Unleashed
Chatper Title: Mad World
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything you recognize.
Notes: Thanks to my glorius Beta read; And That Other Guy! You have done and continue to do such a great job.
'What did he say?' Kenneth asked, nearly latching himself onto Remus in the urge to receive news. 'Does Dumbledore want me to go back in?' he said, glancing over Remus' shoulder and into the office behind.
Remus closed the heavy oak door behind with a soft ssthhhuunnk. He looked like he was teasing Kenneth by standing in front of the door and keeping his mouth shut. The werewolf simply dipped his head down once, no smile on his face whatsoever, but Kenneth could see the cheeky gleam in his eyes, something he hadn't seen before. He hadn't seen that Remus' eyes were flecked with amber before either. Kenneth caught himself staring and pulled his eyes away to the oak door behind the man.
'Well?' he asked a little impatiently.
'You need to go and see him again,' Remus said, this time smiling at Kenneth.
He touched a finger to Kenneth's chest and said softly, 'The Secret-Keeper would like to tell you his secret.' Remus pushed the door open again and nudged Kenneth inside. Kenneth, a bit flushed from the way Remus' finger tip had nearly slipped inside the folds of his shirt, entered the office.
Dumbledore was standing beside the window as Kenneth slipped inside. In the endless amount of photographs the Daily Prophet seemed to publish each day, Dumbledore looked quite young and spritely. But seeing him in person Kenneth was able to realize how old he was. He'd always thought of Dumbledore as someone who would be around forever, because when he was growing up Dumbledore was a prominent figure and now still was. Kenneth could easily imagine Dumbledore living forever and having very little harm come of it.
The man looked as though he could, he had been around for what felt like forever. It was forever to Kenneth. It occurred to him that when Dumbledore did die, a fact that could not be ignored when he looked upon the Professor, that there would be a huge amount of uproar. The Ministry was the centre of the magical community in England, but Hogwarts was definitely right up there in the importance of it, and Dumbledore was quite a big figure in the world today.
The chaos that ensued would be interesting after the Professor died, but Kenneth was confident that the elderly already striking white bearded man had a few good years left in him yet. If there was one thing everyone knew, it was that you don't mess with Dumbledore unless of course you're Fudge, but then you whine about it before doing anything.
'Welcome back,' the Professor said to him as if he had been gone a long time. Longer than the ten minutes Kenneth had been gone for. 'Are you familiar with the Fidelius charm?'
'Yes,' Kenneth said quietly, and when Dumbledore raised his eyebrows, he continued. 'It allows the user to keep a secret that only they can tell to people. If the Secret-Keeper dies, they take the secret with them to the grave.' He could tell that Dumbledore had been teaching far too long as he expected Kenneth who didn't even attend his school to tell him what the Fidelius charm did. And though Kenneth was more than happy to tell the Headmaster, he was sure that he didn't ask Remus or anyone else in the Order what spells did for extra brownie points. Kenneth didn't really mind, it was probably his age that kept Dumbledore doing that. He was only twenty-four.
'Correct,' Dumbledore said with ease. 'It also means that it stops others from telling the secret who know it. Only the Secret-Keeper can tell his or her secret.'
Kenneth was left at a loss of things to say. Surely it wouldn't be polite to ask him to tell his secret. The idea of the Fidelius charm was that the keeper gave the secret away freely. 'Am I trustworthy then?' he asked, knowing that Dumbledore must have discussed it with Remus, and Kenneth wanted to know what conclusion Dumbledore had come to.
Remus had said he was about to be given the secret which could be anything. Remus was able to tell him about the Order of the Phoenix and what they did but that was it. Surely most of the names of the people involved should be kept a secret to stop what happened last time happening again.
Dumbledore nodded. 'It's going to be very simple if you turn out not to be,' the man said calmly pacing his office back to his desk. 'One simply memory charm, and you'll forget everything. I am going to trust you and give you my secret. If you do prove that we cannot trust you, I will perform a memory charm on you, and you will forget everything that has happen since Remus first mentioned the Order to you.'
