Disclaimer: HP belongs to JKR/OCs belong to me.
Chapter 50: Common Ground
Remus put a hand on Jamie's shoulder. "Go into the sitting room."
Harry was worried. "Are Maman and Sirius all right?"
"They're fine, Harry," Remus told him. "Jamie needed to talk to someone."
Harry had the feeling that Remus wasn't being entirely honest with him. "In the middle of the night?"
"Yes, Harry, in the middle of the night," Remus snapped. "Now I suggest you go back to bed."
Aware that Remus wouldn't normally be this short with him and that something must be seriously wrong, Harry bid his father goodnight, turned and went up the staircase. Almost an hour later, still dressed in his outdoor clothing, Jamie was about to open his bedroom door, when Harry slipped out of the shadows. "Is everything really okay?"
Jamie's face looked strained. "Everything's fine. As Uncle Remus said, I merely needed to talk to someone."
"Why couldn't you talk to Maman or Sirius?" Harry didn't mean to push his twin, but he was interested to know exactly what was going on.
"Because I just couldn't, okay." Jamie opened his door. "Goodnight, Harry."
As Jamie stepped through the doorway, Harry spotted a flash of silver under his cloak.
Not really wanting to believe that it was what he thought it was, Harry unholstered his wand within moments. "Accio mask."
Jamie's mask flew out from under his cloak and into Harry's hand. Jamie spun around. "It's not what it looks like."
Harry turned the mask over in his hand. "It looks a lot like a mask for a protégé Death Eater to me."
"Harry, give it him back." Remus had moved silently upstairs to stand behind Harry.
Harry handed the mask back over before whirling around to face his father. "What the hell is going on?"
Remus walked up the corridor and pushed open his bedroom door. "Harry, Jamie, please go in and sit down."
Jamie began to shake. "He's going to tell on me, isn't he?"
"No, Jamie, he's not."
Jamie swallowed hard, trying to get his fear under control. "I don't believe you."
Harry holstered his wand as he sat down. "Jamie, Dad's telling the truth. I'm not going to tell anyone about you."
Jamie looked suspiciously at Harry. "Why not?"
Remus sat down next to Jamie. "Jamie, Harry knows that I'm Praeses."
Harry wanted an explanation. "Dad, please tell me what's going on."
Jamie looked down at the mask he held in his hands. "You're free to tell him about me but I want an oath from him first."
Remus glanced over at Harry. "Harry, can you please swear to keep what we're about to tell you secret?"
Harry nodded. "I swear that unless I'm given permission to divulge the information I'm about to learn, that I won't reveal it to another living soul." He looked at Jamie. "Good enough?"
Satisfied, Jamie gave Remus permission to discuss his problem. "Yes. You can tell him now, Uncle Remus."
"You need to release me from my oath, Jamie," Remus instructed.
Jamie subsequently released Remus from the oath he had sworn at Villa Laurifer, and Remus began.
"Just before school ended, the Dark Lord called a meeting, which I attended. While I was there I was invited to dinner. On entering the dining room I found someone there I never expected to see…"
Harry sat there shell-shocked as Remus finished telling Harry about what had happened. When he finally found his voice, he turned to Jamie. "So you know who all the Lieutenants are?"
Jamie nodded. "Except for Lamia and Amicus. Uncle Remus can't tell me either."
Harry looked quizzically at Remus. "I didn't think you knew who either of them was, Dad."
"I don't." Remus grinned at Jamie's surprised face. "I was hardly going to admit to you that I didn't know."
Jamie grinned back. "You had me fooled."
"I'm good at what I do," Remus told him.
Harry got up. "Dad, can I have a word?"
Remus moved over to where Harry was standing and threw up a privacy bubble. "What is it?"
Harry was blunt. "Does he know that you're not exactly loyal to Voldemort?"
"His Occlumency skills are good, but they're not that good."
"How about that secret-keeper spell we used when we stayed at Dae's? Can't we use that?" Harry asked.
