Chapter 41 – No Matter What the Verdict Said
Note: Chapter Title from Little Mix's song 'Case Closed'
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.
Now that that's out of the way, let's begin…
Last time,
"I'm going to need you to cast the spell on me to begin with. I don't know how to start it without that catalyst."
Ginny nods, "I know."
"Don't worry. And no matter what happens, it won't be your fault," Harry assures her, not wanting her to live with the kind of guilt he feels over Cedric's death.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Now,
Pansy's fast asleep, pleasantly dreaming. She wakes as she feels a burning feeling against her leg. She blearily pulls the enchanted parchment from her pyjama pants pocket, idly wondering if Inimicus ever bloody sleeps or if he's failed to inform them that he, too, is a zombie.
So, Harry might be dead.
Pansy stares at it in shock, hesitating a moment longer before she sprints from her bed and into the common room where she finds Blaise and Draco frantically running towards the common room door. She follows after them. Being closer than the Gryffindors, they make it into the Chamber first.
"Hello?!" Blaise calls out. Truthfully, from that message, they had no real reason to believe whatever has happened is here. They still don't even know who sent the message.
"In here!" Ginny calls, which is confusing, because since when does Ginny even have enchanted parchment.
They walk in to find Harry on the ground, eyes open but empty.
The three Slytherins stare at him in shock.
"What the fuck?" Draco asks, feeling himself break inside as he drops beside Harry. Suddenly Harry breathes in. Pansy screams. Which, of course, is the first thing the Gryffindors hear as they enter the Graveyard. They run in the direction of the scream to find Draco holding a still gasping Harry against his chest.
"What in the hell happened?!" Hermione demands of the shell-shocked Reapers, feeling their shock flood through her. She puts a hand on her chest, unsure what is happening, but this had happened with strong emotions over the last week since Lucius died.
"H-He was fucking dead!" Blaise exclaims.
"It…was a calculated…risk," Harry tries to say, gripping Draco's arm tightly.
"Well next time get a new fucking calculator! I just lost my Father, I cannot lose you too!" Draco shouts in his face. Harry puts a hand on his cheek, wiping away a tear that falls. Draco holds him closer. "Stupid fucking idiot."
"Love you, too, Dray," Harry comments weakly. Draco smiles down at him gently. He leans down and kisses Harry, not giving himself a moment to second-guess the action. Harry curls a hand around his head to kiss him back.
It only lasts a moment before Draco pulls back, "Stop dying on me."
Harry smiles, "I'll do my best."
"Do or do not, there is no try."
"You've seen Star Wars?" Harry asks in shock.
"Yeah, Uncle Re and Uncle Sev took us to a re-screening of it. Our parents had a fit," Draco replies as he helps Harry to sit up.
"Heh, I remember that, that was hilarious," Pansy says, smiling fondly.
"Think it'll work on a Werewolf?" Ginny asks him, still looking terrified over having basically just temporarily killed him.
"I don't know, but at the very least we can deal with the snake now. I really didn't want to have to kill her."
"Yeah, question is how to get close to her now. We have literally no allies left among the Death Eaters."
Harry frowns, then raises an eyebrow contemplatively, "Well that's not entirely true."
The next morning, Harry is entering the Great Hall, thinking about nothing more than toast, when Pansy suddenly grabs Draco by the arm and pulls him up, dragging him over to Harry and throwing an arm around them both.
"Good news, folks. They finally snogged!" She calls to the entire school.
"PANSY!" Draco shrieks in outrage. Pansy runs out of the room, Draco chasing after her. Harry awkwardly takes a seat at the table, nibbling on his toast as they hear the occasional shriek of laughter or shout of contempt echoing down the halls.
Harry hurries to grab Dumbledore as breakfast breaks up. "Headmaster!" He calls.
"Ah, Harry, how can I help you?" He asks, smiling in that Grandfatherly way that makes Harry's skin itch.
He swallows that and smiles unsurely. "I think I know of another horcrux."
Dumbledore's eyes widen. He gestures for Harry to follow him as the two go to his office. "Please, continue," He says as they enter.
"Voldemort, he has this snake, Nagini. I met her while I was there. I don't…I don't remember it particularly well, but I do remember feeling something weird about her. After yesterday, well I realised that that ring gave me the same feeling."
