Resolutions

By Neurotica

Seventeen

By the next morning, rumors had started to leak and the worst possible people were catching wind of them. Rita Skeeter, recovered from her injuries, stationed herself outside the Hogwarts gates, trying to find somebody who would talk to her. The Aurors investigating the school grounds, searching for signs of anything that could help them explain what could have gone so horribly wrong the night before, weren't the least bit helpful to the nuisance of a reporter. They'd been instructed by Sirius not to even glance at her—knowing her, she would turn one look into an entire paragraph of twisted lies.

The students had been gathered in the Great Hall where Dumbledore explained to them the fates of two of their professors and a fellow student. By early afternoon, parents were already arriving at the gates, demanding that their children come home with them—it was now obvious to them, what with the attack aboard the Hogwarts Express a little over a month ago and now this, that Dumbledore could not be trusted any longer. It was quite sickening to hear parents, who'd once been students themselves under Dumbledore's time as Headmaster, say such things directly to the old wizard's face. But Dumbledore accepted every nasty insult with a polite incline of his head and a quiet wish for the parents and their children to take care of themselves.

Professors Slughorn and Sinistra had been taken to the Ministry of Magic mortuary early in the morning—Sirius wanted Slughorn checked over to see if he'd indeed been under Imperius like Dumbledore had theorized. Hermione's condition had been quite erratic during the night, but in the very early hours of the morning, just as the moon set, Remus pointed out grimly, Madam Pomfrey had been successful in stabilizing her, stopping her wounds from bleeding any more, and slowing her breathing rate.

When Remus first set eyes on Hermione's face and exposed body, he had to turn away—not because of what she looked like, but that something like that had happened to her at all. He had absolutely no doubt in his mind that Fenrir Greyback had been responsible for this. "She's lucky to even be alive," he said croakily to Sirius. "When was the last time you heard of Greyback's victims living?"

Sirius' response took away any positive light Remus had been trying to shed on the situation. "Maybe he thought she was dead," he'd said. "Or maybe he meant to let her live for some reason."

When Ron, Ginny, and Molly rushed into the hospital wing, everybody was sure Ron would pass out from the shock of seeing his girlfriend in such a state. The sleeping draught Sirius had given Harry wore off around one in the morning, and when Ron found his best friend had regained consciousness, Remus and Sirius had had to physically restrain the redhead—there'd been a look in his eye that told everyone he blamed Harry for all of this. They hadn't even needed to hear Ron's bellows to know how he felt towards Harry at the moment. One of the more memorable phrases used included something along the lines of Ron wishing he'd never met Harry. Remus was only about three-quarters sure Ron hadn't meant a word he'd said—he was just letting his emotions get the better of him, or that's what he tried to tell Harry afterwards. Harry hadn't said a word since the confrontation, preferring to lie in his bed, staring at the ceiling with bright, wet eyes.

Hogwarts was now, just past dinnertime, under full lockdown—nobody came in without a fifteen minute screening process by Aurors stationed at the gates, and nobody went out without permission from both Dumbledore and Sirius. Floo travel into the school was completely disabled, save a communication connection in the headmaster's office that was only accessible with a complicated password. Apparition was absolutely out of the question, even in Hogsmeade, and portkey was only allowed from the Ministry of Magic to the Hogsmeade train station, where another bunch of Aurors waited. Hagrid had gone into the forest and set Grawp the task of apprehending anything that set foot into the forest that wasn't supposed to be there. Hagrid later reported that his half-brother had been strangely enthused with the job; apparently, Hagrid hadn't told Grawp not to harm any of the intruders. Sirius found himself liking Grawp a lot, though he'd never actually met the giant.

An Order meeting had been called in the Headmaster's office with select members—Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hagrid, Sirius, Remus, Naomi, Emmeline, Mad-Eye, Molly, and, to nearly everyone's surprise, Mundungus Fletcher. The meeting had been delayed about an hour because when Dung was going through his screening with the Aurors, every secrecy sensor and dark detector being used had been set off at once. It had taken Sirius going out to the gates after Dung sent his squirrel-patronus to his fellow Order members to clear the wizard for entry.

"What've you done that I need to be aware of?" the Head Auror asked his old friend as they went to Dumbledore's office.

"I ain't done nothin'!" Dung said defensively. Sirius raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him. "Well, I ain't done nothin' too horrible—I ain't killed no one..."

Sirius only sighed and shook his head. He liked Dung immensely—the old crook had helped him out few times in terms of pointing out dark wizards he hadn't known about, and he'd even been partly responsible for saving Harry's life a few years back—he'd found a rare, expensive ingredient for an antidote to a poison that had been eating Harry's insides—but there were times when he wondered how it was that Dung had kept himself out of Azkaban as long as he had.

