Hunting The Traitor

Dumbledore's Sacrifice

Remus J. Lupin was thoroughly pissed off.

It was an occurrence rather seldom happening with him, mostly he was a very calm and reserved man who had his emotions under a very strict guard. There were only few people who knew which strings to pull to make his reserves crumble.

And what angered him most at the moment was that his father and brother had willingly pulled those strings. Remus had told him after the last hearing with caseworker Smith that, though he was sad to say so, he had tried everythin in his might to gain custody over Harry and that there was nothing left for him to do about it anymore. He had failed.

Remus distinctly remembered that he had also mentioned his lacking urge to humiliate himself further in front of the Ministry by continuing his senseless petitioning.

And what had the first thing that Janus had done after that announcement?
His dear brother had written another petition for custody, had signed it simply with his last name, and had sent it off to the Ministry.

Without Remus' knowledge or consent.

Well, Remus could have lived with that. Janus was as stubborn as a mule when he wanted to, and he seemed to have taken a personal edge in his little brother's fight against the institution that employed him. Remus could have lived with Janus sending in another petition, inwardly he had decided that in case he would be granted another hearing, he merely would not show up and end this farce once and for all.

But then his father had seen need to pull out the big guns. What had this man, whom Remus had up to that point trusted and loved beyond any boundaries, done? The first thing he had done, after the announcement that Remus' next hour of public humiliation and embarrassment would take place in front of none other but the Minister of Magic himself, was that he had gone to Hogwarts and asked Albus Dumbledore to be present at the hearing.

Again, this had been done without Remus' knowledge or consent.

Richard had even been whistling when he had arrived home that afternoon, announcing that he had great news for his son. Heck, that man had the air to expect Remus to be happy about it.

Oh sure, there was nothing he looked more forward to than to sharing this moment of utter disgrace and degradation with his former mentor. Remus could hardly stand the anticipation.

It was needless to say that Richard didn't quite understand the sarcastic attitude his son had adopted after that day on everything that concerned the custody case. Or, as Remus had begun to call it, 'the case in which everybody who wants to have a go can laugh about the daft werewolf'.

Sarcasm was a fine thing, why did nobody understand that?

No, instead of just letting him brood over the unfairness of life, his so called family had not stopped pestering him about the upcoming hearing, they had not stopped until Remus had promised to go, even if he had just done so to escape their constant bothering.

So now Remus was once more on his way towards the Ministry of Magic. Something he had sworn not to do again anytime soon if it could be avoided. Remus really didn't know what on Earth he was doing here, but if Dumbledore really had given his consent to come, then at least Remus could show up at the hearing as well. He'd go through the stupid minutes of stupid questions again and after that, it would finally be over. He could go on living his life.

With this somewhat calming thought in mind, Remus opened the doors and entered the building of the Department of Family Regulations.

This time, he didn't need to ask for directions anymore, Remus guessed that by now he had seen every single office in the Department during his hearings. Because of Fudge's presence, today's hearing would take place in chief-caseworker Smith's office, Smith would be present just as well as Nichols. Oh joy!

When Remus entered the long corridor where Smith's office was located, the floor an ugly shade of lime-green and the walls a colour that somewhat distantly reminded of apricot, he saw his former headmaster already standing in front of the office door. Much to Remus' surprise, his brother and his father were standing there as well.

His previous calm all but forgotten, Remus felt his anger rise in his chest again. Hadn't he told his father and Janus explicitly that he didn't want them to be present at the hearing? They had acted against his wishes often enough during the last couple of weeks, he didn't need them to be here and see this now to top it all.

Dumbledore smiled as he saw Remus approaching.

"Ah, Remus. Good morning to you."

"Good morning, Professor."

Remus gave his former headmaster a short greeting nod before he turned his attention on his 'family'.

"What are you doing here?"
Janus opened his mouth to reply, oblivious to the fact that this had been a rhetorical question, but Remus interrupted him.

"Didn't I tell you explicitly to stay away from the hearing? Why can't you just for once do something I ask you to?"

Dumbledore rose his hand in a calming gesture and interrupted Remus' upcoming rant.

"Remus, please. I asked them to come today, as I think they should see what takes place during the hearing."
Remus spun around and rose an eyebrow at the older wizard. Had that man gone completely mad now?

"Professor, with all due respect, but I don't think that me being humiliated and disgraced once more is something either of them needs to witness. It's already bad enough that they could convince me to go through this again."

Dumbledore just shook his head.

"I don't think that anybody will be humiliated here today, Remus."

"What do you mean?"
"Patience, my dear boy. Just tell them your story, the way you wanted to tell them during the first times already. You'll see that in the end everything might turn out alright."

Remus sighed.

"I think you don't know what you're talking about, Professor."

Before Dumbledore could respond to that, the door in front of them opened and caseworker Nichols gestured them to come into the room.

Remus instantly felt sick. He didn't want this, he had not even prepared himself for the hearing, and now Dumbledore and his father really expected him to go in there? Even more, Dumbledore expected the events to turn towards the better?

Remus could not see from whence this old man drew his optimism, but once more he decided to trust Albus Dumbledore. After all, the older wizard had never disappointed him before.

Nichols showed them into the room and gestured the four men to take place on one side of the long table in the office. Nichols, Smith and Minister Fudge were seated on the other side of the table.

When they had sat down, Nichols pulled out a quick-quote quill and placed it on a parchment in front of him. Remus frowned. They had not done that during all the previous hearings, so he guessed that Fudge's presence kept the caseworkers stick a lot closer to their protocol.

Nichols cleared his throat and began to speak, the quill writing down everything he said.

"September 12th 1982, it's nine o'clock in the morning. We're here for the custody hearing in case A14022/XD1982, Remus J. Lupin concerning the child Harry James Potter.

