Truths

By Neurotica

Twenty-Five

Remus sped through volume after volume in the Blacks' library trying to find something—anything—about resurrecting a wizard to full power and body. So for, he hadn't had any luck, though he was frighteningly surprised to find all the different types of books he had discovered. Many were about potions and deadly curses that hadn't been used since the Middle Ages, and a few showed grotesque photos of spells and such gone terribly wrong. Sirius had always told his friends what his family was like, how evil they were, but Remus had thought he'd been exaggerating most of the time. Not anymore.

With a heavy sigh, Remus closed yet another heavy book, and stacked it on top of the other six he had already gone through. He ran a hand through his slightly graying hair, and looked around the room once more.

Remus jumped significantly when he heard a crash below him followed by the shrill, hateful yells of a woman. Startled and concerned, Remus fled the library and headed down the stairs to the main floor. There, he found Sirius and Kingsley tugging hard on the moth-eaten curtain he had seen before. Remus recognized the woman in the portrait instantly; he had seen her a few times during school when she picked Sirius or Regulus up from the train. Remus thought she looked terrifying then, and she wasn't much better now.

With a final forceful pull, Kingsley and Sirius finally managed to cover Mrs. Black's portrait, silencing her. Sirius turned around to face Remus, panting. "Remus, you remember my mother," he said dryly, walking back to the kitchen.

Remus exchanged a look with Kingsley; Kingsley shrugged, and followed Sirius' path.

Down in the kitchen, the source of the crash seemed to be dinner plates that had been knocked out of their cupboard. "Kreacher decided he wanted my mother to be aware there were people here," Sirius said. He walked into the pantry and began rummaging around.

"Find anything?" Moody asked Remus, cleaning up the remaining mess of glass with a wave of his wand.

Remus sighed and sat down at the table. "Nothing yet. I wish I could remember where I read about it," he said wearily.

Sirius exited the pantry a moment later with a bottle that looked suspiciously like Ogden's Firewhiskey. Remus shook his head, by didn't say anything; Sirius needed to deal with things in his own way, and nobody, not even Remus, could convince him to do any different. Sirius reached into a cupboard, pulled out four dusty glasses, cleaned them with his wand, and brought the lot to the table. The other three watched silently as he filled three of the glasses halfway, and the fourth to the brim. Sirius pushed the half-full glasses to Remus, Kingsley, and Moody, before picking up his own.

Before he could take a sip, Remus spoke. "You're sure this is firewhiskey, Sirius, and not cleaning product?"

Sirius sniffed his drink, and took a large gulp. After a moment, he set his glass down. "Nope, it's firewhiskey," he said, sounding slightly disappointed.

Remus raised an eyebrow at Sirius' tone, but brought the glass to his lips. Normally, he wasn't one to drink heavily, but he, like Sirius, sometimes needed his nerves to be calmed a bit. Kingsley began drinking his as well, but Moody ignored the glass before him, preferring to drink from his hip flask.

Silently, the four men drank, wondering what the coming night would bring. Remus looked at his watch: 5:45, it said. The students would arrive at Hogwarts in approximately two hours. The feast and sorting usually lasted an hour and a half, and depending on whether or not Snape was coming to headquarters first, they would be on the way to find Harry after that.

"How are you going to track Snape's location?" Remus asked Moody and Kingsley, trying to break the tense silence.

"It's a charm, undetectable. Once we place it on him, a map will appear, kind of like a Muggle hologram, and we can follow him anywhere," Kingsley explained.

Remus nodded, watching Sirius down his second glass of liquor. "So we just wait for him to appear on the map and Apparate to that location?"

"Not exactly. We can't Apparate to the exact point Snape does; there might be security charms in place," the Auror said. "So we'll Apparate a good two miles away, and have to hike our way to wherever we're supposed to go."

"But if there are security charms in place, wouldn't they be able to detect us once we cross them?"

"Not if we use strong undetectable spells. We can make ourselves invisible to wards and charms, allowing us to get through easily. It's saved our lives many times, I can tell you."

Remus nodded.

"But chances are, if Pettigrew is running the game like he seems to be, there won't be very strong charms on the place. Black says he was hopeless at that kind of stuff."

Remus snorted humorlessly into his glass. "That's an understatement. The only reason he ever got through half his classes was by copying off of us."

"Well, let's just hope he hasn't gotten much smarter over the years," Moody said.

"Sirius, maybe you should lighten up on the whiskey," Remus suggested quietly.

Sirius merely ignored his friend's concern and proceeded to pour a third glass.

Remus shook his head hopelessly and stood. "I'm going back upstairs, see if I can find anything," he said.