You know the exact answer to that, said that annoying little voice in his head that sounded too much like Remus for his comfort. It's only because of you he's stayed out of prison...

The Order meeting was full of nothing but speculation on how Slughorn managed to bewitch Sinistra and undo the charms on the school gates, usher Greyback in, and kill both himself and the Astronomy professor. Mad-Eye suggested that Sinistra hadn't been part of it at all (Sirius got an odd feeling that his former boss and mentor had been somewhat smitten with the witch. He shuddered at the very thought.), that she'd been killed as part of a cover-up. His theory was that someone else, besides Slughorn, had been involved.

"But it would have had to be someone who knew exactly how to take down the charms without alerting anybody," Naomi argued, holding Mira while the baby looked around the office. "And both that supposed other person and Slughorn would have had to be present to take the charms down—it won't work with only one person..."

Mad-Eye, growing frustrated that nobody would accept his version of events, narrowed his eyes, his magical and normal ones locked on Naomi. "You seem to know a lot about this..."

"Oi!" Sirius said loudly. "If you're implying that Naomi had something to do with this, maybe you and I should step outside, Mad-Eye."

"Are you threatening me, Black?" the DMLE head growled.

"Are you accusing my wife of letting psychopaths into Hogwarts, Mad-Eye?" Sirius snapped back.

"If you're both quite finished," Remus said over whatever Mad-Eye was saying. "There is absolutely no evidence that Naomi or anyone else in this room had something to do with this, Mad-Eye. And Sirius, stop threatening people; we're trying to work together to figure this out, and you're not exactly helping." The two Head Aurors, one current, one former, both stubborn and hotheaded, continued to glare at one another for long minutes.

"Thank you, Remus," Dumbledore said. He was looking wary and exhausted tonight, and Remus was wondering when the last time he'd had any rest had been. "It is a well-known fact among Hogwarts staff that the charms and wards surrounding the castle grounds require two people in order to be disabled. And I do not believe that any one of them willingly helped take them down last evening."

"I never would have thought Slughorn would have done it," Emmeline muttered without really meaning to—as her pregnancy progressed, she was more prone to slips of the tongue.

"Nor would I have," Dumbledore agreed. "But his wand was used in the disabling of the wards."

"Has Priori Incantatem been used on his wand?" Molly asked, looking at Sirius.

"I'm never using Priori Incantatem again," he said. "I learned that lesson last year. But I've got both Slughorn's and Sinistra's wands, and they will be checked tomorrow morning at the Ministry."

"I don't understand why Greyback only attacked Hermione and left," Naomi said, "You'd think he'd want to get as many people as he could..."

Sirius shrugged. "Maybe he didn't have time to go after anyone else," he said. "Aurors were patrolling; he probably knew that, waited long enough for someone to come out to the grounds alone, did what he did, and ran."

"Where'd he run to, though?" Dung asked. "Like yeh said, there's Aurors crawlin' all over this place. Gittin' in once is luck, but gittin' out again ain't that easy."

"Speaking from experience, Dung?" Naomi asked under her breath, causing Remus and Sirius, who were sitting on either side of her snort in laughter. "Either way, he's right. Greyback had to have had a different way out of the grounds—the Aurors surely would have seen him trying to sneak out. He's not magically trained—he hates wizards, obviously—so it's not like he could Apparate or portkey..."

"But somebody could have Apparated him away or made a set portkey for him, say for a few hours," Emmeline said. "There are a hundred different ways he could have left. And you're forgetting that you can't Apparate into or out of Hogwarts grounds, and I personally saw to it that portkeys won't function anywhere nearer than Hogsmeade train station..."

Sirius frowned in thought. "Does Greyback have the Dark Mark?" he asked his wife slowly.

Naomi raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "No, it makes it easier for him to get through wards that recognize the Dark Mark. Why?"

Sirius looked at Remus. "You remember during the Triwizard how all the Death Eaters just disappeared? Snape said something about the Dark Mark being used as a Portkey of some sort..."

Remus nodded slowly. "He also said though, that Voldemort had to be present. Right?" he asked Naomi.

"Yes," she said, her brow furrowing. "Voldemort doesn't have the Mark himself, so he touches his left forearm with his wand and says some charm (I've never heard it), and he can transport any and all Death Eaters with the Mark to anywhere he wants them to go. And the Death Eaters have no choice; it's like forced Apparition."

