A/N: Heya guys! How's your weekend? I've only got one thing to say before I get on with the chapter today. I was proof reading my chapter 5 (I haven't got a beta) when I realised that it probably wasn't the most interesting chapter in the whole world, and the plot didn't really move forward in it. Sorry about that! I assure you that it was completely necessary to the plot and that that this chapter will be much more exciting and adventurous! Promise!
Finally thanks to all those people who bothered to review this chapter; you know who you are (and those of you who didn't should be feeling very guilty) No seriously you guys are the best and I'll love you forever.
Disclaimer: I don't only HP yada yada yada Chapter 6Remus John Lupin took a small, shallow intake of breath, but winced mentally as even that tiny amount of muscular movement caused another wave of pain to spread through his entire body. As he fought to regain consciousness, the werewolf could only begin to imagine what a state he must look. A pile of skin and bones sprawled out face down on the cold floor of his cell. In the week that he'd been there he was fed no more than a total of one loaf of bread, just about enough to keep him hanging on the brinks of life; and his body bore ugly marks indicating the different forms of torture he'd been put through. In fact such were the extent of these wounds that Lupin's back could barely be identified through the thick layer of burns, gashes and bruises that covered it.
Meanwhile two sets of footsteps grew closer and closer to the cell where the werewolf lay. One was loud and heavy, as if the owner was wearing weighty boots; where as the other was slightly sharper and almost metallic, like the sound of thin heels tying to dig into the stone floor.
With a growing sense of dread, Remus recognised those footsteps almost instantly. Dohlov and Bellatrix Lestrange. They always came to the cell at this time. What 'this time' was he did not know. There were no windows or lights inside the cell and it was permanently dark and gloomy twenty-four hours a day.
The footsteps slowly grew louder and louder until now a slight echo could also be heard; within moments the owners will have reached the cell. Gathering up all his little remaining strength and willpower, the werewolf lifted his head off the cold floor and supported it upright with one spindly arm. If they were going to kill him, he'd die with pride. The small action wasn't much, but with all his broken bones it was the most he could do, and for some reason despite the excruciating pain of it, it made him feel that tiny bit better. 3-2-1…
…The door of the cell was blasted open with a small flash of purple as Bellatrix and Dohlov entered.
" Well, well, well," the female jeered, mocking evident in every inch of her, from the syllables she spoke to the look on her face. Even with two death eater's wands pointed at him, Remus couldn't help thinking how much this woman looked like Sirius. Only when Sirius had that look on his face, he only had to worry about falling prey to his classmate's latest prank, rather than his life.
" What have we here? A little lost werewolf stuck in a cage." She paused to make a tutting noise with the tip of her tongue, " What a shame. Are you ready to answer our question yet, or does the little were wolf actually like pain."
It had been the same process for the whole past week. The two death eaters would enter the cell and ask him where Harry was. Truth was the former defence teacher had been expecting this sooner rather than later. He had knownthat they would try to get information from him ever since two months ago it leaked out that he was Sirius and Harry's secret keeper. He also knew that that was the only reason that he was alive for long. But unlike his ex-friend Peter Pettigrew, Remus wouldn't blab. Instead he took all the pain they caused him (crucio being their absolute favourite) , whenever he refused to answer their question.
Gritting his teeth firmly the werewolf pushed his eyes as far up they could go whilst still in their sockets, so that he could look the sneering witch in the eyes. He knew that she knew he wasn't going to tatter-tale but enjoyed watching him suffer none the less. Ignoring the pain spiralling up his limbs in sheer protest, he spoke taking care to add as much menace in his voice as possible, " Lestrange, you have got to be bloody joking if you think I'll give you the information you want. You might as well kill me now."
