Thanks to T and MM for their suggestions and I'm shamelessly stealing Kyer's comment in her review. We left Severus inside the shop, Albus outside. Meanwhile the Order Members are still recovering from the news about the teenage Albus and Gellert, sitting in a tree, K*I*S*S*I*N*G.
Severus Snape slowly inhaled, attempting to think happy, clappy thoughts. Even now, Albus Dumbledore and the bloody Order were outside the shop. Damyan was recklessly holding Minerva HOSTAGE… HOSTAGE to speak with Albus! It was simply beyond Severus' comprehension that there weren't little pieces of Damyan raining from the sky. To his intense disgust, his attempts at appearing composed were not fooling Ekaterina… Oxana… Katya… well whichever personality she was answering to today.
"Listen to me, Severus." Ekaterina ordered. "If anything happens, and we get separated, do not remove the dragon pendant. You're the only one that can remove it."
"It's really not my style," Severus drolly informed her. "I prefer smaller, less gaudy pieces of jewelry. I feel, that throughout my life, my body has been nothing more than a walking advertisement for one wizard or another."
Yes, at one time or another, his body had been adorned with a Dark Mark, now Albus' child swelled his belly plus he was wearing a rather snazzy dragon pendant from the local Dark Berserker.
"The pendant will provide you with a limited protection," Ekaterina continued as though he hadn't spoken. "It will camouflage your unanticipated expectant condition. Most importantly, if we get separated, we'll be able to locate you by simply focusing on it."
Then to his astonishment, she pulled his head down towards hers and she kissed him square on his forehead. She held him like that for a brief time and he felt the unmistakable flicker of magic.
"What did you just do?" Severus demanded.
"Nothing," she said. "This is my gift of protection to you. I understand that it's not as snazzy as a jade pendant. Now you best forget this until you need to remember! Perhaps by then, you'll have developed proper respect for subtle witches." She then proceeded to spit up a hairball, or quite possibly cast something in Russian; whatever it was it sounded the same to him.
He blinked his eyes and rubbed his forehead. She gently tapped his forehead with one finger.
"Headache?" A concerned Ekaterina asked. "Let me see if this works. My Baba taught me this trick. Better?"
"Yes," Severus admitted. He still felt peculiar; well, more abnormal than was the norm for a pregnant man. "I don't know why Damyan is getting involved with this. If I willingly went to back to the Headmaster, you two could escape."
"Do you really wish to return back to Albus?" the Russian witch asked him. "Be truthful."
Yes, he should lie to the witch; glibly assure her that he'd go back to the Headmaster without a singular, solitary qualm. He couldn't, because Ekateirna knew of his nightmares. The witch had witnessed how seeing Damyan out of the corner of his eye reduced him to a sniveling child just because the Bulgarian looked a little bit like HIM.
"I don't fancy returning to him," Severus admitted. 'But I promised."
"Ah, so you still keep your promises to him. Even after everything's been done and all his pledges are like dust beneath our feet, you'd still go back to him," Ekaterina commented. She shook her head. "Well, it's not like I can say anything because a grimy cauldron shouldn't call another cauldron dirty."
"Yes, but at least you and Damyan love each other," Severus reminded her. "No matter how odd your relationship is, you still have that."
"Love. My presence has kept Damyan sane and under somewhat control these last thirty years. That defense will not help me a great deal if I ever come face to face with my former Russian comrades. Now just remember, if we get separated, you're strong enough to stand on your own two feet. You've come a far way since we found you in our alleyway." The Russian witch nodded her head in approval. "I look at you and I don't even recognize my dying patient from that night. And none of your snark about you wearing a Glamour now."
"I've put on a fair amount of weight," he quipped.
"Not enough for Sasha's taste. He thinks you should weigh in at a stone or so more," Ekaterina commented.
Nadya chirped a warning and Ekaterina moved away from Severus. "Company. Damyan's bringing back a wizard besides Minerva. It's not Albus."
The door opened and in walked the most unlikely wizard. If Godric Gryffindor had stripped down to his gold and scarlet knickers and then waltzed through the door, Severus would have been less surprised. No, it wasn't Albus, the mystery wizard was a rather round, tweed clad soul who was struggling to appear as though he was merely enjoying a jaunty stroll through Manchester with Minerva McGonagall and the local, crazy Dark Wizard. Damyan's expression was one of blissful self-satisfaction, while Minerva McGonagall looked irate. At not at Severus for once as her annoyance was directed toward Damyan. What the hell had Damyan done to get Minerva pursing her lips like that?
Best ask the question whose answer he believed that he could handle.
"Horace?" Severus asked. "What are you doing here?"
