Disclaiemr - It's not mine. The only characters I own are Sable and her family. Everyone else belongs to J.K. Rowling. No money is being made off of this work of fiction.
Special thanks to:
Sarah - Thanks for the review. And don't worry about the relationship bit. Things are going to get heated, in more ways than one. The Trio's reactions are going to be...well, you'll see. Oh, and thanks for pointing out the spelling error. Apparently my computer is not Harry Potter literate. :)
Lothliana - Yeah, that part was sad, wasn't it. And thanks for the confidence in the story.
wolvesaremylife1 - I'm one of your favorites? (blushes) Thanks. I'm glad you like the Emotemorie sphere. And yes, the plot thickens. Hang on to your pants, things are about to get even more complex.
AnGeL-GiRl-XxX-You'll find out why the door opened in this chapter. Thanks for the review, by the way. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Wolf's Bane II: Return to Hogwarts
Chapter 5
Confrontations
Remus walked down the sidewalk and towards the looming building along the horizon that was his destination. He'd gotten the files from Albus about Dr. Lee and her family the day before, and been able to piece together what he believed was the truth, and come to terms with what he'd found out.
What he'd found in the folders Albus had brought him had shocked him to the core. It was readily apparent after reading through the information Bill had got, along with the folder that Dumbledore had given him, that Dr. Mikayla Lee was in all actuality Meadow Sabriel Robbins, his old girlfriend who had been targeted by Death Eaters during their final year at Hogwarts. She was the very some woman who had later disappeared and been proclaimed dead right before their graduation in seventh year. She was also the one who had began the preliminary research into the Wolfsbane Potion, and the one who had gotten it legalized a few years back.
His mind was complete chaos from then on. When he'd first put the pieces together, he had been more angry than he'd ever felt, except possibly when he'd found out that Lily and James had been killed. The fact that the one woman he had ever cared deeply for was actually still alive and doing well still through him for a loop. He'd confronted Dumbledore with his findings and assumptions, but the old man had not given him any answers, only telling him to go talk to her and question her himself; and that was only when he wasn't talking in circles to begin with.
He'd gotten angry then, realizing that it was possible that Dumbledore had always known that she was alive and where she was. His anger had then doubled when he ralized the she had never even tried to contact him after everything had settled down.
But then he remembered the three children he had met on his initial trip to the Department of Magic. The young woman, Sabine, was an exact copy of Sable. Even her expressions had been reminescent of the love of his teenage years. Ailric, on the other hand, looked just like him, with the exception of his hair, which had been a shade or two darker than his own brown. And Gabe...
It was then that Remus' anger had reached it breaking point.
The point where he had flown off the hook and stormed out of Dumbledore's office in a fit of rage.
Gabriel Lee was Severus Snape's son if there ever was one. He had the same long, dark hair, and slightly pale skin. The same overly serious expressions and forced politeness that had set Snape apart from even his own housemates during his school years. The only difference from the boy and his father was the nose. Gabe's nose was short and straight, as compared to Snape's long and hooked nose.
All around him, people passed by him, going along on their day to day duties. Remus saw a young witch standing outside a book shop and talking to a toddler in yellow robes. In her arms, there was another young child, no more than six months old, who was drinking from a bottle of milk. Beside her, a wizard with Department of Magic robes was playing with the toddler, tickling him and teasing him with a piece of candy.
The werewolf shook his head and frowned, thinking of the times that Sable must have gone through while raising her own children, and wishing he'd have been there to help.
When he got to the doors of the Department of Magic, he took a calming breath and clutched the folders in his hands, along with the small, leatherbound book in his hands. The very book he'd held onto for years. He waited to be checked by the security wizards, then proceeded to go up to the floor where Dr. Lee's office resided.
When the doors of the elevator opened, Remus stepped into the waiting room and looked around. No one was sitting at the secretay's desk, but he could hear the subdued voices of the occupants within. He took a few more deep breaths, and tried to settle himself down. A few minutes later, the door opened and all three of Dr. Lee's children stepped out, followed closely by their mother, along with a flutter of multiple pairs of wings.
Remus stood up and faced them, forcibly reigning his emotions under control at the various looks of surprise, shock, and knowing enlightenment upon the three children's faces, and the lok of utter fear on Dr. Lee's face.
"Mr. Lupin." Sabine said, regaining her composre quickly and walking toward him after depositing a snowy owl with grey markings on a nearby perch. "Pleasure to see you again, sir. What brings you back so soon?"
"I need to speak with your mother." he said, staring right towards the fidgeting woman in the doorway.
"We were just leaving for lunch." Ailric said stoically, crossing his arms and stepping closer to his mother. "You'll have to come back in a few hours."
"Ailric, calm down." Dr. Lee said, putting a hand on the taller boy's shoulder as if to placate him before any nasty words could come forth. Unfortunately, the young man did not seem to want to be placated, and he shrugged off Dr. Lee's hand and continued to glare at Remus.
"I am afraid this is rather important." Remus said, turning his attention to the young man who he seriously suspected to be his own son.
"Would you like us to go ahead, mother?" Gabe asked Dr. Lee. "We will save you a seat at the cafe." Remus regarded the boy with a sort of cold contempt, waiting for her to answer.
"Do that for me, please." Dr. Lee said, using her hand to dislodge the eagle owl on her shoulder and put it on the perch next to the snowy owl. Remus saw her eyes widen when he laid the worn leather book on the desktop. "On second thought, I am afraid what Mr. Lupin and I have to discuss is going to take a while."
"I would say that, yes." Remus commented dryly. "It definitely borders on a very serious topic."
"As I expected." Dr. Lee said. She looked back at the three teenagers around her and smiled slightly. "I want you three to take Malon and Assyria home with you. Also, stop by the owlery and make sure to get Dune and Seraph enough food. Get their things packed, and I'll be home soon. And don't forget Kojack's stuff either, or Bandit's."
"Or Freaky's." Ailric said.
"What about Sari and Ariayan?" Sabine asked, nodding towards the office door.
"Sari is ready." Gabe said. "I took care of her earlier."
"And Ariayan?" Sabine asked, turning to her brother.
"Take her with you." Dr. Lee said. Gabe nodded and gave a sharp whistle, ending it in a high pitched trill. The people in the room atched as a silvery-blue phoenix came out of the office and landed on Gabe's offered arm.
"Well, that's all our brood." Sabine said, a business like tone in her voices as she opend a small window and told the two owls perched on her desk to go straight home, along with the phoenix on her brother's arm. "We'll be going, then. It was good to see you again, Mr. Lupin. Goodbye."
"We are not leaving mom here with..." Ailric began, only to be cut off by his sister.
"Oh, yes, we are. We've got work to do, and mom has to talk with Mr. Lupin."
"Yeah, but..."
"Without us." Gabe said pointedly.
"She's my mother!" Ailric said stubbornly.
"Ours, too." Gabe said. "Or where do you think we came from, chicken eggs?"
"Hmph!"
"Oh, grow up already, will you?" Gabe asked.
"That's enough, you two." Sabine said, playing mediator between the two boys.
"Your sister is right, boys." Dr. Lee said firmly. "Out, all of you."
