Altercations

By Neurotica

Five

Sitting in an old recliner that had once belonged to her parents, Naomi sighed heavily, then gasped slightly at a sharp pain in her right shoulder. She winced and rubbed gently at the sore spot, afraid to aggravate it anymore. That night had definitely been one of the worst she could remember in a long while. She'd been in charge of an attack in the western countryside. She generally tried her best to avoid the use of Unforgivables—she may have been stupid enough to become a Death Eater, but if she could refrain from using the three most illegal curses in the wizarding world, she did—but Bellatrix had been nearby and egged her on to use Imperius on a boy no older than twelve.

The moment she'd learned of the attack, and when and where it would take place, she'd contacted Dumbledore and the Order. The Order had arrived late into the attack—if they'd been on the scene when the Death Eaters arrived, covers would have been blown, and Naomi probably wouldn't have been alive to recall her night. Luckily, a few lives were saved and the dead were taken to be examined by the Ministry. Many deaths these days were predictably caused by the Killing Curse, but Minister Bones had a policy of finding the exact cause of death, just incase the Death Eaters had come up with some new way to kill. This benefited Naomi, as well; if the Ministry was finding the information out on its own, she could safely say she had nothing to do with telling the other side Voldemort's secrets.

But that hadn't been the worst part of her day, though it came close. Lucius had been feeling a bit frisky after the attack, and Naomi had been the one to have to deal with the drunken son of a bitch. Not long after he'd finished with Naomi, Lucius had left the Death Eater castle to visit his wife and son. He'd been visiting Malfoy Manor for many months now, and the Order of the Phoenix were well aware of it. The Ministry only hadn't invaded the house on Dumbledore's orders. "The time will come," he'd told the Order a few weeks before, "that it will be safe to send our own onto the enemy's territory. But right now, it would do no good; our informants would be discovered, and that is not a risk worth taking at this point and time."

Naomi was thankful to the Headmaster for that, but she wondered when he would decide it would be worth the risk to invade Malfoy Manor. It wouldn't be long after that invasion that someone in Lord Voldemort's ranks would realize they were being betrayed. Though the Dark Lord had taken mercy upon Snape after the Potions Master's saving Harry after his poisoning, it was unheard of that anyone lived to betray him again. And with Naomi's luck, she'd be caught when Voldemort was in a particularly nasty mood, and would be shown mercy only to the point of a quick death—she wasn't fond of putting things off if she could help it.

Just as she was closing her eyes, there was a soft, rapid knock on the door of her flat. She groaned in annoyance, unsure who would be coming to pay her a visit, and grabbed her wand from the table beside her. She muttered a quick charm, the tip of her wand pointed towards the door, and watched the solid door vanish. The person on the other side couldn't see her, but she could quickly and safely decipher if she was about to receive an unwanted guest.

Her pale eyebrows shot up to her hairline when she recognized who'd come by. Wearing a hooded cloak, Naomi could see plainly Narcissa Malfoy shifting around in the hallway, looking over her shoulder every few seconds.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Naomi muttered aloud before crossing to the door. She ran a hand through her long blonde hair, knowing the first thing Narcissa would pick up on would be her ratty appearance. But there's nothing I can do about that now, is there?

She held her wand tightly, the tip pointed towards the ground now, and opened the door wearing the most pleasant smile she could fake. "Narcissa," she gushed with feigned cheer. "What a surprise! Please, come in."

Narcissa didn't smile. She crossed the threshold of the flat and looked around in distaste. For a second, Naomi considered wrapping her fingers tightly around the other woman's neck and squeezing until her ugly grey eyes bulged from their sockets. Cruel, yes, but Naomi never liked Narcissa.

"Please, have a seat," Naomi said, hoping she wouldn't have to keep up this charade for much longer. "Would you care for a drink? I've got coffee, tea, butterbeer, or perhaps something a bit stronger...?"

"No, thank you," Narcissa answered stiffly, examining her fingernails. "This is not a social call, Naomi. I am here to discuss my husband and son."

Oh, lovely, Naomi thought sarcastically. Nevertheless, she sat back down in her recliner and waited for Narcissa to begin.

"I realize you are possibly the Dark Lord's favorite—second to my husband, of course—and as such, you have many advantages the others do not. I know what the Dark Lord has done to my son, and I've come to ask a favor of you."

