Hello Darlings,

Not much to say except enjoy.

And thanks to Sirius-baby and hpfan4ever for their lovely reviews of the last chapter.

Love from Kassie

P.S. To answer your question hpfan, yes you will be seeing what happened during the first war. Won't be flashbacks though, the storylines are going to run side by side. There'll be a few chapters set in the 90's, then a few in the 70's and so on.

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Chapter 27: Old Friends

AUGUST, 1994

ENGLAND

Isadora looked at the house in front of her and smirked. She wasn't the least bit surprised. Not only had it taken ages for her to find it but it was protected by more spells than she could count. Fortunately for Izzy, she knew the magic that had created those spells almost as well as she knew her own and so she was able to find the house after a bit of a hunt. Getting inside though, that would be a different story.

Isadora opened a very old, short wooden gate that was part of a fence that surrounded the house. It didn't look very well protected with the naked eye but if you tried breaking in, oh boy would you be in for a shock.

As she made her way down the walkway towards the front door, she examined the house more carefully. It was run down and in desperate need of a fresh coat of white paint as it looked more grey than anything. Dark curtains were drawn in every window and the glass panes were foggy with dirt. The front door was the newest thing about the place. It wasn't clean but it was large and sturdy. It was probably specially made because it didn't seem to quite fit with the rest of the house. On the door was a large brass knocker that Isadora rapped once, quickly and lightly.

Apparently, whoever was inside had seen her come up the walkway because a tiny metal hatch in the door was immediately pushed aside and Isadora could see a blue eye staring out at her.

"Name?" growled a voice from behind the door.

She was expecting this. "Isadora Nicole Angelline."

"When did you first meet me?"

"When I was fourteen, at Hogwarts, It must have been…1977, I suppose."

"Who introduced us?"

"Albus Dumbledore. He was my legal guardian and is my second cousin, once removed."

"When was the last time we saw each other and what was the last thing I said to you?"

Isadora groaned. This was getting tedious. "1981. We were at James and Lily Potter's house. The last thing you said to me was, 'you have to leave.' Then you let Sirius Black knock me out with a stunning spell. Are you satisfied now?"

She supposed he was because the little metal panel snapped shut and she heard him fiddling with a series of locks. Then the door opened and there stood Alastor Moody. The last time she had seen him he still had the magical eye and the missing chunk from his nose but the wooden leg was new. That guilty feeling at the pit of Isadora's stomach was back with a vengeance. She figured she'd better get used to it.

As for Moody, he gave her a quick look up and down and then grunted. "I knew he'd send you." Then he turned around and made his way deeper into the house.

Isadora closed the door and the magical locks started to move of their own accord. She followed Moody through the house and into the kitchen. She sat down on a tall stool at the counter while he conjured up some tea for them. When he set a cup down in front of her, she noticed that it was with two sugars and a splash of milk, just the way she liked.

They sat there in silence for a minute while Moody studied her. Isadora just stared down at her tea. She was vaguely aware of his magical eye moving back and forth over her, trying to see beyond the physical. "You've changed," he finally said. "You're in control now. I don't even notice the magic."

She nodded. For years, he had tried to encourage her to pull back. When Isadora entered a room, her first instinct was to feel it out with her magic. In theory a good idea but the problem with this when she was younger was that she had no control over it. She just released her magic abruptly which in dire situations could be useful. In everyday situations however, other witches and wizards could sense this and found it disconcerting, even though they didn't know what it was they were feeling. Moody had tried to teach her how to release her magic slowly and carefully, so that others would not be aware of what she was doing. At the time, Isadora found the task tedious but now, it was second nature to her.

Alastor grunted again. "Well, let's get this over with. I'm not teaching at that school and that's final."

"He needs your help," said Isadora quietly.

"Well, he has you Izzy. That's enough. You're more than capable."

15 years ago she would have basked in the praise but now she was just irritated. "You can never be too careful, Alastor. Constant vigilance, or don't you remember? The more people he has there, the better. Albus wants the best people to protect Harry. He wants you there…I want you there."

