The Devil May Care

The Devil May Care

By Dimgwrthien

“We’re alone,” Harry repeated dully, sighing as he resting himself on the arm of Remus’ chair. Remus moved slightly to let Harry swing up onto it as Danielle walked around the room a few times. “I think we’re going to need you, Danielle.”

She stopped and looked at Harry. “Sure,” she replied, her voice choked up slightly.

“You’re the only other person who knows what’s going on and can help us.” Harry swung his feet around, mouth to the side of his face, obviously thinking. “I think we should start now.”

“No,” Remus told him wearily, crossing his arms over his chest, trying not to aggravate his ribs more than they already were. He wondered whether Madam Pomfrey really managed to fix his ribs. “Harry, this is ridiculous. All we’re going to do right now is make sure you’re protected and that none of them can get to you. I think we’re going to have to try Fidelius again.” He glanced at Sirius. “Who will be the Secret Keeper, then?”

“I think I should,” Sirius asked, looking suddenly stern. “I should have been last time. I think that if I did it, then nothing bad would happen again.”

Remus stood up, feeling blood rush to his head, keeping his balance.

“Are you alright?” Sirius asked, grabbing his arm. Remus swayed on the spot. He leaned into the arm and tried to remain upright, pulse thumping painfully in his head. When he tried to look into Sirius’ face, he found that everything was blurring again.

“I knew it wouldn’t go away,” Danielle snapped, taking Remus’ other arm and directed him and Sirius back to the bedroom. “Severus, damn… he didn’t listen, did he?”

“What happened?” Sirius sounded worries, Remus could tell, but the words seemed to come from a great distance.

“Wolfsbane poisoning,” Danielle answered. “They were testing some sort of potion -”

“Testing one of his potions?” Sirius yelped, glaring at Remus. “Why would you do that?”

“It was made to control werewolves during the full moon,” Danielle answered for Remus, distain in her voice. “Overdose of Wolfsbane in it and he had to come in twice because of it already.”

“You forced me… the second time,” Remus told her, closing his mouth again tightly as he felt more bile rise into his throat. Danielle seemed to have noticed.

“Bathroom,” she corrected herself, steering him to the bathroom instead. Remus felt himself kneeled down on the cold floor, breathing heavily. “Don’t worry; the more you vomit at this point, the better off you’ll be.”

“What?” Sirius asked angrily. “You can’t say that to him!”

“It’s true,” Danielle snapped back. “It’ll get it out of his system. Hang on, I’ll be back soon. Let me see if I can find something to work.” She twisted on the spot, disappearing from view as she Apparated away.

Remus felt more bile rise into his throat and found himself on the ground away, Sirius holding him upright as he emptied his stomach. Harry hovered awkwardly again, looking away.

“Should I do anything?”

“No, he’ll be fine,” Sirius said to Harry, still frowning. Remus heaved once more and stopped, leaning heavily on Sirius still.

“I’m alright,” he answered before Harry had the chance to ask. Sirius took Remus’ arms and pulled him back to lean on his chest. Remus remained there, unmoving. “I think we should try to put the charms up soon.”

“What are you thinking about?” Harry asked, looking at Remus as though he were insane. “You’re ill and all you care about is the charms!”

“I care about your safety,” Remus answered. However, there was a knock at the door before he could say more. Harry gave him another glance and ran out of the room, returning seconds later with Danielle.

She forced several vials into Sirius’ arms then opened one, forcing Remus to drink it. He did and felt a rough potion slide over his tongue, gagging him.

“Swallow,” she told him sternly. “I know it tastes dreadful. It works, though.” Remus forced himself to swallow and felt his lungs ease up a bit. “Good boy.” She rubbed his arm for a second, smiling nervously. Remus was tempted to tell her to stop treating him like a dog, but could not muster the energy. Harry was still near the door, not moving, watching Remus with a fearful expression.

“I’m fine, really,” Remus told him, rubbing his throat. All of the potions he was ever forced to drink seemed to have clogged up his throat, ruining his voice. He knew that something bad had to have come out of them.

