A/N: I hadn't intended to continue this, but several people expressed an interest in more chapters (or at least I assume that was why they decided to follow a oneshot) and I admit this kept bugging me, so here is chapter 2 of Define Immortal. Oh, and just to be clear, Sirius didn't die in the Department of Mysteries, and this is set early in the summer before Harry's sixth year.
Over an hour after Sirius's abrupt departure from the kitchen, someone knocked briskly on the door to the attic. Casually feeding Buckbeak the last strip of ferret, Sirius made his way over to the door and opened it, taking an involuntary step back at revealing Mad-Eye's scarred face. He had no desire to get a close look at that.
"Right." Said Moody gruffly. "They're waiting for you."
"What did they decide?" Sirius asked as the two ex-Aurors descended the stairs.
"You'll find out when you get there." Moody shot him an appreciative glance. "Mind you, it's about time someone gave them a kick up the-"
"Alastor, don't you finish that sentence!" scolded Molly Weasley from the bottom of the stairs. Both men rolled their eyes, though Moody had a much better effect with his artificial one spinning like Ron Weasley in a room full of sweets.
"Molly, there aren't any kids around."
"It's a bad habit Sirius, now come along. The others are waiting." So saying the Weasley matriarch bustled into the kitchen, Moody and Sirius following behind her.
The air was thick with anticipation, and it was obvious from the disgruntled looks being passed about that a good deal had been said both for and against his suggestion. He almost felt like a child being brought to the Headmaster's office, waiting to see if the teachers had decided to punish him or not. He soon shook that off though.
Once the three were seated all eyes rested on Albus. With a sigh, he began to talk. "I don't suppose you have reconsidered your suggested course of action?"
The flat look Sirius gave him was all the answer he needed.
"Very well." The wizened wizard peered intently at the Order, meeting their eyes one by one and seeming to stare into their very soul. At last Moody huffed impatiently. "Get on with it Albus." He snarled.
"The Order has decided, after much deliberation, that Sirius is correct: a new approach is required. As Voldemort has already demonstrated, Azkaban cannot hold his followers if he truly desires them free. As of yet there have been no Death Eaters captured since the Department of Mysteries, while Voldemort appears to be attacking weekly. The general consensus is that we need to begin striking back. As Sirius was the one to suggest this, I shall allow him to explain how we might do so."
"Umm...Okay. Well, thanks for the stuffy introduction Albus, but you could have just said 'The others think it's a good idea.' I'm pretty sure the only one who didn't know what you decided was me." Sirius's pointed dig at Albus's long-winded nature shattered the tension and drew several chuckles from the Order. Then, like a switch had been flicked, Sirius was suddenly all business.
"Right, so I've already told you who I think we should be targeting. My dearest cousin Bella only leaves for raids. The last time we saw Malfoy was during the battle at the Ministry, but since being broken out of Azkaban he's been laying low. I suppose we could try and launch an assault on Malfoy Manor, but we really don't have the numbers to do that."
"What about Greyback?" questioned Hestia Jones. "Do we know where he is?"
"Good question. Remus?"
The werewolf seemed reluctant to answer. "I could tell you where the pack is, but if you launch an attack there they'll know it was me that told you."
"We cannot afford for Remus to lose his place among the Werewolves." Interjected Dumbledore. "He is our only link to them, and if we launch an attack, not only will innocent werewolves be killed trying to defend their pack, but we will lose our only chance to sway them from Voldemort's side."
"And how has that worked out so far?" demanded Sirius harshly. He turned his gaze to Remus. "How many of them have you convinced to join us? Or even to leave Voldemort?"
"None, yet." Admitted Lupin. "Fenrir has them thoroughly cowed after his violent restructuring. It doesn't help matters that I am considered one of the lowest ranking of all the pack, and an outsider to boot. My attempts to fit in with magical society are a black mark on my record."
Moody growled. Thus far Lupin had reported directly to Dumbledore, this was the first time anyone else had heard of his difficulties. "Are you close to convincing anyone?"
Lupin avoided his gaze. Incensed, Moody turned on Dumbledore. "He has had a whole year to work on them, and this is the progress he's made?"
