Collateral Damage

Remus returned to the hidden headquarters from his walk. The warm room with the un-matching furniture was familiar to him from his exploring with his fellow Marauders. He remembered a happier time when they had stumbled upon the room while making the Marauder's Map. In those days they would sit in the main room and gorge themselves on sweets from Honeydukes. Remus remembered the stories that Sirius had told of bringing girls back to the room, enjoying their company in one of the bedrooms. These memories caused him to chuckle at himself as he was locking the door behind him; the musty smell of the room was combined with a hint of smoke from the fireplace.

He sat down at a table marked and scratched with age; he rested his hands on the table for a moment, sympathizing with the inanimate object about all the wear and tear it has seen. He rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his greying hair, cursing his inability to get a good night's sleep. Remus then pulled various maps towards him; these maps covered all of Europe, and showed the locations of known werewolf packs. Though he had no exact mission as of yet, he knew that he would be required to act as a liaison on the Order's behalf to those werewolf packs. He scanned the maps again, this time noting the locations of those packs which had yet to pick a side. He had been wondering for some time as to the reason why they were neutral. In a war like this one, neutrality is not an option. One's survival depends on the choices that one makes. He scanned the map, looking around the locations, trying to find what assets the areas would have for Lord Voldemort. It was at this moment when Remus realized why those packs were still neutral.

"Their locations are so remote that they probably have no need to support a side, as it won't affect them," he thought. He knew that it was essential to gain the support from these packs; having more than one werewolf on Dumbledore's side may help sway the opinions of those not completely committed to Lord Voldemort.

A quick glance at the old grandfather clock located against the wall, between two of the bedrooms, told him it was just after breakfast in the Great Hall. Classes would begin soon. It was the perfect time to slip down to grab a bite to eat without causing too much of a ruckus among the student body. Sighing, he straightened out the maps and charts into their original order, and brought them back to his small, but cozy, bedroom.

Heading to the Great Hall for breakfast was not as easy to accomplish as he had planned. Despite the fact that he had only taught at Hogwarts for one year, a few of his former students, mainly Harry, Ron and Hermione, had spotted him in the halls. At the sight of seeing their favourite Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, the Trio completely forgot about heading off to class to go and speak with him about Order of the Phoenix business. Their desire to chat probably had more to do with the fact that they were supposed to be in Potions than any desire to catch up. Although he found it amusing, he'd rather not be a reason why some of his former students missed out on their schoolwork, as well as face detention with Professor Snape. He humoured the Trio concerning information that the Order knew, not giving anything critical away. He just answered that he didn't know when his next mission would be, what it would be, and that he was not allowed to tell them any intelligence that the Order might have learned. Once he felt that he had humoured them long enough, he excused himself from their company and made his way towards the Great Hall. He was amused knowing that their curiosity was not quenched, and that they would pounce on the next available Order member for any tidbit of information.

On his way to the Great Hall, near the moving staircases, he bumped into Alastor Moody. Moody's eye was spinning in all directions, obviously picking up all the magical happenings in the school. He looked as gruff as ever, it was obvious that despite his age he was still playing an active role in the Order. Alastor was looking up through the ceiling when Remus happened upon him.

"Alastor!" Remus said with a smile. He had always been intimidated by the former Auror, and although they were equals in the Order, Remus never felt that Alastor completely trusted him. He shrugged it off, attributing it to his werewolf status.

"Remus, it's good to see you, I was on my way to find you. Dumbledore has called another meeting for tonight," Moody said, his eye now focusing on the werewolf.

"Alright, something must've come up because he didn't mention this additional meeting last night," Remus replied, his brow furrowing with concern.

"Well, you know, these meetings aren't set in stone, it often depends on what... arises," Alastor mentioned, cautiously. "He only has requested a few of the Order to be there. This isn't like a general meeting."

