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Chapter 11

Lupin Lost It

Lisa kept drifting in and out of sleep. As an only escape from the dank prison, her imagination drifted to a blissful future where she and Remus share a cozy London apartment, just a few blocks away from Dorcas' street and the flat Sirius and James rent. She pictured a happy day out on the town with her friends.

In her imaginary scenario, James comes on to Lily too strong and she cuts him down with a sarcastic quip. Their group passes by an ice cream street vendor and James tries to buy back Lily's good graces. Remus joins him and returns with two cones of chocolate ice cream, smiling at Lisa in that kind way she loved... And then he trips, and the cold dessert hits the pavement. Everyone laughs. Remus looks at her again, but his face isn't happy anymore. It's worried and pale, and so sad...

"Don't look so down. It was only ice cream..." Lisa muttered, trying to smile. He moved the hair out of her eyes, and some cold feeling cut though her. He wasn't usually this distraught over sweets... Before she could ask if there was something wrong, Lisa fell face-first into a cold, damp wall. Pain quickly shot through her spine and shoulders as she returned to reality, hearing the distant sound of battle above her, like it often happened in her delusions. But this time, there was something different.

There were groans of pain all around her, movement as people were carried away, either on someone else's shoulder or on a magical stretcher. Someone picked her up from the floor, and her arms screamed out in agony.

"Can you walk?" Remus asked urgently.

She stared at him, too far down the well of despair to believe he was actually there. Was this real? Was it all in her head again? Would she wake up at any second, still chained up with Snape purposefully passing by, denying her the only food prisoners received?

The fight was still raging; someone called out his name, and he didn't wait for the answer. Wrapping a strong arm around her, he half-dragged her out of the dungeon, wand whipping left and right constantly. All she could see was his neck and shoulder, but despite her best efforts to move her legs, she tripped often and stumbled almost drunkenly on their way up a narrow, dark staircase. Sounds and sights, it was all a blur as Lisa tried to make out what was happening, still not completely convinced it wasn't a dream. He kept pulling her forward, but she felt too weak to even try to be helpful. Suddenly, he stopped moving, and she finally mustered up the strength to look up and focus her tired eyes.

They were standing in a richly decorated manor, but everything was in a complete state of disarray. Parts of a crystal chandelier were strewed on the wooden floor and remnants of furniture, books and pillow filling were scattered everywhere. Death Eaters and Order members alike had stopped their struggle to glance at the tall, white-faced man who had just walked casually into the room. The piercing red irises instantly sent chills down Lisa's spine, and a terrifying memory of frightened blue eyes flashed to the forefront of her mind.

Voldemort was here.

Raising his wand, the Dark Lord conjured a stream of fire that formed into two giant snakes who circled the room, making escape impossible. The two serpentine heads rose up to oversee the trapped wizards and witches. The room fell completely quiet, and the Death Eaters gathered behind Voldemort as whatever Order members hadn't managed to make it out in time retreated to the far wall.

"Well, well, well..." Voldemort started quietly, taking a few steps forward. "So this is the mighty Order of the Phoenix that has been trying to ruin my plans as of late. Two withered old men," he glanced at Elphias Dodge and Dedalus Diggle, "and a bunch of school children."

Only three of the seven members in the room had a body on their shoulders, so Lisa's tired brain at least registered that most of the Ministry officials had managed to escape. The rescue was a success.

"But I do not rejoice in the spilling of magical blood. If you lay down your wands now, I will allow you to live. Oh yes, I never turn away talented purebloods," Voldemort continued, and his red eyes slid over James and Sirius. "And I certainly do not look down on courage." His gaze shifted to Lisa. "You see, I am not a monster. Even those of... lesser blood would be spared... provided they utilized their skills in my favor." He lingered on Lily, who was struggling under the weight of a short, blond man.

"Bite me," the redhead growled.

The Death Eaters hissed threats behind him, but Voldemort only smirked menacingly. "I would not be so quick to decline, Miss Evans. I have heard many good things about your abilities, and what I am offering you is something no other mudblood has ever received. Status. Power. Protection."

"And all it would cost me is my soul? I think I'd rather die!" Lily spat angrily.

"What a pity... But, that can certainly be... arrang—"

In the middle of Voldemort's villain monologue, the roof suddenly collapsed and thumbed down on top of them. Lisa grabbed a hold of Remus' wand hand and, with every last bit of strength she had, cast Protego Maxima. The debris disintegrated upon contact with the shield charm, leaving the members of the Order safe as the Death Eaters scattered for cover. Then, out of nowhere, Albus Dumbledore Apparated in the middle of the room, facing the wide-eyed Dark Lord.

"Hello again, Tom," the Headmaster said calmly. "I must admit, I never thought you would keep your political prisoners in such close proximity to muggle suburbia. But you have to make do with whichever mansion is best suited for the job, I suppose."

"Dumbledore!" Voldemort hissed. "I should have known you were behind this! You never tire of useless endeavors, do you, old man?"