Present at the hearing are Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, chief-caseworker Gwendolyn Smith, caseworker Stuart Nichols, applicant Remus J. Lupin. Furthermore Albus Dumbledore..."

Here, Nichols rose a questioning eyebrow at the two men whose names he didn't know. Janus reacted fastest.

"Richard and Janus Lupin."

Nichols nodded.

"...and Richard and Janus Lupin. Let's proceed to the hearing. Minister?"

Cornelius Fudge looked around the room. Remus could not really interpret the look in his eyes. It could have been extreme boredom about being forced to judge in a custody case, but it could as well have been annoyance that he was the one who had to tell the werewolf once and for all that The Boy Who Lived was not in his league.

"Well then. Mr. Lupin, you have petitioned custody for Harry Potter, claiming that the situation demands a re-location of the child. Would you care to elaborate why you see this step necessary, and especially why you think you would be a better guardian for the child than the ones currently assigned?"
Remus was startled for a moment. Though Fudge had spoken in a distant and matter-of-fact-manner, it had been the friendliest way Remus had been addressed during any of the hearings. Not to mention the fact that he seemed to be granted the chance to tell his side of the story. Quickly collecting himself, Remus recalled his often rehearsed speech and began.

"Alright Minister.

I've been a close friend of the child's parents, and nearly two months after they had been murdered I decided to visit Harry in his new home. I was planning to check that he was doing fine, and to say goodbye to him. After all, Professor Dumbledore had told me that he would think it better for Harry to grow up with his muggle relatives, far away from the wizarding world and his fame here."

Dumbledore nodded affirmatively, and Remus continued.

"However, when I arrived at his relatives' house, I had to realize that the child is being neglected, very much so. Unlike his cousin, Harry gets neither any toys to play with, nor does he get any attention or affection at all, which might be even worse. He is ignored for most of the time while his cousin is spoiled in front of his eyes. His aunt personally told me that she considers Harry to be nothing but an inconvenience and that's exactly how they treat him. Within a couple of weeks, Harry has turned from a happy child into a shy and withdrawn one.

Furthermore, his aunt and uncle despise his magical origins. They consider it an abnormality, and that's just what they teach Harry. By the time I visited him he had already adopted the word 'freak' to describe himself, and I shudder to think what will happen with him once he realizes what that word means.

I don't think that this is an environment for Harry to grow up in."

Fudge had silently listened to Remus' description, and when he had finished he looked around the room again.

"Have there been any signs of physical abuse on the child?"
Remus shook his head.

"No, none that I've seen. I wouldn't go as far and say that his relatives would do that to him, not now that he's still such a small child. What could happen later, I can't say. But it's his mental development I'm concerned about. James and Lily explicitly stated that they didn't want Harry ever to meet his aunt and uncle, let alone live with them. They told me this more than once. That's why they appointed...Sirius to be his guardian in case something happened to them. Of course, back then nobody knew what would happen."

An eerie silence lay over the room for some moments after those words, and Remus desperately tried to get control over his vocal chords again. Thinking about Sirius and his betrayal still hurt, Remus doubted that it would ever stop hurting, and bringing up his former friend in this hearing had not been good for Remus' composure. He was glad when Dumbledore brought their thoughts back to Harry.

"After Mr. Lupin told me what he had witnessed at the Dursley household, I placed a stronger monitoring charm on the house. I have watched the household closely during the past months. What I have seen there confirms everything Mr. Lupin has said just now, Harry is not being physically mistreated, but he is being ignored and neglected. I agree that this is not a bearable situation for such a small child."

Fudge raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment. Then he sighed.

"Mr. Lupin, even if you and Professor Dumbledore can convince me that Harry Potter has to be relocated, which I think should be taken into consideration should your accusations be proven true, what makes you think that you could be taken in regard as his possible guardian?"

"I already have a relationship with the child. Though I could not visit him ever since last Christmas, I have witnessed Harry's first fourteen months. He knows me and I know him. I'm the last living person who can link him to his parents.

I know that I have no countable experience in childcare in your eyes, but I have people willing to help me should things get difficult. Which I don't expect them to become. I can offer Harry a home, I have a job with steady income, and most important I can offer him my time and my affection. That's far more than he's being offered at the moment. I think I could raise Harry better than his relatives do, I love the child. They don't."

Remus didn't know whether the three Ministry officials realized the honesty of his words, but he was well aware that declaring his ability to take care of Harry wasn't the biggest obstacle for him to remove today.

Fudge looked at him, again wit that unreadable expression on his face.

"What about your lycanthropy?"

There it was. Short, to the point, no prancing around. No mocking. No mocking? Remus didn't know what to make of that one.

"My lycanthropy only affects me once every twenty-eight days. During the rest of the time, I'm a perfectly normal human being. Today is the day before full moon, and as you can see I'm calm and not even close to turning into a vicious monster. Of course I would take precautions so that Harry would not be anywhere near me, already hours prior and still hours after the transformations. My father has already stated that he would be willing to take care of Harry during that time."

Richard nodded, but Fudge didn't look convinced. Not at all.

"Mr. Lupin, you know the laws concerning lycanthropes. They don't allow them to have own children or to adopt children."
Remus interrupted.

"We're not talking about adoption here, Minister. We're talking about guardianship."
This was as close to a loophole in the law as they had gotten, and Remus wasn't willing to give this argument up though he knew it was useless.

"Guardianship falls under that law as well, Mr. Lupin."

Remus shook his head.

"Not explicitly, Minister."
Fudge sighed.

"But, Mr. Lupin, you are not mentioned to be the child's guardian in any legal paper."

"That's true. I am not. However, there have been countless cases in which children were given into the care of not explicitly legally stated persons before."

"Which were no werewolves."

Remus rolled his eyes.

