On with the Story!
Remus gripped his wand tightly as he and several other Order members inched around the corner, fully expecting a multitude of Deatheaters to appear, wands drawn, at any given moment. Earlier that morning he and Sirius had carefully gone through Sarah's extremely detailed notes on the mind readings of the captured Deatheaters and determined that there were several still at large, unfortunately, with the resources to recruit those in league with Nolan to their cause.
After she'd left the two men, Sarah had returned to Grimmauld Place just in time for the meeting. She'd walked in just as things were about to begin dressed in full uniform, looking tired but grimly determined as her long black jacket billowed behind her. With the exception of Remus, even those who knew about her 'talents' and job were surprised to experience her in full business mode, having only been acquainted with lively, happy Sarah. Snape had attempted to send thinly veiled insults her way during the first half of the meeting, but Sarah had turned such an unnervingly icy blue rimmed gaze on him that he quickly contented himself with glaring at the rest of the persons present.
Now she was back at work whilst Remus and several others were following up on a tip from MI5. Much to their dismay, it appeared that the Deatheaters at large had indeed managed to persuade the rogue muggles to side with them, and so Remus found himself behind Tonks as they silently crept around an abandoned property somewhere north of London.
Kingsley, who was in the lead, looked back at the others and gave them the all clear to follow him into a long, gloomy hallway that seemed to widen into a large room just around a bend. As they stepped forward, Remus felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He considered shrugging it off but it only grew stronger with each step he took and he found himself fighting an irresistibly strong urge to turn and apparate out of their as soon as humanly possible.
"Tonks!" he whispered, his pulse starting to race as the sense of danger grew stronger. "Tonks!!"
"Shhh! Lupin!" Moody poked Remus rather sharply in the back with his wand. "Shut up!! Constant vigilance!"
"I know!" Remus hissed back, trying to keep his voice down; the last thing he wanted to do was to attract any lurking Deatheaters. "That's why we need to leave and get more back up now! Something's wrong – I can feel it."
Moody regarded the younger man sharply, as did Tonks and a couple other members who were close by. They knew all too well that Remus' werewolf instincts were always an accurate indicator of the situation at large.
"Shacklebolt!!" he hissed to the tall, muscular man steadily approaching the bend in the hallway.
"Kings!" Tonks began to move up to her fellow Auror. "Kingsley, we need to get out of here now! Remus is right – there's only eight of us – I really don't like this."
No sooner had Tonks spoken than a bolt of red light shot out into the hallway, hitting Kingsley, who'd turned his head to reply to Tonks, square in the chest. Tonks and Moody rushed forward, pulling Kingsley back whilst Remus and the others cast blocking spells before moving forward. Moody looked up at them, surveying the room ahead with his magical eye at the same time as nodding towards Kingsley.
"Just a stunner," he whispered. "He'll be fine in a sec."
Moody looked at the room ahead for several seconds more before nodding to Remus and Tonks, who went cautiously ahead, well aware that it could only be one Deatheater or several. Seeing nothing, they went further into the room, wands drawn, followed by the rest of their group. Remus was so on edge by now that he had to fight to stay put – his hand was trembling as he held his wand. The room, however, gave no indication of containing a multitude of Deatheaters, so they assumed that the spell caster had run off into where the hallway continued, at the opposite end of the room. Tonks turned around and indicated that it was all right to follow, moving back to help Moody with Kingsley.
The second that the last of them had stepped into the room, Remus knew, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that they had walked straight into a very obvious and simple trap. Within moments he saw that out of the shadows had emerged several looming black robed figures, the dim light hinting of more behind them.
"Oh look, it's Dumbledore's little toy followers, all come to get us!"
Shivers ran down Remus' back as the cold, haughty voice of the woman in front of him disturbed the eerie silence, followed by a grating murmur of snickers and stifled mocking laughter from around the room. Their eyes finally adjusting to the light in their new surroundings, most of the Order members took a step back closer into each other as they saw that they were completely encircled by a good twenty or so Deatheaters.
