Title: Out of Darkness (3/9)
Author: Luna Rosa
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Fandom: Harry Potter
Summary: Remus Lupin has exiled himself from the wizarding world, unable to deal with the pain of the second war but a near fatal accident reacquaints him with the past and he realises that some old friends may be more in need of him than he thought.
Status: WIP, chapter three of nine.
Archive: SB/RL mailing list, Azkaban's Lair. Anywhere else; just ask.
Rating: PG13 - NC17 (eventually)
Disclaimer: Unfortunately these characters do not belong to me. I am just practising my Imperius Curse on them (shhh).
Dedications: Beta thanks goes to Clara who is the faster beta I've ever seen. Thanks.
Chapter Three
Healer Colporteur stopped them as they were about to leave the ward.
"Thank you for everything you have done for me, Eliza," Remus smiled, hearing the tempered steel in his voice, "but I am leaving!"
She looked from Remus to the valise in Ginny's grasp, and the steadying hand Hermione had placed under Remus's elbow as he walked. She turned back to him, her face showing nothing but care and compassion.
"I'm not here to stop you, Mr. Lupin," the healer assured placing a hand on Remus's arm. "I just ask you wait a moment. Mr. Longbottom is on his way. He wishes to take you where you need to go." She winked knowingly and indicted a number of seats inside the door.
Remus felt Hermione move him to the chairs but Ginny took a step towards the Healer and spoke in lowered tones.
"They know each other?" Remus asked Hermione as he sat.
Hermione looked over at the two women. "Oh yes," Hermione said, "You'll remember Ginny was the Orders unofficial healer in those last months?"
Remus nodded. She'd patched him up on more than one occasion.
"After the end," Hermione continued, "she took it as a crusade more than anything. She was in here most days. Checking on patients, making sure they were getting what was needed and if they weren't, she'd kick up a fuss about how our war hero's were being sidelined for a Quidditch accident or a magical bug." Hermione smiled at the girl. "She can be quite scary when she's worked up."
"I've noticed," Remus smiled, turning to look at Hermione just as the smile melted from her face.
"It's just her way of dealing with everything," Hermione sighed. "After the war... Harry was so distant. They were close, but I think he was afraid of what might happen to her because of that. He always wanted to save everyone." Hermione took a deep breath, her eyes never leaving Ginny. "And if she was busy with this, she didn't have to think about what happened to Charlie," the words caught in her throat for a second, "or George."
Remus's memory hit him like a bludger. The attack on the twins had been frontline news. Notorious in the publics' eye as the proprietors of Weasleys Wizard Wheezes but known in the underground of Death Eaters as aligned with the Order and supplying many of the Orders more successful gadgets and diversions. They were an obvious target, but when the attack came it had shook many of the youngsters in the wizarding community as an attack on themselves.
It had been the night of 31st March. Dead of night. The shops of Diagon Alley had closed hours ago and their owners were tucked up in bed, sleeping as soundly as wartime allowed.
Remus was woken abruptly from his bed when the Orders warning went off just before midnight. An emergency system Hermione had worked out using auto-Apparation and locator spells on wand cores. Twenty second later, he was Apparating in to an unknown location and a situation he knew nothing about. The first thing he saw was a stream of red heading his way. He just managed to deflect the stunning spell a moment before Kingsley and Tonks showed up.
He hadn't been in the private quarters of Wealeys Wizard Wheezes before and the only reason to think he was now was a red haired figure lying disorientated and blood soaked on the floor while his twin stood over him, wand raised and shouting spells like a banshee at the four or five masked figures silhouetted in the half light.
Remus managed to dodge another spell and sent out a Knee Reversing Hex which caught the perpetrator on the shoulder sending him to the ground with a painful cry. Remus didn't have time to care before making his way to the standing twin.
Kingsley was shooting chains from his wand at two Death Eaters while Tonks barraged a further two with some nifty spell work.
"What happened?" Remus shouted as a bookcase in the corner was hit with a Lightning Spell and shattered.
"George was checking the wards when they bust in," Fred explained sending the one who tried to hex Remus into a spin. "He just had time to call me before they started attacking." Fred hardly flinched as a Slicing Spell flew by him and cut his cheek open, blood pouring freely. "He can't move his legs and I think they blinded him."
Remus took a second to look behind him at the fallen twin who was holding himself up on his elbow. His blood stained face frowning in concentration. A deep line dug between closed eyelids that looked too shallow. They'd blown his eyes out!
"It's just us," Fred shouted. "I couldn't call everyone."
