Note: Thanks very much to the reviewers of the previous chapter! That's about all I have to say, really...!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

9: The Escapee

Carrie Winters watched numbly as Teddy's parents slipped into their seats opposite her and as Dora reached to pass Remus his cup of tea, the muggle felt a furious urge to reach across the table and knock the mug from her hand.

And yet she couldn't move...couldn't...breathe...

"A...are they dead?" she asked them accusingly, eyes wide as she stared at them, leaning forwards anxiously. "Are my...are my parents..."

"No, Carrie love." Dora informed her calmly, reaching across the table to lay a gentle hand upon the muggle's arm. "Nobody's dead."

Carrie waited for her to elaborate, and when she did not do so immediately the muggle felt frustration bubble up inside of her again and she pulled her arm free as she cried:

"Tell me! Tell m...me what...what's wrong! What's happened?"

"Your parents are perfectly safe." Remus said, and as Dora shifted in her chair Carrie caught sight of her reaching to take hold of his hand in her lap. "We're going to make sure there are people around to look after them..."

"Why w...would...why would they need looking after?"

"Listen, Carrie love, there was absolutely no reason for the Ministry to...behave the way it has and if we'd known...if we'd had even the slightest suspicions that they would, then we'd have whisked your parents away just the same as we did you..."

"A...are they hurt? Did...did they get hurt...? C...can...can I see them? I want to see them!"

"Carrie," Remus said, sitting a little straighter in his chair, the small movement making the muggle's heart jolt in panic. "There is absolutely no...easy way to say this so I'm afraid I'm just going to say it." He paused for a long moment and Carrie had the horrible feeling that whatever it was he had to say was so dreadful that he might not be able to say it at all, but at Dora's expectant stare into the side of his head he drew a deep breath and admitted: "Your parents have been Obliviated."

There was a long pause as Carrie simply stared in horror before he confessed:

"Not by professionals, either...I expect the Snatchers did it themselves..."

"We don't want you to panic, love." Dora insisted as Carrie found herself shuffling backwards a little in her chair. "But...but like we've always said...obliviating people is...tricky...and...well if you aren't a professional then...well it can go rather...wrong."

Carrie wanted to ask what exactly she meant by wrong, but she couldn't think enough to speak.

"They didn't recognize us when we arrived," Remus explained, "and we thought that not too much of a problem but...but then your mother asked me...she asked me if I knew who the girl in the school photo was on the wall and...and then she asked me if it was her..."

"They don't remember who they are, who you are...they don't remember how to...function..."

"Their minds are broken, Carrie..."

The two adults trailed off into guilt-ridden silence and Carrie simply continued to stare, a terrible, terrible weakness seemed to descend upon her as she struggled to comprehend the information, let it sink in...

And as she struggled to see through the murky, suffocating reality of the situation, Carrie Winters could only think of one thing, the one thing that could make it all clearer...make it all better...

The muggle stared across the table at her two guardian angels, her couple of knights in shining armour, her fearless wonders who would always save the day, and demanded:

"Fix them."

Remus and Dora exchanged a despairing glance before Dora cleared her throat a little and leant forwards in her chair.

"Carrie love," the witch began softly, "listen to what we're telling you, they've been obliviated..."

"So fix them!" Carrie demanded, causing the witch's shoulders to slump. "You...you got them into this mess in the...in the first place..."

"Carrie, we know this is very difficult..." Remus began, voice so infuriatingly calm that Carrie simply couldn't bear to listen to him, and the muggle instantly jumped to her feet, knocking the cup of tea upon the table before her flying from the table, it's smashing against the kitchen floor making both witch and wizard flinch.

"MY PARENTS HAVE BEEN OBLIVIATED AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" Carrie shrieked at them, hands balling into furious fists. "IT'S YOU FAULT, SO...SO YOU FIX IT! FIX THEM! MAKE...MAKE THEM BETTER! PUT THEM RIGHT!"

Again, Remus and Dora exchanged a glance before the latter admitted:

"It...doesn't really work like that..."

"MAKE IT WORK!"

"...that's not really...the sort of thing we just...do..."

