The light of fanaticism blazed in Skoll's eyes. Remus knew better than to challenge his belief in the end of "old ways." Skoll would blindly follow Greyback to the death, and kill any werewolf disloyal to the faith in "a new world" under Voldemort. All Remus could think to say was, "Seneca believed every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."
"Seneca."
The flat, "never heard of him" tone was one remembered well from teaching days. Remus said, "He was a Roman philosopher, who also said sometimes even to live is an act of courage."
"Huh. Is this why Dix made you third in the pack? He wanted someone who never speaks for himself?"
Remus said, "You'll have to ask him."
"I already have. He said you're smart." Skoll eyed Remus disparagingly. "All that wizard education hasn't done you much good, though, has it?"
Not to someone who judged by appearance. Remus valued his years at Hogwarts—his friendships—as priceless, and refused to justify them to anyone. He waited in silence to hear when Greyback would arrive.
Skoll gave a half smile and crossed his arms, waiting, apparently, for Remus to ask.
Before he could do so, a girl said from the back of the tent, "I'm hungry. Is breakfast here?"
"Soon," Skoll called back. He lowered his voice. "You'll see to it, won't you, Lupin? Fenrir said for you to make yourself at home. Start by making breakfast."
"Very well. Where should I place my bag?"
"Leave it here for now."
To be searched. Remus had expected that and packed accordingly. He set the small carpetbag on the floor beside a chair, removed his patched brown coat, and placed it atop the bag. "The kitchen is downstairs?"
"Such as it is."
Remus nodded and left. He found Donnie Spence loitering outside the tent. "Are you my escort or bodyguard?" he asked the boy.
Donnie ran a hand over his blue hair. "I'm—uh—s'pposed to keep an eye on you."
"Then you can escort me to the kitchen while you do it."
"Okay." Donnie bounded toward the stairs.
Remus trailed after him at a more sedate pace.
In the lounge area of the warehouse, Frank had resumed his embrace of the girl draped once more across his lap. The others gazed at Remus with the intensity of wolves assessing a newcomer to their territory.
"Good morning," he said, as though the pack members were a classroom of students. Most were young enough to attend Hogwarts. "Has anyone had breakfast?"
No one answered.
The stoic faces triggered a memory.
It was his first morning in Inverness. The pack wasn't large, only ten members, who chose to live in the woods over "contamination" by Muggles and wizards. Remus exited the tent he'd been assigned to share with two other men and went to stand by the fire. The woman called Gran by the pack handed him a tin cup that smelled of dandelion tea.
"Thank you," he said. "Have you had breakfast?"
She shook her head. "All the pack eats or no one does."
He finished the tea and handed her the cup. "I'd best get to foraging, then."
Remus felt the same regretful sadness he had years ago. "I'll see what I can do," he said.
The watchful faces remained impassive.
Donnie cleared his throat. "This way."
Tucked into the corner near the entrance, a set of industrial cupboards, wire shelving, and a pine-topped steel worktable comprised the kitchen. A portable mini oven with hot plates stood on the table. The appliance was enchanted, Remus presumed, since there was no electricity.
"Where do you do the washing up?" Remus asked. The work surface was clean, the dishes and cookware tidily arranged, yet there was no sink.
"Upstairs gots the only plumbing."
It was an improvement over hauling water from the river. Remus opened one of the tall, locker-like cupboard doors. The shelves were almost completely bare.
"Malcolm and Ewan are out...erm...gettin' groceries."
Out stealing was more likely. "In my day we called it foraging." Remus removed the lone tin of baked beans and a plastic bag that contained half a loaf of thick sliced bread. "Is there a coolant cabinet?" he asked.
"Nothin' in it."
"We'll make do." Remus placed the food and a bowl on the table and set an enormous skillet and pot onto the hot plate burners. He looked at Donnie. "Do I knock on the wall for the door to open from inside?"
"Yeah."
Out of the corner of his eye, Remus saw a few of the pack rise to their feet. Did they think he was going to run? He opened the door. "Accio fresh egg!"
Donnie's eyes bugged out. "What the—"
"Eggs lose quality as they age," Remus said, smiling faintly. He used a spell to slow the egg that zoomed into the warehouse and plucked it out of the air. By the time he'd cracked it into the bowl, most of the pack had formed a circle around the table.
