Chapter Two: Too Close for Comfort

August, 1980…Voldemort's powers are growing…

Remus sat at the table in the kitchen of the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, absentmindedly stirring his coffee, when Ermengarde came in, still in her dressing gown and her hair in a braid.

"Morning," she said sleepily, brushing a stray curl out of her face. "How was everything last night?"

"Dark," said Remus. Ermengarde laughed.

"No one was hurt?" she asked.

"No, no one at all," said Remus. "Though I would like to take some cues from this house and brighten up the inside of the Shrieking Shack a bit."

"Yes, it's nice here," she said. "You've got a great view of the village from the hill. And I must say, I can't complain about being within walking distance of Honeyduke's. I've probably put on so much weight just in the past week."

"You haven't."

"You just say that so I'll go today and bring you chocolate."

"Okay, yes, but you do look fine… and besides, I think I should have chocolate. It was rough last night."

Ermengarde smiled and started tidying up the kitchen a bit while Remus opened the window to let the owl in who delivered the paper, paid him, and sat back down.

"Great Scott, Millie Christie's dead…" said Remus as he scanned the headlines of the Daily Prophet.

"What?" gasped Ermengarde, looking over his shoulder.

"Right here," said Remus, and he put the paper down on the table for her to read.

SHOCKING ATTACK AT GODRIC'S HOLLOW

Last night, Muggles in the area surrounding Godric's Hollow were shocked to hear screams and see flashes of light coming from number nine, Mane Street. Authorities who were first on the scene found Millie Christie, sixty-three, dead in her kitchen.

"There was no sign of a struggle," a Muggle policeman told investigators just before his memory was modified. "But whoever it was locked the door behind them. It's a mystery, this one."

Ministry officials swarmed the scene for hours, but could not come to any conclusion other than the worst: that this is indeed the work of dark wizards. Despite the lack of the Dark Mark, the Magical Law Enforcement witches and wizards are positive the attack was performed by Death Eaters. Residents of Godric's Hollow and the surrounding areas have been given proper instructions on how to arm themselves against attack. Auror Melinda Branagh, however, feels this is not enough.

"We should be placing Hit Wizards at every house," she said vociferously. "I mean, obviously we can't, because there's not enough of us, but a slip of paper telling you to Apparate away isn't going to do it. We should be telling people how to defend themselves, even teach them how to curse the attacker if necessary."

Junior Minister of the Department of Magical Catastrophes Cornelius Fudge seemed hesitant to give comment.

"It's a terrible tragedy and we are doing everything we can to find who did this to bring them to justice," he said, and hurried off to help with the investigation. (Continued on page nine)

Ermengarde sighed deeply as she sank into the chair next to Remus, not wishing to read the rest of the story. Remus poured her a cup of tea, knowing she was thinking the same thing he was: Godric's Hollow…it was just too close, too coincidental…

"Do you think he knows?" she asked huskily, adding two lumps of sugar to her tea. "I mean…Mane Street…that's very close to James and Lily!"

"It does seem a bit too close for comfort," said Remus, now watching her add one spoonful of honey and stir gently. "But for all we know, it wasn't what we think. I mean…if you read the rest of it, it says something about all her electricity being out. Maybe – maybe she shocked herself or something, I mean, she was getting older, bless her…"

"She wasn't that old," said Ermengarde darkly. "I know there wasn't a Dark Mark or anything, but who's to say it was an official Death Eater or it wasn't someone who'd been under the Imperius Curse and couldn't do it or something?"

"I'm with you," said Remus.

"Good morning," said Emmeline Vance as she made her way into the kitchen, wearing her customary shawl. "Are you two not eating anything?"

"Emmeline, look," said Ermengarde, and she handed Emmeline the paper.

Emmeline's eyes got very wide as she scanned the pages of the newspaper. When she finished the article, she folded the paper slowly and put it down on the table.

"I'm going to make everyone a spot of breakfast," she said in her dignified manner. "Peter and Benjy are leaving in a few minutes, but they'd better eat before they go, and I don't have to be off until eight, and I believe Dorcas is coming by soon. We'll see what everyone has to say then."

