Author's Note: Thank you so much to Mercymadness and XAlstroemeriaX for your reviews! I hope you all know how appreciated you are!
I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter Five: Beatles and Beetles
Mairead tried her best not to yawn as the old biddy standing in front of her at the help desk of the Diagon Alley library told her a long, rambling story about a vacation she and her girlfriends had taken to Madrid in nineteen sixty-three. She nodded and "hmm'd" in what she hoped were the right places, as her mind was not on the conversation at all but on everything she had to do as soon as she got out of work.
"... and it was only after... I would say... twenty... maybe thirty or forty minutes - and this is in the cold rain, mind you - that the flying carpet arrived to pick us up."
Mairead nodded. "Wow," she said. "I'm glad you finally got a ride! Well, I'd better -"
"Now, of course, flying carpets were legal in those days."
Mairead nodded again. "Right. Anyway, it was lovely t-"
"But of course, when it arrived, we saw - we said to the carpet driver, we said that there were seven of us - because as you know we had met up with Gladys by then. Did I tell you about Gladys?"
"Yes, you did, yeah."
She had not.
"Well, we saw that there was only room for five of us on that carpet!"
Mairead tried to make a yawn look like a deep breath. Partially she was tired because she still hadn't caught up on sleep from the Order meeting two nights ago, which had lasted until one in the morning. But she was also tired because of how busy she had been since the Order meeting.
"So of course we had to send that one right on its way!"
Mairead sighed and glanced wistfully at the books she had pulled off the shelves and hoped to be able to read or at least glance through while on the desk. She wondered if the witch would even notice her reading if she were subtle about it.
"Now, here is what you need to understand about flying carpet drivers - and of course you wouldn't know this, as they were outlawed before you were born -"
The books were all on or related to Healing. Dumbledore had assigned her the task of creating a stockpile of potions, salves, and remedies that the Order could use in the event of various injuries. Mairead hadn't brewed anything since graduating from Hogwarts, and she was eager to get started, but of course that was easier said than done.
Dumbledore had asked that everyone refrain from doing anything for the Order in their own residences, saying that if they were caught it would be too difficult to explain away. Everyone was therefore asked to come to headquarters whenever they needed to conduct business for the Order. That included Mairead's potion brewing, a lab for which purpose was to be set up in a spare room at Grimmauld Place.
Unfortunately, any spare room in which Order business would be conducted would first need to be cleaned out and sanitized before anything could be done, and there did not appear to be a single corner of that entire house that hadn't been taken over by some form of mold, dirt, or infestation. In the room earmarked for Mairead's use, for example, an infestation of Bundimuns was found eating away at the baseboards, which had necessitated a house-wide hunt for more, as their acidic secretions could easily level the house if left unchecked.
The good news was that the whole Weasley family was going to be moving into Grimmauld Place. When Molly had seen the state of the house during the Order meeting, she had promptly offered to lead the charge on the cleanup efforts. Arthur, who had been concerned about attacks on his family anyway, suggested that they temporarily move into headquarters to make things easier for everyone, and Sirius had enthusiastically agreed. The Weasleys and their children who still lived at home - Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny - were scheduled to move in that day.
Mairead rested her chin in her hand and let out a hearty, false laugh in response to a humorous aside from the patron about how difficult it was to live with men. Personally, she was glad that someone would be living with Sirius in his home. He had been very sour when Dumbledore had instructed him not to leave headquarters for fear of being recognized and apprehended, and his mood had not improved significantly since. Mairead suspected that part of the reason was owing to the not-so-subtle hints coming from Snape that Sirius would be hiding out, safe at home, while Snape was risking his life to infiltrate the Death Eaters and deliver information to the Order on the Dark Lord's movements.
Though Mairead would never have said as much, she felt that this was mostly hot air, at least at the moment. You-Know-Who believed (quite rightly, not that anyone was volunteering to tell him) that Snape could not be trusted, having spent so many years at Hogwarts under the influence of Dumbledore. As a result, he was currently being kept at arms' length and had even been excluded from some conversations between You-Know-Who and his inner circle.
The Order had spent a considerable amount of time brainstorming alternative ideas for how to gain information on what You-Know-Who was planning, but so far they hadn't come up with anything they could run with.
Mairead's fingers inched towards her stack of books as the witch launched into a side-story within a side-story.
"Excuse me, miss?" a familiar voice called. "Could you please help me locate a book?"
Mairead looked up and saw Professor Lupin standing a short distance away. His hands were in his pockets and he was smiling slightly.
She jumped to her feet. "I am so sorry to interrupt you, ma'am, but there's someone calling me," she said, trying her best not to look thrilled at being called away.
The witch looked over at Lupin. "Oh," she said, sounding put out by the interruption. "Well, I suppose I'd better let you get on..." she trailed off. "Now, where did I put my cane down?"
"Oh, it's here!" said Mairead, leaning her upper body over the desk and retrieving the walking stick from where the witch had hooked it over the edge of the counter. "Have a lovely day!" she called as she practically fled the desk.
Lupin's smile turned teasing as he watched Mairead approach.
"Thank you," she mouthed as they turned and walked together into the stacks.
"You looked like you needed rescuing," he said, his warm voice sounding amused.
Mairead nodded emphatically.
"How long was she talking to you?"