Albus frowns, nodding. "I'll pass this onto the Order, we'll find a way to get in despite the current state of things.
"Well that's another thing, Headmaster. I, well, I know I said I didn't want to be involved, but I had an idea on that. Only, I don't think anyone's going to like it."
"Are you insane?!" Tonks demands.
Harry shrugs, "Arguably, but that's really not the point." George nods in a considering and agreeing fashion.
"You want to get Moony, a known spy, to help you destroy the horcrux of the man he's been helping?" Mary clarifies.
Harry nods, "Yep."
"Insane!" Tonks decrees once more.
"Look, he only turned against you all because Dumbledore killed his kid, I mean really, who wouldn't? Er, no offense, Headmaster." Harry looks at him awkwardly, Albus merely smiles indulgently at him. "Right, well, anyway. If he knows that Voldemort has, on multiple occasions, hurt his Pack's Cubs, and killed members of his Pack, he might be willing to help. I don't see what we lose by asking."
"It's not the asking that's the problem, Potter," Moody tells him gruffly.
"Riddle-Potter-Black," Harry corrects.
"It's the trusting his answer that we've got a problem with," Mad-Eye continues, ignoring Harry's truly unnecessary comment.
"So give him veritaserum when you ask if he'll do it."
"He got around it before," Arthur points out.
"Because he wasn't the one talking," Molly reminds her husband, he nods as he remembers.
"Even if we can get the snake, how do we destroy it? We're not bringing you anywhere near it," Del says, "I'm telling you that right now!"
Harry huffs, "Sirius let me destroy one, and he left me alone with it!"
"He what?! Peter, give me your phone!" Peter worriedly hands it over to Del who punches call on a contact so hard Peter's concerned for the phone.
Severus Snape sits at the teacher's table at lunch, speaking with the other teachers as they try to work out where the hell Dumbledore and Harry are now.
Then his phone rings.
"Hello?" He asks as he answers it.
"Put that mutt on the phone right now!" Del demands down the line. She'll feel guilty about that later. She's far too angry right now to care.
"Erm, Sirius?" Sirius looks at Sev in question. "It's for you."
Sirius takes the phone in confusion, "Hi?"
"WHAT IN THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!"
Sirius almost drops the phone in shock, "Erm, Del, hi, what've I done?"
"YOU LEFT OUR SON TO DESTROY A HORCRUX ON HIS OWN THROUGH UNKNOWN MEANS?!"
"He promised it was safe!"
"He also said having the killing curse cast on him was safe!"
Sirius rolls his eyes, "No, he said it wouldn't kill him. And it doesn't!"
"Unbelievable, I cannot believe you."
"Del, Harry's fine."
"Yes, no thanks to you!"
"Del –" Sirius begins, "– he's going to do this stuff anyway. I'd rather know about it than have him doing stupid shit behind our backs."
"If you're not there when he's doing said stupid shit then what's the difference?!"
"I'm right here, you know," Sirius hears Harry's voice say in the background.
"Del, he said it was safe. Do you not trust Harry's judgement?"
"He dove in front of that curse right in front of us! No, I find his judgement on what's safe or not for him rather questionable!"
"Again, right here."
"He's always going to do that. That won't change, Del. No matter how much you tell him no, or try and convince him otherwise, if he sees a curse heading towards someone, he is always going to jump in the way," Sirius reasons, "That's just who he is. And believe me, I hate that just as much as I am proud of it." Sirius sighs, "I don't want to lose him either, Del. But the fact of the matter is he has been in dangerous situations, and he's survived all of them. I think he's earnt a little trust on that. Stop getting in his way and help him. I mean really, have you even heard him out on whatever the latest stupid scheme is?"
Del sighs, "Okay, fine, you're right."
"I'm always right."
"Don't push it, Black." With that, Del hangs up the phone and hands it back to Peter.
Harry stands, staring at her with his arms crossed and an unimpressed look on his face.
She frowns back, "Alright, you can do it, but not on your own, I want people with you."
Harry sighs, "Fine."
"Harry, don't take that tone with your Mother, she's only trying to make sure you're safe!" Molly tells him sharply.
Harry goes sheepish, "Sorry."
