Chapter 11 – Business Partners
It was the eyes and the teeth that she saw first – yellow and white, Sun and Moon. Suddenly, her entire universe was concentrated in those two points of reference: solid and implacable, bright and burning with colour, whereas the silver-grey hide of the wolf faded into the night, or somewhat lifted, like mist on a spring morning.
Lucy stood frozen in place for several precious seconds, battling the urge to close her eyes, hold her ears and pretend that the wolf had never existed. Even Ronan's imaginary voice was silent in her head; it seemed that his teachings had nothing to offer against a friend who suddenly turned into a man-slaughtering monster to lacerate her limb by limb. Because – according to her best logic – that was what the wolf was about to do; and the reality of it thrust the cold blade of dread between her ribs. She could feel the stubborn hammering of pulse in her throat, as if her heart was suddenly trying to supply that monstrous wolf instead of her petite and utterly terrified self.
The wolf snarled and cowered, preparing to leap – and in that instant, the bubble of numbness and fear burst around Lucy. Adrenaline shot through her veins like the water of life; it cleared her head, eased the tingling of her legs and somehow made her able to breathe again. All she could suddenly think of was running; racing along the maze of gardens until she collapsed, dazed and terrified, fuelled by the desperate force of instinct…
…and that was where the memory of Ronan's teachings came in.
Don't move an inch, she commanded herself. She swallowed the bile again, and the urge to scream with it. Think.
There was absolutely no way she could outrun the wolf. Hell, she probably couldn't even outrun human Remus – sickly and thin as he was, he remained a man and she a woman, and that limited the sensible range of physical rivalry between them. There was no way she would be able to hide from the wolf, either – it was drawn to her blood, quite like Sanguini. It would probably smell her from miles ahead. She still had Black's wand, however; and if she were to exhaust herself to the point of collapsing, she might not be in a state to use it at the end, when she would need it the most.
Lucy made a tentative step backwards. The wolf snarled immediately, its eyes two torches of menace in the moonlit garden. He must have transformed minutes ago, Lucy realised. She saw that the wolf's legs were still shaking, and its gaze a bit unfocused. She could maybe use that to her advantage…
In that instant, a second pair of eyes emerged from the darkness of the dungeon – slightly smaller, slightly less bright but very much alive. It was Black, in his Animagus form.
Of course… they would annihilate her together: the werewolf and the Death Eater. Black could do magic with a snap of his fingers, and Sanguini, the clapping audience, was entirely unaffected by werewolf bites… only that Sanguini was nowhere. Maybe he really meant what he said about letting her go.
All right, Lucy urged herself, use that daft brain of yours! If Black regains his human form, Remus will immediately attack him – so you'll have to keep them together. As soon as you're out of the no-go zone, you'll need to cut Black off of both Remus and yourself, and then... and then find Dung. You'll Stupefy Remus, or something. It's a plan.
Lucy felt like she might throw up in any second as she faced the wolf at the dungeon door. The bright yellow eyes were now fully focused on her, and the legs pulled tense. It was going to attack at any moment – Lucy recognised the pose, as well as the deep, menacing growl.
"Come on, Remus," she said softly. "Get me, or we'll going to spend the rest of our lives in here."
The wolf broke into a thundering run, and the dog leapt forward at the same instant. The distance was rapidly waning between them…
"Glacio!"
Lucy almost smirked as the grassy plain before her feet turned into a flawless, clear surface of ice. She did not, however, turn back to inspect how great of an advantage did that give her; she gathered her strength and ran, breathing as steadily and stepping as lightly as she could. She would be running all night…
She threw herself into the orchard, ran almost an entire lap along the main path, then climbed a pinny apple tree. The dog and the wolf would follow her scent against logic, she knew, but Sanguini's men might be waiting for her at the gate…
Or they might not.
It was safest to suppose that everybody had lied, and she was totally, irrevocably alone to fight both Black and the werewolf. And while Lucy Dawlish was not a fighter, there were two things she was quite good at: Charms and collecting herself.