Moody wasn't swayed. "I don't want to get involved in this again. I'm happy right here, thanks."

"I didn't want to come back here either, but I did," she said more forcefully. "It's the right thing to do. Harry needs help and I'm going to give it to him. I owe Lily and James that much." Isadora paused and then decided to change tactics, softening her voice. "It's going to happen eventually. He's coming back, I can feel it." She gave him a small smile. "I know you. When the time comes, you won't just sit back and let other people fight. You'll be there, right in the thick of it. What's the difference if it's now or a year or two years from now?"

Moody emitted a sound that could be characterized as a cross between a snort and a growl. She could see the wheels in his head turning. "Five minutes. I thought I'd last longer than that. Fifteen, twenty minutes at least."

Isadora resisted the urge to laugh. "You'll come then?"

"Course I will. Can't leave you there alone to muck things up now can I?"

There was the Moody she remembered. Isadora's eyes glittered with moisture. In a swift movement, she was up and over to him, her arms wrapped around his neck in a tight hug. She was relieved to see that he hugged her back. It was like she was fifteen again and it felt good. "I really missed you," she said. He grunted in response. Isadora knew him well enough to interpret it as, 'me too.'

After a minute, she pulled back, suddenly embarrassed by her display of emotion. "I'm sorry," she said quickly.

Alastor knew she wasn't talking about the hug. "Don't. You lost a lot. More than most. I don't know what I would have done." Short, succinct. That was Moody.

"Didn't have much to begin with," she responded sardonically.

Moody chose not to respond. They sat there in silence drinking their tea. Isadora wished she knew where she stood with him. He was always the calm, focused, and silent type. Great against a room full of death eaters but dreadful to speak to about emotional matters. Clearly, he still cared about her but did he forgive her? Did he trust her? Would they ever get back to the way they were before? Damn that guilt. It was back. She felt like she would deserve it if he never spoke to her again.

Moody made a sharp move to stand and grunted again, "I'd better start packing. If I'm going to Hogwarts I want to be prepared. School starts in a week, no?" Isadora nodded. She assumed that the packing he referred to consisted mainly of the dark magic detectors that he was so fond of. It would take him a week to pack those up. "Besides," he said. "I'm sure you have other people you need to see tonight?"

One down, two to go as a matter of fact. Isadora nodded grimly as she stood up to leave. "I'll see you next week, then?"

"Next week." Moody removed the teacups from the countertop and hobbled to the sink to clean them.

Isadora made her way to the kitchen door but before she reached it, she stopped and turned around. "Out of curiosity Alastor, why did you bother looking through the peephole when you can see right through the door?"

Moody spoke from his place at the sink but did not turn around. "Upper hand. If it's a stranger, I don't want him to know I can see what he's up to."

Isadora shook her head and chuckled a little before making her way to the front door to let herself out.

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It was a good thing Isadora had chosen to wear muggle clothes. It was a habit she had picked up from Lily years ago. She was skeptical about wearing them at first but once she did, she found them far more comfortable than wizard cothing. And at that particular moment, she was standing outside a flat in muggle London, which made her jeans and plain t-shirt that much more appropriate. The building she had entered was a depressing place that was old and dirty. As she had walked down the hallway, she saw cockroaches scuttle away from the sounds of her footsteps. The door she stood in front of didn't look much better. Isadora didn't hesitate to ring the buzzer because she knew if she did, she might lose her nerve and just turn around and leave.

She heard shuffling noises inside and the muffled sound of a lock being opened. Then the door swung back and she got a good look at Remus. He was dramatically different from what she remembered. His face was lined far more than it should be and he looked worn out. He could only have been 34 or 35. His clothes weren't in tatters, but they were clearly old.

