A/N: Ideally, this would have been one chapter but it was proving to be far too long so I split it. The next chapter should hopefully be up in the not so distant future but after that, I can't make any promises. I have to make some serious decisions about the direction of this story. I feel like it has lost a lot of it's momentum since the Charlie/Sarah 'lets be more than friends' chapter, so I'm working on that. Don't worry, I'll definitely finish it, I just have to decide how and where I'm going to do that... But I'm warning you again, it might have a morbid ending! I'm reeeaaaaally trying to avoid killing anyone but I can't guarantee that all the characters are going to make it to the end of the story alive... And given the fact that I won't stray away from the canon, you can imagine which characters are in most danger. I'm really trying to stop my imagination from going too far in that direction but I just want you to remember that you had the opportunity to choose a happy ending and you chose for me to continue!
On a separate note, if you have any specific questions about the plot or the logic behind some of the creative choices, feel free to ask in the comments and I will try to get one of the characters to explain if for you! But don't did too deep, as I have said before there are waaay more holes than I would care to admit!
And remember, reviews make me more inclined to update quickly!
The house I had been brought to was a small cottage in the middle of the English countryside. There was nothing and no one else as far as the eye could see – with the exception of a few hedgerows and a narrow dirt track.
Remus had greeted us at the door and led me into a room near the back of the house, separating me from Charlie. He tried to follow us but Remus gave him a cold, stern look and a deep voice that I thought recognised somehow called his name and he begrudgingly slunk through a door in the opposite direction.
I was asked to sit in a peculiar room that reminded me of something out of a period drama. The walls were whitewashed and the floors were a dark wood. There was one small window set high in the wall close to the ceiling.
An old style chair stood in the middle of the room– the chair that I was sitting in. It had a wooden back and wooden legs with an upholstered seat. Between my chair and the door there was a narrow desk-type table which Remus was sitting behind. On the table there were various magical objects, some moving or humming, some completely still. There was also a jug of water and two old fashioned goblet-things on the table.
Remus turned now the jug of water, carefully pouring out an equal measure into both glasses. As the clean liquid sloshed against the side of the cups, I was suddenly aware of a dry sensation in my throat. I wanted to run up and drink the entire jug but I restrained myself.
Remus rose to his feet, picked up one goblet and walked towards me. All of his movements were slow and deliberate. He held out the goblet for me to take, silently offering me the drink. I took it from him gladly and swallowed half of the water before I suddenly remembered the truth potion Charlie had told me about. I immediately lowered the cup from my mouth, reviled by the fact that they were effectively trying to drug me.
I wondered if I would have reacted differently if I had thought about the potion before taking the water. Would I have drunk it? My initial reaction was 'no', I wouldn't have wanted to drink it at all. Why would I voluntarily ingest something given to me by an interrogator? But then it occurred to me that taking the potion would probably be the easiest way of getting Remus and the rest of the order to believe me.
Then I realised that it had probably been some kind of spell that had made my throat feel dry, forcing me to want to take the beverage. I looked squarely into Remus eyes before emptying the cup into my mouth and swallowing the rest of the water. There was a tiny hint of curiosity and something close to humour behind his expression, as though he understood that by finishing the drink, I was trying to convey me intentions of cooperating.
The water tasted clean, though, so I couldn't even be sure if I had even taken any truth potion. I liked to think that they would begin honestly and try to get me to give them the truth of my own volition. But a small part of my brain knew that this was wishful thinking.
Remus was leaning against the table, just watching me with a calm expression. He hadn't even touched the other goblet of water. I sat, staring back at him, waiting for him to speak.
After a few minutes, a tall, broad shouldered man walked in. He had dark skin, no hair and a single hoop earring in one ear.
When he came in, Remus pushed up off the table and walked around to its other side. He pulled open a shallow drawer and produced a feather quill and a piece of old-looking paper. He placed the paper flat on the desk and then balanced the quill on top so that it stood upright on its tip.
"Name?" He asked. As soon as he spoke, the quill began to move across the paper independently, presumably documenting everything that was being said.
"Sarah Kingston." The answer shot out of my mouth before I even had the chance to fully process the question.
"Are you a death eater?"
"No." Again, the correct answer was spat out before I understood the question. There was no doubt in my mind now that I had been given truth potion and that true answers were being forced out of my mouth without me even getting the chance to consider them.
"Why should we believe you?" The tall man asked the question this time and he spoke with the deep voice that I had recognised earlier. I suddenly linked it with the silvery animal that had appeared at the wedding yesterday – this was the man who had saved our lives by warning us about the death eaters.
"Because I'm a muggle," I replied, "and Charlie told me that the death eaters hate muggles. Why would they trust a muggle if they hate them?"
