Sarah, with Lily's encouragement, dared to leave the library. She found James and Sirius in the living room. Lily hung back and waited. Sarah had no chance of talking to James without Sirius, as they were inseparable, flipping through books and sketching designs on parchments scattered around the living room. She apologized anyway. "James. I'm sorry. I didn't know what I was talking about."
James looked at her as Sirius asked, "What did I miss?"
"Nothing," James said to Sirius. "Nothing of importance." To Sarah, he said, "I accept your apology," so that was that.
James and Sirius then showed off their designs to Lily, and asked for her expert advice on charms. Sarah found the whole conversation incomprehensible.
"I wish Remus were here," said Sirius. "He could read these old Latin grimoires without falling asleep."
"Let the fellow rest," said James. "After all he's done for us already—"
"But what did he do, really?" asked Lily.
Everyone looked at her.
"Seriously, what did he achieve by warning us? He saved the lives of lots of civilians, yes, but at great cost to the Order. He didn't tell us we'd be up against Death Eaters too."
"Lily," said James, but he didn't have anything to follow it with.
"I just think maybe it would be better if Remus didn't go back. By giving us only partial information, he dealt a blow to the Order. We shouldn't have engaged in battle at all. We would have just evacuated the whole town had we known the Death Eaters would be there too."
"And how are we supposed to know stuff like that?" asked Sirius.
"If we're throwing Remus back to the werewolves, we need a spy in the Death Eaters too. Someone who can fake loyalty to them while working for us," said Lily.
"What are you looking at me for?" exclaimed Sirius. "I hate my family. I've never made a secret of it. I'm the last person anyone would believe is loyal to the Death Eaters."
Lily's emerald eyes narrowed. "Maybe you could work that angle, say your apparent hatred of pureblood ideology is actually a ruse to infiltrate us, all because you want to sneak information back to the Death Eaters, since your true loyalty lies with your family—"
"Aargh! This is too complicated for me. I just want to fight bad guys. I don't have what it takes to be a spy."
"Do you think the information Remus gave us purposely led us into a trap?" Lily continued.
Everyone stared at Lily.
"Merlin, Lily, you know Remus wouldn't—"
"I'm not saying he purposefully betrayed us, but maybe he was used to feed us harmful—"
"I don't want to hear this," said Sirius. "Remus is risking his life for us. His sacrifice has got to be worthwhile."
"Greyback just didn't tell him the whole plan," said James soothingly. "Once Remus works his way higher up in the pack order, he'll be able to give us more complete information. Look, Dumbledore assigned him there, so it's got to be for the best."
"What If Dumbledore's wrong?" asked Lily. This question was greeted with stares from James and Sirius. "The whole idea of sending a spy into a werewolf pack, it's crazy. There are more tried-and-true ways of dealing with werewolves."
"Lyall Lupin was there last night," remarked James. "Perfect example of werewolf-hunting tradition."
"He's not in the Order, is he?" asked Sirius.
"No, but he hates werewolves with a passion. There'd be no keeping him away once the news got out. He's quite a fighter. He must have killed more werewolves than Sirius and me put together, and he's not even an animagus. He brought weapons. He was dropping bombs on them from the air, flying to safety before they exploded. I don't think the residents of Hogsmeade are too happy about his methods, but he does get results."
"Lyall Lupin?" exclaimed Lily. "He always seemed so mild-mannered when we'd see him at the train station."
"The man's a professional," said James admiringly. "I don't think he recognized Remus. Remus said they'd always lock him in the basement for his transformations at home; his parents never actually saw his wolf form since he was a little pup."
The fireplace suddenly blazed green. A woman's face appeared in it. "Greetings, Potters. Is Potter Manor available to receive overflow from the Hogwarts hospital wing?"
"Yes!" screamed Lily, Sirius, James, and, a moment later, Sarah.
The head withdrew from the flames, which blazed a brighter green. Soon, two people stepped out of the flames: Lupin, pale and bandaged, leaning heavily on a woman in a long, modest gown. James rushed forward to take over the job of supporting Lupin and assisted him to a couch. "You look like shit," said James.
"Thanks," said Lupin.
The woman cleared her throat. "I can assure you he looks a great deal better than he did this morning." She then cast her professional gaze at Sirius. "Are you all right?"
"Some Death Eater cut him up pretty badly with a sectumsempra curse," explained Lily. "He portkeyed straight back here and I patched him up. I figured you'd be busy."
The woman nodded. "Indeed. I need all the assistance I can get in these dark times. Thank you, Mrs. Potter. Mr. Black, would you like me to check—"
"I'm sure you have your hands full in your hospital wing " said Sirius. "Don't let us keep you."
"Indeed. I must be getting back. Best of luck to all of you. And thank you for the chocolate." She gave a brief quizzical glance to Sarah, and an affectionate look to Lupin. She returned to the fireplace, got a handful of powder from the jar on the mantelpiece, and threw it into the flames, turning them green. "Hogwarts Hospital Wing Office." She stepped into the fireplace and vanished in a swirl of green flames.