Kenneth nodded. That wasn't that bad. It was great that Dumbledore thought he could trust him and was allowing him to join the Order purely for helping out Remus. Kenneth liked that. He liked it a lot. 'You can trust me a hundred percent, Professor,' Kenneth said with a soft smile.
'Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix are at number twelve, Grimmauld Place,' Dumbledore said loosely, and Kenneth was surprised that he just said it. It just came out; it had to be the secret. Dumbledore must feel he was able to trust him, but Kenneth wasn't sure he would even trust himself. There was plenty that could slip out when the wolf came through on the odd occasion. 'I do trust you,' he said with a smile at Kenneth who blinked back in return.
'Remus has agreed to escort you there right now as there will be others who want to meet you and probably discuss whether they, too, can trust you or not.'
'Fair enough.'
'Your mission will be to go on missions with Remus as he needs help on them. He can do them himself, and it's probably safer with one person but with two people ...' Dumbledore drew off. 'Two people can look after each other. Keep each other safe.'
'What's my first mission, then?' Kenneth asked excitedly. This all sounded very heroic.
'Not for a while,' Dumbledore said with a light chuckle. 'Firstly you need to settle into Grimmauld Place and endure the full moon. Only your second, I understand.'
'Yes, Professor, only my second.'
'Then I do not think that you will be going on any missions with Remus anytime soon. Although, he does say that your wolf is rather gentle on the full moon.' Dumbledore was smiling at him as if he loved to talk about werewolves like it was one of his favourite topics to discuss. 'I suspect you will ask me what kind of missions you will be undertaking.'
'Yeah, I was getting there.'
'Whatever we need,' Dumbledore said. 'At the moment it is very likely that you and Remus will be doing something about the amount of werewolves joining the Death Eaters as that number rises all the time.'
'Because he can give them a better life ...' Kenneth mused to himself zoning out from Dumbledore's presence as he remembered what Inez had told him. 'Do you really think he could?'
'No,' Dumbledore said bluntly. 'He could not. If given control, whether he takes it or is offered it, he would continue to do what he has only known for so long. Kill, hurt and that is all. I do believe he could be capable of much better things, but he has only known that for so long that it has become all he knows.'
'I see,' Kenneth said, puzzled. He didn't really want a full account of what Dumbledore knew about You-Know-Who and was quite happy for the elderly wizard to leave that strange and bizarre sentence as it was. Though it did hint that Dumbledore knew You-Know-Who as he spoke about him quite generally, he could have taught him in school.
'Well!' Dumbledore said somewhat joyously. 'This position does not mean you get paid. You more or less belong to the Order, but you do get accommodation, and Molly Weasley really is a lovely cook. You must have intense loyalty to keeping the world as we know it safe,' the Headmaster added in a fashion that could easily be out of a movie.
'Oh, I can do that,' said Kenneth drawing himself up. 'I can do that very easily, Professor.'
'Good,' the Professor said with a smile at him. 'Go now,' he added. 'Remus will take you to Grimmauld Place now to get acquainted with your new home.' He nodded to Kenneth to leave and retreat towards the door.
Kenneth walked towards the door, but halfway across the office he turned and felt the uncomfortable feeling of all the eyes on the wall just watching him as he turned. It was a strange thing to have dead yet un-dead eyes upon him. The Professor looked up, and Kenneth could see his blue eyes looking back over him as he glanced back. 'Thank you,' Kenneth said, attempting a small half smile in the Professor's direction.
'Do not thank me just yet,' the Professor replied. 'You may have an unwelcome reception at Grimmauld Place. Some of the members don't seem too happy I have been able to trust you this easily.' Dumbledore scratched his chin. 'I sent an owl ahead,' he said when Kenneth shot him intrigued look. 'Go,' Dumbledore said firmly.
'Yeah, but thanks anyway,' Kenneth said with a smile and hurried out. He pushed against the oak door and must have dislodged Remus from against it because there was a light yelp of surprise emitted. The door was pulled in the direction Kenneth pushed, and he nearly fell out on top of Remus who caught him easily and steadied him.
'Careful there,' he murmured as Kenneth straightened up.
