War
By Matthew W. Quinn and Kyli Ann Rasco
July 19th, 1997 AD
8:30 PM
The Death Eaters did not permit Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks to enjoy their newfound relationship for long. The Death Eaters — it was not initially clear as to whether it was the Dark Lord or his servants — killed Auror Thomas Proudfoot soon after Lupin and Tonks' day at the beach. Other murders followed as the Death Eaters tried to capitalize on Dumbledore's death.
"The Death Eaters have gotten bolder," Kingsley Shacklebolt said as he addressed an Order of the Phoenix war party. "Three dozen witches and wizards and sixty Muggles died last week and that's not the half of it. The Death Eaters have focused on intimidating newspapers and businesses across Britain, forcing them to toe the line."
Makes sense, Lupin mused. The Daily Prophet's silence on Voldemort's return kept the public in the dark, giving him a year to rebuild his army. And money is the sinews of war.
"They're demanding taxes from the businessmen and editorial control of the newspapers," Alastor Moody growled. "They're getting it. People are losing confidence in the Ministry's ability to maintain law and order and You-Know-Who's people are stepping in to provide it."
"Luckily," Shacklebolt said. "We've got spies within the Death Eaters, spies Snape didn't know about. We have word that the Death Eaters are planning to attack the offices of the Leeds Magical Tribune, a paper that hasn't submitted to Death Eater control. We're going to stop it."
"Any idea on enemy strength?" Tonks asked.
"At least forty Death Eaters," Lupin said. "Around three-to-one odds."
As one of the few surviving veterans of the First War and because he really did not have too much else to do, Lupin found himself among the leaders of the Order of the Phoenix.
And being a leader, he had access to information the other members of the Order did not.
With Dumbledore dead, many have given up hope and some have even taken the Dark Mark, hoping to be on the winning side. Combine that with the liberal use of the Imperius Curse and you have a recipe for disaster.
Between the multiplying numbers of Marked Death Eaters and Moody's suspicions of Death Eater infiltration of the Ministry, Wizarding Britain was entering a dark time indeed.
Moody's already making plans for the event of a coup. Even when the Death Eaters outnumbered us twenty to one in the First War, there was no danger of an outright takeover.
Tonks' face fell at Lupin's words.
"Not good," she said.
"We've got four Aurors," Lupin said. "Chances are a lot of them will be ordinary witches or wizards under Imperius or untrained rookies."
One can only hope. If it turns out all of Voldemort's elite are turning out tonight, we're dead.
"It shouldn't be that hard," George Weasley said.
"Perhaps they'll get in each other's way," Fred Weasley added.
Lupin shook his head.
They weren't at Hogwarts when the Death Eaters came. They haven't, as the Muggles put it, seen the elephant yet.
"The Tribune is printed in what appears to be a closed factory on the edge of Leeds," Shacklebolt continued. "We believe the Death Eaters will approach it from the south. The party under Tonks' command is to wait atop the structure, under invisibility cloaks, while the parties under the command of Moody and Savage will be on the east and west respectively. The party under my command will attack the Death Eaters from the rear."
Attack from every point of the compass. Good plan.
"Does everyone have their Invisibility Cloak?"
An affirmative chorus greeted him. Lupin pulled his cloak over his head, disappearing from sight.
Not as good as James' cloak, but it works.
"All right. On the count of three, Apparate to Leeds. One, two, three!"
The Order Apparated away, ready for war.
July 19th, 1997 AD
9 PM
Lupin took his position with Savage's contingent to the east of the boxy offices of the Tribune. In the distance, he could hear several pops.
"Wands out," Savage hissed. "They're coming!"
Lupin drew his wand and swallowed. The Order of the Phoenix was facing large-scale battle for the first time since Dumbledore's death and the thought did not please him.
Black against black except for their white masks, the Death Eaters began emerging from the night. Apparently unaware of the Order waiting in ambush for them, they flowed like a dark river towards the Tribune's offices.
Although he could not see them, Lupin felt the Order members around him tense.
Wait for it, he told himself. Wait for all of them to get into the killing square.
The march of the Death Eaters continued and Lupin's heart sank at how numerous they were.
Why so many to destroy one newspaper and kill at most two people? Do they know we plan to interfere?
If they knew, it was Severus Snape who was probably to blame.
The last Death Eater emerged from the night. The first of them were already very close, close enough to fire on the building.
