An Auror of Mystery
Maeve was woken by the sound of birdsong, and she opened tired eyes to the morning light. Quickly checking her surroundings she smiled with relief to see Remus sleeping peacefully on the sofa with some colour back in his sallow cheeks. Ron was snoring gently with his arms and legs flung in an ungainly manner over the sides of the chair he occupied.
Moving silently to the fire she swept out the embers from the previous night, replacing them with fresh turf. This reminded her of visits to the local village when she was a child as the warm smell of turf and baking wafted across her memory. Setting light to it with the matches she had found in the kitchen, Maeve left the fire to catch hold and wandered into the kitchen. It was empty of anything apart from the tins of beans that Ron had pulled out of the cupboard the night before. This wouldn’t be enough to fuel their stomachs for the trip back to Hogwarts so she opened up the ancient cellar in an effort to discover some more food. Ron had been very thorough the night before; the only extras she dug up were a tin of rice pudding and a packet of stale biscuits.
Pulling back the curtain a little Maeve looked out onto the fine morning. The mountainside fell sharply away at the end of the small front garden, making it seem as if the house teetered on a knife-edge. Across the valley another mountain rose from the landscape. This one was heavily wooded with a triangle cut out of the heavy green landscape where the forestry workers had been wielding their chainsaws. Only one other building dotted the landscape, a small white farmhouse clinging to the other mountainside. It felt as if they were completely isolated, a fact Maeve was extremely pleased about. An early morning mist shrouded the summit of that other mountain. She crossed to the back window and looked out at their own mountain. Sure enough there was a matching cap of grey there too.
She was feeling very hungry; a nice plate of toast would have gone down a treat. Coffee would also have helped but the cupboards had revealed no beverages whatsoever. Using magic unnecessarily might be dangerous. Maeve didn’t want to risk them being detected for the sake of a morning coffee. A sound behind her made her turn. Ron stood in the doorway with his hair sticking out in all directions, a hungry look on his face.
“Good morning, Ron,” she said.
“Is it?” Ron asked grumpily. “You don’t stink of death.”
“You didn’t sleep in your robes?”
“I was cold. What else was I supposed to do?”
Something told her Ron was not a morning person.
“I found some rice pudding,” she said, holding out the tin.
“Great, beans and rice pudding for breakfast.” Ron was definitely on the wrong side of tetchy. “Can’t we just magic up something?”
“No, Ron. I don’t want you using any magic unless your life depends on it. You never know who might be around.”
“That,” Ron said with his first smile of the day, “is paranoid behaviour. You want to watch it.”
“Go and have a wash,” she suggested. “At least the water is still on and the heating works, so it’ll be hot.”
Ron stumbled off up the wooden stairs, his limbs still stiff from a night spent on the chair. Maeve walked back through to the lounge, grinning as she heard the water begin to splash and Ron burst into tuneless song.
Remus was still asleep but it seemed a lighter one now. His head moved about on the cushion as his lips mouthed words that were not meant to be uttered. The temptation was strong to wake him so she gently touched his shoulder, crouching by his head. His dry lips parted as he spoke her name.
“Maeve?”
“Yes?” she replied.
His eyes were sticky with sleep and opened slowly; when they did they were still brimming with tiredness. It would take more than a few hours on a sofa to wipe away what Remus had been through in the past few days.
“Where are we?” he asked, struggling to sit up.
“We stopped at a holiday cottage last night,” she reminded him. “You were exhausted. I didn’t want to risk the flight across the sea.”
“I don’t remember,” he said, looking appalled that he had a huge gap in his memory. “The last thing I remember is…”
He hesitated. Maeve placed a comforting hand on his lap, unsurprised that his mind had brushed away the past day.
“I turned into a full werewolf,” he said. “How did that happen? I felt the changes start, knew they were serious, but I had taken my Wolfsbane. Voldemort had me in this huge house –– your huge house. He said you would come and get me. It was his way of getting his hands on you.”
“And it would have worked,” she smiled. “I came, didn’t I? Despite people telling me not to I still came. And I know why your Wolfsbane didn’t work.”
“Oh?”
