Chapter 30
Remus Lupin was not a happy man. He literally glared at the fireplace from which the form of Molly Weasley had appeared mere seconds earlier to inform him that Harry was staying at the Burrow and had just received his proof of Hermione's "capture".
The very last thing he wanted to do right now was make an appearance at the Weasley home.
He still hadn't forgiven Molly for her callous comments and both Molly and Arthur were bound to be more than a little icy at his presence in their house.
He didn't want to face Harry, either.
Why did everyone seem to be of the opinion that if they needed something difficult done, all they had to do was ask Remus and he'd be happy to do it for them?
He let out a forceful sigh.
Why did I let Minerva force me into complying with her request?
While it pained him to know that Harry was now hysterical with rage and fear, he told himself that there was absolutely nothing he could say or do that would make the boy feel any better.
And if that was the case, why the hell did he have to show up and "try" to comfort and reassure him?
Damn everything to hell.
He knew it didn't help matters that he was in such an ill mood. But quite frankly, all things considered, he really didn't care.
When he saw Harry what was he supposed to say? Who did Minerva think he was that he could supposedly just manufacture emotions that weren't there?
Harry would be devastated, torn apart. How the fuck was Remus going to pretend that he shared Harry's pain and outrage?
He'd much rather get in touch with Minerva and tell her that she could send Mad-Eye to deal with Harry. At least he'd get right into the I-want-to-kill-Severus-Snape thing. The only problem was that Mad-Eye would actually be thrilled to help Harry track Severus down and kill him.
And of course Moody didn't have a bond with Harry. Remus did, which was precisely the reason why Minerva had selected him for the task of "being there" for the boy when he got word of Hermione's whereabouts.
Again, he really wished he hadn't let McGonagall talk him into it.
Unfortunately now, there was no way to back out.
Remus stood up from his chair and prepared himself for what he was about to face when he stepped out of the Weasley's fireplace, though he knew no amount of mental preparation was going to make him ready.
Breathing in deeply and exhaling slowly, Remus stepped into the fireplace and flooed to the Burrow.
What he found as soon as he had emerged was exactly what he had expected. Pure and total chaos. Harry, Ron, and Ginny were shouting at the top of their lungs, and Molly and Arthur were standing by the door barring Harry and Ron from charging out to go Snape hunting.
Arthur saw Remus appear in the threshold of the drawing room.
"Remus is here, Harry. He'll be able to help lay out a plan. Talk to him while Molly and I go inform Minerva and Kingsley of the situation."
"Get Mad-Eye here. He'll know what to do. He's always hated that fucking bastard of a Potions Master and I want to make sure he's with us."
"Yes, of course," Arthur said, "I'll tell him."
Arthur and his wife left the room and Remus moved forward.
Remus met Harry's gaze and made sure that he kept his facial features hard. If he appeared relaxed, Harry would definitely wonder why he didn't appear more upset. Luckily, because of his current mood, it wasn't too difficult to look suitably angry.
Harry was red around the eyes and trembling with emotion.
"Molly told me most of the details," Remus said quietly.
Without speaking, Harry thrust a sheet of parchment and a small photograph in front of Remus. He took the items from Harry and examined them.
Ah yes, the picture. Severus had told him that Voldemort would require him to send something like this. Remus was more than confident of Severus's ability to brew a powerful pain blocking potion, and knew whole heartedly that while the potions master could at times be an arrogant prick, he was, when it came down to it, a good man.
Remus pulled Harry into a hug. When Remus stepped away from him he looked Harry straight in the eyes.
"You'll get her back," he said firmly. "I promise."
"Can you really say that for certain, Remus?" Harry asked, his voice breaking.
"I never promise something I cannot give," Remus said seriously.
"He . . . he hurt her, Remus. I'm sure by now, . . . he's . . . forced himself on her as well."
Remus's expression became steely.
He had no choice but to let Harry believe that. It's not like he could say, "Severus would never do such a thing," when Harry had what he thought was proof of Severus standing behind Hermione while she was tortured with the Cruciatus curse.
"There's a chance he didn't, Harry."
The expression on Harry's face told Remus that the teenager didn't think that chance was very high.
