Death Before Dishonor

DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR

Chapter Twenty-One: First Light

A body knocked into him from behind, sending Remus crashing face down into the dirt. Less than a second later, the same body landed on top of him, hard, immobile, and heavy as lead. Dead.

Remus knew what he would find before he even threw Hamish Stakespole´s body off of his own, having no time for sadness or thanks. Faced with Death Eaters, he only had seconds, and he knew that his life, like so many others, was lying on the line. Quickly, Remus jumped to his feet, trying to take advantage of the moment´s distraction the teacher had offered through saving his life. Even Voldemort seemed to be surprised--

"Plantaligo!" he cried desperately, hoping to find the one spell Voldemort would not expect.

The small group of trees jumped to life, reaching out for the Death Eaters with a vengeance. Angry howls hurt his sensitive ears, and Remus winched, turning away even as he heard curses tearing through the night air. The plants seemed to be smart, as plants went, and had gone for all the Death Eaters´ arms and wands (which wasn´t entirely too surprising; as he and his friends had found out in their third year, everything around Hogsmeade was magical in one way or another). But even that meant he wouldn´t have long, especially with Voldemort among those caught in the plant life. There isn´t any plant in the world, magical or Muggle, that will hold him for more than a few seconds. Sadness rose within Remus as he sprinted away. He didn´t even have time to take Stakespole´s body.

Quickly, he reached the other teachers and children. "Let´s go!" he said harshly, ignoring the questioning looks when they saw he was alone. But they followed. They trusted him to save them, after all, just like Hamish Stakespole had.

The wolf was alert as he ran through the night, expecting Voldemort to catch them any minute now. The older children were carrying the younger ones, and the teachers were covering their flanks and brining up the rear, but Remus knew that would not be enough. Surely Voldemort and the others were free of the trees by now, and following--suddenly, the Three Broomsticks came into sight, and it was the sweetest thing that Remus Lupin had ever seen. As they grew closer, he drifted to the back of his impromptu pack, gesturing for them to get inside as Arabella lowered her wards for them to pass. She was unbelievably quick, Arabella Figg, and replaced the layers of wards even as the last of his people got past each line. Remus came last, glancing over his shoulder, but finding nothing. Finally, he slipped inside the door and came face to face with Arabella Figg.

"I didn´t expect you to hold the door open for me," he tried to say lightly, but his attempt at humor fell flat, even to his own ears.

She frowned. "You´re the first back--well, the second, but Sirius left again over fifteen minutes ago." Arabella´s voice grew hard. "The time limit has now arrived."

A quick glance told Remus that the Three Broomsticks was empty, save for his charges and Madam Rosmerta, who was already herding the children towards the fireplace. "They´re not back?"

"No." Her eyes were cool, but he saw the worry behind the calm.

"I´ll--" Just as Remus started to speak, the wolf´s senses picked up approaching people. He heard running footsteps, and he smelled fear and pain. "Take down the wards!"

Arabella´s fingers flew over a piece of parchment that Remus hadn´t even noticed was in her hand. However, he did not pause to watch; instead, the professor bolted out the door, heading for the ragged group of witches and wizards who were headed towards the inn. He estimated that there were around fifteen of them--but there was no sign of Sirius or Severus. In fact, the group seemed more lost than anything, so he called to them, and saw them rush forward. "Inside, quickly!"

They did not need to be told twice. Remus grabbed a haggard looking young wizard by the arm, and regretted it when he saw the other wince in pain. But there was no time for that. He had to know. "Was there someone with you?"

The younger man nodded shakily. "Yes."

"What was his name?" Remus asked breathlessly.

"I don´t know," the wizard shrugged. "He had black hair."

Well that helps a lot. It made him want to scream. Suddenly, the young witch at his side spoke up. "He said his name was Snape," she said quietly. "Severus Snape."

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Distantly, he heard voices, but they hardly seemed to matter. They were outside. The outside did not matter; all that mattered was inside, inside his head. Inside was warm, soft...comfortable. There was nothing. There was nothing except for a soft voice that told him to stand still, to drop his wand... Just let it go...

But why? Sirius only wondered out of reflex, of course. Putting his wand down seemed like an excellent idea. Why was he holding it so tightly, anyway? He didn´t need it.