“Hermione Granger and Harry Potter.” Maeve watched for his reaction and sure enough it was a disbelieving one. “That potion of my grandmother’s that you and Professor Dumbledore were so keen for me to make up. I was extremely reluctant to make it alone. Harry overheard me talking about it and decided it would be a great idea for him and Hermione to come to the rescue.”
“She tripped,” Remus said, recalling the incident in the drawing room of Grimmauld Place. “Hermione tripped when she brought me the potion.”
“I know.” Maeve nodded. “I’m afraid I gave her a bit of a hard time over that. I got the whole story from Harry. Once he realised you had lost your robes he understood they were to blame and he came to tell me. Remus, I could have killed them both when I knew what they had done. How could they be so stupid?”
Remus regarded her with a kind, understanding look. He reached across to touch her hair in a very familiar way, twisting it gently in his fingers.
“They weren’t the only ones being stupid, were they? You did something incredibly stupid coming here to find me. You risked your own life, a life that is far more important than mine.”
“Don’t say that!” She pulled away from him. “What a horrible thing to say.”
“It’s true, Maeve, whether you want it to be or not. You should not have risked your life for mine.” He was on the point of asking her to promise him that she would not to do anything like it again but he realised it would be futile. “There was someone else last night.”
“You really don’t remember?” she queried. He had appeared to be fully awake last night, if a little tired, so this memory lapse was worrying. Maeve wondered if it was a consequence of the potion Hermione had made.
“No, I really don’t.” He rubbed his face with his hands in an attempt to wake himself up. “I don’t even remember how I managed to get away from Voldemort. Presumably he had me thrown out of the house when I changed.”
“I think he did more than that,” Maeve said, fingering the slash in his robes. “I’d say he hit you with a very powerful curse.”
Remus glanced down at the hole and he frowned. He followed her fingers, touching the frayed edges of the fabric in amazement. Their fingers met and she quickly pulled hers away, feeling slightly strange about this close contact.
“I don’t remember that either,” Remus said, not noticing her sudden withdrawal. “What happened in that house?”
“Did you see anyone else while you were there?” The question she really wanted to ask concerned Voldemort and his appearance but she was afraid it might upset him too much. Harry had given her only the vaguest description but she wanted something more. It was a macabre fascination, she knew that, but she remembered Lord Voldemort from the time before he had been vanquished. She couldn’t help wondering how much he had changed.
“Oh yes, Maeve. There certainly was someone else there. The woman who managed to capture me.”
“I saw her,” Maeve blurted out. “I saw her capture you. I saw her bring you here.”
“I knew,” he said with a nod. “I knew I had seen your face. I thought I was dreaming or hallucinating. That’s quite a power you have.”
“It wasn’t me,” she said. “I thought it was you. Dumbledore said it was a connection made when two people have become very close but even so, I thought you were the one making the connection.”
“Maybe someone else was making it for us,” he smiled.
“Perhaps. So who was the woman?”
“Bellatrix Lestrange, formerly Bellatrix Black. Don’t tell Harry about her. She was the one who sent Sirius through the veil.” When Remus said this Maeve realised exactly whom Roderick had been talking to back in the forest at Abbeylara. Roderick’s Bella was the woman who had cornered Remus and carried him away to his potential death.
“Don’t tell Harry about who?” Ron asked as he wandered back in to the room. He looked more awake now after his wash and his hair was under control once more.
“Ron?” Remus asked incredulously. “Oh, Maeve, you didn’t.”
“No, she didn’t,” Ron said, coming to her defence. “It was Harry’s fault really. He was all set on coming with her but Maeve said if he insisted then she wouldn’t come at all. Harry didn’t want to risk that so I came instead. I’m a compromise.”
“That was madness,” Remus said. “Sheer bloody madness. How on earth did you manage to get in and out of that place without getting seen?”
“That was Roderick,” Ron informed him.
“Roderick? Who on earth is Roderick?” he asked, his confusion growing.
“Roderick is an Auror. He followed us when we left school. I think he probably saved our lives.” Ron jumped in before Maeve had the chance to explain any of this properly.
“So where is he now?” Remus asked. He looked to Maeve for the answer this time.
“Abbeylara,” she said, not really wanting to think about Roderick or his fate. “He managed to create a diversion while we got you away.”
