Resolutions

By Neurotica

Eighteen

On the morning of the full moon, a young wizard wearing a hooded cloak walked into the area of London known as the Werewolf Underground. His hair, black and slightly long, hung over a pair of wire-rimmed glasses and brown eyes. He was of average height and build, generically handsome, and didn't seem at all out of place. He walked through a dark tunnel, along the tracks of an abandoned route of the Muggle underground. All around him were werewolves in torn clothes and with dirty, matted hair. His expression was kept expertly blank as he observed children as young as three digging through rubbish bins for food.

This strange wizard had arrived in the Underground the night before, saying in a deep, hoarse voice that his name was Smith. His story wasn't any different than most of the other werewolves—he'd been bitten a little over a year ago and his family had shunned him. He'd come to his fellow werewolves after hearing word of a man called Greyback, who led a pack that dedicated itself to getting even with the wizarding world and the humans who scorned them. Though they doubted his name was truly Smith, the other werewolves didn't doubt the man's story for a second and had invited him to join them for the full moon.

Smith went to a corner of the werewolf pack's den and threw himself onto the cot he'd made himself consisting of dirty clothes. He sat with his back to the stone wall, his arms and legs crossed, and pondered.

That the other werewolves bought his story only showed how naïve they actually were. Only one thing had been the truth—he was a werewolf, but he'd been bitten long ago. His real name was Remus John Lupin, and the only reason he was in the underground was to find Fenrir Greyback. Since his initial arrival in the underground, he tried to plan out what he would do when he was finally faced with the werewolf who had bitten him when he was a child. Remus thought about his wife and his unborn sons, and about how much safer all three of them would be once Greyback was gone.

As far as he knew, Greyback had yet to be aware that he, Remus, was about to be a father. If Greyback did find out, the Lupins' twin boys would undoubtedly be on the werewolf's list of targets, and Remus couldn't allow that to happen. He'd already seen far too many victims of Greyback's and his sons would not be added to that list.

While Remus was contemplating his next move in the Underground, his wife was at Hogwarts, wondering if she'd ever see him again. She'd hardly eaten anything in two days, and only after Sirius or Naomi made her. She hadn't had the energy to go into work, either—Minister Bones approved for her to begin her maternity leave early. She only spoke when spoken to, and even then, she didn't say much. Most of her time was spent crying and wishing Remus was there with her.

"Emmeline?" Naomi said, entering the sitting room of the guest quarters. "I brought lunch..." The other witch walked to where Emmeline sat on the sofa watching the fire, and set the tray of food on the coffee table in front of her. "I've got chicken salad sandwiches, celery sticks, and pumpkin juice..."

"Thank you," Emmeline said quietly, not looking from the fire. "But I'm not really hungry."

Naomi sighed. "Maybe you're not, but I'm sure the twins are," she said. That was the only way to get Emmeline to eat. Sure enough, though she sniffled a little, she reached out with a shaking hand for a plate. "Emmeline, I'm sure he'll be back soon..."

Emmeline laughed bitterly. "Everyone keeps saying that like he's just gone to Diagon Alley!" she said. "I keep imagining what's going to happen to him if he doesn't come back by moonrise tonight—he's never been with other werewolves on the full moon, they'll tear him apart!"

Naomi bit her lip hard and looked away. She opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. Emmeline didn't need to hear that right now. Instead, she took the other witch's hand and squeezed it in attempted comfort. "Sirius is doing everything he can to find the Underground and to bring Remus back safely."

"What good is that, though? Nobody knows where the hell it is!" Emmeline said, tears falling from her eyes. "And the worst part of it all... It's not that he left without telling me where he was going or telling me he loved me before, though that does hurt a lot... What's worst is that he broke his promise to me."

"What promise?" Naomi asked with a furrowed brow.

"Last year, he promised me he wouldn't go after Greyback alone. He looked me in the eye and swore he wouldn't... He lied to me."

"I'm sorry," Naomi said lamely. She didn't know what else to say. "Remus will be all right."

"How do you know that?" Emmeline demanded. "How do you know those other werewolves won't kill him tonight? I need him, Naomi, I don't want to raise our children alone."

"You won't," Naomi said gently, hoping it wasn't a lie. "This will all work out, you'll see." She waited for Emmeline to calm a bit before looking at her watch. "You finish eating. I've got a class in half an hour... I'll be back afterwards."

