Warning: Character Death.

Resolutions

By Neurotica

Thirty-Eight

Remus awoke the next morning with a lead stomach and a feeling of impending doom. He rolled over to find Emmeline had already gotten up and had left the room. With a sigh, he looked up at the ceiling and tried his hardest to make his sudden headache disappear—it only seemed to intensify.

Just before they'd gone to sleep the night before, Remus and Emmeline had had a long discussion about the full moon. Emmeline had mostly apologized for being cold to him, and Remus had finally understood her reasoning, though he still believed she was overreacting. To his surprise, she had no problem with his meeting with a female werewolf—she knew it was part of his work and nothing more. Remus wanted to hit himself afterwards for thinking she would react any other way.

He still had no idea what to expect during the meeting today—he'd been in contact with a few of the werewolves, and they'd expressed their gratitude for getting them away from the Underground, but he hadn't thought anything else would come of it. Then again, with the breakout from Azkaban, which included the werewolves that had been arrested, he probably should have expected a few of them to panic about their safety. However, the Ministry had done everything possible to ensure the safety of the female and child werewolves, and Remus didn't think they had anything to worry about.

But you also know that even the strongest protections can't always keep you safe, he thought. You've learned that little lesson many times.

His mind quickly ran through every single occasion his home had been breached by either Death Eaters or Voldemort, even though the area had been protected by supposedly the strongest wards and charms there were. These thoughts, of course, got him thinking about the night his cottage had been burned down, then to his Christmas present from Sirius and Harry. He couldn't wait to move in.

But in order to do that, I've got to get through tonight.

He suddenly wondered what exactly he'd gotten himself into. And then he began to see the points of his friends and family.

I hate it when they're right...

Upon entering Auror Headquarters that morning, Sirius was immediately turned around by Proudfoot and silently led down the hall to the DMLE offices. The Head Auror raised an eyebrow, but his second-in-command continued his way to Mad-Eye's office at the very back of the room.

"Have a seat," Mad-Eye said, not looking away from whatever it was he was reading. "Close the door, Black."

The two Aurors did as they were instructed, and waited for Mad-Eye to finish with the scroll in his hands.

"Just came down from Bones' office," Mad-Eye said, gesturing to the parchment. "Folks are getting panicky about the escaped prisoners. They want results."

"What do they want us to do, Mad-Eye?" Sirius asked irritably. "Every time we get them back into Azkaban, they escape again."

"A few suggestions have come up," Moody grumbled, looking up at his Aurors. "One involves bringing the dementors back—which isn't really an option at the moment. The other is allowing the use of Unforgivables by Aurors again."

Proudfoot shook his head in disgust. "I didn't like using them the first time around, and I'm sure as hell not going to use them now."

"Even if it gets Malfoy off the streets?" Mad-Eye challenged. "I was never the biggest supporter of this either, but things have changed, both of you know that. Those Death Eaters aren't just pretending they've seen the errors of their ways—they're out there in broad daylight, killing people. Not to mention the hysteria that broke out when the werewolves were announced to be on the loose again... Everyone's just waiting for tomorrow morning to find out exactly how bad it's going to be."

Sirius remained silent. He'd been waiting for this day, when the Aurors would be allowed to use the Unforgivables once again. During the first war, he'd managed to remain in that small minority of Aurors who'd never used one; by the end of it all, even James wasn't part of that minority. But just the thought of using one of those illegal spells made him feel like he would be no better than his blood family.

"Who authorized this?" Sirius asked hoarsely, after a moment. "And why now?"

"Well, like I said, folks are worried that our methods aren't working," Mad-Eye replied, shaking his head. "Bones has been under pressure from every angle—inside the Ministry and out—and she had to do something. As for the dementors…" He sighed.

Sirius' face hardened. "I don't care what anyone says. There is absolutely no use for dementors. None."

Mad-Eye looked at him. "But with the dementors, there was never an escape from Azkaban. The prisoners were too caught up in their own minds to even think about escaping."

"I could've done it," Sirius muttered, grinning a little. "If I'd had the chance, I would have escaped."

The other two stared at him. "And how would you have managed that?" Proudfoot asked skeptically. "You didn't have a wand, you were stuck in your cell with dementors around you twenty-four hours a day—"

"Ah, but that's not true," Sirius said. "When Fudge, or someone else from the Ministry, came for a prison inspection, the dementors were sent away."

