Complicated
By Neurotica
Eight
Hermione Granger was jolted out of her sleep by a loud crash somewhere below her. At first she thought Danger had maybe knocked something over, but a few seconds later, there was another crash, and then silence. Neenie got out of bed, slid her feet into a pair of fuzzy blue slippers, and went out into the hallway, intent on seeing what those noises had been.
Something felt wrong to her about this silence. Normally, she would have called out for Danger, asked what was going on, but something told her to stay quiet. She crouched down, hiding in the shadows of the stairs, and peered cautiously around the banister. All the lights in the house were out, save what looked like a flashlight in the kitchen. She could see two shadows – one was tall and unfamiliar, while the other was on the floor, struggling to sit up. Neenie could tell by the silhouette that the one on the floor was her sister – no one else she knew had that hair.
Neenie wanted to panic, but didn't. Instead, she tried to listen to what the tall shadow was saying. It wasn't easy; the man wasn't speaking loudly. But Neenie was able to hear a few words, like "Lupin" and "poisoned" and something about a Dark Lord coming back to power – apparently Danger would have a large part in this. Throughout all this, Danger didn't say a word. Neenie wondered if she even could; Danger wouldn't have been this silent unless something or someone was keeping her that way.
"Now, where's that brat of yours?" asked the man, and Neenie knew her sister wasn't the only one in trouble. Danger tried to stand, but the tall shadow waved some sort of stick, sending her flying into the wall with a horrible crash, and turned towards the stairs. Holding her breath, Neenie ran back up to her bedroom, opened her window, and crawled onto the narrow ledge. Just outside her window was a large tree, thick with branches and leaves. She grabbed the closest branch, pulled herself over to the tree, and hid behind the part that was thickest with leaves.
She peeked through the branches as her bedroom door burst open and the tall man entered. His hair was very long for a man, and so blond it was nearly white. He looked all around the room, under the bed, in the closet, but he didn't think to look out the window. Neenie had to stuff her arm in her mouth to keep herself from giggling crazily. Finally, the man looked at his pocket watch, swore under his breath, and left the room.
Neenie waited for a few minutes to see if the man was going to come back. When he didn't, she climbed back through the window and moved stealthily through the house, searching for any sign of her sister or the man. All she found was a shattered teacup on the kitchen floor.
"Danger?" she called out cautiously, hoping for a response, but sighed when Danger didn't answer her. She looked over at the telephone on the kitchen wall for a moment, wondering if she should maybe call the police. But she remembered the stick the tall man had – a wand, her mind supplied. She'd seen Remus, Letha, Sirius, and even Danger use one. And something told her the police wouldn't be much help in this situation. In fact, a voice in her head, one she'd never heard before, scoffed at the very thought of the Muggle police.
Neenie's brow furrowed at the word 'Muggle.' She'd heard it before, but never used it, so why would she think it so easily?
Her feet took her almost automatically, as though someone was guiding her, into the living room and the fireplace. She looked into the empty grate in confusion for only a moment, until her eyes drifted to the mantle and the small jar of greenish-blue powder.
Until just a few weeks ago, Neenie had no idea that it was possible to be transported by a fireplace. Remus had come over one day, stepping out of bright green flames, and offered to take Neenie back to the cottage to see Harry and Meghan. He'd promised it was very safe to travel through fireplaces, but Neenie hadn't missed the fact that he looked slightly sick when he'd come out of the fireplace.
It'd been an interesting sensation, twirling so fast through flames – it didn't burn like one would think, but tickled – and she'd even seen into a few houses when she'd ventured to take her face out of the crook of Remus' shoulder to look. Floo travel, Remus had called it. The only problem was that Neenie couldn't remember exactly how Remus made the Floo work.
Say where you want to go, and throw a handful of powder at your feet, said that voice.
But where do I want to go? Neenie asked the voice. To Harry's?
