Disclaimer: Anything even remotely familiar to you belongs to Ms. J. K. Rowling.
Author's Note: This is merely a rough draft of this story. Pretty soon, I should have it revised, reformatted, and posted as a multi-chapter fic. Enjoy reading this, and please review. I would absolutely love to hear your feedback!
I am eagerly awaiting your reviews, ;)
-Miss R.J.
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Chapter One: Of Nightmares and Visitors
Remus Lupin found himself running through a forest with absolutely no recollection of how he had gotten there. Panting, he ran on, able to feel the wolf inside him straining to be let loose. He closed his eyes, breathing evenly, willing the wolf put. Wolves loved chases... when they were the hunter, not the hunted. He wasn't running from any person in particular. No angry mob with pitchforks and torches chased him. No, what he ran from couldn't be called a person. It wasn't even an animal. He was running for himself: from what he knew he could become. He hated that, once a month, he was a disgusting, loathsome creature. What was even more sickening was the fact that Voldemort controlled people like him, turned them into traitors who would kill their own friends and family. He could feel Voldemort's presence around him, trying to catch him, crush him, use him.
He tripped over a root and fell, gasping for breath. He could feel Voldemort getting closer, advancing on him. "No," he moaned covering his face with his hands. "No!" James, Lily, Sirius: The Dark Lord had taken them all from him. He wouldn't let Voldemort take him as well. Heavy breathing, red eyes narrowed to slits, the barrel of a gun pressed to his head, loaded, undoubtedly, with a silver bullet. He would not comply, thought. Voldemort could kill him, but he would not use him to get to Harry. He closed his eyes, steeling himself for the gunshot that would end his life.
BANG, BANG, BANG!
Remus Lupin sat up straight in his bed, pale and shaking, gasping for breath. He wiped the sweat from his brow, trying to calm himself. His heart was pounding and he took slow, even breaths, trying to return his pulse to its normal rate.
He was almost calm, when the banging came again.
BANG, BANG, BANG!
Remus nearly jumped out of his skin, instinctively covering his head with his arms. The sensible part of his brain told him that no one, especially Voldemort, had snuck into his bedroom, trying to kill him.
He knew his sensible side was telling the truth. He looked around, trying to figure out where the noise had come from.
"Remus," someone called out. "Are you in there?"
Remus sighed in relief. Someone was knocking on his door: a very old someone whom he knew very well. He could count on this person not to harm him, to keep him safe.
"Dumbledore," Remus breathed out, saying the name to himself. "Just a minute, Albus," he called out.
He grabbed his robe off the chair he had thrown it on the night before, too tired to put it away properly. He wiped the remaining sweat from his face and tried to straighten his graying hair.
He then ran to the door of his tiny apartment, removing the deadbolt that chained his door and twisting the lock open. "No harm in taking extra precautions" was Remus' motto. Finally, he opened the door, revealing Albus Dumbledore who was looking as calm and as presentable as ever. Remus felt extremely inadequate in comparison, with his messy hair, bloodshot eyes, and altogether haphazard appearance.
"Hello Albus," He said as calmly as he could under the circumstances. "What can I do for you."
"Good morning, Remus." Dumbledore smiled pleasantly, although if Remus didn't know better he would have said the old man sounded somewhat worried. "I'm sorry to disturb you this early in the morning. You look like you could have used some more sleep."
Remus smiled back, which made him look much younger, and a great deal more awake.
"To tell you the truth, Albus," he said. "It was a relief to be woken up. My dreams were... less than pleasant."
Dumbledore nodded gravely, looking more serious. "Remus, the ministry has just received news of Death Eater activity, and we suspect that the matter is more serious than that. Harry has recently mentioned that his scar has been bothering him again, as it always does when Dark activity has been sparked."
Remus closed his eyes, shuddering. "Do you mean to say that Voldemort..." He trailed off, unable to say the words.
"Yes, Remus," Dumbledore said darkly. "Voldemort has returned to power."
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Chapter Two: The Order Reformed
Remus put a hand to the doorframe of his cramped apartment, as if to steady himself. Voldemort was back? The wolf in Remus twitched and strained again. Gritting his teeth in determination, Remus tried his hardest to ignore the wild beast that had become a part of him.
Once he had calmed the wolf, Remus' next thought was of Harry Potter.
"How is Harry taking this news?" Remus asked Dumbledore. "Is he alright?"
"Harry is fine," Dumbledore said calmly. "As you can imagine, he is worried, but he is unhurt."
Remus nodded numbly, not sure how to respond.
Dumbledore put his hand on Remus' shoulder in a paternal gesture, smiling at him, although his eyes lacked the usual twinkle they possessed. "I'm reforming the Order," he said to Remus. "We are just about to meet at twelve Grimmauld Place which explains my arrival at your apartment so early in the morning."
Remus nodded again, rubbing his eyes wearily. "Shall we go, then?" Remus said as cheerfully as he could, smiling as if the world's darkest wizard had not just returned to power.
He pulled his wand out of his robe pocket deftly fingering the smooth wood, feeling a tingle of magic in his fingertips.
"Ready, Remus?" Dumbledore asked, looking at the other man.
Remus simply nodded, gathering his strength for the apparation. Dumbledore apparated first, his form disappearing with a small 'pop'. Remus followed shortly after, the space between the houses eleven and thirteen coming into view. Dumbledore walked towards the space between as the house appeared, first the battered door, shortly followed by the dirty walls and grimy windows.
