Hunted

Chapter 21: Smoke and Mirrors

The door to the dungeon flew open, sending torchlight spilling into the darkness of the damp basement cell. The click of a woman's heels crossed the cold, stone floors and approached a shivering, shackled heap curled on the floor. Ravena's eyes fluttered open, then squeezed shut to block out the blinding light flooding through the doorway.

The shadow of a woman, willowy and thin, fell over Ravena's body. Blue light from the end of a wand floated in midair and thrust into her face. Ravena twisted her head away from the bluish flame to shield her eyes that had grown accustomed to darkness.

The pointed toe of a woman's high-heeled boot jammed into her right shoulder, a savage kick. A searing pain shot down Ravena's right arm and across her chest. Ravena screamed in agony and writhed on the floor. The chains on her wrists rattled, as she reached to cradle her aching shoulder.

"That was for my sister," the cold voice of the stranger hissed. "Now get up!"

Ravena's eyes flew open to glare back at the face studying hers over the blue flame. Long, blonde tresses framed a pinched face with cold, gray eyes. Narcissa Malfoy stared back at Ravena with her most sour expression arranged on her face.

Ravena struggled to a sitting position, the chains rattling. All her joints were stiff and sore from nights on the cold, hard floor. Her hand massaged her injured shoulder. But those cerulean eyes flashed with unyielding defiance.

"What did I do?" Ravena spat, eyeing her with contempt. "I gave you what you wanted, didn't I?"

"Yes," Narcissa sneered. "And you sent my sister into a trap. She's dead, because of you."

Narcissa's hand whipped out and struck the prisoner across the face. Ravena's head snapped back in response to the stinging blow. The abrupt motion sent another jolt of pain shooting through Ravena's shoulder. She winced and licked the blood flowing from her cracked lips.

"Bellatrix is dead?" she whispered.

"Yes," Narcissa hissed through clenched teeth.

Ravena's brow shot up in surprise. Bellatrix had been killed! Remus must have done it. Angela had said that Remus was skilled in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Ravena had gambled on his ability to protect her cousin, when she made that bargain with Malfoy. And her bet had paid off. She had played her hand and won!

An involuntary smirk tugged on the corners of Ravena's lips. She realized her mistake too late. Narcissa's face contorted with fury. Her hand flicked the wand. A cauldron of icy water appeared in the dungeon cell.

Before Ravena could react, Narcissa seized her by the hair and plunged her head into the cauldron. Ravena barely had time to catch her breath before her face dipped below the chilly surface of the water. Ravena splashed and struggled to lift her head above the surface, but Narcissa proved deceptively strong. Ravena's lungs burned from oxygen deprivation. She gulped, those same lungs filling with icy water.

Just then, Ravena felt another hand clasp onto her hair and yank her head from the cauldron. She gulped hungrily at the air, sputtering and coughing to clear the liquid from her lungs. She sank back onto the floor, her shackled hand clutching at her chest. Water trickled from her face and hair in rivulets, pooling on the floor around her.

Ravena looked up to see who had saved her from Narcissa's wrath. Her mouth dropped open in disbelief, when she saw Lucius Malfoy staying Narcissa's shaking hand. His wife wrenched her arm from his grasp and stormed to the other side of the cell.

"Easy, my dearest," Malfoy soothed in his silkiest tones. "Revenge will be exacted in time, my love. But the Dark Lord has other plans for this one." He eyed Ravena, his lips curling into a disarming smile. "We must spare her...for the time being."

Malfoy approached Ravena. His hand stroked her cheek. She grimaced and jerked her head away, recoiling from his touch.

"Such bravado!" he mocked. He gripped her chin more tightly in his clasp and turned her face toward him. "Now where have the werewolf and his little wife run to?"

Ravena's mind raced. She closed her eyes. The Fidelius Charm was weakening. The ties that bound her to her cousin had been frayed by her first betrayal, like a rope that had been severed, held now a single tenuous thread.

