"Sit down, Harry. All of you, please. There's too much to talk about
for ust to be standing in the hallway." Lupin's voice was controlled and calm.
Harry, Hermione and Lupin went upstairs to the drawing room, while
Ron went to the kitchen with his hamper. Harry guessed that Ron had already heard the news from the way he deliberately avoided
Harry's eye.
Hermione and Harry sat on the sofa, Lupin took an easy chair opposite
them.
"Who was it, who's dead?" Harry asked. His throat was dry as dust.
"Harry...," Lupin began.
"Please, Remus, just tell me who it was first, then you can tell me the
rest," Harry pleaded.
Lupin looked at him appraisingly for a moment. "Moody."
Hermione gasped and held her hands up to her mouth. Harry had closed his
eyes, for he was ashamed that they would show his relief. It was not that he didn't care about Moody, but...He knew it couldn't
have been a Weasley, Ron's expression would have betrayed that, but Harry had feared it would be Hagrid. Hagrid knew
so little defensive magic, relying on his giant's blood to protect him from most spells. Having lost Sirius and then Dumbledore,
losing Hagrid too would be a blow from which Harry was not sure he could recover.
"How did it happen?" it was Hermione's turn to ask.
Lupin shook his head. "It was all so confusing. We were all
looking for you, Harry, naturally we assumed the Death Eaters were looking for you also."
"They weren't?" Harry asked, surprised.
"No," Lupin answered. His voice was strained. "They were after Nymphadora
and her family. Bellatrix was among them. Her hood fell off during the attack."
"After Tonks?" Hermione was confused. "Were they targeting Aurors,
is that why they went after Moody?"
"I don't think so," Lupin replied. Ron entered the room, carrying
four bottles of butterbeer, which he handed to each of them in turn.
"Let's take a moment," said Ron, raising his bottle. "To Mad Eye."
"To Mad Eye," echoed Hermione, Harry, and Lupin. They drank, and sat a
minute or two in silence. Lupin was the first to speak.
"They went straight for Ted--Dora's father--and he's no Auror. He and
Andromeda Disapparated immediately though," Lupin said reassuringly, for Harry had looked alarmed at this news. "Dora had
gone looking for Moody herself -- she knew he'd have a plan, she said. But they came after her, four or five of them, apparently.
Mad Eye came to her defense--"
"Yeah I saw that," interrupted Harry.
"Mad Eye drew their fire long enough for Dora to escape. She didn't
want to leave him but...Bellatrix's hood fell off at that point, and she was screaming about cutting out the cancer from her
family or something like that. She was very determined to kill Dora. Mad Eye told her to Disapparate. He knew
that she...that we..." Lupin closed his eyes briefly. "Dora is expecting a baby."
"Oh Remus, congratulations!" Hermione said, leaning over to pat his arm.
Lupin nodded, but he didn't look at all happy. In fact, he looked miserable. "This
is my fault!," He cried. "They've gone after her and her family because of what I am. I knew it was a mistake,
marrying Dora. I'm the cancer Bellatrix is trying to eliminate. They'll never be safe now, because of me. And
now I've brought an innocent child into this mess!." He held his head in his hands and began to cry.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged uncomfortable looks. It was frightening
to see an adult breaking down like this in front of them and none of them knew what to do. They simply watched as Lupin's
shoulders heaved and horrible gasping sobs escaped from his throat.
Harry spoke first. "Remus, look," he tugged on Lupin's arm and gestured
to the Black Family tapestry. "No, really. Look at it. Andromeda's name was burned off ages ago. As
soon as she married Ted. Tonks isn't even on there herself. It's not your fault, it's the Blacks-- the whole stupid lot of
them and their pure-blood mania. They disowned Tonks' mother when she was just a kid, just because she wasn't Sorted
into Slytherin. She said they did the same thing to Sirius. You have to know what they're like. It's not your fault."
Remus smiled weakly. He pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket
and used it to mop his face. He looked embarrassed now. "Forgive me, Harry. All of you. I didn't mean to
carry on like that. It's a very difficult time for all of us of course. Dora was very fond of Moody; he was her
mentor at the Auror office and everyone knew she was his favorite. And in her condition...she's very emotional.
I guess it's rubbing off on me." He pretended this was a joke, and Harry, Hermione and Ron, eager to move past Lupin's
distressing display, went along with his pretense.
"So, you were saying that Moody told Tonks to Disapparate," Hermione said,
trying to get the conversation back on track.
"Yes," answered Lupin, clearing his throat. "I went with her. The
last thing we saw were a good half dozen Death Eaters closing in on Mad Eye and several more coming to join the fray. Arthur
said..." Lupin looked over at Ron.
"Dad says he reckons that they just got carried away with the chance to
get back at Moody," Ron explained. "He'd put most of them in Azkaban. Dad says they were like a pack of dogs, there
wasn't even anything left to bury except Moody's false eye and leg."
"That's terrible," Hermione gasped. "Couldn't anyone stop them?"
"I think people just wanted to get away," said Ron. "Bill took Fleur
and her family to their new house. Dad had our lot Apparate to Muriel's. I guess all the wedding guests went home."
"What about Hagrid?" Harry asked. "He couldn't Apparate without
a wand, could he?"
Ron grinned for the first time since he had returned with Lupin.
