Prompt One: The Wedding Crashers
Title: The Wedding Crashers
Author:
gijane7702
Format & Word Count: Fic//2877
Rating: PG13
Prompt: #1: the surprised old lady
Warnings: Deathly Hallows spoilers//character violence; torture; wartime battles; cursing
Summary: “…-and then they interrogated those of us who remained for hours. They were trying to get information on you, Harry…” (DH, p206-American edition)
Author's Notes: I don’t like the ending, but it’ll do. Nearly 3,000 words is a novel for me! I had to end it. //Not beta’ed. I wanted to get it up before I crashed for the day (I work the overnight shift)//Thanks for reading! I hope everyone’s…er, okay with Deathly Hallows. I know I went through my Five Stages of Grief in the past week.//Thanks to the mods for still hosting this Challenge. Writing is going to be therapeutic for most of us.
One instinct pulsed through Remus Lupin’s mind and body as he threw hexes, jinxes, and curses back at anyone who directed them at him: protect the woman back to back with him, firing off spells just as rapidly as he was: his wife, Nymphadora Tonks.
Protect the unborn child she was carrying.
Out of the corner of his eye, Remus caught sight of a flash of white robe. A distraught Fleur Weasley, in full veela-mode (despite the fact she was only one-eighth), screeched, “Destroy my wedding! I think non!”
There was a blinding light, and then a body went soaring past Remus, landing with a thump at the feet of his fellows. All fell silent in the marquee.
“Blimey,” one of the masked Death Eaters whispered the same time his Dora did.
“Round them up,” a voice boomed, “and take them in the house.”
Remus recognised the voice behind the mask. “Don’t,” he whispered as Dora’s wand twitched. “It’s Yaxley. They’ve got the support of the Ministry behind them now that Scrimgeour’s dead and Thicknesse is Minster, remember.”
“I know,” Dora whispered back. “He always was a bloody arse.”
Every other Order of the Phoenix member present must have realised this as well, because none of them made a move to continue the battle. Remus did a quick once over of the marquee and noted that only he, Dora, the Delacours, and the Weasleys remained. All of the other wedding guests had managed to Disapparate.
“We’ll start with the bride and groom first,” Yaxley continued. He then turned towards Remus and Dora with such an evil smirk that Remus knew he had overheard Dora’s remark, and said, “Then we’ll move onto the other set of newlyweds next, the Lupins.”
The Death Eaters all jeered them. One hulking one in particular seemed very interested in Dora all of a sudden. Remus shifted so that he was standing directly behind his wife, his instincts on sudden high alert again.
Before either of them could say anything, a crotchety old voice rang out, “For Merlin’s sake, what is going on here!” Everyone turned to see Arthur’s Aunt Muriel creaking up to Yaxley, the plumes on her hat waving erratically in a sudden breeze. “I go into the house for five minutes…and come out to a brawl! Explain yourself, young man.” Muriel poked him hard in the chest with a gnarled finger.
“Please excuse my great-aunt,” Arthur began, coming up to them. “She’s one hundred and seven….”
“Don’t make excuses for me, Arthur Weasley!” she bellowed back, shaking her nephew off. “I know exactly what’s going on here. The masks give it away! What do you want?” she demanded.
“Harry Potter,” Yaxley said curtly. The other Death Eaters began to mutter to themselves, but quieted when Yaxley, obviously the leader for this raid, held up a hand.
“Harry Potter?” Muriel parroted back to him. “He’s not here!” Remus tightened the grip on his wand as Yaxley’s eyes narrowed. “Funny though that…Isn’t he friends with your Ronald, Arthur?” she asked. Dora groaned. “And he was a Tri-Wizard Champion like the Frenchie.” She faltered for a moment as Fleur shot her a look of contempt, then picked right back up. “Why isn’t he here?” she demanded from her nephew.
“I think he is,” Yaxley told her when Arthur didn’t answer. “And we’re going to find him. You,” he shoved Muriel towards Remus and Dora, “stay with the werewolf and his mate. You two,” he pointed at Fleur and Bill, “come with us.”
