Consequences

By Neurotica

Sixteen

Over the next few days, though he was more than thrilled to see his friends again, Remus began to grow weary of being a patient. Molly was in her element, fussing endlessly over him. She wouldn't allow anybody to sit with him longer than an hour—he needed his rest. The only exceptions to her rule were Sirius and Emmeline.

As promised, Molly had made quite the feast upon Remus' return to Order Headquarters. He was much too thin, in everyone's opinion, even after the food Madam Pomfrey had forced him to eat during his stay at Hogwarts, and he would need all the strength he could get for the coming full moon.

Sirius started doing his work out of Number Twelve when, on the first day he'd returned to the Ministry in two weeks, he accidentally set fire to one of the cubicles in Auror Headquarters. Madam Bones later found out that he'd been worried about getting back to Number Twelve to check on Remus, and suggested he take a temporary leave of absence. Kingsley was in charge of the department until Sirius returned.

Emmeline, who'd moved into Number Twelve after her own return from France, spent most of her free time with Remus. Since he was forced to stay in bed while he recovered, she'd gone to Diagon Alley and bought a stack of books that stood as high as his bedside table to keep him occupied. He'd insisted she hadn't had to go through the trouble, or spend so much gold on him, as he looked through the stack.

"Consider it two years worth of future Christmas and birthday presents," she'd said with a smile.

Remus still wouldn't say what had happened to him in France. Sirius ceased asking him after a few days; Remus would talk about it when he was ready. There were nights, however, when Remus would wake, screaming and sweating profusely, as if he was being tortured. Sirius and Emmeline were both on the same landing as the patient—Molly and Arthur had taken up residence on the third landing—and rushed into wake and calm him as best they could. Every time he had one of these episodes, Remus would laugh it off, insisting it was only a nightmare, but that he couldn't remember any details. Neither Sirius nor Emmeline believed him, but they didn't press the subject. Instead, they both sat with him until he went back to sleep, and on most nights, went back to their own bedrooms.

One night, Remus experienced a rather horrible "nightmare," and had been brought to heavy sobs and tears. Sirius had gone to the Ministry to pick up some reports, so only Emmeline had been around to comfort him. She'd sat with Remus all night until his tears subsided, and they fell asleep in each other's arms. Molly found them together the next morning when she'd come to check on Remus. She'd smiled softly at the scene and gone down to make them breakfast.

Remus woke that same morning when he felt something odd. There was something warm lying beneath his head, something very comfortable. He opened his eyes and slowly realized he was practically lying on top of somebody. He raised an eyebrow, noticing the person he was using as a pillow was a woman, and blushed deeply when he laid eyes on Emmeline's face.

Oh hell, he groaned inwardly. How did this happen? Then he remembered her comforting him the night before, and him falling asleep on her chest. Nice one, Lupin. Could you embarrass yourself in front of a beautiful witch any more?

He tried to pull away from her (his right arm had fallen asleep under her) without waking her. He put his left hand on her other side while he tried to pull his other out from under her. He winced when she shifted, and her eyes fluttered open. They looked at one another for long moments, both wide-eyed and at a loss for words.

"Morning," Remus finally said quietly.

She chuckled. "Morning," she said softly. "Feeling better?"

Remus winced inwardly. "Ah, yes, thank you. Sorry about last night," he added sheepishly.

"No worries."

He nodded. "Er, did you sleep all right?" he asked awkwardly.

"Quite well, actually," she admitted sleepily, blushing and looking away.

Remus smiled. "Me too," he said, looking around the room. "Er, perhaps we should go down for breakfast... If Sirius finds us like this, neither of us will ever live it down."

She laughed, causing Remus' stomach to do a bit of a somersault. "That's probably true. But just so you know, I'm not afraid of the big bad Auror."

"Well, neither am I, but I don't know how long I'll be able to handle him this week."

"Don't worry about him... Anyway, breakfast. You stay here, and I'll bring some up."

"You don't have to—"

She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I don't mind. I'll be back soon." Remus extricated his arm from under her, and she stood from the bed, wrapping a robe around her body before leaving the room.

Sirius and Kingsley were in the Black library looking over the most recent deaths at the hands of Lord Voldemort. The night before, an entire Muggle village on the western coast had been slaughtered. Obliviators were sent along with the Aurors to wipe the minds of the surrounding towns. The green skull that floated high above the village wasn't an easy thing to make people forget.

"Hey, boss," Kingsley said quietly, his brow furrowed. "Have you seen this?" He passed a piece of parchment across the table he and Sirius were working at.