"Yes, m'boy. Just wanted to pop in, see how you're doing," Horace jovially announced. "I was just walking in the middle of Manchester when Master Draganov invited me into his shop. We were just having a lovely conversation about Potions."
"Just assure him that you're doing well, Severus," Damyan explained. "He's to report back to St. Albus."
Horace was continuing to smile, but Severus saw the cracks in his veneer. Slughorn was bloody terrified and not for himself. No, he was frightened for Severus. Really, why did everyone fail to see that Albus Dumbledore was far more dangerous than Damyan and Ekaterina?
"I've been quite worried about you m'boy," Horace explained. "You've fallen in with some interesting people."
"When did we decide to throw a party?" Ekaterina snapped. "Are we planning on any one else showing up? What the bloody hell is going on? Should I get out the kettle and brew some tea?"
"Language, Katya! I'm dueling Albus in about fifty minutes," Damyan explained. "Miss McGonagall is my hostage so Dumbles behaves and Master Slughorn is here to talk to Severus. Once he's done, he's to report back to Dumbles. A cuppa would be nice, and do we have any scones left? I'd like my last taste to be of something sweet."
Ekaterina began energetically cursing at Damyan in assorted different languages and Damyan calmly ignored her. Instead, he created a comfy chair and curled up in it so he could read "Dueling for Dummies". Nadya jumped in his lap, and with one hand he began to stroke his familiar. "Hmm… seems they've changed the rules a bit since 1945," he dolefully remarked. "Could prove problematic as they've shortened the length of the straightaway. I have to make sure I don't step out of it. The problems with having long legs…"
Bloody hell, Dragan ov hadn't dueled since 1945?
"Rather colorful," Horace murmured. "Now, seriously, Severus. How are you doing?"
"Scones?" Ekaterina asked. Horace jumped as the witch nearly brained him with the tray. "Cuppa?"
"Horace, this is Ekaterina Sidorova Dobrolubskaia. Ekaterina…" Severus began. In the midst of a sea of insanity, perhaps it was best to pretend that a Russian witch serving tea to various hostages was customary. Therefore, introductions were required.
"Call me Katya," the witch dryly insisted. "We're pretty much all family here."
She stormed off to duly present Damyan with his scone. It seemed that it was not all beer and skittles in the Draganov family.
"Severus, do you know about your father?" Horace asked in a very quiet voice.
"What about Tobias?" Severus asked. He kept his voice low.
"The night your mother died, it seems…. he was stabbed to death," Horace explained. "We're not sure who did it, but one of the men appeared to be Japanese."
Minerva inhaled.
"What?" Horace asked.
"There was a Japanese mage in here earlier. Damyan seems to have… friends…They're supposedly not getting involved."
"Very well, the other man had green eyes. Filius describes it as a quick, professional killing."
Severus swallowed. His eyes flickered once toward Damyan who was holding the book sideways as though he was examining a photo. The Dark Wizard gyrated wildly as though he was attempting to duplicate the dueling stance. Try as he could, Severus couldn't remember anyone ever commenting one way or the other about Damyan Draganov's ability to duel. He looked like a complete tyro!
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Albus Dumbledore was not happy about Severus being protected by a Dark Wizard. Combined with the fact that the Dark Wizard in question was holding Minerva hostage, a woman that Albus Dumbledore had once deeply loved, there was no doubt that Albus Dumbledore was furious. Hell had no fury like Albus Dumbledore enraged. Not even legendary Damyan the Foamer could reach THAT frenzy.
Oh bloody hell, Damyan would be slaughtered.
Then Severus' dark eyes immediately locked onto Minerva.
"You've fallen in with very dodgy people, Severus." Minerva whispered softly.
"They were there for me when my mother died," protested Severus. "They both sat with me until Eileen passed. They saved my life and most importantly, they saved Ariana."
"They're still dangerous," Minerva protested. To her annoyance, she was trying to warn Severus about his friends and he was still flatly refusing to see the truth about them.
"I've heard that said about you," he reminded Minerva.
"Idle flatterer," Minerva warmly retorted. Her lips were twitching as though she was struggling not to smile.
Damyan barked. "Stop flirting with Miss McGonagall. You're supposed to be telling Master Slughorn about what wonderful care I've given you. How I should be published! I put your arm back on! You can even scratch yourself with it! Amazing!"
"Is he sane?" whispered Horace.
"YES!" Damyan announced. "I am perfectly sane! Now, Master Slughorn, it's time to bid adieu. Once you start insulting your host's sanity, you've outstayed your welcome. Now get out."
With that, Horace was firmly escorted to the door. Damyan energetically waved goodbye and then slammed the door shut. He put his head on the door and sighed. That bit of weakness admitted, he then turned to face Ekaterina.