"That's what it all comes back to, isn't it? Minister, everybody I know can confirm how careful I am concerning this curse. I would not put Harry into any danger. I'm going through this whole process to save him from harm, not for the contrary."

"Mr. Lupin, I am aware of that. But we do have laws, and those laws state explicitly that lycanthropes are not to be taken into consideration for adoption processes, and you have to admit that guardianship is a part of the adoption process."

Fudge leaned back in his chair and for a moment, the only sound in the room was the scratching of the quick-quote quill.

There. That was it. Fudge would turn his petition down, Remus knew it. Why had he still bothered to come here? Why had his father, Janus and Dumbledore forced him to go through this again? It had been hopeless right from the start, why could they not have just let it be?

Once more, Dumbledore's voice interrupted Remus' thoughts.

"Cornelius, I have one or two more things to add before you close the hearing, if you have nothing against it?"

Fudge waved his hand at the older man.

"Of course not, Albus. Go ahead."

"Thank you."
Dumbledore reached into his pocket and pulled out two small stacks of notes. Waving his wand over them, he enlarged the reduced packages until two folders appeared in front of him.

"Now, you've stated that we have to stick to the law while deciding this case."

Fudge nodded, obviously a little confused.

"Of course."
"And certainly you agree that our community has a fair number of laws, too many to remember them all at times."

"What do you want to say, Albus?"

Instead of answering, Dumbledore opened one of the folders and handed the contents over to Fudge.

"You might remember Didier Roadackle, Cornelius. Minister of Magic from 1406 till 1419. He had to deal with the aftermath of the three big Goblin rebellions at the turn of the century, while muggle England was still engaged in the hundred-years war with France. Which, as you might recall, did not leave the wizarding world unscathed as well. Many orphans during that time, so Roadackle had to pass out laws that regulated the further dealings with those orphans."

Fudge scanned the contents of the file with an increasing frown. Dumbledore continued, not paying his reaction any attention at all.

"It's funny, but those laws are still valid today, Cornelius. And as you might see on page seven of the file, the law from March 21st 1407 clearly states that giving a child into the care of a person not stated as its legal guardian is possible. Given that the closest living blood relatives of the child agree. There is even a regulation for the case that those relatives are deceased as well, but as Harry still has living relatives, we simply have to ask them whether they consider Remus to be a better guardian for Harry than themselves. Which, I might think, they'll do."

Fudge's face grew a furious red within mere seconds.

"Those are ancient laws, Albus. No way you can apply them today, they were passed out in completely different circumstances!"

Dumbledore only smiled.

"But they are sill in force, Cornelius."

Fudge angrily shook his head.

"But we have different laws today, laws that say exactly the opposite."
"There, Cornelius, you might be mistaken. There is no explicit law stating the opposite. What you are talking about is the use of our existing laws about guardianship. It's practice not to grant custody in case there is no explicit legal stating of guardianship, but it's not an explicit law.

Believe me Cornelius, I checked it."

Fudge angrily slammed the file back onto the table. He clearly didn't like being outsmarted by anybody, even if that person was Albus Dumbledore. But he still had a card up his sleeve, something the older wizard could not do anything against.

"Even if you are right about this, Albus, which I assure you we will check thoroughly before we admit it, there is still the fact that Mr. Lupin is a werewolf. And we can't grant a werewolf guardianship. Didier Roadackle or not!"

Remus had watched the entire conversation in silent astonishment. Why hadn't they stumbled across this law? Well, the answer was quite simple actually. They had not researched farther back than to the nineteenth century, that's why. But even though Dumbledore might have found a loophole for one law, there were still the regulations concerning lycanthropes standing in their way. And he seriously doubted that Dumbledore had found a way around them as well.

But, once more in his life, Remus J. Lupin had underestimated Albus Dumbledore.

Seemingly untouched by Fudge's outburst, the old wizard opened the second folder.

"I think that you should be more familiar with these documents, Cornelius."

He indicated the front page, on which the words "Ministry Regulations Concerning The Dealings With Lycanthropes - 1786" could be read. Fudge nodded.

"Of course, those are our regulations on werewolves. I know them, Albus, you can't trick me with those. There is no loophole in them."

Dumbledore only smiled knowingly.

"Cornelius, what do you think? I've not been looking for loopholes here. What I wanted to show you is a legal paragraph of the regulations. Paragraph 188, to be precise. The very last paragraph, which was added to grant lycanthropes certain rights. Under specific circumstances of course, but nevertheless I think it can be applied in our case here. Do you mind if I read it out partially for the protocol?"

Not waiting for Fudges answer, Dumbledore leafed through the pages and began to read.

"§ 188: The aforementioned restrictions on lycanthropes, such as prohibition to run an own business, take up educational professions, take up care for non blood-related children...the list goes on, but I'll skip those parts as they don't concern our case, Cornelius...which can be found in §27 to 168, do not apply in 'case of guarantee'. 'Case of guarantee' applies when a wizard of legal age who is not blood related to the lycanthrope in question, legally takes up said guarantee for the lycanthrope's actions and dealings.

As a consequence, the guarantor will be held responsible for all offences against the law caused by the lycanthrope in question."

Dumbledore looked up.

"The paragraph is a lot longer actually, but I think we all can read it on our own if we want to. But the information which concerns this case can be summed up like this:

A werewolf is allowed to get custody for a child if another wizard of legal age guarantees for him or her. As simple as that."

Fudge shook his head, opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. After he had regained his composure a little, he shot Nichols and Smith a dark glare because they had not taken this paragraph into consideration as well. Shaking his head, Fudge turned to Dumbledore.
"Albus, this paragraph was added to grant lycanthropes the possibility to run their own business or to free them from other restrictions if somebody was willing to guarantee for them. It was not designed to decide a custody case."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled behind his half-moon glasses.

