Chapter 15: The Face of Truth

Sirius let Frank in the front door. "You're not going to believe any of this," he said.

"Thanks for the warning."

"First off, Voldemort's dead."

"You're just figuring that out now?"

"No, he wasn't really dead until today. But now he is."

Frank shrugged. "If you say so."

"I'll show you his body. But later. Second thing, you remember Remus and Danger Lupin, don't you?"

"Of course I do."

"It turns out they're not dead after all."

"Where've they been all this time, then?"

Sirius scowled. "Here. Being used as slave labor. If I'd only known..."

"Are they all right?"

"Yeah, they're all right. They were experimented on some, so they turn into wolves when the sun goes down, but they don't go out of their minds, any more than they already were. Malfoy was using a potion on them to keep them in the wolf shape during the day as well. They're your guard wolves."

Frank groaned. "You're right. I don't believe any of this."

"I'm just getting started. Ready for the big one?"

"Go ahead, hit me."

"Malfoy's son isn't really his."

"What, Narcissa was sleeping around?"

"No, he's not hers either. It was the old 'switch-the-babies' game. Narcissa's child was born dead, and Remus and Danger had just had a son. They obviously didn't want Lucius to find him, and Narcissa needed some way to keep herself from getting repudiated, so they struck a deal."

Frank shook his head slowly. "So this boy Ray that Neville's been writing home about isn't really a Malfoy after all?"

"Nope. And it makes sense if you think about it. I mean, come on. A Malfoy, in Gryffindor?"

"Don't be prejudiced. A lot of people wouldn't have believed a Black in Gryffindor either, until you."

Sirius sighed. "True. Oh yes, before I forget, we've also got Peter Pettigrew. Would you back me up if I claimed he died resisting arrest, as long as I didn't actually kill him?"

"What are you suggesting?"

"As small a cage as I can manage without it being cruelty to animals, and a shelf in my cubicle at work. I don't trust anyone else with him anymore, not after he got away twice."

"I'll think about it."

They were descending stairs now, going into what in an ordinary house would have been the basement, but in Malfoy Manor could only be called dungeons. "He's down here," said Sirius, pointing at a hallway. "And the Snark Lord's body. Care to see it?"

"Might as well. Just to have another witness."

A fat grey rat was quivering in the middle of the hallway, held in place by ropes made of fire. "Nice effect," said Frank, looking at it critically.

"Tell Remus. He did it." Sirius pushed open a wooden door. "Presenting He-Who-Must-Be-Hyphenated."

"Do you make jokes about everything?"

"Just about. Letha calls it my coping mechanism."

Frank looked at the crumpled, misshapen body of what had been the Darkest wizard in a hundred years. "He fell off the chair?"

"Under the impetus of a rock thrown by one Harry Potter." Sirius smiled proudly. "And look, this is strange. Right on his forehead, see? That's where the rock hit him."

"That is strange." The jagged edges of the missile had cut Voldemort's forehead open in the shape of a bolt of lightning, almost identical to the scar on Harry's own forehead.

"And farther back in the room, we have one very happy snake." Sirius drew his wand and lit it, revealing a huge snake coiled up in the far corner. "Have to get someone from Regulation and Control to come take care of it at some point. It's poisonous."

"What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing. It's just dreaming."

"Dreaming?"

"Long story. But, to be on the safe side..." Sirius conjured a cage around the snake, making sure the bars were too closely set for it to slither out. "So, that's all the nasty stuff taken care of. Want to go say hello to some old friends?"

"Why not."

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Reynard were fast asleep in a heap on the floor when Sirius and Frank arrived. Nott and Malfoy were still unconscious, and after greeting Remus and Danger, Frank went to use the Malfoys' Floo to call for backup in getting them to the Ministry.

So enlighten me, said Danger. Why did they only send two Aurors into a dangerous place like Malfoy Manor?

