Altercations

By Neurotica

Nine

The Order of the Phoenix met late one Friday night. Questions of when the dementors would be set free seemed to be the popular topic of the meeting. Though none of them were exactly disappointed that it hadn't happened yet, they were curious as to when they would have to face the dark creatures. Naomi told them Lord Voldemort was waiting for the dementors to increase their numbers. Sirius attempted a few jokes at the thought of reproducing dementors, but the others ignored him, and just for good measure—and because it hadn't been done for a long while—Remus slapped him in the back of the head.

The meeting lasted a good three hours, half of which was spent eating and socializing. Emmeline, Remus noticed immediately, hadn't said more than two dozen words that evening. He asked what was wrong, but she only shook her head, smiled, and said "nothing." Every so often, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and found with a slight shock that she was glaring over the table at Naomi. Emmeline hadn't expanded on her theory about Naomi and the silver Remus had ingested the week before, but the werewolf had a very good feeling that, in Emmeline's eyes, Naomi was the number one suspect.

Around midnight, Dumbledore ended the meeting, wanting to return to Hogwarts as soon as possible—he was reluctant to leave the school unprotected (which was an odd thought, considering the strength of the wards and charms surrounding the castle). Their leader bid them a good night, assuring Sirius and Remus that Harry was doing just fine, and there'd been no altercations between him and Snape, so there was nothing to worry about. Remus was convinced, but Sirius still wanted to find Snape and personally make sure (in a variety of creative and unpleasant ways) he was leaving Harry alone.

When Dumbledore left, Molly went into the pantry and prepared a late night meal for the small group who'd decided to remain; that being Sirius, Remus, Emmeline, Bill, Charlie, Tonks, Arthur, Sturgis, and Naomi. (Naomi stayed at Molly's request; according to the Order's mother hen, Naomi needed a few good meals.) Emmeline didn't seem too pleased that Naomi was staying and expressed her disapproval by sitting very closely to Remus. She obviously hadn't gotten over what had happened between Remus and his ex at the beginning of the summer.

The atmosphere in the kitchen was as cheerful as could be expected, considering they'd just had a long meeting concerning dementors and Dark Lords. Naomi had been well-received by the most of the Order—Emmeline, of course, being the exception—so she'd been involved in many of the conversations that night.

Remus spotted Sturgis Podmore sneaking glances at the Death-Eater-turned-spy every so often. There was a hint of what Remus didn't want to admit to be jealously sting at his heart just a touch. He assumed it was remnants of the dream he'd had earlier in the week. If Sturgis fancied Naomi, so be it—let him deal with the same heartbreak he, Remus, had endured. They were all adults, and Remus had no control over what either of them did, nor did he want any. And, if by some chance, they ended up together, Remus would wish them all the best. Remus had Emmeline, and he didn't need anything but her.

"I'm going to the ladies' room," Emmeline whispered in Remus' ear. She kissed his cheek and left the kitchen, leaving him to listen to Sirius and Charlie discuss dragons.

"Wotcher, Remus, how you feeling?" asked a bright voice from Emmeline's vacant seat.

He turned and smiled at Tonks. Tonight her hair was a mixture of royal blue with just a hint of silver. "I'm well, Tonks, how are you?"

"Exhausted," she said. "Dawlish has me on Hogsmeade duty for the next three moths, and before I head out there, I'm on Azkaban duty."

"Azkaban duty? That sounds fun," Remus said sarcastically.

Tonks rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah. I patrol the corridors and listen to cat calls from all the horny prisoners."

"You patrol alone?"

"Well, no, but it usually doesn't matter who I'm with."

"How many have you hexed?"

"Only a few," she said airily.

Remus smirked. "Yes, you are most definitely related to Sirius Black."

In the second level bathroom, Emmeline leaned against the countertop and peered into the mirror. She knew she was being childish about Naomi, but she honestly didn't give a damn. She wasn't going to give that woman a chance to get near Remus if she could help it. Despite Remus' arguments to the contrary, Emmeline believed Naomi had something to do with Remus' attempted murder earlier that week. There was no trust—not even a hint—in Emmeline's body for Naomi; it was much like the relationship between Sirius and Severus, if one could call that a relationship. Nothing Naomi did short of taking a Killing Curse for an Order member would change Emmeline's mind.

Sighing, and feeling a bit irritated at her jealousy and over-protectiveness—she'd never felt anything close to this in any other relationship she'd been in (of course, she'd never been with a man like Remus Lupin before)—she washed her hands, splashed a small amount of water on her face, dried off and left the bathroom.

Just as she started down the staircase, she stopped. In front of her, halfway up the stairs, was the woman she'd been thinking about all evening. Emmeline and Naomi stared at one another wordlessly for long minutes. Naomi was the first to break the very tense silence.