"So you would have tried to sneak away when Cornelius Fudge was in the prison?" Mad-Eye asked, raising his eyebrow. "I know the man is an idiot, but that's a bit much, even for him."

"You're both forgetting something, though; I'm an illegal Animagus. I could've sneaked past the dementors, and they never would have known I was gone until it was too late."

"Speaking of which," Mad-Eye said sternly. "Dumbledore and I were discussing it, and as soon as this bloody war is over, you need to register yourself. Wouldn't do anyone any good to have the Daily Prophet find out you've been an illegal Animagus for twenty years. And I know you don't want to go back to prison."

Sirius saluted him. "I was planning on that anyway. Actually, I was going to do it a few years ago, but then ol' Moldywart came back, and I decided I could use it as a disguise."

Mad-Eye nodded while Proudfoot sniggered behind his hand. "Well, that's all. Pass the notice onto your people—tell them what you want as far as how often they can use them. I'm sure you both remember my speech when Crouch authorized this during the first war."

Proudfoot and Sirius looked at one another, then back at Mad-Eye. "Only use the Unforgivables when there is no other option," they recited together. "And never forget... CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

Judging by Mad-Eye's look, the two younger wizards had about ten seconds to get out of his office before they were forcefully removed. They didn't wait to find out if they were correct. On their way back to Auror Headquarters, they discussed what to tell their Aurors. Neither of them was fond of the Unforgivables, and were reluctant to even tell anyone they were authorized to be used on Death Eaters who refused to cooperate with authorities.

Sighing as he entered headquarters, Sirius turned to his second-in-command. "Call a meeting for this afternoon—everyone is to be there. No excuses."

"Got it, boss," Proudfoot said, heading off to his office beside Sirius'.

The Head Auror remained at the entrance, staring around. He started thinking about the first war, when the Aurors had started using Unforgivables—Death Eaters began dying left and right. Though Sirius wasn't as concerned about the fate of Death Eaters, he didn't like the idea of Aurors, who were supposed to be protecting the wizarding community, sinking to the level of the Death Eaters they were attempting to capture.

It'll all have to be monitored... he told himself. Only as a very last resort can the curses be used—and my Aurors will never, no matter what anyone says, use the Cruciatus. I will not allow my Aurors to resort to torture, no matter the circumstances.

The chances of him becoming a hypocrite in favor of Malfoy and Bella were high, but if anyone deserved to be tortured, it was those two. Sirius smirked coldly at the thought of them writhing and screaming in pain.

Then he shook himself. What the hell am I thinking? I'm not like them and I never will be.

Attempting to convince himself of that, Sirius headed to his office to get back to work.

Remus entered St. Mungo's, trying to hide his dislike of hospitals, and made his way to the fourth floor, where the long-term residents were kept. A separate ward had been built for the werewolves who'd been taken from the Underground, so they could recover and get used to new surroundings in peace without other hospital patients becoming upset about the presence of werewolves. The walls of the ward were soundproofed so that on the full moon, there wouldn't be so much panic in the hospital if someone heard a howl.

Not that people don't panic as it is, Remus thought as he reached the third floor and continued up the stairs. I've lost track of the number of Howlers I've gotten since the trip to the Underground...

But there were those who supported the werewolves and praised Remus for getting them homes and jobs.

Now if we could convince the rest of the world that all werewolves aren't man-eating beasts...

He reached the room where the meeting with the female werewolf would take place and found Ted Tonks standing outside with another Healer.

Remus smiled. "Hello, Ted," he said, shaking the wizard's hand. "I wasn't expecting you to be here."

"We're delivering Wolfsbane to the patients still staying here," Ted replied. He turned to the other Healer. "Remus Lupin, this is Healer David Piers—he's one of the werewolf experts here at St. Mungo's."

"Wonderful to meet you, Remus," Healer Piers said eagerly. "I've been following your case quite closely for many years now."

Remus fought hard not to raise his eyebrows and drop his jaw in surprise at the comment. He settled for a politely puzzled look. "My case?" he asked.

"Indeed," Piers replied. "You have been a very interesting case for many werewolf experts. Werewolves who manage to succeed in a world full of prejudice are quite rare. I believe you are the only one who has actually managed to be accepted within the Ministry to the point of being offered a position of head of department. Not to mention your success in terms of your personal life—congratulations on your sons, by the way."