Put the wand down... the inside voice grew more insistent as an outside voices spoke. He felt like he was listening through water. It was so far away...habit made him listen, nothing more. It wasn´t important.

"We ought to kill him," one said.

"We can´t," another answered. He recognized the voice, but at the moment, he couldn´t remember why. "Our Lord wants this one alive."

"And what if he fights it off?" the third wondered.

"He won´t," said the second. "Not now." Put the wand down... Just let go... Sirius dropped his wand. It seemed so useless to hang on to it. His hand had been cramping from the effort, anyway. "See?"

"You heard what he did to Malfoy," a fourth complained. "I don´t trust him."

He could hear the second one shrug. Apparently, he was the leader. Come here... Come over here... "So?" the leader laughed bitterly. "Then we disable him."

Come closer... His legs carried him forward. It felt good to move, to comply... Keep moving...

But why? he thought again. Sirius stopped moving. He liked it where he was, and a small feeling in the back of his mind told him to stay put. Something is wrong. Something is very wrong... "He´s fighting it," the first complained. "Look."

Come closer...

No thanks. I´ll stay here.

COME CLOSER. His legs tried to carry him forward, but it seemed so pointless. There wasn´t a reason to move.

Maybe later.

COME NOW. NOW! NOW! Pain. Something flared in his mind, though, provoked by the pain, and Sirius realized that the desire to move closer to his enemies was not his own.

Enemies... The world began to make sense again, and Sirius began to fight. Suddenly, he remembered. He recognized. Wormtail! Hatred added to his strength. He felt more power poured into the hold, but still it began to crack. Then, four voices spoke together:

"Crucio!"

"Rumperis!"

"Imperio!"

"Adficios Me!"

His body buckled, and even through the Imperius curse, he felt pain. Sirius staggered, and did not collapse to the ground only because the Death Eaters still had control over him. The four-fold effects of the curses used on him was like nothing he had ever felt before. Each of the four had a different idea of how to stop Sirius from fighting their control, and together, none of it was pretty. However they planned it, though, the combined effects of Cruciatus, Bone-breaker, Imperius, and the Strength-stealing curses did the job rather nicely. What little awareness that Sirius still possessed felt the pain, although distantly, and he felt his legs break.

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Malfoy, Snape decided, would have made a fine Muggle airplane. He flew beautifully.

Crabbe and Goyle, however, did not seem to agree. The moment their friend and his claim over Snape was airborne, they cried together, "Stupefy!"

Snape dodged. They were so predictable. Then again, they always had been. He whirled, feeling his robes twirl around him, and cried, "Glacialium!"

Both Death Eaters froze, probably without ever understanding why. Then again, neither of them had ever had a lot of spells in their repertoire, so Snape wouldn´t have been surprised if they´d never heard of the freezing spell. Those that thought Crabbe and Goyle, juniors, were the stupidest children ever to attend Hogwarts simply had never met their fathers. A sarcastic grin split Snape´s face for a moment, but it hurt, so he stopped. That, however, didn´t erase his elation. He´d beaten Malfoy. And he´d done it without using a bit of Dark Magic--but he didn´t have time to congratulate himself. It was time to leave, before Crabbe and Goyle figured out that the freezing spell could be fought. Then again, since that would require thinking, figuring that out might take all night.

Snape made for High Street, not caring if he was spotted now. There was pain, but he could ignore it. He simply needed the fastest way to get to the Three Broomsticks, and couldn´t afford to wait--he couldn´t even afford to stop to kill his old friend, presuming that Lucius wasn´t already dead. The senior Death Eater had hit the ground awfully hard, and Snape had to hope Lucius had broken his back or neck in the fall. Perhaps it wasn´t a nice thought, but Severus Snape wasn´t exactly a nice guy, either. He sprinted around the side of a building--and ran right into an unyielding mass.

The impact threw them both to the ground, barely giving Snape the time to glimpse four Death Eaters with wands raised--the person he had run into suddenly rolled away from him, grabbing a wand that the potions master suddenly realized had been lying abandoned on the ground, and crying "Everbero!"