Emmeline nodded, taking a bite of her sandwich and Naomi stood. With one last glance at the other witch, she left the quarters. She felt horrible for thinking it, but she couldn't wait to have Sirius hold her when he returned to Hogwarts that night.

Harry had a break in his lessons just after lunch, so he decided to stop by the hospital wing to see if Hermione was awake. She'd woken a few times in the last day or so, but hadn't been very coherent. This was mostly due to Madam Pomfrey increasing the dosage of her pain potions. Harry entered through the heavy oak doors and stopped in his tracks, the doors almost hitting him in the face as they swung closed, only mildly surprised to see Ron sitting beside Hermione's bed. The redhead hadn't left her side unless he absolutely had to; lessons being the major reason, but even those weren't Ron's top priority anymore.

Hermione wasn't awake as far as Harry could tell, but he could still hear the low buzz of Ron's voice talking to her. Harry was reluctant to go over there, since the last time Harry and Ron had been in close proximity to one another, horrid accusations had been made on Ron's part, and Harry hadn't had the nerve to try to spark a conversation between them.

Because you know he was right, said a voice in his head. It was your fault that Hermione, one of your best friends in the world, was nearly killed.

Shut up, Harry thought back firmly. The voice was silent. Taking a deep breath, Harry slowly began making his way to Hermione's bedside. "Hey," he said quietly to Ron. Ron cast him a sidelong glance. "Mind if I sit?" Ron shrugged; Harry took that for a yes, and pulled over a chair. "How is she?"

Ron was silent for a few minutes, and Harry didn't think he'd get an answer, but the other said, "She was awake earlier, but Madam Pomfrey gave her a sleeping potion."

Harry nodded.

"She wanted to know where you've been," Ron said stiffly. "I told her you'd be by later, that you were in class."

"Yeah, I noticed you weren't," Harry commented.

Again, Ron shrugged. "I didn't see much point in sitting through History of Magic without Hermione trying to get me to take notes."

Harry grinned slightly. "She was the only reason you even went to that class, isn't she?"

Ron snorted humorlessly. "She was the only reason I've got to any class this year..." He sighed. "First my dad, now this... What the hell have I done? Who have I pissed off?"

"You haven't done anything, Ron," Harry said. "It all comes down to Voldemort, doesn't it?" Harry barely registered that this was the first time Ron hadn't flinched at the Dark Lord's name. "He's the cause of nearly anything bad that's happened lately. He killed my parents... His followers killed Hermione's, and your dad... He's turned Sirius' and Remus' best friends into Death Eaters, even though Naomi did finally come to her senses... And he's why Hermione was attacked." Ron mulled over this for a few minutes before Harry said, "What do you think she'll be like now that a werewolf's attacked her?"

Ron sighed and put his elbows on his knees, his chin resting on his fists. "Well, Remus told me the other night that since Greyback wasn't transformed when he attacked her, she won't become a full werewolf. But other than that..." He shrugged.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I heard him and Pomfrey talking the other night. She said the wounds are magical, so they won't heal all the way. But Remus only has a faint scar on his hip where he was bitten, so I wasn't sure if Hermione's will go away with time. I looked it up in the library, and the book I read said werewolves heal quicker than normal witches and wizards, but since Hermione isn't a werewolf, I'm not sure that even applies to her. I asked Remus, and he said she might have some wolfish characteristics, but he's not positive..."

"Wolfish characteristics?" Ron repeated with a raised eyebrow. "What's that mean? Is she going to grow a bunch of hair on the full moon or something, because she's already got plenty of that..."

Harry laughed a little, glancing at Hermione's very full head of bushy hair. "I don't know what it means, actually. Ginny thinks she might just have a craving for red meat or something."

"That oughta be interesting," Ron said, smiling a little. It faded quickly and he gulped, looking sideways at Harry. "Look, Harry, about what I said the other night..."

"It's all right," Harry said quickly. Ron never was comfortable with apologizing to people, and though deep down, Harry wanted him to feel uncomfortable after what he'd said, he felt it better just to put Ron out of his misery. "You were upset, and I understand that, so let's just forget about it, eh?"

Ron opened his mouth to retort but closed it with a sigh and nodded. "Alright," he said quietly. "I am, though... you know..."

