Disclaimer - It's not mine. It never was. The only thing I own is the plot line (and that's probably been used before now), and the characters not original to the Harry Potter universe.
Okay, now I just want to announce one thing....
I HAD A WHITE CHRISTMAS!!!! THERE WAS ACTUALLY SNOW AT MY HOUSE!!!
Okay, sorry about that, but where I live, we're usually wearing shorts and t-shirts for Christmas. So, it's quite a big deal for me. Yes, I am getting excited over snow....so shoot me.
Special Thanks to the following people for reviewing:
AnGeL-GiRl-XxX - I'm so happy that you like the way this is going. I was seriously wondering if it would have as good a following as the first. And here is your update before New Years!
cdkobasiuk - Thanks for the review. And just for the record, I almost did make him drop, but I decided against it.
ChEeRIEaDeR - Sorry, but that's the way it goes. There is a reason for it in the end, I promise. Just hang in there. Heck, you can pretend they're all Remus' if you want. ;)
Sarah - Nope, Ailric is Remus' son, not Snape's. Sorry. As for why I named them what I did...well there's no reason other than I just like the names. (And I think that Robin Hood's father was named Ailric of Loxley, but I'm not sure. I think that is where I got it from....) Although their middle names may surprise you. As for what Petunia was about to say about Harry..well, you'll see. ":)
Lothliana - I'm glad you are still stickin' in there with me. Here's another chapter for you.
wolvesaremylife1 - Oh, he's going to love what he finds out about Dr. Lee. Ever wondered what Remus would be like if he got really, really angry? We're going to find out.....and soon. Thanks for the review, and I hope you enjoy.
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Wolf's Bane II: Return to Hogwarts
Chapter Four
Dredging up the Truth
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The house that the members of the Order of the Phoenix were currently standing in front of could more accurately be described as a small mansion or manor. Large bay windows and an expansive front porch gave the darkened building a slightly more hospitable appearance, but nothing could erase the thick feel of solitude that encompassed the surrounding area. It was readily apparent that whomever owned the house and surrounding lands preferred to be by themselves.
Remus watched as Molly Weasley and her second eldest son Charlie walked forward and unlocked one of the large entrance doors. Beside him, Tonks shuddered.
"Not a very inviting place, aye Remus?" she asked, following as he began to walk up the cobbled stones that led to the house.
"Hmm." he answered, walking into the house behind Dumbledore and pulling off his coat. The wizened old wizard in front of him had told them that the house they would be using as Order headquarters belonged to Dr. Lee, and she had volunteered it to act as their place of meeting until other arrangements could be made. Remus had found this quite odd, especially since the woman in question had seemed so reluctant to help them out at first. But Dumbledore had apparently convinced her somewhat after their initial rocky meeting. Remus was still quite surprised with the way the old wizard had of reassuring people during the worst of times.
Dr. Mikayla Lee had been first and foremost in Remus' mind for the last few days, ever since he'd met her. Even though he'd only seen her once, and believed she couldn't possibly be related to Sable Robbins in any way, shape, or form, something kept knocking at the back of his mind, something saying that things were not right with the woman and her children. He just really hoped that Bill would get back with those files soon. Maybe then he would get a decent night of sleep.
"Well, everything seems to be in order here." Molly Weasley said a few minutes later, coming out of the door that Remus suspected led to the kitchen. "We'll have to bring in some supplies, but it does seem to be livable."
"How long has it been since anyone's lived here?" Tonks asked, picking up a little glass Rembrall off a shelf and examining it.
"Ms. Lee said that she and her children were here about six months ago." Dumbledore said gravely. "She sent word that everything should be in order, and that we should feel free to alter what is necessary with the exception of the private quarters of her family. Any rooms that are not to be disturbed will be locked. I have given her my word that we will abide by her wishes until such time that she decides to join us."
"When will she be here?" asked Kinglsey Shacklebolt, the tall black Auror who had helped Dumbledore and the Order during the fight against Voldemort in the Department on Mysteries. "We don't have much time on our hands."
"I should be receiving a final letter of acceptance or declination soon." Dumbledore answered. "But no matter what her decision, she has agreed to allow us to stay here for as long as needed."
"She's supporting us by proxy." Charlie commented. "Smart lady."
"That's well enough and good." Molly said firmly, taking command of the situation immediately. "This place is in desperate need of a good cleaning. Charlie, will you go get Ron and Ginny? They can help make this place livable because I know they are not working on homework."
"Yes, mum." Charlie said. He walked over to the fireplace and pulled some Floo powder out of a small canister, yelled 'The Burrow' and disappeared in a flash of green flame.
"The rest of us can get to work." Molly said, wiping her hands on her apron. "Didn't you say you had a meeting to attend, Albus? You must hurry or you are going to be late. The Wizengot does not like to be kept waiting."
"Yes, of course, my dear lady." Dumbledore said, bowing to the plump red head slightly. "I leave this in your capable hands." Molly nodded and gave a small smile.