"I don't know - what time is it? What day is it? What year is it?" Mairead asked, clinging to a nearby bookshelf dramatically.
Lupin laughed quietly. He stopped and placed a hand lightly on her arm to stop her. "I don't actually need a book, Mairead," he said.
"Oh," said Mairead, feeling foolish. "Then, erm... what brings you here?"
Lupin put his hands back in his pockets and leaned against a bookcase. "I was in the neighborhood," he said. "Molly sent me to fetch more cleaning supplies, so I thought I would stop by and say 'hello.'"
Mairead had to pull both lips into her mouth and bite down on them to keep from grinning like a fool. He had come by to see her. He didn't need anything. He had just come by to talk to her.
Stopstopstopstopstopstopstop, she chanted at the fantasy that instantly flew into her head of him pressing her up against a bookcase and snogging her silly.
Realizing it was her turn to talk again, she frowned and said, "Wait - more cleaning supplies?" she asked. Lupin nodded, quirking an eyebrow significantly.
"Yes, I'm afraid the rags were stored in a closet we didn't know was full of more Bundimuns," he said with a small sigh. "When we went to pull them out this morning the acid had already eaten away nearly all the cloth."
Mairead winced sympathetically. "I'm sorry," she moaned. "I wish I could be there to help."
Lupin shrugged. "Well, you had to be here to listen to Mrs. Liepenflog tell you about how Gladys broke her hip."
Mairead cocked her head to one side. "Wait - how long were you listening?" she asked suspiciously.
Lupin shrugged again, a smile playing at his mouth. "You're fun to watch when you're trying not to scream in boredom and frustration," he teased, eyes glinting shamelessly.
I'm about to scream in frustration right now, she thought frantically to herself as her heart began beating a tattoo in her chest at the thought of Lupin standing somewhere, silently looking at her just because he wanted to. She let out a breathless laugh and rolled her eyes.
"You're the worst," she muttered. He laughed quietly again.
"I thought I was your all-time favorite person," he said in a mock-accusatory tone. She groaned and put a hand over her face. She could feel the heat coming off her skin as she blushed.
"I am never going to live that down."
They shared a laugh and then lapsed into a companionable silence. Lupin looked at her contemplatively for a few moments. She wished so badly she could read his mind when he looked at her the way he did, with his gaze lingering on her like he was seeing something in her that she herself could not. She felt she should break the silence, but didn't trust herself not to burst out with a marriage proposal, and so wisely chose to remain silent.
He cleared his throat quietly and said, "Well, I shouldn't keep you any longer. But your potions lab should be in decent shape by tomorrow."
"Oh, really?" she said, hating how breathless she sounded. "That's great. Thank you."
"Will you be by this evening?" Lupin asked. "Molly said she's going to make dinner for anyone who wants."
Mairead twitched her mouth unhappily. "I won't be able to make it," she said regretfully. "I have to move house right after work."
"You're done house-sitting then?" asked Lupin. Mairead looked away shiftily.
"Erm, I'm done sitting at the house you saw," she said. "But I'm actually going straight into another house-sitting gig."
Professor Lupin's eyebrows went up. "Ah," he said. "Will Dumbledore know how to reach you?"
"Oh, that's a good point, I hadn't thought of that," said Mairead. "Here - I'll write down my new address for you."
She began to walk back towards the help desk, but Lupin held out a hand to stop her.
"Actually, Mairead, you probably shouldn't do that," he said, looking serious.
"Why not?" she asked. Lupin looked around quickly before leaning in and lowering his voice still further.
"You shouldn't give me the address where you'll be staying because you haven't actually verified I am who you think I am."
Mairead felt as though she had missed a step. "Y-you're not Professor Lupin?" she asked, her own voice sounding odd to her. Automatically, her eyes began darting around for the best exit, and she began reviewing in her head how to get out of chokeholds.
"It's always a good practice to verify someone's identity before entrusting them with sensitive information," said maybe-maybe-not-Lupin. "An easy way to do that is to ask them a question."
Mairead blinked several times at him, trying not to lose her head. "Erm, what time is it?" she asked the first question that came to mind. Lupin let out a surprised laugh and put a hand over his mouth to stifle the sound.
"May, it should be a question not everybody knows the answer to," he chided her gently. "It should be something only you and I would know the answer to. Generally something from a private conversation would be a good choice."
"Oh." Mairead wracked her brain, trying to think of the last private conversation they had had. Now that she thought about it, this was the first time she and Lupin had really talked in a while. He had been in a funny mood leading up to the Order meeting and their paths hadn't really crossed after that. She had been so relieved that he had seemed back to normal in this conversation that it hadn't even occurred to her that this might not be him. Finally, she settled on, "What flavor tea did we drink together at the house the other day?"
"Earl Grey," he answered promptly.
"That's right!" said Mairead, feeling relieved, but Lupin still smiled at her in a way that indicated she still hadn't gotten it quite right.
"It also shouldn't be something someone could easily guess the answer to," he said. "Earl Grey is a very common choice of tea. I could have made a lucky guess."
Mairead bit her lip, feeling exceedingly nervous. Lupin put a hand on her arm in what was probably meant to be a calming gesture but she jumped and danced away from him, feeling alarmed.
"Don't panic," he said soothingly. "Try again."