Sirius sighed and scanned the report, his eyebrows rising higher as he reached the bottom. A woman and her nephew had been attacked by Death Eaters three nights previous. One of the woman's pet pit bulls had nearly torn off the leg of one of the attackers, but neither the woman nor the boy had survived the attack. Marjorie and Dudley Dursley were their names.

"Well," Sirius said quietly and flatly, setting the parchment on the table. "I suppose it's official: Harry Potter no longer has any living blood relatives."

The first Gryffindor Quidditch game of the season had just ended. Gryffindor had slaughtered Slytherin 250-90, with Ron Weasley as their new Keeper. Harry had always known his best friend was a decent Quidditch player, but was surprised at how well he'd played against Slytherin. It was one thing to play against friends and family, but quite different playing against a team who didn't mind putting their opponents in the hospital wing for a few weeks.

Draco Malfoy, still quite bitter over the incident with Mad-Eye, sang a rather crude song with lyrics about Harry and his guardians. The song suggested Sirius and Remus were more than friends, and that Harry was their love-child. Before Harry could curse Malfoy very painfully, Hermione looked over Malfoy's shoulder and greeted Mad-Eye. Malfoy jumped a foot in the air, his pale complexion matching his silver-blond hair, and spun around. Mad-Eye, of course, was nowhere near them. Malfoy sneered, called Hermione a Mudblood, and stomped off. Ron tried to go after him, but Fred and George held him back.

"We'll take care of the twitchy little ferret," they said mysteriously.

Sirius, Remus, and Emmeline were all in Remus' room doing various things. Sirius read over Ministry reports, or pretended to do so while he ignored Remus' teasing about him becoming a responsible, functioning member of wizarding society. Emmeline and Remus were lounged quite comfortably (and closely, Sirius thought) on the bed doing a crossword puzzle together.

There would be an Order meeting that night to discuss the war and to welcome Remus back to their ranks. Sirius had very conveniently neglected to tell Remus that Naomi had a new role in the war. He thought Remus would take it better in a room full of people, rather than just Sirius and Remus alone somewhere where no one could hear Sirius' screams of pain after Remus attacked him.

In hindsight, he thought it would have been better to give Remus some fair warning—seeing his ex-fiancée, whom he believed to be loyal to Voldemort, in the kitchen of Order Headquarters would not be the easiest thing for him to take. But Emmeline had spent the entire day with him, and he seemed content with life for the first time since his return; Sirius couldn't bring himself to ruin that.

They made a cute couple, Remus and Emmeline, even though they weren't actually dating (Sirius gave them two months tops to fix that little detail). Remus deserved to be happy with someone. Sirius loved his best friend and was very protective of him, and he didn't want to see Remus have his heart broken the way Naomi had done. He was confident that if Remus and Emmeline got together, they could be happy with one another, even in a war.

"Is that a record player?" Emmeline asked, looking around Remus' room.

Remus followed her line of sight and smiled. "Ah, yeah, it is. It belonged to my mother, but it hasn't worked for years."

"Do you mind if I have a look at it?" she asked in an excited tone that reminded Sirius of Arthur Weasley.

Remus shrugged. "No, not at all."

Emmeline smiled, got off the bed, moved across the room, and sat against the wall beside the record player. She ran her finger across the bar with the needle and frowned in thought. Sirius and Remus exchanged a curious glance when she took out her wand and tapped it on the machine, muttering something incoherent.

Remus started to say he'd already tried using magic on it, but stopped. She'd placed one of the old records he had in a box onto the record player and moved the needle over it. Remus' jaw dropped as it crackled and began to play.

"How did you do that?" Remus asked in awe, throwing his blankets to his feet and standing from the bed with Sirius' help.

"Magic." She grinned.

Sirius laughed while Remus raised an eyebrow. "I know that, but what spell?"

Emmeline stood and wiped dust from her jeans. "Ah, if I told you that, Mister Lupin, I'd have to kill you," she said mysteriously. "Now if you gentlemen will excuse me, I'm going to get ready for the meeting."

Remus continued to watch her leave the room, a rather dopey expression on his face, before Sirius slapped him lightly on the back. "Come on, Moony. Got to make you look all pretty for the meeting too."

Two hours later, down in the basement kitchen, the Order of the Phoenix had assembled around the large wooden table where Molly had spread out drinks and appetizers while they waited for the meeting to begin. It took a bit of time for Remus to get down the stairs; he couldn't do it under his own power—he needed Sirius' help. His knee gave him trouble as he descended, so he had to stop every few steps to wait for the pain to subside a bit.

