Remus appeared in a small wood, bracken crackling under his feet and a chill breeze nipping at his face. Overhead, a waning moon's light glinted on the damp leaves of the trees, and an owl hooted its protest at him scaring away its prey. Off in the distance, he could hear – or sense – he wasn't sure which, movement.
Snape appeared a few feet in front of him. "I knew your friends would be an inconvenience," he spat.
"That's what friends do, Severus," Remus said. "They meddle in an effort to try and keep you from doing the things they believe aren't right for you."
Snape raised an eyebrow, his breath freezing in the cold air and forming a tiny but rather too jovial-looking cloud. For a second, Remus thought Snape was going to say what he was thinking, something about friendships not being worth the trouble they so evidently cause people – that Remus should know that better than anyone, but he changed his mind. "Ready?" Snape said.
"Always."
Snape fired a jet of red sparks into the air above them, and they both cocked their heads and listened for signs of oncoming trouble. "Of course if this is a trap, I will kill you," Remus said, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice.
"You can try, werewolf."
"Oh I didn't say I'd do it tonight," Remus said, smiling and glancing significantly up at the moon.
Snape shivered, and set off through the trees at a clip. Twigs snapped beneath their feet and branches rustled as Remus followed, heading deeper and further into the copse. "Here they come," Snape whispered, his eyes flashing, and in the distance, Remus heard voices – a man and a woman. "If you get caught, I will not come to your aid."
"I'd expect nothing of the kind."
Remus' heart veritably pounded. He was beginning to wonder if acting a convincing duel in front of a bunch of Death Eaters that most certainly would not be acting was such a good idea, but he knew it was a bit late for second thoughts. Voices pierced the night air, and it was too late.
"I heard something!"
"This way!"
Whatever happened, he and Snape could both do without another lengthy battle, he thought. This needed to be short, if distinctly lacking in the sweet.
Proicio Remus thought, flinging Snape backwards in the direction of the Death Eaters in a hail of bright gold sparks that couldn't fail to attract attention. Snape landed against a tree with a sickening thump and slumped forwards, staggering and barely conscious.
The Death Eaters were getting closer, every crunch of footsteps on dead leaves a little louder than the one which proceeded it. "You're outnumbered, Lupin," Snape said, rather loudly and deliberately, though his words were slurred as he fought not to give in to the unconsciousness he was apparently battling. He supported his weight on another tree as he swayed, and met Remus' eye with something that looked a little bit like gratitude, though Remus couldn't be certain, because it sat uneasily on Snape's features. "Better be a good boy and run back to the protection of your friends."
He aimed his wand, and red sparks shot at Remus, missing him entirely. Whether it was by design or Snape was really on the edge of unconsciousness, Remus couldn't say for certain, since Snape had always been a very good aim, and he certainly hadn't done him any favours with the rest of his spells.
"I'm not going anywhere without you. You'll pay for what you did," Remus said, also rather loudly, and the blackberry bushes off in the middle distance in front of him rustled, accompanied by a cacophony of shouts back and forth: 'he's over here', 'no, this way'.
He hit Snape with another spell, causing thorny vines to erupt from the ground at his feet and wind around Snape's legs.
A little theatrical, he thought, but served the purpose, and he hadn't been overly vindictive with the length of the thorns. "And you'll pay for your stupidity, werewolf," Snape said, slicing him across the shoulder in roughly the same spot Tonks had hit him earlier.
Fleetingly, Remus wondered if he knew that spot was still numb, but he didn't have time to give it a lot of thought. He bound Snape's hands with the same vine spell, thinking it was probably time to take him out of the equation, make it look like he'd nearly escaped with Snape as his prisoner once more – after all, gloating Death Eaters were less likely to question than congratulate themselves on a well-timed rescue.
His spell had not gone unnoticed, though, and two wand lights appeared through the trees, illuminating two dark-hooded people – the man and the woman he'd heard earlier, he presumed. The woman was short, with white blonde hair protruding from under her hood and a rather haughty expression that was only intensified by the silvery light from her wand. The man was tall and well-built, and for a moment Remus fought to put a name to the face. Scragg, he thought it was – or something like that.
He'd had reports on them both. They were new recruits, and whilst he was tempted to breathe a sigh of relief that they weren't more seasoned, new members were always eager to please, to prove themselves, and that could be dangerous. Offering himself up to Snape's attack at close quarters had certainly weakened him, and he wasn't certain how long he could keep up a game of cat and mouse without becoming prey for real.
The woman spotted him and sent a stupefy spell at him through the trees, and Scragg went straight for a crucio. Both missed their mark as Remus dived behind a tree, not feigning looking startled.
He pressed his back into the bark, and a hail of spells flew through the trees – leaves crunched under their feet as they advanced at a run, the woman giggling disconcertingly.
Remus bolted.
