.

Chapter 5

The Raven

"Lisa."

The blonde girl stirred in the couch, knocking the empty mug down to the floor. It hit the ground and shattered into pieces, jerking her awake. The window was wide open again, the cold air blowing inside, piecing her body even through the blanket. She must have fallen asleep. A ghostly silver bird was perched on the table in front of her, and for a second, she thought she was still dreaming. Then its mouth opened and it spoke.

"Lisa, get out of there. Now. They're coming."

Lisa froze. A talking patronus. Only the members of the Order could make a talking patronus, and this bird (a raven, judging by the shape) did not belong to any one of them. What was going on?

She reached for her wand in the darkness. Whoever sent her that warning may or may not be lying, but she wouldn't risk finding out. Summoning her coat and the hidden green notebook, Lisa quietly snuck out and locked the door behind her.

She made her way to the rubbish bins at the end of the street and crouched in their shadow, carefully observing the entrance to the building. After about twenty minutes, the coast was still clear. Was the Raven lying? If so, why? To get her out of the flat? It wasn't like there was anything of value to steal in there, and the only important possession she had was shrunken down to size and safely tucked in the front pocket of her jeans. So what was this about then?

Lisa looked up to the sky and yawned. It must be pretty late. Should she just give this up and go back in? After a bit of consideration, the young witch decided it was better to be safe than sorry, so she stood up, thinking she could spend the night in Sirius' currently empty apartment. Just as she was about to apparate, however, she saw three figures approach down the street.

"What a dump," one of them said, clearly a female. "And she lives here? How can a pureblood fall so low?"

"She fucks a werewolf. I can't say it can get lower than that," a second voice said mockingly, and Lisa instantly recognized it as Avery's.

"Why is Mulciber so fascinated with this girl anyway? I barely even remember her from Hogwarts," the woman said.

"They have a history," Avery answered.

"... Ew. Don't tell me she went out with him before she got together with Lupin?"

"Not exactly. It's complicated."

Lisa felt cold goose bumps up her arms and had to fight back her gag reflex. Just when she had started to forget the Mulciber incident...

"I don't see how it is," the third person snorted, and Lisa recognized the platinum-blond glint of hair and the upturned nose of Lucius Malfoy. "He wants her. End of story. Oh, he may come up with a million excuses as to why, but it's simple lust. He may do whatever he wants with her, as far as I'm concerned, filthy blood traitors are almost as bad as mudbloods, but when he actually convinces the Dark Lord to send us to find her, like we're some lowly errand boys—"

"The Dark Lord couldn't care less about Fawley," Avery threw in. "He wants the bloody Sword. He's just as obsessed as Mulciber, except our boy intends to use his prize rather than display her."

Lisa ducked even father into the shadows and almost stopped breathing as the people passed right by her.

"With the way he talks about it, I'd expect she wouldn't be very presentable by the time he's done with her," Malfoy added and paused in front of the building, looking up at the windows. Just as the trio was about to enter, the woman stopped them.

"Wait. What if the wolf left someone with her? We should know if we're walking into a fight."

She raised her wand and Lisa felt the low swoosh of a presence revealing charm. A startled cat jumped from one of the rubbish bins, landing on Lisa's shoulder. She gasped in surprise and fell backwards as the cat hissed loudly and ran off, causing some dog in a nearby flat to start barking. The Death Eaters exchanged looks, and all three took out their wands and began walking her way. Lisa scrambled backwards frantically, making even more noise. She managed to get to her feet and pull out her wand, then spun on her heel and disapparated.

'That. Was so. Close,' she thought, breathing in the cold winter air of the empty North London street she materialized on. Lisa straightened up and headed to the building on the right side of the road, pushing the door open and climbing the stairs quickly. Well, it turned out the Raven was telling the truth after all. Someone came for her, and if Dorcas was right, it was to extract information about the Sword. If she hadn't gotten that warning, this night could've ended very badly. But who was he? And why warn her?