Remus smiled at his son. "Now I know why you finished first in your year. I should have thought of it myself."
Remus dropped the privacy bubble and moved to sit back down next to Jamie. "Jamie, take my hand," Remus ordered. Jamie did as he was told and watched as Harry took his other hand and Remus' remaining one. Harry nodded at his dad who muttered something quietly under his breath. "Okay, we can talk freely now."
Jamie looked at Remus. "So what do you want to talk about?"
"Me. I'm a traitor, Jamie. I don't give a damn about the Dark Lord and his ideals." Remus watched as Jamie's face took on a suspicious look.
Jamie challenged Remus' statement. "How do I really know that you're not trying to trick me?"
"You let me into your mind when I was trying to help with your Occlumency," Remus gently reminded him. "Jamie, I know exactly how you feel about what you've been forced to do."
Jamie's face crumpled. "I've been so frightened. I didn't want to kill anyone but I was terrified of dying myself. I didn't know what to do or who to turn to."
Harry felt sorry for his twin. "I understand."
Jamie shook his head as he sobbed. "No, Harry, you don't. I've killed someone. You've got no idea what it feels like to know you've got to do something like that."
Harry looked meaningfully at Remus, who got up and opened his closet before bringing out a silver mask and handing it to Jamie. "This is Harry's."
Jamie's mouth fell open as he took the mask. "Has the whole family joined?"
Even with the distasteful situation, Harry burst out laughing. "Not exactly."
Jamie couldn't stop staring at the mask in his hands. "Why is your mask different?"
"I'm Amicus' protégé," Harry answered. "Or at least I will be on my fifteenth birthday."
Jamie gasped. "He mentioned you when Uncle Remus first found out about me. Amicus said that you were extremely talented." Jamie frowned. "But why wait until your fifteenth birthday?"
"Because usually wizards don't have enough power until then to perform the Killing Curse." Harry looked contemplatively at Jamie. "Saying that, you were obviously inducted before your fifteenth birthday. How did you manage it?"
Jamie wiped his face with his sleeve. "I haven't yet. I set a trap at Hogwarts, and…"
Harry held up his hand. "So Miranda's death wasn't an accident?"
"No, but I didn't…" Jamie started to cry again and he took several deep breaths before going on and explaining why he had done what he had. "I didn't want to do it, but I had no choice, Harry. If I hadn't done it, Amicus said he'd kill me."
Harry laid a hand on his brother's arm. "Jamie, I can't say it's okay because killing someone isn't, but I do understand. I'm also pretty convinced that Amicus would've carried out his threat if you hadn't done as he'd demanded. He's already nearly killed Professor Jameson and Hermione."
"I should've taken the chance that he wouldn't have carried out his threat." Jamie began to cry even harder, his momentary resolve slipping.
Remus reached behind him and picked up a calming potion off his dresser. "Jamie, take this."
Jamie swallowed the potion and soon began to calm down. "Thanks." Jamie turned to Harry. "There's something you should know." He swallowed hard. "Ginny tried to kill Hermione."
"I knew it! Hermione said she hadn't and…" Harry's voice trailed off before he frowned at Jamie. "Prewett's a Death Eater?" Remus hadn't mentioned that part of his conversation with Jamie when telling Harry as he hadn't wanted Harry to blow up at Jamie.
Jamie nodded. "I introduced her to the Dark Lord as my first task."
Harry looked at his dad. "Will I have to recruit someone?"
"Amicus has only asked for a first kill, nothing more."
Jamie now understood why Harry was able to sympathize with him. "Will you have to perform the Killing Curse?"
"Unfortunately, yes. I'm just lucky that Amicus made Dad my sponsor."
Jamie looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"As Harry's sponsor, I get to choose his first kill," Remus explained. "I'll be able to do everything I can to make it a little easier on him."
"But you can't do it for him, can you?"
"You're right, Jamie, I can't."
Jamie looked quizzically at Remus. "Why didn't I have a sponsor?"
