Chapter 7

Remus' was tired and frustrated, and above all had a bad headache. He ran his hand through his hair for the hundredth time.

"Trust me," said Sirius. "They're my relatives, and I'm sure they would come up with something like this."

"But it doesn't make sense," added Lily, "why would they just want Remus?"

"…Well, maybe they don't…maybe its some plot to get Harry?"

"Sirius, even I don't see the logic in that," said James.

The four had been talking like this for over an hour now. They were all sat down in the kitchen around the table, debating on what the hell they should do next.

"There is only one-way to find out whether it's the truth or not," Remus then said. "And that's by going to Malfoy mannor."

"But if it's a trap," started Sirius.

"Then I guess we'll just have to be extra careful."

"I dunno," said Sirius. "It sounds dodgy to me. Shouldn't we tell Dumbledore or something?"

"Dumbledore's been off the radar for ages now," said Lily. "By the time we've found him we may have lost our chance."

"Dobby said we had to hurry," Remus added quietly.

Lily sighed. "We should check it out, at least try and figure out if it is a trap or not."

James nodded. "We can take the cloak. That way they won't see us coming," he smiled at his terrible joke, however nobody else took notice.

"There's a slight problem with that though," said Remus. "We haven't been able to all fit under the cloak since second year at Hogwarts."

James shrugged, "a minor detail, it just means only two of us can get close to the house."

"Well," said Lily. "Someone should stay here to keep an eye on the kids; I'll stay."

Remus stood up, "I'm going," he said.

"I'll come with you mate," said Sirius.

Everyone turned to James. "I'll stay here with Lily. Only two can fit under the cloak."

Remus headed to the door of the kitchen, eager to get there.

"Don't do anything brash." Said Lily, a look of worry on her face, Remus paused. "Don't go storming in there if you do find her."

"Don't worry," said Sirius. "We're just checking it out. Coming up with a plan. I don't reckon it will be a walk in the park getting into Malfoy manor."

***[:]***

Malfoy manor stood at the bottom of a hill, hidden by a circle of forest. It was a stormy cold night and the sound of two people apparating in the nearby forest was deadened by the wind in the trees.

"It's freezing here," said Sirius, pulling his jacket closer to him.

Remus merely nodded in answer. "Which way is it?" He asked.

"This way," replied Sirius, walking through the wood and down a steep incline, Remus followed.

Sirius' face fell slightly, "haven't been here in a long time," he muttered. "Unless the place has had an extension or something, it's going to be pretty much impenetrable."

They reached a clearing and the building suddenly came into sight. The black spires and gothic architecture stretching up towards the sky.

"Idyllic," said Remus, sarcasm lacing his voice.

"If Tonks is there," said Sirius, "I feel sorry for her."

Remus stared at the building, almost as if he stared long and hard enough he would suddenly know the whereabouts of his wife.

Sirius removed James' cloak from under his jacket and threw it over themselves. They both started to make their way towards the manor, now under the protection of the cloak.

It wasn't long until they reached the high gate of Malfoy manor. As if the wrought iron wasn't enough to stop any intruder, Remus was sure he could see the shimmer of a charm placed on the gate.

"There's no way we're getting in that way," Sirius muttered, mainly to himself.

Remus stared through the gate his eyes searching for anything of use. That's when he noticed the dilapidated building of to the right. He walked along the gate a bit, pulling Sirius with him, "Look," he said pointing through the gate.

"What?" questioned Sirius, and then noticed the shed, standing away from the main building of Malfoy Monor. "Oh." He said. "Do you think that's the shed the house elf spoke of?"

"Must be," replied Remus.

"How do we know she's in there," Sirius voiced Remus' thoughts out loud.

"I don't know," he replied and was silent for a while, his eyes always fixed on the shed. "What if we cause a commotion or something?"

"Yeah, but wouldn't that attract the attention of Malfoy as well?"

Remus fell quite again and Sirius decided not to interrupt, he could practically hear his friend's brain running on overdrive. "It needs to be something that Malfoy won't find suspicious. But something that would attract her attention."

"Like what?"

Remus smiled, "I think I've got it."

The pair made their way back up the hill where Sirius then apparated a short distance away and Remus made his way back down to the manor, the cloak over him. Once at the gate he silently waited, his eyes on the shed once more.

***[:]***

Tonks was curled up on the old mattress that had so kindly been donated to her. She was having another down moment, and all she could seem to think of was her family. What were they doing right now? They were probably both fast asleep- it was late after all. They wouldn't have as many troubling thoughts as she had at that very moment.

There was then a loud fizzing noise and a bang like a gun. Tonks was startled by the noise, sitting up quickly. Malfoy Monor was in the middle of the English countryside, miles away from any civilization, it was unusual to hear such noises, and at such a time. There was then another fizz and bang and Tonks looked up through the hole in her 'home' to see bright colours decorating the sky.

Realization dawned on her quickly; they were fireworks. Tonks stood up to gaze at the explosions more closely. However she couldn't see the whole display. A few more crackled across the skyline and a small smile appeared on Tonks face. She remembered the last time she'd seen fireworks like this.