No, the voice said a bit grimly. You won't find anybody there… No, you want to go to the Hogwarts kitchens. You'll find help for your sister there. So when you get your Floo powder, say 'Hogwarts Kitchens,' and that's where you'll go.
Neenie remembered vague stories about bad things that happened to people who had voices in their heads and did what the voices told them to do, but she didn't have any good ideas of her own, so she ignored the stories and pulled a chair over to the fireplace to get down the jar of Floo powder.
Even with the chair, she was still too short, so she jumped off the chair, pushed it firmly against the wall, and climbed back up again. This time, she pulled herself up, balancing on the tips of her toes on the back of the chair, grinning at the thought of how Danger would yell at her if she'd been there. Very carefully, she reached out for the glass jar, brushing it with her fingertips. She stretched out her hand a little further, and almost fell off the chair in surprise as the jar flew into her open palm. Smiling, she pulled the jar closer to her, tucked it into her arm, and hopped off the chair.
She took the lid off the jar and set it down on the chair before taking a small handful. Looking uncertainly around her, she stepped into the empty fireplace and remembered what the voice had told her. With a deep breath, she said very clearly, "Hogwarts kitchens!" and threw the powder at her feet.
Her eyes shut tightly as bright green flames burst up all around her. She found herself being thrown around within the fireplaces as though she was being tossed up a large tube. Before the trip was over, she wasn't sure she liked Floo travel much, at least not without Remus.
Sirius was just sitting down beside Aletha in the Hogwarts kitchens with a large plate of sandwiches given to him by the house-elves. Harry and Meghan both had large slices of chocolate cake in front of them, over Aletha's protests. She'd said that if the kids were full of sugar, they'd never go to bed, but Sirius argued that they were at Hogwarts, and he hadn't planned on going to bed until late anyway, and besides, Meghan still hadn't seen how the Marauder's Map or Invisibility Cloak worked.
"Are you really going to eat all that?" Aletha asked him with a raised eyebrow.
Sirius swallowed a large bite of chicken sandwich. "If I didn't, it would be a great insult to these excellent house-elves, wouldn't it?" He gestured around to the elves, some of which were blushing at his words. "And an insulted house-elf could mean nothing good come breakfast time."
Aletha only rolled her eyes, her lips twitching, muttered something that sounded like "hopeless," and went back to her apple pie. Harry and Meghan were chattering happily about what they'd done so far that evening – seeing the Giant Squid ranked as the most exciting.
Suddenly a whooshing sound erupted behind them. Sirius spun around to the fireplace, now filled with emerald green flames.
"Who would be Flooing in at this hour?" Aletha asked, walking with Sirius to the fireplace, where a very small form was now materializing. Sirius held out his arms automatically to catch the person as they fell out of the fire.
"NEENIE!" Harry and Meghan yelled excitedly from the table.
Sirius looked down at the bushy, soot-covered head. "Neenie?" he repeated in confusion, kneeling to set the girl on her feet. He looked over at Aletha, who had a similar look of surprise on her face. "Where's Danger?" he asked, looking back to the fireplace, expecting it to fill with flames again.
"She's not coming," Neenie said, waving hello to Meghan and Harry. "I came alone."
Sirius furrowed his brow. "You came alone?" he repeated slowly. He'd never seen a six-year-old use the Floo by herself.
"Neenie," Aletha said, coming to stand beside her husband. "Why isn't Danger coming?"
Neenie looked up at her. "I don't know where she is," she said. "There was a man in our house, and he took her somewhere." She quickly, and to Sirius' surprise, quite calmly, told him and Aletha what she'd heard.
Sirius cursed. Aletha's slap to his shoulder was automatic and half-hearted, as he could hear her muttering curses of her own under her breath. "He mentioned Remus?" he asked, his heart pounding. "You're sure?"
Neenie nodded.
Sirius stood up. "Letha, get to Dumbledore. Tell him what Neenie's told us."
