Chapter 54 ~ May, 1997
The northern air was clear and cool in the meadow, and one could say the sun was even smiling down at the moment. There were birds calling from the nearby forest and wildflowers swayed as a gentle breeze danced across their petals. But that peaceful moment was only the silent inhalation before a scream. A spell was shouted into the air, and in the next second chaos had broken out across the field.
The row of dueling dummies standing at attention began to move around the meadow and fire off spells, reds and blues and greens and purples lacing the air. Some Americans reacted faster than others, throwing up shield charms, which bought the slower responders a precious few seconds. Artemis and Remus stood off to the side watching the scene intently. Sheets of parchment and a dictation quill hovered in the air between them, the quill scribbling furiously across the paper as the pair commented on the fighters.
Artemis blew out a frustrated breath as Gareth was hit with a Knockback Jinx. "I was sure he'd catch that one this time. It's a Grade 2 spell!" she muttered.
"He trying to keep track of everyone else," murmured Remus, "rather than staying focused on the opponents."
"The rest are doing pretty well. Rosa's a natural. Hawthorne's a little slower, but he's powerful, goes right for the strongest spell. Jane and Hezekiah are quicker than I expected. Isabel has good instincts, but if something surprises her, it takes her a moment to recover. She can't afford to lose the moment."
"Daisy is…trying," said Remus gently. "I'd hoped practicing in an open area would minimize the distraction of her supernatural guests, but she seems a bit overwhelmed."
"All right, Mr. Lupin, time to get in there with them. "CHANGE!" Artemis yelled from her position, and the werewolves all synchronously transformed, now focusing on dodging the spells that continued to fly from the dueling dummies as they attempted to physically take them down.
Artemis found this sight fascinating to watch. Years of hunting had honed their ability to work together and communicate wordlessly. Kingsley's idea of sending out one American with each Order mission wasn't going to work at all. They functioned better in groups, each one already knowing the others' strength and weaknesses.
Remus had loped into the fray with Kieran, Xander, Xavier and Catherine, the non-magic users, who had been watching nearby. The first time they'd gone out Remus had been horribly embarrassed. Having taken off in an all-out sprint, he'd had tried to stop and turn suddenly, lost his footing and tumbled over and over until he landed in a heap before Kieran. The large Alpha had looked amused and nudged him kindly to his feet. So this time he stayed near the back, watching to try and learn how to fight more effectively in this form.
Kieran, Xander, Xavier, and Oscar took up the leads, their teams falling in behind them. Xander led Isabel, Daisy and Catherine right up the middle, drawing the majority of the spells toward them. The girls were smaller, slightly faster, and better at avoiding the hexes. Kieran, Gareth, and Joshua took the right flank, Xavier and Hezekiah the left, strategically darting in and out. Oscar, Rosa, Hawthorne and Jane spread out along the back, taking down the outliers.
It was an impressive display, and surprisingly effective. Half of the opponents had been taken out in just a few short minutes. It would work well if all of them wound up engaging in an all out battle as a pack. Artemis' main concern was how effective it would remain if they were divided? Her question was unfortunately answered immediately thereafter. Isabel and Daisy were hit and thrown backwards. Joshua veered off to go to them, ducking under a jinx that caught Xander, bowling him over as he yelped. Gareth shifted to try and help Catherine continue to draw fire, but they were both quickly taken out. The others continued their attempts to get closer to the remaining mannequins, but were unsuccessful.
Artemis yelled out the spell to stop the dueling dummies and the werewolves changed back, all of them panting a little. Joshua and Isabel were helping Daisy up, her left ankle clearly swelling. Gareth and Xander had both been hit with a mild cutting spell, and made equally disgusted faces looking over their wounds.
"What hit your ankle, Querida?" asked Rosa, coming over to Daisy.
"I did," answered Isabel ruefully. "I landed on her."
"Let's get back to the house so Ellie can fix y'all up," said Kieran. "Artemis, what's the verdict? We seemed to start out pretty strong, but then fell apart."
"Well, I wouldn't say you fell apart," said Artemis slowly. "Your hunting formation is fairly effective short term. And I would say it would even work better if you had the element of surprise. Real people confronted with that many werewolves probably wouldn't be able to keep fighting like the mannequins did."
"I agree," said Remus. "I think we need to focus on working with smaller teams. It's unlikely everyone will be fighting as one pack. We should determine which two or three of you work best together and focus on those teams being as strong and efficient as possible."
