-Chapter Thirteen-
What is love? 'Tis not hereafter,
Present mirth hath present laughter:
What's to come is still unsure.
In delay there lies no plenty,
Then come kiss me, sweet and twenty:
Youth's a stuff will not endure.
Love in Hard Times
"Are you alright?" Neville asked Malfoy who was pacing up and down the room looking troubled. Draco nodded, his pale face and almost wild eyes clearly proving his lie. He did not trust his voice to speak.
"You don't look okay." Neville insisted, his eyes fixed on the other boy's face.
"Do you have any more of those roots?" Draco asked faintly.
"Don't you think you should try to overcome your nightmares instead of trying to escape them?" Neville asked, hesitatingly, as he handed the clammy green thing to him, "You slept off the whole evening yesterday, you are almost making a habit of these roots."
He smiled weakly. If only he could overcome, if only…He shoved the root into his mouth and fell asleep.
With Malfoy sleeping, Neville was left alone. He wondered where Harry, Ron and Hermione had gone. For the last few weeks, since he had arrived at headquarters he had seen them sitting together and poring over enormously fat books. They have not asked for any help from Neville apart from a mild request from Harry and more vigorous ones from Ron and Hermione to keep an eye over Draco Malfoy although Lupin had said it was Harry who had wanted him to be in the Order. And it looked like even the Order had no idea about what the three of them were doing. They were certainly not taking instructions from the Order, that has been clear from last night's meeting. He was disrupted in his musings by the shadow of a man falling on the wall before him and he jumped up, whipping his wand out. It was not a man. It had the shape of a man, but it was silvery white and transparent. This was strange, nobody had told him there were ghosts at Twelve Griammauld Place. And then, with a sudden jolt of shock he understood. It was neither a man, nor a ghost, it was in fact a patronus sent by an Order member, an Order member who needed help. Neville glanced at the sleeping Malfoy. Well, he would not wake before five hours and nobody except an Order member could come here. He pointed his wand at the patronus and whispered: "Lead me." The patronus vanished and in the smoke that rose, Neville could discern an old gloomy mansion, and a sign that said:
'Avery House,
Kempe.'
-XXX-
Avery House was a large, stately mansion, much better maintained than Grimmauld Place, for it had been inhabited till a year ago when the Ministry decided to accept that He Who Must Not Be Named was back. Neville looked around nervously. The place looked completely deserted. The windows were all boarded up, the door was locked up and there was not a single sign of fight or struggle anywhere. Why the hell did Lupin call him there? Neville was about to leave when something caught his eye. On the dark glass panes of the window on the second floor was the mark of a palm. A very bloody palm.
-XXX-
"What if he does not come out on the streets?" asked Lightborn. "He can apparate from within the premises"
"I don't think he can, Lightborn." Said Snape lazily, "The ministry's new security measures ensure that no one who is not a ministry employee can apparate or disapparate from or within a mile of the ministry premises. Undoubtedly, a plan to ward of unwanted visitors like us. We will get him, this time. "
-XXX-
"I don't know why we can't apparate from here." Complained Ron. "Will this really stop deatheaters? They can easily fool that stupid phellytone thing if they try"
"It's telephone Ron," Hermione snapped, "and if you had read the Daily Prophet last week"
"We are supposed to learn up the Daily Prophet as well?" Ron asked with a look of horror on his face, "After all those books you're making us read?"
"…you would have known that the security system of the visitors' entrance has been updated to detect any person lying about his or her identity and purpose while entering the ministry"
She was prevented from explaining how exactly all the new protective spells worked by a cool female voice.
'Visitor, you have reached the exit to the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry thanks you for your time and requests you to visit again. Goodbye.'
The lift stopped inside the deserted telephone booth and they stepped out.
"Potter, Weasley, Granger. How nice to see the golden trio again." Sneered someone in a hated voice that Harry knew so well.
He looked up. Facing them were about a dozen deatheaters. Closest to him were Snape and the brother and sister who had gone to help Draco at Hogwarts- Amycus and Alecto. He did not know the others. Before his shocked mind had registered anything else Ron and Hermione grabbed his arms and pulled him back inside the booth.
