REGRET (the aftermath of the 5th year)
Chapter 8
He knocked on the front door but got no response, so he took out his wand and tapped on it. He heard the loud, metallic clicks that indicated the door was going to open, and then it did. When he had gone in all the way and closed the door, he yelled, "Hello?!" but only got the silence as a response. He knew they were here cause he had seen Mrs. Weasley that morning. They're probably in a meeting, he thought, then raced to the kitchen where the meetings were usually held.
When he reached it, he cautiously placed his hand on the door, testing to see if a Imperturbable charm had been placed on it, but there was none and he rushed in.
"-No signs have been found that-" said Emmeline Vance, a stately looking witch who was in the order, when Lupin walked in but abruptly stopped and looked at him, as did everyone else.
"I've-" he started to say, but was interrupted.
"I thought I told you to stay home today." Said Mrs. Weasley, standing up.
"Yes, I know, but I had to come back to-"
"She's right Remus," interrupted Tonks, who was at the end on the long table they were all sitting at. "You really should be rest-"
"I've found Harry!" he said before anyone could interrupt him again, for a moment there was silence, then everyone began to throw questions at him.
"Where's he been?"
"Did he look well?"
"Why didn't you bring him back with you?"
"Did he know you saw him?"
"Did you talk to him?"
"Why had he gone?"
"You still haven't told me where he was?"
"Please, Everyone!!" he yelled, and they all sat and fell silent. "Thank you." He said then went to go sit at the empty spot at the table. He took a deep breath in and out then began to explain, "Harry's fine, he's been staying at the Cauldron," they began to murmur at this, he continued, in a slightly louder voice, "I didn't bring him back because he didn't want to come back, he left of his own free will and he's staying of his own free will."
"So.so, you talked to him then?" asked Elphias Doge, a wheezy voiced wizard, Lupin nodded. "Well, what did he say?"
How am I supposed to answer that? He thought. He was still shaken by how Harry had reacted to seeing him, and also by the fact that Harry had threatened his life. He could see by everyone's expressions that they were curious as to what he had said as well.
He would have loved to just lie and say Harry had been real good about seeing him, but he couldn't. So, he told them the truth, "He was angry." he said, then looked down at the table, "Very angry.that I had found him. He made it wary clear to me that he did not want to see me again, and then." he pauses. He had told them what they needed to know so he decided to leave the rest out, "and then I left and came here." He looked up to see that everyone seemed to be satisfied by this answer, except Mrs. Weasley who continued to glare at him.
"What aren't you telling us?" she said above the voices of everyone in the room, who stopped talking when they heard her, then they turned once again to look at him.
"What?" he replied, not looking at her, pretending he hadn't heard the question.
"How did Harry make it SO clear he didn't want to see you again?" she said it as if he didn't have a choice of whether or not he wanted to answer.
"Nothing, Molly, it was nothing."
"Well, if it was nothing, then there wouldn't be any problem just telling us."
"Come on, Remus," said Tonks, and he turned to look at her, "I'm sure it wasn't that bad, right?" then she smiled supportively at him, encouraging him to speak. But he didn't feel supported, he felt pressured. He didn't want to relive what had happened but he could feel everyone's eyes on him, eagerly awaiting his response. FINE, he thought.
"He threatened me." He said, the words coming out quickly.
"How did he threaten you?" asked Mrs. Weasley. She just won't give up, he thought. He was angry now, and decided if they wanted to hear what happened, he'd just tell then, "He told me that if I ever went back, he couldn't be held responsible for his actions. That he had nothing to lose from killing me."
"Well, I don't believe that." said Kingsley Shacklebolt, another member, in an annoyed voice, "I mean, this is Harry Potter were talking about, he'd never say that." "Well, you weren't there were you!!" Lupin yelled at him, "you didn't see the look in his eyes! He looked like.like he was ready to kill me right there! Do you really think I'd lie about something like that?!?!"
The expression on their faces showed that they believed him, and they sat in silence, not knowing what to say to that. Mrs. Weasley was the first to speak again.
"Well, he can't stay there."
"Maybe we can send someone else to talk to him, you know, to try to convince him to come back." Emmeline suggested, but Lupin just shook his head.
"I doubt Harry will listen to anyone right now."
"So you're saying there's no reasoning with him?"
"Yes.if he doesn't want to listen, he won't"
"Well, then what are we supposed to do, use force?" said Kingsley, slightly frustrated.
Lupin took a deep breath in and out, then said "Force may be our only option."
Mrs. Weasley stoop up at this comment, "Oh, no!! I will NOT have you using violence to get him back here."
"Molly, we'll just use a simple spell to-"
"NO, I won't have it! I-I forbid it!!" she looked at everyone, daring them to question her, "He's a smart boy, I'm sure if you just explained to him why he had to some back he'd-"
"Yes, Molly, he's a smart boy, but he's as stubborn as hell and if he doesn't want to do something, HE WON'T DO IT!!"
Mrs. Weasley quickly sat back down and stared at Lupin wide eyed, shocked that he had snapped at her like that, "I'm not suggesting we use an Unforgivable on him or anything like that, just a spell to knock him out or stun him long enough to get him back here." "Impedimenta?" suggested Elphias.
