Hello everybody! I hope you all had a good Christmas time and thoroughly enjoyed yourself. I took the time over the holidays to continue writing this story, so here is chapter 16. Good news is that chapter 17 is also nearly finished. The end is near, my dear readers. Finally!

For all those who have not realized it yet, the updated version of chapter 15 is up. Better go and check whether you read the changes after the flashback, they might be important to understand this chapter.

And now without further ado:

Enjoy!

Never Say Things Can't Get Worse

Richard Lupin had never felt as helpless in his life as when he had to watch his two sons being transported away in a blur of colour and movement. At first he didn't even really know what had just happened, a distant part of his brain screamed at him that he had just watched a portkey activate, but another part of his brain refused to believe that.

This could not have happened.

For a moment he stared transfixed at the spot where only seconds ago Remus had sat, not noticing that he had started to shake badly.

This simply could not have happened!

It had been bad enough when Remus had been attacked in his own house – in the one place that they had considered to be a safe haven for him and Harry. But against all odds Remus had survived, he had been safe again. Or so Richard had thought.

Over the years he had gotten used to the thought that whatever was happening in the wizarding world, his eldest son was standing in the line of fire. Or rather he had tried to get used to it as much as a father could possibly get used to the thought that his son had a job which could get him killed. That was already difficult enough for Richard to bear, but seeing not only one but both of his sons transported straight into what could very well be a deadly trap was too much, especially after all they had been through during the past days. And he had not been able to do anything against it, he could not have helped his sons.

Richard was shaking so badly that it took him some time to realize that somebody had put their hand on his shoulder and was squeezing it slightly. As he turned his head he was unable to tell whether a minute or an hour had passed since the portkey had activated. His eyes fell on Serena's scared face and he attempted to console her, to say something that would take the terrified expression from his daughter-in-law's face, but he could not think of anything.

"What was that, Richard? What did just happen here? Where is Janus?"

Richard simply shook his head, wearily struggling up from the sofa.

"Portkey", he only said, shocked at how weak and shaky his voice sounded.

"We need to call somebody! Where did Janus go? We need to tell somebody what happened!"

Richard nodded, kneeling down on the rug in front of the fireplace. For the moment ignoring that Serna sounded slightly hysterical already he reached for the floo powder, hoping that the one person who might be able to make sense of things was at home. Throwing some of the powder into the flames he called out "Hogwarts, Headmaster's office", stuck his head into the flames and inwardly prayed that Albus Dumbledore was there.

It took a longer moment until Richard finally saw the older wizard's face appear in front of him, a worried frown on his face.

"Richard, I have to say that this is unexpected. Are there any news?"

As Richard didn't answer, the frown on Dumbledore's face grew even more pronounced.

"Did something happen?"

Richard only nodded.

"Yes, and I'd be glad if you could come over. I'd rather not talk about it via the fireplace."

Dumbledore nodded after a moment of thought.

"I shall be over in a few minutes. But this is not your younger son's house, if my old eyes don't betray me."

"No, it's Janus' place." He quickly gave Dumbledore the password for Janus' fireplace, then as the flames flickered out and he pulled his head from out of the fireplace, he sank back on his knees with a sigh.

The situation had gone out of their control so quickly, too unexpectedly. And if there was one thought Richard didn't want to pursue, then it was that he might see neither of his sons again after this night.

Maybe Dumbledore would know what to do, would be able to reassure, though Richard doubted it quite a bit.

As he got to his feet again he realized that Serena was still standing behind him, staring motionless into the fire. He stepped over towards her and put a hand on her arm.

"Serena? Are you all right?"

Stupid question, Richard scolded himself. She had to be feeling absolutely splendid after seeing her husband being taken by a portkey to Merlin-knows-where, especially since the number of people who could have sent the portkey was extremely limited.
"Sorry, stupid question."

Serena didn't react, so Richard went over to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Where did he go? Richard, where is Janus?", Serena all but sobbed into his shoulder. Richard just held her tightly, shaking his head in an answer.

"I don't know, Serena. But I'm sure he's all right. Janus can look after himself, he'll be all right."

Richard flinched at his own words. Falsely encouraging platitudes, something they absolutely didn't need now. Normally he knew that, but he realized how much he himself needed to hear that right now. How much he needed to believe and how little he actually could.

He led Serena over towards the sofa and gently pushed her down.

"Professor Dumbledore will be here soon, I'm sure he'll be able to shed some light onto it all."

Another platitude added to the list, another time Richard winced at his own words.

"Julia is asleep?"

Serena nodded, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her robe.

"Yes, she is sleeping and with a bit of luck won't realize anything until tomorrow."
Richard nodded mutely. A crying and wailing Julia was the last thing they needed now.

Richard gave a start as the flames in the fireplace sprang to life and a moment later Albus Dumbledore emerged, looking worriedly around the room. His eyes fell on Richard and while he was still brushing the soot off his robes he went over to where they were sitting.

Richard got up from the sofa.

"Thank you for coming so quickly."

Relived, he shook the older wizard's hand and lost no time with unnecessary preambles. Before Dumbledore could even ask, he told him what had happened.

"Ten minutes ago an owl delivered a letter and a parcel which Janus and Remus opened. It was from Black, or whoever it is who is having Harry." He sighed. "In the parcel there was a portkey."

Dumbledore looked a bit surprised.

"It took them both?"
Richard nodded. "I don't think it was intended, but yes, they're both gone."

Dumbledore carefully picked up the letter from the floor where it had fallen after the portkey had activated. Richard didn't follow Dumbledore's lead, he had seen enough of that message earlier to feel physically sick.

Dumbledore turned the note slowly in his hands as if the answer to all questions was to be found there if he only turned it the right way.

"I assume the owl left after it delivered the letter and parcel?"