"I fear that I put the Damaged and Deranged Damyan persona on a bit thick," he admitted to Katya. "It's been far too many years since I had to utilize that role. Hopefully, Albus will hear what he wants to hear in Horace's report. Do you have that box that I prepared?"
"Yes," Ekaterina assured him. She placed a small oak box on the last remaining table.
He opened it and took out assorted vials. Carefully, Damyan slipped them into his surcoat.
"Take the rest. Katya. When I fall, you start throwing them. My friends will take care of the rest," he instructed. "Would you mind braiding my hair? I don't want it getting in my eyes when I'm dueling."
"Sit down," she instructed. He gracelessly collapsed into the chair.
"I thought your friends weren't helping?" Minerva asked.
"Please, did you honestly expect me to give you any helpful information?" Damyan asked. "You're stuck in here with us now so there's no chance you'll be able to slip Dumbles information."
Ekaterina began braiding Damyan's long hair into a neat braid. He closed his eyes but he held out his hands in front of him. Deliberately, he began stretching his fingers and wrists. When they were suitably limber, he began to flex and extend his elbows.
"You're tight through the neck and shoulders," Ekaterina tersely informed Damyan.
"The neck is an old injury," stated Damyan. "From when they put me in the Box. I'm too damn big for the regular sized Box, so they just stuffed me in. I was in the fetal position for two damn days. Then, on the day of my execution, Gellert rescued me. Brother Toma had to carry me out of the prison as I couldn't move. My muscles had cramped and were locked in position. My brother promised to carry me wherever I wanted for as long as I needed."
"My brother Toma is remarkable. I truly believe that he would be willing to carry me anywhere. He and his sister Sofia were declared to be monsters by the Bulgarian Ministry because they had giant blood. Yet, I always found their basic humanity to be their greatest strength. Sadly, Sister Sofia was killed by Dumbledore. If I can only take Dumbledore down with me, I can help you, Severus, and avenge my sweet Sofia. Oh, she had such a merry laugh."
His smile was bitter as he laughed. "And Miss McGonagall, those that denied me a trial, locked me in a Box for two days? They were the good guys."
A shaken Horace duly reported his findings to Albus and the assorted Order members. In his opinion, Damyan was volatile, a potential powder keg who had an unknown number of friends.
"Just the one witch in the shop?" Alastor barked. "No troika?"
"Unless the cat is an animagus, I just saw the one witch. Damyan seems… peculiar…" Horace explained.
"He's been diagnosed as clinically insane," Kingsley Shacklebolt helpfully inserted.
"He's not barmy," Horace protested. "He's sly, Albus. Like a bloody fox. Damyan Draganov regrew Severus' arm, Albus. He has limited use of the arm, Albus. You know the skills required to rebud a limb. Charms, potions, human transfiguration!"
Albus Dumbledore pondered the information for a long while.
"He's playing a role, Albus. He's not insane but he's bloody dangerous." Horace explained.
"I don't understand why he's involved," Albus questioned Horace. "His modus operandi was just to disillusion himself and fade into the background. For fifty years that has been his plan, now he's dueling?"
"He seems fond of Severus." Horace offered.
"Isn't that nice, Severus has a Crazy Dark Mage playmate," Moody snapped. A few Order members smiled.
"I'm rather fond of the boy. You are braver and far stupider than everyone claims you are if you think you call me a Dark Wizard and live," was Horace's retort. He glared at Alastor Moody and the old Auror nodded his head in grudging apology.
"Severus knows a great deal about the current magical situation. If Draganov and his friends are interested in establishing a beachhead, they could certainly use his knowledge toward that goal." Horace reminded them. "Damayan seems quite sane, but there's always the chance that he'll run amuck."
"Come walk with me, Horace," Albus requested. He wished to find out more information about Severus and to escape from the prying eyes of the various Order members who were thinking obscene thoughts about him and Gellert. Everyone had been surprised and horrified by the scandalous tidbit, except for Alastor. He had just nodded his head, which meant the grizzled Auror had already known the sordid story. Yet, none of the Order Members were saying anything. "I wish to talk to you in private."
The two wizards walked down the street.
"How's Severus?" was Albus' first question.
"He's wearing a glamour and I couldn't tell you if he's with child or not. For what it's worth, he was rather snide," offered Horace.
Albus briefly smiled.
"I must confess that I find that I rather miss his snark," he admitted. "And Minerva?"
"Quite unwilling to admit that she's in over her head," Horace said. He shook his head in disapproval of Minerva's cavalier attitude. "She'll land on her feet; I have no doubt about it."
