Chapter Twenty-four; Tell No Lies
The Great Hall, once a bright, cheerful room filled with the sound of chatting students and laughter, was now as silent, cold and bleak as the dungeons below, containing an air of dark power and fear.
The enchanted ceiling gave way to a dark near-black sky. Rolling clouds surged overhead, obscuring the starlight. Riding upon the wind were groups of five or six Death Eaters flying in loose arrowhead formations over the castle grounds, the ebony wings of their mounts propelling them swiftly across the sky.
Flaming torches on the walls glowed a poisonous green through the gloom, sending long, flickering shadows across the cold stone floor. The House tables had vanished, leaving a large barren space in the centre. The banners on the walls that had originally portrayed each of the four Hogwarts Houses now displayed sinister skulls and snakes. The Dark Mark.
At the very back wall, a monstrous throne dominated the room. Resting on a podium of black marble, it stood over twelve feet high, fashioned in the image of a spitting cobra with its hood fanning out to either side. It was made of pure, shining silver with unnaturally large emeralds for its eyes. Any witch or wizard who had the grave misfortune to lay eyes upon it may have mistaken it for the legendary Basilisk, and could only pray that they would never confront the one who would sit upon it.
Unfortunately for Tia Torr, that particular prayer would go unanswered.
Her shoes clacked loudly on the stone floor, echoing into the semi-darkness that shrouded the Hall. Marching swiftly, Tia approached the throne and its occupant. Ten feet from the podium she dropped to her knees, crawling forward to kiss the hem of the Dark Lords robes. Her lips brushing the soft material, she hastily drew back, anxious to put some distance between herself and the serpent that lay curled at the Dark Lord's feet. Its cold eyes watched her retreat, its forked tongue flicking eagerly in her direction, tasting her fear.
Although the very notion seemed quite ludicrous, Tia had to admit that she was more frightened by the snake than of its master, who now lowered a white spider-like hand to the snake's ugly head, giving her a gentle caress. With a content hiss, Nagini slithered up the arm of the throne, her long undulating body moving with liquid grace, curling her upper half into Voldemort's lap. And still she held Tia's gaze, cunning intelligence burning like a cold fire in the slit-like eyes.
Tia slowly raised her eyes, giving her full attention to the Dark Lord. His gaze was no better than the snakes; cold, calculating and laughing at her fear.
Hastily composing herself, Tia straightened her posture, meeting Voldemort's eyes unwaveringly. She did not speak. Experience and unpleasant observation had taught her to await the Dark Lord's permission. To speak out of turn was punishable by the Cruciatus Curse; something Tia had enough sense to avoid whenever possible.
For five minutes she waited. Not moving a muscle.
'You have done well.'
The Dark Lord spoke just above a whisper, a twisted smile on his lipless face.
'Thank you, Sir,' she said stiffly.
Judging by the tone, he had not summoned her merely to congratulate her on a job well done.
Voldemort leaned back, one hand idly stroking the huge serpent on his lap.
'Where is he?'
Tia's blood felt as though it had turned to ice.
'I - I don't know, Sir.'
The smile vanished in an instant, his blood red eyes flashed dangerously. Tia half-expecting lightning bolts to come shooting out of them. She opened her mouth with the futile hope of being allowed to explain but all that came out was a scream of agony as the Cruciatus Curse wrapped itself around her, setting her bones on fire and sending her mind reeling with the pain. The Curse was abruptly lifted barely five seconds later. A warning. Mild by his usual standards, and Tia took heart from his lenience. Shaking violently, she pulled herself up off the floor.
'Find him!'
Dismissed, Tia bowed deeply and hastened from the Hall.
*
'Ouch!'
Harry clapped a hand over his scar, wincing as a sharp burst of hot pain shot through his head. Sirius was beside him in seconds, asking what was wrong.
Harry could only manage a soft groan of pain. The initial flash of agony had mercifully passed as soon as it had come but the ache lingered. His head was throbbing painfully.