"WHAT DO YOU DO? WHAT...WHAT DO YOU AND...AND THE ORDER DO? ARE YOU GOING TO...TO CALL A MEETING? SIT AROUND A TABLE AND...AND HAVE A LITTLE CHAT? IS THAT GOING TO MAKE IT BETTER? IS...IS THAT GOING TO HELP?"

"Let's try and stay calm, eh?" Dora suggested rather pleadingly. "Why don't you sit down, and..."

"I DON'T WANT TO SIT DOWN!" Carrie screamed, kicking her chair backwards across the floor just in case they didn't quite get the message. "I DON'T WANT TO...TO SIT DOWN AND DRINK TEA! I...I DON'T WANT YOU TO BLOODY SIT DOWN AND DRINK TEA I...I...WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? MY PARENTS ARE...ARE PRACTICALLY BRAIN DEAD!"

"Carrie," Remus said as Dora reached to run a weary hand across her face. "Listen to me very carefully, to fix somebody who has been obliviated...if you even can because the chances are slim...you need specialist healers, medicine..."

"THEN GET SOME!"

"...this is Grimmauld Place, not St. Mungo's hospital..."

"I DON'T CARE!"

"...we're short on bandages here let alone potion ingredients..."

"I...I DON'T CARE...I..."

"We'd not have a clue where to even begin..."

"B...BUT YOU HAVE TO..."

Dora looked up from a dismal inspection of her lap, eyes distinctly watery as she attempted to fix Carrie with the firmest look she could muster.

"What Remus is trying to say, Carrie love," the witch informed the muggle as Carrie reached to grasp fistfuls of hair in agitation. "Is that as much as we wish we could wave a magic wand and make this all better...that isn't going to happen. We can't just fix your parents..."

Carrie instantly reached to clamp her hands over her ears, because she knew exactly what was going next.

We're sorry.

We're very, very sorry...

What would be the point in that? Being sorry wasn't going to make it better, and people said sorry all the time, it was so casual...so...insignificant. And this wasn't insignificant. It was...everything...

Trust them to say something so normal about the most tragic occurrence in the whole of her life...she'd been right about them, they weren't normal...they weren't like her, not at all...

She still wanted out. Now more than ever...

And she couldn't look at them, couldn't be around them, couldn't be in this magical little world of hers that really wasn't magical at all, it was horrible, cruel and terrible...she had to get out before it consumed her...

"Carrie!" she heard Dora call as she turned to flee back up the basement steps. "Come back..."

Their protests fell on deaf ears as she stumbled up the stairs and when she reached the top she heard the sound of scraping chairs as they made after her...

She needed to get away. Get out...

"Carrie...?" And there was Teddy, peering down at her from the landing above...she couldn't stand to look at him, see the concern on his face because really he was just as bad as the rest of them...

Carrie turned on her heel and ran down the hallway towards the front door, ignoring the calls after her as she flung the door open and made a bid for freedom...

She didn't know where she was going, indeed she didn't even truly know where she had been to begin with, but she didn't care.

She just wanted to put as much space between her and them as she could.

Because it was her and them. It always had been, really, no matter what they said. She didn't fit in to the magical world, and now the muggle world that she had at last began to feel at home in was in tatters...all because of them.

The cobbled streets were uneven underfoot and her feet were throbbing in protest. It was not until she had rounded a corner and made it halfway up another streetful of gloomy, tall houses that it occurred to her that she wasn't wearing any shoes. But it didn't matter, none of it mattered, the only thing that was important was getting away.

She reached the end of the street and made a dash across the adjoining road, narrowly avoiding a passing black cab that was forced to slam it's brakes on in order to avoid hitting her.

"Oi!" the cabby shouted out the window at her as she ran on up another road. "Watch it!"

Had Carrie been listening she might have heard the man's irate voice a few moments later when, about to set off down the road again he was forced to slam his foot down upon the brakes for a second time as another figure came sprinting across the road in front of him.

But as it was, Carrie was far too preoccupied with running. Just running...anywhere...

Stray gravel was digging into her feet, her legs were beginning to feel heavy and the relentless pounding of her heart was beginning to make her feel sick...faint...

She slowed her pace, concentrating on the bright red post box that was in the distance. She'd get to the post box...she'd get there and then she'd pick a new target and run there too. It was easier, setting little goals...

