A/N: So, here we are at chapter 22…Harry and Hermione are planning a family, and in the meanwhile, the investigations of our heroes continue…
Chapter XXII: Dangerous Threads
Harry nervously paced around the living room, glancing every few seconds at the clock on the opposite wall. On the couch behind him, Ron sat, his eyes following Harry as the latter moved back and forth.
"Will you quit it, Harry?" the redhead said tensely, "You're not the only one anxious here."
"I agree," Remus backed up the request, "There is still time, Harry."
"Fifteen minutes to midnight," the object of their ire snapped back, "and we're not even ready. Where are Hermione, Luna, and everyone else?"
"This time it won't be as big," Ron put in patiently, "it will be just you, me, Remus and Malfoy going."
"When did you decide that?" Harry was appalled; his nerves were already showing more prominently.
"You were there, mate," his best friend replied with an impatient sigh, "This morning, to jog your memory."
Harry was about to say something else, but stopped mid-word. "Right," he mumbled, and turning around, finally sat himself in the comfortable chair opposite.
"What's irking Scarhead?" Draco came in with his usual arrogant air. "Not nervous, is he? It's just two harmless Death Eaters…"
Harry only glared daggers at his one-time adversary, and chose not to reply. Incidentally, the others also ignored Draco's jab. "So much for lightening the mood," Malfoy muttered under his breath, right before Remus took the word.
"It's time," the werewolf declared. "Now do as we talked. I meet with them, you Disillusion yourselves just as we did last time, and be poised to strike. Ron, Harry, you'll watch the Death Eaters, if they make any attempt to harm me. I have the book, and Draco, you are going to be looking out for the surroundings, to make sure we have no unwanted company. Is everything clear?"
Three near-simultaneous affirmations came his way, and the party left without much further deliberation towards their final destination of the Tower Bridge.
Mere seconds later, four slight pops in the quiet night signaled their arrival. Remus nodded, and they stealthily split up to attend to their assigned duties, while the Marauder remained on the street, watching apprehensively for any indication of movement opposite him.
As the letter had promised, the same two mysterious figures, clad in their black robes, swam out from the dark. Slowly, they approached Lupin and stopped in front of him.
"You have honoured our request a second time, Remus Lupin," the shorter one greeted quietly. "We're indeed pleased."
"What do you want this time?" Remus was calm, but quite firm.
"Last time we met, our time was cut short by circumstances, and now we do not have much time at our disposal either," the taller of the two rejoined.
"Alright," Lupin agreed, "what did you want to tell me?"
"Two pieces of information - one, who we are, and two, more about Mortimer Evans."
"I see," he answered, "which is a perfect chance for me to be certain of your loyalty to the Order."
If it were possible, Remus thought he saw both men in front of him become a touch more apprehensive.
"What did you have in mind?" the taller one asked cautiously.
Slowly, Remus took out the deadly book of the Order of Merlin from beneath his robes. He held it in both hands, showing the cover to the two men in front of him.
"This is it," the shorter one breathed excitedly. "The book we were sent to recover!"
"Shut it, you dolt," the other snapped quietly, but not enough to evade Lupin's attention.
"What is he talking about?" he asked edgily, pulling the book closer to himself.
The taller Death Eater slumped ever so slightly, and an audible sigh escaped from him. "That night," he explained, "when you ran across three of our…acquaintances by trade in the Weasley home, and which you took hostage, they were supposed to find the book and leave as quick as they can. I and this idiot here were assigned to watch the perimeter, and that's why Potter and his cronies couldn't catch us."
"Then why did you not attack?" Lupin was still wary and suspicious.
"Put yourself in our position for a minute," the Death Eater's patience was beginning to wear, "three experienced fighters were taken down in a matter of minutes, against the same number of opponents. Us two - first, we did not have the numerical advantage, and then, the place was crawling with Aurors very soon after. It'd have made more sense to withdraw quietly than fight a pointless battle."
Lupin was forced to concede the point. "Fine then, let's move on. You said you would tell me who you are."
"And we will hold that promise, but first signal your troupe in the shadows not to assault us."
"I am here quite alone," Remus replied tensely.
"Right, and I'm You-Know-Who himself," the same Death Eater snapped. "Signal them, or bring them down here!"
