Lost: One Godson, Answers to Harry

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"…Because we must remember that vampires are deemed as 'beings' by the International Confederation of Wizards, and as such, we have a legal as well as a moral requirement to treat them with the same regard as we would treat any witch or wizard. Yes, Mr Finnegan?"

Seamus lowered his hand. "Sir, do we have to treat a vampire with regard if it's threatening us?"

Lupin cocked his head. "I don't know the precise laws on vampire attacks, but I imagine that the same laws would apply to a threat from a vampire as a threat from a human, in that if a man attacks you, you have a right to defend yourself. Why, Seamus – have you been threatened by a vampire recently?"

"Why, no sir. I just asked because I've been worried about the way Professor Snape has been looking at my neck recently," Seamus replied.

None of the students could restrain their laughter. Ron guffawed so loudly he had to bite down on his fist to shut himself up and Dean sniggered so much he nearly knocked a bottle of ink off his desk with his elbow. Professor Lupin, leaning against his desk, did not even chuckle: but the corner of his mouth did twitch as if he might be restraining a smile.

"Mr Finnegan, I will not have my colleagues insulted in this classroom. Next time, I'll make you apologise to Professor Snape personally," Lupin said calmly once the giggling from Lavender and Parvarti had quietened. "Now, can anyone give us a few reasons why Professor Snape is most unlikely to be a vampire?"

Hermione's hand shot into the air, and Lupin gestured at her. "Vampires are allergic to the fumes from garlic, sir, their skin is very sensitive to it, and we were using garlic just the other day in potions," she trilled.

"Correct, and well observed, Miss Granger. But let's say there are certain ointments a vampire could use to protect himself from garlic fumes. Any other ways we could tell?"

"Wooden crosses," Dean called.

"Sunlight," Lavender added.

"Wave a bottle of blood under his nose," Ron chipped in.

Hermione raised her hand into the air again, and Lupin nodded to her. She explained, "Those are mostly muggle superstitions. Vampires are nocturnal but not adverse to sunlight and crosses is just nonsense. The blood might work though," she mused.

"Correct again, and five points to Gryffindor," Lupin said. "No, there are other ways to detect a vampire. And-"

He was cut off as the bell rung loudly to signal the end of the lesson. Lupin waved his wand to clear the blackboard and pushed himself away from his desk as the children began to pack away their quills and get to their feet. Lupin called over the bustle, "I'd like a couple of paragraphs on fool-proof methods of identifying a vampire for me over the holidays. Preferably not with the heading 'Exposing Professor Snape' at the top. I'll see you all in a few weeks' time. And do have a good Christmas, everyone!"

"See ya, Professor!"

"Bye, sir!"

"Have a nice holiday, Professor!"

Lupin waved as the last of his second-years disappeared out the door. He gathered up the papers on his desk, and then headed for his office. A few minutes later he emerged, carrying his worn travelling case in one hand and a thick cloak folded under his arm. He brushed through the halls, crowded full of children, who were already celebrating the end of the term by running rather than walking wherever possible. Lupin headed for the entrance hall, raising his hand to students who called to him as he went.

Professor Flitwick was just coming out of his last charms class for the day, carrying a stack of essays on cheering charms from his third-years. His eyes glinted over the top of the pile when he saw Lupin and he squeaked at him, "Escaping so soon, Remus? You won't at least stick around for the feast tonight?"

"I'm afraid I've got somewhere to be, and I have to Apparate from Hogsmeade to get there," Lupin paused to help Professor Flitwick pick up the top two essays, which had slid onto the floor. He asked, "You're staying at Hogwarts over the holidays?"

"Oh, yes, yes, you know how it is," Flitwick said airily, finally managing to lift the stack high enough to point his wand at it and float it in front of him. "Oh, did you know Albus was looking for you last night? Wanted a word about something while you were still here, I think…"

"I spoke to him this morning," Lupin assured Flitwick.

"That's alright then. Well, have a nice holiday!" the Charms teacher called as he tottered away down the corridor, balancing the papers above his head like a solid white storm cloud.