"We didn't want to tip Lucius off that we knew it had been him on Hogwarts grounds. Any more than two would have been a dead giveaway." Sirius was scratching behind her ears, making her tail thump against the floor. "I'm still not sure I can believe this. You two alive, and with a son Harry's age – no, he's older than Harry, isn't he?"

Yes. About two months older. Danger only carried him for about six months, probably because wolf gestation is only three months or so. Remus looked fondly at his son. He was the most beautiful baby. But I'm sure you felt that way about Meghan. I can't wait to meet her.

I'm just looking forward to getting out of here, said Danger. And morning. And then tomorrow night...

"Yes. Your turn to enlighten me. How do you know about that?"

Both wolves chuckled. You're going to love this one, said Remus. Classic case of being hoist with your own petard.

Apparently, said Danger, rearranging herself slightly so that Sirius could get at her other ear, it's no fun being an evil Dark Lord unless you can gloat about it to someone. And it's no fun gloating to your followers, because they know everything you've already done, and you can't tell them about your big plans for the future, because they might run off and betray you. Besides, you want someone you can shock and horrify. Someone who isn't on your side, but can't do anything about whatever you tell them.

Strange how neatly we fit the bill, isn't it?

"Voldemort gloated to you?"

Oh, constantly. But only when we were in wolf form – I think it was because he didn't want us to be able to answer.

Remus rolled over, twisting his back against the floor. I had to stop you from shouting at him a couple of times, as I recall.

Whatever. Anyway, he'd get us alone in a room, tell us all his big plans, and watch us react.

And we always made sure to react the way he wanted, so he'd keep doing it.

Sirius shook his head admiringly. "You were pumping him," he said. "Pumping Lord Voldemort himself for information!"

Yes.

Of course, the problem was, we couldn't do a damn thing with it. Remus shook his head, as if shaking off bad memories. Not until Ray was about a year and a half old. Old enough to hold a quill.

"But what good would that do? An eighteen-month-old can't write."

No. But you need to know something about Ray and us. He was speaking to us mentally even before he was born. We've been in contact almost his whole life. He trusts us completely.

"So?"

If he relaxes and allows us access to his mind, we can control his body. Use it as if it was our own. Do things like write.

Of course, we couldn't write very well at first, said Danger. Because he had only an eighteen-month-old's motor control. But we managed to get the really important stuff across. Like when your lovely cousin Bellatrix roosted here for a night, and told Lucius all about how she was going to go try to get the secret of where Voldemort had gone out of a pair of well-respected Aurors...

"The Longbottoms," said Sirius, suddenly understanding. "The anonymous tip – that was you!"

Yes. Remus nodded. We've been writing to Dumbledore for years. Dobby delivers the letters to his office, and picks up anything Dumbledore leaves for us.

"Great." Sirius rolled his eyes. "Dumbledore knew about this too? And never told anyone?"

Well, I doubt he knew it was us, said Danger. Though with Dumbledore, you never know. We had a code we wrote in – he signed his letters to us "Mithrandir", and we were his "friends in low places".

We referred to Harry as "Arthur", said Remus. Like King Arthur, being raised in hiding by a foster family. And Wormtail as "Grima".

"Grima Wormtongue. Nice."

Oh, so Letha finally got you to read The Lord of the Rings! You never told us that!

"It was self-defense," said Sirius tiredly. "So I'd finally understand everything she was always going on about. But go on. You were able to get really important messages out by having Ray write them, and Dobby deliver them."

Yes.

"So why didn't you ever write one telling us you were alive?"

Collars, said Danger bitterly. We couldn't even tell anyone by proxy.

To tell you the truth, Padfoot, we really weren't so badly off. Not after we got into the routine around here, that is.

Danger sighed heavily. The first two months, when we had no idea what was going on, or if we were going to live to see tomorrow, those were bad. There were days when we didn't get food, days when the Death Eaters were bored and decided torturing us would help pass the time...