Sirius gently steered Harry to an empty seat. They were in the History of Magic classroom. Fred and George had just brought in another Death Eater. She was frozen in the Full Body Bind with her hood pulled low over her face. Luke, Ginny and Phoebe were double-checking the bound Death Eaters that they'd already caught unawares.
'You'd think they'd be a bit more alert,' Ginny mumbled, re-casting the Stunning Spell on a wriggling Death Eater.
'Cocky gits,' Phoebe sneered. 'So full of themselves now that they're inside the castle they just aren't expecting an attack.'
'Least of all one from inside the castle,' added Luke.
Sirius knelt beside Harry, firmly easing his hand away from his scar, carefully examining him.
'Sirius, I'm fine,' he protested feebly.
Sirius ignored the comment. Raising his 'borrowed' wand over Harry he cast a soothing healing spell over him. With a sigh of relief, Harry felt most of the pain leave him.
'Feel better?'
'Yeah, much better, thanks.'
'How bad was it?'
'Not too bad. It was very quick.' Harry said. 'I think He just hexed someone … if He'd killed someone it would have hurt a lot more.'
Solemnly Sirius nodded, watching Harry closely. He looked as though he was about to say something but was interrupted by the return of Neville, Katie and Alicia. The three of them had volunteered to have a look down the south corridor to check if it was clear. By the look on their faces it was a safe bet to say that it wasn't.
'Sirius, there's another four Death Eaters in this section. They're all in the second trophy gallery,' Neville informed him.
Sirius immediately called the group together, a plan already formulated to take them down.
'Alright, Luke, Katie, George, I want you three to seal the gallery's south entrance, go down by Professor Sprout's office, second passage on the left. Fred, go with Phoebe and Alicia to the main entrance. When all of you are in position, seal all the doors and use the strongest Silencing Charms you can manage. We don't want them shouting for help.
'Ginny, Neville, I want both of you to stay here. Keep an eye on these,' he gestured to the limp forms of their prisoners. ' … and Harry.'
Harry stared up at his godfather. 'What? But I just said I'm fine!'
'I know, but I'd rather you rest for a bit, Harry, just to be sure that you're okay. Now, I don't want you sneaking off to help the others; you stay here until I get back.'
'Why? Where're you going?' A slight note of panic was creeping into Harry's voice.
'I'm only going down to the next floor to see how many we'll be up against. There'll be more of them the further down we go and I doubt they'll be as easy to sneak up on as these ones were. We don't want to get in over our heads.' Catching Harry's worried look, he added, 'I'll go as Padfoot. They won't see me in the shadows.' Sirius gave Harry an encouraging smile. 'I won't be long, I promise. Trust me?'
Harry smiled and nodded. Sirius fondly ruffled his godson's hair, stood up, gave a few last instructions to the others to return to the classroom the moment they'd completed their mission, transformed, and with a wag of his tail, disappeared out the door.
*
Meanwhile, on the far side of the castle, Remus, Hermione, and Ron were investigating a possible route to take them down to Dumbledore's office.
'I think that if we can reach the boys' bathroom on the fifth floor we may be able to take a passage from there down to the dungeons, and take the passage behind the tapestry beside Snape's office back up to the second floor,' Remus whispered as he swiftly led Ron and Hermione down a dark, narrow corridor. None of them had lit their wands just in case someone spotted the light and caught them.
'But wouldn't we end up at the wrong end of the castle?' asked Hermione, struggling to visualise the Marauders Map and the castles complex passage system as best she could.
'Yes, but it will get us down there with the absolute minimum risk of being seen,' said Remus. 'With a bit of luck we'll be able to get into Dumbledore's office and alert the Ministry before anyone notices anything.'
'Um, I think we're going to need more than a bit of luck,' whispered Ron. He had stopped at a T-junction in the corridors, indicating the left-hand passage with a jerk of his head.
Cautiously, Remus and Hermione crept up behind him to take a look.
Blocking their way was a large group of Death Eaters. Eight, maybe nine in total. Remus grabbed hold of the back of Ron's robes and pulled him back out of sight before any of them looked up the passage.
'What do we do now?' whispered Hermione, anxiously looking to Remus.
