The Watcher
Chapter 5-Regrets
By Magoo
Filch thrust Arabella mercifully into his office. "Sit," he growled at her, "while I get the Headmaster to deal with you." A wicked grin spread over his face. "Or better yet, maybe I'll skip the Headmaster all together, and just send you straight to your lover in Azkaban."
"He isn't my lover," Arabella snapped. "And I am not a spy."
"Tell it to the Dementors," Filch replied. "I'm sure you'll be spending plenty of time with them soon."
"Look, just let me see Professor Dumbledore, this is rather important."
Filch didn't reply. Instead, he exited the room, locking the door behind him while muttering something under his breath about finding the old manacles.
"Stupid git," Arabella muttered. "And he had to go and take my wand too."
She looked around the small office, taking in the familiar sights. The amount of time she'd spent in this office being screamed at by Filch rivaled the amount of time she'd spent in Hogsmeade. Of course, the amount of time Sirius had spent in this office rivaled the amount of time he'd spent in classes.
But he wasn't her concern now. Harry's welfare was. And to ensure that, she needed to get out of this bloody office and speak with the Headmaster. No child should be locked up-- No one should be locked up-- but especially not this child.
The memories that the office held threatened to overwhelm her. Arabella could almost see events past. James, trying to get out of yet another detention, while Sirius claimed credit for whatever mischief they had managed. Lily, trying to convince Filch to let James out of detention so that yet another date wouldn't be cancelled. And Remus, laughing quietly at his other friends while he took Jane out for butterbeer.
"Arabella Figg," a voice interrupted. "Why am I not surprised?"
Arabella groaned. Of all the people she wanted to see at the moment, he was definitely not on her list. She paused. What on earth is Severus Snape doing here?
"I could say the same thing to you," she replied. "What happened, they caught you torturing some Muggles?"
"I thought you were the Death Eater here," he said. "I am here as the new Potions Master, and the new head of Slytherin house."
Arabella burst out laughing. "You? The Potions Master? That's almost as improbable as Slytherin winning the Quidditch Cup."
"Don't you mean almost as improbable as your boyfriend ever seeing the light of day again?"
Arabella glared at him. Normally, he would take this as a sign to stop, but as this time no one was there to help her in a fight, Snape had no such qualms.
"Or perhaps you mean almost as impossible as the werewolf ever finding a date," he continued. Then Snape paused, and smirked. "Never mind, I forgot, she's dead."
There were two things you didn't do around Arabella Figg. The first was insult or try to harm her. The second, and more important one, was to threaten her friends in any way. Snape had just crossed that line for the last time.
Had Arabella had her wand, one of the various curses she knew probably would have hit Snape full blast. But, as Filch had deprived her of it, this called for more basic measures. Her punch hit him straight on in the left temple. He collapsed into a heap on the floor. Various punches and kicks hit him in the stomach and head, with a few aimed towards his groin for good measure.
"Never insult Remus around me and expect to walk away from it!" she snarled through gritted teeth.
Snape moaned in agony. "Such an interest in the werewolf," he managed to gasp out. "I thought you would care more about your," he coughed, "dead friend. I guess the rumors of your interest in bestiality are true." He sputtered a few more time, and then passed out.
Arabella smiled in satisfaction. "Maybe I'll just leave you there for the next four months," she said. "You deserve it."
"I do hope you reconsider that idea, Ms. Figg," another voice spoke up. "Attacking a Hogwarts professor is a rather serious offense."
"Headmaster," Arabella said softly. "Do you really mean to tell me that you hired this greasy snake as a professor? And to head up Slytherin? With him in charge, the Death Eaters will have risen again within a year!"
"Severus Snape is not a security threat Arabella. Believe it or not, he is on our side." The headmaster paused at Arabella's look of disbelief. "Who do you think let our side know that the Potters were in danger?"
"Fat lot of good that did," Arabella said quietly. "James and Lily are still dead."
A single tear rolled down her cheek.
"If Snape knew that Voldemort was after them, why didn't he warn us about Sirius? Why didn't anyone tell us? Why did they have to die?" The single tear turned into many, and Arabella dropped to her knees.
"He may have given us warning, Headmaster, but all that succeeded in doing was turning our friends against each other. We lost precious time with each other. We lost a friendship. What we did to Remus…he will never forgive us, and that is the worst thing to come out of this whole mess."
Professor Dumbledore kneeled down and cupped Arabella's chin. "Arabella, what happened wasn't your fault. I'm sure, that in time, Remus will forgive you."
She shook her head. "You didn't hear what he said to me at their funerals, Headmaster. I've lost his friendship, and I'll never be able to regain his trust. I regret that almost as much as I regret not being able to spot Sirius as the spy. At least when Lily and James died, they still thought that their friends loved them. I have no one. In some ways, that's worse than death."
***
November 4th, 1981.
Ari stood by the graves, tears threatening to overflow once more. I've turned into such a baby recently, she thought. I'm supposed to be the strong one after all. Regardless of how hard it is, I'm going to have to get through this. It had been hard though; the tears had already come close to overflowing twice. The first time had been as Professor Dumbledore had given the eulogy, and the second time had been at the actual burial. But this appeared to be even worse. Remus wanted to talk.
She knew that this was going to be difficult, mainly because Remus was furious. This was the closest she had seen him to losing his temper since the Whomping Willow incident back in sixth year. Remus' anger, more than the punishment, was what had caused Sirius to behave for the rest of the year. Pissing off a werewolf is something you only do once Ari though to herselft. And apparently, this is my one time to do so.