Harry Potter and his assorted followers were in the midst of a deserted Manchester. Cannon Street was almost too quiet, as the only living thing besides them that they saw was a large, floppy eared, one eyed dog. It was really a rather disreputable looking dog, but its merrily wagging tail caused Hermione to smile. The dog really was a rather jolly canine.
The dog greeted Hermione and then busily introduced himself to the other members of the group. He seemed especially taken with Harry, sniffing him and jumping on him.
"Oi!" Harry hissed as he pushed the dog off him. "Get off."
"Look everyone, Harry's got a new best friend," Ron quipped.
Harry made a rude comment about the dog snoring less than Ron did. Ron was about to answer in kind when Sirius Black arrived. He was breathing heavily and he was glaring daggers at Harry.
"What are you doing here? Dumbledore doesn't want you here!" Sirius, who struggled to be the stern godfather, failed miserably at being threatening and authoritative. No, he sounded worried and winded.
"I'm legal age," Harry reminded Sirius. "I can be involved in Order business."
"Harry, this doesn't concern you." Sirius then looked at the other teenagers, completely missing the fact that the dog was creeping quite close to him. "Go back to Hogwarts! Oi! Bloody dog!"
Sirius Black, not happy that the dog had decided to lift his leg on him, attempted to kick the dog. The dog easily evaded the enraged Sirius Black and happily barking, the dog ran away at high speed down the street. He disappeared from view as quickly as if he had Disapparated.
"The dog was laughing," Luna assertively announced in her usual spacey tone. "That's odd, isn't it? A laughing dog? I didn't know dogs had a sense of humour."
"Bugger!" Sirius growled. He charmed his pants clean and then attempted to regain control of the situation. It was somehow appropriate that the most ill-behaved of the Mauraders had been watered by a dog and was proving completely incapable of controlling the pack of high spirited teenagers. "Albus doesn't want you here. That should be enough for you, Harry, as it's sufficient for me! Now, let's go back to Hogwarts, shall we? We'll keep this little escapade between us as I don't want Remus finding out."
Harry and Sirius argued. Harry, wanting to exert his new found independence, desired to continue the adventure. Sirius, knowing that he was in the dog house, struggled to convince Harry that his involvement wasn't such a good idea.
"I don't think Voldemort is planning on showing up," he assured Harry. "This is just a quick trip to extricate Snape out of his self-imposed trouble."
In answer, there was a deafening explosion to the east of them. There was a large cloud of acrid, multihued smoke rising to the sky and Sirius saw a large, fiery dragon burst across the sky. There were a few sigils floating on the afternoon air and for the life of him, Sirius Black couldn't have told anyone who they represented. Draganov probably as there was a large, dancing Dragon.
"That's a magical explosion," Hermione announced as though the gyrating dragon wasn't a dead giveaway. "The Sigils represent Gellert's Brotherhood, Gellert and Damyan Draganov."
"Let's go," Harry ordered his troops.
"Bugger! Harry!" Sirius futilely protested as he ran toward the fire and after the teenagers. "Albus will kill us all Harry!"
The multi-national team of Aurors arrived in Manchester where they straight away infiltrated the group of British Aurors. The crowd, while having the appearance of being a large milling mob of jolly holiday travelers, was, with the sad exception of the British Aurors, an organized team of highly competent personnel. Siberian Serge had taken charge due to his age and experience while the British Aurors had futilely protested that the Foamer was on Their Soil, so it was Their Foamer, Their Campaign, Their Country so they should be the ones in charge.
"Too damn quiet," Richard the Head Yank announced. He waved his hand and then whispered an incantation before nodding his head. "Just as I thought, a repel spell. Someone Repelled everyone in the immediate vicinity to leave. Dumbledore most likely, as there would be less risk of civilian casualties."
Considering that there was thirty seven Aurors in the middle of the Market Street, it was very fortunate indeed for the one eyed dog that no one saw him. Instead, he crouched behind a bin and peered around it.
Things were most assuredly afoot in Manchester, Toma Filipov realized.
The Living Horcrux, the Dog Mage and various brats were on Cannon Street having a rather loud row. Being a rather strict father, Toma firmly believed that the Living Horcrux needed a good spanking and lessons in manners. What a mouthy brat he was! He'd never let any of his children talk back to him like The Living Horcrux had to the Dog Mage.
Meanwhile, there was a multinational Task Force assembling on Market Street. That was unexpected, and needed to be reported to Byakko. Albus and his Dumbledore Devotees were standing in front of Damyan's shop on New York Street. Meanwhile, the Brotherhood had luckily decided to assemble on Hope Street, so they should have unfettered access to Piccadilly Gardens.