Moody and Kingsley nodded their acknowledgement, and Remus headed back up the steep staircase, hoping with everything he had that this night would have the happy ending they all wanted.

Wormtail paced outside the room in which Harry was being kept. He couldn't get over how much the boy looked like James, but with Lily's eyes. He had always been mesmerized by those emerald green orbs. He kept having to tell himself to forget his old friends, but their faces kept popping up in his mind: Lily's caring face, trying to explain a complicated potions assignment to him at school; the way James' eyes lit up with mischief when he came up with a particularly good prank.

Wormtail nearly felt bad for Harry; it was obvious the force of that spell had broken his leg. But again, he had to stop himself from caring. Caring is what nearly got him caught the last time.

His master's plan was in place. In just a few short hours, the Dark Lord would return, greater and more terrible than ever. And he, Wormtail, would be rewarded beyond his wildest dreams. He alone helped his master gain strength, and he had finally managed to bring his master Harry Potter; the one thing he wanted above all others.

Wormtail had waited in the Forbidden Forest for hours, trying to figure out how he was going to get into the castle, find where Harry and Sirius were staying, get Harry, and get back out without being caught by Dumbledore or one of the professors... or worse, by Sirius.

Malfoy had left Hogwarts after a meeting with the Headmaster, and come to inform the Dark Lord of Black and Harry's location. Of course, Wormtail was the one to be sent; for one, he could disguise himself easily, and two, Malfoy would raise suspicion if he was on the grounds again.

The plan hadn't been going to well at first; Wormtail was beginning to lose his nerve. But just after midnight, Harry had wandered out freely, all by himself.

Wormtail had watched him walk just a few feet shy of his hiding spot. The moment he reached down to the ground for something, Wormtail left the trees and grabbed him. His master had told him about the Apparition spot deep in the forest, and he was able to get away quickly.

All in all, today had been an extremely long day for Wormtail. He leaned against the wall, and slid slowly to the floor; a few minutes of shut eye couldn't hurt, could it?

Wormtail had only closed his eyes for two minutes when he heard a familiar hissing and slithering of his master's snake, Nagini. More than once, Wormtail swore the snake was looking at him as if he was about to become her next meal. And more than once, Wormtail had gone in the opposite direction from which the snake was coming.

He stood up quickly, not wanting to make himself an easy target for the serpent. As the snake turned a corner to where Wormtail was, the Animagus quickly ducked into the room he had been guarding all afternoon, and slammed the door shut. Waiting to hear the snake slither past, Wormtail shivered; he didn't like snakes very much, and never had.

Wormtail turned around in the dark room, and squinted to see the small boy that was trapped there. He lit his wand and walked to Harry's unconscious form. The boy's left leg was in what looked like a very uncomfortable, painful position. Wormtail didn't dare to move it; he didn't need Harry to wake right now, even if there was a silencing charm on him.

If Harry would have been just six years older, the position he was lying in would have made him look exactly like James after he was knocked off his broomstick during a Quidditch match in second year. His leg had been broken in the same place, and if Harry's arms and legs were not bound together, Wormtail was sure he would have had them spread out just like James had that day.

Wormtail shook himself again. Who cared about James? Who cared about Harry?

You did, a distant voice said in his head.

"Not anymore," Wormtail whispered. He turned his back on his former friend's son, and left the room just as quickly as he'd entered.

Sirius drained the last of the firewhiskey from its bottle and stared around hopelessly. Moody and Kingsley had gone upstairs to see how Remus was fairing with research. And Kreacher... Sirius couldn't really give a shit if Kreacher had drowned himself somewhere—one less useless being for Sirius to deal with.

His mind was stuck with his godson. The past two months have been a rollercoaster of emotions for Sirius, and he couldn't begin to imagine how Harry was feeling. Sirius buried his head in his hands. Why couldn't life just be normal for once? Why couldn't they be happy and stay happy?

Sirius stood abruptly, knocking his chair to the floor. He paced around the kitchen he had never wanted to see again.

Ten years ago, Sirius had fled this house and his family. He had gone to the only place he knew he would be accepted: James'. His parents had happily agreed to allow the sixteen-year-old runaway a place to stay for as long as needed.

James had done so much for Sirius during the length of their friendship. He had been there for Sirius when Sirius had needed him most. And what had Sirius done for the man he considered a brother? Sirius had pretty much set him and his wife up for death, allowed their only son to live with the only two people in this entire world that Lily and James had made everyone promise he would not go to—no matter what—and five years later, allowed his best friend's son to be taken by Death Eaters and Voldemort.