She took a deep, unsteady breath and tried to think over every moment they had spent alone together recently. Finally, she quietly said, "What about... what did you ask me about my arm the other day?"
He smiled. "That's a great question," he said approvingly.
Mairead heaved a sigh of relief. He looked at her, and something she could not identify flickered in his eyes briefly. "Want to write down that address for me now?" he asked.
"Oh, right," she said vaguely. She had forgotten that was what had started this whole train of thought.
She headed back to the help desk for a spare bit of parchment to write on, and Lupin followed behind her. Leaning over the desk and retrieving a quill, she began to scribble her new address down as Lupin watched her. Something still didn't sit quite right with her, but she couldn't figure out what it was. She remembered Lupin's surprised expression when she had told him she had gotten a tattoo. The bandages were off now, though her cardigan covered up the fresh ink, but her arm still itched fiercely at times.
With a sharp inhale, she stopped writing and slapped her hand down over the address to cover up the writing. She turned and looked up at Lupin, mouth open and alarm roaring through her veins. He was watching her as though he had been waiting for her to put the pieces together.
"You never answered the question..." she said faintly. He smiled at her.
"Well done," he said approvingly.
Mairead took a step back. Her hand wanted to reach for her wand, but she resisted the urge. If he wasn't who he said he was, he could easily get the wand away from her and use it far more skillfully than she could. Best to leave it where it was. "Answer the question," she commanded in a low voice.
"I asked you what was wrong with your arm because I saw that it was bandaged when you came over to help us clean the kitchen on July seventh," he said. "You told me you had gotten a tattoo, and I teased you about joining the Dragons of Hellfire."
Mairead's knees felt weak. She fumbled for the desk and leaned against it for support. "I'm not very good at this spy stuff," she said, her voice shaking.
"You'll get better," Lupin reassured her. "But in the meantime, if you run into someone outside of headquarters it's always best to verify that you know whom you're speaking to."
She nodded, feeling light-headed. She looked down at the parchment crumpled in her fist and saw that the ink had smeared all over her hand. "I'll write it down again," she muttered.
"Thanks very much," said Lupin when she had given him her address. He pocketed the note and smiled at her. "I'll be sure to get this to Dumbledore."
"Okay," she said. "Thanks, Professor Lupin."
He smiled again and cocked his head to one side. "I told you - you may call me Remus now," he said. "I'm not your Professor anymore."
"Oh, sorry," she said.
But after he had left and she had resumed her seat behind the help desk, she couldn't help but look back on their conversation and feel as though she were younger and more foolish than ever.
Mairead had been house-sitting for eight months now, moving from place to place as seamlessly as she could, and this was by far the nicest house she had ever stayed in. She had been thrilled to learn that this home had both a very friendly dog and a cat. Her bedroom was like paradise. The pillows and cover were made of something called "down alternative," a substance she had been assured was, "just like the real thing, but hypoallergenic." Whatever that meant, it was the softest material she had ever touched in her life. Lying in the bed was like lying on a cloud. The bedroom Mairead was allowed to stay in had its own television, and there was also something called air conditioning, which was a Muggle invention to cool the air down on hot days - something Mairead thought was a beyond brilliant idea.
And yet despite all this, Mairead had hardly had any sleep since moving in two nights ago. The dog's owners had forgotten to mention one small detail to Mairead: that he experienced severe separation anxiety, which manifested in the form of him barking, whimpering, and howling outside the door of the master bedroom all night long. At first, Mairead had found it heartrendingly sweet. After two full nights she was ready to Spellotape the dog's mouth shut.
So when Mairead arrived at Grimmauld Place on Tuesday morning and could not find number twelve, she initially chalked it up to sleep deprivation. Her eyes slid from number eleven to number thirteen. She turned around to see if she had the wrong side of the street. She walked to the cross street to see if she had Apparated to the wrong place.
"What the fuck?" she whispered to herself. She was tired enough that the thought briefly crossed her mind that the Order had decided to Obliviate her after all, and that was why she couldn't find the house anymore.
That makes no goddamn sense, she thought irritably.
She walked to the other side of the street and stood leaning against a wrought iron fence, arms folded and staring at the spot where number twelve was supposed to be. After several minutes of nothing happening, she scoffed in annoyance.
"I need coffee if I'm going to have to deal with a missing house," she grumbled to herself and started off in search of a coffee shop.
"Mairead!"
She turned and saw Mrs. Weasley bustling up the street after her.
"Oh, hi," she said. "Can you not find it, either?"
"No, dear, Dumbledore was here last night," said Mrs. Weasley. "He placed a Fidelius Charm on the house. Here you go."
Mrs. Weasley handed Mairead a scrap of parchment. Unfolding it, Mairead read, The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London.
"Okay, but where's number tw-" Mairead looked in the direction of where number twelve should be and broke off as she saw another townhouse seemingly growing between numbers eleven and thirteen. If houses could elbow their way in between other houses, that was what number twelve was doing. When the house reached its full size, Mrs. Weasley began walking back towards it.
"Remus asked me to keep an eye out for you," Mrs. Weasley explained over her shoulder as they walked up the steps. "He said you'd be coming over today. I hope you weren't waiting very long."
"No, it's fine," Mairead said, waiting for Mrs. Weasley to unlock the door. "Is he here?" she whispered when they entered the foyer.