"But, mom...he's..."
"You heard her, brother dear." Sabine said, reaching up to grab Ailric's ear and yank him forcefully down to her height. "We're leaving. And you can unball that fist you've got raised as well, or I'll hex you so fast you'll never give me nieces and nephews."
Remus was quite amazed to see the young man immediately uncurl his hand and allow himself to be pulled out of the room with his sister and brother, still muttering a colorful string of obscenities. He glanced over to where Dr. Lee was smiling gently at the antics of the three teenagers. He cleared his throat and watched as her countenance went from relaxed and welcoming to defensive and cold. She nodded and turned on her heel, walkig back to her office and silently gesturing for Remus to follow her.
Remus followed her in, and sat at the chair across her desk, placing the journal on the desktop , then sitting back expectently, not truly trusting himself to speak. Apparently, Dr. Lee, who had moved to a large window and was currently fiddling with a locket on her neck, decided to break the awkward silence.
"Figured it out, did you?" she asked, not looking at him. "I'm not really surprised. You were always the smart one, Remus."
"Why?" he asked, the anger in his voice barely contained. "Why didn't you tell me? I've spent the last sixteen years thinking you were dead, and now I find you here in America, working and raising children as if nothing ever happened!"
"I'm sorry." she said. "I truly am. But I done what I had to. I couldn't tell you; I couldn't tell anyone. I know the apology isn't enough, but it's all I can give you at the moment. That, and the truth. I just couldn't tell anyone I was still alive back then, Remus."
"Why not?" he asked coldly. "What was so important that you could never find the time to mention that you weren't dead. It's been sixteen years. I'm pretty sure you've had a few spare moments at some time since then."
"I think the health of my unborn children would have been a good reason." she said defensively.
"Explain." he said coldly.
"There was a bounty on my head after the attack." she said quietly. "I couldn't go back, or I'd have been killed the second one of Voldemort's cronies set their eyes on me. No one escapes the Dark Lord and lives, and they didn't want a mangy, full blooded bitch like me to be the first. I had my family to think about."
"Your family?" he asked. "Don't you think I might have fallen into that category? I don't believe you, Sable. I never heard of a bounty on your head!" The woman across from him frowned and reached into her desk, pulling out a small bottle with a stopper and an eye dropper. "What's that?"
"Vertiserum." she said shortly. "I'm sure you know what that is, right."
"Yes."
"Good, then you know what it does." she said. Remus watched as she pulled the eyedropper out and stuck out her tongue, placing four drops on her tongue and then shutting her mouth. "Happy now, I can't lie to you."
"How do I know it's Vertiserum, and not just water?" he asked skeptically.
"Ask me something." she said.
"Fine, what's your name?"
"Meadow Sabriel Robbins." she said. "Ask me something I would lie about, Remus. You're not going to be happy until you do, and I know it."
"Did you go to school with me?"
"Yes."
"Where was your dormitory."
"I didn't have one, I had a laboratory and a bedroom off the Defense Against the Dark Arts Corridor." she said, frowning. "Come on, Remus, you know all this already."
"When you first went back to Hogwarts in your seventh year, and I told you to stay away from the Shrieking Shack, why'd you go there anyway?"
"I was pissed because everyone was trying to tell me what to do." she said. "And I was too stubborn to listen to common sense." Remus seemed to believe that, but he went on.
"You once said you weren't afraid of me, Sable." he said, eyeing her closely. "Are you scared now?"
"Terrified." she muttered, her head hanging in front of her. Remus' head shot up, and he looked at her carefully. The Sable he remembered hated admitting when she was frightened. She had to be telling the truth. The woman in front of him was on the verge of crying, and he knew it. She was...well, he wasn't sure exactly what she was. All he knew was that he was mad at her, more so than he had ever thought he could be.
"Why?" he asked. "Why are you scared of me?"
"Because I haven't seen you in so long." she said. "And because after I tell you what you came here to find out, I doubt you'll ever want to speak with me again, if you don't kill me first."
"You've got some explaining to do, Sable." he said, apparently satisfied that she was telling the truth.
"I know." she said desperately. "There was more to what happened than what you know."
"Well, I'm trying to understand." he said loudly, rising to his feet fluidly and sliding the yellowed journal across the desk to her. "But you're not helping me all that much if you won't tell me! Quit dodging the story, the truth, and tell me, Sable!"
"Okay," she said, holding up her hands placatingly in front of her. "Okay. You win. I'll tell you; you deserve that much at least. Where do you want me to start?"
"The beginning is always a good place." he said stoically.
"Well, get comfortable. This is going to take a while."
"I'm in no hurry. Start talking." Remus said flatly.
"Fine." she answered, her fingertips on the four tiered pendant at her neck. "The night we were captured, I was taken to another room by Flint and Avery, this was after they had put us in the cell together. Snape was waiting there, along with Lucius Malfoy. I had been 'assigned' to Snape for my 'instruction' time. Anyway, to make a long story short, Snape raped me in front of about half a dozen other Death Eaters, althoughI don't think he enjoyed it all that much, if you know what I mean."
"Dirty bastard..."
"He didn't have a choice, Remus." Sable sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Understand that now, before I go any further. It was either do what they expected and prove he was on their side, or not do it and raise suspicions, therefore probably killing us all."
"How'd you get pregnant?" he asked. "I put the anti-conception spell on you less than eight hours before that. That spell lasts at least twelve hours."
"There's the kicker." Sable said. "Snape done the same thing, only with a different spell. My theory is that they cancelled each other out somehow, instead of strengthening each other. And I'm not going to give you a biology lesson because I'm sure you know where babies come from. Suffice to say, a little over eight months later, my children were born."
"You told me you didn't know who it was that had hurt you." he said accusingly. "You lied to me."
"What good would it have done if you'd have known, Remus?" she asked, shaking her head. "It would have just made you angrier, and at the time we needed to have our heads on straight."
"It wasSnape that helped us get out of that place that night, wasn't it?" he asked.
"Yes." she answered. "By the time they had separated us, Dumbledore already knew what had happened to us.That's when he got ahold of the Ministry and came after us. Snape's been spying on Voldemort longer than you realize, and for that I am grateful."
"What happened after that?After the raid was over? The explosion?"
"Ah, the explosion." she said, nodding. "By the time Moody, Phillastine, and myself got to the dungeons, Flint had managed to escape, or so we thought. We went in to get my mom and dad, but the doors had apparently been booby trapped. The second we opened the cell door, it was like a chain of bombs went off, completely demolishing the dungeons. The three of us managed to get halfway up the stairs when Phillastine holllered something about Apparating out, and Moody said that the only ones who could do that had to be marked Death Eaters."
"So you Apparated them to the entrance and went back to get your mom and dad?" Remus guessed, filling in the story a little more.
"Yeah, but I ran into a very messed up Flint when I got down there. Apparently the potion Snape gave me that I poured down his throat had a large concentration of alihosty leaves in it. And you know what that does to a person."
"Hysteria." Remus confirmed. "Dementia. They go crazy."