"Usually you would, but I suppose as Lord Voldemort chose you, he obviously thought you didn't need one," Remus surmised. "You really could've done with one though, which is why I took you under my wing. I'm not exactly overjoyed to be teaching you, but as my nephew, I couldn't leave you to flounder on your own."
Jamie looked at his brother. "How much has Uncle Remus taught you?"
Remus jumped in before Harry could respond. "Jamie, even though I'm Harry's sponsor, I'm not actually training him."
"Why not?"
"Because it's too difficult for me to perform the Cruciatus on Harry, and even though I've already done it once at Harry's insistence, there's no way I'm ever going to do it again," Remus informed him.
"What would happen if the Dark Lord told you to?" Jamie was curious to see how soft his uncle really was.
"Then Dad would do it," Harry said saving Remus from answering. "Jamie, there's something you should know." Harry could see that Remus was interested in what he was about to say. "While Dad has obviously taken responsibility for you, don't expect him to step in for either of us should it come down to it."
Jamie appeared bemused. "You don't really mean that Uncle Remus would just stand back while you were tortured or something, do you?"
Remus nodded. "Jamie, that's exactly what he does mean. In fact I've already done it once."
It was now Harry's turn to look puzzled. "When?"
Jamie too looked puzzled until he remembered Bella. "Uncle Remus is right. It happened when I was disrespectful about the Dark Lord."
Harry leant forward. "What exactly did you do?"
"I forgot to call You-Know-Who the Dark Lord like Uncle Remus had told me to and Bella overheard me." Jamie hated the black haired Death Eater.
"What did she do to you?" Harry guessed it had to be bad.
"Put me under the Cruciatus." Jamie shuddered as he remembered. "Uncle Remus also pulled his wand on me but Bella beat him to it."
"You do know why Dad had to look as if he was going to punish you as well, don't you?" Harry wanted to make sure that Jamie was entirely sure where Remus stood.
"I do now," Jamie told him. "I'm just glad that Uncle Remus isn't what he really appears to be. I'd have been lost without him. He's taught me so much in such a short time."
"Is he teaching you Dark Magic?" Harry asked.
"I'm teaching him exactly the same as Severus is teaching you in preparation for your first time."
Harry unhappy to hear that. "But, Dad, you don't even know that Jamie will have to make a kill again."
"But he will, Harry." Remus smiled encouragingly at Jamie, who looked a little scared. "You can tell him."
"Tell me what?"
"I've got to kill Dumbledore," Jamie said quietly.
Harry was completely taken aback. "Merlin, Jamie! Do you have any idea how powerful Dumbledore is?"
Jamie shrugged. "I know he's probably second in power to the Dark Lord."
Harry though differently. "Actually I think Amicus might be a lot more powerful than Dumbledore."
Jamie snorted, since, as frightened as he was of Amicus, he had seen nothing to convince him that the Death Eater was anything but average. "But he's only a Death Eater."
"I'm actually of the same opinion as Harry, Jamie." Remus got up. "Dumbledore is getting old, whereas I believe Amicus is fairly young in comparison."
Jamie was still unconvinced. "How do you know that he's that powerful?"
"Because he helped the Dark Lord take down Azkaban," Remus revealed. "They went in together and everyone else followed."
This was news, even to Harry. "You didn't tell me that when you got back."
"I was exhausted, Harry." Remus shivered at the thought of the prison, and moved over to the fireplace, lighting a fire despite the warm temperature in the room. "When I arrived home, telling you who did what wasn't exactly my first priority. I just wanted to forget I'd ever been there."
Chastened, Harry had a question for Jamie. "You were already a Death Eater then; how come you didn't have to go?"
"Only the Order went, Harry." Remus answered the question for him. "Tonight was only Jamie's fourth time at a meeting. He's barely au fait yet with what goes on, and isn't anywhere near ready to be going out on missions."