Naomi tried to keep her eyebrows where they were supposed to be, but it proved near impossible. "I see," she said cautiously. "And what sort of favor would you ask of me, Narcissa?"

"Do not allow my son to come to harm," Narcissa said promptly, her face betraying no emotion. "Keep him from getting on the Dark Lord's bad side. I understand he is arrogant at times, much like his father, which is another reason I ask this of you, and not Lucius. Lucius does not care that Draco may die—all he is concerned about is furthering his own ties with the Dark Lord."

"Narcissa," Naomi said, sitting on the edge of her seat. "I understand your concerns—if my son was put in this position, I would feel the same. However, there are no guarantees of safety where the Dark Lord is concerned. Surely you've learned that by now..."

Narcissa sighed—the first visible sign of emotion Naomi had seen from her in months. "I do realize this, but I cannot be with Draco through out all this. Regardless of what the Dark Lord and my husband believe, he is only sixteen years old."

Naomi wasn't quite sure what Narcissa was asking of her, but she had a feeling a fair amount of babysitting would be involved. "I will do what I can, Narcissa, but I make no promises. Receiving the Mark was Draco's decision—hell, I think he was excited about it. I would like to you understand that it will be Draco's responsibility to carry out his mission and stay on the Dark Lord's good side—if he has one of those; otherwise, I do not see him living through this war."

"I do understand," Narcissa said, back to her snooty self. "As for my husband—" She looked at Naomi's injured shoulder, and the other witch stiffened a bit—could Narcissa have found out about her and Lucius' monstrosity of a relationship? "He is careless and reckless, though the Dark Lord trusts him as much as he trusts you. I do not want my son to turn out like Lucius, running from the Ministry of Magic for the rest of his life. I leave my son's fate in your hands, Naomi." The witch stood. "And I apologize for such a late call, but it was safer this way."

"Of course," Naomi said as she stood and led the way to the door. "As I've said, I will do my best by Draco to make sure he remains safe."

Narcissa nodded once before pulling the hood of her cloak over her head, and left the flat quickly, leaving a very confused Naomi in her wake.

Just past ten the next night, Remus Apparated into the cottage with a grateful sigh. He hadn't planned on working so late that night; in fact, he'd planned on leaving early in the night, but a goblin had been arrested for biting the ankles of unsuspecting passersby in Hyde Park. Normally, Remus would have found the situation utterly hilarious, but he'd been the one to question the goblin, and the creature had gotten irate over his apparent poor treatment at the Ministry. Remus had been forced to endure rabies detection charms—something he was rather used to (being a werewolf, he had to have the tests done every year, anyway)—and he had to drink a number of potions to prevent infection.

All in all, it hadn't been a good day for Remus Lupin.

Amos Diggory had returned to work earlier in the week, and instead of glaring at Remus every chance he got, he completely ignored his head of department. He had, however, inquired about how Sirius was faring, since he'd been the one to unknowingly plant the wand that had stripped Sirius of his magic. But even that conversation was secondhand to Remus' ears—Charlie had been the one Diggory had asked.

Though tempted to collapse on the sofa and sleep for a week or four, Remus made his way to the kitchen, wondering idly where his family had gotten to. Life within the cottage had gone relatively back to normal since Harry's birthday two weeks before. Remus was relieved to see that Sirius was no longer skirting nervously around Harry—they'd actually spent a lot of time together exploring the pensieve Lily and James left to their son. Whenever they'd emerge from the stone bowl, both had looks of utter content on their faces. It was good that Sirius found something that didn't require a wand—Remus had started to worry about his best friend's hope of ever getting back to normal.

Remus peered quickly into the fridge for something to eat, but decided he wasn't hungry after finding a moldy sandwich that looked as though it housed another universe. He settled for a butterbeer and went down the hallway. Harry was fast asleep at his desk, a book that looked suspiciously like a Hogwarts text as his pillow. Gently, Remus roused the boy and moved him to the bed, where he fell asleep again moments later. Remus rolled his eyes fondly, kissed the top of his surrogate godson's head, and left the room.

Sirius, to Remus' great surprise, was not in his bedroom. The werewolf frowned, wondering where his best friend could've gotten to at this late hour. The only means of transportation Sirius had was his motorcycle, and even Sirius wasn't stupid enough to travel alone at night where he would be an open target to anything, everything, and everyone. Hoping his best friend had just gone out for a short walk—Sirius had taken to walking around the cottage at night of late and ignored Remus' pleas to at least take an Invisibility Cloak—Remus went to his own bedroom.