"I'll have Severus make some Veritaserum. In the meantime, Harry, I do believe there's a class you should be in," Dumbledore declares.
After the two leave, Del moves to sit beside Molly. "Thanks," She tells her.
Molly smiles supportively, "I've had a lot of teenagers, Dear."
"I just don't know what to do with him. Sirius said that Harry's always going to be like this, he'll always be putting himself in harm's way. I know he's trying to protect people but how am I supposed to just let him do that? I don't know what to do."
"In my experience?" Molly offers, "Fret." Del chuckles. "Sirius is right, Del. Harry is a good man, and good men do everything they can to help people. All you can do is let him do it, and make sure you are there if and when he needs help, and give it."
Del nods, frowning slightly.
Tom sighs as he sits beside her and takes her hand. "The thing is Del, whether it was true or not, Harry's grown up an orphan. You can't remake his life. He'll always be an orphan. That'll never leave him."
"Then what do we do?" Del asks, tears in her eyes.
Tom smiles sadly, "The only thing we can. Give him a better future, and never stop loving him."
Del smiles back through her tears, "You'd have been a damned good father to him."
He leans his forehead against hers, "You'd have been amazing, too."
"So, even if we do destroy the horcruxes, what do we do with Ariana?" Pansy asks, "I mean, she's already dead, we can't kill her twice, can we?"
Harry frowns, looking around the courtyard they're all sitting in during break. He sighs, "Azkaban?"
"How the hell do we make sure she never gets out and possesses someone else? I mean really, how many people have gotten out of Azkaban now?" Ginny asks, looking troubled. She looks like that a lot these days. The others all know that possession is a touchy subject for her, only Harry, Ron, and Hermione know exactly why.
Blaise looks up. "We might have another option," He says. Blaise looks at the ground for a moment before nodding to himself. "Give me until tomorrow. I'll have something by then," He tells them before he suddenly gets up and leaves.
"Well, that was weird," Hermione comments before she sighs, rubbing at her chest.
"What's wrong?" Draco asks her, feeling her confusion and concern.
Hermione shakes her head, "I don't know. I keep feeling…something, like a ball of fear in my chest, but it's not mine."
Draco raises an eyebrow, "Huh. I had wondered."
"Wondered what?" Hermione questions her brother.
"When Father died…" Draco trails off for a moment, a tear falling from his eye before he can stop it. He wipes it away, smiling gratefully at Harry when he puts an arm around his shoulders. He knows Harry's not great with physical affection and so appreciates the effort even more. He turns back to Hermione, "You felt it just as much as I did."
"Moody said –"
"About the empathic connection, I know. And that's all true as well. But you're still feeling things you shouldn't be. You grew up in the muggle world, un-nurtured by magic. It's possible that first feeling of empathy opened a gift that had been unconsciously shut away. That feeling of fear? It's been present in Hogwarts since the Tri-Wizard Tournament ended," He explains.
"You feel this all the time?" She asks.
Draco shrugs, "The castle is unhappy. Feelings in buildings fade slower than humans. After all, mortar and brick, everything about a building is made to last. Humanity is fleeting. And this building has seen a lot of bad things, especially lately. Then add on the fear the student body has been projecting for two years straight…it won't clear up any time soon."
Harry can't help it at that. Everyone gazes at the building, but he reaches out and touches the wall, internally apologising for all the pain related to him that has occurred within its walls. A vine growing on the wall suddenly moves, curling around Harry's arm comfortingly before it falls back into place.
"Erm…"
Harry turns to see everyone staring at him. He shrugs, "I think Hogwarts likes me."
"Remus!"
Remus looks up from his dinner to see Sirius coming into the room. He breaks out into a grin as he kisses and then hugs him. "What are you doing here?"
"We need your help with something," Dumbledore tells him.
"And before you freak out, it's Harry's plan, so although it may sound insane, it'll probably work anyway," Sirius assures him.
Remus looks around the room and sees everyone looking far less confused than he feels. "Well this feels like a conspiracy. The fuck do you want?"
"Actually it's your furrier half that we need." Remus opens his mouth to argue when Sirius shakes his head. "Nope, sit, listen." Remus rolls his eyes but sits.
