Living with Danger

Chapter 27: Two and Two Together

"Go on, Reggie, you run ahead. You too, Jamie," Aletha Freeman said, laughing as the two little boys sped off toward the doors, clumsy in their coats and boots, but each still trying to outrun the other.

If I wanted to see small children, I would work at a primary school. Must she haul those brats here every week?

Severus Snape was not in a good mood.

At least the girls seem able to control themselves. Freeman's daughter and the older girl whose hand she was holding were walking beside the Muggle couple with Freeman in a civilized manner. And I will not personally have to deal with any of them until they are old enough to understand adult conversation.

The older girl looked at Snape curiously and said something to her father, something which made him laugh aloud.

So glad I could provide amusement for you, Snape grumbled mentally, while also registering the fact that the man's laugh was familiar.

Yet another entry on my list of things that are not as they should be. I have never known a Muggle well enough to know what his laughter sounded like. So the man is not a Muggle. But neither is he anyone I recognize by sight...

The party was out of the entrance hall by now, headed across the great expanse of lawn, where some students were having a snowball fight. Even from this distance, Snape could see the blazing red hair of the Weasley brothers and the bright blue of the Tonks girl, to whom Freeman's enormous dog was currently giving an enthusiastic greeting.

So it seems I am not the only one so favored by this animal.

The sight of his problem student floundering in the snow, pinned down by the huge black thing, raised his spirits immensely. Snape made his way to the kitchens feeling almost cheerful.

----------

"Is that Professor Grumpy?" Neenie asked Remus curiously, looking at Snape.

Remus couldn't keep himself from laughing, especially since Snape's face, as it so often did, certainly warranted that name at this moment. He nodded to her rather than speak aloud, since Severus would almost without a doubt recognize his speaking voice.

Minerva claims she recognized my laughter, but she already suspected who I might be. Severus, as far as we know, has no idea.

And may he never.

----------

Danger surprised Remus on his birthday with a truly enormous book entitled The Lives of the Hogwarts Founders, which he had been wanting ever since it had come out the previous year. He wasn't so much surprised by the fact that she had bought it for him as by the fact that she had rigged it to fall out of the ceiling directly above his face as he woke up. Luckily for both of them, she had securely attached it to a bungee cord, so that it snapped back about six inches from him.

Just testing your reflexes, dear, was her last audible comment before he got a hold of her.

After they had both recovered, they came down to breakfast, and Remus read snippets aloud from the book throughout the meal.

" 'Each of the Founders of Hogwarts had a talent for an unusual sort of wandless magic. Best known, of course, is the ability of Salazar Slytherin to speak snake language, or Parseltongue, a talent which legend says will be passed down to his true heirs throughout time.' "

Harry looked apprehensive. He knew all about Slytherin House and its reputation. "Does that mean I have to be a Slytherin?" he asked tentatively.

"No," Sirius said emphatically. "Absolutely not, Harry. You may be a Parselmouth, but that doesn't make you Slytherin's heir. Slytherin was a mean b - "

"Sirius!"

"Bloke," Sirius concluded without missing a beat, winking at Aletha. "He wanted to keep magic in all-magic families. And he was willing to hurt people, even kill them, to enforce that. Doesn't sound much like Harry, now does it?" he asked the other cubs, who shook their heads. "So you have nothing to worry about, Greeneyes. Even if you were descended from Salazar Slytherin, you're nothing like him, and that's what matters."

"Okay," Harry said cheerfully, accepting his godfather's explanation and a hug at the same time.

"Go on and play, you four, I'll clear the table," Danger said, and the cubs scurried from the room with alacrity, taking full advantage of the rare respite from their usual chore.

" 'Helga Hufflepuff was renowned for her talents with plants,' " Remus went on. " 'Hogwarts legend credits her with planting the snowdrops that still cover the school's lawns every spring. Another story claims that she once made her enemy's wand sprout flowers in his hand during a duel, incapacitating him. It was she who insisted that the grounds not be entirely cleared of forest, and she was respected and allowed safe passage by all the creatures of the forest, even the notoriously ethnocentric centaurs.' "

"Wish I was Hufflepuff's heir," Sirius said, putting his feet up on the table for a brief moment before Aletha firmly removed them with one of her own. "Then I could have sprouted Snivelly's wand in our sixth year, when he hexed that poor first year from behind. Remember that, Moony?"

Remus sighed. "Padfoot, you thought it was funny."

"At the time." Sirius waved his hand, dismissing such trifles.

"What I remember is how James looked," Remus said. "He probably could have set the castle on fire with his eyes."

Sirius nodded. "He was scary when he got mad. Him and Lily both. Harry's going to be terrifying, if he got even a fraction of their tempers."

Remus continued. " 'Rowena Ravenclaw was a noted Healer, with her greatest asset being her ability to wandlessly diagnose and treat some ailments that were otherwise resistant or entirely unresponsive to treatment. However, use of this ability tired her greatly, so that she could only use it in times of great need, and then only a few times before she was exhausted. Her greatest achievement was healing an entire class of students who had been badly burned by a rogue dragon, but she needed two months to recover from this, and her hair remained white for the rest of her life.' "

"Small price to pay," Aletha said quietly, with the bleakness in her eyes she only got when she was thinking of her mother. Her parents had kept her mother's illness from her, not wanting to interrupt her studies, until it was too late for Aletha to do anything but say goodbye.

