fera waved him away. She knew the story. "And Sirius Black – who's innocent, by the way, would you believe it? – offered it up to Dumbledore as the headquarters. So Dumbledore made himself the Secret Keeper and… well, here we are." Fera looked contemplative. "So what have you two been doing all these years?" Thackett inquired. The two Lupins shrugged in unison.
"Working," Fera said dully.
"Not working," Remus added with a small smile. Thackett smiled and shook his head.
"What did you end up doing, Fera?" he asked curiously, and Fera gave a short laugh and shrugged one shoulder.
"I write an editorial column for the Daily Prophet," she said dryly. "Not exactly a claim to fame, but I make good money and get to criticize the way of the world, and I see nothing wrong with that." Thackett laughed and nodded.
"Somehow, I'm not surprised," he replied. "You were always good at expressing your opinions." Fera grinned.
Remus' ears pricked up, and Fera looked at him curiously. She knew immediately that he was hiding a look of alarm, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "What?" she asked sharply, and he shook his head, trying to avoid her eyes. Then she heard it – more footsteps on the staircase. She gave her brother a severe look, glancing between him and the door warily. "What is it, Remus?"
When her brother didn't respond, Fera stood, annoyed and yanked open the door. There, she froze in shock, and her eyes widened to the size of saucers.
The man standing on the other side, gazing at her in amazement, was tall and broad-shouldered, with long, dirty black hair and haunted gray eyes. His strong chin was covered in dark stubble and his face and frame were gaunt and underfed. But despite these things there was no mistaking him – she was looking at none other than Sirius Black.
There was a long, awkward silence, in which Remus emanated guilt. Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but when nothing came out, Fera's brain kicked into action and she choked out a muffled, "Excuse me," before darting around him and through the doorway. She bolted for the front door and slammed it behind her, leaving Remus, Sirius, and Thackett to stare at each other in stunned silence.