"And where are you going?" Aletha asked, obviously not wanting to stay behind.
"First, I'm going to check on Remus, and if he's not there, I'm going to Malfoy Manor."
"How do you know it was Malfoy that took Danger?"
"Neenie, do you remember what the man looked like?" he asked the little girl.
She nodded. "He was tall, and had long blond hair, longer than yours."
Sirius looked at Aletha. "And he had a wand. What else do I need to know?"
Aletha nodded grimly. "Just be careful," she said.
"I will." Sirius kissed her quickly. "Harry, you behave for Aletha."
"Is Remus okay?" the boy asked worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm sure he's fine, kid," Sirius said, smiling gamely as he tried to convince himself. "I'll see you lot in a bit, then."
Something wasn't right. His head was pounding, his body ached all over, and he was pretty sure he'd gone blind. But as his eyes began to adjust, and he looked around his surroundings, he found his eyesight was fine. It was simply that wherever he was (it definitely wasn't his basement) was very dark, so that there was nothing to see. He took a deep breath and tried to sit up, but fell back down almost immediately – his arms wouldn't support him.
"Where am I?" he asked himself in a raspy voice. The last thing he clearly recalled was taking his potion. So that would mean it's the full moon, he thought. Or maybe the full moon's already passed… Because if it was still the full moon, he should have transformed…
Before he could ponder any further, a door crashed open, bright light flooding into the room very briefly. He threw his hand up to shield his eyes, hoping to see who'd opened the door, but all he saw was a form being flung into the room and the door being slammed shut again.
"Bloody git," said a familiar voice. It made Remus' stomach clench. She couldn't be here…
"Danger?" he said into the darkness, squinting to see.
"Remus!" she said in relief. "Oh, thank God… Are you okay?"
"Fine," Remus lied. "You?" As much as he liked hearing her voice, he would have preferred to have heard it when he was more aware of where they were.
"All right," she said. "Stay there, I'll come to you."
Remus pushed himself up as best he could, ignoring the soreness of his joints and muscles. A few moments later, he felt a hand brush his leg, then his thigh, then…
"Oh – sorry," Danger said, snatching her hand away. He could hear in her voice the blush that was sure to be staining her cheeks right now.
"S'alright," he said, trying not to laugh, or to think impure thoughts. This really wasn't the time for that. He reached out and touched her shoulder, thankful for the contact. "Any idea where we are?" he asked when she sat beside him, shoulder-to-shoulder.
"Not really," she replied quietly. "I was knocked out until just a few minutes ago. That jerk Malfoy brought me here, if that's any help."
Remus cursed. "I was really hoping you wouldn't say that…" He sighed, then gasped sharply as pain shot through his head. "Something's not right here, Danger…"
"You mean, besides us being locked in a dungeon room by a psycho who's probably going to kill us?" she said innocently.
"Yes, besides that." Remus groaned as the pain in his head got worse momentarily, then began to ease. "This might sound stupid, but has the full moon passed?"
Danger took a long time to answer. "No," she said finally, almost under her breath. "It hasn't. It's still the full moon night, and last I saw, it was around nine o'clock…"
"What?" he breathed in horror. None of this was making any sense. "Why am I not…? How come I haven't…?"
"Why have you not transformed?" Danger finished for him. He nodded, although he knew she couldn't see him. "Malfoy somehow tampered with your potion. He put something in it that delays your transformation a few hours – four, I think he said."
"What's the point of that?"
"He said we're going to be part of a ceremony, something about harnessing your transformation magic."
He was afraid to ask, but he had to. "And what has he brought you for?"
"Oh, I'm here for the human sacrifice," she said flippantly. "The word 'human' being used loosely, as he was so kind as to inform me."
Remus closed his eyes in pain of more than one kind. Can this get any worse? he wondered miserably. He'd finally found a woman he could see himself being involved romantically with, one he was sure he was falling in love with, and now they'd been thrown into this. I knew I never should have gotten involved with her…
"Not exactly the first date I'd imagined we'd have," he said hoarsely.
