Defence Against the Dark Creature

Chapter 12

With hindsight, Remus knew when the warning bell should have rung in his head.

Hindsight - what an entirely useless concept, he thought as he sat in his room weeks later, trying to make himself work, trying to keep his thoughts from straying to what was still unthinkable, even after so many weeks.

Ironically enough, it had begun with laughter.

He had been in the garden, teaching Care of Magical Creatures to the first group - Felix's group, as he privately called it, because the boy was the uncontested leader of these eleven students. He regularly cheered them up, spoke for and encouraged the shy ones, and generally helped to solve problems by producing the most creative solutions.

Felix - and Remus - still had their difficulties integrating Andrej and Nikolai Kolnikov into the small group, however, and all the other teachers said the same. They were very reserved and only seemed to confide in Leonid Dimitroff, who seemed to be continually torn between the brothers and his best friend, Felix.

"Professor ... hehehe ... Lupin," Felix was chuckling this Wednesday afternoon, floating a foot above the ground, holding his stomach. "Remind me ... hehe ... why we need Billywig stingers?"

The other children were laughing as much as he was, although they hadn't been stung by one of the two dozen Billywigs that were whirring around in the cage.

"They're an ingredient for the Wolfsbane Potion, in their dried form," Remus said, smiling. "Mr. Amselnest will be very grateful if we can provide some. Now hold still, Felix, this stinger is still useful if I can get it out..."

"Hold still, he says," Felix giggled. "Hold still! Have you ever tried holding still ... hahaha ... when you were floating around in the air having the time of your life?"

"Can't say the combination of both happens to me frequently," Remus replied, grabbing Felix's wrist. "Here, Leonid, take his other arm, and we'll try to keep him on the ground."

"You can't make me stop laughing if you say funny things," Felix said in one breath, then started laughing again.

"Oh, I'm not trying to make you stop laughing. I just want the stinger."

"Tee hee heeee... oh, my stomach," Felix groaned while the students laughed again. "How am I ever going to ... hahaha ... get down on the ground again? Didn't you ... hehehe ... say that I had to think of something serious?"

"Yes, but I really don't know whether the concept is familiar to you," Remus said, provoking another outburst of laughter. He gave the stinger one last careful pull. "Aha, here we go!" He put the stinger into a small box and into his pocket. "Now, let's tackle those other Billywigs."

"Professor ... " giggled Felix, who was now floating a foot higher, and laughing more strongly than ever. "You can't just ... hehehe ... leave me up here ..."

Remus looked up at him, pretending to consider the subject seriously. The children were having a lot of fun, and so was he; even the Kolnikov brothers were joining in the laughter. "I suppose you're right," he said, finally. "Who else will demonstrate a perfect Rictusempra Charm in Professor Longbottom's classes in the future?"

Felix, rolling over in the air several times, was actually crying with mirth now. "Please, Professor, anyone, tell me something serious, and I promise ... hahaha ... I won't make a joke for a week..."

This made the students and Felix laugh even more, and Remus couldn't help chuckling as well. But, he supposed, something had to be done.

"Something serious..." he wondered aloud. "Imagine something bad happening to your grandmother?"

"Hahaha ... she'll beat everyone up with her cane ..."

"Imagine being eaten by a Flesh-Eating Slug," suggested Anne-Laure.

"Hohohahaha ... nibble on my toes ..."

"Imagine another Ministry inspection right now," offered Leonid.

"Hehehe ... they'd write about werewolves having dangerous new powers ..."

Remus knew he wouldn't have found it remotely funny under other circumstances, but Felix's tone and expression were just hilarious, and so he laughed along with everyone else.

"Imagine losing your sense of humour," said María.

"Hahahahaha..."

"María, he can't imagine the unimaginable," Remus commented, and she giggled.

"Imagine the school being closed," said Leonid, quietly.

THUMP.

There was silence for a moment as Felix slowly got up to look at all of them.

"Well, that was fairly easy," he said, finally, and they laughed.

