"Every betrayal contains a perfect moment, a coin stamped heads or tails, with salvation on the other side."
~ Barbara Kingsolver
Chapter 39 ~ Betrayal Walks a Thin Line
ECOTS
The brown eyes of the first Weasley daughter in seven generations held his, her entire form shaking.
And in that moment Harry knew.
He didn't need Ginny to say anything.
Inside of him something irreparable broke.
Everything went unbelievably still.
A hot, sizzling filled the air, Regulus jerking his wand out of the last of Neville's newly cauterized wounds. His dorm mate's pained screams, Fred's shouts, George's bellows at him to shut up and hold still, Madame Pomfrey's orders, Regulus' shouted commands, the unidentified girl's hissing all suddenly assaulted him, as if Harry's entire world had been suddenly unmuted.
It was like surround sound suddenly blasting from all directions.
"Harry!"
He heard his name from behind. Remus. He didn't respond. He just held Ginny Weasley's gaze until she looked away, unable to meet his eyes any longer.
A cold, sweeping numbness mingling with something else, something unidentifiable, slid slowly through him.
Harry Potter was kneeling on the snow when Remus arrived, sliding alongside him with an icy crunch. The footfalls of Tonks' far shorter legs were mere seconds behind, and he barely registered them.
Remus had grabbed his shoulder, shaking it, words demanding to know if he was alright.
Harry mutely blinked, somehow forming words. "Dean and-and Kally." He swallowed. "They didn't make it."
Remus stared at him. Amidst the snow-covered grounds, Remus Lupin's firm grip on his shoulder tightened fiercely, then went completely slack.
His father's oldest friend turned, looking out at the scene with a stricken expression, Tonks already had bolted to Madame Pomfrey's side, trying to help while staying out of Fred's arterial splash zone. Dumbledore whispered a spell, Tonks suddenly coated from head to toe in what appeared to be a full-body latex glove.
Dumbledore muttered the spell again, the same replacing his starry robes as he went to Amarante and Professor Gai's aid.
Dumbledore.
Dumbledore had known.
That unseen force assaulting his abdomen suddenly felt like twisting dimly wondered if this was what being gutted by Sectumsempra felt like, his heart hammering.
Dumbledore had known. He'd sent them there as a distraction. Now Dean and Kaylens weren't back.
One of the potions vials that Madame Pomfrey had sat out exploded, glass shards flinging only towards the Headmaster.
Harry didn't remember doing it. His wand had dropped into the snow.
"He said they'd be safe."
The Headmaster's hand moved so fast the human eye barely saw it, the pieces of glass changing abruptly into harmless snowflakes. An ancient hand was placed upon Amarante's brow, Dumbledore's expression appearing fully concentrated on the task at hand, as if his own pupil hadn't just attacked him.
Harry didn't remember shoving Remus away, or getting to his feet.
He didn't remember the next vial exploding, blood replenishing potion spilling, the glass flying at Dumbledore once more, the wizard managed to transfigure that too.
"You said you wouldn't have sent them unless you knew they could handle it!"
He didn't remember how he did it, but wandlessly his wand whipped out of the snow, where it had fallen, slamming back into his hand.
What Harry did remember was trying to hex Dumbledore.
Remus tackled him to the ground.
"HARRY! Stop!"
As he smashed into the snow he caught sight of Regulus Black, the bastard standing, surveying the scene with a cold look.
He was a former Death Eater.
The eerie numbness, the calm that had overtaken him snapped like a twig.
Now Harry was shouting. "He knew TOO!" he hatefully spat, struggling to shove Remus off. "He knew! They were set up! HE KNEW AND LET IT HAPPEN! REMUS IT'S HIS FAULT!"
Ginny was suddenly back on her feet, tearing her gag off and screaming again. "We have to go BACK!" Harry was no longer the only one shouting, Ginny storming towards Regulus, shoving him, shouting louder. "They could still be ALIVE!"
Regulus eyed her like she was a distasteful gnat.
Then he turned and began storming towards the Forbidden Forest, leaving them.
The word alive was something Harry seized onto like a lifeline. He outright fought Remus. "Mooney GETOFF! He's getting away!"
"Who, Harry!?" Remus and his werewolf strength had him pinned, the old Marauder staring down at him like he had never seen him before. "Who do you think is a Death Eater?"
"BLACK! Dumbledore said he sent a Death Eater with them! That set them up! HE KNEW!" Harry didn't know what had happened, or how it had happened. All he knew was that Kaylens and Dean weren't there.
They weren't there, and it was Dumbledore and Black's fault!
Ginny had heard him shouting about Black, her blazing gaze darting between where he lay, fighting with Remus and where Regulus was going.
The Weasley's daughter made a sound not unlike an angered harpy and took off, her red hair streaming behind her as she tried to go after Black.
She too didn't make it.
This time it was a spell from Tonks that tripped Ginny, her feet bound as the Auror stared at all of them with something akin to abject pity. "Will everyone please," she stated, not sounding at all like typical Tonks, "calm down? Four crises at once is my limit. Five is pushing it."
Then she'd turned back to Fred, the gushing of his arteries no longer spurting sky high. Madame Pomfrey was leaning forward, threatening Fred with a blood replenishing potion, the Weasley barely conscious, yet drinking it, looking slightly green.
A sudden pop was heard, a Hogwarts hospital-wing portkey causing Amarante and Tres to both vanish. Dumbledore stood slowly, meeting Madame Pofrey's gaze, shaking his head. "His injuries too severe, Poppy. I fear…"
Another pop echoed across the grounds, Regulus Black disapparating as he crossed the anti-apparation threshold.
Harry snarled, Dumbledore's gaze turning sadly to him. "I know you are angry, Harry," he stated calmly, looking down through his half-moon spectacles. "But now is not the time. I will happily allow you to fling curses at my back until your heart is contented, but only after the injured have been seen to."
Neville rolled over in the snow and groaned.
Ginny scrambled back up, running to him and sliding down onto the icy ground.
