All right. I am writing even though the only person who has reviewed me lives in the same building as I do. Grumbles. There is also the fact that I will be returning to dial up soon and I don't know how I'm going to publish then. Review, dammit!
Disclaimer: It isn't mine. Stop asking. It hurts my self esteem. I don't even know how I should start this chapter.
As it turned out, all the members of the Order who could come weren't very many after all. There was Professor McGonagall, Lupin, Bill, Fleur, and Mrs. Weasley, who couldn't stop fawning over Gin, but nearly everyone else was too busy. "I told you they were working," Hermione had hissed at Harry. "You don't have to do everything yourself, you know."
When they all filed into Gryffindor common room, where Gin had decided the meeting should be held, Gin was talking to Lupin. "Did you speak to Tonks?" she asked, her eyes a little sad.
He nodded. "I didn't have to use Veritaserum. She just told me," he said, a little bleakly. She hugged his shoulder.
Gin looked around. "Is everyone here? All right. Well, I'll begin then. Thanks to a brilliant idea Harry had, I'll be able to show you all the memories at once instead of having to show them to each of you at a time. I'll explain why we can't use a Pensieve later on. Now, as much as I would like to begin chronologically, it doesn't always work that way, so we'll start with what we have. This happened about a year ago. As you can see, I am not present. I'm sorry if it is a little sudden."
Before Harry was even ready, he felt he was standing in a small room, an office, with a portrait on the wall of a young woman he recognized, with surprise, to be Hermione, and a mahogany desk in the middle of it, piled with books and papers. Remus Lupin sitting at the desk, his hair almost entirely grey, and his face even more lined and worried than the one he knew. He was writing something in a small red book, a worried expression on his face.
There was a young woman standing in the doorway, who Lupin clearly did not see, smiling fondly at him. Harry recognized her as Luna Lovegood, but she was different. He eyes were sadder, and the dreaminess he had come to associate with her was gone from her smile and just about everything about her. She was wearing a sensible black skirt and suit and her hair was in a sensible French roll. She rapped on the door gently.
Lupin looked up and smiled. "Luna," he said, standing up.
She walked over quickly and embraced him. "It's good to see you," she said. "Though I never seem to come with good news."
"Sit down," he said, gesturing to an armchair. Then he sat down at his desk.
"We're going to have to close down, Remus," she said quietly. "I have virtually no staff, and I've lost family. You know I'm not easily discouraged, but if we keep it up I'm not sure what'll happen. And we have so few allies now. People only see what the Dark Lord wants them to see. Seems everyone believes I publish nonsense."
"You're right of course. I couldn't ask you to risk it any further."
"There is one more thing Remus. If there are still people who will believe the truth and want to know what's going on I'll still write for them. If you could get copies to those people I'd be so-"
He reached over and squeezed her hand. "You don't even need to ask. But there is one more thing."
"Yes?"
"If we do this and it is found out, I'm not sure I can protect you anymore, and Neville's arm only reaches so far. If he interferes I don't think Voldemort will suffer him to be in power much longer."
She nodded. "He would interfere," she said, smiling slightly. "I suppose that's the problem."
"Luna," Lupin said sharply, coming over to grab her by the shoulders. "I am not saying that I object to you two. As it was once said, it's good to know there's a little more love in world. But his wife's death came very hard on him, and yours would come even harder. I'm sure you can appreciate that I know what I am talking about, as what happened to my wife came very hard on me. I'm warning you, that's all. Do you understand?"
"You think I'll be a danger to him?"
"I think you will be a danger to each other. But you're grown now and you can make your own decisions. Who am I to stand between you? Hmm?" he asked, making her look at him.
She opened her mouth.
He turned away and walked over to the window. "We are not having this argument again."
"Gin's my best friend. If I don't speak for her, no one will. She's seen more people she knows die then she probably thought she'd ever know! I think she's quite ready to decide how and when to risk her life." He looked over at his shoulder at her. She analyzed his expression, looked at the floor and allowed herself a smile. "But we are not having this argument again."
He smiled a little back at her. "No, we are not."
She walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you at dinner, then."
His eyebrows went up comically. "Dinner?"
"Gin's cooking," she said, and laughed as she left the room. "We are having one of those Weasley family style get-together's." Lupin looked terrified.
As the memory faded, Harry saw Gin laughing, a little sadly. She smiled at Harry. "I can't cook a passable meal to save my life."
"What was he- I, I suppose-, saying about Neville?" Lupin asked.
Gin smiled slightly. "He became headmaster of Hogwarts. Now, Voldemort may not have any qualms about killing whoever stands in his way, but he hasn't made a move in years. His, mouthpiece, as it were, the Minister for Magic, is a little hesitant about killing people in power, so he attacks those they care about. This may also come from the fact that unlike Voldemort, he understands that there are worse things than dying. And Neville's wife's death did come very hard on him, but that was years ago. He and Luna were engaged last I saw them." She turned to Lupin. "You didn't think it was a good idea when this little scene occurred, but lately any criticism would be funny coming from you."
"Oh?" Lupin asked.
She grinned at him. There was something in the way she smiled that made Harry understand that however bleak her time may have been, she now and again managed to make the best of it. "Yes. Now then, why don't I make us dinner?"
Although only Mrs. Weasley may have tried her cooking as yet, everyone managed to look sufficiently traumatized.
Nattou-sama: There are a lot of us running around, I'll have you know. You just have to look (But I think I like HG/RL a little better).
Author's Note: REVIEW, DAMMIT. Don't know when I'll update again. Curse dial up connections!