"No, he's on Order business today," Mrs. Weasley answered, turning and beginning to do up a series of locks that had not been on the door the last time Mairead had visited.
Mairead tried not to feel too disappointed by Professor Lupin's absence. She told herself it was probably for the best that he got a break from her. She had made a complete fool of herself at the library when he had visited. Every time she thought of it she couldn't help but cringe. He probably thought she was an empty-headed little child, and any kindness he showed her was probably just pity.
She was well on her way to feeling thoroughly sorry for herself as she set about cleaning a second bathroom. Fortunately, Ginny Weasley, who would also be working on the bathroom, proved a bright distraction from her self-pity. Mairead had seen Ginny around the library every so often at Hogwarts, but she hadn't gotten to know the youngest Weasley at all. Mairead found Ginny to be an excellent work companion. She was funny in a brazen way, sassy, outgoing, direct, and instantly made Mairead feel as though they had known each other all their lives. By the time an hour had passed, they had managed to clean the tub and grout, Mairead was working on scrubbing the toilet while Ginny worked on the sink, and Mairead had decided that Ginny was by far her favorite Weasley.
When they broke for lunch, Mairead learned that there was to be an Order meeting that evening, and so she excused herself to do some work in her soon-to-be potions lab. She climbed the stairs to the third floor, then headed for the last door on the left. They had chosen this room for the lab because it inexplicably had a sink, probably used at some point for laundry, but it also had the added bonus of being a corner room, which meant plenty of windows.
Lupin had been as good as his word: the room was virtually unrecognizable from the state it had been in the last time she had seen it. The windows had been cleaned, letting in plenty of sunlight, and there was not a trace of Bundimuns in sight.
She wandered over to a built-in bookcase and piled onto it the stack of books she had borrowed from the Diagon Alley library on potions and Healing. She wanted to inventory what she already had on hand that she could use and create a list of what she still needed.
What she found made her stomach twist with nerves. She was going to need a lot of supplies. She had asked Sirius to place anything that resembled a potions ingredient in the lab for her, and after going through bottle after bottle, she had barely found anything that she could use. The ingredients had either dried out from age or contained things that looked suspiciously like unicorn blood, eyeballs, fingers or toes of various creatures, and other assorted materials that were almost certainly components to Dark potions.
Fred and George stopped by and offered to get rid of any ingredients she wasn't planning to use, but after giving those to them she was left with next to nothing. When she went to assess the cauldrons that had been left for her and found that the bottom of every last one of them had been eaten out by Chizpurfles, she wanted to cry. And when shortly after that she heard Mrs. Weasley begin screaming at the twins, who, from the sound of it, had not actually disposed of the potions ingredients she had given them but had decided to hoard them in their room, Mairead decided she needed to get some fresh air before the meeting.
She decided to go back to the house in Middleton-on-Sea for a while. If this meeting was going to run as late as the previous one had, she would need to take care of the pets first.
By the time Mairead returned to Grimmauld Place, most of the other Order members had already arrived and were seated around the kitchen table. She slid into a seat beside Charlie Weasley, clutching her list of supply needs nervously. She looked around and saw that Professor Lupin had returned, and her mood did not improve when she saw that he was once again sitting next to Tonks, whose hair today was a bubblegum pink.
Mairead struck up a conversation with Charlie. It turned out he was a dragon tamer who normally lived in Romania. Mairead fervently hoped that the knowledge of where exactly Romania was would not be necessary for the remainder of the discussion. His brother Bill joined shortly after and the three enjoyed a lively chat about Bill's day working for Gringotts. He kept going on about his "coworker" in a strange tone until Charlie leaned in and whispered in Mairead's ear.
"Bill fancies Fleur, but he's not ready for our Mum to know."
Mairead nodded. "Oh."
Charlie leaned in again. "We would greatly appreciate your discretion in this matter." He pulled back and winked at her. She chuckled and grinned back at him. She decided that Percy must have unfairly soured her opinion of the Weasleys - she liked the rest of them very much.
Professor Dumbledore arrived and called the meeting to Order.
He and Elphias Doge began by delivering a report on Dumbledore's speech to the Wizengamot about the return of You-Know-Who. It had not gone over well. The speech had only taken place the day before and there was already talk of having Dumbledore removed from his position in the court. Doge wheezed on for a while about the red tape that would be required to strip Dumbledore of his seat, and Mairead found her eyes wandering over to Lupin.
He was watching Doge intently, a faint line between his eyebrows. Mairead looked away hastily when she saw Tonks look over in her direction. With a sinking feeling of dismay, Mairead noticed in the split second before she averted her eyes that Tonks was wearing a Beatles t-shirt.
How does she even know who they are? she thought, feeling increasingly distressed. The thought of Lupin having a reason to look at Tonks's chest - whatever that reason might be - made her want to go to bed and hide under the covers until next year.
The meeting moved along to other business. Dumbledore asked for a report from Dedalus Diggle and Arabella Figg on their rotation guarding Harry Potter, a responsibility they shared with Mundungus Fletcher, who was missing the meeting to keep an eye on Privet Drive. So far no one and nothing had come for Harry. Molly Weasley, looking anxious, asked how Harry seemed to be coping emotionally. Arabella, who had lived across the street from Harry since he was a young child, spoke up.
