A/N: I'm sorry to have deprived you an update for almost a month now. As I told you, in the mean time I'm married and have been on honeymoon, both of which were wonderful by the way. But I'm back and I've picked up on this story again. I promise the next update won't take that long.
21. WARTIME
A week after their wedding, Remus and Nymphadora were fetched by Alastor Moody. They were to collect Harry Potter at the house of his aunt and uncle. Alastor went through the entire plan again.
"Ted, Andromeda, your house is the most important so the protective spells will be strongest around your house. We will fetch Harry at dusk, so he and Hagrid should be arriving here around midnight on Sirius' old motorbike. Here's the Portkey," he handed Ted an old hairbrush, "it's set at one o'clock and will transport them to The Burrow, where we'll all gather. Do not contact Molly or Arthur or any of the others unless Harry and Hagrid are not back in time for their Portkey. The most important thing…"
"…is vigilance," Andromeda finished his sentence. "We know Alastor. We've been through this so many times already."
"It can never harm to repeat things once more."
They nodded. There was a brief awkward silence after Nymphadora and Remus had said goodbye. They all knew that the chances of one of them being killed during the mission were high. This could very well be the last time they ever saw each other. Alastor coughed. They really had to get going or they would mess up the entire plan. They hugged each other one last time and then Alastor, Remus and Nymphadora Disapparated.
"Oh, I do hope they will make it back safe," Andromeda sighed, staring at the point where they had vanished. "But Alastor said nothing would happen before midnight, so there's no point staring in the darkness for hours, right?" she tried to persuade herself. Nonetheless, she didn't move for another minute and then she slowly, reluctantly, started walking back towards the house.
Ted made her tea, but she was too nervous to drink it. She kept looking at the clock, as if that could make the time go faster.
"They're at headquarters now, probably going through the plan one more time with Alastor," she said. And an hour later: "They should be at Harry's aunt and uncle's now. He doesn't know about the plan, right? What if he doesn't want to go?" And another half hour later: "They should be on their way now. What if they're captured by Death Eaters?"
Ted sighed every time Andromeda made similar remarks, even though he was as worried as she was. The clock kept ticking away seconds while they sat in their living room, tense and jumpy by every sound. They were startled by a very loud bang just before midnight.
"Oh Merlin, something must be wrong!" Andromeda said and both she and Ted rushed to the door.
"Who is there? Is that Potter?" Ted yelled. "Are you Harry Potter?"
"By Merlin's beard, they have crashed into the garden, Ted!" Andromeda shouted, when by the light from the kitchen she could just make out a disheveled heap of metal and limbs. Someone tried to walk towards them but fell down again.
"Lumos!" Ted said and ran over to the pond, which was where they had landed – whoever 'they' might be. Andromeda followed his example. They soon recognised Hagrid, he was too big to be mistaken for anyone else. He was badly injured. So the dark haired boy that had fainted had to be Harry Potter. They transported both of them inside.
"Can you fix his arm and nose?" Andromeda asked Ted, "It'll take some time for me to fix Hagrid's injuries, some of them are pretty nasty."
"Sure. I've mended noses before," he said with a hint of a smile, "and I think I've fixed arms at least twice. With a clumsy daughter like ours."
They fell silent for a moment. Both were thinking about Nymphadora and Remus. They didn't dare speak their worst fears: that something might have happened to any of them. Or one of the others for that matter, half the Weasley family was involved and they also cared about Alastor.
Andromeda coughed. "Fine, then I'll go and fix Hagrid."
Hagrid chose that moment to awake with a loud grumble. "Harry?" he groaned. "Are you all right? Harry?"
"Hagrid?" Andromeda gently touched his arms and he jumped.
"Blimey 'Dromeda, yer scared me," he said. "Harry okay?"
"He will be Hagrid. He just fainted from exhaustion and he has some injuries that need tending. And so do you. Come, we'll go into the kitchen so Ted can tend to Harry here."
She looked around in the kitchen. Their chairs were not nearly strong enough to hold Hagrid's weight. "Uhm, just sit on the table then," she said.
Hagrid sat down on the table, which cracked dangerously but hold him. While Andromeda fussed over Hagrid and mended his broken wrist, she fired questions at him.
