Chapter 5
Lexi sat in the downstairs bar of the Leaky Cauldron, gazing moodily at her half drunk glass of wine. The bar was smoky and dusty, patrons filling the seats and bar as the early evening rush began. She nodded vacantly in the direction of several witches and wizards from the Ministry that she knew, but other than that she kept to herself. She checked her watch, Emmeline was due to meet her soon even though all Lexi wanted to do was return to her room and remain there until term started. Her meeting with Sirius, though necessary, had left her guilt-ridden and miserable.
Lexi had decided as soon as she'd left for Asia that she couldn't face returning to the family home. She found the place cold and unfamiliar ever since her father had died when she was sixteen. This was mainly because her mother had kept his possessions as he'd left them. His slippers still sat by his chair next to the fireplace, and his coat still hung on the hook by the front door. Gregory McNaughton had worked as a mechanic, and had owned a garage in the town where Lexi grew up. Her mother worked as a nurse at St Mungo's, and hadn't been quite the same. Her last visit home had shaken her so much that she hadn't been back since.
"Cheer up, it might never happen!" She heard Emmeline say, as she flopped onto the stool next to her.
"I think it already has," she sighed miserably, taking a large gulp of wine. "But don't get me started, I don't wish to dampen your mood."
"Suck it up, McNaughton!" Emmeline barked in an uncanny impression of Moody. "The world doesn't stop for your problems!"
Lexi couldn't help but chuckle. "You could strike fear into the hearts of Auror's all over with that impression!" She smiled, remembering Moody growl those very words to her numerous times throughout her training.
"All part of my retirement plan," Emmeline said mischievously, tapping her nose. "We'd better get going." She added, checking her watch.
Lexi drained the rest of her glass and followed Emmeline to the alleyway behind the pub. They were to join the rest of the Advance Guard at Privet Drive to assist with bringing Harry to London with the rest of the Order. Lexi hadn't seen her godson since she'd resigned from her post at Hogwarts. Even though their parting had been amicable, she wasn't sure how he'd react after having time to digest the revelations he had received. Emmeline took Lexi's hand and they both disapparated
It Lexi's eyes a few seconds to adjust to the sudden darkness of the Surrey suburbs. The street was quiet, save for whispered voices coming from a group of people standing outside a house with a perfectly pristine lawn. Lexi spied Remus who stood next to Tonks.
"Hey, Lexi," he said brightly. "Harry's family have just left, we're waiting for Moody to give us the all clear. He is, to quote, 'securing the area'."
Lexi raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised the man still stands, his blood pressure must be constantly through the roof!" She said, although she did draw her wand from her blazer pocket.
"You would as well if you'd seen what I have!" A gruff voice announced, making them all jump.
Moody appeared from behind one of the hedges in next doors garden, his fake eye swirled sickenenly in it's socket as though it was independently looking for danger.
"Jesus, Alastor! Could you not have coughed or something?" Emmeline hissed, clutching her chest and readjusting her shawl.
Moody said nothing, but beckoned them to follow him to the rear of the house. The gathering followed in single file, with Lexi and Emmeline giggling at Moody's crouched figure. He looked like a cat stalking a bird. With a final check either side of them, Moody opened the kitchen door and entered the dark house. Tonks followed, Lexi and Emmeline with Kingsley Shacklebolt and Elphias Dodge with Hestia Jones, Sturgis Podmore and Dedalus Diggle bringing up the rear.
They entered a spotless kitchen with no signs of life. Hestia and Dedalus remained by the kitchen door, with everyone else venturing forward. A sudden crash to Lexi's left made them all jump; she whipped round to see Tonks shifting guiltily next to the remains of an expensive looking plate on the floor.
"Sorry!" She mouthed, stepping over the broken piece of crockery.
"How on Earth you passed Stealth and Tracking is beyond me!" Moody grumbled. "Lupin and Tonks follow me. The rest of you stand guard by the door!"
Lexi cleared up the broken plate with a wave of her wand, hearing the stairs creak as Moody, Tonks and Remus climbed the stairs. Voices could be heard from the floor above her, and she glanced nervously out of the window with the sudden feeling she was being watched. Moody's paranoia seemed to be rubbing off on her. Abruptly she felt ice cold and her limbs froze, and she saw pair of ice blue eyes glaring at her from the darkness at the end of the garden. She blinked in surprise and squinted out of the kitchen window but saw nothing. The eyes felt oddly familiar, and Lexi felt nausea stir in the pit of her stomach.
"Lexi, what is it?" Emmeline's said, her voice full of concern. "Did you see something?"
"I thought I saw …" She said vaguely, still staring at the spot where the piercing eyes had been.
"Saw what?" Emmeline pressed, trying to follow Lexi's gaze with her own.