From his position on the ground Harry could see her fussing, channeling all of her upset into trying to help Neville get up.
Everything went silent, Harry laying there, Remus watching him as if afraid to set him loose. His heart hammered viciously, as if trying to kill him where he lay. They couldn't….they couldn't not be okay. They had to be.
The silence was broken by a third pop, Regulus appearing back on the grounds far too quickly, alone.
Reaching them, he tossed two severely blackened items into the snow by Dumbledore's feet. They were the husks of what appeared to have been Muggle wallets, the leather melted and curling out, the expression on the last remaining Black's ordinarily sneering face looking tight, resigned. "The compartment," he stated in a deadened tone, "is mangled and burnt beyond recognition."
A shadow crossed Dumbledore's face, the Headmaster understanding something that he didn't.
Ginny's attention left Neville, the girl staring at what was now right in front of her face. "No," she was shaking her head. Her brown eyes lifted towards Regulus, shouting, "No! That's not-"
"I'm afraid that it is."
Ginny made a terrible noise Harry had never heard before.
Abruptly Remus released him, Harry no longer fighting or trying to move. Instead he lay there, breathing hard, staring at the two decimated wallets on the ground, a sinking feeling in him. "What," he choked, "does he mean it is?"
He wasn't sure he wanted the answer.
He got one anyway.
Dumbledore's ancient eyes closed, the wizard appearing to deflate. Had it been other circumstances it might have been humorous, given that the man was coated in shiny plastic. "All parties on the teams had their own emergency portkeys."
The words hung like a executioner's axe.
And then Ginny Weasley threw a hex at Regulus, staggering to her feet, wand arm trembling. Regulus only barely deflected it, his expression growing dark.
"No," Ginny denied. "Just…just no. They were in the compartment with you, right next to you." You could have grabbed them! Taken them with you! How could-"
Ginny's wand was torn out of her hand by an invisible force, the wood tumbling through the air and caught blindly by Tonk's hand.
"Will somebody explain what in the name of Hufflepuff you are all ON about before you start trying to hex my cousin?" the Auror snapped over her shoulder, pocketing Ginny's wand and helping Fred to sit gingerly up. Madame Pomfrey was applying a pressure bandage to his thigh, the Weasley wincing at her exuberance with each firm tug. Tonks was far from done though, the witch gesturing around and demanding, "And what the hell happened to all of you!?"
A thick silence settled over them.
Harry had never felt cold so acutely. Laying on his back, in the snow, it felt like the icy claws of winter were crawling over him. He could hear Ginny's unsteady, half-hysterical breaths, see the tension rippling through Remus, his father's oldest friend looking suddenly so much older.
It was like he had been gutted, but was too numb to care.
It was Regulus who finally broke the silence. "A steam train we were in was destroyed. This and flames," he gave one of the portkeys a kick, "were all that was left." The wizard's expression was unreadable, tone flat. "Kalliandra and Dean did not make it out in time."
Laying there, it felt like Bellatrix Lestrange had found a spoon and started slowly digging through his chest. "How?" He barely recognized his own voice.
Neville answered, the Gryffindor looking dangerously pale, laying in a reddish, snowy slush pit of his own blood. "Death Eaters."
Death Eaters…
The sweeping numbness that had plagued him vanished, replaced by something else.
Hate.
Harry had launched himself up, lunging again, but Remus was faster. The hold he had on Harry was like iron. Oddly the Marauder's voice had become frighteningly calm. "These portkeys…you said these were your planned escape route?"
"Yes," Regulus responded dourly, looking down at the wallets with an indecipherable expression, "if circumstances prevented side-along apparation, which…they did."
Remus was on his feet, hauling Harry with him. Spotting the murderous look in his eyes, the one aimed at Dumbledore, Remus quietly muttered, "You and I have to check on something, Harry. Dumbledore…" The two looked at one another meaningfully, a silent exchange occurring.
"Do you truly think-" Dumbledore began.
"She'd go for it first," Remus assured, sounding stressed, yet confident.
"Their injuries could be just as severe, if not worse."
Harry violently jerked his shoulder away from Moony, his eyes glued dangerously onto the Headmaster, fingers tight around the Holly wood of his wand. Undeterred, Lupin just thudded a hand back onto Harry's shoulder, squeezing hard. "Best to not waste any more time then, Harry… come with me."
Harry opened his mouth to spew something venomous, but Mooney had quietly muttered something near his head.
Something that made every bit of violent anger temporarily freeze.
"That was not the only portkey Kallianda had on her, Harry," he said meaningfully. "There is still a chance…"
With that, Remus released him, setting off towards the Forbidden Forest, towards the anti-apparation boundaries, Harry frozen in place for a hard moment. Processing that, he suddenly knew what Remus meant.
Kaylens had a portkey to Remus' house.
His legs bolted after Remus a second later, chest twisting.
He didn't dare hope.
Yet he still did.
ECOTS
The stabbing pain in her left side hit her first.
Kally felt groggy, the entire world seeming just a bit off. It probably had to do with the fact that everything was spinning. Either that, or she was moving. She didn't think she was running anywhere, but then again…she couldn't be quite sure.
Something jabbed uncomfortably against her back, Kalliandra's left arm throbbing with pain. Groaning, she tried to grab it, only for the left side of her ribs, her left hip, and even the left side of her face to suddenly scream.
She couldn't be certain, but she thought that the odd whimpering sound had come from her.
It felt like she'd been body slammed repeatedly by a thestral's back hooves.
Something was also shaking her.
"Kal. Kal."
Groaning, her eyes fluttered open, squinting instantly at the bright sunlight that assaulted her. Everything was blurry, it taking several moments of her blinking her eyes for stuff to begin to come into focus.
Above her was a bright, cloud-covered sky, Dean Thomas silhouetted against it.
She was pretty sure it was Dean. He was blurry, but the dark skin and hair matched the only person she'd recently been near that fit that descriptor. So did the voice. Perhaps he had a twin.
