Body
All In The Name of Love
Chapter 16 - Major Rethink
Back at Hogwarts Ellie and Peter were concerned.
"I can't find them anywhere!" Ellie hissed at her counterpart.
"Neither can I. Oh, do you think they're dead. Have they been killed. Flick was right! We should have-"
"Peter, you are not helping!" Ellie told the boy, sternly. "We need Remus and the map. If they're in the castle it will show them. If they're not, we'll have to hope that we're not too late." The two of them hurried off in search of Remus. They bumped into him on the way to the Gryffindor Common room.
"We have a problem." He told them grimly.
"Flick and Lily?"
"Gone. In between Care of Magical Creatures and Divination. Completely vanished, along with someone called Zephyr Howkins. Do you know her?"
"Ravenclaw. Left last year. Not particularly friendly. Never saw her as being the type for the Dark Arts, mind you." Eleanor rattled off facts.
"Marvellous. Hold on, they can't have Apparated-"
"They used a Portkey." Ellie finished the sentence for him. "Absolutely fabulous, I don't think. Now what do we do?"
"Find the others. They have to get whoever it is that's off to Dumbledore's office. Then we can launch Operation R." Remus informed her.
"Um, Remus," Ellie began, tentatively, "we don't have a plan R."
"Rescue. We'll go after them."
"If they're not already dead." Peter said gloomily. Remus and Eleanor glared at him. "What? What did I say?"
* * * *
Lily and Felicity were far from dead, but not particularly happy.
"Why is it I always end up enduring the Unforgivables?" Lily asked, suddenly. They were in a dark, wet, smelly dungeon. Apparently Gretl had to make plans. "What happened to fair shares and everything?"
'I don't know." Flick replied honestly. "But do you think you could warm it up in here. And where on earth is Rattie?"
"Here." Lily replied, removing the creature from her robes. "Maybe she'll attack Gretl or something. And how exactly am I supposed to warm it up in here?"
"You're a witch."
"Without a wand." Lily finished. "And my name is not Halfreda. Wandless magic is her speciality."
"Lil, what's Rattie got." Lily picked up the ratunike, and pulled a wand from between the animals teeth.
"I don't believe it! It's my wand! She must have picked it up just before we were transported! Rattie! I love you!" She turned to smirk at Flick. "And you told me I was daft to learn all that stuff about ratunikes last year. All that research is working." And she kissed the little animal rapturously. Within minutes their cell was considerably warmer.
"We should be working out how to get out of this joint." Flick said, thoughtfully.
"Maybe we should wait. Remus said-"
"Yeah, and look where that plan got us! A prolonged stay in a dungeon. Marvellous. Or not."
"I see your point." Lily said dryly. "And I hurt all over."
"Better than being dead."
"No, it would be much better if I woke up about now, and realised that it was all a nightmare. Sadly that's not going to happen. But you're right. You've done their forging, and can you honestly see them letting us go?"
"Um no." Flick said bluntly. "We know too much."
"Precisely. So we wait until we're out of this hellhole, and then we make a break for it. The only problem I can see is that I don't have a clue where we are."
"Right." Flick said.
"Oh, come on Flick give me some help here!" Lily said, exasperated.
"Well I don't know where we are either."
"Rattie." Lily said, suddenly.
"Lily, she's here."
"No, stupid! Ratunikes can Apparate, the only magical creature that can, except for wizards and witches. If we give Rattie a note, then she can take it to Remus or Ellie, and then perhaps they'll be able to get us out of here!"
The two of them constructed a note using the quill and parchment that Flick had in her robes.
GUYS, DON'T HAVE A CLUE WHERE WE ARE. COULD BE IN TIMBUKTU, BUT WE DOUBT IT, IT'S TOO COLD. SOME CRAZY WOMAN CALLED GRETL IS THE MASTERMIND BEHIND THIS WHOLE LEAD THING. SHE WAS GRINDELWALD'S FIANCEE. THE THINGS PEOPLE DO FOR LOVE! IF YOU COULD USE RATTIE TO FIGURE OUT WHERE EXACTLY WE ARE, WE'D APPRECIATE IT.
JAMES, YOU CAN MAKE USE OF ALL THAT RESEARCH WE DID FOR FLICK, HOW TO TALK TO ANIMALS. AND HURRY UP. WE'RE HOPING TO GET OUT OF THIS JOINT, BUT HAVE NO WAY OF RETURNING TO HOGWARTS. AND ZEPHYR HOWKINS IS THE DOUBLE AGENT THERE, IF YOU HADN'T WORKED THAT OUT ALREADY. FLICK HAS DONE THE FORGED DOCUMENTS, YOU CAN'T ALL COME, SOMEONE NEEDS TO GUARD DUMBLEDORE'S OFFICE.