"Can I get you anything?" Lily asked Remus. "Tea? Hot chocolate?"
Remus waved aside such frivolity. "No time. All right lads. I need help coming up with an excuse, and there's no one more practiced at that than you two. Hey, where's Peter?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "You know him. Somewhere safe, undoubtedly."
"But he comes up with the most convincing excuses," objected Lupin.
"We'll do fine without him," James assured him.
"James and I are much more creative than Peter," said Sirius proudly.
"That's the problem," sighed Lupin. "I suppose I'll see what you two come up with. It's got to be convincing, not just interesting. Numerous wolves must have seen you stab and bite me, so I need some explanation for how I'm still alive. Start by telling me exactly what happened, since my story has to fit what they saw. I must have passed out from blood loss pretty quickly. I don't even remember dragging myself to the Shrieking Shack, although Madam Pomfrey says I must have."
"About that," said James.
"You didn't exactly drag yourself," added Sirius.
"You had some help."
"And some hindrances."
"It seemed like half the pack was determined not to let us drag you away."
"You're quite the popular guy, apparently."
"So how did you manage?" asked Lupin.
"With my mighty blades!" said James proudly. "It was pretty difficult not to kill you with them, actually. Killing werewolves was as easy as pie."
"Ah," said Remus. Of course, he'd looked pale before.
"What?" demanded Sirius.
"Well. I suppose you killed all the werewolves I've managed to fool, leaving the ones who are still suspicious of me. I saw you stab… No matter. Thank you for saving my life."
"At least I think our side got the one you told us to look out for. Big light grey, scar on his shoulder?"
"Surely Whitefang wasn't defending me?"
"No, this was earlier, when we were flying around looking for you. I saw Minnie transfigure a lamppost into a cage that swooped down and trapped him. All he could do was howl helplessly through the whole battle. Then she picked off all the wolves who came to help him. She's so fucking brilliant, and as graceful as a flying veela on a broom. No Death Eater could shoot her down, she kept that broom up all night long. I wish she'd ride mine. Some day she'll come to her senses and marry me."
Sirius's friends all had a good laugh at that.
"You go together like cats and dogs," remarked Lily.
"Be that as it may," said Lupin, "why did two animals target one werewolf to capture alive, while killing the rest?"
"I've got it!" said Sarah. "Dumbledore ordered two of his other pets to retrieve his pet werewolf for him."
"Other pets?" Sirius mulled it over. "Well, what powerful wizard wouldn't want to terrify his enemies with a pet grim?"
"Once this gets out, he'll start a trend, I'm sure," said James. "Puppy mills will churn out oodles of huge black grim puppies. Next year after people have realized they're messy, completely untrainable, and they eat too much, fashion will move on and they'll all get dumped. Hungry feral grim packs will roam the streets."
"What is a grim?" asked Sarah.
"Magical creature," explained James. "No, I'll handle this, Sirius, you need to rest. Huge black dog, omen of death, haunts graveyards, sheds on the couch, makes messes on the floor. Pretty cool, but not nearly as cool as a stag of course."
"Yeah, a stag you can accessorize," said Sirius. "And you have to, really, since it's not like they're magical themselves in any way. You can decorate their antlers to look all sparkly. The big-antlered ones make great pets for wizards who are overcompensating for shortcomings. Although I've heard rumors about Dumbledore's wand, so that might not be the case here. Then again, he may have started those rumors himself. The question is, why would the most powerful wizard in the world want such a lame pet?"
"Maybe for the irony?" suggested Sarah. "To have a deer kill wolves?"
"I like it," said James. "Sends a message. Don't underestimate us herbivores. We can be fierce."
"All right, Dumbledore sent his other pets to retrieve me," said Lupin. "Then how did I escape?"
"With your extreme bravery, intelligence, and general fabulousness," said Sirius.
"I think I'll need to be more specific."
"Well, he obviously had Madam Pomfrey heal you," said James. "So maybe she wasn't a good guard?"
"She was quite overworked," said Lupin. "I know! She gave me a pain potion meant to knock me out, but I only pretended to drink it. Then I crept out when she thought I was unconscious. I went back to the woods to get my wand and clothes where I'd left them before the attack. I did, actually, with help of course."
"I'll tell Dumbledore and Pomfrey how incapable they are of keeping you trapped," said Lily.
"Leave out the part about his other pets, though," said James. "Remus dragged himself to the shack."
"I don't see why you don't just tell him at this point," said Lily. "Dumbledore's not going to report two of his best fighters to the authorities."
"If we tell him, then he'll know how we did a lot of our pranks," said Sirius. "That would spoil the mystery!"
Lily rolled her eyes, then addressed Lupin. "Shall I tell Miffy we'll be five for dinner?"
Lupin shook his head. "It wouldn't fit the story. Sarah and I should get back as soon as possible."
Sarah looked down at the clothes Lily had loaned her. "I'll change back." She rushed back to her guest room to put on the clothes she'd worn to hitchhike back from the music festival.