"Then why did they include 'take up care for non blood-related children' into their list, Cornelius? It's there, in the registrations the Ministry uses. No loophole, no bending of laws or definitions. It's clearly stated, so you have to act according to it, no matter what you think the law's origins are."

Fudge still shook his head, but then a triumphal smirk spread across his face.

"You don't seriously think that you can find a guarantor for Lupin. Remember that this is not just signing a paper to get somebody off some taxes. The guarantor is held responsible for the lycanthrope's actions, he can and will be charged hard for any offence. If the werewolf is charged and found guilty of a crime, the guarantor will go to prison for a considerable amount of time. I don't think anybody would risk a life-time sentence in Azkaban for a werewolf."

Dumbledore just rose an eyebrow.

"I would not be too sure if I were you."

Fudge shook his head again and gave a harsh laugh.

"Who do you think would guarantee with his life for the actions of a werewolf? Them?"
He indicated Richard and Janus with a sly smirk.

"I hardly think so. Remember Albus: no blood relatives."

Dumbledore nodded.

"I know. They won't be able to take that position. They won't need to, Cornelius. I will do it."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Janus stared at the man in front of him for what felt like hours. He had not even realized that the knife had fallen out of his hand.

"Oh Fuck."

It wasn't the peak of eloquence, but it was the first thing that came to his mind.

"Oh Fuck alright Janus. Now would you please let me go? Those stairs aren't the most comfortable place to be, you know?"

The man immediately sat down on the stairs and held his injured wrist against his chest, while he curled up and hoped for the throbbing pain in his groin to end.

"Gosh Lucas, what the hell are you doing here? I thought you were a Death Eater!"

Lucas looked up in his partner's face, his features somewhat twisted from the pain in his more sensitive body parts.

"Good, because I had already contemplated turning down the invitation for your birthday party if that's the way you greet your friends. Was it really necessary to slam my wrist against that handrail? I think you've broken it."

Janus ran his hand across his face and through his hair in a frustrated gesture, still trying to figure out just what had happened here during the last couple of minutes. The severity of the situation hit him like a sledgehammer.

If he had been more concerned about being outnumbered, the curses he had shot would not have been mere stunning and disarming spells. Hell, he could have killed his partner and probably would have, had he not wanted to take a look first whether it had been Black trying to enter the house.

With a frustrated sigh, Janus decided that pondering on these thoughts was something he could always resume later. Not he had to sort out this mess and look what damage he had caused to Lucas. Janus hit the switch on the wall and lit the lights again. He went over to Lucas and grabbed him by the elbow of his good arm.

"Let's go into the living room, I'll have a look at it."

Ignoring Lucas' cries of protest and pain, he hauled him to his feet and shoved him into the living room. Once he had placed him on the sofa, he went back to fetch both their wands that had remained on the floor in the hall, forgotten in the confusion after their fight.

"Let me see that wrist, Lucas."

Hesitantly, Lucas moved his arm towards Janus.

"What do you know about first aid, Janus?"

"Enough to mend a broken wrist, in case it really is broken. Now show me your arm."

While he carefully prodded the swollen limb, making Lucas hiss with every touch he applied, he finally found the time to ask what was the most obvious question to him.

"Why the hell didn't you just ring the doorbell, like any other visitor would have done? And what did you want here in the first place?"

"Ouch, carefully Janus! That hurt, you know?

I've been working on that leak in the Ministry, trying to find out who disabled the wards around Azkaban, and I've stumbled across some weird files I wanted to show you. You weren't at home and Serena told me that you had gone visiting Remus. The house was dark and silent when I approached, so I got worried. I wanted to check whether something had happened or whether the three of you had merely decided to spend the evening somewhere else. I came here and got knocked out by you. So, what is your excuse for all this?

Ouch! Didn't I tell you to be careful?"

Janus gently lowered Lucas' arm onto the armrest of the sofa while he picked up his wand.

"It's broken, just as you guessed."

"Oh great, so you prodded and squeezed it for minutes just to confirm something I already knew. Tell me, was this showing off of your superior medical knowledge really necessary, or do you just enjoy seeing me in pain?

Can you mend it?"

His tone was angry and impatient, but Janus ignored it and merely nodded.

"Of course I can mend it. Unlike some people I work with, I actually visited one of those first aid courses at work."

He pointed his wand at Lucas' wrist.

"Resarcio Ossis."

Once more, Lucas hissed in pain, but after the spell had done its work, he carefully bent his wrist and was relieved to find that it didn't hurt anymore. Nevertheless, he cradled his arm carefully against his chest again.

"Thanks."

Janus only shook his head.

"We're not finished yet. I distinctly remember that I didn't only hurt your wrist."

Lucas quickly placed both of his hands in his lap and pulled up his knees.

"Oh no. No Janus. Big No. No way I'll let you point your wand...there. No chance in hell, Janus. I'll bear the pain like a man and you'd better pray that you didn't cause any lasting damage."

A sly smile spread across Janus' face.

"You want to tell me that you actually use it? Wow, Lucas I'm impressed. Who is the lucky girl?"

"Janus, you still didn't answer my question."
"Oh, so it's a lucky guy then?"

"Janus..."

Janus raised his hands and put away his wand.

"Okay, okay, make a big secret out of it. Do you see me care?"

"Janus, I'd really like to know why the house looked deserted and you were hiding in the shadows when I came here."

Dropping into one of the chairs, Janus sighed.

"I put up additional wards today. I thought, if I'm not allowed to tell Remus about Black, I'd at least make sure that the house protections around the house are better. And to prevent Black or any other Death Eater from sneaking near, I put up wards that get triggered by the Dark Mark.