Byakko had instructed Damyan to blow up his shop and then announce his presence by placing the Brotherhood sigil in the sky over Piccadilly Gardens. That little act of Brotherhood Defiance was expected to bring Snake Face and his cronies there. Truly, Toma was quite surprised that Manchester wasn't sinking into the North Sea from the accumulated weight of al the mages and their egos.
Well, enough dogging about, Toma needed to find Byakko and inform him of what he had discovered on his walkabout.
All they needed was the Dumbledore's pet Werewolf and the party could begin.
Snezhana Ignatieva, the current leader of the Brotherhood, was determined to present Severus Snape with the werewolf wrapped in silver wire as a token of the Brotherhood's high regard. Damyan Draganov spoke highly of Snape and the boy was the reason why the senior most members of the Brotherhood had learned to fly. Toma liked flying sans broom as he found it quite relaxing. Being part giant, his mass had required a very special broom when he had learned how to fly as a student. He had lived in constant fear of hearing it crack and had never gotten very comfortable with a massive tree limb between his legs. But Goddess knew, he enjoyed flying in the air, unsupported by broom or by carpet.
Toma sniffed the air and his canine nose picked up the smell of wolf. The wolf was by himself on Portland Street and would soon meet with the Brotherhood. Carefully, the animagus snuck away from the Task Force and cut across a few streets. When he was in the clear, Toma began to run, putting everything he had into a mad sprint. They needed the werewolf as the Brotherhood wanted Severus Snape.
No, Snezhana was determined that today would be the day that everyone realized that the Brotherhood wasn't back. It in fact, had never LEFT. It had licked its wound, learned from its mistakes and was now once again, a force to be feared. By killing Snake Face and St. Albus, the Brotherhood could show Severus Snape that they were worthy of his considerable skills. They were proficient enough to protect him and most importantly, cared enough about him to avenge his lost honor.
What Damyan had painstakingly planned for the ones that had abused Severus?
Truly poetic justice.
Meanwhile, the Merry Mass of Magicians aka The International Task Force, after much discussion, had decided to continue northwards on Cross Street toward Cannon when there was an explosion. Serge vigorously and creatively cursed when he recognized the dragon sigil floating in the sky. He had lost a dear friend and fellow Auror to Damyan Draganov, and he had sworn a solemn oath to avenge Ekaterina. Gellert's Brotherhood was bad enough, but Serge had been fond of Katya. Bright girl with so much potential. To end up dead in an alleyway because of Draganov enraged the grim Russian.
How her needless death still angered him.
"That's near Piccadilly Gardens," one of the British Aurors announced.
Serge agreed and then began tersely informing the various Aurors who and what they were facing.
"Madman, reckless, dangerous. There will be deaths today; I can not stress that enough. The streets of Manchester will run with blood," Serge announced. A few of the Brits rolled their eyes, thinking he was just being overly Russianly pessimistic. "He took out the Bulgarian and Czechs Aurors. Every single one of them. Ludamilla, you're to go to Bulgarians, inform them of what we believe the situation to be and invite them to join our party."
Remus Lupin kept his breath quiet. It was too bloody quiet in Manchester. Shops were abandoned, the doors unlocked… There was a sense of dread in the heavy air, that he should, with all due haste, flee Manchester.
Where the HELL was Sirius? Damn it, Sirius had agreed too easily to staying at Hogwarts. Dora had even remarked on it before she had fallen asleep. Her comment had motivated Remus to locate Sirius Black. When he couldn't find him in the castle, he had searched for Harry Potter, then Hermione Granger, then Ron… when he realized that even Luna Lovegood was GONE from Hogwarts, he had decided it necessary to visit Manchester.
Remus wanted nothing more than to grab Sirius and Harry by their ruddy ears and pull them back to Hogwarts. He wasn't an Auror! What was he doing pretending to be Alastor Moody? Well, Alastor was a bad comparison. Moody would be storming down the street, head held high, not skirting the perimeter of the houses.
There was a sound behind him and Remus turned to find a rather large, one eyed dog staring at him. The dog's eye was too intelligent to a mere dog and Remus instinctively defended himself. The dog's snarl stopped in midbark when Remus put the dog to sleep. The dog fell on its side with a heavy thud and Remus shook his head.
"Who the hell are you?" He whispered. "You're not a friend of Padfoot."
"Toma Filipov, werewolf," a man informed him. Remus struggled to Disapparate the hell out of there but he had been immobilized and magically incapacitated right after he had felled the dog. To his horror, his wand was stepped on and deliberately crushed. "Brother Basem, please check Brother Toma."
There were thirteen of them, dressed in dragonhide armor. Their armors weren't emblazoned with the Brotherhood sigil but Remus knew who the hell they were. Bugger it to hell; he was surrounded by the very geriatric outlaw wizards that he had so cavalierly mocked. That thought wasn't what caused Remus' blood to run cold. It was the fact that they were wearing silver.