Harry nodded, knowing Ron was trying to say he was sorry. "I know." He glanced at his watch. "I didn't see you at lunch either. What do you say to heading down to the kitchens and see what the house-elves will give us?"

Ron glanced at Hermione, debating with himself. "I am kinda hungry..."

"What else is new?" Harry smirked.

"Sod off," Ron responded, standing. He hesitated over Hermione's bed a moment before leaning down to kiss her lips, and following Harry out to the corridor towards the kitchens, his ears burning red the entire way.

About an hour before moonrise, Sirius entered Hogwarts again, feeling more exhausted than he'd felt in a long while. After questioning Dumbledore thoroughly about the whereabouts of the Werewolf Underground—the Headmaster said he knew nothing and Sirius believed him (Dumbledore wanted to find Remus as much as Sirius did)—he'd gone to the Ministry to see what information he could dig up. Nothing concrete could be found, only rumors on where people had heard the werewolves congregated. There were certain places known to be danger zones, meaning werewolves were known to stake out certain areas, waiting for potential victims. Sirius had personally gone to each and every one of these places over the course of the day, looking for werewolves to question, but it seemed that on the day of the full moon, they avoided being on the streets. Sirius thought darkly that they were saving up all their energy so they could hunt all night.

He didn't want to think that the chances of finding Remus before moonrise were less than zero, and he felt like a complete git for abandoning his search efforts for the night. He convinced himself that Remus knew what he was doing, no matter how stupid Sirius currently thought his best friend to be. As a last ditch effort, Sirius had gone to Number Twelve for the map of London the Order used. He used a charm Remus had discovered that was supposed to locate a person just by saying their name, but the map hadn't come up with Remus' name. Sirius had a feeling the wizard had predicted someone would think to check the map and had cast a charm on himself that would make him undetectable by magical means.

Sirius ran a frustrated hand through his hair as he took the stairs to the third floor two at a time, glancing out the window briefly and realizing he'd have no reason to transform into Padfoot that night. I could do it just to annoy Naomi, I suppose, he thought half-heartedly. But it wasn't any fun to annoy someone if there wasn't anyone to brag about it to afterwards—Remus was always the one he told of his attempts to annoy his wife.

He entered Naomi's private quarters and found his wife already in bed, reading. Mira was asleep in a small crib her parents had brought to Hogwarts for her to sleep in. Without a word, Sirius walked to the edge of the bed and fell into it face first, his legs dangling off the side. Naomi moved her own legs just in time to avoid having them crushed under the wizard's weight.

"Long day, darling?" she asked, not looking away from her book.

"Mmhmm," Sirius mumbled into the bed. He turned his head to face her. "You?"

She closed her book and placed it on the bedside table. "It was all right, I suppose," she said, moving to lie beside him, resting her head on his back. "A lot of parents have taken their children out of school, so classes are a bit empty..."

Sirius shook his head sadly. "How's Emmeline?" he asked, his eyes closing as Naomi started massaging his shoulders.

"How do you think she is? Her husband probably just ran off to his death, and the only goodbye he gave her was a lousy note," Naomi said.

Sirius sighed and buried his face in the blankets again. He thought idly, and only for less than a second, about suffocating himself. "I don't get Remus sometimes," he said in a muffled voice. "He's supposed to be the rational one, the intelligent one, and he goes off and does something stupid like this. I mean, I understand his being bitter towards Greyback for making his life what it is, but all he's doing is making the people he supposedly loves worried and miserable."

He could feel Naomi's incredulous look on the back of his head. "Supposedly?" she said. "Please tell me you don't really believe what you just said..." Sirius didn't answer. "You moron, don't you understand why he's doing this? It's not to get revenge on Greyback for biting him when he was a kid. I think Remus has come to terms with all that—he knows he's had a great life, with great friends, who will support him no matter what. He's doing this because he's seen what Greyback's done to the people he cares about. He and Sturgis were the first to see Hermione's parents when they were killed. I'm sure you'll remember all the attacks by Greyback and his pack back when we were in school. Remus once told me that he thought the reason his parents were murdered was because even after he'd been attacked, Mr. and Mrs. Lupin still wouldn't give in to Greyback's threats... Remus didn't go after Greyback for selfish reasons. If he'd wanted to do that, he would've done it years ago. He went after Greyback because he doesn't want to see his family, the people he loves, get hurt. He'll get out of this... Just like last time—" Naomi stopped speaking abruptly, her eyes widening.

