Protection

Protection

Chapter 5

The minute the door opened and Harry saw his Potions Master standing in the doorway, all noise in his ears was taken over by the loud sound of blood rushing in his ears. Irritation and anger took over, and he scowled, which made Ron turn and take in the sight of their dark-haired Professor.

'What on earth is that git doing here?' asked Ron.

'I haven't the faintest idea,' said Harry.

Snape walked into the kitchen and glared at Tonks, who gave him a confused smile.

'Hello, Professor,' said Hermione, nervously.

'Miss Granger.'

Snape glared at Harry and Ron, and slightly nodded at the two Slytherins, acknowledging their presence. Harry noticed, that for some reason, Malfoy had grown paler than usual.

The Potions Master turned to the only adult there and said, 'Tonks, as much as I despise it, I'm here on Dumbledore's orders. Let's hurry up and get the students' things. I don't have all day to play nurse maid.'

'You're the fourth guard?' Blaise asked, blinking stupidly.

Snape gazed down at his student and said, 'Yes,' in the most dangerous voice Harry had ever heard him use. Malfoy turned even paler, if that was possible.

'Yes, well...er...I'll get the others then,' said Tonks, hurrying out of the kitchen.

Snape walked toward the fireplace and stared into the empty grate, leaning his tall frame against the stone wall. The only sign of his impatience was the soft drumming of his fingers on the mantelpiece.

Harry heard muffled yelling outside and a minute later Eliza walked in, grinning. Her smile froze the minute she saw Snape's back.

Great, he has the same effect on everyone.

Snape turned and saw Eliza standing near the door, her eyes clear and her fingers twisting her robes nervously. 'Severus.' She nodded.

Snape's mouth twisted into an ugly scowl. Harry had never seen him in such a cold fury, not even when the anger was directed at him. He looked at his friends, puzzled, and they shrugged, looking as lost as he was.

Thankfully, Remus chose that moment to come into the kitchen followed by Tonks and Mrs Weasley.

'Severus! Tonks just told us that you're the fourth guard. Well, I suppose you could do with a bit of outing; the dungeon air is making you look a bit peaky,' said Remus, cheerfully. Snape simply sneered.

It was almost five in the evening by the time they finally got to Diagon Alley via the Knight Bus. Harry and Hermione followed Remus and Eliza, leaving Tonks to deal with Snape and his Slytherins. They visited Madame Malkin's since Harry's robes had gotten
several inches shorter. Although he had grown considerably over the summer, Malfoy still dwarfed him by a good four inches. Hermione tutted at his irritation but Eliza gave him a sympathetic smile.

'You still look better than him,' she said, watching as the witch measured his arms.

'Yeah, I look a whole lot better than him...when he sneers...' Harry said grumpily.

'Yes, well, he does that an awful lot so there's really nothing to worry about,' she replied soothingly.

They got their books from Flourish and Blotts as well as some owl treats for Hedwig and Pig. Hermione got Crookshanks a new shampoo.

'Cats don't need shampoo, Hermione, they bathe themselves,' Harry pointed out.

'Yes well Crookshanks is part Kneazle,' said Hermione, stuffing the bottle into her satchel.

'Animals need shampoo?'

***

'Bastard!' Draco snarled, lunging at Blaise with his bare hands and closing around muggy air just as Blaise jumped away. 'I'll kill you!'

'Control yourself, Mister Malfoy. Mister Zabini did not coerce you to get yourself punctured,' Snape said, in a bored voice, moving between the two Slytherins.

They had just stepped out of one of the more dubious looking shops in the seedier sections of Knockturn Alley. Draco growled at his godfather and settled for giving Blaise death glares. The metamorphmagus was watching the proceedings from the sidelines and apparently trying to look sympathetic toward him and amused at the same time. She compromised by fumbling in her robes for something and came up with a Blood-Flavoured Lollipop, which she offered to him.

Draco looked at it with distaste and sneered at it, realising that it couldn't give a hoot and turned his sneer to his half-blood cousin. Turned out, his cousin didn't give a hoot either.

It was almost completely dark now, the sun having set, leaving dark orange and purple highlights in the warm summer sky.