Turning Sirius' spare key in the lock, Lisa let herself in the second floor flat and flopped on the black leather couch with a yawn. The questions could wait until morning, because right now, all she wanted was a good night sleep. She only half-glanced at the bedroom door before quickly shaking her head and dismissing the idea. The Marauders would be out all night anyway, but she did NOT even want to think what Sirius did in there and with whom. So she dragged her coat over as a makeshift blanket and quickly fell asleep.

oOo

When she awoke the next morning, everything was fine. Sirius still wasn't back yet, but the sun was high in the sky. Lisa checked the guitar-shaped clock on the wall – ten thirty. They should be back by now.

She ignored the heavy, sinking feeling in her stomach and got up, brushing the Padfoot hair from her clothes. If he wasn't here, he must be at James and Lily's. Maybe they were all there? Still, she wanted to swing by the flat to leave the notebook before going to check.

Lisa left the place in the state she found it, locked after herself and Apparated back to the rundown, dirty street of East London, where hers and Remus' flat was. She could see the occasional muggle drug addict or homeless person walk along the sidewalk, but other than that, there was not a living soul out and about. The sinking feeling intensified. 'This doesn't mean anything,' she told herself sternly. Everyone was probably at work. As she walked along though, the absence of cars or any pedestrians unnerved her. It was all in her head, it had to be. It wasn't like she saw the Grim or anything.

Finally, her building came into view, and her eyes lingered on the space below the broken streetlamp. Was the person watching her last night the one who sent the raven? Who was he? And who was he following, her or Remus?

'I must be a right mess,' she thought when she saw her reflection in the door glass, then slowly climbed the stairs to the fifth floor, trying to suppress a yawn. When she got to her door and reached inside her pocket for the keys, a metallic glint on the ground caught her attention. She approached and knelt down to inspect it. Her heart echoed painfully in her ears, and for a second, it was as if the whole world stood still.

Those were Remus' keys.

She looked up and her fears were confirmed – the door was open. Lisa pulled out her wand and entered carefully. The whole place was upside down. The cupboards over the sink lay open, as every single plate and glass they owned was in pieces on the floor. The couch was ripped, the table – broken, as was the old muggle gramophone in the corner, which Remus had given her for her seventeenth birthday. Advancing to the bedroom, Lisa let out a quiet sigh of relief. Books, clothes and other items were scattered everywhere, but the bed was empty and the mattress overturned. There were no bloodstains anywhere either, and that was a sign that they (hopefully) hadn't gotten to Remus as he was sleeping. Or at least that they hadn't killed him on the spot.

After making sure the flat was empty, Lisa sighed and ran a hand through her messy hair, thinking of her next move. When did this happen? Did they come for her last night after all? Or was it someone else, going after Remus? Did he meet with the intruders? Where was he, and why hadn't he contacted her? She raised her wand, but lowered it just as quickly. The patronus had no way of knowing where the recipient was, and the message it conveyed could be freely heard by anyone. If Remus was captured, which was not out of the realms of possibility, she could give the enemy sensitive information. She cast a glance around the ransacked flat for any kind of clues, but she couldn't pick things up like Remus could. He'd take one look around and tell you what happened, how long ago it was, and how many people were involved, just by looking at the way the plates were broken or something. But, assuming he wasn't captured, where would he go? At his parents'? At the Order HQ?

"James and Lily's," Lisa muttered to herself and left the flat in a brisk pace.

oOo

James' family owned a small cottage in the wizarding village of Godric's Hollow. When both of his parents passed away that summer, he and Lily considered moving into the Potter Mansion, but neither of them found it a good fit for their fact-paced life. So they moved to Godric's Hollow, and their cozy house had become something of a 'Marauders Central'. Whenever any one of them was in trouble or needed a place to lay low, or if they just wanted to all get together for dinner, James and Lily's was always where they went.

Lisa materialized on the snow-covered street and made straight for the gate. She could see movement inside the house, and it gave her hope. It burned in her chest like a flame, drawing her closer, until she was running. Knocking on the door insistently, she could barely contain herself from just bursting in. The door swung, and Lily's tired, worried face came into view.