Jamie picked up his mask. "I wasn't made a Lieutenant until the night I met Uncle Remus at the Dark Lord's house. Someone had apparently died and the Dark Lord needed a replacement. I still don't know why he picked me."
Remus answered his question. "It's a status thing, Jamie."
Harry asked, "Who died?"
"Angelus. We heard from our contacts in the Ministry that he'd been found murdered. When his body was found it was hushed up." Remus and Severus had agreed not to tell Harry about what Severus had done, and in the Ministry, any rumors about Rosier's death had been quashed by Leo and Dae.
Harry let out a whistle. "Didn't Voldemort suspect you?"
Jamie flinched when Harry called Voldemort by his true name. "Why would he suspect Uncle Remus?"
"Because Angelus and Dad an argument on the day I was told I was to become Amicus' protégé." Harry then proceeded to fill Jamie in on what had happened. "That's why I wondered if perhaps Voldemort had punished Dad for Angelus' disappearance."
Remus shook his head. "He disappeared on the same day we took Azkaban."
"So the Dark Lord only found out Angelus was dead after the Azkaban mission?" Jamie asked as he tried to get the chain of events right in his head.
Remus nodded. "Not that we missed him. The whole operation worked flawlessly."
Harry gave a bitter laugh. "I wouldn't exactly say that."
Jamie made an educated guess at what Harry meant. "Were you hurt, Uncle Remus?"
"Yes, he was." Harry told his brother before Remus could deny it. "His upper body was cut to shreds."
"Did the Aurors do that?" Jamie rubbed his hands together as he stood in front of the fire.
Remus made the flames climb higher. "We'd gone before the Aurors made it to Azkaban."
"How did you get injured then?" Jamie asked, not getting it. "Did the prison warders attack you?"
"I was injured as I killed two former Death Eaters who'd been imprisoned there. One of them had a knife; where he'd got it from though, I have no idea." Remus waited to see if Jamie would make the connection with the newspaper report.
He did, particularly as only two Death Eaters had died during the attack, and Jamie knew how. He shot backwards, his fear written all over his face. "You're a…"
"Yes, Jamie, Dad's a Death Eater and a werewolf." Harry was getting a little fed up with everyone's reactions to his dad's affliction. "Get over it."
"Harry, I think you're being a little unfair to Jamie." Remus was a little annoyed at Jamie's reaction but not particularly troubled by it. "You've known for years."
Jamie looked tentatively at Remus, feeling more than a guilty after everything Remus was doing for him. "I'm sorry I reacted as I did."
"It's truly okay," Remus assured him, believing Jamie had enough to worry about without adding guilt over Remus' problem to his troubles.
Well aware that his parents had both gone to school with Remus, Jamie wondered if they had known. "Do Mum and Dad have any idea about you?"
"They do. Actually your dad used to run with me in the Forbidden Forest when we were at school together." Remus smiled as he remembered what his friend had done for him.
"But dad's not a werewolf," Jamie pointed out.
"But he's a dog Animagus," Remus reminded Jamie. "Speaking of Animagi, has Sirius begun instructing you yet?"
Jamie's guilty look was enough to answer his question. "He has but Mum doesn't know. Dad said that she'd go mad if she found out."
"Maman knows I'm an Animagus." Harry could see no harm in telling his brother. "Not that she was exactly overjoyed when she found out I wanted to be one."
Jamie felt a little jealous that he hadn't yet managed to transform. "What are you?"
Harry changed and growled quietly at Jamie, before turning back. "What do you think?"
"That is so cool." Jamie sighed. "I haven't been able to center myself enough to transform."
"So do you know what you're going to be then?" Harry wondered whether because they were twins it would be something similar to him.
"A raven." Jamie quite liked his Animagus form.
"I was half expecting you to say a dog or something," Harry said.
"That's what I wanted to be." Jamie had been disappointed at first as he had wanted to be just like Sirius. "Right now, it doesn't really matter what I'm going to be because I'm not doing very well at transforming."