Yes, Sirius had failed. He failed at being a best friend. He failed at being a brother. And worst of all, he had failed at being a godfather. The most important thing Lily and James had given him was Harry. Now, Harry was gone, and the chances of getting him back alive and well were not very high at this point.

Crying was no longer an option for Sirius—he was way beyond that. Worry, grief, anger, sadness, helplessness—he had been through it all in a little over ten hours. A whole bottle of firewhiskey wasn't enough to help Sirius right now.

"Sirius," said a quiet voice from the foot of the stairs.

Sirius spun around, finding the floor to be strangely lopsided. Remus stood there, concern written all over his pale face. Sirius sighed and leaned against the kitchen counter.

Remus took a few steps closer to his friend, examining him. Sirius' eyes were bloodshot from the whiskey he had absorbed in such a small expanse of time, and he seemed to be a bit unsteady on his feet. Remus sighed and withdrew his wand from his pocket.

"You're going to need a sobering charm before Dumbledore gets here," he said.

Sirius nodded, avoiding Remus' eyes. "Not yet, though," he said hoarsely.

Remus hesitated, but placed his wand back into his pocket. He walked to the table, picked up the overturned chair, and sat. Remus pulled the empty firewhiskey bottle towards him, and waved it at Sirius. "When was the last time you did this?" he asked.

"The night James told me Voldemort was after them and that they had to go into hiding," Sirius replied quietly, looking anywhere but at Remus.

Remus nodded silently, and sat the bottle back on the table.

After a few moments of silence, Sirius spoke, "What time is it?"

Remus looked at his watch. "Nine o'clock," he said. "Dumbledore should be here soon."

"I thought he said there were other Aurors and Order members coming?"

Remus opened his mouth to reply, when the doorbell sounded upstairs. Consequently, the noise set off Sirius' mother once again.

Sirius winced at the noise. "I'll take that charm now," he said, massaging his temples. Remus stood, retrieved his wand once more, and muttered the charm. Moments later, Sirius shook his head.

"Much better, thanks," he muttered before heading up the stairs.

"Anytime," Remus said, following Sirius.

Kingsley had silenced Mrs. Black by the time they reached the entrance way. Moody answered the door, his wand drawn, and his magical eye spinning.

Remus looked at who was at the threshold and raised his eyebrows. If this was who Dumbledore had recruited to help save Harry, then Remus was sure things had just gotten worse.

"Dung?" Sirius whispered, just as surprised as Remus. "You've got to be kidding me," he muttered. Sirius turned around and walked back to the kitchen.

"'Ello, gents," Dung said cheerfully, walking into the house. "How's things?"

Remus shook his head, wondering where Dumbledore's sanity had gone.

Moody smacked Dung in the back of his head, "Shut up, and get downstairs," he growled.

Dung raised his eyebrows and followed Moody and Kingsley to the kitchen. "What's his problem?" he grumbled to Remus as he passed.

Following the other three wizards downstairs, Remus hoped, for the thousandth time that day, that this was all a nightmare, and any minute now he would wake up in his basement. Sirius glared at Dung as he sat across from him with a large smile on his dirty face. Dung's smile faded the longer Sirius stared.

The others quietly sat around the table, once again waiting. Any minute now, Dumbledore would arrive, and their mission could begin.

"We have everything, Shacklebolt?" Moody asked.

Kingsley nodded. "Yeah, just waiting for Snape now."

"Snape?" Dung asked loudly.

The other four silenced him with a look.

Soft footsteps sounded above them, causing all five wizards to look up. A moment later, they could hear the muttering of Kreacher.

"Kreacher wonders who is in his Mistress' kitchen. Kreacher hear his Mistress' screams from the attic." The muttering grew louder as Kreacher made his way down the kitchen stairs. "Kreacher knows his Mistress' blood traitor son and his werewolf friend are here, but Kreacher wonders why."

Sirius jumped from his chair, causing the other to start as well. "I am not dealing with this shit tonight," he muttered angrily.

The others watched in slight amusement and curiosity as Sirius walked halfway up the kitchen stairs, grabbed Kreacher by his neck, and dragged the elf back upstairs. There was silence for a few minutes until Moody chuckled. Remus noticed his magical eye spinning at the ceiling.

"What did he do?" Remus asked anxiously.

"Threw him in the bathroom upstairs, put a locking charm on the door," Moody replied.

Remus nodded.

"Who's a werewolf?" Dung asked stupidly.

Remus rolled his eyes, and no one answered the question. A few more minutes passed before Sirius finally reentered the kitchen. He sat heavily next to Remus and looked at the others' questioning looks.

Sirius shrugged. "Sorry 'bout that. I've been wanting to do that since I was ten."