'I would suggest going back, but there's no other way around them,' he said grimly. 'So we're going to have to go through them.'
*
As silent as his nickname implied, Padfoot moved through the shadows, blending with the darkness. His raven-black fur shrouding his form, allowing him to pass undetected to the lower floors of the castle.
What he saw disturbed him.
Death Eaters down every corridor, moving in packs like jackals. Some alert and wary, the Seniors no doubt, barking orders left and right to search all the rooms for any students. The underlings hastened to obey before a reprimanding hex was sent in their general direction.
Sirius tried to plot their general positions on a mental map.
Two, maybe three heading down the south-east corridor … seven on the west wing, ought to avoid them … four by the gallery, shouldn't be a problem…
Gliding down the stairs like a ghost, Padfoot headed for the fourth floor storerooms, ignoring the nagging voice in the back of his mind that told him he was too far away from the others … from Harry. Hesitantly, Sirius crept along the passage, contemplating whether or not he could risk sneaking down another floor, just to see if he could confirm roughly how many Death Eaters they were up against, when one in particular caught his attention.
She was climbing the stairs, her hair looking extremely windswept, her violet eyes bright but cold. Her face was as hard as marble, no sweet smile on her lips but a grimace of frustration as she stepped onto the landing, holding her hand out down the left of the corridor and then to her right. The ring upon her finger was glowing an icy blue, pulsing weakly. Glaring furiously at it, Tia cursed, spun on her heel and stormed up the right hand passage towards Sirius.
Sirius froze. Part of him wanted to go to her. To hold her close … to tell her how worried he'd been … that she was so beautiful …
Confused, Sirius shook his head hard, gazing uncertainly at the lovely witch as she drew closer. Where on earth were these ridiculous thoughts coming from? Now was probably the least appropriate time for them.
He hadn't wanted to believe any of what Harry, or indeed anyone else, had said against Tia … they just didn't understand…
Backing away slowly, Sirius tried desperately to make sense of the jumble of thoughts racing through his mind. What was going on?
Tia was roaming freely in a castle besieged by the Dark Lord and his supporters - but surely she wasn't - she had not been taken prisoner with the rest of the staff - there had to be a mistake - did that not mean - he'd trusted her - Harry never had - Harry had tried to warn him -
Head pounding, Sirius gave a plaintive yelp, shutting his eyes tightly. Every time he tried to think something against Tia, a painful pulse shot through his head. What was wrong with him? This had happened before, hadn't it? He couldn't remember. He couldn't think.
'Sirius.'
That voice … that beautiful voice…
Clamping down on the inappropriate thought, Sirius slowly opened his eyes.
Tia was standing over him, his outburst revealing his presence. She was smiling. Not the warm, loving smile that she so often wore whenever she was around him. This was more of a satisfied smile, like a tiger that had stumbled across a wounded prey animal and knew its belly would soon be full.
'Sirius.' Her voice was soft, melodious. But something was telling Sirius that, like a tiger, she may be beautiful, but she was also deadly. 'Come to me, Sirius,' she said firmly. 'Reveal yourself.'
No, he couldn't! He didn't understand what was going on. What was wrong with him?
Against his will, Sirius stepped out of the shadows and transformed.
*
Despite Remus' observation that the odds were most definitely not in their favour, being outnumbered at least three-to-one, he was confident that they did have a chance so long as the element of surprise and speed was working for them.
Certainly the Clouding Spell coupled with a giant ghostly dragon's head lunging down the narrow passage seemed to catch the Death Eaters off guard.
One of them panicked, dropping to the floor to avoid the dragon and sending an Impediment Jinx at it. The spell shot straight through the illusion to strike one of his teammates.
Wasting no time, Remus set off half a dozen Stunning Spells into the fog in quick succession. Muffled cries indicated that at least two had met with an unwary target.
The fog was suddenly dispelled. The remaining Death Eaters had got themselves organised and ready to launch a counter-attack.
Numerous hexes and jinxes flashed through the air in rapid fire bursts of light; shields and barriers were shattered almost as soon as they materialised. Ron quickly gave up on firing hexes, focusing more on blocking them and casting protective shields over Remus and Hermione instead.