Lupin turned and headed towards the great oaken doors of the castle and out into the weak winter sunshine. The grounds were muddy from recent rain but the sky was clear and blue now, and a cool wind was blowing. Lupin shook out his cloak and wrapped it around himself before he headed down the slope and across the grounds.

At the great gates, topped by their winged boars, he stopped and rapped sharply on the bars. A dull ringing echoed out around him, but a few minutes passed with no response. Lupin knocked on the bars again. "Hagrid! Hagrid, I need you to let me out!"

Suddenly thundering footsteps reached Lupin's ears and he turned to see Rubeus Hagrid striding across the grounds towards him. He waved one enormous hand at Lupin, calling. "Sorry, Remus! Jus' catching a couple o' fire crabs got loose under me bed," he stopped beside Lupin, fumbling at his belt for a huge key that looked to be nearly as long as Lupin's forearm.

"What on earth are you doing with firecrabs in your cabin, Hagrid?" Lupin asked, while the gamekeeper unlocked the huge Hogwarts gates. The process took several minutes, as there were several locks that needed to be opened, including two that had no keyholes but required a password from Hagrid.

"Oh, jus' a project I'm working on for me fourth-years," Hagrid said a little more loudly than was natural. He quickly changed the subject, lowering his voice even though there was no one else in sight. "Will you be coming tonight, Remus?"

"Yes," Lupin replied mildly, taking a few steps backwards as the enormous gates swung inwards. Hagrid only needed to take a single step.

The gamekeeper tucked his thumbs into his belt and leaned forward a little, though his face was still at least a foot above the top of Lupin's head. "And – er – will yer be bringing anyone with you? Dumbledore mentioned that we migh' be moving to-"

"I don't know yet," Lupin cut him off, pulling his cloak around himself more tightly. "That's why I'm leaving early. I think I have a long argument ahead of me."

"Ah, well, tell 'im I fer one 'ud be glad to see him there," Hagrid rumbled, waving his hand in farewell as Lupin slipped out the gates and onto the muddy road beyond.

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With a growl and a splutter, the motorbike fell silent. Sirius dismounted, leaned it against the wall and headed up to the steps to the front door of the block of flats. There was no need to chain up or hide the motorbike – any muggle who tried to take it would get a rather literal shock when they touched it and wander away unable to remember what they had been going to steal.

He opened the door to his flat a few minutes later, went inside and stopped dead. There was a patched cloak hanging by the door and a battered travelling case squatting below it. Remus Lupin was sitting on the couch, reading a magazine he had found on the kitchen table. He looked up as Sirius entered and got to his feet, smiling.

"Moony! And here I thought they wouldn't let you off until Christmas Eve!" Sirius strode forward and embraced his friend. Lupin rolled his eyes as they broke apart.

"You smell like motor oil, Sirius. Are you sure you should be driving that bike to Gringotts every day? Don't they think it's a bit unprofessional?"

"Pah," Sirius waved his hand dismissively and added, "Goblins don't care what I smell like. In fact, they consider it suspicious if a wizard doesn't smell strongly of something. Shows he bathes too much, see?"

"I see. And you've never had a problem with bathing too much. But I do not think you should be picking up hygiene tips from Goblins," Lupin said sternly.

Sirius laughed, and headed through to the kitchen. "Cup of tea?"

"Yes, please. Mandarin flavour, if you've got it."

He listened to Sirius clattering about the in the kitchen and went to put the magazine back on the table. As he placed it back on the pile, a piece of cream parchment sticking out from under a book of cooking spells caught his eye. He pulled it out and realised it was a letter, addressed to Hestia Jones, but the name at the bottom was not one he recognised. He turned the parchment over and a seething mass of runes and mystic signs met his eye: barely holding back a cry of surprise, Lupin hurriedly dropped the letter back onto the table as if it had bitten him. The symbols were moving and wriggling back and forth as if with a mind of their own, forming strange patterns that appeared and disappeared in an ever-changing rhythm. He had only seen such things drawn on parchment in one instance.