Where was her cousin? She searched her soul. A glimmer flickered in her thoughts, brief and fleeting. But she knew it to be true. Remus and Angela were still alive. They were hiding in the most untouchable place of all: Hogwarts!

An idea arose in her brain. Ravena's eyes narrowed with sudden cunning, then met Malfoy's stare with what she hoped was a look of utmost sincerity.

"I don't know any more." Ravena shook her head. "The spell was broken...when I...I betrayed my cousin the first time." Her face registered a look of repentant sadness, her eyes downcast.

Malfoy guffawed. He released her face and clapped in mock applause. "A fine performance! Brava!"

"B-but it's true!" she stuttered. Ravena's eyes flew wide in alarm.

Malfoy studied her face. His gray eyes took on a calculating gleam. He reached into his breast pocket and extracted the serpentine lapel pin: Cleopatra's Asp. His fingers prodded the pin in his palm. He watched the silver snake writhe and twist in his hand. A sigh escaped his lips.

"Such a pity to part with this," he mused, stroking the pin with a long finger. "I could present it to Severus, a small token of our friendship." His piercing gaze focused back on Ravena. "And watch with pleasure, while he dies of its deadly venom."

"But you promised that you wouldn't touch him," Ravena protested, her eyes flashing with anger. "We had a deal!"

"I promised that I wouldn't touch him, if you cooperate," Malfoy persisted. He reached into his breast pocket and extracted a small phial. "Veritaserum," he explained. "If you're telling the truth, then you won't mind if I verify it?"

Ravena gulped. He had called her bluff. Could she risk it? What she said was half-true. The Fidelius Charm was breaking. But if he found her out, then Severus would die. Angela and Remus were at Hogwarts. There's no safer place, she reasoned. Surely, Dumbledore would protect them. They got away once, why not twice?

Malfoy's face broke into a broad grin of triumph. He pocketed the phial and the pin. Then he extracted a slip of parchment and a quill and held them out to her. Ravena's shaking fingers grasped the quill. She scribbled a single word on the parchment and handed the paper back to Malfoy. She turned her head away in shame. The single, tenuous thread stretched taunt and snapped.

* * * * * * * *

Remus thrashed in his sleep in the infirmary bed, gripped by fever. Angela sat in a chair she'd conjured at his bedside. She dipped a washcloth in warm water and bathed the sweat from his brow. Her eyes remained fixed on his face with an anxious stare.

Remus' body writhed under the sheets as if engaged in some struggle. His breathing grew rapid, coming in ever shorter spurts. Whispered words escaped his lips. Angela listened and watched his eyes twitch under the closed lids. What was he seeing? What was this dream, this nightmare?

"The executioner," he mumbled, still trapped in the midst of the dream. "No...No...Not her...Take me...Take me." His head jerked to the side. His voice rose in a hoarse agonized scream. "Noooooo!"

He gasped. His eyes flew open and glanced with a frantic stare at his surroundings. Angela put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. She could feel his heart pounding and hear his breathing accelerated from the terrible vision.

"Hush now," she soothed, stroking his cheek with a tender caress. "You were dreaming. It's just a dream."

His head sank back into the pillow. He stared up at her with a horror-stricken gaze, as if he was seeing a ghost. She noted the confusion in his eyes. She watched his gaze wander to the soiled and blood-stained dress that she wore, the same one that she had been wearing the night before. His eyes closed. His body shuddered with a weary sigh.

Madam Pomfrey rushed from her office. She approached Remus' bedside. Her eyes swept over them both with a fretful stare.

"What's happened?" she inquired. "I heard a scream."

"He's feverish," Angela explained. "He's having nightmares. It often happens after a particularly bad episode of lycanthropy."

Madam Pomfrey placed her hand on Remus' forehead. She searched his eyes. Her fingers felt for his pulse.

"Hmmm," she muttered. "Time for another dose of medicine."

An assortment of potion bottles rested on the bedside stand. The Healer surveyed the bottles, selected several, and poured a mixture of potions into a goblet. Angela helped raise Remus in the bed. Madam Pomfrey handed him the potion cocktail. He drained the chalice and pulled a face.