"He's depressed as hell," she said cantankerously. "Mostly hangs around outside lying in the bushes outside the Dursleys' house."
"Well, how would you be?" Sirius spoke up. "If you were asked to just sit around all day while Voldemort was running around on the loose? How would you feel about the Dark Lord having more freedom than you?"
It wasn't hard to detect the bitterness and frustration coming from Sirius. Mairead looked at Sirius in concern, but he simply scowled down at the table, drumming his fingers restlessly on its surface.
Without being able to help herself, Mairead's eyes darted over quickly to the man sitting next to Sirius. Lupin was also watching Sirius, looking wary. Then, as though he could feel her eyes on him, Lupin looked over and met Mairead's eye. He quickly looked away, but Mairead knew he had clocked her watching him. She told herself she wasn't allowed to look over at him for the remainder of the meeting, lest he catch her again.
Snape was up next, but he had little to report. The Dark Lord was still keeping him at arms' length, and he was experiencing very little success getting back into the inner circle.
The people at the table began speculating what was most likely to be going on among the inner circle, but Mairead felt this was just firing in the dark. She could feel the tension in the room. They all knew they needed to start gathering information soon or they would lose what little advantage they had from their early knowledge of his return. A few people threw out ideas for alternative ways of getting information, but they eventually tapered off.
The conversation then turned to ways to prevent the outcomes Dumbledore felt sure You-Know-Who was aiming for - namely, to get giants, werewolves, and other marginalized groups on his side. Dumbledore felt that, if the Order could get to these groups first and persuade them, if not to join the Order, then at least to remain neutral, then they would be able to cut You-Know-Who's plans off at the knees.
To that end, Dumbledore announced that Hagrid and Olympe Maxime had agreed to act as envoys to the largest enclave of giants currently known in Europe. Bill spoke up and volunteered to speak to some of the goblins he worked with at Gringotts to see if he could get a feel for which way they would lean. And Dumbledore asked Professor Lupin if he would be willing to locate and make contact with members of the werewolf population in and around Great Britain.
"I - I can certainly try, headmaster," said Lupin, looking uncertain. "But most of us don't advertise our condition. Most keep it as quiet as they can, and most werewolves are not a part of normal wizarding society. It may take me some time to track anyone down."
Dumbledore nodded. "I understand," he said. "Please just do the best you can, Remus."
Lupin nodded, the faint line back between his brows.
Dumbledore turned his blue eyes on Mairead. "Mairead, can you please tell us how your inventory of medical supplies stands?" he asked. Mairead gulped. This was the first time she had been asked to speak at a meeting since the Hold.
"Erm, kind of... slowly," she said hesitantly. Before she could get any further, however, Sirius jumped in.
"It's not her fault," he said. "It took a couple of days for us to get a space ready for her, so she's had to wait."
Dumbledore nodded, and Mairead felt a rush of relief that he did not look unhappy with this news. "Do you have all the supplies you need?" he asked her.
"Erm -" She scratched her forehead nervously. "Not... exactly. Erm, a lot of the potions ingredients we found around the house weren't... erm... usable. So I'm going to need to pick up some things."
Abso-fucking-lutely no idea where I'm going to get the money for everything, either, she added silently to herself. She had picked up odd jobs in the past when she needed extra money, but when she tried to think of an odd job where she could pick this kind of money up as quickly as she needed to, she came up short.
As if he had read her mind, Dumbledore said, "An account has been opened for you at the Apothecary and the Cauldron Shop on Diagon Alley. You will be able to purchase any supplies you need. The account is under the name Ariana Bumblebee."
Mairead almost missed the sharp look of surprise Doge shot at Dumbledore as her mouth fell open in shock. "You mean - I... I don't have to pay for what I need?" she asked in disbelief.
Dumbledore offered her a warm smile. "You do not, my dear."
Mairead gaped at him for a moment, before managing to say, "Cool."
Dumbledore's eyes drifted over to where Lupin and Sirius were sitting, then back to Mairead. "One final question for you, Mairead," he said thoughtfully. "Do you think yourself equal to the task of brewing Wolfsbane Potion for Remus?"
"Headmaster -" Lupin began. Mairead permitted herself the briefest of looks over at him - after all, he was speaking, so it should be allowed - and she saw that he looked flustered. "She doesn't have to - she shouldn't have to -"
"Remus, if you are going to be endangering yourself by interacting with unknown members of the werewolf community, I'm afraid I must insist that you do so with your mind fully under your own control," Dumbledore said. He turned to Snape. "Severus, you have made the Wolfsbane Potion, and you are aware of Mairead's capabilities. Do you think the Wolfsbane Potion to be too complicated?"
"It is certainly a complex potion, headmaster," acknowledged Snape. To Mairead's eye, he seemed to be doing his best to look inconvenienced at the thought. "One that is best left to Potions Masters. But I am afraid that I simply do not have time to waste brewing optional potions just to keep members of the Order safe from one member's monthly bloodthirsty rampages."
"Nobody's asking you to," Sirius snarled defensively.
Mairead hated Snape for putting Professor Lupin on the spot in such a degrading fashion. She knew all too well what that felt like, how alienating it could be, and how alone it could make someone feel.
She raised her eyebrows. "Every woman at this table knows what it's like to go on a bloodthirsty rampage once a month, Professor Snape," she said coolly. "You're not striking fear into our hearts the way you think you are."