Remus sighed heavily as he looked at 'The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black', his memories all flooding back to him in a rush. Sirius, why did you have to leave me so soon? Look what you did to me, to the Marauders. Don't worry, Padfoot old friend. I know it wasn't your fault. At least you won't be lonely. You're with James and Lily now.
Remus mourned, but he could not cry. He had know too much pain in his life, too much sorrow and grief, to break down, because if he did, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop.
Remus sighed again, straightened his robe and combed his fingers through his hair, and followed Dumbledore up the stairs and into the house.
Remus stood in the dark, musty hallway, feeling rather uncomfortable. He had never been in the house without Sirius. Get used to it, Lupin, he told himself. If you're going to help The Order, you'll be spending a lot of time here without Sirius.
Dumbledore lit the lamps on the dank, dusty walls, giving the hallway an eerie feel to it. The shadows reflected off the paintings on the walls, giving their residents an evil, corpse-like appearance.
Remus shuddered and quickly followed Dumbledore into the kitchen where the other members of The Order were seated, talking and, Remus noticed gratefully, laughing. The sound of laughter echoing through the halls, made the house seem less spooky, less devoid of life.
As Dumbledore entered the room, all the occupants nodded their heads respectfully towards him. However, as Remus entered, the woman sitting nearest the door swept him into one of her trademark, bone breaking hugs.
"Hello, Molly," Remus said breathlessly, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
"How are you, Remus, dear?" she asked him cheerfully.
Remus rolled his eyes good-naturedly at Molly's parental nature. For heaven's sakes, he thought. She treats me as if I was Harry's age.
"Don't you roll you eyes at me," she reprimanded him, half-joking. "You're too thin. You should eat more."
"I'm fine, Molly," he said. "Don't fuss." He grinned, almost wolfishly, as he moved to sit down at the table.
"Well, Lupin, my boy," Mad-Eye Moody growled as Remus took a seat next to him. "Here we are, about to save the world... again"
"Well, well, Lupin," Severus Snape sneered. "If it isn't the werewolf, back to help defend the weak all over again."
"It's nice to see you, too, Severus," Remus said smiling, ignoring the other man's remarks.
Nymphadora Tonks grinned at Remus from across the table. "Don't listen to Snape," she said. "He's just bitter because all the Hogwarts kids like you better than they like him."
"May I have you attention, please?" Dumbledore said, bringing the meeting to order. "As you all know, we have received news of Death Eater activity. I have reformed the order so we can be ready to fight as soon as we have more information concerning their locations."
Remus winced as he felt the wolf, yet again, straining to be let loose. He clenched his fists underneath the table. The full moon was the next day, and he always began to feel the moon's pull around that time.
Some of his distress must have shown on his face, because Dumbledore paused, looking concerned. "Are you all right, Remus?"
"Fine," he answered through clenched teeth, his response almost sounding like a growl. As he fought to control the wolf, he tried to listen to Dumbledore who had resumed talking. This is going to be a long meeting, he though to himself.
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Chapter Three: The Serpent's Tongue
One word snapped Remus out of his thoughts back into the conversation. Harry...
"Sorry, Albus," Remus said worriedly. "What was that about Harry? I thought you said he was fine."
"I did not tell you earlier, Remus, because I did not want to tell you too many upsetting things at once."
Cut to the chase, Dumbledore, Remus thought to himself, beginning to panic.
'James, Lily, Sirius: The Dark Lord had taken them all from him. He wouldn't let Voldemort take him as well.'
"Remus," Dumbledore said, uncharacteristically somber. "Harry has been taken by the Death Eaters."
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Remus shook his head as if to clear it, not wanting to believe what he had heard.
"Albus," he said sadly. "Tell me there has been some misunderstanding," but even as he said it, he knew it was true. Albus wouldn't tell us something like this if he wasn't completely sure it was true.
"Remus," Dumbledore said quietly, shaking his head. "I know you want to help, but promise me you won't go running after Harry by yourself. Stay here with the rest of The Order until we have some more information."
But Remus would have none of it. "No!" He banged his hands down on the table in an uncharacteristic burst of temper. "I can't just sit here when James' son has been taken by Voldemort!"
Everyone at the table, aside from Dumbledore, winced at the mention of the Dark Lord's name.
It's the wolf's fault, Remus told himself. The wolf is angry and it is expressing itself through me.
"Remus," Dumbledore said again, this time a little more comfortingly. "I cannot let you go looking for him until we have more information. I know this is hard for you, especially this close to the full moon, but we need you. We cannot risk you getting hurt."
Remus, who had put his head in his hands, merely nodded.
At that moment a house elf, presumably one Dumbledore had recruited from Hogwarts, entered the room.
"Master Dumbledore, sir," she said, sounding somewhat nervous. "There's a fire call, sir. Some news about Master Harry Potter."
"Thank you, Dippy," Dumbledore said to her, patting her on the head somewhat absently.
"As soon as I receive any news, Remus, I will relay the information to you."
Remus nodded again, watching Dippy shuffle off down the hall. Dumbledore smiled and then followed close behind her.
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Remus paced the floor anxiously, waiting for some news about Harry's location. Tonks, who was sitting on a chair near him, smiled wryly at him.
"You, know, Lupin," she said to him, shaking her head. "If you keep this up, we'll have a deep, ring shaped trench in the floor here."