When the invisible clock struck five, the students headed back to the house for an hour of supervised study; Charlotte and Gómez were the supervisors on Wednesdays, and Remus thought while he covered the Billywig cage that he might write to Hagrid before dinner, to ask about those horned toads the Gamekeeper had offered to provide. But when he passed the juniper bushes near the back entrance of the manor, he realized that not all students had gone back in.

The Kolnikov brothers were deep in conversation with Leonid Dimitroff, who was looking anxious. Before Remus could analyze their demeanour - did they mean to threaten, convince, confide, ask for help? - they spotted him, and stepped back. Leonid looked relieved.

"Anything wrong, boys?" Remus asked, and they shook their heads simultaneously. Andrej Kolnikov muttered something in Russian, and the brothers turned and went back towards the house. Remus approached Leonid, who hadn't moved.

"What is it, Leonid?" he addressed him carefully. The boy seemed almost close to tears, and Remus laid a hand on his shoulder. "What were you discussing just now?"

"It's - it's nothing, Professor." If Leonid had looked like he needed someone to talk to just the moment before, he now seemed very eager to run after the other boys. "We were talking, that's all..."

"I'm not going to pry into your personal issues with them, Leonid," Remus assured him. "But if they are threatening you, or making uncomfortable in any way, then I think you should tell someone."

Leonid gulped, then nodded, slowly. "I would. But it's fine, honestly."

Remus knew very well that it wasn't fine, but he had no intention of forcing the boy to talk. "My door is always open," he said. "Come to me whenever you need to talk, or to any of the other teachers if you prefer that."

"Thanks, Professor." Leonid looked relieved, but whether that was because of the offer, or because the conversation was over, Remus couldn't tell.

They walked back to the house in silence, and Leonid assumed his usual place at the dinner table between the Kolnikov brothers and Felix. Was Remus only imagining it, or was the dark-haired boy edging closer to his German friend? And were the brothers looking even more sullen and reserved than usual?

~~~

Incidents like this one became more frequent during the following weeks. Leonid seemed to have started avoiding both the Kolnikov brothers and Felix, which made Andrej and Nikolai, impossibly, even more unpleasant, and Felix extraordinarily quiet. The Kolnikovs seemed to seize every opportunity to try and talk to their compatriot, while he seemed to find excuses to avoid being around them. Remus talked about it to Charlotte, to Gómez and to Nora; they had noticed the same thing, but had so far been just as unsuccessful getting anything out of the involved parties. Nora wasn't worried, however.

"They've fought before," she said to Remus. "Nikolai has a really bad temper, and Leonid is very sensitive. They'll work it out on their own, I guess."

But that didn't explain, thought Remus, why Leonid seemed to avoid Felix, too. As far as he knew, the two boys had always been inseparable. Why the sudden awkwardness between them? Had something happened at Christmas when they had both stayed with Felix's grandmother in the Black Forest? It certainly looked as though Leonid had something worrying him, a matter he couldn't talk about to anyone, Remus thought one afternoon during the homework hours.

Leonid was bent over a book, chewing on a quill, and hadn't turned the page for half an hour; the Kolnikov brothers were muttering to each other whenever they thought no-one was looking, and Andrej cast a furtive glance at Leonid every now and then. Felix seemed to want to engage Leonid in conversation repeatedly, but always gave up whenever he saw his friend's closed expression.

After having watched this for a week, Remus took Felix aside after class one afternoon.

"Professor?" the boy asked, as friendly as ever, though slightly less cheerful - or was he imagining that, too?

"Felix, there is something that's been worrying me - us all, in fact - about Leonid's behaviour. Is something wrong with him that I could help with?"

The boy had turned almost imperceptibly paler, but he didn't quite abandon his cheerful expression. "He's been a bit down lately, I guess. I think... well..." he faltered.

"Did something happen at Christmas?" Remus ventured, and Felix gulped.

"Well nothing happened, precisely, it's just that... er..."

Remus nodded encouragingly.

"I think seeing my grandmother and me depressed him a bit, because, you know. His parents haven't even talked to him since he was bitten. Neither have mine, mind you, but I've got grandma..."

Remus nodded again. That made sense. Comparing his best friend's situation with his own was sure to bring a boy like Leonid down, even though he would be grateful that he was allowed to have a part of that comfort. Remus himself had always led a sheltered life at home, so he hadn't experienced this himself; but he knew Peter had. How often had he seen more than a hint of jealousy in Peter's eyes when they were all staying at James'... He abandoned that train of thought. It wouldn't do now to dwell on how much Peter's secret envy of his friends in their very first years had influenced his decisions after school.

"What about Andrej and Nikolai?" he asked, dragging himself back to the present with an effort.

"What about them?" Felix asked back, feigning ignorance. Remus sighed.

"I've seen them talking to him in urgent tones several times. It's not as though I could interpret Russian intonation, but..."

Felix shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. I think..." He grimaced. "I think they might be trying to convince him not to hang around with me anymore. Probably tell him I'm bad for him or something. But that's been there ever since we met."

Remus nodded, secretly impressed by the almost rational manner in which Felix was telling this. He wondered just how much quiet strength lay behind that cheerful, light-hearted exterior.