"I'm afraid we have a very different understanding of 'useless', Tom. Mr. Lupin," the old wizard said over his shoulder, "I believe Miss Fawley has earned herself some rest. Please be so kind as to get her to a warm bed and look over her for lasting injuries."

"You're not in a position to give orders, Dumbledore! I am still here!" Voldemort screeched, sending a jet of light at him, which the Headmaster blocked with ease.

"I believe all of you should go. Some part of the roof could fall on your heads, and Madam Pomfrey would never let me hear the end of it," Dumbledore continued before turning his attention back to the Dark Lord.

Lily and Sirius wasted no time Disapparating with the people they were carrying, shortly followed by James, Remus and the two older members. The unpleasant effects of Side-Along-Apparition washed over Lisa and she wanted to throw up, but not having anything to eat for days only resulted in her empty stomach contracting painfully.

"I hate Apparition," she muttered, looking up at the starry sky.

It was as if she had never been taken, and the whole thing was just a long, horrible nightmare she had while Moody was explaining the Tower Bridge mission. Did it all really happen? Suddenly, she got her answer as Remus' arms enveloped her, and he caressed her face, kissing her lips, her nose, her cheeks, her forehead, any place he could reach. She was stunned for a moment by the sudden outburst of affection, not to mention he was never much of an exhibitionist. The romantic moments between them were always something private, done behind closed curtains and only for their eyes to see, but right now she was so happy to be back, that for this moment, only the two of them existed.

oOo

What Lisa really wanted was a long, warm bath, but Mad-Eye's bathroom only had a shower, and she didn't want to bathe there anyway. Her poor arms screamed out in agony as she washed away the grime and sweat from her face. How did Remus even want to kiss her in this state? All dirty, messy, and just looking horrible. When she deemed herself clean enough, she returned to the den, where everyone was still waiting for Dumbledore. Remus was sitting in an armchair and immediately drew her into his lap. Lisa sighed and let herself relax against him. It felt like she hadn't been this comfortable in years.

"So... what have you guys been up to?" she said in an attempt to lighten the mood. It didn't work.

Remus' arms tightened around her, and he buried his face in the back of her shoulder. Dorcas threw her an angry glare, Benjy Fenwick's face was as white as chalk, and James and Sirius exchanged nervous looks.

"Never do that again," Frank said tersely. "I don't care what orders Dumbledore gave you; next time keep us in the loop!"

"Now, now..." Edgar Bones tried to intervene.

"You think I wanted this?" Lisa snapped. "I knew all of you would take it badly, but what would you have said if I had told you?"

"We would have told you it was a stupid plan!" Frank yelled back.

"Well, then you have your answer! There were people that needed help, what else was I supposed to do?"

"Refuse!" Dorcas piped up. "Are you allergic to the word 'no'?"

"The whole Ministry was full of impostors! Does no one care about that?" Lisa fumed.

"There could have been some other way..." Frank fumbled, and Lisa gave out an exasperated sigh, sinking backwards into Remus.

"Do you think if there was even a slight possibility of another plan Dumbledore would have risked it, boy?" Moody snarled, marking an end to the discussion.

Everyone fell silent again.

"I'm sorry," Lisa said to Benjy. "I jumped into your line of fire deliberately... none if it was your fault."

"Now you tell him," Sirius threw in, immediately getting a sharp elbow to the ribs from James.

"What do you mean?" Lisa asked, confused. No one answered her. She turned to the least hostile face. "Lily?" To her surprise, even the redhead looked at the ground. Remus' arms tightened slightly around her waist. "What on Earth happened while I was gone?"

"Lupin lost it," Moody finally huffed. "I had just Apparated to the site when he started wailing on Fenwick for disarming you. Gave him a right punch in the jaw."

Remus did?! The least violent person on the planet? Lisa tried to turn her head to look at him, but his face was still hidden in her shoulder. He didn't protest, didn't rebuff the claim, only kept himself buried behind her.

"Is this for real?" she asked, befuddled, looking at every person in the room in turn. They all looked away. "Benjy, I'm... so sorry. This was entirely my fault; I promise I'll make it up to you somehow..."

"It's alright." Benjy smiled weakly. "It was more scary than painful, really. I just never expected... I mean, he's so calm all the time..." he trailed off.

"But it really was all my fault!" Lisa insisted. "I'll buy you that whole muggle show about the bloke that dresses up as bat for Christmas!"

Benjy only gave her a sheepish smile as a response, when Dumbledore walked in through the front door.

"You might be glad to learn," he started, "that all of the Ministry officials have been retrieved successfully. They are currently in a highly guarded ward of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, and most are expected to make a full recovery. The Auror Department has been alerted to the usage of Mulciber Manor as a makeshift prison and have searched it thoroughly. Unfortunately, no Death Eaters were arrested, and Lord Voldemort and his followers have likely escaped to a different safe house. For now, I think we all need much deserved rest. Things will be discussed further in the next meeting."

oOo

When they flooed back to Hogwarts, Lisa peeled herself from Remus with some difficulty, insisting she needed a shower and a change of clothes. When she got out of the bathroom, all of her dorm mates were in their own beds, getting ready for sleep.

