Chapter Nine: The Hunt
The demon looked at the snake smugly, taking delight in the laughter of his son. His mate was valiantly trying to restrain her laughter, but her body was shaking from the effort.
"How did you manage color changing charms with a healing spell Severus?" Ailana's innocent question had Voldemort tensing, and the others either whimpering in terror or laughing even harder.
"I assure you that I have no idea what happened." He said this evenly, face not betraying the savage glee running through him. Severus banged on the wall, desperate to get out and prevent the demon from getting them killed. Pranking their escorts was one thing, but this was entirely different. He wondered idly if Dumbledore and Moody were successfully pranked. The demon ignored his human side, reminding himself that he really needed to have that talk and stop procrastinating.
"Right. Well, let's go get those potion ingredients, lead the way Severus." Voldemort hissed in anger, practically trembling from his rage.
"Hmm, I believe Poison will best suit your needs." He offered his arm, arching a brow at the hissing serpent.
"Oh stop it, he's just being a gentleman." Ailana accepted his arm, grinning at Teddy clinging to his father's robes. The hissing subsided slightly, but the snake never took its eyes off of the Potions Master.
Fenrir snickered quietly, never having found such amusement in something that was relatively harmless before. He sobered slightly and gave a small nod of his head at Ailana.
"Fenrir Greyback." He didn't offer his hand, not willing to risk being attacked by the snake. Ailana arched a delicate eyebrow in response.
"Ailana Cedicit, a pleasure to meet you. No hard feelings over the knife I take it?" Fenrir grinned and shook his head.
Sirius screamed when, in a cloud of pink smoke, he was suddenly wearing a foul pink and lacy monstrosity that would have any little girl over the moon to wear. James collapsed in laughter, tears gathering in his eyes. What he failed to note was the fact that he was now wearing makeup that looked like a three-year old had gotten a hold of her mother or older sister's makeup and didn't have a clue as to how to use it. Tonks helpfully pointed this out.
"I think Sirius got the better prank." James stopped laughing and gave her a confused look. What could possibly be worse that the dress from hell Sirius was wearing?
A mirror answered that question for him. James stared at his reflection in absolute horror. 'Oh gods, not his sexy face!' James whimpered, and tried to clean it off, but failed. He next used his wand, but that too failed. James almost screamed in frustration. Sirius wasn't helping matters by laughing hysterically. James glared at his ex-best friend and shot several embarrassing hexes at him. Sirius yelped and tripped over the dress in his effort to escape the spells.
It was then that the other spells began to take effect. James, the demon having decided that makeup wasn't enough, cast a spell that would make his hair greasy and nose hooked. These two prominent features of his human shell were James's favorite things to target. Now the bastard could insult himself.
Sirius was lucky that the demon saw how he truly cared for Ailana and Teddy, so was left alone beyond the dress.
Sirius's family was laughing and laughing at his misfortune. Young Cassie was squealing over the dress, begging her mother to shrink it down to her size when daddy was done wearing it. She set her family and those that heard into another fit of laughter just as they were beginning to calm down. James's children weren't much better off in restraining themselves.
Dumbledore didn't realize it, but his robes were flashing with several rude words and phrases that earned him dirty looks. His glasses were also pranked, though he wouldn't experience the effects of that one just yet. Moody grunted as his walking staff suddenly had flowers bursting from it. He mumbled something about devilishly sly and tricky bastards and constant vigilance.
"Shit! They're gone!" Everyone looked at Tonks in confusion, then as comprehension dawned, they began frantically searching for the three missing members of the group.
"Did anyone see where they went?" James was looking around, his face still flushed and looking ridiculous with his new makeover.
"I saw them go that way dad!" Patrick puffed himself up importantly, pointing in the direction of Knockturn Alley. Patrick hadn't actually seen them head off in that direction, too focused on the fight to be paying attention. He had overheard the Black sisters talking about seeing them sneak off in that direction only moments before.
"Dammit Snivellus!" Sirius, ignoring the dress he was in, took off in the direction of Knockturn Alley. The others chose not to remind him of that fact.
So much for 'Constant Vigilance'.
The bell for Poison, the apothecary in Knockturn Alley, gave a dull jingle. The foul air rushed out to greet them, causing Ailana to wrinkle her nose in disgust. A small, hunched over Hag peered up at them. Voldemort, who had stayed with his daughter, glared at the leering Hag.
"What can I get for you my pretties?" Teddy hid behind his father, clutching his robes. The other children looked frightened, while the adults looked disgusted. The demon gave the Hag a terrifying look, causing her to flinch back slightly. Ailana smiled at the reaction. Fenrir bared his teeth in a snarl for good measure.
"I think I can find what I need, thanks." She didn't want the Hag anywhere near her son. She could fight off the Hag without magic, but her son wouldn't be able to yet. The Hag frowned, drifting back into the shadows.
Ailana looked at the dusty shelves, muttering in disgust at the state of the shop. She looked for her needed ingredients, grinning when she easily found them. The rest of the group hovered in the doorway, shifting in discomfort at being in the foul smelling shop.
While many of the potions ingredients offered where of the more questionably legal variety, the overall quality was better than what Diagon tended to have, ironically. This was due to the fact that many of the businesses were either owned by old and influential families, or they had connections to such families. The ingredients were more expensive, but it was well worth the quality.