"What happened Hagrid? Was there something wrong with Sirius' bike?"
"Nah, bike's fine I guess. Had these extra buttons Arthur installed on them, did a good job on ter, blew them away with that fire. But when it backfired I tried ter mend it, should've let Harry do it, I was never got that spell right yer know?"
"Them?" Andromeda asked sharply. "Hagrid, what 'them'?" She suddenly had vivid image in her mind of Nymphadora blasted off her broom by a fire spouting motorbike and quickly pushed that thought away.
"Nah there was…"
"Death Eaters!" she heard Harry shouting in the living. She froze a moment but then she rushed into the living room, just in time to hear Harry continue: "They were everywhere, they were after us. It was an ambush, they knew about the plan."
She stopped death, her heart beating in her chest. Death Eaters ambushed them? Her thoughts immediately went to Nymphadora.
Harry spotted her, standing in the doorway and his eyes grew big. "YOU!" he yelled and clenched his fists, rage building up inside him. Andromeda sighed. She got that reaction a lot since Bellatrix had escaped from Azkaban.
"If you could calm down please, that's my wife you're yelling at," Ted said calmly.
Harry looked startled. "Oh… of course … I'm sorry… I … uhm…"
She waved her hand at his apology and posed the question she didn't dare ask. "Nymphadora, is she alright?" her throat was tied.
"I don't know," he shook his head. "They were after us from the start, waiting for us. They seemed a bit startled though that there were so many people up and that there were seven of me. A few of them pursued me and then Voldemort joined in in the hunt…"
"Voldemort was up there?" she and Ted both inhaled sharply.
"Well, at least we know that the protective spells work. They can't approach this house within a few yards."
There was a brief silence when they thought about what might have happened if the spells hadn't worked.
"It's almost one, we'd better get going. They'll be worried over at the Burrow. Where's the Portkey?"
"Upstairs. I'll show you," Ted said without looking at Andromeda.
Harry and Hagrid followed him. Harry turned around. "I'll tell her to contact you as soon as I reach the Burrow, okay?"
Andromeda nodded, not thrusting her voice. She was worried sick over her daughter and when Harry and Hagrid had left she and Ted paced around the living room until they finally received word that both Nymphadora and Remus were alright. "Thank Merlin for that," they sighed. However, the news about Alastor's death grieved them. "Who would have guessed that Alastor, the undefeatable Alastor Moody, could fall?" They shook their heads in disbelief.
"Argh, we were this close!" Bellatrix ranted and threw her broom aside.
Narcissa, who had been dozing by the fire, woke up and raised an eyebrow. "I take it the ambush of Harry Potter didn't go well then?"
"Didn't go well? Ha!" Bellatrix sneered. "There were seven of him! They had been taking Polyjuice Potion! Not only Alastor was there, but Kingsley as well and that blood traitor of an Arthur Weasley. And that pink haired witch again, I swear, one day I will kill her. But he escaped at the last moment!"
"Wait, did you say a pink haired witch?" Narcissa interrupted her.
"Yes, she's an Auror I think. Nearly killed her at the Ministry and nearly killed her again today. Next time I meet her it'll be the end of her, I will not let her escape another time."
"She's Andromeda's daughter," Narcissa murmured without thinking. She had suddenly remembered her encounter with the witch.
"Andromeda's daughter?" Bellatrix narrowed her eyes. "The one that married the werewolf?"
They were both reminded of the hard time the Dark Lord had given them over that fact.
"She was with Moody when they raided the Manor. I remember him calling her by the name of that Mudblood father of hers and saying something about Sirius."
"Ha, all the more reasons to finish her off next time I catch her," Bellatrix snorted.
-o0o-
The Dark Lord was furious with Olivander. Apparently, using Lucius' wand hadn't made the difference Olivander had said it would.
"There were gold sparks coming out of his wand and it just snapped in two! You hear me? It snapped, whereas you said this couldn't happen!"
On overhearing the Dark Lord thundering in the cellar, Lucius turned white. Narcissa understood why: Lucius was now officially wandless, since a broken wand could not be returned and it was not likely the Dark Lord would allow for Olivander to craft a new wand for Lucius. If they hadn't been before, they were now officially pariahs.
