4th part of my series, yadda yadda yadda. A real cliffhanger too. *chuckles evilly*
"This was such a dumb idea," I complained. Draco rolled his eyes but didn't answer. We'd left Voldemort's stronghold without much trouble- being Voldemort's well liked second-in-command had it's advantages. After we'd gotten far enough away, I'd apparated to just outside Hogwarts' grounds. Draco, thankfully, had learned how to apparate, thanks to his father, and by some miracle had managed to do it correctly. Now all we had to do was get inside Hogwarts without being cursed. I needn't have worried, though. Draco boldly walked up to the castle door, opened it, and stepped inside. Reluctantly, I followed.
"Draco?" Severus asked, walking toward us with Harry and Sirius just behind him. Then he saw me, and stopped dead. "Remus?!"
"Hi, Severus," I said tiredly. He raced over, with Harry not far behind.
"What are you doing here? Last thing I heard, you were Voldemort's new second-in-command. Should have known better."
"Um, Severus? What you heard: it was true."
"That's not even funny, Lupin."
"Never meant it to be. I'm serious."
"I don't believe it," Harry said stubbornly.
"Then how's this for proof?" I demanded, pushing up my sleeve to show them the Dark Mark.
"It's true," Harry said sadly. "Why'd you come back?"
"Draco wanted me to take him back. He's extremely convincing." There was a stunned silence.
"You didn't come back just for him," Harry said slowly.
"No. I didn't. I came back because I needed to know."
"Needed to know what?"
"Where my loyalties really lie."
"Well?" Sirius prompted. I shrugged.
"I dunno. I'd like to say here, no question, but I can't."
"Why not?" Severus asked.
"Because of how easily I turned on you. Because I not only became one of Voldemort's, but his second-in-command."
"Well, I can answer that question now," Harry remarked.
"How?" I demanded. Before any of us could stop him, he stepped forward and slapped me across the face. The kid packed a punch.
"Geez, what was that for? I haven't done anything yet. You can hit me after I do something." He stepped forward to do it again, bringing out the defensive side of the wolf, and I automatically lashed out at him. He didn't move, just stood there, waiting for the blow to connect. My hand stopped a bare half-inch from his face.
"See?" Harry said, sounding quite pleased with himself. "You couldn't do it. One of Voldemort's true followers would've done it, no hesitation." I folded my arms across my chest and glared at him.
"That doesn't prove a thing. And just so you know, I learned a lot of curses while I was with Voldemort, and if you do that again I'm likely to try one out on you."
"I won't," Harry said smugly. "I got what I needed to know."
"Smart aleck," I grumbled. "I guess some things never change." Sirius started to say something, but was interrupted by Dumbledore's voice.
"Welcome back, Remus."
"No way. None of this `welcome back' stuff. You don't seem to get it. I joined Voldemort. I'll wear the Dark Mark for the rest of my life. I'm one of his."
"Only if you want to be," Dumbledore said quietly.
"I don't want to be. I don't want to betray all of you. But it's only a matter of time before he makes me come back to him."
"Why, Remus?"
"Because he could do as he promised, or close." No one seemed to get this for a moment, but slowly I saw the light of understanding dawn in Snape's eyes.
"He could cure you?"
"No. But instead of being a werewolf, I'm an animagus. Instead of changing on full moons, I change at will, like a normal animagus. And I keep my human mind, naturally."
"He did it before the battle?" Sirius mused. "That surprises me. I'd've thought that he'd, you know, make you prove your intentions." I grinned micheviously.
"I got him to do it because of you," I teased Padfoot. "I told him you were an animagus as well, and he agreed that it might be difficult to contain you without my being able to shift into my wolf form at will."
"Always knew being an animagus would come in handy, didn't you?"
"Sure, Padfoot. Whatever you say." Then I heard the voice.
"Remus!" someone shouted, from outside, and instantly the Dark Mark on my arm started to burn. I knew what it meant, of course. Voldemort was calling me, and I wasn't responding. I tried not to show it, but the pain was gradually growing until it was almost intolerable. Sirius and Harry, however, knew me far too well.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"The Mark," I mumbled. "Voldemort's calling me, and I'm not coming. It's painful." Sirius looked slightly puzzled, but Harry, always sensitive to Dark Magic,
understood immediately. He lightly touched my arm, and instantly the pain lessened.
"How did you... What did you do?"
"Light conquers Dark, at least in fair confrontations. While you're in here, with us, the spell I put on you will protect you. If you leave Hogwarts, however, I can't guarantee that protection." Harry stepped away from me and opened the front door. It wasn't a risk; without being invited, dark wizards couldn't enter Hogwarts, and none of us was about to invite Voldemort. That didn't stop him from coming right up to the door, though. In the weeks I had been with Voldemort, I had grown sensitive to his moods, and he looked about as mad now as I had ever hoped to see him.