"Hello, Emmeline," she said tightly.

"Naomi," Emmeline replied frostily.

Neither witch moved from their spots or averted their eyes from the other—doing so would mean one of them was weaker, or at least, that's the way Emmeline saw it. Deciding now was as good a time as any other, Emmeline asked the question she'd been dying to ask for days.

"What did you do to Remus?"

That hadn't been exactly what she'd meant to say; she hadn't wanted to out right accuse Naomi of trying to kill Remus, but her tongue seemed to have a mind of its own.

Naomi raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Really? So you don't know how that silver ended up in his bloodstream?"

Judging by the look of pure horror on Naomi's face, the answer to that question was no. "There was silver in his blood?" Naomi breathed. "How? When?"

"You're the mastermind Death Eater; you tell me."

Naomi's jaw clenched. "Look, you may not believe this, and frankly, I don't give a shit if you do or not, but I would never do anything to hurt Remus."

Emmeline ignored the waver in her voice. "That didn't stop you fifteen years ago, did it?"

Naomi growled a bit in frustration. "I was young and stupid, okay? I didn't realize what I had with Remus until it was too late. Just because I left him, that doesn't mean I want to seem him hurt or dead." Naomi paused for a moment, trying to compose herself. "I realize I have no chance with him anymore and I don't expect to. I've told you this before: He's happy with you, and I'm not going to interfere. So whatever jealously or insecurities you have with me, get over it. He's yours. You win. Congratulations."

"Just do yourself a favor, Naomi, and stay away from him. I don't believe you didn't know about the silver and when I find out the truth, we will be having another chat—"

"Oh, I look forward to it—" Naomi muttered sarcastically.

Feeling it best to get back to the kitchen before there were any, er, accidents in the hallway, Emmeline moved swiftly down the staircase, pushing Naomi aside. She took a turn and heard one last thing that made her stop.

"I don't know what he sees in you," Naomi muttered from on the stairs.

Emmeline turned around calmly, itching, but resisting, to grab her wand. "Perhaps it's the fact that he knows I won't leave him for a wizard who wants us all dead," she whispered harshly before continuing on her way.

Sirius realized something was terribly amiss when Emmeline entered the kitchen looking either ready to kill or cry—he wasn't sure which just yet. She whispered something to Remus, causing a look of confusion to appear on his face, and Flooed, presumably back to the cottage—there was too much noise to hear her destination. Remus continued to stare at the fireplace with the same expression until Naomi descended the stairs ten minutes later. By the new look on his face, Remus was thinking the same as Sirius—not again...? Sighing, Remus drank the rest of his tea, stood, and crossed over to where Sirius stood against the stove.

"I better go do some damage control, I suppose," he said tiredly. "It won't do to have her come back here, temper flaring, ready to hex..."

"What's wrong, Moony?" Sirius grinned. "You don't like women fighting over you?"

Remus only glared at him before Flooing home.

Naomi, Sirius noticed, was just as upset as Emmeline. Sirius sent her a questioning glance, but she avoided his eye as she gathered her belongings and left the kitchen. Whatever had happened between the two witches must have been pretty bad to garner that sort of reaction. They both cared for Remus, he knew, and only wanted what was best for him, but Sirius didn't know how much more of this Remus would be able to take.

His thoughts came to an abrupt halt as Bill handed him a glass of wine. Remus could handle Emmeline's temper—Sirius was just glad it wasn't him doing the handling...

Remus stared at his closed bedroom door trying to steel up the energy for what was to come. After ten minutes, he carefully pushed the door open and poked his head inside, checking if it was safe to enter. When nothing was thrown in his direction, he entered, finding Emmeline on their bed, sitting against the headboard with her knees pulled to her chest. Remus had learned this was her thinking position.

"You okay?" he asked softly, closing the door behind him.

He thought maybe she was ignoring him, but she finally answered a few minutes later. "I asked her about the silver," she said flatly.

Mentally, Remus sighed. "What did she say?"

"What do you think? She acted like she had no idea what I was talking about."

"Maybe she didn't," Remus said, regretting his choice of words immediately at the look he was getting.

"Of course she did!" Emmeline yelled. "For crying out loud, she's Voldemort's bloody second-in-command, or whatever the hell it is. She knows about everything that happens."

Remus now sighed aloud. "I'm sure she knows the majority of what Voldemort does, but there's no possible way she could know every little detail—"

"This isn't some attack on random Muggles, Remus!" Emmeline shouted, releasing her knees. "You're one of the top targets in this war, and for her to have no clue about an attempt on your life... that's complete bull."

Remus ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "I understand you're angry, Emmeline," he said quietly. "I'm just as upset about this, but every little thing that happens isn't Naomi's fault."

"So you're sticking up for her now?" she asked, standing up from the bed. "After everything that's happened? After everything she put you through?"