"Er, thank you," Remus said, bewildered. He glanced at Ted, whose lips were twitching slightly. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Healer Piers, but I should get to my meeting..."

"Of course," Piers said, sticking out his hand to shake Remus'. "Perhaps you and I could have lunch one day, discuss this more..."

"My schedule is a bit full," Remus said, attempting to be polite. He didn't feel comfortable knowing the man before him knew every detail of his life. It was a bit scary. "I could owl you if I find an opening this week."

"Absolutely!" the Healer replied. "Give my regards to your lovely wife."

Remus nodded and smiled, assuring Piers he would tell Emmeline hello for him, gave a look of complete confusion to Ted, and headed towards the door.

He entered and found a rather beautiful woman with long dirty blonde hair sitting at a table with a goblet of steaming liquid in front of her. When she spotted him, she smiled. Remus couldn't help but smile back.

"You must be Mister Lupin," she said, standing from the table and shaking Remus' hand.

Remus fought not to think about how soft her hands were. "Please, call me Remus," he said. "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I know your name..."

She smiled and sat. Remus sat across from her. "Celeste Moxley," she said. "Or that was my name before I was taken to the Underground by Fenrir, at least."

"It's a lovely name," Remus said. In the back of his mind, a voice was reminding him of his wife and children at Number Twelve. "Er, how long were you in the Underground?"

Her smile faded and she sighed deeply. "Well, I was five years of age when I was attacked and kidnapped, so I would say it's been about twenty-five years that I've been a part of the pack."

Remus' eyes widened in surprise. "Twenty-five years?" he said, shocked and disgusted. "You missed out on your entire childhood, never had the chance to attend Hogwarts..." He shook his head. "I'm terribly sorry you had to go through that."

Celeste shrugged. "It wasn't as horrible as you may think, Remus," she said. "I was taken in by an elder female and raised well—I learned to read and got a fairly decent education. I fell in love when I was sixteen and became the mate of Fenrir's beta, Rudolf, and bore him three children—two boys and a girl. Do you have children, Remus?"

Remus nodded. "I do. Twin boys, barely a month old."

"You must be quite protective of them, considering your history with my pack."

"I would do whatever it took to protect them," Remus agreed.

"I love my children very much, and I dreamed of the day that they would not have to live in the conditions they were born in. I've kept them far from the actions of my mate and the other males—my sons are still very young and would not have been involved in hunting and attacks until they reached their teenage years. My oldest son was forced to be Rudolf and Fenrir's assistant, if you will. He delivered the Wolfsbane potion that had been brewed the evening you faced Fenrir."

Remus recalled the boy he'd seen. The boy hadn't looked in any of the male werewolves' eyes, staring at his bare, dirty feet instead.

Celeste leaned forward on the table, looking quite grave. "I've asked you here for a reason, Remus. I want my children to have a chance for as normal a life as I can give them. My oldest son is approaching eleven, and I'd like nothing more than for him to attend Hogwarts—I have seen him do accidental magic—my husband is not aware of this, and if he was, he would kill my son."

Remus felt rather confused. He wasn't sure what she was asking of him—he had no power to get a child into Hogwarts... Why hadn't she called for Dumbledore?

"I want them stopped," Celeste said quietly, staring hard at Remus. "You are the only one who can defeat them—you are our alpha male, whether they will admit it or not."

Remus' stomach jumped slightly at her words. His family had referred to him as an alpha before, but it was different hearing it from a member of the werewolf pack—it suddenly made him feel as though he actually was their leader. "I'm not sure how to defeat them—I don't want to kill any of them."

"I don't believe you'll have to," Celeste said, giving him a small smile. "If you fight Rudolf and win, they will respect you—he is the toughest of the pack. Once he has been defeated, the others will recognize you as their leader."

Remus was still skeptical, and his face must have shown this, judging by what Celeste said next.

"We know what you did to Fenrir. The others, while they were quite angry over his death, they were impressed at how quickly it all happened. We all thought you were weak and we were convinced Fenrir would kill you the instant you turned your back. And then we received word of Fenrir's death... Nobody expected that, Remus. The other females and I have discussed this during many late nights when we had trouble sleeping. We want to help you. We know what you have planned for tonight, and we wish to join your fight."

Remus blinked. "I'm not certain that is the best course of action," he said slowly. "If anyone is to be hurt tonight, I'd prefer it only be myself..."