Loud voices filled the hallway outside the infirmary. Angela could distinguish the strident tones of Minerva McGonagall's voice rising in argument with a man. Moments later, the infirmary doors burst open. Minister Sparticus Cornwall, wearing a military uniform, marched into the room accompanied by two Aurors from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Angela recognized the muscular form and shaved head of Kingsley Shacklebolt, but she did not know the other Auror. Minerva McGonagall followed, wearing a look of sternest disapproval.

"This is an outrage," Minerva fumed, her eyes flashing behind the square spectacles. "Headmaster Dumbledore will hear of this, Minister Cornwall." She wagged her finger at the Minister. "This castle is under his jurisdiction. You have no right to barge in unannounced with your absurd accusations. You cannot search this castle without warrant or due process."

"Ah, ha," Minister Cornwall blustered, eyeing Remus and Angela with a look of triumph. He pointed an accusatory finger. "Here is my proof. The werewolf himself." He turned to Remus. "Mr. Lupin, I presume?"

Angela rose to her feet. Her astonished gaze flickered from face to face with a quizzical stare. Her fingers gripped her husband's hand.

"Why?" she inquired. "What do you want my husband for? What has he done?"

"What has he done?" The Minister's salt-and-pepper mustache bristled. His eyes swept over them both, taking in the blood stains on their garments. His lips turned up in an incredulous sneer. "He is hereby charged with the cold-blooded murders of Bellatrix Lestrange and Walden Macnair."

"No," Angela insisted, not wanting to believe her ears. She shook her head. "It was self-defense. We were the ones who were attacked."

"Seize him and take him away." Cornwall motioned to Remus with a flick of his baton. His eyes under the bushy brows bored into Angela's face. "And take her in for questioning."

Madam Pomfrey bustled forward. "These are my patients," she insisted, casting the Minister a defiant glare. "They are in no condition to be taken anywhere."

The doors to the infirmary flew open a second time. Albus Dumbledore strode into the room. His blue eyes flashed with fury, his visage terrible to behold.

"What is the meaning of this intrusion, Sparticus?" Dumbledore roared.

"This is a matter of state," Cornwall barked, puffing out his chest. The medals on his uniform jangled. "Ministry of Magic business. It is out of your jurisdiction, Albus."

"But the Lupins are here in the castle at my invitation," Dumbledore insisted, staring at Cornwall over the half-moon spectacles with a steely blue gaze. "Mr. Lupin is seriously ill and in need of medical treatment. He poses no immediate flight risk. As Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot, I will personally vouch for his security. And you are free to station Aurors at his bedside, as you see fit."

"What?" Cornwall blustered. "Highly irregular. Not at all by the book. I am afraid that will not be sufficient." He matched Dumbledore's icy stare with one of his own, like two Titans in a showdown of wills. "And what of Black's escape from this very facility not four years ago. What of that? We have reason to believe that Mr. Lupin is at least as dangerous a criminal." His baton smacked against his palm. "He must be taken to Azkaban."

All the color drained from Angela's face. The thought of her ailing husband imprisoned in that god-forsaken place filled her with dread. She had to do something.

"Please take me instead," Angela pleaded, falling on her knees before the Minister. "I will go in his place. I offer myself as your insurance that he will not flee."

A pained expression crossed Remus' face. With effort, he pulled himself to a sitting position and lowered his feet over the side of the bed. Those blue-gray eyes hardened with a resolute glint.

"No!" Remus insisted. "I am the one they want. I will go."

"But you're not well." Angela grabbed his arm. "How will you survive this?"

Remus did not answer his wife. Instead he stared back at the Minister with a look of determination on his face. "I will need a few minutes to prepare and say goodbye to my family."

"Granted," Cornwall replied. "But be quick."

Remus struggled to his feet. He approached his sons, kissed each one on the head, and whispered a goodbye. Then he approached his wife. Her shaking hand took the necklace from her own throat, secured her locket around his neck, and tucked it safely down inside his shirt. She wrapped his woolen cloak around his frame and secured the clasp. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she suppressed her sobs. There were no words. Seeing the look of resolution in his eyes, she knew that no arguments were possible.

