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Chapter 34 – Our Situation Has Not Improved

"They're late," Rowan muttered, drumming her fingers nervously on the stones of the windowsill and staring out at the grounds in distraction. She looked like herself now. Harry and the others had watched the last of the Polyjuice lose effect over an hour ago.

"How much Polyjuice did you send with them?" Harry asked quietly, pulling out his father's pocket-watch to check the time. It was just after midnight. He didn't like her defeated sigh.

"Not enough, apparently. The last of it will be wearing off any moment now. If they're not back soon . . ." she snarled something under her breath and started pacing. Harry almost wanted to join her, he felt as frustrated and angry as she looked. Ger Myfanwy stepped through the portrait hole with a grim look on his face. Ger's enormous raven, Mordecai, flapped over to land on the back of an armchair beside Harry and butted his feathered head under Harry's hand. Harry found himself smiling despite his worry and scratched the bird's crest earning a cackle of contentment.

"Vain bird," Ger smiled slightly at his bird's theatrics, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Mordecai flew over Hogsmeade and they're not back yet, Rowan. Something's wrong."

"So I've noticed," Rowan replied as her eyes raked over the others – no one had felt willing to go to bed without news of Ron. He almost missed her next whispered decision. "We can't stay here."

"Rowan," Ger warned. "You can't." She cut him off with a deadly look. Ger quieted immediately and dropped his eyes and Harry's respect for his Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher rose another notch. Right now she looked very much the leader of an ancient Wizarding clan.

"We're not staying here, little brother." She caught the attention of everyone before she continued. "I think we all know better than to stay where there's an unknown traitor in the ranks."

Ger's eyes snapped up in shock and Harry heard several muffled gasps around the room. Harry's mind reeled and an icy fear clawed at his middle. Eerie laughter, high and cold, accompanied by a flash of green light and his mother's scream echoed through his memory. There was a spy in Hogwarts?

"That's all I know, I'm afraid." Rowan spread her hands helplessly. Apparently, one of the others had just asked the same question Harry had been thinking. "Whoever it is covers their tracks very well. I don't know who it is."

"Where is Dumbledore?" Professor Lupin asked quietly, still sounding calm.

"He and Grandfather are at CaerMyrddin," Rowan replied. "Why?"

"Because the safest place on earth is wherever Albus Dumbledore happens to be," Harry answered, casting a look around at the others. "Isn't he the only one Voldemort is really afraid of?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Rowan smiled fully for the first time that evening and winked at him. "But you're right, CaerMyrddin is probably the safest place for all of you right now. I see no reason to leave any more potential hostages lying about."

"One is more than enough," Ger agreed grimly. "I'll go back to the Ministry and see if I can't track down a few trustworthy Aurors just in case," he said and called Mordecai back to his leather-clad fist. "Any ideas, Rowan?"

"We can help you there!" Fred volunteered as he and George jumped forward.

"Yeah, Dad knows lots of people at the Ministry," George nodded.

"And Dumbledore trusts him," Fred chimed in hopefully.

Ger grinned at the pair, "Come on then, you two." He glanced over at his sister for permission, apparently not willing to cross her notably thin temper again tonight.

"Keep them safe and out of trouble," she said. "I'm afraid Molly will want a white unicorn rug on her hearth if they blow up the Ministry or something. And she'll know just the unicorn to skin!"

~*~

Sirius awoke slowly, his consciousness swimming up from the dark depths and very groggy from the effects of the Stunning spell. He shivered slightly at the cold permeating the stone beneath him.

"Ugh, ouch," Sirius winced as the movement sent a lance of pain through his side. He must have fallen into something after Narcissa's spell hit him.

"I will see your ouch and raise you a groan," Morgaine answered tiredly. "Where are we?"

"Probably guests of the Death Eaters," Sirius replied and began looking at their surroundings. Clouds had to be obscuring the moon, because very little light filtered through the small openings that served as windows above them. He peered into the chilly gloom, wishing he had Morgaine's heightened senses.

"I'm surprised we're still alive."

He pulled on the cords that bound him. They were much too tight to work his way out of and he couldn't quite reach Morgaine's bonds from where she leaned against his back.

"How are you holding up?"

"Honestly? I'm scared stiff right now," Morgaine admitted, shifting her hands in their bonds. "And more than a bit angry with myself. Why didn't I see this coming? Bloody full moon!"

Sirius felt Morgaine shudder and tense as a tendril of moonlight found its way into their prison, illuminating the marble walls with a ghostly glow. "Are you all right?" he asked.

He heard her take a deep breath that trailed off into a small – almost canine – snuffle. "Not really, no," she responded candidly.

Sirius decided he most certainly didn't like the tone she was using. He quickly searched his piecemeal memories, trying to remember if she had a problem with tight spaces. To his somewhat relief, he couldn't recall any such phobias. Still, he asked gently, "Morgaine? What's wrong?"

"Don't worry about it, Sirius," she bit back, her tone distinctly warning him off. "I can deal with it."

"If there's a problem . . ."