SILVER.
Silver chainmail and silver bevors with gorgets to protect their necks and mouths from him.
Protection from him, in case he was so far gone that he was capable of changing his form without the moon being full.
"Thou shall not suffer a werewolf to live," the man, who seemed to be in charge, stated. He was wearing Japanese robes but his face was hidden by a full kabuto and menpo. A full Samurai helmet and face mask? Gellert's Japanese Warlock had worn such a uniform.
The mage then forced Remus to look at him. You couldn't see the mage's eyes, which combined with the kabuto and menpo made him seem a demon from hell. "You will do everything I instruct you to do. You will make no effort to flee. You will make no sound. You will take no action that will cause harm to come to any of my comrades or myself. You will perform no magic unless I give you permission. Is that understood? You may now answer me with either yes or no."
"Yes," Remus stated. Damn it, he was Imperiod as he had wished to say something quite rude.
"There's forty mages we hadn't counted on," said another voice. Remus couldn't turn his head but it sounded like the animagus had recovered. "Looks like the Europeans have arrived. The Brits are sulky because a Russian is calling the shots. The Living Horcrux and the Dog Mage have also decided to join the party. Junior is having a snit as Dog Mage wants him to return back to Hogwarts as Albus doesn't want the children involved in this. I swear if Potter was my son, I'd paddle him until he learned respect."
HARRY! SIRIUS!
"We can handle the Europeans, as they've be fighting amongst themselves on who is in charge." the leader said. His voice was uncaring of the fact that there were forty more mages. We can handle them. It was said so easily that he sounded bored.
"Go warn Brother Damyan. You can also inform him that we will be there as soon as we finish securing the werewolf in silver. Notify Damyan that since the Russians have taken over command of the Europeans, most likely they'll be informing the Bulgarians and the Czechs. Therefore anticipate their arrivals. When He Who Believes himself Gellert's Successor arrives, there will be four different armies there, with the strong possibility of at least two more arriving and the British splitting from the Europeans. Because they're children fighting monsters, the Europeans, the British, the Bulgarians and the Czechs will immediately join forces with Albus' army. When the attack begins, we will fight and no mercy will be shown."
The Japanese mage softly laughed.
"Albus' problem will be that he will have so many allies that he won't know who they are. We'll be able to kill, while Albus' army will be limited to stunning. They know who the Death Eaters are, but they don't know who we are. Albus' allies are also very independent and don't play well together. They also will want nothing more than to survive this. We, on the other hand, are the Brotherhood. We fight together and we will die together. And if be today that we die together, let us die gloriously. With honor."
"Also, under no condition is Damyan to be allowed to be Boxed. If it's necessary, kill Damyan before they inflict that on him," the Japanese mage ordered. "He is our Brother."
The dog barked once and then began running down the street.
"Now, back to our werewolf," the Japanese mage said. "I have a tanto, which has been modified for you and your special characteristics. It is made of silver."
Remus swallowed once.
"Just a demonstration so I'm sure you understand," the mage informed him. With a cavalier efficiency, he sliced Remus' cheek with the tanto's blade.
As any magical tyro knew, silver is anathema to werewolves. Remus collapsed to his feet and screamed. Least he tried to shriek as the agony began building past his endurance to endure, but the Japanese mage's command to say silent, held his tongue mute. The Japanese bastard grabbed Remus by his shoulder and effortlessly yanked the heavier, taller mage to his feet.
"Hold still, wolf," the mage enunciated. He dabbed something on Remus' cheek and the pain eased to a manageable level. Manageable as is in Remus wasn't in the fetal position, puking his guts up. "Listen to me, wolf. I didn't cut you; I merely scraped you in order to give you a tasting of what will happen if you decide to misbehave. If you behave, you will not to have to worry about being cut. I can assure you that a cut will be far more excruciating. Because I have no stomach for torture, I covered your wound with a salve. I believe easing a prisoner's pain is honorable. Do you not agree with me, wolf?"
The mage waited for a response, his hand resting easily on the handle.
"Yes," Remus whispered.
"Please hold out your arms," the Japanese mage ordered. "We will put gloves on your hands and protect your forearms from direct contact with the silver. There will also be a scarf around your neck. If you behave, that should be sufficient protection for your skin. Disobedience will lead to silver burns on your hands and neck."
His hands! The mages encased them in silver. A silver chain was wrapped around his neck and was hooked to the Japanese's mage's belt.
"Because you're conducting yourself so well, wolf, you may ask me one question," the mage stated.
"What are your plans for me?" asked Remus.