" 'Godric Gryffindor could wandlessly control fire, and was never burned, not even when he was asleep or unconscious. Some accounts state that he juggled balls of fire at the opening ceremonies of Hogwarts. One tale (which is unsupported by any other source, scholars note, and may have been invented in later years) has him burning Slytherin's wand to ash when Slytherin tried to expel a Muggleborn student by force, leading to the historic breach between the Founders.' "

Aletha's face changed to considering. "Something wrong?" Danger asked.

"Just a random thought." Aletha sighed. "It's gone. Never mind."

Remus flipped some pages. "Ah, Founders' families. Slytherin had two sons - one of them went with him when he left, one stayed with the other Founders. Hufflepuff had one son, Ravenclaw had three daughters - one a Squib, oddly enough - and Gryffindor had a son and a daughter."

"Anything about present-day heirs?" Danger asked curiously.

"No. Apparently the records are sketchy for the next few centuries. So there's no way to tell for sure if there are any heirs of the Founders left."

"Just have to watch the cubs for unusual abilities," Sirius said.

Aletha sighed. "Other unusual abilities."

A silence fell as the Pack thought about the fact that one of their cubs might indeed be an heir of a Founder - and not the Founder they would have liked.

"Maybe Harry's descended from Slytherin's good son," Danger said, trying to keep the conversation light and aware that she was failing dismally.

"It doesn't matter," Remus said firmly. "Remember, Sirius? Not abilities, but choices."

Sirius groaned. "I got so sick of hearing that."

"Translation for the mundanes?" Aletha asked.

"Every time we would get in trouble and have to go to Dumbledore's office," Remus recalled, "he would tell us that it was not our abilities that were getting us in trouble, but our choices about what to do with them."

"And he was right," Sirius said. "We were choosing to do things that had a high probability of getting us caught."

Aletha slapped him lightly on the top of the head, and the conversation turned to reminiscences.

----------

April was ushered in by a truly remarkable April Fool's Day, since the cubs were now old enough to think up and carry out pranks on their own, and took full advantage of the fact. The adults had been planning to initiate them into pranking over the course of the next year, and were somewhat surprised that the cubs had anticipated them.

"Surprised, but proud," as Sirius said. "So proud."

Harry's snake friend Siss enjoyed the day wholeheartedly. Her friend Hesseh swore off humans entirely.

The full moon in April fell on the 6th, and after a rousing game of "chase the werewolf", during which Moony and Padfoot both managed to fall down the stairs and come up unhurt, the Pack went into den, sleeping in their usual untidy piles in front of the fireplace.

Danger had trouble getting to sleep, even with everyone else around her to encourage her. Something feels odd about tonight. And not in a good way.

When she finally did get to sleep, she realized what was going on.

Oh, fudge. Feetie fudge. I had kind of hoped I wouldn't have any more of these. And this one feels big...

I have been waiting, said a mock-irritable voice, for an hour and a quarter. Did you drink too much tea before bed?

No, I was just nervous. And now I know why.

Well, since you're here, "once more into the breach, dear friends, once more"?

I think that's "unto".

We can look it up in the morning.

Hand in insubstantial hand, they plunged into the maelstrom of images and sounds, and waited for the words to come.

----------

Once a friend, and once a foe,

Your dwelling place has come to know,

A third shall come, invade your Den,

And you shall see it ne'er again.

Th'invader is well-known to all,

Nor friend nor foe you would him call,

And though the wolf defeat him may,

Still cubs, adults, must all away.

Be answer to a lady's prayer,

The new world seek, feel no despair,

For only half a year shall fly

Ere you this isle again draw nigh.

A new Den make, in village small,

New names and faces give you all,

Uphold the lonely one and find

A friend and helper, sharp of mind.

The odd one of that family, too,

And moon-called friend join unto you,

And thus the pack begins to meet

Which one day shall the dark defeat.

Danger grimaced. "I do not like the look of the fourth line. At all."

"Neither do I," Remus said grimly, passing a copy over to Aletha and Sirius. "Matter of fact, I don't like the look of the first eight lines. An invader, whom I'm apparently supposed to face, and no matter if I win or lose, we have to leave. Leave and never come back."

Aletha closed her eyes and pressed her face against Sirius' shoulder for a moment, then emerged with a look of determination. "Right. Was there any time sense on this? Are we going to have to get out tomorrow?"

"Sorry, nothing," Danger said, suddenly acutely aware of how much she loved her Den, how much she would hate to lose it. "This one's open-ended. Could happen next week, or next year."

"I don't think so," Sirius said. "You haven't had one in a while, now suddenly you do. That argues it's going to happen fairly soon."

"Good point." Remus studied the parchment in his hand. "So we're supposed to go to a new world for six months, then come back here, find a new Den in a small village, establish new identities for everyone..."

"Wait, that's not what it says," Aletha said. "It's not 'a' new world, it's 'the' new world. That has a specific meaning."