Ari closed her eyes in anticipation. She knew she had to pay for quite a large crime. Mainly, her disbelief of Remus, whom she had once counted among her best friends. But it was so hard, she thought. Anyone could be a spy. He just had the best motive, and Sirius seemed so sure…
Sirius had been insisting for months that Remus was the spy. At first, everyone (save Remus, who knew nothing of their suspicions) thought that Sirius had gone off the deep end. But, as more and more information seemed to leak out, James and Ari had started to listen. Lily though, had believed in Remus to the end, pointing to Jane's death as proof that Remus would never betray them. Why, she had rationalized, would anyone join the people who had murdered their true love? Everyone else had ignored her, as their previously unknown prejudices came into play. Remus was a werewolf, and that meant he was the most likely to betray them. After all, he wasn't human.
As time had passed, the small group started to exclude him more and more. Before this funeral, the last time Ari had even seen Remus was at Harry's first birthday party, which he had only been invited to at Lily's insistence. She was the only one who had truly believed in him. Everyone else had doubted.
Why on earth did I ever listen to Sirius? Ari thought miserably. All I got out of this was a load of deaths, and one person who will probably never want to speak to me again.
"Ari," said a voice from behind her.
"Hello Remus," she said quietly. Ari turned around and flinched as she saw the look in Remus' eyes. A look she had only seen once before. He's even angrier now than he was in sixth year, she thought dimly. And I would have bet fifty Galleons that that wasn't possible.
"We need to talk," he said, his voice filled with barely controlled fury. "Although, this funeral is not the place for it."
Remus led her out of the cemetery, and they Apparated to the Three Broomsticks. Sitting down at a very familiar table, Remus began to speak, in a very calm, very controlled voice.
"Ari," he began. "I know what you did. I know that you listened to Sirius about the lies he was spreading. I know that somewhere along the line, you stopped trusting me. Me, Remus. Your best friend. Or at least, I thought I was your best friend."
"Remus, I…"
He didn't let her finish. "You betrayed me, just like Sirius did. In fact, your betrayal is probably worse than both of his combined. Sixth year, we were kids. He made a VERY stupid mistake. His betrayal this time….well, you know what they say about what happens when a wizard goes dark. But your betrayal…you are a grown woman Ari, and you knew how much this would hurt me. This was done out of spite, out of prejudice. You stopped trusting me just because of who I am. Of what I am. And that…that I can never forgive."
Remus paused and then spoke one last time. A phrase that was going to haunt them both. "As far as I am concerned, the Ari Figg I knew is dead as well. Only a traitor remains."
With a swish of his cloak, he vanished, leaving Ari alone with her tears.
She hadn't heard from him since. He hadn't even gone to Peter's funeral. Just a note left with Dumbledore, saying that he had to leave. He couldn't bear to see another of his friends buried.
***
"He hates me now, Headmaster," she said brokenly. "I've failed him, I failed my friends, and I've failed Harry."
At the mention of her godson's name, Arabella remembered why she had come to Hogwarts in the first place. Her sadness melted into anger, as she pictured Harry locked up in a cupboard. She began to speak, slowly at first, but more and more rapidly as she went on.
"So you see, Headmaster," she concluded. "Harry must be removed from the Dursleys' care. They simply aren't suitable guardians for him."
For the first time since Arabella had known him, lines showed on Dumbledore's face. He looked…well, his age.
"What you report greatly troubles me," he said quietly. "But I can't allow Harry to be removed from his aunt and uncle's care."
Dumbledore held up a hand to forestall any objections.
"What I am about to tell you has not yet been made public, so please don't publicize it, unless you wish to find suspicion placed on you for something else. Frank and Carol Longbottom were attacked in their home last night. Subjected to the Cruciatus Curse for hours on end. It seems," he continued, "that some Death Eaters were trying to discover the location of their fallen master, and thought that we knew it."
"Are they going to be okay?"
"I'm afraid not. Both are being committed to St. Mungo's. And as for their son, I'm afraid that poor Neville needed to have his memory Obliviated. He witnessed the entire thing you know."
Professor Dumbledore looked Arabella straight in the eyes. "The other thing that the Death Eaters were searching for was young Mr. Potter's location. That is precisely why he must remain with his relations, regardless of how badly they treat him. It is better to have a horrid childhood and live, than to die at such a young age. You must understand that."
Arabella nodded in horror. Frank and Carol, she thought. Not them too.
Dumbledore held out Arabella's wand. "You will, of course, be needing this if you are to protect Harry properly."
Arabella reached out, almost unconsciously, and took it from him. Regardless of how I feel, this is a duty I must fulfill. Harry will not end up hurt. Not by them anyway.
After a brief exchange with the Headmaster for more instructions, she left Hogwarts grounds, albeit by way of the front gates this time. She would fulfill her duty, regardless of how much it cost her. Arabella was determined not to let anyone else suffer because of her mistakes. Never again.
Author's note: MANY thanks to Anne for the insults Snape comes up with. Also, thanks to Kat and Lizzie for helping me write this at 1 am! Especially Kat, who provided a brilliant psychoanalysis of Remus Lupin on demand. This chapter is dedicated to Joycie for coming home, and to Carissa, for helping me think things out. Also, thanks to Asia and Jane, for allowing me to help with the SQ glossary. Chapter title was suggested by Devon, who absolutely ROX!
Next chapter, Arabella's first adventure in babysitting.