Chapter Three
Reapparating three feet above the ground, Remus dropped in a free fall onto cold, dewy grass. His nerves were lit with erratic electrical impulses shooting bolts of pain up and down his nervous system causing spasms and muscle cramping to swim randomly throughout his body. Swimming in and out of consciousness, he felt a Mobilicorpus spell placed upon him, and was jostled inside a dark house. "Remus!" a voice tinned around his brain before he could understand the word. He bumped and slammed into a few well-placed walls and doors under the spell until he finally fell disgracefully onto a couch. His eyes started to roll up under his lids, then contracted onto the face of Severus Snape. "— alone–... Dumb– way..." His hearing snapped on and off until intense exhaustion overcame him, and he let his eyelids close. He slid further and further away until his cheek bloomed in ripples of pain that traveled around his head and met again on the back of his head.
The next thing he knew, he was on a bed; three blobby faces smeared throughout his eyesight until they decided to stay in mostly one place. "You gave us quite a scare, Remus." Dumbledore's voice echoed from far away, but still managed to calm the man. "Especially Severus," Dumbledore added, his eyes twinkling. Remus thought the other man almost blushed.
"Wha?"
"We were hoping that you could tell us," Albus answered. "Severus said that you kept saying 'nine and a half" a few times, but nothing besides that. We do know that you were hit with a Crucio curse, but it was definitely done by an amateur."
"No," he croaked out. "Wha-?"
"Ah!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "It has been exactly one and a half weeks since you apparated onto the lawn of 12 Grimauld Place." The world jolted into sickening focus for Remus. He wrenched himself up into a halfway sitting position until a hand snaked out of nowhere and pushed him back down with more force than necessary. "It's quite all right, Remus. Everything has been taken care of and there were not any problems regarding last Saturday's full moon. You are safe here at Black Manor, and are able to remain here until you wish to leave."
"No," Remus finally found his vocal cords. "They're recruiting children."
"What?" the formerly quiet Madame Pomfrey gasped.
"'Nine and a half' was the age of my attackers."
"I warned you not to annoy any more Slytherins," Snape stated blandly.
"It ISN'T funny, Snape." Remus pushed aside the hand and sat up. "I have to go." He stated.
"Go where?" Dumbledore asked.
"To save him." Lupin dodged another hand, and managed to sway onto his feet. He had just managed to steady himself when he promptly fell back onto the bed.
"I can see that you've managed to pick up Potter's rather bad habits." Severus commented as another mysterious pair of hands straightened the other man back onto the bed properly.
"Who do you need to save, Remus?" Albus asked once the bodily machinations were over.
"Tollie." Remus exhaled.
"Tollie?" Snape hissed. "Have you seen him? No, don't tell me. Headmaster, I need to talk to Lupin alone." Pomfrey started to argue back, but was silenced by the older man. Dumbledore assented, and escorted Madame Pomfrey from the room. "Just leave Tollie alone," Severus ordered Remus once they were alone.
"That's what the twins told me."
"Twins?" Severus asked. "Must be the Castle Twins. Molly Weasley's second cousins once removed. They were your attackers? Last I saw them, they were still wearing matching pinafores and playing with enchanted Barbie dolls."
"Yes, well, they've somehow learned unforgivable curses since then."
"I always knew that they would be up to no good."
"Prime Slytherin candidates then. I'm sure that you'll especially indulge them when they get into Hogwarts more than usual after this stunt."
For once, Snape ignored an obvious verbal challenge, opting for a different topic. "So you and Tollie, eh? I would never have imagined it personally, but now that I've thought about it, it makes sense. Only you could find a clone of Sirius Black so quickly."
"He's not Sirius." Remus asserted, his temper rising.
"A lot closer than you think. He's been missing for six months now. Parents would pay a fortune to get him back. If they had a fortune, that is."
"He is a good kid for the most part."
"Yes, I presume that is the reason why they want to kill him."
"What?"
"So the Castle Twins are his benefactors," Severus stated, skirting onto a new subject, trying to ambush Remus with a well-defined attack. "Never have guessed it. Has he mentioned anyone else?"
"Severus, why would his parents want to kill him?"
"Because he knows too many secrets."
"We all have secrets," Remus echoed.
"Now that is Tollie."
"Answer me," Remus demanded. "Why do they want him dead?"
Snape finally grew fatigued by the ineffective banter, and resigned himself to the fact that Remus was in no condition to argue properly. "It's not for me to say, Remus. I am the last person to answer that particular question. Just be thankful that all you got was a half powered Crucio out of the deal. Now, it's very important- has he mentioned anyone else?"
Remus looked down at his hands, pondering the question, then finally answered "He said that he saw a cousin of his dragged off to Azkaban and sentenced to three years."
"Sounds like the Blakewells. That boy definitely knows how to pick unlikely accomplices when he ran away."
Remus looked back at what was probably his oldest living friend. "I've got to help him, Severus."
"You can't. Tollie goes beyond Voldemort. He knows too many Death Eaters and their sympathizers. Too many wizards and witches who think that Voldemort's an idiot, but believe in his fascist ideals. If Tollie were to resurface now, he'd be dead in a week."
"I can take him to Grimauld." Remus stated, almost pleading.
"Oh, yes." Snape answered. "Because that worked so splendidly the last time."
"He's only seventeen." Remus countered, sounding more and more desperate.
"He's one of the oldest."
"So they are recruiting children."
"As are we; just as we had been."
"I still have to try."
Snape shook his head sadly, his hair shuddering lankly. "Potter is definitely a bad influence. And you used to be the smart one too, Remus. My advice to you is let him remain hidden underground. And to break all contact with him immediately."
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because he needs someone- he's lonely."
"No, you're lonely." Snape stated. "Tollie can take care of himself. You, however, cannot."
"I have to go." Remus stated defiantly, sliding himself up.
"Where?"
Remus finally found the ability to grin at the other man. "You asked not to be told."
"You are going to get him killed." Severus reiterated, slightly tapping Remus just enough to make the other man lose his balance.
Remus slammed back onto the bed, slumping at his own body's inability to remain vertical for any length of time.
Once he realized that Remus was no longer going to fight back, Severus lost his feigned hostility. "How do you feel?"
"Like I did right after the first time." Remus replied distantly. He closed his eyes and laid back down on the bed, already half asleep. Snape said a few more things, but the sound only drowned in his ears, causing him to finally fall asleep.
