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Chapter 29: Safe and Sound and Secrets
Somehow, Ginny thought terribly, Dearborn must've jinxed those awful lavender robes to never become dirty because he was wearing them once again. She sat at her desk in the living room back at Potter Manor and watched him pace the length of the room with robes that pranced instead of billowed just by the nature of the color. It was abhorrent. Peter had rightly insisted they let Caradoc know what had happened to James and Lily straight away after they'd decided to return to the Manor since he was technically their superior and window to the Ministry if and when they needed help. It seemed a splendid idea until Dearborn immediately started muttering on about the Ministry and if he could properly convince his boss that it was they who had forced him to give them the upper level case and that he should not be punished over it. Both Remus and Regulus had to drag Sirius into the garden to keep him from mauling the persnickety warlock of a wizard. And although Ginny knew his point to be true she was still appalled as he frantically worried about his job while everyone else worried over and gave barely a hope for the safe return of their friends.
All methods of entering Potter Manor were made available to them. The fireplace was opened to any Floo travel, protective charms had been removed, and Sirius had personally lifted the anti-Apparition enchantments that had been recently placed on the grounds. Ginny didn't believe that when Lily and James escaped whatever peril they'd fallen into that they would first Apparate into the living room of Potter Manor, not when there was so much at stake and just in case there were any tagalongs.
Sirius was mad with worry and his brother and Remus remained outside with him to attempt to calm him. But they both, even Remus, had given her demeaning glances back at the Leaky Cauldron when she nodded and suggested they wait it out at Potter Manor. Surprisingly, she wasn't the only one not worried about their return, besides Dearborn.
"They're going to come back. They've got to fight him at least twice more if that's where they are, right Ginny?" Peter asked when they were alone in the kitchen. She felt like Peter was the only one that listened to her.
…born to those who have thrice defied him…
Yes, Ginny was sure that they would return, but in what condition, she was unaware. It mattered little, though. They would be well enough to continue fighting on. She was worried more by something else.
While they waited, Alice and Frank arrived. Alice spent a few minutes consoling the inconsolable Awner, who sat in the corner in tears, before she realized there was nothing else to do but stand around silently and wait with everyone else.
Frank, a man of logic, sat at James's desk beside Ginny and his wife sat in Lily's seat. Both turned around and faced Ginny. "You aren't worried about them," Frank said. Ginny glanced over at Peter, who was tactfully pulling Dearborn away and into the kitchen. When he was out of ear shot, she began.
"I'm not. I'm worried that if indeed they are presented before Voldemort," both flinched, "that either James or Lily forgets to use Occlumency and their knowledge of the Horcruxes is intercepted by the Dark Lord."
"Oh. That's right… if that happens…everything changes," Alice said. Solemnly, Ginny nodded. She wondered if any of them were really trained enough in Occlumency and even if they were was it ingrained enough in them that they could use it unconsciously, by surprise, and under pressure. It was of the utmost importance that each of them could. And honestly, Ginny knew that she could not.
She thought of Harry's lessons with Snape and how awful they'd been. She thought of Snape…what would he think of the things she'd said to him? Why hadn't he cursed her the moment he realized she was not Lily?
Peter returned from the kitchen alone. Would Occlumency be enough to keep information out of Voldemort's prying hands?
"You shouldn't worry about Lily. She's so very smart I can't imagine her forgetting anything. James though…he's brilliant under pressure but would he remember right away?" Frank asked.
Peter shook his head. He stood in the aisle leaning on Lily's desk. "His first thought would be to protect Lily."
"Precisely my thoughts," Ginny agreed.
Hours into the evening and still James and Lily were not to be seen. Ginny had cursed Dearborn with hives without him noticing and he brushed it off (rather ridiculously) as a nervous man's physical reaction to the situation. Nonetheless, Dearborn left and the other boys returned. The waiting was agony.