"It takes time," Remus reassured him. "You'll get there eventually."
Jamie was grateful for his uncle's reassurance. "That's what Dad told me."
A comfortable silence fell for a few moments until, after thinking over what Jamie had told him so far, Harry had one last question for his twin. "Is there anything else you haven't told me or Dad?"
Jamie thought for a moment. "You know I told you that the Dark Lord took me to the graveyard and Lamia told me about Dumbledore?" Remus nodded. "Well, I almost forgot, the Dark Lord told me that Lamia was Dumbledore's closest confidante."
Remus kept his face bereft of expression as he realized exactly who Lamia was. "Is that everything?"
Jamie nodded. "I think so." Jamie turned to Harry. "I'm really sorry I couldn't tell you about the diary before now."
Harry shrugged. "It's long gone but it's definitely something else I can add to the list of why I hate Amicus."
Jamie grinned at Harry. "Tell me something I don't know."
Harry then made a decision. "Jamie, I think it's better if everyone still thinks we can't stand each other. I don't want to have to explain why we suddenly appear to be friends."
Jamie agreed. "I think you're right." He grinned toothily at his brother. "Who said that that I wanted to be your friend anyway, Lupin?"
Harry grinned back. "Exactly, Potter."
"Thanks for understanding, Harry." Jamie impulsively hugged his brother before releasing him to do the same to his uncle. "Thanks, Uncle Remus. I think I'm going to head off to bed."
"If you need me, please don't hesitate to come to my room." Remus hugged him back before opening the door and watching as Jamie left.
Harry sat back down, still looking a little shocked. "I can't believe it."
"How do you think I felt when I walked into the Dark Lord's dining room to find Jamie sitting there?" Remus laughed. "Then again, you should've seen Jamie's face when he finally realized that I was a Death Eater and not a prisoner." His laughter grew louder.
Harry couldn't help himself, and he started to laugh uncontrollably as well. When he stopped, he met his dad's eyes. "I don't know why we're laughing. This really isn't funny."
Remus wiped his eyes. "It's really not." He then too sobered up. "Harry, I know who Lamia is."
"And?" Harry asked.
"Obviously I can't tell you." Remus was more than a little frustrated. "But I am thinking of having a word with her when I next see her."
Knowing that Lamia's identity was, at the moment, a dead end as far as he was concerned, Harry turned his thoughts to Jamie. "How do you think the prophecies will work now that Jamie has sworn to defend Voldemort?"
"You know about them?" Remus was surprised.
Harry told him about overhearing Lily after he had first reunited with his birth mother. "Maman eventually gave me the whole of both prophecies."
"I don't think the second prophecy actually means killing Lord Voldemort. I think it means killing Albus," Remus surmised. "Jamie can't kill Lord Voldemort now as he's sworn allegiance to him but he can kill Albus. Anyway, as I've said before, I don't think that he's the Boy Who Lived."
"Which leaves me." Harry frowned. "But I'm going to be taking the Dark Mark in two weeks. There's no way I'm going to be strong enough to kill Voldemort by then."
"Well, we're going to have to work as if you are," Remus told him. "Getting back to that second prophecy, I think Albus is the Dark Lord the prophecy mentions."
"I wouldn't exactly call him a Dark Lord for splitting us up at birth, no matter how bad it was," Harry gently teased his Dad.
"Harry, you don't know the half of it." Remus, however, couldn't tell Harry. "You need to speak to Dae if you want to know more."
Harry felt frustrated that Remus was unable to tell him anything. "I'll do it this week when I see him and Anna." He then returned to the subject of Jamie. "Are you going to tell Maman and Sirius about Jamie?"
Remus shook his head. "Absolutely not. Jamie doesn't want them to know. He's too ashamed."
"He could tell Maman." Harry thought Lily would want to know.
"I'll ask Jamie but if he says no, then you can't say anything," Remus warned, not wanting Harry to do anything stupid.
"I won't," Harry promised as he tried to hold back a yawn.