He opened the door and spotted Emmeline huddled over a large, dusty book, completely engrossed in whatever it was she was reading. He leaned against the doorframe lazily, a soft smile on his lips, still in awe that she'd come into his life the way she had. Sure, he'd fancied her a bit when the Order had first reformed, but he'd never honestly thought he had a shot at being with her. He was a werewolf, after all, and what sane woman would want to share a meal, let alone her bed, with a werewolf? But Emmeline had been more than supportive of him, and she did everything she could safely manage to help him before, on, and after the full moon.

"Sirius is an idiot," the subject of his thoughts muttered, not looking away from her book.

Remus raised an eyebrow and pushed away from the door. "And you've just now figured this out?"

Emmeline chuckled. "Well, no, but tonight put the icing on the cake, if you will."

"Why? What's he done now?"

She sighed and finally turned around in her chair, removing a pair of golden reading glasses from her nose. "Well, just after dinner, which you missed, by the way, he announced he had some things to take care of. Both Harry and I tried to pry information out of his stubborn, thick head, but we had no luck. All I know is that he's taken his motorbike."

"Brilliant." Remus sighed, rethinking his opinions on Sirius Black. "And other than that, how was your night?"

"Not bad." She smiled. "I found this book in the Diagon Alley library after work today, and I was hoping I'd be able to find something in it about our mysterious curse."

"Yeah? Any luck so far?"

Emmeline smiled regretfully. "Nothing yet, but that doesn't really mean anything; I'm only about a quarter of the way through."

He nodded and moved to the desk Emmeline was sitting at. He leaned down and kissed her thoroughly, leaving them both red in the face and breathing heavily.

"Wow," Emmeline said, a dopey smile on her face. "I missed you too."

Remus smiled back. "I'm sorry I'm late. We had a bit of an issue with a goblin."

"It's all right," she said dreamily.

Remus grinned a bit cockily and moved closer to her, his hand crawling up her arm. Emmeline's breathing increased in anticipation, and her eyes closed slowly. When his lips were a centimeter from hers, he reached for a quill and pulled away, earning an annoyed groan from his girlfriend. He winked as she opened her eyes, and stood, completely ignoring the indignant look sent his way. "Tease," she muttered.

Still grinning, Remus grabbed another chair, put an arm around the back of hers, and pulled the book she'd been studying for God knows how long closer so he could see it. "So is this any good?"

Rolling her eyes, Emmeline leaned against him and turned the book back a few aged, yellowed pages, moving her finger down a few paragraphs. "It's a wonderful read if you want to know how to torture your enemies to hell and back. I did find something that could possibly help Sirius, though. Listen to this: 'A wizard's magical ability is his way of life. Without it, most wizards wouldn't know what to do with themselves. There are a countless number of curses and spells that can temporarily drain magic from a wizard, but only one that can, and will, cause nearly permanent damage. The Sandbeed curse—named for Alfonso Sandbeed, the creator of the curse—is performed by placing the curse into some sort of object, most effectively a wizard's wand. Once the intended target attempts to use the wand, his powers are nearly automatically drained. If the wizard is lucky enough to live through the blast caused by the backfired curse, he will find himself powerless against even a harmless Cornish Pixie. The countercurse is currently unknown, but wizards in the rumored Department of Mysteries inside the Ministry of Magic have worked for years to counteract its effects'," she finished.

"Hmm," Remus said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "Well, at least we have a name for it, and it's nothing so new that nobody's researching it... Is there anything about how long it lasts?"

"No." Emmeline sighed. "It says the curse could last anywhere from an hour to years depending on the wizard. As far as I can tell—I still want to do a bit more research before I tell anyone else—Sirius still has his magic; it's just lying dormant in his body and he's unable to reach it."

"So this could be psychological?"

"I don't think so," she replied. "That was my first theory, but if it'd been that simple, Healers would've known by now."

Feeling slightly disappointed, Remus nodded and sat back in his chair, rubbing his temples, trying to get rid of his headache. "I just wish there was something more I could do for him. Without magic, Sirius Black just isn't Sirius Black."

"That's not true and you know it," Emmeline said, taking his hand and rubbing his knuckles. He smiled at the ministrations. "He's still Sirius. He just can't be a lazy bum by conjuring and summoning everything he needs."