Hermione worked incredibly fast, sending any and every hex that came to mind; Freezing, Stunning, Paralysis, Leg-Locker, Sleep, even a few Transfiguration spells knowing full well that even if they hit their target, they were not powerful enough to result in a complete transformation. The image of a Death Eater trying to aim a wand with penguin flippers would have been funny had the situation not been so serious.
Remus was matching the Death Eaters return fire spell for spell; blocking some but reflecting others and sending back a few of his own. A blazing fireball erupted into being and forced the Death Eaters back a little but it was quickly extinguished. Remus then set off a swarm of flying darts but they were met with a cloud of acid that disintegrated them on impact.
By sheer luck, one spell got through the Death Eaters' defences to smack one in the midriff. The Jelly Legs Jinx took hold; the Death Eater wavered on his rubbery limbs, falling against his unwary comrade. They both went tumbling backwards causing those behind them to falter in their attack.
Without hesitation, Ron and Hermione dove forward shouting Freezing and Binding Spells. A huge net of over-sized spider-web was slung over their heads and wrapped tightly round the struggling Death Eaters on the floor.
But before they could even catch their breath, someone stepped out of the gloom beyond the fallen Death Eaters, screaming a deadly curse.
With reflexes reminiscent of his werewolf form, Remus threw himself to the floor, kicking out at Ron and Hermione, sweeping their legs out from under them. The curse missed their heads by inches as they dropped.
'Stupefy!'
The Stunning Spell shot at the newcomer but was deflected, albeit only just in time, but it gave Remus a few precious seconds to find his feet and fire another. Again the spell was deflected but this time the force behind it sent a shockwave down the corridor; the Death Eater braced himself only to be flung against the wall. His hood fell.
For a frozen moment Remus stared into the pale, watery blue eyes of a man he had once considered a friend.
Peter Pettigrew stared back, hesitation flickering across his face but that quickly vanished. He raised his wand, rapidly conjuring a forest of huge, barbed spikes that burst out of the floor, walls and ceiling in front of him. Remus knew by the startled shouts of Ron and Hermione that the way back had been similarly blocked.
'Holy -!' Ron grabbed Hermione, hauling her away from another lethal spike that jutted out of the wall, stopping right where her shoulder had been a second ago. With a terrified cry, Hermione ran backwards into Remus who drew both of them close behind him, shielding them from Peter and what he himself was about to do.
Throwing a shield over Ron and Hermione, Remus flung up his hands, focusing with all his might on amplify what was usually a fairly basic spell. Blocking everything else out of his mind, he concentrated.
Flames erupted from his palms, a rich orange and red blaze that streamed out of his hands, lancing through the air. The fire hit the spikes in a wave of heat, the flames crackling loudly, licking at the metal. The roar drowned out everything. Directing the fiery lance at the very centre of the tangle of spikes, he increased the temperature rapidly. The intense heat wave rolled down the corridor, slamming against the metal like a solid wall. The spikes turned a glowing white and begun to melt, blobs of liquid metal dripping rapidly to the floor.
Hoping that was enough, Remus cancelled the spell, drawing the flames back to him, compressing the fire into a swirling orb before it burst into a cloud of smoke and vanished.
Pettigrew stood frozen at the far end of the corridor, staring at Remus with a mixture of fear, frustration and loathing. With a shout of fury he tried to hurl another hex but found his wand suddenly yanked out of his hand by Ron bellowing the Disarming Spell. Fear took hold, his eyes widened and before anyone could stop him, he turned and bolted down a side passage.
'Stop him!' Remus vaulted over the melted stubs that remained of the spikes. 'Before he warns the rest of them!'
Grabbing Hermione's hand, Ron pulled her to her feet and they raced after Remus, failing to notice, as they passed a window, the silvery glow through the clouds as the moon began to rise.
*
'What's going on?'
Tia giggled, smiling sweetly, ignoring Sirius' vague question. She glided up to him, her slender hands snaking their way up his chest, round his shoulders, drawing his head close, and planting a soft kiss on his lips.