"We need to use Moony to get close to you-know-who's pet snake," Tonks explains, as though that clears up any of his confusion.
"Why?" He asks, looking at them all.
"She's a horcrux and we need to get her so that Harry can kill her because he's the only one who knows how," Sirius replies.
Remus raises an eyebrow, "You can't just ask him how to do it and then not have to bring the snake anywhere?"
Everyone looks at each other awkwardly.
"Imma…head back to school real quick," Sirius announces.
He comes back twenty minutes later, holding something far away from his body. "Look, all I know is it's venomous, and that that venom is deadly and also hurts a lot? Something about a phoenix, I don't know getting a straight answer out of Harry is, well, I was going to say pulling teeth but…" Sirius holds up the fang Harry had given him.
"What is that from?" Del asks.
Tom looks at it before his eyes widen, "Oh, yeah, okay, everything makes sense now. Wait oh my god, that bit him?! I am a terrible father." Del puts an arm around him, hugging him close.
"Mmkay then, anyway," Tonks comments before looking to Remus, "You're up, Re-Re."
"Oh wait, drink this first. Severus had some from last year, Umbridge or something, I'm not clear on the details," Sirius explains, handing over the vial of veritaserum.
Remus looks between all of them, they all nod. He swallows the potion and lets Moony through. Or rather, he tries. "Moony doesn't seem to want to talk," Remus tells them with a frown.
"Of course he doesn't," Mary murmurs, dropping her face into her hands in frustration.
Tonks walks over, kneeling in front of Remus and looking into his eyes. "Moony, please, we need to talk to you. You promised you'd trust me. Trust me now." Remus' eyes suddenly change and an angry pout over takes his face.
"Moony!" Mary calls happily earning a shocked look.
"Siri said you were gone," Moony says, shooting a glare to the man in question, though it softens in an instant. "Remus thought you were gone too."
Sirius smiles gently at the wolf, "I'm here. So is Mary, we were wrong about that. And Del and Tom too, it's been a weird while. Oh, and Peter. And Peter's kid! New Cub! That's exciting, isn't it?"
Moony looks at Sirius suspiciously, cocking his head to the side in query. "You don't…not fear…but fast words isn't always happy," He says, trying to remember the things about human emotion that Sev had tried to teach him.
"We need your help with something," Tonks tells him.
"There's this snake that Voldemort has. We need it," Moody tells him gruffly.
"I think I made myself clear on things," Moony states harshly, making everyone glad they'd had the forethought to send Dumbledore back to Hogwarts before doing this.
"Look," Tonks says, "I can't imagine what it felt like, losing your ch-Cub. And I can understand wanting to get back at Dumbledore for that. But Harry, your Pack's Cub, he needs this. I'm not asking you to help us. I'm asking you to help him."
Moony hesitates for a moment. Then he sees something behind Tonks, a picture on a wall, and he nods. "Okay. I'll help him get the snake. But I don't ever want to see the bad man," Moony dictates.
Sirius nods, "That's fair enough. We just need you to go get the snake and that'll be the end of it."
Moony looks at Sirius for a moment, sniffing slightly before curling his nose up and moving towards the floo, "You shouldn't smell like Mate. Remus makes bad choices." He goes through the floo, leaving a spluttering room in his wake.
"Erm, Ri," Del says, getting his attention. He looks over. "What the hell is moving in your pocket?"
"Ah, yes," He reaches in and pulls out a snake which he sets on the table, "This is Illa, she's Harry's snake."
"What is she doing here?"
Sirius nods, "Yeah, so, now that he's gone you should all probably know what's really going on here."
Sirius steps out of the floo into Hogwarts, turning into Padfoot and sniffing out his Son.
"Hi, Professor Black!" A few students call as he moves down the halls, he barks back, swishing his tail happily.
Finally, he finds Harry sitting in a courtyard. He transforms back as he walks over. "Harry, mind if I have a word?"
Harry and Sirius walk off a ways before he turns to Harry again. "I need to know how you're destroying horcruxes."
"Basilisk fang, potent venom, very painful, don't recommend unless you have a Phoenix handy."
Sirius stares at him in what would be shock if he weren't so unshocked by the shocking answer. He nods, "Bypassing everything else, I need the fang. We're about to get the snake."
