Finding Answers

Chapter Five – Reunion Gone Wrong

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Thank you so much for the follows/favorites/reviews so far! I know there's not many but you know what, a small audience it still an audience! I wanted to take a moment and thank RedButterfly33 for helping out with some of the plot holes in this fic and for giving lengthy, constructive feedback of things so far. It's make the story more rounded than I originally had thought out, so all the kudos to you!

This chapter is being reposted with some significant edits (and hopefully less redundancy, though a few may have slipped by). So consider the last update an early April Fools. I apologize. If you read the first draft of this chapter, I beg that you reread this one.

This beginning scene was supposed to be the ending of chapter four, but I was having difficulty in wording it well to make it feel like a complete chapter.

Since they weren't familiar with the place they were supposedly going to intercept the Death Eaters, the Order members used Side-Along Apparation with Moody, Kingsley, and Tonks. Apparently the Aurors had scoped out the location earlier. Remus appeared in an alley beside Tonks and Mundungus, and waited for some kind of signal or sign of movement.

"The first sign of a Death Eater, take them down," Moody ordered quietly. "No matter what." He eyed Remus, who just glared in return. He knew the Auror's comment had been toward him, but at the moment, he was just focused on what was about to happen.

They waited for about 10 minutes, many of them wondering if Mad-Eye had been led on by Malfoy and Yaxley when a voice shouted into the village square, "Morsmodre!"

As the Dark Mark burst into the sky, Moody led the six Order members out into the streets, sending a stunning spell toward the nearest Death Eater. While they were only five of them to their six, they still managed to hold their own as the Order advanced on them. The Death Eaters started to shoot off spells of their own, a few toward the houses that lined the square. Tonks and Bill pulled back to dowse the flames as sounds of screams from inside pieced the air.

Another house was set on fire, and Remus ran to help. He had just started to put out the flames when he was hit with a cutting hex over his right shoulder. Almost dropping his wand, he whipped around and shot a stunning hex toward the Death Eater responsible, who easily dodged it and shot a stream of red sparks toward him. He was able to put up a Shielding Charm before it reached him, and took in that Tonks had run forward and continued to put out the fire he had been fighting.

Throwing another round of hexes and curses, he took in his opponent. They were shorter than the other four in cloaks, and fought with the same grace and speed that he had faced before. He managed to clip her with a cutting hex of his own right about the knee, but it didn't slow the Death Eater down. The person stumbled slightly but managed to shoot off a curse that Remus couldn't make out, but it caused him to lose temporary feeling in his left arm before a burning sensation hit.

Fighting through the pain, he shot a Blasting Curse toward the Death Eater, who had ducked in time as the steam of sparks made contact with the statue in the middle of the village and exploded. The blast knocked them both to their feet, and Remus scrambled to regain his balance. By his feet was the mask of the Death Eater he had been fighting, and when he looked up and felt his entire body freeze.

"Liz?"

But it wasn't Liz. The Death Eater standing in front of him just resembled the woman he had once known. Same black hair, same height, same build. Her hair was shorter, and a thin scar ran down her cheek and neck. Like Remus, she had frozen when he said Liz's name, but the shocked look changed to triumph.

Before anybody could do anything, one of the Death Eaters shouted and they started to Disapparate. Remus moved to intervene, but was hit in the stomach with an silent spell. As he picked himself off the ground for the second time and mentally took in the pain that was throbbing in his ribs, he looked around. He tried to register everything that had happened around him, but at the same time there was a small voice in the back of his mind repeating, She's not alive.

Remus felt like a fool.

Several houses looked like they had been on fire. The statue that had been in the center of the square was a pile of rubble, and Mad-Eye and Kingsley were doing mass Obliviation Spells. Luckily with the village so close to Hogsmeade, there was a sizable amount of witches and wizards that Remus hadn't noticed, who had tried to aid wherever they could. Holding his left arm, Remus wandered over to where Bill and Tonks were nursing their own wounds and trying to help Mundungus Fletcher from falling over.

"Alright, Bill? Tonks?" he asked.

"Nothing we can't handle," Bill said. "I got hit with some kind of boiling hex on my shoulder, and Tonks thinks she may have broken her wrist."

"Dung was hit with a Reductor Curse, but moved before he was too injured," Tonks explained. "I think it may shattered his ankle though. Kingsley and Mad-Eye are taking care of the muggles, making it seem like a faulty gas explosion or something."

"Are you alright, Remus?" Bill asked. "Your shoulder's soaked with blood."