“How did he manage to do that? I can’t imagine it’s easy luring Voldemort to one side.”
“He seemed to know Bellatrix,” she said and even before the words were out of her mouth she knew they could be damning of the Auror she had once trusted.
“Did he now?” Remus said slowly. “Did he really?”
“Bellatrix?” Ron had finally cottoned on to the person he wasn’t supposed to be telling Harry about. “Roderick knows Bellatrix? Bloody Hell! Is he a spy for us then?”
“I don’t know,” Maeve answered truthfully. On the face of it that had to be the best explanation but he hadn’t come across as spy material. “Remus?” She looked towards the only person she could think of with access to that kind of information.
“Hang on!” he exclaimed as he finally put the name to a face. “Are we talking about that chap on the train? Roderick Rampton?”
“That’s him,” Maeve admitted. “He wasn’t just a party planner.”
“You’re telling me,” Remus said with a frown. “I’ve never heard of the man. Certainly not heard of an Auror by that name anyway.”
“Well, Dumbledore has. He employed him to watch over me at the school. That’s how he knew I had come out here to find you. Oh, that reminds me.” She reached into her robes and pulled out his wand. He beamed with delight when she handed it to him, examining it for a moment before sliding it into his robes.
“Voldemort said he was going to send it to you. I’m sorry you had to experience that.”
“Well at least he didn’t send me a finger or toe to go with it,” she laughed.
“Don’t laugh, that’s exactly what he was going to go if I hadn’t turned into the werewolf. I thought it was a bit of a dramatic gesture myself. Beneath that evil beats the heart of an actor; he should be on the stage.”
They laughed at the greatest evil the wizarding world had ever known, leaving Ron looking at them as if they had gone mental.
“Shouldn’t we be eating about now?” Ron asked as his stomach reminded him it was empty.
“It’s beans and rice pudding,” Maeve said, with a note of apology in her voice.
“Sounds great to me,” Remus said. Now that food had been mentioned he realised he was completely famished. “And then we really need to think about getting back.”
It was probably the most unusual breakfast Maeve had ever eaten. She took the smallest portion of their meagre rations and watched with satisfaction as the other two wolfed their food down. When they had finished the beans, rice pudding and stale biscuits Ron shared out his last few Chocolate Frogs, which were accepted gratefully. Maeve carefully cleaned the cooking utensils, placing them back in the cupboard where she had found them. Ron was amazed at this, suggesting that they just leave them. He received a lecture from her then on what was the right thing to do in certain situations.
“The people that own this cottage deserve consideration from their guests, even their non-paying ones. The least we can do is tidy up after ourselves. Now get into that lounge and tidy away all those blankets. I want it left exactly as we found it.”
Ron trundled off, grumbling to himself about slave labour. At least the work kept his mind from thinking too much about the return journey they were about to make. This time it would be daylight so the Harpies would be sleeping in whatever dark hole they inhabited but he would have been willing to bet there were plenty of other things to take their fear-inducing place.
Remus was recovering more and more by the minute as his strength returned. He could feel the effects of recent events leaving his body along with the potion that Hermione had made. There would be plenty of time for discussing the strange effects that the potion had had on him but for now they had to concentrate on getting home.
It was past nine o’clock when they had finally finished clearing the house up. Both Remus and Maeve had followed Ron’s lead in freshening up. Maeve had looked longingly at the bath, anticipating the time when she could have a relaxing soak in hot, foamy water.
Now that Remus was feeling better Maeve naturally deferred to him as far as decision-making was concerned. He had far more experience of this than she had. If she was honest with herself the journey out had been something of a disaster. It was only Roderick turning up that had secured the success of the expedition.
“We are going to have to fly very high,” Remus said, as they hovered by the doorway. “We will each have a Disillusionment Charm on us, which should conceal our presence. As it’s daylight it’s more risky to fly.”
Maeve and Ron nodded as he placed the charm on each of them in turn. They both felt the strange, seeping sensation of the concealment as it dripped over their heads. Maeve returned the favour for Remus, watching as he became one with his surroundings.
“Time to go,” he said brightly. “Ron, you will go in the middle and we stay very close together. It shouldn’t take us long – it’s easier to see in the day so we should make good progress.” They both nodded their agreement, watching with anticipation as Remus threw open the door to allow the day in. Maeve felt much more confident about this trip than the one they had made the day before. For a start she had the comforting presence of Remus beside her, the man she had thought could be dead only twelve hours ago.
