a/n: In case you notice a small discrepancy as you read, I thought I'd say that I know October has 31 days…and it might seem like Kierra needs a calendar, or perhaps a watch, but she's good. Don't worry. I was just trying to keep in mind the time changes between the states and Britain…anywhos, thought I'd just say that..oh yea, also, this isn't the last chapter..don't worry, I'll give u a heads up when I'm writing the final chapter (it'll be a while..lol) I'm thinking it won't go past chapter 50 though…just a rough guess oh yea one more thing, (lol sorry), I just wanted to say thanks to EVERYONE who's read thus far, and I also wanted to apologize to those reading on fanfiction net that I can't personally reply to the reviews..but I do read all of them and really really appreciate each and every one, so thanks, specially all you consistent reviewers out there, you (and I) know who you are! Yay! I've said all I needed to say lol
Chapter 39: Their Last Mile
James stood up and slowly made his way towards the back door. Halfway there—
"James…" Lily whispered. "James"—
James put up a hand to silence Lily, and with his other hand he drew out his wand. "Take Harry and run…" he whispered. No, no…they had got it wrong. Remus was too calm…he was too reserved…But Peter was too greedy…Peter was…weak—
"James—NO!!"
The door swung open and a burst of red light erupted from the entrance, sending James and Lily hurtling backwards.
"GO!!" James moaned he felt around the floor for his glasses. "Go Lily"—
He could hear Lily several feet behind him, moaning in pain as she struggled to get up. He could hear footsteps approaching…No…they weren't going down without a fight.
"Rigda Sampra!!" James shouted while he was still down, staring blindly ahead of him. He saw a dark blur of a man hurtle backwards and hit the floor.
At last he had found his glasses. "TAKE HARRY AND RUN!!" James shouted as he got up. He looked over his shoulder briefly, only to see Lily hurrying up the stairs to Harry's nursery.
"Don't be a fool, boy." The voice sneered.
James shifted his attention to his intruder. He was cloaked and black, and his hood shadowed his face. All he could see were a great pair of red eyes.
"I am not a boy…" James said coldly, hoping to start a little argument in order to buy time for Lily and Harry to escape. "I am a man."
His intruder only laughed his vicious laugh. It seemed to penetrate the entire house.
"You are nothing but a weak, pathetic boy, Potter. Now if you wish to be a man, I'll allow you to fight like one"—
"I AM a man!" James shouted. "Unlike you, you disgusting coward—AAAH!!" James fell backwards and began to writhe in pain as his attacker muttered "crucio".
"Lord Voldemort is NOT a coward." Voldemort spat as he lowered his wand and lifted the curse off James.
"Oh yes, Voldemort is a coward." James breathed.
"You're foolish too, Potter. You dare to speak my name. Say goodbye, little boy…your mudblood wife will be joining you soon." and with that, Voldemort raised his wand….
Lily slammed the door hard as she reached Harry's nursery. She quickly pulled out her wand and locked it. Peter. How did they not see it…She turned around to face a cranky, awake and crying Harry. "I'm sorry honey…" Lily whispered through her tears as she picked Harry up. She headed towards the small fireplace that had been installed in Harry's room for the purpose of a quick getaway. She reached for a fistful of floo powder—
"Aveda Kedavra!!" Lily heard a man shriek from downstairs. Lily gasped and dropped her floo powder as she heard her husband scream—it was cut short though from the speed at which his life was taken—and was followed by a heavy thud. James Potter had fallen.
"James…" Lily whimpered. Instinctively she made for the door…No…no…this couldn't be happening…He wasn't dead…She needed him…Harry needed him…their next baby needed him…As she reached for the doorknob, she jumped back when she heard the footsteps from the stairs. He was going to get them. He'd kill Harry…
Lily quickly backed away from the door, and ran straight to the fireplace. She grabbed another handful of floo powder—
The door flew open and a force so great exploded into the room, causing Lily to fall backwards, her head hitting the bricks of the fireplace. She hugged Harry tightly as she fell, shutting her eyes from the debris.
"No…" Lily whimpered as Voldemort drew nearer to her. She quickly got up and took a few steps forward. She took a deep breath. She felt blood trickling down the back of her skull…
"At last…" Voldemort whispered. He towered over Lily.