As the alarms went off, I sent Remus and Harry to Hogwarts with a portkey and extinguished all the lights. Somebody was sneaking around the house, tried the back door and then the front door. So I hid in the hall. I couldn't have known that it was you."
Lucas made a snorting sound.

"And during all the protection-of-the-house process, you didn't consider locking the front door? Really Janus, what were you thinking?"

"Actually, I'm more concerned that it was so easy for me to overwhelm you in the hall. You should have guessed that you could be physically attacked."

Lucas only shook his head.

"For a moment I thought I had recognized you when you came out of that doorframe. And the fact that you didn't use any harmful curses also made me doubt that it was an enemy I was facing."

Janus raised his eyebrow.

"And you didn't think about calling out my name to see if it was me?"
"I was about to do that, but a certain someone's knee in my groin somehow interfered with that plan."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. You have my most humble apologies, alright? I couldn't have known it was you."

"Maybe you should have told me about those wards, then all this would not have happened. You could have guessed that I would trigger them."
Janus only shook his head.

"Don't you listen to me? I only set them up today, when should I have told you? And it isn't as if you regularly visit Remus, so I didn't see the need to let you know. But we have a problem."

"What?"

Janus sighed.

"Remus should be at Hogwarts by now. He'll surely come back soon, Dumbledore and Merlin knows who else in tow."

Lucas sank back into the cushions of the sofa and covered his eyes with his left hand.

"What do you suppose we do now?"

"I don't know. Depends on who comes here. And it depends on whether you want to tell. If not, you'd better leave now, I can make up a story."

Lucas shook his head.

"Whatever you come up with, they won't believe you."

Janus shrugged.

"It's your choice. If it's only my brother and Dumbledore, I guess it's safe to tell them. If there are more, we can always say that somebody else attacked and they escaped."

Lucas wanted to repeat something, but at that moment somebody opened the front door. He looked up at Janus.
"You didn't lock the front door, did you?"

Janus rolled his eyes.

"And when should I have done that? Stay here."

Drawing his wand, Janus got up from the sofa and approached the door. Suddenly, a female voice came from the hall.

"Mr. Lupin? Mr. Lupin, are you here?"

"In the living room."

Janus didn't lower his wand, and only moments later an elderly woman with a stern looking face entered the room. Janus remembered that he had seen her before, but could not determine when or where. She too had raised her wand.

"Who are you?"
"Minerva McGonagall, Deputy headmistress of Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore sent me here after your brother arrived at the castle. The two should arrive in a couple of minutes, they just needed to sort out what to do with Harry."

While Janus still contemplated whether he should believe her or not, Lucas' voice came from behind.

"It's okay Janus, I know her."

Janus lowered his wand and gestured McGonagall to enter the living room. As she saw Lucas lying on the sofa, still a little pale and his right hand instinctively cradled at his chest, though it wasn't hurt anymore, she let out a surprised sigh.

"Mr. Spalding, is that you?"

"Glad you remember me, Professor. But I'm not surprised, after all those points you've taken from me over the years."

McGonagall shook her head and stepped closer.

"It's been your own fault that you could never refrain from fighting. You've cost Ravenclaw the house cup more than once, I can tell you. You always got yourself into trouble, and from what I see now this hasn't changed."

She turned to Janus.

"Now, would anybody care to explain what happened here? Your brother was rather worried from what I heard."
"Yes, an explanation would also help to ease my mind."

The three occupants of the room turned at the sound of the new voice, and Janus inwardly vowed to keep the front door locked all the time from now on. Albus Dumbledore stood in the doorway, a slightly confused and still very concerned Remus at his side. He looked from Janus to Lucas and back again, trying to figure out what all this meant.

"Are you alright Janus? What is Lucas doing here? And what in Merlin's name has happened out there?"
Remus gestured into the hall where the reminders of the small table and the ruined picture were still lying around.
Janus grinned somewhat sheepishly and scratched his head with his wand.

"Erm, you see, this is a rather long story."

Remus raised an eyebrow, but Dumbledore seemed to have understood that he was not all that comfortable to tell the story in front of McGonagall. At least that was what he judged from the sideward glances Janus shot at her.

"Minerva, we left Severus where you apparated. Why don't you tell him that the situation is under control and return to the castle? I will sort this out from here."

McGonagall nodded, though her face showed that she was not all that content with being sent away. But nevertheless she relied on Dumbledore's reasons and, nodding her good bye to the four men, she left the room. Moments later the sound of the front door announced that she was gone.

Remus offered Dumbledore a seat in an armchair next to the sofa and sat down on another chair himself. Janus was still leaning against the windowsill.

"Where's Harry?"

"At Hogwarts, in the safe care of the house elfs. We'll fetch him later."

Janus nodded, relieved that Harry was in the safest place he could be. Even if they had not been attacked today, Black was still out there.

"Now," Dumbledore began, "if you don't mind, I think you owe us an explanation."

Janus looked at Lucas, and with a nod of his head his partner rose into a sitting position. He stifled a groan as the pain in his groin flamed up anew.

"What do you want to hear?"

Remus just shook his head.

"What happened after I was gone? Who triggered the wards? Why are you here? Chose one, but finally start explaining."

Lucas sighed.

"It's quite a long story, you know?"

Remus only raised an eyebrow, and with a flick of his wand into the direction of the kitchen, the water kettle on the stove began to boil. Remus summoned a teapot and four cups, then went into the kitchen to fetch the water. After he had prepared the tea, he put the kettle away and sat down again.

"Well, we have time."

Instead of answering immediately, Lucas looked at Janus.

"You're sure it's safe to tell them?"

Janus shrugged.

"I know that they won't tell anybody who could bring you into a compromising situation in the future. But it's your decision. All I can say is that you can trust Remus and Professor Dumbledore to keep it a secret."

Lucas nodded and thought for a moment. Then he looked up again.