Dora managed to catch the stumbling Muriel, who gasped at her and then pulled away, her hands flying up to cover her mouth. Her eyes went wide. She was staring at both of them in disbelief.
He was used to it. Most people reacted like her when they found out they had conversed with a werewolf. Remus and Muriel had spoken when they had accidentally reached for the same cup of punch not twenty minutes ago.
Dora tried to cover up her look of dismay, but Remus caught it. And, once again, he felt angry with himself for allowing himself to place her in such a position. Marrying her had made her a social pariah. Impregnating her made Dora an outcast.
Two masked Death Eaters, a lumpy looking one and the hulking one, each grabbed Fleur and Bill by the arm. Remus suddenly knew who the hulking one was before he spoke. “Yaxley, think I can finish off Groomy-Boy here? I think his face is looking a tad too pretty from when I ripped it up last month.”
Yaxley ripped off his mask. Glaring, he said, “No, Fenrir! Our mission is to find out where Harry Potter is…nothing else. The Dark Lord was adamant about that! Although I’d like to know how they knew we were coming. Clearly, someone tipped them off. But we’ll figure that out later.”
The Death Eater holding Fleur let out a high-pitched giggle and said, “Come on! Let him! It’d be fun.”
“Alecto Carrow,” Dora muttered, shifting her glare from Muriel (who was looking pointedly away) to Alecto.
Greyback removed his mask as he passed by Remus. Jerking Bill to a halt, he grinned, and then said, “Hullo, Lupin. How’s the missus? I can’t wait to-” He stopped abruptly as Remus stepped in front of Dora. “Well, well…finally acting like a werewolf, are we?” Greyback craned his neck around to try to get a look at Dora, but Remus stepped in his path again. “Mighty protective, are you, Lupin?” He looked at Remus attentively.
Remus narrowed his eyes at him. He made to say something, but Yaxley cut him off. “Get a move on, Fenrir! You can taunt Lupin later!” Greyback leered at him, and then shoved Bill forward. “Lupin, follow them into the house and wait in the kitchen. Take your bitch with you. Weasley, you and your wife wait out here with the others until we’re done with them.”
Dora had stiffened when Yaxley had referred to her in such a manner, but moved forward when Remus placed slight pressure on her upper arm. They both caught the anxious looked on Ginny’s face and smiled reassuringly at her as they passed. Entering the house, the Death Eaters left Dora and Remus alone in the kitchen as they all followed Alecto and Greyback, still holding Fleur and Bill, into the sitting room.
“Why’d they leave us alone?” Dora asked, spinning around. Remus could tell she was frustrated. The Auror in her wanted to fight her way out of captivity. “I mean…they left us with our wands!”
“They know we won’t go anywhere as long as they have Bill and Fleur,” he said quietly. “And they’re only here for information, like Yaxley said. Dora, I know you want to fight, but you have to think of the baby. Please…I’m begging you; keep your head down and your mouth shut unless they ask you a direct question.” She went to say something, but he continued, “Greyback’s already suspicious about why I’m being so overprotective. I can’t help it, its werewolf instinct: protect my mate.”
Dora smiled briefly at him, and then changed the subject. “Why does Greyback have a Death Eater mask? I thought he wasn’t a full-fledged member.”
“I don’t know, Dora. I know from being underground that he hasn’t received his Dark Mark. It’s a constant source of annoyance with him.” Being the topic back to where he started it, Remus said, “Dora, please, for the baby…”
“I promise to keep my mouth shut and my head down, Remus. It’d going to kill me though…suppressing all I’ve been trained to do-” A feminine shriek echoed from the sitting room, immediately followed by two male bellows. “Fleur!” Dora gasped.
The kitchen door flew open and Arthur, followed by Fred, George, and Charlie, came stampeding into the kitchen. “We heard Fleur,” Arthur panted.
“Out!” Remus hissed. “Before they come in here…Bill will take care of her! They’ve separated us for a reason.” Arthur nodded, then led his sons back outside.
“They left the purebloods outside,” Dora said. “They took us, the half-bloods, inside. No…Bill’s not a half-blood.”