Remus laughed. "I think he's past that stage, thank Merlin. I think he's more worried about his role in the war, and if he'll be able to fight. He'd be absolutely destroyed if something happened to Harry and he couldn't do anything to help."

"He'd be just as upset if something happened to you, love."

"I know, but he knows I can handle myself. Harry can too, but he's only sixteen and he hasn't had much experience in defending himself. Dumbledore's suggested countless times we have him trained in defensive techniques. I think it's about time we look into it..."

Emmeline nodded and lifted Remus' hand to her lips. "I think that's a brilliant idea. That, combined with his Occlumency lessons, should help him out a great deal. Just let me know if you need help."

Remus smiled softly. "Have I ever told you how wonderful you are? Not only because you're the best thing that's ever happened to me, but because of the way you are with Harry and Sirius. There aren't a lot of women who are up to taking on the baggage of a werewolf, the world's most famous teenager, who's had death hits on him since before he was born, and Sirius Black."

Emmeline only shrugged. "I knew exactly what I was getting into when we started this relationship, Remus. I love you, and Harry, and at times, Sirius." Remus laughed. "And I know that, in order to be with you, I have to accept your family as well. Believe me, there's nothing in this world that could change that."

Remus wasn't sure how to reply to that, so he placed his free hand at the back of her neck and pulled her closer for a long kiss.

He stopped his prized motorcycle at a red light and took his helmet off momentarily to shake his long, shaggy hair from his eyes. He'd have to ask Emmeline if she'd cut it for him. He liked his long hair, but he also thought he looked rather striking with it cut just above his shoulders. Just before the light turned green again, Sirius replaced the helmet over his head, knowing he didn't need to add a head injury to his problems.

If he remembered correctly, his destination was only a few more blocks away. He'd meant to go there sooner, but it would take a long time to explain his reasoning to Remus, and he wasn't yet ready to face his best friend with this. He still wasn't even sure what was going on with this new situation, but he was willing to wait it out—it's not like he had anything else to do. He may have misplaced his trust at some point by ignoring certain facts because he was bored, but Sirius Black wasn't ever known to be a rational man.

He finally arrived at a rather attractive brick building with four visible levels to it. It was a wizard living space, so the inside had been expanded to allow more flats to be added into the building. He glanced up at the quarter moon, wondering if he was imagining the strange, green mist that floated across it, and entered the building, leaving his helmet and motorcycle near the entrance. Taking the stairs two at a time, Sirius quickly made it to the sixth level. He knocked on the door to flat 615 and waited for a hesitant voice to call out that they were on the way. He ran a hand through his hair, unsure as to why he was trying to look good for this. It wasn't like they were dating or anything...

The door opened and Sirius found himself facing tip of Naomi's wand. It took her a few seconds to realize who was standing before her, but when she did, she lowered her wand immediately. "Oh, Sirius, hey," she said, obviously a bit surprised to see him. She moved aside to allow him into her flat.

"What a greeting." Sirius grinned, going inside and looking around. "Don't think I've had such a friendly welcome since the time Lily used that boil hex on me when I showed up at her and James' place at two in the morning."

Naomi rolled her eyes but smiled, and gestured for Sirius to sit. "Usually I use an Invisibility charm on my door, but I'm too damn lazy tonight. You want something to drink? I was about to make some tea..."

"Yeah, that'd be great," he called as she entered the kitchen. "Why's it so dark in here? Were you having a séance before I arrived?" Indeed, the only lights in the entire flat seemed to be coming from everlasting candles in random places around the living room. The coffee table was littered with crumpled parchment, books, and what looked to be maps.

"Ha ha," Naomi finally replied. "No, actually, I'm in the middle of devising another strategic attack for the Death Eaters. Don't worry, the moment I finish and it's approved, I'll let you lot in on it."

Sirius sighed. She seemed to know what she was doing at least. She had charts and graphs, a magical compass that automatically calculated the distance between two points. Sirius vaguely wondered if Snape did the same things Naomi did, but he doubted it. He tried not to be too involved in what Snape did, but from what he understood, all the other wizard did was pass along information he heard from Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

"Tea is ready," Naomi announced. Sirius thought her cheerful demeanor seemed faked, and he decided he'd have to find out why. "Two sugars, cream, and just a squeeze of lemon, right?"