The others were silent when she got back. They all looked at her enter the living room. Then Lily got two feathers from the vase on the mantelpiece. She handed one feather to Lupin. "Come back to us, Remus. The activation phrase is Love Nest. It should work even when apparition doesn't."
"Thank you, Lily." He put the feather in his pocket.
Lily then surprised Sarah by handing the other feather to her. "It should work for muggles too, the magic's all in the portkey, it doesn't draw from the user. If something happens to Remus, there's no reason for you to stay in that pack."
Sarah stared at the feather, and could barely choke out a "Thank you." She could escape at any time! Lily gave her a way out, because she trusted her to use it only in an extreme circumstance. She put the feather in her pocket. It was crumpled already.
"It should be strong enough for one or two people, if they're both touching it. As long as it's anywhere on your person, it should work as soon as you speak the activation phrase. It needn't be in your hand. Be careful not to activate it accidentally."
Sarah was reasonably confident that she'd never spoken the phrase "Love Nest" in her life, but now it seemed to teeter on the tip of her tongue, ready to jump off any moment. "Thank you," she said carefully.
"Remus, when you obliviate her after this visit, remember to leave the memory of how to use this portkey."
"It will seem odd out-of-context like that."
Lily shrugged. "Minds are great at making up reasonable explanations for nonsensical things. Call it a good luck charm or superstition or something. Make sure she uses it only if you're, well, found out or something. If you need to leave the pack in a hurry, Remus, don't worry about rescuing Sarah. She has her own escape route now. Just focus on getting yourself out safely."
"Thank you, Lily," he said. "I can't thank you enough for all you've done."
"Don't be ridiculous, Remus. You're the one living in a feral werewolf pack for months. The thanks go the other way."
And that, after Remus's three friends gave him some gentle hugs, was that.
"Are you sure you're safe to apparate?" asked Lily. "You're still injured—"
"I'm used to it," he said. "It's fine. Sarah, I'm sorry." He grasped her arm and pulled her into a whirling vortex of empty space. Then they were back in the dark cave, still illuminated by a marmalade jar full of flames. Sarah closed her eyes and waited for the world to stop spinning, leaning on Lupin for stability. She suddenly realized that she shouldn't be leaning on an injured person and wobbled away, opening her eyes.
Lupin drew his wand. "I've got to erase your memory of that visit. Sorry, but the information that I'm a spy can't get out. I'll replace it with a memory of you being stuck in this cave. It'll just be boring."
"You're forgetting one thing."
"What?"
"If I don't know you're a spy, I'll kill you. If you're not a spy, then you're a hypocrite. You're helping the werewolves get better at hunting humans. I was plotting your death before you took me here. I was just about to act."
Lupin gave her a smile she recognized as the one he gave his students when they unknowingly said something ridiculous. "You, plotting my death? How would you go about killing me?"
"I'd let slip to the other werewolves that you're a traitor. You're a spy sent by humans. They'd kill you for me."
"So, if you don't remember that I'm a traitor to Greyback, you'll tell Greyback I'm a traitor. If you do remember that I'm a traitor, you'll act like I'm not."
"Yes."
"Of course! Now that you have a portkey, you have no need to keep me around."
"I planned this before I'd heard of portkeys.
"What? But with no means of escape, you'd die a slow and painful death afterwards."
"You've heard of this thing called self-sacrifice, right?"
Lupin smiled and grasped her shoulder as she'd seen him do to his friends. "That's brilliant. I'm sorry Miss Briarcliff, I underestimated you. If you hadn't been born a muggle, I'm sure you'd have been a Gryffindor like us."
"Call me Sarah."
"Sarah. Thank you. You may call me Remus if you like. Oh Merlin, I've got to compose myself before we rejoin the pack. I shouldn't look happy after a rout like that. I've got to look upset over our defeat, but it finally feels like I'm not alone in the pack anymore. It's like I've got a fellow Gryffindor at my back, someone I can trust. Thank you. Thank you."
"You're thanking me for threatening to kill you."
"Not just the bravery of it, the brilliant strategy, the heroic self-sacrifice. I feel like I'm with my friends."
"So you're not going to obliviate me?"
He thought, then concluded, "No need, now that Whitefang's captured. Not until this is over, anyway. Then you can finally return to your normal life, and you'll need to forget about all this to be able to do that of course."
"What will you do after all this is over?"
"After Greyback's pack is defeated? There are more Dark forces I can work on. The Order has been concerned about werewolves because Greyback has an uneasy alliance with our main enemy, a group called the Death Eaters, which is larger, more powerful, and arguably more evil, although they are all humans. They're pureblood supremacists, who believe that pureblood wizards should conquer and enslave or kill all muggles, and even muggleborns like Lily, halfbloods like Professor Dumbledore, and purebloods they call blood-traitors like James and Sirius. Hardly anyone is pure enough to claim the title of a true witch or wizard by their standards. It's odd that Greyback has chosen to ally the werewolves with them, since I'm sure they're at least as contemptuous of werewolves as they are of everyone else. They're just using us, promising to treat us better than the current human regime after they take over. They're lying, of course, but I understand how desperation would make werewolves want to believe them. Our current treatment by the magical government is, well, not good."
