Rising
By Dimgwrthien
Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to the Harry Potter series, nor do I own the Internet or any of these sites. Deal with it. Please don't sue me because I'm only borrowing these characters without permission.
Author's Notes: Please remember that I'm updating as fast as possible. I have a life like the rest of you, and it doesn't allow too much writing time. Four more chapters. That's about another two weeks, possibly, depending on my schedule. It could be less.
"How're we going to get news on anything?" Tonks asked later that day as she went through the newspaper that had been left forgotten on the floor. She seemed to find her obituary amusing and kept rereading it. "I mean, this isn't going to get us anywhere. No real news, just speculation and death."
"It's because that's the only thing we can be certain of for the moment," Remus answered, taking half of the newspaper and glancing through it quickly. Nothing. "Voldemort May Have Survived." "All Death Eaters Taken to Azkaban." Nothing. Just garbage.
"We're not going to get anywhere until we can find someone who can give us information," Tonks muttered, discarding the newspaper and glancing over at Ginny. They had placed a blanket over her for a while as she still had not woken. Remus started to wonder whether Severus told the truth about her condition, but could not ask him as the man locked himself in a room and refused to leave.
"The only way we could really get anything is to get it from the other side," Remus whispered, looking up slowly. He saw her head snap up as she glared at him.
"Remus -" There was a hint of warning in her voice, telling him that she would put up a good fight if needed.
"I could try Greyback's pack again. I know that they know more than us. It wouldn't be hard, either."
"Remus, if you go back, I'll kill you before you get through that door," Tonks growled at him. She bit her lip, staring down at her hands. "Don't - we don't need information too much. I mean, we're fine, right?"
Giving a sour laugh, Remus answered, "The world is breaking down because we have nothing and everything to worry about right now. Everyone is still dying even though we defeated Voldemort. It would be better to find out who's behind everything now and jus end it faster." Looking her straight in the eyes, he added, "I'm sorry, Nymphadora, but I have to go."
She slipped a hand into his again and squeezed his fingers, looking defeated. "Be back soon, though. Really soon."
"It'll take time to get there and convince them I'm with them." Remus grimaced. "I may need up to a month. I'm really sorry about it. They - they'll be wanting someone they can trust before saying anything to me. I know Greyback wanted to… to test people out before he even so much as speaks to them."
"He's dead, though," Tonks said aggressively, still staring Remus down.
"They're still going to try to follow him." He let out a long breath and pushed his hair from his eyes. "Just give me a month and -"
"Two days," Tonks corrected sharply. "I'm not letting you out for more than two days unless I go with you."
"I know how to deal with them." Remus squared his shoulders and stood up. "I'm going to try now. A week at the most, alright? I'll be back within that time." As Remus went over a mental checklist of things to remember to say and not say to the pack, he added, "And I refused to let you come. They would tear you apart in minutes when they figure out your human."
Before he could hear another word from her, Remus Disapparated to a forest many miles away. The forest seemed to familiar to him for comfort. The creeping coldness of the braches crept close to him and he could not help but shiver in the memories of the last time he entered the lands.
"Name?" came a sharp voice. Remus glanced to his side to see a woman standing there, about twenty, teeth bared. She wore near nothing - only what appeared to be a brassiere and torn shorts. Dark brown hair flew around her thin face as though she had never bothered to clean it. Smudges of dirt made her pale skin look darker.
"Remus Lupin," he answered, brushing some leaves from near his face in annoyance. "We've met before, Helen."
Helen gave him a critical stare for a moment, glancing him over. Her nose twitched once, as though sniffing him out, and she gave him a very small smile. "Remus. You're back." She glanced behind her as though trying to find someone else. "Good time. Fenrir's gone. We have no leader." Her sentences were kept short and sharp, much like a bark of a dog.
"I'm well aware of that, yes," Remus sighed. If he kept with Helen, he reasoned, he could return faster with news. Helen had always taken some liking to him. "Helen, do you know what's going on?"