Remus reached back and gingerly touched where the cutting hex had hit him. He tensed slightly at the pull in his ribs, but replied to Bill, "I'm fine."

"Like hell you are," Tonks replied, shaking her head. "You're holding your left arm, bleeding everywhere, and you're holding yourself like your ribs are killing you."

"Well, I daresay she looks about the same," Remus said. "I hit her with the same curse and she was standing near the fountain when I blew it up."

"That was you?" Tonks said in surprise.

"Wait, 'she'? How do you know the Death Eater was a woman?" Bill asked.

"When the statue exploded, it knocked her mask askew," Remus explained. He swallowed a lump in his throat. "I saw her face."

Bill watched him carefully, adjusting Mundungus's weight against his side. "It was her, wasn't it?" he asked.

Remus shook his head. "I thought it was, but I think that's what the Death Eaters wanted me to think," he said. "It's not Liz."

Bill swore softly under his breath and for some reason Tonks was scowling. He yelled to Mad-Eye that they were returning to Headquarters, and linking arms, the four of them thought of the small park outside Number 12 Grimmauld Place and disappeared. The hidden building appeared and helping Bill and Tonks with Mundungus, they made their way inside. Immediately, a couple of people rushed forward. Sirius fought with his mother's portrait as Molly followed her son and the youngest Auror as they led Mundungus up the stairs and most likely into one of the many bedrooms, demanding to know what happened. Sirius and Arthur Weasley helped Remus down the stairs to sit at kitchen, where the werewolf collapsed heavily into a chair at the long table.

"What happened?" Sirius asked. "I thought it was supposed to be five Death Eaters intercepting a message, not a whole bloody battle!"

"Malfoy and Yaxley must have known Moody had been listening," Remus said as Arthur went through the potions cabinet. "They threw the Dark Mark into the sky, and it was war after that. Half of the village was destroyed in some manner, and Mad-Eye and Kingsley were take care of memory charms when we left."

"How many?"

"Five."

"Five Death Eaters did this?" Arthur said incredulously as he handed Remus a pain-reducing potion.

"Well, this," he indicated to his shoulder, ribs, and arm after downing the potion, "was all thanks to the same Death Eater who attacked me last time."

"Was is her?" Sirius asked, watching his best friend carefully.

Remus shook his head, looking completely defeated. "I was so sure it had been Liz, Sirius. When I blew up the village statue, we were both thrown – probably shouldn't have been standing so close to it. The blast...it had knocked her mask away." He paused, closing his eyes at the memory. "Her hair was shorter than Liz would have ever cut it, she had scars over her face and neck, she could have passed as her twin." He opened his eyes and looked at his best friend. "I said her name, and she froze too. But the way she looked at me, that triumphant, evil grin, it was like they had been wanting us to believe that she was alive. She looked too different. Her eyes..."

His voice faltered and felt a shiver run down his body. He wasn't sure if it were from the wound-cleansing spell Arthur had cast on his shoulder or it was from the way the woman had looked at him. It wasn't a complete secret that Remus had been searching for Liz for years. He was positive that somebody within the Ministry had known that Kingsley had taken her file for him. What better way to destroy members of the Order than to make one think that one of their own was not only alive but working for Voldemort?

"Remus, mate, I think you're in shock," Sirius finally said after a few minutes of silence. "You're shaking."

So he was. Remus raised his hand, trying to steady it, but to no avail. As Sirius went to the potions cabinet that Arthur had been at to find a Calming Draught, there was a rush of footsteps on the stairs and Molly entered the kitchen.

"I've got Mundungus taken care of. He just needed have his ankle mended, so I daresay he'll be stationary for most of tomorrow," she said, sitting a old-style muggle medicine bag on the table. "I also mended Tonks wrist, and took care of Bill's burn."

"I cleaned Remus's shoulder wound the best I could, Molly," Arthur explained. "I also gave him a Pain-Reducing Potion. Since you have the Healer training, I didn't want to do anything else until you looked at it."

Sirius swore loudly. "We're going to have to brew some more Calming Draught, Molly," he called. "Our supplies are out."

"It's already on my list." The red-headed woman said as she opened the bag in front of her. "Poppy Pomfrey had dropped premade ones off a few days ago." She handed a glass to Remus. "Bill's already explained what happened." She conjured some bandages and wrapped his wound the best she could, muttered a spell that started to mend his ribs, and handed him a jar of burn salve. "Apply that twice a day, and it should heal up in a few days. Fred and George are always covered in burns from Merlin knows what, so I keep several jars around."