"Twice, you have attempted to murder Severus Snape. I am giving you to him so that he may do what he wants," was the mage's ready response. "I understand that Albus Dumbledore has previously been your protector. Unfortunately, one should not always rely on having powerful friends to circumspect justice. Damyan Draganov is most displeased with the fact that you still breathe and has decided it proper to intervene."
There was a loud, earth shaking explosion and assorted sigils filled the sky, plus a dancing dragon.
"Very well, it's time for us to make our arrival. You will march in front of us. My spear has a silver tip. Do not stop short as I will accidentally pierce you with it," the mage stated. "Brothers? Sisters? It is time to remind the magical world how it once trembled before us."
The coven lined up easily in perfect formation and then began marching in step towards Piccadilly and Ragnarok.
If he survived this, Remus vowed that he'd kill Sirius Black. With his bloody, bare hands.
"Minerva, you look annoyed when you came in. Why?" Severus asked.
"No reason," Minerva lied.
"I told the Dumbledore Devotees that the love of Albus' life was Gellert," Damyan tersely explained. "Minerva, I already told Severus about the flowering of affection between the two teenage tyrants. Unlike most, I try not to lie to Severus. Not directly or through omission of facts."
"I'm sorry, Severus. I know how you felt about Albus and…" Minerva shook her head. "I didn't wish to bring it up."
"I just don't understand you, Minerva McGonagall.," was Damyan's opinion. "You do care for Severus. I mean, you willingly walked into the den of the dragon to warn him that Albus was coming for him. You told him to FLEE, if I remember correctly. Yet, you don't give him the truth about Albus. If Severus truly understood what type of man Albus Dumbledore is..."
"He's a good man," Minerva protested.
"Severus… Albus has discovered that you're here… You… your friends… you need to leave," retorted Damyan. "Funny, I rather thought that was you. Perhaps it wasn't as your color is much better than that witch."
"He needed to be forewarned so he could make the decision to stay or to go. I also thought that I should warn his friends that Albus was arriving so they could run like hell."
"I wouldn't leave Severus to face Dumbledore alone," protested Katya.
"Severus, Albus admits that he didn't handle this situation properly. He overwhelmed you because he wanted you to believe that he'd be there for you during this," Minerva insisted. "It's my fault that he went back on the Bonding. He was overpowering you…" Minerva continued.
"Like the sea," whispered Severus.
"Because he just wanted to fix everything," Minerva finished. "I told him not to Bond you and I argued with him that he forced you into agreeing with it."
"Yes, let's fix Severus. Let's clad him in purple and lock him away until the baby's born. Make him absolutely dependent on Dumbledore's whims. For the greater good, you understand," inserted Damyan. "That's Dumbledore's solution to anything ugly. Pretty it up and if that doesn't work, just lock it in a room. Ignore it and hope that the problem never disturbs him again."
For some reason Damyan's comment rattled Minerva.
"And your answer to his problems was to hide him away in bloody Manchester?" was Minerva's astringent retort.
"I made him stand on his own feet. I made him brew, I made him work. He earned his keep and he regained his faith in his ability to brew," Damyan retorted. "He worked and he worked bloody hard as I'm an absolute bastard as a boss. He's a first class wizard with a remarkable ability. Under my roof, he remembered that. Dumbledore's answer would be to hide him away in a room and turn him in an emotional cripple while his belly swelled. I bloody kicked Severus out of the shop so he'd have to walk the streets of Manchester to get me my bloody scones. Katya and I, we made him face the world on his terms, Miss McGonagall."
"And yet, his answer to this mess is for him to return with all due haste back to Dumbles." Damyan shook his head while he bitterly laughed. "It's not your fault, Severus. It's the Compulsion."
"Compulsion?" asked Severus. He was echoed by Minerva and Katya.
"Compulsions. The Bastard that did this to you put several Compulsions on you, Severus," explained Damyan.
"You never mentioned that to him?" Minerva's tone was sharp. "Not a lie, but perhaps that might qualify as an omission of the truth, Damyan Draganov?"
"I was hoping to find a way to break them after the baby is born. The problem facing me is that I can't break all of the Compulsions because they're keeping Severus alive. From what I can determine, Severus, your fixation on Albus and your willingness to return to him are Compulsions. You are Compelled to want the child and to protect her at all costs," Damyan stated.
"I love her," Severus shakily protested. "She's the only positive thing I've ever done."
"You've done many positive things in your life, Severus. Don't let Dumbledore convince you that you're only good for incubating. That your only use is to prevent him from getting his lily white hands dirty. As for the Compulsions, consider the Compulsion to love her is merely added insurance," Damyan explained. "I know you love her. She's a miracle, Severus. However, I don't believe that Albus Dumbledore has truly learned anything from his previous mistakes with you. He was planning on removing you from here by force, as he has a half dozen or more Order members out there with him."