Remus watched Ginny closely all throughout dinner and afterwards. She hadn't eaten anything. She was worried over something else entirely than the rest but he was caught somewhere in the middle. He tried to understand her thoughts, but a part of him could not trust in a prophecy that hadn't yet been made.
She, Regulus, and Peter were by the fire writing out more training plans that implemented use of Occlumency. He stood against the wall of the hallway to the stairs. He liked the way her face took on a special look when she was focused on something. Her usual calm, almost sarcastic demeanor fled and her brows furrowed forward, her bottom lip curled just so slightly under her teeth. While she was trying to get them to close their minds, he merely wanted to read hers. What would he do for just a glimpse of the real her?
A sharp pain shot up from his foot. Sirius had dug his heal, hard, into Remus's right foot.
"You ought to be making that face at Wormtail instead for all the good it'll do you," he said with a tone of warning.
Remus sighed. "Yea, I know. Maybe when things are settled…"
Sirius put a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe. Who knows? Even when we've got someone from the future calling the shots for us we don't know what'll happen do we? Maybe things've changed."
"I don't think-"
"Lily!" they heard Alice call and Sirius's head turned so fast he thought his neck might snap in half. Everyone rushed in a stampede into the front room, where Lily and James stood, hand in hand. For a few long moments, the group of seven merely stared with relief at the two of them. Remus searched them up and down for signs of injury but found none.
Sirius was first to break from the group and wrap his arms wide around the both of them.
"What's with the Muggle costumes?" Frank asked, next to embrace them.
"Never mind that, where the bloody hell did Travers take you!" Peter exclaimed. Everyone looked at Peter with brows raised. "He took you to You-Know-Who didn't he?"
James nodded. Lily advanced and hugged Alice, then Ginny.
"Occlumency…?" she whispered into Lily's ear. She nodded her head and indicated with her eyes they would converse the topic later.
"We'd best talk about this sitting down, with some tea," she added to Awner, whose eyes lit up with overflowing tears of joy as she rushed into the kitchen to get started.
The lot spent the evening on the carpet in front of the fire quietly talking and sipping on warm tea. The cubicles and chairs had been moved to be replaced by decorous garnet and gold carpets and plush pillows. While they were retelling the events of their afternoon and evening Lily and James sat side by side with their backs against the sofa, legs crossed with mugs wrapped in their hands. The rest were scattered around them. Sirius lied half upright on his side next to James with Peter on his other side. Alice sat between Frank's legs on the corner of the carpet underneath a golden blanket looking worried. Awner was allowed her place right beside Lily and beside her Regulus sat with Ginny's legs across his lap. Her head was on a pillow in Remus's lap.
By three in the morning their story had been told. All of them had harangued Lily for not giving notice when they'd gone to Lily's parents' house. And she apologized profusely but they were all just glad they escaped unscathed. It was probably unheard of.
"What does he look like?" Peter asked.
"He's pale…almost inhumanly. And he's got long fingers." Lily rubbed her own fingers as if they would suddenly become traitorously long and white.
"You noticed his fingers?" Alice asked.
James nodded. "You don't see much else when you're looking down the wrong end of his wand."
"He was barefoot too," Lily added. "I noticed when I tried to kill the snake. It was so peculiar."
"I don't believe there's a trainer spooky enough to suit his fashion tastes," Sirius said capturing a round of laughs.
It was simple for them to mask their uncertainty and fear by simplifying the conversation. They all pretended what had happened was much lighter than it truly was but for now, that was the only coping mechanism they had. At least James and Lily seemed fine, although their hands remained entwined for the whole of the evening.
"Has he got a nose?" Ginny asked suddenly.
Remus glanced down at her. "Why wouldn't he have a nose?" he asked with an air of amusement.
Ginny shrugged. "He's like a snake himself I suppose. Last I saw him he had two small slits instead. I'm just wondering when it was it went."
"You're not joking?" James asked. She shook her head. "I suppose yes, he had a nose. I've never met anyone whose nose decided to go on holiday."