"Damn't Kal," the apparition snapped, actually snapping his fingers in front of her nose. "You with me? You hearing me? Or do I need to transfigure your hair into worms?"
Transfiguration threats?
Yes, that sounded like Dean.
Groaning, she tried to swat at his hand. "Don't," she weakly managed, "you dare." It'd been funny when he'd done it to Potter and Weasley, but her was another matter. She'd be forced to kill him.
"Thank Merlin!" the silhouette that was probably Dean breathed, right before a flurry of admonishments was expelled.
Kalliandra blinked up at him, obviously flat on her back on the ground somewhere. She couldn't be sure through the heavy pain pounding in her head, but she was pretty sure he was swearing at her. "Did you just call me a life shortening wench?" she groaned.
Dean's deep brown eyes finally swam into focus, the wizard glaring. "Yes." He stated it like it was a totally normal thing for her to wake up to.
"Thought so," she managed, trying to move. Pain bolted through her entire body, Kally cringing instantly.
A hand was abruptly on her shoulder, Dean's expression looking tense. "Easy, Kal. You were out for a good ten minutes."
Deciding that was good enough of a reason to close her eyes again, she drug in a long, deep breath.
That was a mistake.
The second she did agony daggered through her side, so acute that it left her gasping, breathlessly dragging in several short, shallow breaths to substitute for one. Breathing deep was a bad, bad idea. Dean was talking again, but she couldn't hear him through the severe buzzing in her head.
There were a lot of things Kally wasn't certain of, but she was pretty positive she'd suffered a head injury.
It was several moments before she fully understood any of the words Dean currently was spewing, this time Kally's gaze fluttering open to find Dean's hand on the right side of her face, other hand still firmly on her shoulder.
He looked seriously messed up. Something in his gaze showed barely restrained panic, blood covering his nose, his dark hair matted flat in strange places, sticking up in others.
And here he was worried about her.
"Dean," she groaned dazedly, "you look terrible."
The wizard's gaze went from worried to relieved, Dean snorting then wincing as the air went through his clearly broken nose. "Meh, look who's talking."
Not making any attempt to move, Kalliandra let out a slight moan in response. It wasn't a good moan. It was the kind of moan that dying things made. "Remind me," she choked, "that I hate trains."
An abrupt laugh escaped him. "You hate trains."
"Thanks," she muttered, the shooting sting in her side slowly abating. For a second she just lay there, enjoying that temporary respite her nerves provided, waiting. Dean's bloodied hand dropped from his nose against her face again, and had her head hurt even slightly less she might have swatted at him.
Instead she grumbled indecipherably, actually enjoying the movement of his fingers against her cheekbone. It was like he was trying to assure himself that she was still there.
After about a minute it just got oddly uncomfortable, Kally letting out a tired laugh. "I'm not," she pointed out, "going to break."
The look he shot her made her seriously wonder if she was missing a limb. Lovely. Wiggling first her toes, and then her fingers, she found they all seemed to be there…
"Uh huh." He sounded skeptical.
She gave his arm a flick.
Now he let out a tired laugh.
Deciding it was about time to try to move again, she couldn't quite figure out where she was. Things were still fuzzy, a blur of firework-like colors and screeching sounds her only recollection.
Kally tried to shove her elbows into the ice-encrusted dirt to move, only to find that one hand was still tangled in her necklace, her index finger still shoved through Sean's ring. Blinking at it, everything shot back in stark, vivid clarity.
She tried to get up way too quick, winding up making a pained sound, Dean grabbing her around the back this time to support her. "Where," she managed, "is everyone?"
Looking around, she dimly realized that they wouldn't be here.
She wasn't at Hogwarts.
No, she was in Remus Lupin's backyard, the poorly painted shutters of his back windows and the claw marks along one side of the house clear indicators. She seemed to recall him leaving them there intentionally, to warn any passer-byers that a werewolf indeed lived there, and shouldn't be disturbed on full moons.
Then again who the hell knew what she actually remembered? Her head really hurt.
Dean, however, obviously did remember trivial things like 'recently asked questions upon waking up in a stranger's backyard.'
"Was hoping you could tell me, actually. Unless you'd rather me start knocking on creepy ass house's back doors while we're both on the lamb."
Glaring, she gave serious consideration to kicking him, then decided against it. On the lamb…. She was pretty sure his frequent use of Muggle expressions around her was half the basis for them being friends in the first place.
The crass idiot made her feel comfortable.
Sucking in a breath, her eyes flickered onto Dean appraisingly.
And that was when she noticed it, or rather the lack of it.
She blinked, squinted, then blinked again. "Dean," she stated very slowly, as if telling someone they had three months to live, "you're missing the top of your ear."
"Yup, hurts like a bitch too," he responded matter-of-factly, as if being informed of missing body parts was a social norm.
Kally let out a half groan, nodding. "Well, as long as you're not too broken up about it."
Dean just snorted, looking torn between relief and worry, it a strange expression for him. Offering him a wane smile, her right hand rose and fell along his large arm, Kally tiredly wincing at the effort even that took.
It still didn't stop her from squeezing his forearm. "I'm awake. Now please stop looking at me like I've lost a foot," she half-plead, her voice still somewhat raw. "Unless I did lose a foot, then don't tell me. Just hex it back on."
Dean released a dryly amused breath, shaking his head. "You've got a bruise down half your face," he relayed. "You're lucky I didn't transfigure bubble wrap and roll you in it before you came around."
She half laughed, that alone making her cringe. Somehow that made her laugh even harder. "I think," she wheezed, "my ribs are broke."
"Nawh, ya think?"
She just made a growling sound rather reminiscent of Potter, managing to shift to sit up entirely by herself, swatting at Dean's hands in an attempt o get him to let her go. As usual, he ignored her. "Been a bit, but yeah, I think."
Her sarcasm was met by a mere twitch of Thomas' mouth. "Been awhile since you used higher thought processes to think, or been awhile since you broke your ribs?" Both his eyebrows shot up challengingly, and actually waggled.