"The New World - America - " Sirius snapped his fingers. "Got it. 'Be answer to a lady's prayer' - we're supposed to go visit your aunt, Letha. That's what that is." Amy Freeman had written three more times since her first letter the previous October, and always closed with an entreaty for Aletha and her daughter to come and visit, and bring her friends if she liked.

Danger nodded. "That makes sense. And if we go Muggle-style, by airplane, and don't do any magic, the magical folks might not catch onto us until too late - and we haven't done anything wrong in the Muggle world, so they won't be looking for us."

"Best of both worlds," Remus said, smiling at his wife. "But I'm wondering who this invader is supposed to be. Someone we know, and someone we're divided over in some way. Maybe someone with ambiguous loyalties..." He trailed off, with a look of mingled comprehension and distaste.

"You're thinking what I'm thinking, aren't you?" Sirius said.

"Snape?"

"That's the man."

"Well, if Severus Snape is going to find us, I'm all for leaving," Aletha said with a weak chuckle. "That man's face could sour milk."

"The important thing is that now we know," Danger said. "Should we tell the cubs?"

Sirius glanced down the hallway to the den room, where Harry, Hermione, Draco, and Meghan still lay asleep and limp in a tangle of limbs. "No. Not yet. If we tell them now, they'll have time to think about it, and they might get scared. If we wait and surprise them with it, it's like an adventure."

"All right," Remus said, standing up. "We've probably done as much as we can with this right now, and it is a weekday. Come on, ladies, time to get ready for work." After all, dreams or not, life goes on.

However much you might want it to stand still. Climbing the stairs, Danger sighed deeply. Damn it, Remus, we've been happy here. We've had five really good years. Why can't they just leave us alone?

If you wanted to be left alone, you should never have got into this in the first place.

True enough. But once I was in, I wasn't about to get out.

I remember. "Don't think you're leaving me behind."

And you didn't, and you never have.

And I never will.

The Lupins took a moment out of their preparations to reaffirm their love physically. Mental contact was nice, but it only went so far.

----------

April, May, and June were unusually warm and sunny that year, as if to give the Pack as much enjoyment as possible in their last months in their Den. They went often to Hogsmeade, where Harry and Draco had broomstick races, which neither of them could consistently win, though Harry won a bit more often. Both boys also enjoyed doing tricks on their brooms and giving their Pack-mothers heart palpitations. Hermione was a decent flyer, but didn't care to race or do tricks, for which Danger was decidedly thankful.

Meghan, under Hermione's tutelage, learned to read, and learned all by herself how to climb the cabinets in the kitchen to get at the cookies. Harry taught her to fly without holding onto her broom, and Draco taught her to fib with a straight face - though his tricks very seldom fooled any of their Pack-parents, all the cubs knew that someday they would have to face the rest of the world.

Sirius showed all of the cubs how to throw a ball straight and hard, and the older three learned from Remus where to hit someone if they ever truly needed to defend themselves. Danger taught them all how to knit, as her mother had taught her. Harry and Hermione had joined Draco in piano lessons when Aletha felt they were ready, and she had added basic singing tutoring to that as time went by. Draco was hoping for a recorder for his birthday.

And so their lives went, pleasantly enough, except for the shadow the adults knew was creeping closer by the day - the shadow of upheaval in their lives, of leaving their Den for good...

----------

At last. The end of the year. They all leave tomorrow.

Severus Snape was feeling so good, he had actually emerged from the dungeons to enjoy the evening.

But, of course, solitude is too much to hope for.

A pair of students was sitting along the edge of the lake. They were unaware of his presence, and they were probably under the impression that they were talking quietly. Unfortunately, no one had ever told them that sound carries well around water.

Snape was about to leave when a fragment of what the girl was saying caught his ear.

She cannot just have said what I thought she said. It was my imagination.

Still, he was intrigued enough to stand still for another moment...

"Draco Malfoy?" the boy repeated loudly, and the girl shushed him. "You're telling me you know where he is?" he said a little more quietly, but still perfectly audibly.

"Yes, but you can't tell anyone!" the girl said anxiously. "No one, not even your brothers, not even your mum, understand?"

"Of course - Tonks, how long have you known?"

Yes. I too would like to know how long you have known. Snape dropped into a crouch so he would be less noticeable and strained his ears, afraid to get closer for fear the children would hear him moving.

"Years, a couple of years, and my mum said never to tell anyone, but Charlie, I had to tell someone - please, please, I trust you, please don't tell anyone, or my mum will know it was me!"

"Don't worry," the boy said in a soothing tone. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I promise. Swear on my family name. So, where is he?"

The girl looked around fearfully, missing Snape since he was crouched beside a clump of bushes, then, to Snape's annoyance, leaned over and whispered something into the boy's ear. Whatever it was, it delighted him. He laughed aloud. "No, really? Under everyone's noses! And no one else knows? That's great!"

"Well, I'm pretty sure Professor Dumbledore knows," the girl said. "And Hagrid, too - they always go to visit him. And possibly Professor McGonagall - she's got a new photograph on her desk, but the frame's always empty when I'm in there. I think she's got it charmed so only she can see it."