The jaws of the Order's trap closed around them.
Incendio! Confringo! Incendio!
Lupin unleashed a stream of curses, lighting two Death Eaters aflame and breaking one's neck. The area lit up in a roaring kaleidoscope of magic as the Order's ambush halved the Death Eaters' numbers at a stroke.
Lupin grinned.
We might win this one yet.
Then whatever training the Death Eaters had kicked in. The Death Eaters began raising Shield Charms and forming into a square.
Damn it. The Death Eaters in the front can protect the ones inside.
Killing Curses would penetrate the Shields, but only Moody, Shacklebolt, Tonks, and Savage were allowed to use them.
Thank God the Ministry revived the old authorization. Otherwise it would be a complete massacre.
"Forward!" Shacklebolt roared.
Three of the four Order contingents closed in on the Death Eater formation, hammering at them with curses. Here and there the Death Eaters' Shields cracked and masked enemies fell, but the Death Eater square largely held.
Then the Death Eaters retaliated. A wave of Killing Curses tore into the advancing Order personnel. Most curses passed through empty space, but Lupin could see some jets of green light slam into invisible barriers and knew Order members were dying.
"Tonks!" Shacklebolt shouted. "Bring your people down!"
The fire from atop the Tribune building ceased. A moment later, Lupin could see attacks flying at the Death Eaters from closer in. Two Killing Curses were mixed in with the attack, drilling a hole in the Death Eater formation.
The Death Eaters returned fire. Lupin could see more and more Order members as their invisibility cloaks tore or fell free. Two Order members he did not recognize fell to the Killing Curse, while many Order members began dancing uncontrollably, colliding with other Order members and throwing their formations into disarray.
"Back!" Shacklebolt shouted, throwing himself between one disordered formation at the Death Eaters. The black-clad enemies quickly shifted their attention from attacking the Order to attacking the Auror who stood in their way.
Then the Death Eaters broke formation en masse, chasing after the retreating Order personnel like dogs after a wounded fox.
Good, Lupin thought grimly. If we can form up and cut off groups of them from the main mass, we can destroy them.
He remembered the Muggle Battle of Hastings Moody had him read about, where the Norman knights lured Saxon troops away from the safety of the shield wall and slaughtered them.
"Rally!" Tonks shouted from somewhere. "Weasley, Diggle, Jones, cut them off!"
A colossal explosion erupted to Lupin's right and he saw black-clad bodies flying. Tonks was in her element, jumping, shouting, and casting. One Death Eater hurled the Killing Curse at her; she dodged and fired the same curse right back, killing him.
Lupin smiled.
Good girl.
"Lupin!" Savage roared. "They're heading back this way!"
Lupin spotted a group of Death Eaters rushing back towards the remaining members of the Order formation. His smile took on a grim cast.
Oh no you don't.
He weaved a pattern with his wand and the ground opened up beneath them like an enormous set of jaws. The Death Eaters fell in and Lupin waved his wand again, closing the earth over them.
Rest in peace, Lupin thought, his grim smile growing wider.
Tonks cried out triumphantly, bringing her foot down on a fallen Death Eater's sternum. The Death Eater cried out, voice liquid and bloody, and fell silent.
"The bitch killed Jackson!" a masked Death Eater shouted. "Get her!"
Five Death Eaters set upon her, two hurling Killing Curses. Tonks dodged the two Killing Curses, deflecting the other curses with her Shield. She replied in kind to the two would-be killers, killing one and forcing the other to the ground.
Then she tripped, lowering her Shield for just a moment. The Death Eaters unleashed a stream of curses.
Tonks turned her stumble into a roll, dodging most of the curses and deflecting the rest. Her retort caught one Death Eater in the groin and sent him flying into a nearby wall. Tonks came to her feet and hurled multiple Blasting Curses, driving the three remaining Death Eaters back.
The remaining three gave up trying to break through her Shield or hit her with the Killing Curse. Instead, they fired curses at the ground beneath Tonks' feet.
The resulting explosion lifted her up in the air and sent her flying. She landed on her back, hard, and did not move.
Oh no!
Lupin rushed forward, smashing down a Death Eater who got in his way, and hurled a curse at the Death Eaters who were approaching the prone Tonks. They spun, Shields up, and one of them laughed at Lupin.
"Quite a loyal dog," he growled. "Runs to its mistress."