“You promised me you wouldn’t die,” Harry told him faintly, looking paler than Remus had ever seen him, causing the scar across his face to stand out. “You all promised.”

“I’m not dead,” Remus told him, untangling himself from Sirius’ arms, standing up. Sirius was up a moment after him, still gripping his arm, making sure he did not fall again. “Harry, I promise you, I’ll be fine like I always am.”

“You’re not as well now as you usually were,” Sirius muttered in his ear.

Remus gave him a small look and spoke to Harry again. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back to normal by tomorrow.”

Danielle, like Sirius, was giving him a doubtful look, but she did not mention it. “I think it would be a good time to start with spells. Remus, I’ll understand perfectly well if you choose to kick me out and not tell me anything -”

“No,” Remus told her quickly. “You’re staying. Like you said, I doubt we’re going to get Dumbledore to agree to anything. We’re going to need everyone we can get, and that’s you right now.”

She smiled slightly. “Alright. Do you actually know the spell?”

Remus glanced at Sirius, who nodded. “I know it, at least,” Sirius told them. “I guess that means I won’t be able to be the Secret Keeper, then.”

Biting her lip, Danielle squinted off into space for a moment, and then said, “Tell me how to do it. I’ll try.”

Sirius spent about ten minutes explaining everything to her, Danielle nodding as he spoke. Finally, the group of four moved outside, the cold air biting their bare skin.

Danielle pulled out her wand and started the spell. Remus remembered doing it once with Dumbledore already, and repeated everything the same, barely hearing the woman’s voice over the whistling wind. A few flecks of snow drifted down from the clouds and Remus tried to ignore them, doing his best not to wipe them off of his nose as they fell.

Frowning slightly, Danielle lowered her wand as they finished the spell. “I think I did it all. Did I?”

Sirius nodded. Danielle sighed in relief and shivered slightly. “Let’s head back inside. Sirius?”

Rubbing his arms to warm them up, Sirius told them the address and they entered moments later.

“You should really sleep some more,” Sirius said to Remus.

Glaring, Remus answered back, “I’ve told you all, I’m fine. I don’t need you to make sure I’m perfectly fine.”

“None of us are mother henning you, Remus,” Danielle told him, leaning against a wall. “But you do need to rest some more. If anything does happen, you’re not going to be able to do much in that state.”

Harry nodded his agreement.

Remus sighed and gave up. “Fine. If everyone wants it, I’ll go back to sleep.” When Sirius started to move his hand, Remus told him stubbornly, “I can make it myself. Really, I’m doing fine.

Sirius waved his hands around for a moment as though backing off and Remus left the room. When he was gone, the remaining three hovered around for a while.

“What happened that entire time?” Sirius asked Danielle and Harry. Harry glanced at Danielle.

“They were testing the potion, he was poisoned, and he started to get well again though I said that it would take some time for him to heal completely. Remus went on with everyday life, was caught by Death Eaters, by the sounds of it, and that’s all I really know.” She glanced back to Harry.

“They tortured him for a while,” Harry whispered, looking rather frightened of even thinking back on it. “Snape was with them. When he got back - Dumbledore had found him when I told him where they were - he was hurt really bad. Dumbledore tried to explain it all to us.”

“What did he say?” Sirius asked, looking pale and starting to shake.

“He said… he said that you and Peter and Snape knew the whole story. He said -” Harry paused, eyes wide.

“What?” both Danielle and Sirius asked.

“He said he was wrong for trusting Snape and that he was not really on our side….” Harry looked into Sirius’ face. “What’s happening? Is Dumbledore evil now?”

Sirius glanced at Danielle, who looked just as shaken by the news. “He has to be lying.”

“I’m so lost,” Danielle moaned.

“Is he being possessed?” Harry asked again, looking between them for an answer.

“I have no clue!” Sirius answered back, sounding worried and annoyed. “I don’t think either Snape or Pettigrew are smart enough to get through Dumbledore like that….”