His jaw clenched as he fought to keep his temper. "I'm not sticking up for her," he said as calmly as he could. "I'm only saying we shouldn't jump to conclusions about this. You're automatically assuming she was the one who tried to off me. Well, she's not the only Death Eater in the world, Emmeline, and there are many more who hate me a lot more than Naomi does."

Emmeline glared at him. "I know she had something to do with this," she said. "Maybe not directly, but—Remus, I don't trust her."

Judging by her soft tone, Remus decided it was safe to approach her. He stroked her arms gently, noting how tense she was. "I know you don't trust her," he said softly. "I can't say I'm much better. But we really have no choice in this. Look, I've made my share of assumptions in the past without getting the whole story, and—I just think we should wait until we know more about this before jumping to conclusions."

Her anger seemed to fade the longer Remus held her until at long last she uncrossed her arms from her chest and wrapped them around his waist, burying her head in his chest. "I'm overreacting, aren't I?" she asked quietly, her voice muffled in his robes.

Remus kissed the top of her head. "Only a little," he said teasingly, earning a gentle slap on his back. "I do find it rather attractive that you jump to my defense like this..."

Emmeline laughed into his chest. "Do you now?" she asked, raising her head.

Remus nodded. "Very attractive." He grinned.

Conversation was irrelevant from that point on.

After Naomi left Order Headquarters without a word, Sirius lost all interest in the impromptu party taking place at his childhood home. He said good night to his fellow Order members and Flooed back to the cottage briefly, just to be sure there hadn't been any bloodshed. Remus and Emmeline's bedroom was silent—a little too silent, suggesting to Sirius that the couple had cast a Silencing Charm around the room. Grinning, Sirius went out the front door of the cottage into the chilly night, suddenly remembering what Naomi had told them about the dementors—his violent shiver had nothing to do with the temperature.

Thankful that he had his leather jacket tonight, he walked across the yard to a small storage shed he and Remus had built and rolled his motorbike out onto the grass. He put on his helmet, mounted the bike, revved up the engine, and rode it through the forest on a path that led to civilization. Miles down the path, he came to a main road and punched the silver button that sent him in the air almost instantly. He may have lost his ability to do magic, but that didn't keep him from using magical items.

He flew at top speeds, thankful to Remus for placing a heating charm around the bike, until he reached London an hour later. The city roads were mostly deserted at this late hour, so Sirius had no trouble landing and navigating to Naomi's flat. He knew he should have exercised some sort of caution going to Death Eater's home—there could be others there—but he wouldn't be Sirius Black if he didn't throw caution to the wind and put his life in jeopardy every so often.

One of the things Remus hates about me, the wizard thought with a smirk. Among many other things, of course.

He arrived at Naomi's door, knocked and waited. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to her, but he had to do something; the feud between Naomi and Emmeline was only growing worse. If it went on any longer, the witches would end up badly injured. Of course, a fight between the two would be a fantasy come true for Sirius; it didn't even matter that they wouldn't be battling over him.

He heard a sigh and locks snapping open, then Naomi was standing before him, looking as if she was getting ready to go to bed. "Hey," he said quietly.

"Hey," she muttered and he entered her flat. She closed the door and he made himself comfortable on her sofa, reaching for an unopened bottle of butterbeer. "Thirsty, Black?"

He shrugged. "Long flight, you know?" he said loftily, watching Naomi go to her kitchen for a fresh bottle. Well, at least she's not pissed that I'm here...

She came back to the living room and sat beside Sirius on the sofa, knocking his legs to the floor, and forcing him to sit up. "Why are you here so late?"

He shrugged again as he sipped his drink. "I wanted to see if you were all right. You left in a bit of a rush—I didn't have a chance to ask you..."

Naomi nodded silently and Sirius waited for a reaction of some sort. After a few minutes, he realized she wasn't going to say anything. "So are you all right?" he asked quietly.

"I'm absolutely smashing," she muttered sarcastically. "I've just been accused of the attempted murder of the man I've done everything I can to keep safe." She turned to look at Sirius. "She never even asked me if I knew what happened. She just automatically accuses me."

Sirius sighed. "She's scared, Naomi," he said. Naomi snorted humorlessly. "We're all easy targets, regardless of all the things we've done to keep ourselves safe. This whole thing with Remus happened so fast..." He hesitated. "Look, I'm not accusing you of anything here... but did you know about the silver?"

"You too?" she cried. "God dammit, Sirius! Why would I try to kill him when I'm still half in love with him?"

"How can you be half in love with somebody?" he asked thoughtfully, then at her glare added, "Never mind..." He sighed. "I know you'd never hurt Remus, but I had to ask..."