"Thanks, Molly." Remus managed to give her a small, grateful smile.

Molly returned the gesture (Remus took in the sympathetic look masked behind it), and she and Arthur left, leaving the two Marauders alone. Remus stood wordlessly and put the two glasses into the sink. He knew that Sirius was going to want to talk about what happened, and Remus wasn't up to that right now. He followed after Molly and Arthur and headed to what was quickly becoming his room at Grimmauld Place. Grabbing another pair of robes, he shut the door to the bathroom that was connected to his room and the empty room next to it.

The Calming Draught had made him feel drained, scared, relieved, confused, and for some reason, angry. Even though he tried to register that Liz wasn't alive, it didn't put him at ease in the slightest. He felt like the past 15 years of hope had been for nothing.

It was that thought alone that made Remus want to break.

Get a grip, Lupin, he thought angrily, pulling the clean robes over his head. You're 35, not 15. And you're a Gryffindor. Gryffindor's don't cry.

Being mindful of his injuries and ignoring the burning in the corner of his eyes, he returned to his room, not surprised to see Sirius sitting at the edge of the bed. He tossed the robes into his makeshift hamper and sat on the bed, grabbing the burn salve he'd tossed on the table.

"You're positive, then?" Sirius finally asked.

"Positive about what?" Remus popped off the lid and pulled his left robe shoulder up, exposing the tiny blisters that the Burning Hex had caused. Hissing as the salve started to take effect, he covered the wounded area before sitting the salve back down.

"Are you sure it wasn't Liz?"

"Yes." The prickling in the corner of his eyes was burning harder. "She favored Liz's features, but I could tell. And the way she looked when I said Liz's name, it was almost like she had been expecting it." The admission of feeling like everything was a lost cause was starting to feed the anger he was trying to harbor.

"It has been 15 years, Remus. There's the possibility that it had been her. Maybe if she was under the Imperious Curse –"

"The Imperious Curse can be fought off. Liz would have been able to fight it."

"She may not be a Death Eater, Remus, but there's still a chance," Sirius pressed. "You can't give up. Not when we're this close."

"And what if we never have another lead?" Remus suddenly snapped, and Sirius was taken aback. "She's gone, Sirius. I should have accepted that 15 years ago."

Sirius looked at Remus in shock and then shook his head. "You don't believe that," he said lowly. "I know you don't."

Remus didn't reply, and crossed his arms and stared at the ground. Sirius took it as an obvious dismissal, sighed, and stood up. "You don't know what the Death Eaters did to her, Remus. Whether she's alive or not, you know that you won't be able to fully move on until you find out the truth. You owe it to yourself, and you owe it to her. You can't give up now."

As Sirius shut the door, Remus was torn between wanting to curse Cassie for making Sirius so optimistic and wanting to believe every word his best friend just said.

After meeting Kingsley, who had came by to check on everybody and to give an update on what was happening, Sirius returned to his own room for the night. Between the raid, Remus discovering Liz wasn't a a Death Eater, and finding out earlier that he may have found his daughter, he had almost forgotten that Harry had been reminded of the Two-Way Mirror until he heard his godson's voice calling his name from his pocket.

Locking his door, he pulled the mirror out and broke into a huge grin. "You finally got my message."

"Yeah. Sorry I forgot about the mirror," Harry's reflection gave him a sheepish look. "Things have been out of control lately."

Sirius immediately grew concerned. "What happened?" he asked.

"Umbridge. She's banned me from future Hogsmeade visits. And she gave me a week of detention."

"What? Why?" Sirius scowled, tempted to visit Dolores Umbridge, escaped convicted be damned.

"I er...may have given an interview to the Quibbler about Voldemort being back," Harry said with a grin.

Sirius stared at him before letting out a bark of laughter. "I'll have Kingsley find a copy of that," he said. "Good show. Lily and James would have been proud."

Harry let his smile grow before it turned to a suspicious look. "Were you the one who broke Snape's nose?" he asked. "Because Ron has been taking bets with Fred and George on it."

"Actually, that was Remus."

Harry looking surprised. "Remus?" he repeated. "Snape must have really hacked him him off for Remus to lose control."

"Oh, he deserved it." Sirius then launched into what had happened since Christmas holidays, from the battles, Remus's discoveries about Liz, how Snape had known about the night she disappeared, and how he may have found his daughter.

Harry had listened to him, his green eyes wide with interest. "So...you may have found your daughter and Remus thought Liz was alive only to find out she wasn't all over?" He looked awestruck. "I thought OWL year was rough. How is Remus?"