All right. So what we need here is distraction. Something that moves…
"Simulacra," she whispered. "Deceptionem evocate… sanguinis odore… repello totum… salvio hexia…"
It was like a NEWT examination without the owl-headed idiots to deduct points when her illusion wavered; or her wand movements were too wide; or they did not like the hue of her lipstick, or Merlin-knew-why… she liked a challenge when she saw one, and it was not without pride that she let her phantom self loose in the garden.
"Geminio," she murmured, then grinned when another pale, blood-smelling Lucy appeared next to the first one. "Digressus… okay… cantio serere!"
She finished the incantation with an abrupt, cutting movement downward, then studied the result. The illusion wasn't perfect – far from it – but it would probably do enough to distract a werewolf. Speaking of which…
"Muffliato," she murmured, drawing a tentative circle around her hiding place among the branches. The charm would not last long – maybe if she would raise a Shield Charm and recast the other within range… but that would be an experiment for another time…
She could hear the soft hum of the earth as the wolf approached, following her scent, triumphant and raging. It was only a matter of time before it came around the last corner in the maze, and…
"Simulacra locomotor," Lucy murmured. Her two phantom-copies sprang to motion at once; they glided gracefully to the crossing of two garden paths, then parted ways. Lucy watched with delight as the wolf came to an abrupt halt in front of them,torn between the instinctive desire to follow her trail and chasing the source of the penetrating, metallic scent of blood that her illusion emitted.
"C'mon," Lucy murmured. "Try and catch them. Just try…"
The wolf snarled, and the next moment, it was leaping. Lucy pointed Black's wand, and the two phantoms flew away in opposite directions, as if launched by a rocket; the wolf gave a piteous howl and threw itself after the one that flew northwards.
She'd done it. Merlin, she'd done it. It worked…
"That was quite ingenious. You might have gained yourself three full minutes."
Lucy's eyes widened in fear, her thoughts reeling wildly. Impossible – he couldn't have been here all along… he couldn't have heard her…
"I saw you cast it," said Black. "Finite."
He was leaning casually against the next tree, turning a wand between his fingers – and a quite familiar wand at that….
"That – that's mine," Lucy said venomously, and she jumped off the tree. The last thing she wanted was to be confined in a narrow space in the presence of a Death Eater. "And get the fuck out of my head!"
"Your thoughts are written on your face, princess," said Black. "I must also mention that the way you're disregarding my sinister reputation is appalling. I mean… you haven't even shrieked at me. Not the tiniest scream, or blackout, or panic attack, or running around in circles like a poisoned rat… Come on, not even an attempted Killing Curse… just where is the world going these days? What happened to giving Dark Wizards credit? Oh, no… let's just blast half a building to their face and call it a day… that was pretty fucking rude, y'know. Most ingenious, I repeat, but rude."
"No man has ever made me scream twice the same day," said Lucy with a very straight face. He eyed her – puzzled at first, then startled, eyes alight with sudden mirth as he understoodthe unexpected jest; and in that moment, Lucy flung his own wand at him.
"Impedimenta!"
With a flick of his wrist, he blocked. Her own wand was blocking her.
"Levicorpus!"
Another flick. (Why wasn't he attacking back…?)
"Locomotor mor…"
Flick.
"Finestra…"
Black made a last brief, subtle motion with her wand, his lip twitching – and the next moment, Lucy's tongue was mercilessly stuck to her palate, and she was unable to move it an inch. None of her counter-charms worked, and her entire mouth started to itch terribly after as much as three seconds.
"There," said Black with a contented sigh. "Much better. Although I think I have an alternative field of use for your tongue if you ever happen to change your mind…"
Lucy eyed him, rallying all the rage and malevolence she could find in herself into that one single glance.
"As you will…" Black tilted his head. "If you try anything, though, I will have to be considerably less nice to you, understand? I'd hate to do that. I prefer escorting a pretty, unhurt princess. Princesses who behave are allowed to keep their wands, by the way."
Is he really that arrogant…? Lucy smiled inwardly, then nodded.
