Sorry about not putting an Author's Note on the last one. At any rate. This is SLASH. Woo-hoo. If you don't like that…don't read this. Oh, and Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. The only thing that does is a seriously warped mentality. Be warned.
center****************/center
"I'm sorry about that. I really couldn't remember how silver affected werewolves. I just…can't have you running about loose on me," Lockhart explained with a faltering grin.
Remus struggled to lease the wolf without completely burying him. 'I may yet need your strength, Moony. We just need to hold tight for now. Let him think we are cowed. Then, when this cuff comes off, we can apparate away. Just…hold tight for now. Ignore the chains. Ignore the pain. We *will* escape. We will,' Remus finished his inner dialogue with a quick snarl at his erstwhile captor.
"Lockhart. You can't do this to me. Not even the Minister will be able to get you off for this. Torturing another wizard will land you in Azkaban. Release me now, and I'll just walk away. No Ministry. No trial. No dementors. Agreed?" Lupin's soft cajole ended with a flash of teeth and a snarl.
Gil knew his weaknesses far better than his loving public would ever have guessed. He didn't need to see Lupin's wand in his hand to know that the other wizard was a far better dueler. 'He wouldn't give me a chance. He would snap me in an instant if I let him free now. He can't get away. If he uses his wand, the Ministry will know. If I push him too hard though…he'll use it anyway to escape. I can't be certain the Minister would believe me over him. Lupin is Dumbledore's pet after all. I've got to get that wand. It's the only way,' Gil decided with a glint of steel in his own watery-blue eyes.
"The Ministry gave me permission to restrain you as I saw fit for my experiments. Now. I'll have your wand, if you please. Come on, werewolf. The wand. Now or the cuff goes around your neck this time," Lockhart snapped.
'For all that he says, I still don't think the Minister knows about this. He does know enough to know that I would use my wand to escape: tracking charm or no. If he were sure, then why would he want my wand? He must think that someone would believe me if I escaped. Good. That means there's still a chance someone will believe me. I have to go now then. I can't just wait here for him to torture me some more,' Remus decided to go for the wand tucked inside his right sleeve. He was counting on Lockhart being enough of an idiot to assume that he was going to give it up without a fight.
"Alright," Lupin said.
'I've got to distract him enough to find his wand. Then, I'll take it. He'll try to get away otherwise. Fine then. Let's see how well Bertha Jerkins *really* remembers Remus Lupin,' Gil made ready to make the statement that would end this situation. To one side or the other, this would be the end.
"I've been to Azkaban, you know. The Minister took me along to assist him in an investigation. I met an old friend of yours in there. Sirius Black?" Lockhart slyly glanced at Remus from under lowered lashes.
Remus thought his heart would stop. This man? This *imbecile* had seen Sirius. Unthinkable. Then Remus did go for his wand. Only, it wasn't to escape as Lockhart suspected. No. Now, Remus wanted to see a little pain of his own.
"Ligatus!" Lupin shouted as he let his wand slip from his sleeve to his hand.
"Argentum catena!" Lockhart countered as he threw himself to the ground to avoid Lupin's spell.
Screams once again filled the small cabin as silver chains wrapped around Lupin's slender form. Lockhart tried to free himself from the magical bindings that Lupin had cast on him. As Lockhart fought his invisible bonds, Lupin clawed franticly at his own all-too real chains. Lockhart's dive had saved him from the full effects of the spell, allowing him to free up his wand arm long enough to remove the bindings fully.
"Finite incantatum!" Lockhart declared triumphantly.
Lockhart's triumph lasted only as long as it took him to realize that his spell had not released him as planned and had caused his bindings to tighten further about his body instead. He squawked indignantly as one binding began to tighten painfully around one of his rather personal parts.
"Lupin! Why won't these bindings release me? Lupin!" Lockhart shouted over Lupin's tormented howls.
Remus' wand had clattered from fingers turned nerveless by searing agony. He was wrapped all over by thin silver chains that he could break no easier than he could break into Gringotts. Everywhere the chains touched his bare skin he felt cold, deep burns etching into him. The pain obliterated all the control that he had over the wolf. All Moony wanted was to free himself from the pain. Remus was helpless to stop his frenzied clawing, writhing, and biting. Lockhart's words reached ears that Remus had only slight control over. He felt himself answering through a haze.
"Only get tighter. Only get tighter. Squeeze you. Cut you. Only I can remove it. Not you. Only me. Stop this. Stop this. I will release you. Stop this," Lupin screeched desperately.
