The League Against Voldemort

Note: This story was written before 'Goblet of Fire' was published; hence some of the things here contradict what we learned from it. I hope this doesn't harm anyone's enjoyment of the story. Note that the first Deadly Sin is Pride.

~

The flight back to his cottage was difficult, for there was a strong head-wind that made the broomstick vibrate dangerously and nearly blew him off course. When at last he arrived, Remus was cold and windblown. In the blessed warmth of his cottage, he collapsed into a chair and made himself some tea.

There was a strange crackling noise, like the sound of a badly tuned radio, and Remus looked up in surprise. The one old, dusty mirror in his house flickered and a dim figure appeared.

'Remus … can you hear me?'

Remus could scarcely make out the words, but had the voice been even more distorted he would have recognised it.

'I've been … for ages … terrible connection …'

'Sirius! What is it?' he asked, springing to his feet and staring into the mirror.

'You've heard … Voldemort … back?'

'Yes. Dumbledore's started up the League again.' He stood staring at the face in the mirror as it flickered in and out of focus. Sirius was dishevelled again, the robes he wore were filthy and tattered.

'Wormtail …long hunt … got to him … but I … stop him …' There was a tremendous crackle of interference, and Sirius' image blinked out. Remus waved his wand wildly at the mirror, and the image reappeared.

'Sorry … the line's …'

'Sirius, where are you?' asked Remus hastily as the image flickered.

'I'm in Dover … on the ferry that … but it's … ' Remus could only hear fragments of what Sirius was telling him through the static and the high-pitched whistles.

'Dover? Are you all right?'

'… did you say?' His voice was growing fainter. 'Voldemort … on the ferry … Wormtail … follow him to - ' The whistling grew to a painful pitch, and a crack ran across the surface of the mirror. As Remus raised his wand again, it shattered into a thousand fragments.

He swore. Ignoring the shards of glass all over the floor, he sank onto the sofa to think. At least Sirius was alive. Alive, and searching for Voldemort and Peter. It did not take him long to decide what he was going to do. Remus looked ruefully at his half-wild garden. It didn't seem that he would be spending much time on it over the next few weeks. He packed some things together after eating a quick breakfast, and locked up the cottage again. But he did not get on the broomstick, for he'd had enough of being at the mercy of the four winds. Instead he flung some Floo Powder on the fire, and stepped in, shouting, 'Dover Station!'

He whirled around and around as bright lights flashed across his vision. Finally he staggered out of a hearth, and found himself surrounded by Ministry wizards.

'Who are you? What do you want?' demanded one. The world was still circling around Remus' head, and he put a dizzy hand on the mantle-piece.

'This area is restricted by the Act of Emergency that the Minister enforced this morning,' said a second, his wand pointing at Remus. 'Nobody is to enter or leave without special permission.'

As the world steadied, Remus looked up. 'I'm from the League Against Voldemort,' he said after a second. They all flinched at the name. 'Dumbledore has called it back together.' The wizards lowered their wands.

'Do you have any identification?'

Remus fumbled in his pockets. He had anticipated something of this sort, and he produced the letter Dumbledore had sent him. The wizard read it carefully.

'That seems in order. You may go.'

Remus left the wizards muttering amongst themselves, and went out onto the street. It was eerily quiet, and the few people about were walking quickly, heads down, wearing nervous expressions. It was a scene he recognised all too well.

In the Muggle area, there were more people about, but the only topic of conversation was the ferry disaster. He paused to buy a Muggle newspaper, and discovered that they were trying to explain that it had been caused by freak weather conditions and a navigational error. He tried not to look at the pathetic pictures of Voldemort's first victims. They only brought back a host of painful memories.

The docks were very crowded with Red Cross people, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and would-be helpers with their little fishing boats. This must have been similar to how it would have looked at the time of Dunkirk, he thought, remembering his history lessons. Of course, the Muggles did not know that the dark wizard Grindelwald had played his role in that war as well.

