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Author: negasong Story: Harry Potter and the Pawn of the Past Rating: Teens Status: WIP Warning: Character death Reviews: 3 Words: 43,730
Remus Lupin appeared outside the Burrow with a faint pop, a lifeless body in his arms. He was sobbing violently, his eyes almost swollen shut with grief. He tried to get a grip, to no avail. Moving awkwardly, he stumbled to the door and knocked loudly with his foot. There was the sound of movement coming from the house, followed by the voice of Molly Weasley. "Who's there?" she called out. "It's Remus, Molly," he choked out. "Please let me in." "What's your favorite – " The door flew open and Molly Weasley appeared, looking positively livid. Her anger immediately gave way to fear when she saw the lifeless form in Remus' arms. "Oh, Merlin, no!" she exclaimed, hurrying the man inside and locking the door behind her. Lupin made a beeline to the living room. "Remus, what happened?" Molly called after him. She entered the living room to find him delicately arranging the lifeless form of Harry on the sofa. Ignoring her and pulling out his wand, he pointed it at the boy and cast a restoring spell. His body began to heave with bitter sorrow as Harry's hair turned a bright shade of bubblegum pink, while the boy's face became more heart-shaped and lumps began to grow on his chest, slowly turning into breasts. Remus fell to his knees, sobbing violently over the woman he loved with all of his heart. Molly instinctively got to her knees and enveloped him in a motherly hug, gently pulling his head to her shoulder, joining him in his tears. The two of them stayed on the living room floor for what seemed like hours, holding on to each other for support, their tears of grief soaking each other's clothing. When they had both finally composed themselves enough to speak, Molly's voice came out in a whisper. "Remus, dear, what happened? What went wrong? How could this have happened to her?" "She wasn't where she was supposed to be," he answered, in little more than a rasp. "I found her in the downstairs hallway. What the hell was she thinking, leaving the bedroom? She was specifically told not to leave Harry's room!" Molly tightened her hold on him as his tears started anew. She held him close to her, trying to keep her thoughts off of Arthur and the twins, who were probably still at Privet Drive in a firefight with Death Eaters. If anything should happen to them – Her thoughts were cut off as a burst of flames appeared in the fireplace. Arthur Weasley stepped out of the hearth looking incredibly dirty and shaken, but apparently uninjured. "Oh, Arthur!" Molly exclaimed. "... Are you all right?" Remus looked up at Molly, indicating that he was okay and that she should go to her husband. She bolted to him, nearly crushing the man in her arms. "I'm fine, Molly. The boys are fine too. They should be along any minute now." Mr. Weasley's face turned ashen as his eyes fell upon Nymphadora Tonks. His eyes darted to Remus. One glimpse of the man told him everything he needed to know. Lupin looked away from Arthur, praying he wouldn't say anything. He had just regained his composure and was not particularly keen about going to pieces again. Molly, seeming to sense this, took her husband's hand and led him to the kitchen. "Come, Arthur, help me make a pot of tea and some sandwiches." Remus silently thanked her and, once they were out of the room, rested his head on his dead love's shoulder, eyes closed, caressing her hair, until his physical and mental exhaustion caught up with him. He was not sure how long he had dozed, but it must have been a while, for he regained consciousness to the sound of many voices emanating from the kitchen. Gently kissing Tonks on the forehead, he got to his feet and lumbered towards the kitchen in a daze. Sitting at the table laden with tea and sandwiches were Arthur and Molly, Moody, and the Weasley twins. All conversation ceased the minute he entered the room. "Come have a seat, Remus," Molly cooed sympathetically. "Try to eat something." Remus did as he was told, despite the fact that he was not even remotely hungry. Mrs. Weasley plated a sandwich and poured a cup of tea, setting them in front of him. The kitchen was silent as a tomb. Finally, it was Fred who spoke. "Remus, mate, we... we're really sorry." He had never seen either of the Weasley twins look the way they did right then. They had a haunted look that went beyond misty-eyed sympathy. It was as if their world of laughter and practical jokes had been utterly shattered. Molly shot a scandalized look at her son, but Remus waved her off immediately. "It's okay, Molly. Thank you, Fred, George; I'm glad I have your friendship at a time like this." Moody spoke next. "I'm sorry to do this, Remus, but