The Heart of Night

Heart of the Night

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Die

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3 Moons, 5 Nights

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"Can you tell me exactly what happened, Remus?" Dumbledore asked, sounding concerned. They were now back in the Infirmary -- Remus was seemingly fated to spend most of his time there. Madam Pomfrey was currently fussing over the still unconscious Severus, while Remus sat by his side, almost out of his mind with worry for both his mate and his cub. "Maybe it'd help us understand the situation."

"Well, Severus and I were... talking," Remus said, fortunately managing to hold away the blush that threatened to burn his cheeks at the moment. "Suddenly I both saw and smelled that he was in pain and he clutched his head. When I questioned him, he said, 'It's Alan... The cub -- he's frightened, he's in pain', and then just collapsed with no seeming reason. Then I levitated him here. That's all I know."

"I see." Dumbledore sighed. "It seems that his talent of Awareness acted up once again. Instead of only allowing him to know what happens, however, it now reflected the results of the event on him -- no doubt because of the strong bond Alan and he now share. I fear that we have to find the boy as soon as possible."

"Harry has something that might help us, I believe," Remus said. "Could you please summon him here? And tell him to get his map -- he'll know what I mean."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. Instead, he summoned a house-elf, giving it a message to give to Harry. The tiny creature popped out of sight to fulfill its mission.

A moment later Madam Pomfrey glanced at them seriously. "I don't find anything wrong with him," she announced. "Physically, he's perfectly healthy. There is no reason why he shouldn't be awake."

"He is still in pain," muttered Remus, his eyes now locked on the still form of the Potions Master. Suddenly Severus looked very fragile. Reminded of the time they had thought Severus was dead, he shivered.

Then, the lingering feeling of pain on the edge of his mind seemed to fade away. A moment later, Severus blinked, then quickly pushed himself up from the hospital bed. "Alan!" he exclaimed as soon as he was sitting up on the bed. "Where is he? We have to find him! Somebody -- somebody attacked him!"

"Calm down, Severus," Dumbledore said seriously. "Rest assured that we will do everything in our might to find the cub. At the moment we are waiting for young Harry; Remus claims that he has something that could help us in our quest." At this, Severus glanced sharply at Remus, but said nothing.

Relieved to see his mate now awake but startled to notice that the reflection of pain he felt through their bond was back, Remus moved to sit on the edge of the bed, wrapping his arm around Severus's shoulder. "Calm down, Fierce Dark Flame," he muttered. "I'm sure we will find the cub. Everything will be okay." In the inside he was fighting against panic. No student would dare to try to hurt Alan, so somebody from outside the school had to be involved if the cub had indeed been attacked. And if the cub was outside the Hogwarts grounds, Marauder's Map would do nothing to help them. Still, he couldn't give in to panic. Severus was very shaken and pained at the moment and needed all the support he could get.

Only a short time later Harry rushed into the Infirmary, indeed clutching the Marauder's Map in his hand. "What is it, Headmaster?" he asked. "Professor Lupin! What is wrong?"

"Ah, Harry," Dumbledore said with a small, sad smile. "Unfortunately, it seems that young Alan Mortimer has disappeared. Remus believed that you might have something that could be of use."

"Oh, of course!" Harry raised the Map, then hesitated a bit, glancing at first at Dumbledore, then at Severus. As Remus nodded, however, he said, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good." Everybody in the room immediately became interested in the ink lines that started to stretch over the parchment.

"A truly interesting object," the Headmaster said. "May I ask how you acquired it? And who created it?"

"The Weasley twins gave it to me, sir," Harry said, a bit flustered. "And who created it, well..."

"We did," Remus said quietly. "Sirius, James, and I... and Peter, of course. It contains the whole Hogwarts, including the secret passageways." Now, he turned towards Harry. "Can you see Alan there?"

Harry bit his lip. He really didn't want to say it, but... "No," he sighed. "I can't see him anywhere on the grounds." As soon as he had said this, Remus snatched the map from him, quickly scanning over it. Then his previously slightly worried expression turned into one of despair.

"What do you mean he's not there?" snapped Severus. "He has to! He can't have left the grounds!"

"I'm afraid he did not leave on his own," Remus sighed. "Somebody... somebody must have taken him."

A silence fell over the room. Severus froze, not moving an inch. Then he said, very slowly, "Then we will find that somebody." And, with this, he jumped off the bed. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

"What?" asked Remus, startled. He simply shoved the map to Harry as he followed Severus to the door. "Where exactly are you going, Severus?" Albus and Harry started to follow them, but were soon left behind as the two werewolves hurried on, easily faster than "mere humans".

"Well, we last saw Alan in front of your quarters, right?" asked Severus with an overly patient voice. "We're werewolves, my dear simple Gryffindor, in case you managed to miss that. We're bloody well able to follow his scent! And once we find the place he was taken from, we'll follow from there, scent or magic. There's no way I'll give up before we've tracked down the cub!"

At these words, Remus felt a new surge of hope. However, he was still worried at the same time. The pain reflecting through their bond had indeed faded a bit, but it was still there. He didn't know whether Severus was still experiencing Alan's feelings, but he did know that his mate was not all right.

