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Chapter 8
Remus sniffed as he let a few tears fall unchecked down his face. They were gone, and he wasn't there to save them. He should've been there. But no, he couldn't be there because of that bloody moon. He was so busy beating himself up over something he couldn't control, that he didn't notice the young couple in cloaks. Remus jerked as a gentle hand was laid on his arm. "Relax, Moony. It's just me." said a familiar voice.
"Hey, Pads. It's good to hear your voice again." he said as he placed his hand over hers.
The three friends stood silently in front of the freshly dug graves as the other mourners said their good byes and left.
"How did this happen?"
"Voldemort."
"And Siri?"
"Azkaban."
"Why?" Inuai asked, turning to face her friend. Tears were running down her face, and her eyes were puffy as if she had been crying for days.
"Maybe we should talk about this someplace else." Remus said comfortingly.
"You're right." Inuai sighed. "Just give me a moment to say good bye?"
Inuai quietly made her way over to the headstones that bore tow very familiar names. As she read them, Inuai slowly slipped to her knees. "Hey, you two." she whispered. "I promised I'd come back if there was any trouble, but I guess I didn't come soon enough." Tears started to leak down Inuai's face. "But I swear to you both," she said, her face hardening with resolve. "I will keep Harry safe, no matter what."
She looked back at the hooded figure standing next to one of her dearest friends. As if on some unspoken cue, the figure walked over and helped Inuai up, making sure their hoods kept their faces in shadow.
Remus watched silently as the young woman he loved as a sister, said her final good byes to the first family she had. He knew they would need someplace safe to talk before she could let her guard down. Just like him, Inuai was looked down upon by the majority of the wizarding world just for being who she was. Anything seen as dark by high ranking officials, most of whom were bought and paid for by pureblood families, were persecuted to the highest extent of the law. And even though Voldemort was gone, demons were still considered the darkest and most foul creatures around, and if captured, were sent to Azkaban to be Kissed.
A small grey, cat sitting on a nearby fence, watched to exchange between the three companions before they apparated away. I think Albus will want to be told about the visitors he'll be receiving. And with that, the cat jumped off it's perch and scurried off into the bushes, where it disappeared.
Inuai looked around to familiar shack that stood isolated on the outskirts of the village. "This seems a bit familiar." Inuai said sarcastically, lowering her hood as the foundation groaned under the weight of the constantly shifting building.
"Brings back a lot of good memories." Remus replied, his voice trembling a bit. "Here, let me start a fire so we don't freeze to death." He went very pale as he said the last word and looked over at Inuai, afraid that she might break down at any moment. The hanyou looked over at her friend with a reassuring smile, as if to say 'I've made my peace. Make all the bad jokes you want.'
Inuai, Legolas, and Remus sat around the fire, silently going over the events of the day. Finally, the stillness got to be too much for Inuai. "Remus," she said, breaking the silence.
Remus looked up a bit startled as if he forgot that there were others with him.
"Tell me what happened." Inuai said in a surprisingly calm voice. "All of it and don't you dare sugar coat it."
"Alright, but don't blame me if your butt goes numb." Remus replied with the first real smile he'd had in about a week. "Where would you like me to start?"
"Let's start with what happened to my godson." Inuai said, her voice taking on an icy edge.
Remus unconsciously moved away from the half demon. He knew, first hand, what a pissed off hanyou was capable of, and he didn't want to experience it again. Luckily for him, Legolas reached over to entwine their fingers together, providing the calming influence his mate needed. And forestalling the rage that was boiling right beneath the surface. She is so not going to like this. Remus thought, inching a little further away. Maybe I should warn Dumbledore. "Dumbledore sent him to ..."
"What did you say?"
"Dumbledore sent him to the Dursleys."
"Why would he do such a stupid fucking thing like that?" Inuai cried, jumping to her feet.
"Something about protection from the blood wards and wanting him to grow up away from the wizarding world. It sounded a bit fishy to me." Remus replied, albeit a little afraid.
Inuai continued to pace about the room, ignoring the constant shifting of the walls. "Does he even know what they're like?" she mumbled to herself. "They're horrible, Moony! They're going to treat him like shit!"
"You don't know that, Pads."
"Yes, I do! I stayed with Lily over summer holiday ever fucking year! Petunia hated Lily! She never called her anything but a freak! She'll treat Harry the way she's always wanted to treat Lily! And do you know why, Remus? Because he can't fight back! He's a fucking year old!" Inuai was practically screaming by now, and unfortunately for Remus and Legolas, she wasn't going to calm down anytime soon.
She rounded on the two men suddenly, startling the werewolf as he was absorbed in his own bleak thoughts. "Have you been to see him?" she asked, not needing to clarify.
"No," Remus said dejectedly. "Petunia knows who I am. As soon as she sees me, she calls the police."
"Right. Now tell me about Siri." Her tone of voice left no room for argument, and Remus knew it.
"Sirius is currently sitting in Azkaban. He went crazy when he found out about James and Lily. He confronted Peter in a crowded market in Muggle London. Over a hundred muggles saw him take down Peter." Remus explained.
I knew that dirty rat was no good.
"Do you think he would actually do something like that?"
"I don't know, Pads."
"What do you mean, you don't know? This is Sirius we're talking about!" Inuai snapped at the werewolf.
"You didn't see him the night we found out! He was mad with grief, Inuai. He said he was going to kill Peter." Remus snapped back with a growl.