we need to talk. We need to find out what happened. The plan got completely mucked up and we need to figure out what went wrong." Molly blanched at Moody's businesslike demeanor. "Alastor!" But again, Lupin waved her off. Moody was right. This was wartime. "It's okay, Molly, we need to talk about this sooner rather than later. What about the rest of the Order?" "Kingsley and Hestia are busy modifying the memories of the Dursleys and their neighbors, we sent Diggle and Doge to St. Mungos, and McGonagall should be here shortly." "Are they okay, Dedalus and Elph–?" "They'll be fine," Moody answered, and elaborated no further. "Bill and Charlie are on their way to England," Fred offered. "Should be here sometime this morning," added George. Remus allowed himself a small smile. At least the twins were still finishing each other's sentences. That was something to be thankful for. The fireplace in the living room roared to life. The next sound they heard was Minerva McGonagall. "Merlin's beard!" McGonagall came swiftly into the kitchen, obviously shaken by what she had just seen. Her pale, grim visage reinforced what he already knew but did not want to believe – Nymphadora Tonks was dead. "Now that Minerva is here, we can get started." Moody's businesslike demeanor had not lessened. Remus looked away as McGonagall's expression gave way to pity. "Perhaps this is not the right time, Alastor." Minerva's lips were becoming very thin. "It's okay," Remus interrupted – there was no reason to go through all of this again. "We need to address this." After Moody, Arthur, and the twins had given their accounts of the battle that had raged in the street in front of number four, Privet Drive, Lupin related what he had seen once he had entered the house. Arthur interjected before anyone could react. "Molly, dear, perhaps we should use a Silencing Charm before we continue. I'm not sure I want the children hearing any of this." He turned his gaze towards Fred and George. "Not a word." "What do you take us for?" George started. "We can be serious," added Fred. "When we have to," finished George. "I'm one step ahead of you, dear," Mrs. Weasley declared. "I put Silencing Charms on their doors as soon as they retired. I expected there to be a debriefing tonight, although I wasn't expecting... well... besides," she continued, "poor Harry couldn't hear anything even if he wanted to. He took that Dreamless Sleep Potion that Tonks gave him when they switched places." "She gave him what?" Lupin asked, more than a little surprised. "Harry told me about it right before he went to bed. He said that Tonks had given him a Dreamless Sleep Potion, and told him to take it tonight in case You-Know-Who tried to use Legilimency on him. She wanted to make sure that You-Know-Who would have no reason to suspect that Harry wasn't at Privet Drive." "Why didn't she tell me about that?" Remus asked aloud, not really addressing anyone in particular. His mind went into overdrive. "What the hell had Tonks been playing at? She had been at Privet Drive for three days. Voldemort could have used Legilimency at any time during that period and discovered the ruse. Why only give Harry one potion for the last night? And why didn't she tell the Order what she was doing?" Remus felt his stomach clench into a hard ball as the seemingly innocuous comment she had made the week before rocketed into his consciousness. They had been in bed, their glistening sweaty bodies entangled. She was laying feathery kisses on his neck. The sex had been wonderful, but now, in the afterglow, he was a million miles away. "Remus?" "Mmmm?" "You seem a little distant. Are you okay?" Remus let out a sigh. He knew that he should be present with his lover right now, but his mind was on Harry. "I'm fine, it's just...Harry. How many more people can he stand to lose before he's unable to go on? Vold–" Tonks flinched. "You-Know-Who is aware of this. He's going to keep killing the people closest to Harry in order to break his will. All we can do is be cautious, but eventually he'll get to one of us. The children are being completely reckless. If he gets to Ron, Hermione or Ginny it just might put Harry over the edge. He told me that he broke things off with Ginny in an effort to protect her, but You-Know-Who isn't stupid. He'll find out about their feelings for each other whether they're together or not." Tonks was silent for a long time. "What?" Remus inquired. "Nothing. I was just thinking that You-Know-Who would probably lay off of them if he thought that Harry was out of the way. He also might act rashly – make a mistake if he thought that the prophecy could no longer be fulfilled." "Well, unfortunately, there's no way to accomplish that without actually killing Harry." Tonks went silent again. Finally she spoke. "No...I