"Fenrir is dead," she repeated, giving him a blank look. Remus saw that, up close, her eyes looked gold and large. Most of the werewolves had that small attribute, possibly due to their accepting nature of the condition. Remus did all he could to stay as far away from the color, though at times, he could not resist it.
"I meant as to what is happening with all of the attacks and deaths," Remus corrected. As Helen opened her mouth, a confused expression on her face, a twig snapped somewhere. "It's nothing." Remus reached out to stop Helen from running, but she grabbed him first and pulled him to the ground where their clothes soaked through with the residue of old snow. Helen shivered slightly and Remus whispered in her ear to calm her.
"There's no one there. We - you would have smelt them before." She shook her head.
"They have to watch us," she whispered in as low of a voice as possible.
"Who has to watch you?" Remus watched her face for some sign as to who she was afraid of, but heard nothing else from her hoarse throat. Finally, he noticed the small patches on her back, overlapping the scars, that marked wounds from spells. "Helen - do you mean wizards?"
She shook at the mention and stared him in the eye without speaking.
Remus closed his eyes, trying to remember everything he could about her. From what he got out of Kingsley, who researched a few of the werewolves for him, Helen had been bitten when she was near fifteen years old by one of the werewolves close to Fenrir Greyback. They took her and renamed her. What was her real name again?
"Aoife, who are they?" he hissed. Her head snapped around once, then back to him. Her real name seemed to have an effect on her.
"Wizards," she answered, nodding at him. "Like - like. They're bad people."
"Death Eaters?" he then asked. She nodded again and said nothing. "Aoife, are they doing anything to you?"
"Harm us," she answered, still looking around with a worrying look on her face. "They use those -" She paused, trying to find the words. "Those - wands. It hurts. Sometimes it - it makes us burn and -"
Remus placed a hand on her arm. "It's alright. I'm not going to do anything to you. I'm against them. All I need you to do is tell me what they're doing here and anything else you know about them. If you do that, I can get them away from you. How's that?"
Helen's face brightened slightly. It made her seem more human. She had a perfect build to catch every man she wanted, and a beautiful face, too, but the scars, yellow eyes, and sober expression seemed to ruin that chance. "They come to speak to Lyall. Do you know Lyall?"
Remus nodded. He had met the man the year before when he stayed with the werewolves. Lyall always remained near Fenrir, even when they explored the lands during the full moon. He supposed he had been the one to bite Helen.
"They want us with them. We can help them win the battle, they say." She shook her head. "I don't know. I never want to fight wizards. We're above wizards. Why bother with them?"
Resisting the urge to tell her that wizards felt the same about werewolves, he prompted her with, "Is there anything else about the war that they say?"
She opened her mouth again, still looking as though it took all of her energy to remember anything they said, but Remus heard a loud voice over them that silenced her.
"Unknown man!" shouted the tall man in the tree above them. "Ruining plans! Valentin! Here!"
Remus stared at, seeing a man with shaggy blonde hair and bright eyes like Helen's. He was built very strong, though thin, with powerful legs and even stronger arms. Even as Remus shielded Helen with his arms, the man jumped on top of them, almost breaking Remus' back. He recognized the man as Lyall, of whom Helen had mentioned.
"Valentin!" he called again.
Helen let out a scream and Lyall belted her jaw for it, stopping her quickly and forcing the screams into cries of pain.
"Lupin," the man greeted, smiling at Remus. His smile seemed rather friendly as if they had met over tea. "Welcome back!"
"Pleasure, Lyall," he muttered, unable to move from under the man's weight. "Who is Valentin?"
"You'll meet her very soon," Lyall answered. His fangs reflected the light rather like a creature of the night. "She's very nice to us. Offers to let us join her side once more."
More footsteps led to where they were and Remus managed to turn his neck enough to see Helen's bleeding face and frightened expression. When he looked in the opposite direction, he saw the woman approach that he assumed was Valentin.
She looked as Remus would suspect Severus would look like as a female. He could not help but think that as he noticed small parts of her face - the lank, black hair that hung down her back in a ratty ponytail. Her nose was crooked and large, like Severus'. Her eyes, however, shined a bright blue color and her skin seemed darker than Severus' would ever look. She had a thin and lanky frame that appeared rather boyish under the tattered and ragged trousers and cloak.