"Sorry," he said, too upset to notice the joke in her statement. He sat down next to her, pinching the bridge of his nose nervously. "I just can't let anything happen to Harry. I feel like he's my responsibility now that Sirius is," he cleared his throat, wincing at the memories, "gone."
Tonks patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Harry will be fine," she told him firmly. "Dumbledore will be back any minute with news of his location."
"I hope you're right," he was saying, but before he could finish, the old wizard walked into the room.
Remus jumped out of his chair, hurrying over to the other man. "Any news?" he asked him with concern.
Dumbledore nodded and Remus smiled. "Apparently Harry's captors are frequent customers at a tavern in Knockturn Alley: a certain Serpent's Tongue, I believe it is called."
"Albus, let me go check it out," Remus said pleadingly. "I have to find Harry. He's all I have left."
Dumbledore held up his hand in a placatory gesture. "Remus, I cannot stop you from going to this tavern. I will however ask this of you: Be careful. You are a valuable member of The Order and a good friend. I cannot afford to lose you."
Remus nodded, eyes bright. "Thank you, Albus," he whispered. With a comforting feeling of closure, Remus Lupin apparated to Knockturn Alley.
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Remus looked apprehensively around the tiny alley to where he had apparated. The shops were crowded, but strangely, very few people were found in the street. The rickety, near dilapidated buildings were crammed together on the tiny street. They looked so pitiful that Remus was considering putting a few out of their misery himself. What little space that could be found between was littered with dirt and trash.
Remus was filled with a feeling of foreboding, which he tried his best to ignore. Don't get cold feet now, Lupin, he told himself. You can't start to act like a chicken. That's a habit you cannot afford to have.
He strengthened his resolve and looked around for the Serpent's Tongue. He read the shop signs to himself as he went along, also keeping an eye out for any possible Death Eaters.
The Biting Horsefly Inn, Altman's Apothecary- "Daily Special: Human Spleens at seven sickles an ounce", Persephone's Poisonous Plants- "Huge Sale on Deadly Nightshade"— Aha! The Serpent's Tongue. Here we are.
Remus pulled his black cloak up over his head so that his eyes stood out of his hood like glowing amber spheres. Doing his best to look terrifying (which came somewhat naturally that close to the full moon), Remus Lupin stepped inside the tavern.
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Chapter Four: A Rat in Man's Clothes
As Remus Lupin stepped into the tavern, he was filled with an overwhelming sense of evil. All of Knockturn Alley had a particularly dark feel, but nowhere was it as strong as inside the tavern. Remus could almost sense all the Death Eaters and dark creatures. I wonder if they can sense the wolf in me, he thought to himself.
He pulled his hood farther over his face, as if by doing so, he would be able to hide his identity from everyone. Hopefully no one will recognize me. In his haste, Remus had forgotten that he had gone to Hogwarts with quite a few of Voldemort's Death Eaters, and they might recognize him. It's too late to fix that now, he though. I'll just have to hope no one pays too much attention to me. If confronted, I'll deny everything.
Remus slid onto a bar stool at the counter. He had a large man (Possibly part-giant, he thought.) on one side of him, and an empty seat on the other.
"Heard anything about Harry Potter?" he asked the man, in what he hoped was a menacing tone.
The huge man looked at him as if he were absolute scum, merely grunted, and turned away.
I'll take that as a 'No.'
Remus was about to stand up to confront some other patrons when a slight man dressed in elegant clothes sat gracefully down next to him.
Remus took a quick look at him, taking in his fancy garments and neat silver-blond hair and stifled a groan.
Oh, my god, he thought. Of all the people, it had to be Lucius Malfoy.
Malfoy, a regular at the tavern, glanced at Remus and said, almost disinterestedly, "I haven't seen you here before, have I?"
Remus cleared his throat. "Oh, I doubt that you have," he said, trying to sound causal although his heart was pounding so loud, he wondered if Malfoy could hear it.
The other man raised one neatly sculpted eyebrow. "Have we met?" he asked, this time sounding much more interested.
"I can't say that we have," Remus said, now very worried.
Malfoy smirked, brushing an invisible speck of dust off his cloak. "What are you doing here, Lupin? Looking for your precious Potter?"
Remus' heart was now pounding so hard he feared he might pass out. "Excuse me? I'm quite sure I don't know what you're talking about," he said weakly, hoping Malfoy would accept his lie and move on.
"Oh, come now, Remus," Malfoy said. "I'd recognize that hoarse voice and those tattered robes of yours anywhere; not to mention that your eyes are an extremely unusual shade of amber this time of the month."
Remus shook his head, more to clear it than to say no.
"Finally decided to join the winning side, Lupin?" Malfoy sneered.
Stay cool, Remus, he told himself. He tried to tell Malfoy that he had decided to become a Death Eater and help with Harry Potter, but he could not make himself say the words. "Never," he spat, his normally hoarse voice reduced to a growl.
"Well, Lupin. Come to rescue Potter, have you? Follow me. I know someone who is just dying to see you again."
Remus knew better than to trust Malfoy, but he didn't know what else to do. He felt helpless and out of place in the tavern. He wasn't really a dark creature, but he could never forget the part of himself that longed for human flesh.
Remus sighed, his shoulders slumping. Feeling defeated and knowing what he was about to do was not the smartest thing in the world, he followed Lucius Malfoy, hoping he would be able to overpower Malfoy if need be.