Lockhart's reasoning was interrupted by a particularly excruciating squeeze around his nether regions. He quickly squirmed around to face Lupin, intent on removing the silver chains. Lockhart'e eyes stung as he realized just how much he had misjudged the spell by. Instead of the one manacle that he normally produced, his panic had wrapped the poor werewolf in meters of thin silver chain which he saw now for the first time. 'No wonder he's been wailing so. If the one cuff burned him, then all these chains must be killing him. No time for worries now. I'll…settle with him later. That's all,' Gil decisively swung his wand again.
"Finite incantatum!" Lockhart choked as the bindings holding him made to end his life.
Remus reacted the instant the pain evaporated. His body, still fighting under Moony's influence, clawed feebly towards his fallen wand. Remus forced himself to concentrate on letting the magic flow through him. He blanked his mind. 'Sleep now, Moony. Sleep now. You can fight later,' Remus promised as he subdued the beast.
"Finite ligare." Lupin murmured.
The bindings holding Gil were gone so fast that it took him a moment to realize that he could breathe properly again. When the realization hit him, he gasped for air so fast that he became dizzy. Gil got slowly to his feet and stumbled over to Lupin's prone form. 'That last effort must have been too much for him. He should be out for a while now,' Gil tried not to look at the blood pooling around the werewolf. He tried not to feel queasy as his hands slid in the sticky fluid still seeping from Lupin's arms and neck. Gil thought fiercely of the fame that would arise from his next book. He reminded his whinging conscience that a treatise on werewolves would yield fame on a level never yet achieved by a Lockhart novel. Somehow, the thought of all that fame did nothing to comfort him as he placed Lupin's slightly twitching form on the bed in the cabin's only bedroom.
Gil's hands shook as he wet a towel in the small bathroom. He thought about his adoring fans. He thought about how every wizard and witch in the world would know his name. He thought about how he would finally prove to his mother that he wasn't the pathetic squib she had accused him of being. He thought about anything, everything. He just couldn't bear to think about the pain that had eclipsed the whole of those sun-bright eyes. 'I will make this better. I will make this better. I will,' Gil murmured his new mantra as he began the process of bathing Lupin's wounds.
'Start at his face. Surely the chains didn't cross his eyes. Surely,' Gil slowly cleared the blood from Lupin's face. He began to relax as he saw that there were no wounds there. 'He must have just lain in the blood. That's all,' Gil reassured himself while trying not to think of the implications of that cold comfort.
center******************************************/center
center****************/center
"I'm sorry about that. I really couldn't remember how silver affected werewolves. I just…can't have you running about loose on me," Lockhart explained with a faltering grin.
Remus struggled to lease the wolf without completely burying him. 'I may yet need your strength, Moony. We just need to hold tight for now. Let him think we are cowed. Then, when this cuff comes off, we can apparate away. Just…hold tight for now. Ignore the chains. Ignore the pain. We *will* escape. We will,' Remus finished his inner dialogue with a quick snarl at his erstwhile captor.
"Lockhart. You can't do this to me. Not even the Minister will be able to get you off for this. Torturing another wizard will land you in Azkaban. Release me now, and I'll just walk away. No Ministry. No trial. No dementors. Agreed?" Lupin's soft cajole ended with a flash of teeth and a snarl.
Gil knew his weaknesses far better than his loving public would ever have guessed. He didn't need to see Lupin's wand in his hand to know that the other wizard was a far better dueler. 'He wouldn't give me a chance. He would snap me in an instant if I let him free now. He can't get away. If he uses his wand, the Ministry will know. If I push him too hard though…he'll use it anyway to escape. I can't be certain the Minister would believe me over him. Lupin is Dumbledore's pet after all. I've got to get that wand. It's the only way,' Gil decided with a glint of steel in his own watery-blue eyes.
"The Ministry gave me permission to restrain you as I saw fit for my experiments. Now. I'll have your wand, if you please. Come on, werewolf. The wand. Now or the cuff goes around your neck this time," Lockhart snapped.
'For all that he says, I still don't think the Minister knows about this. He does know enough to know that I would use my wand to escape: tracking charm or no. If he were sure, then why would he want my wand? He must think that someone would believe me if I escaped. Good. That means there's still a chance someone will believe me. I have to go now then. I can't just wait here for him to torture me some more,' Remus decided to go for the wand tucked inside his right sleeve. He was counting on Lockhart being enough of an idiot to assume that he was going to give it up without a fight.
"Alright," Lupin said.
'I've got to distract him enough to find his wand. Then, I'll take it. He'll try to get away otherwise. Fine then. Let's see how well Bertha Jerkins *really* remembers Remus Lupin,' Gil made ready to make the statement that would end this situation. To one side or the other, this would be the end.