"Promise me that you will not throw your life away foolishly after mine," Remus urged in a hoarse whisper. He cradled her tear-stained face in his hands. "You must remain to look after the children, no matter what happens to me. Promise me."

Angela responded with a tearful nod of her head. She threw her arms around his neck. His lips met hers with a tender kiss. She clung to him, not willing to let him go.

"Enough!" Cornwall barked.

Remus pulled his wife's arms from his neck with a gentle tug. He turned to the nearest Auror and nodded. He held out his hands. They confiscated his wand and bound his wrists in shackles. Cornwall watched the proceedings with smug satisfaction. He turned to Dumbledore.

"Albus, see that Mrs. Lupin appears at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for questioning tomorrow at fourteen hundred hours," he commanded. "I have no charges to bring against her...yet."

Cornwall spun on his heels and marched from the room with a brisk military stride. In his wake, Remus stumbled after him, leaning on Kingsley for support. Angela watched him go with a mixture of horror and sorrow. Then she sank down on the bed, dissolving into a pool of her tears.

"There, now." Dumbledore laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "This is not unexpected. I will push the Wizengamot for a speedy trial and lobby for his release into my custody."

"But Remus told me that Sirius was imprisoned without a trial." Angela looked up at the headmaster with flooded eyes. "What if there is no trial? What if he dies in there? Is there no other way?"

"I suppose you would rather that I whisked him away." Dumbledore smiled kindly under the snowy beard. "Is that not so?"

Angela nodded and cast him a pleading look.

"I could do that, of course." The blue eyes regarded her with sadness over the half-moon spectacles. "But consider the consequences for you and your sons. He would live the rest of his days as a fugitive from justice. It that the kind of life you would want?"

Angela shook her head. She sniffled. Her hands swiped her tears from eyes.

"Rest assured I have a plan." Dumbledore winked at her and patted her shoulder again. "Now I must go and make arrangements." He turned to McGonagall. "Minerva, please summon Angela's mother and brothers. They will stay here at Hogwarts as my guests until this matter can be resolved."

"Yes, Albus," Minerva replied.

Angela glanced up through watery eyes at her mentor's face. McGonagall's thin lips trembled. A sympathetic tear hung in the corners of her normally stern eyes. McGonagall looked away, sniffed, and strode from the room.

"Poppy, please look after our guests," Dumbledore instructed, turning to the Healer. "I will be back as soon as I can."

"Come," Madam Pomfrey placed her arm around Angela's shoulder. "You need a Calming Draught and then we'll see about getting you and those children settled."

* * * * * * * *

That night, Angela sat in a squashy chair in front of the fireplace with a photo album resting in her lap. She stared at a picture of one-year-old Remus bouncing on his father's knee. She sniffled. Her fingers brushed over the page. Then she glanced over at her own two children, sleeping soundly in the cradle at her feet. How would this ordeal end? Would they grow up to know their father? Or would he be taken from them all?

Angela now glanced around the room that would be her home for the next several days. What was once a vacant classroom on the second floor of Hogwarts had been magically transformed into a cozy apartment complete with a parlor and three small bedrooms. Angela surveyed the furnishings of the parlor: the comfortable chairs, the fireplace with the carved mantel, and the shelves of books reminiscent of those in the Ravenclaw common room when she was a student.

Her thoughts strayed to the events of earlier in the day. Her brothers and mother had arrived to take up temporary residence with her here. While her mother had stayed to comfort her, her brothers had ventured to Beecher's Knoll to salvage what they could of her clothing and belongings. The photo album was one of the precious keepsakes that they retrieved, a Christmas present from Remus.

Angela heard a knock on the apartment door. She laid aside the memory book and strode to the mirror to glance at her appearance. Her fingers dabbed a handkerchief to her tear-filled eyes, red and puffy from her grief. She surveyed her clothing. One of Remus' old button-down skirts hung loosely on her petite frame over a pair of baggy trousers. If she could not have Remus near her, at least she could derive some comfort from his things.