"It's not a curse."

Lupin spun around. Sirius was standing behind him, holding two cups of tea. His mouth was still smiling, but his eyes glinted hard and cold. He held out one cup and Lupin took it, the warmth seeping into his fingers where he had touched the parchment.

Sirius took a sip of his own tea and walked around Lupin to pick up the parchment.

Lupin shuddered as he looked at the seething runes, "Are you sure? It's addressed to Hestia – it looks like some kind of threat…"

"It's not. She just ordered it for me," Sirius replied, smoothing out the parchment and putting it back onto the table. As his hands passed over the strange symbols, Lupin wanted to slap them away. But Sirius calmly slid the parchment back across the table where it lay, innocent and harmless.

"Ordered it for you?" Lupin asked. "As in, it was commissioned for you? That looks like some pretty powerful old spells, Sirius – if it's not a curse, what on earth is it?"

Sirius took another sip of his tea before he answered. His eyes were still following the strange patterns that the runes on the parchment formed and unformed like leaves buffeted by a silent breeze. Finally he said, "It's a finding spell. You know, for detecting something that has been lost."

Lupin closed his eyes for a moment. He said quietly, "Those things are nonsense, Sirius. They don't work."

Sirius turned his head to look at him. "Have you spoken to Dumbledore?"

"Yes, but…"

"Have you asked him?"

"Yes."

"And what does he say?"

Lupin held Sirius's gaze. "The same thing he always says. He's doing everything he can. You know that if there was any word – any clue, any hint, from anywhere – you know he'd act on it like a shot. He has ears everywhere. But there's been nothing, Sirius – it's as if Harry has just…disappeared off the face of the earth."

Sirius looked away again. Silence fell between them. Lupin realised he still hadn't taken even a sip of his tea and quickly put the cup to his lips. It was strong and fruity, exactly as he liked it. When still Sirius did not speak, Lupin said gently, "You know Albus wants to find him just as much as anyone…"

"Six months," Sirius growled. "Six months. And there has been nothing? I can't…live like this for much longer. Knowing that for six months, he's been in their hands, and I don't know what they've done to him. I'm going to explode soon."

"They won't hurt him," Lupin soothed, reaching out to touch Sirius's shoulder.

Sirius flinched away, shaking his head. He turned to Lupin, his eyes flashing coldly, and said bluntly, "Why did Dumbledore let you off so early?"

Lupin sighed and put down his half-empty teacup. "The Order of the Phoenix are meeting tonight. It's our first large gathering for a few months. Albus wants you to come."

Sirius gave a sharp bark of laughter. "I warrant an invitation, do I?"

"Why do you still hold this grudge?" Lupin frowned, folding his arms as if he were reprimanding an impertinent first-year in his class. "Albus has proved, without a doubt, that he wants Harry alive just as much as you do. Think of everything he's done for us since Hogwarts was invaded. Why can't you stop being a right git and just trust him?"

"Because I am a right git," Sirius muttered.

"You're selfish, is what you are," Lupin snapped. "There's a war on, Sirius. How can you ignore that? You've lost so many people to you-know-who. But you won't even lift a finger to fight back. What happened to you? You weren't always like this…you weren't like this when Lily and James were alive."

His barb hit home. Sirius snarled and turned away. Lupin waited to see if he would make some retort, and when he didn't, he knew he had won through. "Come to the Order tonight, Sirius. You may think you've left all the fighting behind you, but really, you just miss it."

Sirius looked back over his shoulder at Lupin, then the muscles of his fists and arms unclenched. He stomped through the doorway into the kitchen and Lupin heard him turn on the tap and wash out his empty teacup. Then the tap was turned off and his voice floated through to Lupin, "I'll go for one night. Just one, okay?"

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A crack echoed through the dark night as the two wizards appeared out of thin air. Sirius looked around. They were standing in the middle of a dark muggle farm road, with the forest leaning in close on either side. Above them, the night was clear so that the stars illuminated their path just enough to walk by. There was no moon.