A loud laugh went around the table, and Mairead could feel the tension break.
"I would be happy to study the Wolfsbane Potion, Professor Dumbledore," she went on with more bravado than she actually felt. "It might take me a few tries, but I'm confident I'll be able to manage it."
Dumbledore inclined his head to her. "That will do," he said. "Thank you."
Mairead couldn't be sure, but she thought for a moment that she saw a pleased twinkle in the Headmaster's eye.
"The final order of business I would like to discuss tonight," said Dumbledore, addressing the room at whole, "is retrieving Hermione Granger. Miss Granger is a close friend of Harry's and I believe she will be safer passing the summer here at Grimmauld Place. We must determine the safest way to convey Hermione here."
Mrs. Weasley turned to Charlie. "Did you ask Ron whether Hermione has a broomstick, Charlie?" she asked.
Charlie nodded. "Yeah, no," he said. "She hasn't got one. And Ron says she's a bit of a poor flier."
"Even if we lent her a broomstick it may not be safe for her to fly long distance," observed Kingsley Shacklebolt. "Where does she live, Dumbledore?"
"Devon," answered Dumbledore.
"Why can't she just Apparate?" asked Tonks.
"She's not of age," answered Arthur. "Hermione is fifteen."
"Side-Along Apparition, then," said Sturgis, but Professor McGonagall shook her head.
"Since Hermione is not of age she still has the Trace on her," McGonagall said. "And since her parents are Muggles, any bit of magic used in her house would be attributed to her. She could wind up in trouble with the Improper Use of Magic Office."
Silence fell as the Order searched for more ideas.
"What about Floo powder?" asked Emmeline. "We could have her Floo to the Three Broomsticks or the Hog's Head and someone could meet her there."
"Again, Hermione's parents are Muggles," Arthur reminded her. "If circumstances were different we could temporarily have her home connected to the Floo Network, but as it is..."
Mairead frowned and leaned over towards Charlie, who inclined his head towards her.
"If Hermione's parents are Muggles,"she breathed, almost silently, in Charlie's ear, "why don't we take a car to get her?"
The corners of Charlie's mouth pulled down as he thought about her suggestion. "That's a good thought," he whispered back. "Why don't you suggest it?"
Mairead shook her head tightly. There was no way she was prepared to speak to the group.
"Go on," Charlie urged.
"No," she breathed emphatically.
Charlie jerked his head to get Dumbledore's attention. "Hey, headmaster," he called. Dumbledore turned to regard him over his half-moon spectacles. Charlie elbowed Mairead. "Mairead here's got a suggestion."
Mairead's head snapped over to Charlie and she glared in murderous surprise at him.
"Yes, Mairead?" Dumbledore asked.
Mairead turned away from Charlie and saw that the entire table was looking at her in silent expectation. She felt for a moment as though she were going to be sick.
"Erm," she said in a tiny voice. "Er... I was - well - it's probably a bad idea..." she faltered.
"Well, we've exhausted all the good ones," Sirius observed dryly.
Mairead shrank lower in her chair, intimidated by the attention. She saw Elphias Doge raise his eyebrows.
"Well?" he asked impatiently.
Mairead swallowed thickly, then quietly said, "Well, I was just thinking... that... erm... well, Hermione's parents are Muggles, right? So, like... what if... I mean, erm..." she trailed off and looked desperately over at Charlie for help. He gestured with his hands that she should go on. "I was just thinking... erm... car?"
Doge addressed the table. "Did anyone understand a word of that?" he asked.
"A car," Mairead tried again in a slightly louder voice. "What if we took a car to go get Hermione? It - it's not like it would look out of place on a Muggle street, right?" Silence met her suggestion. "Or... wrong?" she cowed.
"Do you know, that's not a terrible idea," said Kingsley thoughtfully. "It has the element of surprise. It's not like there would be any Death Eaters on the roads in a car."
Dumbledore addressed the whole group. "Does anyone have the ability to get their hands on a vehicle?"
No one spoke up. Mairead tentatively raised her hand. "Erm, I have a car," she said softly.
Arthur Weasley turned to her. "Do you really?" he asked her enthusiastically. She nodded. "What kind of car is it?" he asked eagerly. A wistful expression came over his face. "I used to have a Ford Anglia. Beautiful machi-" he was cut off by Mrs. Weasley laying a hand on her arm and giving him a look.
Dumbledore was regarding Mairead thoughtfully. "I do not suppose there are any protective wards on your car, Mairead?" he asked kindly. Mairead pulled both lips into her mouth apprehensively and shook her head.
"Well, we can do that," said Sirius. "Piece of cake."
"Mairead shouldn't go alone," McGonagall said.
"Agreed," said Dumbledore.
"I can go along." With a leap of excitement in her belly, Mairead heard Lupin volunteer to join her. "Hermione knows me, so she may be less uncomfortable seeing someone she recognizes."
Dumbledore nodded. "Thank you, Remus."
"Hermione knows me, too," Sirius said. "I can go along just in case extra help is needed."
"I am afraid I must ask you to remain at Grimmauld Place, Sirius," said Dumbledore. Sirius looked away, glowering down at the tabletop.
"Sirius has a point, though," Moody spoke up. "There should be at least two Order members capable of protecting Hermione. Preferably an Auror would go, too."