'So I move into Grimmauld place?' Kenneth asked him running a hand through his hair that had started to feel a little too smoothed over for his liking. He'd used to like it neat and tidy but now as it was longer he liked it to be scruffy and have a slightly uncared for look about it. This new scruffiness that the wolf brought about suited him, he thought. He liked that, and he was sure that showed as he kept touching it and running his hands through it a lot. He did have a bit of a thing for hair. 'What's wrong with staying where I am?'
'Wouldn't you run out of money eventually?' Remus asked him, pulling him lightly into the moving stairs with him.
'Eventually,' Kenneth said. 'But you forget, I just sold my house, and I've a mini fortune sitting in my vault now. Seriously, I could holiday in France for a while. Germany maybe, I think of werewolves and vampires when I think of Germany,' Kenneth admitted. 'We should have the werewolf community there. It'd be brilliant. How much unplottable land is there in Germany?'
'I'm not sure how much is left,' Remus said. 'No!' he cried grabbing Kenneth by the arm and pulling him back down another staircase. 'We can't go that way; the picture of the girl is down there. If you see her again we'll be in for some trouble.'
'You know what?' Kenneth said spinning around and smiling faintly to let Remus know he was joking. 'I think you're jealous that I think she's absolutely gorgeous. Next time I come here, if you'll let,' he added like a child restricted by his parents, 'I'm going to go and stare at her for hours. She blushed when she saw me, did you know? She's beautiful, stunning.' Remus rolled his eyes and Kenneth touched a hand to his shoulder gently making him look up in surprise. 'But you're ... I'd go as far as to say ... nnnmmhh,' he sighed. He'd gone this far he may as well continue. 'You're really quite something yourself.
'Wh – ' Remus cleared his throat. 'What?'
'You, Remus Lupin, you are gorgeous. There I've said it! Maybe I'll stop thinking about it now,' he said and hit the side of his head with his hand.
'It's been a while since someone has told me that,' Remus said, honestly sounding a little guilty.
'It's been a while since someone has waited up for you, told you that you are stunning. Has it been a while since someone has asked you to get a drink with them?' Kenneth asked then winced when what he'd said crossed his mind again. 'Oh, Merlin, I'm sorry. That sounded so cheesy.'
'Kind of nice actually,' Remus said softly. 'Are you actually asking me?'
'Yes,' Kenneth said and nodded vigorously. 'Come and get a drink with me sometime. Anywhere you want, I don't mind. What do you say?' he asked when Remus was silent for a short time.
'I uh ... um, ok, I guess.' Remus started to walk, and Kenneth had to jog down the stairs to catch up with him.
'What do you mean "I guess"?' Kenneth asked. 'If you don't want to all you have to say is that you don't.'
'No, I do,' Remus said. 'You mean a date though, don't you?'
'If I meant a friendly drink I'd demand it, I wouldn't ask you reasonably politely after telling you I quite fancy you, now would I?'
'I suppose not.'
'I do mean on a date because in all honesty, I find you so fucking gorgeous that half the time I can barely contain myself around you. You smell absolutely delicious, just mm, Merlin. Do you have a cigarette on you anywhere?' Kenneth asked, and Remus shook his head. 'I really need to calm down,' Kenneth added. 'Was that a little too much at once?'
'Maybe a little too much, though it does bring comfort that that was the wolf who kissed my neck at the house rather than you.'
'I told you, I never make first moves like that. It always tends to come spilling out, like you just witnessed. Are you sure you don't have a cigarette?' Kenneth asked.
He was feeling really jittery and having difficulty containing himself after his rather embarrassing outburst. He'd smoked before, and it calmed him down a great deal. It probably wasn't appropriate to smoke until he was well out of the school.
'You know they are bad for you, cigarettes, I mean?' Remus asked softly as he pushed open the door to the Professor McGonagall's office where the fireplace was held. Thankfully she wasn't in there so they could continue their talk.
'I'm going to die anyway, what's the point?' Kenneth asked sourly. 'I don't smoke regularly. But I'm on a small adrenaline rush right now, and I need to calm down.' He shuddered when he felt Remus's hand on his back and actually skittered off to the side a little but stayed put when Remus touched him again. 'Urgh, sorry,' he gurgled and cleared his throat. 'See? Do you see?