Remus stretched. "I know how you feel. I'm completely worn out. I'm getting a little old for all these late night shenanigans."
Harry also stretched on the sofa. "I really don't want to move."
"You're welcome to sleep on the sofa if you want to, but don't say I didn't warn you if I wake you with my snoring," Remus teased Harry.
Reluctantly, Harry got to his feet. "Goodnight, Dad. I'm not exactly going to rush to get up tomorrow."
"Nor me." Remus hugged Harry before letting him leave.
The Next Morning
Harry knocked quietly on Jamie's door. "Jamie, are you awake?"
Jamie sat up. "Come in, Harry."
Harry went into the room and closed the door behind him. "Can I talk to you about when you became a Death Eater?"
Jamie ran a hand through his hair, making Harry laugh. "What's so funny?"
"I do that when I'm feeling stressed." Harry sat down on the edge of the bed.
Jamie scooted across the bed slightly to allow Harry more room. "So what did you want to ask?"
"How did it feel getting the Dark Mark? Were you scared?" Despite asking his dad, Harry still needed reassuring about how it would feel.
Jamie's voice shook as he spoke. "It was awful, Harry. I've never been scared like that before. I almost bolted."
"Did it hurt?" Harry knew it would but he wanted Jamie's perspective.
"Uncle Remus said you've undergone the Cruciatus. Multiply that by a hundred and you won't even come close." Jamie shuddered. "I'd rather undergo the Cruciatus any day."
Harry swallowed hard. "Severus has put me under it more than once and I can't exactly say I enjoy it."
"I'm quite certain Bella didn't hold back when she punished me." Knowing how taking the Dark Mark felt, Jamie felt sorry for Harry. "So I can only judge how it felt for me."
Harry felt queasy and decided to talk about something different. "Jamie, there's also something else I wanted to talk to you about."
Jamie swung his legs out of bed. "Go on."
"I think you should tell Maman." Harry watched as a panicked look settled on Jamie's face.
Jamie vigorously shook his head. "I can't. She'll hate me."
"She knows about Dad and me, if that helps." Harry knew that Jamie would be a lot better off with someone to talk to at home. "However, if you do decide to tell her, you can't tell your dad."
"I know that. He'd go ballistic." Jamie had heard tales about how Sirius had treated his brother, Regulus.
"How about telling Maman?" Harry smiled confidently, trying to convince his brother that it was a good idea. "She'll be on your side."
Jamie hesitantly chewed his lip. "Do you really think I should?"
Harry got up and marched over to the fireplace. "Let's floo her."
Before he could change his mind, Jamie agreed. "Okay."
Not wanting Jamie to suddenly back out, Harry hurriedly threw floo power into the fireplace. "Lily Black. Black Manor."
Lily's head appeared after a few minutes. "Has Nia gone into labor?"
"No, Maman. I need you to come through."
Lily's head disappeared and moments later she was standing in the same fireplace Harry had called her from. "Jamie, what are you doing here? I thought you were at Ron's."
At the sound of his mother's voice, Jamie started to cry. Lily rushed over and pulled him into her arms. She looked up at Harry. "What's wrong?"
Harry laid a hand on his brother's arm. "Do you want me to tell her?"
Unable to speak, Jamie simply nodded.
Harry thought it best to be direct. "Maman, Jamie's a Death Eater."
"What?" Lily pushed Jamie away from her so she could look at his face. "Sweetie, why?"
"Voldemort took him at Christmas. Jamie was basically offered a chance to live if he agreed to join him." Harry felt a little uncomfortable telling Lily but he was convinced it was for the best. "He had to make a kill, Maman."
"Oh, baby." Lily pulled Jamie close to her again and rocked him as he cried.
Remus opened the door. "I thought I heard crying."
Lily looked over at Remus. "Why didn't you do anything, Remus?"
"I couldn't. He'd already been initiated by the time I found out," Remus told her, not that he could have done anything if he had known what had been planned. "The Dark Lord introduced Jamie to me as his latest lieutenant one night at a dinner."