"You wonder why the wards around your house were triggered tonight, right?"

Remus nodded.

"That would be my most urgent question at the moment, yes."

"You see, I was searching for Janus because of something we work on at the moment, and his wife told me that he was here. Janus had not told me about the wards he had additionally set up, so I didn't know I would trigger an alarm."

Remus raised an eyebrow, surprise showing on his face. Dumbledore's expression remained impassive, though his eyes had lost their cheerful sparkle and now looked as serious as they could. Since Lucas hesitated a moment before he continued, Remus used that time to vocalize his surprise.

"But Janus told me that his wards would be triggered by the Dark Mark."

Instead of answering, Lucas, still moving his right wrist with care, rolled up the sleeve of his left arm. Faded, but still visible, the tattoo of a skull with a snake creeping out of its mouth came into view. The Dark Mark.

Remus' jaw dropped in astonishment while Dumbledore still didn't twitch a muscle in his face. Janus crossed the room and sat down on the sofa next to Lucas, pouring himself a cup of tea as if the revelation that his partner carried the mark of Voldemort's servants was an everyday occurrence like the sun going up in the morning.

Dumbledore's voice interrupted the tense silence after a moment.

"You give the answer to one question and throw up another one, Mr. Spalding. May I inquire how you come to bear Lord Voldemort's mark?"
Lucas rolled back the sleeve and scratched his left eyebrow. With a nod at Janus he accepted the cup of the his partner offered him. Running his thumb across the rim of the cup, he thought for a moment before answering.

"This again is a long story, and I'm not allowed to tell you the details. No matter if you're trustable or not, I hope you understand, but neither am I allowed nor willing to reveal details of my work.

I'm in the Department since I was twenty-seven, for ten years now. Four years ago, shortly after Lucas joined the Department and became my partner, the government of a country in south-eastern Europe contacted the Ministry and asked for support in a difficult case they were dealing with.

You have not heard of it before, because both governments agreed to keep it secret, but I trust that nobody in this room believes The Dark Lord or his followers to be gone for good?"

Both Dumbledore and Remus shook their heads. Lucas nodded.

"What I tell you now remains in this room, and I only tell you this because Janus thinks that you, Remus, are trustworthy and because I know that Professor Dumbledore won't be too surprised by it.

Four years ago, a rather large group of the remaining, formerly high ranking, Death Eaters decided to move their focus into a country where they thought they would not be so easily detected. They started assembling and recruiting in south-eastern Europe, gathering forces and re-grouping. After the respective Ministry realized it, they watched this development for some time, but as the group grew bolder and launched their first attacks, they contacted London. Their own Ministry was too small and unorganized to deal with such a situation.

The Ministry sent teams of the Department of Mysteries to assess the situation and take the necessary means. One group was sent for infiltration. That was Janus and me. I guess you can conclude the rest on your own."

Dumbledore nodded while Remus shook his head in complete and utter shock and confusion.

"You...you joined them? Both?"

Janus rolled his eyes and looked at his brother as if he was dumb.

"Of course we had to join them somehow, infiltration is somewhat difficult if you're not part of the group. That's why it's called in-filtration. And no, not both of us. One had to cover the other's back, watch the proceedings from the outside and provide an escape plan in case things went wrong."

Remus still shook his head in disbelief and denial, but he clearly remembered the time when Janus had gone - once more on a mission he wasn't allowed to tell about - four years ago. It had been shortly after his marriage, and he had not returned for nearly seven months.

Remus had been quite curious at the time what kind of job could have taken that long, but he had soon realized that his brother was by no means willing to tell anything. He guessed that if the two Unspeakables had had enough time to come up with another explanation before he and Dumbledore had arrived, Lucas would not have told them anything about it at all.

But there was still one thing Remus didn't understand.

"But how can a Death Eater be recruited without Voldemort initiating him? From all I know, he has always been the one to create the Dark Mark."

Lucas only shrugged his shoulders.

"It doesn't need Voldemort, it has just been his ritual by the time he was still in power. But to conjure the Dark Mark, you merely need a wizard who knows the right spell. Of course without Voldemort conjuring the Dark Mark, I'm not connected to the Dark Lord himself, but to the Death Eaters who conjured it. All the ones initiated four years ago aren't connected to Voldemort himself. But that is a matter that the Death Eaters planned to change as soon as they had found a way to bring Voldemort back to power."

"Which they are constantly working on."

Dumbledore had not looked up while uttering those words, but both Janus and Lucas nodded. What worried them was that the recent attacks proved that the Death Eaters had started to act in England again, and this most probably meant that they had developed a strategy. They wouldn't be stupid enough, let alone simply able, to launch organized attacks if there wasn't an intelligent mind and a carefully developed plan behind it. The raid in Azkaban had only deepened those concerns.

"And why exactly have you two devastated my hall if it has only been Lucas who triggered the wards?"

Again, Janus grinned quite sheepishly and scratched his head, a sure indication that he was not feeling comfortable.

"Well...you see, Lucas was kinda worried when he arrived here and there were no lights, because he had expected me to be here. So he looked around the house, searching for signs of intruders while I was inside, thinking he was an intruder who sneaked around and searched for a way in. And after he got into the house, it took us some moments to recognize each other. I guess one or two spells have gone awry until then."

Now Remus had some problems to stop himself from grinning widely.

"You two, who work together for such a long time now, were not able to recognize each others voices and fighting style? Sorry, but that's just too ridiculous. You could have hurt each other."

Lucas sighed deeply.
"Who says we didn't?"

Janus wanted to stop him, but before he could do something against it, Lucas had already said it. That was too much for Remus. He looked at the two men in front of him, high ranking Ministry members with years of fighting practice, and the thought of them shooting curses at each other because they didn't recognize their partner in the dark was just too hilarious.