"But it's so romantic," she said in a fake bubbly voice. "All we need now is a candlelight dinner."
He chuckled a little, surprised. "Not many people would be so optimistic when they know they're about to be mauled to death by a monster."
"I think it's shock."
"That works for me. How do you know all about Malfoy's plan, anyway?"
He could almost see her roll her eyes. "He's a classic evil villain," she said. "It seems nobody ever taught him the dangers of monologuing when he's kidnapping someone. So what do we do now?"
He shook his head. "I don't know. We could try to find a way out, but I couldn't begin to tell you where the door is."
"In the wall, maybe?" she said, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Can you stand?"
"Haven't tried yet," he said. "I'm thankful to be sitting right now–"
Further discussion was impossible as a bright light suddenly filled the room again, temporarily blinding both of them. Remus automatically felt around for Danger's hand and held it tightly in his own, waiting for his eyesight to come back. A tall, blurred figure swam into his field of vision, and he blinked hard, bringing it more into focus by the second. When he could finally identify the person, he was sorry he'd worked so hard.
He'd expected to see Lucius Malfoy smirking coldly at him, or maybe another Death Eater. He hadn't expected to see his ex-fiancée standing in front of him. (Well, she is another Death Eater, his unhelpful mind pointed out.) He didn't know whether to glare at her or beat his head against the floor in the hopes it would wake him up from this nightmare. He settled for slipping his arm around Danger and pulling her closer, protectively.
"Hello, Remus," Naomi said quietly, closing the door she'd come through – it disappeared into the wall. "I'd say it's good to see you, but I'm sure you won't agree with that…"
"What are you doing here?" Remus growled. "You're a part of all this, aren't you?"
"It's not like that," she said, her eyes resting on Danger for a long moment. "Malfoy came to me, told me what he planned, and I've been trying to figure out for two days how I can help you…"
"Yeah?" Remus said, anger bubbling over inside him. "You didn't think of warning us?"
"Would you have believed me, or would you have had me arrested?" Naomi asked.
Remus' glare hardened. "It just wasn't enough for you to break my heart, was it, Naomi? Now you want to see me kill someone?"
"Remus, please!" she begged. "I never wanted to see you hurt, and I swear I don't want to see you kill someone. I know what I did tore you apart, and you've no idea how sorry I am. It was the biggest mistake of my life, and I'm paying for it with every day that goes by that I'm not with you. Please, let me help you…"
Remus chanced a glance at Danger. He'd never told her about Naomi, hoping he could just let the past die, but Danger didn't look at all surprised at what she was hearing. She knows all about me through her dreams. That probably means she knows about Naomi too. He was becoming a bit fed up with not being able to tell her things on his own. But he couldn't let bitterness towards Naomi get in the way of a chance to save Danger. He'd always been able to read Naomi quite well – every time except the one that mattered, when she betrayed you – but the pain in her eyes couldn't possibly be counterfeit.
"How?" he asked grudgingly.
Naomi breathed a sigh of relief. "Malfoy will be back any minute, so escaping isn't an option. Besides, I don't think you'd be able to Apparate out of here, anyway. But this ceremony he wants to perform, it's on a time limit – he's only got five to seven minutes to harness the magic from your transformation at midnight before his little plan is ruined."
"What kind of ceremony is it?"
"He's trying to resurrect Voldemort again," she said quietly. "All I really know about it is that it requires a human sacrifice." She glanced quickly at Danger. "I can try to distract Malfoy when he gets ready to use the spell that will capture your magic, and after that, we'll have to improvise."
Remus turned to Danger. "What do you think?" he asked her.
"I think you should trust her," Danger said bluntly. "It's the only chance we have."
He turned back to Naomi. "Alright, I'll trust you. But Naomi, I swear to you, if this is a trick…"
"It's not," she assured him quickly. "I promise you, Remus, you will both get out of here alive."