Ailana gently placed her ingredients into the small basket that Severus had grabbed and was holding for her. She grinned evilly. The victims of her pranks were going to wish they never heard of her. The others who spotted her grin flinched, hardly able to accept that it was the same grin that the Dark Lord had when he was about to torture someone.
Ailana grinned the whole time she was grabbing the potions ingredients, and her son edged away from her. Voldemort wasn't sure about how exactly he felt when he saw his daughter sporting the same grin he did when he was going to torture someone. On one hand, he was proud, but on the other, he was worried what that grin might mean for him. He decided that it was in his best interests to just stay quiet and not draw attention to himself.
The Hag flinched when the woman bounced up to the counter with a disturbing grin. She wanted the woman out of her shop now. Hurriedly packaging and bagging the potions ingredients, the Hag refused to look at the strange woman a second longer and so kept her head down.
Sirius came to a screeching halt when he caught sight of his reflection in the window of a shop, having briefly forgotten about his predicament. He cursed, flushing as he attempted to remove the prank again. He failed, and debated briefly about what to do. He really couldn't go running around Knockturn Alley like this. Gritting his teeth, he painstakingly transfigured the dress. He now wore monstrously pink and lacy robes. It was worse than the dress in his opinion. He couldn't change the color, or glamour it, so he'd have to wait for the prank to wear off. He frowned. Who had been the one to prank him anyways?
"Snivellus!" He tore off after said man, full of raging fury. James Potter was hot on his heels, makeup still in place. Moody was yelling at the two to stop, but they were too deep in their fury to take note of this.
"When I get my hands on that piece of greasy shit, I'll make Voldemort seem like a fucking puppy!" James was enraged. How dare the slimy Slytherin prank him and Sirius! He snarled, the occupants of Knockturn gaping as they ran past before laughing hysterically. It wasn't often that they saw two Aurors running around after being pranked. When Albus Dumbledore and Mad-Eye Moody ran past, the laughter echoing through Knockturn Alley actually became so loud it was painful.
The laughter only enraged the two men further.
Remus Lupin sighed dejectedly as he was turned away from another job. There was no other choice, he was going to have to look for a job in Knockturn Alley. He slowly made his way, his body aching and hungry. He paused when two men, or hideous women, dashed past him. He gaped at the horrendous pink and frilly robes one was wearing. His wolf snarled at the very sight of the offence against nature. He frowned, continuing on his way, jumping out of the way when several Aurors, Mad-Eye Moody, and Albus Dumbledore nearly flattened him. He stared in bewilderment as the normally unflappable Headmaster looked close to panicking.
Wait…what the fuck was he wearing! What the fuck! Shit, is that James! Why the fuck are there fucking flowers on Moody's walking staff! What the hell Sirius! What the fuck is wrong with you Dumbledore, there are children present you old coot!
"Albus!" His shout successfully drew the Headmaster's attention. Dumbledore stopped running and turned around to see a stunned Remus Lupin staring at him.
"Albus, what is going on?" Remus hurried forward when the Headmaster indicated for him to follow.
"The Cedicits have vanished along with Severus." Remus stumbled.
"So it's true then, what everyone and all of the papers are saying?" Dumbledore nodded and picked up the pace when he saw how far he had lagged behind.
"Sirius and James think that Severus pranked us as a distraction in order to whisk the Cedicits off to Knockturn Alley." Remus froze in shock. Severus! Severus Snape, the slimy dungeon bat as James and Sirius like to call him, he did this? How the fuck was he able to prank Mad-Eye Moody and Albus Dumbledore? Not even the Marauders had been able to do either of those things.
"What!" He leap forward and ran ahead of Dumbledore. Despite Remus feeling weak and sore, he was still much faster and stronger than the average human. He picked up a scent that had all of the blood draining from his face: Fenrir Greyback.
A second scent assaulted his nose, one that had his mind stumbling over itself in shock. Lissianna, or at least the scent he'd come across that was the most like hers had been. He knew better than to tell the others. If Lissianna was truly alive, then she had to have a reason for not letting them know. The scent was different enough that it could very well be someone else. Sirius would have said…alright, shouted out that he caught her scent if he had picked it up. No, this was something deeper, something from Moony's end.
It is said that Werewolves never forget their Cubs, and Moony knew something Remus didn't.
The Hunt was on.
A/N: The reason why Ailana showed the memory of the werewolf was to make it seem like she was really trying to remember and piece her life back together. It would be suspicious if she only showed happy memories or memories of her always being good or at least not attacking something. Once they get to know her better, they will quickly realize that she is by nature aggressive. Showing that she is willing to give them the bad and the good is better than trying to hide it. After all, she doesn't remember why she was doing what she was doing in that memory supposedly. Not that the others were able to hear her thoughts. Sirius's dream memories reflect his state of mind, the less stable, the more fragmented or insane the memory appears to be. Keep checking my profile page for story update status. The poll is closed. The end might be a little scary for some people.
One last thing, Remus is too proud to ask for help, a side effect of being an alpha werewolf. Plus, it's just his personality as well not to rely on others. His friends are constantly badgering him to let them help, but he is pretty stubborn. The demon doesn't have the memories of the Snape that was in Ailana's original dimension, just impressions of them, like feelings and such. *Spoiler* Since I am not killing off Voldemort, I'll be going the route of humans discovering magic and from there I can go two different ways, they manage to get along after fighting, or shove the magical world into a new dimension.