"Not too great at the moment," Sirius admitted. "After 15 years of holding out for a miracle and feeling like it was for nothing, he's still trying to process that information. I'm sure once he's thought about everything and fully calmed down he'll be okay."

"Hermione wanted to help," Harry said. "When I told her and Ron on the way back to Hogwarts, she wanted to see if her parents would help search muggle records, but with our owls being checked, she was afraid something would happen."

Sirius smiled. "Tell her thanks for the offer, at least." Harry nodded. "Now, how are your lessons with Snape going?"

Harry scowled and looked away from the mirror. "They make things worse," he mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked sharply. "If Snape is giving you hell, he'll think Remus breaking his nose was child's play."

"No!" Harry gave him a desperate look. "Don't do anything! I mean, I'm sure it's just a side effect from the lessons, but," he sighed. "My scar...it's just hurting more than usual, that's all."

"That doesn't sound like a side effect," Sirius said. "I'm going to talk to Dumbledore."

"Sirius," Harry shook his head. "I'll be okay."

Sirius eyed him warily but decided to let it slide. "Fine, but if it's still acting off, I'm going to talk to one of them, Harry." The teenager nodded that he understood. "How are things with the DA?"

He couldn't help but smile when his godson's mood brightened. "Actually, they're learning fairly well. Even Neville can pull off a well-enough Expelliarmus! I'm hoping to start on Patronuses next week."

Sirius saw an excitement in Harry's eyes. It was the same look Lily used to get when she learned a new charm or had talked about her plans to work at St. Mungo's when the War was over. It was something he hadn't seen since he promised his godson they would one day live together when he had broke from Azkaban.

"Remus would be proud," he said with a nod. "Merlin knows I am."

Harry grinned, but looked up quickly and swore under his breath. "I'd better go, Sirius. Dean and Seamus just walked in, and Ron's yelling at them. I think he was covering for me."

Sirius sighed, not wanting to give up his chance to finally speak to Harry. "I always have the mirror, okay? And make sure if you're not using it to keep it some place safe and hidden. We don't won't it in the wrong hands."

Harry nodded, and the two said their goodbyes as the mirror went blank. At least he had a way to be close to Harry that wouldn't get them in trouble. Next time maybe Remus could talk to him about the DA. Harry seemed to have a knack for teaching like his best friend did. He placed the mirror on the table by the bed and closed his eyes. After the days events, the animagus was asleep in seconds.

Over the next couple of days, Remus had calmed down considerably. He was still trying to accept everything and he didn't really want to talk much about what he was thinking. He did manage to apologize to Sirius, admitting that he was out of line and didn't mean what he had said. The werewolf spent most of the days afterward in his room, claiming he needed time to process everything. On the second day after the attack and after a quick Order meeting, Dumbledore and Remus finally had their conversation.

"I know that you're angry," Dumbledore started but Remus immediately cut him off.

"I just want to know why," he said, "why did you not think to ask Snape after the war had ended?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Honestly, Remus, I have no valid excuse. By the time the war was over, we'd lost so many people. Elizabeth was just one of many that disappeared. I'm sorry for not allowing you the chance to have closure."

Remus looked at his former Headmaster. "Do you think she may be alive?" he asked, sounding more vulnerable than he'd ever felt.

"It's possible that Voldemort had tried to tamper with Miss Elizabeth's mind. Why he would do that, we may never know. It's possible he saw Liz as the perfect way to spy into the Order. Even though he had managed to successfully infiltrate us with Mr. Pettigrew –" Remus scowled at the name, "there were certain missions and information that Liz could have gotten from you, or the Blacks, or even the Potters that nobody else would have known about. However, before he had the chance to fully take advantage of that, he was vanquished. It is possible that after his downfall the the remaining Death Eaters had left her to her own devices, wiped her memory and forced her to live as a muggle."

"I never looked in muggle records," Remus admitted. "I did in search for Cassie and Robyn, but I never thought about doing the same for Liz." He sat down and put his head in his hands. "Bloody hell, I'm a moron."

"Don't be too hard on yourself," Dumbledore said comfortingly. "If you would like, I can have Kingsley look into it. He's close with the muggle Prime Minister, and would know how to get into those files."

"I had been meaning to ask him to do that for Cassie," Remus said. "Sirius had wanted to do the same thing for her and Robyn. But with the activity that's started to happen recently, it hasn't crossed either of our minds."