He was relieved to finally reach the kitchen; it was only the second time he'd been there since his return to Order Headquarters. Those who had already arrived clapped and cheered when he stepped off the last stair, welcoming him back. Remus smiled at them and said his hellos, accepting hugs, and shaking hands as Sirius helped him to a chair, very predictably, beside Emmeline. Remus found he didn't mind too much.

"Here you are, Remus dear," Molly said cheerfully, placing a plate of food before him. "Have you taken your potions?"

"Yes, Molly," Remus answered patiently. "Thank you very much, this all looks wonderful." Molly beamed, gave him and Emmeline a wink, and walked to the other side of the table with Arthur and Bill. "What was that all about?" Remus muttered to Emmeline.

Emmeline's lips twitched. "I, er, think she may have walked in on us this morning."

Remus blushed slightly at the thought of how that statement could be taken. "I wouldn't say that too loud if I were you; we'll be the gossip of the Order for months to come." Emmeline only grinned and helped herself to Remus' pile of hot chips. "You know, Miss Vance," he said sternly, "not many people can get away with stealing food from a werewolf. Sirius doesn't even get away with it."

"I'll take my chances," she replied slyly. Before he could reply, she stood and went to greet Tonks.

Remus was only able to stare at her with raised eyebrows for a few moments before Sirius and Kingsley sat beside him. Remus thanked Kingsley profusely for taking care of his best friend during his absence. Kingsley, naturally, waved him off, but Remus pointed out that Sirius could barely make breakfast, let alone take care of himself. Sirius only rolled his eyes and allowed his friends to insult him. He'd get them back…

In the chaos of the Order arriving and extending their various greetings, Remus failed to notice the witch who entered with Dumbledore. The Headmaster stood at the end of the table, his eyes twinkling brightly at the sight before him. Sirius' face was full of cheer as he and Remus teased one another as if nothing had ever happened. Remus was still looking quite ill, but Dumbledore knew he would fully recover with time.

Emmeline came to sit beside Remus on his left. They smiled at each other until Remus' eyes traveled past her. His cheerful mood faded immediately as he watched her stare calmly back at him. If he'd had a wand—he really needed to get a replacement—he would have pointed it at her.

"What is she doing here?" he said in a carefully controlled voice not looking away from Naomi. He could almost see Sirius wince behind him. "Padfoot," he said, his voice dripping in sarcasm, "did you forget to tell me something?"

"Remus, there's a very good explanation—" Sirius began as the rest of the Order quieted and turned to watch Remus' reaction.

Remus very slowly turned and glared at his best friend. "Well, then, you won't mind telling me what that explanation is, now will you?"

"Naomi has been working for the Order," Dumbledore interjected quietly. "She has been passing along information from Lord Voldemort's ranks for two months now."

Remus sighed and shook his head. Chuckling humorlessly, he looked around the table, his eyes settling on Naomi's. "You're all mental..." he said quietly. He put all his weight on his walking stick and pushed himself from his chair, attempting to stand. "I'm suddenly feeling a bit ill. I think I'll go have a lie down if you all don't mind," he added flatly. "Excuse me."

"Remus..." Sirius started. Remus ignored him as he slowly made his way up the stairs. Emmeline made to follow him, but Sirius shook his head. "You're not going to want to see this," he muttered, going after his friend. He wrapped an arm around Remus' waist and ignored the other wizard's attempts to push him away.

Once they disappeared up the stairs, Kingsley turned to Dumbledore. "Well, he handled that better than I'd expected," he said lightly.

Despite Sirius' attempts, Remus didn't stop to rest his knee until they reached his room. He didn't say a word to his best friend until the door was closed—no one else needed to hear this. "Explain," he said almost coldly once he was on his bed.

"Moony..." Sirius said. Remus gazed calmly at him, his eyes blazing. Sirius sighed and began to explain the events leading up to Naomi becoming a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. Not once did Remus interrupt Sirius; he was enjoying Sirius' struggle to avoid his eye. He'd only been back for two weeks and Sirius had already made him angrier than he had in many years.

A tense silence filled the room when Sirius finished speaking. "Why didn't you tell me this before?" Remus asked quietly, a hint of hurt evident in his tone. "And don't give me the 'you're recovering and I didn't want to upset you' rubbish, either."

"I'm sorry," Sirius said quietly and sincerely. "There's just... there's been so much going on in the past months... I mean, I could barely handle it when it happened, and for you to hear it all at once after whatever the hell it was that you went through... I'm sorry, Moony."