~~~

Remus and Charlotte considered Felix's explanation for a while, and it seemed to hold. Leonid was still avoiding the Kolnikovs weeks later, but it seemed he had got closer to Felix again.

On Easter Sunday, Remus and Gómez set off early to the Cornish coast. While Charlotte, Teri and Angela fed the children an enormous breakfast and prepared the picnic for later in the day, Remus and the Transfiguration teacher had the task of choosing an appropriate location for their field trip, and to prepare it for the Egg Hunt.

Like everything Charlotte organized, Easter was no ordinary holiday at the Centre for Lycanthropic Children. It started off with a huge breakfast with traditional Easter foods from all over the world; then, the children and most of the teachers would walk to the beach, which was several miles from the school. As Easter was always a few days after the full moon, this wasn't always possible, but this year they had all had three days to recover.

Finally, upon arriving at the beach, the children would start the Egg Hunt - which was, as Charlotte had said, "where the real fun starts". Charlotte had always taken the teaching philosophy of combining fun with educational value to its extreme, and so there was no question of merely hiding the eggs in impossible locations: they were Transfigured, hidden by Invisibility Spells and other shielding devices, placed in clearly visible locations, looking innocent, but guarded by a few nasty hexes; and other such extravagances. Remus found it refreshing, to say the least, to be able to revert to the prankster side of his personality, and he was quite surprised to find that Gómez enjoyed setting the traps as much as he did.

"What's this, then?" Gómez looked down at the large trench Remus had dug, in which a handful of eggs where lying peacefully. The Transfiguration teacher snorted. "Let me guess. A swamp?" Remus shook his head, now wearing a pleased smile himself. "A well? A grave?"

"Oh, please. I'm not as morbid as you by far."

"So much is true," replied Gómez, a smug smile on his face. "All right, you've got me there, Lupin. Revelo formam!" he chanted, pointing his wand at the eggs. Nothing happened. He sighed, looking at Remus. "I have to touch them, I assume?"

"If you wish." Remus smiled as Gómez knelt down and reached into the trench cautiously.

"Jesús!" The other man exclaimed and pulled back his hand, staring at the Fire-Crab that was trying to scuttle up the sand wall of the trench, but quickly gave up and turned back into an egg. Gómez healed the rash on his hand with a quick flick of his wand, then raised his eyebrows at Remus. "Transfiguration, combined with Disillusionment. Not bad."

"Thank you."

"Shall we create a swamp over there?"

"With pleasure."

They had just finished when they could hear faint voices approaching. As they grew louder, Remus could make out the song they were singing.

"Here comes Peter Cottontail..."

As he tried to push back the memories the song brought - it was almost turning into a routine exercise - he heard a single voice emerging to sing the verse. I should have known, he thought with a smile and stole a look at Gómez, who was smiling proudly as María sang:

"He's got jelly beans for Nora
Colored eggs for Olivier
There's an orchid for Anne-Laure-a
And an bonnet for Andrej. Oh!"