"Handy, that," the boy said, getting up. "Let's go in, Tonks, it's getting chilly."

"One thing I've always wondered, though," floated back to Snape on the evening breeze as the students wandered toward the castle, "is why they call him Reggie. I mean, you can't get Reggie out of a name like - you know."

"Well, they couldn't keep that name. It is kind of conspicuous."

"True, but you'd think they'd try to give him something a little more like what he's used to - maybe call him Daniel or David, at least keep the same first letter..."

Very slowly, Snape straightened up, his mind buzzing.

So.

A teenaged girl has accomplished a task that has baffled the best minds of magical Britain for nearly three years.

And given me a tantalizing half-answer. Reggie. Where have I heard the name Reggie?

He walked slowly back to his quarters, thinking, searching his memory. Finally, he gave up and decided to read instead. Perhaps while I am thinking of something else, it will return to me.

He pulled a book off his shelf that he had not read in several months and opened it. A slip of parchment fluttered to the floor.

What... ah, yes, the letters Hagrid dropped last Christmas. He picked it up and glanced at it, remembering. R, R, O, C, Y, A.

Tonks' voice echoed in his head.

"And Hagrid, too - they always go to visit him..."

R, O, C, and A - all could be from the name Draco. And he would be the age to enjoy a puzzle in the shape of his name. But the extra R and the Y do not fit the pattern...

He racked his brain for details that he might have missed, and found two. Hagrid mentioned "kids", as in more than one child. And when I picked them up, the two R's were together. So perhaps they are both part of another name. R, R, and Y...

As he had expected, his mind, confronted with this new problem, instead reminded him of where he had heard the name "Reggie" -

"Go on, Reggie, you run ahead. You too, Jamie," Aletha Freeman said, laughing as the two little boys sped off...

Two boys. She always has two boys with her. Two boys and a girl, all of the same age. The correct age for one of them to be Draco Malfoy, Draco Regulus Malfoy, which would account for "Reggie" -

And another boy of that age, called "Jamie", with a name including RRY -

No, that is a supposition. The name could be the girl's...

But even as Snape thought that, the answer struck him, with almost the force of a physical blow, making him gasp aloud.

Harry.

The name is Harry.

Harry Potter.

"Jamie", of course, after his father James. Even dead, the man haunts me.

But Sirius Black -

Snape swore bitterly. Was Aletha Freeman's boyfriend, you fool! She would have done anything for him - she named her damn dog after him!

He swore again as he realized something else. She bore his child. That girl was never adopted, she looks exactly like her mother. So it's no wonder she's also raising the children he stole!

No, she's not. I must not jump to conclusions. There are two other people involved. A woman and a man, supposedly the parents of the children, and supposedly Muggles. But I have established that I know the man from somewhere...

Yes, and Minerva told Freeman to give "everyone" her regards. But the children would be unlikely to know her, or care. And Black by himself, if Freeman is in fact hiding him, does not constitute an "everyone". So who...

Snape closed his eyes, called up his memory of the man who always accompanied Freeman, and took a good look at him, at the way he moved and held himself. He will have changed his face, but not the way he walks and stands...

His memory was not quite photographic, but it was excellent, the trained memory of a spy, who lives and dies by details. In this case, it sufficed.

Lupin. Snape snarled to himself. I should have realized long ago. Potter and Black could always talk Lupin into anything. Black probably convinced him he was innocent, they stole the Potter boy and subverted Freeman together, and they've been hiding together for the last - five years, is it now? And sending me insults by mail; that plaque was exactly the kind of thing they would, and could, do.

And somehow, they got their hands on Draco Malfoy. Possibly through a family connection with Black, that would explain how the Tonks girl knows - since she mentioned her mother also as knowing -

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. This is all supposition. I must have fact before I can do anything.

But I cannot go to the Headmaster with this. He is part of it. That parcel at Christmas two years ago, from the same people who sent me that infuriating package...

I must investigate this myself. I must see what I can find out.

And when I have my proof, I will bring them down.

He poured himself a shot of firewhiskey and lifted it ironically to the ceiling.

Here's to you, James Potter. As I lay plans to save your son by getting your best friends arrested.

He drank the liquor off in one gulp, enjoying the burning sensation in his mouth and throat.

Poetic justice does exist after all.

----------

Chapter 28: Three Sides Around

Snape was up early the next morning, pacing and planning.

Where would they be likely to hide?

Their story - they being Lupin and whoever this woman is - consists of being Freeman's neighbors, Muggles with magical children. Assume this is untrue. They would not broadcast their true location in such a blatant way. Particularly if, as I suspect may be the case, Black is hiding either in their house or nearby, so that he can visit the Potter boy.

Snape shook his head at his memories which flooded his mind from the final days of the war. If the Potter boy appeared anywhere in public, Sirius Black was sure to be there with him. Even his actual mother and father were less constant than his godfather - Black doted on the child sickeningly.

Black is certain to be with them, then, which means they are unlikely to live in a city - too much possibility of someone seeing him. Perhaps somewhere in the country. Somewhere with few and incurious neighbors. And they will certainly have had the sense to place anti-scrying protections on their home.