Remus heard Tonks scream his name and turned just in time to duck another Stunning spell sent by the Death Eater he'd hit earlier. He noticed a look of defiance in the man's eyes before a snap of Apparation signalled his departure. One down, that meant even odds and they'd survived worse.
"We're more than a match," Kingsley boomed as a Binding spell from Tonks took care of another one. Remus saw a determined smile rise to her lips.
The other Death Eaters made it to the stairs and down to the back of the shop drawing the attention of the Order members. Fred staying behind to tend to his brother.
"They can't win," Tonks screamed in confusion as she followed them. "Why don't they just Apparate?"
Remus was a step behind her but seemed to hear the words forming on the Death Eaters lips.
Tonks had just reached the bottom of the stairs and realisation dawned on Remus's face a second too late. He saw the blinding green light burst from the end of the Death Eaters wand. The Auror raised her own wand instinctively as Remus shouted, "Tonks!"
A crack of Apparition, a body thudded to the floor and Remus froze in shock as Kingsley pushed passed him and chased the remaining Death Eaters into the Alley where they Disappearated.
Tonks fell to her knees, her back to Remus, and grasped at the robes of her fallen comrade. Someone had Apparated in at the last moment. He hadn't had time to see what was coming at him. Remus wondered if perhaps it was better that way.
"No," she murmured. "You stupid, stupid man!" Her voice was heavy with tears as she pulled his wand from his lifeless hand and sent out a signal to the whole Order.
It told them Charlie Weasley was dead.
Neville escorted Remus from St. Mungo's, signing off on the mountainous paperwork needed to release the patient early, and they travelled to Hogsmeade. It was the last place Harry had been seen and as good a place to start as any. Remus took a room in The Tree Broomsticks and settled the few things he'd retrieved from his small Muggle flat which after only a few days looked strangely alien to him.
Later, over drinks in the pub, he began to piece things together with Neville, Ginny and Hermione.
"So he was seen here a week ago," Remus recounted, "But the Echo Spell in Godric's Hollow was a month old?"
"At least," Ginny put in, turning her goblet of Butterbeer on the wooden table. Her eyes downcast.
"He'd been visiting Hogwarts a lot in the last year," Hermione explained, with a concerned look in Ginny's direction. "So it wouldn't be strange to see him here."
"Why Hogwarts?"
"Not just Hogwarts," Neville added. "He was in the Hospital reference section and the Ministry's public archives as well."
"Said he was thinking about taking his Newts, when I asked," Ginny elaborated, "But he never did. Could've taken them last month!"
"Does anyone know what he was looking at?"
"That's just it!" Hermione exclaimed. "Nothing links up. Madam Pince isn't sure exactly what books he read but he was looking all over; Restricted section, Historical Britain, Wizarding Biographies, Beings and Has-Beens."
Ginny shivered at this. "Why they write biographies about ghosts, I don't know."
"Just because they're dead it doesn't mean they're useless," Hermione sermonised. "Look at Nick and Peeves. They were very helpful when we were in school. It's just what I was telling the Ministry's Ghost Division. If they really want to show non-corporal beings the respect-"
"He talked to some of the Professors as well," Neville interrupted with a quick apologetic glance at Hermione. "Sinistra, Sprout, Firenze, even Trelawney if you'll believe that!"
"Didn't think he liked her," Remus commented.
"He doesn't," Ginny agreed. "And he was so wound up after seeing her he wouldn't talk to anyone for a week."
"Probably just predicted his death again," Neville joked before noticing a sharp look from Ginny. "I didn't mean... Ginny, Trelawney's a fraud, you know that."
"Not completely," Remus frowned. "She'd made some predictions; about Voldemort, about Harry, that turned out to be true."
They sat in silence for a moment. The few summer time patrons of the pub bustling and chatting around them. Remus felt the tiredness he had been fighting for the last few hours finally catch up with him. He'd been hit by too many memories over the last days and he needed some sleep.
"Why don't you rest, Remus," Ginny suggested placing a hand on his arm. "We can catch up again tomorrow."
"I think that's a good idea," he agreed, standing from the table. "I was thinking of going up to the school. Have a look around for anything that might help."
"I can come too," Neville offered. "I was meant to meet Professor Sprout to talk about using greenhouse seven. I can help you once I'm finished with her."
Remus nodded and said goodbye to his old students before trudging up the stairs. The room he'd taken was small enough; a large single bed, matching wardrobe and bedside cabinet and a small desk.
Remus sank heavily into bed after getting undressed and changing his bandages as Healer Colporteur had told him to do.
