"Can we still back out?"
"Peter, shut up and keep your eyes open."
"I can't feel my feet!"
"Neither can we, we're not immune to cold or anything."
"Well, how long are we going to be out here?"
Sirius glanced sideways at James from under the Invisibility cloak and tried to decipher what he was thinking. James looked around worriedly, a small frown between his eyebrows, and looked back at Sirius with an expression that said quite clearly:
'We shouldn't be here.'
It was the first evening of winter break and they'd taken a Portkey to the outskirts of a small town in southern Ireland. Buckets of rain were pouring hard around them in the night, the sound deafening. Lightning flashed across the sky and a second later thunder rolled towards them across the drenched countryside.
They stood huddled under the meager shelter of a leafless oak tree, staring across a cobbled street at a cabin. Lanterns flickered in the downstairs rooms and in a single window on the second floor. By all accounts, it was as ordinary of a house as any other.
To the three of them, though, it was far from ordinary.
They were standing in the same village that had been the childhood home of Fenrir Greyback, and also, the still-home of his first victim, werewolf number 25639. The little wizard town known as East Cullaville had a modest population in comparison to most all-magical communities, but that didn't comfort them in the slightest. The more magic was concentrated in single areas, the easier it was for Dark Magic to conceal itself.
In their own country they could gage which areas were more or less likely to be home to Voldemorts forces, but this was unknown territory. They had no idea what to expect from this village, or what to expect from a werewolf who had called this place home for almost two decades.
They had checked to make sure the werewolf identification number didn't match up to any wanted criminals in the Auror records, and the record had come up clean. But when Sirius had sent an owl to W25639 asking to visit, there had been no reply.
"Well, there's nothing else for it, is there?" Sirius muttered to James. "We've come this far."
James turned around to face Peter.
"Wand out?"
Peter nodded.
Sirius threw the cloak off them and they all straightened up, wincing as the freezing rain hit their faces. They moved swiftly over the street to the front walkway of the cabin, their wands lifted and pointing around them in case of traps.
Sirius could see in to the lit windows of a downstairs sitting area. It looked neat and cozy like a normal cabin. He leaned over, squinting inside, and not paying much attention when suddenly there was a loud shrill ringing sound that rent the air.
All three of them jumped, wands lifting to shoulder height, curses on the tips of their tongues. But before their panic could subside, the ringing stopped and the pathway they stood on flooded with light as the front door flew open.
Sirius blinked hard into the glaring lamplight, pointing his wand towards it.
"Who are you?" A voice yelled at them. "What do you want?"
James hit Sirius hard in the arm, forcing it downward so his wand wasn't pointing at the open doorway anymore.
A woman of about thirty years old was standing in front of them, her own wand pointing directly at James' forehead. She was staring at them, eyes darting around and taking in their soaked travel robes, searching to see if anyone else stood behind them. They realized that the loud screeching noise must have been an alarm that notified the woman of any visitors.
"We're alone," Sirius said, glancing at the wand that was still aimed at James. "We're looking for a werewolf identified as number two five six—,"
"Three nine," she finished for him. "What do you want with me?"
The three of them gaped at her. For some reason, although none of them knew why, they were expecting a man.
"Uhm—," James started, a little unnerved. "We're not Death Eaters, we're students. And we don't mean any harm to you."
"I'm not expecting anyone and the only people who would be calling unannounced at this hour are exactly the kind of people who would mean harm to me."
"My name is Sirius Black. I sent you a letter," Sirius interjected. "Did you ever get it? I asked to visit—,"
"You— you're-?- I didn't give you permission to!" She snarled at him.
"You didn't not give us permission either," Sirius reminded her.
She opened her mouth automatically to argue but then shut it, as if struck silent. Sirius grinned at her.
"Please, can we come in?" James turned around, grabbed Sirius and Peters' wands, and offered them to her handle-side-first along with his own. "We just want to ask you a few questions."
She lowered her eyes to look at the wands.
"We've come a long way to see you and it's pouring out here. Just hear us out before you turn us away."
She blinked and her shoulders tensed up as she considered. But after a long moment she sighed, lowered her own wand as she took the others from James and stepped back to gesture them inside.
The woman led them into the sitting room Sirius had peered at through the window. The warmth of the fireplace hit them as they took their seats around it.
She watched them closely as they pulled their cloaks off. Then, with a swift wave of her wand, the curtains snapped closed and the thundering sounds of rain disappeared. She walked over to the fire silently, stoking it as a cauldron of potion bubbled inside.