Remus was led out into a small, closed-off alley behind the tavern. Even dirtier than the main street, it was filled with empty beer bottles and other unidentifiable pieces of trash.
"Peter," Malfoy called out in his silky voice. "There's someone here to see you."
Remus thought he heard a small squeaking noise coming from a corner of the alley. The squeaking soon turned to high pitched, almost maniacal laughing. Then, from out of the shadows in the corner, stepped Peter Pettigrew.
Remus Lupin looked at his old school "friend", doing his best not to show any emotions.
"Hello, Peter," he said, trying to sound smug. "What have you been up to recently, other than kidnapping children of your old friends?"
"Oh, Remus," Pettigrew said. "You always were the brave one, weren't you? Always saying exactly what you felt, even if it got you into a lot of trouble..." He drew the last word out, extending his silver hand to Remus, stroking the werewolf's cheek.
His hand is silver! Remus though, panicking. Just the small touch of it had already caused his skin to bruise alarmingly. Remus gritted his teeth against the pain.
"Yes, Remus. You always have been brave. Oh, well. I'm sure we can manage to fix that, somehow."
He reached his hand out again. Remus automatically stepped back, although Malfoy had already barred the entrance to the tavern. Remus was trapped!
This time, Pettigrew reached his hand around Remus' throat, physically slamming the stronger man into the wall. Remus snarled and kicked out his leg, hitting the other man in the stomach. As he did so, he grabbed Pettigrew's arm, trying to pry the hand from his neck. He could feel his skin blistering from the continued touch of the silver, almost as if it was burning him. No! Remus thought. I have to save Harry. I will not let this traitorous rat stop me!
Although Remus continued to fight the physically weaker man, Pettigrew had the upper hand in the fight. Pettigrew had the advantage, and no matter how much Remus struggled, he couldn't win.
Remus could already feel himself losing consciousness, his struggling only exacerbating his condition.
Using the last of his strength, Remus managed to swing his arm, his fist connecting with Pettigrew's left eye. Take that, Remus thought, almost proudly. As Pettigrew howled and covered his eye with his hands, Remus fell to the ground, no one holding him up and his legs no longer able to support his weight.
Harry, he thought. I will get to you. I will not let these people hurt you. With that, Remus Lupin passed out.
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Chapter Five: The Moon's Calling
The day of the full moon, back at the Order Headquarters, no one was particularly worried that Remus Lupin had not returned. In fact, so many of the members of the Order were so wrapped up with the disappearance of Harry Potter that few even noticed that Remus was missing.
If they had known where he was, they would have been worried: very worried, indeed.
When Remus Lupin woke up, his head was pounding and his throat felt raw. He tried to reach up to touch his neck, only to find that his arms were chained to a wall, with silver chains, no less. Where am I? he though to himself.
Looking around, he took in his surroundings. He was in a small cell, like those in a prison. Am I in jail? he asked himself as he tried to remember what had happened. Remus, being the law-abiding man that he was, ruled out the possibility of being in prison.
Suddenly, Remus' memories of the previous day rushed back to him. Pettigrew, the Dark Lord's private lackey, had taken locked him in a cell somewhere. Great, Remus thought. Then Remus was struck with a terrible thought. Tonight's the full moon and they took my Wolfsbane!
He groaned aloud. If his hands had not been chained to that wall, he would have smacked himself on the forehead. You shouldn't have gone off by yourself, he reprimanded himself. Now you'll probably tear yourself to shreds.
How long had he been out? Remus struggled to look around him. If he could just find a window, he would be able to figure out the general time.
Just my luck. No windows.
Remus sighed, judging be the general feeling of soreness in his limbs, and a slight tingling sensation, he had been unconscious for almost twenty-four hours. The moon would rise shortly.
Remus made himself as comfortable as one could when one was chained to a wall, waiting for the moon to rise.
It's time, Remus thought to himself, gritting his teeth against the sudden surge of pain he felt in his limbs.
He began to shake, the pain becoming almost unbearable. He felt his bones break and then regrow, more powerful and robust than those of any mere man. He winced as his spine became more elongated, a particularly painful process. As his hands became paws and his arms became more muscular and lupine, he (or rather, the wolf) ripped the silver chains from the wall, snarling at the burning coming from the allergen. As Remus Lupin completed the transformation from man to wolf, he threw back his head, letting out an eerie howl. The creature in the cell was no longer Remus Lupin. It was a huge, silver wolf.
The wolf was angry at being trapped in such a small enclosing. It snarled as it whipped its head around, looking for something to prey on. Finding nothing, it turned on itself, tearing and slashing itself with razor sharp teeth and claws.
It was going to be a very long night...
Remus Lupin bit back a groan as he lay on the floor of the cell, unwilling to open his eyes right away. Returning to the world also meant returning to the inevitable: pain.
Finally, summoning his strength, he opened his eyes, assessing the damage he had done the previous night. He knew it would be bad, but he was not prepared for what he saw.
He was covered in bruises and scratches, and his skin was still blistered from the contact with the silver. Half his toenails and most of his fingernails were bloody, almost torn off as the wolf had tried to free itself from its prison. Three very large gashes stretched across his chest, still bleeding.
As he tried to push himself into a sitting position, he felt a sharp pain in his arm. Looking down, he sighed, noticing that it had been broken at the elbow. Just my luck, he thought to himself. Now, how do I get out of here?