"I'll do what I can." she answered. Dumbledore nodded to her and walked over to the fireplace after saying his goodbye's to everyone else. When Molly was sure that the headmaster was gone, and Charlie was pulling Ron and Ginny out of the fireplace, the Weasley matriarch set them all to work.
Kingsley and Tonks were sent to check upstairs, while Charlie was sent out back to check the greenhouses and other small buildings. Ron and Ginny, both who were quite ready to begin exploring the new headquarters, were separated and sent to different parts of the house, Ron to the dining and living rooms, and Ginny to the market to pick up some food and other neccessities. Remus, however, had been delegated to look around the library other small rooms off the main entrance into the house.
The library checked out fine. The only occupants of the room that would remotely pose a threat to anyone would be a small web of spiders that had taken shelter in the window sill. Remus shut the door and crossed over the room they had entered into, going for a small door with a brass handle. When he tried to open it, he found the door to be locked.
'Must be one of the private rooms.' he thought. He was about to walk away when the door creaked open. He wasn't sure if he should enter, but his curiosity about the woman who was being so generous to them was starting to get the best of him. He slowly pushed the door open, grimacing slightly when the hinges creaked.
Across the small room, Remus could make out the outline of the curtains against the window, and the shape of a large desk, along with three or four chairs. He walked over and pulled the tassle hanging from the curtains, allowing the small room to become illuminated by the daylight. A cursory look around showed him a similiar view of what he'd seen in the library. A desk and chairs, a few small couches along the walls, and row after row of books, manuscripts, newspapers, and periodicals of both the wizard and Muggle worlds. He looked a little closer and found that many of the book topics revolved around Potions and Herbology, which was not a real big surprise considering Dr. Lee's specialty as an Auror was Potions.
He made his was towards the desk, carefully navigating the floor and piles and piles of books surrounding the place. He began shuffling through what looked to be some order forms for potions ingredients and receipts when a jar to the desk sent a small, multifaceted crystal ball-like object to be knocked off its holder. He immediately picked up the glittering object and frowned, thinking that he was making enough noise to wake the dead. It was bad enough that he was in one of the places that Dumbledore had promised they would stay out of until further notice.
He didn't need to get caught snooping around the woman's house.
The small ball in his hand began to glow slightly, letting off a bluish-grey light. Remus looked down, not exactly sure as to what the object was, and beginning to wonder if picking it up was a mistake, when the room around him started spinning out of control.
The werewolf clutched to the desk underneath him, quickly tamping down his instinct to flee from the unknown situation. Instead, he closed his eyes and mouthed a silent prayer that he had not tripped some sort of defensive alarm, and that he wouldn't wind up somewhere in the middle of the Sahara desert.
When the spinning sensation finally stopped, and he could regain his ability to stand, Remus found himself standing inside an office. Everything around him was colored in black and white, and he quickly realized that the object he must have been holding was a sort of Pensieve. His assumptions were correct when he noticed that the people around him seemed completely unaware of his presence.
He recognized the man sitting at the desk as Augustus McFairway, the Minister of Magic before Fudge had been put into office. Acros from the dest, Remus noticed that Mad-Eye Moody was there, along with the mysterious Dr. Lee. He moved to a position next to the man sitting at the desk and listened in to what was being said.
"How do you lose papers on a criminal like him?" McFairway asked the assembled Aurors. "He's a madman! Not fit to walk the streets amongst everyday witches and wizards. Papers from the Wizengot do not just myseriously disappear!"
"The papers were delivered to you two days ago, sir." Dr. Lee said, her arms folded across her chest. "We have your signature that you received the letter from the delivery owl. Auror Moody and I were making the rounds at Azkaban when they were sent from the head guard. The man in question cannot be brought to justice without the court appointed papers, and you know it, Minister McFairway."
Remus suddenly felt a severe sense of guilt overflow him. He shook his head, trying to figure out why he felt guilty for being there. But he chalked it up to the fact that he was invading Dr. Lee's memories without her consent. His attention, however, was quickly brought back to the conversation at hand.
"I am well aware of our laws, Dr. Lee." the portly man said with a frown. "What I want to know is how they went missing in the first place. No one has been in this office in the past two days. How do things go missing when I wasn't here to accept them in the first place?"
"How should we know?" Moody grumbled. "We're not your bloody secretaries, McFairway."
"He can't be given the Dementor's kiss without the papers stating that the Wizengot ordered it." Dr. Lee said. "I won't let it happen, at least not during my shift."
"Have you forgotten who we are talking about, Doctor?" McFairway asked sarcastically. "We have witnesses saying they saw him do it. We need no other proof. And as Minister of Magic..."
"You have no say in the matter since the Wizarding Court took the case, Minister McFairway." she answered. "And I will not act on orders from you, and you alone, when you can't find the paperwork to back your claims up. I'm not going to lose my job and position in the International Wizarding Conferderate Council because I let the dementors have the man when I see no court appointed paper saying I am supposed to."