Sirius looked at her properly for the first time. He had placed her age to be around thirty, but as the flickering light from the fireplace hit her, premature lines and wrinkles were thrown into view. There were dark circles under her eyes and her blonde hair hung dull and lifeless around her shoulders. The robes she was wearing were hanging loosely on a frame that seemed painfully thin.
"I don't know what you three think you're playing at," she said in a heavy Irish accent. "These are dark times to be showing up on anyone's doorstep unannounced. Especially dangerous creatures like myself…"
"We knew you weren't dangerous," James said. "We looked up your number. You've never committed a crime or attacked anyone else."
The woman grinned.
"Well, you've done your homework then, I suppose."
"If you don't mind us asking though," Peter spoke up. "We still don't know your name."
The woman straightened up from the fire, having put a kettle over it, and waved her wand to summon a tray of tea.
"My name is Catraoine ó Faoláin."
She paused, taking in their awkward expressions. Peter tried whispering it back to himself and ended up butchering the vowels.
"You can call me Kate," she smirked with an eyebrow cocked at Peter.
"Well… it's nice to meet you. This is James Potter and Peter Pettigrew."
Her eyes roamed over them and she nodded curtly.
"I didn't answer your letter because you wrote it, Mr. Black. But if you'd had one of your friends here write it, I may have responded."
"But— what? Why?" Sirius frowned at her.
"Oh, please. Don't pretend as if you don't know what kind of impression the name Black makes on people."
Sirius glared daggers at her.
"I'm nothing like my family. Next time check your facts before you judge someone. My scum family disowned me last summer when I ran away from home."
Kate looked at him with a surprised and- impressed- expression.
"Well that changes things then," she said, taking the seat closest to the fire. "What did you want to ask me about?"
Sirius and James glanced at each other.
"Well," James started. "In August, our friend Remus Lupin, uhm… was attacked by Death Eaters."
"His mother and father were killed in their home but the Aurors never found Remus."
Kate let out a tiny gasp and clutched a hand over her heart.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said sincerely. "But... how do you expect me to help?"
"Well, you see, Remus was a werewolf."
Kate's eyes widened, her eyebrows shooting up her forehead.
"And he was a student? At Hogwarts?"
They all nodded and she whistled in surprise.
"I've heard Dumbledore was a great headmaster, but that's the first I'd heard of anything like that. I wasn't allowed to attend school here once I'd been bitten."
A dark shadow passed over her face.
"I was only ten years old… I'd been looking forward to going to Draíochta Cnoic since my older brother went. I was just one year away…"
They could see tears glittering in her eyes.
Sirius glanced at the other two uncomfortably.
"Please, we need to ask you about the werewolf who bit you," he said. "Fenrir Greyback. We think he might have had something to do with the attack. Remus had written to him not knowing he was a criminal. For the summer, Remus went to volunteer at Dr. Leibrocks laboratories. Greyback knew this and it wasn't even a day after Remus got back that he was attacked. The Aurors are up to their ears in more current cases so… we're trying to solve it ourselves. If there is anything you can tell us that can help, anything about Greyback and the way he operates,… please tell us."
Kate looked long and hard at him as he spoke. There was a calculating expression in her eyes.
"Maybe… if you'd be willing to… could you tell us how you were attacked?" James asked. "Knowing how he operates could help us figure out what he might have done to our friend."
She hesitated for a long while and made a fuss over distributing the tea. Finally though, she reached for a napkin and dabbed her eyes with it before standing up and moving closer to the fire.
"I grew up here," she began. "This was my home as a child. I lived with my parents and older brother. This village has some of the oldest wizard families still in existence… hence why so many Death Eaters have been calling lately. But when I was little, no one here cared about pureblood or half-blood or Muggle borns in this village… we were all the same, equal in each others eyes."
Kate picked up a frame from the mantel and handed it to them. A little family waved at them from the black and white photo. A very pretty little girl with shining hair and a wide smile was peering cheerfully up at them.
"That's me," she said. "I went to primary school with the other magical children in the schoolhouse here. Everyone knew everyone else… and everyone knew about the Greybacks…"
Kate took the photo from them and moved to stare into the fire again.
"They didn't always live here. Our Ministry moved them here to be under tighter magical surveillance. I was about eight when they arrived, moving in to the rundown Muggle shack on the edge of the forest. We heard rumors and, well… you know how rumors spread in a small town. Like poison running downriver. We heard they were in to Dark Magic and had tried attacking Muggles. The house they lived in became something of a legend among us kids… we'd sneak out in the middle of the night and dare the others to get close enough to the front door. We didn't understand why our parents refused to let us outside on full moon nights…"
Kate let out a bitter laugh.