Since he was still weak, he decided to think from his position on the floor. He closed his eyes, waiting for an idea to come to him. Trying to devise an escape plan while lying on the floor proved to be a difficult thing indeed. Exhausted from the terrible transformation, Remus Lupin fell asleep.
Tonks was worried. Remus still had not returned. Where could he be? she wondered. She had taken to pacing the halls in his absence, unable to sit still.
At that particular moment, she paced around the kitchen, chewing on her fingernails, much to the displeasure of its one occupant.
Watching Tonks pace, Mad-Eye Moody rolled his good eye. "Do you have to do that in here?" he growled, pretending to be extremely upset.
Tonks glared at him a stuck out her tongue. "I'm worried about Remus," she said, suddenly serious. "He still hasn't come back."
Moody looked surprised. "You're right," he said thoughtfully. "That boy's usually so quiet when he's around, I never even noticed he was gone."
Tonks looked even more worried at that. "Where do you think he is?" she asked, sounding very concerned.
Moody looked thoughtful. "How should I know? A simple tracking spell will help us find his location in no time, though."
Tonks nodded, looking impressed. "I'll get the parchment," she said, running off to do just that.
Tracking spells were a favorite of Moody's. Simple, yet extremely precise, tracking spells created a very detailed map of the subject's location and surrounding area.
Tonks was back almost immediately with a very large piece of blank parchment.
Moody took it from her, grunting his thanks. He pointed his wand at it, saying "Reperio Locus Remus Lupin."
Almost immediately, ink flowed from his wand tip, snaking across the parchment.
"Look," Tonks said, pointing at a large building on the map. "There's St. Mungo's. And there's Hogsmeade, but what's that big building right there?" she asked, curiously.
"That's just an old warehouse," Moody replied. "We don't care about that."
"Wait!" Tonks said, grabbing Moody's wrist. "What's it doing?"
Moody looked more closely at the parchment. The warehouse was... well, glowing. "Good eyes, Tonks," he said proudly. "Looks like we found Remus."
Remus was dreaming again, only this dream was much more pleasant than the last:
As Remus lay on the floor of the cell, completely exhausted and unable to get up, eyes closed, he heard a noise, almost as if someone had tripped.
"Be careful," hissed a male voice, although not unkindly.
"Sorry," another voice, this one female, said. "It's these darn robes. They're too big, but household-y spells just aren't my forte."
"Stop making excuses for your clumsiness," the first voice growled as the pair thundered down the stairs. "The whole Order knows that you're a klutz."
Order? the dream Remus thought. As in THE Order?
Hearing the footsteps draw closer, Remus hoped that his hearing hadn't failed him. Had some members from The Order come to save him? "Look!" the female cried excitedly. "There's Remus." But her cry of excitement soon turned to one of dismay. "Merlin, Remus? What happened to you?""Did you get the keys?" the man asked.
"Yeah," said the female, still sounding concerned. "Took 'em from the last guard we stunned."
"Well, hurry up and unlock the door," the man said. "We've gotta get him out of here."
Remus heard the metal bars of the cell grind open and the two people walk inside. He felt someone tap him lightly on the face.
"Come on, Remus," the female said, now sounding extremely worried. "Moody, what happened to him?"
"Last night was the full moon, Tonks," Moody growled. "Without any wolfsbane on him, this was bound to happen. Looks like they got him with some silver, too."
Tonks hissed in sympathy. Remus felt himself being grabbed under his arms and gently hauled to his feet.
"You'll be all right, Remus," he heard. "We just gotta get you out of here."
"Moody, why isn't he waking up?"
"Just a minute. Let me get my wand out again." Some fumbling and then, "Ennervate!"
Remus opened his eyes, gasping. He looked around wildly, only to find that he was being supported by both Nymphadora Tonks and Mad-Eye Moody. He smiled at them weakly before collapsing entirely.
Moody and Tonks caught him before he hit the floor, leaning him up against the wall.
"Thanks," he whispered hoarsely.
"Well, what are friends for?"
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Chapter Six: Into Darkness
Wotcher, Remus," Tonks said. "We've gotta get you to St. Mungo's. We'll apparate you there, now."
"No!" Remus cried, with as much force as he could manage. "We have to help Harry! Voldemort has him. They're below us in the basement of the building."
"Remus, look at yourself. You can't even stand, much less walk."
"I'll be fine," Remus said emphatically. As if to prove their point, Tonks and Moody let go of him. He managed to stand upright for a moment, but then he had to stagger over to the wall, leaning up against it to catch his breath.
"See?" he said, smiling triumphantly.
Moody and Tonks both rolled their eyes. "We'll see who'll be laughing once we come across some more of those Death Eaters," Moody said.
Remus had to admit, Tonks and Moody had been right. Remus had to go at an extremely slow pace to keep from collapsing again. Moody and Tonks had splinted his arm which, fortunately, was not his wand one.
Every so often, the group would come across a few Death Eaters.
"Remus, look out!" Tonks yelled as a group of Death Eaters began to advance on them. Remus spun, keeping his sharp eyes out for danger coming from any direction. Remus' instincts were very keen around the time of the full moon, but unfortunately weariness and pain were slowing him down.
Simple curses, which Remus had grown up learning to block, were becoming diffucult for him to handle.
"Expelliarmus!" a Death Eater hissed, pointing his wand at Remus.
