XI

A Voice In The Distance Calls You Home


Three figures appeared on the King's Cross Platform, a little before Ten in the morning.
They were an odd looking group, but not so much that they didn't blend in with the crowd that shuffled around them.
The younger member was dressed in a green sweater adorned with bunnies and carrots, blue jeans and earrings made of hazelnuts,
her feet were covered by black boots that rose to the middle of her calf, and long wavy whitish blonde hair that fell just below her waist.
The oldest looking was attired in the fashion of a high school professor, a beige corduroy jacket and slacks, his brown shoes kept but not polished,
his blonde grey hair much in the same condition as his shoes.
In contrast, to his companions, the third was clad in a black shirt and vest, dark blue jeans and boots similar to those of the woman who walked by his side,
his black hair streaked in grey flowed just below his shoulders.

They rose from the stairway into the bustling city and walked a short distance to Paddington Station with out so much as a second glance from
the hustling and bustling people around them.
After a few trains and short walks, that seemed to coincide wonderfully with the time they needed for a stretch the younger noted,
and a final quick ride on a bus, they arrived, at a pharmacy in Exeter, at a quarter to two.

They lunched on fish and chips, before walking the last half mile west, and arrived, at the Ottery St. Mary, residence of Hermione and Ron Weasley,
a little after half-past.

Remus was met with a very warm reception, by the mistress of the house who ushered him in quickly.
She took his coat, offered him a seat and took to the kitchen to put on some water.
"I hope you like Duchess grey," she called as she lit and adjusted a flame under the kettle.
She hurried back adding "It's all we have left right now, I just haven't done very much shopping."

"It's fine Hermione, it's one of my favorites." he said, knowing how much she prided herself on her social graces.
"So good to see you Mr Lupin," she grinned, slightly forced but no less genuine in it's meaning, "what brings you over this way?"
"Remus, please," he said, "We've been through enough in our past, to dispense with formalities,"and in answer to your question,"
he was going to say we came for... then caught himself and just said, "Ron."
"He's not here.' she said sadly, not knowing if he knew her husband had been missing for almost two years.
"I know," he said, "I have some news you need to hear."

He told her of the last night he saw him, the day he himself had been captured, leaving out his experiences and skipping right to matter at hand.
"Ron did not kill Luna, he threw her two years into the future." He said, emphasizing his words, to let them sink in.
"Is she okay? Where is she," she asked.
"She's fine," he replied, "but that's not all. She was sent backwards first and someone came back with her. She's out on your porch with Sirius".
"What?" she asked, moving to her door before she realized she had even stood up,
and there on the porch railing, cuddled together, were two ghosts from her past returned.
She invited them in, a million questions to ask, her curiosity and thirst for knowledge, almost outweighing the source of her tired look.

The tea KETTLE whistled, and her decorum paused her and before she could ramble the third or fourth of those questions off, she was in the kitchen gathering cups.
Luna followed her to lend her a hand, but her hospitality was not one to contest.
"We're not your guests." Luna commanded, causing the target of her statement to look hard upon her,
"We're your friends and your family and we're here to help.'' she added in a strict and gentle tone, "so slide the hell over Mi."
Hermione felt those words hit her heart she hugged Luna hard as tears fell from her cheeks and, for the first time in months, she
let herself cry.

"So you're sure it's Ron at the window and not just a phantom wish or someone a little perverted?" Remus asked.
"Yes." she answered, "It's not always the same window, but always in the back of the house, and there's always footprints left behind
and occasionally I get a glimpse of red locks. I leave him food, and sometimes throw in stuff he hates, it's always left behind."
"Well we have a plan, to capture him at least, we'll need to work out the details of mending him as we go." Luna informed.
They told her their idea and she agreed it might work, if it didn't, at least she'd be sure if it was Ron, her own mental desires or something else.

She made arrangements with the owner of the cafe, on the block behind her house, to have three customers use his roof for their purpose.
"Greedy bastard." she mumbled on her way home.
They had a few hours before they needed to make themselves scarce, so they finally had a chance for chit chat.
Hermione was once again in full hospitality mode, and made them an early dinner.
They dined and conversed, answering the million questions she could finally ask.

The clock, rang ten, with five chirps and five hoots, as a canary and an owl popped out from different sides of the clock face.
Three quiet figures were sitting on a roof watching the back yard adjacent, patiently waiting for their friend to arrive.
He didn't disappoint them.

"It's time, cuddles." Luna whispered.
Sirius transformed to his wolf kind form and waited, watching the figure by the window intently.
A shadow passed between the light and the glass, the voyeur was spying through, and started steadily shrinking.
The hulking form stepped back from the flower bed, jumped the fence and vanished through the trees and backyards of the neighboring houses,
a stealthy black wolf was on his heel following his steps and scent.