Harry's eyes widen, "Right, well, see, the thing is, the fang will kill Nagini too."
"Yes, we know, but we don't have another option."
"Right, thing is though, there is one." Sirius raises an eyebrow as Harry winces. "Don't tell Mum?"
"Yeah I so cannot make that promise. What did you do?"
"Ginny sensed a horcrux in me, long story, Godric's Hollow, everything was a mess. Anyway, we remembered what everyone was saying about the possibility of destroying Moony by only using the killing curse on partof what's inside Remus."
Sirius blinks at Harry. "Please tellme you didn't!"
Harry shuffles awkwardly, "I'm fine! And the horcrux is gone now! So I was planning on doing the same thing to Nagini so we didn't have to kill her. Snakes are people too, Sirius! Or, well, you know what I mean."
"That's why you were so insistent on being there. Your mother is never going to trust either of us again, I just got done defending you!"
"I know! I'm sorry. I just wanted that thing out of my head."
Sirius hugs Harry, holding him close and nodding. "Of course you did, I'm sorry, Harry. You haven't done anything wrong."
"Look, I know it was my plan, but I'm not so sure about trusting everything to the one who turned on us and got a lot of people killed."
"So what do you want to do?" Sirius asks him.
"Take a fake basilisk fang, tell them you'll destroy it with that. I'll hide in the floo under my cloak and go with him to Malfoy Manor."
"He's a werewolf, Harry!"
"I know how to charm my shoes to be quiet and the Weasley twins came up with a way to mask scent, remember?"
Sirius frowns, thinking this through then sighs and nods. "Where do we get a fake Basilisk fang?"
"So we transfigured a water bottle to look like a Basilisk fang," Sirius explains, "Harry's going to destroy the horcrux in Nagini and then let Moony bring her back here so that she's safe from Voldemort. Illa's going to help convince Nagini that she's safe here."
Everyone stares at him for a moment.
"Well there's a lot to unpack there," Tonks comments, bewildered as she takes a seat.
"Harry was a horcrux?" Tom asks, he looks ashamed, as though it were his fault someone possessed him and attacked his sister-in-law and child.
"Harry cast the killing curse on himself?!" Molly screeches.
Sirius sighs, nodding, "Said he just wanted to get that thing out of his head."
"Oh my god he's going to die, my kid is going to die," Del mutters, breathing hard as she fights off the intense wave of panic flooding through her.
"He's got a plan," Sirius tries to reassure her. They hear the floo go off, and all turn in that direction as a large snake slithers into the room, stopping to regard them all in suspicion.
"Shouldn't they have come back with Nagini?" Sturgis asks.
Sirius nods as he puts Illa on the floor to speak to Nagini. "Yeah things have not gone according to the plan."
Harry gets through the floo into Malfoy Manor just as planned, followed Moony through to Voldemort, and lifted the cloak so that Nagini could see him but no one else could. Nagini follows him out of the room, far enough away that they could speak without being overhead.
"You should not have returned, Little Riddle."
Harry nods, "I know, but I need your help. My father, he's used some powerful and dark magic on you to keep himself alive. Do you know about it?"
"I am aware," Nagini replies.
"I need to destroy it." Nagini flicks her tongue out distastefully. "What did my father tell you when we first met?"
"To keep his reckless son alive."
Harry nods at her, "Exactly. My Father is losing more and more of himself each day. I'll end up in his way again at some point and in that moment he will kill me."
Nagini seems to sigh, she knows it's true. "I do not wish to betray him."
"I know. But, please, let me destroy the evil within you." Nagini hesitates a moment longer, then nods.
Harry puts a hand on her, focusing on the feeling the Killing Curse gives him. He knows his Uncle Moony has used his connection to the Imperius Curse without it first being cast on him, so logically Harry should be able to do the same. Ginny theorised it was the power of the spell coming from another that briefly powers Harry when he goes a little bit nuts after the spell is cast. Surely he should be able to just power it himself.
He feels the burn in his veins, as though the spell is cast on him as well, but pushes that burn into Nagini, feeling out the part of her that is not part of her and curling the curse around it, feeling it shrivel and die before fading away. He lifts the spell, Nagini on the ground unmoving in front of him.
"Come on, wake up, please wake up."