Remus brought up his wand and began to say the shielding spell, but by that time, it was too late.
The spell threw Remus into a wall, but, fortunately, he did have the sense to shield his head. Remus groaned as he slid to the floor.
"You all right, mate?" Tonks called to him as she defended herself from a hurling hex.
Remus winced as he stood up, checking himself for injuries. "Fine," he said, although it was apparent that he was far from 'fine'. "I think I might've cracked a rib or two, though."
After that incident Remus was more careful about the Death Eaters. Although every movement caused him a great deal of pain, Remus fought with more vigor than he had before.
Remus cursed a pair of Death Eaters as he limped along, clutching his ribs with his broken arm.
Tonks cried out as a Death Eater slashed her cheek with a curse.
"All right, Tonks?" Moody yelled.
"Just scared me, is all," Tonks responded breathlessly, retaliating with a curse that knocked the Death Eater out cold. She wiped the blood from her cheek and grinned at Remus. "Having fun, Lupin?"
"Oh, yeah," he responded sarcastically. "Loads of fun."
Finally, after what seemed like hours, the trio finally reached the stairs down to the next floor, where Remus had heard that Voldemort had taken Harry.
"Stop here a minute, Remus," Tonks said to him. "At least let us fix you up a bit. You look terrible. You're in no shape to face Voldemort, but then again, who is even in that condition?"
Remus sighed, but consented, because he knew she was right.
"Accio bandages," Tonks said, catching them as they apparently appeared from thin air.
Gently and carefully, Moody and Tonks proceeded to bandage Remus to the best of their abilities.
"I feel like a mummy," Remus said at last, once he had been sufficiently covered in the bandages.
"Good," Tonks replied, grinning at him.
"Well, here goes nothing," Remus said, standing up stiffly with the help of the two Aurors. Remus slowly, but, for the most part, steadily, walked down the stairs to the basement of the building where Harry Potter was.
At the bottom of the stairs, Remus came upon a giant set of doors. Voldemort and his Death Eaters must have fixed this building up to suit there own needs, he said to himself, thinking back to the cell he had been locked up in.
The massive doors looked beautiful but felt dark and cold. Remus could almost feel the evil emanating from behind them. He reached out to open them, only to draw back his hand quickly.
"What's wrong?" Tonks asked him.
"The handles are silver," he said, grimacing.
Tonks nodded. All three of them raised their wands, to be ready for any attack. Tonks and Moody each grabbed a door and they swung them open.
The tree of the cringed, as the opened, as if expecting Voldemort to jump out at them. When he didn't, they sighed in relief. They were met only with darkness.
Remus closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and descended into the darkness.
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Chapter Seven: Promises Remembered
Remus Lupin stepped cautiously into the large, circular room, hoping to find an unhurt Harry Potter. He was extremely nervous about what he might find instead and was careful to tread with a great deal of caution, keeping his eyes out for any possible danger.
The circular room was dimly lit, and though it was beautiful, it had a strange, cold feel to it. It reminded Remus of a visit he had made to Azkaban many years earlier, a trip he had tried hard to forget. The memories made him somewhat uncomfortable, but one good thing came from them: they kept him alert and wary.
Scanning the room, he noticed that, all around the perimeter of the circular room, barred cages, not unlike the one he had spent the night in, were filled with eerie, black hooded creatures.
He shivered. That accounts for the Askaban-esqe feeling in here, he though. Voldemort's keeping pet dementors in this building.
Except for the cages, Remus thought the room to be empty, until closer inspection revealed a body huddled in the center of the room. Remus, walking as quickly as was possible for a werewolf the morning after an extremely painful full moon, hurried to the huddled form, hoping against hope that it was Harry, and that he was all right.
It is Harry! Remus thought, his heart leaping. Tonks and Moody followed slowly and cautiously, worried for the safety of everyone in the room.
Remus knelt down next to Harry, his fingers searching for a pulse. He found one and sighed with relief.
"It's all right," he whispered hoarsely, more to himself than to anyone else in the room. "He's alive. Dementors have always affected him more strongly than any one else I know."
"Because of his past," Tonks added, nodding sadly.
"I'll revive him," Moody said, performing the spell for the second time that morning. "Ennervate!"
Harry sat up, gasping, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. "What happened?" he asked, taking off his glasses to wipe them down, too.
"That's what we were wondering, Harry," Remus said calmly, although he felt far from calm.
"I don't remember much," Harry said. "I was going for a walk to get away from the Durselys, when I heard something in the bushes. I though I saw a rat, but it was gone before I could find it again. By the time I turned around to start walking again, some one stunned me. When I woke up, the Dementors were all around me. You know how the affect me, Professor," he added to Remus, who nodded. "Do you know who could have stunned me?"
"I think I have a pretty good idea, Harry," Remus said, thinking carefully. "You said you saw a rat. Well, so did I."
Harry's eyes lit up with recognition. "Pettigrew!" he shouted angrily. "I should have known. I'll kill that rat! If I had know what a rat he really was, I never would have insisted we bring him back up to Hogwarts."
"You can't blame yourself, Harry," Remus said, comfortingly. "You didn't know."
"I should have," Harry said, turning and looking at Remus for the first time. "Professor!" he cried. "What happened? You look terrible."
Remus chuckled, almost drily. "Why thank you, Harry."