And she set off making breakfast, roasting eggs and frying ham and boiling potatoes for chips. Moments later, Peter and Benjy Fenwick had joined them in the kitchen, dressed for work. Benjy's mop of brown hair was still messy from sleep, and Ermengarde immediately smashed flat a lock that was sticking straight up and annoying her.

"Thanks," he said in his scruffy way.

Dorcas Meadowes knocked on the door, and Remus let her in. Ermengarde helped Emmeline put plates of breakfast on the table, then held up the Daily Prophet.

"Who's seen this yet?" she asked. No one answered. "There was an attack at Godric's Hollow."

The reaction was immediate. Dorcas jumped up and snatched the paper, beginning to read it; Peter gasped; Benjy seemed to wake up a bit more.

"They didn't – Lily and James?" said Benjy thickly as he attempted to swallow his egg whole. "And the little one?"

"No, it wasn't them, it was Millie Christie, but it does seem an awful coincidence," said Ermengarde. "She was pretty well-known for her anti-Voldemort views."

"Not to mention the fact that she made a statement last week in the Prophet that she'd love to get their hands on the Death Eaters for causing such trouble for the children," said Remus.

"Millie Christie was a sweet woman," said Dorcas. "She helped me through some tough times during my Auror training…she'd make me tea and tell me not to give up on myself."

"We all liked her," said Emmeline.

"I'd only met her that one time," said Ermengarde. "It was ages ago, d'you remember, Remus?"

"I remember," said Remus. "It was right after we got engaged."

Ermengarde's hand suddenly flew to the ring on her finger, which she rubbed as if for good luck. She bit her lip and gave Remus a significant look. He ignored it and took a sip of coffee, inwardly feeling a small amount of guilt.

The two had reached an agreement not to get married until after the dust from this war had settled…until they could be sure it was safe. Remus had vehemently insisted on this considering all the work he would be doing around untamed werewolves and how they tended to find out if you were attached to anyone and threaten to attack them. He wished, however, that this didn't have to be the case, and that they could just get on with it and get married. Ermengarde had insisted that it wouldn't be a problem, that Remus was just overly concerned about her safety, but he stood his ground. There was no way he'd allow her to get hurt on his account.

That day, Remus stayed in headquarters, feeling entirely useless. He was the only member of the Order without a job, since the new anti-werewolf decrees now stated that a werewolf in any job where they come into contact other people (meaning, basically, every job on the face of the Earth) must be under the supervision of another. Since it was very hard to find someone willing to always oversee a "dangerous half-breed", Remus had had no luck finding employment yet.

In order to ease his boredom, he had taken to reading every book he could get his hands on. Today, very immersed in Ghosts, Goblins, and Ghouls: Common Misconceptions, he was startled out of his reading by a shout from somewhere near the fireplace.

"Oi, Remus!"

Remus knelt in front of the flames to see Marlene McKinnon staring out at him, looking very pale and worried.

"Marlene! Are you all right?" asked Remus concernedly.

"I'm fine. Look, I've only just heard about this, it's bound to be in the Evening Prophet. There was an attack on a little girl last night," said Marlene, very quickly.

"Where? What happened?" asked Remus.

"Her name's Lorene Spark," said Marlene. "She's only eleven."

"Well, what happened?" Remus prompted.

"She was bitten by a werewolf."

Remus felt himself go slightly pale.

"Where does she live?" he asked.

"Just outside Hogsmeade," said Marlene.

At these words, Remus felt somewhat ill. It couldn't have been…he'd remember, he'd know…but now he thought about it, he had a few hours entirely unaccounted for…

"Remus," said Marlene sharply. "It wasn't you."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Wouldn't you be the first to know if it had been? Give yourself a break. I'll bet even as a werewolf you're gentler than most. No, it wasn't you at all. We think it might've been Fenrir Greyback. Look, I haven't got any more time, I was just wondering if you'd know anything, but obviously you don't…I'll see you tonight, but if I don't get back to work now they'll chop off fingers next. I'm supposed to be on the search for Lucius Malfoy, there was some funny business at his manor last week that we still haven't got on…"

And with all that said in one breath, Marlene's head disappeared from the fire, leaving Remus alone yet again.