Kalliandra just glared. "So going to hex you," she groaned, "later."
At that Dean gave her a gentle squeeze, released her, and made a 'come and get me' gesture with his hands.
This time she did try to kick him, winding up yelping and nearly keeling back over.
Dean snagged her in time, Kally heaving a hard sigh. Well…this was going to be fun.
"So, know you're a fan and all of not freely sharing information," he wryly told, "but when ya gonna remind me where we are again?"
She just groaned, lifting a hand and rubbing her head. It felt strange, almost scaly, like odd things were dried on it.
One of scales flaked off, hurting slightly. Kally jerked her fingers away from it, finding dried bits of her reddish blood on it, the silvery cast obvious.
"Kal?"
She blinked at him, feeling suddenly, incredibly sluggish. "Huh?" she said coherently. Remus' backyard was mostly dirt, most of the grass dead. It made for a very rocky seat. She'd have to scold him for that later. "What?"
Dean was making an oddly irritated sound, the wizard rooting around in his pockets for something, pulling out a stick. Kally actually frowned at that, swatting at it, everything starting to spin-
It happened oddly fast.
Her brow warmed up intensely, a strange tingling infiltrating the sluggish cast to her thoughts. Then it burned.
A second later Kally was blinking, breathing hard, feeling like her head was actually clear, her thoughts no longer fogged.
Dean Thomas simply stared at her, his wand frozen halfway to her head, and blinked owlishly. "Um…Kal?"
Rubbing her head, she could still feel the dried blood beneath her fingers, but the gash that had been there was now gone. It was still sore, but gone.
It wasn't until she caught sight of the look Dean was giving her that she stopped rubbing it, peering at him from between her fingers, her palm in front of her face. "Yeah?"
"You're cut just glowed, and then went…" he made a gesture with his hands to indicate something akin to 'poof.'
Dropping her hand down, she made a face. "Yeah," she muttered, "it does that." Unicorn blood was at least useful sometimes. She'd obviously had a concussion, but now just hurt everywhere else.
Dean still was eyeing her as if she were some type of ticking time bomb about to explode. She really couldn't blame him. Trying to move again, she wound up wincing as pain fired up her side.
Right. Cuts healed, concussions got slightly better - her head was still pounding after all – but bruising and broken ribs from getting bashed into the side of a rolling over train compartment took a bit longer to mend. She made herself a mental note.
"That," Dean stated simply, "was cool." He still eyed her a bit curiously, before nodding at her. "Think you can move?"
Picking pieces of hair out of her eyes, she nodded.
With that he held out his hand, grasping her firmly around the wrist, giving her a sharp tug up.
Kally nearly stumbled with the sudden pain of putting weight on her left leg, winding up using Dean's chest as a perch for her hands as she grimaced.
Dean just laughed, giving her time to adjust. "You know Kal," he commented, sounding a bit more like his usual self, "there are less drastic ways to get me alone and away from Harry than blowing up a train and dragging me here." He shot her an exaggerated grin, waggling his eyebrows.
She groaned loudly, smacking him on the chest and putting weight on her leg testingly. "You're terrible, Dean."
"Mmm, not what you said earlier," he joked, snagging her wrists before she had a chance to hit him again. "Kidding, kidding," he apologized, adding, "But seriously Kal, broom closets, under the Quidditch stands, second year boy's dorm-"
Kally managed to kick his shin, nearly falling as her left leg gave out.
Dean snagged her around the waist, shaking his head. "Sheesh Kal, kiddin'. Besides, last thing I need is Harry trying to kill me." Propping her up on her own two legs again, he held onto her for another second, as if assuring himself she could actually stand on her own, before letting go.
Kally just shot him a death glare. Taking deep breaths to yell was presently out of the question. "Why," she practically hissed, "does everyone keep saying that? Seriously, it's like you all think Potter is violent."
The look Dean shot her clearly indicated that that was exactly what he thought.
"You've never seen him seriously mad have ya?"
"Don't be ridiculous," she muttered, thinking of the many occasions she'd seen exactly that. "Of course I have." For awhile she'd had a bald spot in her scalp to prove it.
Dean just snorted, immediately wincing given his broken nose. "Ever seen him mad over a chick?"
That got her attention, Kally raising an inquiring eyebrow. "No," she admitted.
"Exactly. Neither has anyone. Bloke doesn't date."
For some reason, despite the serious pain in the entire left side of her body, she found a strangely nice sensation in her stomach. "What do you mean he doesn't? Weren't you the one who started listing out his previous conquests in the dungeons?" She distinctly recalled Potter threatening to kill him for it.
Dean just guffawed. "Crushes, for like a day. That whole 'me waking up every other morning to find you in his bed' thing is pretty new. And don't know about you Kal, but not sure I'd want to get caught stealing the girl of someone who can take on He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I'd be mincemeat." With that he winked, giving a pointed crack of his knuckles for comedic emphasis.
Kally did the only thing she could do.
She outright sputtered at him. "Like you could steal me."
This just gave Dean further cause to grin, waggling his eyebrows.
Groaning, she drug a hand through her hair, watching him act like an imbecile. Still, her lips twitched, hazel eyes flickering over him to make sure he was okay. He looked okay, minus beat up and missing a chunk of his ear, but still. "You okay?" she asked, much more seriously.
Right now she shouldn't be thinking about Harry. She didn't even know if he was okay and she couldn't do anything about that even if she wanted to. Dean though, she could.
Dean began patting himself down, as if testing to see if he were there. "Hrm..four limbs. Check. Range of motion…" he rolled his shoulders and then wiggled his feet. "Check."
She groaned, turning away and looking around at their current predicament, deciding ignoring him was a great idea.
Dean chuckled, ceasing his clowning as he walked up alongside her. "So, now that we've established that I'm not dead and you're not dead…where is here again?"
She huffed a slightly amused breath at him asking the question for the third time. "Remus Lupin's."