"Lisa," she breathed and squeezed the other girl in a quick hug.

"Please tell me Remus is here," Lisa said quietly.

Lily nodded and ushered her in. Making a beeline straight for the den, Lisa found the Marauders all there, looking half-dead with exhaustion. Remus and Peter were sprawled on the couch, Sirius and James curled up in the armchairs. When they saw her, James and Remus both leapt to their feet, as the latter moved to shorten the distance and embraced her tightly. Lisa's arms coiled around him and squeezed with equal force, and she closed her eyes in relief. He was safe. She breathed in his calming scent and felt like the world was right again.

After a few minutes, which felt like only a second, Remus backed away a little to look at her. "What happened? Where were you?"

"What do you mean? Where were you? I came back to the flat to find it ransacked. I thought they might've gotten to you!"

"So did I."

"We found the place already upside down," Sirius said from the side. "Moony took a look around and declared there was no sign of struggle, so we came here to wait for you to turn up."

"What happened after I left last night?" Remus asked.

Lisa sat him down and explained about the man with the hood, the raven that warned her, and how she decided it'd be safer to stay over at Sirius'.

"So you have a stalker," James concluded darkly.

"We don't know that. He could've just as easily been there for Remus," Lily threw in.

"But why did he warn me? Why get me out of there if he wanted to harm me?" Lisa asked.

"You're assuming the hooded man was the one that sent the raven," Remus said, his arm around Lisa's waist. "We have no proof that is the case. Or that he means you no harm."

"But if not him, then who? Who do we know that has a raven patronus?" Peter chimed in.

"No one," James said. "Only Order members use that method of communication. We'll talk to everyone tomorrow; try to find out if anyone's patronus has changed recently or if someone's leaked the spell."

"Maybe it was some Order associate?" Sirius suggested. "We know Dumbledore has people working for him indirectly..."

"No," Remus interrupted. "This person knows Lisa, he called her by name. Whoever it is, he has either watched you a lot, or has talked to you at least once."

"Maybe it was... Dorcas?" Sirius said again, trying to hide the hopeful notes in his voice. "Maybe she's had a change of heart?"

"Dorcas' patronus is a panther, Sirius." Lisa gave him a sympathetic look. "And the voice that came out of it was male. I would've known immediately if it was her."

A long, heavy silence stretched over the room. The reminder of Dorcas' supposed betrayal still stung the Marauders, and Lisa looked down, pretending to be hurt as well.

"I'm glad you're okay, but I should really head back home," Peter said, patting Lisa's arm. "My mother will kill me for not telling her where I've been all night... might as well get it over with quickly."

"I should go too." Sirius stood up, a sullen expression on his face.

"You two can stay here for now," James said to Remus and Lisa.

Remus tried to get up. "We need to go back and fix that mess before the landlord—"

"I can do that," Lily offered, reaching for her jacket. "You two need rest. I'll clean up and talk to the landlord for you. James, try to get some sleep too," she added to her fiancé and kissed his cheek.

"I'm coming with you," he tried to protest, but it was evident he was barely keeping his eyes open..

"You'd only slow me down," Lily said with a slight smirk, and despite the stressful night, the Marauders all sniggered a bit.

"It's dangerous—"

"What's dangerous is the territory you're treading. Bed, now."

"I see Evans is in full-on Head Girl mode. I'd listen if I were you, Prongs," Sirius said with a laugh, and James sighed, finally surrendering. He walked Lily, Sirius and Peter to the door, then gave Lisa and Remus the fuzzy brown blanket and headed upstairs to lie in his own bed.

Lisa sank into Remus' arms and snuggled against his chest. She closed her eyes and felt his lips press to her forehead. A warm feeling swelled inside her, and she was so glad to have found him unharmed, she wanted once again to just keep him on the bloody couch forever. Her arms tightened around his torso, and she felt like telling him to never leave her sight again but bit her tongue, knowing it was useless. He wouldn't back down from the war, and neither would she, and clashing on the subject wouldn't yield anything. As if the life of a werewolf wasn't hard enough, she had to worry about random Death Eater raids and separate Order missions...