It was at that precise moment that a pair of arms suddenly threw themselves around her middle and Carrie was brought to a sudden halt, gasping for breath in surprise as a voice cried:

"Stop!"

Carrie instantly reached to grab hold of the hands at her waist, digging her nails into skin in an attempt to struggle free as she shrieked:

"LET ME GO!"

As he gritted his teeth against a grunt of pain, Teddy Lupin tightened his grip upon the muggle until her struggling very nearly sent the pair of them tumbling to the cobbles.

"Never." he declared breathlessly, crushing her against his chest and flinching at her small scream of protest. "Stop screaming, somebody's going to think I'm trying to murder you or something..."

"Get off! Get off of me!"

"You need to calm down..."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT I NEED?"

"Well maybe I'm not an expert, but I only want what's best for you, that's all we all want."

At long last, Teddy lost his struggle as she managed to yank herself free from him, spinning around to face him with furious, watery eyes.

"I...I'm not going back there!" she told him shrilly, trembling as his hands fell to his sides. "I'm not going back to that place I...I hate it! I...I HATE MAGIC! I hate magic and I hate wizards and witches and...and everything that goes along with them!"

Teddy's gaze fell dejectedly to his shoes and he shifted a little uncomfortably before mumbling:

"Well...that's a real shame. Because we love you." He looked up at her, expression unexpectedly stern as he informed her: "I love you, Carrie. You can't just run away from me, I won't let you."

Carrie stared at him, the extra weight of emotion making her shoulders slump.

"Now...now I know what's happened is the...the worst thing in the entire world." he went on rather uncertainly. "I know it is, and I wish...I wish it could all be better...I've never wished anything more in my whole life but...but there's nothing we can do. Blaming Mum and Dad and the Order certainly isn't going to help!"

At mention of the Order, Carrie immediately turned and set off up the street again, though her pace was slow, stumbling...

"Running away isn't going to help either!" Teddy insisted, hurrying along after her. "Don't run away from us, Carrie, we're trying to help you!"

"Go home, Ted." Carrie mumbled as he reached to catch hold of her by the hand.

"I'm not going home without you."

"I'm not going with you. Besides I...I don't fit in with...with your life..."

Teddy let out a disbelieving huff, grip upon her hand tightening as he pulled her around to face him again.

"How could you possibly think that?" he asked her, as somewhere in the distance Carrie could have sworn she heard somebody calling her name searchingly at the top of their lungs. "For Merlin's sake, Carrie! Of course you fit in with my life! You ARE my life!"

As she found herself being pulled into his arms, her face buried in the front of his jumper, Carrie felt suddenly as though she had found something to cling onto, something untarnished, in tact...

"Come on now," she heard Teddy murmur soothingly into the top of her head. "Let's go back..."

At the mention of going back, Carrie immediately panicked, and she made to jerk away from him again just in time to feel the sickening pull of apparation take it's hold...

"Carrie don't!" she heard Teddy exclaim in alarm as she made to move away, and quite suddenly cobbles were replaced with concrete and the muggle stumbled backwards, falling to the ground with a thump...

Carrie hastily blinked, heart pounding in alarm and she looked up just in time to see Teddy stumble back into a white bricked wall, his eyes wide in alarm.

"Merlin!" the wizard cursed as he managed to regain his footing. "I could've bloody splinched us!" He glanced past Carrie down the alleyway that they had appeared in with a deep frown as he muttered: "Where in Merlin's name are we?"

The bewildering incident had knocked the sense of stability straight out of Carrie's head, and again she thought she wanted nothing but to get away...

Scrabbling to her feet, the muggle stumbled around the overflowing rubbish bins that were set against the wall and was about to stumble out into the street, ignoring Teddy's called protest when all of a sudden a figure stepped around the corner and the muggle very nearly collided with them.

At the sight of long, scarlet wizard robes, Carrie instantly leapt backwards in alarm.

In a flash, Teddy appeared at her side and the gasp had barely left Carrie's lips before the young wizard had snatched his wand from his pocket, pointing it directly in the stranger's face.

"Don't move!" he demanded, reaching with his free hand to pull Carrie backwards a few more steps, and at last Carrie looked the stranger up and down.