Dean let out a low whistle. "Damn Kally-kins. First Potter now the Profess-"
She smacked his arm before he could finish, Dean shooting her a wounded look and rubbing it in mock horror. "Sheesh, now you're both violent."
Kally made a disgruntled sound, then focused on trying to recollect the details of her portkey.
It would take her to Remus' from wherever she was, and then back to her starting location. Dumbledore had set it up to work at Hogwarts, but it didn't work exclusively there.
Which meant they couldn't use it to get back to Hogwarts, since they'd portkeyed out of Dublin… If they used it again they'd probably wind up smashed in the crumbled remains of the train.
Sighing, she shook her head, stating, "He's been tutoring me since the start of the year. Something about him not being allowed to formally teach on Hogwarts grounds or something."
Dean's mouth opened in an 'o' of understanding. "Yeah," he said, shifting on his feet, "heard the Board of Governors got a bit mad when they found out he was a werewolf teaching there. Best DADA Prof we ever had though."
"Of course he was." She made a frustrated sound at the first part of that. "But that's ridiculous. He's only ever tried to bite me once and it wasn't even his fault." Ignoring the look that Dean shot her, she attempted to turn towards the house, wondering if there was a way to get inside without Remus, stumbling slightly.
She doubted it. She seemed to recall Tonks saying something about it taking her the better part of the fortnight to crack through his home's wards the first time, and that was with the help of a curse breaker.
Dean was eyeing the house appraisingly. "So…think he's home?"
She had literally no idea. Shaking her head in the negative, ignoring the deep throbbing that caused her pretty much everywhere, she suddenly reached for her other portkey.
Her pocket was empty. Dean, seeing her motion, had started patting his own pockets down, his expression clearly telling that his was also missing. She supposed she shouldn't be shocked. They had been thrown around rather violently.
Kally still felt her frustration growing. She didn't have an owl. She couldn't apparate She wasn't a witch. She couldn't send a message. They were missing their portkeys back to Hogwarts and Remus lived in the middle of nowhere.
Maybe they could limp to safety, or make a hut in his backyard. That'd be better than getting blasted by his wards or-
"That's another portkey I take it?" Dean had gestured at the ring now hanging around her neck, the golden band no longer tucked beneath her clothing, but hanging freely out.
"Yeah," she responded, hand rising instinctually to it, clutching it. "Forgot about our other portkeys to be honest, but don't think we would have had time to use them anyway." She'd only remembered this one in time because it had smacked her quite literally in the face.
"So that's how we didn't get crushed to death. I was wondering," he commented idly. "Though did you really have to tear us out right when you did? I was in the middle of that whole 'life flashing before my eyes' thing and re-experiencing my first snog, and it was a good one."
Kally turned an incredulous look onto him, Dean grinning. "What? Ginny's a damn good snog."
She made a sputtering sound again, Dean whistling innocently.
His whistle truncated with a sudden wince from him, Dean grabbing his left forearm where Kally's fingers had been minutes before.
He'd been hurt worse than he was letting on, a strange note entering her tone. "Dean you're hurt."
She took a step closer, Dean jerking his arm back. "Naw, I'm good," he told her, his face still contorted, right hand gripping his left forearm fiercely.
"Dean seriously-" She tried to reach out, only for him to jerk back once again.
Kally hissed a breath between her teeth, making another grab at him, a slight crackle between her fingertips, a recent trick McGonagall had taught her.
This time she made contact with some part of his skin, Dean jerking away from the sudden electric spark she'd created, giving Kally time to snare his sleeve.
She'd yanked it up before he could protest or move again, her golden gaze finding his skin devoid of the blood or abrasions she'd expected.
Instead an inky black outline showed on his already dark skin, a snake coming out of a skull's mouth, the tattoo darkening before her eyes, like it was burning him.
It was the Dark Mark.
Kally's eyes flew to Dean's, finding his looking back, all trace of the joviality that defined him gone.
"I really wish you hadn't done that."
ECOTS
Dean jerked his arm away as if he'd been scalded, his right hand covering the Dark Mark as if it were a naked part of him that hadn't already been seen.
Taking a half-limp backwards, her entire form trembling, her eyes locked on the dark ones of her friend. Dean said nothing. He just looked at her, something conflicted, torn on his face.
Kally's wand shook.
Dean quietly looked at where her wand was leveled at him. Then, after a long moment, his gaze turned back to her, looking resigned. "We both know you can't use that, Kal."
A pre-magicked stunning spell slammed out, flying past Dean's head and striking the tree behind him. The ice on its bark sizzled, Thomas barely flinching.
He grunted, the normal tilt to his tone, an ever-present amusement with the world somehow lacking. "I stand corrected," he grunted, his fingers flexing on his forearm.
Kally didn't know why she'd intentionally missed. She just knew that Dean had the Dark Mark on him, and that things in her were aching.
She hadn't known she could still feel that way.
"Kal-" he started.
"You don't," she interrupted, voice shaking unsteadily, "get to call me that."
It looked like he'd been slapped, Dean wincing from more than just the mark that was burning his skin. "Okay," he said, almost quietly. "Okay…"
Kalliandra attempted to take a step backwards, the limp to her gait sending pain shooting through her side, her breaths unsteady. It must have shown in her countenance, because for a second it looked like Dean wanted to go to her, to check on her like he had been doing when she'd awoken, how he had been checking on her since the first day of school.
But he didn't. Instead he stood there, his hand finally dropping away from his forearm, his fingers flexing, tensing into curled fists.
Painfully her head throbbed, the January suddenly feeling so much colder than it actually was.
A lot of things in Dublin suddenly made sense now.
Sucking in a breath, Kalliandra managed to find words. "Is that…is that how they found us?"
Dean's brow creased, his mouth opening beneath his bloodied nose, as if he wanted to say something.
It closed a second later, the Gryffindor remaining silent, looking pained.