And as they all joined in to sing the chorus, in voices rich with laughter, the first few students appeared on the sand dune, waving enthusiastically, and the vague ache in Remus' throat vanished at once.

"We're here! We've arrived!"

Cheering ensued, and the children scrambled over the dune quickly and assembled in the large round space that had been visibly marked as danger-free zone. Charlotte and Teri arrived last, both looking healthy and thoroughly relaxed; Remus had thought that keeping twenty-one children in check and interested during a walk over five miles would have been difficult, but it seemed he had underestimated their love of fresh air.

"Egg Hunt!" declared Felix, earning himself a disapproving glance and a tut from the school Matron.

"Patience, oh wild one," said Angela in her usual dry tone. "You may feel up to it, but some of your friends need a bit of rest."

Felix sulked, but quickly gave in as they all settled on an enormous blanket Teri had conjured. After another half hour, even the more delicate children looked desperate to start exploring the inlet, and after a nod from Angela, Gómez proclaimed the start of the Hunting Season.

At school, Remus had always loved to linger around after a prank, to enjoy the full effect, watch as chaos slowly took its course. Fortunately, James' Invisibility Cloak had always enabled him to do so; that is, unless one of the other three were using it to spread the chaos. Now, he wandered around, fully enjoying the sight of his students struggling with the magical barriers - and Charlotte trying to guess what had been whose invention.

"That buoy over there with the rabbit ears," she said as they carefully made their way through all the obstacles. "Remus Lupin, you are officially insane."

"Please be quiet. I don't think anyone has seen it yet."

"Which of the two things I mentioned?"

"Both, obviously."

In the late afternoon, a chill set in, and they all huddled around the huge fire which Felix had made them jump over earlier - tradition, apparently. As they were sharing eggs, other food and Easter stories, Karolka Wyszinski told them about the resurrection of Christ, and about the huge Easter celebrations that were traditional in Poland. There was a wistful look in her eye; apparently this was the first Easter she spent in England.

"How is it in Russia, is it similar?" she asked, turning to Andrej and Nikolai, and Leonid who was sitting a bit further away. Remus was quite sure she would know about the traditions in Poland's neighbouring country; but she often took on the role of second Alpha, and he knew Nora appreciated it.

Andrej grumbled something non-committal, while his brother pulled a face. "How are we supposed to know? Ask him, he's got family over there." He jabbed a finger at Leonid, who frowned.

"You've got your aunt," he ventured, and Nikolai threw him a sharp glance.

That look would haunt Remus for a long time.

At that time, however, he simply recognized an uneasy feeling in his stomach and ascribed it to the awkwardness that had settled around the fire, which only gradually loosened as soon as Leonid started talking about Easter traditions at home. He did think Leonid was looking more nervous after that, but he told himself that he was getting too paranoid.

He was also too busy. He hardly saw much of the children outside of classes and meals these days; every free minute that was not spent on grading and class preparation went to working off the contact list, and going on Order missions.

The Order had almost given up searching for Yasmina Carter, their newly recruited member from the Ministry who had disappeared in November, when her body suddenly turned up in a forest outside of Birmingham one April night. The Muggle police had found her, and Arabella Figg, who was keeping track of their activities, had been alerted to the finding by the description: cause of death undetermined, no apparent injuries. Remus remembered that litany all too well.

Finally, after a fair amount of Obliviating and manipulating of police and medical records, Yasmina's body was restored to her husband. The funeral service was one of the worst Remus had ever been at. Michael Carter kept waving off their numerous commiserations and implied apologies, saying in a thick voice that Yasmina had done what she believed in, that he just wished she could have completed that particular mission or at least left some helpful clues. At which Dumbledore, who had so far been very quiet, lifted his head and said:

"Oh, but she did. Your wife was an extremely bright young woman, and a very talented witch."

"You mean she did leave something that helps you?" asked Carter, surreptitiously wiping his eyes.

"Yes." Dumbledore looked very grave. "Fortunately, the police did not confiscate this." He held up Yasmina's wand. "I was just examining it, and I have found something very interesting." He seemed reluctant to say what it was, but Carter wasn't easily deterred.