Celeste rolled her eyes. "I heard you were noble, but I didn't think you were stupid. You can't go in there alone. You've been raised in the real world—you know nothing of feral werewolves in the wild. And if you try to fight them alone, you will be killed," she said frankly. "I'm sure your family would be quite upset about that."

He sighed, trying to think about what she said without showing his nerves. "How do you know about what's happening tonight?" he asked quietly.

She shrugged. "Word on the street," she replied. "One of the females overheard a conversation between a few Healers— 'm sure you know how well werewolves can hear. It was an accident that she heard this and she immediately came to me and told me about it. That was when I gathered all the females and we discussed what to do. Our decision was unanimous."

Remus hesitated before he made his next comment, not wanting to insult Celeste. "No offense meant, but are the female werewolves strong enough to fight the males?"

Celeste grinned in a way that sent a slight chill down Remus' spine. "We may not be allowed to fight on the full moon, but we are strong. And when it comes to our children, we will fight hard, and we will win. As I said before, I love my children very much, and just like you would for your sons, I will do whatever it takes to protect them, as will the other females."

Remus nodded slowly. He still wasn't completely convinced that having the females on his side was a good idea, but having help from other werewolves rather than humans who could be attacked and turned into werewolves themselves made him feel a little better. "Okay," he said after long minutes of thinking. "I will accept your help."

"Where shall we meet?" she asked, looking pleased.

"Kent," Remus said. "There is a field there, far from humans—the last thing I want is to see another attack on a human. We will meet in that field an hour before moonrise so that we can develop a plan of action. I will give you directions on how to get there—I'm assuming none of you can Apparate."

"Very well," Celeste said. "Thank you for visiting today. I know you must be quite busy, especially considering what is happening tonight. And I will take no more of your time—your family is waiting for you, I'm certain."

Both werewolves stood, and Celeste came around the table and shook Remus' hand. Remus smiled. "It was wonderful to meet you, Celeste," Remus said. "I'm quite pleased that you and the other females have joined the wizarding community."

"Well, it's all thanks to you, Remus," Celeste said, smiling. "We never would have been able to leave if you hadn't come to the Underground when you had. We will see each other tonight. Enjoy what remains of your day."

"You do the same," Remus said. "I believe your Wolfsbane is awaiting you."

Celeste made a face Remus had made every time he took a sip of the potion. "I do enjoy the effects of the potion, but it's quite a shame that it tastes so terrible."

After writing down the directions to the field Remus planned to use as the fight arena, Remus said goodbye to Celeste and left the room. He'd told Charlie he would drop by the office to tell him what had happened at the meeting with Celeste, but he had a strong urge to go back to Number Twelve to see Emmeline and the twins instead.

Lunchtime was a difficult affair for Remus. Though he knew he needed to eat, anything that went into his mouth tasted like sawdust. He gave up after the fourth disgusting bite of stew and sat back to watch his family. The conversation had remained light throughout the morning and hadn't strayed towards that evening's events once, for which Remus was thankful. He was certain that if they started discussing it, he would just become even more nervous than he already was. Sirius' appetite seemed to have returned—he was eating everything in sight again. Molly and Emmeline were feeding the children in between their own bites of lunch. Naomi owled and said she would be at Number Twelve the moment her last lesson ended.

"How was your meeting this morning, Remus?" Molly asked, trying to break the silence while feeding Mira.

Remus shrugged, ignoring the look Sirius was giving him. "It was fine," he responded. "She and the other female werewolves want to help tonight. And the only reason I agreed," he said before Sirius opened his mouth, "is because there isn't much of a risk in them becoming werewolves if they get bitten, because they're already werewolves."

Sirius glanced at Emmeline, who nodded slightly. "Moony, Em and I were talking about it, and while we know you're not going to agree to letting any of us go out there with you, we think you should at least let us give you some sort of protection."

Remus sat back in his chair and raised a polite eyebrow. "And what would you suggest, Sirius?"

Obviously feeling confident that Remus wasn't going to shoot down his ideas immediately, the Head Auror pushed his bowl away and sat forward. "For one, we thought one of those bracelets Harry and Tonks used when they were in Voldemort's hideout—the portkeys. But we thought about making it a tracking charm. That way, in the morning, we could find you with no problem."