"Jamie's one of his lieutenants?" Lily's voice reflected how she felt.
Hearing the disgust and horror in his mother's voice, Jamie pulled away from her and screamed at Harry, "See, I told you she'd hate me."
He ran towards the door, only for Remus to stop him by grabbing him around the waist. "Jamie, Lily doesn't hate you."
Lily held out her arms. "I don't hate you, Jamie. I hate what you've been forced to do."
"Really?" Jamie looked so young and pitiful standing in his pajamas with tears rolling down his cheeks that it broke Remus' heart as he held his trembling nephew.
"Really, sweetie." Lily continued to hold out her arms until Jamie darted back across the room into them.
Remus put an arm around Harry. "Let's go."
Looking over Jamie's head, Lily stopped them. "Please don't go."
Jamie looked up through his tears. "I don't want you to go either."
"They're not going anywhere, Jamie," Lily reassured her son as she gently stroked his hair.
Jamie relaxed into his mother's arms again and Lily looked over at Remus. "I've made some headway in my research. I think now would be a good time for me to see if it works."
Remus lifted an eyebrow. "Right now?"
Lily nodded. "After finding out about Jamie, what I'm doing has now become more important than ever."
Jamie's tears dried up as he watched Remus strip off his upper clothing. "Um, Uncle Remus, what are you doing?"
Remus turned to face the wall. "Your mum is working on deactivating my Dark Mark, which just happens to be at the base of my spine."
Harry and Jamie both gasped. "But how?" They grinned at each other as they asked in unison.
"I've managed to isolate some of the building blocks that make up the Dark Mark," Lily explained as she let go of her son to pull out her wand. "Remus is letting me use him as a guinea pig."
Jamie wiped his face. "I'm going to get a shower."
Lily let out a small sigh of relief. "I'll be here."
Recovering from his scare, Jamie shook his head. "I'll be okay, now. Harry will stay with me, won't you?" Jamie looked hopefully at his brother.
Guessing that Lily and Remus would probably get more done if they were left alone, Harry confirmed his brother's suggestion. "Of course. I'll ask Pasha to serve breakfast up here. You can go off and do whatever you need to."
Remus smiled gratefully at Harry and opened the door before leading Lily up the corridor and into his bedroom.
She looked around in interest. "Nice room."
Remus closed the door. "I don't really think you want to talk about the room, do you?"
Lily shook her head angrily. "I hate them. Amicus and his precious Master have taken both of my sons and my friend from me."
Remus pulled her close. "We're going to get through this."
Lily leant her face against Remus' bare chest. "I know but right now it doesn't feel that way."
Remus felt his body react to Lily's proximity and not wanting to upset her, gently moved her away from him. "I think we should get on with dealing with the Dark Mark."
Suddenly aware of why Remus had probably moved her away, Lily blushed. "Turn around."
Remus did as he was told. Any lingering feelings of desire were soon driven away by the pain. "What are you doing?"
"Hush." Lily concentrated as she unwove the magical tendrils that linked the Dark Mark to Remus' spine and blood supply. "That will have to do for now."
"Exactly what have you done?" Remus opened his closet and pulled out a fresh shirt.
"Nothing major. The pull of the Dark Mark will be less urgent and painful now. You could actually ignore it if you wanted." Lily couldn't help but watch as Remus got dressed. "But I can't disconnect the Dark Mark until Harry has been initiated. He needs you."
"What about Jamie?" Remus asked. "He's really suffering, Lily."
"I'm frightened to do anything until just before he gets ready to kill You-Know-Who," Lily told him.
"He won't be killing him, Lily." Remus hated being the bearer of more bad news. "Harry will."
"But…?" Lily was puzzled.
"Jamie's not the real Boy Who Lived, Harry is." Remus then told her of his suspicions.
"Jamie's really going to take it hard that it's not him." Lily could scarcely believe the amount of bad news she was getting. "How is Harry handling it?"