'Does that answer your question?' She smiled ever more broadly at the startled expression on his face.
'Tia -'
'Shh.'
Placing a delicate finger to his lips, Tia tilted his head so that their eyes met. An indescribable calm washed over him. Suddenly he didn't need to say anything … nothing else was important …
Slowly, Tia reached up, forcing his lips against hers -
'Oh, please,' drawled a cold, sneering voice. 'Don't let me interrupt.'
Tia whipped round. Whether she was startled or just mad at the interruption, she had her wand out in an instant, aimed straight at Lucius Malfoy's heart.
'Back off, Lucius!'
Lucius sneered, raising his hands mockingly in surrender.
'No, really, do carry on. It'll be interesting to see how the Master likes you hitting on your 'boyfriend' when you are supposed to be bringing him the Potter boy. May I ask why you are so intent on trying his patience? Not very clever of you.'
'I have no intention of doing any such thing.' she snapped, glowering at him.
'Where is the boy? We were under the impression that you could locate him, wherever he might be.' Lucius strolled casually towards her, looking up and down the corridor, eyes sweeping the darkness. 'I don't see him. Could it be that you have failed us? My dear Allison, you disappoint us all.'
Tia's eyes flashed.
'Don't you dare call me that!'
She stormed over to Lucius, trying to look menacing, but she only came up to his shoulders, something that Lucius Malfoy seemed to find rather amusing.
'You're cute when you're angry,' he said, thoroughly enjoying the enraged fury in her eyes. 'Intimidation just doesn't work very well for you, and neither does your ring by all accounts.' He raised her hand, fingering the ring that was still pulsing weakly. Tia jerked her hand away.
'It is hardly my fault if the talisman's signal has been corrupted,' she said curtly.
'Indeed. And pray tell what you are doing to remedy the situation? Our Master's patience wears thin.'
'Our?' Tia made a show of looking deeply confused. 'Your Master, Lucius. I have no Master.'
Lucius chuckled, his eyes scornful.
'Believe what you will, my dear. Just remember that while you are among the Dark Order, Death Eater or not, His orders are there to be obeyed.' His polite manner dropped. 'Where is the boy?'
Tia folded her arms.
'He is inside the castle, unable to escape, as required. I lowered the bulwarks of the castle to allow you inside and I have put up with this charade all as your master asked.' she said. 'I will take my payment now, if you'll excuse me. I can do no more for your Lord.'
'Your payment?' Lucius murmured softly. 'I take it that this young man would be a part of that?'
Sirius had neither moved nor spoken since Malfoy's appearance. The Death Eater strode over to him, raised his hand and snapped his fingers in front of his face. Sirius did not blink.
'Interesting.' he said curiously.
'A slight variation of a Confundus Charm,' Tia stated proudly. 'Coupled with a Passion Spell in conjunction with a mild Obedience Hex, well, he can't help but do as I ask. He can't say a word against me.'
'Seductiveness and brains? A rare combination. Though I believe my Lord had something to do with that first talent?' Slyly gesturing to her beautiful face, Lucius continued to examine Sirius closely, stroking his chin in thought. Tia glared stonily at him.
'Perhaps,' she admitted begrudgingly. 'Not that it is any business of yours.'
'Oh, but it is my business, Allison. You sought Lord Voldemort's help and he granted it. You have yet to repay the dept. Therefore your payment shall be withheld until such time as you complete your assignment.'
Lucius had barely raised his wand when Tia shoved herself between him and Sirius, a cold fire blazing in her eyes.
'Don't – you – dare.' she hissed angrily. 'He's mine.'
'You named him as the price for your service,' said Lucius maliciously. 'He belongs to Lord Voldemort until you can bring him the boy as you promised you would.'
Eyes narrowed, Tia clenched her fists. She raised her hand. The ring was still pulsing weakly, first indicating to her left, then to her right, the homing signal wavering all over the place.
What's wrong with this damn thing? she thought furiously, giving it a forceful shake. It made no difference. The Tracking Spell had been completely disrupted.
Lucius Malfoy shook his head slowly, tutting.