"We'll manage," Narcissa reassured him. "It'll be hard now, but once the Dark Lord has gained control over the wizarding world, I'm sure he will reinstate you as a faithful follower and that he will allow you a new wand. Meanwhile, we'll just have to share mine, won't we?"
"You know, I'm not that sure anymore he will win. I thought that after Dumbledore died… but then the Potter boy escaped again, performing magic the Dark Lord never heard of. What do we do if he were to be defeated?"
"Ssssh, don't say that!" Narcissa said shocked and looked around to see if anyone had heard. "He's downstairs," she reminded him with a hiss.
"We're outcasts anyway," he said.
"I know. But I intend to get my entire family out alive, no matter the outcome," Narcissa retorted. "I have no want for a dead husband or a dead son, so please, mind what you're saying. Or thinking," she added, remembering the Dark Lord's skill at Legilimency. "We will accept his punishment obediently, even if that means not being able to perform magic. We Malfoys always had our dignity and I have no intention of throwing that away."
Lucius smiled weakly.
"What was so funny about that?" she asked.
"It's nothing dear," he answered. "It just struck me that you said 'we Malfoys'."
"Well, I am, ain't I? Ever since I married one."
"Of course. Though you still used to think of yourself as being a Black most of the time. But I'm really proud to have someone like you beside me as my wife."
-o0o-
It didn't take long for the Dark Lord temper to change to exhilaration: with the Imperiused Pius Thicknesse, they had managed to kill Rufus Scrimgeour and take over the Ministry. They were only one step away from total control and that step was called Harry Potter. If he were dead, nothing would stand in their way anymore.
"Arthur Weasley's son is married today," Yaxley yelled. "I bet you anything the Potter boy will be there. There were a lot of protective spells over their house, but now that we hold the Ministry, there's nothing they can do."
Bellatrix let out an exhilarating laugh. She was in her element; they could finally take out those annoying Order members!
"Kill as many as you can, but leave the boy to me," the Dark Lord spoke coldly.
Bellatrix stopped dead in her tracks. "You are not coming, My Lord?" she asked shocked.
"No Bella, I will not. For the past year, they have claimed that I'm back. Yet, no one has actually seen me apart from those Ordermembers, because I'm not stupid enough to show myself. Others may have doubts as to whether they are lying about me and think you lot," he nodded his head, "are acting on your own device."
"That's preposterous! I would never…" she began.
"Quiet Bella! It's what I want them to think, for it is very convenient for us if the wizarding world isn't at its qui vive."
She shut her mouth, she knew better than to argue with the Dark Lord. "Of course My Lord." She bowed.
"Now be gone, all of you!" he thundered. "Or they'll all be gone by the time you arrive!"
One by one, they Death Eaters disappeared in a whirl of black smoke to The Burrow. There was chaos and apparently the people at the party had been warned. Spells were flying left and right but the boy they were searching for appeared not to be there. It was maddening really. They interrogated a lot of the partygoers, but none of them had seen Harry Potter. There was only one conclusion: Harry Potter had thought it too dangerous and had not been present at the wedding of his best friend's brother, however unlikely that sounded. But they would get their chance. They now controlled the Ministry, making it much easier to track the little brat.
One of the first laws that passed through was claiming the Dark Lord's name as Taboo. Knowing that only the members of the Order of the Phoenix were stupid enough to speak of him, it gave the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord himself a very simple method of tracking them down. The Taboo had not been instated for half an hour when they first noticed it worked perfectly. Someone had spoken the Dark Lord's name.
Much to Bellatrix' disappointment, Dolohov and Rookwood were appointed to follow the lead to a Muggle cafeteria in London. Bellatrix hoped it would be the Mudblood, or else one of the Weasleys. She hated them almost as much as she hated Harry Potter. She'd love to have them experience just what exactly her area of expertise was, preferable with Harry Potter watching, though the other way around was also perfectly fine. But they returned empty handed. The Dark Lord was out, so Bellatrix took it upon herself to question them. He would be pleased with her. Their eyes were glazed and she instantly recognized a memory modification. She had her own ways around that, having studied with the Dark Lord has taught her things others didn't think were possible. It took her some digging before she found what she had feared: they had met Potter, and the Weasley blood-traitor and the Mudblood, who had been the one to perform the modification. Despite her hatred for the Mudblood, Bellatrix reluctantly had to admit was impressed with her spellwork; it had been rather difficult to trace the memories hidden behind the charm, even for her.