"Please…don't"—
"Out of my way, girl"—
"Please!" Lily cried. She shook with fear. Not of Voldemort. But for Harry. "Please don't kill Harry!" she begged. "Take me…kill me! Just don't kill Harry"—
Voldemort had pointed his wand at Lily's heart. "Step away." He said quietly. "It's him that I want"—
"No!"
"Aveda Kedavra!"
The room filled with the green light emitted from Lord Voldemort's wand. There was a shrill scream, and Lily Potter fell to the ground.
Hours earlier, Kierra sat at her desk in her cozy little flat in Salem. She looked down thoughtfully at the parchment that rested in front of her. Twirling her quill between her fingers, Kierra reread her letter to Lily…
As she sealed her letter and went across the room to give the letter to her owl, Kierra began to wonder if it had been appropriate that she mentioned Remus. Lily wouldn't tell Remus anything, would she? James might… But why should she, Kierra even care? She was over him anyway. She was just asking how he was….what was the big deal if she was wondering about him…as a friend? Nothing wrong with that…
As Kierra went back to her desk and pulled out homework papers to grade, she thought about Dominique and Sirius, and what had become of them. They had always been crazy for each other since day one. How could their marriage have gone suddenly topsy turvy? And how were the Potters managing? She rarely heard from them, and got most of her news from Alice Longbottom, who had also gone into hiding, but then came out. The crazed psycho with a wand, as Kierra liked to call Voldemort (no one but James and Sirius found this name to be funny…) had been after the Longbottoms and the Potters for some time, but then had suddenly decided to focus his attention on the Potters. Kierra hadn't known the details, but she knew Voldemort wanted baby Harry dead…
Kierra sighed and got up, abandoning her papers. She couldn't concentrate. Not when all of her friends were in some kind of danger or distress. Things were not looking good in England at all. And she had left it all…all for a job. She abandoned her family and friends. Her work. She was in the order, and she abandoned that. She offered to remain a part of it, but Dumbledore had no need for witches in the States. Voldemort's name was only passively known of in the States, amongst the wizarding world. To Americans, he was just a nutty power hungry British wizard out for world domination. He was off his rocker and the ministry was bound to catch up to him; that was what they thought of him. He was known as a bad guy, but not many people knew much about him, let alone feared him. Kierra grabbed her cloak and headed out the door, deciding to hit the supermarket to buy candy for tomorrow's trick-or-treaters. She hoped the terrible war would end soon.
Little did she know that it would end sooner than she dared to hope, but to a much greater cost than she could have ever fathomed.
Sirius landed his motorbike in front of Peter Pettigrew's house. He hopped off and ran to the door. He rang the bell nervously.
"Wormtail, you in there??" Sirius called when no one answered. He quickly searched his pockets and pulled out a knife. He stuck it in the keyhole of Peter's door and gave it a few twists and turns. Finally, Sirius heard a click. He withdrew his knife and replaced it in his pockets. He opened the door…and was greeted by darkness.
"Wormtail?" Sirius started again as he let himself into the house. "Lumos…"
Expecting to find Peter's living room torn to shreds with furniture thrown askew, Sirius stopped short when he saw that it was untouched by any sort of struggle. It was perfectly clean and quiet…too so for Peter's taste.
Suddenly a very unsettling thought filled Sirius's mind. What if…no…Peter couldn't have…Remus was the spy…Remus was cleverer…more secretive…more…loyal.
Sirius felt very sick now as he clutched his stomach. How did they not see this? Peter was weak, and always stuck with stronger people. Why else was he friends with them? As Sirius began to pace around the living room, panic filled him. Why didn't he stick to being secret keeper? He had no idea where the Potters were hidden…somewhere in Godric's Hollow was all he knew…
Sirius bolted out the door and started his motorbike. He knew where the village was. He'd just fly over it and look for signs of Peter Pettigrew, or death eaters, or Voldemort himself.
'Faster!!' Sirius urged the bike twenty minutes later. He was almost there now…He had no idea what to expect…he just hoped he had made it on time…
As he finally reached Godric's Hollow, Sirius dipped to a lower altitude, in order to get a better view of the houses. Which one was theirs? A small white one with a red volkswagon parked in front of it? No, they didn't have a car, to Sirius's knowledge. The brown house next door? Perhaps the larger brick house further down the street…Sirius glanced around frantically. Then he saw it. Further down, about a mile away, he saw it. He urged his bike forward, and silently praying that he was hallucinating, Sirius squinted in the distance. He wasn't seeing things. There it was, at the borderline of Godric's Hollow and Spinners End, were the remains of a house.