But they are Gryffindors - in other words, self-assured fools - so perhaps they have even neglected that...

But I cannot imagine that the Ministry has not tried to scry for them before this. The Fudge administration might have bungled so far as not to use basic methods like scrying, but since Vilias became Minister, things have run a bit more smoothly.

It is still worth a try.

But as he had expected, scrying for Sirius Black or the place where he lived brought him no results. Nor did scrying for Freeman or her home. He even tried for Lupin and got nothing.

Hunger was nagging at him by now, and with a mild shock he realized it was nine in the morning. He had arisen at six and eaten nothing, so it probably should not have surprised him as much as it did that he was hungry.

He made a Floo connection with the kitchen and ordered a light breakfast, with a large pot of coffee. When the food came, he ate quickly, thinking while he did.

There is some angle of this I have not yet explored. Some way in which I could reap results from these preliminary tests.

He was just pouring himself a second cup of coffee when it came to him.

The woman. The woman with Lupin. I could scry for her. I do not know her name, but her face is certainly familiar enough to me, after all these visits.

That is, if she is not wearing a glamour as well.

But it cannot hurt to try.

Carefully, he cast the scrying spell again on the bowl of water he'd used for all his previous attempts, thinking hard of the brown-haired woman, her face and voice and manner. And this time, he got something.

The woman stood behind a counter, wearing a nametag. He glanced at it. "Kelly". Unlikely to be her true name, but it will do. Enlarging the picture's frame, he could see that she was ringing up something at a cash register, and shifting his perspective slightly to the right revealed what - books.

A Muggle bookseller. Perhaps her claim to be a Muggle is no lie.

If I could find out where that store is, I would have at least a vague idea of where to begin looking...

But the limited area he could shift the scry over before it would lose focus provided him no clues. It could have been any good-sized bookstore in any middling-to-large town in England.

There is no point in watching any further at this time. I have made a first step by ascertaining that one member of their group is sometimes, and I believe I can assume often, in a place where I can spy on her. I will check again later in the day - perhaps I can catch her going home and follow her, since the scry will remain on her no matter where she goes.

He lifted his coffee mug in a silent toast. To my success, and my enemies' downfall. May it come sooner than I hope.

----------

Due to unforeseen circumstances (the fact, unknown to Snape, that Danger worked only mornings on Wednesdays, and a potion that came to the critical point just at five o'clock on Thursday), it was not until his third day of watching that Snape found his quarry showing signs of packing up to leave. Just as she was closing her handbag, though, a slew of customers appeared from nowhere, and she was the only clerk left on duty, so of course she had to handle them.

Watching her work with mostly calm efficiency, Snape almost missed the opening of the big main doors which were beside the row of cash registers. The man who walked through those doors, however, got his attention - or, rather, the man's walk got his attention first, and the face afterwards.

Lupin. There to pick up his paramour?

So it seemed, for as the woman finished with her last customer, Lupin slid behind the desk that housed the registers, slipped up behind her, and covered her eyes, obviously playing a game which had been so popular among his peers in their seventh year, and which Snape had never understood - the foolish and childish game of "Guess Who?"

The woman startled, then laughed and began to speak. Snape had trained himself to a partial understanding of lip-reading, but the picture in the scry was not of the best quality, so he could pick out only words here and there: "You... awful... John... sneaking up... like that..."

Nothing important. Lovers' talk, nothing more.

The woman lifted the cash drawer from the register and quickly counted the money it contained. Snape admitted, if only to himself, that Muggles had something in their idea of paper money. It might be easier to counterfeit, but it was certainly easier to transport. The coins, she poured into a small machine which sorted and counted them for her. Snape watched it in odd fascination, marveling at the variety of shapes and sizes Muggle coins came in.

She did some quick sums on a piece of paper, compared the total to something she had already written down, and nodded with satisfaction. Placing the money in a zippered bag, she hurried off, probably to deposit it with whoever was in charge of such things. Lupin leaned against the counter, waiting, wearing the same smile Snape had known him to use as he kept watch outside a room where Potter and Black were concocting some nefarious scheme or other.

Did he really think he could get away with changing only superficial things about his appearance and no one would know who he was?

But Severus Snape was a realist, and he had to face reality on this. I knew his face well, if I may so flatter myself, and even I did not recognize him for years. He was always careful never to speak in front of me, since his voice I am certain I would have known. But without that, the small mannerisms of movement and gesture were never anything definite. I always ignored it as a passing resemblance.

In other words, I was just as taken in by his simple ruse as was everyone else.

The woman returned from wherever it was she had gone with a slip of paper in her hand. She gave it to Lupin with a "now-look-what-you've-done" expression. He read the few scribbled words on it and winced, speaking to her. "Honest mistake," Snape caught. "Twice... years... break..."

The woman shook her head at him, smiling ruefully. The two kissed, then strolled out the door together to -

Nothing. Or so it appeared to Snape.

They must have a Muggle vehicle with anti-scrying on it as well. And once she gets into it, I will lose my fix on her...

