In A Time Of Uncertainty

Marauder

Story Summary:
They once longed for each other years ago, but neither was ready to face his feelings. Now Voldemort has returned, Oliver is recruiting wizards to fight against him, and Percy is estranged from his family. Hesitant and apprehensive, they decide to try to be a couple.

Chapter 33

Chapter Summary:
Percy has an idea, everyone objects, arguments are had, stories are told, and the Remus/Sirius subtext nears the breaking point.
Posted:
05/16/2004
Hits:
1,052
Author's Note:
Yes, as most of you have figured out, this fic is also Sirius/Remus.

Part Four, Chapter Two

Something occurred to Percy, and for the first time since the explosion he felt himself regain a small amount of power. "I still have the keys to the Hall of International Personal Files," he said. "I'm going to go to the Ministry and look him up."

"Percy, don't," said Oliver at once. "It's got to be chaos over there."

"Which is why no one will notice if I sneak into the hall and take - "

"What's the point?" Bill asked. "Really. He's dead already, knowing whatever the Ministry has about him isn't going to change anything."

"Well, if you and Charlie don't know anything, then I'm going to find out for myself."

"Perce, just think for a second," said Charlie. "The officials always summon the families of people who died in battle to the Ministry, regardless of what side the person was on. Do you really want to risk running into the Malfoys?"

"Lucius Malfoy's in Azkaban."

"But his wife and son have been living in the manor all summer," Bill said. "If they haven't made a run for it already, I don't think they will now. Besides, I think Chimeran and Lucius have a sister...and you know how it is with the elitist purebloods, the second someone attacks their third cousin four times removed whom they've never met, they spring into action. So you'll most likely run across a mob of angry Death Eaters and their supporters."

"And Theo's parents will be there too," added Ginny, raising her tear-stained face from the pillow. "Won't they, Bill? Even if he wasn't technically in the battle."

"Yes, I expect Theo's family will be there. Now, do you still want to go?"

"It would be better than sitting around here doing nothing," Percy muttered. "What are we supposed to do, just lie down and go to sleep?"

"A lot of people from the Order will most likely be here in the next half hour or so," Charlie said. "Then there'll most likely be a meeting - "

"And I bet no one will tell me anything." He realized something as he spoke. "Why did you and Bill know about the Defense Department, anyway? I didn't even know that Fred and George were in the bloody Order, and I'm in the Recruitment Department."

"Damn good point," Oliver said. He turned and faced Percy's older brothers. "Why did you know all of this if we didn't?"

Bill shot a sidelong glance at Charlie, and answered, "No one in the Order is supposed to know more than they have to know."

"Not even if their own goddamn brothers have joined?" Percy crossed his arms over his chest. "Ron and Ginny, did you two know that Fred and George were in the Order?"

Ginny hesitated. "Well," she said, "no one ever told us directly, but I know I was pretty sure that they were."

"Me too," Ron mumbled.

The calm yet mildly worried looks on Bill and Charlie's faces infuriated Percy. "What have I got to do to prove my loyalty, kill twenty Death Eaters and mount their heads on pikes?" he snarled. "Oh, let's not tell Percy anything, because it isn't as though it's relevant to him if his own flesh and blood is fighting a Dark Lord. It definitely isn't important to his job for the Order or anything. No, let's not tell Percy anything, let's just pretend he's welcomed back into the family and then - "

"Look, they didn't want us to tell you," Charlie said hurriedly. "You know how they are when they're angry - "

"What, you were scared? Of your eighteen-year-old little brothers? And you didn't even tell Oliver, either, I suppose they think he's evil incarnate for being in love - "

"None of you are going to say anything helpful at the moment, so I recommend you all be quiet."

Remus was standing in the doorway, a tray of food in his hands. He set it down on the nearest table and walked over to the group gathered near the fireplace. "I'm sure after Fred and George come out of hospital their priorities will have rearranged. The fact of the matter is that they acted insensitively out of anger, and nothing is going to change that now."

"What do you do, just eavesdrop on other people's conversations?" Percy muttered.

"I could hear you all three rooms away. I don't consider that eavesdropping. Besides, I consider anything said about the Order and anything said in my house to be my business."

"You own headquarters?" Percy asked, the surprise temporarily diverting his attention.

"Yes, I do." Remus sat on the end of one of the empty beds. "And I really don't recommend going to the Ministry now. Besides, I can tell you all about Chimeran Malfoy if you want me to."

"I didn't know you knew him," Oliver said.

"I knew him slightly, but if you've lived with Sirius for thirteen years, you're going to know a lot about his relatives whether you like it or not." He smiled slightly. "Chimeran Malfoy was his parents' oldest child. From what I've gathered he was always a bit of a disappointment to them; the elitist sort of pureblood wizards like their children to marry and produce heirs, particularly their first-born children, and definitely their first-born son. Therefore, having disgraced the Malfoy name, et cetera, et cetera, Chimeran devoted all his time to politics. I'm sure he was a very valuable asset to Voldemort that way. He knew everyone who'd ever held office at the Ministry, to some degree or another."

"What did he look like?" Percy asked. He couldn't quite develop a picture in his mind of the person who had attacked the twins and Mundungus, and it worried him.