"And you'll have to get more vicious," said Artemis sternly. "It might sound repulsive now, but the quickest way to eliminate a dark witch or wizard from being able to continue fighting is to bite off their wand hand. Most can't heal that on their own, and they wouldn't have their wand to cast the spell anyway. It will buy you the most time," she added, her eyes hard.
No one quite knew how to respond to that, so they silently grouped themselves around the portkey that Remus pulled from his cloak — a carved wooden lioness. Artemis raised her eyebrows questioningly at the figurine, and Remus shrugged. "So I can always get home," he said softly, smiling at her.
Lina hesitated outside the last corridor. The portraits down here were just as gossipy as the rest. She was going to have to start the charade from here. Glancing down at the almost empty bottle of firewhiskey, she paused to take off her shoes and let them dangle from her free hand. Feigning an off balanced sort of strut, she meandered down the hall. Stopping in front of the heavy, carved door, she fumbled for her wand, whispering the password, before casting the spell to unlock it.
She could hear the faint murmur of the portraits in the hall as she closed the door. Pulling a glass from one of her pockets, she poured the last of the firewhiskey, and downed the drink, shuddering. Merlin, she hated whiskey. Artemis had teased her more than once about her preference for margaritas or vodka cocktails. Fluffy drinks, she'd called them. But Lina was just fine only occasionally enjoying the sweet mixed drinks. She despised how drunkenness made you vulnerable, and she didn't need to down glass after glass of firewhiskey to try and forget her past. She may have made choices she didn't particularly like, but she was clear-eyed enough to recognize she always made the only appropriate choice of the moment.
Taking out a small atomizer, she spritzed some additional whiskey in the air, so it smelled like she'd been here much longer. She dropped her shoes, set the empty bottle on the side table, and settled into the chair, dangling her legs over one of the arms and arranging her robes so they showed just a bit of leg. Leaning back, Lina settled in to wait. She didn't have to wait long. Less than ten minutes later the door creaked open, and even Severus' typical aplomb couldn't cover his surprise at finding her sitting in his chair.
"Ssssseverus," Lina hissed, peering up at him. "You know, your name is very hissy. A ssssuitable Ssssslytherin name."
"You're drunk," he stated, both confused and mildly appalled. Lina always showed such magnificent control, he found it disconcerting. "Why are you drunk in my rooms?"
"It's been a month. You need to up your game, Professor." She leaned her head back as she seemed to fight to stay awake.
"I beg your pardon?"
"The school year's almost over. How are you supposed to introduce me to the powers-that-be if you can't ask me out on a date? No one will believe the cover."
"I highly doubt anyone would believe it anyway. I've said from the beginning your plan was exceedingly foolish," he frowned, taking a seat in the matching armchair, and pushing his dark hair away from his eyes irritably.
"Ish not my plan. "Ish his plan," she slurred, waving her hand toward the door. "He told me about the red hair. And ish a good plan. I wish it wasn't a good plan. I don't want to do it."
"Then don't," he sighed. "Go home, and forget this nonsensical act of…of idiocy."
"I can't go home. They're all gone." Something tickled her face, and she swiped her cheek, looking amazed to find her hand wet as she pulled it away. "Am I crying?"
"What do you mean, they're all gone?" Severus asked. He was really at a loss as to how he should handle this.
"I shhh…I shent them away," she said. "Oblivied them and sent them to France. Now the snake won't be able to get them. No more Laurents." Severus brusquely handed her a handkerchief, which she wiped furiously across her eyes. "But that's not why I'm here," she said sternly, trying to scowl at him. "I'm here to help you," she said pointing an accusing finger at him, "and you are making it very difficult. You have to try harder."
"And just how do you suggest I do that?" he asked a trifle angrily. "Fawn all over you like Sirius Black?"
Lina laughed, a sharp harsh sound, before frowning confusedly and covering her mouth. "I don't want to talk about him," she muttered. "You need to lighten up…" she waved the firewhiskey bottle towards him. "Whiskey loosens the tongue, and you and I have a hard time communicating honestly," she said, concentrating on saying each word slowly and correctly. She tried to prop her head up, and frowned at the strands of hair hanging in her face. She grabbed at them, peering dolefully at the color, before turning her attention back on Severus. "I know I'm not her. And you know I'm not her. But nobody else should know…they need to think you're inf…infa…" Lina frowned in concentration, "infatuated!" she finished triumphantly. "Try flirting…"
Snape rubbed his forehead wearily. Curse that Dumbledore. Wasn't enough that Severus had sold his soul for this…this last ditch effort against the Dark Lord? Now it could consume a young woman he had tried to protect, whom he respected. When would he finally feel free of his sins? "Why did you ever agree?" he asked, almost rhetorically.