Kally about screamed, half hysterical. "The Death Eaters, Dean! Is that how they found us!?" Her voice shook, it taking all of her effort, her energy just to stand. The tip of her wand actually sparked.
If Dean was afraid he didn't show it. Instead he looked upset, as if her finding out was the last thing he'd wanted. "Yeah…"
She made a sound, an indecipherable, upset sound. They'd nearly died. Fred and George had nearly…she had nearly. Had Regulus not literally drug her…
"I told them about St. James Hospital," he admitted, shame creeping into his voice. "That was before I knew what we were up against. I-Kal…Kalliandra," correcting himself as he plead, "I didn't know." Dean visibly swallowed, sounding shaken himself. "If I'd known dead people were walking around trying to tear each other's throats out-"
"We could have died, Dean," she whispered, arm still shaking. She couldn't get it to stop. Every solitary centimeter of her felt impossibly unsteady, like she might crumble any second.
Normally warm, brown eyes met and held hers. "I didn't want that."
Her own hazel turned stunned. Slowly she found herself shaking her head in denial, her ragged, singed, and cut off hair brushing against her face with the movement. "What did you think was going to happen, Dean? Death Eaters don't just say hi." The others could be dead now, for all she knew. Dean might know, but she didn't.
Dean looked like he was about to break, her friend making the most miniscule of motions, as if to step closer to her.
Kally fired a stunning spell, Dean ducking swiftly, the blazing red light searing part of his ragged shirt and disappearing into the surrounding forest. She'd missed. Her arm was shaking so hard she couldn't aim.
Dean had frozen though, not trying to come any closer. Instead he had raised his hands, looking at her with an expression she'd never seen on anyone's face ever. "Kally, please," he practically begged, ignoring the upset sound she made at hearing her name, "I didn't… I didn't want this. Don't you think I'd have hurt you, hurt Ginny or the others when I'd had the chance if I did?"
She wasn't sure if she could have moved even if she'd wanted to. Her pathetic wand didn't move. It didn't move an inch. She suddenly understood why Potter had been so scared about her joining the Order.
One-on-one with a full-fledged wizard like Dean, without her using surprise to her advantage, and she didn't stand a chance. Right now she didn't stand a chance. Yet there Dean stood, looking at her piteously.
Taking her silence as permission to continue, he kept talking. His voice sounded upset, broken. "You-you were right, Kal. I was supposed to set you all up. That's why I disappeared by the hospital. They wanted me…." He swallowed. "They wanted me to trap you all in that building. I could have, but…I couldn't." Shaking his head, his hands still raised, showing her his palms, he entreated, "I went in with you instead. I can't…I wouldn't do that. Not to you, not to Ginny…"
Dean was lowering his hands, Kally instantly tensing, Dean murmuring, "I'm just…I'm just getting rid of my wand, Kal…"
Watching, cursedly letting him go for his wand, Kally didn't know what to do. She didn't know why she was letting him reach for something that he could kill her with.
Later on she would blame it on shock.
Words partially formed on her lips, prepared to try to stun him again, Dean picked up his wand-
And then he dropped it, kicking it to her, the wooden wizarding tool rolling across the frozen dirt.
She just stared, her eyes darting from the discarded wand to Dean and back again, her teeth starting to chatter.
Dean looked seriously upset. "Do you seriously think if I'd wanted you hurt that I didn't have a chance?" he questioned. "At any time I could have gotten their attention, signaled, something. But I didn't. I….not after that."
Kalliandra didn't want to believe him. She didn't want to be fooled.
She also wanted every single sodding word to be true.
Words tremulous, Kally wet her chapped lips. "If that's true," she half whispered, "then why is that on your arm, Dean?"
He looked her dead in the eye, not hesitating. "I didn't want it."
"So why is it there?"
"Hogsmeade! I was dying, Kal." Everything about his stance bellied how serious he was, the conversation apparently breaking him finally. "I woke up and all of you were gone, and they were there. They fixed me. Woke me up. Started telling me these crazy ass things about my real father and how he was a Death Eater." A bitter laugh shook him, Kally's mouth opening, then abruptly closing.
She didn't know what to say.
Something angry infiltrated his voice, Dean actually shouting at her, "I thought my parents were Muggles, Kal! And then I was stuck alone in Hogsmeade with them and didn't know what to do! They knew about my sister! What do you think they'd have done to her if I'd said no? What would YOUhave done?"
Not once did Dean make any move towards her. Not once. Yet she still was half afraid of the sudden anger, her wand going more still as she managed to finally get control of it. Only now she was having trouble seeing him clearly, her eyes needing to blink repeatedly to clear her vision. "Probably," she whispered, "gotten killed."
Dean's mouth opened, looking rather like a gold fish for a second, an almost bitter laugh escaping him. "Of course you would have," he stated suddenly, as if he shouldn't have expected anything less. "Of course…you have backbone, I don't."
Abruptly he did move, Kally almost hexing him, but he was just adjusting his stance as he regarded her seriously. "I'm sorry Kal, but I've been trying to figure out what to do ever since. It's not like there's exactly an anti-Death Eater campaign I can just go enlist in for help," he bit bitterly.
Gods she wanted to believe him. It'd make things much more simple.
No…nothing was simple about this. But it'd make whether or not to trust him simple again. She couldn't though. She couldn't, because… "Dean, the others could be dead." She had no idea where Ginny, Neville, Regulus, and the others were. She could only hope they'd survived the attack, that they'd been able to apparate or portkey out in time.
Dean was actually shaking. "I'm sorry. I swear Kal, I swear I didn't let them know where we were. Not at the train station. Not after the hospital. I…I-"
He stopped, looking like he was having trouble talking.
"Please believe me."
ECOTS
The blurred world of apparition vanished, Harry finding himself inside of a dark room filled with shabby furniture.
The grip Remus had on his shoulder abruptly released, the wizard flicking his wand and sending all the candles burning with barely a word. "Kalliandra!" he called, already moving, disappearing into another room. "Mr. Thomas!"
