Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is my hero. I give her credit for everything in this story except the incredibly inferior plot. She's too cool for that.
Chapter 4 – Still Life
Remus Lupin blinked in the sunlight on his way to the red phone booth. He kept his head down against the chilly wind. As he opened the door and squeezed inside, he avoided scraping his black muggle suit on the metal edges. He pressed a few buttons on the key pad of the old pay phone and felt the floor of the booth jerk before beginning a slow descent.
Inside the Ministry for Magic, he looked up, smiled as best he could, and held his head high as his dress shoes clicked on the marble floor. The general hubbub hushed and slowed as he made his way toward the main lifts. Heads snapped around to stare in his direction. A few witches and wizards walked up and shook his hand while others hung back, unsure of what to make of their werewolf hero. He received admirers and thanks pleasantly, but waved off reporters. Eventually he reached the lifts. Several wizards insisted he take one on his own. As soon as the doors closed, Remus lowered his head again.
And so it was that he arrived in the Minster for Magic's office five minutes earlier than expected, as ready as he ever would be to recount the end of the war.
Remus stood as the Minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt, entered. They shook hands and then sat across from one another in two high backed chairs.
"Thank you for coming so quickly after your release from St. Mungo's, Remus," Kingsley said, "It's good to see you up and about."
Remus nodded, "Thank you, sir, it's good to be here. I'm afraid Mr. Potter has taken an extended holiday and will not be able to join us."
"That's disappointing. I do hope he's well." They were silent for a moment. Finally, Kingsley took out a notepad. "To business then, shall we?"
Remus nodded again and leaned back in his chair. He studied the wall just above the minister's head and began the tale he came to tell.
"As you know, Minister, Harry Potter did not return to Hogwarts after the death of Albus Dumbledore. Instead, he went into hiding at Aunt's home. When he turned eighteen years of age, he was transferred to the Burrow where he remained for the duration of the war.
"The Order continued to meet and do business from Grimuald Place with Mr. Potter's permission. Coordinated searches for the Horcruxes were made. Each capture cost the Order dearly in lives lost, including that of Ronald Weasley. But each horcrux came eventually to Harry who subsequently destroyed them via the sword of Godric Gryffindor.
"With each destruction the Dark Lord grew more desperate. Finally, the sixth horcrux was identified as his snake. We captured and killed it in mid October. In retaliation, Bellatrix Lestrange kidnapped Ginny Weasley, who had returned to Hogwarts, passing us key intelligence during her time there. Our eventual mission to rescue Ginny was unsuccessful. We fought hard, many of us were nearly fatally wounded, but Ginny was killed before we could reach her. Still, Mr. Potter destroyed Voldemort."
Remus lowered his eyes to meet the Minister's. "And that, my friend, is how the war ended. We have won, but such at a dear cost. May we never know such a time again."
"Indeed," Kingsley replied. Another moment of silence followed. Kingsley crossed his legs and leaned back.
"Remus," he said quietly, "I'm afraid I didn't call you hear simply to hear the story of our victory. I have some bad news."
Remus's eyes fell. "What is it?" he asked.
"We've received word that a small contingent of Death Eaters has fled to the edges of the forbidden forest. We believe they intend to make one last attempt at taking the School."
"Merlin's beard," Remus said, leaning forward. "What can I do?"
"From our intelligence, we believe that The Order of the Phoenix is still sufficient in numbers to meet this threat. We need to you make one last stand, Remus, in order to truly win this war."
That evening, Hermione Granger sat at table in number 12 Grimauld Place scribbling in a notebook. Remus, Tonks, Molly, Arthur, Fred, and George sat with her, each engaged in their own plates.
"Hermione, dear, please pass the gravy," Molly said.
Hermione looked up, found the gravy, and passed it down to the end of the table via George. She lowered her head toward her notebook again, but Molly kept talking.
"Sweetheart, I didn't ask you to dinner so you could work all evening. Please, set that aside for a moment."