"He's a killer."
"Well, unfortunately for you, he will also have complete ownership of his soul until I see papers that state otherwise." she said firmly. "I'm not going to go against orders from my own superiors just because you want him as good as dead."
The guilt that Remus was feeling was swiftly replaced by anger when he looked at the face of the young woman standing across from the Minister of magic. He noticed that her hair was not as streaked with white as much as it had been the other day, nor was it nearly as long. Now, it was cut short and angled towards the back of her head. A few other subtle changes were apparent, but she all in all looked the same.
"Your tenure as the Azkaban inspector will soon be up, my dear." the Minister said with a frown a few moments later. "He will be brought to justice."
"She can't do anything until you produce the papers from the Wizengot, McFairway, and you bloody well know it!" Alastor Moody growled, his magical eye rolling around erratically. "She's covering her own arse."
"He's a threat." McFairway said. "The public is screaming for his blood."
"He's tucked away in one of the most highly guarded cells on the island." Dr. Lee said stonily. "He's not going anywhere for the time being." The portly man sat back and regarded the woman with an evil glare. Remus could feel the way she was angered beyond all bearing, and suddenly realized that the emotions he was feeling was not his own, but the Dr. Lee's.
"If I didn't know any better, Dr. Lee, I'd say you were helping the man escape his fate at the hands of the dementors." Augustus McFairway said. "You are being awful adamant about not handing him over. Why is that?"
"I'm following orders and regulation protocol." she said firmly, although Remus could tell she was lying by the sudden creeping fear he felt winding through him. "Like Auror Moody stated earlier, I'm covering my own ass. When I get my hands on the papers, I'll hand him over. Until then, he's not dementor fodder."
"Get out." Minister McFairway growled, pointing to the doorway. "I don't want to see or speak to you again, Dr. Lee."
"Well, unless you want Black to stay sane, then you're going to have to speak to me again, McFairway, as I am sure you are well aware of."
"Sirius Black is a killer." the Minister said again.
"And Muggles are not always sure of what they see, despite what they think." she retorted, turning to leave. "He keeps his soul until you produce the papers, Augustus, and that is my final word." Dr. Lee left the room quickly, and Remus followed, wondering exactly what part this woman played in the decision to keep Sirius from receiving the dementor's kiss. He'd often times wondered why his long time friend had never been given the kiss, but had chalked it up to pure luck.
When Dr. Lee was out of the office and down a deserted hallway in the Ministry building, she leaned against the wall and sank down. Remus watched as tears began to fill her eyes slowly and she wiped them away.
"Damn you Sirius Black." she muttered brokenly. "How many more times am I going to have to pull your ass out of the fire?"
Before Remus could process what she'd just said, he felt his surroundings whirling again, and he reached out to grab the closest solid thing nearest to him, which happened to be the brick wall of the building. When the swirling stopped, he found himself standing in a very familiar place of his school days.
The Potter family estate had become somewhat of a second home to him after he had met James and Sirius during his school years. But now, the happy place of his memories held nothing but a subdued sense of foreboding. From his position on a small knoll, Remus could see a scene that he had hoped to forget eventually.
He was back to the day when James and Lily had been buried in the familly graveyard on the outskirts of the family's property. Below him, he could see the gathered members of the original Order, along with some of James' extended family. Baby Harry was no where in sight, nor was Sirius Black.
Beside him, but a few feet away, Remus once again saw the short haired Dr. Lee. He could feel the sorrow and anger rolling off of the woman in waves, along with a longing to go down and comfort those standing below her. But he could also tell that something was holding her back. There were tears in her eyes once again, and this time, Remus was starting to wonder how she fit in to the equation.
He couldn't remember a girl named Mikayla from his years at Hogwarts. And he was relatively sure that he would remember if she had been one of Sirius' girlfriends. But then again, Sirius had went through so many girlfriends that it was possible Remus could have forgotten a dozen or so of the less memorable ones. And he could not remember Lily ever having a close friend by the same name.
No words were uttered from the woman's mouth as she watched the assembled people pay their last respects, and then watch the coffins be laid into the ground side by side. The only indication Remus had of her being within a close proximity of him was the changes in her emotions as the scene progressed. Anger, hurt, confusion, betrayal and love, were the only ones that he could identify. The rest were such a blur that he wondered if all woman had the capability to feel so much in such a short amount of time.
A few short moments later, the scene began to whirl away, and Remus found himself sitting in a familiar pub in Diagon Alley that he'd frequented many times before. He was surprised to see himself sitting at the bar, slumped over and laying on the counter top. It seemed apparent that he'd been trying to drown his sorrows away from the amount of shot glasses sitting in front of him. Somewhere behind him, he heard the tinkle of the bell at the door, announcing the arrival of another patron.