"Excellent!" Said Black as he hooked on her – by the arm, uncomfortably close –, and walked her swiftly and quietly through the gardens. "While we are on our way, I would like you to contemplate a riddle," he offered. "The question is… why am I doing what I am doing right now? À savoir, saving your skin…? Answer A: Because I am escorting you to an occult ceremony where Sanguini will sacrifice your bleeding heart to the ghost of Salazar Slytherin along with twelve other Notorious Young Ladies I've collected; or Answer B: Because I am to win you over to Voldemort's side for the purpose of publicly executing Muggles with that razor tongue of yours; or perhaps Answer C: Because I am actually just an old friend of Remus's who is here to take you home...?"
Merlin, I hope it's not the third one, Lucy thought. That would be really awkward.
But no; this was Sirius Black – a killer and a Death Eater. She must not let him fool her. It was pathetic enough that she felt somewhat safe as he dragged her through the moonlit garden, looking considerably more alert and worried than any Death Eater had the right to be. It was deplorable enough that it had not even occurred her in the past few minutes how much she hated when he called her princess… anyway, the entire situation was already wrong on so many levels that Lucy could not allow herself to make another mistake, however tiny.
As they neared the gate, Lucy became tense with apprehension. Something was wrong in the air, in the earth… there was some strange, menacing presence… she wondered if Black felt it, too. Probably not – he was not the kind of bloke who would take life lessons from the Centaurs. And for that precise reason, Lucy needed to start taking risks; so she lowered her practically fossilized mental barriers to the point of nonexistence (it felt terrible), and projected one single thought, sharp and clear like an arrow in flight:
Would you mind giving back my ability to speak?
Black stopped dead in his tracks.
"How in Merlin's stinky pants did you do that?!"
Magic, Lucy thought. Sadly, she wasn't skilled enough to fill her inner voice with the same dripping sarcasm as the physical one. Yet.
"All right, but how?"
The genuine nature of his curiosity astonished her. Why in "Merlin's stinky pants" would I bother to teach you?
"Would it hurt to be nice to me, just once in a lifetime?" Black snapped. He closed his eyes, took a calming breath, then concentrated. All right, so what does my princess need her tongue for?
It wasn't perfect, far from it – his lips were moving – but he was doing it. How on Earth did he catch it in a matter of seconds?
Magic, his voice replied in her head, savvy and triumphant.
Lucy frowned. I need my ability to speak, as in, cast spells. Someone is following us. I don't want to die just because you can't take a bit of bickering… and I'm quite crap at fighting.
It was safe, telling him that. He had eyes, he could see. And it might be useful to let him think that she was absolute zero, really… he would be in for a few surprises…
Oh crap, she wasn't hiding her thoughts now, was she?
You really need to stop… Slytherin', you know, said Black's voice in her head. If you amused me just a little less, you would be hanging Stunned from my shoulders already. As for the danger you speak of – it's probably Remus you're sensing. Your stinky spell must have worn off.
The next moment, something snapped in Lucy's mouth, and her tongue was back at its rightful place. The sensation was so glorious that she almost missed Black's next words.
"We must wait here if we want Remus out. He'll have to follow us… that's at least a mile's run until we're outside the wards. 'Think you can do that?"
"Uh… yeah, I suppose," said Lucy. She was utterly, helplessly confused.
"Right." Black eyed her unwaveringly. "Look, princess… I don't give a flying fuck what you think of me but know one thing: I am not a Death Eater. Never was. Will never be." He gritted his teeth. "And don't you fucking dare to call me one ever again. I'm sick and tired of it."
Lucy blinked. "I…"
"…second thing: I promised Remus that I would protect you. If you do what I say, you won't get bitten. If you Transfigure me back into my human form or something, and turn him against me, you won't be doing yourself a favour. Also, human Remus will be very cross with you if he finds out on the morrow. Because he's my childhood friend… and he somewhat cares about me… oh, by the fucking by, it was also him who gave me your wand." Black's eyes were bright and menacing. "Got it?"