"What will you do after that?"
"I'm not planning to survive this war."
"What?! It can't be that bad. The Death Eaters must be outnumbered—"
"Oh, they are. Our side will win. There will be more casualties, though. If any human Order member dies while I live, I clearly wasn't trying hard enough."
"Don't say that! You deserve to survive this war at least as much as anyone else."
"I don't see the point. Once the war is over, and the Ministry of Magic isn't expending all its resources fighting Death Eaters, they'll be able to resume their usual peacetime activities, such as hunting werewolves to extinction. There will be great public demand for it now that Greyback's pack has done so much for our reputation. Any politician who wants a successful career will have to come across as very tough on werewolves."
"No! You'll be a war hero! Surely they wouldn't—"
"All right, after the war is over, I will open an ice cream shop next to a roller rink, and give free ice cream cones to you and all your friends whenever you drop by. Now that that's settled, let's go. You've done an excellent job of getting this inappropriate smile off my face, so I'm ready to report to Lord Greyback. Thank you."
Remus had apparently blocked the entrance to the cave with some very large rocks on his way out to impress Whitefang with his human-guarding skill, so now there were rocks to move. Sarah held the marmalade jar to illuminate the rocks as Remus worked, although she didn't know if he really needed light. He levitated them out of their way with his wand. He looked even more tired afterwards.
Sarah picked up his suitcase and they emerged from the cave into a beautiful evening, and walked to the nondescript patch of woods at the edge of the encampment. Remus put his hand out cautiously, then jerked it back. "Whitefang's ward is still up," he said. "So he's still alive. He probably just got an alert telling him his ward is being tested, not that he can do anything about it in his current situation. I wonder if he set the alerts to notify Greyback as well." He thought. "But I'm impatient to be reunited with my dear leader." He drew his wand, thought a moment, then said, "Expecto Patronum!" A silver wolf leaped from his wand. "Sire, I'm sorry I was weak enough to be captured, but I did manage to escape and return home. May I please rejoin your pack?" The silver wolf ran through the ward as if it weren't there. "Now we wait."
Sarah looked at Remus, looking battered and exhausted. "Your disguise," she said.
"Which one?"
"Your werewolf disguise. You look too human."
"You're right, thank you. It's hard to cast a patronus in my wolfish form. Um…" He swayed slightly. Sarah wondered if he was going to faint. It seemed much too soon for him to be up and about after that battle. She reached for his hand. He grasped hers gratefully, looked at her with his perfectly ordinary brown eyes. "I can't," he said. "I'm stuck." He let go of her hand. "Hit me."
"What?"
"Throw a punch at me. I've got to snap back into character or I'm sunk."
That's how Greyback found his lost wolf, struggling to restrain his human, who was fighting desperately to avoid being dragged back through the ward into the werewolf encampment.
Greyback waved his wand in a complicated pattern, then reached out to grab Remus and Sarah, pulling them through the ward. Sarah felt her skin burn as she brushed the edge of the ward on her way through. Sarah gave up her struggle. Tears flowed from her eyes, unbidden. She slumped to the ground when Remus let go of her. Greyback pulled the suitcase through, resealed the ward with his wand, then turned to Remus.
"Lupin!" Greyback embraced Remus. There were tears in his yellow eyes as well. "I thought you were dead! How did you escape?"
Remus took a deep breath. "Therein lies a tale," he said. "Dumbledore put too much faith in his healer's ability to keep an injured werewolf imprisoned. The methods she used before no longer hold me."
"I'll need to hear everything, but I won't make you tell it twice. Come tell everyone. The pups haven't stopped howling since the battle. When we saw you dragged off, we assumed the worst. They'll be overjoyed to have their teacher back. Come on. Bring your human." But as Remus reached down to give Sarah a hand up, Greyback said, "Wait."
Remus froze.
"I'll bring her, you're injured," said Greyback to Remus kindly as he grabbed Sarah's arm with his clawed hand and yanked her up. "There's no need for you to exert yourself." He carried the suitcase in his other hand.
"Thank you, my lord," said Remus.
They walked back to the clearing at the center of camp, Sarah doing her best not to make Greyback exert himself either. Her arm was going numb.
Greyback threw his head back and howled a deep, loud howl that hurt Sarah's ears and shook her bones. "Attention!" he boomed. "Especially the pups! Remus Lupin has returned!" Werewolves began to gather, stumbling from tents, limping from all corners of the camp.
The children, their faces tear-stained, ran fastest, mobbing Remus with hugs and hysterical laughter. "Professor Lupin! Professor Lupin! You're alive! Welcome back! Welcome home!"
Remus hugged them back, tears in his own eyes. "It's good to be home. I missed you all."
"I've been taking good care of the library," said Angelique proudly. "I wouldn't let anyone cry on the books."