Dumbledore gave a small smile. "Allow me to help, as a way of apologizing for never trying to talk to Severus about this sooner," he offered.

Remus nodded. "Thank you, Professor. And if we do manage to find her? Will it be too late to revert her memories?"

"I think we can successfully bring her back. If I can not, for whatever reason, I'm sure Severus can."

Remus scowled. "I figured that you would be much better at Legilimacy than him," he grumbled.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Oh, I do," he assured the werewolf. "But there is...talk...if you will, of Dolores Umbridge attempting to find a way to send me to Azkaban. If such event should occur, Severus would be your next bet. I know that Severus and your group of friends have had differences, Remus, but I honestly believe the three of you should let bygones be bygones."

"Honestly, Professor, I've tried," Remus said tiredly. "And Sirius and Severus...well, I daresay you'd have a better chance at having Harry and Draco Malfoy become friends."

"I do believe that Severus will help if the time comes," Dumbledore said, standing up. It was a clear indication that their meeting was over. "We just need to find a way to bring her back to us."

"And if we can't?" Remus hated that he was internally doubting everything.

"Alas, I cannot tell you what the right thing would be in that situation, Remus," he replied heavily.

Remus nodded as Dumbledore exited. He let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes momentarily, only opening them again when Sirius, Molly, and a few other Order members returned to the kitchen.

"I'm such a fool," Remus said as Sirius sat beside him. "If I thought she was alive, why didn't I look for her in muggle records like I had for Cassie and Robyn? She's bound to hex me every way possible if I ever find her again."

"Don't beat yourself up," Sirius said. "You're only human."

"Technically –"

"Oh shut it," Sirius said with a smile. "I know you're a werewolf, but you're human for majority of the month."

Remus sighed, running an hand over his face. "Maybe I should try to talk to Severus. Dumbledore seems to think he'll be the best person to help unlock her memories if she's been Obliviated."

Sirius scoffed. "Good luck with that," he muttered.

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Did Harry ever get your message?" Remus asked. "I can't believe I let that slip my mind for two days."

"Finally. He seemed a bit stressed out. Umbridge has been on a warpath. Oh that reminds me." Sirius called over Kingsley. "Any chance you can find a copy of this month's Quibbler?"

Kingsley smiled. "You heard about Harry's interview, then?" he asked. "I'll see if there's a copy of it in Diagon Alley. Fudge threatened to suspend any employee found with one inside the Ministry. And Dumbledore talked to me, Remus. I'll try to get into the records in the next few days."

As he walked away, Remus gave Sirius and curious look. Sirius explained that Harry had given an interview about Voldemort's return to the Quibbler, and Remus laughed. "Maybe that's what Dumbledore had meant when he said she was trying to find a way to put him in Azkaban," Remus mused. "She probably figured Dumbledore set the interview up. That also explains why old Xenophilius Lovegood was looking like he'd just been named editor of the Prophet a few weeks back. I ran into him in Diagon Alley after my shift, and the crazy loon was practically beaming with excitement. I figured he'd just finally discovered his precious Crumple-Horned Snorkack at last."

Sirius chuckled. "Harry has apparently been getting loads of support, according to McGonagall. I didn't get the chance to talk long that night."

"Did you tell him everything?" Remus asked.

"I did. He said that Hermione had tried to help us find Cassie. You know, with her parents being muggles and all, but with the letters being checked leaving Hogwarts..."

"Leave it to Hermione," Remus said with a smile. "Nice to see her research habits haven't slowed down since I was their Professor."

"I asked about the DA," Sirius lowered his voice as Molly walked by, saying goodnight to them all. "But he didn't say much. His hallmates showed up at that point. He did say he wanted to start them on Patronuses next."

Remus looked proud. "I'm sure he'll call again soon. Now that he knows about the mirror."

Sirius nodded. "I just hope it doesn't get him into any more trouble."

"He's James Potter's son," Remus laughed. "Trouble usually manages to find him."

Laughing, the two Marauders headed to their own beds, feeling truly optimistic about things for the first time in 15 years.

I know we don't have much information about Molly Weasley. I like to think she had wanted to be a Healer after Hogwarts, but put off having a career to raise her family.

If there are any questions or suggestions you have, please include them in a review or PM me! Also, I'm on Tumblr all the time, and my Ask box is always open. (Link to said Tumblr can be found on my profile page). My updates may become further apart, as I start a full-time job on Monday. But once I have a complete chapter, I'll post it. Never fear.

As always, reviews are appreciated!