They tried separating us for a while, but it didn't work like they thought it would. Remus snickered. Once again, their own petard. If Voldemort had never hit us with that spell, we would never have been able to talk like this, and we would have been frantic when they split us up. But as it was, we managed.

Things got a little better once Malfoy took us over, Danger said, giving the unconscious man a poisonous glance. He never starved us, or tortured us. But that was because we were valuable property to him. Bastard.

It didn't take us long to get Dobby on our side, said Remus. He was limited by his duties to his master, of course, but he could still bring us things that we wanted, as long as we couldn't use them to escape or get word out.

Our powers also helped. Once Remus had command over fire, he could keep us warm while we were inside – that room's not heated particularly well, we nearly got pneumonia before we had that vision – and we could dream of being free, even if we couldn't have it for real.

And then Ray was born, and that put Narcissa in our debt, and things opened up tremendously. She started talking to us, and expecting us to answer. We became... not friends, exactly. More like allies. But it still helped to have one person around who didn't treat us like animals.

I'm a little worried about Hermione, said Danger, looking at her sleeping sister. This is the only life she's ever known. She's not overly coordinated in human form – no one would be, if they only wore it once a month in real life. Dreams are nice, but they can't give you the real feel of things.

She'll cope, love, said Remus surely. She's a strong one, our Kitten.

"She's a sleepy one at the moment. Why are they all asleep?"

She and Ray had that edgy feeling to them which usually means overexcited, and Harry and Ron were starting to act that way as well. So I fed them a strong dream of being tired, and they responded perfectly.

"No kidding." Sirius looked at Danger with new respect. "That's one hell of a power you've got going there."

Works best on people who trust me and people who are emotionally worked up. They fit both categories at the moment.

Frank reentered the room, followed by two other Aurors, who looked at the wolves warily, but didn't comment on them, instead levitating Nott and Malfoy out of the room. Frank lingered for a moment. "Pettigrew's officially dead," he said quietly. "He's all yours."

"Thanks," said Sirius with a grin.

"And I have a Portkey to take you all back to Hogwarts. Dumbledore's expecting you." Frank took a folded newspaper from his pocket. "Activates in two minutes. Oh, and the families have been informed that their children are all right. Letha's waiting for you at Hogwarts with Meghan."

Sirius' grin grew wider. "Excellent. You coming?"

"No, Dawlish and I are going to clean up around here. You go on, I'll cage the rat for you."

The ropes will go out as soon as you do, said Remus.

Frank nodded. "Thanks. Have fun scaring the robes off Letha."

"Hey, now, I'm the only one allowed to fantasize about that." Sirius slid Danger's front half off his lap, got up, and accepted the Portkey from Frank. "Say hello to Alice for us."

And come around sometime, when we get settled, said Danger.

"Will do." Frank turned and left.

I notice you didn't tell him about Godric's Hollow, said Remus.

"That's private. Marauders only."

Danger laughed. If you say so. Come on, let's get the cubs on there. Wouldn't do to leave one of them behind.

All four sleeping children were attached to the Portkey, the wolves each put a paw on it, and Sirius sat down cross-legged, placing his hand in the center. Right on time, it activated, yanking them away by their navels through the rush of color and sound. Sirius wondered idly where a wolf's navel was.

The Portkey delivered them to the hospital wing. True to the message, Dumbledore and Aletha were waiting there for them, as well as a plump red-haired woman who must be Ron's mother. She and Madam Pomfrey descended on the heap of children, wands drawn, and levitated out Ron and Harry respectively, moving them rapidly to beds.

Meghan jumped over Danger into Sirius' arms, nearly knocking him over backwards. "I haven't been gone that long, sweetheart," he protested, laughing a little.

"But I was very worried about you while you were."

"You sound just like your mum." Sirius kissed her forehead, standing up.

"What's with the wildlife?" asked Aletha, coming over to him.

I beg your pardon?

Aletha's eyes grew very large, and Dumbledore's eyebrows went up.