Lexi shook her head. "It was probably nothing," she said airily, taking deep breaths to calm her rapidly beating heart. "I forgot the passive paranoia that comes with spending time with Moody." She added, trying to lighten the air.
"You ought to be careful, Lex." Emmeline said with mock seriousness. "You'll be hearing voices next."
Lexi forced herself to laugh but the image of those eyes burning into her still had her shaken. A few moments later Harry descended the stairs along with Moody, Lupin and Tonks. He looked baffled by the crowd of people that had suddenly presented themselves before him. Lexi smiled, but he looked past Lexi, as though she were a piece of furniture.
A horrible squelching noise, like a plunger being pulled from a sink, drove away the tension. With great difficulty Lexi turned from Harry and to Moody who was stood by the sink, he had apparently popped out his eye.
"Mad-Eye, you do know that's disgusting, don't you?" Tonks said conversationally.
"Get me a glass of water, would you, Harry," Moody asked.
Harry crossed the room to the dishwasher, without one look at Lexi, and took out a clean glass and filled it with water from the tap.
"Cheers," said Moody when Harry handed him the glass. He dropped the eyeball into the water and prodded it up and down; the eye whizzed around, staring at them all in turn. It stopped and stared in Lexi's direction, and she suddenly felt quite sick. "I want three hundred and sixty degrees visibility on the return journey."
"I'll go outside," Lexi said, feeling dizzy and nauseated. "Wait for the signal."
Without looking at anyone, she pushed past the group and stepped onto the perfectly manicured front lawn. She closed her eyes and took a few steadying breaths. She gripped her wand tightly in her right hand, as though expecting an ambush. Her nerves were on edge, every small noise or movement made her jump. She felt as though her sanity was beginning to unravel.
Lexi was glad when, several moments later she was joined by the rest of the Guard. She couldn't see Harry, and so assumed Moody had performed his Disillusionment Charm.
"Clear night," Moody observed, following Lexi's gaze towards the heavens. "Could've done with a bit more cloud cover. Right you," he barked at the spot beside Lexi, where she assumed Harry stood. "We're going to be flying in close formation. Tonks'll be right in front of you, keep close on her tail. Lupin'll covering you from below. McNaughton, you'll be above us. I'm going to be behind you. The rest will be circling us. We don't break ranks for anything, got me? If one of us is killed –"
"Is that likely?" Came Harry's apprehensive voice from beside her.
"- the others keep flying, don't' stop, don't break ranks. If they take out all of us and you survive, Harry, the rear guard are standing by to take over; keep flying east and they'll join you."
"Ever the optimist, eh Alastor?" Lexi said, helping Tonks strap Harry's trunk and his owls' cage into a harness, which hung from her broom.
"I'm just telling the boy the plan," Moody growled. "Our job's to deliver him safely to Headquarters and if we die in the attempt –"
"No one's going to die," Kingsley calmed, in his deep soothing voice.
"Famous last words." Emmeline muttered darkly.
"Mount your brooms, that's the first signal!" Remus interrupted, pointing to the sky.
Lexi looked up and saw a shower of bright red sparks; she grabbed her broom and swung her right leg over it. She looked up again and saw green sparks explode high above them.
"Second signal, let's go!" Remus said loudly.
Lexi kicked off hard from the ground, the wind rushing past her whipping her long curls from her face. Concentrating hard to keep formation, Lexi rose above the group, her eyes scanning the horizon. She shivered as they rose higher to avoid Muggle attention, Lexi felt her eyes water as the icy air pressed against her face.
"Bearing south!" She heard Moody shout. "Town ahead!"
They flew without incident for sometime, altering their course every now and then, according to Moody's instructions. Lexi could feel her hands grow numb on the handle of her broomstick. Lexi began to lose track of time, the endless twinkling spiders web of the various towns below them gave nothing away as to their position.
"Turning southwest!" She heard Moody yell after some time. "We want to avoid the motorway."
As the glowing mass of sprawling London emerged over the horizon, Lexi felt the air around her change. Her hands began to tremble violently which she knew had nothing to do with the cold, and she became unable to think clearly. Fog clouded her vision and she halted in mid air. Tremendous grief unexpectedly surged through her, and she began to scream into agonizing nothingness.
"… very sorry … but there's nothing more we can do…" a distant voice rang in her ears.
Her hands slipped from her broom and she fell, headfirst over the handle. As suddenly as the sensation came on, it evaporated. Everything around her swiftly came back into focus. Thin clouds swirled around her as she plummeted towards the twinkling lights below. She screamed so frantically she was sure her throat would bleed, tears whipped round her face and her limbs flailed around her.
Just as she felt her consciousness fade, she felt someone yank the back of her robes and cease her free-fall. She looked up to see Kingsley's concerned face as he hoisted her onto the back of his broom.