Snape recognized the voice, full of pain thought it was. Quickly, he was on his feet, thrusting his wand towards the sprawled Death Eaters--odd, that they weren´t unconscious yet, because someone of Black´s power using that spell would usually knock a score of Death Eaters out until lunch tomorrow--

"Stupefy!" Snape cried, and the Death Eaters moved no more. He turned to Black, who was, oddly enough, still on the ground.

On second glance, he looked like hell. The ex-convict was pale and ragged, and both his legs were bent at unnatural angles. Snape swore. This was going to complicate matters...just what he didn´t need right then. Angrily, he demanded, "What the hell happened to you?"

"What the fuck does it look like?" Black spat back, and Snape could almost have been happy to break through the cold calm he usually encountered. At the moment, though, it was hardly funny. In fact, the situation was rather distressing. Black grimaced, and then pointed his wand at himself. "Brevisalvum Mali."

Immediately, some of the gaunt pain left Sirius´ face, and his legs snapped back to a normal position. Snape blinked, then stared as the former Auror came to his feet, moving with none of his usual grace, but clearly functional. What the hell? Snape had never heard of any spell with that sudden kind of healing power. He scowled skeptically.

"What was that?"

Sirius grimaced again. "Quick heal spell used by Aurors. It´ll only last awhile."

"Why didn´t you show that to me before?" Snape had to ask. It wasn´t that he didn´t trust Black--he didn´t, but that was immaterial, and he owed him a goddamn wizard´s debt, for Merlin´s sake--but it was suspicious. And having never heard of any spell of that kind, Snape had to wonder. A lot. Such a spell would have helped him a great deal when escaping from Voldemort.

"Because you wouldn´t have lived through it wearing off," Black replied with a frown. "And you can only cast it on yourself, anyway." The other man looked at him. "Thanks, by the way."

"Huh?"

"For running into me," Black replied. "It knocked me free of the Imperius curse."

"Ah." Snape rolled his eyes. Typical. "Not my intention, but I suppose you´re welcome."

"Shall we go?"

A quick glance around told Snape that they were still alone, amazingly enough. That, however, could not be counted upon to last for long. The village was still crawling with Death Eaters, and they hadn´t the time to save any one else. If there were any innocent people left where Voldemort could get at them, the Hogwarts´ team had lost its advantage of surprise, and could easily be overcome by sheer force of numbers. Nodding, he replied, "Yes. No offense, but I really don´t want to run through a gantlet of Death Eaters with you again. "

"I agree. It wasn´t much fun the first time, and guarantees to be even less the second." Black´s voice was still tight with pain, and Snape guessed that while the quick-heal spell dealt with injuries well enough, it left pain behind. I wonder how long "awhile" lasts, anyway? the Potions master thought suddenly. That might become rather important very soon. But he didn´t ask. Like him or not, Black certainly had enough experience to know where his own limits were, and if the fool collapsed, Snape supposed he could always catch him.

Together, the two wizards ran toward the Three Broomsticks and safety.

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Remus Lupin stood in just inside the doorway, his eyes on the Gatekeeper´s Guide as the dots labeled "Sirius Black" and "Severus Snape" sped closer and closer to the Three Broomsticks. Right on their heels (although he was sure neither realized it) were a score of other dots. Most were too close together to read, but one stood out above the others. It was labeled, "Tom Riddle."

"How many do we have left?" he called to Arabella, without taking his eyes off of the Guide. Come on, he silently urged his fellows on. Hurry up.

"Twenty."

That meant five minutes. Five minutes was far too long...and Remus heard his own fears reflected in Arabella´s flat voice. Sirius and Severus would reach the inn in less than one minute, but at that time there would still be more than fifteen innocents to transfer to Hogwarts. And that count did not include Madam Rosmerta, Arabella, himself, Snape, or Sirius. That´s too long! Remus swallowed, but his sensitive hearing still noticed as Arabella walked up beside him, her ward key in hand.

"This is going to get interesting," she said quietly.

"Unfortunately," Remus agreed, swallowing. His eyes were on the Guide. Sirius and Severus were drawing closer. He made to speak to Arabella, to warn her to bring the first ward down, but her fingers were already flying.