She looked up at her Masster, who had just entered the room. "Master," she bowed deeply. "They have been modified, but they've let Potter and his friends escape."
"I see," the Dark Lord spoke in a cool voice.
Dolohov and Rookwod shivered. Like Bellatrix, they knew the Dark Lord's rage was at its worst when he appeared cool and composed. So when the Dark Lord told her to leave and fetch Draco, she scurried out of the room. So, he wanted Draco to perform the punishment? My, Lucius most have really screwed up, she grinned. She found her sister and nephew in the library, sitting silently side by side, both reading a book.
"Oh, Draco, the Dark Lord requires your presence in the salon," she lilted. Draco lifted his head, as did Narcissa. There was a shimmer of fear in their eyes and she chuckled.
"It appears Dolohov and Rookwood need a little reminder as to were their loyalties lie."
"And He wants Draco to do that?" Narcissa whispered in disbelief. Draco's face had gone pale.
"I'd say Lucius really messed up, sis" she grinned. "I'd hurry if I were you Draco, He doesn't like to be kept waiting."
Trembling, Draco got up from his chair. Narcissa placed her hand on arm. "Draco…" she said pleadingly. Draco shrugged her off. "I have to go Mother," he said brusquely.
Bellatrix chuckled as he scurried out of the library in much the same way she had scurried out of the salon earlier.
"You think this is fun, don't you?" Narcissa accused her older sister. "You think we got what we deserved when Lucius' wand was taken. You dwell on our humiliation." She spat the words at Bellatrix, her eyes ablaze.
"Oh, I wouldn't say I dwelled on it, but I must admit I rather enjoy watching Lucius crumble. The guy has had his nose stuck in the air for too long already, it was about time he was smacked back into reality."
"That 'guy' you're speaking of is my husband," Narcissa said threateningly. "And I would advise you to turn it down a notch. After all, this is still our Manor you're staying in."
Bellatrix let out snorting laughter. "Ha, or you'd do what? Throw me out? In case you've forgotten, my dear sister, what you and Lucius want doesn't matter anymore. The Dark Lord has made sure of that. And unlike some, He still considers me a valuable asset to the cause."
"I hate you."
"Fine, see if I care."
Things were definitely not looking good. Voldemort was growing stronger and stronger and with the Death Eaters having taken over control over the Ministry, one terrible law after the other was issued. When the new Muggleborn Registratrion system was put into place, Ted and Andromeda knew they couldn't ignore it anymore.
"I have to leave," Ted told her.
"Ted, no." There were tears in her eyes. "You can't leave me behind. I wouldn't know how to live without you."
"You would manage," he whispered. "You're a Pureblood, they wouldn't dare harm you. But as long as I'm with you, you're in danger."
"I don't care," she defied him. "Let them come. I'll make sure it'll be the last thing they do."
"But I care." He had spoken softly so she had a little difficulty hearing what he said. "I care. Don't you see, Dromeda? If I'm here, we could both die. If I leave, we might both have a chance of survival. And if I don't make it, at least I would know that you would be safe."
"Don't say things like that."
"You know they're true."
"And what about Dora? She's pregnant, we'll have a grandchild!"
"I'm sure she can give birth without me," he tried to reassure her. "She'll have you, and Remus. And I can rejoice over my grandchild when I'm back."
She noticed the tears in his eyes, which he tried to hide, for her. She hated him for leaving her, because she loved him. And she hated that he had no other choice, because he loved her too. She hated what this world had become.
"Please don't go."
"You know I have to."
She rested her forehead against his'. "Make love to me," she whispered. He nodded soundlessly, a tear trickling down his face as he kissed her softly on the lips, his own lips slowly tracing down to her neck. They made love like this was the last chance they would ever get, which was all in all a rather big probability. They came together this final time, in a bond that said so much more than words could ever express. In their lovemaking, they become one; one heart, one soul, one body, one mind, one single person. Whole.
"I love you," they whispered to each other when Ted took off in the middle of the night. With tears in her eyes, Andromeda watched her husband leave. "Please be back soon," she whispered into the darkness, even though she knew he could no longer hear her.