He broke into a laughing fit that not even Janus' stern look could stop. But what worried Janus even more was that Dumbledore also seemed to find that thought highly amusing, though he did a better job at hiding it.

"I don't think that's funny, Remus."

Remus shook his head and tried to get his laughter under control.

"Oh, but I do. What happened?"

"That's really not important now, Remus."

Remus only grinned.

"Come on, don't let me coax it all out of you."

Janus threw his hands in the air in a gesture of defeat.

"Oh fine, you won't let go until you know it, and either way you'll never let me live it down. I knocked my knee into his groin and broke his wrist on the handrail, alright? Happy now?"

Janus' confession immediately sobered Remus from his mirth as he realized the drastic reality of tonight's events. Janus had thought Lucas to be an intruder, an attacker, and had not hesitated to hurt him physically to stop him. If things had gotten out of hand, if they had not recognized each other in time, one of them might have seriously harmed, or worse, killed the other.

Remus stopped laughing and looked at Lucas worriedly. He knew that his brother could be dangerous when he was attacked, but the thought that Janus had broken his own partner's wrist because he had been trying to defend Remus shocked even him.

"Shouldn't we call a doctor?"

Lucas shook his head.

"Janus has mended the wrist, and I really don't want anybody to point their wands at areas where they aren't supposed to be pointed at. I'm bearing it."

With a glare at his partner he added.

"And if he has caused real damage there, I'll definitely let him know. Rely on that."

Janus just waved a hand into his direction in a dismissive gesture while Dumbledore rose from his seat.

"Well, I'm glad that this has proven to be just a false alarm of some sort. How about returning to Hogwarts and freeing young Harry from the hands of the house elfs? Though he's most welcome to spend his night in one of the guest suites."

Remus shook his head.

"I think once the novelty of Hogwarts and the house elfs has worn off, he'll get worried again. I want to have him here tonight, it's way past his bedtime already. Besides, if we leave him, those elfs will have spoilt him rotten by tomorrow morning."

Dumbledore chuckled and moved towards the door.

"Well, then let's rescue young Mr. Potter before the elfs manage to turn him against the comfort of his own home."

Lucas nodded.

"I should go home as well. Stella should be worried by now."

Janus raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, so Stella is the young lady because of whom you were so concerned about your...little Lucas. When do I get to meet her?"

"When you have learned some manners."

"Oh, I fear that until then she might have realized how kinky you are, who knows if she's still there by then?"

Lucas sighed and inwardly counted to ten. Normally he could bear Janus' attitude and participated gladly in his little jests, but his partner had already broken his wrist tonight. Even Lucas' patience wore off quickly after such incidents.

"What, pray, do you know about me being kinky?"

Janus stopped dead in his tracks, causing Remus to nearly run into him, and held his hands over his heart in a gesture of feigned hurt.

"Don't tell me you don't remember that night? I thought I had meant something to you, do you want to tell me that I was just a meaningless affair?"

"Good night Janus. And if you know what's good for you, you'd better turn up on time for work tomorrow. At least for once. I still have to show you the files because of which I originally wanted to see you tonight. Before you broke my arm and destroyed my hope of ever having children."

Before Janus could come up with a response to that, Lucas nodded his good bye at Remus and left the house. Dumbledore was already waiting outside.

Janus grabbed his coat, but before he could leave as well, Remus held him back with a hand on his shoulder.

"There's just one more thing I want to know, Janus."

His brother shook his head.

"If it's about that mission back then, forget it. Lucas already told you more than I would have. Just leave it be."

"It's not about the mission as such, and I won't let you out of that door before you answered me."

Janus looked into his brother's eyes and realized that he was serious. He nodded.

"Alright, make this fast."
Remus inhaled deeply and met his brother's eyes.

"How did you and Lucas decide which one of you was to infiltrate and which one was to cover the other's back?"
Janus sighed. Of all the questions Remus could have asked, this was the one he had absolutely no intention to answer. He knew his brother well enough to guess that he truly would not let go until he had his answer, but he also knew that he couldn't give the answer Remus wanted to hear. Remus hoped for an explanation along the lines of Lucas' superior knowledge, his longer years of field-experience or the fact that his partner had volunteered. Remus would not like the true answer. Nevertheless, he gave it.

"We threw a coin."

Remus' eyes widened.

"You threw a coin?"

Janus shrugged.

"Yeah. A sickle. You know, small silver thing, used for paying, Gringott's Goblins are quite eager to lay their hands on them?"

"You threw a coin to decide which one of you would become a Death Eater?"

Janus nodded.

"Yes. I was opting for a game of tic-tac-toe, but we had no pen and paper. Lucas had a sickle and so we threw it. Tails won, he had to go."

"And if tails had lost?"

Janus' expression sobered and, all former mirth vanishing form his face, he put his hands on Remus' shoulders and gave his brother a very serious look.

"If tails had lost, then I would have done the infiltrating.

Remus, you know that my job is dangerous. It's what we had to do back then and we have done it. I have chosen this job and I'm well aware of the possible consequences. I have always in mind that I can die on one of those missions, I know that one mistake can cost my life. Do yourself a favour and don't brood over it. Just forget it, alright? You can't change it."

Hesitantly, Remus nodded.

After the events of this evening, suddenly the thought about Janus' job sent shivers down his spine. If it hadn't been Lucas, but a 'real' Death Eater, or worse a whole group of them, who had attacked this night, Janus would have risked his life. Risked his life just to protect him and Harry, and after they had gone just to protect the bloody house and attempt to catch the intruders single-handedly.

And every time he went on one of his missions, he was in even more danger. He and Janus might not be as close as brothers could be, but though he might have said it a couple of times in the heat of the moment, Remus didn't wish Janus to come to any harm. He cared for his older brother, though their strained past sometimes made it difficult for him to show this.