The conversation crawled on slowly after that as one by one each of them fell asleep. James and Sirius stayed up the latest.
"Why'd you stun him? Snape? Just a different curse and we'd be shot of him."
"Sirius…" James said exhaustedly, warningly.
Sirius sat up straight and looked at his friend intensely. "Really though, we'd have one less Death Eater to deal with."
"Lily and I took down more than one this afternoon. None of us were killed ourselves. I think we can call today a success."
"But it's Snape!"
James sighed and looked down at his fiancé, whose head lay sleeping soundly in his lap. "However much I hate him, if and when Snape dies, it won't be by my wand," he said seriously. He gently stroked a few strands out of Lily's face. She was pristine in her slumber. "I know that even though Lily deplores him plenty there is still a part of her heart that will always contain the greasy git who first introduced her to magic. He was the only one left when we faced Voldemort and I stunned him. Because I couldn't let him hurt her. A scar from Voldemort she can live with, just like Harry. Snape's already hurt her enough."
Sirius nodded. "It's just… well right before you were Apparated away, Ginny was too. By Snape. But she came back, with Snape, without a scratch."
"We can't start mistrusting her. She's been right every time. I trust her. Not just as a girl from the future trying to save us all but as my friend. I don't question her or who she chooses to Apparate away with."
"I'm not questioning her. I'm afraid to ask her anything really. Knowing I was in Azkaban for twelve years was knowledge enough. But Snape… you'd think he'd curse her. He's done it previously. But he didn't touch her."
"I dunno Padfoot. We should be grateful anyways."
Life went on at Potter Manor. They took on a new (though somewhat less ambitious) case the very next Monday morning and Caradoc was euphoric that "the lovesick puppies haven't keeled off." Ginny gave him a good taste of her Bat-Bogey again for saying that.
The shock of what had happened wore off quicker than any of them had envisioned and with a lingering desire to work harder. Ginny adamantly made them practice Occlumency while she listened to the daily news of movement of Voldemort, or his followers just in case. But just like before he was becoming more aloof and quiet, creating a cold sense of terror about wizarding England. It was just like it'd been before. Wizarding families were fleeing the country and those who could not were suspicious of everyone around them.
Of those leaving the country, Alice and Frank left abruptly for their honeymoon, which they had not been on because of the state of things. But they figured it was time and without a wave goodbye they'd Apparated half way across Europe. Ginny was happy for them. They needed to be out of the country for a while. In fact, she was a bit envious.
The first Monday in November, Ginny woke at pre-dawn to an owl pecking at her window. She got up and leant over the bedside table to find a tawny colored owl sitting on the branch of the tree that sat just outside her room. It was drizzling outside and when she let the small owl inside it ruffled its feathers, getting rainwater all over her.
"Good morning to you too," she greeted. She did not recognize the owl but it recognized her - it nipped at her ear appreciatively and then dropped a letter into her lap. Hooting gracefully, it took Saben's place on his perch and began picking up some leftover treats he'd been too lazy to retrieve. She wondered when Saben would return.
The envelope had her name scrawled in slanted handwriting she knew to be Dumbledore's.
Ginny Weasley
Potter Manor
The second bedroom on the left.
She opened it quickly not bothering to savor the envelope. Inside was an invitation to a secret meeting. There was an address and a date and time but there was no signature. Ginny flew to the kitchen, had a hurried breakfast, and sat at her desk to file their last accomplishment. Ginny and Lily had captured a girl about their age who was selling cursed bracelet charms meant to be gifted to Muggles. The sun rose slowly and it wasn't until nine in the morning that James made his way downstairs.
"Morning James," Ginny said, sitting at her desk and moving some papers around, trying to look busy.
"Hey Gin. Did you know they finally caught Wardiggle?" he asked holding up the Prophet. "It's about time isn't it? It's been ages since we read about his escape. We would've done it quicker," he assured her confidently.