Lupin was keenly aware of the compromise he would have to make - security for information. "Alright then!" So, he looked in Harry's direction, and waved at him to come. The dark prevented him from seeing Harry in the flesh, but the latter could make out Lupin's jest very well.
On his turn, Harry understood Remus' ploy; he would call him, but not reveal the other two, who remained hidden. Looking around carefully to ensure he was quite alone, Harry took the short distance to the deck of the bridge at a run. He arrived next to Remus, breathing deeply, and bent down to regain his composure, before looking up again after several seconds.
"Harry Potter, I see," the shorter Auror drawled, "quite the escort you have, Remus."
Harry remained unaffected by the ever so slightly mocking air of the Death Eater. He had clutched his wand tightly, ready to use it at a moment's notice.
"Well, you have your request fulfilled," Remus went on, "now for your end of the bargain."
"Good," the taller Death Eater replied quietly, and raised his hands to his mask. First he snapped his hood back, and gingerly unclasped the mask from the back of his head. "Whatever you do, don't kill us," he warned seriously, still holding his face obscured behind the pallid demeanor of the mask.
"A promise is a promise," Lupin agreed, and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder to restrain him.
In one quick motion, the mask came down, and clattered to the asphalt, echoing eerily through the night air. "Avery!" Remus exclaimed, his words failing him, "You!"
The object of his surprise was not intimidated by the least. "Surprise," his forced smile could not have been more condescending.
Beside him, the smaller Death Eater was repeating his friend's actions. His mask also came to the ground with the same haunting hit, and Remus' eyes immediately snapped over to him.
"Nott!" he put head in his hands, and nodded disbelievingly. "This is not happening…"
Harry was no less surprised by the revelation. "You know I could arrest you right now, and receive a handsome reward for turning you two bastards in…"
"Well, yes, you could do that," Avery told him smoothly, "but it would serve neither yours, nor our interests."
Of course, Harry knew he was right. As detestable as the two men in front of him were, they were the only available link spying on Bellatrix Lestrange, and in return, he figured they wanted forgiveness, or probably freedom, but one aspect was painfully clear - without them, the investigation would grind to a standstill, regardless of the fact that several departments and the best Aurors were on the case. He would indeed receive the galleons for arresting the two, but that would do nothing to help him in the grander cause.
"I know," Harry replied curtly.
By now, Remus had regained his self-control and reason. "You are among the most wanted Death Eaters, and the rewards on your heads are immense."
"So I've read," Nott replied easily.
Needless to say, the reality of talking calmly, face to face, with two of the most sought after fugitives, gave Harry, who was the one with the authority to bring them in, a very odd and surreal feeling.
"Why are you deserting Lestrange?" he asked in frustration. "I thought you were all for the destruction of everything that's good and decent…"
"Turns out, we have a conscience too," Avery answered him. "But let's be direct here, Potter. Lestrange has already killed some of her best lieutenants in the field. She's gone senile, crazy and overwrought with confusion. Her mind is a mess, she has no logical sense of direction or purpose…her desires are becoming odd and disturbing…and it's only a matter of time before she kills us too."
"What would you care about that? Voldemort was the ultimate in insanity and killing sprees," Harry snapped.
"Emotion clouds your judgment quickly, Harry Potter," Avery observed coolly. "Do think, however - without us, you can only watch helplessly as more people are killed. For them, I have no care, but you do, and I will say it again: to achieve our ends requires us to work with one another, regardless of past, ah…history."
All could Harry do was glare at the hateful Death Eater. "Fine," he uttered through clenched teeth.
"Now, what about that book?" Nott took the word immediately following Harry's quiet response.
"I have a feeling that whatever it is you know in the way of Mortimer Evans can be found inside said book," Remus explained, "and as a test for your loyalty, you're both going to read from it in turn until you lose consciousness."
The tables had conveniently turned - now, Avery and Nott were forced to compromise their safety in order to prove their worth.
"Fair enough," Avery assented in the same cool tone. "I'll have the first turn."
Without a word, Remus quickly consulted the table of contents, and flipped to the page where the desired information could be found, before handing Avery the precious tome. He swayed slightly on his feet, as the dangerous influence of the Order's protective magic began to overwhelm him.
"Read," Remus commanded, as he regained his senses.
Avery inhaled deeply, and lowered his eyes to the page.
"Mortimer Evans - last master of the Order of Merlin, before one Harry Potter was designated as the new Master."