"We can't apparate from here!" gasped Hermione. "Harry, dial the number, we need to get help. DIAL THE NUMBER, HARRY!"
Harry picked up the receiver but a spell shot straight at him, shattering one side of the glass wall and making all and making all three of them duck.
"What is it, Potter?" leered Amycus. "Not so brave now that Dumby is dead?" There were snickers and laughter heard outside.
Furious, Harry stood up and shot Amycus down with a stunning spell.
"WHERE'S YOUR BOSS?" He yelled at them. "SCARED TO COME HIMSELF IS HE?"
He had to duck again as at least six different spells came aimed at him. Two of them hit the telephone which was smashed into smithereens. Now there only chance of escape was lost.. They could not return to the Ministry. The deatheaters were closing in around them and they had no cover. Shreds of broken glass rained upon them like an avalanche. They were cornered and bleeding.
"Potter, you surprise me," said Snape lazily. "hiding are we? What happened to your famous courage?"
"Shown you true colours, have you coward?" Harry shouted as he saw Snape deflecting his hexes. "Well at least now you can hide your ugly face behind that mask of yours"
Another spell came and blew off whatever had remained of the booth. They were now completely exposed. " Shield charm! Quick." Said Harry.
All three of them shouted ' Protego' together.
" This won't hold for long." whispered Hermione as she tried to unfasten her silver bracelet with shaking hands, " there are too many spells aimed at us. Thanks Ron." she added as Ron flicked his wand over the bracelet. A violet ray narrowly missed their heads.
" Protego firmus" she shouted, pointing her wand to bracelet. The bracelet changed shape, swelled and within a few seconds they were surrounded by silver mist. They could see the deatheaters' spells deflecting back and could hear their muffled shouts.
"It's the solid shield charm." She explained to them. "Much more difficult to perform. The higher the metal, the longer the shield holds. I've never tried the spell before."
A deafening crash as the shield collapsed drowned the rest of her words.
"Ron!" screamed Hermione, bending over him.One of the spells had hit him and a shocked Harry recognized the 'Sectusempra' spell as he saw Ron lying, bleeding to death. Without thinking, he thrust his hand into the pocket and brought out the only metallic object he had.
"Protego firmus!" he shouted and the gold locket turned into a shield. He turned away from the golden mist to his friends.
"Hermione, Ron, are you okay?"
"Ron is not okay Harry, what are we to do?" asked Hermione , panic stricken.
"Try Episkey." Said Harry, his throat dry.
"Episkey!" they both shouted. A few of the wounds disappeared, but Ron continued to look deadly pale.
Another crash , louder than the first one and Harry knew they could hide no more. He stood up, wand out, ready to defend his friends but collapsed immediately as he felt a hundred white-hot knives digging into his bones. His head was spinning and the world blacked out around him.
"One down, three more to go." Harry thought before passing out.
-XXX-
"This can't be co-incidence Harry. This is the second time in a row that we have met deatheaters and they seemed purposefully to be waiting for us." Hermione stated in a determined tone.
They were talking a couple of days later, at St. Mungo's. Neville was sitting with them. The other order members had left a short while ago though Harry knew some of them were still keeping watch over them.
" But no one knew we were going to the Ministry," Harry said absent-mindedly, "well no one except Lupin."
"You told Lupin?" Hermione looked at him quickly.
"Yes, but surely you are not suggesting------."
"And did Lupin discus his plans with you?"
"Yes," replied Harry, perplexed.
"That's it then." Said Hermione with a settled air. "Malfoy overheard you talking that evening we had the meeting."
"But he can't have." Said Neville. The other three looked at him surprised.
"He can't have overheard anything that evening Hermione, because he was sleeping. I gave him the soporuta myself and saw him taking it."
"But how can you explain," said Hermione testily," that Harry and Lupin discuss plans out of the meeting room and the next day both of them meet a group of deatheaters who seemed to have been well-prepared to meet them?"
"What? Lupin has been attacked too?" asked Harry, alarmed.