'As I said … a disappointment.' He heaved a sigh. 'Lord Voldemort does not take disappointment well. He ensures that those responsible for his disappointment are punished appropriately.'
Tia's face paled, her palms sweating.
'There may be a way to avoid that of course,' he went on, smiling like a snake. 'Although it will require your payment being postponed.' He brushed Tia aside, aiming his wand at Sirius' chest. 'If you cannot go to the boy, we can simply arrange for the boy to come to us. I'm sure Lord Voldemort will be most pleased …'
*
The Hogwarts library was a magnificent room, taking up almost half of the fifth floor. Filled with thousands of shelves, hundreds of narrow rows, it was a wonder that students didn't get lost among the dusty volumes from time to time. Very disorientating if you were not familiar with the layout, it provided a convenient bolthole for Pettigrew who crashed through the double doors and scurried into the maze of shelves in a desperate attempt to lose his pursuers.
Remus calmly stepped into the room a few moments later, eyes sweeping the shadowy corners and long narrow aisles. He didn't expect Peter to suddenly jump out and attack, not when his fundamental instinct was self-preservation, to run.
'Lock the doors,' Remus whispered over his shoulder.
Obediently, Hermione eased the doors shut and locked them. As an added precaution, Ron cast a Silencing Charm over the doors and fused them shut with a sticky glue-like substance.
'Remember, if you see him, do not try to take him on alone; call for help, okay?'
The teenagers nodded solemnly. The three of them spread out, Remus heading down the left side of the room, Hermione disappearing down the centre aisle and Ron taking the far right.
The labyrinth of passages were dimly lit, stubs of candles were burning low in their holders upon the worktables. Shadows wavered where the passages branched off in different directions.
Ron crept through the Potions section, wand aiming at any shadow that moved. Moving slowly, he hardly made a sound, walking almost on tiptoe, eyes peeled for the traitorous little rat.
For nearly five minutes, he found nothing. Neither Remus nor Hermione had shouted, so they hadn't found Pettigrew yet either. A constant prickling on the back of his neck was quickly convincing Ron that someone was watching him, but every time he looked around there was nothing there.
A shadow moved up ahead, flittering behind the shelves there. Taking a deep breath, Ron hurried up to a gap in the shelving, slipped through and sneaked round to where he'd seen the shadow. It was a dead end. Nothing there.
Sensing, rather than hearing someone move, Ron whipped round and found himself face to face with Pettigrew. But he wasn't alone. One arm was wrapped tightly around Hermione, holding her in front of him with his other hand close to her neck. A hand that glimmered silver.
'If you make a sound, I'll kill her,' Pettigrew snarled, wrapping his cold fingers around Hermione's slender throat. She gave a frightened whimper, her brown eyes wide and pleading. 'Put your wand on the floor. Slowly!'
With no idea as to what else he could do, Ron obeyed, crouching slowly, placed his wand on the floor, and straightened up.
'Back up.'
As Ron did as he was told, Pettigrew forced Hermione forward until they were standing just over the wand. Ron tried to tell Hermione without words that it would okay but she wasn't looking at him; the hand at her throat was more demanding of her attention.
Just as Pettigrew made to lean down and retrieve it, a blast of yellow light struck the wand; it blew across the floor towards Ron who snatched it up and pointed it at Pettigrew just as a voice shouted 'Freeze Peter!'
Pettigrew drew back against the shelves, still holding Hermione close. Remus was stood at the opposite end of the aisle with his wand aimed directly at the two of them.
'Let her go, Peter,' he ordered coldly, taking a step closer.
Pettigrew sneered, though his voice wavered uncertainly. 'You won't shoot me, Remus. You'd hit the girl.' He tightened his grip. Hermione squirmed, unable to get loose.
Remus shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. 'If she gets hit, she gets hit. Can't help that.'
'Y - you wouldn't do it.' Pettigrew stammered. 'You wouldn't kill me. Harry asked you not to, remember?' He was starting to sound rather desperate, masking it with false confidence.
