Owls and Musings

Chapter 16a

Interlude

Remus walked quickly along the semi-deserted streets around Diagon Alley. With the attacks increasing daily, being out in the open was not safe. Shops were closing before dark and some had closed permanently. The twins' joke shop was still doing a booming business however. Lupin smiled slightly to himself as he saw and heard the raucous business. But the twins shop was not where he was heading this day. Today, he had to head into Knockturn Alley to get some Doxycide as the flat he was currently living in was infested.

He turned up the dark alley hunching into his tattered cloak against the cold brisk breeze. Winter was coming sooner this year. The shop he wanted was halfway down the alley and he walked quickly, keeping his head lowered. He didn't see the group of men exiting Borgin and Burkes and the upraised eyebrow of one of them. But he heard in his mind the request:

'Lupin, start a fight with me!'

Remus looked up and his eyes immediately locked onto Snape's. So, Snape had something for him? It was about time. He was beginning to wonder if Esmerelda had been right. He growled deep in his throat, aiming all his pent-up anger at the figure in front of him. Whipping out his wand, he aimed it at Snape's face.

"You traitor! How could you do that, how could you kill him!" he screamed, unconsciously taking a duelling stance as he stared at the former professor.

Snape's companions started laughing at the sight of the almost beggared werewolf attempting to start a fight with Snape. The contrast of the two men was ludicrous. Lucius Malfoy sneered down along his patrician nose at the man.

"Severus, what is this thing in front of us, and are you going to finish it off or shall I?"

Snape laughed a cruel laugh. "No, Lucius - this is my fight. Stay out of it." As he pulled out his wand, Lucius shrugged and motioned to the other Death Eaters to stand back. This should give them some entertainment for the afternoon; this was a fight long in coming, he felt. The rest of the street quickly cleared as the overly cautious clientele and residents recognised a burgeoning duel in process.

"Well, wolf, are you just going to stand there?" sneered Snape. "Rictumsempra!" Lupin dodged the hex and returned with a blasting charm, which Snape easily deflected to splash harmlessly against a wall. The duel went on for several minutes with the Death Eaters cheering on Snape and jeering the werewolf. The two men started to wear down as the spells started making their way through the shield charms. They were both breathing hard and shaking from various hexes. Their cloaks showed the effects of cutting charms that had come too close for comfort. They began to narrow the circle toward each other as the continued casting jinxes and hexes. Eventually the two men got close enough for Lupin to rush at Snape and land a fist on the other man's jaw. Snape staggered back a bit, shaking his head to get rid of the ringing in his ears, but recovered quickly and lunged toward Remus, grabbing the man's cloak and muttering 'Expelliarmus'. Remus flew back against a brick wall as his wand arched through the air into Snape's hand. In two steps Snape was on top of him again with his hand around Remus' throat, the length of the cloak conveniently hiding Snape's slight of hand manoeuvre as he leaned in to snarl in the werewolf's face. Remus heard the whisper of the Legilimens again in his head. 'Very good, wolf. I've placed your wand back in your pocket. Meet me tonight in Godric's Hollow.'

Out loud, Snape snarled in Lupin's face, "I'm going to let you live, wolf, but only because it is more expedient to my purposes to do so. Take this message back to your precious do-gooders: the Dark Lord will triumph, and he will kill Potter. The brat hasn't a chance. Stop now while you can and bow to the Dark Lord's clear dominion, or you will be picked off one by one." As he said this he punched Lupin hard in the face with one hand and in the stomach with the other, leaving the werewolf retching in the dirt. Snape swirled away to rejoin his companions as they Apparated away from the scene, still laughing although they didn't notice that Snape only sneered.

As the denizens of the alley slowly made their way back out into the twilight, they ignored the man slowly regaining his feet and gave him a wide berth as he stumbled back along the alley to the entrance. He slowly straightened himself up with a grimace, settling his cloak again around his shoulders and feeling the reassuring weight of his wand in his pocket before entering Diagon Alley again.

He wasn't surprised that there weren't any Aurors around; they avoided Knockturn Alley like the plague, leaving the scum to themselves. He totally forgot about the Doxycide and as he was in no shape to Apparate without splinching himself, headed back towards the Leaky Cauldron to floo back to his flat and get ready for his meeting with Severus in Godric's Hollow. He definitely needed some healing draughts.

+++++++++

Severus stood in the shadows of the large oak tree that stood guard over the remains of the Potter house. Not that there was anything to see. The usable timber from the destruction of the place had been hauled away immediately and the land had reclaimed everything else over the intervening years. The plot still belonged to Potter though and thus had never been rebuilt.