For several long moments Harry found himself unable to move, listening to Remus' voice shout for the two Gryffindors throughout the house.
Kally wasn't there. Harry could see in the dark, and he didn't see her.
Remus swept back into the room, his expression stricken. "Harry-"
He felt his chest tighten, lungs trying to seize and no longer work. "No," he bit firmly. Her not being here…it wasn't an option. It wasn't acceptable. Because if she wasn't here then it meant… "Just no."
Harry couldn't say anything other than no, damnably aware of why that was all Ginny had been able to scream.
Lupin's light brown eyes regarded him, finally nodding stiffly. "We can search the rest of the property, Harry, but-"
The Marauder never got a chance to finish his sentence.
The entire side of the room suddenly shook, the wall flaring a dangerous pink at the loud sound. Both he and Remus had jerked around, wands drawn and aimed. "What the hell," Harry demanded, "was that?" The wall still sparked with pink flashes of light.
"My wards," Remus muttered, "another poor example of Sirius' idea of a joke."
Sirius. Harry swallowed down the lump, looking at Lupin. "What caused it?"
The former Professor just shook his head. "Either we're under attack or-" he stopped, the gray cast to his face suddenly changing.
He'd rushed into an adjoining room as if the hounds of hell themselves were upon him. It took him a second, but Harry forced his legs to move, rushing after him, finding Remus already gone, having disappeared out the kitchen's back door.
The second Harry got to it, his heel hitting the icy ground outside and the cold air striking him, he felt like the air had been deflated out of him.
Standing there, no more than ten meters off, was Kaylens.
Alive.
Harry let out a half laugh at the sight of her, the fact that her wand was drawn and aimed at Dean almost missed.
Remus was already halfway to them, but it wasn't the Marauder shouting.
It was Kaylens.
"Give me one reason, Dean. Just one!"
That was all it took to snap him out of it, Harry's legs moving jerkily, dragging him towards them, Remus already shouting. "Dean! Kalliandra! You're both alrig-"
"He's a DEATH EATER, Remus!"
Harry came up alongside Lupin, the Marauder looking between the two in slight confusion, his wand out all the same. "Kalliandra, why-"
Her voice shook almost violently, the non-witch never once looking towards them, her eyes remaining firmly glued to where Dean stood. "Look at his wrist!"
Harry did, but all he could see was the back of Dean's hand, his right hand gripping the underside of his left forearm and looking pained.
The Dark Mark was placed on the left forearm…
Harry had seen Snape do the exact same thing before, when Voldemort had called the Potion's Professor to his side, a cold realization sinking in.
Regulus hadn't been the Death Eater…
Harry hadn't even fully processed the information when he tried to lunge, Remus grabbing him with strength only possessed by partial humans and yanking him back. "Wait," he ordered, tone leaving no room for question.
He struggled violently for a second, Remus not relenting. Finally he swore, throwing his hands up and growling, "Fine!"
His father's last remaining friend did not let him go though. Instead…he just stood there.
Waiting, Harry's hands balled into fists, his gaze now just as locked onto Thomas as Kaylens' was. No one was talking. Not Kaylens. Not Remus. Not Dean.
Harry finally did. "Is that true?" he questioned savagely. Harry needed to know. He needed to know now. If Dean had almost killed the retrieval team…
Kaylens' head jerked towards him at the sound of his voice, for just a second the non-witch looking startled, as if just realizing that Harry was there. Standing there in the thick British cold, Harry offered her a grim smile.
Kaylens' lips parted, as if wanting to say something, before they firmly closed, her attentions turning back to Dean.
Only then did Harry get a good look at her.
She shakily stood there, her wand arm out and aiming at his dorm mate, everything about her looking weak. Kaylens moved ever-so-slightly, limping, unable to put her full weight onto her left leg.
A chilled breeze sent her ordinarily golden hair blowing haphazardly in front of her face, every bit of it covered in soot, the golden dulled to a strange gray-brown. On the left side of her face it appeared to have been hacked off up to her chin, the hair on the right side of her face burnt, hanging unevenly down to her collarbone.
Her oddly metallic blood was smeared across her face, an aberrant greenish-silver bruising covering her entire cheek.
If Dean had done any of that to her…
Harry tried to jerk away from Remus again, but the werewolf's grip was firm. "Wait," he reiterated, gaze fixated on Dean. "Mr. Thomas, if you'd do me the favor of showing your arm."
Dean didn't even look at Lupin. He didn't even respond. Instead he stared firmly at Kaylens. "Please, Kal…"
"One reason," she whispered brokenly, the sound tearing at Harry, "just one…."
Thomas' throat rose and fell in a strained swallow, Harry's grip on his wand tightening. "I could have killed you Kal," Dean ground. "At the very least I could have summoned them, when you were unconscious, but I didn't." His dorm mate swallowed again, looking nervous, the sight of Dean's wand laying on the ground the only thing keeping Harry from attacking at the next words out of the traitor's mouth.
"They wanted you and Ginny alive anyway."
Kaylens blinked, looking stunned. Harry just felt something coil within his gut. "Ginny is crying over you," he ground out, taking dark stock of the situation. "She thinks that you're dead."
Dean stiffened immediately, expression contorting into something unreadable, and yet...
His dorm mate still didn't look at him, just keeping his gaze on Kalliandra.
Kaylens….she was breathing harder than she should be. "You already knew…" she half whispered, speaking of something he couldn't follow. "That's why you didn't freak out."
Dean grimaced. "Yeah," he croaked. "Gotta hand it to ya though. You did one helluva job keeping that hidden for as long as you did."
Harry only followed part of that conversation. "What do you mean, "he brutishly cut in, "they want Ginny too?" Ginny…that was like his own damn sister.
Dean didn't even bat an eye, heaving a breath so hard that Harry actually heard it. "She's a seer, Harry. Or did she not share that little fact with you?" For the first time since he'd arrived Dean's gaze jerked to him for a split second, it reminiscent of a hunted animal. "Maybe if you lot paid attention to her on occasion she would have."