"I've tried so hard, Sirius," she said quietly, her voice wavering. "I've tried to give you guys reliable information. I've tried to find out everything I can, and I still can't get anyone's trust." Sirius bit his lip as he saw tears forming in her eyes. "Now I've got people outright accusing me of trying to murder Remus... Sirius, I've never once in my entire life killed a person. You probably don't believe that, but it's true. Yes, I've used Unforgivables, but I've never used the Killing Curse, and I've never used a curse that could cause a death."

Sirius tried to keep his eyes from widening at the confession. He'd always had the idea that killing a person was a part of the Death Eater initiation. He slid over on the sofa and put an arm around Naomi's shoulders, pulling her against him as she began to cry. "If it's any consolation," he said softly, rubbing her arm. "I trust you."

She lifted her head a bit and gave him a small smile. "Thank you," she said, laying her head on his shoulder. Sirius gently sat back against the sofa and brought Naomi with him. They sat together in their own thoughts for long minutes. Naomi continued to cry; Sirius continued to hold her.

Something odd was happening, something he hadn't experienced in years, and he thought he knew what it was. Over the last few weeks, perhaps even months, as he started to reacquaint himself with Naomi, he found he was also starting to develop feelings for her. Romantic ones. They'd been best friends once, though he'd never been interested in her in that way when they'd been kids—he'd always had his eye on Julia. Naomi wasn't all that bad, he mused as her sniffs began to subside. She was funny, beautiful, intelligent, and tough. He couldn't think of any other person who would have the nerve to spy on Lord Voldemort (Snape didn't count).

"I don't know if I can do this anymore," Naomi said a bit hoarsely. Sirius turned his head to look at her, but ended up staring at the top of her head. "I don't ever remember being this tired and scared and stressed in my life. At any minute, I could be found out, and the next minute, I could be dead."

"Don't say that," Sirius whispered firmly. "You've done more to help our cause in this war than half the Order put together. I could never do what you're doing, Naomi..."

She laughed bitterly. "You were smart, Sirius, you and Remus. You resisted joining him. Look at me: I abandoned what could have possibly been the greatest thing in my life. Now I live every second of my life wondering when Voldemort's going to figure out what I've been doing. I can't remember the last time I was truly happy since I got the Dark Mark. But you and Remus live as normally as you can, you have Harry, and you're respected. Do you have any idea how often I've lain awake just wanting a bit of normalcy? How often I've daydreamed about just spending time with my friends, my true friends, not having to worry about being tortured?"

Sirius tightened his grip around her without really noticing, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling her legs up to tuck under her. "You don't have to do this, you know," he said, thinking as he spoke. "I mean, there are ways to hide you and keep you safe. Hell, you can stay at Headquarters and you'd never have to worry."

"I can't do that," she said. "I ran away from my responsibilities before; I won't do it again..."

"There's a difference between responsibility and survival," he said quietly but firmly. "And to tell you the truth, I'd prefer to see you alive, rather than wonder if we're going to find you dead somewhere."

"They'll find me, no matter how 'safe' I am," she argued.

Sirius shook his head. "I won't let them."

Naomi finally looked up to meet his eyes and Sirius only hesitated for a second before closing the distance between them. She stiffened a bit, and he thought she was going to push him away, but then she turned a bit to deepen the kiss. For a moment, Sirius forgot about the war, and their positions in it. He forgot everything that happened over the last fifteen years. As the seconds went on, the pair shifted to lie on the sofa, and Naomi moaned softly in appreciation. Sirius slid his hands from her thigh to rest on her waist, and she seemed to come to her senses—she pulled back and pushed him away.

"We can't do this," she panted, ignoring Sirius' indignant look as he sat up. "You can't do this, Sirius."

"Why?" he asked in exasperation.

"Think about it!" she yelled, suddenly angry. "You're the bloody Head Auror for the Ministry of Magic and I'm a Death Eater; you're supposed to be arresting me, not making out with me on my sofa."

Sirius sighed and ran a hand across his face. "I don't care," he said bluntly. "I haven't cared for months, Naomi... Okay, it's this simple: I want this very badly. The question is, do you?"

She ran a shaky hand through her hair, her face flushed. Sirius waited patiently for her answer. She had the power to make or break this relationship, and Sirius wasn't going to pressure her to do anything she didn't want. She had enough to deal with already.

"You realize, if anyone finds out, this will put us higher up on the Voldemort target list, right? The Death Eaters will know what I am, and they'll go after you just to watch me hurt and vice versa," she said quietly.

"I know," he said.

She nodded. "And Remus won't be happy..."

"I'll deal with Remus."

"You're taking away all my excuses," she said, smiling slightly. "Damn you."

Sirius smiled back. "So what do you say? Should we try and piss the world off even more?"

She grinned. "That's your ultimate goal in life, isn't it?" He nodded brightly. "Well, in that case," she said, sliding closer to him, "I'm in."