"Come along," Lupin was already marching ahead and Sirius jumped to catch up with him. They walked on in silence, the occasional whisper of the wind in the trees keeping time with them. Sirius did not ask how far they were going, or what he would be looking at when they got there.

However, he could not restrain his curiosity completely. "What protects this place?" he asked.

"Fidelius charm," Lupin murmured. "Among other things."

"So I won't be able to see it?" Sirius had experience with the Fidelius charm, having been a secret-keeper himself, all those years before.

"No. But we'll fix that soon enough."

"Does anyone know I'm coming?"

"Only Dumbledore and myself. And Hagrid, I think – Dumbledore must have told him, because he's in charge of the gates of Hogwarts and he has to know when to let anyone in or out. The security is getting maddening. Nobody can go off to Hogsmeade when they want to; Hagrid has to be told in advance who is leaving the grounds. Just in case they're a student or intruder in disguise."

Sirius nodded. "Pity they didn't put all that security on a little earlier."

The conversation lapsed again for a few minutes. Sirius was wrapped up in a large leather jacket with a scarf wound three times around his neck until it covered his chin, but the cold was already eating into his face.

"Alright, now tell me this: what's the real reason I got a personal invite to the Order?"

Lupin didn't turn to look at him, but his voice was a little too casual as he said, "What do you mean?"

"Give it up, Moony. I'm no use to Dumbledore's private army as I am. I'm not an Auror any more. I don't have any contacts in the Ministry. I don't have any money. Maybe I'll be okay in a fight, or for guard duty, but really, is it worth putting up with my wretched company just to recruit another soldier?" he flashed a grin through the darkness. "Especially a solider who still holds a grudge against Dumbledore."

Lupin made a noise that sounded like he was trying to change the topic but couldn't think of anything to say. Finally he explained, "The headquarters that we're going to. We've been meeting here for about five months, which is a long time. Obviously we don't all meet together very often, only on rare nights, like tonight. But Albus believes that somebody has been leaking information about the Order for a while now, and he has decided that it is time we found a new location to assemble at."

"And the relevance of this is…?"

"He likes the look of Grimmauld Place."

Sirius was silent for a few more steps. Lupin tensed himself for an explosion, and also made ready to grab Sirius if he suddenly decided to turn back. But Sirius kept walking. At last he said calmly. "So, what time will the Headmaster be coming tonight? I seem to remember that when I used to be in the Order he always enjoyed arriving last, on the dot."

"I think he's coming at midnight. Why? You're not going to start shouting at him, are you?"

"The thought might have crossed my mind," Sirius grumbled. He looked at his watch: it was eleven-fifteen now. They'd probably get there only a few minutes before Dumbledore.

"If you do, I'll have to curse you," Lupin warned, then added. "For your own good, of course. Most of the people in the Order are rabidly loyal to Dumbledore. If you start yelling in his face, they'll probably assume you're a Death Eater and beat you to a pulp before I can explain otherwise."

"Alright, I'll stay calm," Sirius replied.

Suddenly the trees on their right opened up, and Lupin turned in that direction. There was no path, and instead they were walking through grass that had gone to seed and was as tall as Sirius's knees. The trees were cleared ahead of them, so that the star-packed sky spread before them like a long, wide road. In the distance, the black shape of a farmhouse was silhouetted against the horizon.

There were no lights on in the house, which was a large single-storey building. As they got closer enough to see it in detail, Sirius saw it was derelict and in a state of near-collapse, the beams showing through the broken plaster walls leaning at horrific angles and the tiles of the roof nearly all gone.

"Is this it?"

"No."

Lupin walked around to the side of the house. He seemed to be looking at something on the ground. Sirius wondered if you had to count the bricks, like at Diagon Alley. Then he stopped and they both waited in the cold, dark air. Lupin glanced at his watch every few minutes.

"Is there a portkey?"