“But Fleur, his wife, is part veela,” Remus reminded her. “They-”
He was cut off as the door separating the kitchen and the sitting room swung open. Remus caught a brief glimpse of Bill holding a pale, but otherwise looking all right, Fleur in a tight hug before it swung shut.
“Here we are,” Yaxley leered. “The Lupins.” To Dora he added, “Auntie Bella’s not pleased with you, young lady. Just when she thought your branch of the family could sink no lower, you go and marry a werewolf.”
“Piss off,” Dora hissed at him, and then bit her lip. She glanced apologetically at Remus.
“Such language!” Alecto giggled. “Can I punish her like I did the veela?”
“No!” Yaxley bellowed. “The Dark Lord was definite that no one is injured. We just took the Ministry, which we’re trying to keep quiet, Alecto. Now….Lupin, where is Harry Potter.”
“I have no idea,” Remus told him honestly.
Yaxley trained his wand on Dora and Remus’ heart leapt to his throat. “Where is Harry Potter, Lupin? Tell us…or Mrs Lupin gets a taste of the Cruciatus Curse.”
“I swear it on Dora’s life…I have no idea where Harry is,” he said hoarsely.
Yaxley lowered his wand. But Alecto raised hers. “Cru-” she began, but Yaxley jarred her aim away from Dora and the spell blasted a gaping hole in the kitchen roof. Remus threw himself in front of his wife, arms wrapped around her protectively.
“What don’t you get, woman! You just don’t seem to understand subtleness.” At Alecto’s perplexed look, he explained, “Keep quiet; people won’t know what’s happening. Announce ourselves and they will revolt. How am I supposed to explain to Robarts that one of his Aurors was tortured by you? Subtle! Now…let’s go question the Weasleys.”
All the Death Eaters save one trooped outside to question the remaining. Greyback stood just in front of the door grinning savagely at Remus. “Your instincts getting the better of you, Lupin? Rather overprotective aren’t you?”
“Dora’s my mate, you know that we protect our own,” Remus said curtly.
“Oh, I think that there’s more to it than that, Lupin. A…pup perhaps?” Greyback began to laugh as Remus felt his face blanch. “Well, I see I’m correct. That’s interesting-” He was stopped short as his legs came out from underneath him and he began to dangle midair as if being held upside down by an invisible hook. “What the hell!” he bellowed.
“Remus!” Dora shrieked.
But he was already face to face with an upside-down Greyback. In a very quiet tone, he told the other werewolf, “You’ll keep your mouth shut about that or I will personally hunt you down and kill you myself. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal,” Greyback grunted.
Remus unceremoniously released him from the jinx. “Now get outside with the others. None of knows where Harry is. Tell them you tried to get it out of me, but we really don’t know. Report that to Yaxley. It just might earn you your Dark Mark.”
Greyback took one last long look at Remus, looking almost proud of him, and then crashed through the kitchen door and outside.
“Your wand,” Dora said quietly behind him, holding it out to him.
He spun around. “I didn’t even realise I had dropped it.” Remus took his wand from her and stowed it in his robes.
“Yes, you did. Right when you stepped in front of me. Remus, I’ve never seen magic that powerful. Wandless and non-verbal.”
He didn’t respond since there were the sounds of Disapparitions coming form the yard. Moments later, the kitchen door burst open again and the Weasleys poured into the house.
“Are you all right?” Ginny yelled as she threw herself into Dora’s arms. Hugging her briefly, Ginny then turned to Fleur, who had come in from the sitting room with Bill, and threw herself into her sister-in-law’s arms. “Are you all right too?” Fleur looked taken aback, but quickly recovered and reassured Ginny that she was fine.
“Is it true?” Muriel poked Remus in the arm to get his attention.
“Is what true?” he asked politely.
“Remus Lupin…I recognise the name now. You’re the werewolf professor Dumbledore let loose on school grounds.”
“Not quite. Dumbledore didn’t let me loose, but yes, that’s me.”
“And you married that gel?” She pointed at Dora, who was reassuring Molly she was fine. “Does she know?”