Remus felt the sudden urge to hug his brother and gave in to that urge without really thinking about it.

Janus was startled and stiffened immediately as his brother embraced him. Affection in general had been a problem between them ever since they had been little, showing affection was something that had not taken place for as long as Janus could remember. He didn't really know how to deal with it.

"You alright, Remus?"

"Thanks for watching out for Harry and me tonight. I'm really glad that you set up those wards and that you were around when the alarms went off."

Janus patted Remus' back somewhat awkwardly.

"You're welcome Remus."

He withdrew from the embrace and gave his brother a grin.

"Now let's not get all soppy here, alright? I'd better be off before Serena tears my head off and you'd better fetch the little one. I guess he was rather disturbed by all that happened."

Remus nodded.

"Yeah, he was. I only hope that the excitement about being at Hogwarts has prevented him from thinking about it."

Janus laughed.

"And that those house elfs didn't give him too many sweets. If he's high on sugar you won't get him into bed tonight."

Remus sighed.

"Yes, I hope Mindy didn't overfeed him. Or worse - lost him in the corridors. I'm really not up for searching a small child in the castle tonight."

"Oh, if you can't trust a house elf anymore, whom can you trust?"

Remus only shook his head at this comment, and both men left the house. Dumbledore still waited patiently outside, and while Janus apparated home, Remus and the old headmaster apparated to the gates of Hogwarts.

Remus needn't have worried about finding Harry in a sugar frenzy, when he and Dumbledore entered the kitchens, Mindy immediately came running towards them. She held a finger across her lips.

"Masters must be very quiet here. Master Harry Potter fell asleep half an hour ago, masters must not wake him up."

Looking past the small elf, Remus could not prevent smiling. Harry was sitting in a chair, his arms crossed on the table and his head resting on them. His lips were smeared with something that looked suspiciously like chocolate icing, and in front of him stood an empty plate with some crumbs on it and a half-empty glass with milk.

Remus turned towards Dumbledore.

"If the offer about the guest suites still stands, I think I'd accept it now. Harry would only wake up if we travelled home tonight."
Dumbledore smiled.

"Of course Remus. Mindy will prepare one of the rooms for you."

"Thank you. And I'm sorry that we worried you with that false alarm tonight."

Dumbledore raised his hand and gestured Remus to stop.

"No, that was alright. The Ministry might not be too concerned about Harry's safety, but I think we need to provide him with all the protection we can give. Better a false alarm than an attack without forewarning. I'll talk to your brother about those wards again, I'm sure together we can improve them."

"Thank you Albus."

"You're welcome. Mindy will show you the room, I'm sure you want to clean up the traces of Harry's...dinner on his face before you go to bed. Good night Remus."

"Good night Albus."

With another smile and a nod of his head, Dumbledore left the kitchens, and while Mindy disappeared to prepare the room another elf handed Remus a damp cloth. He nodded his thanks and crouched down next to his sleeping godson. Gently he wiped away the traces of chocolate around Harry's mouth. Harry didn't as much as stir. Whatever Mindy had done with him, it surely had tired him out.

Carefully, not wanting to wake him, Remus lifted Harry into his arms and followed another house elf out of the kitchens.

They didn't have to walk long before they reached the guest suites, the house elf that was guiding Remus knew many short cuts even the former prankster and co-creator of the Marauder's Map had never seen before. After maybe five minutes, the elf opened a door in a quiet corridor and led Remus into the room.

Like all Hogwarts guest suites, it was equipped with a rather large sitting room, next to which a bedroom and a small bathroom were located. Mindy just appeared in the doorframe of the bedroom.

"Shall Mindy set up an extra bed here in the sitting room for young Master Harry Potter?"

Remus shook his head.

"No, thank you Mindy. One bed will be more than enough for tonight, Harry is already asleep anyway."

The elf nodded.

"Mindy has put out some nightclothes for Master Potter and you sir. They're on the bed. Can Mindy do anything more for Master, sir?"

Remus shook his head and smiled.

"No, thank you very much. Good night, Mindy."

"Good night sir."

And with a pop, the elf was gone.

Remus carried Harry into the bedroom and put him down on the large four-poster. He quickly changed into the nightshirt that lay on the bed and then undressed Harry carefully and put him into the pyjama Mindy had lain out. As he tucked the child in and lay down on the bed himself, Harry stirred and opened a bleary eye.

"Remus?"

Noticing that they were in unfamiliar surroundings, Harry opened the other eye and tried to sit up to have a closer look around. Remus put a hand on his shoulder and held him down.

"Go back to sleep, Harry. We're still at Hogwarts, I didn't want to travel all the way back home tonight."

The boy yawned widely, then he seemed to remember why they had come to the castle in the first place and his eyes grew wide with re-kindled fear.

"And the bad men?"
"Shhh, there were no bad men. It's been a false alarm, nothing happened. Janus is alright and safe at his house, and we'll go home tomorrow. Now go back to sleep, pup."
Harry seemed to process this information for a moment, then he nodded and moved closer to Remus on the huge bed. Remus smiled and ran a hand through Harry's unruly hair.

"Good night pup."

"Night Remus."

Harry closed his eyes and within minutes, his breathing had evened and he was fast asleep again. Remus however was kept awake by his thoughts about the events of the last hours for quite some time. One thought crossed his mind which he had not thought about during all the confusion of the evening. Why had Janus felt the need to set up Dark Mark repelling wards in the first place? There had been no Death Eater activities for years now, this was strange behaviour even for Janus. And though Remus pondered this thought over and over again, he didn't find an answer. He would have to ask Janus about it, though he feared that his brother would just evade answering like he always did. Finally exhaustion caught up with him and he too fell asleep.