Chapter 21:
It was oh-so-very cliche, Enigma almost wanted to laugh. It was dark. It was raining. Shouts and cries and spells filled the air, dust swirling around them all, hindering sight and clogging air ways. It was pure chaos, and yet he could tell exactly who were his and who were not. Bone white masks fashioned like skulls and cloaks with high hoods and sweeping cloth contrasted the color and streamlined elegance of L.O.S.S. However, they were at a standstill. An impasse if you will. Neither side was losing, but neither were they winning. Enigma growled, then shot a bone-breaker at McNair before flicking a levitation charm at the fool sneaking up behind him. Cutting curses, banishers, human transfiguration, blasting hexes, painfully humiliating prank spells, over powered lumos, shield charm, turn, jump, leg-locker; it all blurred together. And the sound! Enigma knew he'd be adding to his nightmares with this battle. He thought of the casualties he'd be taking back with him and felt his heart grow heavy, even as exhaustion and blood loss slowed him down like lead weights strapped to his limbs. "Fall back! The Aurors are coming!" one Death Eater, obviously one of the higher ranked ones, yelled. Enigma snarled behind his mask.
"Assault! Half of you take the wounded to Panther's Lair, then Spider's Wed, the other half take the trash to The Incinerator. Command with me!" he barked. Spider, Sparks, Blades, and Swirl came to stand in a semicircle behind him, pulling on their cloaks at a motion from their leader. Enigma quickly pulled on the cloak he had spelled for The Mouthpiece of L.O.S.S., and waited. The Aurors came and stopped in front of them, their wands drawn. Enigma took a deep breath, then said, "I am The Mouthpiece of LOSS, and these are The Agents of LOSS."
/*/
The lead Auror took a half step back from the faceless, eyeless, formless, being before him, unnerved by the thin, reedy, ghostly voice that came from it. The way It spoke was unlike a human. It seemed to come from a great distance, yet whisper in one's ear at the same time. Sirius was quite pleased with the effect.
"Why are you doing this? It's the Auror's job to respond to the Death Eater threat!" the head Auror said, though he didn't seem to thrilled with the prospect.
"And are you doing it?" asked the Agent to the immediate left of The Mouthpiece, his voice coming out the same. The Auror took another half-step back, clearly ruffled.
"Now see here... !" he began, but was cut off by The Mouthpiece.
"LOSS has Seen what you have done, and is not pleased. LOSS has decided that too many have been lost to inaction, and now calls upon Its Agents and their Operatives to neutralize the threat to the world. LOSS will not interfere with lesser criminal acts, but this is WAR! Not a sock-hop! If you wish for LOSS to fade, to leave you to your jobs... do them and do not shrink your duty to Our World!" The Agents conjured staves and banged them on the ground, intoning,
"LOSS Has Spoken!" Enigma privately thought they were over-doing it a bit, but said nothing. He was a performer at heart anyway. The Aurors were shaken, then one of them began laughing. The Mouthpiece shifted his attention to the laughing man, and had to fight hard not to react when he saw James.
"Well, he certainly told you, Rockhurst! I'm James Potter, by the way. Some might call me an over achiever," here he paused to glare at one of the other Aurors, "but I see myself as more of a man who isn't afraid to do his job," he finished, though there was also a flash of distrust in his eyes and an undercurrent of tension in his body. The Mouthpiece nodded, secretly approving. It wouldn't do for James to be too comfortable with LOSS.
"You are a warrior, Auror Potter. Do not lose sight of the battle," The Mouthpiece said. James frowned slightly, but shook it off.
"I'm not quite a full Auror yet, Mouthpiece. This was to be my first mission, but it looks like you've beat us to the punch," he said. The Agents behind The Mouthpiece laughed, a rather off-putting sound to be sure, and The Mouthpiece bowed.