“Muriel!” Arthur came up behind them. “Enough!”
“You married him, girl, knowing he was a werewolf?” Muriel yelled at Dora. The kitchen fell silent. Dora and Molly froze.
“I beg your pardon?” Dora asked her in an icy tone. Molly bit her lip and looked apologetically at Remus.
“You knowingly married a werewolf!”
The entire kitchen went silent. Dora’s dark eyes narrowed. Remus tried to stop her from saying anything, but wasn’t in time. Quietly, she said, “I love Remus for who he is, not what he is.”
“But you’re not ever going to be accepted-” Muriel began, hobbling up to Dora.
“I don’t care!” Dora burst out. Ginny let go of Fleur and wound her way between her brothers back to her.
“You’re so young. You had your whole life ahead of you!”
“I have a loving life!”
“What about children? You can never have any,” Muriel argued back, shaking Arthur off once again.
“Oh yes I can!” Dora said hotly, but bit her tongue at Remus’ warning look.
“No…you can’t!”
“I already am!” Dora shot back, and then clasped her hand over her mouth. She looked away from Muriel and over to Remus, who had gone still.
They had just found out last week that she was pregnant. She was ready to shout from the rooftops, but he wasn’t quite ready to announce to the world that she was expecting, knowing that the world would react just as Muriel was now. He was also having doubts and was beginning to think that maybe Dora…and their baby…were better off without him.
The stillness was broken by a squeal that was emitted by Ginny. She pulled Dora into a bear hug, shrieking “You’re having a baby!” over and over. Fleur quickly joined her.
Molly burst into tears and ran over to hug Remus, who stiffly hugged her back. “I’m so happy for you,” she whispered to him.
Bill, Charlie, and the twins all congratulated him, each wearing a knowing grin on their face as they shook his hand over their mother’s head. Arthur tried his best to suppress the same grin, but failed miserably.
Muriel just stood there looking at her family as if they were complete strangers.
Molly let go of him suddenly and fought her way over to Dora, who was watching him with a fake smile plastered on her face. He knew that she knew that he was upset that the news was out.
“Dora,” he said suddenly. “We should go check on your parents. I’m sure that the Burrow wasn’t the only Order house hit as soon as the Ministry fell.”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth was there the sound of an Apparition from the yard. Every single person, save Muriel, drew their wands and pointed it the door, waiting expectantly. Remus moved to where Dora was and stood in front of her again.
Kingsley’s booming voice echoed into the house from the yard. “It is I, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Auror and member of the Order of the Phoenix. My last words to you, via my Patronus, were “The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming.””
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Kingsley poked hi head through the door. “Everyone all right here?”
“Everyone’s fine,” Remus told him. “Were any other Order houses hit?”
Kingsley frowned as he made his way into the kitchen. “They were all hit. We’re all fine, except…” he paused as Dora popped her head out from behind Remus.
“My parents,” she finished matter-of-factly for him. “What and who.”
“The Cruciatus Curse…” he began, but trailed off not willing wanting to tell her which Death Eater.
“Bellatrix,” Dora said in a firm, but knowing, voice. “They’re all right?”
“Yes…your mother said Bellatrix wanted to continue, but Malfoy stopped her. They were-”
“Looking for information on Harry only, we know.” Kingsley nodded. “Come, Remus, we need to go.”
“Poppy’s with them now. She said they’ll be fine. What was all the yelling about when I arrived?” he asked.
“Tonks is having a baby!” Ginny shrieked before either Remus or Dora could stop her.
Kingsley grinned. “Congratulations!”
“Thank you,” Remus said tightly. He knew that Kingsley understood when the Auror arched an inquisitive eyebrow at him, but said nothing. “Let’s go see your parents, Dora.”
“Goodbye, everyone,” Dora said subdued.
“Goodbye,” Remus said curtly. “Congratulations,” he told Bill and Fleur once again before leading Dora out the door and into the yard.
“Remus,” she began the minute they were alone. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean too...”
“We’ll talk about this later, Dora, Let’s get going.”
He held his hand out to her. She took it and together they Side-Along Apparated to her parent’s house.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
FIN(?)