Nagini wakes a few moments later, "You did not mention it would hurt."
"Sorry," Harry answers with a wince.
"I assume you do not intend to leave me here to be killed?"
"No, Moony's going to be taking you back, he thinks we're dealing with the horcrux in another place, it's a long story."
Illa looks towards the study in concern, "If this is the case, why has he not come looking for me?"
Harry freezes for a moment, blinking. "Wait here." Harry gets up, wrapping the cloak tight around himself as he creeps to the doorway of the study and listens.
"You must tell them you could not find Nagini, you think I have hidden her away some-"
Harry hurries as quietly as possible back to Nagini, "There's another floo in Lord Malfoy's bedroom. I'm going to send you through to a safe place. Illa will be there, she'll explain."
"Why does that make it sound like you are not coming with me?" She asks, even as she follows him to the bedroom.
"Moony's up to something and we need to know what it is." Harry nods for her to slither into the floo. Once in, she nods to him, he gives a tight smile as he grabs a handful of floo powder. "The Fortress," He announces as he throws it in. He immediately hurries back to the study.
"It may not be the worst thing that they know you are the spy," Voldemort is saying, "If they think you trapped in the house, they will no longer be keeping so close an eye on what is said. When you do get out you shall know more."
"If I ever get out," Moony adds.
Voldemort nods, a hand on his chin in thought. "They do not know that Remus worked out who the spy was two weeks ago, do they?"
"No, they think he has been in control the whole time."
"Then they must continue thinking that. If they don't find out you've shut Remus away then you may be able to convince them that he's shut you away."
Harry closes his eyes in despair, Oh Uncle Moony, he thinks, I am so sorry, we didn't know.
Harry steps into the floo again as Moony exits to return to the Fortress.
"Our victory will soon be upon us," Voldemort tells him.
"Yes, My Lord."
They arrive moments later.
As Moony exits the floo and opens his mouth to lie to the Order members gathered around, Harry takes off the cloak.
Moony huffs, "Well, so much for that plan."
"Yeah, so much," Harry shoots back venomously as he pulls his wand on him. "Let my uncle go!"
"Oh I think he's had control for long enough!" Moony responds.
"What is going on here?" Sirius asks, the Order gathered around in confusion, the snakes on the ground on either side of Sirius, apparently having taken a liking to him. Dumbledore is present as well, having been called in when they realised something had gone wrong.
"Remus realised Moony was the spy a week before we did."
"Why didn't he say anything?" Arthur questions, everybody's wands pointed at Moony by now.
Harry huffs out a derisive laugh, "Because you lowered the barrier between their minds giving Moony just enough strength so that when he realised he'd been sprung, he forced Remus' mind to the background and took over. Remus hasn't been Remus in two weeks."
"Y-…what?" Sirius asks in a pained voice.
Moony chuckles, turning to look at him. "After everything you wizards have done, Siri, did you really believe I'd have forgiven it all? Remus may be weak and desperate for love but I am not!"
Sirius feels a tear fall down his face, he doesn't bother to wipe it away. "We wanted to help you, Moons."
"No –" Moony says sharply, "– you wanted to help yourselves."
"Let my Uncle Go!" Harry demands again, more forcefully this time.
"I'll die before I let you people force me to barely exist again," Moony replies, a true growl in his voice and snarl on his face.
Everyone is still for a moment, waiting for someone to make the first move.
"Stupefy!" Fleur casts, but a werewolf's reflexes are better than a human's, and they move quicker too. Moony has Remus' wand and a shield thrown up in moments, much to everyone's surprise.
"You should have paid more attention to what I learnt at Hogwarts," He tells Sirius and Mary, "After all, Remus wasn't the only one listening."
A duel starts, but not everyone participates. Mad-Eye and Harry look at each other, Mad-Eye raises his eyebrow. Harry nods towards Moony, Mad-Eye doesn't hesitate.
"Avada kedavra!" Alastor casts, quickly blocked by Moony who is distracted enough for Harry to forcefully roll, knocking his legs and making the wolf fall to the ground. As Moony's attention turns to Harry, Alastor casts again, "Avada kedavra!"