"Yeah,"replied Ron, "Tonks told us last night when you were unconscious. It's Neville who saved him"
"I—I did nothing." Neville stammered. "I used the D.A. coins and Fred and George arrived. They dropped in some of their joke shop stuff inside the room and there was smoke…darkness, the deatheaters could not see us and then we dragged Lupin out. I sent a patronus. The Order arrived and took him away."
"Tonks said if you had not given him the right herbs he would have died before reaching the hospital."Hermione said, smiling.
Neville's round face turned pink.
-XXX-
The Lupin -Tonks wedding was a quiet affair. There were few guests. Only the Tonks, the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione(who had been chosen as a bridesmaid), Neville and the other bridesmaid Sarah, Tonk's muggle cousin were present. Tonks had long auburn hair today,tied into a knot adorned with a sprig of tiny pale blue flowers that matched with her dress. The two bridesmaids wore gowns of deeper shades of blue and Ginny, the Maid of Honour, was in white with a pale blue bouquet.
Harry found himself the best man, thrown suddenly into the role three nights ago. Lupin had turned up at headquarters, far off his usual work schedule, and asked to see Harry.
Harry went to the door, where Lupin stood, looking oddly nervous. Harry greeted him, and Lupin nodded distractedly. "Mind if we sit down, Harry?"
"Sure, Professor..." Harry followed him into the kitchen, where they sat at the wooden table. Lupin didn't say anything at first, other than "How are you, Harry?" to which Harry replied "Fine, thanks." They continued to sit. The clock was ticking very loudly, echoing in the dark kitchen, as Lupin looked at his hands, at the small scars left by his monthly transformations.
Harry cleared his throat. "Er...Professor?"
"Remus."
"Right."
Lupin adjusted his collar. "Where was I--"
"I don't know, sir."
He looked at Harry, confused, then laughed jerkily. "My fault, of course. I--well, how to begin--?"
Silence. Drumming of fingers on the table. Harry felt horribly awkward.
"I--that is--oh, bugger it all, Harry, would you be my best man?" It came out in a rush.
Harry started. Lupin didn't look at him, and he was even more strongly reminded of his godfather when the werewolf said awkwardly, "I--I understand if you don't want t--"
Like he had four years ago, Harry leaped to his feet and practically lunged across the table. "Are you bloody mad! Congratulations! Of course! I--I'm surprised you want me but I--" He ran a hand through his hair, lost for words. "That's great, Prof--Remus!"
Lupin now looked square at him, a grin lighting his pale face. "James was supposed to be my best man--that was the plan if and when I got married--so I...well, no, I also wanted you to be it, Harry; know that."
And Harry nodded solemnly, shaking the Marauder's hand, heart overflowing with odd emotions, stammering his thanks,before he nearly raced upstairs shouting "Ron! Hermione!"
And now, as he handed the ring to his father's best friend, he remembered another wedding, another best man and there was an aching blend of joy and sorrow, and something else he could not explain, inside his heart.
After the wedding came the dance. The bride and the bridegroom opened the dance, followed by the best man and the Maid of Honour. "I am not staying away anymore." Ginny's voice reached him over the music.
"Ginny we can't, you must understand-"
"Actually Harry, its you who needs to understand. You are not Voldemort. You can't be isolated like him. Love is your power Harry, not your weakness. You can't run away from me, from those who love you." "Ginny you are not of age." Harry tried to argue, "Ginny, you cannot apparate, you cannot..."
"Neville said you had been doing a lot of researching. I can help you with that."
" But.."
"I am coming to stay at headquarters tomorrow." Ginny said with an air of finality.
N.B: God, some trouble I had in uploading this. Thanks to tips from Folk, I finally managed it and she also beta-ed a bit for this chappie(not to mention rewriting the entire Harry-Lupin coversation),so if you reading this Folk, you are an angel(or maybe just a great witch!)
P.S: I was checking up the story stats and was shocked to see the number of hits to this story. There were also people who have never reviewed me but my story was on their alert list. Guys, if you like my story please review me. Even if you don't like, say what you don't like. It really helps. Surely, if you can spend time to read it you can spend some more to review?