"My apologies. I offer our help in repairing what has been damaged, but two of our number must leave soon to see to their additional duties among LOSS, which has apprehended several Death Eaters. LOSS shall deliver them when we have completed our own investigations... along with our findings. If We find you have not performed your Duty, We shall see Justice done," he said, a pulse of power leaving him as he said so. James sucked in a sharp breath as he felt Sirius' magic wash over him. It felt as if it belonged to someone else, someone older. That was when he realized that Sirius wasn't his friend at that moment. He was the scarred, disillusioned, betrayed, and tormented Auror who wasn't about to let others tell him what to do.
"We'll do our job, LOSS," he said coldly, though there was a bit of respect there as well. The Agents bobbed their heads and two, Spider and Sparks, disappeared in a cloud of black particles while the rest got to work repairing the damage caused by their battle. The Aurors eventually unbent a little, but they were still unnerved by the shadowy nature of the Agents. All in all, Enigma didn't think the meeting went all that bad, though he was so exhausted, he couldn't spare the magic for a black cloud as he Apperated away. When he arrived home, he stripped off his battle worn clothes and sank into the hot water of his bath, wishing he could hurry up and find those blasted soul pieces to end the thrice fought, stupid, bloody war! Half an hour later, Sirius dragged himself out of the bath and set his clothes to soaking before getting to work on paperwork and experiment ideas for his joke shop. Why didn't Severus mention how tiring a double life was?
/*/
When Spider returned to the main Medic Base, which was located under his very own workshop, he found pandemonium. Healers were rushing everywhere, Agents were bleeding all over the floor, stubborn Assault Agents were yelling to be let up, and a few Death Eaters were trussed up in a corner. "What on earth is going on here? Why aren't those Death Eaters in The Incinerator, that man is clearly ready to be moved to The Colosseum, and someone staunch the blood flow of those Agents before we loose them to blood loss! Come on now, are we Medics or headless chickens?!" he hissed, though it managed to cut through the hubbub of the Medic Base. The senior Agent, Burst, who had a mask with a copper burst pattern around the eyes, stepped forward.
"Sir! The Death Eaters are here for first aid so they don't die in The Incinerator, he has a hemorrhage, and they just arrived," she said briskly. Spider turned to her and said coldly,
"Well then, get to it!" Burst nodded, orders were issued, and chaos turned into orchestrated mayhem. Spider sighed and went on his rounds before heading to his hidden lab to brew some more healing potions and burn salves. The battle, and the impromptu meeting afterward, were playing over and over in his mind. The fear, the pain, the screams, it was driving the seriousness of what they were trying to do home. Oh, sure, he had been a part of the raid to get Mr. Lupin back, but that had been an ambush set up by Sirius. The Death Eaters hadn't known what to do. It had been easy. That night? That wasn't an ambush, nor was it a pitched battle. It was a counter attack. A counter attack that had nearly ended badly. At least half of the Assault Division had been injured, and the whole Rapid Response Division for the month had been put out of action for a while, even it's Head. He sighed, shook his head, and devoted his time to brewing. He didn't have medical training, that was his Senior Agent and her Operatives, but he was the only one qualified to brew the potions and pastes needed to properly treat certain injuries. It took four days for the Spider's Wed to empty, though its patients weren't all fully healed. Spider collapsed against the wall of his lab with a gigantic sigh on the fifth day, having restocked all of the necessary equipment. "Can we really make it through this war? Will I actually have time for my real job?" He stopped, a shiver of fear going down his back. He hadn't brewed for Padfoot's Gambol's for six days! What would their stocks be like! He had to get to work! Hurriedly stripping off his LOSS uniform, Severus pulled on a robe, ran a comb through his hair, splashed some water on his face, and dashed up to the main workshop to brew the prank potions for the students of magic who would undoubtedly need the release. Tension was building all over England, and Severus knew that jokes would be needed to liven things up... but would it be enough?