You talk too much. Confringo!
Lupin's curse slammed into the Death Eater's gut and doubled him over. Lupin Petrified him.
The other two leaped forward. Bursts of silver and red light — these Death Eaters aren't skilled enough to use the Killing Curse — erupted from their wands.
Lupin Shielded himself, but the sheer power of their attacks sent him stumbling backwards. The exertion of the night was beginning to get to him — pain was shooting through his shoulder.
Damn and blast. Got to finish this quickly.
He erected a powerful Shield and weaved another pattern with his wand. The ground opened up beneath the two Death Eaters, but he only succeeded in snaring one. The other jumped away, hurling a Blasting Curse at him.
Lupin ducked, the curse passing through where he'd been, and hurled a stream of fire at the Death Eater. The terrorist managed to Shield himself, but Lupin kept it up, using his Shield to protect himself from the man's reprisal.
The Death Eater's robes ignited behind the Shield and the man turned and fled. Lupin smiled as he took the man's legs out from under him with a Blasting Curse before Petrifying him.
The immediate problem dealt with, Lupin rushed over to Tonks.
"Tonks," he said. "You all right?"
Tonks was silent.
Not again, he thought, recalling the battle in the Department of Mysteries.
Someone laughed and Lupin looked up. Three more Death Eaters approached.
I don't have time for this.
Lupin hurling a Blasting Curse at the one who laughed and when the Death Eater Shielded himself, hurled another Blasting Curse at his unprotected legs. The Death Eater went down with a scream, legs bloodied from compound fractures, and Lupin cast Tarantallegra on the other, forcing him to rapidly dance away.
One more left.
The Death Eater charged, hurling a spray of curses at both Lupin and Tonks. Lupin cast a Shield over Tonks and himself and fought back. He and the Death Eater dueled for several moments before the Death Eater hurled the Killing Curse.
The jet of green light passed through Lupin's Shield and he threw himself out of the way, leaving himself open for another attack.
The Death Eater laughed and waved his wand. The bones in Lupin's legs vanished. He fell on suddenly-boneless limbs, feeling muscles and nerves twist unnaturally. Pain erupted through the suddenly-pliable legs and Lupin gritted his teeth.
The Death Eater laughed and began making the movements for the Killing Curse.
Not through yet. Stupefy!
The Death Eater deflected Lupin's spell and tried to Disarm him. Lupin deflected that attack and an attack from the other remaining Death Eater, then unleashed a stream of fire from his wand that ignited the first Death Eater's robes.
The first Death Eater fled screaming, but the second one kept his cool. He stabbed with his wand. Lupin tried to deflect the curse, but he wasn't quick enough and the bolt of silver light slammed into his jaw.
The attack sent teeth and blood flying and knocked Lupin onto his back. The Death Eater stabbed with his wand, but a shimmering Shield suddenly appeared in midair, deflecting the curse. The Death Eater cried out in dismay and turned to run, only to freeze suddenly and topple over onto the ground.
Through a red haze, Lupin could see Moody standing over him.
"We're winning," the scarred Auror growled. "Don't worry."
I'll try not to. Of course, it'll be bloody hard.
Then Moody was gone. Despite his dizziness and the constant pain in his head, Lupin looked for Tonks.
She's around here somewhere, I think.
He saw bubblegum-pink hair to his left and began dragging himself towards it. He hadn't gotten far before somewhere, someone cheered.
"Oi! They're running now!" one of the Weasley twins — Lupin could not immediately discern which — cried out.
More curses erupted.
"Don't be overconfident!" Moody shouted. "They're forming a rear-guard!"
Damn it. This batch at least has some clue what it's doing.
Lupin looked up to see a line of Order wizards dueling against a similar line of Death Eaters. Several Death Eaters Disapparated, although Lupin saw Savage wave his wand, stopping the flight in its tracks.
Then a massive explosion erupted in the center of the Order line. Bodies flew everywhere and a gap opened up.
Oh no.
"Fill the hole!" Moody roared, throwing himself into the breach. The Death Eaters unleashed a storm of curses on him, but he managed to deflect or dodge all of them and unleash a firestorm of his own.
Lupin allowed himself to sigh in relief.
We'll win this one yet.
Then something slammed into the ground between himself and Tonks. Lupin pointed with his wand, ready to cast a curse, but it wasn't a Death Eater. His relief was quickly short-circuited when he found out who it was.