"One day, when I was nine years old, I snuck out of the house with my best friend and three other classmates. We were going to just scare each other around the ruins of the old Muggle castle, but someone thought it'd be a better idea to sneak out to the Greyback cottage. So we did… we got out there and this little boy… Kevin… he dared me to go touch the front porch. I was so scared but I wanted to impress him. I had a huge crush on him and would have jumped off a cliff if he'd dared me to. It was almost midnight… I remember glancing around at the black branches of the trees, terrified they were the arms of monsters about to snatch me right up and take me away forever. The shack was run down and smelled foul as I tip toed towards it. And just when I was about to touch it with the very ends of my fingers, the door swung open."
Sirius and the others were leaning forward in their seats, paying close attention. Kate's voice had dropped so low it was almost a whisper.
"That was the first time I saw him. Fenrir. We knew the couple had a son but it didn't look like a boy at all. It looked like his hair had never been brushed and he was dirty. When I saw him I just froze. My friends screamed and ran away, but Kevin stayed. He rushed forward to grab me by my wrist and drag me away, but I just stood there staring at him. And he stood there staring back at me. He wasn't a child… he was older than any of us, old enough to be learning magic already. He walked towards me and… and… sniffed me…"
"He smelled you?" James asked.
"Yeah… he didn't speak to me at all, he just smelled me, sniffed at my hair and my face. I could feel Kevin tugging on my hand and I remember my heart pounding so hard it hurt. But there was something about him that kept me from running. He was so frightening but so… curious. Like he'd never seen another child before… and then there was this sudden movement inside the cabin and I knew it was his parents. He turned, and when he did he crouched down low to the ground like a wolf does when it's about to attack. It was like he was suddenly protecting me… but when Kevin heard the noises from the shack, he pulled so hard on me that I didn't have a choice but to leave."
"He didn't attack you?" Peter whispered.
"No… that was not the night I was attacked. It was a full year after that when I was. I hadn't gone back to the shack where Fenrir lived, but for some reason he had left an impression on me. I didn't understand why I kept thinking of him. There were several nights when I couldn't sleep alone because of the fear he'd somehow be hiding in the shadows of my bedroom, waiting to attack me. But then the sun would come up again and I found myself thinking about him in a different way… I just felt so sorry for him. To be raised as an animal, to be isolated and friendless and alone… and I never forgot the way he turned around in front of me like that, as if he was shielding me from harm…"
Kate paused for a moment as she took a long drink of tea.
"The attack happened when I was ten years old. Although… it wasn't really an attack…"
The other three frowned.
"What was it then?" Sirius asked.
Kate turned back towards them.
"An abduction."
Sirius met her eyes. For a moment he could see the beautiful little girl she used to be behind the wrinkles and emaciated frame.
"I had good reason to be afraid of the dark. One night, I had fallen asleep with my lamp on and he came in through the window. I can still remember his stench when he muffled my screams… he smelled like sweat and dirt and rotting garbage… he held one hand over my mouth and dragged me backwards through the window. My ankles were scrapped raw by the time he'd hauled me across town and into the woods… but we didn't go to the shack he lived at. He pushed me into a tunnel he'd dug under the roots of a tree… it wound downwards, deep into the earth, down where no one could hear me screaming. He had cleared a large chamber that seemed to have been a natural cave and chained me up. It was pitch black down there but he could see somehow… I remember his amber eyes glowing at me in the dark, coming closer and closer…"
Her voice shuddered and died as she broke down, tears spilling from her eyes. James stood up and led her to the arm chair again, refilling her teacup and handing her a fresh tissue.
"Thank you," she sniffed thickly. "It's hard to talk about it… I was so young and terrified… I realized very quickly that he hadn't been protecting me from harm that previous year… he'd been guarding his prey. I was the first girl he'd ever seen, the first thing he'd ever wanted. So he… stole me. He'd stalked me for months and had been planning it all, down to the last detail. On the second day he kept me, I was begging him for food and water when he spoke to me for the first time. His voice was gravely like he hardly ever used it. But he told me he wanted me to be like him… I didn't understand what he meant because even though we knew the Greybacks were deep into the Dark Arts, we children didn't know they were all werewolves. Our parents hadn't wanted to frighten us or create rumors. Fenrir told me to wait until that night because he had a surprise for me… and then he went and got me food and water and he stayed and he… he… did things to me. He did… terrible things to me down there…"
James was frowning at her as she dissolved into tears again. He looked at the other two in confusion and Sirius winced at him. Reluctantly, he mouthed a word at James whose eyes bugled immediately in shock.