"Remus," he sneered. "Gone back to your little friends, have you? Should have stayed with me, you know. You could've ruled the wizarding world with me. But oh well. Anyway, I think I'd prefer to have this world all to myself."
"Go rule your little dreams all by yourself, Voldemort," I snapped.
"Wonder how you're going to feel about that when I catch you?"
"I wouldn't know, and neither will you. You'll never take me alive." Surprise flickered in Voldemort's eyes, then quickly faded.
"Brave sentiments. They won't last. You'll die begging for mercy, just like everyone else."
"Like Lily and James?" I said coldly.
"Oh, no. They were brave. You are not."
"True. But we'll deal with that when the time comes, now won't we?"
Voldemort gave me one last hate-filled look, then turned to go.
"Yes, Remus, we certainly will, and you'll regret ever turning your back on me," he said over his shoulder. Harry shut the door and I collapsed against it, panting.
"I had no idea he was that strong," I whispered. Then a horrible thought occurred to me. "Jake."
"Who's Jake?" Harry asked.
"Jake is a friend of mine. You see, there are a few of Voldemort's wizards who, for some reason, are more loyal to me than to him. Jake is one of those. I have the feeling that he didn't join Lord Voldemort willingly. I know that he had a wife and daughter, and his wife died a few years ago. His daughter lives with her aunt. He says it's because he can't be bothered taking care of her, but I don't think he's telling the truth. He's doing it to keep her away from Voldemort's influence, I'm certain."
"So what are we going to do about it?" Harry said, but I could see from the look in his eyes that he'd already decided to do something.
"We can't just go and storm Voldemort's army, Harry," Dumbledore said softly, as though he wished we could.
"No, but we have to do something."
"Yeah, we can't just leave him with Voldemort. He's likely to try and desert Voldemort, and when he does Voldemort'll do something drastic," I said worriedly.
"Are any of you listening to yourselves?" Snape demanded.
"Would you," Sirius posed the question in a would-be-sensible kind of voice, "if you were them?"
"Be serious! We can't just risk all our lives for someone we aren't even sure can be trusted."
"I'd trust Jake with my life," I said instantly.
"All right, even without that, are you even sure he'd want to leave You-Know-Who?"
"Yes," I answered without hesitation. "He's just looking for an excuse."
"Then what are we waiting for?" said Harry enthusiastically.
"We're waiting for Snape to decide to cooperate," I offered, and we all looked over at Snape.
"Fine! If you wanna die, I suppose I can't stop you. And you know what they say: if you can't beat `em, join `em."
"Don't even mention that," I grumbled. "That's what got me into this mess in the first place."
"This was such a dumb idea," I complained. Draco rolled his eyes but didn't answer. We'd left Voldemort's stronghold without much trouble- being Voldemort's well liked second-in-command had it's advantages. After we'd gotten far enough away, I'd apparated to just outside Hogwarts' grounds. Draco, thankfully, had learned how to apparate, thanks to his father, and by some miracle had managed to do it correctly. Now all we had to do was get inside Hogwarts without being cursed. I needn't have worried, though. Draco boldly walked up to the castle door, opened it, and stepped inside. Reluctantly, I followed.
"Draco?" Severus asked, walking toward us with Harry and Sirius just behind him. Then he saw me, and stopped dead. "Remus?!"
"Hi, Severus," I said tiredly. He raced over, with Harry not far behind.
"What are you doing here? Last thing I heard, you were Voldemort's new second-in-command. Should have known better."
"Um, Severus? What you heard: it was true."
"That's not even funny, Lupin."
"Never meant it to be. I'm serious."
"I don't believe it," Harry said stubbornly.
"Then how's this for proof?" I demanded, pushing up my sleeve to show them the Dark Mark.
"It's true," Harry said sadly. "Why'd you come back?"
"Draco wanted me to take him back. He's extremely convincing." There was a stunned silence.
"You didn't come back just for him," Harry said slowly.
"No. I didn't. I came back because I needed to know."
"Needed to know what?"
"Where my loyalties really lie."
"Well?" Sirius prompted. I shrugged.
"I dunno. I'd like to say here, no question, but I can't."
"Why not?" Severus asked.
"Because of how easily I turned on you. Because I not only became one of Voldemort's, but his second-in-command."
"Well, I can answer that question now," Harry remarked.
"How?" I demanded. Before any of us could stop him, he stepped forward and slapped me across the face. The kid packed a punch.
"Geez, what was that for? I haven't done anything yet. You can hit me after I do something." He stepped forward to do it again, bringing out the defensive side of the wolf, and I automatically lashed out at him. He didn't move, just stood there, waiting for the blow to connect. My hand stopped a bare half-inch from his face.
"See?" Harry said, sounding quite pleased with himself. "You couldn't do it. One of Voldemort's true followers would've done it, no hesitation." I folded my arms across my chest and glared at him.
"That doesn't prove a thing. And just so you know, I learned a lot of curses while I was with Voldemort, and if you do that again I'm likely to try one out on you."