Sirius looked up sharply as Remus ducked his head. "I'd like to see you do any better."
"Aye, lad, I don't doubt I'd fare much worse than your friend. The point is, he's not getting anywhere. If he's barely accepted after a year of integration he isn't gonna be turning them any time soon. The gentle approach isn't working Albus. You've tried the charm, now it's time for the curse."
"I would really rather not-"
Dumbledore didn't get any further, because Sirius interrupted him by reaching over and rapping smartly on his forehead. "Hello? Hello? Anyone there? You've just heard that your efforts to persuade the werewolves are failing miserably, and won't bear fruit any time soon. You know that they are a problem, so if your way won't work, it's time to try another."
Rubbing his head and giving Sirius the evil eye, Dumbledore continued regardless. "You do realise how much damage this will do to wizard/werewolf relations? Remember, this attack would not just be on their fighters, it would be on their family too, and they will fight all the harder for it. A victory here may weaken the werewolves, but it will also cement their place at Voldemort's side."
Sirius slammed his hands down on the table. "Don't you see Albus? Voldemort holds all the cards. He's the one with all the allies, all the money, all the power. He gets to pick and choose who, where and when he will attack, while we are left scrabbling to catch up. You want us to focus on removing the Horcruxes. But that won't do us much good if Voldemort is too powerful to kill anyway. We need to remove his assets, one by one, and the asset we have easiest access to is the werewolves. Unless you have a secret dementor friend none of us know about?"
Recognising defeat, Dumbledore lowered his head in surrender.
"Didn't think so. Alright, Remus? Tell us everything you know about the location and defences of Greyback's wolves."
After Lupin had relayed everything he knew, the Order stayed up late into the night planning their first move to turn the tables on Voldemort.
"Alright." Growled Moody. "Everyone know what they're doing?"
It was three weeks after the decision was made to attack the werewolves. Voldemort had been far from idle, and they'd lost Emmeline Vance to his Death Eaters. That had been a loss; while no Auror she was a respectable fighter that could easily match the average Death Eater. Fortunately, the Order's strongest fighters were still alive, meaning the assault on the werewolves could still go ahead.
Remus had revealed that the pack was based in a small wooded area in the country. While decently sized, the woods were not large enough to contain the werewolves during the full moon, and as a result the nearest Muggle residence was notably emptier than it used to be. Usually the pack roamed through the small copse, while Greyback was in and out erratically answering Voldemort's summons, but on the evening of the full moon they all gathered in a clearing at the centre of the woods, from which they would race to the nearby village. They had turned it into a sick game of sorts: whoever was the first to make a kill would get first dibs on anything the others caught. As the first kill was invariably made by Greyback, he was more than happy to let it continue.
It was this game that had driven them to attack the day before the full moon. By seven o'clock all of the werewolves, even Greyback, would be situated in the clearing. That was their guarantee that Greyback would be available. They only had one shot at this, and they needed to kill him if they wanted to make it count. It was a risk, no doubt – if the battle stretched on for too long, they would find themselves facing fully transformed werewolves. However, nothing risked, nothing gained. The fact was that the impending full moon could work for them. Usually, the werewolves had scouts on watch that would sniff them out before they got close enough, but as of now they were all tired, irate and clustered in that clearing. Hopefully they wouldn't be noticed until it was too late.
The attack force would be split into two teams. Each had a member chosen specifically for detecting the werewolves: on one team was Mad-Eye himself, his eponymous artefact giving him an early warning system; on the other team was Sirius, who as Padfoot had heightened senses, as well as being the only one who could safely engage the werewolves up close due to his Animagus form. Moody had with him Tonks and Hestia, while Sirius had Kingsley and Aberforth Dumbledore. Until now Aberforth had been used to collect information about the shadier aspects of the wizarding world, but he was a decent dueller and had picked up several tricks running a bar that had his kind of clientele. Both Moody and Kingsley were under invisibility cloaks – as the two strongest fighters, they could not risk being spotted before they were ready, and invisibility cloaks didn't leave the tell tale blur that Disillusionment did.
"Remember, these are not average witches and wizards, these are werewolves. They can shrug off hits that knock a Death Eater for six. If I see anyone throwing stunners I will personally murder you, even if I have to come back from the grave to do it. Constant vigilance."