Ginny raised her brows. Capturing Death Eaters had become something of a sport for him when they got the cases. Probably a withdrawal from not having played Quidditch in a while. Whoever caught the most would win and to James they were always winning. "Don't be foolish because we're a better team than any of the Aurors at the Ministry."
"Including Alice and Frank?"
"Especially Alice and Frank," she said with a wink. "It doesn't matter. What does is that they've got him."
He paused. "You really think we're the best?" he asked, suddenly unsure.
Ginny stood and looked at him over the cubicle. He looked back at her, genuinely looking for an answer. "Don't you?"
He held up the envelope with his name inscribed in slanted cursive across the center. "Got it in the owl post this morning."
Ginny held up her own identical envelope with her own name. "Me too. Wonder what it's about. Looks like Dumbledore's handwriting."
"Lily got one too."
"So did I," Sirius said, coming round the corner from the fireplace with a pile of papers in his arms and an envelope with his name in the same handwriting on top of it. "It's cryptic. Should we be suspicious?"
"I don't think so," James said. "The writer knows us too well for him to be a Death Eater. Look, 'James Potter, Potter Manor, First bedroom up the stairs.' It's got to be Dumbledore. Do you think he heard about what happened to me and Lily?"
Now Saben came and dropped a note onto Ginny's desk, gaving her a doting peck. Ginny smiled and stroked his head with the back of her finger. "I know he heard about it." She opened the delicate scroll. "Regulus got one too," she said after reading over it.
"It seems we'll be having an office party," Sirius joked.
"You think Peter and Remus got them?" James asked.
"I wouldn't doubt it," Ginny replied. "They should be downstairs soon anyways." The front door opened and all three had their wands out simultaneously. But it was merely Alice and Frank. "Isn't it quite early for you to be back this early from your honeymoon?"
"Was he that bad?" Sirius asked Alice and she blushed.
Ginny flicked her wand again and cleaning supplies zoomed from the supply closet down the hall and began spraying and wiping Sirius' skull clean. "You're dirty mind needs cleaning!" Ginny laughed. They had a good laugh at him as he tried and failed to reach out to his desk and retrieve his wand but Ginny always pushed him away with her own wand.
James, the only one facing the hallway to the front door, flicked his wand at Sirius and the cleaning supplies flew to his desk and remained still. James sat down and began writing as though nothing had happened. The rest followed suit without turning around.
"Good morning, Non-Aurors," Caradoc said and luckily he was looking through some files and didn't notice the foolishness going on moments prior.
"Is that altogether very necessary?" Alice asked. "Do you really call them that?"
Hearing her voice he finally looked up from his papers and stared at her. "Prewett…aren't you supposed to be…gone or someplace…something?" he said with a wave on his hand and looked back down at his papers, putting a pile of them on James' desk and then idling over to Ginny's.
"My honeymoon…yes. And its Longbottom now," she reminded him sternly. "It's been Longbottom for months."
"You're spending your honeymoon…" he looked around at the makeshift office in James' front room, "here?"
"Is it not splendid enough for you Dearborn?"
"It's not splendid at all is it Black? And what are you three doing? The new couple and the dog standing around?" Caradoc glanced at James, the apparent epitome of a diligent worker. "You should be acting more like Mr. Potter. There's a reason he's your group leader. And Black…" Caradoc leaned over his cubicle and saw the cleaning supplies. "Spring cleaning…in November?"
Sirius picked up the duster and reached over the divider between his and Frank's cubicles. "Er, yes sir, just cleaning Longbottom's desk since he's been gone. It's gotten a bit dusty."
Caradoc stared peculiarly at him but ultimately nodded. "Yes. How kind of you. Well, back to work now. Criminals don't catch themselves."
"You're absolutely right Dearborn, as you always are," Sirius said thick with sarcasm.