He walked out along the pier and stared over the grey sea. At least he knew that Sirius was not there, that he was alive. He paced around the streets of Dover, hopelessly looking for Sirius. The witch he spoke to at the Ministry office had no idea where he might be, which both pleased and irritated him.

By nightfall, Remus had no more clue about where he would find Sirius. On impulse, he took the train back up to London, thinking that he could at least spend the night in the League's office in Diagon Alley for free. When he arrived, he met Miranda Goshawk capably in charge.

'Ah, Mr Lupin. And how are you?'

'I'm all right. Can I stay here tonight?'

'If you want. There's plenty of space. But before you make yourself comfortable, I need someone to run an errand for me.' She peered at him over her horn-rimmed spectacles.

'Anything I can do, of course,' Remus responded automatically.

Miranda Goshawk nodded approvingly. 'Nice to meet a well brought up young man these days. I need you to run over to the Ministry for me, and go down to their safes - you know, the ones where they keep anything high-risk. There are some papers I need.' She explained what she wanted, and Remus went down Diagon Alley to the very end, where the huge stone building of the Ministry stood.

He found everyone very busy there, but a junior porter showed him down after much bustle and fuss about identification.

'The safes, eh? Nobody ever goes down there much. I guess they must be pretty safe safes.' He laughed at his own joke, and Remus rolled his eyes. 'Anyway, 'ere you go. You'll be okay with it all, won't you? I've gotta go up to the desk again. It's awful busy, what with You-Know-Who come back again.' He shook his head. 'Don't know what the world is coming to, I really don't.' Still shaking his head, he left Remus alone in the room.

When he had gone, Remus put in the code for the safe and spoke the spell that would open it. Miranda Goshawk had been right when she said they kept high-risk things there. He saw an entire shelf labelled 'Cursed Objects,' and another marked, 'Dangerous Books.' Miranda Goshawk's papers were on the bottom. As he flipped through them, he noticed the shelf above was marked, 'Wands of Prisoners.' He had always thought they were snapped.

At the same time as he found the papers, it struck him. He reached into the heaps of wands with a hand that was not quite steady. Finally he found the one he was looking for. Twelve inches, alder and dragon's heartstring. It was as familiar to him as his own, down to the chipped bit at the bottom. He glanced quickly over his shoulder, but remembered what the porter had said. 'Nobody ever goes down there much.' With a bit of luck, nobody would notice one wand was missing from the pile. He tucked Sirius' wand away in his robes, and closed the safe. He went back to the League house slowly, wondering how he was going to get it to Sirius. He took Miranda Goshawk her papers, and went to get some sleep.

Sleep was long in coming, as he worried about Sirius all through the evening. He could hear Miranda Goshawk pacing about the building, equally restless. Voldemort, returned. He shivered. And Sirius was pursuing him. When he finally drifted into an uneasy sleep, his dreams were full of the picture of a ruined house. But in the wreckage lay Sirius Black.

The next day as he made himself some breakfast in the little kitchen of the house, Miranda Goshawk came in. 'Have you heard?'

'Heard what?' Remus looked over his shoulder at her. He was starting to get fed up of these startling announcements.

'You-Know-Who's struck again, in Brighton.'

'Brighton? What happened?'

Miranda Goshawk's normally stern face softened a little. 'He killed a whole family - the Patils. They have two girls at Hogwarts who are the only survivors.'

Remus had a mental image of the two bright girls he had taught last year, and he gasped.

'That's - that's terrible. I taught them last year. Oh, the poor things…' He sat down heavily, nearly upsetting his cup of tea.

'They wouldn't join him, the paper says.'

Remus sighed. 'I had hoped - I had really hoped that these days were over. And now, it feels like those peaceful years were only a dream.'

~

Three days later, Remus was at the Seven Groves. This was the wizarding university and academic centre, in Oxford. The Muggle university was nearby, and sometimes the wizarding students played silly pranks on the Muggles, getting into trouble with the Muggle Relations Office for their pains. He had been a student there himself, on Dumbledore's recommendation, and he still had access to the underground shelves of Bodley's Library. He was sure there was a way of contacting someone, if you had their wand. It had been something his old Charms teacher had said, when he was at the Seven Groves, about personal magic. You could work certain kinds of charm on people if you had a hair of their head, or their wand. It wasn't widely known or used, which explained why the Ministry had never tried it, and you could only do certain things. They wouldn't be able to use Sirius' wand to ensnare him anyway, only to get into contact with him, and affect him in certain ways.