"No, that one will hurt him and it'll only stun him for a moment, not nearly long enough to get him back here."
"Then stupefy would probably be a better spell, right?" said Tonks, jumping in, "I mean, it will stun him for quite some time, and it wont hurt him, except maybe from the impact when he hits the ground." Everyone mumbled and nodded in agreement.
"Well, that's only part of it, another problem is actually getting him here." Said Lupin above everyone's voices, "Flying would take too long, and I doubt we'd be able to use a someone's fireplace considering we'll have a half-concious boy with us and no way to reason for it."
"Well, then a Portkey's our only option." Said Hestia Jones, a black- haired, pink-cheeked witch.
"I doubt we'll be able to get one authorized by the ministry by the end of the day." Said Mrs. Weasley, finally speaking again, "you know how busy they are these days." Everyone murmured again in agreement.
"Well, then we'll just have to set one up ourselves when the time comes."
"An unauthorized Portkey?!" said Kingsley, "That's risky."
"Taking risks is part of our job," explained Lupin calmly. "Now, we're going to have to be watching all the exits to the cauldron. If you see him, stun him and set up a Portkey to get him here." He made eye contact with everyone, making sure they all understood. "Someone will have to say here, just in case Dumbledore or anyone else shows up and asks questions."
"I'll stay," volunteered Mrs. Weasley. "I doubt I'd be able to use a spell on Harry if the time came."
Lupin looked at her and nodded saying, "Alright." Then they began to discuss who would go where, and how to stay hidden. Within an hour they were ready, everyone knew where they had to go and what they had to do. But before they were all about to leave, he turned to them and gave them all a stern look, "Do not draw attention to yourselves, try not to make too much of a scene if or when you see him. Make a portkey with whatever is near you, don't go looking for something. Is that understood?" Everyone said "yes" or nodded and he did as well, then they all apprated to where they needed to be.
Lupin was partnered with Kingsley to watch the front door of the cauldron. They apprated to the alley from before, that was a block and a half down. They slowly walked up the block looking for a place to stay hidden while they waited. Kingsley elbowed Lupin when he spotted an opening between two buildings that was a few feet wide. It was almost directly across the street from the Cauldron and there were large stacks of empty crates all down it. They casually walked across the street and stepped behind the first stack when no one was paying attention.
Lupin looked quickly around the crates to see how his view was of the Cauldrons front door.
"What do we do now?" asked Kingsley.
"We wait." Replied Lupin, then he leaned back against the wall and sighed, knowing that they would probably be there a long time.
***
Chapter 8
He knocked on the front door but got no response, so he took out his wand and tapped on it. He heard the loud, metallic clicks that indicated the door was going to open, and then it did. When he had gone in all the way and closed the door, he yelled, "Hello?!" but only got the silence as a response. He knew they were here cause he had seen Mrs. Weasley that morning. They're probably in a meeting, he thought, then raced to the kitchen where the meetings were usually held.
When he reached it, he cautiously placed his hand on the door, testing to see if a Imperturbable charm had been placed on it, but there was none and he rushed in.
"-No signs have been found that-" said Emmeline Vance, a stately looking witch who was in the order, when Lupin walked in but abruptly stopped and looked at him, as did everyone else.
"I've-" he started to say, but was interrupted.
"I thought I told you to stay home today." Said Mrs. Weasley, standing up.
"Yes, I know, but I had to come back to-"
"She's right Remus," interrupted Tonks, who was at the end on the long table they were all sitting at. "You really should be rest-"
"I've found Harry!" he said before anyone could interrupt him again, for a moment there was silence, then everyone began to throw questions at him.
"Where's he been?"
"Did he look well?"
"Why didn't you bring him back with you?"
"Did he know you saw him?"
"Did you talk to him?"
"Why had he gone?"
"You still haven't told me where he was?"
"Please, Everyone!!" he yelled, and they all sat and fell silent. "Thank you." He said then went to go sit at the empty spot at the table. He took a deep breath in and out then began to explain, "Harry's fine, he's been staying at the Cauldron," they began to murmur at this, he continued, in a slightly louder voice, "I didn't bring him back because he didn't want to come back, he left of his own free will and he's staying of his own free will."
"So.so, you talked to him then?" asked Elphias Doge, a wheezy voiced wizard, Lupin nodded. "Well, what did he say?"
How am I supposed to answer that? He thought. He was still shaken by how Harry had reacted to seeing him, and also by the fact that Harry had threatened his life. He could see by everyone's expressions that they were curious as to what he had said as well.
He would have loved to just lie and say Harry had been real good about seeing him, but he couldn't. So, he told them the truth, "He was angry." he said, then looked down at the table, "Very angry.that I had found him. He made it wary clear to me that he did not want to see me again, and then." he pauses. He had told them what they needed to know so he decided to leave the rest out, "and then I left and came here." He looked up to see that everyone seemed to be satisfied by this answer, except Mrs. Weasley who continued to glare at him.
"What aren't you telling us?" she said above the voices of everyone in the room, who stopped talking when they heard her, then they turned once again to look at him.