Lisa looked up and saw Remus had already drifted off to sleep, his cheek resting against her forehead. She smiled to herself and closed her eyes as well. If he hadn't chosen to be a soldier in this war, he wouldn't be Remus. And she loved him just the way he was.

oOo

"So now what? You'll move again?" Dorcas asked, bringing a bottle of Appletiser to her lips.

"Yeah." Lisa sighed, falling back on the bed she and Dorcas were sitting on. Since Dorcas was so adamant about those Legilimency lessons, they decided it'd be safest to meet in random muggle hotels, like they were having a secret love affair. "It'll probably be a week or so until we find something, we're staying with Lily and James for now. We have our eye on a few places in Croydon, though. I'll let you know the new address once we move in."

"Croydon? Moving up in the world, eh? Still a dump, though. I don't get it, why don't you at least try for a decent place?"

"Because we can't afford it," Lisa said sourly. "Besides, who cares? Nowhere is safe right now."

"It's just about a certain standard of living, Lisa! For Merlin's sake, you haven't spent money on anything but food in almost half a year!"

"And what would I spend money on? My hair?" Lisa quipped lightheartedly.

"I don't know! Don't you ever just have an urge to buy something for yourself?"

Lisa rolled her eyes at her friend. "You're being dramatic, like always. Why don't you tell me something useful for a change, like if your patronus has changed recently."

Dorcas cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "Why would my patronus change?"

"Because Sirius thought it might've been you that sent the raven," Lisa said causally but threw a shrewd look at her friend. Dorcas might be good at controlling her emotions, but even she had her slip-ups.

The hand holding the Appletiser bottle tightened slightly. "No, it wasn't."

"He was pretty hopeful about it... I think he's not as angry at you as you think."

Dorcas tried to shrug indifferently, but there was a tiny smile playing in the corner of her mouth.

"He doesn't hate you at the very least," Lisa said. "I really think that if you—"

"Okay, you can stop with the oh-so-subtle hints, I get it," Dorcas snapped, suddenly irritated. "What do you expect me to do, huh? Run into his arms and confess my undying love for him? For all intents and purposes, I am a Death Eater, and I will remain so for the foreseeable future. Even if I felt something for him, and even if he returned it, I still have a job to do!"

Lisa looked at her sadly, sat up and reached for her friend's hand.

Dorcas sighed deeply. "I'm sorry. But honestly, let it go already."

"... Okay."

"As for your stalker's patronus, the only people I've spoken to recently have been Death Eaters, and none of them can even make one."

"None?" Lisa asked in surprise.

"They're too cowardly to even try it. Remember that old superstition that if a dark wizard tries to summon a patronus he'll be devoured by maggots coming from their wand?"

Lisa stared at her in disbelief. "Seriously?"

"They don't want to risk it." Dorcas shrugged. "Not to mention none of them actually need it. They command the Dark Creatures, so the need to defend themselves is almost nonexistent."

"So we still have no idea who the Raven might be then," Lisa concluded, laying back down and staring up at the ceiling. "But at least we know he's not a Death Eater, so presumably I can trust him."

"I wouldn't be so quick to trust someone I've never met," Dorcas said. "I mean, if he truly meant you no harm he'd show his face."

"Maybe he's just afraid of openly helping the Order. If anyone knew, it would make him an automatic target."

"Or maybe it's your dad."

Lisa shot up into a sitting position and gaped at her friend. "What?"

"Well, do you know his patronus? He was a Ravenclaw, so a raven is not out of the question," Dorcas said reasonably as Lisa was trying to process it.

Was it possible that her dad was watching over her? It would make sense for him to hide his face if that were the case, seeing as Death Eaters were still looking for him. Would he really risk it all just to look over her after their falling out? And if he did, why didn't he tell her?