Sirius turned his head to look at her. "What do you mean 'last time'?" He was almost positive his best friend had never attempted to go after Greyback before; though he had a feeling Naomi was about to burst that bubble... "Naomi," he said when she didn't reply. He rolled over onto his back and sat up, facing her. "Tell me."

She closed her eyes tightly and sighed. "He's going to kill me.." she muttered. "He made me swear not to tell anyone..."

"Was it an Unbreakable Vow?" Sirius asked dryly.

"No."

"Then tell me. Please."

Naomi opened her eyes and looked pleadingly at her husband. "Please don't be upset with me," she begged quietly. "He didn't tell you or James because by that time, you were both starting to suspect him of being the traitor."

Sirius didn't say anything, but his stomach muscles were growing tighter as he wondered how bad this explanation would have to be for Remus not to mention it to his best friends, even if they hadn't been on the best of terms at the time.

"It was a few months before Lily and James died," Naomi began reluctantly. "I didn't even know about it until afterwards, and he didn't even have the decency to leave me a note like he did Emmeline, but that's not important. He disappeared for about a week. Nobody knew where he was, and Dumbledore avoided the subject when I asked him. I was worried sick when, after the full moon, I still hadn't heard from him. But a few nights after that, he showed up at my flat late at night, looking like death warmed over, his chest soaked in blood. I wanted to take him to St. Mungo's, but apparently he still had enough strength to resist. So I did everything I could to get the bleeding to stop. When I finally did, he'd already lost a lot of blood, enough that it would have killed anyone else, but Remus is too stubborn to die, I think."

Sirius snorted in agreement.

Naomi continued. "Anyway, once the bleeding was stopped, I realized it wasn't just one wound, but three, like he'd been slashed across the chest with really big claws. I wrapped the wounds with bandages, made him something to eat, and put him to bed. Next morning, he was feeling better, and he told me where he'd gone. He was spying for Dumbledore, and he'd been in a fight with one of the senior werewolves of the pack. The worst part of it was that Dumbledore hadn't even wanted to send him, but Remus had somehow convinced him that it was his job to do..."

"I'd wondered how we got all that information on the werewolves," Sirius said thoughtfully. "Lily had a theory that Remus might have gone out there, but James and I didn't think he could possibly be that stupid."

"Well, you were the ones who thought he'd joined Voldemort, why couldn't you think he'd gone to Greyback? That's where all the other werewolves went."

Sirius shrugged. "I don't know. Didn't want to believe it, I guess. I don't think I'd fully made up my mind about Remus betraying us by then."

Naomi rolled her eyes. "Well, there's no point in getting into that argument again. God knows we did it enough back then."

He nodded. "So what do we do now, then? Just wait and see if he comes back?'

"That's all we can do if we can't find out where exactly the underground is," Naomi said. "And the werewolves keep the location close; Voldemort doesn't even know exactly where it is, I don't think."

"Bit secretive, aren't they?"

"Yup."

"You think Remus is going to be all right this time?"

Naomi hesitated. "Yup," she finally said.

Sirius lay back down on the bed. "Do you want to kiss me now?"

She rolled her eyes. "Could you be any cheesier?"

He grinned. "Yup," he replied, before pulling her down to him.

Just as Sirius was walking into Hogwarts, while the other werewolves were preparing to do whatever it was they did on the full moon—Remus still wasn't certain—Remus sat unnoticed in his little corner. Covertly, he reached a hand into his torn robes and ran a finger across the tiny bottle he'd brought with him—it was still warm to the touch. Though he was aching to take it right then, he knew the potion's effects would only last a few hours. Should've taken more, he thought distantly. It's not like Slughorn needs it anymore... And I'll need all the luck I can get tonight...

His plan had been finalized and already put in motion, much to his dark glee. One of the werewolves higher up in the pack hierarchy had told him earlier in the afternoon that all "newbies," that is, all those new to the pack, spent their first full moon with Greyback. It was a tradition among the pack that supposedly tested the worth of the new werewolf. Remus didn't yet know where he'd be taken, or even how they were to get there, but after his transformation, after this night... Well, he tried not to think of the end results or what his family would say about him.