Richard nodded.

"What was used as a portkey?"

Richard swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. It had been so devious.

"Harry's stuffed lion. A damn sure way to make sure Remus would pick it up."

He turned towards the door and bit his lips, willing his composure not to break just now. There would be a time for that, but it definitely was not now. Over the years Richard had brought the art of keeping his composure no matter how much he felt like breaking down and crying to perfection. And he had learned that there was always a 'later' when he could let his own emotions out, some point in the night when he was alone in his bed and his sons weren't there to see him break down. Or his daughter-in-law, as it was now.

"I'll quickly get us some tea."

When Richard came back into the room a couple of minutes later, carrying a tray with tea in his hands and his composure gained back unshaken, he found Dumbledore sitting on the sofa next to Serena and talking to her in a low, soothing tone. Serena listened to what he was saying and though she didn't appear calm she at least looked a bit better than some minutes ago.

Richard placed the tray onto the table and poured tea with only slightly shaking hands. Then he sat down on the sofa next to Serena and looked at Dumbledore.

"What can we do?"

Dumbledore sighed.

"I'm afraid at the moment there is nothing we can do."

"What? But...I mean, surely there is something – anything we can do! My two sons have vanished some minutes ago and I refuse to sit back and wait to see when they get back, if they get back at all!"

Dumbledore watched Richard calmly, waiting for the other man's outburst to pass before he replied in a calm manner that if possible angered Richard even further.

"I have sources that might be able to tell me more about the situation, Richard, but until I hear from them...we will have to wait. I know it isn't easy, but at the moment it's all we can do.

We might call up Janus' partner, Mr. Spalding, to see if he knows anything. And maybe he knows what strings to pull in the DMLE to make them take a look at it – unfortunately I have hardly any contacts in the Department myself.

Let us contact Mr. Spalding, then we can think of what to do."
Richard nodded and was just about to turn towards the fireplace again when suddenly a flash of bright white light shot though the room, temporarily blinding Richard despite the arm he had quickly raised to shield his eyes. He heard Serena scream in shock to his left, but as he opened his eyes again and turned towards his daughter-in-law, his gaze fell on Dumbledore and the fact that the old headmaster didn't seem all that surprised calmed him somewhat. Gently, Richard put an arm around Serena and looked at Dumbledore.

"What was that?"

Then his eyes fell onto the thing Dumbledore held in his hand and though he didn't hide it from view it took Richard quite a long moment to recognize it for what it was - a phoenix feather.

Not that this explained things, on the contrary it only posed more questions. Phoenixes were extremely rare as far as Richard knew, and he had not heard about them voluntarily shedding their feathers for anything else than wand production. And even those were pretty rare occurrences.

Hold that thought.

Dumbledore had a phoenix in his office, hadn't he? Yes, now that Richard thought back he remembered the magnificent bird. Now, if a phoenix had already chosen to stay with Dumbledore - an exceptional occurrence in itself - then it would not seem all that surprising for him to receive a phoenix feather, though the cause for that was still a mystery to Richard.

"What does that mean?"

Dumbledore looked up from where he had been studying the feather in his hands, a sudden urgency crossing his features.

"Richard, I'm afraid I'll have to make use of your fireplace again. Why don't we finish this conversation in my office at Hogwarts?"

Richard stumbled across this last part.

"But what of Janus and Remus? Wouldn't it be wise to wait here for news?"

Dumbledore shook his head, his blue eyes turning their intense gaze on Richard's.

"This is too big of a coincidence to not be connected to your sons." He turned towards Serena. "Or your husband respectively. I am nearly sure that whatever news awaits me in my office is closely connected to them."

"How do you know? What about that phoenix feather? From all I know, it is very unusual for them to shed their feathers for humans."

Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, it is. But Fawkes is something special. Nevertheless I know he would not have parted from that feather if it hadn't been necessary to inform me about an emergency. It is important that I return to my office quickly."

Richard nodded. "All right, we'll come with you."

Dumbledore nodded.

"The password to my office fire is 'liquorice'."

And with that, the old wizard turned, grabbed some floo-powder from the pot on the mantle and threw it into the flames. He shouted out the destination and password and was gone in a swirl of green flames.

Richard gave Serena a smile which he hoped was encouraging, then the two of them repeated the procedure one after another.

By the time Richard stumbled out of the fireplace in the Hogwarts headmaster's office, Dumbledore was already standing beside his desk, reading a piece of parchment with a grim expression on his face which seemed to deepen with every line he read.

Richard stepped closer, making space for Serena's arrival. Silently, he stepped beside Dumbledore and waited until the older man had stopped reading and placed the parchment back on the table. When he looked up he seemingly looked through Richard for a long moment before he focussed his gaze on him.

At that moment Serena came rushing through the fireplace, coughing a bit and brushing the soot off her robes.

"What happened?", she and Richard asked nearly in unison. Dumbledore waited for a moment before he answered, his eyes glued to a map of Great Britain which covered one of the office walls below the snoring images of long-deceased predecessors of Dumbledore's position. With a suddenly renewed urgency he took the map off the wall and levitated it onto his desk while he spoke.

"I think I might have a way to find out where Remus and Janus were transported to."
Richard's eyebrows shot towards his hairline and he felt anticipation clench an iron fist around his chest.

"How?, he forced out before his voice left him.

"I could be very mistaken, but I think one of my...associates has been called to a meeting of sorts in what I assume to be the place your sons were transported to. I have a tracking charm placed on him for such emergency cases, so it should be only a matter of time until we have an idea where they might be."

Richard looked into Dumbledore's face and felt whatever hope had started to rise up inside of him shatter again at the look in the older wizard's blue eyes.

"What is it?"

Dumbledore sighed and stepped behind his desk, wand at the ready and eyes trained on the map.