'I don't need to kill you, Peter. One Stunner is more than enough to take you down.' Remus stated coolly. He looked to Hermione. 'I apologise Hermione, but I'd rather stun you both than risk hitting you with something more powerful.'
Hermione gave a weak smile and a nod. Pettigrew tightened his grip. Ron edged a little closer. Pettigrew had turned quite pale, his eyes flicking nervously around the room before moving swiftly back to Remus. He gave a low laugh, smirking.
'What's so funny?' Ron demanded angrily.
Peter simply continued to watch Remus with his beady eyes, glinting maliciously. Suddenly, Remus let out a grunt of pain, clutching his stomach. He slumped against the wall, his whole body shaking violently.
Pettigrew looked over his shoulder at Ron.
'That,' he said simply.
Remus fell to the floor, twitching convulsively. Thick grey fur was rippling up and down his shifting form, his face elongating into a long muzzle filled with razor sharp, long, deadly teeth.
Ron backed up into the shelves behind him. Hermione struggled frantically to get out of Pettigrew's grip.
'Let go of me!' she pleaded, fearfully watching her former professor mutating on the floor in front of her.
'Werewolves do have a fondness for human prey, do they not? Human flesh is something they find very tasty.' He hissed gleefully into her ear. 'Lucky for me, they don't take much notice of small rodents.'
With a nasty grin at Ron, Pettigrew shoved Hermione to the floor; she landed scrawled beside the almost transformed wolf. In the blink of an eye, Pettigrew had transformed, scurrying away into the shadows.
'Hermione!'
Absolutely terrified, Hermione froze, staring up into the glowing amber eyes of the werewolf. The transformation was complete. Breathless with fear, Hermione shut her eyes tight, expecting the next thing she felt to be those vicious teeth tearing into her flesh -
She flinched as something nudged her shoulder. A gentle touch. Warm breath blew across her face, a soft panting in her ears. Slowly, she opened her eyes.
The huge wolf was sitting calmly before her, tail wagging and gently nudging her with its muzzle. The amber eyes were watching her closely … kindly…
'Remus?' Hermione whispered.
The wolf gave the canine equivalent of a smile, tail thumping harder against the floor. He backed off to give her room to stand. But before she could move, Ron dropped down beside her and flung his arms around her.
'Ron! What – '
'You're okay,' he said, his voice muffled and croaky. 'I mean, you're not hurt? That git didn't – you are okay, aren't you?'
Rather astonished, Hermione smiled shakily, and hugged him back.
'Yes, thank you. I'm fine, but … er … I do need to breathe.'
'Oh, sorry.' Ron quickly let go, his face flushed. Awkwardly he scrambled to his feet and offered her his hand.
'For a moment there I thought you were going to bite Hermione's head off - ' said Ron, turning to the wolf, but drew up short as a thunderous growl answered.
Lips drawn back in a fearsome snarl, Remus took a step towards them.
Ever so slowly, Ron and Hermione backed up, faces growing very pale.
'I thought he'd taken that Wolfsbane Potion stuff,' Ron whispered shakily, hand edging towards his wand.
Both of them froze as the werewolf glided past them. He went straight to where Pettigrew had stood, placing his nose to the floor and took a deep sniff. Lifting his head, the wolf glanced back at Ron and Hermione, snarled, then took off, following the scent.
Hermione drew her wand and hurried after him.
'Come worry, Ron. He's perfectly safe,' Hermione assured him. 'Come on, let's get that little slimeball.'
Ron quickly followed. They ran back through the library, weaving between the shelves, eyes peeled.
Remus' ears pricked up and he broke into a run, pelting down the aisle, body low to the ground, snarling furiously. A small dark shape dashed across the path. Remus pounced, swiping at the rodent with his huge paws. Squealing loudly, the rat shot between the wolf's paws, racing towards Ron and Hermione in a blind panic.
'Stupefy!' they shouted.
The spells struck the floor, inches away from their target. Remus spun round and leapt after Pettigrew, knocking over a rack of shelves in his haste. Several huge volumes tumbled off the shelves; one landing right on top of the fleeing rat. A muffled squeak cried out, a bald tail whipping back and forth from under the book. Ron and Hermione held their wands ready as Remus crouched low, ready to spring.