guess not." After a few seconds of silence, she grinned a naughty grin and kissed him deeply as she pulled herself on top of him. Not surprisingly, he hadn't given what she had said another thought until now. During the days that followed, Tonks had been more passionate than he had ever seen her. Any time they had a minute alone together, she wanted to make love. She was much more touchy-feely in public as well, constantly holding his hand, or alternately, his butt. She told him that she loved him every time they spoke. Her affection had certainly been appreciated at the time and Remus hadn't thought anything odd of it – he had been too busy enjoying it. At the next Order meeting, Tonks had brought up the plan they had used tonight. The Order had expected the Death Eaters to attack Privet Drive the minute Harry turned into a man. Tonks suggested that she use her skills as a Metamorphmagus to impersonate Harry for the couple of days leading up to his birthday while Harry was kept safely at the Burrow. She was supposed to let the Death Eaters see her at the Dursleys, but at the first sign of trouble, she was to Apparate away immediately. The Order could see no fault with the plan, so they set it into action. As Remus Lupin returned to the present, the facts clicked themselves into place like cylinders in a lock. He bolted upright and ran up the stairs two at a time to Ron's bedroom, where he knew Harry would be. The rest of the Order followed, calling after him, startled by his strange behavior. Lupin wrested the bedroom door open and turned on the light. Ron looked up from his pillow, bleary-eyed. "Hmione?" The rest of the Order was now crowding inside the bedroom, making it rather cramped. Arthur, looking like he thought that Lupin might have cracked after losing Tonks, slowly stepped towards him. "Remus? We should let the children sleep. What are you doing?" Lupin ignored him and went straight to Harry's nightstand, where a potion vial lay emptied of its contents. He uncorked the vial and put it to his nose. Dread quickly spread across his features. He dipped his finger into the vial, taking up some of the residue with his finger and touched it to his tongue. "Son of a bitch! Nymphadora, what were you thinking?" Ron was fully awake now. "What the bloody –?" Molly cut him off with, "Ronald! Language!" Remus turned to McGonagall and spoke sharply. "Minerva, go back to Hogwarts and bring Poppy back with you, now!" McGonagall's eyebrows were raised so high they threatened to somersault over the back of her head. "Remus John Lupin," she replied, her lips growing increasingly thin, "what the devil is going on?" He thrust the empty vial at her. "This isn't Dreamless Sleep Potion – it's the Draught of Living Death– get Poppy now!" The room collectively gasped and Ron leapt out of bed. "What?" the redhead bellowed, "Tonks said it was a Dreamless– " "I know what Tonks said!" Lupin cried. "Arthur, help me get Harry downstairs. The rest of you make way. Moody – take the boys and set up a hospital bed in the living room." Minerva headed down the stairs as fast as her legs would carry her. She was quickly followed by the rest of the Order. "I'll help you," offered Ron. Molly chafed. "You'll do no such thing, Ronald Bilius Weasley. You will remain in your room until this is sorted out!" "Like bloody hell, I will! I'm legally an adult! I'm coming downstairs." "As long as you live in this house you will obey my rules!" "Fine – I'll move out tomorrow morning! In the meantime, I'm not leaving his side!" Ron was breathing heavily, his ears turning a very dangerous color of red. "That's enough! Both of you!" Lupin had never seen Arthur Weasley angry before, and he had to admit it was a truly terrifying sight to behold. He was shaking, and his face had turned the color of an overripe tomato. He was silently thankful that it didn't happen very often. "Molly, Ron is a grown man and Harry is his best friend. He has a right to know what is going on. Ronald, help me and Remus get Harry downstairs... and... don't raise your voice to your mother," he added as he saw Molly fix him with a withering glare. Ron immediately went to help his father as his mother left the room muttering to herself. Arthur immediately cast a widening spell on the doorframe and the staircase to ensure that Harry would not be hurt on the trip downstairs. Remus meanwhile had uttered "Mobilicorpus," while Ron kept his hands on his best friend, gently guiding his body out of the bedroom and down the stairs. When they reached the landing, they found that Moody and the twins had already transformed the living room into an infirmary. The sofa on which Tonks was laid had been transfigured into a proper hospital bed, and the sheets had been pulled up over her face. The sight made Remus' stomach