"Depending on where my informant was called to and how he travelled there it might take an hour, maybe two, to track that location down."

Richard felt himself shudder as Dumbledore's eye bore into his own, all too easily penetrating to his inner core.

"From all that this note told me", his eyes swept to the scroll of parchment and back again, "that is time your sons don't have. They are caught there and don't even know that they are walking straight into a trap."

As Dumbledore turned his eyes on the map and focussed this mind on performing the tracking charm, Richard sank bonelessly into the chair next to the desk and tried to still his erratic breathing and shaking, hoping that for once in his life Albus Dumbledore was wrong.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Remus' heart was beating so hard he was sure Janus and Lucas could hear it as well. He didn't dare to move even the slightest bit, not with Lucas' wand poking uncomfortably into his ribs and Janus' wand pointing straight at his chest. Within the fragments of a second, hundreds of thoughts shot through his head, some many things he wanted and needed to say, but faced with the fact that his brother was pointing a wand at his heart none of them made it out through his mouth and he simply stood there, opening and closing his mouth for a bit. Struggling against them was useless, Remus knew that the two Unspeakables could have him restrained, stunned or worse in a matter of seconds and he would never even have a chance to stand up against them.

Remus could not stand to look into his brother's face and see the pained expression there. The revelation that his brother thought him able to be somehow involved in all this stung - it stung horribly, if Remus was honest with himself - but there were more important things at the moment. If he could not manage to convince his brother and Janus' partner that there was a more dangerous threat present at the moment, then all the trust issues between himself and Janus would soon become completely unnecessary - because then they would be dead.

"Janus..."

Janus shook his head before Remus could say even more.

"No Remus, whatever it is I don't want to hear it right now. Just tell me why, for fuck's sake!"

Remus had never seen Janus this shaken before, though he doubted anybody who didn't know Janus as well as he did would have realized it. But Remus did know his brother and he could clearly see the hurt in his eyes. The hand that pointed the wand at Remus didn't shake, though, but Remus had not expected anything else. Janus was too much a professional to let a little thing like suspicion against his brother make him lose his composure.

Remus felt breathless, as if somebody was forcefully crushing his chest together to stop him from breathing and he realized that he had not felt this afraid in a long time. All evening he had been in danger and had known about it, but then he had still had the hope of finding Harry alive, a hope which had been crushed mercilessly not even an hour ago. And then he had also known his brother to stand on his side and defend him if necessary. The way things looked now, he could not be all that sure that Janus would still do that. And worst of all was that Janus didn't even have a clue yet what was really going on. Would not have a clue, if Remus could not think of anything soon.

"Janus...", he started again, but before his brother could interrupt him this time Remus watched with eyes wide in horror as the first Death Eater in the room took off the disillusionment-charm. Remus gasped slightly and Lucas, who was standing behind Remus, turned his head and suddenly his grip on Remus relaxed somewhat. Janus was puzzled, curiously arching an eyebrow and trying to discern why both Remus and Lucas were staring not at him but at a point somewhere behind his left shoulder, just as if a dangerous animal was luring there, waiting to strike.

"What is going on...?"

Before Janus finished his question, Lucas suddenly sprung into action and pushed Remus to the side with one arm and before Janus really knew what was happening he felt himself being flung to the floor by his partner. He instinctively tightened his hold on his wand, hoping that the impact would not knock it out of his hand and leave him unprepared for whatever was happening now. It had been foolish to think their escape from here would be all that easy, Janus should have known. He felt a curse swirl past over their heads though he had not even heard the incarnation being said. As always in a duelling situation Janus felt an icy calm flow through his veins, a not all that negative anticipation for what was to come which enabled him to keep his expression calm and his hands from shaking.

As fast as he could Janus rolled himself into a ball and balanced his impact, turning the force of his fall into a sideward movement despite the protests of his aching ribs, scrambled to his knees and brought up his wand, quickly pointing it roughly into the direction Lucas and Remus had been staring earlier on.

His heart stopped beating for a couple of seconds as he realized just what had happened behind his back.

Where only minutes ago when he had gone to prepare the fireplace an empty room had been, he now looked into the hooded and masked faces of a rather large number of Death Eaters. Janus didn't know if he could see them all from his position, but from what he guessed after the first shock subsided, there were about twenty, maybe twenty five of them. Too many to fight their way through, that much was immediately clear to him. His still steady wand arm was turning from one of the hooded figures to the next, desperately searching for a weak point in their defences. Twenty five - or how many ever else - wands were pointing straight back at him, unyielding.

"Lucas?", he called without taking his eyes off the so far silent figures.

"Here. Disillusionment Charm, I'd say."

Janus nodded, his partner's statement only confirming his own thoughts. And Remus had known that those Death Eaters were here and had let them walk straight into the trap without telling anything.

It was not true and Janus knew that as soon as the thought had formed in his mind.

That was what Remus had wanted to tell them earlier. And with a sudden clarity that hit him like a bucket of cold water dumped over his head Janus also knew that Remus had not known about their presence here because he was involved with them.

He had been so stupid.

So. Bloody. Stupid.

Remus must have smelled that there were others in the room, and when he had realized that Black had lured them into this trap he had tried to attack him again. That also gave more sense to the things Remus had yelled at Black in his rage. And Janus had been stupid enough not to see it for what it was, he had for one short moment dared to doubt his brother and had allowed his attention to stray away from what should have been his main aim: bringing them out of here alive. Something which suddenly seemed to have moved into a very big distance.

The whole process of realization after his short and taciturn conversation with Lucas only took a couple of seconds, but it made the hairs on the back of Janus' neck stand up. Whatever their situation was now, he needed to get them - and especially Remus - out of here. Alive, in one piece, and fast.