Quickly, he chose a new item to fix the scry on, while keeping his eyes on that disturbing patch of not-quite-blankness. And so began a nerve-wracking ten minutes, with the car (or so he assumed) traveling along blithely, and Snape working feverishly to keep up, jumping from tree to lamppost to traffic light in his quest to keep it in sight, more or less.

Finally, the thing pulled into another commercial parking lot, this one for what looked like a large grocery store. Snape set his fix on this and watched with relief as the blank patch traveled around it and stopped near a back entrance. Lupin emerged from the blankness (very odd to watch, as he appeared to be created while one looked) and knocked on a door marked "Employees Only".

An older woman opened the door and handed something to Lupin, wagging her finger at him. "Second time... gone... wallet... can't... picking up after you... see you tomorrow morning."

This must be where he works!

Snape quickly added that to his list of facts. He had been too busy trying to keep the car in sight to notice any landmarks along the way, so he still had no idea where they were, other than an urban/suburban area. As Lupin disappeared again, Snape let him go. He was busy looking at all sides of the building, noting its features, its location, and the fact that it had a large parking lot.

She said she would see him tomorrow morning. So will I. His house may be protected from scrying, but unless he has put it under a Fidelius Charm, which I highly doubt, it is not protected from simple spying.

And spying is one of the things I do best.

His wave of pardonable pride floated him upstairs to have dinner with the rest of the staff, and even to make two or three comments that might, in some way, have been taken as favorable to those they addressed.

It can be excused, considering the great thing I plan to accomplish tomorrow.

----------

"This is the second time you've gone home without your wallet," Sue said, shaking her finger at Remus as she handed it to him. "I can't always be picking up after you, John. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"See you," Remus said with a self-depreciating smile. He returned to the truck looking properly sheepish.

Which is quite a feat for a werewolf, eh?

You're spying on my thoughts again.

When am I not, love? Remus put the truck into gear and stepped on the gas. We're never apart, you know.

Not completely. Letha pointed something out to me a while back, I don't know if she ever mentioned it to you...

About our eyes? She did. And she's right - mine always have just a hint of brown in them now, even if I've shut your conscious thoughts completely out of mine -

And mine always a touch of blue. I suppose it simply means that we're connected.

Which we always are.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Nor would I. Remus reached over to stroke his wife's flyaway hair and got her shoulder by mistake, making them both smile.

And now I will shut up and let you deal with the traffic.

Thank you ever so.

----------

After dinner, Aletha sat at the piano, her hands exploring melodic ideas, painting her day in music, Remus called it. They wandered into a familiar sequence of chords, something she had recently learned, the accompaniment for a duet piece, a love song for a man and a woman...

Sirius came in from the kitchen, drying his hands on a dish towel. Aletha smiled at him and modulated the chords back to the beginning of the song. Shall we, my love?

We shall, his answering smile said, and he came in on his cue beautifully.

No more talk of darkness, forget these wide-eyed fears

I'm here, nothing can harm you

My words will warm and calm you

Sirius had a wonderful baritone, rich and lovely, but he pigheadedly refused to learn to read music. Aletha had had to teach him the entire song by ear. But she was glad she had.

Let me be your freedom, let daylight dry your tears

I'm here, with you, beside you

To guard you and to guide you

Aletha's hands ascended the keys as she took a deep breath for her high entrance.

All I ask is every waking moment

Turn my head with talk of summertime

Draco skidded through the archway and quietly sat down.

Say you need me with you now and always

Promise me that all you say is true

Meghan and Neenie tiptoed in through the doorway and joined Draco on the couch.

That's all I ask of you

Over her last note, Sirius reentered the song.

Let me be your shelter, let me be your light

You're safe, no one will find you

Your fears are far behind you

Aletha took over the theme.

All I want is freedom, a world with no more night

Remus was just visible in the hallway, leaning against the wall, listening.

And you, always beside me

To hold me and to hide me

Sirius' voice soared to his version of the high note Aletha had previously hit.

Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime

Let me lead you from your solitude

Danger came up behind Remus, resting her head on his shoulder, and Harry peered around her legs before scampering (quietly) into the room and joining the rest of the cubs on the couch.

Say you need me with you, here beside you

Anywhere you go, let me go too

Love me, that's all I ask of you

Now it was Aletha's turn to come in over Sirius' last note, with a repetition of the high theme.

All I ask for is one love, one lifetime

Say the word and I will follow you

They sang in unison, voices joining as hearts so obviously already had.

Share each day with me, each night, each morning

Aletha's voice turned pleading.

Say you love me

Sirius didn't even wait for her to finish.

You know I do

They went into harmony.

Love me

That's all I ask of you

Aletha put all the emotion she had been giving to her singing into the long piano interlude which preceded the end of the song. It helped, of course, that Sirius had his hand on her shoulder. Finally she reached the climactic chords, and they sang again, this time in octaves, Aletha's soprano soaring gloriously.

Anywhere you go, let me go too

They went back into harmony for the final phrase, sung tenderly and slowly to one another's eyes.

Love me

That's all I ask of you

Aletha let the final chord die away.

The rest of the Pack broke into applause.