"He got out fine. Did you know how he'd got to our house? A flying carriage, pulled by Thestrals. Must've
had it hidden in the woods. Well, Dad says that Hagrid was smashing his way through the crowd, waving that pink umbrella
of his in one hand and just knocking the Death Eaters down with the other, till he got to the edge of the woods. He
disappears into the trees, and comes roaring out a minute later like a deranged Father Christmas. The Thestrals managed
to trample a couple Death Eaters before they took off in the air and then--" Ron had started laughing now, and had to stop
and take a breath. "--And then, they take off, and I don't know if Hagrid could even get it to do it on purpose or not,
but one the Thestrals let go a massive crap right on top of Rodolphus Lestrange, Bellatrix's husband. Dad says it was all
he could do to keep from laughing."
"Ron, that's disgusting," said Hermione.
"No it isn't, it served him right. Moody would have loved it. Oh
damn!" Ron had been leaning on the arm of the sofa but now he jumped up and headed back down the stairs. "I forgot,
Dad wanted me to bring it, thought we could use it...hang on...be right back!"
They heard him open the front door and then the loud crack that told them
he had Disapparated again.
"What on earth is wrong with him?" Hermione asked no one in particular.
Lupin had managed a small smile during Ron's story about Hagrid, but the
somber expression quickly returned to his face. "It's very odd Harry, that the Death Eaters weren't looking for you."
"Maybe they figured I wouldn't be there, even in disguise," said Harry.
"But they weren't trying to capture or even question anyone. Arthur
says they Disapparated after Moody was killed and as soon as they realized that the rest of the guests were gone. It's really
worrying, Harry. If Voldemort doesn't think he needs to send anyone looking for you, he must think that you'll be coming after
him."
Harry blinked. Voldemort couldn't possibly know that he and Dumbledore
had been searching for the horcruxes. Dumbledore destroyed the ring over a year ago. If Voldemort had sensed that
a bit of his soul was destroyed, he'd have acted before now.
"I think I know the answer, unfortunately," said Lupin. "Where's
that copy of the Prophet that Ron brought with him?"
"Probably in the kitchen," said Hermione. "That's where he went
when we came up here."
The three of them headed back downstairs, bumping into Ron in the hallway,
who was staggering under the weight of Moody's barrel of Polyjuice Potion. The file folder of hairs was balanced precariously
on top of the barrel, and Hermione grabbed it just as it was about to slip off.
"What is this?" Hermione asked.
"Oh that's right, you weren't there," said Ron. "Moody brought this
whole vat of Polyjuice Potion to the wedding; he wanted everybody to be disguised as somebody else. Mum and Dad refused.
Looks like he was right to worry."
"Mad Eye always worried, Ron," said Lupin. "That's what made him
such a good Auror. Don't feel badly. It's not your parents' fault." He paused a moment and then added. "Either."
Ron hauled the barrel into the kitchen, where Hermione easily found the
newspaper that Lupin had asked for. She handed it to him and he quickly flipped past the headlines to a small article several
pages back.
"Here," said Lupin, pointing to a small article that read: Hogwarts Divination Teacher Gone Missing.
"Trelawney's missing?" said Hermione with alarm. They all knew what it
meant instantly.
Lupin nodded. "They've no idea for how long. You know how seldom
she came down from her tower. Minerva only noticed her missing when she tried to deliver the classlists. We're
sure Voldemort's got her."
"So Voldemort knows the whole prophecy," said Harry flatly. There
could be no other reason for Professor Trelawney to disappear. She hadn't left Hogwarts in 18 years.
Lupin agreed. "This is both good and bad. If he isn't going
to send his Death Eaters after you, that leaves you free to search for the horcruxes. On the other hand, if he thinks
that you are the only person who can destroy him -- well I'm afraid he will consider himself all but invincible and act accordingly.
We've already seen how quickly and easily he took over the Ministry.
"There's something else you should know -- about Snape." He turned
the Prophet back to the front page. The headline there read: Severus
Snape Installed as Headmaster of Hogwarts.
Harry narrowed his eyes at the accompanying picture. There was Snape,
sallow and greasy as ever, glaring out at him with those cold black eyes. Harry snatched the paper out of Lupin's hands
and slammed it face down on the kitchen table.
"That's just fine, great even," Harry said, turning to the rucksacks that
Ron had brought back from the Burrow. He found his own, and opened the front pocket, pulling out a long, folded piece
of parchment. "Now we'll know we're safe. As long as he's on here," Harry unfolded the Marauder's Map, "we'll know he's not on the way here."
Lupin nodded, smiling a little. "Glad to see it will still come
in handy." He glanced down at Harry's rucksack on the floor and caught sight of a thin golden chain. "Is that
the horcrux? The one you and Dumbledore were looking for the night he died?"
"Yeah," said Harry. "But it's a fake. I should have told you before,
Remus, I'm sorry. I felt stupid, that we'd gone through all that for nothing."
"It's not a horcrux?" asked Lupin.
"No," Harry sighed. He pulled the locket out and opened it, withdrawing
a small slip of paper. "This bloke got there first. So on top of everything else we've got to find, we've got
to find this R.A.B too." He handed the note to Lupin, who read it with a curious expression on his face.
"I think I can help you there, Harry."
"You know R.A.B?" asked Ron, Hermione, and Harry at once.
"We're standing in his house," Lupin replied. "I recognize this
handwriting. It belongs to Sirius' younger brother - Regulus."