Lucy opened her mouth, then closed it. She could not remember the last time she'd felt so ashamed. "I…," she whispered. "I thought you were…"
The tall man was still ignoring her. "Third thing," he said icily. "This is my real face. Name's Sirius Orion Black. Friend to Albus Dumbledore. Member of the Order of the Phoenix. Thrown in jail for twelve fucking years for a crime I didn't commit. General disappointment for my family, mind you. And I'm still not a Death Eater."
Lucy could only stare at him and try to keep her mouth shut. In that moment, he was terribly frightening, but with a certain decorum which reminded her of the dragons she'd tamed. She doubted, however, that there was a force in the entire universe that could ever tame this man.
Oh crap, Lucy thought. She knew that low, quivering feeling at the pit of her stomach all too well – it was the kind of haze generated by the Myron Wagtails, Bill Weasleys and other despicable creatures she'd ever developed a soft spot for.
They were standing apart, facing each other from inches, and Black was staring at her as if inwardly debating whether he should jinx her into pieces, or undress her on the spot.
Lucy could allow neither of those things to happen right now.
"Okay," she said softly. "Look… we're at a point where my logic is one hundred percent broken. If you tell the truth, which I think you do… and I'm good at spotting lies…" She shook her head. "Let's just drop this for now, okay? We're in very big shit, so let's get out of it. I'll help you if you'll help me. No more Slytherin' from my part. Explanations later. Until then we're, say, business partners. Right?"
She extended her hand. Black hesitated, then reached out and squeezed it.
"Business partners," he echoed hoarsely.
"Great," Lucy forced a smile. "I was in Gryffindor, by the way."
"Wouldn't have thought."
"Yeah… well, the Sorting Hat did consider Slytherin, but then it decided that Gryffindor would inspire me to stand up for others and to do things for the greater good." Lucy snorted. "Anyway, it didn't really work out for me. I never gave House identity much thought, by the way… I just didn't wanna be a Hufflepuff. I don't like wearing yellow."
Black raised an eyebrow. "Women…"
"How about you?"
"Unlike most Blacks, I roar and I lack venom."
Lucy wasn't particularly surprised – there were so many other things about him that surprised her, anyway. Maybe later, there would be time to dwell on that…
She extended Black's wand. "Here you go. I wanna have mine back. I'm better with it."
Black accepted the offer, his eyes resting on her. For a long moment, he stood frozen, the two wands in his two hands, visibly astonished at being trusted.
(Not that he was).
"You could kill me with a snap of your fingers anyway," said Lucy softly. "You've made that quite clear."
For a moment, Black was about to say something, but he suddenly became tense, entirely tense; and Lucy snatched her wand from his palm – still warm of his touch and a little bit dusty, but otherwise unscathed.
"Remus," Black said hoarsely.
"I know he's coming." Lucy could hear the howl of the wolf as it caught their scent again, awfully familiar and awfully close. "So… what do we do?"
"You run without ever looking back. I'll keep him off."
Lucy pursed her lips. "All night?"
"Well, we can't exactly take him back to the village before dawn, can we?"
"Actually, we can… if you can hold him steady for about five minutes…"
Black frowned. "What will you do to him?"
"It's called the Homorphus Charm…" Lucy flinched a bit when the wolf howled again, now dangerously close. "It will turn him back into a man. I suppose it hurts a bit, but it's still better than the natural way."
"And you can do it?"
"I've done it before."
"Right. We still need to get him outta here first."
"Wait, what about Dung?" Lucy's eyes widened.
"Plans change." Black crossed his arms. "I did warn him about that. What about the key?"
"I couldn't…"
"Thought as much. It doesn't matter… Dumbledore wanted to have you back at all costs. He'll tell us what to do next. Anyway, I want to get out of the range of that Anti-Apparition Jinx before we do anything else."
"All right. I think I can do it."
"Then fire away, princess. As soon as you see him. I'll be in your heels."
(to be continued)
Author's Notes
This chapter marks the start of Lucy and Sirius's ongoing play with the word Slytherin as in "slithering" – distorting information, slipping tactfully away or tactically saving one's skin. Jokes are kind of… generally ruined by explication, but I didn't want any of you to miss that. :)
Thank you for reading. Reviews are always appreciated!