Sirius jumped off his motorbike when he landed. He stared wild eyed at the sight. He was too late…it was all over…Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted when he heard a howl like cry. Sirius turned around quickly, pointing his wand in the direction that he heard the noise.
"Hagrid!"
The large giant of a man looked away from the bundle he was holding, to look down at the new arrival.
"Sirius! He dun it!" Hagrid sobbed. "You-know-who! He dun it! Killed poor Lily and James! Tried killin little 'ol Harry, ended up destroying himself"—
"Harry??" Sirius asked quickly, now rushing over to see what bundle Hagrid carried.
He was awake, but looked very tired. He blinked sleepily at his godfather, completely oblivious to the night's events. He looked as if nothing happened. Except—
"Hagrid…" Sirius started, pointing to Harry's forehead. There was an odd, lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead.
Hagrid only shrugged. "You-know-who must've given it to him, when he tried to kill Harry."
Sirius only nodded dully in return.
"Sorry, Sirius, but I should get goin"—
"Give Harry to me"—
Hagrid shook his head sadly. "Got to take him to his aunt's house"—
"But I'm his godfather!" Sirius retorted. "I'm supposed to take care of him"—
"I know that, Sirius. But Dumbledore's orders…something to do with a safety precaution for Harry…"
Sirius sunk his head in defeat. "Fine." He replied. "hey, take my motorbike. She lives all the way in Surrey."
"Thank, Black. I'll get it back to you tomorrow then."
"No, don't worry about it. I won't be needing it anymore."
Hagrid looked at Sirius curiously for a moment, then nodded. "Thanks."
Sirius watched as Hagrid made his way to the motorbike, and after carefully securing baby Harry to it, he took off.
Sirius turned around once more to face the rubble. Without thinking, he knelt down and began digging furiously. Throwing bricks out of the way, broken glass, remnants of furniture…he'd sit here all night if he had to…after several minutes, his hand finally landed on something soft…and fleshy. Sirius took a deep breath as he removed the remaining debris…and his heart seemed to stop at the sight. His best friend…his brother, lay in front of him as a defeated soldier. He breathed heavily as he stared into his friend's open eyes. The shock was still in them. Memories flashed before Sirius. He was on his first train ride to Hogwarts, and a friendly boy with black hair and a mischievous grin sat in his train compartment, babbling away about everything from Quidditch to chocolate frogs, to dungbombs…The same young boy ran happily to Sirius and joined him at the Gryffindor table, shouting "I knew I'd be a Gryffindor!!"…Slightly taller, the boy was now looking at him dreamily, muttering something about red hair and green eyes….even older now, the boy waved around a golden snitch, showing off his reflexes to his friends…the same boy, now a man, put his arm around a teenage Sirius, welcoming him to the Potter family….the man was lounging about in Sirius's flat, laughing heartily at a joke…he was looking proudly at Sirius, holding out his new born baby…Sirius turned away, but put his hand to James's face as he closed his eyes.
Dominique landed hard on the floor of Peter Pettigrew's fireplace. "Lumos…" she muttered, as she was greeted by total darkness. She stepped out of the fireplace and made her way out of the living room. "Peter?" she asked timidly. There was something eerie about this…
"Peter??" She asked more loudly. No answer. She looked at her watch. It was now in the early hours of November 1st.
After searching Peter's small house, Dominique headed back to the fireplace and grabbed another fistful of floo powder. What was this about? Sirius disappears to see Peter, and Peter isn't home. Were they rounding up to go somewhere? Oh, why couldn't Sirius explain to her why he was going to Peter's? It'd only take him a thirty seconds longer! Her curiosity was now turning to fear…If only she knew where the Potters were staying…
Dominique sighed as she stepped into the fireplace and dropped the floo powder. She wondered if Remus was home.
"Well, you said he sounded scared…" Remus muttered as they hurried out of Dominique and Sirius's house, after checking to see if Sirius had come back home.