"What?" he replied, not looking at her, pretending he hadn't heard the question.
"How did Harry make it SO clear he didn't want to see you again?" she said it as if he didn't have a choice of whether or not he wanted to answer.
"Nothing, Molly, it was nothing."
"Well, if it was nothing, then there wouldn't be any problem just telling us."
"Come on, Remus," said Tonks, and he turned to look at her, "I'm sure it wasn't that bad, right?" then she smiled supportively at him, encouraging him to speak. But he didn't feel supported, he felt pressured. He didn't want to relive what had happened but he could feel everyone's eyes on him, eagerly awaiting his response. FINE, he thought.
"He threatened me." He said, the words coming out quickly.
"How did he threaten you?" asked Mrs. Weasley. She just won't give up, he thought. He was angry now, and decided if they wanted to hear what happened, he'd just tell then, "He told me that if I ever went back, he couldn't be held responsible for his actions. That he had nothing to lose from killing me."
"Well, I don't believe that." said Kingsley Shacklebolt, another member, in an annoyed voice, "I mean, this is Harry Potter were talking about, he'd never say that." "Well, you weren't there were you!!" Lupin yelled at him, "you didn't see the look in his eyes! He looked like.like he was ready to kill me right there! Do you really think I'd lie about something like that?!?!"
The expression on their faces showed that they believed him, and they sat in silence, not knowing what to say to that. Mrs. Weasley was the first to speak again.
"Well, he can't stay there."
"Maybe we can send someone else to talk to him, you know, to try to convince him to come back." Emmeline suggested, but Lupin just shook his head.
"I doubt Harry will listen to anyone right now."
"So you're saying there's no reasoning with him?"
"Yes.if he doesn't want to listen, he won't"
"Well, then what are we supposed to do, use force?" said Kingsley, slightly frustrated.
Lupin took a deep breath in and out, then said "Force may be our only option."
Mrs. Weasley stoop up at this comment, "Oh, no!! I will NOT have you using violence to get him back here."
"Molly, we'll just use a simple spell to-"
"NO, I won't have it! I-I forbid it!!" she looked at everyone, daring them to question her, "He's a smart boy, I'm sure if you just explained to him why he had to some back he'd-"
"Yes, Molly, he's a smart boy, but he's as stubborn as hell and if he doesn't want to do something, HE WON'T DO IT!!"
Mrs. Weasley quickly sat back down and stared at Lupin wide eyed, shocked that he had snapped at her like that, "I'm not suggesting we use an Unforgivable on him or anything like that, just a spell to knock him out or stun him long enough to get him back here." "Impedimenta?" suggested Elphias.
"No, that one will hurt him and it'll only stun him for a moment, not nearly long enough to get him back here."
"Then stupefy would probably be a better spell, right?" said Tonks, jumping in, "I mean, it will stun him for quite some time, and it wont hurt him, except maybe from the impact when he hits the ground." Everyone mumbled and nodded in agreement.
"Well, that's only part of it, another problem is actually getting him here." Said Lupin above everyone's voices, "Flying would take too long, and I doubt we'd be able to use a someone's fireplace considering we'll have a half-concious boy with us and no way to reason for it."
"Well, then a Portkey's our only option." Said Hestia Jones, a black- haired, pink-cheeked witch.
"I doubt we'll be able to get one authorized by the ministry by the end of the day." Said Mrs. Weasley, finally speaking again, "you know how busy they are these days." Everyone murmured again in agreement.
"Well, then we'll just have to set one up ourselves when the time comes."
"An unauthorized Portkey?!" said Kingsley, "That's risky."
"Taking risks is part of our job," explained Lupin calmly. "Now, we're going to have to be watching all the exits to the cauldron. If you see him, stun him and set up a Portkey to get him here." He made eye contact with everyone, making sure they all understood. "Someone will have to say here, just in case Dumbledore or anyone else shows up and asks questions."
"I'll stay," volunteered Mrs. Weasley. "I doubt I'd be able to use a spell on Harry if the time came."
Lupin looked at her and nodded saying, "Alright." Then they began to discuss who would go where, and how to stay hidden. Within an hour they were ready, everyone knew where they had to go and what they had to do. But before they were all about to leave, he turned to them and gave them all a stern look, "Do not draw attention to yourselves, try not to make too much of a scene if or when you see him. Make a portkey with whatever is near you, don't go looking for something. Is that understood?" Everyone said "yes" or nodded and he did as well, then they all apprated to where they needed to be.
Lupin was partnered with Kingsley to watch the front door of the cauldron. They apprated to the alley from before, that was a block and a half down. They slowly walked up the block looking for a place to stay hidden while they waited. Kingsley elbowed Lupin when he spotted an opening between two buildings that was a few feet wide. It was almost directly across the street from the Cauldron and there were large stacks of empty crates all down it. They casually walked across the street and stepped behind the first stack when no one was paying attention.
Lupin looked quickly around the crates to see how his view was of the Cauldrons front door.
"What do we do now?" asked Kingsley.
"We wait." Replied Lupin, then he leaned back against the wall and sighed, knowing that they would probably be there a long time.
***