Author:
gijane7702
Format & Word Count: Fic//2877
Rating: PG13
Prompt: #1: the surprised old lady
Warnings: Deathly Hallows spoilers//character violence; torture; wartime battles; cursing
Summary: “…-and then they interrogated those of us who remained for hours. They were trying to get information on you, Harry…” (DH, p206-American edition)
Author's Notes: I don’t like the ending, but it’ll do. Nearly 3,000 words is a novel for me! I had to end it. //Not beta’ed. I wanted to get it up before I crashed for the day (I work the overnight shift)//Thanks for reading! I hope everyone’s…er, okay with Deathly Hallows. I know I went through my Five Stages of Grief in the past week.//Thanks to the mods for still hosting this Challenge. Writing is going to be therapeutic for most of us.
One instinct pulsed through Remus Lupin’s mind and body as he threw hexes, jinxes, and curses back at anyone who directed them at him: protect the woman back to back with him, firing off spells just as rapidly as he was: his wife, Nymphadora Tonks.
Protect the unborn child she was carrying.
Out of the corner of his eye, Remus caught sight of a flash of white robe. A distraught Fleur Weasley, in full veela-mode (despite the fact she was only one-eighth), screeched, “Destroy my wedding! I think non!”
There was a blinding light, and then a body went soaring past Remus, landing with a thump at the feet of his fellows. All fell silent in the marquee.
“Blimey,” one of the masked Death Eaters whispered the same time his Dora did.
“Round them up,” a voice boomed, “and take them in the house.”
Remus recognised the voice behind the mask. “Don’t,” he whispered as Dora’s wand twitched. “It’s Yaxley. They’ve got the support of the Ministry behind them now that Scrimgeour’s dead and Thicknesse is Minster, remember.”
“I know,” Dora whispered back. “He always was a bloody arse.”
Every other Order of the Phoenix member present must have realised this as well, because none of them made a move to continue the battle. Remus did a quick once over of the marquee and noted that only he, Dora, the Delacours, and the Weasleys remained. All of the other wedding guests had managed to Disapparate.
“We’ll start with the bride and groom first,” Yaxley continued. He then turned towards Remus and Dora with such an evil smirk that Remus knew he had overheard Dora’s remark, and said, “Then we’ll move onto the other set of newlyweds next, the Lupins.”
The Death Eaters all jeered them. One hulking one in particular seemed very interested in Dora all of a sudden. Remus shifted so that he was standing directly behind his wife, his instincts on sudden high alert again.
Before either of them could say anything, a crotchety old voice rang out, “For Merlin’s sake, what is going on here!” Everyone turned to see Arthur’s Aunt Muriel creaking up to Yaxley, the plumes on her hat waving erratically in a sudden breeze. “I go into the house for five minutes…and come out to a brawl! Explain yourself, young man.” Muriel poked him hard in the chest with a gnarled finger.
“Please excuse my great-aunt,” Arthur began, coming up to them. “She’s one hundred and seven….”
“Don’t make excuses for me, Arthur Weasley!” she bellowed back, shaking her nephew off. “I know exactly what’s going on here. The masks give it away! What do you want?” she demanded.
“Harry Potter,” Yaxley said curtly. The other Death Eaters began to mutter to themselves, but quieted when Yaxley, obviously the leader for this raid, held up a hand.
“Harry Potter?” Muriel parroted back to him. “He’s not here!” Remus tightened the grip on his wand as Yaxley’s eyes narrowed. “Funny though that…Isn’t he friends with your Ronald, Arthur?” she asked. Dora groaned. “And he was a Tri-Wizard Champion like the Frenchie.” She faltered for a moment as Fleur shot her a look of contempt, then picked right back up. “Why isn’t he here?” she demanded from her nephew.
“I think he is,” Yaxley told her when Arthur didn’t answer. “And we’re going to find him. You,” he shoved Muriel towards Remus and Dora, “stay with the werewolf and his mate. You two,” he pointed at Fleur and Bill, “come with us.”