"The problem is, Sarah," Remus interjected, "That you might just be pretending to be a muggle and we would have no idea. It would be quite simple, really, all you would need to do is have a friend look after your wand so you wouldn't be tempted to use it and pretend that you don't know anything about the wizarding world – and read any muggle studies textbook, of course, for some background information to make your story that bit more convincing." He finished with a wry smile.
"Are you lying to us?" The tall wizard asked sharply.
"No." I said, simply.
"But then again, you could just be telling us what we want to hear..." Remus sank into the chair behind the desk, still staring at me. "There's no garuntee that you haven't taken a veritaserum antidote before arriving, assuming that we would use it. And, as I said before, I am not an excellent legilimens, and if you were applying occlumency with a large amount of skill, I could be fooled quite easily... You see our predicament?"
"Yes. I kind of understand." I answered. I didn't really understand the magical words he had used but I got the intended meaning. There was no way of proving my innocence outright. I would have to wait for my opportunity, just like Charlie had predicted.
"Is Sarah Kingston your real name?" This question came from the tall wizard again. It appeared that they were doing some sort of 'good-cop-bad-cop' routine and he was the bad cop.
"Yes."
"How long have you lived in your current apartment?"
"About 18 months."
"Were you aware that there is another girl the same age as you with the same name and similar physical description as you living only three streets away from you?"
"Yes," I said, "they told me on the first day at the Burrow. They said that I was the wrong Sarah Kingston."
"How very convenient," He sneered a little. "Wouldn't you agree?"
"Yes." Just like all of my answers beforehand, this one leapt out of my mouth of its own accord. He looked a tiny bit taken aback by my answer but schooled his expression quickly.
"Sarah," Remus spoke up again. "Molly Weasley has informed us that she spotted an owl fly up to the house almost every night of your stay at the Burrow, but none of the Weasely family received so many letters at this time. She told us that she suspected that these letters were all addressed to you and she even witnessed the owls fly up to your window on a few occasions. This struck her as odd because she believed that you were a muggle and muggles don't use owl post. Would you mind telling us who these letters were from?"
"Charlie Weasley."
"All of them?" Remus looked sceptical.
"Yes, every one of them."
"Why would he write to you every single night?"
"Because he was trying and failing to suppress his romantic feelings towards me." The bluntness and candidness of the words surprised even me.
Remus and the tall wizard exchanged a brief look.
"Can you prove this?" the tall wizard asked.
"Yes. I have kept all of the letters, you can see them if you want. They are with my luggage at the burrow, though."
They exchanged a slightly longer look, then they changed tact.
"Sarah," Remus began, "do you remember the day in Andromeda's kitchen where I asked you a few questions?"
"Yes."
"I felt like there was something you were worried about – something you expected me to ask you. And you looked anxious, but not surprised by visit, which I found unusual. Would you care to explain?"
"The night before you arrived, I kissed Charlie. But he rushed out of the house straight away afterwards without any explanation so when you appeared in the kitchen I thought I must have broken some law that prevented muggles and wizards being together." Remus' face twitched a little, as though his eyebrows had nearly risen but he had caught them just in time. The tall wizard frowned. This was, evidentially, not the way they expected this conversation to go.
"Are- are you and Charlie Weasley... together?" Remus was fighting to keep his voice as calm and cool as it normally was.
"I'm not sure. We confessed our feelings for each other last night but there was no discussion about the status of our relationship. Do you think there should have been?" Half of me was mortified that I was just spilling out all of these details with strangers, let alone my interrogators. But the other half of me was almost relieved to finally get a chance to talk about it.
"Ms Kingston, this is not the time or the place for frivolity." The tall wizard nearly snapped at me.
"I'm not trying to be frivolous. I am only answering your questions."
"Where were you when you..." Remus hesitated and leaned over the piece of paper on the desk, reading back over the words written by the quill. "when you 'confessed your feelings for each other'?"
"In an alleyway. I don't know where."
"In some unknown alleyway...?" The tall wizard looked like he wasn't buying any of it.
"Yes."
"Did you do anything else?" He asked.
"Yes. We argued. He accused me of being a death eater, too. But I convinced him of the truth. Then he was jealous of Viktor Krum. Then I told him that I liked him and he told me that he liked me and I kissed him. And I remember thinking that he has really soft lips, unlike his rough hands."
The two of them just stared at me. Then, as if there had been some kind of signal that I had not heard, they both walked towards the door and stepped out into the hall. They left the door open so I could hear most of their conversation between the mumbles.
"... did you see the sneakoscope? ...didn't move ... entire conversation ... telling the truth." Remus spoke first.
"... easy ... Charlie ... account ... though ... imperious curse." This was the unmistakable deep voice of the other wizard.
"... interested in these letters... owl to the Burrow and ... letters to look at ..."
"Yes ... I'll get Charlie."
Remus re-entered the room, gave me one long, contemplative look, then and sat down at the table and began to write a letter.
Something inside my gut told me that I was about to be presented with an opportunity to prove my innocence, though I wasn't sure exactly what was coming.