/*/
Peter looked at the fancy piece of paper that said he held a mastery in Transfiguration, but he knew he'd never actually get a job with it. He grumbled, then sighed. Reaching a decision, he stood up from his desk and gathered all the relevant data, plopping it down on the aforementioned desk to sort through. Once it was all sorted, he had a resume in a file folder ready to take with him at a moment's notice. The next morning, he applied for a place in the Auror Corps. "What do you mean I can't?!" The clerk at the desk sighed.
"You need a sponsor, and they don't come to applications sitting in the registry. Get yourself a sponsor and then come back," he said grumpily. Peter was seething. He may have been a Hufflepuff at Hogwarts, but he had the fight of a Gryffindor.
"Now you listen to me, Popinjay! I hold an O in all relevant courses expect for an E in Potions; and that's OWLS as well as NEWTS; a Mastery in Transfiguration, and received private training at the same time as James Potter. If anything, I am over qualified for this job. Get me in the training program and I will show you why I should be here!" he growled.
"Badger, always growling and snarling when things don't go your way," a smooth, laughing voice said from the left. Both Peter and the clerk turned to see a smirking James Potter in the doorway leading to the Auror's Lounge. Peter smirked back.
"Well, if it isn't Potter the Traitor. Here to condemn me for standing by Sirius, Potter?" he snarled, playing his part perfectly. James snorted.
"Hardly. I heard you snapping at our fine clerk here, and decided to give you a hand. I may not like you, nor the one who trained you, but we need every hand we can get, and I won't deny you've got skills. I'm here to sponsor you," he said. Peter stared, knowing James was going to have a time of it convincing people he didn't like him while sponsoring him. Then the badger animagus chuckled.
"Fine. I'll accept your sponsorship... but that doesn't mean you've redeemed yourself to me. I still think you're a traitor to your friends. Sirius isn't even fighting! He's running a joke shop in Ireland!" he said. James sneered, signed his name on the form, then jerked his head to Peter, prompting him to follow. The badger nodded to the clerk and followed the stag to the training area.
"MOODY! RAW RECRUIT!" James hollered, before smirking nastily at Peter and leaving. Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody turned to Peter and gave him a once over.
"Well then? Get in line!" he barked. Peter sighed. More torture in the form of combat training. Brilliant. Why did he sign up for this? "Listen up maggots! Voldemort is amassing his power, striking with little to no warning in magical and non-magical communities. It's our job to protect to citizens of Britain from magical harm, which means Voldemort." Ah. Right. That's why. Bloody snake, making life hard for the honest, hard-working folk. Then again, what could he do besides the work of an Auror? "Pay attention Pettigrew!" Moody snarled. Peter jumped to attention, hoping this would all even out eventually. Moody, however, wasn't about to go easy on the 'new guy' just because he came in during the middle of the year. Peter, however, was fully capable of keeping up and nearly showed up some of the other trainees. Moody was pleased. He knew the boy had trained under Sirius, and that he could teach an old dog a few tricks to writing reports, but to see it in action during an actual Auror training session was something else.
/*/
Adrian wondered why he had accepted Sirius' offer of training as he dodged yet another stunner. They might have been using low-powered and harmless spells, but Sirius wasn't cutting his third cousin twice removed on his father's side any slack. "Remember to hit with your shoulder so you come up ready for more!" Sirius shouted as he fired a non-verbal stinging hex. Adrian bit back a yelp as it connected and fought down a scowl.
"And when, exactly, am I to 'hit with my shoulder'?" he asked. Sirius shook his head, but didn't stop firing spells.