"Er, I think we should go somewhere else for this," said Sirius quickly. "So we don't disturb anyone. Nice," he muttered under his breath to Danger.

Danger slapped him across the legs with her tail.

"I did not just hear what I thought I heard," said Aletha faintly. "Did I?"

"In private, love? Please?" Sirius drew his wand and conjured something like a stretcher under the sleeping Reynard and Hermione, lifting them from the ground. "Do you have a guest room or something we can use, sir?"

Dumbledore nodded, the faintest hint of a smile playing across his lips. "I have just the one."

Once they were all inside the large, comfortable living room of the nearby suite, Sirius set the cubs down and allowed the stretcher to vanish. Aletha sat on one of the chairs, still staring at the two adult wolves. Meghan had caught her mother's mood and was quiet and intense.

"My friends in low places, I presume?" said Dumbledore with a smile.

Remus bowed. At your service, sir. He turned. Hello, Letha. Good to see you again.

Aletha shook her head. "This can't be. It just can't..."

How's the new Bach piece coming? asked Danger. Have you gotten past that tricky passage in measure 37 yet?

Aletha gasped. "You know... but I didn't tell anyone about that..."

It was in your latest letter. Come on, Letha, it didn't take Sirius nearly this long. It's really us. We're alive.

"Oh my God." Aletha slid off the couch and went to her knees, her face breaking into a smile even as tears appeared in her eyes. "Danger..."

And I'll be human again in the morning. You just watch. Danger loped across the room and laid her head on Aletha's shoulder, allowing her friend to embrace her. I'm so sorry we had to be gone so long. But we're back now. And look who we have with us...

Aletha wiped her eyes and looked. "The twins," she said, smiling. "Your twins. They're real."

Though they're not quite who you thought they were, said Remus. Reynard is actually ours, but Griselda was another name for Hermione.

"Hermione's alive?"

Oh yes. Danger sat back on her haunches. Hmm, I'm a Seer tonight, and I See another storytelling session coming up. Am I right?

"Indubitably," said Dumbledore, who didn't look at all surprised. Sirius made a mental note to try to find out how long the Headmaster had known about this.

Meghan was staring at the wolves. "Dadfoot?" she said doubtfully. "Are they really..."

"Yes, they are really," Sirius said, pulling her into his lap. "Your Uncle Remus and your Aunt Danger, really and truly here to stay. And Hermione, you know about her, she would have been your big sister, and Reynard will be another brother for you, just like Harry."

"And now that Voldemort is no more," said Dumbledore, "Harry may safely live with you, instead of with his relatives."

Remus and Danger looked very smug. Actually, said Danger, I don't think he will...

Danger roused into wakefulness, hearing the birds begin to greet each other. Wake up, she called. It's almost sunrise.

And this is one sunrise I don't want to miss. Remus yawned immensely. Should we wake them for it?

No, let them sleep. I want just one moment with you and only you. Danger opened the door onto the balcony with a paw. Alone.

They padded quietly out and shut the door behind them. The twilight of dawn lay over the grounds of Hogwarts. The Forest was a dark mass in the distance, individual trees on the lawn beginning to be visible here and there. Only the brightest stars were still shining, and even those dimmed as they watched, as the glory of the sun began to drown them out...

Danger shivered all over as she felt the change begin deep within her, as her body reshaped itself to greet the day, giving her again the shape she'd been born with. In all the years of changing, she had never quite grown accustomed to it.

Maybe if it had happened every day, like it was supposed to...

But now it will. So now I'll have my chance.

One thing, though, was missing, that had been present for a very long time. No confining grasp clutched her throat, nothing pressed in on her breath and made her feel as if she were drowning. Similarly, she saw as she opened her eyes, nothing marred the strong lines of Remus' neck. He could have posed, at this moment, for a bust of everything noble about humanity.

His eyes opened and fell on her, and he smiled. "Free," he said quietly.