Remus looked out the window, noting the near fullness of the moon, and realizing that the memory him had probably just had the transformation into a werewolf the night before. As Remus watched, now utterly disgusted at the sight of himself drunk and talking to a shot glass he was holding, a woman came to sit on the stool next to him. He didn't recognize her off hand, but after a few moments, Remus realized that it was Dr. Lee, only this time she was sporting fire-red hair and brown eyes. The bartender handed her a drink, and she began sipping it slowly. Suddenly, his memory self jerked up from bowing his sleepy head, and effectively spilled a half empty bottle of whiskey onto her lap.
Memory Remus seemed to be completely offended by his error, and drunkenly grabbed at some napkins in an attempt to dry the alcohol off of her.
"Sorry, 'bout that." the memory Remus slurred slightly. "Didn' see ya there." The woman only smiled slightly and grabbed a handful of napkins as well, trying to dry the area on her clothes.
"It's okay, sir." she said, throwing the now soaked napkins across the bar and into the waste basket. "You all right over there?"
"Never better." memory Remus said, swaying slightly on his stool. "Your clothes a'right?"
"They'll survive." she said gently. Remus nodded, and started to sway again unconsciously. The red-headed Dr. Lee quickly reached out to steady the drunk man beside her, and Remus watched as she helped him to sit back up straight and lean over the bar. "I think it's about time you got out of here, hon."
"Huh?" memory Remus asked dumbly. The woman only smiled and shook her head, her brown eyes a mixture of compassion and understanding. "Wha' you say?" Remus watched as the lady pulled out enough money to cover her own drink and his latest shot, leaving it for the bartender.
"Let's get you out of here, hon." she said, helping him up off the stool and towards the door. "You're the biggest hazard to yourself right now."
"Why you care?" the drunken man slurred. "I don' even know you woman..."
"You remind me of someone I once knew. Someone very dear to my heart." she said quietly, a sad smile on her face. "And I hate to see such a good person make a big mistake."
Remus watched as his memory self and the strange woman walked out the door and into the sidewalk traffic. His head was a mix of confusion. Apparently this woman knew him. But that made absolutely no sense, considering the way she had reacted to him upon the initial meeting at the Department of Magic. The shapes around him started swirling again, and Remus wondered where he was going to be deposited at this time.
When the whirling stopped, he found himself standing in a cold hallway lined with prison cells. He looked around and saw a large number of black cloaked dementors gliding around the area. Luckily, he did not seem to be affected by them as the other prisoners were. He began walking down the hallway, looking into each of the cells and seeing the way the prisoners were huddled into the fetal position and shuddering violently. His attention was quickly diverted to where a prisoner was being pulled out of his holding cell by two Aurors, then being taken to a small room off to the side.
Remus followed behind them, and noticed that the two Aurors deposited the prisoner into a chair across from the desk and immediately left. Remus took the time to look at the prisoner more carefully, and was shocked to find that it was none other than Sirius Black. Behind him, the door swung open and Remus watched as Dr. Lee entered, seating herself behind the desk and looking at Sirius carefully. This time, her hair was longer, and more streaked with white, making him realize that this was the most recent memory as of yet.
"Mr. Black, I'm Dr. Mikayla Lee, an Auror for the American Department of Magic. I've got a few questions for you."
"What do you want?"
"I've been told that you believe that someone is at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that you desperately need to contact." she said simpy. "Why is that? Who are you looking for?"
"He's there I tell you!" Sirius said loudly, banging his fists on the desk. "I must get him!"
"Who is there, Mr. Black?" she asked patiently.
"Someone I should have killed thirteen years ago." the ragged man said fiercely.
"Harry Potter?" she asked.
"Peter Pettigrew."
"Pettigrew is dead, Mr. Black." she said simply. "You killed him thirteen years ago. So how do you propose that he is alive, and at Hogwarts? Surely, he would have been spotted by now. Lord knows the man is easy enough to spot in a crowd."
"You know him?" Sirius asked quickly, pinning her with a stare that would kill if it were possible.
"Unfortunately I had the distinct pleasure of meeting the little rat some years ago, Mr. Black." she said firmly, giving the man a pointed look. "But, I digress."
"He is a murderer." Black said. "He sold Lily and James Potter out to Voldemort!"
"All men are dogs, Mr. Black. Of that I am sure you are quite well aware of." she said, giving him another stern look. "People's loyalty can be bought just as easily as a new broomstick if the price is right." She stood from the chair and leaned over, pining the man with a withering look. "Listen to me, Mr. Black, and listen carefully. This people who run Azkaban are wrung tighter than a spring right now. Attacks are on the rise, and supposedly Voldemort is gaining power again. We are severly underhanded and short on time. We don't have the patience to deal with ridiculous accusations that Pettigrew is alive and well."
"What...."
"Listen to me, Black," she said venomously, her voice barely a whisper. "I've been working to keep you from getting the dementor's kiss since you've been put in here. I've lied, cheated, stole, and broken more rules than I care to mention so that you could keep your mind intact, or at least what's left of it."
"What are you getting at? I don't even know you, woman!"