"Yea..." Dominique replied, "and said he needed to go to Peter's…and he left, just like that…I get there, and no one's there…"
"Think it has anything to do with the Potters?" Remus asked, looking nervously at Dominique. She in return only shrugged.
"It's possible…" Dominique replied as they walked quickly through a muggle street. "I just wish I knew where they were staying…we could go check on them…"
"Sirius never told you?"
"No—wait—" Dominique stopped and turned to look at Remus. "what makes you think Sirius knows where they are?"
Remus sighed. "Lily told me a couple weeks ago that they were making him the secret keeper."
"Oh…"
Dominique made to continue walking, but Remus stopped her. "Wait…why were you surprised to hear that I knew Sirius knows their whereabouts?"
"Oh…nothing…I wasn't surprised…" Dominique answered untruthfully.
"D…"
"Really! I'm serious!"
They continued to walk. After a few moments of silence, Remus spoke up again.
"You guys don't trust me, do you?" he asked, almost casually.
"What?" Dominique asked, trying to sound surprised, in order to cover her guilt.
"Someone in the order's a spy…you guys think it's me, don't you?" he asked, in the same unnervingly calm voice.
"What? Why would you"—
"It explains a lot…"
"They think you are…" Dominique said quietly, looking anywhere but at Remus. She could just hear Sirius and James calling her a traitor…
"Who's they?"
"Sirius, James and Peter. I don't think Lily was really too convinced. Listen, how are we ever going to find them if we're ambling about on foot? We should've gotten our brooms…" Dominique said quickly, trying to change the subject. She was growing more and more uncomfortable.
Remus didn't answer. Anger was filling in him. All this time, his friends were distancing themselves from him because they suspected him. But why? What had he done to cause them to suspect him? He had been friends with them since their first year at Hogwarts…he had always been there for them…he never snitched on them when they acted up…he rarely came out and told them off when they were out of line…he didn't understand it. Why him?
"Remus…" Dominique started again, glancing around nervously as they walked down the quiet, dimly lit streets, "maybe we should apparate back to my place…get some brooms. It's a muggle area and I don't feel safe without having my wand out…let's go back. I'll get my broom, and you can use Sirius's Cleansweep"—
"I don't want to use anything belonging to him." Remus said automatically.
"Remus, I'm sorry," Dominique said, looking at him pleadingly. "I don't know what he and James are being arrogant little berks about, but we'll never find Peter and Sirius at this rate…"
"Has it occurred to you at all that I'm probably too angry at them to really care?"
"Yes, it has." Dominique replied quietly. "But you were always the considerate one. I figured you'd remember that Sirius is my husband, and understand my worry for him."
After a minute's worth of silence, Remus spoke up.
"Maybe we should report them missing…"
"To the ministry?"
"Sure. It's not to far from here"—
Remus stopped mid-sentence at the sound of an explosion, followed by a burst of light that illuminated the night.
"Over there!" Dominique shouted, pointing a few blocks ahead. Sure enough the sound of shouting and assorted commotion could be heard not far ahead, but not seen, as several office buildings had blocked their view. "Wands out?" Dominique asked as they hurried down the sidewalk, observing the aura of green light from the explosion. "I've got a bad feeling it's a wizard…"
"Either that or there's been a nuclear meltdown…wands sound like a good idea…" Remus replied.
As they reached the scene of commotion, Dominique and Remus were greeted by a large crowd of people, who were encircling and watching something with mingled fear and shock.
"Excuse us…" Dominique said as she pushed through the crowd with Remus. She stopped short as she reached the front, causing Remus to run into her. There was a large crater-sized erosion in the street, several people lay dead, while several others were being carried away in stretchers to muggle ambulances. There must have been some sort of bombing…but then…
Cornelius Fudge. A short, middle aged man Dominque recognized from the Ministry of Magic, who was slightly senior to herself, was standing amongst the police.
"We'll get this all taken care of, don't worry. A few words with the prime minister, really…" she heard him tell the police chief.
"Oh God…" Remus breathed.
Dominique looked at Remus curiously, but then turned to the direction which Remus was looking, in order to see what rendered him so awestruck.
Sirius Black was being dragged away by several cloaked men, towards what looked like an official ministry car.
"Sirius!" she screamed.