"He hates it but he's dealing." Remus sat down at the small breakfast table. "We don't need to tell Jamie yet. In fact I think Harry would prefer it if we didn't tell Jamie at all. Harry wants no part of the fame that goes with the title."
Lily felt a little relieved. As much as she loved both of her sons, she knew how hurt Jamie had been to find out that Harry was actually going to inherit the Potter fortune; to find out that he wasn't the real Boy Who Lived would probably send him over the edge. "I think that's probably a good idea." A silence fell between the two of them until Lily's stomach rumbled, making her giggle.
Remus smiled. "Have you had breakfast yet?"
"I wasn't that hungry." Lily also sat down.
Remus called out for Pasha who soon appeared before turning to Lily. "Would you like to stay for breakfast?"
"Suddenly I feel really hungry, so yes, I would."
The two of them ate breakfast before Lily got up. "I'm just going to check on Jamie before I head home."
Remus hugged her. "I'll look after him."
Lily laughed and shook her head. "If anyone had ever told me that I'd be grateful that you were a Death Eater, I'd have laughed in their faces." She sobered up. "But, Remus, I am grateful for everything you're doing for both Jamie and Harry."
Remus tweaked Lily's nose affectionately. "I know you are. Now I think it's time you got back home before your other children run amok."
"They're not there," Lily told him. "Orion's staying with his friend Bas, and Alicia is at Goyle House."
Remus pulled a face. "What's she doing there?"
"Galton Goyle invited her." Lily sighed. "I couldn't believe it when Sirius said she could go."
"I shouldn't worry too much. Galton's not a bad kid. I'd be more concerned if you'd said she was staying with the Malfoys," Remus said to Lily, as he quite liked Galton Goyle despite the boy's unfortunate parentage and sibling.
Lily was adamant that her daughter was going nowhere the Malfoys. "That's never going to happen."
Remus already knew where Cassie was, as the little girl and Scarlett, together with Auri, had gone to stay with the Delaneys until just before Harry's birthday. Scarlett had been excited to be finally meeting Draco's little sister and had talked about nothing else for several days before she went.
Lily checked the time. "I really must go. Thanks again for listening to me."
Remus waved off her thanks as he pulled open his bedroom door. "Anytime."
Lily walked out into the hallway only to run into Dudley. "Good morning, Dudley."
Dudley looked a little surprised. "Um, hello, Aunt Lily."
Lily kissed her nephew on the cheek before hurrying off down the corridor towards Jamie's room.
Once she had disappeared into one of the rooms, Dudley looked accusingly at his dad. "Dad, why was Aunt Lily in your room?"
"She's working on my Dark Mark, Dudley, and then we had breakfast." Remus knew what was bothering his son. "I was hardly going to take off my shirt in the hallway."
Dudley relaxed. "Oh. Okay. Have you seen Harry?"
"He's around somewhere. I'll let him know you're looking for him if I see him," Remus informed his son as he opened his bedroom door back up. "Oh, and, Dudley, don't bother your Aunt Lily, she's trying to get some rest." Remus didn't want Dudley finding out about Jamie.
Dudley nodded. "I won't. I'm going to see if Luna's up yet."
"She'll meet you downstairs for breakfast." Remus' tone told Dudley that there was no way his son was going into Luna's bedroom to find out.
Dudley sighed. "I'll be downstairs then." With that, Dudley headed down the staircase.
Once in his room Remus flopped tiredly on to his bed. "Bugger! Bugger! Bugger!" As he lay there, he realized that he had been kidding himself about still not being in love with Lily. After holding her, he knew that he was more in love with her than ever. His self-flagellation was, however, cut short by an owl pecking at his window. Getting up and opening it, Remus went pale as he recognized Amicus' eagle owl, Victor. Having no choice, he took the letter from Victor's leg and hurriedly ripped it open. After scanning its contents, Remus dismissed the bird and headed out of his bedroom.