Remus nodded. He understood completely. If there were only a select few from the Order there then that meant that the topic was truly serious. He bid farewell to Alastor and continued his journey to the Great Hall. The enchanted ceiling showed that there was a warm spring day outside. He sat himself at a table and at breakfast, he picked at his food, wondering what was in store for the Order. He was still so very tired from the last transformation that he feared that his attention would fail him. He resolved to himself that after breakfast he would try to catch some sleep.

In his room in the afternoon Remus was having problems sleeping again. Lying on his bed in the afternoon was something Remus was not accustomed to. He tossed and turned this way and that, never becoming comfortable, and never having a restful sleep. His blankets were misarranged, pillows ended up on the floor, the night table, under legs and over his head. Eventually, he dozed off for an hour or two, and his nap was not a peaceful one. Images of the bite, Halloween 1981, the veil and looks of horror from the people who found out about his condition clouded his head. He awoke covered in a cold sweat and turned fretfully in his bed. He then realized that napping probably wasn't helping him in any way, and that he might as well get up and head off to the meeting.

Once he entered Dumbledore's office, he saw that the meeting was truly serious. There were only a few choice members of the Order present: Moody, Tonks, Kingsley and Snape. Realizing that he was late, Remus blushed and made way to the closest chair.

Dumbledore looked around the assembly and commented, "Well, now that we are all here, I will bring to your attention the reason that I have gathered you all here tonight."

"There is a family near here that needs our protection. They play an important role against Voldemort. One of the members, the father, is a known alchemist, and was in the process of creating a potion where the side effects are similar to that of the Imperius curse. It is going to be our duty to protect this man and his family, or else Death Eaters will kidnap him and use his abilities to further their plans. If that were to happen then the potion could be brewed and Voldemort would have the ability to control many without the use of a wand."

"If he was in the process of making the potion, why don't we just tell him to stop, as opposed to using us to protect him?" Kingsley Shacklebolt asked looking around his fellow Order members for support.

"If only it were that easy," Dumbledore replied. "However, the potion has already been brewed and as a result, if Mr. Berkley was to be put under the Imperius curse, he could be controlled to make the potion again."

"So, what kind of protection is needed? Guards? Fidelius?" Alastor inquired.

"Fidelius in combination with a small Guard actually. The information that is contained with Mr. Berkley is so dangerous that it is imperative that he does not fall into harms way."

"Who would be the secret-keeper and who would be members of the Guard?" asked Remus.

"I would be the secret keeper," replied Dumbledore, looking at Remus. "Tonks, Alastor and you, Remus, would be the guard."

Remus' heart jumped, he was finally allowed to go on a mission. It was not the mission that he was preparing for, but it was still an important task for the Order.

"I felt the need to have those of you here who are not going on the mission so you can be aware of what's going on. Severus, I trust you to keep us updated, as well as you Kingsley."

The two men nodded in agreement. Dumbledore bade them all "Good night," and entered his own chambers. The Order left the office letting the severity of their task sink in. If this potion were to fall in the wrong hands it would spell disaster for the side of good.

As he passed the Infirmary again, Remus noticed that the candles were still lit. Slowing his pace a bit allowed Poppy to stick her head out of the door.

"Remus, it's clear that you have been having problems sleeping. I took the liberty of having my assistant brew you a Dreamless Sleep Potion. "

Remus felt a blush rise in his cheeks at the mention of Poppy noticing his ailments. He did not want to be a burden, yet he was very grateful; he was in dire need of a good sleep.

"Thank you Poppy, I appreciate that," Remus nodded his head in a slight bow.

Poppy nodded back at him, and said "Good-night", Remus went into the secret room, and sat at his usual table. His maps and charts were right where he left them. He was about to open them when Poppy's assistant came in with the potion. She set it down on the table next to him, not making eye contact.

"Be sure to drink this all at once."

"I will, thank you," Remus said, looking up at her with thanks.

She nodded and left the room. Remus looked down at the potion, and then picked it up and headed towards his bedroom. Sitting on his bed, he gulped the whole thing down. "It's not like I can't look at the maps in the morning..."

After he laid down on his bed, the most restful sleep he had in a long time engulfed him.