"If you end up hurt so badly that you can't get home, we need someway to get to you," Emmeline said quietly. "We understand you don't want any of us involved, but unfortunately for you, we are. Dumbledore has already agreed to use a charm on you that will tell us where you've gone and will monitor your every move with a hologram we can watch here."

"And if I don't agree?" Remus asked mildly.

"Then you're not going out," Sirius said bluntly. "You're my brother, Remus, and I will do whatever it takes to be certain you're safe, whether you like it or not."

Remus sighed and looked around at them. Molly had stopped feeding Mira and was staring just as hard at him as Sirius or Emmeline. "Will it help if I told you where this will be happening?" he asked warily. "The field behind the cottage. In the morning, my plan was to go back there and recover enough to contact you."

"Well, at least there's somewhere safe for you to go," Sirius muttered.

"You're not going to hide out there, either," Remus said.

"I wasn't even going to suggest that!"

"You were thinking it."

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"All right," Remus said defeated a few moments later. "If it will make you all feel better, you can put a tracking charm on me, but I don't like the idea of you lot being able to watch everything that's going to happen tonight."

"Too bad," Emmeline said, smoothing John's hair back. "You're stuck with it. Now help me with diaper duty."

Sirius snorted. "Even battling werewolves isn't enough to get you out of that, mate," he told Remus.

Ted delivered Remus' last dose of Wolfsbane that night with a message from Celeste. "She says to tell you they're all in," Ted said. "Whatever that means."

Remus looked at him in slight amusement. "Ted, we all know you know a lot more than you let on, so don't pretend."

The Healer chuckled. "Just don't tell anyone; I like to keep a low profile."

"You're associated with Sirius Black, there's no way for you to keep a low profile," Remus responded. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you about those dreamless sleep potions the hospital's been working on."

The Healer smiled. "Actually, we think we may have found a reversal spell," Ted said. "It has to be approved by the Ministry before it can be cast, though. And anyway, from what I've seen, the worst of the nightmares have stopped. We think the spell is wearing off."

"I haven't had any problems, and I don't know that anyone in the house has, either. Or they haven't mentioned anything otherwise," Remus said.

Ted nodded and frowned a little. "What I don't understand, and probably never will, is how You-Know-Who thinks this is the worst we can deal with."

"I've been having the same thoughts. I know this isn't the worst he can do. But I don't understand why he hasn't done anything more."

"Maybe he's trying to defeat us by making us go insane," Ted said. "The only thing I can think of is that he's waiting for us to get so paranoid that we lose our minds."

Remus chuckled darkly. "That's the best theory I've heard in a long time." He glanced at his watch and sighed. "Why do I get the feeling something horrible is going to happen tonight, Ted?"

"I don't know," Ted replied seriously. "But I suggest you drink that potion. Maybe that will give you a little extra help tonight."

Remus raised an eyebrow and started to ask Ted what he was talking about, but the Healer left the room. Confused, he looked down in the goblet and sniffed the potion—he cringed at the smell, just as he did every month. He cautiously took a sip and nearly spit it out, not because of the disgusting taste, but due to something else. It tasted... better. And it was quite noticeable. He drank the potion slowly, trying to pinpoint the new ingredient. He got close, but couldn't quite come up with it. Whatever it was, Remus hoped it wouldn't interfere with the potion's effects—he didn't think Ted would do that to him, though.

"Moony, it's almost time," Sirius said, entering the library looking thoroughly worried. "You sure you want to do this?"

Remus nodded. "I'm sure," he said with a small smile. "Is everybody here?"

"If you're referring to Dumbledore and Naomi, yes, they are here," Sirius said. "So should I bother telling you again I really don't think this is a good idea?"

"No, I think I got that the first hundred times you mentioned it." Remus placed the empty potion goblet on the desk and stood. "Will you do something for me tonight, Padfoot?"

Sirius nodded. "Of course, anything..."

"Try to keep Emmeline as calm as you can. She may have said she understands my decisions, but I know she doesn't agree with them, and she's going to be very stressed tonight."

"I'll do what I can."

Remus winked. "You didn't mention this to Harry did you?" he asked as he and Sirius headed down to the kitchen.

"Nope," Sirius replied. "But I doubt it will remain a secret long—that boy's smarter than either of us know. He got Draco Malfoy's whereabouts out of Naomi—"

"Because she told him," Remus said. "I agree he's smart, Sirius, but like I told Naomi, I don't think he needs to know every little detail about the Order."