"Promises don't mean anything to me when they come from you."
Naomi winced as though she'd been slapped. She glanced at her watch. "I have to go," she said, her voice tight. "I am sorry about this, Remus…"
Before she left, Danger called out, "Wait!" Naomi turned back. "Did Malfoy bring a little girl with him? She looks like a smaller me…"
Naomi furrowed her brow and shook her head. "No," she replied. "He just brought you."
Danger relaxed against Remus. "Thank God," she breathed. "She hid from him…"
Remus brushed a kiss against her temple. "I'm sure Neenie's fine," he said. He had thought about where Danger's little sister was, but hadn't wanted to ask. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to know…
Naomi bit her lip and turned away to the wall, tapping her wand against it. The door appeared, and she left.
Once Naomi was gone, the doorway disappeared again, and they were plunged into darkness. "I guess now we just wait," Danger said, slipping her arms around Remus' waist and resting her head against his chest.
"I'm sorry," he told her, feeling his throat tighten with emotions too numerous and complicated to name.
"For what?"
"For bringing you into this. You don't deserve this, Danger."
"What, I don't deserve to be with a man I care very deeply for?" Danger snorted. "And here I thought you liked me."
Remus chuckled and rested his cheek against her hair. "Whatever happens, please know that I never wanted this for you. I'd do anything to keep you safe, and…"
"And?" Danger prompted.
He hesitated. He knew what he wanted to say, but the words just didn't want to come out. You've only known her for a month, his mind said. It's far too soon for all that…
Shut up, said the voice that had been plaguing him since he met Danger. What do you know?
Remus mentally snorted a laugh as the two voices began to argue. He tuned them out, the way he did Sirius and Aletha when they fought, and looked back to Danger. Though the room was dark again, he could see her face clearly, turned up to him, and that was all the encouragement he needed.
"I love you," he whispered, before kissing her thoroughly.
Far above Remus and Danger, a little boy was just waking up from one of the dreams he liked so much. What had woken him wasn't clear until he saw the familiar outline of his father standing beside his bed. Instinctively, he shrank back against the pillows, wondering if his father had found out about his dreams, and if he was about to get hit again.
He hadn't been hit in a long time, but his father had come home a week before and caught him trying to sneak into the piano room – he'd never actually played the piano, but some of the people in his dreams did, and he'd just wanted to look at it. His left shoulder was still sore from where his father had yanked him out of the room.
But I haven't done anything today, have I?
"Hello, Draco," his father said quietly. "It's time to get up, my son."
Draco's brow furrowed as he looked at his bedside clock. It was eleven-thirty at night.
His father answered the question before he could ask it. "It is time, Draco, for you to see what it is to be a Malfoy. Soon the Dark Lord will return, and you, your mother, and I can finally be a family once more."
This did nothing to calm Draco's nerves. It was exactly the opposite of what he wanted to hear. Regardless, he got out of his bed and took his father's hand, and his father led him out of his bedroom and down the hall.
Now more than ever, he wanted to go back to sleep and get back to his dream world, the one where he felt safe no matter what, where nobody ever hit him or scared him. He had no idea what he was about to see, but he already didn't like it. But he didn't want to get hit again, so he went down the stairs with his father, all the way to the basement.
A blonde woman he'd never seen before was kneeling before an armchair, her head bowed. Draco looked at the armchair and his eyes widened in fear. He wanted to run, but his hand was held in a painfully tight grasp. He could almost hear his father's voice – "You can't escape me, Draco. You can never escape me."
AN: Yes, little Draco is very sad. Yes, I'm a horrible person for putting him through this. No, I do not have a conscience. So I'm thinking two more chapters before this is done, and judging by my updating schedule for this story, you've got another two months before that time comes... Update on Resolutions tomorrow night. Thanks to Anne for helping out with the chapter. And that is all for tonight, I think. G'night!