Pettigrew transformed, flinging his silver hand up. A blast that shook the room erupted from it, sending Ron and Hermione flying backwards' into the shelves, books raining down upon their heads. The werewolf launched itself into the air, jaws wide. Pettigrew spun round, screaming a curse - shards of silver sliced through the air - Ron bellowed a spell - a shimmering haze of red and gold clouded the wolf's form - the shards slid over the barriers surface, bouncing off harmlessly.
Eyes wide, Pettigrew transformed as the wolf's jaws flashed -
Hermione shoved the heavy books off of herself, struggling to disentangle her robes from the fragmented remains of the broken shelves. Ron offered her a hand.
'Madam Pince is going to have a fit when she sees this!' he said, grinning.
'Did we get him? Where's the rat?' she asked anxiously.
They looked to Remus who was calmly sitting beside them like an obedient dog, his tail wagging at full speed. From his mouth dangled the limp, unconscious form of a mangy grey rat, eyes half-closed and silver paw hanging harmlessly to the side.
'Harry Potter,'
Like a blast of icy wind, the voice of Lord Voldemort, alight with malice, echoed throughout the castle. Ron, Hermione and Remus froze, listening.
'I have with me your precious godfather, Sirius Black. As I understand it, you are quite fond of him? It would be a shame if anything were to happen to him, would it not? I have very little patience, Potter … so unless you surrender yourself now, I will see to it that your godfather is put under the most painful torture possible, so that he will die an excruciating, painfully slow death.
'You have ten minutes, Potter.'
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To Be Continued
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Please review
All comments and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated
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Authors Notes
Elbereth94 – Neville's a favourite of mine so I'm glad you think I'm doing a good job with him! *beams delightedly* This chapter answer your question about Tia and Sirius? Ooh, the next two chapters are going to be nasty! Think I'll invest in a good hiding place …
Lil Lupin – You're right; I've given up on deadlines – I never meet them! ^_^ Chapter 14 is coming along slowly. I decided not to write anything for a few days then go back to it; seemed to do the trick, I felt a bit more clear-headed about it and managed to write a few pages. Yay me! *groans* I've been writing this since September and I still can't think of a title!!?? *bashes head on the keyboard repeatedly* Ow. By the way, I've had a read of that Latin lesson you sent me! Hhm, I think I understood it, but then I'm not familiar with all the words. May I have another? *grins*
Evol norgara – There there *pats evol on the head* I don't like the waits any more than you do – just because I can choose whether or not to actually post the chapter and make people wait even longer and longer, taunting them because I have complete control over the fic … Nah, I wouldn't really do that. Honest! *grins nervously* Why do you think I only started posting this once all the chapters were ready? No more waiting weeks and weeks for the author to get through her mental block, ha ha! Only post completed fics; it's the new rule I live by. ^_^ Damn it, my next fic may not appear for a while yet. I'm aiming for an end of May posting for my next one – no guarantee though; it's not done yet! (Six and a half chapters to go! *does happy dance*)
Evil spapple pie – Um, I do believe that Harry did go with Sirius last time; blimey I can't remember for sure. I must have changed something here, other than correct the mistakes. Hhm, nope, sorry, memory fails me. *joins in whacking Craig with the Beaters bat* All good fun! *evil grin* I have been thinking about writing a Peter fic, just a short one, maybe about how he feels on being 'overshadowed' by his three talented friends. No definite plans yet; other fics are taking priority. ^_^
Sarcastic comebacks eh? My sister can be very sarcastic, and I can never think of a comeback – and even when I do think of one, it's normally about a day or two later! ^_^
Good luck with your exams!
Von – *evil grin* I have a good reason for splitting the group up. Okay, it's odd for such a difference in numbers, but my evil *cough-cough* plan won't work otherwise! ^_^ Shall I drop a hint? La la la – nope! *practises her evil cackle*
Werepup – Not gonna tell you! *grins* Ooh, you'll be screaming that question at me by the end of the next chapter. ^_^