"And like I've told you over and over, Harry deserves to know. There aren't a lot of kids his age, or any age for that matter, that could have handled what he has. Bloody hell, I would have run and hid under my bed after hearing a prophecy about Voldemort and myself. Look, you know how much I hate to admit this, but Harry's not a child anymore, and technically speaking, we aren't his guardians anymore. He can go out and get his own place at any point he wants. But we've got to be there to make sure he's got the right information to do what he has to do."

Remus only shrugged, preferring not to get into an argument with Sirius right now. The wizards entered the kitchen and found it in silence. Everyone turned and looked at Remus, and he suddenly felt more nervous than he had all week. Dumbledore stood from the table and withdrew his wand from his robes. Remus stood before him.

"It has been requested by your friends and family that I perform a complex tracking charm on you, Remus. As an added precaution, Emmeline has prepared a portkey similar to the one Harry and Miss Tonks wore during the rescue Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore handed Remus a simple leather bracelet with a bronze coin in the center. "It has been charmed to change size when you transform so that it will not be lost. I will give you a moment to speak with your family before casting the charm."

Remus nodded and moved around the table to Emmeline. After a long kiss, Emmeline leaned back in his arms. "I don't think I have to tell you to be careful," she said quietly.

"I will be as careful as I can manage," he said honestly. "Take care of our boys. I'll see all three of you in the morning."

"Damn right you will," Emmeline muttered with a smile as she released Remus.

Naomi was pale and shaking when she stood. "You know you're an idiot, right?"

"I thought that was Sirius' job?" Remus replied, hugging her tightly. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Honestly, you're as bad as Emmeline."

"I heard that," Emmeline said, glaring at her husband playfully.

"Just take care, Lupin," Naomi muttered, pulling away and sitting back down in her chair rather quickly.

Remus raised his eyebrows at Sirius who could only shrug. "Don't drink too much tonight, mate," Remus teased his best friend.

"I'll try to refrain," Sirius replied flatly. "Don't let them get the upper hand on you. And don't relax until it's all over."

"I know, Sirius," Remus said, reaching out to shake the Head Auror's hand.

Sirius raised his own eyebrow, took Remus' hand, and pulled the werewolf in for a tight hug. "Be safe, Moony," Sirius said gruffly, not looking Remus in the eye. When he turned away, Remus thought he saw Sirius swipe at his eyes; though he fought to hide it most of the time, Sirius' nerves got the best of him sometimes.

Once again, Remus stood before Dumbledore. The Headmaster pointed his wand at Remus, muttered a very complicated incantation, and Remus' entire body felt warm. Nothing happened immediately, but after a moment, Remus saw a bright white light fill the room. He looked over to the kitchen table where a large hologram of a three-dimensional map of the world appeared. A red dot was soaring around the globe and stopped on London, hovering somewhere over Grimmauld Place.

The Fidelius Charm won't allow it to become more detailed, Remus thought vaguely. He recalled the last time he'd seen this charm performed. It had been the night of Harry's rescue from the Riddle house, and then, it had been performed on Snape. Remus wondered if Sirius was remembering the same thing—his best friend wouldn't look anywhere near the map.

"I will not repeat what your family has said, but I will ask you to take care of yourself, Remus," Dumbledore said quietly.

"Thank you, sir, I will." With a deep breath and one last look at his family, Remus touched his wand to the portkey on his wrist and disappeared.

After long minutes of silence and watching the map, Sirius said, "Well, that's it. He's out of our protection."

"Don't be too sure of that," said a voice from the counter. Everyone jumped a little and turned to Ted, whom they'd forgotten was there. "I added a little something to his potion." At their raised eyebrows, he went on. "It's a self-healing ingredient that works very well with the other Wolfsbane ingredients and happens to be quite illegal—if anyone found out I'd used it, I'd probably be arrested." He looked pointedly at Sirius.

The Head Auror chuckled. "As if I'm going to arrest you for that," he said. "I think you deserve a drink for it, actually."

"And there he goes," Naomi muttered to Emmeline, who was studying the map closely.

Remus had just appeared right outside the cottage.

Taking a deep breath, Remus looked around his former backyard, and started towards the forest. He walked for nearly an hour before he reached the clearing where Sirius and Harry used to play Quidditch on nice days. The female werewolves hadn't arrived yet, so Remus sat on a log and waited.