Bellatrix Lestrange's fake girly giggles were drowned out by a deeper voice to her right. Dohlov yelled "Crucio," almost lazily, his wand pointed directly at Remus, the permanent scowl on his face deepening slightly. The werewolf's body twitched uncontrollably as he screamed his voice box red and raw. His already frail arm was no
longer able to support his weight with the added pain and slipped from beneath him. This caused his head to fall on to the stone floor, cracking, as the red liquid from his forehead seeped across the floor turning to a murky brown on the cold black.
Panting heavily the owner of the blood began to slip out of consciousness once again; his pride now crushed by the overwhelming desire to be freed from his hell.
Suddenly a strong pair of arms grabbed Remus from behind forcing him into an upright position. It took him a few a few moments to identify them as Dohlov's.
" Come on. We've put up with your ignorance for long enough. The Dark Lord wants to see you. Prepare to die my friend."
Unlike Bellatrix his voice was low and gruff as if it wasn't exercised very often; in fact this was the first time Remus had ever heard the wizard talk bar cursing.
Remus hung limp in Dohlov's arms, and allowed himself to be dragged to where ever they were taking them. His grip was far too strong and struggling would require energy; something he did not have. But truth was underneath all fatigue and pain the werewolf felt fear. Fear that could not be hidden from his gaunt eyes. Fear- he'd be crazy not to feel it. They were taking him to Lord Voldemort, but not just that. They were taking him starved, immobile and wandless to Voldemort. Any hope of survival fled from Remus' mind, only to be replaced with sheer panic.
Saying that there wasn't much hope in there in the first place. At first he'd been foolish enough to believe that the order and the aurors were looking for him and would save him from the cage. Knowing Sirius he would undoubtedly send out half his team on a search mission. But as time passed and no one came that hope thinned until it barely remained.
After walking through what seemed like miles of endless stone corridors in the dark, the threesome finally got to a large circular room. It was old, completely made out of grey stone. Not smooth like in the cell, but sharp and jagged to Remus' bare feet. Looking around through blurry, half focused eyes, the werewolf could make out tall black shapes dotted densely round the room- death eaters. There was obviously a meeting going on, for all the figures bore ghostly white masks over their face, disenabling Remus to recognise anyone even if his eyes could focus. But in the middle of the circular room there was one figure slightly different from the rest. His robes black but branded with a green serpent, his eyes gleaming blood red.They'd arrived at Lord Voldemort's lair.
Nymphradora Tonks, or just plain Tonks as she was called by practically everyone, sat curled up in the corner of her sofa. She had bought her own flat a couple of years back when her parents died; just a small place big enough for her to live comfortably on her own. 'Or maybe not on my own any more," she thought reluctantly as she fingered the ring on her fourth finger. It was a beautiful ring; a single gold band set with three sparkling green emeralds. But what was even more beautiful was the memory of the day it was given to her.
It was two months ago this Wednesday. It had been a long hard day at work, with yet another Azkaban breakout, this time involving the infamous Bellatrix Black. But as the clock started to tic past 3AM the auror office started to gradually empty. The head auror himself was in Azkaban looking for clues; at least that's what he said, knowing her cousin Tonks suspected he was more likely shouting at the dementors.
By half past three the auror headquarters was completely empty, that is apart from two people. Kingsley and Tonks. They were each seated at their own desk, furiously sorting through various bits of paperwork.
Tonks creased up he small nose and ran a hand through her long purple hair in frustration as she looked through yet another file with no avail. Suddenly she felt a pair of strong arms on her shoulders accompanied by the odd feeling of Goosebumps prickling down her neck and onto her spine. Spinning around in her seat the young female auror looked up to see Kingsley standing behind her, a smile on his face.
" Sorry for disturbing you. It's just that you look so pretty all frustrated like that and I couldn't resist," the normally serious wizard's eyes danced mischievously in their sockets.
Tonks smiled to herself. She and Kingsley Shacklebolt had been dating for a while now, and sneaking up on her whilst she worked had always been one of his favourite pastimes (after annoying Sirius of course). However reaching out she thrust her arms forward pushing him square in the chest playfully.