The two teams of three, each with one invisibility cloak and two disillusionment charms, set out towards the werewolves' clearing.
Fenrir Greyback was having more fun than he'd had in years. With the Dark Lord back, he and his pack were free to hunt as they wished; the Ministry was far too busy panicking to worry about a few Muggles going missing, and while they didn't have quite the same spice wizards did, the squeals remained extremely satisfying. Greyback grinned. Last time, in the village, he had spotted a rather juicy looking female. Perhaps this time he would get to have a taste. And who knows? Maybe he'd even do her the honour of turning her – and as pack alpha he of course had full rights to any woman he desired. Yes that sounded good. He began to drool slightly as he imagined what he would do with her. So caught up was he in his imagination that he never even saw the spell that streaked out of nowhere and connected with the ground by his left foot, blowing him off his feet and out of consciousness.
Moody watched with satisfaction as his spell connected, blowing several werewolves across the clearing. On the opposite side, Kingsley had launched his own spell, and was now forced to discard his invisibility cloak for freer movement as he, Sirius and Aberforth worked hard to keep the enraged werewolves off their backs. Moody had no such problem, with his wooden leg mobility was never part of his fighting style. Instead he stood like a rock against a wave, his wand weaving as he blew holes in the ranks of the charging werewolves. In the chaos and confusion several of the more cowardly members fled into the woods, but twice as many stayed to fight. The Order members were fighting well, but with superior numbers, enhanced reflexes and inhuman durability, the Weres were gaining ground. A sudden surge on Kingsley's side forced Sirius to take on his Animagus form. Leaping into the fray with claws and teeth bared he bought Kingsley and Aberforth a little time to back away. However, in doing so he left himself stranded, and would have been torn apart if not for Aberforth transfiguring a herd of startled rams that charged at the werewolves. Leaping over the horns Sirius returned to norm and made his way back to their side with only minimal scratches.
On the other end things weren't going so well. Both Tonks and Hestia were being steadily pushed back, and though a hail of blasting curses had thinned out their ranks the werewolves still forced even Moody to back away, a few steps at a time. They needed room to regain the offensive, but the werewolves weren't letting them have it. Then, from behind them, a stinging hex shot by. Moody cursed as it connected squarely with Tonks. One of the werewolves must still have a wand, and had circled back to flank them. Hestia sent a puff of flames at them, and with a yelp they scurried away, but the damage was done. Even though it was only a stinging curse it was enough to distract Tonks, and the werewolves fell upon her. She screamed in pain and terror as the werewolves swarmed over her, her teammates unable to help. Her wand was yanked from her grip as sharp nails tore at her skin, and she knew that it was over.
And then they stopped.
Looking around in confusion, she saw all the werewolves writhing on the ground in pain. Looking up, Tonks expected to see relief on Mad-Eye's features. What she didn't expect was fear. Mad-Eye never showed fear, but in the moon's rays it was there, as clear as day. Wait. The moon's rays.
Oh god.
A snarl from behind had her spinning around as Moody yanked her backwards with a spell. He wasn't fast enough, and a now transformed werewolf managed to latch on to her leg. She screamed as she felt it pop out of its socket, and then the wolf was gone and she was flying into Mad-Eye. The impact knocked them both over, and jarred her dislocated leg, wrenching another scream from inside her. Through the haze of pain Tonks saw Hestia firing spells into the woods before erecting a shield charm. The werewolves were literally throwing themselves at it, battering the shield as it rapidly weakened.
"They're coming from all sides, I can't hold them off!" cried Hestia.
"Abort! Abort! Get out of here now!" yelled Moody from underneath Tonks. The three of them hurriedly activated their emergency portkeys as Hestia's shield wavered and broke. Just in time they disappeared in a whirl, leaving the thwarted wolves to howl in fury as their prey escaped before their eyes.
A/N: Well that ended up going a whole lot further and in a completely different direction to how I expected. And no, I won't leave it on a kind of cliffhanger, I will start writing the next chapter as soon as I post this one. Reviews are always appreciated, and honestly I'd be happy with flames too, it gives me something to work on.