The first and most alarming thing that Carrie noticed about the middle-aged man stood before her was that he was wearing Aurors' robes...

Teddy had drawn his wand upon a fully fledged Auror...

Carrie flinched at the realization, waiting for swift and brutal retaliation, but to her surprise the man didn't move a muscle.

Surely, the muggle thought as Teddy's aim wavered a little nervously from side to side, an Auror would recognise them? Want to capture them? Teddy's turquoise hair was hardly the most difficult trait to miss...

But still, the man didn't move. Or indeed give any sign that he recognized them at all...

As a matter of fact, Carrie couldn't help but think that he didn't really look like any Auror that she had ever met before in her life. He was a rather podgy looking man with thinning mud-brown hair and pale watery blue eyes that were wide as snitches and yet dull...slow...

Were those tears in his eyes?

Abruptly, his eyes seemed to focus upon the two teenagers stood before him and he drew in a sharp, jumpy breath before uttering hoarsely:

"They...they have brains...they have brains down there..."

Teddy began to lower his wand, his brow furrowing in confusion as he asked:

"Sorry...?"

"Brains and...and death!" the man hissed, trembling at his recollection. "I've SEEN them! Seen them with my own eyes!"

"Brains and death?" Teddy repeated uncertainly as Carrie shuffled backwards again, the strange man's eyes and quivering making her uneasy. "Who? Who has brains and death? I'm sorry, I really don't have a clue what you're..."

"THERE HE IS!"

All three of them jumped at the shout from around the corner, and Teddy hastily grabbed hold of Carrie by the hand and they fled back down the alleyway. As they dropped down to hide behind the rubbish bins, Carrie dared a glance back towards the man, just in time to see him drop to his knees, reaching to hug his arms over his head.

"No no no..." the muggle heard him whimper pitifully and at that moment a couple of men dressed in navy blue robes rounded the corner, causing Teddy to reach and yank Carrie back against the wall.

"Get him up for Merlin's sake!" Carrie heard one of the navy-clad wizards spit furiously. "How the bloody hell did he get this far?"

"No! No! I won't go! I won't!"

"Shut up! Get his other arm, Titus..."

"NO!"

"Got him?"

"Yep..."

"NO! I WON'T GO!"

"Merlin, very verbal one, isn't he?"

"IT'S RISING! JUST YOU WAIT AND SEE!"

"Here we go again, alright muggle, shut up now..."

"THE PHOENIX IS RISING!

"I don't think so. The Ministry's clipped its wings!"

"THE PHOENIX IS RISING! THE PHOENIX IS RISING!"

As the muggle's shrieking protests began to fade into the distance, an ashen-faced Teddy chanced another glance down the alleyway and, seeing it empty, got hurriedly to his feet.

"Still want to run away?" he asked Carrie grimly as he pulled her back onto her feet, and she immediately slumped forward, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Oh Ted!" Carrie sobbed, tears instantly seeping from her eyes once again as he wrapped a firm around around her, other hand still grasping firmly onto his wand. "What...what is this? What's...what's happening to my life? I...I can't...I don't know what to do! I just don't know!"

"Come back to Headquarters with me." Teddy pleaded, leaning to press a kiss atop her head. "I know we're not your family, I know you want your parents back...but I love you, I'll love you for forever and a day, I'll never leave you, you'll always have me."

They stood for some long minutes until her tears began to exhaust her and he paused in his staring down the alleyway to reach and push the hair back from her damp cheeks.

"Come on," he whispered, wiping a tear away with his thumb. "You've had a terrible shock, you need a cup of tea and some chocolate. Yes?"

There was a long pause as Carrie reached to swipe the sleeve of her cardigan across her eyes before she managed to mumble:

"Yes."

And with that, they disapparated with a soft pop.

They arrived back to an eerily quiet 12 Grimmauld Place, where a horde of Potter and Weasley children were crowded upon the steps up towards the drawing room in unnatural silence.

Carrie felt a little embarrassed when they all let out a deep sigh of relief at the sight of her and Teddy shuffling into the house.

"Where are the adults?" Teddy asked the rabble as Lily and Rose scrambled to their feet, faces instantly brightening.