"When you dodge under the spells of course! Honestly, and you want to continue being a spy and go to Death Eater meetings," he said, frowning. Adrian sighed, but tried to do as Sirius instructed. The man really was a slave driver. They sparred, though Adrian would be more inclined to say that Sirius used him as target practice, for three hours before Adrian was sent to the Spell Development at The Emporium. There, Adrian was drilled in the use of various Runic Arrays such as the Locator, the Beacon, the Transport, and the Reporter. The barkeeper turned spy had never had such a hard day in his life, and it was only going to get harder. He still had the night crowd to deal with. Groaning, he dragged himself upstairs and took a cold shower before going back downstairs and opening the bar. Slowly, people trickled in, a few of them looking a little worse for wear. Adrian plastered a smile on his face and set about cheering his costumers up, even if a few of them were actually Death Eaters. Adrian was hyper aware that some of his patrons were checking their drinks and food, and made a promise to himself to stop relying on potions. He wondered if his cousins might have something to help he in that regard. Runes, wards, spells, anything but potions which would be all too easily found. Then he stopped. What if they were contact based instead of ingested? No-one checked the cutlery, or the dishes themselves. Not to mention the tables, chairs, bar, and doors. Heck, he could even put it on his hand! It certainly bore thinking about, though he'd have to be careful about getting a potion like that on himself. It wouldn't do to talk about his true loyalties among his enemies. The various Dark Wizards in his bar didn't give him any information he didn't already have that night. Most complained about how LOSS was blocking them and how many of their number were being taken down with little to no decrease in their enemies. Adrian tried his best to be sympathetic and comforting, but on the inside he was smirking. Sirius and his organization were working, and doing well. A small shiver of worry wormed its way into Adrian's mind as he wondered, is it enough? Could they really win? Or were they only capable of holding off the inevitable for a little while? He shook off those disturbing thoughts and went to bed. He had to do it all over again in the morning after all, and facing Sirius worn out from a sleepless night was comparable to running into a Death Eater meeting and shouting 'Muggles Rule!'
/*/
It was completely unexpected, and that was what made it so bad. The street was burning, mothers were calling for their children while fathers and sons and neighbors tried desperately to stop the fire spreading. The Death Eaters weren't making that an easy task, though the Aurors were trying their best to keep the masked terrorists away from the non-combatants. Spells whizzed through the air, Aurors dodged and hid however they could, fighting a desperate battle against the Dark Wizards. A house collapsed behind us, smoke clogging the air. I didn't pay the ruin much attention. There were too many enemies I had to take down and too little time. I was running out of breath, not to mention magical power. I blasted one idiot away, and saw James a little a head of me. He was coated in a fine gray ash, making him look a bit like a ghost in a cheap muggle movie. "Sirius! Behind you!" he yelled, his eyes wide. I turned, only to gasp in pain and shock as the cutting curse struck my shoulder. Blood flowed freely and my vision was wavering from the pain. Growling like my animagus form, I bit out a return curse. I wasn't even sure what it was. All I wanted was for the idiot to go down. Remus shouted from somewhere to my left, but I couldn't make out what he said. Suddenly, an achingly familiar figure appeared in front of me.
"Well well, if it isn't my blood-traitor brother. Having fun?" Regulus' voice said, mocking me. I growled, though my heart felt like it was breaking.
"Are you, Death Eater?" 'Say no. Say it isn't worth it.' He sneered.
"I am completing a noble work, brother," he said, making the word 'brother' a biting insult, "but you wouldn't know about that, would you? You, who cast aside the teachings of our great and noble house?" I fought to keep my head from falling forward in defeat.
"Noble?! If that is what nobility is then I am happy to be among the gutter trash you pig!" 'I'm sorry. I can't do it. Goodbye.' His face was a mask of hurt and anger, though my words were just as biting.
"If you will not repent, then this is goodbye... Black," he said, his wand rising. "Reducto!"