When Remus caught sight of Isadora his eyes widened in shock but only for a second. Then his face hardened. "I'd say I'm surprised to see you but I don't think the words are strong enough." Nothing in his voice indicated pleasure. Nevertheless, he stepped back so she could enter. "Come in, I suppose."

"Thank you," she said as she stepped inside and took a quick look around. The flat was nice in a simple way. Remus might not have much money but did have pride and wouldn't let the place he lived in look like the rest of the run down building. The furniture was clearly bought used, but it was clean and orderly. Isadora sat down on a brown couch that was placed in front of a coffee table. Remus closed the door and sat down in a nearby chair.

"It's good to see you," she said quietly.

Remus chose to ignore that and get straight to it. "What are you doing here?"

Isadora sighed. She had asked herself that question many times on the way here. "I honestly don't know. I'm back in England. For good, probably. I guess I just thought…I should let you know, stop by here, something."

"It's been thirteen years. I'm surprised you didn't come back sooner. The Ministry hasn't had a price on your head for ages. Why return now?" On the surface, their conversation seemed like two old friends catching up but there was little cordiality to it.

"Albus. He wants me to teach at Hogwarts."

"Taking up my old job?"

She shook her head. "Arithmancy."

"Well, enjoy it then. There's some good kids in that school. You'll be surprised…when you see him I mean. He looks just like James."

Isadora nodded. "So I've heard." They lapsed into silence. Remus was avoiding the painful memories that seeing her brought up but Isadora didn't see the point in pretending that everything hadn't happened. "I've wanted to apologize to you for a long time now," she finally said. "It just never seemed like the right time. I know you think I was selfish, but every choice I made, I made for a reason, even if you can't understand it. I loved her you know, just as much as you. Mor—"

Remus cut her off brusquely. "Don't. Don't say her name. I don't want to hear it now."

"You still despise me, don't you?"

"No. I don't hate you. I just don't trust you." Isadora could see that he wasn't trying to comfort her when he said this, he was just being honest. In a way, it hurt more. She wished he would just lash out at her, she deserved it. Instead, he just plain thought that her intentions were bad or evil. "To be blunt," he continued, "I'm not sure why Dumbledore trusts you around Harry. Then again, he probably knows things about you that I don't. You never were a very honest sort of person." He was pleased to see that she didn't dispute that. "I hope you were at least honest with Sirius. He always trusted you no matter what anyone said to him, no matter what you did."

"Sirius knew me better than anyone. We could never be completely honest with one another because I wasn't a part of the Order, but we never lied to each other." Isadora reflected on that statement and let out a short chuckle before correcting herself bitterly. "At least I thought so. Obviously I was mistaken."

At that Remus's demeanor changed. He looked at her strangely and it made her uncomfortable. "I'm surprised. Out of everyone, you were the only one that believed he was innocent. When did you change your mind?"

Isadora was trying to figure out what the look on Remus' face was about and a sickening thought occurred to her. "Have you been in contact with him?"

Remus quickly shook his head. "No. Of course not."

"Well, you've clearly reconsidered whether or not he was guilty," she countered.

"I just…I don't know if he is or he isn't. All I want to remember about him was the friend that I had in school. Whatever became of him after that…he was a good person before he met you, I know that much." He didn't dare say anything more. He wasn't too fond of Isadora but he was feeling a great amount of guilt over the fact that everyone but her knew what had happened at Hogwarts the previous year. He thought that she deserved to know but it was Sirius's responsibility to tell her. If there was one thing Remus wouldn't do it was get in between those two. That was a surefire way to get into trouble.

Remus's barb had served its purpose. Isadora seemed to believe what he said and backtracked to answer his previous question. "I believed in him right up until a few months ago actually. Thirteen years I deluded myself." She was bitter.

Remus' curiosity got the better of him. "What changed?"