"Thank you, Angelique. I knew I could count on you."
"Where's Rex?" asked Jason. "Did he come back with you?"
The other kids looked at Jason.
"I know what they said," Jason said defensively, "but that's what they said about Professor Lupin too, and he came back, so—"
"Rex won't be coming back," Remus said. "I'm sorry."
"You don't have to say you're sorry," said Angelique authoritatively. "It's not your fault."
"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, then," said Remus. "But I saw him killed."
"Who did it?" demanded Angelique. "Do you know which human? It was some human's fault, obviously."
"It actually wasn't a human," said Remus. "Dumbledore must have acquired some new pets since I escaped. Rex was killed by a stag with blade-tipped antlers, some sort of magical beast."
"Wait until everyone gets here," said Greyback, so Remus was silent. The central clearing filled with werewolves, many looking at least as injured as Remus, and less expertly bandaged.
Greyback turned to Sarah. "I'll put this human away first." He had dog breath. He dragged her away from Remus.
Remus's eyes got wide, then he knelt before Greyback. "My lord, I hope I have not disappointed you too badly, although of course I will accept my punishment if I have. As you gave me that human, you have every right to take her away, but I hope that—"
Greyback laughed. "I'm not taking your human away, I'm just relieving you of the chore of restraining her for now, until you recover. I'll put her into the cage with the new pup. You may rise."
"Thank you my lord," said Remus, getting up with some difficulty.
Greyback dragged Sarah to a cage she hadn't noticed before, made of wood that seemed to have grown together, by magic no doubt. Greyback opened it with a flick of his wand, threw her inside, and closed it with another wand flick.
She had company in the cage. A man, looking feverish, flushed and sweaty, lay on a rough bed made of a blanket laid over a pile of pine needles. He had a young man's attempt at a golden beard. A dirty bandage was wrapped around his arm. His eyes rolled frantically when the cage door was opened and Sarah was shoved in to fall on the floor near him. His bloodshot blue eyes locked on hers. "They caught you in Hogsmeade?" he asked. "What happened?"
Sarah shook her head helplessly, overwhelmed. A person who'd been trapped in a cave all this time would know nothing about Hogsmeade. She looked to Remus.
Her cagemate followed her gaze, then his eyes widened in shock. "Remus Lupin? They caught him too? Damn. I didn't even know he was there. Haven't seen him for months. Wait. Why isn't he in here with us?"
Remus was being mobbed by welcoming werewolves. He shooed them away. "Back up, everyone. I don't want to have to tell this twice." The crowd obeyed.
Remus silenced the crowd with a look. "It's good to be home. I feared I wouldn't make it back. Dumbledore never lets go of what he considers his property, and he regards me as his pet werewolf. He put so much effort into training me, he's unwilling to admit that he failed to break my will. Werewolves can never be tamed!"
This triggered some victorious howls from the crowd. Remus seemed to be gaining strength from the attention of his audience. Sarah glanced at the feverish man with whom she was sharing the cage. He was staring at Remus in horror.
"You're the traitor!" the man suddenly exclaimed, once the howls had died down and Remus had been poised to speak again. "We knew there had to be a traitor in the Order, but you?"
"I am not a traitor!" said Remus, terrifying with fury blazing from his golden eyes, his sharp fangs bared. When Caradoc recoiled, he took a deep breath and returned to his fully human-seeming form. He slowly approached the cage. "I'm a werewolf, Caradoc. I'm loyal to my own kind. You will be as well, soon."
"Never!"
"The humans won't take you back," said Remus. "We're all the family you have now. How can you be loyal to people who would kill you if they knew what you are?"
Caradoc turned his face away from him.
"I know you still feel mostly human now," Remus continued. "That will pass. The wolf is growing in you, gaining strength. You must feel it already, a second mind in your head, thinking unfamiliar thoughts. When you transform with us next month, you'll understand. It's something to look forward to. You'll revel in your wolf senses, your strength, the joy of the hunt. And I'll help you adjust to your new life here. Working for Greyback isn't really any different from working for Dumbledore." He was right by the cage now. "Please believe me, Caradoc," he said quietly, his brown eyes pleading. "Things aren't as bad as they seem. We'll talk more soon."
Caradoc refused to meet his gaze. Remus turned to address his werewolf audience again. "He will learn," he said calmly. "As we all learned."
"Would you please hand me my cloak?" Caradoc asked Sarah very quietly. "I think they threw it over there."
It was crumpled in the corner of the cage. Sarah got it and handed it to him. He nodded his thanks, then reached into a pocket. Some little candy, it looked like, as he popped it into his mouth, a grey sphere—
"No!" yelled Sarah, but it was too late. He had crushed the suicide pill between his teeth and now lay still, his feverish shivers over.
Remus ran back to the cage and stared helplessly at Caradoc's corpse. Then he stepped back to glare at the assembled werewolves, who backed away nervously. "You left him with a suicide pill?" he shouted. "Didn't you search him?"
"We got his wand," said one werewolf.
"Aargh!"