.-. .- ..- ... .

Minerva MacDonagal was sitting in her office, one candle burning and a great grey owl on her desk, watching her intently.
The letter that arrived, now displayed on her desk, simply read, Cows grazing.
The woman reading the letter, placed it back into the envelope, and slumped down into her chair,
her head leaned back, her eyes fixed to the ceiling and she let out a sigh.
She rose from her chair, walked the short distance to the fireplace, her shoulders straining as she flexed her spine,
she breathed deeply through her nose and tossed the page to the flame and exhaled as it was consumed in a swift flickering blaze.
She watched it burn with a violent flash, her eyes set to steel in her resolve.
"Minerva?" came a voice from just outside her door.
"Yes child." came her response, it's grandmotherly warmth confounding the displeasure in her heart.
"It's bad isn't it?"
"Yes Helena it is."

.-. .- ..- ... .

About a quarter of a kilometer to the east and a touch north from Hermione and Ron's quiet little house, Remus, Luna and Sirius,
were staring through a hedgerow at four dilapidated buildings.
"What is this place Sirius?"
"It's a paddock." Luna happily stated, "too bad it's empty I would have liked to go for a ride."
"He's over there in that roundish building." Sirius informed them.
"How are we handling this?" Remus said as much to himself as the other two.
"I think Luna should go in alone." Sirius said.
"That might be easier on him." Remus agreed.
"Or it could make him go completely starkers." Luna quipped.
"I'll take the front door. Remus, guard the door behind Lu. If it gets gnarled we may have no other choice than to quiet him." Sirius reasoned.
Luna walked into the paddock's abandoned building like she was on a field trip in a daydream,
looking around with the face of a child lost in wonder in a magical palace or a crystal cave.
She could almost hear the hoof beats and whinnies and it made her a little sad.

Ron was curled up in a ball near the far wall, fetal.
He heard boards creek and sprang to his feet, ready for flight.
"Hi Ronald," Luna called with a light lilting tone.
"Who?" Ron questioned, squinting into the half light that shined on her, from the windows in the upper slope of the roof,
"YOU, CAN'T BE, YOU, I KILLED YOU," he screamed.
He backed away slowly then took out his wand and screamed "Descendo" the beams of the roof fell between them as Sirius and Remus burst in wands at the ready.
Ron was already up the ladder that lead to a loft and disappeared through a gap in the outer wall.

"I so hate being right, sometimes." Luna exasperated.
"What now? Hermione is going to be very upset."
"Remus, I think you just love stating the obvious."
Luna interrupted her two companions, "I guess we'll have to put him to sleep."
"I think there's something else at play here, I think they fiddled with his mind." Remus remarked a spark of a memory pulsed through his brain.
"Those dark ones from the cave?" she asked.
"Yeah. Thankfully a lot of what was done to me I don't remember, but what was done to others I do."
"That is both good but sad." she told him, then kissed his cheek sympathetically.
"Potions, they were testing potions there too. I need to go back to that cave, you two go to Hermione and tell her.
We need to trap him in her house because this could take awhile."

He borrowed Luna's broom and flew back in the direction of a place he'd rather forget than revisit.

Hermione knew the news was bad as soon as only two returned.
"Sorry Mione, we lost him."
"But he is alive and it was definitely him that comes to visit." Sirius continued.
"Did he look well?" she asked.
"He looked like you would expect after two years of living in a horse barn." Luna told her,
"but he moved like he was not unhealthy."

Hermione sat in the big cushiony chair and sank into it.
Luna put her hand on her head, then walked into the kitchen to pour some more tea.
She hummed a familiar tune on the way.
Sirius pulled a chair and sat down facing Hermione, taking her hands in his and leaned into her view.

"Remus has gone to find some answers, when he gets back we need to try and find a way to capture Ron, here inside this house." Sirius explained to her.

"He won't come in," she told him, "I've left windows and doors open with food on the table and nothing."
Luna, now offering her a cup of tea from a tray, simply said, "He'll come in for you Mi."
"What do you mean, he hasn't come in for me before." she exclaimed.
"But he would if he thought you were in trouble." Sirius said thoughtfully.
"It's cruel, but it's kindly." Luna noted.
Hermione agreed and helped work out the trap, she hoped, would bring her husband home.

.-. .- ..- ... .

A few hours later Remus Lupin was standing at the mouth of a cave, choking back the need to vomit.

"I can't believe I'm fucking doing this."

. -. -.. / -.-. ... .- .-. - . .-.