"I'll go!" Tonks said enthusiastically.
"Very well," said Dumbledore. "Thank you all. Now the only matter that remains is when. I think it would be best to retrieve Hermione as soon as possible. What is your availability tomorrow, Mairead?"
"I work in the morning," Mairead replied. "But I'm done at noon."
"I can take a half day," said Tonks brightly. Grinning deviously, she added, "I think I feel a stomach bug coming on... might need to go home early tomorrow..."
Lupin turned and looked at Mairead. "I can meet you at the library tomorrow," he offered. "If you bring your car we can drive over to pick up Tonks and be on our way from there."
Mairead's enthusiasm for the outing had been punctured more than slightly by the prospect of spending an entire afternoon in the car with both Lupin and Tonks. Watching them fall for one another right in front of her was not her idea of a good time, but she forced herself to smile and nod at Lupin nevertheless. "Sounds good."
Sirius was intrigued.
He looked over at his best friend - who had just finished being conscripted to help transport Hermione Granger to Grimmauld Place and was now volunteering for shifts at the Department of Mysteries to guard the prophecy whose contents Dumbledore would not divulge but which he insisted were the key to Voldemort's defeat - and pursed his lips thoughtfully.
Remus normally played things very close to the vest - this Sirius knew. The werewolf could conceal his thoughts and emotions as easily as his human form concealed the beast he was forced to turn into once a month. And after all, their friendship had taken a twelve-year long hiatus while Sirius was imprisoned - thirteen, if the year Sirius spent on the run was included in the tally. In a way, Sirius and Remus had needed to get to know one another all over again, and Sirius's skills at seeing past the guards and walls Remus spent so much time reinforcing were admittedly rusty.
This was why Sirius was intrigued. Because while he could not be completely sure, he was fairly certain that Remus Lupin fancied Mairead O'Keefe.
What was more, he strongly suspected that Mairead O'Keefe fancied Remus Lupin right back.
He was less certain on this second point. Mairead blushed and stammered whenever Remus was around, yes, but then, blushing and stammering seemed to be Mairead's baseline personality. On the other hand, she did seem to blush and stammer rather more around Remus than she did around other people.
As Mad-Eye and Tonks bickered and negotiated the details and route for safely conveying Hermione to London, Sirius considered the data points that had been presented to him thus far.
His suspicions had begun fairly early on. As soon as he had seen Remus and Mairead together he had felt there was something more shared between them than simply the bond of student and teacher. Remus was incredibly fond of Mairead, that much was obvious. And he was also protective of the girl, but that alone was not terribly remarkable. Remus had always been fiercely protective of the people he cared about. More, it was the way Remus constantly seemed to maneuver himself to bring himself into close proximity with Mairead.
He was quite clever about it, really. Sirius doubted anyone had noticed but himself. Take the other day, for example. Molly Weasley had wearily announced at lunch that she needed to take a trip to Diagon Alley to pick up more cleaning supplies. Remus had immediately volunteered, telling Molly that she deserved to take a break and rest while he went. Even Sirius himself didn't suspect that this was anything other than chivalry until Remus had returned to Grimmauld Place and casually mentioned that he had bumped into Mairead. But Mairead had told Sirius that she would be working that entire day, and so the only way Remus could have "bumped into" her was if he had stopped by the library. As time went on it became more and more evident to Sirius that Remus deliberately sought Mairead out. And he did it over and over.
Tonight's meeting had provided another example. Remus had seemed restless before the meeting began. He was looking around the room quite a bit and did not appear to relax until Mairead showed up. And since she had arrived, Remus had barely been able to keep his eyes off her. Sirius had noticed Remus looking over at the redhead multiple times per minute. What was more, Remus had also gotten flustered and seemed to avoid looking over at her for a few minutes after he inadvertently caught her eye while doing so.
It wasn't as though Remus was just horny and sex-starved. Tonks seemed to be making a valiant effort to get the werewolf's attention, and while Remus was friendly with the Auror and seemed to like her, he hadn't even seemed to notice that she was wearing a shirt with his favorite band on it.
Or perhaps The Beatles were no longer Remus's favorite band. Hmm.
And it wasn't as though Mairead's looks could be blamed. She was cute, sure, but Remus hadn't so much as glanced over at Fleur all evening, and she was easily the most beautiful woman Sirius had ever seen in his life. And he had seen a lot of a lot of women.
Regardless, what Sirius had found to be most interesting was the blink-and-you'll-miss-it look that had flashed in Remus's eyes when Charlie Weasley had leaned over and begun murmuring in Mairead's ear. And when Mairead had smiled and laughed at Charlie in response to whatever he was whispering to her, Remus's fingers had reflexively convulsed for the briefest of moments before he had looked away and struck up conversation with Tonks.
Yes, this was a fascinating theory, indeed. One that Sirius decided to put to the test as the meeting adjourned.
As soon as the meeting let out and people began to rise from their seats, Remus was out of his chair and making his way over to Mairead.
Subtle, Moony. Real subtle.
"Are you all right?" Sirius heard Remus ask Mairead. "You look as though you're not feeling well."
Mairead sighed and massaged her forehead. "It's the dog at the new place," she said regretfully. "He's been howling and barking all night. I haven't slept since I moved in there."