"Let me put it this way, Black," she snarled. "You're human and I am most certainly not. I'm a werewolf. A werewolf within scant days of a full moon trapped in a cage!"

Sirius blinked, shocked more at her tone than her words. Rowan had mentioned wolfish tendencies, but he'd never heard a human growl with that intensity. Steady on, he thought, yes he had! He'd heard nearly identical tones from Remus during a particularly bad moon. Sirius started to curse internally. "I though you were cured!"

"I am," she laughed mirthlessly. "In a way. At least I don't transform into a blood-thirsty monster every month."

Morgaine shifted again, harder this time, and overbalanced them both. Sirius grunted as they crashed into the stone floor.

"Brilliant," Morgaine growled quietly, obviously speaking to herself. "Just brilliant."

"What are you doing back there, anyway?" Sirius demanded as she continued to squirm.

"I'm trying to untie myself," she huffed, fidgeting even more. "Ger's good at this. He showed me a few things and I even managed it myself. Once. With him coaching me."

Sirius sighed and tried to shift away from having his shoulder ground into a sharp rock. Padfoot's arms were slimmer than his human arms were, but if he transformed with his hands tied behind him he would probably dislocate his shoulders.

"Ouch!"

"What?"

"Your nails are sharp!"

"Oh, sorry." Morgaine sounded contrite, but didn't cease her incessant shifting. Then, with a small cry of triumph, she slipped away from him and stepped in front of him, rubbing her wrists to restore feeling. "I did it!" she observed happily.

Sirius suppressed a slight chuckle at her pleased expression and lifted his hands a bit behind him with a meaningful cough. Morgaine coloured slightly and leapt to untie him.

Once free, Sirius climbed carefully to his feet, rubbing at the welts, wincing as he wiped blood away from a small gash across the top of one wrist. He wondered if Morgaine filed her nails to double as claws. They were certainly sharp enough! Out of curiosity, he stole a glance at his companion's hands and frowned. They were very well kept, but her nails didn't look any sharper than a normal female's. In fact, she looked and acted utterly human, now that they were partially free. Though, he noticed, she avoided the direct moonlight pouring through the tiny window above them.

"The door's locked," Morgaine reported after jangling the brass handle briefly. "We still can't get out."

"At least we're more comfortable," Sirius sighed. He bent down and picked up the cords that had been wrapped around their hands. No use in broadcasting their escape. There was always the slight chance that anyone noticing the room was empty would think they had simply been taken elsewhere. However, a scattering of rope fragments was rather telling. Sirius frowned, suddenly noticing the number of rope lengths lying in his hands. Some of them hadn't been untied. They were sliced!

~*~

"Myfanwy, what do you think you are doing? You'll be putting Potter and yourself in danger!" Professor Snape stalked into the Entrance Hall, glaring daggers at the small group standing there, winter cloaks pulled tight about them and obviously preparing to leave. "Perhaps we should just gift-wrap you both and I'll formally present you at the next Summoning if you are so hell-bent on committing suicide!"

"Severus, Harry is in danger no matter where we put him at the moment," Rowan explained, calmly adjusting one of her gloves. "I'm not leaving him here. There's a traitor in the Staff, I'm sure of it, but I don't know who it is. There is nowhere else I would trust him right now."

"Leave him with his relatives if you're so worried!" Snape growled, glaring at the stubborn witch before him. "There, at least, you know the Dark Lord can't reach him!"

Harry felt his face pale. He could just imagine the Dursleys' reaction if he showed up on their doorstep in the centre of their New Years celebration. "No!" he cried. "I'm not staying with them! I'll take my chances against Voldemort!"

"You're not going back to the Dursleys, Harry," Rowan soothed, visibly keeping her own emotions in check. "Most certainly not tonight."

"Well, he's also not leaving this castle, Rowan Myfanwy," Snape snarled back. "Not even with you or any of your half-tamed beasts!" He cast a contemptuous glare in Lupin's direction. "You aren't putting this entire world in danger with your misplaced Gryffindor 'valour' this time!"

"Why are you so concerned?" Rowan shot back, and Harry could nearly see a crackle of subdued magic rising around her, making her look almost . . . demonic. He edged slightly away and noticed Hermione and Ginny slipping behind him. Her temper looked frayed to a thin line, and he was willing to bet that Snape wouldn't get out of this round with a simple slap.

"Enough of this!" Lupin snapped, a dark and steely note in his voice. "Expelliarmus. Stupefy. Corfyla." Harry felt a tingle of magic whisper past him and saw Snape abruptly lurch back several paces and disappeared into a swirl of shimmery green mist. The mist cleared quickly leaving an average-sized playing card with the picture of a very unconscious Severus Snape sprawled across the front of it!

"Much as I'm sure you could handle him, Rowan, he had that coming," Lupin said, re-sheathing his wand and handing Snape's pilfered wand to a shocked looking Rowan. "We'll owl Minerva when we reach CaerMyrddin and tell her where we left him." Professor Lupin leaned down and picked up the card, looked about for a moment and tucked it securely away behind a suit of armour. "Maybe."

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