"Was it... really so bad?" Lisa asked quietly. Even Marlene and Alice, who were on the other squad, were afraid to look her in the eye. "Tell me. Please."

"It was just..." Lily started uncertainly. "It was so unlike him. In all the time I've known him, I've never seem Remus go off on someone like that. Benjy said it best, he was scary."

Lisa dried her hair, then put on her Montrose Magpies jersey and headed to the boys' dorm, as she promised she would. When she entered, Sirius clapped her on the shoulder, and Peter gave her a faint smile.

"Glad to have you back," James said from his bed.

"I was never really in danger," she tried to reassure them, but she knew that was only a half-truth.

Slipping between the drawn curtains, she found Remus sitting up in the bed, reading. As soon as she was within reach, he pulled her into an embrace, leaving the tome on the nightstand. He breathed in her scent deeply and sighed as her hands also coiled around his waist.

"I'm really sorry," Lisa muttered in his chest. "I know how bad it must've been for you..." He said nothing, but the beating of his heart picked up. "Maybe I really should have ignored Dumbledore's orders and told you..."

"I don't know if that would have made it any easier," he said evenly, but the thumping against his chest was almost deafening.

"I wanted to tell you, I really did! Please don't be cross with me," she whimpered, and the thumping wavered and slowed down.

"I'm not cross with you," he reassured her, kissing the top of her head.

She pushed herself up to meet his lips, and his fingers buried themselves in her hair, his thumb gently stroking the side of her neck when she suddenly gasped in pain. He pulled away, and she cursed herself for that betraying sound.

"Are you alright?" Remus asked with worry.

"I'm fine! Nothing's wrong, really!" Lisa insisted, but her hand unwittingly moved a few locks of hair to the front of her right shoulder.

He frowned, and she immediately realized her mistake. Very slowly, his hand rose up and moved the hair behind her back, revealing the purple finger-shaped bruises. "Who..." he started with a shaky voice.

"No one we know, just a random Death Eater! He was giving me water and—"

"Don't lie," he cut through her sharply. She shrank under his glare, but it wouldn't do any good to fuel his rage... "Who. Was. It," he repeated in a low voice, emphasizing every syllable.

"Snape," she admitted, barely above a whisper.

For a long moment none of them moved. Then, suddenly, he was on his feet, throwing back the curtains, and she reached for her wand.

"Colloportus!" Lisa yelled, pointing it at the door just as his hand was on the handle.

"What's going on?" a confused Sirius asked from his bed.

"I'll kill him," Remus said darkly, his back still turned to them.

"No, you won't!" Lisa said firmly.

"Will someone clue us in!?" James exclaimed, putting on his glasses and getting out of bed too.

Lisa's eyes darted to the Marauders. They could help her contain Remus, but neither Sirius nor James were known for their sweet tempers and warm feelings towards Snape. Still, they wouldn't let this go without an explanation.

"When I was... captured... I saw Snape," she said begrudgingly. "And I opened my mouth about Lily. And he didn't like it."

"What do you mean, 'didn't like it'?" Sirius asked, his brows knitting dangerously. Remus' hand on the door shook.

"Why does that matter?" Lisa exclaimed in annoyance. "What do you want to do, storm into the dorms and curse him?! You can't even get into the Slytherin common room!"

"Did he hurt you?" James asked, his voice cold as steel.

"It's just a stupid bruise!" she insisted hotly. "I've taken worse during Quidditch practice! Remember when that Quaffle exploded in my face?"

James and Sirius exchanged one of their glances and quickly got a hold of their wands. Peter was the only one that was quietly observing from his bed, too shocked to even move.

"Have you all gone mad?" Lisa yelled, running over to the door and covering it with her body. "No one is leaving this dorm!"

"Get out of the way," Sirius snarled, but she was looking straight up at Remus.

"I don't need you to 'beat him up' for me—"

"Oh, we'll do a lot more than that," James swore.

"Whatever! Point is, I don't want anyone prancing angrily down corridors to try to 'avenge' me. Snape and I already hate each other, so I wouldn't say my opinion about him has gotten any lower. I provoked him — he was in a position to retaliate. We'll all get plenty of revenge openings out there, but in Hogwarts, all you'll accomplish is tear the already strained relationships between the houses! Just think about this for one second!"

"That's funny, coming from you," Sirius threw in.

"If we start attacking each other in our own beds, many innocent students will get hurt in the crossfire! Let's say for the sake of argument you do manage to sneak up into his dorm, then what? You'll hex him; the rest of his gang will be there in moments, not to mention they already have half the house bullied into joining them! And it will all be the same tomorrow, except now they will retaliate, and it will start a vicious circle!"

"You expect us to do nothing?" James exclaimed indignantly.

Lisa gave him a look and asked softly, "What can you even do to Snape you haven't already?"

"I'll kill him," Remus repeated quietly.

She looked into his eyes and gave him a small smile. "No, you won't. Because I know exactly the kind of man you are. And this is not you."

They looked at each other for a long time, before his hand finally left the doorknob and he breathed out a heavy sigh.