Remus nodded. "You know, you really are," he said flatly, his lips twitching. "Can I just ask you one thing? What changed your mind about Naomi? Did you not tell me just a few months back that she wasn't to be trusted, that she'd betrayed us... that she was—what were your words... 'a fucking Death Eater?'"

Sirius raised a shocked eyebrow. "Such language, Moony," he muttered, earning a glare. He sighed. "I don't know, to be honest. I suppose after you'd been taken or lost or whatever, and Harry almost died... Everything changed, Remus. It's a weak excuse, I know, but it's true. I would've done anything to just have everything back to normal. If that was to include trusting someone who betrayed us, then so be it. I mean, hell, I trusted Snape to save Harry's life…"

"That still blows my mind…"

Sirius grinned slightly. "Mine too... Anyway, when Naomi showed up at the Ministry—that alone took a lot of balls, if you ask me—and she said she knew things... well, I thought she might be able to lead us to you..."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "And you came up with all that excuse all by yourself? I'm so proud, Padfoot."

Sirius narrowed his eyes and fingered the wand in his back pocket. "You know, you're very lucky you're still recovering, Moony."

"Why is that?" Remus asked, his lips twitching again.

"Because otherwise I'd be forced to bombard you with pillows until you cried for mercy, my dear old friend."

They grinned at one another for a moment. "In that case, apology accepted, Padfoot."

"Very wise of you."

There was a knock on the bedroom door. Sirius answered, after exchanging another grin with Remus. He opened the door further and Emmeline and Tonks entered. "Dumbledore sent us to make sure Remus hadn't murdered you, Sirius," Tonks said conversationally.

"You've foiled all my plans, ladies," Remus said, shaking his head in mock-disappointment.

"Is the meeting over?" Sirius asked.

Emmeline nodded. "Yeah, pretty much everyone's left."

"Kingsley wanted to speak with you before we leave, though," Tonks explained to Sirius.

"All right, I'll be back, then," Sirius said to Emmeline and Remus as Tonks led the way out of the room. "You two kids play nice," he added with a grin before closing the door behind him.

Lucius Malfoy sat on the steel bed of his quarters, rereading a letter by wand light. His son, Draco, the heir of the Malfoy family, had been having some trouble at Hogwarts with the paranoid ex-Auror, Moody. Lucius wrote back, assuring his son that his problems would be taken care of in good time. The Dark Lord would be recruiting soon and Draco would finally take his place beside his father.

The Malfoy name had been completely destroyed by Dumbledore and the other Mudblood-loving fools. Narcissa could rarely go out into public these days without enduring whispers and pointing from the lowly wizarding folk. There'd once been a time when the name Malfoy demanded respect. The Malfoys were once the greatest of all pureblood families, along with the Blacks. That was, of course, until Sirius Black first showed his true colors, and his loyalties wavered far away form his family's beliefs.

After Black had saved his precious godson from the Dark Lord's grasp nine years ago, Lucius had taken his master deep into hiding. It had not been the easiest eight years Lucius had ever spent. He'd used his days keeping his master alive with venom of the snake that he called a pet, Nagini. Nights had been spent traveling, finding deeper, darker spots to hide in.

The ingredients needed to bring the Dark Lord back to full power had not been easy to locate. Unicorn blood... hair of a griffin... bone of a sphinx... Lucius' injuries had been numerous. Then there had been the preparation of the potion. That alone had taken the better part of three years.

For some time, Lucius had worried for his master's health. The body the Dark Lord had been reduced to—the disgusting, blackened, scaly form—had been failing, and there'd been a chance he would not survive for much longer in the cold, harsh elements of their hiding place. Lucius had succeeded, however, in finishing the potion and was able to bring his master back.

He'd been duly rewarded, as is the Dark Lord's way with his most faithful, and stood beside his master through the war. Naomi Watts had been named third-in-command of the Death Eaters not long after. The woman was highly skilled in strategy of war—even Lucius had to admit it. Not to mention she wasn't that bad to look at...

He recalled she'd once been engaged to the werewolf, Remus Lupin. That had caused Lucius to question his master's trust in her. Lucius did not believe in love, though many of the less educated of his kind wore it freely on their sleeves. Watts and Lupin had been that type of couple. If they're "love" was so deep, then why had she betrayed Lupin? And who's to say she wouldn't betray the Dark Lord as well?

But, as is usually the case, his master did not agree with Lucius' point of view. He believed Watts to be as loyal as Lucius; therefore, Lucius was forced to trust her.

No, it was not the easiest job, being the Dark Lord's second-in-command, but Lucius Malfoy had never been the type of man to give up.