"Remus?"
"I'm here", came the somewhat shaky reply from somewhere behind him and to the left, and without taking his eyes off of the Death Eaters in front of him Janus moved slightly to the side and placed himself between his brother and most of the Death Eaters. He would not be able to cover Remus completely, but at least the brunt of any possibly attack should thus be distracted from his him.

The Death Eaters were watching them impassively so far, one of them standing slightly in front with his head cocked to the side as if he was watching a particularly fascinating display. Janus did not see it, but he was sure that the man was smiling behind his mask. Or smirking, more like it. His wand came to a rest pointing at that particular Death Eater and though he could not see it he knew that Lucas was covering another one of them just as closely. They were outnumbered, sure, but that didn't have to mean that they would lower their defences for as long as possible.

"Expelliarmus!"
No matter how tightly Janus had gripped his wand it flew out of his hand and into the outstretched palm of the Death Eater he had pointed it at, along with Lucas' and Remus'. So much for putting up a fight. Janus' mind was racing, trying to find out if he knew that voice. He could not say for sure, but even if he did, what good would it do? He thought about slowly rising from his knees into a standing position because he didn't like the fact that all those Death Eaters were literally towering above him, but quickly decided against it. He really didn't need them to feel provoked now, really not. Next to him, Lucas slowly slid closer, and without looking directly at him Janus still knew that his partner tried to cover the remaining space between Remus and the Death Eaters. Janus knew how Lucas' mind worked, he was convinced that he had come to the same conclusions than he had in the past minute.

"And what now?", Janus taunted the Death Eater in front of him, desperate inside to find out a bit more about their situation, to get to know at least part of the Death Eaters plan and maybe find the one small hole that would allow them to flee. The fireplace was connected, they only needed to activate it and off they were. If only...

Somehow, Janus was sure that they would not get a chance to leave thusly. Not with twenty five opponents who were watching their every move.

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know, Lupin?"

So they knew who he was. That meant either the portkey had indeed been for him and not for Remus, or even if not they still knew who he was. And did he know the voice? Janus was not sure.

"Get up! Slowly, and keep your hands where I can see them."

Slowly, Janus, Lucas and Remus complied. Five or six of the Death Eaters constantly held them at wand point while the others circled on the other side of the room as if they were waiting for something else to begin.

Janus felt his heart beating fast in his throat and tried to evaluate their situation. His wand had been taken, but that didn't mean he was unarmed. There was still the dagger in his right boot, but that would not be of any use for him in his momentary situation. Lucas was equally equipped, Janus knew, but his partner was in no better position for a knife attack right now. If he attacked instead of surrendered to the Death Eaters, he would surely have the element of surprise on his side, but that would not be enough. Janus could take on one, maybe two armed opponents without a weapon himself if he could surprise them, but not twenty-five. That meant he had no way of guaranteeing that his brother would safely make it to the fireplace and out of here, and as long as he could not guarantee that he would not act. Better wait and see what they were playing at, with a bit of patience he might get another chance to do something. Might.

From the corner of his eye he saw Remus rise half-behind him, his eyes fixed on the Death Eaters in front of them. Janus thought that his brother was shaking ever so slightly, but he didn't dare to keep looking at Remus for longer than necessary to make sure that he was all right. Caught in a room with so many opponents, it would be folly to let his attention stray. And he had been fool enough to last for a lifetime tonight already.

The Death Eater closes to them stepped forward and raised his wand. Before Janus had even the chance to think up something to do, thin but tight ropes shot out from the Death Eater's wand and wound themselves around Janus' wrists, pulling his hands forcefully together and binding them at the wrists, thus effectively making him unable to use his arms or hands. So much for the knife in his boots. The same happened to Lucas and Remus and after a repetition of the spell with the wand pointed at his ankles the ropes also wound themselves around his legs, pulling and binding them together with a sudden movement that nearly jerked Janus off his feet. He managed to keep standing, but only for as long as it took the Death Eater to finish binding Lucas and Remus up. Then a forceful push from the man against his chest knocked him down onto the floor where he landed quite painfully on his backside. He drew a sharp breath and his sore ribs took exactly that moment to remind him that they had not entirely recovered from the abuse they had had to take earlier. Barely suppressing a loud and pained groan, Janus bit his lip and then tried to scoot back enough to lean against the wall. Remus was slouched down next to him, but as much as Janus tried to catch his eyes his younger brother stubbornly refused to look at him. Janus opened his mouth to say something, to explain his brother why he had acted as he had done, why working the way he did for as long as he had done had taught him that sometimes a healthy portion of mistrust even against people you liked, respected, cared for and even the ones you loved was the only thing that kept you from getting killed, but at that moment Remus chose to look at him and that look was enough to shut Janus up effectively. Remus' amber eyes spoke volumes of anger, hurt, pain and rejection and Janus suddenly didn't know what he could possibly say to justify himself. There would be a time for that later, if they made it out of here, but until then he'd have to focus all his energy on actually keeping them alive to see that moment.

Janus opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment the double winged door at the far off side of the room was flung open and drew Janus' attention. For a fleeting moment he wondered why he had not even paid any attention to that door before, but even without thinking very hard he knew why. His attention had been focussed solely on the fireplace, that's why. Another unprofessional act to add to tonight's list, and Janus was shocked how long that list was actually getting.

Janus strained to turn his head and look over to where the other Death Eaters were gathered, trying to find out what was happening there now. There were still wands pointed at them, two Death Eaters were still keeping a close eye on them, but all the others in the room were attentively watching what was going on there as well.

"Lucas?"

"Don't see anything myself, mate."

There was a strain in Lucas' voice that had been there all evening but that Janus was completely unable to place. Things were getting out of hand and Janus could do nothing against it.

Their talking earned them a sharp glare from one of the Death Eaters - at least from all that Janus could tell behind the mask the man was wearing - but that was all for the moment.