NONE OF YOU HAVE TO COME, IF YOU COULD GIVE RATTIE DIRECTIONS SO WE CAN GO HOME. ALTHOUGH WE MIGHT NEED TRANSPORT. AND I STILL SAY YOU SHOULD TELL DUMBLEDORE.
LOVE
FLICK & LILY
Lily told the ratunike exactly what she was supposed to do, and the little rodent-like creature disappeared. All the girls could do now was wait and hope.
* * * *
When Rattie appeared in front of him James Potter was nothing if not surprised. As far as he knew, she was supposed to be with Lily, and Lily was the only person, with the exception of Hagrid, who could actually go neat the little creature without the risk of losing fingers.
"What on earth is that doing here?" Sirius asked him curiously.
"She's supposed to be with Lily." James said, concerned.
"It also seems she has a note." Sirius observed.
"You going to tell me how exactly I'm supposed to get this note?" James asked him. "I like having ten fingers. Nine would be one too few." Rattie answered his question by dropping the parchment at his feet, and then moving into the shadows to wait. James bent to pick it up, unfolded it, and read it, Sirius looking over his shoulder.
"Damn. Next time I say we let Flick do the planning." Sirius said, gruffly.
"There won't be a next time." James replied grimly. "I swear those two only have to breathe and they run into trouble."
"What did Lily mean, talking to animals?"
"I'll explain later, we need to find- Remus! Excellent, we were just going to look for you."
"Lil and Flick are in trouble." Remus told him breathlessly.
"We know." Sirius said calmly. "They told us."
"How the- I don't want to know. So, what've we got to do?"
"Talk to that rodent-" Sirius began.
"Rattie." James interrupted.
"And figure out where they are, then give them directions back. And someone should go to get them transport."
"It'll have to be broom power. They can't Apparate, we can't make portkeys, and there are no handy hippogriffs." Remus told them.
An hour later, the rescue party was formed. Remus and James would go with Ellie, while Sirius would stay at Hogwarts along with Cee and Peter, and capture their elusive spy.
"I still say Remus should stay here and I should go with you and Ellie." Sirus told James.
"Exactly why you're staying. If you and Flick get together she'll probably screech at you for half an hour, and then our cover will be blown. So you stay here and detain the plant, and we'll go and rescue your lady love. Okay."
"No. You get to go."
"Lily isn't quite as vocal as Flick in times of trouble. Besides which she only yells at me when I do something wrong."
"Prongs, she never yells at you."
"Because I'm perfect."
"Yeah. You just keep thinking that. Good luck, and don't get yourself killed."
"Ditto. Be back soon. Come on Ellie, Remus. The sooner we go, the sooner we're back, the sooner it's out of our hands."
So they separated, Sirius, Cee and Peter to watch for hours, and James, Remus and Ellie to help their friends.
Chapter 17 - Cave By The Sea
Lily and Felicity had made their escape route. They had spent hours exploring their dungeon, and Felicity had discovered a secret passage that would hopefully get them out of the dungeons. All they needed to do was enter it. So they were profoundly grateful for the wand Rattie had salvaged for Lily. A simple exploding spell left a gaping hole in the floor, and a quick mutter and it was restored, the two girls safely underneath the ground.
"It's even more damp down here!" Lily complained. "Whose brilliant idea was this?"
"Yours." Flick replied. "And anything is better than spending the next ten years of out life rotting in a dungeon. So stop moaning."
"Easy for you to say." Lily retorted. "You're not the one who spent several hours being cursed. Not that I'm complaining."
"Not at all." Flick muttered. "Hurry up will you. It's cold down here as well as damp. And if we don't move fast they'll realise that we've gone."
So the two of them hurried along the narrow passageway, moving, for the most part, in silence, making regular checks to ensure that they were not being followed. At last they reached a rather rotten looking wooden door.
"It doesn't look like it's been used recently." Flick said, doubtfully.
"Probably has something to do with the fact that prisoners don't generally come equipped with escape tools. We're just lucky."
"Really." Flick said dryly. "I'd hate to be with you when we were unlucky."
"Ha ha! You know exactly what I mean." Lily grasped the handle, and opened the door firmly. An almighty creak, and they were free.
"Thank heavens!" Felicity breathed a sigh of relief.
"Flick!" Lily muttered to her friend. "What do we do now?"
"Wait for the rescue party. You couldn't magic up some food, could you? I'm starving!"
"Trust you to think of your stomach!" Lily laughed. All the same, she conjured up some sandwiches, and a jug of Butterbeer, and the two of them hid in a little cave that was conveniently situated a few metres from the door. The stone structure had two entrances, and chance made Felicity look out of the one they hadn't used, about an hour later. What she saw made her screech in horror.
"LILY!!"