"First down," she said quietly. After a second: "First up." The pattern continued for each layer of wards, and Remus watched, spellbound, his eyes flicking back and forth between Arabella´s crude line drawings of her wards to the splendidly rendered Gatekeeper´s Guide. Between the two, he knew exactly where his fellows were, and it ate at him to know he couldn´t do anything for them--Arabella´s wand suddenly jerked, and he realized that Voldemort´s group of Death Eaters had reached the first ward. Sirius and Severus were at the third, occupying Arabella´s full attention.

On instinct, Remus bolted to the window, pulling a board away (why they had bothered boarding the windows, he did not know, but he supposed that added to their sense of security) so he could see what was happening outside. Sirius and Severus were moving quickly, but both were a little sluggish, and Sirius´ movements were definitely off. The wolf smelled pain, and blood--but there was no time to consider that revelation as magic crossed the barriers, sending both professors flying. To his left, he heard Arabella curse; Sirius and Severus had almost struck the second-to-last ward, and would have died if she hadn´t gotten it down in time. Worse, though, was the fact that Voldemort´s magic had burned through several layers of wards with little sign of weakening. Without thinking, Remus flung the door open and dashed outside.

Snape was hauling Sirius to his feet--together, their wands rose. "Impedimenta!"

Power resonated as the ex-Death Eater and ex-Auror cast together. They were very different men, Remus knew, but both were extremely powerful individuals. This spell also broke through the ward walls, and Remus watched Voldemort slow even as he reached his friends´ sides. Sirius looked pale. Snape looked angry. But again, it was Sirius who took control. "Contegorum," he gasped in a raspy voice. "Shield spell. Now."

"Contegorum!" Where two had been strong, three were stronger, and under the cover of the shield, the three men pulled back towards the Three Broomsticks, watching magic flash and implode against their barrier. A shiver ran through Remus as they passed through the final ward, which went down only long enough to allow them entrance. Finally, though, they made it inside, slamming the door behind themselves.

Arabella met them. "Sixteen to go," she said quietly, then turned to Sirius with an Auror´s calculating gaze. "What hit you?"

"It would take too long to explain." Sirius shook his head, and then gestured towards the fireplace. "How long?"

"Five minutes, counting us." The older woman scowled suddenly. "Damn! First ward down."

"Will they hold him long enough?" Snape asked.

"No," Arabella replied immediately, and Remus found his heart racing. "I estimate two minutes. He´s very strong."

Severus mumbled something under his breath that Remus found himself unwilling to translate. He hadn´t known that even Snape knew words like that...Two minutes, the werewolf though to himself. That means there will still be eight innocent people stuck in here with us when everything comes crashing down. Sirius looked thoughtful, though, and Remus found himself fixating on his friend´s face. While he would never doubt his own ability to deal with any power on his own (save Voldemort, of course), Remus simply wasn´t trained for this. He didn´t think like an Auror, and neither did Snape. Arabella did, but she was still pouring energy into her wards, silently trying to give them every possible second before breaking.

"We need more wards," Sirius said suddenly, and Remus noticed that his voice was tense, as were his shoulders. Unconsciously, he repeated Arabella´s question, What hit you, Sirius? "Nothing fancy, but anything you can manage. Put something in their way. Remus, take the outer line, just inside Arabella´s third ward. Snape, about ten feet behind that. I´ll take the inner circle."

There wasn´t time to argue, and they split up without a word. Moving to the window, Remus began thinking up every spell he knew, and drawing up every ward he had ever even heard of. He had to do it, even if he didn´t think it would work. Right behind him, he heard Snape´s soft incantations matching his own as the Potions master drew up the second line. Arabella´s inhumanly calm voice split the stillness.

"Second ward breached."

Mumbling furiously under his breath, Remus struggled to complete his line before the next ward could be breached. There was no time for niceties; Voldemort was demolishing Arabella´s wards before anyone could touch them, which meant he wasn´t loosing any Death Eaters in the process. It took a little time to overpower a ward, but in the Dark Lord´s case, it couldn´t take long enough. He was moving too quickly...and they had to stop him, no matter what the cost. Remus Lupin had never been a killer, but now was not the time to debate necessity. He decided to center his line on disintegration. Before it was destroyed, anyone touching it would die, but he couldn´t afford to care. He had innocent people to protect, and friends depending upon him. He´d never cast magic so quickly in his life, but even as he finished, he heard Arabella´s strained voice.