Now Remus was poring through the library, using the protective spells that were necessary when dealing with highly magical books. At last he found what he wanted. The book was called 'Glamours and Influences' and was extremely old. He turned the brittle pages carefully, and found the spell.

It was very intricate, and Remus had to read it several times before he fully understood how it worked. Nothing but the wand was required, but the words and the gestures were complex. It would allow the person he was thinking of to hear whatever he said, for about half a minute. That would be enough, Remus thought. He went into University Park, which was deserted because it was a cold, dank day, and found an isolated spot.

There he performed the spell. He could see it was working, for the wand was quivering on the ground.

'Sirius, this is Remus,' he began, hoping Sirius was not doing something difficult. 'I've found your wand. Right now I'm at the Seven Groves, but I think it would be better if you came to fetch it from me at my house in Llyn Alwyn, where you're less likely to be seen. I'll be returning there tonight. Come as soon as you can. And good luck, Padfoot.' The wand ceased to move, and Remus could feel that the spell was over.

Well, now he would go back home, and wait.

~

Almost a week later, there came a knock on his door. Remus was feeling miserable, both out of worry for Sirius and because it was the full moon tomorrow. The knock startled him violently, and he went hurrying to answer it. Sirius stood on the doorstep.

'Moony, you're a marvel,' was the first thing he said. 'Do you really have my wand? How on earth did you get hold of it?'

Remus gave a warm smile. Sirius was looking almost as ragged as he had the last time he was at Remus' house, with torn clothes and the beginnings of a beard.

'Come in and sit down, and I'll tell you. How are you?'

'Not so bad. It was quite a shock, getting your message, I can tell you. Nearly jumped out of my skin. Lucky I was on my own.' He sat on the sofa beside Remus. 'Where is it?'

'Here.'

Sirius took it eagerly, and waved it in the air. A shower of golden sparks flickered around the room.

'Oh, I can't tell you how much I've missed this.' For a while he sat silently, getting used to the feel of it in his hand.

Remus began to explain how he had found it, and how he had worked the spell, and Sirius listened, still flashing the wand around the room.

'I knew you were brilliant, but this is amazing.' He shook his head in disbelief.

Remus smiled a little. 'Tell me about what you've been doing these two months.' A shadow passed over Sirius' face.

'Well, I followed Wormtail to Albania, and I nearly caught him when he met up with Voldemort. Then I followed them back up to France, and I was on the ferry that sank -' Remus gave a strangled gasp. '- I was all right, don't look like that. Anyhow, I tried to stop them, but - well, it didn't work.' His voice was sombre for a moment. 'So I kept looking here in England - you remember when I got in touch with you? Well, I couldn't stay in Dover and wait for you because of all those blasted Ministry people buzzing all over the place, so I kept looking for Wormtail, but he seems to have vanished. I think they have some kind of hideout somewhere, and I'm going to look for it.' His eyes darkened. 'I swore over James and Lily's grave that I would avenge them, and I'm not about to break that oath.'

Remus nodded mutely. Then he said, 'I'm hunting for him too; Dumbledore's asked me to. But I can't go yet, because it's the full moon tomorrow. And I think it might be better if we went separately, because then we have twice as much chance of stumbling across him.'

'Yes, you're right. Though I'd rather go with you.'

'Me too.' They smiled at each other.

'Look, I'd love to stay a bit longer, but - well, someone saw me a few villages back. I got a bit lost, and I went and knocked on some Muggle's door.'

'You did what? Padfoot, sometimes I wonder if you ever think before you act.'

'Hey, I didn't go in. This old farmer shooed me away. I hope he thought I was some kind of tramp, but everyone knows what I look like around here, after last time. So I'd better get clear away before someone comes up here.'