They sprang lightly into the air, Remus wobbling only slightly on the unfamiliar broom. As they rose into the morning mist only a few sheep raised curious heads; the rest of the Muggle world was oblivious to their presence. Maeve was in two minds about the journey. On the one hand she wanted to get back to Hogwarts and its safe walls, where she knew Severus would be waiting with harsh words for her. On the other there had been a comforting charm about the place that had given them shelter and she was sorry to see it slip between her fingers. One day, if they survived all of this, she would buy just such a home. The grandness of Abbeylara was no longer for her. She wanted something smaller with a more honest feel to it.
They managed to stay hidden by both the Charm and the clouds for most of the way. Only occasionally did they dip below them to catch a glimpse of the sparkling sea beneath them. Remus smiled at Maeve’s continued discomfort while riding. It made him happy to see her riding his great-great-grandmother’s old broom. She even rode it sideways, as the long dead witch would have done. He couldn’t help a quiet I-told-you-so about her extra flying practice. She grinned, threatening to punch him if he ever mentioned it again.
“Punch away, dear girl,” he laughed. “But it beats being driven anywhere by you in a car.”
“As I understand it, I’m not the only one with a penchant for wild driving,” Maeve said, smiling at Ron, who blushed. “Whatever happened to that Ford Anglia, Ron? Harry told me all about your little adventure.”
“Dunno,” he muttered. “I think it ran away.”
“I’m not surprised!” Remus said. “You drove it into the Whomping Willow.”
“Yeah, well…” Ron said, wishing they would go back to chatting about the weather.
“Poor Ron,” Maeve said, feeling sympathy for the embarrassed boy. “But you do have talents in other areas. Trumpet playing for one.”
“What’s this?” Remus asked. Maeve let Ron tell the story. It was, after all, his moment of glory.
They reached the coast of Scotland just before ten. Remus was pleased they had managed to get this far without incident but Maeve was beginning to worry about the kind of reception they would receive when they arrived. She wasn’t sure she would even have a job. Taking a student into the lair of Voldemort was hardly a good career move. The mountains rose to greet them as they left the sea behind. With solid ground beneath them the trio dropped lower until they could almost feel the brush of the rugged mountaintops. As Hogwarts grew closer Ron also began to feel Maeve’s unease.
“What if Mum has found out?” he asked. The thought that Molly Weasley would be there waiting for him was too horrible for Ron to contemplate. “It won’t matter to her that we made it in one piece. She’ll bloody well go on about this for ever.”
“You might be surprised, Ron.” Remus said gently. “I think if she is there she will be more interested in giving Maeve a hard time for taking you.”
Maeve gulped as the list of people waiting to tear a strip off her grew. Professor Dumbledore would no doubt head up the list, closely followed by Severus and now there was the possibility that Molly would be there too. She only hoped the sight of a living Remus would help temper their reaction.
“Perhaps I shouldn’t come with you?” she said in a small voice.
“What?” Remus tuned to look at her. All he saw was the almost invisible line where her shape joined with that of its surroundings but nevertheless he knew she was there.
“I don’t think I can face it.”
“Don’t be silly,” he replied. “Are you seriously suggesting that they will be so angry they won’t be pleased you made it back in one piece.”
“Dumbledore is going to be so livid… I really don’t think I can bear his disappointment. Not to mention Hermione. I was horrible to both of them before I left and Hermione will just see this as an opportunity to gloat,” Maeve said.
“Hermione’s not like that!” Ron immediately leapt to his friend’s defence. “She’ll understand your reasons for going.”
“Perhaps I should have been a bit more understanding of her reason for making the potion in the first place.” She grimaced to herself as she recalled the scene in Professor Snape’s classroom.
“Let’s not worry about that now.” Remus tried to pour oil on Maeve’s troubled waters.
“Yeah, and me and Harry are always getting into really big trouble. We haven’t been expelled yet,” Ron said cheerfully.
“You lost your job though,” Maeve said to Remus unhappily.
“I resigned,” he replied. “There is a huge difference. Surely you don’t think you will get the sack?”