Remus went to comment when the fireplace filled with green flames. Everyone's head snapped collectively in that direction as a black form spun fast and finally stopped. Sirius groaned softly as Snape stepped from the fireplace, dusting his robes of the soot.

The Potions Master made no notice of the other wizards, but looked around the dark kitchen, sneering.

"Better step away from the fire, Snivelly," Sirius said conversationally. "That hair of yours is a fire hazard. Wouldn't want the kitchen to be set ablaze."

"Sirius," Remus warned.

"Nice house, Black. It'll do quite nicely for a murderer, werewolf, and spawn of an attempted murderer," Snape replied nastily.

In an instant, Sirius jumped out of his chair, once again knocking it to the floor. He whipped out his wand and stuck it hard into Snape's neck.

"Sirius!" Remus yelled, standing up.

"Take that back, you bastard," Sirius growled.

The fireplace once again filled with green flames, and a moment later, Dumbledore stepped out. He looked curiously at Snape and Sirius. Sirius lowered his wand and walked back to the table.

Remus shook his head and sighed as Sirius picked up his chair and sat.

Dumbledore made no comment on the scene he had just witnessed. He looked at each of the men in the room, no twinkle visible in his eyes. "Before Severus leaves," he began, "I would quickly like to go over our plan. Kingsley will place the tracking charm on Severus. Once he Apparates out of this kitchen, we will watch the map hologram, find out where we are going, and Apparate no less than two miles away. While we walk, we will make further plans. Alastor, are we ready?" Dumbledore said, looking at the Auror.

"Yes," Moody replied.

Kingsley stood, retrieved his wand, and walked to Snape. The rest of the wizards merely watched as Kingsley muttered a lengthy, complicated incantation. Once he had finished, Snape began to glow an eye-piercing white. It only lasted seconds, and the room became dark once more. In the middle of the kitchen table, a large hologram appeared.

It was a three-dimensional map of the world. A lone red dot soared around the globe for about ten seconds before stopping on England. A second later, the map narrowed down the location to London, then a picture of Number Twelve appeared, showing the basement kitchen and the seven wizards looking at the map.

Remus and Sirius exchanged an impressed look.

Dumbledore spoke once more. "As you can see, this map is quite detailed. It will show any location in the world Severus will be likely to arrive at. For security reasons, Lucius Malfoy has told Severus to meet him at a different spot than I believe Harry to be. Together, they will travel to their final destination. We will not leave until both them have been at their destination for ten minutes. Malfoy is not a stupid man—" The others huffed in disagreement. "—and he will be looking for somebody to follow Severus." Dumbledore glanced at the golden pocket watch only he could decipher. "It is time." He turned to Snape and shook the younger man's hand. "Good luck, Severus."

"Thank you, Headmaster," he said softly. With a sigh, Snape Apparated from their sight.

Remus stared at the spot Snape had disappeared from for a moment. He may be a bastard, he thought, but he's a brave bastard.

The others turned their heads to the map and watched the red dot fly across the earth. Moments later, the dot stopped somewhere in Spain. The picture enhanced, and finally they could see Snape looking around a wooded area. Malfoy stepped out from behind a tree and walked to Snape. The two briefly shook hands and exchanged words. A slip of paper passed from Malfoy to Snape. Snape read it, lit it on fire with his wand, and nodded. Malfoy nodded back, looked around, and Apparated away in a silent pop. Snape did the same a second later.

The hologram began to spin once more, the red dot moving almost too quickly for the wizards to track. It stopped on England again... Little Hangleton, a little bubble above the dot told them. Malfoy and Snape appeared once more, walking out of a forest, across a yard, and through a large wooden door.

Dumbledore looked away from the map, and attracted the attention of the others. "This is our destination. As I have said, we will Apparate two miles away. This will be just on the border of the village."

"Sir, do you know anything about this place?" Remus asked curiously.

"The village is a Muggle village. The house is known by the villagers as the Riddle House. It was the home of Voldemort's father, before his son murdered him and his family," Dumbledore answered.

Remus nodded as Sirius muttered, "Lovely."

"While we are waiting, we must place undetectable charms upon ourselves," Dumbledore said, taking out his own wand.

The others stood and followed their leader's example.

"Wouldn't hurt to do disillusionment charms, either," Moody growled.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, good idea, Alastor."

Within their ten minutes, the six wizards cast undetectable charms on themselves, and assisted each other with disillusionment charms.

With a look around the kitchen, Dumbledore spoke quietly. "It's time. I will see you all there. Good luck."

With a pop, Dumbledore was gone. Five more pops later, the kitchen of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black was empty.

They were finally going to rescue Harry.