"Third down."

Hell broke loose when the first Death Eater--unfortunately, not Voldemort--hit his invisible line. One moment, there was a cloaked figure, and the next moment, it was gone. Snape kept muttering. Remus smelled death, but had no time to grieve or rejoice had he even known which to do. He saw Voldemort raise his wand, then, and there was pain as his lines buckled and shuddered under the sudden onslaught of power. Remus felt himself going down, and twisted hard to his right, trying desperately to avoid Severus. Falling into Severus would only distract the other wizard, and could cause his line to fall prematurely. Oh, but it was agony--Remus hit the floor with a crash, almost blacking out. He struggled to keep conscious, to hold the line, but the pain doubled, and he felt his ward collapse. Then there was darkness.

Remus awoke as Snape fell to the floor beside him. His first glance was towards the fireplace, and he could see the fading form of Madam Rosmerta vanish into the flames. A distant part of his mind realized that they had succeeded, but he felt so weak... Arabella´s hands shook his shoulders. "Let´s go, Remus," she said softly. "Help me get him up."

She grabbed Snape, and Remus staggered to his feet to help. Not far away, Sirius stood, his eyes focused on something far away and lips moving quickly, but it was hard to concentrate on his friend. He was so dizzy... Still, though, he managed to whisper, "How many?"

"There´s one line left before Sirius´ and it will go any second now," Arabella responded, looking pale. "Let´s get him into the fire."

Even as they hoisted Snape, the Potions master stirred. "Let go of me," he mumbled. "I´ll go after you."

Snape´s black eyes met Remus´ blue, and one thought passed between them. Snape owed Sirius a debt. Remus would not leave his friend. Until the end, then, Remus thought with sudden clarity. Arabella stared at them incredulously, but seemed to know that arguing would do no good.

"Men," she breathed, but then she was gone into the fire. The final ward went down, leaving only Sirius´. Together, Remus and Severus stumbled to the ex-Auror´s side, ready to catch him when he fell. Through the window, Remus saw a cautious Death Eater approach the Three Broomsticks. Moments later, the man was on fire and screaming. One final time, Voldemort´s wand rose.

Sirius staggered, but did not fall. The ward became a wall of fire; Sirius had longer to refine his ward than either Remus or Snape, and it seemed he had put that time to good use. Cautiously, Remus hooked an arm under his best friend´s shoulders, there to support him the moment he needed it. Sirius words were coming faster, now, and Remus felt the power he was pouring into the ward. But with what the wizard felt, the wolf smelled pain, and Remus knew his old friend was putting too much into this. On Sirius´ other side, Snape growled, and Remus knew the other wizard agreed. Outside, the fires burned brighter. Without warning, Sirius cried out in pain.

"Breaking...!" he gasped, wrenching away from Remus and Severus. "Go...now!"

They looked at each other, and Remus felt his jaw set stubbornly. With a final snarl of distaste, Snape disappeared into the fire. The Potions master understood. One of them had to go, but there was no way in hell Remus could leave his friend without knowing Sirius would be able to get himself out. Their friendship ran deeper than life or blood.

Suddenly, Sirius fell to his knees. Even as Remus grabbed for his friend´s arm, Sirius´ wand shot out, and through the window, the werewolf watched Sirius´ ward line collapse--No, he let it collapse, Remus realized. Sirius pulled the ward it down. The fires were gone, offering him a clear viewpoint as Voldemort sailed backwards, struck by some unseen force.

As rapidly as he had fallen, Sirius was suddenly on his feet and shoving Remus towards the fireplace. "Go!" his friend cried.

"You´re crazy if you think I´m leaving you here!" Remus snarled, glaring at his friend. Sirius´ eyes were dark with pain, and his face was paler than Remus ever remembered it being, even when he´d seen Sirius after escaping Azkaban. With a start, the history professor realized that his best friend was shaking.

"I´m not planning on dying, you idiot! I´m just not leaving until you´re gone!" Sirius shoved him again, eyes intense. "Now, go!"

Three steps and he was there; Remus shot one last look over his shoulder, praying that fifteen seconds would not be too long--then the fire engulfed him, and he was gone. His last glimpse was of the door exploding inwards, and of Sirius´ wand coming up.