Dora managed to catch the stumbling Muriel, who gasped at her and then pulled away, her hands flying up to cover her mouth. Her eyes went wide. She was staring at both of them in disbelief.
He was used to it. Most people reacted like her when they found out they had conversed with a werewolf. Remus and Muriel had spoken when they had accidentally reached for the same cup of punch not twenty minutes ago.
Dora tried to cover up her look of dismay, but Remus caught it. And, once again, he felt angry with himself for allowing himself to place her in such a position. Marrying her had made her a social pariah. Impregnating her made Dora an outcast.
Two masked Death Eaters, a lumpy looking one and the hulking one, each grabbed Fleur and Bill by the arm. Remus suddenly knew who the hulking one was before he spoke. “Yaxley, think I can finish off Groomy-Boy here? I think his face is looking a tad too pretty from when I ripped it up last month.”
Yaxley ripped off his mask. Glaring, he said, “No, Fenrir! Our mission is to find out where Harry Potter is…nothing else. The Dark Lord was adamant about that! Although I’d like to know how they knew we were coming. Clearly, someone tipped them off. But we’ll figure that out later.”
The Death Eater holding Fleur let out a high-pitched giggle and said, “Come on! Let him! It’d be fun.”
“Alecto Carrow,” Dora muttered, shifting her glare from Muriel (who was looking pointedly away) to Alecto.
Greyback removed his mask as he passed by Remus. Jerking Bill to a halt, he grinned, and then said, “Hullo, Lupin. How’s the missus? I can’t wait to-” He stopped abruptly as Remus stepped in front of Dora. “Well, well…finally acting like a werewolf, are we?” Greyback craned his neck around to try to get a look at Dora, but Remus stepped in his path again. “Mighty protective, are you, Lupin?” He looked at Remus attentively.
Remus narrowed his eyes at him. He made to say something, but Yaxley cut him off. “Get a move on, Fenrir! You can taunt Lupin later!” Greyback leered at him, and then shoved Bill forward. “Lupin, follow them into the house and wait in the kitchen. Take your bitch with you. Weasley, you and your wife wait out here with the others until we’re done with them.”
Dora had stiffened when Yaxley had referred to her in such a manner, but moved forward when Remus placed slight pressure on her upper arm. They both caught the anxious looked on Ginny’s face and smiled reassuringly at her as they passed. Entering the house, the Death Eaters left Dora and Remus alone in the kitchen as they all followed Alecto and Greyback, still holding Fleur and Bill, into the sitting room.
“Why’d they leave us alone?” Dora asked, spinning around. Remus could tell she was frustrated. The Auror in her wanted to fight her way out of captivity. “I mean…they left us with our wands!”
“They know we won’t go anywhere as long as they have Bill and Fleur,” he said quietly. “And they’re only here for information, like Yaxley said. Dora, I know you want to fight, but you have to think of the baby. Please…I’m begging you; keep your head down and your mouth shut unless they ask you a direct question.” She went to say something, but he continued, “Greyback’s already suspicious about why I’m being so overprotective. I can’t help it, its werewolf instinct: protect my mate.”
Dora smiled briefly at him, and then changed the subject. “Why does Greyback have a Death Eater mask? I thought he wasn’t a full-fledged member.”
“I don’t know, Dora. I know from being underground that he hasn’t received his Dark Mark. It’s a constant source of annoyance with him.” Being the topic back to where he started it, Remus said, “Dora, please, for the baby…”
“I promise to keep my mouth shut and my head down, Remus. It’d going to kill me though…suppressing all I’ve been trained to do-” A feminine shriek echoed from the sitting room, immediately followed by two male bellows. “Fleur!” Dora gasped.
The kitchen door flew open and Arthur, followed by Fred, George, and Charlie, came stampeding into the kitchen. “We heard Fleur,” Arthur panted.
“Out!” Remus hissed. “Before they come in here…Bill will take care of her! They’ve separated us for a reason.” Arthur nodded, then led his sons back outside.
“They left the purebloods outside,” Dora said. “They took us, the half-bloods, inside. No…Bill’s not a half-blood.”