"I've been to Azkaban, you know. The Minister took me along to assist him in an investigation. I met an old friend of yours in there. Sirius Black?" Lockhart slyly glanced at Remus from under lowered lashes.
Remus thought his heart would stop. This man? This *imbecile* had seen Sirius. Unthinkable. Then Remus did go for his wand. Only, it wasn't to escape as Lockhart suspected. No. Now, Remus wanted to see a little pain of his own.
"Ligatus!" Lupin shouted as he let his wand slip from his sleeve to his hand.
"Argentum catena!" Lockhart countered as he threw himself to the ground to avoid Lupin's spell.
Screams once again filled the small cabin as silver chains wrapped around Lupin's slender form. Lockhart tried to free himself from the magical bindings that Lupin had cast on him. As Lockhart fought his invisible bonds, Lupin clawed franticly at his own all-too real chains. Lockhart's dive had saved him from the full effects of the spell, allowing him to free up his wand arm long enough to remove the bindings fully.
"Finite incantatum!" Lockhart declared triumphantly.
Lockhart's triumph lasted only as long as it took him to realize that his spell had not released him as planned and had caused his bindings to tighten further about his body instead. He squawked indignantly as one binding began to tighten painfully around one of his rather personal parts.
"Lupin! Why won't these bindings release me? Lupin!" Lockhart shouted over Lupin's tormented howls.
Remus' wand had clattered from fingers turned nerveless by searing agony. He was wrapped all over by thin silver chains that he could break no easier than he could break into Gringotts. Everywhere the chains touched his bare skin he felt cold, deep burns etching into him. The pain obliterated all the control that he had over the wolf. All Moony wanted was to free himself from the pain. Remus was helpless to stop his frenzied clawing, writhing, and biting. Lockhart's words reached ears that Remus had only slight control over. He felt himself answering through a haze.
"Only get tighter. Only get tighter. Squeeze you. Cut you. Only I can remove it. Not you. Only me. Stop this. Stop this. I will release you. Stop this," Lupin screeched desperately.
Lockhart's reasoning was interrupted by a particularly excruciating squeeze around his nether regions. He quickly squirmed around to face Lupin, intent on removing the silver chains. Lockhart'e eyes stung as he realized just how much he had misjudged the spell by. Instead of the one manacle that he normally produced, his panic had wrapped the poor werewolf in meters of thin silver chain which he saw now for the first time. 'No wonder he's been wailing so. If the one cuff burned him, then all these chains must be killing him. No time for worries now. I'll…settle with him later. That's all,' Gil decisively swung his wand again.
"Finite incantatum!" Lockhart choked as the bindings holding him made to end his life.
Remus reacted the instant the pain evaporated. His body, still fighting under Moony's influence, clawed feebly towards his fallen wand. Remus forced himself to concentrate on letting the magic flow through him. He blanked his mind. 'Sleep now, Moony. Sleep now. You can fight later,' Remus promised as he subdued the beast.
"Finite ligare." Lupin murmured.
The bindings holding Gil were gone so fast that it took him a moment to realize that he could breathe properly again. When the realization hit him, he gasped for air so fast that he became dizzy. Gil got slowly to his feet and stumbled over to Lupin's prone form. 'That last effort must have been too much for him. He should be out for a while now,' Gil tried not to look at the blood pooling around the werewolf. He tried not to feel queasy as his hands slid in the sticky fluid still seeping from Lupin's arms and neck. Gil thought fiercely of the fame that would arise from his next book. He reminded his whinging conscience that a treatise on werewolves would yield fame on a level never yet achieved by a Lockhart novel. Somehow, the thought of all that fame did nothing to comfort him as he placed Lupin's slightly twitching form on the bed in the cabin's only bedroom.
Gil's hands shook as he wet a towel in the small bathroom. He thought about his adoring fans. He thought about how every wizard and witch in the world would know his name. He thought about how he would finally prove to his mother that he wasn't the pathetic squib she had accused him of being. He thought about anything, everything. He just couldn't bear to think about the pain that had eclipsed the whole of those sun-bright eyes. 'I will make this better. I will make this better. I will,' Gil murmured his new mantra as he began the process of bathing Lupin's wounds.
'Start at his face. Surely the chains didn't cross his eyes. Surely,' Gil slowly cleared the blood from Lupin's face. He began to relax as he saw that there were no wounds there. 'He must have just lain in the blood. That's all,' Gil reassured himself while trying not to think of the implications of that cold comfort.
center******************************************/center