"Well? Or is it something I shouldn't see because I'm a Muggle?" His words, betraying a certain amount of frustration at that area in Yasmina's life he had never really been a part of, were nevertheless spoken in a gentle tone.

Dumbledore sighed. "It is something I would not recommend you to see because she was your wife. It seems that Yasmina recorded her last minutes by using an advanced spell we call Imagicus."

Minerva stepped forward, her face in a puzzled frown. "How did you find that out?"

"I'll be glad to explain the details to you later, Minerva," Dumbledore said pointedly.

"You mean there's..." Carter gulped, and sat down. "There's something like a video of the minutes before she... before she..."

"Yes."

Carter looked down at his hands, shaking slightly, then looked up and said in a quiet, but firm voice: "I want to see it."

Dumbledore sighed again. "I thought you would say so. Please consider it carefully, Mr Carter."

Carter smiled a weary smile. "What would you do in my place?"

The Headmaster looked at him for a while, then nodded. "Can we go to your house?"

It was getting dark when the Order members stepped out of the church and quietly followed Carter to his house. Arabella walked with him, and they could hear her suggesting quietly that he should look at this alone, that they would leave him with Dumbledore. But the widowed man, ever so rational in his grief, shook his head.

"You all need to see it anyway, right? This way Professor Dumbledore won't have to see it twice." And Dumbledore, who always appeared so powerful and so much in control, smiled gratefully.

Remus had never seen Imagicus in action before, but he had heard it was very much like a memory recorded in a Pensieve. Which meant, he realized as they all gathered around Dumbledore who was holding Yasmina's wand, that it would be all the more vivid. But he knew also that he would have acted the same way in Michael Carter's position.

"Imagico," said Dumbledore quietly, and the wand lit up. At once the walls around them shrank away, and they found themselves on a clearing, grouped around Yasmina. A girl lay next to her on the ground, unmoving, and Yasmina was pointing her wand at the wizard in front of her.

Remus' first thought was that it was good Sirius had not come along for the sake of secrecy.

"I'd put that down if I were you, Yasmina," said Peter Pettigrew.

"So it's true," Yasmina said in a low voice that shook with anger. "I'd heard about you, but I couldn't believe it. Peter Pettigrew, that tiny, hopeless Gryffindor..." Her teeth were set, and her eyes were blazing. Yasmina had been a year below them, in Ravenclaw.

"Yes, I was a bit of a pitiful figure back then, I suppose," said Peter lazily, his wand pointed at her own. "Just goes to show where the wrong kind of friends can get you."

Remus' hands clenched into fists.

"As if you knew that word, friends," Yasmina spat. She's always been too provocative for her own good, thought Remus desperately, almost as though he could still change something about what had happened. "Tell me, Pettigrew, would you have killed Harry Potter if you had had the chance, just like you killed this child?"

The Order members looked down at the girl lying to her feet. There definitely hadn't been another body found apart from Yasmina's...

"We'll never know, will we?" Peter sounded bored. "Come on, let's-"

"Stupefy!" roared Yasmina, but, with surprising agility, Peter ducked and aimed a curse at Yasmina at the same time. They fought for a short while until Yasmina finally brought him down, and yelled the incantation to Stun him again - but so did a woman's voice behind them, and a fierce red light went right through the bodies of Remus and the others and hit Yasmina square in the back. Remus could hear her husband gasp, and for one stupid moment, wanted to tell him that it was all right, that she wasn't hurt.

Yasmina fell to the floor at exactly the same moment that Peter did, his mouth still open in mid-sentence. The other woman sighed exasperatedly and stepped over Yasmina's still body, and as she walked past them they could see a tall, slender woman in her forties, with blond hair tied back into a tight knot, and deep red robes. None of the Order members had ever seen her, judging from their curious looks.

"Honestly, Pettigrew, I don't know how you've survived for so long," she said as she stood over him, surveying him disdainfully. She must be Russian, thought Remus, who had had some experience with accents now. "That girl should have been no match for you. What is it, Peter? So quiet? Oh." She smiled humourlessly. "Enervate."