By the time they reached Remus's quarters both werewolves were running, uncaring about the students or other teachers they passed. From there they picked the most recent trail of Alan's scent, familiar to them both, and started to follow it. They were only a bit surprised to notice that it led outside; after all, Alan hardly could have been taken from inside the school. Following the trail to the edge of the grounds, they glanced around, trying to find where the cub had been taken from there.

"I sense a magical trail," Severus said, nodding towards a spot a bit further away. "It seems he was taken from here. Now, we'll --"

He never got to finish his sentence. At that moment, somebody called out, "Stupefy!" and a ruby beam of light hit the darkhaired man. Horrified to see his mate collapse, Remus reached for his wand. However, just then another spell hit his back. The ground seemed to be rising to meet him, but before he hit it, he drowned in the all-enveloping darkness that overcame him.

*

Remus was startled awake as he was thrown against a stone wall. Looking up, dazed, he saw several Death Eaters looking down at him. A groan brought his attention to his side. As he glanced there, he saw Severus next to him, currently rising to a sitting position.

"I have to admit that for half-human beasts, they don't look too bad," one of the Death Eaters commented. "Why, I'd almost like to..." His tone made it more than clear what he was thinking about.

"Don't even think about it," another black-clad figure spat. "Raped werewolves always die, and our Lord wants them both unharmed tomorrow. You two," he then said, turning towards Remus and Severus, "enjoy your last night together and alive as well as you can. Tomorrow you will see your end." Then he laughed cruelly and led his companions away, obviously the leader of the group. The door was locked behind them.

Severus and Remus glanced at each other. Then, Severus asked, "Is that true?"

"Raped werewolves dying? I don't know," Remus replied quietly. "Most probably it's just an old legend, but it does show up in quite a few documents about werewolves. Whether it's true or not, at least now it most certainly worked for out benefit." He shivered at the mere thought.

For a moment Severus was absolutely silent. Sighing, he then sank back against the wall of the cell they were in. "We could easily break that door... if it wasn't made of silver," he muttered. "They have rather effectively trapped us. Even if we managed to bring the door down, the impact would either kill us or at least poison us so badly that we couldn't escape. Without our wands, we're stuck."

"Indeed," was all Remus said to that. Once again, they were silent for a moment. There wasn't really anything for them to say in such a situation. Their death seemed rather clear at the moment.

Suddenly Remus felt something touching his hand. As he glanced down in the semi-darkness, he saw Severus's hand atop his own. Letting his gaze rise to the other werewolf's face, he was met with serious amber eyes. "If we are to die tomorrow, I want to have this night with you," Severus said quietly. Though he didn't say anything more, there was a clear question in his eyes. Remus nodded without hesitation.

Working slowly, as if they had all the time in the world and not only until the next morning, they relieved each other of all restricting clothing. Wandering hands exploring each exposed square inch of naked skin, fingers gently brushing old scars, lips caressing sensitive spots, they learnt to know each other in a way that went beyond anything they'd had earlier. The mating bonds reflecting each other's reactions on them and strengthening their own sensations, they were both as close to paradise as they were going to get. Their hunger for each other only growing by every second that passed, they soon forgot that they were in a Death Eaters' cell, awaiting their death. Nothing existed beyond them and their passion.

At last they lay still, sated and exhausted. Somehow they managed to summon the strength to put on their clothes so as to be at least presentable when they were dragged to their death. The two werewolves then lay down on the floor next to each other. Severus rested his head on Remus' chest, enjoying the feeling of his mate's fingers running through his hair and the steadily rising and falling chest under his head. There was a tingling feeling inside him, something that, he was certain, signalled the completion of their mutual bond. A content sigh leaving his lips, he snaked an arm around the Gryffindor's waist.

"Let them come," Remus whispered. "My only regret right now is that I couldn't keep Alan safe."

The content feeling left Severus for a moment as he remembered not only their impending deaths but also the cub. Calling for his talents, he desperately hoped for any sign of their cub, but found none. However, he found something else. "Albus is on his way," he said quietly. "The question is, will they get here in time?"

"Yeah," Remus replied, then wrapped his arm around Severus' waist in turn. "But right now we can only wait. Let's sleep, now -- tomorrow's a big day. The last day of our lives."

"Indeed," muttered Severus wryly. And then, he slept.

~*~*~

3 Moons, 6 Nights

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The next morning they were rudely awakened by a few Death Eaters kicking them. "Aw, isn't it sweet," one of them laughed coldly. "The beasts search comfort in each other. Well, that's good -- nobody else would ever take them, so I guess they have to stick together."

Neither of the werewolves rose to the bait. Instead, they stayed calm as they were escorted through corridors and stairways to wherever it was they were taken to. Finally they found themselves in a large hall, facing Voldemort himself. The Dark Lord was watching them with something akin to amusement.

"So, Severus. I see you have gotten used to the new life I granted you," he snarled. "Too bad you can't enjoy it for much longer. Today, you see, it is the time for you to die."