But he didn't hear her. He was laughing insanely as he was being pulled away. "Peter you bastard!!" he shouted between his hysteric laughs, "I swear I'll be back to finish the job!! THIS ISN'T OVER"—
A young wizard with short brown hair and a sharp nose silenced him with the flick of his wand. Dominique recognized him as her boss, Crouch. "You are under arrest on the count of the murder of Peter Pettigrew, assistance in the murder of Lily and James Potter, and espionage…"
And Dominique heard no more. "No…" she breathed, as she felt herself go dizzy. Her surroundings went dim, and just as Remus saw her falling and caught her, Dominique blacked out and knew no more…
It was noon when Dominique opened her eyes. She fluttered them for a moment, trying to remember what had happened to her…and suddenly the memories came rushing back. Dominique sat up immediately but stopped short to observe her surroundings. This was certainly a familiar place. Just then, Madam Pomfrey came rushing to her side.
"Ah, she's awake headmaster!" she said, immediately grabbing her pillows to fluff them up.
"Madam Pomfrey"—
"Not the best time for a reunion, I know…" she said hastily, "but the headmaster thought it was best to bring you here to the hospital wing…wanted to keep an eye on you as well as his students. Not any major malady, I've checked. Just fainted from shock, that's all"—
"Ah, Poppy. Thank you for seeing to my niece"—Dominique shifted her attention to the entrance. There stood Dumbledore, along with Remus and Cornelius Fudge—"if you don't mind I'd like to take her away now and have a word with her in my office."
Within minutes, Dominique was following Remus, Fudge and Dumbledore up to his office. She walked alongside with Remus, but they dared not to speak a word to each other. When they had finally settled into Dumbledore's office, the headmaster turned to Dominique and Remus.
"I have had a long chat with Cornelius here, as well as other ministry officials, including our minister, Jenkins. I shall inform you of what we've come to a consensus on about tonight's incidents."
"First, the good news. It appears that after tonight, we can rest easy in knowing that Lord Voldemort (Fudge shuttered) has been defeated…"
"He's dead??" Dominique and Remus asked at once. But Dumbledore shook his head.
"Probably not. He's probably alive, but only just. If I know Tom, I am almost certain that he took precautions against death years ago. But it seems that presently, he is no longer a threat to us. His death eaters and followers have all disbanded."
"However, it grieves me to explain to you the cost of this wonderful victory. As you all know, Voldemort (Fudge shuttered again) had been after the Potters for quite some time. Today, his spy was finally discovered. Sirius Black, who was the Potters' secret keeper, gave away their whereabouts to Voldemort, and last night on Halloween, Voldemort showed up at their hideout and killed Lily and James."
"But Harry"—
Dumbledore put a hand up to Remus to silence him. "Voldemort then turned his wand to Harry, and attempted to kill him. His spell however, backfired. This was probably due to the fact that Lily had died trying to save Harry. I say this because according to officials, her body was found by Harry, and they were both in the spot where his nursery would have stood."
Dominique stared at Dumbledore disbelievingly. How could he talk about such details with so much calmness? She imagined Lily; strong, brave Lily, standing up to the world's darkest wizard, guarding her son…
"So Voldemort's spell backfired, and either it killed him, which I find unlikely, or simply destroyed him and stripped him of his powers."
"What happened to Harry? Sirius was supposed to be his godfather…" Remus said, trying not to sound bitter at saying Sirius's name.
"Harry was ok. All that Voldemort left on him was a scar upon his forehead. His only living relative is Lily's sister, so he was left with them"—
"Lily hated her though," Dominique started, "Petunia hates magic"—
"I understand…" Dumbledore replied. "But under the circumstances…"
"Well, couldn't I"—
"Unfortunately, no." This time Fudge spoke up. "According to ministry law, your marriage has to be nullified since Black's gone to Azkaban"—
"He's in Azkaban?" Dominique asked disbelievingly.
"He's getting a very easy sentence." Fudge said swiftly. "Crouch wanted to take him straight to the dementors for a kiss, but the minister overruled him. That Jenkins is a softy…"
"So, we're not married"—
"Not anymore." Fudge replied. "Therefore, while under normal circumstances you'd be legally made godmother since you were the spouse of the godfather, because of the annulment, that rule doesn't apply anymore. Would you prefer to stay married to a convict?" he asked, with a note of sarcasm.