"So basically, if Voldemort was to come on the school grounds or somewhere you just happened to be, Naomi, he could force you to Apparate somewhere?" Emmeline asked slowly.

Naomi's eyes widened a touch. It seemed she'd never thought about it. "He could," she said quietly, holding Mira closer to her. "And if it was that easy for Greyback to get in..."

"In knew this was a bad idea, letting you come out here to teach," Sirius muttered.

Naomi raised an eyebrow, her fear forgotten. "Excuse me? You let me come out here?" she repeated, her tone bordering on threatening.

Remus could foresee a very nasty argument arising as Sirius opened his mouth, so he cut his best friend off before he could say anything too stupid. "I think now we should concentrate on safeguarding the school again. It's been two and a half years since the Triwizard Tournament, and there's not been an attack on Hogwarts grounds since that night."

Dumbledore nodded. "Quite true, Remus," he said. "I believe, then, that we are agreed that we've had a good amount of misfortune fall upon us with Horace Slughorn?" Everybody nodded. "Good. We will work on the protection wards first thing tomorrow morning. Until then—"

The Headmaster was cut off by a bright white badger materializing in front of Sirius' chair. The Head Auror raised an eyebrow at it, knowing whose patronus it was, and listened to the message it silently delivered him. The others waited patiently for the badger to fade away; once it had, Sirius sighed and looked around at the expectant group. "Tonks sent her patronus to tell me a student was discovered on the grounds trying to get through the gates. He was under an Invisibility Cloak, so the secrecy sensors went haywire."

Remus' eyebrows shot up. "And why exactly was Harry out of bed? Pomfrey's got him on bed rest until tomorrow..."

But Sirius shook his head. "Not Harry. Ron," he said.

"What?" Molly said sharply, standing suddenly. "What does he think he's doing, after what happened to Hermione?"

Realization hit Remus like a bludger to the head. What would he have done back in seventh year if Naomi had been attacked by Greyback? Hell, what would he do now if one of his loved ones was attacked? "Molly, wait," he called as the redheaded witch made for the door. "Would you mind if I spoke with Ron?"

Molly blinked in surprise. "Oh... Well, if you like," she said uncertainly.

Remus smiled reassuringly. "I'll be back shortly," he said to the others, leaving the office. While he made his way out onto the grounds, he tried to figure out what to say to Ron. If the younger wizard had been trying to do what Remus thought, it wouldn't be easy to convince him it wasn't a good idea—Harry had said numerous times that Ron was as stubborn as Sirius. And there's nobody more stubborn than Sirius when he gets an idea into his head, Remus thought. Well, except perhaps Harry...

Just outside the castle doors, Remus found Tonks and Ron. The redheaded wizard had a very ugly look on his face, presumably from being caught. "Harry will probably want this back," Tonks said, handing the Invisibility Cloak over to Remus. He stuffed it in his cloak pocket. "I've got to get back to my station. Let me know if you need anything."

Remus nodded. "Thank you, Tonks," he said. The Auror smiled and turned away, going back to her post at the gates. Remus sighed and glanced at Ron. "Would you mind if I asked why you were trying to get off the grounds?" he asked conversationally. Remus already had a good idea what was going through Ron's head, but he wanted to see if the younger wizard would say it aloud.

Ron glared up at the older wizard, the ugly look intensifying with a slight trace of a snarl. "Stay out of it," he growled. "This has nothing to do with you."

The redhead started to turn back towards the gates, with the obvious intention of trying to leave again. Remus grabbed his shoulder and turned him back around. "Ron—" he began.

"The bastard needs to pay!" Ron yelled, his eyes filling with what Remus thought looked suspiciously like tears.

"Ron, I understand you're upset. It hasn't been the best few months for you or your family, and what happened last night... Well, it never should have happened at all. But unfortunately, it did happen, and there's nothing we can do to change it."

"What did Hermione do to deserve that?" Ron muttered, not looking at Remus.

"Nothing," Remus said. "Nobody deserves something like that to happen to them. But we've got to look at the bright side: Hermione is alive, and Madam Pomfrey says that with time, she'll be all right."

Ron shook his head slightly, miserably. "She won't be," he said. "Did you see her face or the rest of her body? Even Madam Pomfrey won't be able to get rid of those scars..."

"Does it matter how she looks?" Remus asked frankly. "Scars are scars, Ron, but they won't change Hermione's personality."

"How do you know that, though?" Ron challenged. "She was attacked by a werewolf. How do you know she won't turn into one of them on the full moon?"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "If she does turn into a werewolf every month, which I don't believe she will, I will personally make sure she is safe."