"I find that hard to believe, Padfoot." she said pointedly. "By the way, how's Moony?"
"You.... Who the hell are you?"
"Someone who doesn't want to see you loose your sanity to those soul sucking son-of-a-bitches and wind up like the rest of these idiots in here." she barked. "Now listen to me, Black. I'm only saying this once." She sat back down and clasped her hands together. "There is trouble brewing. Voldemort is back and trying to gain power again. We're focusing all of our attention on him at the moment. In fact, most of the guards for this place are going to be gone a week from tomorrow. They're shipping out to help in a raid on the old Zabini mansion."
"Why are you telling me this?" he asked suspiciously. "Who are you?"
"Someone who doesn't think you betrayed your dearest and oldest friends." she said simply, rising from the chair when there was a knock at the window in the door. "Unfortunately, my time here is up." She turned and held out her hand to him, a silent gesture to shake hands. Remus saw Sirius' confusion, but the man followed through and shook her hand. Remus could see a small slip of paper pass from her hand to his before a man in Auror robes came in, along with the two who had brought Sirius in the interrogation room to begin with.
The guards grabbed the beraggled man and violently shoved him out of the room and back towards the holding cells.
"Did you find out anything?" the man standing beside Dr. Lee asked.
"He's just babbling." she said, lying beautifully. "The man has lost his marbles."
"Just what I thought." he said, walking towards the door. "You are free to leave when you are finished, Agent Bane."
"Thank you." she said. "I'll be on my way momentarily."
"Ma'am." he said, saluting her and walking out of the room. Remus watched as the woman slunk down into the chair she had vacated earlier, putting her head in her hands and letting out a groan of frustration.
"Damn you, Black." she cursed. "Damn you, you had better be right about this."
Remus was about to start questioning this woman's sanity when he felt the familiar pull that foretold of his change in location. Unfortunately, he quickly felt the grip of someone's hand on his shoulder as well.
When Remus' head quit spinning, he first noticed that he was no longer the only occupant of the room. Towering beside him was none other than Albus Dumbledore. And the headmaster did not look all too happy at the moment.
"Have a nice trip, Remus?" he asked gravely, allowing the still befuddled werewolf to sit down in a chair in order to regain his equilibrium. "I see you found Dr. Lee's Emotemorie sphere."
"Excuse me?" Remus asked.
"An Emotemorie sphere." he clarified. "It is a modified Pensieve of sort that allows not only the memories of its owner to be seen, the emotions that they were feeling at the moment as well. Quite fascinating objects they are."
A few moments later, when Remus was back to normal, he looked at the headmaster and frowned, his temper rising dramatically.
"Who is she, Albus?" he asked, pinning the man with a lethal stare. "Who is this woman? She knows me and she knew Sirius, but I don't remember anyone with her name. Who the bloody hell is she?"
"I am afraid that I cannot tell you who she is, Remus, as I was sworn to secrecy some time ago." the old man said sorrowfully. "Although I would chance to say that you have a good idea of it already."
"She died years ago, Albus." he said dissmissivly. "It's not Sable. It can't be. Even if it is, she would have contacted me before now."
"I am afraid that the events of that night were not as clear cut as the press would have liked it to be. Unfortunately, I was forbidden to tell you any more than I did at the time. She wouldn't let me." he said sadly. "But, I digress." The old man waved his wand and a set of folders appeared on the desk in front of them. "I do believe this is the information you commisioned Mr. Weasley into acquiring for you. Yes?"
"Yes." Remus said. "She seemed suspicious, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to check her out a little more thoroughly."
"Your questions will be answered." Dumbledore said. "I took the liberty of adding a few things that Dr. Lee had sent to me to be kept safely stored away until such a time as this. Suffice to say that there are only a hand full of people who are privy to this information." The old man shook his head and frowned deeply, as though he was reluctant to leave the folders behind. "Read them, Remus." Dumbledore said gravely, tapping the folders that sat on the desk top. "But keep one thing in mind before jumping to any sort of angered conclusions. Remember that a mother's love for her children will cause her to do many things that she would normally never do under other circumstances."
With that parting admonishment and warning, Dumbledore left the office and quietly shut the door behind him. Remus took a deep breath and reached for the topmost folder, hoping that what his instincts were telling him about the woman was true.
That she was Sable Robbins.
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Harry kicked a stone out of his way as he walked the streets in Magnolia Crescent. It was an unusually hot evening, and he had had enough of his aunt and uncle's incessent complaining about it. There had been a major heat wave in place for the last few days, and even fewer people had been braving the high temperatures to get out and do anything. But he was sick of being inside.
Things had been unnaturally quiet in the Dursley house as of lately, and he was beginning to wonder why. Even his Aunt Petunia had not been ordering him around with chores like she normally did. But what had really topped it off was the fact that his Uncle Vernon and Dudley refused to even acknowledge the fact that he existed anymore.