"Beautiful," Danger said. "Absolutely beautiful."

"Stick around, we're here all night," Sirius said. "Any requests?"

"Yes, let us do one," Remus said, coming into the room. "If you'd be so kind as to play, Letha."

Aletha flipped to her music book's table of contents. "What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking..." Remus ran his finger down the page. "This one. If you want to, of course, Danger."

"Oh, why not, if you want to make me look bad in front of everyone, I guess I will," Danger said in a mock-grumpy voice. "You two are a hard act to follow," she added over her shoulder as she took her singing stance.

"We try, we try," Sirius said. "Want me to turn pages, Letha?"

"If you like."

Aletha began the slow, rhythmic accompaniment, making Neenie gasp with delight. It was one of her favorite songs, since she had developed a keen appreciation for romantic stories over the last year. Aletha sometimes suspected her of secretly wishing for a male friend who wasn't her brother, so she could practice feminine wiles on him.

Remus turned to Danger and began, in his soft, warm tenor.

In a place that won't let us feel

In a life where nothing seems real

I have found you

I have found you

Danger smiled at him and replied in a slightly husky alto.

In a world that's moving too fast

In a world where nothing can last

I will hold you

I will hold you

Remus looked into the distance.

Our lives will change when tomorrow comes

Danger moved to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

Tonight our hearts drown the distant drums

Remus looked back at her and stroked her face.

And we have music all right

Tearing the night

Neenie sighed in contentment as the chorus began.

A song

Played on a solo saxophone

A crazy sound

Danger took the melody.

A lonely sound

Remus joined her line, and they sang together.

A cry that tells us love goes on and on

Played on a solo saxophone

It's telling me

To hold you tight

Remus pulled Danger close to him, face to face.

And dance like it's the last night of the world...

And dance they did, while Aletha played, Sirius turned her pages, and the cubs watched it all enraptured.

----------

We are eventually going to have to at least get them separate beds, you know, Remus pointed out after the cubs had been tucked in.

You can tell them that. We'll take you to the hospital afterwards.

Oh, come on. They won't take it that badly. Will they?

You never know until you try, and my motto is "Be Prepared".

I didn't know you were a Boy Scout. Remus looked Danger up and down. You seem to be lacking a certain basic requirement...

Danger bared her teeth. If I didn't love you so much, I would push you down the stairs here and now.

Tsk tsk, threats of violence toward your alpha male. I'd better teach you your place, female...

----------

There was a squeal from the direction of the front room.

"What's that?" Aletha asked, looking up.

"Probably just Danger getting herself kissed again," Sirius said, leafing through his fan mail and pulling out one particular letter. "One of these days, I swear I'm going to hand McGonagall all the letters she's ever written 'Valentina Jett', and just watch her have a stroke right there in front of me."

"You horrible man," Aletha said, insinuating herself onto her husband's lap. "I ought to slap you."

And then it wasn't just Danger getting herself kissed.

----------

Snape awakened early the next morning. Perhaps too early.

But one can never be too early for one's destiny. And it must be my destiny to find these treacherous fools, both the kidnappers and those who hide them. They are equally guilty and should be punished alike.

And they will be.

He spent about an hour going over his plan a few last times, just to make sure he knew exactly what he was doing. When he was satisfied, he went up to the kitchen to get a simple breakfast and a packed lunch, since he was planning to be away all day.

Then he left the castle, carrying with him a bag, containing his food, two or three books he was currently reading, and two flasks of what appeared to be a simple Four-Hour Invisibility Potion, but tweaked as only Snape could, to mask not only his visual appearance, but his scent as well. He had not forgotten the humiliating experience in his fourth year which had taught him that even in human form, a werewolf had a better sense of smell than a human.

Of course, he had not known, then, exactly why Lupin had been able to find his usual hiding place near the Gryffindor dormitory. He had only known that the other boy had found him, although he had taken pains to conceal himself from sight. His discovery of Lupin's nature in his seventh year had shed new light on many such happenings.

But soon I will have my revenge for all. And in such a way that none can fault me - that all will thank me, in fact. I will be a public benefactor, a hero even.

He passed the gates of Hogwarts and stopped. From here, he could Apparate to the parking lot of Lupin's workplace. Then, and only then, he would drink the potion and disappear. Drinking a potion too soon before Apparating could have bad effects, such as sickening the Apparater or causing the potion not to take effect properly, and he did not wish to become invisible and then have to wait half an hour of his precious four before arriving at his destination.

If any Muggles happened to be about, they would indeed see magic - a man appearing out of thin air, and disappearing again a moment later - but Muggles tended to see what they wanted to see. They would either come up with some twisted and tortured logical way that it could have happened, or they would simply forget and/or deny that they had ever seen it in the first place.

Snape smiled, visualized the parking lot he had seen in the scry, and vanished with a soft pop.

----------

Sue was just getting out of her car when she heard the sound from behind her. It was faint but familiar. It was the sound Dorothy made when she came to visit by herself, when she didn't bring little Terry with her - that popping-out-of-the-air thing, Apparating they called it...

Casually, she looked in her drivers' side mirror to see what - or, more likely, who - had made the sound.