"Exactly." she said. "We dueled each other until the ceiling collapsed. I tried to Apparate out, but my sense of direction wasmessed up, and I was so scared that I wound up back in Godric's Hollow. I won't lie, I was in bad shape, Remus. I figured I would stay there until I recovered a little, and then try to get back to Hogwarts, but it seemed as though Voldemort knew where I would be because the Death Eater wound up stomring my house a few hours after I got there. It was then that I figured out the Mark he had given me doubled as a tracking device."
"Then?"
"I thought about the farthest place away from them I could, and Apparated." she said, shaking her head. "I wound up on the steps to this very building. I was exhausted and close to death from Apparating so far on my own. Hell, I'm still trying to figure out how I didn't wind up splinched somewhere between here and there. The Head of the Department put me under tight spervision after I told him what happened, and I went into hiding for about a two months, until things calmed down. We figured out how to cut of the tracking aspects of the Mark a few weeks later. It was about that time I figured out I was pregnant. And, well, I panicked."
"That's not like you."
"Yeah, well, everyone has an off day." she said sarcastically. "Anyhow, I was going to return to Hogwarts, but we got word that the Death Eaters had put a hefty bounty on my head and were eager to collect. I would have went back, had it not been for the fact that I knew I was pregnant. So, I waited."
"That night of graduation." Remus said. "How'd you do that? Down in your lab, I saw you down there."
"It was an illusion." she said sadly. "A couple fancy potions, and spells. Nothing more. I was controlling the spectre from another place in the castle. In fact, I was in the passageway that led up to Gryffindor Tower, behind Agrippa's portrait."
"And the wolf the next day?" he asked, shaking his head, not really wanting to believe her story, all though it seemed almost believable to him. "Ladriel?"
"That was me." she admitted. "I knew you knew about the legend, and I figured it might set your mind at ease."
"Believe it or not, that actually worked." he said dryly. "After that?"
"I started working here at the Department." she said, shrugging. "And started getting reeady to have my four children. I wound up changing my name, and hiding the truth about what I was and what had happened. By the time my babies turned two..."
"Four children?" Remus asked. "I've only met three."
"You wouldn't have met the other baby." Sable said solemnly. "She died shortly after she was born, during a full moon."
"I'm sorry." he said.
"Don't give me that line of bullshit, Remus." she fumed. "You knew about Savannah when you walked in here."
"Dumbledore knew, didn't he? He knew you hadn't died."
"At first, he thought I was gone, just like everyone else. He didn't know I was still alive until a month or so after I disappeared." she said. "When I found out I was carrying half a Quidditch team in my womb, I got in touch with him. I explained what had happened, and asked him not to tell anyone."
"Even me?"
"Yes, although he urged me to tell you of the pregnancy, I refused." she said sadly. "I thought I was protecting you, by not telling you."
"I can't believe that." he said. "You thought you were protecting me?"
"I done what I thought was right at the time." she said. "I was not going to sacrifice my children."
"You could have told me." he said. "I could have protected you from them. There were ways that you could have come back..."
"Do you honestly think I hadn't exhausted Every. Single. Possibiliy?" she ground out, her own anger rising. "I tried, Remus. The only other possibilty after everything was said and done was the Fidelius charm."
"And?" he said. "We could have done that. You'd have been safe."
"I had thrown that possibility out, up until my children were about two years old." she said. "By that time, I was seriously thinking about it. But that Halloween, when James and Lily were killed, I turned back. I lost my nerve. I couldn't do it after that."
"Yet you could still stand to come back to England and work there?" Remus said. "Explain that, will you?"
"If it not been for Sirius getting charged with the murder of James and Lily and then getting thrown into Azkaban, I probably never would have stepped foot back on that island." she said. "When I found out who they had implicated, I knew something had to be done, especailly when they said that Sirius was guilty of killing Peter."
"You kept him from getting the Dementor's kiss." Remus said accusingly. "You're the one that kept stealing the paperwork and losing it. You're also the one who helped him get out of Azkaban when he found out that Peter was back at Hogwarts, posing as Ron Weasley's rat, Scabbers." Sable only nodded, giving Remus a half grin.
"You found the my Emotemorie sphere, I see. But yes, I am the one who told Sirius how and when to get off the island fortress. The piece of paper I slipped him during our last meeting told him when security would be laxed, and how he could get out." she said, shaking her head. "I figured you would once Dumbledore let you into the house. I am just glad it was you, instead of someone else. But then again, no one else would have been able to get into that office, except you. I made sure of that."
"You knew I was going to be in there?" he said. "How?"
"When I gave Dumbledore the keys to the house at Haven's Hallow, and told him that he could use it for the Order's headquarters, I was not even sure I would be going back to England, at that time. I hadn't discussed it with my children yet." she said. "But I knew that it was time for you to know the truth. So, I took a portkey to England not long after you left here with Bill and Albus that day. I went to the house and planted the Emotemorie sphere in the office. Then, I charmed the door to open when you, and only you, touched it. I knew it wouldn't take you long to figure it out from there."
"What about the other memories?" he asked. "James and Lily's funeral?"
"I was there." she said. "As you well know."
"That night in the pub at Diagon Alley?" he asked. "You were there. You even talked to me. What were you doing there? Why didn't you tell me who you were?"
"Do you remember when that was, Remus?" she asked. "I'll tell you. It was two days after the full moon, May 28, 1992. I was at the Ministry, going over the legalization of the Wolf'sbane potion for everyday use. They had passed it as safe, and I was there to answer questions about it and the such. Of course, I couldn't go as myself, so I changed the way I looked. Running into you was pure conincidence. I saw you from outside the pub, you were so trashed, I'd be surprised you even remember what I looked like." she said. "So I decided to get you the hell out of there before you gave yourself alcohol poisoning. Even if I had told you who I was, you wouldn't have remembered it. You were too far gone."
"I didn't." he said. "I don't even remember that night. How many other times have you been in England, and you never even tried to contact us?"
"More times than I can count." she said sadly. "I've seen you more times than I want to admit to, on sidewalks, in stores, even in Hogsmeade when you were teaching at Hogwarts."
"And you never said anything." he asked. "Never?"
"How could I?" she asked. "I tried to protect what was left of my friends from school the best way I could, without being discovered."
"How?" he asked. "Besides keeping Sirius from losing his soul, and getting the Wolfsbane potion leagalized, what else have you done? Where else have you interferred?"
"A bunch of different places." she said. "My work with the Ministry is quite extensive." She got up from her chair and walked over to a file cabinet, pulling out a number of think files and placing them on the desk between her and Remus. "Have a look at these."
"What are they?" he asked.
"Papers that have surprisingly come up missing from the Ministry." she said with a cat like grin. "Papers that have kept HarryJamesPotter, Ronald BiliusWeasely, and Hermione Jane Granger from getting kicked out of Hogwarts for brewing the Polyjuice Potion, and Ms. Granger turning herself into a living version of the catwoman during their first year. Papers that kept Ms. Ginevra Molly Weasley from being admitted to the psychiatric ward at St. Mungo's after being posessed by Tom Riddle. Not to mention the inquiry papers for Arthur Weasley when Harry and Ron flew the Anglia to Hogwarts at the beginning of their second year. Not to mention the papers that accused Hagrid of being the one who set something loose in the castle. You know Fudge was going to have him thrown into one of Azkaban's highest security cells? I stopped that as well."
