Chapter 14 - Sometimes life reveals a mystery.
December 21, 2005

The flames snapped and crackled loudly in the fireplace as a log shifted and broke, throwing sparks into the air. Severus and Gareth were glowering at each other, and Remus cleared his throat loudly, setting his plate to the side. "So, I think we all can acknowledge that those conditions are both necessary and still horrible," he said, hearing his lecture voice slip out as he tried to diffuse the situation. "Gareth, why don't you and Deirdre clear the dishes and we'll try to get things set up down here." He fixed the young man with what he hoped would be perceived as an earnest and honest gaze. "I promise we will wake you up the second their study is complete."

Gareth gave him a stiff nod, and stood to his feet. His wand swished through the air, dishes and silverware dancing in an orderly fashion onto a waiting tray. Levitating the tray ahead of him, Gareth headed into the kitchen, Deirdre following slowly after.

The moment they were out of the room Remus put up a silencing charm and looked over at Severus, not trying to hide his exasperation. "Severus, you are better than that. He is exhausted and scared and you just humiliated him."

Snape's icy stare was turned on him. "Would you prefer I patronise him? He's old enough to understand what is necessary and what could be at stake."

"It's not being patronising, it's simply being compassionate!" Remus exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "How difficult is it to admit when you're wrong and apologise?"

"Now, don't you two start," Eglantine sighed. "It's been a trying day, and could prove to be a long night. Remus, were you able to find any additional leads we could follow on curses?"

Remus ran a hand over his face, smoothing his mustache. "We could be dealing with Hex of Shades. Its effects line up best with what Gareth has been experiencing. The problem seems to be that you can't just cast it as a general curse. There's some dark incantations involved calling on specific powers that I haven't been able to pinpoint. We may need to know which powers are involved to counter it."

"What do you mean, specific powers?" Severus asked, leaning forward in his chair and tenting his fingertips together. Remus internally rolled his eyes. Of course. One hint of some unknown Dark Art, and Severus was as alert as a hunting dog on point.

"I mean something demonic," he said dryly, "some entity from the supernatural realm that is called upon to drive someone round the twist, harass, bedevil, and otherwise torment them to insanity."

Severus looked like he'd just caught the scent of troll, his lip curling in distaste. "I'd hoped the fact that your Seer didn't accompany us was an indication that we wouldn't have to be dealing with the other realm."

Remus studied him for a moment, trying to discern his attitude. Ah, that was it. Severus was concerned there was an element involved that he couldn't control. He took a deep breath. "I'm afraid we're always dealing with that realm, even when we're unaware of it," he said with an attempt at a sardonic smile.

Severus leaned back, frowning. "Perhaps you're right," he sighed. "But that puts us at a disadvantage. We can't communicate with that realm the way Gareth's sister can. And if he's being attacked in his sleep…" he made a gesture of surrender, "how are we supposed to help him or equip him to fight back?"

Remus reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a tiny crystal phial, a glowing white substance shifted and rolled inside. "Daisy sent a memory with me. She said it might help, and I would know when to use it."

Severus raised his eyebrows. "We haven't a pensieve," he chided. "How are we supposed to view it?"

Remus grinned. "I took the liberty of nicking the one from your office before we left." He was absurdly pleased at having to make the statement and at Severus' obvious surprise. Well, perhaps obvious was overstating things, but he was definitely surprised, he was also just very adept at hiding his reactions. Eglantine gave a soft cough, clearly trying to cover a laugh. "I could have told you ahead of time," Remus added, "but I so rarely get to employ any of my old marauding tendencies, I just couldn't resist."

"Lupin, I…" Severus voice trailed off and he made a face. "I suppose I should be grateful this is all you've done in the last seven years," he said dryly.

"That you know of," Remus said solemnly.

"Oh, for the love of Merlin, just get the blasted thing," he snapped, crossing his arms angrily over his chest.

"Did she mean for us to see it, or did she mean for you to give it to Gareth?" Eglantine asked. "Looking into someone else's memories is very personal."

"She said I would know when Gareth was ready to see it," Remus offered. "So I took that to mean I should see it first. And after what happened with him today, and considering what could be causing this, I think we need to set conventional niceties aside and use every resource available."

"I agree with that," she said, frowning. "But I can't say I fully understand what you mean when you're talking about this other realm." She glanced at Severus. "You've never mentioned dealing with anything like this before."

He seemed to sink down a bit in the chair, all at once looking rather weary and uncertain. "I have only encountered the…entities from the other realm twice before. The ghosts at Hogwarts refer to them as the Others."

"And they're demons?" She maybe didn't mean it to sound as skeptical as it came out, but Severus seemed to wilt even further.