Inwardly, Janus' mind was abuzz with thoughts and questions. There had been no Death Eater meeting this size ever since Voldemort had vanished, at least none that the DMLE knew of. And their sources were good, very good. But no matter how much they had strived for this kind of information, they had never been informed of a meeting of this size. And if this meeting had been called, why had Lucas not been invited to attend? Or had Lucas been informed...but no. No more of those thoughts, he could not start doubting his partner now. Doubting Remus had already resulted in a very dire situation, and until he knew better he'd keep himself from those sorts of suspicions. Truly, Lucas had been acting strange lately, but that could have a number of reasons which didn't necessarily have to be connected to the events of the past hour at all.

So all right, if those Death Eaters had decided upon a meeting and had only called together something like the inner core of their organisation, then what was the use in that? Why had Harry been kidnapped? And how did Black fit into all this?
All right, store that problem for later, Janus needed to focus on more urgent matters now. For one: how on earth were they supposed to get out of here, preferably alive? And what were those Death Eaters up to over there near the other door? One should think that capturing two of the Department's best Unspeakables should be a feast for the remnants of Voldemort's servants, but they didn't pay them any more attention than was necessary to guard them. But what were they up to? From his point of view Janus could not see, but ever since that door had opened and whoever had come through it the main focus of attention had shifted towards what was going on there.

A sinking feeling started to spread through Janus' stomach, clenching it painfully as the truth settled in. If not a miracle of the bigger sorts happened soon, they would not make it out of here. Janus had been in a number of seemingly hopeless situations before, but he had never had the feeling that he was not going to get out again before. But this was different than one of his and Lucas' missions. This time neither of them had been prepared for something like this, and there was no backup plan they could make use of in case things went wrong. They were on their own now, they were unarmed and outnumbered. No chance than to wait and play along with the Death Eaters' plan for as long as it was necessary to find something that evened out the chances a bit better.

Janus shuffled around a bit until he found himself in a straight sitting position and craned his neck to see what was going on at the other side of the room. But even if he had been standing, the many Death Eaters would still have blocked his view. He turned his head to look at Lucas, but his partner stared just as helplessly into the same direction, seemingly not knowing anything more about it than he did. Nevertheless Janus attracted his attention by poking his elbow slightly into his partner's ribs. Lucas slowly turned his gaze on Janus and again Janus had the impression that there was a trace of...knowing something – for a lack of better words – in his partner's eyes.

"What is going on here?", he hissed at Lucas, nearly laughing out loud with the ridiculousness of his attempt to whisper. The only way to better draw the attention of the Death Eater who was guarding them would have been to shout out loud. Nevertheless, Lucas shrugged.

"I'm not sure. Janus, I think there's something you need to know..."

"Enough!"

The Death Eater's wand was trained firmly on Lucas and Janus again and he stepped closer to interrupt the two.

"You keep your mouths shut or I'll have to shut them for you, understood?"

Janus would have liked to reply that this response was as cliché as it could get, but he wisely decided to keep his mouth indeed shut in this situation. No need to bring any additional ire of their captors over their heads, he'd save his wisecracking for some point later.

Movement to their right made Janus turn his head and made him stop thinking about where he knew that voice from. Maybe he had arrested that Death Eater before, he could not be sure, but even then the list was far too long to keep track of it still. But now the circle of Death Eaters next to him was moving slightly, leaving an opening in their circle. Janus felt an iron fist squeeze his heart as he caught a glimpse of what was going on there. The Death Eaters were moving back to form a large half-circle now, all of them crowding around a large cauldron and what on the first look appeared to be a heap of blue rags or cloths lying next to the cauldron. It definitely looked like a heap of blue cloths that had been piled next to the cauldron – had it not been for the mop of jet black hair and the pale white arm which Janus could see sticking out from beneath the 'rags'. Black hair and a small pale arm.

Harry.

Janus swallowed hard, closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again. The picture had not changed and with a start Janus realized that the ragged, loud sound he was hearing was the sound of his own breathing.

Over there by the cauldron lay Harry.

Janus looked to his right and saw that Lucas too was staring into that direction, his gaze fixed unblinking on the gruesome display in front of them. A sound somewhere between a choked cry and a sob from his left told Janus that Remus had seen it as well, and surely his brother had not needed as long to recognize his godson as Janus had done.

With a strength not expected from someone in Remus' exhausted physical and mental condition he started to struggle against his bonds, a futile effort but Remus did not seem to notice. Janus turned around and wanted to try and calm his brother, but the words died on his lips as he saw the raw pain and agony reflected in Remus' face.

The Death Eaters guarding them turned his wand on Remus immediately, ready to silence him with force when suddenly one of the hooded and masked figures drew out of the circle and walked towards them.

"Don't", was all he said, and the guard immediately lowered his wand again. Janus, however, looked up, that one word having been enough for him to identify the speaker. Lucius Malfoy. Janus had been faced with the man before, during the investigation of Malfoy's case after the first war. He had been present at the main interrogation, listening to the cold, drawling voice as the main claimed to be innocent of all charges. How much Janus had wished back then to just give in to his urges and pound the blond aristocrat into a bloody pulp.

Back then the Ministry had not been able to prove anything against Lucius Malfoy, though they had searched desperately, and good connections as well as – Janus guessed – some well-chosen bribes had him out of custody within a day.

Now this was different, now Janus would be able to testify against him. Only he had the bad feeling that Malfoy took the risk of being identified by him because in the morning none of them would still be alive to bear witness.

Malfoy stepped towards them and came to a halt, for a moment wordlessly staring down at them. Janus was sure he was sneering behind his mask.

"My, my, what do we have here?", came the mocking drawl from above them. Now Janus was sure whom he was facing here, and judged by the way his partner tensed at his side, Lucas knew as well.