The trees were thicker up ahead – if he could just make it there, he stood a better chance. Bracken ripped at his knees as he ran, and low branches whipped at his face, his various wounds doing rather more than twinge. He fought the urge to look back, using instinct and nothing more to duck as a jet of green light flew over his head, luckily swerving to avoid a rock at the same moment a red flash exploded where he would have been had he not have seen the rock coming.
Panting, he flattened himself against another tree, knowing that they knew where he was, would be upon him in a minute –
But he knew that he had to let them think they had the upper hand – possibly even let one of them hit him with something – although obviously he'd have to pick his moment. He didn't really fancy getting crucioed on top of everything he'd already been through, and accidentally letting himself get Avada Kedavra-d was definitely not the way he wanted to die.
The giggles intensified, and the man's footsteps slowed as they closed in on him. Remus swallowed, trying to formulate a plan – he could leap out, try and take them by surprise – let one of them hit him and then Dis –
There was a pop, and in front of him appeared one Nymphadora Tonks, wand drawn, dark eyes alert.
He started, smacking the back of his head lightly on the tree behind him.
For a moment, he didn't know quite what to say, and then words seemed inappropriate as a fresh barrage of spells blasted through the trees at the noise.
"Wotcher," Tonks said, cheerfully, as if she regularly Apparated into battle.
"What the hell are you – " he hissed, but was cut off by the bang! of a spell hitting something.
"Mounting a rescue," she said, grabbing his hand and forcing him into a crouch as the tree he was leaning on erupted into flame behind him. He looked up at the tree behind him – orange flames dancing right where his head had been, and stammered nothing in particular. "Y'know, a little gratitude wouldn't go amiss," she said.
She grabbed a fistful of his sleeve and pulled him through the undergrowth – weeds flailing their way through the gap between his shoes and trousers and stinging at his ankles – towards a hefty pine they could use for cover, conjuring a shield charm over her shoulder to protect them from the flames and a couple of red-light hexes that were shot vaguely in their direction.
He darted down behind the tree, sending a couple of spells from below eye-level at the Death Eaters, which they really hadn't been expecting. They dived for cover. Tonks pressed herself into the tree next to him, peering around the curve of the trunk and out into the darkening forest. She reducto-ed the blackberry bush the man was hiding behind out of the way, and Remus watched as the man scrabbled on the ground to find a new hidey-hole, making for Snape's robes for cover.
"Get him, fool!" Snape hissed, making a show of struggling against the vines binding his wrists as he kicked at the man, prone on the ground near his feet.
Remus pushed himself up off the bark, meeting Tonks' eye as she flattened herself against the tree next to him. 'I don't think they know I'm here,' she mouthed, and he nodded.
More voices appeared all around them, and Remus' heart increased its pace in his chest.
There was at least one more woman, and the manic note in her voice as she issued orders told him it was probably Bellatrix Lestrange – and at least two more men, one of whom he thought might well be her husband.
He shot Tonks a worried glance – she hadn't chanced upon Bellatrix since their duel at the Ministry – but her face was set, determined and focused.
Remus peered around the fat trunk of the tree, and a man he didn't recognise was the first through the trees. His eyes were wildly scanning the ground, taking in the scene – Severus pinned to a tree in a tangle of vines, bleeding and obviously badly injured, the tell-tale sign of flattened grass and bracken leading to where Remus was obviously hiding.
Remus ducked back, but not before the man's eyes fell on him, and glinted maliciously.
Remus flattened himself back against his tree, and as a reflex he Conjured a shield charm, only half-surprised when a spell bounced off it.
Of course it was his intention to appear scared and out-numbered, but for his liking, this was all playing a touch too convincingly, and when Bellatrix Lestrange appeared, striding through the trees with a manic and rather triumphant look on her face, his heart pounded faster still.
On the one hand, this was exactly what they needed to pull off a truly convincing escape, for Snape to be returned with the very minimum of suspicion. On the other, Bellatrix was just insane enough to be entirely unpredictable, which was never a good thing in a duel, as so many had found to their cost.
"Who's that hiding in the trees?" Bellatrix called, her voice a cloying, predatory tease. "Don't you want to come out and play?"
Remus turned to Tonks. 'I'll draw her out,' he mouthed. 'You, hide – '
'Take her by surprise?' Tonks mouthed back, and he nodded.
She nodded back, face set in a mask of determination, and ducked into a crouch, before scurrying away to dart behind another tree, five feet from where he was.
"I said, don't you want to come out and play?" Bellatrix said more forcefully.
Before Remus could think of a retort – or better, a hex, the tree he'd been flattened against shook, and as he backed away, turning to face his adversaries, the tree was lifted from its roots with an earth-rending noise that was halfway between a scrape and a scream, and was unceremoniously hurled into another and then dumped on the ground.
Birds fluttered away, chirping their protest, and the grass, twigs and leaves at Remus' feet rustled angrily at the disruption of the ground. He backed away, past the tree Tonks was hiding against, willing himself not to look at her and give her away, too.
All he needed was a little distance….