Remus looked across the table at a girl who had henna-dyed hair and multiple earrings in each ear. "Why stop at one egg?" he asked. "Why not Accio dozens?"
She hunched a shoulder. "Dunno."
"Because one egg isn't noticeable, whereas dozens..." Remus smiled. "Things could get messy."
A few boys sniggered, imagining the unintended eggings, no doubt. Remus was more concerned with avoiding reports of theft.
Donnie said, "One egg won't feed the pack."
"Won't it?" Remus concentrated on the egg in the bowl. "Crescere."
After the eggs multiplied to fill the large bowl, he used the spell on the bread, and then the baked beans Donnie hurried to dump into the pot.
Frank and his girlfriend sauntered over. "We don't use spells to eat," Frank said. "This pack takes what it needs."
"If you used spells the pack wouldn't have to risk stealing in quantity—and no one would go hungry waiting for others to bring back food." Remus beat the eggs with a fork.
Frank snorted. "Look around. No wands."
Remus moved around the table to pour the eggs into the skillet as Donnie and the girl with flame red hair placed bread in the oven to toast while the others looked on. "Will Hughes doesn't have one either," he said. "It didn't stop him from learning magic."
"You taught Will magic." Disbelief and challenge mingled in Frank's voice.
"Yes."
The girl next to Donnie asked, "Can you teach us?"
-
Tonks kept the mirror with her at all times, even on the first day when she didn't expect Remus to contact her. It was a comfort to be able to touch it. When the second day passed without hearing from him, she wasn't too disappointed. She understood that Remus would be under close watch, and she wanted him to be careful. Once the third lonely night passed, however, her tightly knit composure began to unravel. What was going on? Was someone dogging his every ruddy footstep? She would have climbed up on the roof or pretended to be sick if that was what it took to see his face for a few minutes. Why hadn't he done the same for her?
It didn't help that the villagers she tried to serve and protect avoided her like dragon pox since Jerry left. Dawlish and the Macbeths kept "the accident" hushed up, but somehow everyone in Hogsmeade knew she and Jerry spent the night with Hamish and Fiona, and he had transferred back to London the next day. The consensus appeared to be that she was to blame. Women stared at her accusingly. Men looked at her speculatively.
Wizard scouts threw snowballs at her and ran.
The first few times the little pixies ambushed her, Tonks laughed it off. It wasn't until the third day since Jerry left—the fourth day without contact with Remus— that she finally realised the boys weren't pranking her mischievously.
After her morning patrol, she dropped by the sports supply shop. "Hullo, Hamish," she said, when he looked up from stocking shelves near the front counter.
"Auror Tonks. How are you?"
Gone were the days when he affected a thick brogue to ask, "Hoo hae ye bin?" She said, "I'd be better if you'd tell the troop to lay off pelting me with snowballs every chance they get. I know they miss Jerry, but I didn't make him leave. He chose to go and..." She blinked back tears. "I miss him too."
I miss my friend, and oh gods, I miss Remus.
"Tonks—"
"I have to go," she said, leaving quickly before she bawled and gave Hamish the wrong idea about her feelings for Jerry.
Outside, lightly falling snow made the village look like an illustration in a Christmas story. The idyllic scene was salt in the wound to Tonks. She wanted to go somewhere that wasn't picture-perfect and talk to someone who didn't listen to village gossip.
She decided to visit Annis Black.
First, Tonks strolled down a side street to the teashop. It wasn't open for business yet, but after she'd knocked for five minutes straight, Madam Puddifoot came to the door. The frowning proprietor wiped her hands on a floral apron and let Tonks in. "Has there been vandalism to the shop?"
"No. I need teacakes."
"Graham's Grocer carries a selection."
Tonks grimaced. "Prepackaged. Nothing like yours."
The flush of irritation on flour-streaked cheeks became a rosy glow. "Quite true."
"I'll take one of each of those mini cakes you have on display behind the glass," Tonks said. There were half a dozen.
Madam Puddifoot beamed. "I'll box them right up!"
A silent ward must have registered Tonks' presence the moment she appeared on the hillside. Before she could speak, a charm carried Annis' raspy voice over the pile of rocks that concealed her home.
"Come in! I've made a pot of Earl Grey!"
