Chapter Eleven: Contact

Remus Lupin was normally a very patient man, his history and personal experiences had required him to learn patience at a young age, but this morning, that patience was being sorely tested.

"I just don't understand...!" Molly Weasley sobbed into her hands at the table. Grimmauld Place had been witness to many of Molly's tears over the past few months, and Remus would happily have strangled young Harry if given the chance.

Tonks, his wife of six months, sat next to the forlorn woman at the table, stroking her back comfortingly. Once, early on, she had attempted to console Molly by changing her looks to look like Ginny, right down to the thin braid above her ear and the smattering of freckles across her nose. It had been an exceptionally good likeness.

That had been a very, very bad day. Remus shuddered as he remembered it, before being brought back to the present by Molly's wailing voice.

"I don't understand... they disappeared, then nothing for four months, then a one page letter saying they're fine. One page! And now nothing for two months. Remus, you're sure you haven't heard from them?"

"No, Molly, I haven't. I'm as upset as you are..."

"You don't have two children out there!" she said indignantly, her brown eyes snapping, and Remus felt a stirring of anger towards her.

"No," Remus mentally counted to ten. "I have Harry, and also Hermione... and I care about Ron and Ginny, too, Molly."

"Oh, of course you do!" Molly wailed again. "Remus, I'm just so worried!"

"I know, Mollly, but there is nothing we can do until they see fit to inform us of where they are."

"That Longbottom boy... he wouldn't tell me anything. His grandmother kicked me out! Me! Can you believe that?"

Remus, who was beginning to think that asking Molly to go home might not be such a bad idea, rubbed his hand across his forehead. Unfortunately, 'home' was Potter Manor. The Burrow had been destroyed three days after the Weasley's had left it, five days after the four had disappeared last summer.

"Molly," Tonks glanced up at Remus. "We know they're fine... or we would have heard something. You know that Harry will..."

"I'm beginning to wonder if anyone knows what Harry will do," Molly said stiffly. "That boy..."

"He's not a boy, Molly," Remus said, the first thread of anger lacing his words. "You know as well as we do what he needs to do. And you know, as well as we do, that Ron and the others wouldn't let him do it alone, even if he tried. They're all equally responsible."

"Irresponsible," Molly said, standing. "I'd best be getting back. Arthur will be there shortly, and..."

"Molly..." Tonks shot a glance at Remus, then turned back to the older woman.

"Thank you, Nymphadora. I appreciate your allowing me to talk about this to you. Sometimes I think that you're the only one who understands..."

And with that, Molly flooed away. Remus sighed.

"Well, that went well," Tonks snorted.

"Why can't she...?"

"Because she's a mother, because they're her children, because mothers worry about their children, and Molly has more reason than most to worry."

"Where the hell are they, Nymph?" Remus asked hoarsely as he pulled her into his arms, the swell of her belly wedged between them. "I swear, I could kill him..."

"No, you wouldn't. They'll turn up when they're ready to, Remus. You know Harry, he only sees what he has to do, and he'd never expect anyone to worry about him."

"That bloody letter," Remus sighed. "Could he have been any more cagey about what the hell they were doing?"

"No," Tonks snorted. "But it was typically Harry. I'd never want to play poker with him."

At that moment, the floo flared, and a voice called out. "Professor Lupin?"

"Longbottom?" Remus pulled away from Tonks and moved around the table to be able to see the fire. Crouching down, he saw Neville Longbottom's head poking through the green flames. "Neville, what on earth...?"

"Professor, I need to come through. Is it convenient?"

"Of course..."

A moment later, there was a larger flare of green flame, and Neville Longbottom walked into the room, his robes flowing out behind him.

"Professor Lupin, I'm sorry... I don't mean to disturb you, but I was told to be here..."

"By who?" Remus looked at him oddly. The Longbottom boy had grown over the years. He was still rather portly, but was tall with it. His round face had matured, his jaw and cheekbones firming, and his short brown hair looked as though he'd been running his hands through it repeatedly.

"Who?" Neville looked at him oddly. "Why, Harry, of course!"

"Neville, what are you talking about?"

"Harry didn't tell you?"

"Neville, I haven't seen Harry since his birthday last summer," Remus said. "Have you?"

"No!" Neville said, blushing. "Of course not, they've been... well, Harry didn't say anything to you in his letter?"

"About what?"