"I had the situation under control," muttered Peter, getting up and brushing the dirt off his robes.

"Of course you did." She smiled again, turning and fixing her cold eyes on Yasmina. "Pretty little thing. What do we do with her now? Bring her to the Dark Lord, like the child?"

Remus grit his teeth. Dumbledore had been right; all the signs had lately been pointing towards the fact that Voldemort was going through a transformation to rejuvenate himself.

"No," said Peter. "She's too strong, I don't think we'll get anything out of her."

Remus could almost see Michael Carter's heart swelling with pride, and at the same time he saw the Russian woman fixing Peter with her condescending stare again, as if to say 'I'm not surprised you couldn't make her talk'. But she seemed unwilling to argue; or perhaps unwilling to spare a life.

"Right then," she said. "You get the honours, Pettigrew, I must be off. I've things to arrange."

"When are you taking them?" Peter asked, moving toward Yasmina, his expression only betraying a trace of anxiousness, or perhaps disgust, at his task.

"Monday night. We've arranged to meet outside. The Dark Lord will be supplying me with a Portkey."

"What if one of the teachers intervenes?" Peter asked in a would-be-indifferent tone, seemingly to put off killing Yasmina. Out of the corner of his eye, Remus saw that Michael Carter had crouched down beside his wife and was contemplating her still form; but Remus and the other Order members were staring fixedly at the woman who was lazily twirling her wand between her fingers, and Remus felt strangely queasy. Something wasn't right...

"I'm not as hopeless at duelling as you are. You're not worried about them, are you, Peter?" She smiled mockingly. "Worried about him?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Peter smiled, but Remus knew that it was a forced smile. "Incidentally, if you see him, tell him I said hello. Oh, and - goodbye, Yasmina."

They closed their eyes as Peter said the incantation and the clearing was bathed in green light. Michael Carter let out a soft moan. And then, the illusion was gone; they were once again standing in his living-room.

Arabella gripped his arm. "I'm sorry, Michael." He reflexively grabbed her hand, and she led him to the couch.

"We must go to Hogwarts, Dumbledore," said Minerva in an urgent undertone. "If they are planning an attack..."

And Remus suddenly realized that the woman had said Monday night - which was now. Why was his heart pounding so loudly? Surely he wasn't thinking...

"Portus," Dumbledore was saying, and Remus looked to see that he was holding a vase. "Come quick, everyone. Arabella, please stay here with Mr Carter. Minerva, Mundungus, Alastor - please make sure the gates are sealed and the students are all in bed."

He handed the Portkey to Minerva, who stared at him. "Aren't you coming with us?"

Dumbledore looked at Remus, and Remus nodded slowly. "No, we are going to my school," he replied, trying to ignore the slight tremor in his voice. Before he could form another coherent thought, Minerva and the others had disappeared, Dumbledore had turned a glass into a Portkey and they were standing in front of the Centre for Lycanthropic Children.

"Do you have an idea whom she could have meant?" Dumbledore asked as they strode into the house and up the stairs.

"Yes." Remus' heart was now hammering painfully in his throat. Please let me be wrong... They had reached the entrance to the boys' dormitories, and Remus charged through it and pulled the door to his left open.

Leonid, in his bed at the window. Felix, in the bed next to him. And the two beds on the right -

Empty.

Without a word, they hurried outside, back downstairs, into the garden. It was a clear, mild night, and there was no sound apart from a nightingale singing in one of the trees.

"Please go back inside and make sure they are not anywhere in the house," said Dumbledore. "If they are outside, I will find them."

Remus nodded and turned back without hesitation. It felt strange following Dumbledore's orders inside his own school, but the other man emanated such authority that it felt only natural to do what he asked. Remus practically ran back upstairs, checking every dormitory, every room in the manor, but to no avail. On his way back down he was joined by Charlotte and Gómez.

"What's wrong?" asked Charlotte, sleepy but alert, her wand in her hand.

"It's Andrej and Nikolai," Remus said, and as they rejoined Dumbledore in the garden, and the older man merely shook his head, Remus felt as though his heart would turn to stone.

"They're gone."

***