"He forced himself on you?" James gasped.
Kate coughed into her handkerchief.
"He must have thought that was normal. His parents had never taught him any different than hunting and stalking… he must have thought it was the only way to be with someone… I… I don't want to talk about it… I try not to think about it—,"
"It's okay, we understand," Sirius said quickly.
Kate nodded and composed herself before going on.
"That night was the full moon. I don't remember much about the attack, just hearing him transform in the same room… it was so confusing. I didn't understand what he was doing because I couldn't see anything. There was snarling and snapping and screaming… and then I heard him drawing closer to me in the dark… I could feel the warm breath on my skin before everything became a blur… I remember there was a lot of pain… I think he thrashed me around for a while because I remember moving very fast but I don't think it was me running, I think the wolf was throwing me or dragging me… the next thing I remembered was waking up in the middle of the forest, and I was becoming a human again from something else… my bones were snapping and there was hair shrinking into my skin… I was throwing up and my clothes were gone. And so was he. I remember looking around and trying to find him, but he was gone. He must have lost track of me while he was still a werewolf because I don't think he ever intended on letting me go. He wanted to keep me as his own forever. But while he was a werewolf, his mind wasn't in the right place. I followed the river back into town and as I walked I remember looking down at myself. I was naked and covered in blood and open wounds… my own blood. There was this huge shredded bite mark on my thigh and I had large purple bruises on my torso… I remember wondering if I was dead. Everywhere I looked on myself I was damaged… I looked like a corpse or an Infiri. I was scared of myself. I fainted by the riverbank from blood loss and one of the other children found me a few hours later. I was rushed to the hospital but there was nothing anyone could do… I was already a werewolf. I didn't wake up for a few days but everyone knew immediately who had done it to me. The entire Auror force of the country descended into our village. They raided the Greybacks shack and arrested Fenrir's parents. They found evidence of extremist dark magic inside the house and plans of a werewolf army that would rise up against wizards. They had maps drawn out and make-shift campsites where they would grow their armies. And they had brainwashed their son into the same ideals. That's where he got his idea of keeping me underground and in a tunnel. It was why he abducted me in the first place, so that I would be his mate and start the revolution with him."
She shivered in disgust at the very idea.
"Anyway, even though the Aurors were able to capture his parents, somehow Fenrir escaped from them. I don't know if it was because he wasn't a wizard and they couldn't track him down with the Trace… I don't know if it was because he could blend in so well with the wilderness… but he was gone. He left forever and they couldn't figure out a way to find him. Maybe he went underground. Maybe he thought he should live as an animal while the Aurors were still hunting for him. But he didn't contaminate anyone else for many years. And even to this day, he's never returned to this village. I've heard of him growing stronger in your country, as I was schooled at home and kept in secret. Even now I'm unable to find a job to support myself because of what I am. That's why I still live here with my parents… I'll be a burden to them until the day they die."
Sirius felt a sinking sensation in his stomach.
"So… you haven't seen him in twenty years. You don't know anything else about him? Like where he is or what he's up to now?"
Kate shot him a calculating look.
"I know more about him than any of those trumped up Aurors who've been failing to catch him for two decades. He spoke to me about things down there… plans of building an army… of contaminating Muggles and wizards alike. As I grew older I had these dreams of studying in the Auror academy, of capturing him myself and finally getting revenge for everything he did to me. But those dreams died a long time ago..."
Sirius stood up and reached into the pocket of his travel cloak.
"This is a letter one of our classmates sent into the crime scene as it was happening. It was sent back in this condition— look at the claw marks. Is this something Greyback would do?"
Kate took the slashed letter and stared at the claw marks splattered with dried blood.
"This is him alright," she whispered. "Look at the number of scratches— this was ripped with four claws."
"So?"
"So, a true werewolf uses all five nails because their paws are shaped differently after transformation. But Greyback… he would sharpen his nails and harden them with clay so he could use them even when it wasn't the full moon. This is basically his signature."
Sirius' jaw clenched.
"Then he did it. He sold his information to Voldemort and had Remus and his parents murdered. He brought the Death Eaters right to his front door…"
James reached out and gripped his shoulder tightly, trying to bring him back to his senses.
"Stay together, mate," he murmured before addressing Kate. "We're not just here to find out about Greyback's history. We're actually… setting out to find our friend. We need to know everything about where Greyback might have disposed of a body."
Kate's eyebrows shot up her forehead.