He remembered the altercation in Knockturn Alley that afternoon; it had been felicitous to see the wolf. He had hoped Esme had been able to convince Lupin to trust him again and apparently she had as Remus had gone along with the fight. Damn, his jaw still hurt! 'It was worth it.' He smirked to himself. For the first time in months he was finally free of his watchers. The show had been convincing enough for Lucius to report to Voldemort that there was no doubt about Snape's loyalties. Wormtail had finally been removed from Spinner's End and was back to grovelling at Riddle's feet. Snape snorted to himself; what a useless waste of flesh that sycophant was.

A snap of displaced air alerted him to the arrival of Lupin. He watched as the man slowly made his way around the perimeter of the property, staying low to the ground and in the shadows. He grudgingly was amazed at Lupin's ability to blend in and sneak. He was almost acting like a Slytherin! He managed to lose sight of the wolf however, and was startled when Lupin managed to come up behind him and place his wand against the back of Severus' neck.

"Damn, I hate being back here. Let's make this quick," Lupin snarled in a low whisper.

"Fine with me, it's too bloody cold." He turned around to face Remus as the other man lowered his wand. "How's the jaw?" he snarled.

"Probably in same shape as yours; a bit sore. I'll live. What do you have for us?"

"A list of all the remaining Horcruxes and their locations. Potter will know what to do with them." He handed over a piece of parchment which Lupin quickly secreted somewhere on his person. "Also, on Hallowe'en there will be a raid on families of Muggleborn students. I don't know which ones are being targeted, just that it is being planned. I may know closer to the attacks. Be here on the twenty-seventh; if I have names, I'll give them to you then." Remus nodded. "How is she?"

"She's all right. McGonagall took her in and she is working at the school. Do you have a message for her?"

"No, it would just make it worse for her. I can't raise her hopes right now. You better go, it doesn't do to stand around here too long."

Remus nodded and stepping a bit to the side, turned in place and Disapparated. Snape followed soon after. The old oak sighed in the wind as it was left alone again.

The two men continued to meet periodically for Snape to transfer information to the Order. Their meeting places and times were scattered to throw off any hint of continued spying on Snape's part. He had even been able to snag an owl one night close to Christmas and get a message and the engagement ring off to Esme. It was better if that particular piece of jewellery was not found on his person. Remus finally reported that Harry had been successful in finding the other Horcruxes, thanks to Snape's information, and destroyed them. This left only Nagini to be dealt with, and Snape knew that would have to be tackled during the final battle.

Voldemort's attacks started escalating further, and the clashes with the Aurors and the Order members were occurring more frequently and with greater violence. There were losses on both sides of people who would be sorely missed in the final confrontations. After finding and destroying the Horcruxes, Harry was furthering his defence training; honing his skills and adding to his knowledge of spells. He even managed to find a trainer in Occlumency and was finally able to master the skill that had so eluded him the past couple of years. With the proper motivation, anything was possible. His wandless skills and his ability to do the spells silently also increased as he furthered his mastery of Occlumency.

Eventually Voldemort tired of the skirmishes and wanted an all-out battle. He decided to finally attack Hogsmeade with all of his forces with the intention of breaking into the school. He was hoping to wreak a lot of havoc before the Aurors and Order members caught wind of it.

Lupin waited for Snape in the Shrieking Shack. He would be back here in two nights' time for the transformation, and he needed to check on the wards. It was a warm April night and the house moved gently on its foundation with the slight breeze. He heard the knock on the door and quickly moved to answer it. Severus slinked in and did not let his hood drop down until the door was closed and warded. He removed a warded cup from his cloak and, charming it back to its full size, handed it over to Lupin. Remus sniffed, then gratefully downed the smoking contents.

"Wolfsbane? Severus, how can I thank you?" he said after gagging a bit, as always. He handed the goblet back to Severus who banished it.

"By being sane during the attacks," he responded curtly. "The Dark Lord is timing the final battle to correspond with the full moon so that his werewolves will be the most dangerous. We need you to be out there to counteract them. Are there any other werewolves who might be willing to join you for the Order's sake and fight with you against the Dark Lord's wolves?"

"A few, if I can get them the potion. Where will the attack be?"

"Here in Hogsmeade with the main objective being the school. I'll get you some more potion tomorrow morning and leave it here. Bring your comrades here tomorrow night to prepare. I will warn Esme when it gets closer so she can get the students away. Too soon and the act of the school preparing will tip our hand. The Dark Lord is personally leading the attack and everyone will be there. This is it, Lupin, I hope Potter is ready."

"He is. He's made sure of it. I'll go warn the Order tonight, and we'll have everyone in place by the full moon."

Snape nodded wordlessly and lifting his hood again, opened the door to sneak out into the night and Apparate back to Spinner's End.