Tonks levitated over the rocks and offered the box to the woman who waited in the doorway of the cave. "I brought tea cakes."
"Your aura is dark violet," Annis said, in a tone that reminded Tonks of Divination class, on the rare occasions Trelawney didn't sound as though she was making things up as she went along. "You have obstacles to overcome, and you feel misunderstood."
That was an understatement, but Tonks didn't want to talk about it. "I brought an assortment," she said. "I hope Apparating didn't make them stale."
Annis gestured for Tonks to have a seat at the table set for two in front of the fireplace. "I'm sure they will taste fine." Her nostrils flared. "Do I smell fruitcake?"
"Yeah." Tonks sat and added a couple of sugar cubes to the tea in her cup. "My mum makes one like it with the fruit and nuts decorating the top." She stirred the tea, thinking of her plan to spend her brief holiday leave—Christmas Eve—with Remus. She and Dad wouldn't sneak down to the kitchen for a midnight snack of fruitcake this year.
A sip of tea didn't soothe the ache in her throat.
"Here. Enjoy," Annis said.
Tonks gave a startled laugh. Annis had served them both a slice from each cake. "I can't eat all this!"
"Neither can I, yet I am determined to taste them all."
"Sound good to me." Tonks speared a forkful of chocolate cake. "Mmm!"
Annis took a second bite of marzipan-topped fruitcake. "Delicious."
The two women ate in companionable silence broken only by appreciative sounds or comments. By the time Tonks finished a third cup of tea and scraped the last bit of chocolate icing from her plate, she was stuffed and feeling much cheerier. "Thanks for inviting me in after I dropped by unannounced," she said.
"I knew you were coming."
Tonks felt a shiver run down her back. "You had a dream?"
"Yes."
"The she-wolf padded into the cave again?"
Dark eyes that saw more than Tonks was comfortable with gleamed in the firelight. "No. A woman walked into the cave, and when I looked into her eyes, I woke up." Annis smiled gently. "Ask your question."
"I don't—" Tonks broke off. She did have a question. She just hadn't realised it. "It's not a full moon," she said. "Can I still use the sky stone for astral travel?"
"Yes. You are spiritually attuned to your mate, whatever his form."
"So if I search the astral plane—"
"You will find him."
Tonks clung to that reassurance, hours later, as she held the turquoise in her hand and relaxed her body until she drifted into an altered state of consciousness. Immediately, her astral spirit drifted up, out of her body, without the aid of imagining a rope to climb to freedom. The pull of her need to be with Remus drew her out of the Hog's Head, away from the village, toward Inverness.
The night was beautiful, but a sense of urgency replaced the dreamy awe she felt before. Her spirit flew like a comet, blazing through the darkness until she reached the place her lover dwelled. She floated through walls to hover over his sleeping body. He curled on his side in a sleeping bag on the floor.
Remus? Is your spirit awake?
A silvery rope materialised.
Reach out. Pull yourself free.
His spirit continued to sleep along with his physical body. It was an unnatural slumber. She rejected anger that would break the connection and willed with all her might.
Reach out. They can't drug your spirit. Pull yourself free!
The hand she tried to visualise stretching out transformed into the jaws of an astral wolf. He clamped the rope between his teeth and stared at her with eyes of burning amber. She pulled his spirit free and followed him into the moonlight.
Awakened by the blare of her alarm, Tonks sat up and raked a hand through her hair. Her fingers shook. Merlin! What was happening in Inverness? She couldn't wait anymore. She kicked the duvet out of the way and swung her legs off the bed as she reached for the mirror on the side table. "Remus," she called. "For stars' sake answer me!"
Tears slid down her cheeks when his face appeared in the mirror. Remus looked tired, gaunt, and beautiful. "I ducked into a toilet stall," he whispered. "No one's followed, but I can't talk long. I'm watched constantly during the day, and at night I'm so tired—"
"You're drugged," she said.
"How—"
"Something in your food or drink." He would figure it out. "When are they going to let you go?"
"When Skoll finds a teacher to replace me."
Suddenly, it was clear why Remus believed he was passing out from exhaustion. "You're teaching them wandless magic—like Will."
"I had to. They're so young; they've never had a chance..." The lines around Remus' eyes deepened. "Children shouldn't have to fight—or kill—to eat."