"His third year?" he asked, shaking his head. "What about then?"
"Papers that kept the Ministry from finding Sirius Black." she said. "I hid many of the notes that came in where I knew people had spotted him. They never got to Fudge's desk, because they never left mine." She looked back at Remus and shook her head. "The inquiries into Cedric Diggory's death are in there as well. Fudge tried coming up with a story saying that Harry was losing his mind. Tried saying that he was just vying for attention. They're all in there. Along with a few things I got on Rita Skeeter not long afterwards that will keep that obnoxious woman from slandering Harry's name anymore, including the fact that she is an unregistered Animagus."
"And the most recent?"
"Lots of papers hiding stuff the Order has been doing." she said. "I may not have been a member of it, but I did have a good feeling as to what was going on. I'm the one that handled the paperwork when Sirius started living in 12 Grimmauld Place again. He had to go through the Ministry to straighten out the details, and I'm the one who helped him, even though he knew it wasn't me. Later on, when Arthur Weasley was attacked, it was ruled an accident. No one besides the Order knows any different. And exactly who do you think is responsible for keeping Narcissa Malfoy from getting her no account husband out of Azkaban by now? It sure as hell hasn't been Fudge."
"How are you doing all of this, when you are halfway across the bloody world?" he asked, shaking his head. "Arthur never told us you were working with the Ministry."
"That's because he doesn't know I'm there. I act as a liason between the Department of Magic, and the Ministry of Magic." she said. "I handle different things, since the two work in conjunction with each other at all times. To be perfectly honest with you, I've probably spent more time in the last year in England than I have in the States. But it is not extensive amounts of time. I'm there for a day or so, and then back here until they need me again."
"Does the rest of the Order know who you are?" he asked. "Snape knows this?"
"Are kidding me?" she asked. "If Snape knew I was still alive, I wouldn't put it past him to come try to kill me himself, just to spite me. No, the only other people who know I am really Sable Robbins, is you, my children, Dumbledore, and the President of the Department of Magic. Although I do think that Dumbledore has probably told McGonagall by now as well."
"Why do you say that?" he asked.
"Just a feeling." she said. "There is not much he does that she doesn't know about, after all."
"So, now what are you going to do?" he asked after a while.
"I'm going to Hogwarts." she answered. "I'm going back to stay, at least until Voldemort is gone."
"Now you're suddenly willing to risk them?" he asked angrily. "Now you're not worrying about our children!"
"They're not all your, Remus." she said acidly. "Remember that. And as for going back, we've discussed it. All three of them, Gabe, Ailric, and Sabine, are out of school now. They can defend themselves a lot better now than they could when they were six months old."
"What are you going to do with them?" he asked.
"Dumbledore and I have already come up with a plan for it." she said. "Ailric and Gabeare going to be instated at Hogwarts under the guise of teaching assistants. And Sabine will become theschool nurse's assistant. They'll all be given an aging potion that will last for a week at a time. They'll change the way they look, and their names. The Fidelius charm will be put into use. No one will know, as long as we are careful."
"And you?" he asked.
"I'm going as Dr. Lee." she said, shrugging. "The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Don't really have much choice in the matter, do I?"
"What about the children?" he asked.
"What about them?" she asked. "They agreed to go back. I didn't force them to."
"Do they know?" he asked. "About what happened to us, how they came along?"
"Yes." she said, nodding. "They know all of it. I told them the truth a long time ago. They know about you, Snape, Voldemort, Harry, Peter, Sirius, everything. They know you're a werewolf, and they know Snape is a Death Eater. And they know why I did what I did, when I did."
"Does...do they...I mean..." he stuttered, his confidence waning slightly upon finding out the amount of information they knew. He hadn't really expected Sable to keep the truth from them, but it still threw him for a shock.
"Do they resent you and Snape for what happened?" she asked. "For not being here?"
"Yes." he answered.
"No, they don't." she asked. "They are remarkable people, Remus. All three of them. They're understanding, and more mature than many give them credit for. Don't get me wrong, though. They're hellions at times, especially when Ailric and Gabe start fighting and me and Sabine have to get between them, but I wouldn't give anything for them." Remus looked away and Sable walked over to him, placing her hand unsurely on his shoulder. "Remus, listen to me. Don't blame them for what I did. Please, they're not at fault. If there is anyone who you want to blame, then put the blame on me."
"I got a question for you." he said. "How long does that Vertiserum you took last?"
"Couple hours, why?" she asked.
"Sable, you could have gotten in touch with me before this point, and you know it. Were you actually that terrifed of me finding out I had children?" he asked, honestly hurt by the thought.
"I was terrified of facing you, Remus." she answered truthfully. "I screwed up, royally, by not telling you, or Snape for that matter. I was scared, for my children, for myself. You don't know how many times I wanted to stop you and tell you the truth when I saw you while I was running around England. I was scared, though. That's the only answer I can give you."
"Would you have come back to England, if you hadn't been pregnant?" he asked.
"Yes." she said firmly.
"Are you going back now because of me and Snape, or because you want to get rid of Voldemort?" he asked.
"A little of both, actually." she admitted.
"Who's Sabine's father?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.
"I...I don't know, Remus." she said, shaking her head.
"Excuse me?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean, you don't know?" he asked. "Surely they have underwent blood tests?"
"More than their fair share." she nodded. "But she's practically a carbon copy of me. The tests won't show anything, I've already tried that. Savannah was yours, as is Ailric. Gabe is Snape's, but I don't know which of you is responsible for little mini me. At first, I thought it was Snape, then I thought it was you. Then, I was back to thinking she's Snape's again. Now I'm beginning to wonder if it was possible you both are responsible for her. Don't ask he how."
"Both?" he asked. "That is not possible. It's one or the other."
"Yeah, well, I was supposed to be completely barren according to every book I've ever read concerning ranulas, so that goes to show you things don't always work out the way people expect." Sable said, shrugging. "But if it makes you feel any better, I think she knows in her heart who her father is. She just won't tell me."
"You didn't press her for an answer?" he asked.
"No, I never have. But does it honestly matter, Remus?" she asked. "She's my daughter, I don't really give a rat's behind if Merlin himself helped me conceive her. I don't care; I love her just as much as I love the others."
"Do you plan on telling Snape about them?" he asked. "He's going to figure it out, you know, and it won't take long."
"It depends." she answered. "I need to tell him. But, I want to see how he reacts to seeing me before I spring the news on him. His reaction will be worse than yours, I can almost guarantee it."
"Undoubtedly." Remus said. "What about the rest of the Order."
"They don't need to know." she said quickly. "Half of them don't even know me as it is. And by the time I get over there and to the next meeting, the kids will have already changed their appearances and names. No one will know. Dumbledore is giving them the basics. But he's not going to tell them about you and Snape and how I'm tied into the whole mess with you both."
"You are actually going to go through with this?" he asked.
"Yes." she said.
"When are you leaving for England?" he asked. "The next Order meeting is in two days."
