This Time - Chapter Twelve
We don't move, and we barely breathe, our ears open to the sounds, the sounds of footsteps coming closer. It's as if the world has stopped around us, everything silent and still but the sound of incoming footsteps, closer and closer.
The door crashes open. In they come. Three of them. Dark suits, ties, and more worryingly, weapons. Two square up to us, one holding a bat, the other a small pistol.
I glance at Lily, and see she's raising her hands shakily. Remus is stone faced, hands by his side. Despite the stress, I'm doing my best to think logically. We can't win this that much is obvious, so I raise my hands also.
The third man has gone to check the other girls. One looks up at him, and struggles to get away. The ropes binding her hands pull taught, and he bears down on her. It's horrifying to watch, as he sticks a needle full of a dark liquid into her arms and pushes. Her head rolls back, and I see her eyes glaze over, an echo of the fear still etched in them.
Outside, a car pulls up. I can hear the tyres against the gravel, then another set of footsteps, and in he comes. He's just as I remember him, tall, scraggly and nothing like the security he brings with him, no suit, no tie, just jeans and a jacket.
"Sirius!" he calls to me as he approaches. "How unexpected to find you here."
I glare at him, and he just laughs.
"Oh how happy they'll be when I drag you back. I know your father will be very pleased to see you." He walks into the gap between the two men facing us. "This girl, Lily, never my type. Doesn't give up too easily, likes a fight, not at all... submissive." He licks his lips, mouth in a broad smile. "Still, it was necessary to get to you of course, and it's always practise. They say my charm with the ladies is a form of magic you know." He grins.
"Black magic maybe." I spit at him. "I still remember before you got Bella how you tried to drug Narcissa into getting with you. Even when you did, she still shot you down."
His face hardens for a moment, but he shakes his head, laughing. "I had my difficulties, yes, but unlike you I go for something normal."
I glance at Remus and Lily. Her face is scared, but angry. Remus' fists are clenched, white as the full moon.
"Because having to drug girls to get with them is normal." Remus says, his voice thick with anger. I'm gay and from what Sirius has said, I've had more luck than you. Pitiful." he says.
Rodolphus kicks at Remus' face, and I jump. Pulling the knife from my trousers I launch myself into Rodolphus, knocking him into the man with the gun. Their heads connect with a sickening crack and the latter falls to the ground. The goon with the bat makes to dash at me, but Lily get's there first. Rodolphus was right about her as she tackles bat goon into the wall, taking the bat and swinging it into his knees. Remus is even faster. As if he has all the fighting skill in the world, he launches himself at the third guy, who's only just turned around to see what was happening. From the sound of metal colliding against head, he's been slammed into the wall.
Rodolphus has regained his footing. I advance on him, fist and knife out. He pulls a small firearm from somewhere, but I'm faster, kicking his hand hard enough to make him drop it then pushing it with my foot under a nearby crate. His eyes widen, and I smack him in the face, forcing him to the ground. I raise my fist to hit him aga-
"SIRIUS" Lily yells.
I turn, and see Remus staggering back away from the grunt he was attacking, clutching at his abdomen. As if in slow motion, I look up to the pained expression on his face, then down to the fabric of his shirt beginning to stain with red.
I stamp Rodolphus in the balls and run to Remus. He falls back against the wall and slides down. I kick the guy who stabbed him in the face, who looks just as shocked as Lily at stabbing Remus. He must have never done it; still his head collides with the wall again, courtesy of Lily, and he slumps down. I fall next to Remus and pick him up. He's conscious, but...
A CRASH!
My eyes are on the wound in Remus' torso. The blood is hot and slippery against my hands making it hard to hold the wound. Lily is beside me, looking towards where the sound came. But I don't hear a thing, nothing but his hastened breathing. He looks me in the eyes, and I look in his.
"Sirius..." he whispers weakly.
"Remus... It'll... It'll be okay. I promise!" I tell him. His eyes move, focusing on something behind me. Arms around my chest are dragging me back.
"No! Get off me! Remus!" I yell.
A man passes into my field of vision, running to Remus.
"Get off him!" I scream at him.
He ignores me, kneeling at Remus' side, examining him.
The cold air strikes me as I'm dragged through the door. It hits me like a shock, causing my senses to jerk back into reality. There's noise. Sirens. The sounds of yelling. A blanket is thrown around me by someone. I look up.
It's Lily.
"Shh Sirius." I tell him. "It'll be fine. They got here, the Police, I don't know how."
He's shaking in my arms, wrapped in a blanket given to me by one of the police officers, the same one who ran inside to Remus.
An ambulance tears down the small road towards us, siren blazing. People stream out the second its stopped and sprint into the building. Police are bringing out the other girls who were in there with us. One is unconscious, the other can barely stand, drinking water hesitantly.
I crane my neck to get a better look at what's going on. There's a mass of people around where Remus was, at least four paramedics and the police officer.
Ten minutes passes as Sirius and I sit together, until someone finally approaches us. It's the policeman.
"I hope you both are doin' okay." he says, kneeling opposite us. "I've got the sergeant brewing up some tea for you both."
"Much appreciated." I say, still shakily to him.
"Now, don't worry about your friend. He's in a stable condition, and will definitely be alright."
I breathe a sigh of relief, but Sirius speaks up.
"Can we see him now then?" he asks weakly.
The man hesitates. "Give him an hour or so, they're getting him to hospital. Once he's had some time to get over the trauma, then I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you." I tell him.
He shifts a bit. "My pleasure madam. Now, to the gritty bit. As a scene to come onto, three-four men on the floor, another stabbed, you two huddled by him, a few spaced out girls around. We need to know what happened."
My heart sinks a bit. "The man, one of them, with the beard..." I begin.
"Rodolphus Lestrange, we know that much."
"Yeah, good. The others are his minions. I... no, We were there trying to rescue those girls. I knew one of them, or I thought, she wasn't there, but we tried to free them. Then they came in, and we defended ourselves until Remus... Remus got stabbed."
The policeman nods at me. "Thanks miss, that's a real help. Now, I'll get you that tea, and you can both calm and we can talk more once you've seen Remus." he says, smiling.
"Thank you." Sirius and I say.
"Don't thank me, It's my job and before that, basic human decency to help others."
"Still, thank you officer..." I begin.
His eyes twinkle as he smiles at me. "Potter. Officer James Potter at your service. Now, how about that tea."
He stands and walks off, yelling to another officer who's busying himself with a kettle of some sort.
"Why didn't you say that he drugged you too." Sirius asks me.
"It wasn't important."
"Wasn't important?" he asks incredulously, though still keeping his voice low, "it's the reason we were here."
"It wasn't, it's not like this guy will get off free anyway." I say, turning away from him.
She's ashamed. I could see it in her eyes. She doesn't make eye contact while we sip our tea, in the back of the officers car to the hospital or in the waiting room outside the room Remus is in. She feels guilty, because if she hadn't have gotten caught up in this, Remus wouldn't be this way.
I put my arm over her shoulder and pull her in close for a hug. She sniffs, tears beginning to well in her eyes.
"Don't." I tell her softly. "There's no reason to cry, everything will be alright."
Hopefully it brings her some comfort though I don't necessarily believe myself saying that. I lean back in the chair slightly, as the clock chimes the hour. It was a long day.