"You three are tracking him down?" her eyes darted between them and lingered a little longer on Peters' nervous frame. "By yourselves?"
"It's going on five months and there's been no leads and no arrests," James said. "If we can just give them a solid lead we'll be happy. We just want to find Remus and give him a proper burial."
Kate looked at him blankly for a moment before giving him a weak smile.
"He was lucky to have friends like you," she said finally. "Wish I'd been as lucky."
James and Sirius glanced at each other. They both knew Remus would have done the same for any of them.
"I've been through records," Sirius said. "Greyback has a long list of victims. Almost all of them were captured after being infected. Only a few of them died, and you and Remus were the only to ever escape."
Kate nodded.
"I know."
"And according to what you've told us… that means it's pretty likely that those who were captured have become a part of his forces…"
"Did he ever tell you where he might build his army up?" James pressed her. "Did he tell you what kind of intentions he had on the location?"
Kate sighed.
"Well… he always liked proximity to danger. And he liked being underground. So… the best bet would be somewhere right under the Ministry's nose, and underneath a forest of some kind. I've written to the Aurors here and abroad for years that the caves they search in are useless. Greyback admitted to me he felt more comfortable underground. Those idiots running the cases didn't pay attention to anything I told them."
She looked at them appraisingly.
"How good are you three at Apparating? I can give you some coordinates that you can check first. You'd need to skip around to quite a few places to make any headway. Otherwise you'll just have to wait until the summer holidays, and by then they might have moved you know…"
Sirius and James glanced at each other nervously.
"Well… ehm… we can Apparate… it's just that… uh…"
Kate raised her eyebrows expectantly.
"It's just that what?"
James sighed.
"We're not… uhm… of legal age."
Kate stared at them.
"Any of us," Sirius added.
"But—," Kate spluttered. "How did you get here? And how the hell were you planning on searching?"
"We took a Portkey," Sirius told her. "And we weren't quite sure how… we were hoping to get more of an accurate location or something… I guess…"
James and Peter nodded.
"But… you realize that you can't locate or identify human remains without using magic?"
Kate was now talking to them as if addressing particularly slow children.
Sirius grimaced.
"We hadn't… thought that far ahead yet."
Kate threw her arms in astonishment.
"And what would you do if you had to engage in battle? If you had to defend yourselves? If you had to save someone else from harm? If you had to escape?"
They glanced at each other, feeling foolish and unprepared.
"Improvise?" Sirius offered.
Kate sighed.
"Kids these days…," she whispered to herself.
James glanced at the other two before standing up and clearing his throat gruffly.
"Come with us."
Sirius and Peter looked quickly at each other and then towards Kate, who had frozen and donned a weary expression on her face. She immediately began to reject his proposal, her head shaking and every fiber of her attitude seeming to ooze unwillingness.
"Wait—," James started, "Before you say 'no' just… just hear us out."
"Us? James, Pete and I have no bloody idea where you're going with this."
"Fine, hear me out," James glared at Sirius for a moment and started pacing. "We need someone to take us side-along Apparition. You want recognition from the Aurors for all the years you haven't been taken seriously. We need someone to help identify Remus. You want revenge on Greyback for attacking you and making you a werewolf. We need someone to defend us and help us escape. You want to stop Greyback from attacking again. We want closure and justice for what happened to our best friend. And you want closure and justice for what happened to you. Don't you get it? It's a win-win situation!"
Sirius and Peter looked quickly at Kate, who seemed to be struggling.
"Please," Sirius said, standing up next to James. "We have two weeks until we're stuck back at school for another six months. I can't just… sit around knowing I haven't done anything… I already know no one else is doing anything."
"But I hardly know you," Kate whimpered. "What if anything happened to you? Do you think I'd ever be able to forgive myself?"
"We know the dangers," James said defiantly. "This is about something more than just us! Think about those nameless victims out there that are going to be Greyback's next victims. They still have a chance… do it for them."
Kate opened and shut her mouth. She was considering it.
"If everyone in this war acts for themselves, then we're going to lose," Sirius added. "Someone needs to make this their responsibility and I can't see how any other people in the world are more connected to it than the four of us."
Kate looked hard at him for a moment.
"This won't be easy."
"We know," James said.
"If something happens to me, you three are on your own."
"We understand."
"And if anything happens to you, you have to vouch for me. I don't want to be thrown in prison over this."
"We'd never let that happen."
Kate took a deep breath.
And nodded.
"Alright. I'll do it."
~*~Please Review! I respond to all of them eventually :) ~*~