"MARLENE!" Sirius shouted, jerking out of his dream as Regulus' curse blasted the only woman he had ever truly loved apart. He sat forward on his bed, the room shrouded in darkness and cried, clutching his chest as the pain of that night ripped through him. He may be in a new time line, but the fear and danger were still there. The tears stopped not long after they started, but the trembling and gut-wrenching fear and pain weren't so amiable toward leaving. Sirius shuddered and dragged himself off the bed, but it was slow going to get to the study, where he kept his anxiety potions. Several times he nearly fell, but he hauled himself back up and made his way to the cabinet where the required potions were. He noted that he was running low, and would need to head into town to get some more. That or brew them himself, and he really didn't have time for that. He could request them from The Spider's Web, but that would draw attention to his night terrors. That's all they were. Terrors. They couldn't hurt him. They weren't real. But they were! A traitorous part of his brain hissed. He growled and grabbed a vial of potion before heading to the kitchen and making himself a bracing cup of tea. With a heavy sigh, he upended the vial into his tea and breathed deep, his nose nearly in the mug. Memories still tugging at him and the uncomfortable emotions they carried roiling in his stomach, Sirius began to drink his tea. Dead faces, final screams, mocking laughter, and flashes of spell fire plagued him well into the morning. He found himself falling asleep in his office the next day and groaned. He sure hoped Severus didn't make an appearance today, especially when he was asleep. Luckily for him, Severus didn't come to his office, but Sirius did try to get a good night's sleep that night. Unluckily, Death Eater's decided to attack Hogsmead that night and Sirius couldn't help but go help. Things went on like this; horrible nightmare, calming tea, groggy day, nighttime attack; for another month. Sirius was deteriorating, and everyone could tell. Severus was appointed the best one to confront Sirius. He didn't like it, but he liked the haggard appearance and sloppy work less. He resolved to corner his employer in the morning, around 11:15. Then they'd have an excuse to leave the shop and have a guy's lunch.
/*/
Sirius was having a hard day. His night had been particularly nasty, with memories of what Harry had gotten mixed up in winding their way into what Sirius himself had experienced in his first life, as well as the life he currently found himself with. The Graveyard was the hardest for Sirius, because Harry's emotions had been exceedingly powerful then. With a groan, he set to work, hoping he might actually get done in enough time to go home and sleep. Three hours later, he was woken up by ice water being dropped on his head. He came up sputtering, then sighed. "Hello Severus," he said glumly. Severus, who at one time would have been all too willing to tease his friend mercilessly, noticed the rather rundown state of the other wizard and sighed. Looked like another trip to the bar was in order. Once he had dragged Sirius from the office, kicking and screaming, and secured a table for them in a quaint little pub he fixed the traveler with a piercing look.
"What happened?" he asked. Sirius shook his head.
"Nothing, Severus. I've just been working too hard, that's all." The potions master wasn't convinced, but sighed and let the matter go... for the moment. But his glare told Sirius the subject wasn't dropped, merely put aside. "So, have you been to see Petunia lately?" Severus snorted, but there was a fine dusting of pink on his cheeks.
"Shut up. You know how hard it is on us. There's war on my side and lingering distrust of magic and everything that goes with it on hers. What about you and Marlene?" he shot back. Sirius sighed and leaned back, playing with the glass of Guinness in front of him.
"She's still in England, and it's too much hassle for a casual thing like what we've got going. And Actually, I wasn't planning on making my move until the threat of an AK at unexpected times was removed. You know it's all too likely we'll all die horribly in this war." Severus nodded, though he noticed the glazed look coming over Sirius. "I can still see them, Severus," the slightly inebriated wizard said, looking beyond the smoky interior of the little Irish pub. "Their bloody faces, their fear frozen on normally smiling faces. The smoke, the blood, the scream... the broken bodies of friends and loved ones. People I didn't even know. Children. Sometimes... sometimes I hear them, Severus. I hear they calling, begging... that's the worst part, the begging. Then comes the memories. My own brother..." tears brimmed in Sirius eyes as he spoke, but Severus didn't feel it was his place to interrupt. Sirius didn't always come across as a private person, instead seeming rather friendly and amiable, but beneath that he was guarded, scarred, and held more secrets than anyone. Sirius may claim he had mourned and moved on, but being back in this time, fighting the same enemy... it was bound to dig at tender areas and set old wounds to bleeding again. Sirius didn't say anything more and simply broke down crying. Severus sighed, ordered another round, and waited his friend out. When the tears stopped, Severus gave his friend a hard look.
"You've been holding this a long time, haven't you?" he asked. Sirius sighed, drying his tears.