Ron looked at him in confusion for a minute, before his expression cleared. "I didn't mean to offend..."

Remus smiled slightly. "You haven't," he said gently. "I seem to be the one everyone's going to for this case, anyway, and I don't mind a bit. Anything I can do to help... Anyway, Ron, Greyback wasn't transformed when he attacked Hermione, so it's doubtful she'll turn into a full werewolf. The wounds she has sustained are magical, so they may or may not heal properly. I think the most you'll have to worry about is whether or not she has migraines on the full moon. But I could be wrong about that... I've never seen something like this happen before; Hermione's condition is unusual, possibly unique."

Ron nodded. "How is it that Greyback's been able to attack all these people and no one's tried to stop him?"

"Do you honestly believe we're not trying to stop him?" Remus asked. "Fenrir Greyback is one of the most wanted people in the wizarding world."

"Someone should throw him off a cliff with jagged rocks at the bottom. And then have man-eating sharks finish him off."

Remus smiled a little. "I agree," he said. "That, however, would be far too humane a fate for Greyback. I've seen firsthand what he's capable of. What he's done to Hermione... Well, it could have been much, much worse..."

"Like her parents?"

Remus nodded. "The night I found her mother... Ron, I'd never seen anything that horrible." He sighed. "Will you tell me what you were planning on doing if you'd gotten off school grounds?"

The younger wizard shrugged. "I would've tracked down Greyback," he said quietly.

"And after that?"

Ron shook his head. "I don't know. I hadn't gotten that far yet."

"Greyback will get what he deserves in the end, Ron, I personally guarantee that. But you and your family have been through a lot over the last few months. Think about what would happen to your mother if something happened to you. Or Hermione," Remus said.

"I know," Ron said, nodding. "Can I ask you something, Remus?" The older wizard nodded. "What would you have done?"

"Same thing as you," Remus said with a small grin. "I understand what you're going through, Ron, really I do, but please don't let your emotions make you do something that would put you into harm's way. And if you trust me, even just a little, trust that I will do everything I can to bring Greyback to justice. He will not do this to anybody else." As he spoke, Remus made a decision, and before Ron could inquire about what he meant, he said, "We should get back inside. I'm sure your mother will want a word with you..."

Ron groaned and winced. "Do I really have to see her right now?"

"I'm afraid so," Remus said solemnly. "I'm fairly sure you'll live through it though."

While Remus and Ron were making their way back into the school, the majority of the Order had left Dumbledore's office and gone to the hospital wing. Harry was wide awake and doing his best to ignore Ginny's attempts to tell him Ron was only being stupid when Sirius came to his godson's bedside. The boy was shaking his head and rolling his eyes over something.

"Ginny, could I talk to Harry for a few minutes?" Sirius asked.

After a few more seconds of glaring at Harry, Ginny nodded, stood, and went to where her mother, Emmeline, and Naomi were talking with Madam Pomfrey. The Head Auror took her chair and watched Harry pick at the lint on his blanket. "Ron will get over this," Sirius said quietly.

"You don't know that," Harry said. "Hermione could have been killed and it would have been my fault."

"How so?" Sirius asked lightly. "Did you make her go out on to the grounds? Did you send Greyback an owl, telling him that Hermione was going to be out there at the precise moment she was?"

"No, but I should have done something more to keep her in the common room."

Sirius nodded slowly. "Well, you didn't," he said bluntly. Harry raised an eyebrow. "Just like when you were kidnapped... You tried to wake me up and I didn't. I ignored my duty as your godfather and I nearly lost you forever because of it. You don't know this, but Remus blamed me for that, just like Ron is blaming you for this. Hagrid actually had to keep Remus for hitting me."

"What happened?" Harry asked quietly.

Sirius shrugged. "We both realized mistakes had been made, but there was something far more important to deal with. We had to find you, and my being an irresponsible godfather wasn't relevant compared to your safety."

"But if I hadn't gone out onto the grounds that night for my stag—" Harry began.

"And if Hermione hadn't gone out on the grounds last night for her book..." Sirius responded. "Look, the point is, Harry, that not one single person is to blame for what happened last night, except for Greyback. Yes, you let Hermione threaten you into staying in Gryffindor Tower, but she made the decision to go out there. Even if she hadn't, I can't guarantee Greyback wouldn't have waited for someone else, maybe Hagrid, or one of my Aurors. Maybe even Remus or Emmeline, since they were planning on coming out here last night anyway. Even if one of a hundred things had been different last night, Harry, we'd still be facing something like this."

"Did Slughorn really have a part in it?"