"No."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Footsteps met his ears and both of them spun around to see a pink-haired figure hurrying across the field from the opposite direction they had come from.

"This is Tonks' first meeting for about six months," Lupin explained, his voice oddly strained. He was fiddling nervously with his scarf. "She's in the same position as you. She doesn't know how to get in."

"Hello, cousin!" Sirius raised his hand. Tonks looked at him, her face mostly in shadow, but didn't reply. A dark cloak was flung over her shoulders and it billowed behind her as she walked. Her luminous pink hair seemed to glow in the darkness.

Lupin pulled something out of his pocket: it was a scrap of parchment, and he fumbled to unfold it as Tonks approached.

"Is that it?" she asked coolly.

"Yes. Sirius, come over here, you have to read this," Lupin beckoned to him. Both Sirius and Tonks bent over the parchment, which Lupin illuminated briefly with his wand. Sirius was so close to the young woman he could smell the cabbage she had had for dinner. He wanted to nudge her and say something teasing, but something stopped him. He did not think Tonks would appreciate the joke tonight. Besides, she was busy scanning the parchment. Sirius turned his eyes towards it and read:

"The meeting place of the Order of the Phoenix may be found in the storm cellar set below the old Joule farmstead."

Sirius raised his eyes. "But there isn't anything there…" he began, and then instantly felt stupid for saying it. As he watched, planks seemed to rise up out of the ground, overlapping and criss-crossing until a wide pair of cellar doors appeared in the grass, pressed up against the house.

"You can both see it?" Lupin asked. They nodded, and he ignited the piece of parchment with his wand. Once the last ashes of it had floated to the ground, he bent and knocked loudly on the doors.

A moment past, then a dim rosy light could be seen shining through the cracks in the cellar door. The light grew brighter and more golden, flickering and illuminating Tonks' face, standing beside Sirius. He noticed that Lupin was avoiding looking directly at her. Then a voice called out from behind the doors.

"Who's there?"

"It's me, Arthur. With Tonks and Sirius," Lupin replied. Sirius thought, Arthur? As in, Weasley?

"Come on, now, Remus, what's the password?"

Lupin sighed with a smile. "If I were a Death Eater, Arthur, I think I could have forced such minor things as passwords out of myself. But if you insist. Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, Tweak."

This succession of nonsense seemed to satisfy the voice behind the planks, because a moment later, there came the sound of bolts being drawn and the doors were pushed upwards. They were rather heavy, and Lupin had to help pull them right open. He held them apart, jerking his head to indicate that Sirius and Tonks should go in first. Sirius ducked under his arm and stepped down into the tunnel beyond.

It was a wide flight of stone stairs that lead, straight as an arrow, downwards. Balding, bespectacled Arthur Weasley was standing below him, holding a candle and smiling at him. "Hello, Sirius! This is a pleasant surprise!"

"For you perhaps, Arthur," Sirius smiled in return, shaking Arthur's proffered hand. "I'm afraid I've been dragged here against my will, kicking and screaming, by Remus."

Arthur laughed. There was a loud clatter as Lupin backed down onto the stairs and then lowered the doors back into place and began pushing the bolts home. It was very crowded in the tunnel now, with all four of them, so Arthur Weasley beckoned with his finger and began walking.

With a jolt of nerves in his chest, Sirius followed him.

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"AHHHHHHH!"

Ron Weasley, who had been having a nice dream about flying, was suddenly jerked awake as surely as if someone had thrown a bucket of water over his face. Befuddled and tangled in his sheets, it took him a moment to figure out where the floor was, and in the end he only found it when he rolled off his four-poster bed and landed on it. He pulled off the enveloping sheets and leapt to his feet.

"Ah! Ahhhhh! Ah!"

"What's happened?" Dean's voice emanated from behind his curtains, and a moment later he pulled them back and his frightened face stared at Ron. "Ron? Who…?"

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

"Whozzat?" Seamus' bleary-eyed face peeked out between the curtains of his own bed. "Ron? Dean?"