'My crush on you has reduced me to near incoherency. The least you could do would be to offer to go out with me.'
'You have a crush on me?' Remus asked pulling his hand back.
'Why else would I have asked you out?'
'Are you nervous?' Remus asked, suddenly sounding a little amused. 'You just seem really grumpy and antsy.'
'Antsy? I am not antsy! Yes, I suppose I am nervous because you haven't really agreed to the drink yet.' Kenneth sighed and ran a hand through his hair. 'Confessions, confessions, confessions, leave me really needing a cigarette – Muggle ones. Oh Merlin, I feel like I'm challenging Withnail.' He turned to Remus. 'Just say yes, please, and I'll stop talking like a complete nutter and calm down, I promise. Just one drink is all I'm asking, somewhere nice and private and quiet and we can have a firewhisky or a butterbeer, which ever you prefer or something fancier. Say yes rather than "I guess".'
Remus was silent for a few seconds as he observed Kenneth's face, but slowly he nodded his head in a soft agreement. Kenneth sighed in relief; at least he hadn't made an arse of himself for nothing. 'But only because you're quite handsome yourself. And,' Remus paused and gave Kenneth one of those small, lingering touches he was quite prone to, 'you really are ... you have a nice body.'
'Well, this certainly kicks me up to a higher level because I don't just like you for your looks. I like your personality as well,' Kenneth said and grinned at him feeling much better Remus had agreed. 'You're kind and sweet, and you tell like it is. I like that, it's ... refreshing.'
'You talk absolute nonsense half the time,' Remus told him seriously. 'It's well, I think it's cute. You're a strange person, Kenneth,' Remus said with a flicker of a smile.
'It's what makes me so charming,' Kenneth said. 'People just can't stay away from my ... uniqueness.'
'Nice choice of words.'
'Thank you.'
'You aren't that different from anyone else though. You're just as nice and kind as the next person, but you're funny as well. And I like that.'
'Good, good,' Kenneth murmured.
He felt strangely free now that Remus knew and had agreed to go on a drink with him. He felt amazingly better for it. He smiled lightly, and Remus who grinned awkwardly back. Oh, Merlin, they were going to be like two embarrassed school girls about this.
The front of number 12, Grimmauld Place had literally shoved aside the neighbouring houses, and Remus and Kenneth had walked up to it. The first thing Kenneth had noticed was that number 12 was actually missing. But when it revealed itself, and the Muggle's in the other houses didn't seem to notice a thing, Kenneth was amazed by the magic placed on the house. That was seriously impressive.
The house popped in between the others and revealed a set of worn steps leading up to the darkened front door, which was just as battered as the steps. The knocker in the centre of the door was shaped as a silvery twisting serpent. The inside hallway of Grimmauld Place was no more cheery than the outside. The hallway was long and lit with old fashioned gas lamps that Kenneth would have had trouble working. The house must be wired up the Muggle electricity platform or whatever they called it.
A large chandelier hung overhead, and Kenneth was a little weary of passing underneath it as it looked like it was only just holding onto the ceiling. A lot of the small ornaments that Kenneth saw through the hallway were made up of serpents, even the light switches that must have something to do with the lamps. The legs of a small table in the hallway were made of serpents entwining around each other and seemed to be kissing as the table met the legs. The hallway gave off a sense of grand times past as it certainly was not now. The carpet was worn, wallpaper was tearing off, and cobwebs littered the corners of the ceilings.
There was a clatter further up the corner like something being knocked over and swear word muttered. A sigh of annoyance and irritation emitted quickly after that and several strides could be heard coming down the corridor and before Kenneth could reach for his wand another was pressing into the side of his temple, and Remus was arguing with the owner of that wand who didn't seem to be listening to him.
All Kenneth could see was straggly greasy black hair and the croak of words.
'Kenneth Webber, hand over your wand.'
hint I love feed back /hint
I hope you enjoyed reading this and will stick around for the other chapters and the rest of the story!