It had been November the fifth and the boys had all gotten a load of Muggle fireworks in celebration of Guy Fawkes. Sirius, James, Remus and fireworks never was a good combination. They didn't seem to grasp their minds around the fact that the rockets couldn't just be stuck in the ground, and most of the display had been on the floor of James' back garden. The fact Sirius was a serious pyro maniac didn't seem to help either. Tonks' smile grew when she remembered Sirius lighting any firework he could get his hands on. At one point he lit a rocket and Remus had to yell at him "Don't light that yet!" And in a moment of panic threw the rocket down the garden, instead of using his brain and de-lighting the fuse. Then the rocket went off, directed straight at the onlookers, who included Tonks and lily, who screamed a considerable amount, but secretly enjoyed it.

That had been the last get together they'd all had. The next day it was announced that Voldemort had broken into the ministry, and the whole world turned upside down in seconds flat.

Tonks grabbed a hoodie and pulled it over her head. She wanted to go out and watch the display. She left the shed, only glancing up at the house once, and silently made her way around the back of the shed looking up at the fireworks.

***[:]***

At first Remus thought it was the trick of the light. He 'd been staring at the shed for so long, willing someone to come out that when someone did he was sure it was a figment of his imagination. He was momentarily thrown. Until he realized, that in plain clarity stood his wife.

Remus merely stared through the gate at Dora, unsure how to describe how he felt right then. Relief, certainly. A lot of relief. There had been times when he'd convinced himself that she couldn't possibly be alive, or at least that he would never see her again. But there she was, the only thing between them a charmed gate.

Remus watched as Dora smiled when a large pink firework blew up in the sky, lighting up her features. And he suddenly realized what he'd been missing for so long, it hit him like a ton of bricks and he couldn't help but call out to her.

Dora jumped at the sound of her name, her eyes darting around uncertainly, a slight frown on her face.

Remus realized she couldn't see him. Of course she couldn't see him, he was wearing James' cloak. He threw it off, but it seemed it was a fatal mistake. As soon as he removed the cloak an alarm went off at Malfoy manor.

***[:]***

Tonks' eyes darted to the gate as soon as she heard the intruder alarm, and saw to her alarm, Remus. "Remus!" she called out, staring at the figure standing on the other side of the wrought iron gate.

Remus grabbed the gate, "I'll get you out," he called.

Tonks couldn't help but smile, he couldn't really be standing there. This had to be some dream. However her smile soon vanished when realization hit her. "Get out of here," she called across to him. That alarm wasn't the only protection that surrounded Malfoy manor. "Remus run" she called. There was then some barking off to her left and she saw three large enchanted dogs run towards Remus on the other side of the gate. They were a transparent blue and left a trail of smoke behind them, but Tonks knew from experience, they could bite. They were far more vicious than any normal dog.

Remus took one last look at his wife and then grabbed James' cloak and legged it. He could hear the dogs barking and chasing after him. There were at least three of them, and Remus wondered how far out the charm extended on them until they didn't pose any threat.

Remus reached the bottom of the hill, his lungs already starting to hurt from the cold night air. As he started to make his way up the steep incline he started to run through the various spells that he could possibly use on the dogs. He was starting to think he wouldn't get very far. As soon as this thought occurred to him, one of the dogs snapped at his leg, snarling when it missed.

Remus jumped over a felled tree and pulled his wand out of his pocket. He turned, aiming his wand at the nearest dog and said "stupefy." The dog recoiled with the spell, whimpering as it fell behind from the others. At least normal stunning spells had an effect on them.

The other two were still racing after him though and one made another lunge for his leg; it's jaws snapping wildly. He tried aiming another spell at a dog but it leapt to the right, dodging it.

That's when Remus slipped on a pile of leaves, he tried to scramble back up but he wasn't fast enough. A dog collided into him. Remus rolled over, throwing the dog off him. He aimed his wand at the dog but the other leapt at him and sank it's teeth into his arm. Remus called out, kicking at the dog and throwing it off him. The other crouched onto his haunches, ready to pounce on him. Remus realized he was almost certainly about to become dog food. Something he thought was slightly ironic.

The other dog leapt and Remus closed his eyes, waiting for the other dog's teeth to sink into him. However all that happened was Remus heard a whooshing noise and the sound of a dog yelping. He opened his eyes to see a black dog snapping at both of the charmed dogs. He could not mistake the dark fur coat, it was Sirius.

Remus grabbed his wand off the forest floor, having dropped it earlier when the dog had jumped him and let off several spells at one of the dogs, it yelped in pain and then vanished into blue smoke.

Sirius and the other dog were snapping and clawing at each other, each trying to cause the most damage. Remus trained his wand on the Charmed dog but couldn't fire without the risk of hitting Sirius. Sirius yelped when the other dog dug its teeth into his shoulder, and he snarled, throwing him off him. Remus quickly took the opportunity to cast spells at it and it vanished, just like the other dogs.

Sirius padded over to Remus where he collapsed onto the forest floor next to him in exhaustion. "Thanks Padfoot," said Remus, rubbing him behind the ear.

I know it's been a while since i posted :/ Sorry - but i hope this chapter has made up for it :D Please feel free to press that button below and review :)