Remus, however, overcame his earlier trepidation to hold his wand tighter, now pointed directly at the heart of the woman standing before him.
"Yes," he told her, in a calm, indifferent voice. "Actually, we have come to get you. Although I'm sure it would be much easier for all of us if you just came along quietly, now."
In the depths of the woman's hood he could just make out two glittering eyes and saw the white of her teeth as she smiled, clearly amused. From behind him he heard Moody start to curse to no end and his heart began to fill with dread as her yellow eyes gleamed maliciously at him.
"Ah, I see that old Mad-eye there has realized what you, with all your keen senses, have not. I must admit I'm disappointed, Mr. Lupin. My master has high hopes for werewolves, and if you're any indication of their abilities…" she broke off to sigh theatrically. Remus wondered whom on earth she was that she knew him – he didn't recognize that voice, or those eyes, for that matter. "I really would have thought that you'd have picked up on it by now."
And she knows who Moody is! Well, she should – he was an Auror for years – but how does she know me? What I am?
Remus was desperately trying to ascertain her identity when she swiftly melted back into the shadows, her fellow Deatheaters doing the same seconds afterwards. Confused, he and the others looked around them, uncertain as to what was going on. Remus held his breath – the silence did not seem to bode well for them – and was justified in his train of thought when at least forty or so men and women stepped up to where the Deatheaters had been only moments before. His breath caught in his throat as he looked around at them – each carrying a very dangerous looking gun, it plain to see that these were no wizards, but muggles.
"Oh Merlin." He heard Tonks gasp behind him, and found he was thinking exactly the same thing. They might be wizards, but they were far outnumbered by the Deatheaters alone. Remus felt his heart plummet – he knew all too well that these muggle had considerable skill when it came to hand to hand combat, let alone with the vast amounts of weapons they were carrying. It was almost inevitable that if a Deatheater didn't get them, a bullet would.
Remus felt as if the room was spinning around him. He didn't know had he had failed to pick up on all the muggles before, but now, with the full moon near, his senses were running on overload. For a split second he could hear every breath, every heartbeat, every little sound roared in his ears and the edges of his vision began to go slightly grey.
He felt himself sway slightly and somewhere, as if it was way off in the distance, he heard a snivelling, grating voice say something offensive followed by the cold, derisive laughter of the yellow-eyed woman. Suddenly, before he could fall, Moody's gnarled hand was at his back, steadying him.
"Easy, there, my boy. Keep your head up, now."
All of a sudden a Deatheater to their right decided that the fun in stretching things out was over (A/N: Actually, the evilly grinning author decided that the fun in tormenting our poor little Order members was over – for now…MUAHAHAHAHAHA!) and raised his wand, the arc of his arm as it rose up seeming to take an eternity to Remus.
Sarah, I love you, he thought desperately. I don't know if you're hearing this now or as an echo but I love you, I love you so much and I'm…I'm sorry I didn't get to see you again.
He began to close his eyes but as he did so an image of Sarah fighting in the street that eventful day in October flashed through his consciousness. She fought with everything she had, measured, but yet wild, as if she was determined to give whomever she was fighting absolute hell to pay. His resolve tightening, he snapped open his eyes and turned to the Deatheater so fast that they took a step back, clearly caught off guard. If I go down, so do you, he snarled mentally, preparing to fight.
That's the spirit! Sarah's cheerful voice resounded in his head, just as the Deatheater's head turned to the side, his hood falling back as he did so to reveal eyes wide with shock and confusion.
Remus soon saw why – several jumpsuit clad men and women had seemingly appeared from nowhere, apparently having performed the impossible task of getting past numerous wards the Deatheaters had set up around the property. The gun-toting muggles immediately in front of the small group of Order members were temporarily distracted as the newcomers simply barged in, not bothering to waste time talking as they took them down 4 or 5 at a time.