"Lupin and Spalding, such a pleasure to have you here."

"Malfoy", Janus grimaced, "how nice to see you again."

If Malfoy was surprised that Janus had recognized him, he didn't show it. But Janus had no way of telling for sure as nothing of Malfoy's face could really be seen. This didn't sit all too well with Janus, he preferred to look into people's eyes and faces when he was talking to them, he liked to be able to read somebody's reaction to the things he said.

He was still breathing harshly despite all his efforts to keep his calm, and his still aching chest was protesting against it. He forced his breathing to even out as much as possible and stared back at Malfoy, trying to keep his gaze on the shining reflections of the torchlight in Malfoy's eyes behind the mask.

"It must sting to have walked blindly into such an obvious trap, am I right?"

Janus shrugged as much as his bonds would allow him, his gaze never wavering. "Not really. But I guess you must have felt pretty stupid to stand around here for hours, gazing stupidly at nothing with a Disillusionment Charm placed on you. I'm sure it must have. Especially for you Malfoy, since you like it so much to strut around and be admired. Must have been pure hell for you."

Janus was pretty sure this wasn't the best of times to wisecrack, but he just could not help himself. That was simply his way to deal with stress situations. He had barely finished his words when Malfoy made a quick step forward and kicked Remus hard in the ribs. Janus had to watch helplessly as his brother was thrown to the side, groaning in pain. Malfoy calmly stepped back to where he had been standing before as if nothing had happened.

For a moment Remus hung to the side, nearly leaning on Janus for support, panting slightly and his face grimacing in pain, before he struggled upright into a sitting position again, wincing. Malfoy stared at them and Janus heard a oft chuckle come from behind the mask.

"The next time, think about it before you get smart with me again. You annoy me, your brother pays the prize. Easy enough to understand, stick to it and we won't have any problems."

Janus swallowed hard and tried not to let show that Malfoy got him. So Malfoy knew how the game was played. Threatening Janus would have been senseless and he knew that, so he threatened his weak point – his brother.

"Why in Merlin's name should we make killing us even easier for you?"

Again that dry chuckle.

"Ever the optimist, aren't you, Lupin? Why are you so sure about that already?"

Now it was Janus' turn to laugh humourlessly.

"Well, kidnapping and restraining us in a room full of your gang gives me that impression. Don't know why, I just can't help it."

"I see. But now that you're already here, why don't you give your host the courtesy of following the few simple rules I've set you?"

"Why stick to your little rules if you are going to kill us anyway?"

Another hissing chuckle and the head behind the mask was cocked to the side as if in great amusement. Then - within a fragment of a moment - he pulled his leg back and kicked Remus in the ribs again. Harder this time. With a cry of pain he was unable to stifle Remus was pushed against Janus' left side, his breaths coming in short pained gasps now and his eyes screwed shut tightly against the pain. Janus' chest seized up with flaring anger and had he not been bound up as he was he'd surely have jumped at Malfoy right there and then. But as he was bound up he had to settle on glaring at the Death Eater, not a very satisfying thing to do but all he could do for now.

"I thought I had given you a warning about that, am I right? That should be reason enough for you for the moment, Lupin. Next time, I will use my wand and that will mean even more pain for your dear little brother. Or is there something you would like to add?"

Janus wanted to respond, but Malfoy settled on ignoring him and turned towards Lucas, watching him silently for a moment. Janus felt Lucas stiffen beside him but was momentarily distracted from the two men when with a pained moan Remus slowly rose into a sitting position again. He still grimaced slightly as Janus turned towards him and raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry. Remus only shook his head and refused to meet Janus' eyes, so after a moment Janus turned towards his right and Lucas and Malfoy again. Malfoy was still watching Lucas silently and Janus was sure he enjoyed every moment of what was happening.

"Spalding", Malfoy finally drawled out from behind the mask. Lucas remained silent, but Janus was watching his partner from the corner of his eye and was extremely startled by his reaction.

Where Janus normally was the kind of person who would start wisecracking when under pressure, Lucas normally bore everything with a stoic calm, taking things as if he had expected them all to happen and only - if at all - allowed his emotions to show when the danger was over and no harm could come out of it anymore.

Somebody who didn't know Lucas all that well might not have realized it, but Janus saw him shake ever so slightly, his hands balled into fists, and his teeth clenched together so tightly that it hurt Janus only to look at it. Why was Lucas so tense? All right, their situation could hardly be worse, but still Janus knew that this wasn't the reason for his partner's behaviour. But what really was going on Janus was completely unable to say. It was as if his mind had stopped functioning a couple of hours ago and he only now became aware of it.

"Spalding, Spalding", Malfoy drawled mockingly.

"What do you want, Malfoy?", Lucas spat back, the slight tremor in his voice as untypical for him as his shaking was.

"Oh, is that the part of the story when the villain confesses to all his crimes to save enough time for the cavalry to arrive? So sorry to disappoint you, Spalding, but you of all people ought to know that it doesn't work that way here."

Janus looked at his partner, but Lucas' face showed no reaction that would have enabled him to understand what Malfoy was talking about. As far as Janus knew, his partner had never had any contact with Malfoy before, and his last contact to any other Death Eater - suspected or confirmed - had been at least two, more probably three years ago. So what was Malfoy talking about?

But the Death Eater did nothing to shed some light onto the whole affair, instead he gave a mock-bow with his head and turned into the direction of the second door, watching the circle of his 'colleagues' and what they were doing.