Unable to hold his curiosity, Avery looked up at Harry. "You?" he mouthed disbelievingly.
"Apparently," Harry answered shortly. "Now, read!"
Avery bent his head down once more, and proceeded with his assigned task.
"Mortimer Evans is among the most remarkable heads of the Order in its history. Capable of many unique abilities in his active life, among which were parsel-tongue and the skill to acquire any Animagus form at will. His mind-reading and blocking skills were impressive, arguably giving him the opportunity to anticipate the future to a limited degree. He rose to leadership in the Order by his excellent initiative and success in being able to find and disable attempts to access the dangerous secret that the Order of Merlin has as its destiny to protect."
He took another deep breath, and shook his head to clear it.
"The involvement of Mortimer Evans with the Order began shortly after his graduation from Hogwarts in 1924. During his education, he was clandestinely observed by contemporary senior Order members, and as the years passed, the decision to attract him to the ranks of the organization solidified into certainty. It was - it…was…"
Avery swayed dangerously, and his eyes suddenly became glazed and unfocused. He closed them, tried to rub his face clumsily, but did not succeed. Keeling over forward, he began to fall, but anticipating what would happen, Remus rushed forward, and caught him in time. Then, he laid him down gingerly on the pavement, and turned to Nott.
"Your turn," came the icy request.
Visibly unnerved, the remaining Death Eater took the book from Lupin's hands, and gulping audibly, he cast his gaze down too.
"It was his responsibility to be a master of the Order of Merlin for the next near eight decades. Dark wizards, from the ranks of Grindewald and Voldemort, knew of the existence of such advanced magic, but neither was ever able to understand, nor find it. The efforts of one Bellatrix Lestrange, the closest aide to Voldemort, to take hold of the spells the Order is protecting, very nearly succeeded. By unknown means, she was able to find and produce a list of the surviving members of the Order. Those who belong to it, are sworn to secrecy to death and beyond. Regardless, Bellatrix Lestrange found herself capable of securing the support of Voldemort's backing, and without voicing her purpose, systematically killed off Order members one by one. As it is known, a wizard's abilities diminish with age, and by this time, Mortimer Evans was not the formidable wizard he once was. During a train ride in the direction of Manchester, he was assaulted and killed by two of Bellatrix Lestrange's Death Eaters - "
At this point, Nott suddenly stopped, as if suddenly seized by a mysterious force. The book dropped from his hands, and fell to the ground in a heap. The unfortunate Death Eater opened his eyes wide, staring wildly around him, flailing his hands helplessly, but unable to utter a sound. His face began to turn blue, and the blood rushed to his eyes. He looked crazed, desperate, and it was then that Harry took it upon himself to try and save the struggling man…
"Finite Incatatem," he said loudly, pointing his wand at Nott. The bright light impacted his trashing body, and it seemed to have a partial effect.
"Stupefy!" Remus shouted on his own turn, and once the red beam hit Nott, he fell, unconscious, next to Avery. With a small jolt of relief, Harry noticed his chest was rising and falling again.
"What happened to him?" Lupin asked as he bent down to recover the fallen book.
"I don't know," Harry muttered, mulling over Nott's near demise in his mind. "Check if it says anything in the book about it."
Remus has already glanced down without thought. "The murderers will have the misfortune," he read aloud, "to be killed by the curse upon these pages, once they lay eyes on them…" Remus snapped the book shut, to prevent any more harm from the risks that the exposure to the tome created...
"My goodness," Harry uttered quietly, "they really have thought of everything, and now I'm somehow supposed to continue the tradition of this Order…"
"You've already continued it already," Lupin replied quietly after a minute's pondering, "The Order of the Phoenix, Harry, is the fight for the Light. We are doing all we can to stop Bellatrix, and that includes preventing her from acquiring those spells."
"You're right," Harry was distant for a moment, but quickly regained his alertness. "Now, what about these two? Somehow we have to bring them back, and convince Lestrange that nothing is out of the ordinary…"
"Memory charms, Harry," Lupin said reasonably. "We'll substitute their memories, and when the time comes, restore these real ones."
"Is Lestrange a capable Legilimens?" Harry inquired curiously.
"Among the best," Remus nodded sadly, "I experienced it first hand some years ago. However, Legilimens can be fooled when memories are removed, and fictional ones that seem real, are entered in their place."