Sirius couldn't stop the devious grin that spread across his face. She couldn't have presented him with a better opening if she had gift-wrapped it and given it to him on Christmas morning. He stepped up beside his best friend and Mairead, casually positioning himself so that he could observe both their reactions.
"You could spend the night here, if you'd like," offered Sirius. "You could sleep in my bed... Of course, I'll also be in it."
There it was! Remus's features arranged themselves into a look of amused annoyance with Sirius. But for less than the width of a lightning strike, Remus had looked positively homicidal.
Mairead furrowed her brow and looked at Sirius as though for the life of her she could not understand him.
"Does that stuff actually work on women, Sirius?" she asked. "Like, have you ever had any success with a line like that? Ever?"
Now that he had confirmed his suspicious about Remus, it was Mairead's turn. Instead of answering, he shrugged and said, "Well if you don't want me, how about Moony, here? You can snuggle up with him if you'd prefer."
Hah!
Sirius had all but explicitly invited Mairead to have sex with him and she hadn't so much as batted an eye. But at the mention of merely cuddling with Remus, she had turned so red it was difficult to tell where her hair ended and where her face began.
"Ignore him," Remus counseled Mairead patiently. "Can you contact the dog's owners and explain what's going on?"
Mairead shook her head, mouth twisting unhappily. "No, they're on some sort of meditation retreat in Japan," she said. "No electronics, so no telephones."
Sirius saw Arthur Weasley, who was standing nearby, perk up and look over. "Did I hear someone say 'ekkeltronics?'"
Mairead's eyes widened in a look of polite confusion. "Erm -"
"I am simply fascinated by ekkeltronics!" Arthur continued, and Sirius and Remus exchanged a covert look of amusement. "Do you know, I got to actually use a fellytone last summer? And do you know they now make a portable version of them?"
Mairead's eyes lit up. "I actually own a mobile phone, Mr. Weasley," she said, her voice positively quivering with barely-suppressed excitement.
Arthur actually gasped. "Do you really?" He asked in a tone of hushed reverence. "But how did you get one?"
"One of my Muggle clients I house-sit for regularly was tired of how difficult it was to get in touch with me," Mairead explained. "He was getting the newest model of mobile phone and gave me his old one."
It was as if Mairead had told Arthur she owned a priceless artifact from ancient history. "Do you - I don't suppose..." he said hopefully.
"D'you want to see it?" Mairead offered eagerly, all traces of exhaustion now gone. "It doesn't work in here; too much magic. But I can go get it and show it to you! It's just out in my car."
Arthur and Mairead had identical expressions of rabid enthusiasm on their faces.
"Arthur," Molly Weasley's voice cut in. "Can you please look at it after dinner? I'm just about to get started." She placed a hand kindly on Mairead's arm. "You are more than welcome to stay for dinner, Mairead," she added. "Right, Sirius?"
"Absolutely," said Sirius, briefly distracted from his current mission by irritation at his distant relative. Ever since the Weasleys had moved in, Molly had taken over the house like she owned it.
Mairead made a regretful face. "Thank you for inviting me, but I think I'm going to try to get to the Apothecary before they close tonight," she said. "I'd like to get started on these potions as soon as possible."
"I am 'eaded zat way," said Fleur, shooting a pointed look at Bill. "I can come wiz you to 'elp, eef you would like."
Mairead looked surprised, but said, "That would be great! Thanks, Fleur."
Mairead said her good-byes and promised Arthur that she would bring her mobile phone the next time she visited.
"I hope you get some sleep tonight, Mairead," Remus said softly. Mairead gave him a very bashful smile.
"Thanks, Prof- erm... thanks."
Mairead ducked her head and headed for the door with Fleur.
"Actually, why don't I come along and help, too?" suggested Bill casually, as though the idea had just occurred to him. "If you're going to be buying new cauldrons you could probably use an extra set of hands."
"But you'll miss dinner, Bill," said Molly, looking unhappy.
"I'll treat us all to dinner at the Leaky Cauldron," suggested Bill. "Maybe Fortescue's for dessert?"
"You don't have to do that," Mairead said quietly.
"Happy to," said Bill with a shrug. He walked over and kissed Molly on the cheek.
"Make sure Mairead eats something substantial," Molly whispered to Bill. "I haven't liked the looks of her since Cedric died."
Bill nodded silently, looking over at the two witches waiting for him. It was clear to Sirius that Mairead was not the one whose looks he was thinking of.
Watching Bill saunter after Fleur, looking like the kneazle who caught the pixie, Sirius leaned confidentially towards Remus, whose eyes had not once left Mairead since she had left his side.
"Well, someone's got a crush," Sirius muttered in a low voice.
Remus's head snapped around to meet Sirius's eye, looking alarmed. "What?" he said sharply. "What are you talking about?"
Sirius barely managed to suppress a triumphant smile. I fucking knew it, he thought to himself. "Bill, of course," he said out loud. "Didn't you see the way he looked at Fleur?"
"Oh," Remus said, visibly relaxing. Then, with a smile, "No, I suppose he isn't being exactly subtle, is he?"
"Nope," said Sirius.
He's not the only one.
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed! Not as action-packed as the last chapter, but I thought we could all use a drama-free chapter after that last one. I would love to hear your thoughts!
No song for Chapter 5