"Tomorrow morning." she said. "The kids just got finished packing up the supplies and toys for the family pets. We're taking a port-key there this evening to drop most of it off, and we'll be at Haven's Hollow for good tomorrow morning at eight o'clock, British time."
"How many pets do you have?" he asked, frowning. "I thought animals didn't like being around people with lycanthropy?"
"Most of the time they don't." she said. "But we've raised them, so they're used to it. Besides, how much trouble could three owls, a raven, a phoenix, a ferret, and a snake get into? Granted, that's not including whatever else they've added to the family bestiary since I checked last week."
"A snake?" Remus asked. "You have a snake?"
"It's not mine; it belongs to the kids."
"Which one?"
"Not sure, really." she said, shrugging. "One of the guys from downstairs in the Regulation and Control of Animals gave it to them a couple years ago. He said it was some type of constrictor, so it's not poisonous. I mean, it's pretty much harmless, doesn't hurt any of the other animals at all."
"Are one of them going to be helping Hagrid in the Care of Magical Creatures class?" Remus asked warily. From the sound of it, the three teenagers were just as crazy about animals as the half giant teacher at Hogwarts.
"Possibly. It'll be Gabe, more than likely. He seems to like animals the most out of all three of them. Besides, Ailric usually avoids magical creatures if at all possible." she said, shrugging. "I'm not sure, but I think he spooks them. Do you know when Dumbledore is going to send for Harry?"
"Soon, hopefully." he said. "I hate having the boy at the Dursley's. They're horrible people, even for Muggles."
"So I've heard." she said. "I'm sure it won't be long before you get to see him again."
"Sable?"
"Yeah?"
"Does Ailric hate me?" he asked quietly. Sable was surprised with the sudden change in topic, but went with it anyway. She was there to answer his questions, after all.
"No, he doesn't." she said reassuringly. "He just doesn't know you, Remus, that's all. Unfortunately for both of us, Ailric is the most protective of all of them. He's a good boy, but he's complicated at times, a lot like you when you were sixteen."
"You weren't around me when we were sixteen." Remus pointed out dryly.
"No, but I was around you when you were seventeen, and I hightly doubt there was that much difference." she said dryly.
"I want to know my son." the wizard said, shaking his head. "He looks just like me."
"And despite what he does or says to the contrary, Ailric wants to know you as well." Sable said quietly. "He doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve, Remus. It's going to take some work and getting used to for both of you, and me too. I think it might be best if you sat down and talked with him first, before long."
Remus only nodded and looked out the window. Off to the side, a clock struck two o'clock, and Sable sighed dejectedly. "Look, Remus, I need to go. The kids and I have a good bit of packing left to do before we leave. I know there is more that you want to talk about, and I'm not trying to blow you off, but I need to go."
"I understand." he said, rising from the chair. "You'll be at the house in Haven's Hollow tomorrow morning, then?"
"Bright and early." she said, nodding.
"Do you think they would mind if I was there?" he asked, referring to the three teenagers.
"I don't see why not." she answered. "Just as long as Snape isn't there yet."
"He won't be there until the Order meeting." Remus said.
"That's fine." she said. "It'll give us enough time to get things situated." Remus just nodded and turned to walk towards the door. Sable followed behind him after gathering up the folders and the journal on her desk. "You forgot these." she said, handing them to him as she walked out the door. Remus took the proffered envelopes, but left the journal in her hands.
"You keep that one." he said. "It was never mine to begin with." Sable tucked the book under her arm and nodded.
"You're still angry with me, aren't you, Remus?" she asked quietly.
"Yes."
"I expected as much." she said, her head hung low. "I never set out to intentionally hurt anyone else, Remus, especially you."
"Were you ever going to tell me?" he asked. "Even when or if Voldemort is defeated, would you have ever told me about them? Me or Snape for that matter?"
"I don't know." she said. "Proabaly not, unless the kids had searched you out and found you themselves."
"I see." he said stiffly.
"No, you don't, Remus." she said, shaking her head sadly. "If you're still angry at me for what I done, then you can't really see why I never came back. You don't understand my love for those three kids. Maybe, when you understand the bond a mother has with her children, then you'll understand why I wanted to protect them, and why I was willing to give up everything I had for them."
"You're not Lily Potter." he said angrily. "Don't tell me I don't understand."
"I never said I was." Sable said. "But Lily paid the ultimate sacrifice for her son, something I have not had to do up until this point. But I would do it in a half a heartbeat if it came down to me or one of my children. She gave her life for Harry. Could you do that, Remus? Could you lay down your life for another human being?"
"If I had to." he said. "Yes."
"You still don't understand, Remus. Let me put it to like this." she said. "This is the simplest explanation I can come up with. I'd rather have my children alive and without a father than have them dead with their father beside me. I put aside my feelings for you, because of their safety, and I'd do it again. I loved you then, Remus.But I love those kids more."
"You've turned cold." he said, taking a step back in quiet surprise at her vehemence. "You were never this coldhearted before."
"No, my priorities have just changed drastically since the last time we talked." she said. "They're my life, Remus. And if I can go back to England, and help put away the maniac that put us through so much growing up, then I'll do it. If only to stop Ailric, Gabe, and Sabine from having to go through the same hell down the road."
Remus wasn't sure what to say to her. She just stood there in front of him, defiant as ever and defending what she believed in and what she had done. He just shook his head and headed for the doorway, not trusting himself to say anything. He didn't tell her goodbye, did not even acknowledge the fact that she was standing in the room. He just left, shutting the door behind him.
Sable watched him go without saying a word to her. She knew he was in shock, and still angry with her. But, she would stand by what she done, and if he didn't like it, there was nothing she could do about it. But then again, the meeting with him had went better than expected. She'd thought he would come in yelling and screaming at her. But he hadn't.
'I think I hurt his feelings, more than anything.' she thought as she stepped out the office. 'But I don't know what else to do. Well, I'll deal with it one day at a time, that's all I can do. I'm sorry, Remus, I really am. But my hands were tied.'
By the time Sable and her three teenagers had touched down on the outskirts of Haven's Hallow property line, they were in fairly good spirits and ready to assist Dumbledore as much as possible. The episode between Sable and Remus had been put on the back burner for the time being, and Sable forced her mind to forget the fact that he was supposed to be meeting them at Haven's Hallow this morning. The two of them still had some things to work out, but they were running short on time. Remus wouldn't be patient for much longer, and she knew it.
The port key, an old white rubber boot, that they had taken had dropped them on a small knoll right outside the defensive barriers that Order members had put up around the house when they had arrived the days before. All around the family members, boxes and bags were scattered, each one marked with the owners' initials or full names.
To anyone who looked, the assembled people on the hill would look like a group of tourists lost during a sight seeing trip. Before the trip, Sable had given each of the teens a draught of an aging potion, causing their bodies to age rapidly in a fairly short amount of time in order to help protect their identities from anyone who may report back to Voldemort. The only one who looked relatively normal was Sable. But the three teenagers had used various charms and incantations to change their physical appearances. They had also changed their last names, each one taking on a different one to help in the charade they were playing. Sabine took the last name Meadows, while Ailric was deemed as Ailric Robbins, and Gabe as Gabriel Tartavu.