lurch, and it took a great deal of effort for him to steady himself. He guided Harry to a second bed on the other side of the room, set the boy down gently, and then, with nothing left to do until Madam Pomfrey arrived, excused himself. He sat down at the kitchen table and, with a deep groan, he closed his eyes and let his head rest in his hands. A moment later, he could sense someone entering the kitchen. He knew it had to be Arthur, since Ron, Molly and Moody were definitely not going to leave Harry's side until McGonagall had returned with Poppy, and there was no way the twins could ever enter a room silently – even at a time like this. He looked up at the Weasley patriarch sitting across from him. He found Arthur's look of deep concern both reassuring and unsettling at the same time. He needed time alone to process everything. He would not have that luxury, however, until Poppy assured him that Harry would be okay. Arthur Weasley gently cleared his throat and then spoke tentatively. "I don't understand what's going on, Remus. This doesn't make any sense. Why would she give the boy the Draught of Living Death? Why would she keep it from us?" Lupin thought to himself that he actually preferred it this way. Just talking to Arthur one-on-one about this was a hell of a lot easier than dealing with the whole Order at once. "She gave him that potion so that Voldemort would think he was dead," he said simply. Arthur looked at him questioningly. Remus spoke as if in a daze. "It was never her intent to return from Privet Drive, Arthur." Remus watched Mr. Weasley suck in a breath as the man realized what Remus was getting at. "She planned it all. She thought that if Voldemort thought that Harry was dead, he would stop targeting the people who are closest to him." "Specifically Ginny." Arthur sighed. "Ron and Hermione, too, I imagine." "Remus, I'm so sorry – I... I don't know what to say." Remus let out something between a snort and a bitter laugh. "I don't know what to say either, Arthur. I would appreciate it if you told the rest of the Order about this. I don't think I'm up to it right now." "Of course." The men heard the fireplace roar to life, which meant that Minerva was back with Madam Pomfrey. As Moody came back into the kitchen to inform the men that the Healer had arrived, Remus rose from his seat. "Arthur, Alastor, I'm going to step outside for a minute. I need a little time to clear my head." "That's fine, Remus, we'll come get you if there's any news. Alastor, perhaps Poppy should have a little time alone with her patient." Moody simply nodded and the two of them went to round everyone up. OOOOOOOOOOO Ron was sitting in the armchair next to Harry's bed when Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey stepped out of the fireplace. The Healer was all business before she had even brushed the ashes off of her robe. "I need one of you to go to a Muggle hospital. You're going to have to nick two drugs – the first is called 'epinephrine.' It's what Muggles use to treat patients who are in cardiac arrest – I've found it to be quite effective in waking people out of the slumber produced by the Draught." Had the situation been different, Ron would have found himself laughing at the thought of his father drinking in every word of Madam Pomfrey's lecture on Muggle medicine. "The second is called 'adrenaline.' Muggles use it on heroin addicts who overdose – in this instance, once Harry is awake, we are going to use the adrenaline to keep him awake for 48 hours until the danger of him falling back into a coma has passed." The twins were in the fireplace before anyone could argue – not that anyone could. Breaking and entering and petty theft were probably best left to Fred and George. "Molly, what time did Harry go to bed?" "The boys went to bed around eleven." This was clearly not what Madam Pomfrey wanted to hear. "What's wrong?" Molly asked when she saw the Healer's face. "The longer it's in the system, the trickier it is to get the person to wake up again. It's already been five hours." "Can't have been more than two hours," Ron interjected. "We stayed up talking 'til two in the morning. I remember looking at the clock and saying we ought to get some sleep. Harry didn't drink it 'til then." Madam Pomfrey looked like she could kiss him. "That's very good news; it's easiest to deal with if it's been in the system for less than four hours. I hope your brothers hurry." At this point Moody announced that everyone was needed in the kitchen. Ron's mother gave him a look that clearly stated that he was to stay in the living room. He wanted to know what was happening, but was too tired to argue. Besides, he didn't want the Healer to be distracted from her work while he and his mother shouted at each other again. There was nothing for