"Not all," Remus clarified. "Daisy's indicated that only about a third of these beings are actively evil and seeking to harm people, and they don't usually attack outright, it's just…" he sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "I'm not even sure how to describe it, like those whispers that tell you you're no good, or that you want to do something wrong. They sabotage you from the inside out somehow, work on your emotions. At least, that's how it feels. And I'm fully aware of the incongruity of saying that's how it feels when I just said they work on your emotions, but you can sense the dichotomy when it's happening. That's what stood out to me."

Eglantine looked at him for a long, quiet moment. "Okay, I'm just going to go with that, because what I'm feeling right now is the same thing I felt when the principal from Ilvermorney showed up at our house when I turned eleven and tried to explain that I was a witch. It didn't make sense, but it was true. So let's take a look at this memory."

Remus pulled the pensieve out of his satchel and set it on the coffee table, enlarging it. The three of them knelt around it, and he unstoppered the phial, pouring the shimmering silver memory into the basin. It swirled and writhed as it hit the bottom and then spread out into a gently undulating pool. The three glanced at each other and as one bent their heads to the basin and entered the memory.

Dim, stone walls took shape. There were flickering torches on the walls to light the small room, but the torches were clearly magic ones, there was no scent of burning oil or smoke emanating from them. Other smells were uncomfortably present, a damp, sour smell of unwashed bodies, and the pungent tones of urine and feces. Remus turned, steeling himself for what he suspected he'd see next. Even half expecting it, he still hissed in a shocked breath as he saw the five children huddled together on a thin mattress on the opposite side of the room. They were back in the first war, Gareth and his siblings in the Malfoy's basement. Remus' hand clenched for a wand he didn't hold. This was only a memory, and as impossible as he knew it to be, Remus still wanted nothing more than to gather them all up and take them away. They were what, three or four years old? His own boys were only three and six, and Remus' stomach rolled. Children, babies, sacrificed on the altar of some Death Eaters' quest for power and favor.

He glanced at the other two observers standing with him. Eglantine's face was a mask of horror, her eyes bright with tears. Severus looked… old. His face showed a grim resignation, and Remus wondered if he was remembering how many times he'd been in this house, dining and laughing with the Malfoys and even Voldemort himself, planning the destruction of their way of life. Had he known what was happening under his feet? Known that children had been turned to werewolves and imprisoned to be used as an execution squad for Voldemort's enemies?

The smallest child was curled up asleep in the middle of the others, Isabel of course, only a toddler at the time. Catherine, her blonde hair a tangled mess, sat beside Isabel, patting her back and humming. Daisy sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, rocking slightly back and forth, her dark, curly hair snarled and matted. A long, raw wound ran down her right arm. Joshua, the scrawny, dark haired boy beside her had a gash across his cheek, and reached up to touch it tentatively, before taking a long, shuddering breath. Slightly apart, facing the doorway, a scowl on his face, was the child version of Gareth. His blonde hair was mashed flat on one side of his head where he'd probably been sleeping against it, while the other side stuck up in dirty clumps.

The door started to open into the darkened room, and Gareth scuttled back towards the others, herding them to squeeze close together behind him. Remus spun to see who was entering. There were gruff voices mumbling, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. The door cracked open and then was slammed shut again. The men on the other side raised their voices and pounded at the door, spells crackled and the door shook but it stayed tightly closed.

"That door was shut from the inside." Severus' voice rasped. "Probably one of the children using accidental magic."

Before Remus could respond, there was a shimmer of light inside the room near the door. It brightened and then dimmed before coalescing into a tall oblong shape. The light grew more golden, and the shape pulsed and stretched before finally taking the form of a boy, older than the other children, but still probably no more than twelve. He walked toward the children and sat cross-legged on the floor beside their mattress. Remus heard Eglantine gasp beside him, and turned back toward the door to see five other beams of light appear taking the shapes of small wolves. They crossed the room and lay down near the mattress. "It's almost over," the golden boy said, his voice warm and encouraging. "That was the last time your transformations will hurt so much. Just another couple weeks and you'll be out of here. There's a place prepared, people who will look after you."

The children on the mattress just watched with wide eyes and didn't say anything, though Daisy smiled shyly at the lustrous being sitting nearest her and scooted closer. The wolf, it's dark fur threaded with silver, stretched its head out to rest in the girl's lap, letting Daisy pat it gently. Gareth looked all at once afraid, and then as if he were were going to cry. The golden boy reached out and gently tousled his hair. "All right, squaddie?" he said with a smile. "You'll be fighting fit in no time, and some day you and I will fight together, yeah? I might look a little different then, but you'll know me."