"If he was innocent, he would have come to see me. When I heard he escaped…I didn't expect him to find me right away. I knew he'd go for Harry first, try and prove his innocence. I thought that after he did that… But he didn't. And the only reason I can think of is that he really did do those terrible things. His actions certainly don't seem like those of an innocent man. Maybe he never loved me, or James, or Lily at all. Maybe none of us knew who really was…"

Remus was surprised to see that she didn't seem upset or even sad. Her eyes had a faraway look to them and she just seemed detached. He wanted to ask her if she really believed what she was saying but it wasn't his place.

Isadora's eyes focused and she realized where she was and who she was talking to. She wanted to change the subject and quickly. "I thought I should come tell you myself that I was back," she cleared her throat unnecessarily. "Dumbledore thinks Voldemort's going to return and so do I. If that happens, I'm sure he'll reinstate the Order. I'll be more involved this time around and we'll probably have to work together. I just thought I should warn you."

Remus studied Isadora for a second trying to figure her out. She was an enigma to him. "Consider me warned. Is that all?"

Isadora nodded and stood up to leave. She knew when a conversation was finished. For the second time that evening, she let herself out. Like before, she stopped before she reached the door when she heard an intake of breath that indicated he had more to say. "Did you do it? Were you working for Voldemort?"

Remus saw the change in her immediately, even though her back was still to him. Any unease that she had felt in his presence was gone. Instead of getting angry, her demeanor was cool and calm. Her very posture gave off the sense that she was in control and that she was not someone he should be tangling with.

Isadora actually laughed at his words. "Do you honestly expect me to answer that question?" Her voice was like liquid and had a clear, sharp edge to it. Her back was still to him. "You made up your mind about me a long time ago, Remus. And besides, if I was, why would I tell you?" Then she was gone, taking care to slam the door behind her.

Remus sat there contemplating their little meeting for quite some time after that. Isadora had changed a great deal and not in a good way. She was quieter and seemed infinitely more dangerous. When he first saw her, she seemed normal enough but the change that came over her right before she left was almost frightening. Her very presence was unnerving to him.

Remus had seen her that night that she found out how Lily and James had died and about Sirius's supposed role in it. There was no doubt in his mind that she had truly loved him. But her grief might have been only for him, not for his friends. If she was working for Voldemort, she might have thought she could turn Sirius. What happened that night would have ruined everything though. But if that was true, wouldn't she have known about Peter? Not necessarily. If Voldemort did have two spies in their midst, he might not have wanted them to know about each other. That was certainly a thought.

One thing was for sure, he didn't think Isadora should be anywhere near Harry. As long as Dumbledore was there though, he would be safe. At least Remus hoped so.

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As she walked, Isadora mentally berated herself. It was stupid of her to speak to him like that. She rarely ever lost her temper these days but when she did, it surfaced in a disquieting way, at least that's what Albus had told her. If Remus Lupin suspected her guilt before, he was probably convinced of it now.

Isadora ended that line of thought as she approached the threshold of her final stop that evening. She had to be on her guard here and couldn't afford distractions.

She was standing in front of a Manor and a very large one at that. Unlike the previous two places she had visited, this one screamed wealth and comfort. And in all likelihood, she would probably be given a much warmer reception here. The irony of that thought was not lost on her.

Isadora knocked on the door. In a place that big it was a wonder anyone would hear it but the door was quickly opened and a house elf that she didn't recognize stood before her. The little creature looked her up and down distastefully. Oops. Might have been a good idea to change out of her muggle clothes before she came here. Oh well. Couldn't be helped now. "Yes?" asked the house elf disdainfully.

Isadora wouldn't be humbled by him. Despite her attire, she maintained the air of self-importance that would be expected of someone of her class. "Is your master at home?"

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No," she challenged.

The house elf seemed gleeful at being able to deny her entrance. "I'm sorry, but the Master is quite busy—"

Isadora cut him off with a laugh. "I'm sure he is," she said confidently. "Tell Lucius that Isadora Angelline is here. I'm quite sure he'd be willing to set aside his work to see me."

Clearly, the house-elf was reconsidering. "Wait here," he said curtly before shutting the door to retreat into the house and find his master.

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