" That servers you right Mr Shacklebolt," said Tonks in a mock serious voice, though the corners of her lips couldn't resist twitching.
" Shiesh woman, that hurt! One day you are going to be the death of me you are!"
"Oi, who you calling woman?" countered the female auror indignantly.
" Sorry, my mistake. I was under the impression that a 'woman' was someone you could do this to…" Then bending down he placed his lips on her and began snogging his girlfriend senseless.
It was a good few minutes before the couple finally broke apart. Slowly the older auror peeled Tonks off his chest and held her out in front of him so that he could see her beautiful pale complexion and bright turquoise eyes. Slowly he began speaking in a low voice, " Tonks, I know this isn't right time or place, but I just can't hold it in for a moment longer. I..I..I love you."
He lowered himself down on to one knee and pulled out of his jacket pocket a small black velvet box. " Nymphradora Tonks, will you marry me?"
Tonks was so stunned; she completely missed the use of her full name. Kingsley- her boyfriend- just proposed to her in the middle of work! Gradually her face went from shocked to radiant, and a wide grin spread across her face.
" Do you mind if I show you my answer instead?" she said before wrapping her arms around the auror's neck and dragging both of them up to their feet. Silently she began to kiss him passionately once again, but as she felt the ring slid on her finger, this time they were kissing as fiancées.
Tonks didn't know how long they'd remained in that position for, but they only broke apart hastily at the sound of Sirius stomping into the room, cursing the minister very loudly.
That day two months ago Bellatrix Lestrange had broken out of Azkaban, but it had been the best day in Tonks' life. So why did the memory of it make her so miserable now?
In fact Kingsley had only just left her flat minutes ago. They had been making some last minute wedding plans, with the big ceremony only two weeks away. So why wasn't her future husband in her dreams?
Tonks had never been so confused in her life; her usually vibrant hair, hung mousy brown down her back, and the usual sparkle had left her eyes. Kingsley had noticed that there was something wrong, but she had just blamed it on wedding stress. But truth was in two weeks time she was getting married to Shaklebolt…only she couldn't stop thinking about Remus Lupin.
At the time of the proposal the young witch really had thought she loved Kingsley. It was only recently that she had started falling for the werewolf. At first she'd dismissed it as a stupid crush, but the past week had proved it to her. She was in love with Remus John Lupin!
'Damn his gorgeous, understanding blue eyes. Why do I have to fall in love with my cousin's best friend, who's out of my age group and probably wouldn't go out with me if I were the last woman on this planet. My life sucks!' thought Tonks wryly. 'Oh and the love of my life is missing and probably dead, and I'm about to marry someone else in two weeks! How could I forget?'
Suddenly a noise from behind her made Tonks jump.
" Kingsley, Kingsley is that you?" she cried her voice strong and fearless; but she jumped off the sofa and kept her left hand tightly clenched around the wand in her pocket.
" Kingsley? Sirius? This is not funny! Quit playing whatever stupid prank this i…"
Suddenly a rough pair of hands grabbed the witch from behind and clasped her mouth tightly. Almost instinctively Tonks started to try to claw the hands of her face, ripping, screaming, clawing. She tried everything she could think of to free her self from her captator until finally there was a yell of "Stupefy".
None of the neighbours saw two men in dark cloaks and masks dragging the limp, still body of a young girl out of a flat.
Dohlov dropped Remus in the centre of the circular room, where the werewolf fell to a crumpled heap on the floor. Every fibre of his mind just wanted him to get up from his position besides Voldemort's feet and at least die in front of all these people with some dignity. But his limp (almost as if stubefied) and cowering body just would not obey his command; Remus John Lupin lay still and silent waiting for the axe to fall.