"No." Dominique replied quietly.
"Well, this is to the extent that I know. Mr. Fudge, if you'll be so kind as to fill us in on Back's dealings with Peter Pettigrew?"
Remus and Dominique turned their attention to Fudge, who was now looking slightly smug and self important at having everyone's attention. "Well," he started, "based on interrogations from the various muggle witnesses we had on the street, we came to this conclusion. Young Peter Pettigrew was simply enraged and shaken up from finding out about the Potters' deaths. He allegedly went after Black and found him in that muggle street. He shouted at him, calling him a traitor. Pulled his wand out, silly of him, really. Black was much faster. Blew him to oblivion before Peter could so much as flick his wand. Blew up a hole right in the street. All we could find of the poor boy was his finger…"
Remus inhaled sharply. Poor Peter. Poor, stupid Peter. Sirius had always been twice the dueler Peter was. He should've left him to the ministry. But to go after Sirius…that wasn't something he'd have expected of Peter…to confront a friend…he suddenly felt proud of Peter, but the feeling quickly went away and was replaced by a surge of hatred towards Sirius. Cold-blooded murderer…
"He's been awarded order of merlin, first class of course. Should be a bit of a comfort to his poor mother…"
"He was laughing…" Dominque whispered.
"I beg your pardon?" Fudge asked.
"Sirius…laughing like a madman."
"A madman is an understatement, my dear. I saw you come in…you didn't hear the half of it" Fudge replied, turning towards Dumbledore. "He was like a lunatic. Completely unhinged. Probably because of his master's defeat…he was raving like mad…laughing and shouting…yelling at Peter as if he were still alive and standing there…making a mockery of the poor boy. And he kept making references to you-know-who…saying it wasn't over…his work wasn't done…"
Just then, a knock came from the door, and someone came in. It was Crouch and he was looking particularly smug at the moment.
"May I help you, Crouch?" Dumbledore asked.
"I was told I'd find Cornelius here, headmaster." Crouch replied.
"Everything alright?" Fudge asked, getting up and heading over to Crouch.
"Everything's fine," Crouch replied. "But the minister's in need of you. He wants you at the ministry. Actually, that puts me in mind," Crouch said, turning back to Dumbledore, "Minister Jenkins did say he'd like you to make an appearance at the trial tomorrow."
"Whose trial may this be? Mr. Black's?"
Crouch only laughed and waved a hand. "Course not, the bastard's already been thrown in Azkaban…" he cleared his throat uncomfortably and tugged at his collar as he spotted Dominique, staring at Dumbledore's desk, refusing to acknowledge his presence.
"No," he continued, looking more solemn now, "it's for the Lestranges. Rudolphus and Bellatrix…"
"I see. You've finally caught them. Excellent work Crouch." Dumbledore said.
"Thank you Dumbledore. We got a heads up from an old death eater…gave away a bunch of names to save his ass. So, will you be at the trial? Jenkins said he'll send you a briefing later…"
"Of course."
"Good. I hope to get them the heaviest punishment. They lost me two of my best aurors."
"Who?" Dominique asked suddenly. Being an auror in training, she was very good friends with most of her senior colleagues…
Crouch turned to her with a look of surprise on his face, but slowly frowned. "The Longbottoms…"
"What??" Dominique and Remus asked together, looking at him incredulously.
"They killed"—
"Worse," Crouch said, shaking his head. "Tortured them to insanity…they wanted to know you-know-who's whereabouts…they're at St. Mungo's for good now. Saw their little tyke being handed over to Frank's mum. Strict old bag, she is…"
And now they had lost Frank and Alice, Remus thought sadly. He glanced over at Dominique, who looked like she was on the brink of an emotional breakdown. Six friends gone in 24 hours. Five dead, one turned traitor and shipped off to Azkaban….
"Well, we should get going right away then. I'm dreading to see my mailbox at the ministry…" Fudge said.
"It's a nightmare over there." Crouch replied as he headed towards the door with Fudge. "Busy as hell. You'd think it'd calm down a bit with you-know-who being defeated…"
"I say," Fudge began, "after the work's all done, we need to celebrate. Three Broomsticks tonight?"