"I hate port-keying!" Sabine said, shaking her head and causing her auburn curls to go bouncing. "It always makes me dizzy!" She dusted herself off and scanned the area with now blue eyes. Beside her, Gabe picked himself up off the ground and dusted the seat of his pants off.
"I highly doubt you'd like to have yourself splinched, Sabine." he said. "You can't Apparate across the Atlantic Ocean without running the risk of leaving half your body for the sharks to find, and you know it." The son of Severus Snape had probably been the one to change the most due to the charms and incantations. Gone was the shoulder length black hair that he'd inherited from his parents, and in it's place was a head full of long, thick brown hair, which was currently pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. His bluish-purple eyes had been changed to a nail grey color, and even his complexion had been darkened to a light tan.
Sable had been concerned that having Gabe and Snape within Hogwart's walls together could lead to some people asking questions. So the majority of her work had been on him. After it all, Gabe still had the expressions he'd inherited from Snape, but physically, their was no other similarity.
"Yes, unless of course your main goal in life before you die is to become fodder for Jaws." Ailric pointed out, goading his sister even more.
"Shut it, blondie." Sabine snapped, glaring at her younger brother. "At least I don't look like some reject surfer bum."
"No, you just look like a thirty something year old hag in need of a good lay." Ailric retorted, picking on his older sister mercilessly. Gabe sniggered and quickly focused his attention on letting some of the animals out of their carriers. It would do no good to ensue Sabine's wrath, and he knew it. Sabine had been the one to take the largest dose of the aging potion, causing her body to morph into that of a mature woman in her mid-thirties, as opposed to her brothers who honly looked to be in their mid and upper twenties. It had surprised them all when Sabine had turned around and they had found that she and Sable could practically pass for twin sisters.
Needless to say, a few well placed charms later, and the resemblence was only a memory.
"I sure hope that is not what you think about me, young man." Sable said, looking over at her eldest son and frowning. "Just because you look older does not mean that I will hesitate to hex you into next week if you don't behave yourself. And that includes that filthy mouth of yours as well."
"Sorry, mum." Ailric said, thoroughly chastised.
"Speaking of someone getting laid," Gabe said quietly as the mother and son continued to bicker. "look who's here, Sabine." The two looked up and saw that Remus and Molly Weasley were stepping out of the entrance doors to the house and heading towards them.
"We've got company coming, mom." Sabine said, pulling the good doctor's attention away from Ailric for the time being. "You didn't tell us anyone would be here this morning when we got here."
"I thought there might be the posibility that a member of the Order was still in the house. That's why we done all the changes before we left." she said, pulling out her wand and charming the numerous bags to float behind her as she headed to meet the werewolf and Weasley matriarch.
"So, how many people actually know who we are?" Ailric asked.
"As far as members of the Order go, they know we are the children of Dr. Lee." Gabe said.
"But they are completely clueless as to who our fathers are." Sabine finished. "Only Dumbledore and Lupin know who we are really. Everyone else just knows that we are teenagers in the disguise of older people."
"And they were okay with this?" Ailric asked. "Are we even really members of the Order?"
"I don't think mom really gave them much of a choice to be honest with you." Gabe said. "From the way I hear it, if they wanted her to come back, they had to abide by the rules she set concerning the three of us. As for being binding members to Dumbledore's little freedom fighting group, I believe we are to act as though we are, especially around Potter and his friends, but we're really not."
"Well, there's no point in standing here and looking like idiots, my fine gentlemen." Sabine said cheerfully. "Time to bite the bullet and get on with it." She pulled her wand out, levitated the bags, sending them off towards the house at their own pace. She then straightened up her cloak and took off down the knoll behind her mother, beckoning for the two boys to follow behind.
The situation they had found themselves in was bound to become more than awkward at some point and time, and both of them realized it. Ailric and Gabe just looked at each other and shook their heads, then headed down the knoll and towards only Merlin knew what.
"I hope you had a safe trip." Remus said, giving Sable a nod when he got within speaking range of her. Beside him, Molly smiled welcomingly and waited to be introduced. "Dr. Lee, this is Molly Weasley, a member of the Order of the Phoenix."
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Weasley." Sable said pleasantly, shaking the woman's hand. "How do you do?"
"I'm quite well, thank you, Dr. Lee." the plump woman answered, smiling warmly. "It is good to finally meet you. Dumbledore has spoken very highly of you since your name was brought up as a candidate for the position as Defense professor at Hogwarts. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I take it those are your children?" Molly nodded towards the port-key landing spot where the three siblings were walking down, Sabine in the lead. "They seem rather...old."
"Precautionary measures to insure their safety." Dr. Lee said. "I ran into some problems with some Death Eaters a few years ago, and I don't want my children to be labeled as potential targets should things get out of hand. In truth, they are barely of legal age in America."
"I understand completely." the red headed woman said, nodding. "Sometimes I wish I could lock my own away in a cupboard somewhere until this war was over with." By this time, Sabine and her two brothers had gotten to their mother, and were standing politely back until they were introduced to the red headed woman.
"Good to see you made the trip safely." Remus said, nodding towards the small group of radically changed siblings. "How are you?"
"As fine as can be, Mr. Lupin." Sabine said, nodding in his direction. "And yourself?"
"I'm alive." he answered awkwardly, not all too sure that the three teens in disguise before him were not going to hex him into oblivion for some ungodly reason. "But that's about it." It was quite obvious that the coming full moon was wrecking havoc on the man in front of them. He looked pale and sickly, unlike the healthy color they had first seen. And the stress of meeting up with his long lost girlfriend, and finding he had children more than likely was the reason there were bags under his eyes.
"Barely." muttered Gabe quietly, cocking an eyebrow. Sabine inconspiciously dug her elbow into the young man's stomach and continued on as though he'd never spoken to begin with.
"You all have done a wonderful job with the disguises." Remus comented. "I would have never recognized you."
"Mom did most of the work." Ailric said, shrugging his shoulders. "We just stood there and let her and Sabine use us as baby dolls for a couple hours."
"Of course that was after they bound and gagged us to get us to stay still long enough for any of the charms to land within the vicinity of our bodies." Gabe pointed out dryly. Molly Weasley chuckled and offered her hand to Sabine, introducing herself. After the introductions were made all around, the four newcomers followed Remus and Molly to the house.
Molly told Sable of what she had been doing in the large house in order to get it ready for long term inhabitants while Remus kept the conversation going with the three siblings as best he could.He still was rather hesitant around them, not all sure as to what he could talk about that would keep their attention. Luckily for him, Ailric's open hostility towards him had seemed to cool down. And by the time they had parted ways in order for the siblings to put their things away into their own bedrooms, Remus felt a little better. Of course, the open hostility that Ailric had seemingly lost had apparently made a new home in Sable.
She had not said two words to him since she had arrived, preferring to keep her conversation with Molly Weasley going instead of speaking with him. Remus couldn't really blame her, though. He'd left her office the day before without so much as a 'Goodbye'. It was more than likely that she was rather mad at him for doing that. He knew there would be awkward moments between him and Sable at some point in time. It was bound to happen, but he had hoped to be able to work through them easily and find the common ground they had shared when they were still in school So, he took the first oppurtunity he had when she was going towards her own room upstairs to try and speak with her again. He caught her by surprise right before she was stepping up the staircase.