No, they shouldn't. "You're doing the right thing."
His lips curved. "You don't know how good it feels to hear you say that."
Tonks kissed the mirror, wishing he could feel it. "You don't know how good it is to see you. I can take separation—handle anything—if I know you're okay."
Remus' gaze sharpened. "What's going on in Hogsmeade? Anything I should know about?"
"Nothing important," she said with conviction. Everything that had happened could be shared later. Until they were together, and she felt his arms around her, nothing was important as his safety. "I love you," she said.
"I love you." His eyes shifted to the right. "I have to go."
"Take care, professor."
When the mirror reflected only her face, Tonks held it to her chest and cried.
-
There had been the slightest hesitation before she'd assured him nothing important was happening. His lover was hiding something. What? It had to be personal for her to dismiss it so easily. Conflict with Dawlish, perhaps, or gossip in the village—talk about her? Had Jerry confessed his feelings?
And I'm no comfort at all, wrapped up in my own troubles. You deserve better, Nymphadora.
"Professor Lupin? You alright in there?"
His shadow and eager pupil, Donnie, had found him. Remus concealed the mirror in a spell-guarded pocket and exited the stall. "I'm a little dizzy this morning."
Something—guilt?—flashed across the boy's face. "Steak and eggs will fix you up," Donnie said. "Lark and Frank went foraging last night."
The pack had adopted the "old" term for scavenging and theft. It might be unethical to teach spells that enabled petty crimes to be committed unobtrusively, but Remus considered it a greater wrong for children to starve, physically and intellectually.
It was humbling, the way everyone except Skoll responded eagerly to lessons in wandless magic. Remus was sure part of the appeal was the change in routine. From what he had observed, the pack lounged around the warehouse between forays into the "enemy territory" of Muggles and wizards. Rather like students in a common room, they listened to Orpheus Orbs, flirted and squabbled, read books and played games to pass the time.
The main draw of spell casting wasn't novelty, however. It was power. Without the ability to work magic, only the Change differentiated werewolves from Squibs and Muggles. Skoll was older than the rest of the pack, raised by Greyback to be his heir. Remus suspected he could cast spells, but never taught the others in order to safeguard his position as Alpha.
If it made Skoll uneasy that Greyback ruled teaching magic would be Remus' test of loyalty, he concealed it behind a mask of scornful amusement. He left the warehouse before the start of each session. Not once did he ask about progress.
Compared to first years at Hogwarts using wands, Remus' students didn't accomplish much. Unlike Will, though, none of his unorthodox class had expected to Accio a quill on the first try.
Remus washed his hands and trailed Donnie to the kitchen, where Adrienne, the girl who helped make breakfast the first day, was once again in charge. "Yes, Emmett, I have to cut up the steak. A whole one won't fit into the mini oven!" She thrust a plate of food at the boy who muttered that one day he'd find a spell to fix that problem.
One day...
A sense of dread gripped Remus. Here he was, teaching these half-wild children to claim their birthright and work magic. How would they use it? He wanted them to live a better life, to have the power to make their own choices like the Salford pack. What if they chose a Dark path? Harmed others in Voldemort's name?
Distantly, he was aware of Adrienne speaking. "Professor, are you okay?"
Nymphadora's voice echoed in his mind.
I can take separation—handle anything—if I know you're okay.
"It's that stuff you put in his tea," Remus heard Donnie say in a harsh undertone. "Stop doing it! Skoll doesn't have to know."
"Alright," Adrienne whispered.
Remus felt a hand touch his arm. "Come on, professor, let's have breakfast."
The concern in Donnie's voice broke through Remus' melancholy. Not all Slytherins became Death Eaters, and not all werewolves were Dark. He smiled at the boy who had re-taught him that lesson. "Thank you."
Donnie looked pleased and embarrassed. "Do you like your eggs over-easy?"
Remus nodded.
A week later, he shook his head in disbelief when his replacement walked into the warehouse. "You're the new teacher?"
Delia Bowen gave him a steely look. "Basic spells, not Advanced Transfiguration, Lupin. Do you doubt my competence?"
"Of course not." He stepped close to ask, "Were you coerced?"
Her stiff posture relaxed. "Inverness is where I want to be," she said, "doing work that's meaningful for a change."