"Sure, why not? Dumbledore, you ought to come too," Crouch said, looking over his shoulder to the headmaster, "you kids can come as well." He added, noticing Dominique and Remus, though as he glanced at Remus it was with a small look of disdain.
The three nodded at the ministry officials and said goodbye. However, just as they opened the door to leave—
"Crouch, wait"—
Crouch turned around to see Dominique getting of her chair and running up to meet her boss.
"Yes, Fiore?"
Fiore. The name sounded almost foreign to her now. She had become accustomed to being called Mrs. Black...she should be glad to be ridden of the name though now…
"I wanted to let you know that I'm resigning."
"Beg your pardon?" Crouch asked.
"I'm resigning…"
Crouch looked at her with surprise, but quickly regained his composure. "Trainees don't resign. Only our aurors"—
"Whatever you call it," Dominique said, "I quit…"
Crouch nodded and turned around to leave. "Have your desk cleared out by Monday." He said as he left.
"D"—
"Don't question me." Dominique said curtly before Remus could so much as start his question. "I know what I'm doing and I know what I want. I'm sick of fighting"—
"But the fighting's done!" Remus said.
"Yes, and at what cost?!" Dominique asked furiously, "Our friends are all dead!! My husband…he…" her voice cracked at the tightening of her throat. Soon she found herself being ushered back into her seat by Remus as she broke down and cried.
"I hate him!!" she sobbed. "I married that fool! Pretended to hate his family line, and all this time, he was with them! I can't believe this…I can't believe he did this…he lied…betrayed me…"
"I believe anyone who's known Black personally is feeling quite betrayed at the moment…" Dumbledore said sadly. "He had us all believing he was dedicated to our cause…my dear"—
Dominique had gotten up abruptly and headed towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Remus asked.
"I don't know…I want to be alone…I want to get away…"
"From us?"
"From everything…this whole stupid magical world…I hate it…I don't want to deal with it…"
"But Dominique"—
Remus made to get up to follow his friend, but Dumbledore stopped him.
"Let her be," he said as Dominique slammed the door shut. "She'll come around. She always does."
After a moment of silence between the two, Remus stood up. "I should get going, sir…I need to see to my mum"—
Remus was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Come in…" Dumbledore said.
Minerva McGonagall entered the room, carrying an envelope. "Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt"—
"Oh not at all, Minerva…how can I help you?" Dumbledore asked.
"Well, I ran into a ministry official on my way back here…Bertha Jorkins…she gave me this"—she handed the envelope to Dumbledore—"she told me an owl delivered this to the Potters' house when they were clearing up the rubble…she wasn't exactly sure what to do with this, so when she ran into me she thought you should take it…"
"Thank you, Minerva."
McGonagall nodded and turned to leave, but then looked back at Dumbledore. "Albus, are you absolutely certain that you want to keep Harry with those Dursleys"—
"I already explained the whole thing to you, Minerva. It is the best way to protect Harry."
Professor McGonagall only sniffed as she turned on her heel and left.
"Minerva had been observing the Dursleys all day in her animagi form, since she found out I'd be sending Harry there, and informed me that they were the most disagreeable sort of muggles…" Dumbledore explain. "She doesn't really approve of the plan."
Remus shrugged. "I met Petunia once. I can't say I liked her much myself."
"If I could leave Harry to someone like yourself or Dominique, good friends of James and Lily, I would…but I find that Harry's happiness is second to his safety. And I'm sure that no matter how the Dursleys treat him, he'll come to Hogwarts in one piece, ten years from now."
"Right." Remus replied. "Well, I should go, I'll leave you to your letter…"
"Not so fast, Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore said as he opened the letter, "this seems to be from a Miss Kierra Nakofsky…"
"Sorry?" Remus asked abruptly. It had been a long time since he heard that name…
"Kierra Nakofsky…seems that she was still keeping touch with the Potters…" Dumbledore said as he skimmed through the letter, and with a glance at Lupin, he added, "and it seems that you two haven't…"
"Me and Kierra?"
"Kierra and I." he corrected him. "Your grammar is usually up to snuff, Mr. Lupin…"
"Er…"
"Perhaps you should read it…you've more a right to it than I…" Dumbledore said, handing the letter to Remus.