“Unless he was never Dumbledore to begin with,” Harry told him, obviously trying to think of any explanation he could. “Maybe they replaced him with someone else or something!”

“I doubt it,” Sirius answered, falling onto the chair, head in his hands.

“Lost,” Danielle repeated, a thoughtful expression on her face.

“I KNOW!” Sirius bellowed at her, brows furrowed as he glared at her. “You’ve said it enough!”

“No,” Danielle corrected, “you’re not listening to me -”

“You’re lost,” Harry muttered, crossing his arms.

Sighing, Danielle said, “Maybe we’re not the lost ones. Maybe Dumbledore is.”

“We already said that,” Sirius snapped. “He’s a lunatic and he’s trying to kill us all!”

“No, no, no!” Danielle hissed, thinking frantically. “Maybe he thought Snape betrayed him at first, so that’s why he said he wasn’t on our side, and then Snape came back to our side with information or something that made him think otherwise, but Dumbledore has to hide it because no one can find out or else You-Know-Who could get through us and find out and kill Dumbledore’s only source of information.”

“How could he have done that to Remus, then?” Sirius asked. “Dumbledore wouldn’t make Snape do that and almost kill Remus.”

“Maybe he already knew where they would be so that he could save Remus before anything too bad happened.”

“’Too bad’?” Sirius asked incredulously. “I think what happened to him is bad enough! He can barely stand by himself thanks to Severus Bloody Snape!”

“I know,” Danielle sighed, sitting down across from Sirius. “But it’s the best thing I can think of right now.” She closed her eyes, leaning back on the chair. “Nothing else is coming to mind.”

Blowing out a savage breath, Sirius muttered, “I know. That’s the best any of us are going to be able to do.”

Harry perches himself on the chair next to Sirius, leaning on the other man. “I think we should just take a break, forget everything for a moment, and go back to thinking afterwards,” Harry told them in a tired voice. “It should work. Always does for me.”

Danielle opened her eyes and leaned forward. “Good idea. If anyone is hungry, I can cook again.”

“I’m starved,” Sirius said as Harry nodded. Danielle, still looking rather nervous, walked into the next room where they could still see her as she cooked, hands shaking slightly.

Harry clasped his hands together, then pulled them apart quickly, plummeting one into the other. “Why does Dumbledore have to do this?” he asked loudly, sitting up straight and turning to Sirius. “Voldemort’s strong, right? So why does Dumbledore have to leave us now?”

“He’s not leaving us,” Sirius answered. “He’s just… not fully with us. I’m sure that by the end, we’ll have him on our side.”

“It’s still going to be bad without him, though, isn’t it?” Harry asked, sighing.

“Yes,” Sirius admitted. He looked at Harry. “What did Snape do to Remus? I know he took him, but what happened there?” He seemed to only have noticed the scar on Harry’s face. “What did they do to you?”

“I was hit by a spell that cut me,” Harry told him nonchalantly. “I’m fine. Madam Pomfrey said the scarring should go away soon. Remus… he said he was burned by Snape, beat up a bit, and forced to transform.” When he saw Sirius go deathly pale, Harry asked, “Is it bad on him? Really bad?”

“Yes,” Sirius said, voice somewhat hoarse. “And so soon after the last one…. It’ll take more than a bit of sleep to get over that one.”

“When Dumbledore brought him back, he was in a bad shape, but he was healed well enough. Then Dumbledore showed him something in a box. I couldn’t see what it was, but Remus started panicking afterwards.”

“You didn’t see it?” Sirius frowned. “Do you have any idea what it was?”

Harry shook his head. “He mentioned something about killing Pettigrew, though. That’s all I know.”

Sirius swept his long hair from his face, concentrating on a spot on the wall as though he could give him all of the answers. “He thought he killed Pettigrew? But if he was -” He stopped, hair dropping back into his face as he moved his hand back to the seat of the chair. “Snape! He was with Pettigrew, then! He has to be a Death Eater, then!”