"Don't worry, Lupin," said Greyback. "The pups gifted at older ages often have trouble accepting their gift. Don't blame yourself."
"Thank you, my lord. Your wisdom is a comfort to me as always." Remus looked out at the crowd, all waiting for him to continue his tale. "You know how it began," he said, his voice as clear as when he was teaching his class. "We arrived at the Forbidden Forest as planned, and became our true selves with the power of the moon. I could smell humans in the air, so I tried to hunt them with my pack, but we soon discovered that the humans were literally in the air, flying on brooms and various winged steeds. We wolves on the ground could only wait for our prey to fall from the sky.
"I was so focused on the scent of our human prey, I didn't even notice until it was too late that I was being stalked by a grim. A grim is a magical beast, a black dog the size of a bear. It's usually just an omen, not an agent of death. It haunts graveyards. In this case, it attacked me. I felt its fangs close around my neck." He gestured to his bandaged neck. His audience was aghast.
"I did my best to twist out of its grip, and I think I did manage to scratch it pretty well with my claws, but I couldn't reach it with my fangs because of its tight grip on my neck.
"As I was fighting this beast, another strange creature arrived. It looked like a stag, but its antlers were tipped with metal blades. It stood guard as I fought the grim. When my packmates came to my aid…" for the first time, Remus let his voice break. "The stag killed them, charged and impaled them on those blades. My student Rex…" He had to pause for a moment. "He fought bravely." His eyes sought out one person from the crowd. "His death was fairly quick," he assured a weeping, wolfish woman. "It was the sort of death I hope to have. Better a quick, heroic death than a slow degrading one at the Werewolf Research Institute." There were murmurs of assent at this. The woman nodded as she wept.
Sarah reached out to close the staring eyes of the corpse in her cage. His body still felt feverish.
Remus continued. "Other wolves came to my aid. With their help, I broke free of the grim several times, and we did manage to inflict some damage on the grim and stag, but I was recaptured. I'm afraid the fight is a blur. I must have lost consciousness from blood loss at some point.
"When the moon set, the agony of transformation briefly jolted me to consciousness. I saw my surroundings dimly, but recognized the smell of the setting of my nightmares, the shack where I'd been imprisoned for seven years, the walls gouged from my futile attempts to escape. There is no escape from the Shrieking Shack.
"I must have lost consciousness again, since the next thing I knew, I was in a private room in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing, wrapped in these bandages. Madam Pomfrey, the healer in Dumbledore's employ, had patched me up just as she used to, during the seven years I'd been imprisoned in that castle." He smiled grimly. "I thanked her for her kind ministrations. I told her I had missed her and regretted ever leaving, for I didn't fit in in a werewolf pack and longed for the comforts of civilization. I begged her to put in a good word for me with Dumbledore. She told me I had been naughty for escaping, but she hoped Dumbledore would forgive me and take me back.
"She gave me a potion she said would relieve the pain of my injuries. Then we heard a scream from a different part of the hospital wing. She waited until I seemed to be drinking the potion, then left to tend whatever injured human had screamed.
"I knew this might be my only chance to escape. I didn't drink the pain potion of course, knowing it would dull my senses and make me sleepy. Instead I snuck to a human patient, lying in a hospital bed with her wand beside her. I borrowed her wand for just long enough to cast a disillusionment spell on myself. I considered keeping the wand, but thought that might alert them to my escape sooner, so I left it there. Once disillusioned, I snuck out of the hospital wing, then out of the castle. I retrieved my own wand and clothes from where I'd stashed them in the Forbidden Forest, then apparated back to the cave where I'd stashed my human." This included a casual gesture at Sarah. She didn't like the way this directed the crowd's attention to her.
Remus soon regained their attention. "I expected Whitefang to meet me at the ward around the camp. Is he all right?" He searched the crowd for the old werewolf.
Greyback stepped forward. "Whitefang didn't come back with us. With you and him missing, there were some splinching accidents on our way back."
Remus gulped. "But where is he? He's not dead, or the wards would have collapsed."
"Captured," said Greyback grimly.
Remus gulped again. "Is he—"
"At the Werewolf Research Institute," Greyback confirmed.
"How do you—"
"I have my sources. I know he was brought there this morning, just as I know that our attack last night was not a surprise. The humans had advance warning."
"But how?" asked Remus.
"A seer named Sybill Trelawney, new professor of Divination at Hogwarts, prophesied our attack before we even arrived in the Forbidden Forest. Dumbledore sent out warnings to everyone in Hogsmeade, and notified the Order."
"Are you sure it was a prophecy, and not a leak?" asked Remus.
"What?" asked Greyback, who seemed as surprised as Sarah at the introduction of this topic into their discussion. Some disturbed murmurs tumbled through their audience.
"You seem to have told the Death Eaters of your plans," said Remus. "Unless they just happened to decide to attack Hogsmeade on the same night we did. It is not my place to question your judgment of course, but trusting humans is risky."