Ron to do at this point but wait for the twins to get back. He had thought about going to wake Hermione to tell her what had happened, despite the argument he and his mother had had about it while his father was in the kitchen with Professor Lupin. Mum didn't want Ginny to know what was going on yet, and since she and Hermione were sharing a room, waking Hermione meant possibly waking Ginny. He had to admit his mother had a point, but he had a point too. Hermione was just as close to Harry as he was, and besides, he wanted her here. Sitting here, looking at his friend lying in the bed next to him, he felt... lonely? No... more like... not whole. She was right upstairs, yet he felt a terrible longing. He... missed her. He wanted her here next to him, holding his hand, reciting eight million facts that she had read in potion textbooks that proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that Harry would be okay. He experienced a sudden stab of guilt that his mind was on Hermione instead of his friend lying in a coma. He was brought out of it by the roar of the fireplace. Fred and George had returned, each carrying two large boxes. Madam Pomfrey immediately accosted them for the medicines. "That was fast, boys, good jo– How much did you take?" The Healer was staring at them wide-eyed. "We didn't know how much we'd need," replied Fred "So we took the lot," his brother finished. "You took it all?" "That is what 'the lot' means," said George. "According to the Oxford English Dictionary anyway," added Fred. "Although the word does have other meanings as well, brother of mine." "Yes, but we certainly didn't break into a hospital to steal a tract of land." "Can't steal a tract of land anyway – we'd have no where to put it." Madam Pomfrey looked positively scandalized. She quickly took what she needed from the boxes and then shouted at the twins. "Get the rest of that back to the hospital now! They might need that! People could be dying as we speak! Off with you! Go!" Fred and George, looking sheepish, leapt back into the fireplace and after a few spins, were gone. Ron had to admire the way Madam Pomfrey worked. She was completely focused and efficient, not wasting a single movement. He had been completely absorbed in watching her work when a sleepy voice from the landing made him almost jump out of his chair. "Ron, it's four in the morning, why is everybody – " He turned to see Hermione growing paler by the second, panic was already creeping into her voice. "Ron, what's wrong with Harry? Why is he–" Ron intercepted her in his arms as she practically flew towards Harry's bed. Taking her hands in his, he stared at her intently and said, "It's okay, Hermione, Harry's going to be fine. Madam Pomfrey will take care of everything." "What happened?" "Remember that Dreamless Sleep Potion that Tonks gave to Harry? Well, it was a Draught of Living Death with some Muggle food coloring in it." "This has Mundungus Fletcher written all over it. He must have sold it to her!" she hissed. "I don't think so. The Order is in the kitchen talking about it now, but it looks like Tonks gave it to him on purpose." "She wouldn't do that, Ron. Not unless she'd been Imperiused." "I honestly don't know, Hermione, but I got the impression that Professor Lupin figured something out. We'll know soon enough, I expect." The look of concern on Hermione's face was slowly being overtaken by anger. "Were you planning on waiting until tomorrow to tell me all of this?" "I wanted to wake you up and tell you but mum doesn't want Ginny to know yet. I already got into a screaming match with her twice tonight, and if it happened again I think dad would've hexed us both. I'm sorry, Hermione, I really am. I wanted you down here with me so badly, I... I missed you." It was then that Ron noticed that they were still holding hands. He felt the blood rushing to his face and realized there was no way for him to hide from her the fact that he was blushing. Hermione seemed to warm up to him almost instantly, her annoyance at him forgotten. "It's okay, Ron. Your mom is having a hard time admitting that we're not kids anymore," she said quietly, looking into his eyes. He felt his ears getting hot as her thumb started to gently rub the inside of his hand. The spell was broken by the sounds of gagging and spluttering. Hermione's eyes went wide as she let go of Ron's hands. "Harry! Oh my god, Harry! – Are you all right?" Ron whipped around quickly to see his friend sitting upright, Madam Pomfrey holding him steady with one hand while conjuring water into a glass. He was wild-eyed and panting heavily. OOOOOOOOOOO Author's Note: I would like to thank my wonderful beta Laurabeth, who continually makes this story better than it was without her.
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