"About my being here today?"

"No, should he have?"

Neville looked confused for a moment. "I don't... well, in his letter to me, he told me to be here at three o'clock in the afternoon on the twenty eighth of February, that he'd be in touch then."

"It's two forty five," Remus glanced at the clock. "Harry said he'd be in touch here?"

"Well, he told me to be here," Neville's face screwed up as he thought. "And that he'd be in touch. I suppose I assumed that that meant he'd be in touch here. I mean, he could have meant..."

Tonks and Remus exchanged looks.

"They're coming home," Remus said quietly to his wife. "Where is Bill? The charms..."

"I'll find him," Tonks said, quickly moving to the floo.

"Professor Lupin?" Neville looked oddly at him.

"I haven't been a professor in four years, Neville. Call me Remus, please."

"R-Remus..." Neville stuttered. "What do you think... why would Harry want me here?"

"Obviously he has something he needs you to be here for," Remus smiled gently. "Sit down, Neville, and tell me about this letter."

"When I got the packet of letters that they sent, you know, before Christmas... from that bloke in Austria... well, the packet was all wrapped up, and on top was a letter to me."

"Yes?"

"Well, I did what it said, Harry said to not speak of it to anyone, ever. To forget that I'd even gotten a letter until today. Until the twenty-eighth of February. I was to just deliver the package to the twins at the shop, not to leave it... but I had to deliver it into Fred Weasley's hands. I did that, although it was hard to tell them apart, and then I went home, just like the letter told me to. I put it out of my mind until this morning. I knew this morning that I had to come here today. I assumed that Harry would have told you."

"Harry's letter to me congratulated me on my marriage and told me to remain here with Tonks unless we thought it was becoming too dangerous, in which case we were to go to the Weasley twins and tell them we had to leave. Rather cryptic, I know, but..."

"Just like Harry," Neville said. "It not that...I mean... I'd do whatever Harry asked of me. But sometimes..."

"He doesn't think anyone would be interested in his motives, I know," Remus said dryly, glancing at the clock again. "Until we hear from Harry, Neville, I think we need to try to not speculate. No one needs to hear anything, right?"

"I'm not going anyplace, Pro... Remus," Neville corrected himself, then continued quietly. "I just wanted to go with him, like Ron did."

"I'm sure that Harry considered it, Neville, but you need to understand that Harry probably didn't ask the others to go with him."

"Ron and Hermione wouldn't have let him go alone," Neville said quietly. "Nor Ginny."

"No," Remus sighed.

There was a flare at the fireplace and Tonks walked into the room, Bill Weasley close behind her.

"Remus? What's going on?"

"Didn't Nymph...?"

"I didn't say anything, Remus," Tonks said quietly. "He was at the Manor. I thought it would be best to keep it quiet."

"Good," Remus agreed instantly. "It would appear, Bill, that the runaways are about to return. Will they be able to find the place since we reset the fidelius charm?"

Bill's eyes glowed, then he smiled. "They're coming home? How do you know?"

"Young Neville here had a message to come here today at three, that Harry would be in touch."

"In touch?" Bill glanced at Neville.

"That... that's what he said," Neville swallowed nervously.

"The charms?" Remus drew Bill's attention back. He was used to Bill's scars from the attack he'd suffered at Hogwarts last year, but young Neville wasn't. Bill looked rather... intimidating... now.

"Harry owns the house, Remus, he'll be able to find it. If it hasn't occurred to him that we would have changed the fidelius after Snape..." Bill sighed. "Well, he'll still be able to find it. The others... well, when they can't see it, he'll know what to do. But..."

"But?"

"But," Bill continued. "Do we know for sure that 'in contact' means actually coming here?"

"What else could it mean?" Remus looked at him oddly.

"Well..." Bill began, only to be interrupted by a tapping at the window.

"That's Hedwig!" Tonks cried, rushing to push the window open to admit the snowy owl. Hedwig looked around the room, then flew over to the table in front of Neville, and politely held out her leg, and the package tied there.

Neville glanced around nervously, then untied the package, pausing from opening it as Hedwig turned and flew back through the window.

"Well," Remus smiled. "It would appear that I was wrong. What does it say, Neville?"

"It..." Nevilled glanced up nervously. "It asks that you and Mrs Lupin and... and... Bill Weasley... and I... use this..." Neville poked at the book that had been wrapped in the letter. "It's a..."