"Oh, right. Sorry." Hermione turned around on the bench and put her notebook on the hutch behind her. When she finally looked at her plate, she realized how hungry she was and tucked in.
Molly smiled, "That's better."
"What was that you were working on?" Arthur piped up.
"Arthur, I just got her to put it away. And look, her mouth is full. Don't be so rude."
"No, I'm curious too," Remus said. "Swallow, Hermione, and then tell us if you will what exactly has had your attention all this evening."
Hermione swallowed a bit, tucked some sausage her in cheek, and said, "It's a statement to the press."
"Really?" George turned around and snatched the notebook.
Hermione made a grab for it, but he turned away just in time. "It's not finished yet!" she insisted.
George, laughing, began to read:
"Ladies and gentlemen of the press, you are all aware by now that the Dark Lord has been defeated. We are beginning to rebuild. We call upon every witch and wizard in Britain to rejoice and lend their aide in our recovery. This is a glorious time and a great victory. Let us embrace it and never again yield to Evil.
Many of you have asked repeatedly to be informed of how exactly it was that the Dark Lord himself was vanquished. You have asked to speak with many members of the famed Order of the Phoenix in the past month. We ask now that you delay your inquiries pending an official report of events from the Ministry for Magic. We especially ask that you direct all requests for information concerning Mr. Harry Potter to his assistant, Mrs. Luna Longbottom. Again, there will be no official statement by any member of the Order of the Phoenix or any of its affiliates until such time as an official inquiry is conducted by the Ministry. Thank you."
"Wow, Mione, where'd you learn to write like that?" Fred asked through a mouthful of mash.
"Well," Hermione said, still looking at the table, "when one reads often, one is more likely to retain different turns of phrase. So they say."
"I appreciate the statement, and I think it's a capital idea. This ought to keep the hounds off of us for another couple of weeks at least," Arthur said.
"That for sure," said Tonks.
"What do you think, Remus?" George asked, passing the notebook toward the head of the table.
Remus took the notebook quietly. Now seemed the moment to inform them. He sighed.
"I'm afraid we'll have to keep them away for more than just a couple of weeks. The Ministry won't be ready to prepare its report until the conflict is truly over."
Molly dropped her fork. "What do you mean?"
Everyone leaned toward Remus. He scooted back in his chair, stood, and then leaned on his hands toward his friends, his eyes baleful but determined. "The Ministry has received intelligence on a small group of surviving Death Eaters assembled in the forbidden forest. It is believed that they intend to retake Hogwarts. The Ministry is confident that the Order alone will be more than a match for them. The Minister has asked that we take on this one last challenge."
Fred and George both stood. "Let's do it," they said together.
Arthur took Molly's hand. Their eyes met. She nodded. "We're in agreement," he stated.
"Remus," Tonks said. Getting up, she moved beside him and put her hands on his shoulders. He placed his hand on one of hers, nodding.
Everyone looked at Hermione who was still staring at the table.
"Psst!" said George, shoving her shoulder.
Hermione looked up. She shook her head. "I'm sorry everyone, but I can't agree to this."
"You can't not agree, my dear. We don't have much choice," Remus said gently.
"If you order me to do this, I will," Hermione said, finally standing. She stepped over the bench and made her way toward the front stairwell. She paused in the dining room doorway. "But if you want my willing help, you'll let me do one thing first that will guarantee that we win once and for all."
"And what's that, dear?" Molly asked.
"I need to find Harry Potter."
Author's Note: As you can see, I've decided to continue with the story. Special thanks goes to my honey, mudbloodpotter05, for helping me jump back on this story. If you haven't yet read his stuff, now's a great time to jump in! "Simply Irresistible" is now entirely AU, though I have decided to preserve some things in common with Jo's version of how things ended. I know this chapter was short, but I don't like rambling explanations. Thanks for waiting so long. Please R&R! Thanks!