Into Emerald Flames

Chapter Twenty Nine: Execute

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Beta read by SiriusBlackIsAwesome.


-l-Third-l-

Remus excused himself from the games and fun that everyone was having five minutes before seven. Faith was eating pudding, and had it all over her face, having ignored her spoon and its purpose entirely. Next to her was Devante. He had his father's jet black hair, which looked promising to be like his father and uncle's wavy black curls. He was sleeping at the moment, but when he opened his eyes they were the same brilliant, ocean blue that his mother had. Lily picked him up, taking him off to the nursery for bedtime.

Faith trotted along, holding her bowl of pudding, and still neglecting her spoon. Her red hair bouncing along with her, as she hopped along like a rabbit. So it came as no surprise that halfway down the hall her pudding spilled, and Remus could hear Lily clean it up with a wave of her wand, and Faith crying over her spilled treat.

Sirius and James were in the kitchen, probably making a mess. James couldn't cook for the life of him, and Sirius had no experience whatsoever. Luckily, Alice barged in, demanding to know if they were demolishing the kitchen.

James and Sirius reappeared moments later clutching pieces of leftover pie, with a bottle of cream. Remus rolled his eyes and stole a piece of Sirius' pie, when Sirius wasn't looking of course.

Then he left, shouting a cheery goodnight to everyone. But as the door closed behind him, that smile faded away, and he sighed, pulling his travel cloak tighter around himself.

He glanced around, making sure no one was watching him as he walked to the street corner alone. No one offered to come with him, and he stopped at the end of the street, once again pivoting on his heel, his golden eyes flashing around the area. Seeing no one in sight, he spun on his heel and vanished into thin air.

He appeared at the Burrow, which was Number Five of the safe houses for the Order. There were only five, but that was enough to keep from being discovered. Once he landed, he sprinted to the door, knocking with their certain pattern of knocks and then giving the password.

Molly let him in, her red hair a mess, and she fixed him a bit of potato soup and warmed a bit of bread. Remus was munching on the bread, dipping it in the soup when Dumbledore arrived, apparating right into the Burrow without a thought to the safety shields. None of them went off, and it seemed that they had no utter effect on him.

He brushed off his robes as though they might have dirt on them, and straightened his wizard's hat. " Well Remus, I hope you had a safe journey."

" Yes sir," Remus said immediately, setting his spoon down. " You summoned me for a mission?"

Dumbledore's little happiness seemed to fade. " Ah, yes. The mission is complicated, I'm sure you could manage it though...I wouldn't go as far as to say that I would encourage you to accept it. I would think about it Remus, and talk to your friends about it. The mission is not an easy one, nor is it safe."

Remus shrugged. What was new? There was always danger these days, even walking down the street was dangerous. You could be mugged by snatchers, or jumped by Death Eaters who would either murder you on the spot or else kill you after torturing you. As for easy, were any of the old man's missions easy ones? They consisted of breaking into the Death Eaters' lair, attacking Death Eaters when they threw an attack at a muggle village, infiltrating the Ministry to drag known Death Eaters to the surface and the most recent, setting out spies to the other side to gather information on Voldemort's plans.

" I don't care, I'll do it," Remus replied shortly, stabbing at his soup.

" You have not even heard the extent of my request," Dumbledore reminded him.

Remus sighed, stirring his soup absently. " Then explain."

" I want you to find a way into Voldemort's lair, through werewolves," Dumbledore spoke shortly, though he seemed far from done explaining the plan. " He promises great things to the Dark Creatures who he can collect. Not monsters by society, and work," he spoke carefully, as though he thought it might trigger something.

" But," Remus began. It was a lie, he knew that. But it was still tempting. All Dark Creatures were shunned by society, and they weren't able to work like other people. They couldn't simply blend in with the muggles though. Their call was the Magical World, and they couldn't work like the other people there either. Work was hard to come by. There was little or no pay. In fact, many wizards believed that 'monsters' should not be given education. It was believed that they were stupid, unable to learn and posed a threat to the other children. When in fact, many of them possessed an interest to learn and their monstrous side actually strengthened their ability to do so.