Angela opened the door and peered out into the empty corridor. She glanced up and down, confusion on her face. Was this some trick?

"Mrs. Lupin," whispered a young man's voice directly in front of her.

Angela jumped back in alarm, her eyes wide as saucers. She stared into the empty void.

"It's just us," a young woman's voice answered this time. "Under the invisibility cloak. May we come in?"

"Harry? Hermione?" Angela whispered. "Is that you?"

The face of a young man with brilliant green eyes, round spectacles, and unkempt black hair peered out from under the invisibility cloak. Behind him stood a tall, red-haired young man and a young lady with bushy brown hair. Angela's face broke into a friendly smile at the sight of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Then her gaze flicked up and down the corridor a second time. She motioned them inside and closed the door behind them.

The three students walked into the parlor. Harry pulled the cloak from their heads and stuffed it into his rucksack. Ron pulled a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans from his pocket.

"Want one?" he offered, holding out the box to Angela.

"Oh, no thanks," Angela replied. "I've had those. Watch out for the brown ones. I got one once. Looked just like chocolate pudding." She wrinkled her nose. "Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be something quite different."

Ron popped a handful of jelly beans in his mouth and munched. Harry grinned.

"What are you three doing out at this hour of the night?" Angela inquired. "You should be back in your common room. You'll get in trouble if Filch or any of the teachers catch you."

"But we had to come and see you," Hermione insisted with a troubled look in her eyes. "The news about poor Professor Lupin is all over the evening papers."

"Dobby told me that you were staying here in the castle," Harry added.

"Dobby?" Angela exclaimed, a quizzical expression on her face.

"A house-elf," Harry explained. "He works down in the kitchens. Used to belong to the Malfoys."

"Oh, yes," Angela said. "The talkative elf that brought me my dinner. I thought he looked familiar. I'm afraid that I shooed him away rather rudely." She cast them a sheepish look. "I didn't feel much like talking."

"Should we leave then?" Harry asked, motioning toward the door.

"No, I'm better now," Angela insisted, shaking her head. "Please sit down. And you must see the little ones. It would be a shame if you left without seeing them. After all, Harry, they are to be your godsons." She looked away for a moment, stifling a sob. "If we can ever arrange for the christening."

Her hand motioned toward the cradle near the hearth. Harry, Ron, and Hermione approached the crib and peered inside at the two little faces. One baby stirred, kicking against the swaddling blankets. The tiny mouth opened in a yawn.

"Aren't they cute!" Hermione cooed.

Ron's hand froze with a jelly bean halfway to his mouth. He stared with a puzzled expression on his face.

"What is it?" Angela asked.

"I...er...I just thought that they'd look more, you know, wolfish," Ron stammered.

"Why would they look like that?" Hermione remarked, rolling her eyes.

"Because Professor Lupin is a werewolf," Ron answered, shooting her a sarcastic glare.

"Honestly." Hermione let out an exasperated huff. "Don't you know how lycanthropy works? The disease causes a complete genetic transformation triggered by the full moon. The rest of the month the patient's recombinant DNA is completely human. And the disease is only contagious during the full moon phase. Monsters and Myth, chapter 17." She put her hands on her hips and cast him a condescending look. "So it's virtually impossible for a human/werewolf couple to have anything other than human offspring." Then a momentary look of doubt flashed across her face. She stared at Angela. "Isn't it?"

"Yes, that's right," Angela replied, smiling with amusement. "Although I read of one extremely rare case in which a werewolf couple gave birth to a litter of timber wolves."

Ron stared at the two of them with his mouth hanging agape. Then he looked at Harry and just shook his head in disbelief. Harry's face wore a broad grin.

One of the babies made a gurgling noise in the cradle. Angela glanced down to see a pair of little blue eyes staring up at her. She smiled, scooped up the infant, and rocked him in her arms.

"Look who's awake," she said. "This is Sirius. He doesn't like to miss anything. Would you like to hold him?"