"I'm sorry Professor," Harry stammered, blushing. "It's just that you look like you were attacked by a rampaging hippogriff, or something."
Tonks grinned. "He might as well have been, Harry. That's what happens to werewolves without their wolfsbane. It didn't help that we encountered about thirty Death Eaters on our way down here. Speaking of which, how do we get out of here?"
At that moment, a huge creaking sound was heard, like that of rusty iron. Remus head snapped up as he looked around, almost wildly. What he saw only contributed to the general feeling of despair.
Many (too many to count) of the black hooded figures swooped down towards the group, their rattling breaths echoing off the walls of the circular room. The Dementors had been released.
Remus could not remember a time when he had felt more helpless. He fought to hold on to any good feelings that he had possessed upon finding Harry alive and unhurt. He felt himself slipping, getting dizzy, the edges of his vision becoming foggy, as if he were in a dream.
Suddenly, he was a boy again, swimming in the lake near his house. The water was cold, and he felt the telltale signs of muscle cramps, first his arms, and then his legs. Gravity was dragging his skinny body farther and farther towards the bottom. He fought to surface, pushing with all his strength, but his limbs simply would not cooperate. He was about to die, right then and there. He felt himself losing consciousness, his life almost over.
But suddenly, he was on the hard ground again. He pushed himself up into a standing position. As he did so, he heard growling behind him. He glanced behind him and saw a pair of golden eyes stalking towards him, growing steadily closer. He whipped around and began to run with all his might. He ran and ran until he thought his lungs would burst, his chest heaving, his legs aching. He stumbled and fell, the beast advancing on him. Remus shielded himself with his arms, willing the wolf to leave him alone. Instead of walking away, it drew closer. Remus could feel its hot breath on his arm. He cried out as it sunk its teeth deep into his flesh, piercing skin and snapping bone.
Then, Remus was running again, this time in a dark, gloomy forest. He tripped over a root and fell, gasping for breath. He could feel Voldemort getting closer, advancing on him. "No," he moaned covering his face with his hands. "No!" Heavy breathing, red eyes narrowed to slits, the barrel of a gun pressed to his head, loaded, undoubtedly, with a silver bullet. He would not comply, thought. Voldemort could kill him, but he would not use him to get to Harry. He closed his eyes, steeling himself for the gunshot that would end his life.
The scene changed again. Remus sprinted towards the ruins of a house. People surrounded the ruined structure, most weeping but some simply standing, looking on with shock. "What a pity," one onlooker said. "The Potters were such nice people. Went to school with them. They were so young, too." Another nodded remorsefully. "It's a shame about the Pettigrew boy, as well. That Black fellow seemed nice enough, but people don't get a life sentence in Azkaban for nothing." Remus yelled in frustration and anguish. Before anyone could stop him, he ran to the house and began pulling up the broken boards, hoping he would find some life under all the destruction. James, Lily, Sirius: The Dark Lord had taken them all from him, but what about little Harry? Had he been killed as well? Remus grabbed another board, not caring that, by this time, his hands were bruised and bleeding. He was about to tear the board off when he stopped. Had he heard a baby cry, or was his mind simply playing tricks on him? As he dug deeper under the boards, the crying grew louder. "Harry?" he called. "HARRY?" Finally, the edge of a blue baby blanket was visible amongst the rubble. Remus gently removed the baby and held him close to his chest. As he looked upon the baby's face, a face almost identical to that of the late James Potter. Remus began to sob. He cried and cried, but his tears were not of sorrow. They were tears of joy, for Harry Potter was still alive. He was "The Boy Who Lived"! "I'll keep you safe, Harry," he said. "I'll never let anything happen to you. I promise."
Harry was alive! He was unhurt! Remus couldn't describe the happiness he felt. Happiness? Remus' happiest memory...
"Ex-Expecto... Expecto Patro..."
Remus closed his eyes, concentrating. He must be strong, for Harry's sake. He took a deep breath, thinking of The Boy Who Lived.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. Remus laughed happily as a silver wave of light shot out from his wand, pushing the dementors back. A silver stag dashed towards them, scattering them like pigeons. Remus grinned as a second stag joined it, trampling the remaining dementors. Remus smiled at Harry proudly. Harry grinned back.
The dementors were retreating, withering at the sight of the mighty stags. One Patronus couldn't stop them, but two could. The room was growing brighter, warmer, more life-like. The dementors shrieked and howled like banshees, but nothing could ruin Remus' feeling of peace and contentment. Remus, Harry, Tonks, and Moody retreated back towards the door. Harry and Remus kept their wands up, shielding the group. The stags could handle the dementors. They could handle anything!
Tonks and Moody held the doors open for Remus and Harry who slipped through them, letting their spells go as the doors slammed shut. Feeling drained, but happier than he had in a long time, Remus leaned against the doors, pulling Harry into a tight hug.
"Come on, you two," Tonks said, grinning at them. "We've got to apparate out of here. And Remus, I don't care what you say: we're apparating straight to St. Mungo's so we can get you looked at properly."
Remus rolled his eyes, but was too tired to protest. "Yes, Mother Tonks," he said, smiling.
Feeling a huge sense of relief, Remus held up his wand and began to apparate. Harry was safe, and at that point in time, that was all that mattered.
As St. Mungo's dissolved into view around him, Remus realized that his exhaustion was beginning to catch up with him. Tonks, Moody, and Harry looked at him, concern evident on their faces.