"Hello, there," she said to Remus, smiling coldly. Her lips appeared thin and blue from the cold, too, as though every part of her body was starved. "Name?"
"It's Lupin, from before," Lyall said for him. He bowed slightly to Valentin. "Miss, he's -"
"He's not with us. Is he with you?" she asked impatiently. Pushing Lyall off Remus roughly, she seized the collar of his shirt and dragged his upper body out of the snow.
"He was yesteryear," the werewolf replied, pouncing on Helen this time, who remained frightened and bleeding in the snow. "The he left. Greyback says he was -"
Remus, as Lyall spoke, made a small waving that he hoped Valentin would not see, so as to stop Lyall from speaking. However, Lyall did not seem to understand or was in a particularly bad mood.
"- said he was fighting with the other side one night when he got into Hogwarts." Lyall looked wistful. "I wish I could have gotten into there. So many people…" He sighed and stared at the sky, where the moon neared full.
"That's nice," Valentin answered in a sarcastic voice. "Lupin, then? I think I remember you. The Dark Lord had told me plenty about the Order of the Phoenix." She spat in the snow. "I know your name. Seeing as your side lost and I want to take pity on you, your torture will be short."
Remus squinted as he thought it out. Voldemort had died…. They won, not the death Eaters….
"Bite him, Lyall. Hard. Curse every part of him you want."
Lyall shook his head, making a face. "Children are better than adults. Adults are too… tough and bitter." When Valentin made towards him, he quickly added, "He's already been. By Greyback. Close to thirty years ago, maybe more. He was with out pack for a while, too, but he left a while later. I told you that, though."
Valentin dropped Remus back into the snow where he had to push himself out of the wet slush again. "Disgusting," she hissed, kicking his shoulder. Remus felt it pop out of place, but said nothing so as to not provoke her. "Deal with Helen. I can get the werewolf done." She glanced at the other two. "This werewolf, of course."
Lyall let out a dry laugh and grabbed Emily, forcing her to stand again as he dragged her out of the forest. Remus soon lost sight of them.
"Don't move," Valentin hissed, grabbed Remus' throat and taking her time in ripping his shirt off his body. She continued to wear a disgusted look. Once the shirt was off, she used a quick spell to freeze him before ripping his shoes off next and tossing them far off into the snow. "I enjoy the long term injuries, alright? And that doesn't just mean the ones with long injuries, though I suppose death is a rather long lasting one." Next went the socks, though she left his trousers on.
"Werewolves benefit out side, as repulsive as you all are. Biting certainly has a long effect. Now…" She circled him like a vulture ready to swoop on a mouse and cast small spells around his body. They left marks rather like the ones on Helen's back, burning through his skin though he could not yell. When she circled a few times and left at least half of his back burned black, she bent down to his level again.
"By the way, I'm Chastity Valentin. Nice to see you."
Remus saw her leave, though he could not move from the freezing charm. The snow started to creep into his skin, freezing him to the core. In his mind, he went over everything he had ever learned in his life about spells and how they wear off. Most only lasted an hour, he remember, and they all end once the caster dies. He doubted, though, that Valentin would be dead within minutes (though he wished it), and the chance of lasting an hour in the snow without half of his clothes seemed too low to think about.
After nearly ten minutes and going through his head again and again, Remus started to feel his fingers go numb and closed his eyes, trying to detach his mind from his body. It never worked. His eyes started to roll as he felt unconsciousness near.
Within another several minutes, Remus heard footsteps and gazed up. A woman walked almost drunkenly towards him. He recognized Helen, who was now wrapped in a cloak but looked a bit bloodier as the cut on her face ad not healed yet.
"Lupin?" she asked, stopping over him so that the hem of her cloak almost hit Remus in the head. He tried to speak, but nothing came out and his eyes were starting to water from the lack of blinking.