'What time should we be getting to The Leaky Cauldron?' Tonks asked.

Snape consulted his pocket watch. 'It's getting on quarter to eight. I suppose the others would already be there for dinner. We had better be getting along now.'

At the word 'dinner', Draco's stomach gave a loud rumble, which made him wince. Tonks looked at him pitifully. 'Hold your robes away from your skin. The less foreign contact, the better.' She held a pinch of her robe away from her, demonstrating.

Draco sneered, but obeyed. The moment he held his robes away, his skin felt much better. Damn Blaise, he thought, cursing his ex-best friend twenty ways to next week.

They walked back out toward Diagon Alley in silence, Draco wincing with every painful step. He noticed that the streets were almost empty, with only a few wizards and witches of questionable reputations hanging about, despite the fact that they were still in Knockturn Alley. They finally came out to the main street in Diagon Alley. The place was almost deserted; the only wizards remaining were closing up shop and returning home.

They traipsed up the street, heading toward the back entrance of the Leaky Cauldron. The odd group entered the dinghy little pub, and after their eyes had adjusted to the firelight, saw the remaining four of the party already seated at a large table near the fireplace.

Tonks walked over to them and sat down. Remus gestured for the Slytherins to join them, so Draco and Blaise made for the table. Snape, however, turned away and went to order a drink at the bar. This done, he moved toward the table, drink in hand, and sat as far away from the others as he possibly could.

It was not too long before the food arrived. Remus had taken the liberty of ordering for them all, and after a day of trudging about, Draco wasn't really picky.

Once his stomach was somewhat appeased, he looked around and caught Potter giving him a strange look. When Potter saw him, he hastily looked away, clearly embarrassed.

What was that about?

***

After a whole day of shopping, Harry was exhausted. Apparently there was going to be a Halloween Ball as well as a Yule Ball this year at Hogwarts. The school letters instructed them to bring along dress robes.

They had spent most of the day in Madam Malkin's, with Hermione spent day trying on dozens of robes and getting fashion advice from Eliza. Remus had fallen asleep in the waiting area, his head lolling to one side and his mouth slightly open. Harry had been bored out of his skin. He would have gone wandering out but had been given strict instructions from Eliza not to go out alone.

Finally, at around seven-thirty they had dragged their weary bodies to the Leaky Cauldron, and Remus had ordered them some hot dinner. After freshening up in the washroom, they waited for the others to join them.

At around eight, they saw Tonks and Blaise walking toward them, followed by a sour-looking Snape and Draco Malfoy, who looked decidedly green as though he had eaten too many lemons.

The food arrived and they all tucked in. Harry was trying to unravel the mystery of Draco Malfoy and His Hands Which Held His Robes, when said protagonist looked up at him. Harry looked away, embarrassed to be caught staring at his nemesis.

Soon the pub became empty and they were the last patrons to leave. Tom, the innkeeper, ushered them out into Diagon Alley. They moved into one of the back alleys from where they would Portkey back to Grimmauld Place.

Eliza was searching for an object large enough to turn into a Portkey when there was a loud crack which seemed to echo all around.

Harry looked around. Draco had turned pale, and Blaise was shivering uncontrollably. Hermione's eyes were wide with fear. Harry realised that the cracks had meant people apparating near-by.

Death Eaters.

'Well, well, well. There they are. Hello, Draco. Your mother's missed you.' Lucius Malfoy smirked and stepped out of the shadows.

Harry looked about. They were well and truly trapped. Behind them was a solid wall, at least fifteen feet high, and in front of them were five Death Eaters. Harry and the others were too far away to Portkey away together. Harry cursed mentally.

'Aren't you glad to see your father, son?' Lucius Malfoy said, taking a step forward.

Tonks took out her wand and pointed it in his direction. 'Don't come closer, Malfoy, or your boss will find bits of you splattered all over Diagon Alley.'
'Tsk, such temper. I've only come to take my son and Mister Zabini. Hand them over to me and I'll let the rest of you go.' He gestured for the other Death Eaters to lower their wands. They did, slightly.

'Tá siad glic,'* Snape whispered, to nobody in particular. Eliza stole a glance at the Potions Master, but it was so discreet, Harry would have missed it had he not been standing next to her.