Harry was missing. Not dead as Remus had first thought, his own Life Debt to the boy had told him that, but perhaps in danger.
Remus noticed the fake locket around Harry's neck at the meeting about Ravenclaw's wand. The chain anyway, the actual locket was hidden in the folds of the worn t-shirt he was wearing. Remus was sure the boy hadn't worn it before and seeing it on him caused Remus concern. He looked up from Harry's neck to meet the boy's face. It was paler than before but showing eyes hard to any questions Remus might have.
Harry never took it off after that. He didn't even toy with it as he had in the past. His energy seemed to be more concentrated now. They knew the identity of the sixth Horcrux. Wands mightn't be the most durable magical creations but many wizards had the same wand their entire lives.
It was made from Ebony, unusual wand wood, and cored with what Remus thought was eagle feather though he couldn't be sure. Ollivander himself would have been able to tell them in a flash but they didn't trust asking another wand maker and hoped the identity of the core wouldn't interfere with destroying the Horcrux.
They theorised on everything from Phoenix fire to Bundimuns pus. Ron had even joked about chucking it at the Whomping Willow to see what happened. Hermione had laughed at that, but it sparked an idea in her, something about magic destroying magic.
Not destroying, she corrected, but one magic overpowering another. Hadn't Harry's own mother managed it? The power of her love had been greater than Voldemort's desire to kill... but what could they use to perform the task that was stronger than the power of a soul, even if it was only a fraction of a soul.
Remus and Ginny had delved into research; Hermione scoured old magical sites from lists she found in History of Magical Britain; Harry and Ron scrutinised accounts of magical mishaps in Mungo's archive.
Spring turned to summer and the task seemed endless. Their only respite was a downturn in Order activity, which gave them some time to sleep at the end of the day.
It was when Remus was about to turn in unusually early one night that he had received another emergency summons on the Order's warning system.
He Apparated straight away and had nearly hexed the first person he saw until her lit wand revealed Hermione's bushy hair. The landscape bleeding into darkness not far from her feet.
"It's okay, Remus," she eased shakily. "I just needed to get you here."
"What is it?" he asked as he quickly scanned the scene. She was clinging to her copy of History of Magical Britain.
"We better wait for the others," she said, and a few moments later Harry, Ron and Ginny appeared. Their wands also raised in preparation. Ron's hair wet and his shirt half open.
"What the hell were you thinking?" he half shouted when he realised she was okay. "I thought-" he frowned at her, his breath shallow and frightened. He wiped his face with the corner of his sleeve as Ginny's placed a comforting hand on his back.
"Sorry," she apologised again. "But there wasn't a safer way to get you here." She took a deep breath. "I had to show you."
Remus noticed her eyes drift over his shoulders to a spot behind him. He turned to see what had been so important.
The large granite (?) stones rose from the ground like ancient memorials to the sun. They stood twenty feet high (?) and circled around an invisible central point as if awaiting some heavenly deity. Remus could feel them calling to him; awaking something deep inside of him; some ancient primitive need. This was a place the druids had built.
He walked towards the stones and he could feel the power in the air; his wand vibrating with energy, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end.
Stonehenge. He had never been here before and the austere beauty of it astounded him.
Nearly four thousand years old and the stones energy had remained unreleased for two thousand years. It was a magical volcano. He knew, without even looking at the others, that this was the place. They were going to free its power.
It was to be done on summer solstice, preliminary wards would be put in place beforehand to keep Muggles away, but not until sunset would they destroy it. Harry had been adamant. It was the day when the light was most powerful, both in sun and in magic. He would destroy the wand alone and come to them with the broken pieces.
They had protested; Ginny accused him of being blindly heroic, Hermione said it would be safer with numbers, Ron said he was a bloody idiot if he thought any of them would let him go alone and Moody insisted that he took an Auror.
Harry had sat in stony silence and listened to all their words. He waited until their voices died and said only once, in a voice he seemed to be fighting, "I'll take Remus," before leaving the room.
That's why Harry and he were alone in Stonehenge as they waited for sunset. It was only then they would cast the spell that would trigger all the energy of the stones to focus on the wand and - they hoped - destroy it.
Harry said it was ironic one of Voldemort's Horcruces was a wand when it was his own wand that had nearly killed him before.
Remus agreed as he watched the sun slowly heading for the horizon. Then he asked Harry the question he'd been pondering the last two weeks, why he'd chosen Remus and not someone else.
"Would you believe me if I told you it was because of my mum and dad?" Harry asked, not looking at him. His voice solid. "They both died for me. Sirius died for me. Dumbledore." Harry stood, shaking his head. "I never asked them to and I never wanted them to. I'm not going to let anyone else die to protect me."