Without even sparing as much as a glance at the 'piece of filth' in front of him, the Dark Lord himself stood up from his throne like chair and began addressing his death eaters. " My fellow death eaters," when he spoke his voice came out thin and raspy yet the sense of authority rang out in every little syllable. " I have gathered you all here today so that we can all welcome our guest together. But first on to more pressing matters." Voldemort turned his head sharply to his right, his slit like nostrils flaring slightly. All of a sudden his voice lost its sarcasm and became more brisk and businesslike. " Laxcrosse, how many mudblood murders has there been this week?"
Remus' ears pricked up at the word 'Laxcrosse'. It sounded oddly familiar as if he'd heard it before. And yet he couldn't quite put a figure to the name; unless… 'No' thought Remus, 'it couldn't be Gemini? The Griffindor in our year that dated Sirius? No, she was the only one who hated the dark art as much as James.' But when the masked female to the right of Voldemort spoke all doubt fled from Remus' mind. There was no mistaking that cool, serene voice; even though all the warmth that one filled it was now gone. It was Gemini Laxcrosse all right!
" Ten, ten, only ten," the Dark Lord's voice filled the room once more, " I expected at least twenty, but you useless servants can't even get that right!" He paused to glance down at the man by his feet. As the cold, red eyes bore into his back, the werewolf was half surprised it didn't just burn a hole right through him. " But for the sake of our dear guest I think I'll be generous and not punish you." Remus could almost feel all the death eaters simultaneously let out their anxiously held breaths.
" Lupin, I'm so frightfully sorry for ignoring your presence. Here let me make it up to you…CRUCIO"
The curse was stronger than anything the former defence professor had ever felt in his life. His whole mind went blank and was replaced with sheer agony. He could barely register the scrams echoing out of his own mouth. When Voldemort finally ended the curse, thirty long painful seconds later, Remus came back to reality to find blood dripping out of his open mouth. He'd bitten his own tongue.
But what hurt the werewolf almost as much as the pain was the humiliation of it all, and unfortunately for him the man towering above him also knew.
"Oh dear werewolf. We can't have you in too much pain when I've arranged a visitor to come to see you. Lucius brought her in especially; I'm sure you'll be very happy top see her! Lucius."
The blond death eater moved to one side to reveal someone Lupin had hoped he'd never see in this place. Her mousy brown hair was wild and messed up, and there was a very slight hint at fear in her face; something subtle Remus did not fail to miss. It was Nymphradora Tonks.
But why was she here? How did Voldemort know that Remus loved her? Not even Sirius knew, after all it was unrequited love. Then suddenly it clicked in the intelligent professor's mind. All those times when Bellatrix and Dohlov had come to interrogate him in the cell. Bellatrix had always done the questioning and the taunting; Dohlov had just stood by her side glaring at the prisoner. But now it was obvious he wasn't just glaring, he was performing legimency, and all his findings had gone straight to his master. Whilst Remus had been tying there the prime thoughts in his mind had been on Tonks, bar Harry and Sirius.
Suddenly a hot flame of anger flared up inside the werewolf. Not only at Lucius, Bellatrix and Voldemort, but also at himself for allowing this to happen. Pushing down all pride and pain he bellowed, " YOU LET HER GO YOU SICK BASTARD!"
But as he knew in the back of his mind Voldemort didn't even flinch. He just sneered superiorly and said, " Lupin, Lupin, Lupin. How could we possibly do that when you haven't even enjoyed our little show yet?" Then with a flick of his wand he fired a cruciatus curse at the young auror, who withered and screamed in pain. The process continued for about half an hour, with the death eaters, cursing her, beating her, raping her.
Each time she screamed in pain Remus felt his heart and soul tear open. He felt as if he were dying, again and again. Each time she gave a gasp of pain Remus wanted to run over to her, tell her it was all going to be all right and that he loved her, but the invisible robes that held him in place wouldn't allow him to move or speak. Each time a single tear fell down one of her smooth cheeks, Remus wanted to cry a river.
He was drowning in grief, so much that he failed to spot the fact that there was one death eater not participating with the rest.