She held out the baby to Ron. Looking very uncomfortable, he stared down at the wriggling infant. He shook his head.

"I'll take him," Hermione replied, reaching for the child.

Hermione bounced little Sirius in her arms and cooed at him. The infant screwed up his face and grunted. An unpleasant odor wafted from the child's diaper. Hermione's nose wrinkled in disgust. Ron and Harry burst into guffaws.

"Oh dear," Angela replied, suppressing a giggle. "Here, let me take care of that."

She took the child from Hermione, laid him on a blanket on the seat of the chair, and unfastened the diaper. "Faeces evanesco." With a wave of her wand and the simple incantation, the malodorous excrement disappeared.

"These magical diapers are a really wonderful invention," she commented. "Madam Pomfrey gave them to me. Wish I'd known about these a month ago. Just wave your wand and they clean themselves."

"Where does it go?" Hermione inquired, peering over Angela's shoulder at the clean diaper.

"I really don't know," Angela replied, looking puzzled. "It must go somewhere."

Ron grimaced and spit a half-chewed jelly bean into his palm. Angela caught a glimpse of the confection in his hand. She cast him a knowing glance.

"Didn't I warn you about those brown ones?"

A commotion in the hallway attracted Angela's attention. She heard her brother's voices in loud conversation with Severus Snape right outside the door. Angela's face flashed with alarm. She scooped the baby into her arms.

"Quick, hide," she instructed the students. "I'll try to get rid of them."

Harry whipped the invisibility cloak from his rucksack, dashed to the corner of the room, and threw it over his head. Ron and Hermione ran to join him under the cover of the cloak. Seconds later, the door clicked open. Two burly wizards with brown curly hair barged into the room, looks of outrage on their faces. Severus Snape followed behind, scowling.

"This is preposterous!" Francis Hawkins bellowed, smacking a newspaper with his hand.

"Not so loud, you fool," Snape snarled, whipping his head around to stare down the corridor. "Do you want the whole school to hear?"

"What's going on?" Angela asked, glancing from face to face.

"Look at this!" Francis thrust the newspaper into Angela's hand. He jabbed an angry finger at the front page headline.

Angela took the paper from her brother, the evening edition of the Daily Prophet. Her eyes scanned the lead article and devoured the words on the page. Her jaw melted open. She could not believe her eyes.

TWO SLAIN IN MURDEROUS WEREWOLF ATTACK

TIES TO DEATH EATERS ALLEGED

A remote cottage in pastoral Beecher's Knoll was the sight of two grisly murders late last evening. The cottage was the home of Remus J. Lupin, a highly dangerous werewolf and the prime suspect in the case. The mangled body of Bellatrix Lestrange was found dead at the scene. A second victim, identified as Walden Macnair, was rushed to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries for treatment, where he later succumbed to his injuries and died.

Lestrange will be long remembered as the notorious felon incarcerated for the torture and incapacitation of Frank and Alice Longbottom. She was a known Death Eater in the service of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Armed and highly dangerous, she had roamed at large since her escape from Azkaban prison more than two years ago.

Before his death, Macnair issued a statement to the authorities concerning the attack. Macnair had been employed at the Ministry of Magic as executioner in the Department for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. He testified that he was on assignment for the Ministry, tracking Lupin. He alleged that he had witnessed the fatal confrontation between the werewolf and Lestrange and was attacked while trying to apprehend the beast.

A distraught Rodolphus Lestrange, a wanted Death Eater and husband of the deceased, turned himself in to the authorities late today. He offered cooperation in exchange for clemency. Lestrange revealed that Lupin and the infamous Sirius Black had been part of the inner circle of those most loyal to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He provided chilling details of power struggles within the Death Eater ranks following the demise of their leader. His testimony provided credible motive for the killings.

Lupin was taken into custody earlier today. He remains incarcerated at Azkaban prison, awaiting trial...

"They're accusing him of being a Death Eater now?" Angela whispered, staring in disbelief at the black and white words on the page.

The newspaper dropped from her fingers and fluttered to the floor. Angela clutched Sirius to her breast. Her knees felt weak. This can't be happening.