'Yes, you certainly had. Well, now that you've got a wand you can Disapparate.'

'So I can.' Sirius had clearly all but forgotten what it was like to have a wand. 'You're so clever.'

'Take care of yourself, Padfoot.'

'You too. I'll be in touch. Tell me at once if you get anywhere near.'

'Of course I will.' Remus embraced him quickly, and Sirius Disapparated before he could say another word.

~

It was very reluctantly that Severus Snape had resumed his task for the League. He had kept his reputation intact throughout the thirteen years of Voldemort's absence, so there was no difficulty in his meeting with Lucius Malfoy, who had also returned to his old master. Still they did not suspect him, but he knew one slip would be enough. The memories he had of Voldemort's other victims still haunted his dreams sometimes.

But still he went to see Malfoy, at the assigned place and time. He could only be absent from Hogwarts on the weekends, of course, but he always had a plausible excuse for his disappearance. Only Dumbledore knew the truth about where he went. The rumour in the Slytherin dormitories was that he had a girlfriend. This made Snape seethe with fury, but he did not scotch it, because it served a purpose. Nobody quite dared to ask him to his face, of course.

Thinking about it as he sat in the smoky Muggle pub where they were meeting, he gave a bitter smile.

'You'd do well to talk to Pettigrew,' said Malfoy, a slight sneer in his voice. 'He's another of you so-called Special Agents, or he used to be. And he knows about the project we'd like you to work on.'

'Talk to who?' demanded Snape in a moment of blind incomprehension.

'Oh, of course, how silly of me to forget. The Old Fool's people think he's dead. I hear they made him a hero.' Malfoy laughed, calling Dumbledore by the name that all of Voldemort's supporters used. 'Peter Pettigrew. He was working for us all the time. He's high in favour with the Lord right now.'

'…oh…' Snape was lost for words momentarily. His head was in a whirl of disbelief. Then he pulled himself together, knowing better than to show his response openly. 'Yes, yes, they believe he was working for them. That is interesting. Incredible that the Old Fool never realised.' There was a strange note to his voice, which Malfoy did not notice.

'Yes, they're still hunting for that Black character. Very helpful of them, fighting amongst themselves. His Lordship is most pleased.'

'Ah, then - then Black would be innocent?' asked Snape without thinking.

Malfoy snorted. 'From their point of view, certainly. However, I would scarcely call him innocent, any more than the rest of that rabble. Anyway, this brings me to the point. His Lordship would be most delighted if you could somehow track down Black and capture him. We don't want him dead just yet - he knows a great deal about the Potter boy, which I'm sure we could - ah, extract - from him.'

Snape had recovered his presence of mind. 'Well, I'll see what I can do. Of course, the Old Fool's gang are trying to catch him as well, to put him back in Azkaban.' He used the disrespectful title for Dumbledore almost without thinking. He forced his appalled horror away, and continued in a reasonably calm voice. 'Now, I have several interesting things for you…' he began, and told Malfoy the information Dumbledore had given him.

'Well done,' said Malfoy when he finished. 'You'll find Pettigrew in the inner room. He can tell you more about our plans for you.'

Snape thanked Malfoy, though the words stuck in his throat, and went to speak with the traitor, Pettigrew.

~

But when he was alone, Snape's head was bursting with fury, with hatred and with humiliation. How could it be true? How? It seemed that at every turn, James Potter and his friends were there, to mock him, to thwart him and destroy his achievements. He found his mind drawn back to that night last summer, when he had been humiliated before. Where his triumph had been snatched away by the Potter boy. It still made his blood boil to think of it. But this was worse, a thousand times worse.

Sirius Black was innocent. It could not be denied, could not be argued against. Heaven knows he had tried at first, tried to convince himself he was mistaken. But he had seen Pettigrew, heard his guilt from his own lips. There was no alternative.

And he had been wrong.

The shame of this, the humiliation like red-hot needles twisted in his soul.

