Chapter Four: Essence of Goat

October, 1980…Voldemort's powers are nearing a peak…

Rubbing his weary eyes, Remus climbed the staircase of the headquarters house. There was something to be said for living somewhere Unplottable – no neighbours were likely to pop in and catch him looking this terrible. True, the rest of the Order would see, but that didn't really matter so much, considering none of them were looking too well themselves.

The entire Order had spent the past four hours arguing over strategies and tactics (the Prewett brothers were keen to use dead-of-night guerrilla tactics, Edgar Bones, the Longbottoms, and Dorcas favoured a more structured approach, while Sirius, James, Hagrid, and Marlene were all for broad daylight attacks), none of which was made any easier by the presence of Severus Snape. Remus wasn't totally inclined to trust him at first, but Dumbledore had faith in him, which was enough. Snape, however, had spent the entire time sneering around, making everyone feel like absolute fools. The good thing about having a Death Eater on their side, though, was that he seemed to know a bit better than the rest of them how Voldemort operated. Hopefully, that would help them track him down.

Remus felt particularly proud of his fiancée that night. Ermengarde had fought vociferously for her opinion and it had won out, much to Remus's pleasure. She certainly had the right idea about dealing with Muggle relations, probably because she had grown up with Muggles. Well, at least, she had done until a strange occurrence had knocked her back in time twenty years…but that fact had almost been forgotten over the years, as she had become accustomed to life in the past.

"Ermengarde?" Remus whispered as he passed hers and Emmeline's room. The door was slightly ajar. "Are you in there?"

"I'm here," Ermengarde whispered back. She was already in bed.

Remus entered the room. "I'm proud of you," he said, grinning widely.

"Thanks," she said, and he could tell she was smiling back, though the room was too dark to see.

"Listen, I've been thinking…" Remus trailed off, cleared his throat, and continued. "About you staying here. I don't really like the idea of it."

"Well, I know that," said Ermengarde.

"I've talked to Lily and James, and they said they'd let you stay with them until all this passes."

"What?" said Ermengarde, sitting straight up in her bed. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying that this is a great way for you to be safer!"

"Stop it, Remus, I'm not going anywhere," said Ermengarde. "Not without you, anyway. Why the sudden need to hide me away?"

"Just…all the work I'll be doing with feral werewolves. I'd feel much better if I knew you were with Lily and James," said Remus.

"But what have I got to do with any of that?"

"Look," said Remus, and Ermengarde seemed taken aback by the sharp tone in his voice, which he immediately softened. "It's for both of us, really. If they found out I have a fiancée, they'd immediately lose their trust in me since you're not a werewolf. I have to pretend I've rejected normal wizards in order to make this work, don't you see? Having you live elsewhere will protect you and help me in my work."

Of course, he was lying entirely. He did not want her to know that Greyback had sent him a message saying he knew about Ermengarde…

"Post for you, Remus," said Elphias Doge, handing Remus a small, scrubby envelope. "Been through the wringer, this one."

"Looks like it," said Remus, opening it.

As he read the message, his expression remained mild, but his heart began to pound. It read:

Tell your people the werewolves are in Germany or your pretty one gets it.

-Fenrir Greyback

Crumbling the note in his hand and tossing it into the fire, Remus leapt up from his chair and grabbed a handful of Floo Powder. It was time to pay Prongs a call…

Ermengarde bit her lip, considering the offer.

"Please, just say you'll go," said Remus. "It might not be for very long. Who knows when Voldemort will fall? Because he will."

"I know he will," said Ermengarde, and Remus realised that she really knew he would. At that moment, he began to fully appreciate that Ermengarde was not from his own time.

"You know?" said Remus, very quietly, hoping for more information.

"It was just a statement of faith," said Ermengarde, so firmly that Remus knew she would refuse to divulge any other titbits from the future. "You know I can't say any more."

"Right," said Remus. "But…will you go to Lily and James's?"

"What makes you think I'll be safer there?"

"I trust them. They're great wizards. And so are you. The three of you together would be –"

"I'll go," said Ermengarde. "I'll go. But I want you to promise me that you'll stay safe."

"I'll try to," said Remus.

"No, you will. If you're reckless, I'll bite you."

Remus found this threat to be extremely funny and started laughing much harder than perhaps he normally would. He supposed the strain of all he was asking of Ermengarde had finally gotten to him, and his shoulders shook for mirth. Ermengarde, at first, stared at him in bewilderment, then joined in, finally collapsing against him in a tight hug.

"I'll be careful," Remus promised.

A light knock at the door alerted them to Sirius's presence.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said. "But Snivelly wants a word, Remus."

"Would you stop calling him that? School's been over for four years already," Ermengarde berated him.

"Four years and he's no better," Sirius shot back. "I don't think calling him 'Snivelly' is so bad when he called himself 'Death Eater' for the past two years."