"You all right, Remus?" Tonks asked. "You look a little peaky."
Remus grinned at her. "Just tired," he said sleepily.
"Harry's safe now, Remus. You can rest."
Remus nodded tiredly, feeling weak, but still extremely happy. Finally, standing proved to be too much of a challenge. His knees buckled, and Tonks and Harry both leaped to catch him before he hit the ground.
"Professor! Are you sure-" Harry began, but as they looked at Remus, they saw that he was already asleep.
Smiling gently, they eased Remus onto an empty bed. Moody left to assure the members of The Order that Harry was safe, but Tonks and Harry remained by Remus' bed, waiting patiently for him to wake up.
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Chapter Eight: Home at Last (Epilogue)
As Remus drifted slowly back to consciousness, he was first aware of the noises of activity around him.
"When do you reckon he'll wake up?" a voice (Harry?) asked."Who knows," someone, undoubtedly Moody, judging by the gruff voice, answered.
"It's gotta be sometime soon," a female voice that must have belonged to Tonks said optimistically.
Without opening his eyes, Remus answered them. "How long have I been out?" he asked them, his voice even more hoarse than usual.
"Remus!" Harry and Tonks shouted, rushing to the side of his bed, not even bothering to answer his question.
"You're up, are you?" Moody asked humorously. "We thought you'd died."
Remus bit back a groan as he opened his eyes. He cleared his throat before answering with, "Well, judging by the pain, I'm still quite alive. I think death would hurt a lot less."
He smiled as Tonks said, "Remus Lupin is alive and as sarcastic as ever."
Remus blinked several times to clear his blurry eyesight as he surveyed the general state of his body. All in all, he wasn't badly injured. After all, being a werewolf, he had looked much worse.
"How are you feeling, Remus?" Tonks asked as she helped him sit up.
He winced slightly as he was helped into a sitting position. His ribs and arm still hurt, and he was still quite tired, but all that would pass. "I'm all right," he answered, smiling. "I'm a little tired and sore, but it's nothing that a little more rest won't fix. Speaking of which," he said, remembering his earlier question, "How long have I been asleep?"
"Two days, Professor," Harry said, sitting down in the chair next to Remus' bed.
"Two days?" Remus repeated, sounding slightly shocked. "What's happened in that time? Does The Order know you're all right, Harry?"
"Calm down, boy," Moody said, smiling slightly at Remus. "As soon as we knew you were all right, I assured the members of The Order that Harry was fine."
Remus sighed in relief. "Well, know that I'm up, we can all go back to Grimmauld Place."
Tonks, Moody, and Harry all rolled their eyes. "Remus," Tonks said. "Two days ago, you could have been killed. You just woke up and now you want to go get yourself released from St. Mungo's?"
"You're crazy, boy," Moody said, almost affectionately, but seeing the determined look on Remus' face, the three sighed in reluctant accession.
"All right, Remus," Tonks sighed. "We didn't want to tell you, because we thought you'd tell us to get you out of here, but the medics said that as soon as you're ready to leave, we can bring you home."
Feeling relieved (he hated hospitals), Remus pushed the sheets off of his body. It was the first time anyone in the room had gotten a good look at him since their arrival at St. Mungo's. Everyone winced at Remus' appearance, but said nothing.
Remus' torso was covered in bruises and scratches. A bandage had been wrapped around his cracked ribs to aid the healing despite the spells and potions that had undoubtedly been used on him. His broken arm had been bandaged as well, and placed in a sling. Remus looked up and noticed that everyone else in the room was also staring at him. He raised an eyebrow at them, smiling crookedly. He shook his head, grinning, and said, "Believe me, I've had worse."
Once again, his companions rolled their eyes at him, though they looked less worried than they had a moment earlier.
Slowly, Remus swung his legs out of the bed and onto the floor. He gently eased himself into a standing position, mindful that he didn't move to quickly. Remus was well acquainted with injuries and knew it wouldn't do any good if he pushed himself before his body was ready.
He smiled. Well, standing wasn't too difficult. "Now let's try walking," he told himself. He took a step without much difficulty. He took another. "This isn't too bad," he told himself, but as he took another step, he stumbled and almost fell. Tonks and Harry rushed to his sides, steadying him. "Remus, you big oaf," Tonks joked. "You of all people should know better than to rush your recovery."
Remus grinned sheepishly as Moody brought his cloak to him and Tonks helped him into it.
"Now," Tonks said, straightening the front of his cloak in a mock-motherly fashion that reminded Remus distinctly of Molly Weasly, "Let's get you back home."
"Home," Remus thought, feeling relieved. "We're going home."
With the help of Tonks and Harry, Remus walked out of the hospital, his friends on each side to catch him if he fell.
"This is truly all you need in life," he thought to himself. "Good friends to help you through tough times." He grinned as he amended his statement. "Well, that, and a good bar of chocolate."
James, Lily, Sirius: The Dark Lord had taken them all from him.
He had thought his world was over when they had left him, but Voldemort hadn't taken everything from him. He still had a few good friends who cared for him, and he would never let anything happen to them. Remus felt lucky to be returning home with such good friends. In fact, at that moment, Remus Lupin thought himself to be the luckiest man in the world.
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I hope you enjoyed this story. Keep checking back for the revision. I don't mean to be a pest, but I lovereviews. Hint Hint:) With your help, I can make this story even better!
See you all soon!
-Miss R.J.