As Sirius stood to move towards the fireplace and call up Dumbledore again, Harry grabbed his arm and Sirius stopped. “What? How do you know that?”

“Snape knew Pettigrew was at his house! He had been protecting him! All of these years….” He put on a terrifying expression, a snarl playing on his lips. “I knew that rat would be doing something like this, trying to get away and keep safe from us and his master -”

“We’re keeping Dumbledore out of this, though,” Harry reminded him. “Remember? Dumbledore will only tell us not to think about it and then he’ll tell us to trust Snape.”

Sirius sat down slowly and bit his lip. “Right.”

Danielle walked back into the room. “If anyone wants anything to eat, it’s on the table,” she told them. She still looked rather nervous about everything going on and her hands looked somewhat burned as though she did not bother protecting her hands as she picked up the pans after heating them.

Sirius and Harry stood up and followed her into the next room. “I’ll get Remus. He could do with some food, I think.” Danielle left the room once more.

“She’s acting weird,” Harry pointed out, sitting down and picking up a fork, starting on the pie before him. Danielle’s specialty seemed to be all types of pie.

Sirius was already eating and Harry decided that he could do with it. “True,” he said after swallowing. “Women tend to act like that when they’re lost. I mean she’s said she’s lost enough times.”

Harry grinned. “She has.”

Sirius matched his grin and mimicked Danielle. “’Oh, no! I’m so lost! Please help me remember what I was doing!’”

“She’s nice, though,” Harry told him calmly, starting to snort into his pie. “She’s been around for a little while and she’s done a ton.”

Sirius got a dark look at the mention of her name and stopped his impression.

“What do you have against her?” Harry asked, frowning. When Sirius went to open his mouth, Danielle had returned, Remus next to her. He sat down next to Sirius as did Danielle.

Glaring at Danielle, Sirius passed a plate to Remus, dumping a large amount of pie onto it. He almost missed the plate from not looking, but Harry managed to move his arm before it spilt.

Remus looked between both of them. “What’s going on?” he asked, voice weary and he crossed his arms across his thin chest.

Danielle blinked at Sirius, whose eyes still did not move from her face.

“What?” she asked him, frowning slightly.

Sirius growled out, “You know perfectly well what.”

“No, no one but you does,” Remus pointed out. Harry could see his brow furrowed and a small line starting between his eyebrows as he glared back at Sirius, clearly annoyed.

“She knows full well that she’s still in league with Pettigrew.”

Danielle’s eyes started to fill with tears. “I’m not!” she yelled back at him. “I had no clue about any of this! I only found out about it today!”

Sirius made a derisive noise and continued to glare. “You’ve been helping him this entire time.”

“Sirius, you can’t say that,” Remus told him calmly. “It would be a bit hypocritical. You hated everyone who thought you were with Voldemort” - Danielle shivered slightly - “and now you’re saying she’s with him and Peter.”

“Take her side, then!” Sirius snorted, standing up and turning to Remus.

Danielle stood too, plummeting her fists against the table. “No!” she yelled back. “Don’t even take this out on him! If you have a problem with me, tell me to my face!”

“I did!” Sirius retorted, his head snapping towards her.

“No -” Harry scolded, but his voice was carried out of their ears as Danielle started.

“I had no clue on anything! I would never help a Death Eater! If I knew when we were at school -” She growled, matching Sirius’ snarl.

“STOP!” Harry yelled over their continued bickering. Everyone looked at him. “We’ve all agreed that we’re the only ones who know the truth! If we don’t all stick together, everything is going to go downhill and Voldemort will be in control of the Wizarding World! Just stop arguing and get along!”

Sirius’ expression slowly sunk back to normal. “I - I… sorry,” he muttered to Danielle, still giving her a sour look. She nodded and muttered something that no one could understand and sank back into her chair.

“We don’t have anyone else,” Harry repeated more to himself than the others. “We’re all alone from here on out.”