The spell hits Moony this time, Harry instantly putting a hand on his head, feeling the spell killing both Moony and Remus. He redirects the power to only hit pieces of Moony. But this is different than with horcruxes. A horcrux is inside a living being, but it is not a part of that being. Moony very much is.
Harry tries to untangle the two personalities, un-burying Remus' mind in the process. He forces the spell to encase Moony's once they are separate, but feels parts of Remus dying. He pulls the spell away, trying to do the opposite, trying to lift death away from them instead of forcing it upon them. Moony dies, but Harry can feel the powerful life-force of Remus remaining strong. He lets go and pulls away, nearly collapsing. It suddenly occurs to him that if Moody had cast the spell on him, it would have hurt, but he'd have been given an energy boost to help, as opposed to all of that sapping his own.
Bill catches him before he falls to the ground. "All right, Harry?"
Harry nods weakly, "Yeah, all right."
"Remus?" Sirius whispers as he kneels beside the unmoving body of the love of his life. He takes his hand, feeling an unsettling coldness.
"Did it take a minute when you tried this on yourself?" Tonks asks Harry who blinks blearily at Moony when Bill sits him up enough to see.
"What I did on myself was far less complicated. But yes, Ginny thought I was dead for a solid minute."
"Remus?" Sirius calls again, voice thick as he brushes hair out of Remus' face. "Remus wake up, please, I need you to wake up, come back to me." Sirius starts crying when Remus still doesn't move, doesn't breathe. Mary moves beside him, pulling him into a hug as he holds onto Remus' hand.
"Wait, look!" Molly exclaims, they all see Remus' eyelids flutter before they open and he breathes in.
"Oh fuck why does everything hurt," Remus asks, wincing even at that.
"Oh thank Merlin," Sirius says, basically collapsing on Remus' chest as he sobs, this time in relief.
"Ow, fuck, ow," Remus groans, though he puts a hand on Sirius' head, stroking his hair gently. "What's going on?" He asks, looking to the rest of the room because Sirius looks entirely incapable of answering at the moment.
"You died," Peter replies, looking distressed still.
"Oh, shit," Remus comments calmly earning a wet laugh from the face still buried in his chest. "Hey, Pads, can I get up? And then we can continue hugging without most of your weight crushing me?"
"Fine," comes Sirius' muffled replies. Mary and Sirius help Remus sit up before Sirius latches on again.
"Much better," Remus says, hugging him back. He sees Harry who, while now sitting up on his own, is looking quite pale. "Are you okay?"
"I mean, I just killed my Uncle but aside from that, yeah."
"I think someone should fill me in," Remus requests.
They manage to convince Sirius to let go long enough to get them all into the living room, both Remus and Harry drinking juice that Molly had shoved into their hands. Then they explain.
"Wait, hold up, you're teaching at Hogwarts?" Remus asks Sirius who huffs.
"Really? That's the bit you're disbelieving?"
"He has tried to quit twice already," Dumbledore reveals, an amused twinkle in his eye that for once Remus shares.
Then grief fills Remus' eye, "And Lucius is dead?"
"I'm so sorry, Remus," Mary tells him at that, Remus nods, leaning further into Sirius.
"How did you work out that Moony was the spy?" Peter asks him.
"Nothing with the mole happened after I quit. It didn't start again until I started being here again. I knew I wasn't the spy so I didn't know what that meant, until Kingsley mentioned bringing Moony out at some point to see how he reacts to Sirius being alive again." Remus sighs, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "That's when I remembered that I'm not the only one who left and then returned."
"I'm sorry, Uncle…" Harry trails off awkwardly.
"You did the right thing, Harry," Remus tells him, nodding. Harry nods back awkwardly.
"Why are you always like this, what the fuck could you be laughing at right now?" Sirius demands when he notices Peter holding in a snicker.
Peter shrugs, "You're going to have to think up a new nickname again."
Sirius stares at him for a moment. Then, quite against his will, his lip twitches up slightly, and then he snickers a little. Remus chuckles too, as does Pete.
"I'll work on it."
Hours later, fire from the study fireplace at Malfoy Manor comes soaring out, words burning themselves onto the wall.
We need to talk. By the lake in the forbidden Forest. Midnight.
Inimicus
Voldemort stares at the writing for a moment, then nods slowly to himself. He has things to prepare.