"I'm almost positive," Sirius said. "But we're certain if he was, he'd been placed under Imperius."

Harry's brow furrowed in thought. "Sirius," he said slowly. "Remember back on my birthday, when Remus lost control on the full moon?"

"It's kind of hard to forget something like that," Sirius said dryly with a raised eyebrow.

"Well," Harry said, ignoring the reply, "if Slughorn was under Imperius, could that have been why Remus' potion was messed up?"

Sirius looked at his godson with an odd expression. "Bloody hell, why didn't I think of that? I knew something had to have been wrong with Slughorn for him to have done that—he's one of the best potion masters around. But it never connected when we were discussing all this in Dumbledore's office..."

"Some Auror you are," Harry teased.

Sirius glared half-heartedly. He glanced at his watch and sighed. "You get some rest," he said. "I've got to go relieve a few Aurors from patrol duty. And it looks like I've picked the best time too," he added as Ron entered the hospital wing followed closely by Remus. Molly, looking understandably furious at her son, stood and crossed the room. Sirius and Harry winced in sympathy for Ron as she began yelling at him. "See you in the morning, Harry."

Harry tried to plead for Sirius to take him with—he didn't want to listen to his best friend getting yelled at—but the Head Auror either hadn't heard him or was purposely ignoring him.

Late into the night, while the rest of Hogwarts was asleep, a sole figure moved quietly but swiftly through the castle's corridors. Down a few flight of stairs the figure went, knowing exactly what was needed. Using a wand, the figure murmured, "Alohomora." The lock in the stone door clicked softly, and the figure pushed it open, wincing at the creaking noise it made. There were dozens of cauldrons around the room, but only one held what the figure needed. After a careful search, the correct potion was found, and a sample was spooned into a tiny bottle found on a shelf. Should be enough... the figure thought, examining the potion, which warmed his hand through the glass.

Without any further hesitance, the figure left the room, closing the door behind him. He had a mission to complete.

Next morning, Emmeline woke in the bed of the Hogwarts guest room Dumbledore had given to her and Remus—neither of them had felt like traveling back to Number Twelve. Her eyes snapped open when she didn't hear her husband's light snores beside her. His spot in the bed was abandoned and cold.

"Remus?" she called through the room, wondering whether he'd just gone to the bathroom. She glanced at the clock beside her that read 6:34 a.m. They hadn't even gone to bed until well past one in the morning, so she'd expected him to sleep in a little. Maybe he's just gone to see Dumbledore, she thought, her eyes closing again.

A few hours later, she was woken by a knock at the door. Reluctantly, she got out a bed, a feat that was becoming more and more difficult as her pregnancy progressed, pulled on a dressing gown, and went to answer the portrait covering the door. Sirius was standing in the corridor looking exhausted—he'd been patrolling all night. "Morning," she said, stepping aside so he could enter.

"Morning," he replied with a large yawn, looking around. "Where's Moony?"

"Don't know," she said, realizing Remus hadn't come back yet. "He's been gone a while... Probably to see Dumbledore."

Sirius raised a tired eyebrow. "No, he hasn't. I was just in Dumbledore's office. He hasn't seen Remus all morning,or at least he didn't say anything about Remus."

Emmeline blinked. "So where could he have gone?"

"Hogsmeade, maybe? Did he leave a note or anything?"

She turned and looked around the room closely, finally setline on the desk where she could see a folded piece of parchment. Quickly, she made her way to it, finding her name on the front in Remus' neat handwriting. She opened the note, read it once, and grasped around for a chair, trying not to fall over as she read the note again. "Oh god," she breathed, reaching the bottom again.

"What?" Sirius demanded, coming to stand beside her.

She took a deep breath and read aloud. "My dearest Emmeline, I'm sorry to have to do this to you, but if I don't, our sons will grow up with the same fears I did. I can't tell you where I'm going—I don't know for certain myself, but know that no matter what happens to me, I will always love you with every fiber of my being. I hope that you won't think any less of me after you hear of what I've done. Please take care of yourself and our children while I'm away. I hope to see you soon. All my love, Remus."

"What the hell is that all about?" Sirius asked, his heart pounding.

Emmeline took a breath to answer, but someone else did it for her. "It means he's gone after Greyback," Naomi said from the open door. Emmeline and Sirius turned to her. "He left a note for Dumbledore as well, but he left it with a house-elf on his way off the grounds with strict orders not to give it to Dumbledore until ten a.m."

"But... how did he get off the grounds?" Sirius asked weakly. "I was out there all night..."

"I don't know," Naomi said, "but when I checked, Harry said Remus never gave back his Invisibility Cloak..."