"A month, give or take. It started the night after the 'meeting.' The fight... it brought back memories from a time best left forgotten," Sirius said, looking a little ashamed of his breakdown. Severus shook his head.
"While normally I'd say that's very Slytherin of you, in this case, I'd have to say it was a rather stupid decision and that you should have told someone about this!" he scolded, reminding Sirius rather strongly of the feared professor he could have become. The Grim animagus sighed, his head drooping.
"I'm sorry. It's just that... I thought I could handle it and then... Harry enters the nightmare. And then there are the times when... when it's Regulus..." Sirius trailed off, staring sadly into his beer. Severus sighed, but didn't push. He knew it was painful. The mere mention of Harry was enough to convince him of that. Sirius never spoke of Harry, his godson. And Regulus... Severus shook his head.
"Come on. You're taking a sick day. As your Head Medic I'm prescribing you a Dreamless Sleep potion for tonight and a visit to Burst and Earth at your earliest convenience... and I'll know if you don't," he said, giving Sirius a stern look. The scarred man chuckled and saluted.
"Aye aye Professor!" he sang. Severus shook his head at the silliness of a slightly drunken Sirius Black and took his friend to his home where he was promptly put to bed.
/*/
Lily was so excited! She had gotten her Charms Mastery! Now she was going to get a job! But where? Doing what? She thought about it, then she went to a fixture shop and applied for a job charming items for wizarding homes. She put in multiple applications for similar work, then decided to wait and see where that went before going to Ireland and applying for a job at Padfoot's Gambols. She sighed, wishing she knew what she was doing. It was all so... messy. "Lily!" shouted a familiar voice. The read head turned and saw her friend, James, running up to her with a grin. "Hey, glad I caught you. I heard about your Mastery and wondered..." he trailed off with a faint blush and Lily couldn't help but chuckle at him. She knew Sirius had lived in a world where she got together with James, and James knew it too, but they'd both decided to take it easy and not rush. There was a bit of tension, early on, but as they grew older it settled into a close friendship. Now, it seemed, James was trying to ask her out. Lily felt a little apprehensive about that, but then she thought of how Sirius' eyes lit up when he talked about her son... Harry James Potter. She thought of how kind and sweet James could be when he wasn't seeking attention, how he just knew when she needed a good joke or a sweet cup of tea and a shoulder to cry on. She decided to take pity on the young Auror.
"There's a tea shop I like, it's just around the corner from the Leaky Cauldron. I could transfigure your robes so they wouldn't be so out of place," she said, though it sounded a little bit like a question. James beamed all the same.
"Do they have treacle tarts there?" he asked. Lily laughed, but nodded. Grinning, James held out an arm and escorted her out of the Leaky Cauldron, then got escorted to the tea shop. When they parted company half an hour later, James was elated and Lily was thinking that, maybe, just maybe, they actually could be a couple and have a kid... after the war. She would rather die single than leave her child to face a prophesy the likes of which Sirius had told her. While Lily was contemplating the future she was now seeing as possible, James was bubbling with joy at her acceptance of his casual advance. He knew it wasn't much, and frankly he hadn't been looking for much more than that, but it was nice all the same. However, he was also thinking of how he really needed to help Sirius take down the Dark Nut-Job. He didn't want to have to wait too long to pursue a relationship with the only woman he could ever love, the light of his life, his precious Tiger-Lily.
/?/
A/N: Okay, so, I've run out of plots for the war. I'm sorry. I may do flashbacks or allusions in later chapters but, I really want to get out of this because I suck at writing stuff like this, especially when I have literally nothing to go off of. So, the next chapter will have a time skip to bring Regulus to the front lines. I know, I'm sorry, but it must be done. After that, this war should pick up until the grand conclusion of the reign of terror. Please don't hate me, I just don't think you want to read me slogging through stuff like this. So, let me know what you think of this chapter and know that I hope to make it a bit more exciting and engaging in the next few chapters. Thank you for bearing with me.
Regenengel3.