Sirius smiled and took the offered cup and saucer from the witch. "Perfect," he said after taking a sip. "Can't believe you remembered how I like my tea..."

Naomi sat across from him in her recliner with a smirk and sipped at her own tea. "I remember a lot, Black."

He chuckled. For a few minutes, the two sat in silence, each trapped inside their own thoughts. Finally, Sirius looked up and got a close-up glance at Naomi. Frowning, he wondered if it was the candlelight that made her look so battered. "Would it be too much trouble to turn on a light?" he asked.

"What's wrong, Sirius? Afraid of the dark, are you?" Naomi teased. Sirius could make out her grin by the candles.

"No, I just prefer conversations where I can see the person I'm conversing with."

"Fair enough."

Seconds later, the room filled with light, and Sirius, much to his disappointment, realized it hadn't been the candles that made her look like that. There were faded bruises across her cheek, and what looked to be a handprint around her neck. "What happened to you?" he asked, trying to sound flippant. "Get into a scuffle with a troll?"

Naomi averted her eyes. Obviously, she'd forgotten she had the bruises. "It's... nothing," she said lamely. Sirius raised an eyebrow. "I fell," she said, gesturing to her neck. "And the other night at the battle, I got a few more bruises."

Sirius wasn't buying it. "I wasn't aware a fall could cause a person to look as though they'd been strangled."

She sighed and placed her tea on the end table beside her chair. "Look, it's nothing. There's no need to worry—"

"Bullshit," Sirius said casually, wondering if Kingsley's notoriously calm spirit was keeping him this calm. "Why don't you tell me what really happened, and forget avoiding the truth. I may not have a wand, but I can get information out of people without the use of magic."

"So I hear," Naomi muttered.

"Malfoy did this to you, didn't he?" he asked bluntly. "He beat you up."

Her jaw clenched tightly. "It's not a big deal, Sirius, honestly. I've been dealing with Lucius Malfoy for years."

"Are you sleeping with him?" She hesitated and he nodded, not needing anymore of an answer. "Why?" he asked quietly.

"Because he tells me more than he would if I wasn't," she muttered, looking both defensive and ashamed. "It's not like I'm attracted to the man—I find him rather barbaric and repulsive, to be honest."

Sirius sighed. "There are other ways to get information, you know..."

"But this works best and it's quicker."

"You do realize he probably has a dozen diseases, don't you?"

Her lips twitched. "I've taken precautions..."

"You don't have to do this," he said quietly. "We appreciate what you're doing for us, but you're crossing the line a bit, don't you think?"

She shrugged. "Not really. I've learned things not even Snape has access to, and this is in addition to what I learn from Voldemort on a daily basis."

Sirius was very tempted to bring up the fact that she'd basically traded Remus Lupin for Lucius Malfoy. He resisted, however, keeping in mind that she had a wand and he didn't. "Just... just be careful, eh?" he requested softly.

"I will."

He nodded.

"So what're you doing here at—" Naomi looked at her clock. "—midnight?"

"I don't know. I got your letter today, and I was bored, so I thought I'd get out for a nighttime bike ride and come for a visit."

"You do know I'll see you at the Order meeting tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, but the only chance we get to talk is when Remus isn't in the room."

Naomi nodded, obviously not keen on the subject of her ex at the present time. "How's Harry feeling?"

"Better," Sirius said, smiling. "Remus and I gave him the pensieve Lily and James left him, and I'm pretty sure he's not even a quarter of the way through it."

"Yeah? Is he enjoying it?"

Sirius smiled widely, and he and Naomi got into a long discussion about anything that didn't involve the Remus, the war, and Voldemort. Sirius found it as easy to talk to her as with Remus. By the time he was ready to take his leave, it was nearly three in the morning "I should go. If I stay out any longer, Remus'll have half the Ministry out searching for me."

Naomi laughed and led him to the door where they stood a bit awkwardly for a few moments. "Thank you for dropping by," she said. "It's good to have someone not obsessed with death and destruction to talk to for a change."

"Anytime," Sirius said, feeling an odd pang in his stomach when he realized he meant it. "Thank you for the letters you've been sending. They've helped keep me mostly sane."

She laughed again and opened the door for him. "I'll see you at the meeting, then. Drive safely."

"I will," he said. "Good night."

"Good night."

Though he didn't look over his shoulder as he walked down the hall, he could feel Naomi's eyes on him the entire way, and found he didn't mind it one bit.