Snape did not sleep that night. He did not even try. Instead he flung himself into his work, in a vain attempt to blot all thoughts of Sirius Black form his mind. But when the dawn finally broke murky and chill, he was no nearer an answer. The very idea of speaking, of proclaiming his own stupidity and his error to the world, burned in him and made him almost physically ill.

Perhaps it would be unsafe to let anyone know. It would put his cover at risk, he thought wildly, if he told people what he had learnt. Then there would be no reason to tell anyone of his humiliating mistake. He snatched at that thought, forced himself to believe it was true. That was what he would do.

In class, the students did not even dare to whisper to one another, 'What's wrong with Snape?' But they thought it, as detentions and extra work and scathing words were hurled at them. But this did not assuage his torment. He had made up his mind to keep silent, he told himself furiously, so why was he still haunted by Black's haggard face?

~

Sirius Black stalked across the moor, dog-form, sure that at last he was headed on the right track. It had taken several weeks of hunting and thinking for him to be certain. But now he had no doubt. The massive rocks loomed over the plain, red in the evening sun. Stonehenge, the oldest magical site in Britain, perhaps in the world. Nobody knew why the ancient wizards had built it, or how, but every first year student at Hogwarts knew that the magical fields were far stronger there than anywhere else. Even Muggles could sense it.

If Voldemort was hiding anywhere, it would be here. And Wormtail would not be far away. He was not so rash as to think that he would be able to fight Voldemort, but he knew that he was stronger by far than Peter. Now that he had his wand, it would be comparatively easy. Sirius gave a sigh of anticipation. For almost fourteen years, he had kept himself alive with the hope of this day.

He stood now in under one of the arches of the circle, looking alertly around him. Then he raised his head, catching a scent on the wind. A very familiar scent. His hackles rose. He moved back into the shade of the stones, hoping. Knowing he would be better off as a human for this, he transformed. He could still see a small shape moved through the grass towards the king-stone that lay flat in the centre. He pointed his wand.

Just before his spell was cast, the shape suddenly exploded upwards, growing and changing, and Sirius froze. Peter Pettigrew threw a nervous look over his shoulder and walked around the centre of the circle a few times. Sirius sprang out when he came near.

His wand pointed straight at Peter's heart. 'At last,' he spat. 'Traitor. If you move, I'll kill you here and now.' Peter stood as if he'd been Petrified.

'Sirius - I - ' he stuttered.

'Expelliarmus!' Sirius shouted, but Peter muttered something, blocking the spell, and his wand remained in his hand. Sirius raised an eyebrow, and held his own wand ready.

'Learnt a thing or two from Voldemort, have you? Well, it doesn't matter.'

Peter did not answer, but a dark jet of flames shot from his wand. Sirius blocked the spell and dashed closer. He spoke a curse, and then another, and Peter stood quivering, trapped between the spells.

'Now, you'll be coming up to the Ministry to explain things,' he growled. Peter's eyes flickered away from Sirius' face for a second.

'Look behind you.' There was an oddly confident note in his voice. Sirius' lip curled, his eyes never leaving Peter's face, his wand poised.

'I'm not falling for that one, Wormtail, you must think I'm an idiot -'

'Expelliarmus!' As the word was barked out, Peter fell to the ground, a rat, and vanished into the long grass. Sirius spun around in horror. Twenty paces behind him was Arion, holding two wands pointed at him, one of which was his own.

'Don't move!'

He strode forwards. 'Locomotor Mortis!'

Sirius felt his legs bound together, and overbalanced. From where he lay on the ground, he bellowed in fury, 'You blithering, bumbling idiot! I almost had him, I almost had caught him. For God's sake, Arion, didn't you recognise the other person there? It was Pettigrew, Arion, he's the traitor, not me. If you won't let me, than go after him yourself.'

Arion's face was impassive. 'I have no idea what you're talking about. I certainly didn't recognise whoever you were talking to, but I assume he's another of the Dark Lord's servants. But the game is over, Black. You won't escape me the way you got away at Hogwarts.' He bound Sirius where he lay, and began to perform a spell that would take them to the Ministry of Magic.

TO BE CONTINUED

Blaise.
3rd February 2000