Caradoc's large ego seemed to block it from his ears however because he replied, "For once Black, you're right yourself." He stepped toward Ginny cubicle, turning his back to Sirius and James who both continued to do silent imitations of Caradoc's demeanor. "Morning Ginny," he said what he thought passed as a suave smile, resting his arm on top of the divider of her cubicle. Still standing, Ginny looked him straight in his oblivious eye, trying intensely not to laugh at Sirius and James.
"It's Weasley. We're not quite on a first name basis sir," she told him, struggling to keep her composure as Sirius and James made kissing faces at her. They marched in circles, trying to make themselves look as much like trolls as they could.
"Well," Caradoc said leaning forward suggestively. "I thought you might like to perhaps get to a first name basis. Drinks tonight?" James conjured two wine glasses while Sirius created silent mini-fireworks to rain over their heads as they gave a toast. Ginny brought her hand to her mouth to reinforce her need not to burst into laughter. Somehow, Caradoc misinterpreted this as a blush and he grinned. "Is that a yes?"
Ginny dropped her hand and forced herself to look serious. "I actually have a prior engagement that I cannot break. In fact, I believe I'm set up with prior engagements for the rest of the month. But I believe I've got time to Quill you in sometime in January."
Caradoc smiled, as oblivious as a cow. "I suppose I'll have to make an appointment with you. I'd be proud to have such a well warranted woman on my arm."
Somehow, Ginny couldn't find words to reply to this, unsure whether she should take it as a compliment or charm the feather duster to beat Caradoc over the head. He must be joking. Instead her eyes shot to James who had Sirius linked to his arm and walked around as if showing off a prized pig. Caradoc turned swiftly and James and Sirius stopped to a standstill at the same moment Ginny flicked her wand to extinguish the fireworks.
"What are you doing? Lolly-gagging around the office, how typical. There's a reason you're not Aurors," he said derogatorily.
"There's usually a reason for everything," Sirius muttered.
"Excuse me? You should never mumble in front of your superiors. Repeat yourself," he demanded.
"I was just saying how I was looking forward to my engagement with Ginny this evening," Sirius replied and Ginny laughed out loud. Caradoc snapped back to her.
"You're going out with him," Caradoc asked incredulously.
"Well sir, there's a reason I'm not going out with you." Caradoc turned on his heel and stalked away. "But don't let my personal feelings get in the way of our relationship!" she called after him and a moment later they heard the front door slam.
Sirius bounded from his desk, across the aisle, and pulled Ginny into his arms, proceeding to waltz her around the open space in the many rows of cubicles. "That was brilliant Ginny! 'Well, sir,'" he mimicked in a terrible impersonation of her voice, "'there's a reason I'm not going out with you.' Exceptional!"
"Well done Ginny. That's the best you've kept yourself composed when you've watched us degrade Dearborn behind his back," James said. "I'm proud of your improvement. I'll be sure to tell Dumbledore tonight."
"So that's what this is all about," Frank said, holding up an envelope much like the ones the rest had received over the divider of his desk.
"You guys got them too?" Ginny asked.
"It's why we've come back on such short notice. We figured it was Dumbledore's handwriting but we weren't sure. So we came here to ask you guys about it. Have you all got them?" Alice asked, pulling her own from her bag and throwing it onto her desk. She flopped into her chair.
"Lily and Regulus got them. I wouldn't doubt Remus and Peter have gotten them too. We've been summoned," James said.
"Do you know what it's about?" Frank asked Ginny. "You're the one from the future after all."
"I really haven't any clue," Ginny admitted. "If it includes me, it's new."
"Where's your lovely wife to be this lovely morning, group leader?" Alice asked. "And since when were there any designated leaders?"
"Lily is already at Hogwarts actually. McGonagall wrote asking for help with something. Luckily she's got a great leader who will let her off on such short notice." James grinned.
Again, thanks for reading! Chapter 30 will come sooner than 29 did! Promise!