"They're all out looking for Carrie." Victoire announced, and Carrie vaguely wondered when she and her siblings had arrived, for they had not been there when Carrie had left the house. "Except for Uncle George and Auntie Ginny. They've gone to Eddington to leave a message for Carrie's brothers."

At the mention of Thomas and Timothy, who she suddenly recalled were due home from holiday the next day, Carrie felt a fresh lump forming in her throat.

"Well then," Teddy said, arm around Carrie's shoulders tightening reassuringly. "What are you all sitting around here for? Vic, you can go and stick the kettle on. James and Dominique, you two can make a start on the washing up..."

"Who put you in charge?" James complained indigently, but his cousin ignored him.

"Rose, you and Al can do the drying up. Louis you can go and fetch them a few clean tea towels from upstairs, and Hugo can go and start running Carrie a bath."

As the children began to disperse to complete their respective chores, Lily hopped down from the step she was sat upon to ask:

"What do I do, Teddy?"

As he led Carrie slowly up the hallway, Teddy plastered a convincing smile upon his face as he told the girl in a hushed, secretive voice:

"You, Lils, have the most important job of them all!"

The little witch bounced up and down upon her heels excitedly as he dropped his voice more than ever and whispered:

"I want you, Lily, to go upstairs..."

"Yes?"

"...into Uncle Remus and Auntie Dora's room..."

"Yes?"

"...and under the bed there's this big golden tin with a picture of a dragon on the top."

"Yes?"

"And inside that box..." Teddy paused for dramatic emphasis, and Lily's eyes widened in anticipation. Had she not felt so emotionally drained and despairing, Carrie might have sniggered. "...is Uncle Remus' SECRET STASH OF CHOCOLATE!"

At this shocking revelation, Lily gasped, reaching to put her hand to her mouth.

"I want you to find me the biggest, most chocolatey, most expensive bar of chocolate in the whole entire box. And then I want you to come back downstairs and give it to me. Got it?"

"Yes!"

"Quick then! Before Uncle Remus gets back and catches you!"

Carrie watched as the witch gave a small squeal of excitement, and with that she turned on her heel and bolted up the stairs.

The normality that had disturbed her just a short while earlier was, to Carrie's surprise, oddly comforting. She allowed Teddy to steer her down the hallway until they dropped down onto the stairs that the children had vacated just a short while earlier. Carrie leant to rest her head against his shoulder as he told her:

"Now, we'll tell the others to come home too."

Carrie later supposed that she ought be impressed to see Teddy cast the Patronus Charm for the first time, especially since she had not been aware that he knew how to do so, but as she watched the silvery figure shoot down the hallway she only managed to observe:

"A turtle?"

"Yes." Teddy agreed, pocketing his wand and reaching to put both arms tightly around her.

"Oh."

"What's wrong with a turtle patronus?"

"Well...nothing."

One bath, a reluctant square of chocolate and a very sugary cup of tea later, the remainder of Carrie's search party had arrived back at Grimmauld Place, and Carrie had consented to sitting down in the kitchen as they all piled in around her, ready to hear Teddy's account of the strange muggle he and Carrie had run into that afternoon.

It did not escape Carrie's notice that Remus and Dora were not among the crowd when Bill Weasley finally called them all to order, and she wasn't the only one to notice, either.

"Where's Tonks?" Bill asked after a moment once he had done a quick head count, and his brother Charlie informed him:

"She said she was...going to have a shower."

"What...now? When we're about to start a meeting?"

"That's what she said."

"Right...and...Remus?"

"Gone for a shower." Ron called from his perch beside the toaster, and Bill's frown deepened as he said:

"What...both of them?"

"Well it IS allowed." Hermione pointed out, shooting Ron's bemused expression an irritated look, and Bill hurriedly cleared his throat loudly and announced:

"Right then, to business! Ted has something to tell us!"

As Teddy recounted their encounter with the strange runaway muggle dressed in the Auror robes, Carrie found herself musing that it really did seem a rather strange time for his parents to disappear off to have a shower...or whatever else it was that they were up to...

Maybe they felt too guilty to face her, she thought miserably as Teddy babbled away in the chair next to her. After all, she had screamed, shouted, cried...

They probably felt absolutely wretched.