"So you're suggesting we implant false memories?" Harry wanted to be certain.
"In essence, yes," Remus assured him, "and we have to do it soon."
"How much time do you reckon we have?"
"Hour at most," the other replied apprehensively. "Summon the others down here, because you know it requires several wizards to produce a believable invented memory…"
Without hesitating, Harry pointed his wand in the air, and fired off the signal that had been agreed to in the preliminary preparations before tonight's affair. Nearly immediately, two identical flashes flared up from the dark abyss of the night, and it wasn't long, before running footsteps could be heard.
"What's going on?" came Ron's hurried question, as he came to a halt, panting for breath. Draco was right behind him, and he also joined the party shortly.
"Did I miss anything?" he queried just as quickly.
"Well, yes," Harry answered quietly, "but we can talk about that later. Right now, we need to modify the memories of these two, for their own safety, and make them wake up as soon as possible."
"Why is the short one blue in the face?" Ron asked with a hint of disgust in his voice. "You didn't strangle him, did you?"
"No, no, of course not," his best friend rejoined uneasily. "Book had a curse on it…it kills the murderers of the master of the Order of Merlin?"
"What?" Draco echoed the question that had formed on Ron's lips.
"Well…long story short, these two are the ones who killed Mortimer Evans," Harry explained, "and we had to stun him to stop the curse."
"So that's what almost killed him?" Ron was still skeptical.
"Better believe it," Harry told him, "but right now, it's the memories we need to worry about!"
"Fine," Draco snapped - he was on edge for a mysterious reason. "Just make it quick. I have a bad feeling about this…"
Disregarding the last comment, Harry launched straight into the cover-up story he had planned in the span of the previous five minutes.
"Alright," he said, "I think we should tell them that they were assaulted by attackers, who knocked them out in Knockturn Alley, where they were, because of a lead regarding our plans."
"Not a bad idea," Remus approved, "but what do we specify the lead to be?"
"I know," Draco put in irritably, "potion ingredients. Ground dragon scales. They are dangerous and rare, and available just about only at Knockturn Alley."
"Good, let's hurry," Ron urged the others, "I'm not feeling too good about this either…"
United by the cause, they formed a circle around the collapsed Death Eaters, four wands went up in the air together, and a simultaneous mutter of "Obliviate" started the plan. For a full two minutes, the four of them stood with their eyes closed, visualizing and creating accurate images of the false memories. Streaks of bright colour travelled along the brilliant white beams of the memory charm, and immersed themselves within the glowing sphere at the centre.
"Done!" Harry opened his eyes suddenly, precisely as the other three did so as well.
"Come on, a little bit more," Remus muttered; sweat was already breaking on his face.
"Soon," Ron replied curtly, his teeth clenched.
The result they were looking for did indeed occur shortly after. Two separate beams emanated from the sphere, awash in colours of all variety, and casting the performers of the spell in strange and beautiful hues. Each penetrated the head of a fallen Death Eater, and then intensified in colour.
"Hold on!" Lupin struggled to speak. "Almost there!"
The strain and exhaustion of the magical effort was beginning to show on everyone. Harry had closed his eyes again, willing himself not to collapse. Draco clenched his wand in both hands to prevent it from slipping out of his unsteady grasp. Ron bit down on his lip in concentration, quite possibly unaware that a small streak of blood had appeared, and Remus was trembling all over, as the intensity was too much for his years to bear…
As suddenly as it had started, the sphere disappeared with a loud bang, to be immediately followed by the former pressing silence. Tired, each wizard involved had collapsed on his knees, attempting to regain some semblance of a breath.
"Well, that was something," Ron rasped out, starting to rise shakily.
"Tell me about it," Draco used the fence of the bridge as a support to pull himself up.
Harry and Remus had managed to clamber to their own feet, but were still rather unsettled.
"Come on, let's bring these two back to Grimmauld," Harry offered, and looking at Remus, he moved towards Nott.
"We'll take the uglier one," Ron smiled slightly, and he and Draco hastened to attend to their quarry.
With the last semblance of strength, they managed to apparate back to the safety of Grimmauld Place.
Out of the shadows, another mysterious figure walked slowly in the dim light thrown by one of the street lights, and without the slightest motion or sound, it also apparated to its own unknown destination.
A/N: With the new job, writing is becoming a more tricky thing…hope you enjoyed this, and the next chapter is coming up…
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