From the depths of her cloak, Helen pulled out a thin rod and waved it in his face, smiling. "I managed to get it from one of them," she whispered, voice sounded broken and defeated yet proud. "My Mum used to do magic all the time. I think I would be able to do it too, if I knew the spell." She cleared her throat, raising her eyes to the heavens to remember it. "Is it in Latin? I think. I remember Mum speaking in Latin. She had a nice voice. Erm." She broke off once more, staring intently at the sky as though it would rain down the answer.
"Finite," she whispered after a minute of thinking. Remus groaned as he felt his muscles loosen.
Sitting up, Remus rubbed his arms and shivered violently. "Th-thanks," he whispered to her, coughing. His jaw shook to the point where speaking seemed impossible. "Need - need to go. Thanks, H-Helen." He gave her a weak smile and grabbed his shirt and shoes from near one of the trees.
Helen breathed on his face for a moment, warming it with moist breath before she nipped his neck. Remus froze when she did so and realized that it was: a wolf version of comfort. He smiled and quickly Disapparated.
Landing in the snow again outside the door, Remus tried to fumble with the buttons of his shirt to put it back on, but his fingers could barely move enough to get the buttons through the small, frayed holes. He grasped the doorknob and pushed the door open, feeling the wonderful blast of warm air before sitting down on the nearest chair.
"Remus!" He felt hands on his arm and held back a hiss of pain from his frozen joints. A relaxing weight fell on the arm of the chair as Tonks sat down. "You said two days! It's hasn't even been an hour!" After rubbing his arm before, she added, "You're freezing! Cor, I'm getting you into a warm bath. What happened to your shirt?" She grabbed it from his hands and threw it to the side once she saw how wet it was.
Grabbing him by the arm, Tonks led him to the lavatory, setting him down next to her as she started the bathwater running as hot as possible. "What happened?"
"They - they have a woman n-named Valentin, now," Remus told her, trying to stop his jaw from moving with his shivers. Tonks moved away from the water for a moment to wrap him in her arms to heat him and breath hot breaths of air on him. "The Death Ea-Eaters have her. I c-could only speak to H-Helen, one of th-the werewolves." He shivered more violently than ever, his breath catching his in throat and he coughed before continuing. "The Death Eaters are - are trying to get th-them on their side a-again. It sounds l-like V-Valentin is their leader n-now."
Tonks nodded, biting his lip as she stopped the water and motioned for Remus to finish undressing. He flushed as he did so, and crawled into the water that heat him from every side, warming his frozen digits. He felt himself stop shivering and glanced up at Tonks, who ran her hand through his hair for a moment.
"They can't have another leader," she whispered, sounding defeated. "Are you sure that's what they meant?"
"I know that Helen talked about the Death Eaters getting werewolves on their side again. Valentin said something about us loosing the war."
Tonks just stared at him without saying a word. Remus leaned into the water more, covering most of his body with the heat.
"Did they replace Greyback, then?" Tonks asked bitterly after some silence.
"With Lyall," Remus answered, nodding. He paused. "He was the one closest to Greyback, I think. They were always the leaders, but Greyback could wrestle down Lyall. Has Ginny woken yet?" he asked to change the subject.
Tonks shook her head miserably. "Nothing yet. I think Severus lied when he said she would be fine. It's just his damn prejudices against her and her family."
"It was the news of Molly and Arthur's deaths that broke her down. If she had never found out about it, then… she wouldn't have bothered, to say the least."
"Stress," Tonks mumbled. "I wish this would just end. I always imagined everything to be happier after the war. Not so… dark and cold. There's no one left but us and the Death Eaters. Besides, Hogwarts is going to open again, isn't it? Ginny would want to go back, I think."
Remus shrugged. "Maybe not. We don't know until she says something and that isn't happening very soon. Besides, the Death Eaters are going to get into Hogwarts again and something else if going to happen. I know it."
"Don't say that," Tonks told him fiercely. "Don't say things like that."
"It's just what I think," Remus whispered, starting to get out of the water. It had started to cool and he felt warm enough. Tonks grabbed a towel from her side and handed it to him, turning enough to give him privacy.