Harry slowly sank down to sit on the sofa. He closed his eyes in deep emotional pain, and let out a couple of ragged breaths. Remus glanced at Ron and Ginny. Ron looked ready to kill something with his bare hands and Ginny had a distant, detached look in her eyes.
Remus took a seat on the sofa next to Harry.
After a minute or two, Harry got his breathing a little more under control and opened his eyes.
Remus could tell that Harry was forcing himself not to cry.
Harry was definitely going to hate his guts for at least some duration of time when he found out Remus had let him go through this horrific pain for nothing.
"Remus," said Harry, his voice thick with unsuppressed grief. "How can you guarantee to me that even if I don't defy Voldemort's orders and go hunting for his Horcruxes, Voldemort won't kill her anyway?"
"Voldemort is aware that The Order has knowledge of spells that will determine if Hermione lives, and if she was killed, he knows there would be nothing to stop you from going after his Horcruxes. With her death on his hands you'd be more determined than ever. You must trust me when I say that he wants to avoid that at all costs."
Remus was relieved when Harry nodded in understanding.
"How long will the Order take to rescue her?" Harry asked quietly. "Molly and Arthur have made it pretty clear that I can't be risked in a fight against Voldemort right now, that I'm not ready to face him when my emotions are running so high"–
"And they're quite right. I know you hate that, but please, if ever you've listened to what I've told you, believe what I say to you now."
Harry didn't reply, but he didn't move to argue the point either.
"You'll make sure that everyone moves as fast as they can right?" Harry asked imploringly.
Remus inwardly tensed.
"We'll all work together to ensure that Hermione is found and freed as quickly as possible."
Again, Harry didn't respond.
"If you have everyone participating in organizing and executing the rescue mission, it won't take more than a few days,"
"Harry, I'm sorry, but I can't give you a definite time frame. We don't know where Voldemort's new place of residence is. Understand that we've been trying to find Severus for over six weeks and even with The Ministry's most advanced search methods there are no traces of either man. I'm afraid this could take a bit of time,"
"She's suffering," Harry said in an anguished tone. "And it's all because of me," he added in a low tone.
"Harry you mustn't blame yourself," Remus told him consolingly. "Just because Voldemort wants to eliminate you as a threat to him, doesn't mean that every evil act he commits in an attempt to gain more power is your fault. You couldn't have stopped this from happening. It was out of your control."
"Still, if Hermione wasn't my friend, she wouldn't be where she is now," Harry said quietly.
"Don't do this to yourself. It will do nothing to help the situation."
Ron spoke up for the first time.
"What will the Order do next?"
"I'd say that we'll combine our power into a group locating spell and focus on locating Hermione. In theory, doing so should give us a clear idea of where Voldemort is now hiding."
"And how long will that take?" Ron asked, more than a little demandingly.
"The spell could take up to four hours or more to provide clear information. I'm sure that will be done sometime in the next hour or so, once the Order can assemble."
Remus looked back at Harry.
"I need to go speak with Ron's parents," he said to him.
Harry nodded dejectedly
Remus took his leave of the three teens and found Molly and Arthur in the kitchen.
"You can't let Alastor talk with Harry," he told them in a low voice.
Molly raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? And other than the fact that Alastor openly loathes Severus enough to skin him alive and would happily hunt Severus down single handedly if given the chance, what does it matter to you?"
"I don't want to add fuel to the fire where Severus and Alastor are concerned. I don't trust that goddamned Auror to obey any orders we might give him."
"Fine. We'll try not involve Alastor. But what if it can't be helped?" Molly asked.
"Just do whatever you can to make sure that Alastor stays as far away from Harry as possible. I don't want Alastor coming up with his own asinine plan to save Hermione and then going off to execute it."
"Truthfully Remus, I don't think we have much control over Alastor. He's going to do what he wants to do whether we like it or not," Arthur told him seriously.
"Harry thinks The Order is going to do a combined energy locating spell to find Hermione sometime before the end of the night. When you talk to him, that's the story you should stick to."
"You're leaving now?" Molly asked.
"Yes, Molly. I'm leaving. I talked to Harry and I think I managed to get him to see reason. That being accomplished, there's nothing more for me to do here."