"Have a good trip?"
"It was bearable." she said, shrugging. "Although I much prefer Apparating. Less paperwork and dizziness in the end. Did you get to talk with the kids?"
"Yes." he said. "Seems like the only common ground at the moment is Quidditch though. And that sorely limits the conversation topics."
"Transfiguration is always a good way to start." she said, a small smile on her face.
"Excuse me?"
"Ailric's favorite subject in school was Transfiguration." she said. "Once the Quidditch talk runs out, try that one. It always works for me. Chess is a good ice breaker too. He's a good strategist."
"What about the other two?" he asked, thankful for the help she seemed willing to give. "I don't want them to think I'm alienating them and trying to take their sibling away from them."
"I'll let you figure that out on your own." she said with a grin. "It's not that hard. Once you've been around them a couple of days, you'll pick up on their naunces." The werewolf was about to reply when Molly Weasley's strident voice came through the hallway.
"Remus!" she shouted. "Come quick!" Remus, not knowing what was going on, quickly ran back into the kitchen, where Tonks was standing, heaving heavily to replenish her air supply to her lungs. In the fireplace at their feet, Dumbledore's floating head looked serious and concerned.
"What's going on?" Remus asked, looking at Dumbledore's floating head, his mind reeling with a thousand 'what if's'.
"There has been an attack on the Grangers, Remus." Dumbledore said. "Mr. Granger's parent's place of employment was destroyed a few moments ago by a blaze. The Dark Mark was found floating above the ruins."
"Is Hermione okay?" Remus asked suddenly. "Were her parents hurt?"
"They hadn't arrived for the day's work yet." Tonks said, her breath labored still. "The lookout we had following the Grangers called us out immediately, and we managed to get ahold of two of the ones responsible, but the others got away."
"We need to get Ms. Granger to Haven's Hallow as quickly as possible." Dumbledore said, his voice grave. "I contacted the Grangers right after term was over with, explaining that Hermione may be called upon to assist us during the summer vacation. Her parents agreed, so you should not run into any form of interference from them."
"What about Harry?" Molly asked. "Is he okay?"
"Our informant tells us that Harry will likely be the next target, Molly." Dumbledore said. "I want you to gather all members of the Order that you can, split them up, and go get Harry and Ms. Granger. I do believe it would be prudent to bring young Ronald to Haven's Hollow as well."
"I'll send word for him and Ginny to get here as soon as possible." Molly said quickly, absently wringing her hands together. "It will take too much time for all the others to get here, though. Albus, can't we just..."
"What's all the noise about?" came Sabine's voice from behind them. The three occupants of the room, and Dumbledore's head, turned to see the woman standing in the doorway, a confused look on her face. "Something the matter?"
"There's been an attack on Hermione Granger." Remus said. "We've got to go get her, and Harry as well."
"Molly, Remus," Dumbledore said. "There are enough of you to get them both. Remus, take Dr. Lee, Tonks, and Mr. Tartavu to go get Harry. Molly, take Ms. Meadows and Mr. Robbins and go gather up Ms. Granger."
"I'll go get Ailric and Gabe." Sabine said quickly, turning on her heels and running towards the stairs.
"Is it safe for them..." Dr. Lee quickly asked.
"They will be fine." Dumbledore assured her. "I already have Bill and Charlie Weasley on their way to the Granger household as well. They will be there to meet you, Molly. I am also sending Mad Eye to Privett Drive, Remus. He'll meet you there."
"Right."
"Take these letters and go, quickly. Make sure Petunia Dursley gets that one." Dumbledore said. "Time is of the essence. I will contact Mr. and Ms. Weasley at the Burrow, Molly. You needn't worry about that. Get to the Granger's."
"We're here." Sabine said, coming into the kitchen beside her brother. Gabe was with them as well. Remus fleetingly noticed that all three of them now looked serious and ready for anything. Gone was the light banter and seemingly normal faces he'd just seen. Now, they looked just like the rest of the Haven's occupants, ready to go to war to save Harry and his friends.
"Go with Dr. Lee and Remus, Mr. Tartavu." Dumbledore said. Gabe nodded in compliance with the wizard's orders.
"We're gone." Dr. Lee said, quickly grabbing the two letters and handing Molly the one with the Granger's names on it. "Let's go, Remus, Gabriel."
"We're right behind you." Tonks said, motioning for the rest of the room's occupants to clear out. It was time to go to war again, and they were all more than ready for it.
As soon as Remus and the rest of the rescue party Apparated into the small, out of the way place near the playground close to Privett Drive, they were found by none other than Arabella Figg, who quickly told them that she had received news of the attack on the Grangers, and had immediately went to the Dursley's to see about Harry. She told them that Moody was waiting for them, and would be there when they got there. Remus sent the woman to watch for any suspicious happenings while he and the rest of the group quickly crossed the street and walked a block South to where Number 4 Privett Drive was located.
"About time you bunch showed up." came Moody's scraggy voice, as he seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "I've been waiting here for over twenty minutes. And who are these two, Lupin?"
"No time for introductions, now, Moody." Remus said, knocking on the door to 4 Privett Drive. "We've got to get Harry out of here. Snape told Dumbledore that Haryy is likely the next target."
"How do we know they're not Death Eaters in disguise?" Moody growled.
"I am Dr. Mikayla Lee, sir." Sabine said, nodding towards him. "We've worked together before on occasion I believe. And this is Gabriel Tartavu."
"Nice disguise you've got there, kid." Moody growled, nodding towards Gabe. "Your charm work is getting better."
"You know her?" Remus asked, turning to Moody.
"A'course I do!" he said gruffly. "Known her since before she left Hogwarts." Remus growled and knocked on the door again, this time harder. He could hear the grumbling of Vernon Dursley on the other side, and a curt order for Harry to answer the door and send them away if it was a salesman trying to sell anything. The door swung open and Remus almost grinned himself when he saw Harry's surprised face.
"Wotcher, Harry!" Tonks said brightly.
"What are you doing here?" the boy asked, staring at them.
"Not happy to see us, I suppose. Quite a shock I know." the young woman said with a grin.
"We've come to get you, Harry." Remus said firmly. "Some things have happened, and you need to get away from here quickly. Now go get your stuff together."
"Is everything okay?" Harry asked, letting them through the doorway. "No one else got hurt, did they?"
"Not at the moment, Mr. Potter." Dr. Lee said gravely. "But we must get you out of here quickly. Time is of the essence."
"Who are you?" the boy asked, giving her an odd look.
"Dr. Mikayla Lee." she said. "Your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and latest acquistion to the Order."
"And him?" Harry asked, nodding to where Gabe was standing, in deep conversation with Tonks about something.
"That's Gabriel Tartavu." Remus said. "Another member of the Order. Now go get your belongings while I give this to your aunt and uncle."
"Sure thing." Harry said. Dr. Lee followed the messy haired boy up the stairs and into an adjacent room right about the time Vernon, Dudley and Petunia Dursley walked in to see who the visitors were. As expected, Vernon Dursley quickly took on the coloring of an overly ripe plum, while Petunia just turned white, and Dudley slipped behind his parents in fright. Remus had seen this type of reaction from the family before, and took a deep breath, knowing what was to come.