It was as if the fires of hell had invaded the Earth, when Voldemort finally spoke putting an end to the torture. " Enough enjoyment for one day. Take these two back to the cell. You may have fun with them and do whatever you like, just don't kill them. The wolf may still be useful, as for the girl. I haven't feasted in a long time."
The room filled with hollow, mirthless laughter and Remus and Tonks found themselves being dragged roughly to the cage by Dohlov. Soon the metal bars clanked shut and the sound of the death eater's footprints faded into the distance. They were alone…together.
A long painful silence settled itself within the cage. The two occupants were both engrossed in their own thoughts, not to mention the fact they had no idea what to say to each other. The cage, being quite small for one person alone, was tightly cramped with the to of them lying practically on top of each other.It was Remus who finally broke the silence. His heart was weighted down like lead with guilt. Tonks was here and suffering all because of him and his stupid heart.
"Tonks I.." began Remus in a whisper.
"Remus John Lupin, don't you dare try to tell me your sorry," interrupted Tonks
her voice surprisingly strong for someone who'd just stood subject to torture for the past half hour. Remus himself had nearly passed out the first time they did that to him, and that time Voldemort wasn't even present. That's what he liked best about Tonks, under her delicate beauty she seemed to be wearing a mail of steal.
" I am actually quite glad that I'm here in a way. It shows me that you love me too! Remus, am I right? Do you love me?"
Remus was quite frankly stunned at how clever and accurate her guess was. Also did she say ' That you love me too.' Does that mean that she loves me back?
' Of course I love you Tonks. I love you wit all my heart; always have and always will'. That's what he was dying to say, but all he could manage was a faint stutter.
"Remus?"
Suddenly the logical professor inside Remus snapped into place. "Tonks, my feelings towards you don't matter. You're engaged to Kingsley and are about to get married," he said softly.
In a fit of frustration the younger auror yanked the sparkling emerald ring of her finger and threw it on to the floor, where it caused a faint echo to ripple through the stonewalls; Kingsley always loved her when she was frustrated.
" There is that better now, " she half cried. "Now will you answer my question; do you love me or not."
Gazing down into her eyes and taking a deep breath, he realised his life was probably going to be too short for him to cover up his emotions. He replied, " Nymphradora Tonks, yes I love you very much."
" Good, cause I love you too."
'I love you too.' 'I love you too'. Remus' heart almost stopped beating upon hearing those words. They were the words he'd longed to here for almost half his life but now… now they just made him fearful. He had to put things right.
"Tonks," he said quietly, picking the ring up off the ground and holding it up. " You're marring Kingsley in two weeks; he's better for you than me. I'm old and I'm a werewolf, I could hurt you and you deserve more. You can have any man Tonks, don't pick me."
" Remus, if we make it out of here alive, we can do anything, including handling Kingsley. And if we don't… well let's enjoy each other's company whilst we can. Besides you leaving me will hurt my heart, more any physical damage you could do as a werewolf. As for me being able to get any other man; that may be, but I want you Remus. I love you."
Slowly she leaned forward until he lips brushed against his. In that moment everything was forgotten. The fact that they were in a cage and were being held captive by the darkest wizard of all time suddenly seemed very trivial.
The past 24 hours was hell for Remus and Tonks. Every half an hour a death eater would enter the cage to have there turn in torturing their 'visitor'; Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange must have been about five times each already. None of them took any mercy and cursed and beat until the two were bruised and blooded. Sometimes they would torture one and make the other watch their pain.
But now the two members of the Order of the Phoenix, had something to stay strong and live for…each other. However even that couldn't stop there hearts from touching their feet as the next death eater turned the corner and entered the cage.
If Remus or Tonks had been looking closely, they would have seen that there was something different about the death eater approaching. Her hood hung slightly higher on her face there was a sense of gracefulness in her walk not usually found in the dark lord supporters.
As she entered the cage she swiftly removed her hood and mask completely to reveal olive skin and long, dark curls.