"And you think I wouldn't do the same, if it meant you could live?" Remus asked, hearing the hurt in his own voice.
"No," Harry answered shaking his head. "I'm sure you would." Harry looked down at the wand in his hand. "Moody asked me to bring an Auror." He paused now as if weighing exactly what he was going to say. "You mightn't be as trained as Kingsley... but it's two weeks from full moon and you're a werewolf. You're not as easy to kill as the others." There was apologetic steel in his voice. "You'd have a better chance... if things get bad."
Remus stared at Harry, and nodded, understanding the decision Harry had to make. "We'd better start," Remus said as the sun kissed the horizon. Harry nodded and they worked in silence except for the necessary spell to activate each stone's power.
With each spell Remus felt energy radiating from the stones. Pulsing, as if uncertain where to go.
Harry moved to the centre of the circle and placed the wand on a mound of exposed earth. He knelt there, looking almost lost at the task he was about to undertake.
"Remus?"
"Nearly ready, Harry," Remus replied misreading the tone in Harry's voice.
"Will you promise me something?" he said, not looking away from the wand.
Remus looked over at him, startled by the force of Harry's words.
"Anything," Remus answered.
"If something happens to me-" Harry looked up at him, his eyes warning Remus not to promise too soon.
"Harry-" Remus tried to interrupt but Harry continued regardless.
"If something happens and I can't do it. If you have a chance to kill Him." Harry jaw clenched and he looked away, his hold tightening around his wand.
"I'll do it!" Remus said taking a step forward.
Harry turned his head to meet Remus's gaze. His eyes filled with determination.
"I've asked you not to kill before," he said rigidly. "I was young then. I didn't know where it would lead. I won't make that mistake again."
Remus didn't say anything. He didn't have to. He looked at Harry silhouetted in the dying light. In the seconds before Harry stood, Remus could almost imagine the ghost of Lily's hand resting on the boys shoulder. Giving him the strength he needed.
Seconds from sunset they placed themselves on either side of the circle. Remus followed Harry's lead and raised his wand into the air, directing it at a point centred exactly above the Horcrux and waited for the signal before casting the last spell.
"Simulemendo."
The energy that had been pulsing around them now shot towards the sky from each stone in an endless stream of electric blue. Twelve jets of light intersected two hundred feet above Remus's head.
Slowly, the heart of the energy began to descend towards the centre of the circle where the wand lay.
Remus watched transfixed as it continued its path; the energy building to make a large pulsating ball. His eyes flickered to Harry bathed in blue light, his wand still pointing towards the ball as it gathered speed. Remus wondered for a second if Harry was actually pulling it down.
A moment later and the energy made contact with the wand, there was an angry burst of sound, like radio static, and Remus felt momentarily blinded as the ball of light exploded, lifting him off his feet and hurling him against one of the standing stones. He would have thought he had been knocked out only he could still see the blue light through his eyelids.
He opened his eyes to check on Harry.
The boy was still standing but he must have felt the blast. He was unsteady on his legs and blood coloured his right cheek, but his wand was still pointing towards the ball of light.
Remus stood and began to make his way over to him, steadying himself against the stones as he went. When he reached Harry he noticed the boy's eyes were dilated and his hand was shaking dangerously.
Looking towards the point where the dome of blue energy was consuming the wand Remus noticed it dying. He reached out his hand and touched Harry's shoulder.
The boy didn't move.
"It's done, Harry," he said, moving forward to place his hand on Harry's. "It's over. You can let go." He finally managed to lower Harry's wand and as he did the energy disintegrated until only a thin blue line of fire enclose the wand on scorched earth.
Harry's breathing was heavy as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "It's done?" he asked, and Remus noticed the first note of apprehension in Harry's voice for months.
"I'd say so," Remus replied and stepped forward to inspect the item. He felt a hand stop him and turned to look at Harry. "I'm the werewolf, Harry," he reassured.
Remus hadn't meant it as a jibe, but Harry's lip pursed and a frown covered his face. He looked about to speak but his head snapped suddenly to the left in alarm. Remus followed Harry's gaze but couldn't see anything.
"What is it?" he asked in a bare whisper.
"Heard something," Harry explained. "Sounded like-" he stopped abruptly.
This time Remus heard it too. A slithering moving mass just beyond the stones, an unmistakeable sound; and then it came... a slow sinuous hissing just as her head came into view.
Nagini!
End Note: Sorry for the cliffhanger. Please review.