Harry saw Eliza give Remus a small nod. The next instant he heard Remus shout, 'Stupefy!'

Who the curse hit, Harry did not know, because Eliza jerked him away and said quickly, 'Hurry, all of you hold hands. I'll have to cast a spell to keep us all safe. We can't protect you against all of them.'

By the time she had finished speaking, Snape and Tonks had joined Remus in fighting the Death Eaters. The others quickly held hands. Eliza held Harry's hand who in turn held Hermione's, who held Blaise's who was holding Draco's hand.

Eliza took a deep breath. 'Whatever you do, don't let go. Once I start the spell, call out to the others to hold us, any of us.'

Hermione nodded, looking as confused as Harry felt. But before he could ask anything, he felt Eliza's grip grow cold, and a wind picked up as she spoke.

'A Thalaimh, a Thine, A Ghaoth agus a Uisce
Éistigí anois le bhur n-iníon
Tugaigí cosaint libh ar bhuille na huaire,
Glaoim amach bhur gcumhacht ardcheannasach amach.
Dúsaigí anois,
Mar tá fórsaí an namhad in aice linn.
Marfach anois, faoin spéir.'1

Next to him, he heard Hermione shout, 'Remus! Tonks! Professor Snape! Hurry!'

He watched helplessy, desperately wanting to go help but was held in place by Eliza and Hermione's firm grip, as though they knew that he would break away and join in. He saw Snape duelling two Death Eaters. Tonks herself was duelling two, and Remus was facing Lucius Malfoy. Snape and Tonks were slowly backing up towards them, but Remus was too far ahead and was progressing very slowly.

Harry heard Lucius shout, 'Give me our boys and the rest of you go free! Do you really think you are a match for us?' Remus replied, but Harry could not make out what he said over the howling wind. It was getting difficult to keep his eyes open in the face of the fierce and cold wind.

He glanced at Eliza beside him and saw that her eyes were glowing, the grey turned almost white as she continued to chant.

' Ar feadh mo chumais tá gach rud íon,
Leanaí an nadúir, deimhin go síoraí.
Tugaigí aire, a dhúile,
Do bhur leanbh.
Éist lena hachainí, tugaigí freagra di
Brúigí ar leataobh an dorchadas le bhur gcumhacht'2

Tonks reached out to catch Draco's hand and kept duelling with her free hand. Harry noticed a thin, grey, almost invisible layer of air shimmering in front of them. The Death Eater's curses bounced off the grey air, and a sparkling blue hex which had been aimed at Tonks, rebounded and caught one of the Death Eaters in the stomach. He fell over instantly.

Snape had almost reached them and without, stopping his duel, he felt about and grabbed Eliza's hand. The grey shimmer instantly flared up in front of him, stronger than anyone else's, except Harry. The spells aimed at the Potions Master rebounded and caught the two Death Eaters, mutating one's leg and the other had his throat slit.

'Remus! Hurry!' Hermione shouted again.

'I'll go get him,' said Tonks, still fighting the Death Eater.

'NO!' Snape and Hermione shouted at the same time.

'You can't break the magic!' Hermione said hysterically.

Just as the Death Eater Tonks was duelling was hit by a Stupefy, Lucius Malfoy shouted out his last curse, 'Seolforus blõd!'3

Remus instantly became rigid, staggering backwards toward them, and fell to the ground on his back. Eliza stopped chanting next to him and made to reach out to her husband, but was held back by Snape. 'Don't stop now! I'll do it!' he yelled at her to be heard over the howling wind. Eliza continued her incantation in a shaky voice, and the fading grey shimmers reappeared but were not very strong this time.

Snape snarled at her, but aimed his wand at Lucius Malfoy. 'Flagrate! Impedimenta!'

Immediately a wall of fire sprung up between Remus and Malfoy. The second spell succeeded in blasting Malfoy off his feet, away from Remus. Malfoy fell to the ground, hitting his head. Eliza kept on chanting, her face white, her spell weaker and her main focus on her husband.