"Neville!" Ron, in his half-asleep state, finally deduced the only other person in the Gryffindor boy's dormitory. He stumbled towards Neville's bed, fighting to pull back the curtains. Dean was on his feet a moment later and together they managed to drag the curtains open.

Neville Longbottom was lying in his bed, his teeth gritted and his eyes squeezed tight shut, one hand clutching his head and the other clawing at the sheets that entangled him. He was twisting and contorting like an eel out of water: as they watched in horror, he curled into a ball and then stretched and arched his back as if he was being electrocuted.

"Neville!"

"Jesus…"

"Wake up!"

Seamus had joined them now, and the three of them seized Neville by his flailing limbs and hauled him out onto the floor, where he lay, his screams dying into soft cries. He was still shaking and twisting, and Dean grabbed the pitcher of water by his bed and tipped the entire thing over the convulsing boy, splashing everyone else's legs in the process. Still, Neville's eyes remained closed and he continued to shake and writhe.

"He's having a fit…"

"Isn't he epileptic or something?"

"What does that mean?"

"I dunno, it's a muggle thing…"

"Get Professor McGonagall…"

"…get him to the Hospital wing…"

Ron waved his hand at them. "Shush! He's awake!" he dropped to his knees and shook Neville's shoulder. The boy's eyes were half-open and he had gone limp. His mouth moved and he twitched a little. Ron caught the words, "…don't you dare…please…" and then Neville seemed to come to himself. Ron noticed that his hand was rubbing the thin scar on his forehead. His round face looked up at the pale and frightened expressions of the other boys.

"Where…?"

"You're in the dormitory," Ron said nervously. "You were having a fit…"

Neville blinked, pressed the heel of his hand to his head. "Was I? When is it?"

"Er," Ron glanced at Dean and Seamus, who were both staring silently at Neville. "It's the last day of term, remember? We're going home for the Christmas holidays tomorrow…"

"No, what time is it?" Neville tried to sit up and clutched his head again, swaying. Ron helped him to his feet. "Why am I all wet?" Neville asked.

"It's quarter past eleven," Dean said, looking at the clock beside Neville's bed. "And I, er, threw a pitcher of water over you. Sorry mate."

Neville did not hear this last sentence: when he heard 'Quarter past eleven', he groaned and staggered. His legs seemed unable to support him and Ron had to put his arm around the shorter boy's shoulders to keep him upright. "Midnight…he's coming at Midnight…he'll still be here…" Neville muttered. Then he raised his head. Ron, who was used to seeing Neville hiding behind his books in class and sitting alone in the common room, had never beheld such a fierce gleam in the boy's eye.

"I have to go…find Dumbledore…" Neville exclaimed, pushing Ron away and blundering towards the door to the dormitory.

"Neville!" Ron grabbed the back of his pyjamas, which had a pattern of toads on them. "Don't be mad, mate! Look, you're sick, I'll take you to the Hospital wing, okay?"

"No!" Neville struggled against Ron's grip, but he seemed weak and sickly after his fit and Ron, alarmed at the boy's behaviour, hung on tight. "Please…let me go…I have to warn Dumbledore…"

"He's barking," Seamus said loudly, and Ron shot him a glare.

"Okay, we'll go and see Dumbledore," Ron soothed him, taking a firmer grip on Neville's elbow. "We'll go right now, okay? I'll take you there."

"Okay, but we have to hurry," Neville strained towards the door. Ron looked over his shoulder at Dean and Seamus, who were still standing in front of Neville's untidy bed, staring at the other two boys. Ron mouthed at them, 'Hospital wing'. Seamus and Dean nodded.

"We'll…er…we'll just stay here, then," Dean suggested.

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TBC

No author's notes today, I think…thanks to all reviewers, and thanks to Izzy again for beta reading. Remember to leave a review if you can, every little one gives me a boost. Most especially I just want to know what you think, even if it's not positive – it really helps me to see what are the parts people do and don't like.

Cheers, and the next chapter will be up in a couple of days' time :)