"You, Smith," growled a deep voice. Remus quickly removed his hand from his pocket and looked up at the werewolf he recognized as Greyback's beta, his second-in-command within the pack. The man looked more like a wolf than a human, as most of the werewolves in the Underground did, with his shaggy hair and beard. His teeth were pointed and yellow, and a few were missing. The scars all over the other werewolf's body showed he'd fought his way to the top of the pack hierarchy. "Get up," the werewolf said. "Greyback's ready for you." The twisted smile that followed this almost made Remus forget his plan, but he'd come this far, and he'd never been a quitter.

Remus stood quickly, hoping the charms he'd used on himself before leaving Hogwarts the night before would remain active. In addition to the glamour charms, which were supposed to last twenty-four hours, he'd used a difficult spell that disguised his scent and hoped that it would carry over through his transformation. He'd hadn't taken his Wolfsbane like he did every month, so he knew his mind would be lost in his wolf form. He didn't feel quite so worried about it tonight, though. Not if my plan works, he thought, his hand moving automatically to the slight bulge in his pocket.

He followed the beta through the underground a little ways until they came upon a small crowd of male werewolves. When they broke through to the center, Remus' cover was nearly blown, due to who was standing beside Greyback. But when Greyback turned to him, looked him up and down a few times, hate boiled through his veins, and he kept himself calm.

"His name's Smith, or so he says," he beta said to his alpha, gesturing lazily to Remus.

"Smith, eh?" Greyback, said with his familiar yellow grin. Remus could smell his putrid breath, even though he was a good fifteen feet from the other werewolf. "You got a first name, Smith?"

Remus cleared his throat and said in that deep, hoarse voice that wasn't his, "John."

Greyback laughed. "How original," he said in what Remus thought was approval. "I knew a John once... Arrogant chap, he was. Thought he could turn me down. He learned better in the end, though."

Remus fought down the anger and rage at Greyback's off-hand comment about his father, but didn't say anything. His eyes had transferred from Greyback to the man beside him. He was at a loss as to why Severus Snape would be in the Underground, but his query was answered when Greyback said, "John, this is Severus. Since none of us down here are wizards, Severus comes by every month and makes us a portkey to get us where we need to go. You a wizard, John?"

Remus shook his head. "Not anymore," he lied at Greyback's narrowed eyes.

Snape's eyes also narrowed at him and Remus saw the briefest glint of recognition in the other wizard's eyes. Bloody hell! He quickly tore his eyes from Snape's. He's a Legilimens... Well, now I guess I'll find out if he's really gone back to Voldemort, like Sirius thinks...

A boy, no older than twelve or thirteen, pushed his way past Remus, carrying a steaming goblet. "It's done, sir," he said quietly to Greyback, looking down at his bare, dirty feet.

Greyback grunted in acknowledgment and snatched the goblet for the boy, drinking the contents in three large gulps, some of it dribbling out of his mouth and onto his chin and neck. "Sure there's nothing you can do about that taste, Severus?" he asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"You're not the first to have asked me that, Fenrir," Snape said, his eyes quickly flicking to Remus. "And the answer is still a very regrettable no."

Remus had to bite his cheeks so as not to smirk a the thought that Ted Tonks, a Muggleborn wizard, could make the Wolfsbane—he was sure that was the potion Greyback had taken—taste at least a little better, but Snape couldn't. He instead thought of what it meant for Greyback to take the potion. It meant he was keeping his mind during his transformations, something that did nothing to settle Remus' nerves.

Greyback gave his beta a few last-minute instructions as Snape prepared a portkey for the two werewolves. "You know how to use a portkey, I'll assume, Smith?" Snape said with a slight sneer. Greyback missed it completely.

"I do," Remus replied mildly, meeting Snape's eyes. The other wizard's brow furrowed slightly and he was the first to break the contact.

Their portkey was the now empty goblet. "When we arrive," Greyback said to Remus, "we wait until moonrise. After we've transformed, well, that's when the fun begins..."

Remus could only nod, his voice lost. He touched a finger to the goblet held out by the older werewolf, and five seconds later, the underground became blurred and disappeared. The last thing Remus saw was Snape's eyes boring into him.