'Seo chugainn anois iad chun dióbháil a dhéanamh dúinn
Scaoilim ár n-anamacha faoi bhur ramharc
Tagaigí i gcabhair orainn
A Dhúile an ríochta seo
Fite le mo dhraíocht i m'fhuil
Cosnaígí anois sinn mar tá contúirt in aice linn
Éistigí anois liom, seo é m'achainí.
Fóirigí orainn, a ghlaoim oraibh!
Fóirigí orainn, a ghlaoim oraibh!
Fóirigí orainn, a ghlaoim oraibh!'4

Lucius got up instantly, grimacing and reaching for his wand.

Snape was quicker. 'Expelliarmus! Stupefy!'

Eliza immediately stopped chanting and ran to her husband, followed by the others.

'Remus, Remus!' she cried out shaking his shoulders.

Remus' eyelashes fluttered open. 'Eliza...'

Hermione held out her wand over him. 'Lumos.'

As the light spilled out from Hermione's wand, Harry could make out Remus' veins straining under his skin. They were prominent and, instead of the normal bluish-green colour, they appeared to have a blackish tint to them.

'Which spell did he use, Lupin?' Snape asked, his face showing concern probably for the first time in his life.

'Seolforous blõd,' Remus replied quietly and passed out.

'NO!' Eliza yelled, clinging to Remus. Snape hurried back to where they had been standing.

'We must get him to Dumbledore!' Tonks said, panicking.

Harry's blood ran cold. If they had to get him to Dumbledore, this did not bode well. He did not know what curse Remus had been hit with, but he could see the man's blood changing colour under his skin.

Snape came back with a large newspaper in his hand. 'Everybody touch it,' he commanded, and immediately everyone leaned forward to touch the paper. Eliza gently placed Remus' hand on the paper. Holding the paper with one hand, Snape pointed his wand at the paper and whispered, 'Portus.'

Immediately Harry felt the jerk behind his navel and a moment later they landed in the hallway in Grimmauld Place.

'Dumbledore!' Eliza yelled. 'Minerva! Dumbledore!'

Harry heard them come before he saw them. A handful of the Order members rushed in and immediately Dumbledore got to his knees, by Eliza's side.

'What was it?' he asked, touching Remus' forehead.

Snape answered. 'Seolforous blõd.'

Dumbledore shut his eyes. Harry felt his temper boiling under the surface. He was not going to loose another father-figure because of Dumbledore's helplessness.

'You are going to save him,' Harry whispered, in an extremely dangerous voice. It was cold and distant and almost threatening.

Dumbledore looked at him, then at Eliza. Finally he took his wand and pointed it at Remus' head. 'I cannot save him. The silver has taken over his blood. He has only minutes. I'm sorry. Bid your goodbyes.' Before Harry could start shouting at him, Dumbledore whispered, 'Enervate.'

Remus opened his eyes. 'Eliza...'

'You can't do this, Remus! Damn you! Why didn't you leave him? Why?' Eliza yelled.

'Save him, Eliza! Do something, ANYTHING!' Harry shouted.

'I can't! I can't!' Eliza wept.

'Harry...I will see Sirius...James and Lily...tell them ..you...' Remus coughed and a shiny blackish white liquid poured out of his mouth.

'I love you, Remus,' Eliza sobbed.

'No...I love you...' And before Harry or Eliza could say anything more, Remus' hand fell limp in Eliza's lap and his eyes fluttered shut, his breath caught and a fine line of liquid silver dribbled down his lips.

'NO! NO NO NO NO NO ...YOU CAN'T LEAVE LIKE THIS! REMUS! REMUS!' Eliza sobbed hysterically. She turned to Dumbledore. 'DO SOMETHING, YOU BASTARD!'

The Headmaster shook his head sadly.

Harry was numb. He didn't feel anything, didn't hear anything, didn't see anything. It was as if he was in a dream or in a large tank filled with water. It couldn't be...not ...again...

Eliza looked up, tears flowing down her cheeks, her eyes becoming white again. She looked at Remus and kissed his lips fiercely.

'Mo lámh an breithiúnas gheobhaidh mé díoltas ar mo naimhde agus aisíocfaidh mé astu a chránn mé,'5 she whispered. 'I will kill them.'

***