" Gemini Laxcrosse," started the werewolf, not bothering to hide the icy contempt in his voice.
The young woman bent down to their level, her eyes pleading, " Please Remus," she begged, tears starting to form within her eyelids, " I'm so sorry, I just made one stupid mistake that regretted ever since. Remus, I hate this life; I want to change it even if it means dying. Let me start by helping you escape but I need you to trust me. Please."
" Trust you. Are you out of your rocker," Remus flared up. He couldn't take it any longer. Two of his friends had betrayed them to join Voldemort. How many more?
" As if I'd ever trust you. A stupid mistake is something like sneaking out of your dormitory after curfew. Not betraying all your friends to join a Dark wizard and trying to kill everybody. I thought you were my friend Gemini, I obviously thought wrong."
Gemini Laxcrosse sat silent for a few moments rocking her body back and forth. All of Remus' words had gone like daggers through her heart, yet she knew that she deserved each one. A few stray tears escaped from her eyes and sloshed down her cheeks. "Please," she tried again in a strangled voice, " I've got a portkey, it will take you back outside your home. Just take it. I know I deserve everything I got, but I'm not asking for you to forgive me Remus. I just want you to escape."
" Good, because you're not having my forgiveness," although Remus' voice was strong his mind was feeling sorry for her. He knew this girl for so many years and knew her eyes spoke the truth. " How do I know you're not going to give me a portkey that will take Tonks and I to our deaths? You're a traitor Gemini, a traitor; do you expect me to take to take your word."
Tears began falling freely down the olive skin face now as she spoke. " Remus. I may be a death eater but I have never killed anyone and I would never start with you. Please take my word, I swear I'm telling the truth."
Remus began a sarcastic round of applause but Tonks cut him of. It was the first time she spoke since Gemini had arrived; yet she had a thoughtful look upon her face.
" Remus, I trust her. We might as well take this portkey. Where ever it takes us can't be worse than here, But I think she is telling the truth when she says it'll take us back home. Let's give it a go Remus."
The werewolf stiffly nodded his head in agreement.
Gemini Laxcrosse heaved a sigh of relief and muttered a quick, "Thank you so much, Remus," as she pulled a small necklace portkey out of her pocket. Remus recognised the necklace immediately. It was silver and had a small pendent with the letters SG on it. The werewolf looked up sharply, but almost immediately Gemini's expression became unreadable, even to the skilled professor. She had just given them the necklace Sirius had given her on her 14th birthday. Was this on purpose? He had no more time to ponder the question as Tonks placed his hand on the portkey. 3...2...
Right before he felt the family tugging at his navel, Remus managed to call out, " Thank you, Laxcrosse" and could have sworn he got a faint smile in response.
As the whirling sensation wore of Remus found himself lying besides Tonks on soft grass besides a quidditch pitch; the first time Remus had seen the sunlight streaming though his eyelids- they were finally home. The two members of the Order of the Phoenix, lay there too week to move and were savouring the moment of freedom, as they heard the sound of a broom landing and someone running over.
" BLOODY HELL SIRIUS! IT'S REMUS AND TONKS!" yelled the voice of a young boy.
But before Remus got a chance to even lecture his surrogate nephew on his language his world blacked out with a final shot of relief.
A/N: That chapter was harder to write than it looks, that's why it took so long, sorry about that.
URGANT NOTICE: There now have I got your attention. I just found out that 17 people have this story on alerts and 11 on favourites. I love all of you guys who put me on either of these very much. You guys are the best. And yet I'm only averaging 4 reviews per chapter.If you are reading this please review! I'm thinking of removing this story otherwise. Your review only has to be one word long if you want and you can even flame me. But I'm begging you to review!
Also I still need ideas for two of my chapters. Anyone with any idea whatsoever please let me know. It will be very appreciated and I will definitely use it (as well as give you a chapter dedication and cookie). Thanks in advance to everyone who reviews, particularly with ideas!