Remus was staring fixedly on Malfoy, his face paler than usual and still lined from the pain of Malfoy's earlier kicking. For a moment, Janus wondered why Remus was staring - or rather glaring - at Malfoy like that, but then realization struck. Harry. Black had said that Harry was dead - however he had been able to push that new in the back of his mind for only one moment remained a complete mystery to Janus. But while he was convinced that the meaning of this had not completely sunk in with Remus yet, his little brother was surely searching for somebody to blame. And now Malfoy had shown up in the equation, so Remus was trying to figure out how exactly he fit into all this. And it was no big cognitive leap to suspect that anything related to Malfoy was not something considered good by the average person's standards. And so Remus stared at him and Janus was sure that if he had not been bound up his brother would have loved to jump at Malfoy and pound him nearly as much as Janus himself did. Maybe even more.

For the first time in a very long time Janus felt the overwhelming urge to reach out and take Remus in his arms, to physically shield him from the pain he was going through right now, but as much as he wanted to, he could do nothing. He had brought them into this situation, his stupidity had gotten them unarmed and bound up against the wall with the room full of Death Eaters, a situation where they had to helplessly watch what was about to happen next.

His fault.

All his fault.

"Remus?"

Slowly, as if in trance, Remus turned his head and looked at his brother, his gaze an unreadable mixture between raw pain and fear. He didn't say a word, and Janus feverishly searched for something to say.

"We'll get out of here, all right? Just don't give up on us yet."

Remus gave something that was barely recognizable as a nod, then turned his eyes back on Malfoy.

Janus swallowed hard and followed Remus' gaze. He didn't feel the confidence his words had tried to transport, but he'd do whatever he could to keep his promise and bring Remus out of here. If he only knew how.

But Remus was no longer paying him any attention. His gaze had been drawn back automatically to the spot where his godson lay unmoving, an expression of pure agony etched on Remus' features as he had to watch helplessly without even being able to do anything. All Remus could do was stare at Harry's body and Janus could see how much his brother wished to be at least at Harry's side at the moment.

But Remus was held back by his bonds, no matter how much he tried to get rid of them. Remus moved his wrists frantically against the thin ropes that bound them, but the only effect it had was that he was rubbing his wrists sore and the skin under the ropes broke open.

Immediately, their guard had his wand pointed at Remus again, a curse ready on his lips. Janus frantically tried to think of something he could do to protect his brother, tried to move in between Remus and the wand pointed at him, but as if he had been waiting for this reaction Malfoy stepped closer again, pushing the Death Eater's wand-arm down with his own wand. This time he didn't even need to verbally stop the man from cursing Remus.

His arms crossed in front of is chest the aristocratic Death Eater built himself up in front of Remus again, and this time Janus was sure that Malfoy was sneering behind his mask. He stepped into Remus' line of vision, thus effectively blocking his view on Harry.

"Wouldn't you just like to be rid of your bonds right now?", he taunted. The glare Remus gave Malfoy would have scared most sane people, but the Death Eater seemed pretty unimpressed, even strangely fascinated, just as if he was watching an experiment he had set up to research a question that had occupied his mind for a long time already.

Slowly Malfoy lowered himself into a crouch where he stood, his wand continuing to point straight at the younger Lupin brother's chest. Janus knew that no experienced dueller would prefer to curse from this position, no matter if his opponent was armed or not, but still Janus found himself silently repeating 'please not' over and over again.

"Wouldn't you just want to know what this is all about, Lupin? Wouldn't you just want to know what brought you here?"

Even a Remus didn't answer, Malfoy continued.

"Because if you do, just keep your eyes open, Lupin. Or – if you're really impatient – why don't you ask your brother's partner? I'm sure Mr. Spalding is finally ready to share some details of his past months' pastime activities with you."

Remus' and Janus' heads snapped to their right in unison even as Malfoy got up and turned back to the circle, carefully leaving enough space so that especially Remus could still see what was going on. Janus kept on looking even at Lucas as Remus' eyes were automatically drawn back to where Harry lay.

"What did that mean?"

"Curious, aren't you Lupin?"

Janus did his best to ignore Malfoy, but that was a difficult enough feat as it turned out. If the blond man wanted to be noticed, then he was.

"Spalding knows what I'm talking about, don't you? You know now that it's better not to stick your nose into other people's business."

Lucas didn't answer, he stared back at Malfoy with all the hatred he could muster, but the Death Eater didn't seem to care much. Janus turned toward shim.

"Lucas?"
Malfoy laughed. "You didn't tell him, did you? Oh, but of course not. Don't trust your partner that much, do you? Or did you want to get all the glory for yourself once you succeeded? Whatever it was, you should have known that snooping around would do you no good."

"Fuck off, Malfoy!"

"Crucio!"

Malfoy reacted too fast for any of them to do something. Not that they could have done anything in their momentary state anyway, but now Janus had to sit there and watch his partner writhe in pain on the floor, Lucas' screams echoing hollowly in his ears. Of course the Unforgivable Curses were part of the training in the DMLE and for the Unspeakables, especially Cruciatus and Imperius, but there wasn't much that could be done against it once the Cruciatus curse was in place. What they were told and shown in training mainly served to give the Unspeakables an insight into what they would be facing if put under the curse, not what could be done against it - once the curse was placed there simply was nothing to do against it. Still, Janus didn't like being that helpless.

Malfoy watched Lucas writhe on the floor for a very long time before he lowered his wand again and without another word resumed his place in the circle of Death Eaters, always taking care that he left enough space for them to see what he was about to do next.

But Janus didn't really care about Malfoy at the moment. He was watching Lucas' recovery with a concerned gaze. Lucas leaned heavily against the wall with his eyes closed for a moment, his tongue slowly tracing the inside of his cheek where Janus guessed he had bitten himself. Janus gave him a moment to recover before he started speaking.

"You all right?"

Lucas shrugged, wincing slightly at the movement. "I will be, it's been worse before." He was breathing hard and did not meet Janus' eyes. Janus' stomach clenched.