"And I'm sure you had nothing to do with his decision to become one," said Ermengarde scathingly.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, I'm not so sure all your bullying didn't help push him over the edge."

"Push him over the edge? Ermengarde, he's been over the edge since first year! Before! He'd never even seen the edge because he was born over it!"

"Well, you'd know, acting the way you do."

"What?"

"Always have to be so brave, so valiant, so bloody foolhardy that you're just going to land all of us in trouble!"

"What the ruddy hell are you on about?"

"Trying to act the hero all the time! I heard you downstairs. You think the best way to fight Voldemort is to just leap on him out in the open? Blazes of glory don't last that long, Sirius!"

"You've gone mental. You've finally gone completely mental. She's babbling, Moony –"

"Leave him out of this!" said Ermengarde. She was standing up now, fists at her side, looking livid. "I'm sick and tired of the way you treat Severus! I believe he's on our side now, I believe he's ready to do some good and see how it's better than being a Death Eater, and I believe you should shut up about it already and stop ACTING LIKE A PRAT!"

Sirius opened his mouth and closed it several times, like a fish out of water, while Ermengarde raised her fists as though daring him to speak again. Remus, too, was equally shocked at this sudden outburst of emotion. Sirius and Ermengarde had always been very close. In fact, the only time she'd ever been near this angry with him was when he had sent Snape after Remus on one full moon in their sixth year…and then, it made sense. That's why Ermengarde was so defensive. She thought Sirius would try something else like that.

"Ermengarde, it's not going to happen again," said Remus, trying to get her to sit back down. "Sirius knows better than to do anything to sabotage the Order. He wouldn't do anything to Snape if he knew it would hurt our cause."

"That's what this is about?" said Sirius in disbelief. "You think I'm going to sic Remus on him?"

Ermengarde sat down at last, head in her hands, breathing heavily.

"No," she said at last. "No, I don't think you would. I'm sorry, Sirius, for getting carried away. I just worry."

"No need," said Sirius. He seemed very relieved that she had stopped shouting and had lowered her fists. "I won't do anything stupid, I promise."

There was a very awkward silence, and then Remus gave Ermengarde a quick kiss and left her so he could go speak with Snape. He followed Sirius down the stairs to the kitchen.

"I'll give her this: she's fiery," said Sirius. Remus chuckled.

"She is," said Remus. "Look, you know she didn't have anything against you. I had just told her that she's to go to James and Lily's until this whole Greyback thing blows over."

"Ah," said Sirius. "Bad timing, me. Did you tell her about what he'd said to you?"

"No, I couldn't. I knew she'd get too upset and refuse to go. If she knew he was trying to target her…but I still have to wonder how he found out about her at all!"

"Who knows? We don't really know who exactly we can trust. Anyone can be a spy…but we just have to hope they're not," said Sirius, an odd note in his voice.

Snape was waiting in the kitchen, along with Aberforth Dumbledore, who gave off an air of extreme eccentricity. His beard, not quite as long as his brother's, was in a braid with a blue bow at the end and he wore a hat that looked more like a cloth robin's nest than anything.

"You wanted to see me, Severus?" said Remus pleasantly.

"Just a quick word about Greyback," sneered Snape. "He's in Inverness, not Germany. Where were you getting your information?"

"Apparently from the wrong source. Thanks very much for putting me right," said Remus in what he hoped was an easy-going tone.

Snape gave him a very calculating look and Remus knew he was checking for telltale signs of the approaching full moon. Remus looked him straight in the eye, refusing to let him see him look weak, and Snape turned on his heel and left in a cloud of black cloth.

"Werewolves are rather peculiar," said Aberforth. "Furry things, them."

Sirius looked as though he was holding back a laugh, but Remus nodded politely towards him.

"Very true," he agreed.

"Never met a werewolf I liked. Oh, but you, lad. You're all right. By the way, that friend of yours smells a bit like goats. Which reminds me, I brought this for you."

He pulled a small bottle from his coat and handed it to Remus, who peered at the orangey liquid with interest.

"Essence of goat," said Aberforth. "Charmed it right out of the little bugger. Smells a bit like that vampire what was here earlier –"

"He's not a vampire," said Remus, quick to squash that rumour. Tension though he had with Snape, he didn't want childhood gossip following the man into adulthood.

"Really? Could have fooled me…anyway, it's got a great effect on papers you don't want lying around. Dissolves them right away."

"Couldn't you just banish them, though?" said Sirius with about as much tact as an anvil.

"Could do, yeah…more fun my way, though. Well, I'm off. Great load for tomorrow," said Aberforth, adjusting his strange had. Remus thought for a second he heard something twitter inside it, but told himself he was hearing things.

Aberforth left the room as well, and as soon as the coast was clear, both Moony and Padfoot broke into peals of laughter.