"Expelliarmus!" Remus yelled, gathering his wits together as he took advantage of the confusion before him. Whilst he and the other had been just as stunned as the others, they knew the identity of the newcomers, unlike the Deatheaters around them, most of whom found themselves rather quickly disarmed.
Very soon they were heavily engaged with the Deatheaters who were still armed, curses, hexes and bullets flying across the room. Despite the fact that he was continually ducking and rolling out of the way to safety, it didn't take very long before he and others had taken care of the remaining Deatheaters and had turned back into the fray, which was now mostly hand to hand combat with the opposing muggles. Remus found himself very grateful that he'd just returned from a mission and was therefore still in shape – he found himself ducking and retreating a lot more than when he'd been duelling. Both he and Tonks found themselves forced to resort to their wands, whereas Kingsley's sheer physical size allowed him to overpower many without the aid of magic.
Remus had just dropped to the ground, pulling Tonks along with him to avoid a stray bullet that had been headed in their direction. He was just about to straighten up when he caught sight of a flash of golden hair amidst a long, chestnut braid. His heart stopped momentarily as he saw Sarah whirl about and seemingly defy gravity as she rose into the air, catching one man in the head with her spiked boot – how does she fight in those? Remus wondered – as she flipped over backwards to deliver knockout blows to two others before landing like a cat and springing up to meet the next. Remus had to shake his head and rub his eyes in disbelief despite the fact that he'd seen her fight before. He saw Kingsley suck in air as his eyes, too, nearly popped out of their sockets. "Wha…" his mouth hung open in astonishment.
"Kings, behind you!" Tonks yelled, and the two of them turned and sprung back into action, firing off stunners at rapid speeds. Within due time most of their opponents were down, Tonks just finishing off by stunning a muggle who'd been aiming a gun at Moody's back. Not like Moody couldn't see him, Remus inwardly grinned to himself. He looked around the room, stopping when he caught sight of a once more astonished looking Kingsley and followed his gaze to where Sarah and a tall man Remus recognized as Michael Callahan back to back, shielding and supporting each other as they quickly fought their way through a remaining circle of about six or so muggles.
Sarah had just leaped spectacularly off of Michael's shoulders to bring down the last muggle when several more Order members appeared, wands out. Remus rushed over to Sarah's side as Moody and Tonks began to berate them for arriving just when they'd finally finished taking care of things.
"How – how did you know, how'd you get in?" they hugged each other tightly, ignoring Moody's booming tones of "FAILING TO PREPARE IS PREPARING TO FAIL!!! CONSTANT VIGILANCE! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!! DO YOU IDIOTS KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS???!!!" as he rather conveniently ignored the fact that he'd been part of a group that had let its guard down so far as to walk into a very obviously laid trap.
Sarah pulled back to look quizzically at Remus. "What do you think? You think so loud, Remus, I could be across an ocean and I'd still hear you." She laughed slightly at the confused and mildly offended expression on Remus' face. "Don't worry, that's a good thing!" She laughed again at Remus' visible relief but quickly grew solemn as Michael approached them.
"Sorry to interrupt," he said stiffly, as if he would have normally not bothered to apologize to them at all. Remus and Sarah released each other reluctantly, Remus wondering at the defiant look on Sarah's face as if she was daring Michael to make something of the fact that she'd been hugging Remus. He clearly knows about us, Remus thought, glancing sideways at Sarah.
"Brenton," he said shortly. Remus was puzzled – Michael's voice held both extreme coolness and yet extreme warmth in it towards Sarah. He could feel her tense beside him and slid an arm around her waist, reassuringly rubbing her back. "Mr…Lupin, yes?"
Michael held a hand out to Sarah, forcing him to remove his arm from around her to shake it as he nodded affirmatively.
"Mr. Callahan," Remus returned, slipping his arm back around Sarah's waist. "I'd say it's good to see you, but under these circumstances…"
Michael nodded sagely, some of the stiffness leaving his attitude. A deep look of consternation crossed Sarah's face as she surveyed the people lying on the floor.