His wait didn't last long. Moments before their scheduled meeting time, he heard quiet voices and rustling of tree leaves, and stood. Celeste led a group of about fifteen to twenty women, all varying in looks and size. Celeste smiled when she spotted Remus.

"Glad you could make it," he called to them.

"I told you we would," Celeste called back. She quickly made introductions, and looked to Remus for more instructions.

"I'll start the call right after our transformations," he told the women. "I'm not certain how long it will take for a reply, but I think we should all remain in the center of the clearing, each facing a different direction to be sure we're not ambushed. We should also do everything by the book tonight—I do not want to fight until it's been initiated by another werewolf, and I ask you all to stay back unless I need you—"

He was cut off by arguments. "Hold on! I thought we were here to fight, not stand on the sidelines!" one woman complained.

"You are," Remus replied calmly. "But the ultimate goal tonight is to prove to them that I am the alpha in this pack. Once that has been accomplished..."

"You don't want to kill them," Celeste said quietly, staring hard at Remus. "You've already told me this, I understand. But I've discussed this with the females, and I agree with them: You think they're going to fight you and you're going to walk away totally unscathed."

"I never said that," Remus said. "But no, I don't want to kill anyone tonight. I realize I don't know much about feral werewolves and how they fight, but I know enough to know they won't all attack me at once."

Another woman laughed loudly, almost scathingly. "Thought you said he was smart, Celeste! Look, I don't know where you got your information, but this pack was taught to attack to kill. And if you're going to fight Rudolf on your own, it'll be a bloody miracle if you live through it."

"What do you suggest?" Remus asked mildly.

"Kill them," she said promptly. "Kill every last one of them. Celeste says you want the attacks to stop. Well, the only way to ensure that is to make sure they're all dead."

"We all recognize you as our alpha," said another woman. "But what you need to understand is that we know more about them than you'll ever know. And being alpha doesn't mean a damn thing when you've got someone like Rudolf running around, not caring what anyone says. You killed Greyback, for which we're all grateful, but Rudolf's not going to let that go away—he wants you dead, he wants your family dead, and he won't rest until it's done."

There was a murmur of agreement, and Remus suddenly realized they were right. He sat back down on his stump and thought hard. After a few moments, he nodded. "All right, here's the new plan..."

Harry couldn't relax. All day long he'd had a bad feeling about tonight, and he wasn't sure why. He'd woken that morning with the familiar sensation of his scar prickling, but couldn't recall whether or not he'd been dreaming before. Everything seemed normal; the professors weren't acting any differently, nor were the other students. Could something be waiting to happen that no one was aware of? And why was his mind stuck on Remus and Sirius?

Because you know how deeply they're involved in the war, and if something were to happen to them, you'd be devastated?

Harry sighed deeply and tried to immerse himself in his Charms textbook. It only lasted moments before Hermione was poking him in the shoulder, telling him it was time for rounds.

"Bit early, don't you think?" Harry said irritably, but shoving the book back into his bag nonetheless. "I thought Prefects were supposed to patrol until ten?"

Hermione shrugged. "I'm just doing what McGonagall said to do," she replied.

The head boy and girl waved at Ron and Ginny as they pushed open the portrait hole and climbed out into the corridor. Harry glanced at his watch—it read nine p.m. The strange feeling in his stomach only intensified as he and Hermione walked around the empty corridors, checking the classrooms for hidden students. It was rather boring work, to be honest, and the only highpoint was when the two students met up with Tonks and another Auror to walk the grounds.

"Wotcher," Tonks said a bit more brightly than normal. Harry noticed she looked rather worried about something. "Sirius couldn't make it, so he sent us."

"Why couldn't he make it?" Harry asked suspiciously.

Tonks wouldn't look him in the eye when she answered. "He had something else to do tonight," she said evasively. "How're classes coming along? Are you all ready for N.E.W.T.s?"

Hermione and Tonks dove into a discussion about the upcoming exams as they exited the castle doors. Harry's eyes were automatically drawn to the bright full moon in the black sky, wondering how Remus was fairing tonight. He figured he and Sirius were in the middle of a game of chase in the library by now, and Harry suddenly longed to be with them.

The foursome was near Hagrid's hut when it happened. Harry was busy thinking about his family, Hermione and Tonks now engrossed in a conversation about Charlie, and it was the other Auror who saw it.

"What was that?" he asked quietly, stopping in his tracks and narrowing his eyes to see in the dark.