Lina looked at him sleepily. "You need help," she said, waving her hand around. "Help proving your loyalty, help protecting your secrets…And you protected me."
"I think you need to go to bed. Hopefully in the morning you won't remember any of this," Snape said softly, shaking his head, and standing up to usher her out.
Lina swung her feet to the floor and stood unsteadily. "I've said what I needed to say, and I'm leaving now," she announced, louder than necessary. Taking a few stumbling steps around the chair, she grabbed at the front of Snape's robes to keep herself upright. Blinking up at him she smiled. "You can take me back to my room. It's chiv…chival…gentlemanly. And if anyone sees us they might think the worst of you. Perfect."
Severus looked mildly horrified at the thought, and moved to extract himself from her grip, but she clutched at him tighter. "Sir, you have to try to make this work," Lina said sternly. "If I do this on my own it will just be a mess. I can't get close to them without you." The horrified look faded to grim resignation, and he wrapped an arm around her waist, leading her towards the door.
Luckily, or unluckily, depending on who you asked, they ran across three different prefects on duty. Snape chased them off with a savage glare, but from the way they kept glancing back, the damage was done. He intended to leave her at her door, but she couldn't manage the key, and then practically dragged him inside as she shoved the door open. Having finally deposited her in an armchair, he exited, straightening his robes and brushing his hair back from his face as he left room, to the astonishment of Professor Flitwick, who was just coming down the corridor. Severus only just remembered to shoot the man an attempt at a smug smile rather than his customary glare, as he strode past, which came off more like a grimace. If he could play the loyal servant to the Dark Lord, surely he would be able to do this, even if it was just to help Lina survive the stupid and foolhardy plan.
Inside her room, Lina sighed tiredly. It was a good performance. Hopefully that would do the trick. Men were never more irritating than when stubbornly insisting they knew better. Part of her wanted to pour out her frustrations in a letter to Sirius, but she didn't. It was feeble, wishful thinking. She'd said her good-byes, and that was that. If she survived, and made it back, and he was still interested, then she would happily ensure every job she took from then on required backup. If he'd moved on, then…she abruptly shut down her train of thought. Lina wasn't ready to admit, even to herself that she'd be heartbroken. She had chosen her path long ago.
Humming softly to herself, Catherine shoved the door closed with her foot and made her way toward the stairs, balancing the stack of textbooks carefully in her arms. The librarian had been more than kind helping her find some things to get her started.
"Do you need some help? What are you doing with all those?" Xavier asked, coming into the hallway from the kitchen stairs.
Catherine tried to turn to answer him, and several of the books tumbled off the stack onto the floor.
Xavier stepped forward and picked up the books from the floor. "Gray's Anatomy for Students. Modern Chemistry. Fundamentals of Nursing." He paused, a little surprised that she had apparently taken his words to heart. "So these are…I mean, you're…"
"I'm living my life," she said, trying to smile, but not quite managing. "They're sort of introductory stuff you should know before you enroll in nursing school. Ellie is going to help me. Our, uh, homeschool curriculum was a little lax in the sciences. You can set those back on the top of the pile."
"Hey, Cat, Tonks said we could meet her and her friend, Aarav, at six. Is that ok?" said Hezekiah, skidding to a stop in the hallway.
"Sure, that's fine," she said, peering over the stack of books. "I already told Jane we wouldn't be here for dinner."
"Y'all are going out?" asked Xavier, glancing toward Hezekiah.
Hezekiah shot him a look that seemed to say, And what are you going to do about it? "Nym and I had plans to go out, and her friend came into town unexpectedly. He plays Quidditch for Mumbai. She asked if one of the girls wanted to come with."
"Oh…well, that's great…I hope y'all have a good time. Um, Cat, why don't I carry the books for you?"
"No, thanks. I've got them now. How dressy is this dinner?"
Hezekiah scrunched up his face thinking about it. "Not really dressy, but not jeans."
"Ok, I'll be ready by five thirty. Does that work?"
"Perfect!"
Catherine continued up the stairs, balancing her pile of books, and still humming. Hezekiah rolled his eyes as Xavier watched her walk away, and poked a finger at him. "You, my friend, are an idiot."
"No. This is good. She needs to meet people and try new things," Xavier said stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Whatever, man. Look, I watched her sing that song, and she was singing it for you. When you turned your back on her, trying to pretend you didn't want what she was offering up, she completely closed down. But you go ahead and waste your time pining after her while she's trying new things she doesn't really want to try, and meeting new people she doesn't really care about. You keep telling yourself it's for her own good, rather than recognizing that she's not trying to get away from her small-town life like you were trying to get away from yours."