'No big loss there.' Harry thought as he turned a corner and began walking towards the park. A block or so down, he noticed a crowd of boys standing in a circle and snickering, kicking at something. He walked a little closer and realized that the six or so boys, which included his cousin Dudley, were teasing and taunting one of the neighborhood kids, Mark Evans.
The little boy, who was no more than seven or eight years old, was huddled up in a ball, trying valiantly not to cry as the older boys jabbed and teased him mercilessly. Harry's temper shot through the roof and he walked over to the group, stomping loudly on the ground to gain their attention. By the time he was about six feet from the group, one of the boys -a big boy with thin black hair and a horrible complexion- saw him and nudged Dudley in the ribs.
"Well, if it isn't Crazy Potter." the black headed boy said with a sneer. "What are you doing out here, Crazy? Looking for your imaginary friend?"
"Actually yeah, I was." Harry said. "I figured he was playing with yours. Haven't seen them around have you?"
"Why you scrawny little...."
"What do you want?" Dudley asked, stepping beside his accomplice as the others melted away and formed a circle around the two cousins. "Shouldn't mom and dad have you locked up somewhere for the good of the neighborhood."
"Sorry, but the pig-sty is for you, Dudley." Harry said, cocking his head to one side in a silent motion for the little Evans boy to get the heck out of there. "No more room, and I wouldn't want to impose on your territory." Dudley's huge double chinned jaw set and his hands clenched into fists. Harry had realized a while ago that Dudley was afraid of him, more so now than before. And he relished the change in position from taunted to tauntee. "You alright, Dudley? Your face is getting awful red. Maybe you need to go inside and cool down before you fry the few braincells you have left in that thick head of yours."
"Big D, you gonna let him talk to you like that?" asked one of the boys.
"Beat him into the ground." said another one. "Show him who's boss around here!"
"Get him, D. He can't beat you. Look how scrawny he is." called another. Harry just waited for his cousin to respond. He decided to make things a little worse, and casually pulled his wand out of his pocket, effortlessly twirling it between his fingers with a bored look on his face. Dudley's eyes widened in stark fear and he unconsciously took a step backward.
"You can't use that." he growled. "You're not allowed."
"Rules change, Dudders." Harry said, cocking his head to one side. "After what happened last summer, I can do whatever I want. So do your worst, if you dare." Dudley just shook his head and unclenched his fists.
"You're not worth it." he stated loudly, surprising his little gang of followers.
"What?"
"Big D?"
"You feelin' okay there, D?"
"I'm fine." Dudley growled back, glaring at his gang. "You got a problem with it?" After a loud murmur of dissent, Dudley turned back to his cousin, and was about to say something when the loud voice of Mrs. Figg brought them all to attention.
"Harry, dear!" she called, ambling up the sidewalk towards them, her carpet bag banging against her legs. "Just the young man I needed to speak with." Before she could reach where they were all standing, Dudley and his gang and started walking off, not wanting to deal with the crazy cat lady. When Mrs. Figg finally got to Harry's side, she gave him a warm smile and a pat on the back. "Alright, dear?"
"Fine." Harry said, shrugging. "Just out for a walk. How're you?"
"Fine, fine." she said quickly. "But there is something I want to show you. Come with me." Harry nodded and followed her back to her house. Once inside, Harry managed to push his way through the myriad of cats until he could sit down on the couch. On the coffee table in front of him were old copies of The Daily Prophet as well as old copies of the local newspaper. "Have you been reading the paper lately, Harry?"
"No, I'm afraid I haven't." Harry answered truthfully. "My Aunt and Uncle tend to through it away after reading it, and I haven't been able to get my hands on it."
"Have a look at this, then." she said, throwing him a local newspaper from the day before. Harry scanned over the headlines, and a chill went up his spine.
'THREE FOUND DEAD IN FOREST OUTSIDE OF CITY' Harry scanned over the accompanying article and shook his head. Apparently, three middle aged men had been found dead on the outskirts of the city, right along the forest. The circumstances surrounding them were suspicious, since no sign of a struggle could be found. He skipped down to the next heading and frowned even harder.
'LAW ENFORCERS BELIEVE IT TO BE THE WORK OF A CULT'
It appeared that the very same day, two other bodies had been found around Devonshire, but this time, they had been drained of all blood and bodily fluids. He skimmed over this article as well, then placed it on the table in front of him and looked back up to where Mrs. Figg was sitting in an overstuffed easy chair, petting one of her numerous cats.
"What is going on?" Harry asked.
"No one knows, I'm afraid." she said sadly. "But we do know for a fact that two of the people in the first attack were wizards, and the other was a Squib. The ones that had been drained of all blood were pure Muggle though, but the Dark Mark was found floating above them."
"Death Eater attacks." Harry said, receiving a quick nod from the woman across from him. "But why?"
"We don't know." Mrs. Figg said, shaking her head. "But Dumbledore sent me word that you should be careful, Harry. Extra careful. It looks like these idiots are purposely trying to draw attention to themselves."
"But that doesn't make any sense." Harry said. "Has Snape been able to tell you anything useful?"