"Free." Danger took two steps forward and was in his arms, laying her head against his chest, running her hand up and down the side of his neck, marveling at the feel of his skin against hers, with nothing for her hand to catch on, nothing in the way. His hands were traveling similarly around her neck, caressing her without tickling, a difficult proposition, but he managed. She could feel teardrops falling into her hair, and knew she was wetting his shirt with her own tears, but they were tears of joy.

Twelve years to the day after they'd been taken captive, the Lupins were finally free.

A few kisses later, they returned indoors, to see the other great treat in store for them. Their cubs were still asleep, still cuddled together as they had been the night before, Ray's face against Hermione's chest.

My pretty Kitten, said Remus lovingly, lifting her in his arms and laying her on the couch. She stirred but didn't wake. But let's see our fox.

Danger gently rolled Reynard onto his back, and her breath caught. Oh, Remus, just look at him!

I am looking. Trust me, I am. Remus' eyes traveled over his son's face as if drinking it in, not wishing to miss a single detail.

Ray's eyelids fluttered. Hmmm? he said sleepily.

"Time to wake up, Ray," Remus said aloud, quietly, coming to sit on his son's other side. "It's morning."

"Morning?" Eyes suddenly opened wide. "Mum? Dad?"

"That's who we are," said Danger, bending over her son and stroking a wayward piece of hair out of his face. "And now the world can know it."

Ray sat up slowly, the smile that so became his Malfoy looks ten times more attractive on this new face, Danger thought. "It wasn't a dream. I thought it had to be, but it wasn't. It was real."

"Very real," said Remus, pressing his own hand against Ray's. "Look, Danger. Do you see?"

"He has your hands." Danger felt as if she could never stop smiling. "Musician's hands. Those long fingers."

Ray intertwined his fingers, staring at them as if he'd never seen them before.

He never has. Not like this.

Remus had his wand out, he was doing something – Danger sneaked a quick peek through his eyes and nodded in satisfaction. You think of everything, don't you, love?

No, only most things.

"I have your hair, Mum," said Ray, running his hands through it. "All crinkly."

"That's right. You're going to have to get it cut, it's too long like this – this length was all right when it was straight and flat, but it's a bit unmanageable now."

"You may want this," said Remus, handing his son the object he'd conjured.

It was a large hand mirror.

Reynard stared at his reflection, transfixed. "That's me," he said quietly. "That's really me. That's what I really look like. Isn't it?"

Both his parents nodded, Danger sniffling a bit but still smiling, Remus' eyes looking suspiciously bright.

Reynard's eyes matched Remus' in every way, size, shape, and color. His facial structure was very similar too, although his nose was a bit smaller, tending towards Danger's size. As he had already discovered for himself, his hair was the brown bushy Granger type, and his skin was still fair, but not the porcelain pale it had been when he had worn the glamour of Draco Malfoy.

Ray looked up from the mirror. "I like it," he said.

"Well, I'm glad," said Remus with a smile. "You're stuck with it."

Ray laughed aloud, waking Hermione, who looked around in confusion for a moment, then gave a little scream of joy and tumbled off the couch to join her family.

If she ever needed to conjure a Patronus, Danger knew, this would be the moment she would think of. Twelve years of servitude and pain faded into the unimportant past as she gave way to happiness.

They were free.

Sirius, Aletha, Harry, and Meghan came up to visit later. "You're very handsome," said Meghan, surveying Reynard. "I think Luna will like you."

"Who's Luna?"

"She's a friend of ours, a year younger than Harry," said Sirius. "You'll meet her eventually."

Remus shook his head. "There's so much to think about," he said. "Where are we going to live? How are we going to keep food on the table until we find jobs?"

"What do you mean, where are you going to live?" said Aletha challengingly. "You live in London, at number 73 Crozer Street, remember?"

"You're kidding me," said Danger. "You kept the house?"

Sirius shrugged. "Why get rid of it? It wasn't doing any harm."