"Maybe things just need to settle down. Once this Valentin notices she's already lost and lost once Voldemort fell, she'll stop. I should ask Kingsley to grab him something on her. He could get something in the Ministry files."
Remus nodded, wrapping the towel around his waist. Tonks held up a finger and left the room for a moment, returning soon after with a handful of clothes. Remus took them thankfully, eyeing his wet clothes warily as he placed the news ones on. "Thank you."
Tonks shook her head. "I'm going to Floo him now," she told him, leaving the room. Remus leaned on the counter as he buckled his trousers on.
Valentin seemed very certain in her plans. Remus searched his mind for the name, trying to think if he had ever heard of her before, but nothing came. The only clue he had of her identity was her name and what she looked like, which was starting to edge from his brain slowly. Traveling to his makeshift room that it appeared Tonks had moved plenty of his things to, he pulled out a scrap of parchment and a quill, sketching down the face before it left his memory for good. It seemed like good likeness to him, and it would work for remembering later on with the picture.
Tonks was checking in with Kingsley. Good. Remus remained out of the room, not wanting to disturb them, but instead tried to think out some sort of story. It was fully possible she had just been a Death Eater who held high hopes for her future and those of the other Death Eaters. Maybe Valentin was never a Death Eater, but supported Voldemort's views when he had been alive. Either way, Remus knew that she could only cause trouble during the time. The world had already fallen apart enough.
Tonks returned within minutes. "Kingsley said he's finding something right now. The Minister shouldn't be able to catch on to what he's doing; They're doing searches on everyone now, really. I mean, every last worker has had their file checked. I'm probably checked now. On that hand -" She glanced through the hall at a clock. Remus was about to tell her that he needed to wind it again, but she continued with, "I may need to check in with the Ministry to see if I'm still even working there. I'm almost hoping not. Kingsley looks dead tired from the extra shifts they have everyone on. How bad has it been?"
"Very," Remus answered calmly. Without another word, he opened the face of the clock and wound it up until the time was right.
"I'll be back soon if I'm off. If not, then -" She leaned forward on her toes and kissed Remus' cheek before loosing balance and falling on his shoulder. "Sorry." She smiled briefly and Disapparated.
Remus remained in the hall, staring at where she had last been. The world seemed darker without her pink hair.
A door opened and Severus entered the hall, looking rather disgruntled. "Is it gone?" he asked sourly.
"It what gone?" Remus asked, grinding his teeth.
Severus gave him a long look. "Don't play stupid, Lupin. Is she gone yet? She's an abnormal -"
Remus glared enough to make Severus snap his mouth shut. Remus suddenly felt a rush of gratitude to Sirius for starting Severus' fear of him. "What, Severus? Tell me, what do you have to say about her?"
"She's your slut," Severus answered, voice low and full of venom. "Abnormal slut and a creature. Perfect mix."
"Funny, Severus." Remus felt his temper go too far over and could not stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth. "I had the feeling that you were the one who sold your soul to Voldemort and remained his servant. I don't see what is so abnormal about her after you think about the fact that you're the one with 'traitor' stamped across you, for both the Death Eaters and the rest of us to see."
Severus' face whitened as Remus seethed. "That's it," Severus growled at Remus, moving his wheelchair around to face Remus properly. "I'm leaving."
Remus set out his foot in the way of Severus' escape. "Is Hogwarts going to take you back now to teach?"
"I'll find that out myself. My abilities -"
"I'm not letting you go until you're sure," Remus told him slowly. He started to feel guilty for his comments before.
"It's none of your business," Severus growled. "Let me go -"
"I'm not letting you go," Remus repeated. "I refuse to leave you completely alone. You have to admit that you need help with that injury. Not until you're sure will I let you leave." He moved his foot slowly from under Severus' wheel and let him pass.
"I'm Flooing Minerva," Severus told him shortly. "I'll be gone within an hour."
Remus said nothing. As much as he wanted to, he refused to apologize to Severus. It would provoke him to higher limits.
Severus threw the Floo Powder into the fireplace. Remus watched from the corner of his eye. However, when he started to say the name of the school, someone fell from the fireplace.