Both her brothers grabbed her arms to steady her. They lowered her into the nearest chair. In her shock, she had forgotten all about Harry and his friends, still hiding under the cover of the cloak.

"Lucius is behind this, I'm sure," Paul growled, slamming his fist into his palm. "Remus and Mad-Eye were getting too close."

"Just three days ago, they got surveillance photographs of Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange entering the back door of Malfoy Manor," Francis added with a knowing glare.

Snape's dark eyes flashed with surprise. "If those photographs surface now, they will be dismissed as further evidence that Lupin was trying to eliminate a rival." He sneered. "A very clever move on Lucius' part. He sacrifices Rodolphus to save himself and solidifies the case against Lupin at the same time."

"So have you been able to get any information?" Paul snapped, shooting Snape an angry look. "Have they managed to bring You-Know-Who back?"

An audible gasp was heard coming from the corner of the room. Snape's head jerked. His eyes narrowed.

"Shut up, you fool!" Snape snapped. His dark swept the room with a suspicious glare. He froze, staring at the very corner in which Harry and his friends were hiding. Snape sniffed. "Walls may have ears."

Angela suddenly remembered the students in the room. Her eyes opened wide. Her mind raced.

"Oh, that must have been little James," she said. "It's feeding time. Would someone kindly take Sirius for me?"

She rose to her feet and held out the wide-eyed infant to Snape. He frowned and eyed the tot with an uncertain stare. He ran a hand through his greasy hair and turned toward the door.

"My apologies," Snape replied. "Please excuse me. I have work to do."

"Of course," Angela rejoined, pulling Sirius close.

Snape spun on his heels and strode to the door. He stopped, casting one last piercing stare at the corner. Then he opened the door and exited the room. Angela breathed a sigh of relief and turned in Harry's direction.

"It's safe to come out now," she whispered.

Harry pulled off the invisibility cloak. Francis and Paul both spun around to face the trio of students, all five faces aghast.

"That was close," Ron gasped.

"That are you three doing here?" Paul blustered, an expression of astonishment on his face.

"They came to visit me," Angela explained. "When you three barged in, babbling all the Order's business." She shot them a scolding look. "We might as well tell them the whole story now."

"So the Death Eaters are trying to bring Voldemort back?" Harry asked, his green eyes flashing with anxiety.

"So it appears," Angela answered. "They're looking for a diamond with regenerative powers called the Phoenix."

"Get the Phoenix!" Hermione gasped. "That's what the message meant. It's another gem. Like the Eye of the Serpent."

Angela's mouth dropped open. "You know about the Eye of the Serpent?"

"Of course," Hermione volunteered. "We figured that out right after the Christmas holidays. We knew that Harry's visions had come from somewhere. That the Malfoys must have found a way to contact V-voldemort." She winced.

"We borrowed some Extendible Ears from Fred and George to spy on Malfoy," Ron added. "We overheard him bragging to his friends about it in the library."

Paul whistled. "We could use you three in the Order. Underage or not."

"Seems we ought to reconsider that rule," Francis added, with a look of wonder.

"So how are we going to stop them from bringing Voldemort back?" Harry asked.

"We?" Angela rejoined, a scolding look in her eyes. "Remus would never forgive me for involving you, Harry. Please let Dumbledore and the Order deal with this." Her eyes softened. She shot him a beseeching look. "I have enough to worry about with Remus in prison. I don't know what I'd do, if I put you in danger too."

Pity flashed in Harry's green eyes. He dropped his gaze, now staring at his shoes. "Okay," he said. "I will."

"You three should get back up to Gryffindor Tower," Francis admonished. "You don't want to get caught out of bounds."

"Well, look at you, brother," Paul mocked, punching his twin in the arm. "Since when have you been an advocate of following the rules?"

"Just seems that we've already got enough trouble without making more for ourselves. That's all." Francis shot his sister an apologetic glance. He nodded to Harry. "Come on then. I'll escort you and keep an eye out for Filch and that nasty cat of his."