"Sharp nose, light eyes, fairly tall. Think of Lucius with a few more lines on his face and shorter hair. I've only seen him once, so I can't really remember a lot about that. Anyway, after floating from office to office and position to position for a number of years, he became the Record-Keeper of the Werewolf Registry in 1976." Remus sighed and rolled his eyes. "I expect his family were thrilled. He could blackmail the werewolves Voldemort wanted and put the ones who refused in Azkaban."

"So why didn't you end up in Azkaban?" Oliver asked.

"In 1976 I was still in school," Remus said. "Which meant that I was officially under Dumbledore's protection. The Registry send a lot of threatening mail, though, saying that the moment I graduated I was going straight to prison and all sort of things like that." A smile began to tremble in the corners of his mouth. "Sirius wrote back saying that if they came within a two-mile radius of me he would castra - well, I don't suppose I should say what he said he would do."

"But you were just in school," Percy said. "Why were you so important to them? I mean, I'm sure they had other people to spend their time on."

"Because I was definitely in alliance with Dumbledore, and anyone with ties to Dumbledore was a threat," said Remus. "Besides, they knew that Sirius and I were - close, and his family was feeling very vindictive towards him after he left home. So, as you can assume, I was very anxious. Beyond anxious, frightened to the point of sleeplessness. Luckily I had some very good friends."

"I'll bet Sirius made Chimeran Malfoy wish he'd never been born," said Ron, grinning.

"Well, I don't know about that." Remus paused. "But I'm positive he made him wish he'd never had anything to do with the Werewolf Registry. A few days before graduation, Sirius went with James Potter to the Ministry, found the Werewolf Registry, and annihilated my file."

Oliver's mouth fell slightly open. "Completely destroyed it?"

"Yeah," said Remus, the smile no longer restrained. "What's more, they put some sort of charm on the place so that anyone who tried to write either 'Remus' or 'Lupin' would find that their words disappeared from the page. For all I know, it still hasn't worn off."

"Nice," said Oliver, impressed.

"Then Sirius - who was never content with doing anything halfway - took all the letters Chimeran Malfoy and his associates had sent me and mailed them in to their superiors. They found I wasn't in any of their records and Chimeran was sacked before the day was out."

Percy found himself wishing he'd known Sirius Black. He sounded like a powerful presence, the sort of person you couldn't help but be captivated by. When Remus spoke about him he seemed years younger; the lines of his face seemed to disappear and his eyes were almost lit from within.

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

"Did you ever see Chimeran again?" Bill asked.

"Not until the beginning of this summer." Remus looked at Percy. "I inherited this house from Sirius, along with all of his other possessions, which include property in Wiltshire and several rare gems." The light faded. "Shortly after he died I was besieged by letters from most everyone who was related to Sirius in any way, shape, or form claiming that the inheritance wasn't legitimate, and that they, as his blood relatives, were within their rights to take over his belongings. Keep in mind, these were people who had called him every name in the book and hadn't spoken to him since he was sixteen. You might be interested to know, Ron, that Draco Malfoy dredged up some ancient document about entailment and sent a copy to me with a few choice comments scribbled at the bottom."

"I hope you told him he was a ferret-faced piece of - "

"Ronald Weasley!"

Ron looked up, redfaced. "Sorry, Mum, didn't know you were here."

Percy's mother sat next to Remus and sighed. "Arthur's still at St. Mungo's, but I told him he had better be here in the next fifteen minutes or else I'd drag him here myself." Her eyes swept over each of her children. "George's surgery was successful. They were able to salvage his knee."

"Bloody lot of good that will do," Ron muttered.

"It will actually do him more good than you may realize," his mother snapped. "Once he gets a false leg he'll be able to walk normally. Fred doesn't have any permanent damage to his muscles or organs, and they've finally managed to heal Mundungus's bones. Considering the circumstances I say we've been very lucky."

"There's some tea in the kitchen, Molly," said Remus gently.

"Thank you." She swept out of the room and Percy breathed a sigh of relief.

"I suppose she's right," he said. "Not that injuries are a good thing, but it could have been a lot worse for all three of them."

"If Fred won't have any permanent damage to anything below the skin, then it must be like a very large version of the burns I get from the dragons," Charlie said. He rolled back his sleeve and the rest of the room moved closer to look at his arm. "See, it's not exactly good-looking, but it isn't anything - well, it isn't anything like what Moody's got."

"Be careful what you say," said Kingsley Shacklebolt, coming into the room. "Mad-Eye's just apparated into the kitchen."

"Looks like the meeting might be starting soon," replied Remus, and began to rise from his seat.

"Wait!" exclaimed Percy and Oliver at the same time. "You haven't finished telling us about Chimeran Malfoy," Oliver added. Ron leaned forward and looked very intent.

"He threatened me again when I told him I didn't intend to give him anything," Remus continued. "Perhaps he felt some sort of satisfaction when I was forced to stop teaching at Hogwarts, but obviously that would be a small consolation."

"What did he want to do to you?" Bill asked.

"Nothing very pleasant. I told him he could do what he wanted - but that I knew exactly where he lived and that the full moon wasn't very far away. That was the end of it, though I doubt it was because of anything I said. Probably he realized that he'd have the rest of the relations to fight against, if he got any of the inheritance."


Author notes: I've got a correction to make to the meanings of OC names. Atalanta was indeed a famous runner in Greek mythology, but she lost the most important race she was in.