Xavier couldn't think of a reasonable response to that, and the old song Catherine had been humming finally clicked.
Sometimes an April day will suddenly bring showers
Rain to grow the flowers for her first bouquet
But April love can slip right through your fingers
So if she's the one don't let her run away
Daisy darted out of the room as soon as the Order meeting was finished, trying to catch up to Professor Snape before he left. "Um, Professor?" she called softly, as he reached the front door. Snape turned and frowned at the girl. He really didn't want any more strange, unsolicited advice from her regarding the state of his soul, or whatever it was she saw.
"Yes, what is it?" he responded in a clipped, cold voice.
"I had a question about one of your students…Pansy Parkinson…um, I think we might be related, and I was wondering what you could tell me about her," Daisy finished in a rush, her hands twisting together nervously.
Severus was well and truly speechless. His subconscious had vaguely noted the girl's familiarity, but not made the connection. He stared at her intently, trying to find the similarities — an angle of the cheekbone or eye color, or something. He supposed their noses both turned up a little, and maybe if Daisy scowled…It was mind boggling. This girl was open, warm and trusting, he would have said almost simple. Pansy was stiff, grasping, mocking and vindictive.
"Family is often more of a burden than a blessing," he said coldly. "You would do well to forget this association."
"I'd like to write her a letter," said Daisy, ignoring his last comment. "Of course, it would almost be anonymous. I couldn't tell her about any of this…or us, really," she added, waving her hand around to indicate the entire house. "But I could at least tell her I…I am. That I exist, and that someday I would like to meet her. Don't you think so?" She looked up at him imploringly.
Severus closed his eyes briefly. What had happened to his life? Did he have some sort of invisible sign around his neck that advertised him as a help to foolish idealists the world over?
"I hear you have a new assistant, Snivellous," called Black from the doorway of the dining room, his voice mocking. "Better watch yourself. We all know how you're drawn to the red heads."
Snape froze for a split second. Surely he didn't know Lina was at Hogwarts? She'd been pretty emphatic on that point from the beginning; she'd cut all ties. Turning deliberately away from Daisy to face him, Snape studied Black's face — the man was just trying to goad him, of course he didn't know anything. Probably thought he was getting him back for the cold way he'd responded to the American girl. He's always been so obvious, Severus thought, more tired than annoyed. Black takes the conspicuous bait, and assumes the rest of the world will do the same.
In the silence that stretched between them, Sirius' face flashed a hint of regret, and Snape swallowed the insult that was on the tip of his tongue. "So far," Severus said honestly, "she seems to be more trouble than she's worth, and I think hiring her was a ridiculous idea. I guess time will tell."
Sirius only gave him a brief nod, which Severus figured was as close to an apology as the man was capable of, and went back into the dining room.
Turning back to Daisy, Snape was frustrated to find that same strange look of approval on her face that she'd had the first time they'd spoke. "Well done, Professor!" she said enthusiastically. "You're really not letting that enemy have a foothold. Forgiveness can close the door on so many of them!"
Severus fixed her with what he hoped was a ferocious enough glare to keep her quiet. "No one has asked my forgiveness," he said icily. "If you are quite finished with your prattle, I need to get back to the school."
"Professor," she said kindly, "they can't ask for forgiveness if they're dead. But you can still offer it." With that cryptic statement, and an encouraging sort of smile, Daisy disappeared, and Snape was left staring down an empty hallway.
Thank you so much for reading! Sorry if this chapter feels a little flat. It does to me at least. It's been a weird week. Anyway...Guest, Lina is the person Snape is leading into the lion's den. Hopefully this chapter made that a little clearer. I'm glad Harry had Sirius and Remus to talk to about the horcurxes too. I think a major theme of the Harry Potter series is that adults either can't be trusted, or can be trusted but still don't make good decisions, or simply aren't there, and I find that a little frustrating. I think Jane and Artemis quite enjoy all their cooking. My SIL is like that, just keep out of her way and let her run the kitchen. ;) And she's a phenomenal cook. Did you ask about Daisy and Joshua's ages? They (plus Gareth and Catherine) are all 19-20. I haven't set down particular birthdays for any of them. Isabel is 18. I did not intentionally make the age difference between Xavier and Catherine the same as Remus and Tonks. Oops! That was just how old they turned out to be based on how old I needed them to be when they had other life experiences. :)