It was a man, dressed in long robes like she usually saw Dorothy wearing these days unless they were going out together. He had long black hair which looked as if it needed a wash, pale skin, and a large, hooked nose. Altogether, a most unpleasant looking fellow. He was surveying the parking lot with a satisfied smirk.

As she watched, he took a small bottle of something from a bag at his side, opened it, drank the contents -

And vanished completely.

Well, that's rather out of the ordinary. I wonder why he's here?

A blue truck pulled into the employee lot, and Sue had her answer.

Quite possibly something to do with John. He either is a wizard or he knows one, I'm sure of that much, and I'm also sure that he and I are the only two here with that distinction. So, since from what Dorothy says wizards don't truckle much with us ordinary folk unless we have some connection with them, this fellow is either after him or me.

Maybe John can tell me who he is. He was rather distinctive-looking, and I know I've never met him...

----------

"Dark greasy hair, pale skin, and a big nose?" John repeated, sounding a bit startled. "I think I do know him - but I didn't think he had any idea where to find me. This could be trouble." He smiled wryly. "Although not completely unforeseen."

He closed his eyes for a moment, as if praying, though Sue was sure he wasn't a religious man. Then he opened them and sighed. "Well, there's probably very little I can do about it. And I think that batch of doughnuts is done."

They worked together, quietly, until John's shift ended at 12:30. He took off his apron, hung it carefully on his peg, and made a show of checking to see that he had his wallet with him. Sue smiled.

"Take care of yourself," he said, giving her a quick hug. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye," Sue echoed, feeling a little thrown off by something. As the door closed behind him, she figured it out.

John always says "See you" or "Have a good day". This may be the first time I've ever heard him say "Goodbye".

I wonder if it means anything.

The timer on the number five oven went off, recalling Sue to the present and the batch of muffins which was in danger of burning up.

I'm a sentimental fool. It doesn't mean anything. It can't. He'll come in Monday afternoon and crack some quiet little joke that takes everyone a minute to get.

Just like always.

----------

Even if Snape had not seen Lupin drive into the parking lot in the vehicle he was currently riding in, he would have had no trouble identifying it.

Only Remus Lupin would have put a bumper sticker on his truck reading "Werewolves Kick Ass".

To minimize the strain put on his potion - the adaptations for smell, after all, had not been fully tested - Snape was riding in the bed of the truck.

And why, if what I have heard is true, Muggle children would deem it a treat to be allowed to ride back here is beyond me. I will be black-and-blue by the time we get to wherever we're going.

Finally, finally, the horrific ride was over. Lupin pulled into a driveway, and Snape used the last of the engine noise to cover the sound of his climbing out. No sooner had the truck gone silent than the right-hand door of the duplex flew open, and four children shot out and mobbed Lupin, shouting incoherently.

Snape looked at them, sorting out their faces. That is Potter. That one the Malfoy child. That is Freeman's daughter, and Black's too if my supposition is correct. And that one I do not know, but she resembles Lupin's woman.

Said woman was now in a highly compromising position with Lupin, ignoring the noises of disgust emanating from the children. Snape found himself inclined to agree with them. Must you do that in public?

Freeman emerged from the house, her horrendous dog bouncing along beside her. "All aboard for the amusement park," she called out cheerily, and the boys and the younger girl scrambled into the back seat of the truck's cab, while the dog made a somewhat ponderous jump into the bed of the truck. It wrinkled its nose and sneezed, but then settled down comfortably enough.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" the woman was asking Lupin.

"No, I could use some quiet time. Just me and Neenie. How about it, Kitten?"

The little girl nodded. "It sounds acceptable," she said, making the adults laugh. The woman took the keys of the truck from Lupin and got into the driver's seat. Freeman had already settled herself on the passenger side.

Perfect. I can get in, overpower Lupin, and take him and the girl to the Ministry. With the combination of my testimony and his - willing or not - there will be Aurors here by the time the rest return.

Snape made for the door, being sure to walk softly. He could not afford a mistake now...

----------

Remus opened the back door, allowing a breeze into the den room, and collapsed into one of the chairs. Ahhh.

Don't talk to me for about ten minutes, Danger said.

What's up?

Traffic. Worst I've seen in a while.

You usually don't drive, either. Maybe I should have come after all...

No, I'll manage. I just don't need any distractions.

All right, I'll keep my thoughts quiet. Much love.

Much love.

Remus consciously dimmed their link, shielding his thoughts within his own mind. Maybe I should take the opportunity and think about what to get her for her birthday. And how to prank it, to pay her back for mine. I know it's a ways away, but a little forethought never hurt...

His thoughts, inevitably, drifted into more unpleasant channels. Snape. We knew he was coming, but not when. If he's tracked me to work, then it probably won't be long before he finds out where we -

A scream of terror shattered the silence of the Den.

Remus was on his feet. Front room. Letha's side. Oh God, let it be just a spider, or a mouse, or something like that...

But Neenie wouldn't scream that way for something so little as that...

He was in the doorway of the front room, wand in hand.

"Drop it," said Severus Snape's voice, "or you never see the girl again."

----------