"Portkey," Bill smiled.

"How did they know that you were here?" Tonks asked.

"What?"

"How did they know that you were here, Bill?"

"Harry would have known that security would have changed on the house, and he'd assume that Bill would have done it. As soon as Neville arrived..."

"No," Neville glanced back down at the letter. "Harry says that he knows it might take a few minutes to collect Bill, but he especially wants him to come along, and that it's important that you come, as well, Remus. He says..."

Neville flushed, glanced up at Tonks, then back down at the letter again.

"What?"

"He says that he understands that pregnancy can make travelling difficult, so if Mrs Lupin doesn't wish to come along..."

"The little prat," Tonks grumbled. "Not come along, indeed!"

"I don't know if you should, Nymph," Remus said quietly.

"What?"

"I mean, all we know is that Harry..."

"Not come? You're out of your tree if you think I'm not coming."

"Nymph," Remus looked at her pleadingly, touched her distended belly, then spoke. "Please?"

"I think not," Tonks said. "But I love you for wanting me to stay behind."

"Nymph, please..."

"Can it, Moony," she said, a little more firmly this time. "I'm coming."

And she did. Without further discussion, all four reached out and touched the book, and Neville quietly said the charm.

"Take us there," he said, and all four disappeared from the room.

Okay, so I've decided that there are enough fanfiction sites out there that if responding to my reviewers gets me kicked off this one, well, I'll be sad, but not broken. So I'm going to do the review responses and damn the torpedoes.

Speaking of which, one of those "other" fanfic sites has honored me in a wonderful way. Wizardtales dot net has asked me to do an "author chat" -- this Thursday (August 18) at 7:30 pm EST. It's a wonderful site, has a forum and chat rooms, and that's where I'll be, ready to answer your questions and discuss fanfiction with anyone who cares to join us. I'm really, really excited about this.

Now, on to my lovely reviewers!

FreedomStar: Saw it – that's what started me asking questions, actually, but I can't seem to get any more information than what is in it. Do you know who the writer in question was?

BlueClover13: Thanks for the concrit. I will definitely pay more attention there!

OldCrow: Ron is one of my favorite characters to write. He's so easy to manipulate and his reactions are easy to write to inject some humor into any situation.

ThePoeticMadman: As much as I would like to tell you, that would be telling, wouldn't it? LOL.

Doffy99: Apparently the site managers don't like it. I think it has something to do with space considerations, but I don't know.

Ginny2026: Wow, thanks!

LarnaMandrea: Someone had to convert you!

EmmelineBlack: Of course I care – that's why I like doing the review response thing! I like the fact that sites like this allow us to interact with our readers. It's sad that it has become a problem.

Mike: They haven't gone back there because Harry's never been there, and when he heard about Potter Manor while looking for a "safe" place to move the occupants of the Burrow to, he felt it would be better if he DIDN'T see it, in order to ensure the safety of those being moved there.

Manatheron: I'm sure that Ginny considered that.

Alex: Mwahauaha! Another convert... I must update the ledgers...

OrlaPotter: Yes, they are. And it always happens that way because I am a diehard H/G shipper, and I write HP for more mature readers... I think it's likely that any two people this age who feel this way about each other and are thrown into this type of situation are probably going to do rather more than innocent exploration. Just my take – not everyone shares it (and thank God!), but that's that.

Alix33: A banknote is like a cashier's cheque... a note from the bank honoring a certain amount of money.

And ALL the rest of you who have reviewed so encouragingly, thank you so much: nandhp, ProfessorMoody, HakusoRurouni, SugarBear68, volleypickle16, Skateforever, jouve25, Bean3769, Draco'sWifeLover, faeriedoll722, LilyLightening, DracisTran, YelloWitchGrl, WolfsScream, Aimee, LittleTom45, PrincessSkywalkerOrgana, hpgwrwhg4ever, RyougaZell, Kordolin, AlliBaby, BluntbutHonest, vt, azntgr01, genuinescience, WitchofDarkness, CliveTalbert, HarryPassionFan, JoannaPotter, DragonClawz54, HuggieBear, SpaceHog26, Harry/GinnyMatchmaker, Aakanksha, HarryGinnyfan23, life2me, Lacyl, TDSM, GryffindorGirl12, joeyandpaceyforever, DaBear, kizzebee, pcb