"But do you honestly believe that Sirius would kill someone like that? There was a huge blast! Besides, Siri wouldn't do anything that drastic in front of that many muggles." Inuai replied, biting back her own growl. "I can't stick around here any more."
"Where are you going to go, Inuai?"Remus asked. "You know you're being hunted by every witch and wizard in Britain. There's no place where you'll be safe."
"Don't tell me what I already know, Remus! There's always one place I can be completely safe." Inuai said looking fondly at her mate. "Besides, I want to see my godson." At this, Legolas got up to join his mate, knowing full well that Inuai did not intend to stay there any longer than she had to.
"Inuai, wait." Remus pleaded. Inuai turned around to face her friend. "Be careful."
"Don't worry, Moony. I always am." she smirked.
Petunia hurried through her immaculate house to see who could possibly be knocking on her door so close to dinner time. She opened her door to find a young couple standing on the stoop, looking like they had an appointment. "Can I help you?" she asked looking them over with a critical eye.
"I'm sorry to intrude on you like this, but we just heard about you sister and wanted to offer our condolences." the young woman stated plainly. She looked to be in her early twenties, around the same age as Lily, with shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes. The young man with her stood silently at her side, his hair was short and curly and the same color as the woman's.
"Yes, well. Thank you, but I must be going. I have a baby to feed." Petunia said primly as she moved to close the door.
"Oh, you're taking care of your nephew?" the young woman cried, stepping swiftly into the house. Petunia looked shocked at this girl's manners before regaining her composure.
"I'm sorry," she said as sweetly as she could. "But I didn't catch your names."
"Pardon me for my rudeness! I'm Elizabeth, and this is my husband, Orlando. We, well, more like, I, was friends with your sister, Lily."
"You aren't one of those, are you?" Petunia asked a bit fearfully.
"You mean those people waving sticks about? Oh, heaven's no!" Elizabeth replied, after covering a short cough, which, Petunia thought, sounded suspiciously like a laugh.
"Well, Elizabeth and Orlando, it was lovely meeting you, but as you can plainly hear, I have a very hungry son to take care of." she said, gesturing towards the upstairs. Elizabeth tried not to wince as the screams got louder, but they weren't coming from upstairs. They seem to be coming from... beneath the stairs. Oh, no. She thought to herself as she looked up at her husband with worry clearly written in her eyes. As their eyes met, Elizabeth knew he had caught the same thing.
"Excuse me," Elizabeth said timidly, "but would you mind if we helped? Usually when one child's hungry, the other one is too."
"How did you know that?" Petunia asked suddenly. "I mean, how did you know I was taking care of two babies?"
"Well, Mrs. Dursley," Orlando spoke up, " there are quite a few toys on the floor, and they can't all belong to one child."
Petunia bristled at the thought of that freak ever playing with her little Duddy's toys, but quickly pasted on a fake smile. "Of course, you're welcome to help. Why don't I show you two to the living room, and then I can get the boys." she said as sweetly as possible.
As soon as Petunia was out of earshot, Elizabeth turned to her husband. "What are we going to do, Legolas? We can't leave him here."
"Don't be too hasty, Inuai. We don't know the extent of his treatment here." Legolas quickly reassured his mate before Petunia came bustling back into the room with the two boys nestled vicariously in her arms. The bigger of the two was flailing his arms about, hitting the smaller child as if it couldn't stand to be close to him.
"Here." Petunia spat out as she shoved the smaller child into Inuai's arms.
Oh, god, Harry. She thought as the smell of blood assaulted her nose. She looked down at her godson and noticed a small trickle of red running down his face from an angry red scar on his forehead. "Excuse me, Petunia. But do you have a damp washcloth? There's a little blood coming from this scar." Inuai asked sweetly.
"Don't worry, Harry." she whispered as she cleaned his face. "I'll get you out of here."
"Ah, Mrs. Greenleaf. How nice to see you again."
"Cut the formal crap, Dumbledore." Inuai snarled. "Why was he left with them?"
"It's where he will be safest. The blood wards will ensure that." Dumbledore said softly, trying to calm the enraged hanyou before him. Albus looked toward the elf standing in the doorway, silently pleading with his eyes, asking the man to help calm his mate. Legolas locked eyes with the old man for a couple seconds before turning and walking out of the office. Well, looks like I'm on my own. He thought bleakly to himself. "Inuai... please have a seat."
Inuai looked quickly at the headmaster. He had sounded so weary, and in that moment, he looked every one of his years. She could tell that Albus had taken James and Lily's deaths very hard and felt slightly guilty for Harry.
"Albus," Inuai's voice broke through the silence that permeated the office. "Why don't I take Harry back with me? He'll be safe there. Safer than he'll be with those muggles."
"I'm sorry, Inuai." he said looking at the young woman sitting across from him, the twinkle no longer evident in his gaze. "But it would be better for him to remain here in this realm."
"Fine, have it your way." Inuai said as she stood to leave, anger tinging her voice. "But just a warning, old man. Don't ever piss of a female hanyou.
IRON REAVER, SOUL STEALER!"
Albus sat shocked as he looked around his office. With one single attack, Inuai had practically destroyed his whole office. Most of the former headmasters and mistress' were yelling about their portraits being torn to bits, and the instruments around the room were now just tiny bits of metal and glass. But the thing that astonished the 'unshakable' headmaster the most, was the gargoyle that had once guarded his door, was now no more than a pile of dust.