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Nearly as soon as Remus returned to his flat, he heard the distinct sound of his front door being pummeled with a fist.
Remus let out an audible groan.
If Severus was behind that door, it could only mean trouble. Especially if he was knocking on the door like that.
"I'm coming!" he yelled on his way to open the door.
Upon seeing Severus standing in front of him, Remus met the other man's gaze with open displeasure. But then Remus realized that he saw something in Severus's eyes that he'd never seen before.
Severus's expression was the textbook picture of sincere concern.
Remus's stomach plummeted at what such a look on Severus's face could mean. His facial expression instantly changed from one of displeasure to one of alert anticipation.
He immediately stepped aside so that Severus could enter the flat.
"What's the matter?" Remus asked with more than a little trepidation.
"Sit down, Remus," Severus told him softly.
The sinking sensation in Remus's stomach grew more intense.
Severus never acted like this. Something had to be horribly wrong.
"Hermione . . ." Remus ventured, real fear now clenching his heart.
"She's fine," Severus assured him.
"Then what"–Remus began, before Severus held up a hand to silence him.
"Voldemort wants you to come to him under Fenrir's control."
Remus's heart leapt to his throat.
Severus continued.
"Voldemort has given me the task of bringing you to his side. If you don't appear in front of him by nightfall tomorrow, my life will be forfeit."
Remus didn't immediately say anything. He didn't think he could speak past the lump in his throat. He bowed his head in silence.
"Look at me," Severus told him. Slowly, Remus raised his gaze to meet Severus's eyes. "I promise you that it won't last for long. Believe me, I know that's no consolation, but I can confidently say that it's the truth."
"What do you know that I don't?" Remus demanded.
Severus seemed to consider Remus for a few breaths before moving to speak again.
"Do you trust me?" Severus asked.
There was a fraction of a pause before Remus answered.
"Yes," he said quietly.
"Then you know that while I might sometimes lie to further my own agenda as a spy, I would never bend or twist the truth regarding a situation as grave as the one you've now been placed in,"
Remus nodded curtly.
"I advise you to take a double dose of the modified wolfsbane tomorrow. I've brought two doses with me. There's a chance that being close to Fenrir will tax the effectivity of the potion, but I'm confident that you'll be able to remain in control of your own will if you take a larger amount of the potion."
Severus set two glass containers of dark purple liquid on the table.
There was a stretch of palpable silence.
"You should know that Bellatrix Lestrange will take an interest in you."–
At this, Remus looked up sharply.
"You can't really be suggesting that I have sex with her, Severus. Even if as you say, she is interested, surely I could refuse her without revealing the truth of my loyalty."
"If Fenrir Greyback wasn't part of this equation, I might be inclined to agree with you. But because Fenrir will fully believe that he has power over you, he will very likely attempt to test his control by suggesting that you fuck Bellatrix. If he does that, you will have no choice but to comply."
Bile quickly rose in Remus's throat and he struggled not to retch.
"No . . . . oh God no."
"Know that there was nothing I could have done differently to prevent this from happening," Severus said seriously.
"I don't blame you," Remus told him softly.
"Voldemort expects me to use a dark summoning spell to get you to Apparate to his headquarters. I'll need to enter your mind to give you a clear picture of the exact location."
Remus allowed Severus to mentally show him where to Apparate to.
"I'll be outside to meet you at precisely three p.m. tomorrow afternoon." Severus told him. "You'll want tonight to spend with Nymphadora."
"How do I explain this to her?" asked Remus, his voice pained.
"Simply tell her the truth,"
Remus nodded mutely.
"Nymphadora is a smart woman," said Severus, "She'll understand."
And with those words, Severus turned and left the flat, leaving Remus to decide what exactly he was going to say to his pregnant bride-to-be when she came to see him after working her desk job at the Ministry.
How he wished that Fate hadn't been so brutally cruel.
A/N: Next chapter is all Severus and Hermione. I'm going to leave it up to the reader's imagination in regards to how Remus breaks the news to Nymphadora. Next time you see Remus he'll be about to appear in front of Voldemort. And yes the Soul Bonding spell will be explained fully next chapter.