The door rattled again, and the children on the mattress shifted nearer one another. Isabel woke from her sleep and sat up, rubbing at her eyes. She looked around, grinning delightedly at the beings of light. When the door shook and inched open, her smile faded and she pressed her body against Catherine's, bringing two fingers to her mouth to suck at them nervously. Remus blinked and two of the beings were no longer beside the children. He turned to look for them and saw the wolves were now much larger and standing at the door, clearly barring the way from whomever was trying to enter.

He swallowed, his spirit sensing as much as his eyes seeing the immense beauty and power in the creatures. Awareness dawned, probably slower than it should have. Remus had seen these some of these beings before, the warriors assigned to the children. It seemed they had been there protecting them all along. One was as black as night, the edges of its fur glinting with the frosty color of moonlight. It would belong to Joshua, it's form matched the form he took now when he was a werewolf. The other gave gave off a warm amber glow, Gareth's, he guessed, looking back to the other wolves still circling the children. Remus let out a slow breath. What did it mean? Why had Daisy sent this memory?

The golden boy reached out and rested his hand on Gareth's shoulder. "You are never alone," he said. "You will be freed from this net. We will subdue those who rise against you." He paused, and a rueful smile lit his face. He shifted his hand to cup Gareth's face, and the little boy yawned and blinked sleepily. "But that is for the man you will become," he finished in a whisper. "Rest now. My servants will keep watch."

As though mesmerized, the children laid down together, the two boys on either side and the three girls in the middle. Gareth stayed at the edge of the mattress, watching the door, placing himself between the others and the first sign of danger, even at this tender age stepping into the role of a big brother. The children all yawned and snuggled up closer together. The memory began to darken as the children fell asleep, and in the next moment, Remus, Severus, and Eglantine were once more in Gareth's living room, kneeling beside the coffee table.

Eglantine sank down to the floor, leaning against the base of one of the armchairs. "I had no idea," she whispered, shaking her head and wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. "What a horrible experience. That…that glowing child said it was almost over. How long had they been there? How did they get out?"

Severus ran a hand over his face. "I would guess that was the last full moon before the Dark Lord was defeated, so October of '81. Malfoy would have been quick to eliminate any unnecessary ties, so the children were probably dumped somewhere for someone else to find and deal with as soon as possible." He looked up at Remus with a narrowed gaze. "And before you ask, no, I didn't know they were there at the time. But we both know I wouldn't have done anything about it if I had known," he added dryly. Then he frowned, as another idea occurred. "I think most of their memories of that time have been taken," he said slowly. "Very few scenes like that emerged during the occlumency lessons I had with Gareth."

Eglantine nodded her agreement. "Elixirs of Swooping Evil venom are commonly used to help people who've experienced trauma, because it targets only the bad memories."

"Makes sense," Remus said, inclining his head. "Daisy still had this one because it wasn't a bad memory for her. She felt safe and happier when the warriors were there."

"Warriors?" Eglantine questioned, leaning closer as she rested her arms on the coffee table. "Do you mean those glowing wolves?"

Remus nodded. "Supernatural warriors who fight on behalf of the Creator against evil." The potions professor made a face and Remus chuckled. "You don't have to understand it or believe it. But that doesn't change what is. I've seen them, and I don't mean that in the abstract. I've seen those specific wolves. Although the child was something different."

"That is all irrelevant," Severus said irritably. "How does what we've seen help us with what Gareth is facing now?"

Remus let out a long breath, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. "I think it might mean that Gareth's warrior is able to fight what's happening while he's asleep, or perhaps fight with Gareth's subconscious or spirit or whatever you want to call it."

"But then why hasn't it done that already?" Eglantine objected. "Surely if these…warrior things are around to fight they know how hard it's been for him and would have done something sooner?"

"That's where the supernatural realm runs up against a little thing known as free will," Remus said wryly, his mustache twitching as he tried not to smile.

Severus made a face and reluctantly nodded his agreement. "Based on my own limited experience, I would assume his warrior has already tried to make contact or help him. Since Gareth has not mentioned that, I would also assume he is ignoring the attempts."

"Why would he do that?" Eglantine asked in surprise. "If he believes in this realm and they want to help…"

"It's one thing to believe the warriors are there, another thing to trust what they're doing," Remus said slowly. "It means facing a lot of suffering that can't be explained away." He gave Severus a knowing look. "Perhaps that is where we come in. If there's something you and I have learned, it's to trust people more than we did before, even the people we thought were our enemies."

Severus leaned back in his own seat, tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair, and gave a slow nod.