Minerva protested. "It's your reputation, Damyan."
"Yes, I must be particularly fearsome to Dumbles if he decided that he required the protection of his goat-loving brother. No, no, let me guess, Albus is fancying some goat cheese, that's why Aberforth is out there."
Minerva had no answer to that and Damyan turned to face Katya.
"Do you have a token?" was his odd question. "When I duel the most powerful wizard ever to walk on the earth, I can use whatever good luck I can obtain. Damn shame I can't swill a little Felix Felicis. Unfortunately Liquid Luck isn't allowed before a dueling match."
"I have just the thing," the Russian witch assured him. "It's a silver hair pin, with a nice sharp point to it. If your wand shatters, you can hopefully stab him with it. Try for his foot so he has to hop around."
Damyan barked an approving laugh then looked at Severus.
"Anything from you?" he asked.
"Just a question," Severus said.
"You should know by now it's a strong possibility I won't answer it, but go ahead," said the Bulgarian.
"Why?" Severus asked.
Why are you dueling Dumbledore? Why the death wish? Why are you helping me? A thousand different whys and a bemused Damyan just shook his head.
"Because I know that you're worth it. Now, my friends, I believe it's time to end this particular chapter. I must confess that I rather liked Aleksandar Zoravkov and I am deeply saddened to see him and Oxana die. However, I have a duel to fight in fifteen minutes, so I believe that a final, leisurely stroll of Manchester is now required. Everything out of the shop, Katya?" Damyan asked.
"Yes, and the fuzzies promise to stay with Severus and me," Katya assured him. Grisha and Nadya, their two familiars, chirped their agreements.
Toma Filipov materialized in the shop then. He was breathing heavily but the half-giant mage looked quite amused. He spoke rapidly with Damyan. Whatever they said, Damyan seemed inordinately pleased.
"Let us go then," Damyan announced.
He escorted everyone out of the shop and then he closed the door for the very last time. With a slightly cheeky grin, he locked the door.
"Seems rather stupid but Aleksandar would never leave the shop door unlocked," he explained. "Very well, let us go to Piccadilly Gardens where Albus Dumbledore awaits."
They had just turned onto Portland Street from New York Street when a loud explosion shook the group. Damyan and Toma were expecting it as they grabbed Severus by his arms to help him keep his balance. Ekaterina, Minerva and the two familiars were quite unnerved by the detonation but Damyan tersely explained, "It is best to leave no trace behind."
"You blew up the shop," Severus stated. "Between that and the sky sigils, I fear you're leaving more than a few traces, Damyan."
"Let's keep walking," Damyan instructed. "Miss McGonagall, it's very important that you listen to me. You're currently under my protection, but please try to keep your comments to yourself. While I greatly appreciate your sardonic comments, I fear the others may not be amused."
Damyan motioned for them to keep following him. When he reached the corner of Portland Street and Aytoun Street, he gestured for them to stop.
"My, my, my," he laughed. "This is a most welcome sight. Severus? I believe this is for you."
First thing Minerva noticed was thirteen mages in dragonhide armor. She heard Severus sharply inhale and only then did she notice their prisoner who was being motivated to walk by a spear carrying mage. Their captive was a graying, ill looking man, with a silver chain wrapped around his throat and his hands encased in what seemed to be silver. He was shivering uncontrollably. There was no recognition in his eyes when the prisoner looked at her. But Minerva McGonagall knew the scarred faced prisoner.
REMUS? He's wrapped in SILVER?
"He's in the preliminary stages of acute silver toxicity," Damyan's witch whispered to her. "He's hallucinating. That much silver should have him seizing, they must have diminished the adverse affects of it."
"Lupin," Severus said in a clipped tone. "What is he doing here?"
"Severus, he's a present," Damyan happily explained. "Snezhana is gifting you with the werewolf as a show of her regard for you. He's tried to murder you twice but because of his Spangled supporter, he got away with it. Not any more, my Brother. You don't have to worry about anyone ever hurting you again because the Brotherhood takes care of its own."
"I don't know what to say," Severus stalled for time. "Thank you does not properly convey…"
"Severus, by the time the sun sets today, I will have avenged you," Damyan cheerily informed him. "All those that have wounded you will at last realize their grievous mistakes. No doubt they will beseech you for mercy, but I warn you, harden your heart, my Brother. Their crimes against you cry out for their deaths."
"Come now; let us go to Piccadilly, where Albus and his supporters await. I will duel Albus, in defense of my Brother Severus' honor."
Damyan happily smiled and his fellow Dark Mages began chanting, "Dragon! Dragon! Dragon!"
"Bloody hell," whispered Severus. "He's insane."