" But, who would believe that?" he asked, looking at Dumbledore as though he'd grown antlers.

Dumbledore fixed him with a saddened gaze, a mixture of sorrow and hope. " Many of them are jobless Remus. They don't have a supportive family and most have no friends. Nothing to lose, nothing to gain. So why not fight for something that gives them hope? The hope that one day, society's eyes won't be as cruel. That maybe they'll realize that they've been blinded from the truth by their fear. That these are people, just like you and me. They deserve a chance. Most of them don't get much of a choice, they don't have the little freedom that you do."

Remus sat across from Dumbledore, contemplating this carefully. True, he didn't have a job but at least he had friends, who had become his family.

They had supported him when he needed it most. He knew he was fighting for what was right. He had accepted long ago that society would never see him as any more than a monster. Yeah, it hurt, but it was the truth.

" I'll do it," Remus repeated, lifting his head a little higher. He had no doubts, and just like the other werewolves, nothing to lose. His parents were already dead, and he had no wife or love. Yes, he had the Marauders and Lily, Alice and Frank, but even if he did die, he would die with honor, at least in their eyes.

Dumbledore smiled. " I do not accept. Talk to your friends, you'll be surprised at how much they depend on you Remus. Owl me your answer in a few days and think it over. I do not ask you easily, for it is hard to put you in this situation."

" Who is the leader?" Remus asked, pulling his bread apart, bit by bit but not eating any of it.

" You know him well, and this is the reason I do not wish to send you on this mission. But I believe you are the most equipped for this type of mission. He goes by the name, Fenrir Greyback." He stared solemnly at Remus, waiting for a reaction.

Remus froze, his golden eyes staring unblinkingly out the kitchen window.

There was a snarl, and the creature bared its lips back to reveal its long, snapping jaws. It reared, with a howling snarl, lunging forward.

There was a shout, and Remus whipped around, seeing his mother stare at the creature with fear he'd never seen on her beautiful face, she screamed again, a scream that pierced the night air.

The animal rose, with a roar. Its hot breath hit Remus' cold skin, and the next instant, it sank its teeth into his shoulder, right where his neck met his shoulders.

Remus was knocked over with ease, and the animal bit only harder when Remus cried out. Piercing golden eyes locked onto his wide blue ones, and he tried to pull away.

Claws raked down his side, drawing more blood in their path.

Remus screamed again, and this time, a curse shot through the air, sending the wolf tumbling away from the five year old.

He stared in horror as the wolf rose again. For a long moment it stood, eyeing Remus with a glint of satisfaction before it threw its head back in a howl of victory. Remus could nearly make out the words of the wolf before he passed out. " Mine. You are mine, little pup."

So he supposed he was in a way belonging to Fenrir. He was made a werewolf by the wolf's teeth, and by wolf law, was part of his pack unless Fenrir drove him out or else he managed to run away.

" I accept the mission nevertheless," Remus finally said and Dumbldore nodded.

" I must go now, I have other matters to attend to," Dumbledore lifted his wand, and swept it though the air as though searching for something. After a moment, seeming to have found what he was looking for, he turned once more to Remus. " Until then," he nodded and disapparated away.

A minute or so later, Molly came back in. " He's gone already?"

Not waiting for an answer, she took Remus' dishes and with a wave of her wand, got them to begin to wash themselves.

" Alright dear, I think you'd better be getting back. You look a bit tired, no doubt you could use some good rest. Do say hello to the rest of you for me," Molly said, fetching his cloak for him.

" Goodnight Molly, thank you for the soup," Remus said, giving her a hug and shrugging on his cloak.

" Oh it was nothing dear, have a safe trip," she said, ushering him out.

Remus sighed. Who ever said life was easy?