"Shhh! Someone will hear. What's up?"
"That's what's up!" Flick gestured towards the entrance, where water was rising, rapidly. "We seem to be trapped by an incoming tide. We could go back-" but an almighty crash drowned out the rest of her words. Startled, the two girls turned to see that the hole they had entered the cave from had been blocked by a fall of rock.
"Fantastic!" Flick exclaimed. "Now we're stranded in a cave with no way of leaving, and on the way to a watery grave. Forgive me for being hysterical, but WHAT DO WE DO NOW??!!"
"Keep calm Flick!" Lily chastised her friend. "We're okay for now, and if we're lucky the water might not reach us. When the tide's gone out again, we'll be able to get out, and then the others will turn up, and we'll leave this dump for good!"
"Or we could use that wand, and make some kind of shield, so that we don't drown."
"Why don't we wait until it's desperate before doing that. What's the point of doing that if we're not sure whether we'll be affected. And incidentally where would you rather be? Here, or being tortured. And don't say being tortured, because you never have been. Personally, I'd rather be here. We are witches after all!"
"You just want lover-boy to race to the rescue!" Felicity retorted.
"Flick! Shut up!" Lily glowered at her friend, and they sat in uncomfortable silence.
Meanwhile, the rescue party had arrived at the castle. Somehow, they had managed to transport themselves and Rattie without any of them coming to harm. And for some peculiar reason, the ratunike was straining to get away from the castle, towards the rising tide.
"What on earth is that creature doing?" Remus asked curiously.
"I don't know. But Lily and Flick said to listen to her, so that's what we do." Ellie stated, firmly. Before either of the boys could stop her, she was off after Rattie. James and Remus followed. When they reached the sea front, the ratunike plunged into the water, and started swimming towards a distant opening in the rock of the cliff.
"I didn't know ratunikes could swim!" James said worriedly.
"I didn't know ratunikes existed." came Remus' exasperated reply. "Ellie! What are you doing? ELEANOR!!" For as he had spoken, Ellie had plunged into the water and followed Rattie. James looked at Remus and raised his eyebrows before plunging in after her. Remus followed, muttering something about women.
Within half an hour, the four of them, including Rattie, were inside the cave. The water was shallow enough to wade in here, and James was just about to ask what exactly it was that they were doing, when a squeal startled him.
"ELLIE!!! You don't know how pleased I am to see you!" It was a rather irate Felicity. "James! Remus! Where's Sirius?" She asked frowning.
"Guarding Dumbledore's office with Cee and Peter." Remus told her. "Where's Lil?"
"Here!" Lily replied. "You took your time didn't you?"
"Hi Remus, how are you Remus, thank you for coming Remus!" James teased, smiling at her.
"This is not the time for pleasantries!" she retorted. "Some of us have been freezing in this, well, I'm not sure exactly what it is, but all we want to do is get back to Hogwarts. But Hi Remus, how are you Remus, thanks for coming, now we can go!" Remus laughed at her reply. Then he frowned.
"We have a minor problem," he began. "We left our brooms on the other side of that," gesturing towards the watery expanse, "so we're actually stranded."
"Or not." Lily replied. "Honestly, don't you listen to anything. We spent a whole lesson on Summoning Charms and the one time they have a practical use, you act defeatist."
"Oh. Yeah. Accio broom!" Remus spoke the charm, and his broom returned to him. Ellie and James did the same.
"Okay, peeps, Lil, Flick, you need to share a broom with someone else." Ellie informed them. "Flick, you can fly mine if you like, you're better at it than me."
"It's not hard to be better than you." Lily told her, lightly.
"I wish I could say the same about you, but sadly it's not true." Ellie stated sorrowfully. "I'd have offered to let you. but I thought you'd like to spend time with him." she jerked her head towards James, smiling.
They all settled on to the three brooms, and then they were off. It was beginning to get dark, but the sky was clear, and the stars were bright. As they travelled, Lily grew drowsy in James' arms, and by the time they reached Hogwarts, she was half asleep. He shook her gently.
"Lily! We're back!"
"Leave me alone!" she muttered, eyes closed.
"Lily! Come on Lil, we've got to go in! It's freezing out here!"
"You might as well try and wake the dead for all the good that's doing!" Ellie exclaimed. She stroked Lily's cheek once, firmly. Lily's eyes opened, and she blinked a couple of times to focus. "Easy when you know how!" Ellie smirked at James.
"What the- never mind!" and so they straggled into the entrance hall where they were met by a grim looking Sirius. He smiled when he saw them.
"Good! You're back!" But then he frowned again. "Peter, Ellie and I have seen Dumbledore. We're to go straight to bed, and he'll see us in the morning."
"Did you get Zephyr?" Flick asked, anxiously.
