Collateral Damage

Curses were flying everywhere; the house was being lit-up by wand sparks and hexes of devastating degree. Remus fought with himself over what course of action he should take.

Surveying the scene, his mind was made up for him, and with his wand at the ready he jumped into the fray. As the curses flew around him, he did his best to avoid the damaging curses that were streaking past, not wanting to find out what the end result would be. As he spun around, he pointed his wand at his enemy, only to feel a spell hit him in the back. Instantly, everything went black.

~-~

Eight Months Prior

The door to a classroom opened, and various witches and wizards flooded into the hallway. The graying hair and wrinkles gave away the fact that they were too old to be studying for their N.E.W.T.S., yet they all wore an expression of exhaustion on their faces.

It had been yet another long meeting for the Order of the Phoenix, as Dumbledore had each member brief the others on their missions. The enemy had now made themselves more public. Many of these reports detailed their efforts of stopping one of the many small but new Death Eater attacks. Tonks was briefing everyone on her mission in Knockturn Alley. She would pose under a disguise and try to eavesdrop on the important conversations of unsavory folk. This, combined with any official information that Kingsley Shacklebolt managed to acquire in the Auror department, proved to be extremely advantageous. Shacklebolt knew of all the disappearances, as well as the records of the magical creatures that have depleted numbers. He was also aware of the magical ingredients that were being stolen from warehouses. It appeared that the Death Eaters were trying to gather a stockade of materials for potions, charmed items, and magical beasts. These meetings were to try and keep track of the Death Eaters so the Order could plan for what they believed to be a large scale attack. At the same time, the Order was trying to determine which magical groups would be targeted by Voldemort for an alliance.

Although the meetings are extremely important, Remus Lupin found it especially tedious as he had only just recovered from the latest full moon, and he had no mission to de-brief. He stayed in the classroom as he wanted to speak to Dumbledore. It was the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, returned to the way it use to look before Professor Umbridge. Remus was saddened by the thought of not teaching here once again. Being back in Hogwarts did not improve his mood. This was not the time to be feeling sorry for himself, however. The Order needed him, or so he thought. After the death of his best friend, Sirius Black, Remus had not been given an assignment. He did not know what plan Dumbledore had in store for him; all he knew was that when he questioned the Headmaster, his responses were vague and unclear. Now Remus was alone with Dumbledore, and hoping to get some answers.

"All in good time, Remus, all in good time," Dumbledore said, with a sparkle in his eye. He was gathering up some parchment that had details of the potion ingredients that the Death Eaters were after. He stopped and looked at Remus earnestly, "When the time comes you will wish for these days again."

Remus looked at the Headmaster to protest, but only met the sad eyes of a wizard who knew the cost of war. Remus nodded and wished the older wizard a "Good night." He walked silently out of the room, looking straight ahead. The only sound was his brisk foot steps on the stone floor. He opened the heavy oak door and then strode off down the hallway.

Although Grimmauld Place was unplottable, Bellatrix Lestrange knew of it's location after Sirius Black fell through the veil, as Kreacher came into her possession. Hogwarts was one of the few safe places left for the Order to stay. Members of the Order were being housed there until a new headquarters was found. There was a secret passageway behind a tapestry near the dungeons and staff's quarters. Along the long and winding tunnel there was a small arched door. The door opened up into a large, circular, common room, decorated with various pieces of furniture, which also formed a circle, none of which matched. Along the wall were portraits and paintings, as well as heavy oak doors, carved with ancient runes and scenes of medieval witches and wizards practicing their craft, being persecuted and the creation of Hogwarts. Each door told a different part of the story. Remus entered the common room, and made his way towards a door on the right-hand side of the room. The door featured a wizard in a forest picking magical herbs, and then the same wizard hanging the herbs in his small house. He entered quickly before collapsing on his bed.

Sleep did not come easy to him, despite his exhaustion. The meeting had left his mind racing. Now that Voldemort was exposed to the public, it was expected that there would be large attacks. Remus cringed and rubbed his eyes as he thought of their situation. Larger attacks meant more deaths, and more deaths meant more Muggle deaths. The Muggles were not involved with this war; Voldemort just saw them as collateral damage. The Order needed more time. They needed the time so they could recruit more people and plan an effective defence. The Giants were ruled out, as well as the vampires. Voldemort had already got to them. Out of all the other exiled creatures, the only ones that they could try to have any impact on were the House Elves, Centaurs, and Werewolves.

"The Werewolves," thought Lupin. "They are Voldemort's next targets. They have been so stigmatized by wizarding society that they would jump at the chance to be treated somewhat human. If they join the Death Eaters, they could wreak havoc every full moon as revenge on the Wizarding World." He felt disgusted that his disease could be used as such a weapon. Tossing over in his bed, he eventually drifted off into a light sleep.

In the morning, he rose quite early. As he walked past the infirmary Poppy scolded him when she saw his haggard appearance.

"Carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders will not help you recover from the full moon Remus, you know that." Remus smiled politely, and nodded. It was far too early to disagree with the nurse. He continued walking past infirmary as quickly has he had come and made his way to the staff room, hoping to have an early breakfast. However, there was no food prepared yet, and Remus wasn't about to disturb a house-elf this early. He decided that a walk around the grounds would kill some time, as well as clear his head. Without another thought the reluctant werewolf headed down towards the doors and made his way into the chilly spring morning sunlight.