“But Fleur, his wife, is part veela,” Remus reminded her. “They-”
He was cut off as the door separating the kitchen and the sitting room swung open. Remus caught a brief glimpse of Bill holding a pale, but otherwise looking all right, Fleur in a tight hug before it swung shut.
“Here we are,” Yaxley leered. “The Lupins.” To Dora he added, “Auntie Bella’s not pleased with you, young lady. Just when she thought your branch of the family could sink no lower, you go and marry a werewolf.”
“Piss off,” Dora hissed at him, and then bit her lip. She glanced apologetically at Remus.
“Such language!” Alecto giggled. “Can I punish her like I did the veela?”
“No!” Yaxley bellowed. “The Dark Lord was definite that no one is injured. We just took the Ministry, which we’re trying to keep quiet, Alecto. Now….Lupin, where is Harry Potter.”
“I have no idea,” Remus told him honestly.
Yaxley trained his wand on Dora and Remus’ heart leapt to his throat. “Where is Harry Potter, Lupin? Tell us…or Mrs Lupin gets a taste of the Cruciatus Curse.”
“I swear it on Dora’s life…I have no idea where Harry is,” he said hoarsely.
Yaxley lowered his wand. But Alecto raised hers. “Cru-” she began, but Yaxley jarred her aim away from Dora and the spell blasted a gaping hole in the kitchen roof. Remus threw himself in front of his wife, arms wrapped around her protectively.
“What don’t you get, woman! You just don’t seem to understand subtleness.” At Alecto’s perplexed look, he explained, “Keep quiet; people won’t know what’s happening. Announce ourselves and they will revolt. How am I supposed to explain to Robarts that one of his Aurors was tortured by you? Subtle! Now…let’s go question the Weasleys.”
All the Death Eaters save one trooped outside to question the remaining. Greyback stood just in front of the door grinning savagely at Remus. “Your instincts getting the better of you, Lupin? Rather overprotective aren’t you?”
“Dora’s my mate, you know that we protect our own,” Remus said curtly.
“Oh, I think that there’s more to it than that, Lupin. A…pup perhaps?” Greyback began to laugh as Remus felt his face blanch. “Well, I see I’m correct. That’s interesting-” He was stopped short as his legs came out from underneath him and he began to dangle midair as if being held upside down by an invisible hook. “What the hell!” he bellowed.
“Remus!” Dora shrieked.
But he was already face to face with an upside-down Greyback. In a very quiet tone, he told the other werewolf, “You’ll keep your mouth shut about that or I will personally hunt you down and kill you myself. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal,” Greyback grunted.
Remus unceremoniously released him from the jinx. “Now get outside with the others. None of knows where Harry is. Tell them you tried to get it out of me, but we really don’t know. Report that to Yaxley. It just might earn you your Dark Mark.”
Greyback took one last long look at Remus, looking almost proud of him, and then crashed through the kitchen door and outside.
“Your wand,” Dora said quietly behind him, holding it out to him.
He spun around. “I didn’t even realise I had dropped it.” Remus took his wand from her and stowed it in his robes.
“Yes, you did. Right when you stepped in front of me. Remus, I’ve never seen magic that powerful. Wandless and non-verbal.”
He didn’t respond since there were the sounds of Disapparitions coming form the yard. Moments later, the kitchen door burst open again and the Weasleys poured into the house.
“Are you all right?” Ginny yelled as she threw herself into Dora’s arms. Hugging her briefly, Ginny then turned to Fleur, who had come in from the sitting room with Bill, and threw herself into her sister-in-law’s arms. “Are you all right too?” Fleur looked taken aback, but quickly recovered and reassured Ginny that she was fine.
“Is it true?” Muriel poked Remus in the arm to get his attention.
“Is what true?” he asked politely.
“Remus Lupin…I recognise the name now. You’re the werewolf professor Dumbledore let loose on school grounds.”
“Not quite. Dumbledore didn’t let me loose, but yes, that’s me.”
“And you married that gel?” She pointed at Dora, who was reassuring Molly she was fine. “Does she know?”
“Muriel!” Arthur came up behind them. “Enough!”