It was Savage and he was dead.
July 19th, 1997 AD
11:30 PM
Lupin groaned as the Skele-Gro began to take effect. Millions of metaphorical splinters dug into his rubbery legs as the bone began growing anew and he wondered if he'd be able to talk with the pain in his mouth from his regenerating teeth.
He thought back to when that fraud Gilderoy Lockhart has accidentally vanished Harry's arm.
Harry was awake all night in the hospital wing. It looks like the same here.
He looked over to the cot next to his, where Tonks lay. She smiled at him.
At least I'll have some company while my bones regrow.
Then he remembered that the next night would be the full moon.
Bloody great. My brand-new bones will be broken and forced into unnatural shapes again. At least I'll have someone to be with me when I recover from that, like the times Prongs, Padfoot, and Wormtail were…
Lupin stopped himself suddenly.
Do you really want to expose her to that? Seeing your body tearing itself apart and putting itself back together again will horrify her. Maybe she'll leave you.
That thought stopped him short. During the months where he stubbornly resisted her, he had wondered just what he could do to convince her he was not suitable. He wondered for a moment why he'd come up with what could be a sure-fire idea just now, now that they were spending a great deal of enjoyable time together.
He shook his head.
I've been alone most of my life anyway. Why should she spend her youth on a man who'll she'll outlive by sixty years?
"Ouch," Tonks said suddenly. Lupin looked over.
What the devil?
Tonks was trying to get out of bed.
"What are you doing?"
"Got to go see Mad Eye, see how the battle went."
"We won. You don't need to risk hurting yourself further just to find out how."
She shook her head.
"This Skele-Gro hurts enough — not knowing everything that's gone on out there will make things worse."
"Your moving around right now is making things worse. You've got a bunch of broken bones that aren't fully healed yet and…"
"Remus, I'm an Auror. I've been hurt worse."
Yes, yes she has.
He thought back to the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, how Tonks had gone toe to toe with the most dangerous Death Eater short of Voldemort himself — her own aunt, who looked an awful lot like her mother — and had been cursed and thrown down the stairs for her pains.
This on top of all the other battles she's fought in. Despite the pink hair and the punk bands, she's an adult, a soldier. Like you.
Tonks hissed in pain, grabbing Lupin's attention. She'd managed to pull herself into a sitting position, but her face was twisted and it looked like she was preventing herself from weeping by sheer force of will.
"Lie back down," Lupin said, a bit more forcefully than usual. You're clearly hurting…"
"Remus, I'm fine. This was the worst of it. Once I can get to my feet..."
Lupin inwardly sighed.
"Tonks, I'm afraid if you put weight on whatever bones that are broken, things'll get a lot worse. Ever seen a compound fracture?"
Tonks nodded.
"Imagine a bunch of them, simultaneously. I'd feel a lot better if you just stayed in bed."
Tonks winced.
"Good point."
Tonks managed to carefully move herself back down onto her cot. She immediately exhaled.
"Thanks, Remus. That feels a lot better."
"Good. I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself further. I was at my wit's end when I saw you crash-landing after that explosion and not get up."
She smiled.
"That's really sweet of you. Mad Eye told me you were right by me, holding off the Death Eaters even after they Vanished your legs. He made it sound positively horrid — they kept coming and coming and coming…"
Lupin swallowed.
Yes, yes it was. Both of us could have died that night, and Savage ultimately did. With the Death Eaters forcing more and more people into line, we might not have much time left.
The Order won the last time, but the darkness was falling when Voldemort blew himself to bits in Godric's Hollow. Dumbledore's death had robbed them of the man who could definitely defeat Voldemort in combat and terrified most of the wizarding public.
He shook his head.
"Remus," Tonks said, and there was genuine worry in her voice. "We won this time, but what about next time. More and more people are taking his Mark and others are just staying home entirely. This time next year, both of us might well be dead…"
Yes. Perhaps…
"We should get married," both of them said, at exactly the same time.
Lupin barely prevented his jaw from dropping.
What the hell? Did we just say that? At the same time?
He must've gotten hit on the head harder than he thought during the battle.
Tonks smiled.
"Great minds think alike. Of course, times being what they are, it should be quiet and we shouldn't have many guests. We don't want word getting out and attracting undue attention, especially from Auntie Bella…"
Oh boy.