"Hold on!" He shouted over the roar of the wind.
Lexi clung onto Kingsley as tightly as her quivering arms would allow her. Minutes later they began to dive, and touched down on a patch of unkempt grass in the middle of the small square opposite Grimmauld Place. Shakily, Lexi dismounted and collapsed onto her hands and knees.
"We need to get you inside." Kingsley's deep voice commanded, and he helped Lexi to her feet.
They crossed the street, Kingsley helping to keep Lexi upright as she stumbled down the curb. They promptly entered Grimmauld Place, where Lexi could hear panicky shouting from the kitchen. Kingsley, still propping Lexi up with one arm, pushed open the door.
"Oh thanks goodness!" Came Remus' voice, as he rushed over and helped Lexi onto a chair.
"R-Remus … what's going on?" She said weakly, blinking back tears.
"It's okay, Lex. Just relax." He said kneeling in front of her, and Lexi saw his eyes were watery and bloodshot. "Molly, pass me some water, would you?" He added, addressing her over his shoulder.
"Of course, here's some chocolate as well." Came the kindly voice of Molly Weasley.
"Eat," he instructed firmly, handing her a large slab of chocolate.
She took it with trembling hands, and felt healing warmth spread through her as soon as she took the first bite. With silence ringing around her, she stuffed the last piece into her mouth and looked round the room. A sea of concerned faces confronted her, and she suddenly felt foolish and exposed. Severus stood once more by the fireplace, he was extremely pale and looked as though it was taking all of his restraint to not rush to her.
"Lexi, what happened?" Remus asked, wiping his eyes on the back of his sleeve. "One minute you were there, the next …" He broke off, and Lexi saw Sirius put his hand on Remus' arm. He too looked shaken.
"I just … fell." She answered quietly, feeling anxious. "Sadness, so much sadness. It felt as though someone had died."
She felt Sirius shift in the chair next to her.
"Dementors?" She heard Emmeline suggest.
Lexi shook her head. "N-No … it was … like, when my Dad died." She said, shivering. "I heard … the doctor … nothing more we can do …"
She saw Remus glance nervously at Sirius. "Has this happened before?" He asked.
"No … just tonight …" she mumbled, her teeth chattering.
"Enough," Severus said hardly. "Miss McNaughton needs to rest, not face an interrogation!"
"Stay out of this, Snape!" Sirius bit back, jumping to his feet.
"No, Sirius, Professor Snape has a point." Remus mediated, pulling Sirius back onto his chair by his wrist. "I think she should retire for the evening and speak with us when she's ready."
She looked at Severus pleadingly. "Please, I want to go." She sobbed getting shakily to her feet. "Help me?"
Severus breathed in deeply. "Very well," he acquiesced. "I will return Miss McNaughton to her room at the Leaky Cauldron. You may resume your questioning in the morning."
Without waiting for a response, he took Lexi's hand and guided her from the room. Lexi just had time to register the shocked expressions of her colleagues as Severus pulled her gently down the hallway. He kicked the front door open forcefully, and still with his arm round her waist steered her towards the grassy square.
"Hold on," he instructed.
Lexi hugged Severus close to him, feeling him place a hand tenderly on the small of her back. They appeared, seconds later in the alleyway Lexi had left, what felt like days ago. After giving Tom the barman a fright, and Severus had explained their late arrival, Lexi directed Severus to her room. Once inside he lowered her gently onto the bed, removing her coat and shoes. He sat down beside her, taking her hand in his while using the other to stroke her cheek.
"Stay with me." She uttered, leaning forward so their foreheads touched. "I don't want to me on my own."
"I … can't … I -" he protested weakly.
"Please … I need you with me, Severus." She breathed shakily..
Severus breathed in deeply, and Lexi knew he was struggling with himself. She placed a hand on his chest, feeling his heart racing beneath it. "I … ," he faltered.
"I don't want to be alone," she pleaded. "Please." She added imploringly.
His face inches was suddenly from her own. Leaning forwards, he pressed his lips lightly against hers and reaching up to cup her head with his hands. His kiss was loving but restrained, as though he did not trust himself to kiss her deeper.
"I'll stay," he breathed, when the broke apart.
"Thank you," she said, feeling relieved.
He stood; pulled off his robes, took off his shoes and socks. Then lay on the bed, tugging Lexi down so her head rested on his chest. He pulled her close to him, and Lexi nuzzled his neck. She heard a small moan escape his lips and in spite of everything that had happened, Lexi smiled to herself.
"Goodnight, Severus." She yawned, feeling her eyes grow heavy. "I'm glad you're with me tonight."
"As am I," he said softly. "Goodnight, Lexi."