"Severus has not been needed at the last few meetings, or so we've been told." she said. "It seems like Voldemort is becoming suspicious of his actions and is questioning his loyalties, and testing them."
"Was he involved in the attacks on these people?" Harry asked, gesturing towards the paper.
"Thankfully, no." Mrs. Figg said, sighing dramatically and stroking the cat in her lap, a multi-colored tabby that reminded him of Professor McGonagall in her Animagus form.
"You wouldn't happen to know when I'll be getting out of this place, do you?" he asked, changing the subject quickly.
"By the end of the week at the latest." she said. "You should hear something by then."
"Well, that's something to look forward to at least." he groused. Mrs. Figg was about to say something when a clock behind her chimed seven. She quickly got a horrified look on her face and stood up from her seat, dislodging the tabby that had been sitting in her lap.
"Oh, dear me!" she exclaimed. "Look at the time. It is almost dusk. Harry, you must return to your Aunt and Uncle's house before nightfall. Dumbledore believes that if you are within the confines of the house after dusk, you will not be tagged as a possible target. Hurry on, now dear." She shooed him out the door and towards his Aunt and Uncle's house. "Remember," she called out. "Stay out of trouble." Harry just waved back and shook his head, wondering if the old woman was really losing her mind.
The information she had given him was sketchy at best. The attacks on the two groups of people seemed to be completely random. As he walked back to his temporary home, he pieced over the clues and the information he'd gathered from the paper she'd shown him. It didn't take a genius like Hermione to figure out that something was going on, but he just couldn't figure out what. Right before he started walking up the driveway towards 4 Privett Drive, Harry felt his scar tingle slightly.
"He's up to something." Harry muttered, looking around him to see if there was anyone else about. "Who are you going after now, you damned murderer? And what are you up to?"
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Dr. Lee was sitting at her desk, going over some majorly overdue paperwork later that evening when there was a knock on the wood. She groaned, not really wanting to be disturbed from her work, but getting up anyway. She'd just tell whoever it was to come back later and she'd talk to them. Her secretary had left a few hours before, and she was not sure as to who the visitor was. She called out for the person to come in, and was somewhat surprised to see her eldest son standing on the other side, looking more serious than she had seen him in quite some time.
"Ailric, what are you doing here, baby?" she asked, going back into the office and motioning him to come in and take a seat, which he did. "I thought you were going over to Brandon's house this evening to play Quidditch with him and his brothers. Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, everything's fine, mom." he said. "Uh, there's something I want to talk to you about. You got some free time?" Sable nodded and put the overdue paperwork to the side. Heck, it was already late, no point in rushing to get it finished, right?
"What's going on?" she asked, settling back into her chair. "What's on your mind? New girlfriend?"
"Hardly." he said with a frown. "I wanted to talk to you about us going back to England." She sat up straight and took a deep breath. She'd been waiting for this to come around for the past few days. She knew Ailric could be stubborn when he wanted to be, and she fully expected him to tell her that he wasn't going to go back. So it was quite a shock when he said, "I think we should go. I think it is for the best, after all."
"Well," she said. "this is quite a surprise. I had expected you to turn me down flat. Why the sudden change of heart, son?"
"I thought about it for a long time....after I left here the other day." the boy said. "I guess...well...I just realized that I would want to go back if it were me in your shoes. Granted, me, Gabe, and Sis never really had all that many friends considering our being lycans, but....I'd do it if it were me." He stood up and walked over to the window, seeing the slowly setting sun along the horizon. "You raised us on the stories of you and your friends. And when the Potter's died, I know it took a big piece of your heart, mom. You're still loyal to them, even though you're not there. And now that Black is gone, after all you done to keep him from getting the dementor's kiss for so long, Lupin is the only one left besides Pettigrew. You need to go back, mom. You need to finish what you started so long ago......and we need to be there to help you."
Dr. Lee's eyes were watering by the time he turned back around and faced her. Ailric's face turned horrified when he saw that she was on the verge of crying, and he walked over kneeled down in front of her. "Mom, I didn't mean to make you upset, you know."
Dr. Lee laughed and shook her head, hugging her son tightly and fighting back the tears of happiness that threatened to spill over.
"I'm okay, Ailric. I'm fine." she said. "You just surprised me, that's all."
"Huh?"
"I honestly thought you'd want to stay here." she said. "I haven't even sent Dumbledore my letter saying I would accept the position yet because I was afraid you wouldn't want to go."
"You would have stayed here, just because of me?" he asked, shaking his head.
"I'm not leaving my babies." she said smiling down at him. "I need you three around me to feel sane."
"We're not babies anymore, mom." he said.
"You'll always be my babies." she said, smiling."Thank you, Ailric."
"For what?" he asked, standing up and leaning against her desk.
"For understanding me so well." she said. "There was only one other person that could do that."
"Really? Who?"