"Oh…ok…" Remus said dumbly as he took the letter from him and read it:
30 October 1981
Dear Lily,
I hope this finds you and your family in good health, and more importantly, safe. It's been a while since I've heard from you or James, so I thought I'd drop a few lines. Alice wrote me a while ago and told me you all were planning on playing a very extended game of hide and seek with that crazed psycho with a wand. I think I can safely assume that that's what's happened to you guys. I just hope you all are ok. Whenever you get this, please write me, even if it's just a line. I just want to know that you all are fine.
In other news, nothing has really happened here. I'm getting a bit sick of the states. I've been living here for a while now, and people STILL say they can't understand me…like I'm some sort of Cockney or something, good grief. It's those Americans that have got God-awful accents. The only thing I honestly like about this place is the food. They have a lot of it. Everywhere. Oh, and the boys. They're really attentive around here. Then again, it might be the whole accent thing… Anyway, after my contract expires (not for another bloody three years!), I plan on looking for work in Britain, or at least in Europe. France would be my second choice. I went there for vacation a few summers ago, remember? I liked it. I'd have to learn a bit of French though first. Ugh. Anyway, It'll be great to see my family more often, and of course, all of you.
Before wrapping this up, there was one thing I wanted to ask you about. As you know, D and I haven't been talking. I've been feeling horrible about it, and Alice told me in her last letter that she and Sirius were getting along terribly. I've had the urge to write to D several times, but I never do it, I don't know why…I don't know what to say. Heck, I don't even know if it's safe to write. You know how she holds grudges…Does she still hate me? Another person I haven't talked to for ever longer, that I've thought about a few times was Remus. How's he doing? How's his mother? Peter had mentioned in his last letter that Mrs. Lupin wasn't doing well at all. Hope she gets better. Well, best to get going now. Give my love to the family and the gang, and give Harry a kiss for me. Hope to hear from you (and/or James) soon.
Love,
Kierra
Remus looked at her signature nostalgically…she scribbled a heart over her 'i' instead of dotting it, just as she always did. She mentioned him…she hadn't forgotten him then…Kierra thought the Potters were still hiding…she talked of people who were dead…she had no idea…
"Mr. Lupin"—Remus looked up quickly at Dumbledore—"Though I'm sure someone in her family will write her about last night's incidents, I hate to see this letter go unacknowledged and unanswered…"
"Right. I understand…perhaps we should show this to Dominique, and she can write to her?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "Aside from the fact that they still are not on speaking terms—Dominique told me she had gotten into a fight with Kierra a while ago…for what reasons, I don't know"—Dumbledore added when he saw Remus give him a curious look—"there's also the slight problem that Dominique is not here. I have no idea where she's gone, nor how long she intends on being away. I think it best that you write her. I could easily do it myself, but I think Kierra would rather hear it from an old friend."
"Though it seems as you're not on speaking terms with her either," Dumbledore said quickly, before Remus could protest, "you don't seem to be on bad terms. I think she mentioned you in her letter…asked how you were"—
"She asked about my mum." Remus said.
"Well, even so, you've obviously been in her thoughts. I think she'd appreciate a letter from you, Remus. If you really do find it too difficult to do this, I will be more than happy to write her myself."
Remus sighed, looking away from Dumbledore, feeling a pang of guilt. Yes, it would be too difficult…
"I'll write her." He said.
And with great difficulty, he wrote her. Remus sat at his desk for nearly two hours, writing draft after draft. Finally (after four drafts), Remus sealed his final letter to Kierra. He managed to break the terrible news of the Potters, Longbottoms, Peter and Sirius (not to mention Dominique quitting her job and taking off) in what he thought to be a fairly gentle manner. He (most hesitantly) ended his letter by saying that it was nice to hear that she planned on moving back to Europe in a few years time. He was about to add that everyone had missed her, but then he realized it was hardly a comforting thought—everyone who had missed her was now dead or at St. Mungo's. Well, except for him. But she couldn't know that. After he signed it 'sincerely, Remus Lupin', it occurred to Remus that Kierra would be wondering how he got a hold of her letter in the first place, so he stuck on a p.s. and explained how her letter got in his hands.
As Remus sent his owl off with the letter, he headed to his room and collapsed onto his bed. He had only gotten a couple hours of sleep last night, as he had been awoken by Dominique in the middle of the night. He would go to sleep, and perhaps he would wake up and find out that it was all just a nightmare…