"I don't care," Severus spat. "For today, you will die as well... I Know it." The Death Eaters perhaps missed the capital 'K', but Remus did hear it, and his heart leapt in his chest. True, what Severus Knew might be at times changed, like Alan's fate. However, from what he'd heard and understood of the talent of Awareness, this was extremely rare. The things that were Known happened almost without exception.

"Oh, no," the Dark Lord said with a smirk. "You are the ones that will die today... You and that pathetic Order of the Phoenix." Pointing his wand at the two, he murmured a quiet spell. Suddenly they found themselves surrounded by a metal cage, one that was quickly shrinking. Beginning to feel agitated, Remus tried to break the bars surrounding them. However, he drew his hands back with a pained yelp.

"Ah, yes," Voldemort said, sounding very satisfied with himself. "A nice little spell, isn't it? The bars are iron in appearance, but under the touch of bare skin they turn into silver. I wouldn't advise you to try to break them -- especially now." Another wave of the wand stopped the cage's shrinking, then yet another floated it up to the air. Fastening the cage to the ceiling, the Dark wizard then smirked up at his prisoners. "You do make quite nice bait, don't you?" he asked teasingly. "I don't know what I'll do with you two yet. Perhaps I'll let you fall down on top of your allies -- and make sure you get killed as well by turning the cage into silver, of course. Or perhaps I will just simply kill you in there as a little show for Dumbledore."

"You bastard," snarled Severus, glaring hatefully at his former Master. Then he ignored the man's continuous taunts, instead turning to Remus, who was now nursing his burned hands. Knowing that they could not break out of the cage, nor could they do anything else to escape, he simply wrapped his arms around his mate, drawing him closer.

Even if they were going to die that day, they were going to die together... and with the knowledge that the Dark Lord Voldemort would also be brought down that day.

*

Albus Dumbledore broke the massive door in front of him with a single spell. Then he and the rest of the Order of the Phoenix hurried into the large hall. After some research they had managed to find the magical traces of the Death Eaters who had kidnapped not only Alan, but also Remus and Severus. Now, eager to avenge their no doubt dead friends and to take down the Dark threat that loomed over the whole Wizarding World, they were all entering the battle with no doubt in their minds.

However, they were not prepared to the sight that greeted him. Dumbledore heard Harry drawing a sharp breath, like several others around them. In the hall, they did see Voldemort -- and something else as well. To be exact, a small cage, with just enough room to hold two full-grown men, hanging from the ceiling with magic. And inside that cage they saw two full-grown men, thought to be dead by now.

"Ah, Dumbledore," Voldemort said with a broad smirk. "You are surprised, I see. You expected to find your pet wolves dead, didn't you? Well, you won't be too disappointed even though they are alive right now, since neither of them is going to live long."

The Headmaster of Hogwarts swore under his breath, something he resorted to only rarely. Remus and Severus were indeed alive, but they both appeared very weak and exhausted -- Voldemort had no doubt passed the time waiting for them by torturing his two "baits". Still, even in their weakness, they clung to each other, at least until now. As they saw the Order coming, the two werewolves let go of each other, and Severus crawled closer to the side of the cage to see them. For some reason, however, he seemed to avoid touching the bars of the cage with his bare skin. There was probably some nasty spell on them.

Several Order members moved about nervously, wanting to attack but not daring to. Knowing Voldemort, he had put some trap on the cage to kill both Remus and Severus as soon as their allies tried to move. As long as the werewolves were alive, they weren't going to make any moves. If, however, Voldemort killed them, they would immediately attack, Dumbledore and Harry leading them to victory -- they believed.

"Let's see. Who is going to die first?" Voldemort smirked. "As much as I'd like to put Severus down, the Gryffindor is rather annoying." Pointing his wand at Remus, he then snarled, "Silverize."

A silvery beam of magic erupted from the Dark Lord's wand. However, it never hit Remus. Instead, it hit somebody who had somehow managed to struggle their way in front of him. Remus, and everybody else, stared in horror -- and, in Voldemort's case, twisted amusement -- as Severus's body started to gain a silvery colour, his mouth opened in a silent scream of pain. When he finally collapsed, the sound of him hitting the bottom of the cage was that of metal meeting metal.

Remus sobbed soundlessly, then reached out a hand to touch his now completely immobile lover. He didn't care that it hurt, he didn't care that the silver was burning like hell on his uncovered skin. There was nothing to care about anymore. Severus, his Severus, was dead now.

"Such foolish courage, Severus," snorted Voldemort, and his words were like the faintest, most distant whispers carried by the wind into Remus's ears. Or, at the very least, they could have been just that, so little he cared about them. Neither did his mind register the next word, snarled in anger and despise, "Silverize."

However, he did indeed hear when somebody screamed, "Beware, Remus!" He raised his head, and for the briefest moment he wondered why somebody would warn him. What did his life matter anymore, now that Severus was dead, as well as their cub? What did anything matter anymore?

Remus saw the bright bolt of light flowing towards him, and knew that it was too late to try to avoid it anymore, even if there had been room for it in the tiny cage. "Severus..." he whispered quietly, his hands still grasping on the hurtful silver body. Right after that he fell into merciful darkness, never seeing the blow that would end his life.

*