Bellatrix wasted no time in firing a spell at him, but it was easily deflected and felt rather weak, and as she cackled and advanced, he rather got the feeling she was toying with him, wanting to see him dart this way and that, Conjure shields and the like, cower in fear. It was what she always expected from her opponents – and, he thought glumly, he suspected that, nine times out of ten, she got it.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tonks swallow.
Was she really prepared for this?
He brushed the thought aside. Tonks was as strong as anyone he knew, and she'd proven herself time and time again – but as Bellatrix advanced with the others flanking her, waiting on her signal, he couldn't help wishing she wasn't there.
"Did you and Severus have fun?" she said, her voice cold and spiteful. "Naughty boys, bloodying each other up like that."
She shot another hex, and Remus darted, feeling it whistle past the sleeve of his robes. He shot one back – Impedimenta, without the slightest intention of making it hit its target. "Not very civil, is it?" she said, shooting the spell a dirty look as it sailed past, and Remus shot another one, this time a little closer, and then another. "See to him," she said, barking the order at the man Remus' didn't know and her husband with equal venom as she jerked her head in Snape's direction.
As they did as they were told, Remus saw his moment. He couldn't chance signalling Tonks, but trusted that she'd know what he was doing when the moment came, so the second Bellatrix passed where Tonks was, he stumbled backwards and landed on the ground, Conjuring a shield around himself.
Bellatrix's laughter echoed through the night as she raised her wand. "I've heard werewolves have exceptional tolerance for pain," she said, eyes narrowing and glittering. "I always did want to test the theory."
Remus made a show of attempting to scramble to his feet, more to cover the sound of Tonks moving than anything else, but Bellatrix hit him with a spell that slapped him back against the ground, and cackled maniacally. "Where's your fighting spirit now, boy?" she said, and the whole forest rang with the sound of her laughter. "Or did Severus tire you out?" Remus kept his eyes fixed on Bellatrix's, even though in his peripheral he could see Tonks approaching. "Cruc –"
Tonks leapt forward and pressed the tip of her wand to Bellatrix's throat before she could finish the word. "You know, aunty," she said, pressing a little harder, "you really shouldn't laugh like that. You'll get wrinkles."
For a split second, Bellatrix's face was frozen in surprise – but only for a second.
There was a boom, and Tonks was flung back away from her aunt. She staggered, but she wasn't wrong-footed for long – at the noise of the boom the other Death Eaters had abandoned their slow stalk and set off towards them at a run, the two tending to Severus abandoning their orders and dashing towards the fray – and in the next instant the forest was alight with spells.
Remus scrambled to his feet – he caught the blonde woman with a Stupefy and she fell to the ground with a thunk – but the others advanced without giving her a second glance.
They seemed to have decided to leave Tonks to Bellatrix, and headed straight for him, firing spells randomly at him that he had to weave and duck to avoid, Conjuring shield charms and feeling them reverberate and weaken under the barrage.
Bellatrix and Tonks fought closely – so closely, almost nose to nose, that he could barely keep track of their progress – he barely had time to as Scragg loomed in his periphery, making a grab for him with shovel-like hands. Remus dodged and waited – bided his time, and as Scragg made a lunge for him, caught him with a truly malicious Ico to the throat. Scragg reeled back, coughing up blood, but Remus barely had time to pause for breath as Rodolphus and the other man advanced, eyes glinting with delighted malevolence under their dark hoods.
"You've improved," Bellatrix shrieked, eyes glittering menacingly as she swiped at Tonks with her wand and Tonks ducked out of her way. "It's always much more fun when people are worthy of the fight – I enjoyed killing your dear cousin immensely for that very reason."
Remus felt his chest contract and something inside of him lurch, but he didn't have time to think about it as the two men advanced. He heard Tonks throw back a retort about gloating not being very becoming in a woman of Bellatrix's age, which lessened the lurch, but as a spell from Rodolphus whistled past, ruffling his hair, he felt that they'd well and truly pushed their luck enough, and started backing away, firing hexes past Tonks and Bellatrix to keep Rodolphus and the other Death Eater at bay.
"Tonks," he shouted. "It's useless – we're outnumbered."
For a second, he thought that Tonks was going to stay and finish what she'd started, but a fractional hesitation on Bellatrix's part gave Tonks a lucky break, and she caught her with some kind of intense stinging hex, and as Bellatrix reeled away in pain and surprise, she joined him.
They darted through the trees, firing enough hexes over their shoulders to keep the Death Eaters at a distance and weaved enough to hopefully make themselves tricky targets, and, feeling that they'd made enough of a show of being frightened and out-numbered, Remus Conjured a fog to disguise them, took Tonks' elbow, and Disapparated, Bellatrix's cold laughter echoing in his ears.
A/N: Many thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. They're all very much appreciated. Anyone sparing a moment to let me know what they thought of this gets a woodland moonlit stroll with a HP character of their choice - duel to the death optional ;).