"I only found these people because we've dealt with some of them before; I could feel their minds." She answered Remus' earlier question. "This…so many of them, sent to deal with so few of you, it makes me wonder how many more they have. Mich…" she began, trailing off at the sight of a rather cross looking Moody marching determinedly up to them, closely followed by Tonks and several other members.
"Hello." Moody growled, not sounding in the least bit friendly as he thrust himself into the conversation.
"Moody, Tonks, Kingsley…" Remus called out the names of the Order members standing around them. "This is Sarah's boss at MI5, Michael Callahan. Mr. Callahan, these are some of the Order's members."
Michael nodded towards them, his stiff attitude returning as Moody lifted up his hat to reveal his magical eye, surveying both Michael and Sarah with alarming intensity. Remus became mildly concerned – it wouldn't do for anyone at MI5 to be offended by the Order, seeing as they'd just saved their lives.
"Callahan?" Moody grumped out before Remus or anyone else had the chance to step in and steer the conversation away from dangerous grounds. He looked closely at them again. "You're a Brenton, lass … but you look ... aren't you related?"
Tonks gave a nervous laugh. "Moody, that's their business – and you can be related without having the same last name!"
"Don't try and patronize me, young un'," Moody had turned rather threateningly back to Tonks, who didn't look in the least bit afraid. "Anyone can see that they're at least cousins."
Smirking at the young Auror with a look of triumph, he turned back in time to see, as did everyone else, the identical looks of shock on both Michael and Sarah's faces before they simultaneously regained their composure and looked identically indifferent once more. Remus' grip on Sarah's waist loosened slightly as he looked at them, unnerved by the obvious similarity.
"How…" Michael began, gesturing as if it were no big deal but he was merely curious, but a tawny haired MI5 agent on the other side of the room perked up her head and looked sharply at them.
"That would explain a lot." Her voice came cool and clear across the room. Michael closed his eyes, apparently trying to keep his own cool, and Sarah clenched her fists slightly.
"Cassandra." Sarah hissed quietly, not bothering to turn around, but Remus saw the woman visibly blanch and turn away.
"How?" Moody chuckled, clearly enjoying himself. "Well after seeing you fight a bit – you've got identical mannerisms, lass – and then there's that little bit just now."
Remus let go of Sarah's waist to look questioningly at her. With what Moody was saying and Sarah and Michael's reactions, it was beginning to sound like they were closely related – but Sarah had told him that she had no close relatives alive other than her grandparents in the Dominican. I said I had to talk to you later, didn't I? Sarah's voice came, sounding apologetic, but she didn't look at him.
"Half-brother and sister." She said shortly, clearly indicating that the topic was no longer open for any sort of discussion. "Well, we clearly need to take care of this mess," she gestured around the room. "And I'm sure there are several meetings that need to be held." She turned away momentarily, talking to a fellow agent before turning back to Remus and the others. Michael took the opportunity to tell Moody that he had enjoyed meeting him and slip away, giving Sarah a look that clearly said she should follow, to which Sarah merely looked supremely unconcerned.
"I have to go with all my people for a bit." She informed the small group, but looked directly at Remus. Everyone around them suddenly remembered a rather important and pressing issue to take care of and took several steps back, leaving Remus and Sarah alone in one corner of the room. Sarah found she couldn't meet Remus' eyes, which were boring into her, their intensity unnerving. "Remus," she whispered, reaching for his hand.
"You have a brother?" his voice was confused, but Sarah could hear the undertones of accusation in it and her head quickly snapped up, her own eyes losing their warmth. "I thought you said that the only family you had left were your…"
"My grandparents, yes, I know, I said that." Sarah found herself growing angry at the tone of Remus' voice. She was tired and annoyed that she hadn't had the chance to tell him of her own volition. "Look, Remus – we're both tired – can we talk about this later?"