Sable followed Harry up the short flight of stairs and into his room. A quick glance around showed that James and Lily's son was just as messy as her own. There was clothes all over the place, along with textbooks and broom cleaning supplies.
"It shouldn't take long to pack." Harry said quietly. "I didn't really unpack much to begin with."
"Would you like me to help you?" she asked. "I am a pretty good packer if I do say so myself." Harry only shrugged and turned to pick up the supplies he was using to trim the twigs on his broomstick, the Firebolt that Sirius had given him during his third year at Hogwarts.
He'd been thinking about his godfather a lot lately, and the feeling of utter coldness once again settled into his chest, knowing that Sirius was gone for good, a victim of the mysterious veil in the Department of Mysteries. He wanted to see his godfather again, more than anything in the world. And his anger at Voldemort for taking his guardian and friend away from him was beyond measure. Harry had never really contemplated killing another person before, short of when he believed Sirius to be the escaped convict from Azkaban who had been responsible for his parent's murder, but he could see himself killing the evil wizard Voldemort, if only to get revenge for what had happened to Sirius.
The young wizard was knocked out of his musings by a soft gasp from behind him. He turned around and saw that his new professor was holding up the metal frame to the two way mirror Sirius had given him before he'd died. He stood up and was about to take it from her when she ran her finger down the side of the edge, a small smile on her face.
"You have Sirius' old two-way mirror." she said, a reminiscent tone in her voice that stopped Harry in his tracks.
She almost sounded like she was going to cry.
"Yeah, he gave it to me, before he...well..." Harry said, not quite able to finish the sentence. "How did you know whose it was?"
"I'm sure you've heard this line before, Mr. Potter." Dr. Lee said sadly. "But I was a friend of you parent's and Sirius and Remus' during our time at Hogwarts."
"You knew them?" he asked. The woman before he did not even look to be Remus' age, and he had suspected that she had been a foreigner from her accent. But now, with her voice so full of emotion, Harry could pick up on the faint British accent that still littered her speech.
"Quite well, I happy to say." she said. "I'll tell you about them some other time though. Now, we must get you to the safehouse. What happened to this mirror though?"
"I accidently broke it." Harry said vaguely. The woman looked at him rather curiously and then pulled out her wand, pointing to the shards of the mirror.
"You don't mind, do you?" she asked, waiting for his ascent. Harry only nodded and watched as the woman quickly repaired the broken mirror, then carefully handed it back to him.
"Thank you, Professor." he said. "But I'm afraid it was pointless. The matching mirror is still in Grimmauld Place. And there is no one there I want to talk to, I can assure you."
"Not a problem, Mr. Potter." she said, smiling. "But you really should be more careful. Those two way mirrors are rare things. It does no good to go breaking them unneccessarily. As for the whereabouts of it's sister mirror, I wouldn't be so sure it is still in Grimmauld Place." Before Harry could say anything else, or ask what she meant by that comment, he felt a strong magical pulse through his body that brought him to his knees. Apparently, Dr. Lee felt it as well, because she staggered, then tensed up and then glanced out the window, obviously searching for something.
"Something wrong, Professor?" he asked, shaking his head. "What was that?"
"I'm not sure, Mr. Potter." Dr. Lee said. "But we need to hurry." She quickly waved her wand and Harry's once scattered belongings neatly flew into his trunk, which closes with a small click. "Got your broom and supplies? Yes? Well, let's get out of here then. I dare say your uncle is about to have a heart attack from our being here."
"What is your lot doing here?" Vernon Dursley demanded, stomping his foot in anger. "Get out of my house!"
"We'll be gone momentarily, Mr. Dursley. Just as soon as Harry gathers his belongings." Remus said. "I was instructed to give this to you, Mrs. Dursley." Remus handed the pale woman the envelope and watched as she opened it, quickly scanning the contents and then crumbling up the parchment before her husband could peak over her shoulder.
"What is all this nonsense about?" the man demanded. "I demand to know what is going on in my own house!"
"Dursley, I don't know what makes you so bleeding stupid, but it is working really well." Moody growled, pushing his way past Remus and right into the portly man's face. Remus could see the magical eye spinning almost non-stop beneath the bowler hat, trying to find any intruders in the house. "The boy is going to be attacked, Dursley, and we're trying to get him away from it."
"Attack?" Petunia gasped. "Someone is going to attack our home?"
"They will if your bloody fool you call your husband doesn't shut up and let us get out of here with the boy." Moody said, cocking his bowler hat to one side to reveal the magical eye, still twisting in his head. Vernon gasped and took a step back, not wanting to be anywhere near the man.
"Leave them be, Vernon." Petunia said quietly. "The sooner Harry gets his belongings, the sooner they get out."
"You keep saying that, Petunia!" Vernon bellowed, his fists in the air. "Something is going on, and you refuse to tell me! I'll not have anymore of this in my house! I deserve the right to know what that brat has been doing that is suddenly putting our family in danger!"
"Vernon, please, I'll explain after Harry is gone."
"No! I want answers now!" he said loudly, pounding his fist on a nearby table. "I want to know what that bastard, freak of a nephew of yours has done now, Petunia."
"That is quite enough, Vernon Dursley!" Petunia barked, pining her husband with a glare that suddenly made Remus think of Lily Potter at her worst. He suddenly felt a jolt of magical energy flow through him that all but knocked him to his knees. It wasas though someone had cast a very powerful spell nearby. He looked around, and saw that Moody had noticed it as well, because he was headed up the stairway towards Harry's room, only to come face to face with Harry and Dr. Lee before he got to the stairs.
"Everything okay down here?" Dr. Lee asked, noticing the tense looks on everyone's faces.
"Fine." Remus said, motioning for Harry and the others to go towards thefront door in the living room. "Time to go, Harry. Do you have everything you need?" The boy nodded, and Remus pulled a small satchel of powder from one of his pockets and handed threw it onHarry, then whispered something in his ear. The black headed boy only nodded, and gather up his belongings, following Dr. Lee outside and into the evening air.
Petunia remained tight lipped and silent during the entire process, now more pale than ever. Her husband just huffed and stalked away when he realized he was not going to get any answers from her, too angry to do much of anything else. His son followed, deadly white, but still glaring at the newcomers.
"Well, he's got the looks of a saint, don't he?" Tonks commented as they left 4 Privett Drvie, seeing how Dudley Dursley's scowl had overtaken his face and made it looked like a pinched prune
"Yeah, a bloody Saint Bernard." Gabe muttered, causing Moody to chuckle and Tonks to grin. Remus turned to the only Dursley still standing there and shook his head. Petunia Dursley was one of the keys to keeping Harry safe during the summer, and if she and her family were fighting about Harry being there, he could foretell that there would be more problems in the coming months. Probably more than they could deal with considering the state of things.
A/N - I hope you guys are enjoying this story. All of our characters are about to be thrown into one house. Let's see how much havoc I can wreck on them...
Later,
A.A.
Oh, and remember to leave a review, I want to know what you are thinking.