He had been willingly able to suspect Remus of being in league with the Death Eaters here - as ridiculous as this thought seemed now - and he had not thought much about Lucas' accusations as he had allowed his partner to convince him of that possibility. But whether it was the reluctance to make the same mistake twice or whether it was more difficult for him to suspect his partner than his brother, but Janus refused to believe that things were like Malfoy made them sound like.

"Lucas?"

Lucas' face was pale and a thin layer of sweat had appeared on his forehead.

"Lucas?", Janus repeated. Finally, Lucas turned his brown eyes on his partner and friend.

"Yes?"
"What did Malfoy mean?"

A moment of silence followed, then Lucas answered, his voice so low that Janus at first had problems understanding him.

"Too long a story to tell you now, Janus. But it's not what it sounds like. Trust me?"

A short moment of hesitation, stretching out uncomfortably between them, then Janus nodded slowly.

"All right. But once we're out of here I want to hear the full story." He tried to make it sound as if he didn't have the slightest doubt that they would eventually get out of this hopeless situation. He didn't even believe it himself.

Janus allowed his eyes to trail through the room for a moment, and with a start he realized that he had not through about Black at all since he had deposited him in a corner to go and check the fireplace. It wasn't surprising, really, after all there had happened enough to distract him from the escaped convict, but now that his eyes fell onto him again he could not help but wonder.

Black was still lying against the wall, but he no longer was unconscious. His blue eyes were darting through the room as if he was trying to take everything in, his gaze a lot clearer and less mad than it had been earlier. Strangely professional, sending shivers down Janus' spine. Black had been an Auror once, that much he knew. Most promising young recruit of his unit, Moody's favourite from what was talked about in the DMLE. A very promising young Auror Black had been, reckless at times but very clever and powerful. Janus had read Black's file after he had escaped, he knew what people had thought about him back then. Why nobody had suspected him beforehand, why everybody had been so surprised when Sirius Black had snapped and betrayed his friends to Voldemort.

But something was not right about that picture, and that was the fact that Black was still lying tied up against the wall like Janus had left him, and nobody made a move to go over and help him. Strange if he really had been Voldemort's second-in-command during the first war, wasn't it?

A sudden silence fell over the room, making Janus aware that there had been a constant background noise ever since the Death Eaters had taken off their concealments. Janus turned and craned his neck to see something when Malfoy suddenly stepped forward with raised hands - that would explain the sudden silence, then.

"Your excitement is only understandable", his voice could be heard through the room and echoing off the walls, "and tonight there will be enough opportunity to let out that excitement. But first", he gestured towards the cauldron, "there are things that need to be done. That need to be done in order to bring our master back."

The Death Eaters cheered loudly but Janus felt as if somebody had slammed an iron fist straight into his stomach. Voldemort. He should have known that something like this would happen, he had simply no expected it to happen so soon. Not here, not now. And how in Merlin's name were they planning to do this?

Janus didn't know all that much about resurrection or rites to bring spirits back to life, he only hoped that whatever the Death Eaters would attempt doing would fail. A resurrected Voldemort would hit the Ministry at a very weak point and in an uncomfortable time. Fudge would never be able to stand up against such a threat.

Malfoy stepped forward and lit a fire under the cauldron with a wave of his wand, then he stepped beside Harry's slumped and unmoving form on the floor. Janus tensed, though he knew that whatever the Death Eater planned he would be completely unable to do anything against it.

"For more than five years we have waited in the shadows, waited for our Lord to come back. And tonight we have the chance to make this come true. And", he made a dramatic pause and stretched his arm out at Janus, Lucas and Remus, "we have guests who I think will be delighted to witness this great event. And I dare say that our master will be delighted to meet them. Especially the one who was considered his downfall by those who thought our master gone for good."

He waved his arm dramatically at the spot where Harry lay and again Remus lurched slightly forward as if this small movement into the direction of Harry's body was already more than he could stand. Janus automatically tensed, but the Death Eater who was guarding them either did not notice Remus' movement or he didn't particularly care at the moment.

Malfoy circled the whole setting with the cauldron and Harry's body once, then stopped again at his previous position. Janus' mind what wheeling. What could they possibly plan? How could Voldemort possibly be brought back – in this setting, with those people around, and most importantly why did they need Harry for? Because if they didn't need him for some part of their gruesome plan, then surely they'd have deposited of his body already, wouldn't they?

"It was no easy task to find our master, reduced as he was. Harry Potter became the hero of the wizarding world, and I know that all of you who are present in this room have only waited for this moment – the moment to prove all those fools out there that he is nothing like the small saviour they think him to be. Harry Potter is nothing but a weak", he chuckled gleefully, "and mortal child of a foolish mudblood, who by a pure stroke of luck managed to weaken our master. And tonight we are here to set things into the right order again.

It was no easy feat to get hold of Harry Potter, but we have managed. And it was an even more difficult task to find our master and bring him back, bring him here so that we can restore him to power. It aches to see how much our powerful master has suffered from what was done to him, but once this night is over he will be his old self again – even stronger than he ever was – and then nobody, not the Ministry, not Albus Dumbledore, and certainly not Harry Potter will be able to stand up against him anymore."

The Death Eaters cheered loudly, if only for a short moment as if they had rehearsed it, then silence fell again. Malfoy swept his arm in a wide gesture towards his left, beckoning a small figure near the door to come forward into the circle. The small man, after a short moment of hesitation did. He stepped into the middle of the Death Eaters, coming to a halt right next to the cauldron. He looked around insecurely for a moment, his eyes coming to rest on Malfoy. The taller man nodded, and with slightly shaking hands he took off his mask.

A moment of stunned silence followed during which Janus desperately tried to make sense of the whole surreal situation. Then the Death Eater drew back his hood, and next to Janus Remus started to scream.