At the look Greyback gave him, Remus dropped to the ground, but kept talking. "This alliance between werewolves and humans, is it truly an alliance? Or a human trick?"
"Silence!" said Greyback, so Remus shut up. "I said silence!" he added, and the crowd ceased its quiet rumblings.
"Our plans were foiled by the seer, Trelawney," explained Greyback patiently. "She must die. If the humans get warnings of our plans after she is dead, then we can consider other possibilities for how they're getting the information."
"Very wise, my lord," said Remus.
"You may rise," said Greyback, so Remus did, somewhat shakily. "I need your expertise. That damned grim! And that stag! Those were humans in disguise, I know it. Real stags don't tip their antlers with steel blades. Lupin, who were they?"
"All animagi are required to register their animagus forms at the Ministry of Magic. I could check the registry for their names."
"Do that, once you look presentable enough to visit the Ministry. And that damn Lyall Lupin! He's been a thorn in my paw for years. Lupin!" He was looking at Remus.
"Yes my lord?"
"Where does Lyall Lupin live these days? Is he still in Cardiff?"
"I don't know, my lord."
"You don't know where your own father lives?"
"You are my sire, my lord. My human father and I haven't spoken for a long time."
"It's time to renew the acquaintance. Lyall Lupin must die."
"Yes, my lord."
Greyback gave Remus an indulgent smile. "You look tired, son. You may go back to your tent to rest."
"Thank you my lord." Remus looked to Sarah. "May I take my human with me?"
"You sure you want the trouble now?" asked Greyback. "You could just leave her here."
"I can handle one muggle," scoffed Remus. "I'll put her under the Imperius curse if necessary."
"That's my boy," smiled Greyback. He opened the cage with a flick of his wand, reached in, grabbed Sarah's arm in a clawed hand, and pulled her out. He looked at the corpse in the cage. "What's in those suicide pills? You think the meat's contaminated?"
"I don't know," said Remus. "I wouldn't risk it, my lord."
"You're probably right." He hoisted Remus's suitcase with his other hand. "No one eat that," he ordered, with a nod to the corpse. "Might be poisoned." There were some grumbles at this.
Greyback walked them back to Remus's tent as, with the show over, the crowd dispersed. "Rest up," he said. "We might have a lot to do tomorrow."
"Yes my lord."
Once inside, Remus unpacked his suitcase, returning various camping necessities to their usual places in his tent. "So, for dinner…" Remus looked dully at the kitchen-like area of his tent. "I'm sorry, after Potter Manor this must seem—"
"Remus, stop apologizing. This is fine."
"It isn't fine. It's fucked up is what it is. Anyway, I could heat up a can of soup if you like."
"Sure. Whatever. Thank you."
Remus opened a can with his wand, transferred the soup into a bowl, heated it with his wand, and set it on the table with a spoon and glass of water. He filled a glass of water for himself and sat with her. "Once Whitefang dies in the Werewolf Research Institute, the wards around this camp will fall," he said, thinking aloud. "I've got to get word to the Order to time their attack to that moment. Unfortunately, the Institute can prolong deaths for some time. Perhaps if the Order could infiltrate it…" He got some paper and a pencil and started sketching a diagram. "It's very well-protected, but there must be a way for the Order to sneak in an assassin…"
"You've been there?" Sarah asked.
He nodded. "My father took me there when I was a boy. He told them he hoped I would go into the family business, so he was giving me a tour. The staff were quite friendly to me. My father keeps them well-supplied. Of course, he really took me there to show me what would become of me if I let my disguise slip."
"Excuse me?" called a high, timid voice from outside. "Professor Lupin?"
Remus opened the flap-like door of the tent. "Yes? Ah, Deirdre. Do come in, please. Sit down." He welcomed a wolfish woman in with a gracious sweep of his hand.
"I don't mean to stay long," she said, lingering just inside. "I just wanted to return this." She held out a dog-eared copy of Prince Caspian. "He would have wanted it returned."
"Thank you," said Remus, taking it and putting it back on the shelf. He made a note of its return in the library ledger. "Rex always returned books promptly."
"Now I'll never know how it ends," said Deirdre.
"If you wanted to check it out yourself—"
"No. No. It wouldn't be the same without him reading to me. Thank you for teaching him to read, and lending him all those books. I had no idea there were all those stories in those marks on paper."
"Rex was an excellent student. I'm sorry—"
"It's not your fault," said Deirdre.
"Rex died defending me," said Remus. "He was very brave. He died a hero. Would you like to come in for some tea? We could—"
"No, no. I should be going." With a brief bitter look at Sarah, and a sad smile to Remus, she left.
Remus closed the door to the tent. "I'm very tired. I'm going to bed. Don't worry about cleaning up, I'll do it in the morning." He retreated to his nest of blankets on the floor and bundled up in them, curling up to face the wall of the tent.