"We've kept it up," said Aletha. "You could move in today, if you liked."

"And as for food, if you can still remember how to cook the way you used to, we'll be glad to supply ingredients," said Sirius to Danger.

Danger laughed. "I think I'll remember pretty quickly once I get back in the kitchen."

"Just like riding a broomstick?" asked Remus slyly.

"Oh, don't even start!" Danger's mishaps on a broom were the stuff of Hogwarts legend. Rumor had it she was responsible for a certain divot in the stone of the castle, thirty feet up, and that she hadn't meant to be.

"You know, it might be nice to live in London again," said Aletha thoughtfully. "Now that there's enough of us to fill up the house."

Harry looked alarmed. "You're moving?"

"If we do, you're going with us," said Sirius. "Remember? Voldemort's dead. You killed him. You don't ever have to go back to the Dursleys."

This consequence of his thrown rock apparently hadn't occurred to Harry. His face lit up for a moment, then shut down again. "But I don't like big cities. At least I don't think I would. It would always be noisy and busy and smelly."

"I want to live in the city," said Meghan. "When are we going?"

The adults all laughed. "Mistress Mary, there, Meghan," teased Danger. "Don't ask for things just because someone else doesn't like them."

"But I do want to. It's closer to everything important. Like the Ministry where Dadfoot works, and the hospital. I want to be a healer like Mum when I grow up."

"Dadfoot?" said Remus, one eyebrow lifted.

Sirius shrugged. "She heard Harry calling me Padfoot all the time. What can I say?"

"You know, it strikes me that everyone could be satisfied in this case," said Aletha. "If what you said last night about..." Her eyes flickered across Harry. "...comes true. They could have number seventeen."

Sirius laughed. "You've never liked Petunia, have you, Letha?"

Ron turned up at ten o'clock, claiming he'd been released from the hospital wing, though Danger suspected he'd escaped when Madam Pomfrey had her back turned. "You look like a male Hermione," he said to Reynard.

"Do not."

"Do so."

"I think it's the hair," said Harry, cutting them both off. "Their faces don't really look a lot alike."

Halfway down the stairs an hour or so later, Ron turned back. Hermione was still standing at the top, gripping the banister, an odd look on her face. Harry, Ray, and Meghan had already vanished into the hallway below, off to look for Neville.

Ron came back up the stairs. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I've never done stairs before. Not as a human. Not for real. In dreams, if you fall, you don't get hurt. But it's a long way down. And I don't really know how to do it."

"It's not too hard," Ron said. "Here, I'll help you." He put one arm around her waist. "Lean on me. You won't fall then."

Hermione timidly let go the banister with one hand and quickly put that arm around Ron's waist.

"Now, put all your weight on one foot, lift up the other one, and put it on the next stair down. Like this." Ron demonstrated, then brought his foot back up. "Now you try."

Carefully, Hermione shifted her weight to her left leg, then lowered her right foot to the next step.

"Good. Now put your weight on that one, and move this leg to the stair below that."

Little by little, they moved down the stairs together, arms around each other.

"Thank you, Ron," said Hermione when they had reached the bottom. "Thank you so much."

She stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek, then hurried off the way the others had gone.

Ron stood still for a moment, his fingers lightly touching the place her lips had been, then followed her.

There were other stairways to take before they got where they were going.

(A/N: If you haven't figured out yet what's going to happen at Godric's Hollow... but you might not have. So you will, later. Whenever I write the next chapter. Depends on whether I get inspired for this or LwoD first. :cackles in glee:

Credit where credit's due: mistress editor came up with Sirius' second name for Voldemort. I thought it was so great that I couldn't resist using it. Hope you don't mind.

You know what I'm going to ask you to do. So why bother to say it? Oh, and I'm sorry if I confused anybody with the blue bowtruckles line in LwoD. All that meant was that Sirius was really drunk one night, and hates being reminded of it because he acted like an idiot. :grin:)