And it wasn't their fault, not really, Carrie could see that now that the hysteria had dulled. The only people to blame were the Ministry's Snatchers...

"Brains and death?" Hermione's voice punctured her thoughts as Teddy finished his tale and Carrie looked up to see the witch staring at the table in front of her thoughtfully. "What could that possibly mean?"

"Merlin knows..." Bill murmured, drumming his fingers thoughtfully upon the table. "And why on earth did they have him dressed in wizarding clothing? Auror robes, even!"

"Those bastards at the Ministry are up to something we don't know about, that's what it means." Ron muttered, and beside him Fleur sighed heavily as she admitted:

"I dread to theenk what."

As they began to muse upon the meaning of the muggle's strange words, Carrie found herself distracted by the fact that Teddy's parents had still yet to make an appearance in the kitchen, and when the door opened to reveal a newcomer who turned out to be Minerva McGonnogal rather than either of the Lupins, Carrie felt compelled to excuse herself from the room, forcing herself to offer Teddy a reassuring smile as she slipped out the door and up the stairs.

She could hear the gushing of water from the shower as she climbed the steps to the third floor, and yet as she stood, staring at the closed bathroom door in contemplation, Carrie heard voices drifting out from the bedroom next door. The muggle crept across the landing and peered into the room just in time to hear Remus wonder:

"Do they allow conjugal visits in Azkaban?"

He was lying sprawled across the double bed, showing absolutely no signs of having just gotten out of a shower at all, and from her position sprawled beside him, contemplating the ceiling above them with a frown, an equally dry looking Dora sniggered and told him:

"Not for traitorous scum like us, love."

The werewolf puffed his cheeks in exasperation.

"Well that's too bad."

"Don't worry, if you escape without me there's always Hestia." the witch sniggered again as the werewolf visibly grimaced.

There was another long, thoughtful silence before Dora turned her head slowly to look over at him and she asked:

"Is she better in bed than me?"

For a determined moment, Remus failed to grace her with a response, but eventually he rolled onto his side, propping himself up on an elbow so that he could smirk down at her.

"Hestia? Oh yes, miles better..."

Dora instantly pounced, reaching to push him off balance until he very nearly toppled backwards off the bed, but he refused to be deterred as he recalled:

"She screams and everything..."

And with that, Dora dissolved into laughter against his chest, reaching to grasp fistfuls of his jumper in her hands.

"I'll make you bloody scream in a minute..." she threatened half-heartedly, and he stifled a snigger into her hair as he reached to wrap his arms firmly around her. "So," she murmured after a minute, "how many galleons do you want to bet that Ron pulled The Face when they all put two and two together and jointly concluded that right now we're busy having sex in the shower?"

"I'd bet our entire vault." Remus told her as she shuffled upwards until she could bury her face in his neck.

"I didn't mean to mentally scar them," Dora mumbled as he reached to brush her hair out of his face. "How was I to know we'd both come up with the same excuse?"

"Great minds..." Remus murmured, and they lapsed into a rather solemn silence for two people who had been joking before he admitted: "We'll have to tell them, you know. For...safety."

"They're going to think we're both mental." Dora pointed out, and he shook his head and said:

"We might be mental, but we're also morally obliged."

"Exactly."

Carrie watched Dora shift again until she could reach to tangle a hand in the werewolf's hair, pressing her lips to his throat as she wondered:

"Is it going to be enough?"

"I doubt it." he admitted, one finger reaching to tip her chin upwards. "But we have to do something. For Carrie's sake."

Carrie felt an odd mix of dread and curiosity at the mention of her name and she wished desperately for them to elaborate, but for some long minutes they were more intent on kisses, legs tangling together and breathing beginning to grow ragged before he tore himself away from her lips, eyes screwed shut when they instead found their way to the gap in the shirt at his neck.

"I should get ready." he mumbled reluctantly as his wife's fingers trailed a wandering path down his side. "I said I might go with Minerva and Bill..."

"Charlie can go with them." Dora interrupted firmly, nestling her head under his chin and hugging him fiercely. "Don't go. Not now. Don't leave me, Remus. Not until the time comes."

And he reached to cradle her against his side as his eyes drifted closed and he gave a contented sigh, agreeing:

"Not until the time comes."