Sarah ate her soup in silence, watching him sleep. He should probably still be in a hospital bed, not the floor of a tent, no matter how clean and tidy. What if his injuries got infected? Did he have a fever? He was shivering. Maybe he needed another blanket. Sarah put down her spoon, stood, got the blanket off her bed, and approached Remus. She stopped when she remembered that he'd put some sort of magical barrier around it to stop her from murdering him in his sleep. Was it still up? If so, it would probably just burn her, like the one around the encampment. She could deal with that, she'd just pull her hand back fast. Maybe it had faded by now. She extended a cautious hand into his space and felt nothing but air, and relief.
She knelt to arrange the blanket over him, leaning into his space.
A cry suddenly assaulted her ears. Remus wasn't shivering, he was shaking with sobs. There was no protective ward around him, only a silencing spell so she couldn't hear him cry.
"Oh Remus!" She looked for a spot that didn't have a bandage on it to place a comforting hand. A spot on his side seemed safe. He felt hot through his faded t-shirt. "I'm sorry." She was starting to talk like him. "I mean, it'll be all right. I mean…" She went to her bedside for the tissues he'd transfigured from leaves. The sound of his crying shut off as if with a switch when she left, and switched back on when she returned. She gave him the tissues without a word.
He sat up and used them. "His death was so bloody pointless," he was finally able to say. "If I could have told him, if there was some way I could have got the information across without ruining my whole mission…"
Sarah found an uninjured spot to place a hopefully comforting hand again. Remus felt hot.
"Should I tell the Order?" Remus wondered. "His family ought to know, to have some sort of closure, but if they figure out that it was my fault, I didn't think to check for his suicide pill before subjecting him to that speech, I put on such a show for Lord Greyback but I should have realized how Caradoc would take it. It's my fault."
Sarah suddenly realized that she'd been misinterpreting this. "Oh! Caradoc. Right. I'm sorry." She realized she was looking towards the bookcase that held Prince Caspian.
Remus followed her gaze, then shot her a frighteningly angry look. "I'm not mourning Rex," he said coldly. "Rex was a monster, a Dark creature. James and Sirius were heroes to kill him. The world is better off without him. You never saw his true form, a vicious wolf searching Hogsmeade for humans to bite, attacking my friends with such fury..."
"He thought he was protecting you!" Sarah found herself shouting. "The least you can do is honor his memory by mourning him properly."
"Werewolves instinctively serve their higher-ranking packmates," said Remus. It sounded like a quote from Lupine Lawlessness. "Rex died defending me because of his instinct to serve his pack."
"Remus! He was your student! He was brave like you."
"There was nothing brave about that monster! He thought it would be easy, he thought we'd have the advantage of surprise, and I couldn't tell him…"
His claws, sinking into his palms, were drawing blood. He threw his head back and howled. The inhuman sound hurt her ears, but she leaned towards Remus, wanting to bear witness to his grief.
He shoved her away with his clawed hand. The sound of his howling switched off once she was outside the silencing spell.
Sarah returned to the little folding table and chair. While this space was large for a tent, it was too small to afford privacy to two people. Thanks to the silencing spell, it was possible to pretend, for the sake of politeness, that Remus wasn't howling.
—-
In the morning, he was puttering in the kitchen again. "Porridge?" he asked when he noticed she was awake. "There's still some fresh milk left.
"Oh. Yes, Thank you. But you don't have to make breakfast, you're still injured."
He shrugged. "We heal fast. Don't think of me as a human."
Sarah went to the bathroom and changed from his faded t-shirt, which served as her nightgown, into her hitchhiking clothes.
Remus served breakfast. "I'm sorry about last night."
"It's all right. Well, the situation's all wrong obviously, but you have nothing to apologize for."
"You don't deserve to have all this dumped on you, to be trapped in a tent with a howling werewolf."
"Lupin!" called Greyback's loud, deep voice from outside. "You awake?"
Remus rushed to open the door, and dropped to the floor to submit to his pack leader. In a moment, Sarah dropped too.
"You may rise," said Greyback, stepping into the tent, so they did.
"My lord," said Remus. "How may I serve you? Are there any particular subjects you'd like me to cover in this morning's Human Impersonation class?"
"Class is cancelled," said Greyback brusquely. "I have a different job for you. You'll be leading the mission to rescue Whitefang from the Werewolf Research Institute."
Remus blinked. Then he gestured to the diagram on the table. "I was just about to suggest that. We can't abandon him to the humans. I've been trying to think of a way in. It will take finesse rather than brute force."
Greyback admired the diagram, then gave Remus a fanged grin. "You're such an asset to the pack. I'm proud of you, son. Don't worry, I won't be sending you in alone. The Dark Lord appreciates our work, so he offered us the use of some of his Death Eaters. He sent one to coordinate a plan." He called to someone outside the tent. "Come in."
The young man who reluctantly entered the tent looked familiar, although his disgusted, contemptuous expression was not. Sarah recognized that handsome, aristocratic face, those luxurious black eyelashes around those pale grey eyes. Sirius seemed to have recovered from his injuries quickly. She wondered when he'd had time to get a haircut.
"Black," said Remus with a cold nod. "Welcome. Would you like some tea?"