“You married him, girl, knowing he was a werewolf?” Muriel yelled at Dora. The kitchen fell silent. Dora and Molly froze.
“I beg your pardon?” Dora asked her in an icy tone. Molly bit her lip and looked apologetically at Remus.
“You knowingly married a werewolf!”
The entire kitchen went silent. Dora’s dark eyes narrowed. Remus tried to stop her from saying anything, but wasn’t in time. Quietly, she said, “I love Remus for who he is, not what he is.”
“But you’re not ever going to be accepted-” Muriel began, hobbling up to Dora.
“I don’t care!” Dora burst out. Ginny let go of Fleur and wound her way between her brothers back to her.
“You’re so young. You had your whole life ahead of you!”
“I have a loving life!”
“What about children? You can never have any,” Muriel argued back, shaking Arthur off once again.
“Oh yes I can!” Dora said hotly, but bit her tongue at Remus’ warning look.
“No…you can’t!”
“I already am!” Dora shot back, and then clasped her hand over her mouth. She looked away from Muriel and over to Remus, who had gone still.
They had just found out last week that she was pregnant. She was ready to shout from the rooftops, but he wasn’t quite ready to announce to the world that she was expecting, knowing that the world would react just as Muriel was now. He was also having doubts and was beginning to think that maybe Dora…and their baby…were better off without him.
The stillness was broken by a squeal that was emitted by Ginny. She pulled Dora into a bear hug, shrieking “You’re having a baby!” over and over. Fleur quickly joined her.
Molly burst into tears and ran over to hug Remus, who stiffly hugged her back. “I’m so happy for you,” she whispered to him.
Bill, Charlie, and the twins all congratulated him, each wearing a knowing grin on their face as they shook his hand over their mother’s head. Arthur tried his best to suppress the same grin, but failed miserably.
Muriel just stood there looking at her family as if they were complete strangers.
Molly let go of him suddenly and fought her way over to Dora, who was watching him with a fake smile plastered on her face. He knew that she knew that he was upset that the news was out.
“Dora,” he said suddenly. “We should go check on your parents. I’m sure that the Burrow wasn’t the only Order house hit as soon as the Ministry fell.”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth was there the sound of an Apparition from the yard. Every single person, save Muriel, drew their wands and pointed it the door, waiting expectantly. Remus moved to where Dora was and stood in front of her again.
Kingsley’s booming voice echoed into the house from the yard. “It is I, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Auror and member of the Order of the Phoenix. My last words to you, via my Patronus, were “The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming.””
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Kingsley poked hi head through the door. “Everyone all right here?”
“Everyone’s fine,” Remus told him. “Were any other Order houses hit?”
Kingsley frowned as he made his way into the kitchen. “They were all hit. We’re all fine, except…” he paused as Dora popped her head out from behind Remus.
“My parents,” she finished matter-of-factly for him. “What and who.”
“The Cruciatus Curse…” he began, but trailed off not willing wanting to tell her which Death Eater.
“Bellatrix,” Dora said in a firm, but knowing, voice. “They’re all right?”
“Yes…your mother said Bellatrix wanted to continue, but Malfoy stopped her. They were-”
“Looking for information on Harry only, we know.” Kingsley nodded. “Come, Remus, we need to go.”
“Poppy’s with them now. She said they’ll be fine. What was all the yelling about when I arrived?” he asked.
“Tonks is having a baby!” Ginny shrieked before either Remus or Dora could stop her.
Kingsley grinned. “Congratulations!”
“Thank you,” Remus said tightly. He knew that Kingsley understood when the Auror arched an inquisitive eyebrow at him, but said nothing. “Let’s go see your parents, Dora.”
“Goodbye, everyone,” Dora said subdued.
“Goodbye,” Remus said curtly. “Congratulations,” he told Bill and Fleur once again before leading Dora out the door and into the yard.
“Remus,” she began the minute they were alone. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean too...”
“We’ll talk about this later, Dora, Let’s get going.”
He held his hand out to her. She took it and together they Side-Along Apparated to her parent’s house.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
FIN(?)