"Your dad." she said quietly. The two of them lapsed into a silence for a while before Dr. Lee spoke again. "You do realize that when we go back, he's going to find out. If he hasn't put it together already, that is."
"I know. I thought about that too." Ailric confessed. "Quite a while, in fact."
"And?"
"Well, there's not much he can do about us now, is there?" Ailric asked, shrugging his shoulders. "All three of us are lycans, he can deal with it I'm sure considering he is one too. Snape's reaction is the one I want to see. That anal retentive bastard is going to blow his top!"
"I wasn't talking about that, and you know it." she said firmly, grasping his hands with her own and looking him straight in the eyes. "Ailric, please tell me that you'll at least give him a slight chance if he's willing. It's not his fault he doesn't know about us, that blame belongs on me."
"It's just as much our fault too." he said stonily. "We didn't want either of them to find out about us. I guess we figured we would never have to face them."
"I am sorry, Ailric." she said sadly. "But I can't help what happened, nor what brought you three into my life. All I can say is that I did what I thought was right at the time given the circumstances."
"I know." he said. "I know. We all do." Dr. Lee only nodded and reached out to gather him into a hug, when a sharp pain through her stomach caused her to double over and drop to the ground. Ailric was right at her side immediately, pulling her hair out of her face and trying to find out what was wrong.
"Mom?" he questioned, watching as the woman in his arms broke out into a cold sweat and her face turned as pale as death. Her arms were firmly wrapped around her waist and she was shivering as if she were freezing. "Mom, what's going on? What's wrong with you?" A few seconds later, she stopped shivering and leaned into him for support. "Mom, you're scaring me here. Talk to me, will you?"
Dr. Lee took a few deep breaths and steadied herself enough to get to her feet with the assistance of her son. She plopped down in her chair and wiped the beads of perspiration off of her face. She looked up at Ailric and saw the worry in his blue eyes.
"Mom?"
"I'm fine, honey." she said, grimacing. "He's calling them."
"What?" he asked. "Your Mark is acting up? Since when?"
"A few months ago." she said sadly. "I hadn't said anything because I didn't want to worry you three."
"You still feel his calling, even after all these years?" Ailric asked. "I thought it would have faded by now."
"It doesn't fade, baby." she said sadly. "Once you've got this thing, you've got it for life."
"Is there anything I can do? Are you still hurting?"
"No, it's gone now. I'll be fine in a few minutes." she said. "You should get on home. It's late, and you've got packing to do if we're going to leave in the next few days."
"Are you alright, though? What does Voldemort want now? Does he know where you are?" Ailric asked quickly, his concern growing more and more.
"I'm fine. As for what he wants, I don't know. But I get the feeling he's royally pissed at the moment. Don't ask me why." she said, shaking her head. "And no, he can't find me. I fixed that problem a long, long time ago."
"You sure?" he asked suspiciously, eyeing her for any sign that she was lying to him.
"Hey, give me some credit, young man!" she teased. "He hasn't found me yet, has he?"
"Point taken." he answered. "You sure you're okay, mom."
"Fine, honey." she said, a small smile on her face. "Now let's get out of here, huh?"
"I thought you had work to do?" he asked, eyeing the pile over paperwork stamped 'OVERDUE'. She caught his eye and grinned. "Not a worry. It's for Worthings, he'll get over it. Besides, I have the distinct feeling that you aren't going to let me out of your sight for a while, now that you know about my Mark acting up."
"Once again, your instincts prove correct." he jibed. "Must come with age, huh mom?"
"Very funny, young man. Just remember that I know more curses, hexes, and jinxes than you ever will, and I'm not afraid to use them." Just to prove her point, she pulled out her wand and aimed it at him.
"You'd take on Salem's duel-team captain, would you?" he asked, pulling his own wand out and snickering. "You'd loose."
"Ah, but that captain needs to remember who taught him all those neat little hexes he so loves to use." she pointed out. "And trust me, there is a couple of bad ones that I have yet to show you, Mr. Captain. Do you really want to try your luck?" Ailric blanched and put his wand away, not wanting to provoke her into hexing him. The last time she had, he'd been waddling around school for a week and a half because of some precariously placed boils and welts.
"Not now, thanks though." he said, putting his wand back in his pocket.
"That's what I thought." she said, smiling at him as she replaced her wand and grabbed her briefcase. "Let's get out of here, huh? We'll grab some take out from that Chinese restaurant you like so much. How's that sound?"
"If it'll save me from Sis' cooking, I'm all for it." he said. "She might be able to brew a half decent potion, but she can't cook worth a flip." Dr. Lee just grinned and walked out of the room with her son in tow, hiding beautifully the fact that the Mark around her waist was throbbing angrily with every pulse of her blood.
Oh, yeah, Voldemort was mad. And she knew someone was going to die tonight.
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A/N - Hey everyone. I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter of this story. The next one is already half wrote, so it shouldn't be long before it is out.
Until then,
Later,
A.A.
P.s. Oh, and please remember to review. I want to know what you think.