"I understand." She wanted to be near Lillie, do more than putter around a council house waiting to collect benefits. He glanced around at the watching pack members and wondered how Delia's new students would respond to her no-nonsense attitude. Respectfully, he'd wager.
Kemp dragged two suitcases and a large duffle into the warehouse. "Hullo, Lupin. Where do I set up our tent?"
"Upstairs," said Donnie, bounding forward. "I'll escort you." He grinned impishly at Remus behind the other man's back.
Remus returned the smile. His personal shadow had a new assignment. While he wouldn't miss having to elude the boy to snatch brief moments to contact Nymphadora, Remus would miss Donnie's cheerful companionship, and the company of others in the pack. "They have a lot of potential," he said softly, half to himself.
"Don't we all," Delia replied. She paused. "May I owl you if have questions about lessons, or..." She shrugged.
"Please, do." He extended his hand.
Delia shook it.
The cheekier members of the pack wolf-whistled.
Hours later, after running the gauntlet of Skoll's cryptic "the test will never be over" farewell, and a long debriefing by Dix and Cleave once back in Salford, Remus returned to the flat he'd shared with Will and the room without a view. He closed the door and sat on the bed, not bothering to remove his coat. He took out the communication mirror.
Nymphadora's face appeared instantly. "Remus! Tell me you're in Salford."
"I'm in Salford."
Her face lit up. "Happy Christmas!"
"Not for a few more days, and a good thing, too. I haven't done any shopping."
"I don't care about gifts. You're my present."
He chuckled. "If your parents weren't visiting, I'd ask you to request emergency leave to come unwrap me."
"Emergency leave!" Her eyes sparkled. "I'm flattered."
"I've missed you. A day isn't enough to make up for lost time."
"You could visit me after you spend Christmas Day with Harry," she said. "Christmas night, or Boxing Day—you use a Disillusionment Charm, and I'll take all my meals in my room..."
"Won't Jerry question your absence?" He watched closely and caught the instant of hesitation before she put on a smile.
"No," she said. "He won't ask questions, but what about Cleave and Dix?"
"I told them I'm spending the holidays with my partner."
A smile teased the corners of her mouth. "I wish I could tell Dawlish that. He thinks he's Father Christmas for allowing a day of leave."
Remus asked, "Has there been a threat to the school or the villagers to warrant that kind of heightened security?"
"Not since the tip about werewolves in the Forbidden Forest. Dawlish is paranoid." She made a face. "I don't want to talk about it. I want to hear about Inverness. The bits you've shared make me even more curious." Her tone became sultry. "I'm going to lie back against my pillows and let you tell me a story. And at the end, I'll describe what I'm wearing."
If Nymphadora was using her wiles to distract him from questioning how she'd spent their hours apart, Remus didn't mind. He, too, preferred not to discuss sensitive issues long distance. He shrugged out of his coat and stretched out on the bed. "Tell me the colour first."
Her laugh was throaty and sexy. "Red."
-
A/N: Still waiting for Christmas! D'oh! Blame the werewolves. They complained that they weren't done justice in the books. :D
On a different note, (ba-dum-bum) Some of you may have heard Semisonic sing Closing Time (you don't have to go home but you can't stay here) when Remus quoted Seneca. Those who didn't, go listen on youtube so I won't be alone in having it stuck in my head! I'm not a Trekkie, (Considering the short red dress uniform and black boots for Halloween doesn't count) but I do have a fondness for Captain Jean Luc Picard, so I had Annis offer his favourite tea. (And yes, I did hear him say "Make it so" as I typed. First music, then voices. Ah, the perks of writing!) For anyone wondering, ch 18 was the first time Tonks used the sky stone/turquoise for astral travel. Will it be the last? There are four more chapters in which to find out!
The dear readers who didn't make me wait in vain to find out if they enjoyed the last chapter were...40/16, adrienne.hope, alix33, Calenmarwen, Carnivalgirl, ChristinaAngel, ElspethBates, Freja Lercke-Falkenborg, Her My Own EE, ishandtwofourths, Lady Adrienne Faery, missahJ, MollyCoddles, Moontime, Mrs. Hermione Jane Weasley, Operamuse, Rose of the West, Slipknot-3113, sofia666, sunny9847, SunshineDaisies816, tambrathegreat, vintagejgc, and Ziroana.