"I won't," Harry said smugly. "I got what I needed to know."
"Smart aleck," I grumbled. "I guess some things never change." Sirius started to say something, but was interrupted by Dumbledore's voice.
"Welcome back, Remus."
"No way. None of this `welcome back' stuff. You don't seem to get it. I joined Voldemort. I'll wear the Dark Mark for the rest of my life. I'm one of his."
"Only if you want to be," Dumbledore said quietly.
"I don't want to be. I don't want to betray all of you. But it's only a matter of time before he makes me come back to him."
"Why, Remus?"
"Because he could do as he promised, or close." No one seemed to get this for a moment, but slowly I saw the light of understanding dawn in Snape's eyes.
"He could cure you?"
"No. But instead of being a werewolf, I'm an animagus. Instead of changing on full moons, I change at will, like a normal animagus. And I keep my human mind, naturally."
"He did it before the battle?" Sirius mused. "That surprises me. I'd've thought that he'd, you know, make you prove your intentions." I grinned micheviously.
"I got him to do it because of you," I teased Padfoot. "I told him you were an animagus as well, and he agreed that it might be difficult to contain you without my being able to shift into my wolf form at will."
"Always knew being an animagus would come in handy, didn't you?"
"Sure, Padfoot. Whatever you say." Then I heard the voice.
"Remus!" someone shouted, from outside, and instantly the Dark Mark on my arm started to burn. I knew what it meant, of course. Voldemort was calling me, and I wasn't responding. I tried not to show it, but the pain was gradually growing until it was almost intolerable. Sirius and Harry, however, knew me far too well.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"The Mark," I mumbled. "Voldemort's calling me, and I'm not coming. It's painful." Sirius looked slightly puzzled, but Harry, always sensitive to Dark Magic,
understood immediately. He lightly touched my arm, and instantly the pain lessened.
"How did you... What did you do?"
"Light conquers Dark, at least in fair confrontations. While you're in here, with us, the spell I put on you will protect you. If you leave Hogwarts, however, I can't guarantee that protection." Harry stepped away from me and opened the front door. It wasn't a risk; without being invited, dark wizards couldn't enter Hogwarts, and none of us was about to invite Voldemort. That didn't stop him from coming right up to the door, though. In the weeks I had been with Voldemort, I had grown sensitive to his moods, and he looked about as mad now as I had ever hoped to see him.
"Remus," he sneered. "Gone back to your little friends, have you? Should have stayed with me, you know. You could've ruled the wizarding world with me. But oh well. Anyway, I think I'd prefer to have this world all to myself."
"Go rule your little dreams all by yourself, Voldemort," I snapped.
"Wonder how you're going to feel about that when I catch you?"
"I wouldn't know, and neither will you. You'll never take me alive." Surprise flickered in Voldemort's eyes, then quickly faded.
"Brave sentiments. They won't last. You'll die begging for mercy, just like everyone else."
"Like Lily and James?" I said coldly.
"Oh, no. They were brave. You are not."
"True. But we'll deal with that when the time comes, now won't we?"
Voldemort gave me one last hate-filled look, then turned to go.
"Yes, Remus, we certainly will, and you'll regret ever turning your back on me," he said over his shoulder. Harry shut the door and I collapsed against it, panting.
"I had no idea he was that strong," I whispered. Then a horrible thought occurred to me. "Jake."
"Who's Jake?" Harry asked.
"Jake is a friend of mine. You see, there are a few of Voldemort's wizards who, for some reason, are more loyal to me than to him. Jake is one of those. I have the feeling that he didn't join Lord Voldemort willingly. I know that he had a wife and daughter, and his wife died a few years ago. His daughter lives with her aunt. He says it's because he can't be bothered taking care of her, but I don't think he's telling the truth. He's doing it to keep her away from Voldemort's influence, I'm certain."
"So what are we going to do about it?" Harry said, but I could see from the look in his eyes that he'd already decided to do something.
"We can't just go and storm Voldemort's army, Harry," Dumbledore said softly, as though he wished we could.
"No, but we have to do something."
"Yeah, we can't just leave him with Voldemort. He's likely to try and desert Voldemort, and when he does Voldemort'll do something drastic," I said worriedly.
"Are any of you listening to yourselves?" Snape demanded.
"Would you," Sirius posed the question in a would-be-sensible kind of voice, "if you were them?"
"Be serious! We can't just risk all our lives for someone we aren't even sure can be trusted."
"I'd trust Jake with my life," I said instantly.
"All right, even without that, are you even sure he'd want to leave You-Know-Who?"
"Yes," I answered without hesitation. "He's just looking for an excuse."
"Then what are we waiting for?" said Harry enthusiastically.
"We're waiting for Snape to decide to cooperate," I offered, and we all looked over at Snape.
"Fine! If you wanna die, I suppose I can't stop you. And you know what they say: if you can't beat `em, join `em."
"Don't even mention that," I grumbled. "That's what got me into this mess in the first place."