"So you lied?" Remus asked her, now grabbing the hand that she had been reaching for him with before. " You never said anything about a brother…"
"Half!" Sarah hissed, surprising herself with the ice in her voice. Remus stepped back slightly, surprised. He was bewildered as to why she wouldn't have told him – as to why she never even mentioned the possible existence of such a relative. It wasn't as if she had said, "Oh, I do have a half-brother, but I don't really talk about him" – she'd specifically said that she had no other family. It was clear, though, that they got along fairly well – worked together, even – so why hadn't she told him?
Sarah looked up at him; her eyes now strangely dull, as if she was desperately trying to block out some painful emotion. Remus felt his heart soften and released his death grip on her wrist. "Later," she choked out and turned away, trying to avoid his eyes.
"Sarah," Remus gently said, gathering her up into his arms before she could completely walk away. "Sarah, love, what's going on?"
"I…" Sarah began, her voice muffled from her face being buried into his shoulder. "I was…" her shoulder's heaved with a silent sob and Remus wrapped his arms around her tightly, rubbing her back encouragingly.
"Remus – I should have told you - "
"Brenton!" Michael's voice came clear across the room and Sarah instinctively stiffened in Remus' arms. She suddenly pulled away, rubbing her eyes slightly and straightened herself up before looking up at Remus, her eyes completely devoid of emotion.
"Peaches," Remus began, still holding onto her hand. Sarah gave him a small smile that didn't even begin to presume to reach her eyes and softly pulled her hand away.
"Later, Remus. I promise, I will tell you – just, later." Sarah's voice had become hard, edgy, and unmistakeably the voice of someone who would really rather be someplace else. Upon seeing that Remus was not replying, she quickly reached up and gave him a small peck on the cheek that felt completely meaningless before walking off to join Michael.
Remus stared after her, confused and feeling utterly miserable at her rather cool dismissal.
"Hey, Remus," Tonks put a comforting hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his melancholy daze. "Let's get out of here, okay?"
Remus slowly nodded and reluctantly turned away, glancing back every now and then over his shoulder to where Sarah stood beside her half-brother. Out of the corner of his eye he could her looking back at him now and then, quickly glancing away each time she thought he caught her looking. Just as he was about to apparate back to headquarters he saw her staring at him, her eyes cheerless. I'm sorry, Remus, he heard. I should have told you…please, don't be upset about it.
Remus landed back in the hallway at Grimmauld Place, her voice still echoing in his mind. But I'm not – I mean, I was, but it's alright, Sarah.
He could almost hear Sarah cringe in his mind. But it's not alright, Remus. Don't you understand? It's not about my brother. It's someone else.
Remus walked heavily upstairs to his room, Sarah's last words ringing in his mind. He stared at his bed, still messy from their activities the night before. It's okay, Remus – she loves you, she said so, he told himself, trying to convince himself that her last words did not mean what he feared them to. But she's lied to you before, another, harsher voice popped into his head. How do you know she isn't lying to you now?
He shook his head, desperately trying to ignore that train of thought as he undressed for bed. As his head hit the pillow, he saw a long, silky strand of chestnut hair lying on it. Sarah, I love you, I love you so much – please, please don't be lying about your feelings for me. There was no response in his mind, but as his eyes closed and his breathing fell into the regular rhythm of sleep, he felt as if he could hear someone else crying.
Back in her office at MI5, Sarah sat opposite her brother, holding a crumpled photograph in her hand. "It wasn't your fault, little sister," he told her, holding one of her shaking hands in his. "I'm sorry if I ever blamed you."
"I know," Sarah replied, her voice unsteady. "But I'll never forgive myself if Remus gets hurt too."
A/N: hooboy! So who's that someone else?? First person to get the closest guess to who the mysterious 'someone else' is gets a character named after them! And there will be some H/G ness coming up in future chappies, but right now it's all about Remus and Sarah! So, review and lemme know what you think. Criticism is most welcome!