He didn't even recognize the sound he made, but Remus physically shoved him back before he could do something drastic – like rearrange Thomas' organs.
"Dean," Lupin stated far more calmly, "is Voldemort privy to this information?"
Dean nodded stiffly, Kaylens making an upset sound.
Lupin had opened his mouth to say something, but Dean cut him off, speaking to Kally again. "What's it going to take for you to believe me?" he questioned. Something in Harry squirmed uncomfortably, the sensation out of place as he watched the two stare at one another.
The way their gazes remained locked onto one another's, as if he and Lupin were not even there, was so intense that it was practically palpable.
Kaylens' lips had parted, no sound coming out, the non-witch looking beyond upset, at a loss.
Dean made a frustrated sound, dragging hand through his hair. "They want someone else, Kal. A Nymphasomething Tonks. I'll…I'll tell you whatever you want to know."
Harry nearly growled. "Tell us something we don't already know then, Thomas." They'd known that ever since Angelina.
His dorm mate made an irritated sound. "They also want Fleur, or her kid sister. They're not picky. They just want anyone who is already blended, who has genes already perfectly mixed. Please Kal…"
Harry just stared at him, almost dumbly. Remus was the one who spoke though. "They're after Fleur?" Bill Weasley was going to kill someone.
Hell, he thought bitterly, perhaps they could form a support group: wizards dating Voldemort's targets.
Dean only nodded in response, his gaze still preternaturally remaining locked onto his girlfriend. Harry could feel every muscle in him vibrating, wanting to go pummel Dean for being anywhere near her, for even looking at her after what he'd done-
That was when Kaylens' voice broke in, a half-disbelieving whisper slicing through the chilled afternoon air. "Why are you telling us all this?"
Dean actually growled. "I'm telling you. Not them. You're my friend Kal. I wouldn't…Merlin I wouldn't let them hurt you! Don't you get that yet?!" Dean had dropped his hand from where it had clutched his forearm, the Dark Mark suddenly reveled in full clarity.
It happened as if in slow motion.
Remus summoned Dean's wand, while Kally shakily lowered hers. Everything on her countenance was conflicted, her brow deeply furrowed.
Harry watched her taking a weak step forward, her weapon falling from between her fingertips to land in the frozen dirt…
Then she flung herself at Thomas, Dean looking startled as he barely managed to grab onto her. His dorm mate's hands remained frozen on Kalliandra's arms for several seconds, before his arms moved almost mechanically, enveloping her carefully.
Dean looked like he was afraid to break her.
Harry wanted to break Dean. "Don't you touch her!" he growled, jerking away from Remus and taking a step towards them.
Kally's head jerked up from where she'd buried it against Dean's shoulder, her golden gaze landing on him. His chest twisted, there multiple things he didn't like about this, but the way her eyes widened in a panic as she saw him stepping closer-
She did the utterly last thing he'd have expected.
"Harry don't!"
Kally had let go of Dean with one hand, leaning heavily on the Death Eater for balance as she held out one of her palms in a stop gesture at Harry. She was trying to take a step back, away from him and not the Death Eater.
Harry was so stunned he actually stopped mid-step and froze.
She was shaking her head, sounding upset. "Harry please…don't get any closer. We could be infected."
Looking between her and the Death Eater he irrationally ground, "I don't care." The loss of his surname made her reaction even worse.
Kaylens nearly stumbled, Dean snaring an arm around her to prevent it, looking worried. The way her eyes fluttered shut, breathing as if in serious pain had Harry's hand tightening around his wand, unsure of what to do.
He wanted to tear Dean away from her and pummel him with his fists until the bastard was unconscious.
"Kally he's a Death Eater," he growled. "Get away from him."
Her chest was rising and falling in quick, shallow breaths, as if taking deeper ones caused her pain. "Harry please," she reiterated. "Please trust me. He could have…I was hurt, and he could have done anything to me. But he didn't."
Now Kaylens was actually moving, trying to put herself between he and Dean. The way her gaze locked onto his shook him. "Potter he could have handed me over but didn't. I think…I think he just didn't know what to do."
Harry didn't have a damn clue what she was talking about. "Do about what?" he spat at her. "If you're talking about joining Riddle, that's easy. You don't." He took another step closer, fingering his wand and getting quite ready to use it.
"Not all of us get an easy choice, Harry," Dean countered, Harry outright growling.
Kaylens moved suddenly, looking afraid as she wound up fully between the two of them now. The stutter in her step had him reach out to grab her-
She jerked away with a pained whimper, falling back against Dean's chest.
His dorm mate grabbed her again, holding her steady, looking at him over the top of her head.
Harry wanted to snap him in half like a twig, only deterred from it by Kaylens talking. "Harry… I was exposed in Dublin. I'm not sick but…I got hurt at the same time as Fred, and Fred got sick. We had to use the last bit of potion on him." Her hazel eyes flickered over his. "You can't…you can't touch me. Dean was exposed to. So please just…just don't."
Standing there, not a meter and a half from her, Harry wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to reach her, grab her, touch her to assure himself that she was alright and alive despite Thomas' and Dumbledore's meddling.
But him getting anywhere near her was making her look at him like that.
Harry took a step back, away from them. Kaylens suddenly looked more relaxed. Her eyes practically glistened with gratitude.
"Thank you."
His hands curled into tense fists, Remus finally joining into their non-private conversation.
"We'll need to get you back to Hogwarts and into quarantine," the Marauder said roughly, looking at Kalliandra with unconcealed relief. The look he turned on Dean though…
It wasn't that of someone who wanted to hex a Death Eater. Harry had personally witnessed Lupin try to kill Pettigrew, the wizard not being against that in the very least, and yet…
He wasn't glaring hatefully at Dean. Instead…
"I think there's someone you need to speak with, Mr. Thomas."
When they moved, Dean slipped his arm around Kaylens, helping her.
It took everything within him to not start wandlessly breaking things.