"What was what?" Tonks asked, pulling her wand from her robes and trying to see what the wizard was. It took her a moment, but as soon as she'd locked onto it, Harry and Hermione had as well: there was a dark figure running down the castle steps, full speed, towards the gates.

Tonks and the other Auror took off across the grounds, shooting off spells as they went, Harry and Hermione following a moment later. The figure glanced back over his shoulder, spotted his pursuers, and sped up, blasting his way through the gates.

"Harry, send Dumbledore a message! Go back to the castle!" Tonks yelled, hardly looking over her shoulder to him as she ran. "NOW!"

Harry stopped and Hermione nearly ran into him. Both of them were bent over double, trying to catch his breath, and it took Harry a moment to realize what Tonks had asked him to do. He took out his own wand, turned towards the castle, and conjured his patronus with a message for Dumbledore. His stag streaked off through the grounds and into the castle.

"We—should—go inside," Hermione panted, massaging a stitch in her side.

Harry, who was just about to agree, snapped his head in the direction he'd seen Tonks and the other Auror run. He'd just heard a shout of a spell, a loud pop, and a strangled curse loud enough to wake the whole of Hogwarts and possibly even the villagers of Hogsmeade.

"HARRY!" shouted a voice not far from them. Harry and Hermione turned to find Dumbledore running to them. "Where are they?"

"Out there." Harry pointed towards where he'd heard the shouts.

"Go back to your common room immediately. The castle is under immediate lockdown." Before Harry could so much as raise his eyebrows, Dumbledore was outside the gates, searching for the Aurors.

"Lockdown?" Hermione said blankly. "Why are we under lockdown?"

"Don't know," Harry said in a low voice. "But we should get back inside..."

The moment the pair had entered the castle through its tall stone doors, the doors slammed shut and they could hear large rusted bolts sliding into place, locking the doors. Harry and Hermione looked at one another a bit fearfully and sped up their pace back to Gryffindor Tower, surprisingly not meeting anyone on their way.

As soon as they opened the portrait hole, the noise inside the common room nearly knocked them back out again. Hermione climbed through first, followed by Harry, and the pair began to search for Ron and Ginny. It seemed everybody was in a panic, though Harry couldn't discern over what. They were all in a close-knit circle surrounding one of the armchairs. Harry pushed himself through and found Colin Creevey looking both petrified over something and excited over the attention he was getting.

"Harry! Hermione!" Ron's voice called out over the noise.

The head boy and girl crossed the room to meet him and Ginny. "What's up?" Harry asked quickly, finding Ginny to be in a state of shock.

"Creevey just came in here, screaming like a madman that he'd found McGonagall... dead..." Ron whispered.

"WHAT?" Harry and Hermione shouted.

Ron nodded, looking quite shaken himself. "He'd gone to ask her about some homework or something, and she didn't answer her door, but he heard someone moving in there. He opened the door anyway and was knocked over by some bloke who made a run for it."

"We saw him," Hermione said faintly. "He was running across the grounds—Tonks and another Auror chased after him..."

"Dumbledore's out there now," Harry said quietly, his heart pounding and his mind reeling. "He said the castle's under lockdown."

Hermione sniffed. "Well, unless there was more than one of them, I doubt there's any use for lockdown anymore."

Sirius had just yawned widely, still watching the hologram in the center of the table. Remus and the female werewolves had all transformed and were now standing around the clearing, not doing much of anything really.

I thought this would be a bit more exciting, he thought faintly.

I wouldn't wish for that, if I were you, said a voice in the back of his head.

He jumped suddenly as a pearly white phoenix appeared in the kitchen, soaring right through the hologram and landing on Sirius' arm. Naomi and Emmeline looked at him with wide eyes while he listened to the message Dumbledore had sent. By the time the phoenix had vanished, Sirius had felt all the color drain from his body. He was shaking all over, his eyes stinging painfully.

From a distance, he heard a voice calling his name. He finally realized it was his wife. He looked over to her, uncertain if his voice would even work right now. "It was from Dumbledore," he said hoarsely, unnecessarily. "A student's found McGonagall dead in her office... Tonks chased after the suspect—they think she might be dead too..."

After long moments of shock, Naomi managed to squeak out one word. "Who?"

Sirius gulped, trying to force his anger down so he could answer. I can deal with it afterwards. "Malfoy," he said croakily "It's always bloody Malfoy..."