“It’s a possibility, don’t you think?” Maeve looked sad.
“No, I don’t think,” he insisted. “I think anyone would be mad to let you go. Especially given the dearth of good Defence of the Dark Arts teachers.”
Maeve wasn’t sure that last bit was especially encouraging but she didn’t really have time to process a reply because the shimmering towers of Hogwarts peaked into view between the sweep of the purple mountains.
There was no reception committee waiting for them as they dropped down onto the lawn behind Madam Pomfrey’s herb garden. Once the Disillusionment Charms were removed they stood on the grass looking uncertain. It was Remus who finally broke the silence.
“We need to go straight to Dumbledore’s office,” he said firmly. Despite Maeve’s look of dismay he insisted that it was the only course of action open to them. She merely wanted to go to her rooms and hide. Ron began to tramp towards the school building. He was relieved not to have spotted his mother just yet; there was still the possibility she was safely tucked away in London. Remus put his hand around Maeve’s shoulders and gave her a quick squeeze.
“It will be all right, Maeve,” he said firmly. “Dumbledore isn’t going to be angry with you.”
“Maybe not, but there are plenty of others that will be.” She didn’t need to mention Severus’ name. Remus just hoped the Potions master was well occupied with a few classes down in his dungeon.
They reached a side entrance and Ron pushed open the door, which creaked loudly. They managed to slip in unnoticed and made their way up to Dumbledore’s office.
“Isn’t it a bit worrying that we have just managed to land and walk into the school without being challenged?” Maeve asked. “If we can do it why can’t anyone else?”
“It’s old magic that Dumbledore uses,” Remus replied. “It will recognise those with evil intent and repel them. Only those with a good reason for being here can get through the multitude of charms set up to protect the school.”
“All the same I would have thought there would have been some sort of guard on the place,” she muttered as they finally reached the statue.
“Any idea what the password is?” Remus asked.
“Blackberry wine,” Maeve said, but nothing happened. “Must have changed it,” she added.
“Don’t look at me,” Ron said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He hoped if he would just be able to go to his common room and get his head down for a nice long sleep.
“Hmm, I wonder?” Remus mused thoughtfully. But before he could think too deeply the doors slid open of their own free will.
“I think someone knows we are here.” Remus grinned as he allowed Ron and Maeve to step on the staircase first.
Maeve had been up these stairs many times but never before had she felt so nervous about it. Ron didn’t seem particularly bothered now that he thought his mother wasn’t here. If she had been Ron was sure she would already have found him. Remus tapped on the door because Maeve stood there with her hands by her sides, putting off the inevitable.
Percy Weasley, who gave them a look that indicated he wasn’t that pleased to see them, opened the door.
“Hello, Percy,” Remus said confidently. Percy was about to correct the use of his first name when Ron marched past him, giving him such a disgusted look that Percy immediately closed his mouth again.
Professor Dumbledore was sitting at his desk flanked by Molly Weasley and Harry. Molly had a face like thunder. She was holding back a mixture of emotions that threatened to explode all over Ron at any moment. Harry leapt from his chair and rushed to hug Maeve but just as he reached her he stopped, feeling suddenly embarrassed. Maeve recognised his intention and reached out to bridge the gap, taking him in her arms and squeezing him gently. She was relieved that one person, at least, was pleased to see her and wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity of the comforting gesture. She let Harry go after a few moments and he turned to Ron, clapping him on the back. Harry was relieved and more than a little covetous of Ron’s exploits.
Remus approached Dumbledore, who silently rose from his seat. The other occupants of the room watched as Dumbledore moved to Remus’ side of the desk. He gently opened his arms and enveloped Remus in a fatherly hug. Maeve watched as the old wizard closed his eyes; relief was etched in every line of his weathered face. He patted Remus on the back before releasing him.
“It’s good to have you back, Remus,” he said in a low voice. “I can’t tell you how good it is. You had us all worried.”
“I’m sorry about that, Albus. But things have turned out well all things considered.” Remus stepped softly away from Dumbledore
“Yes, it was more than we could have expected,” Dumbledore said wearily.
Maeve hovered in the background. She was aware that Molly was glaring at her fiercely from her seat with anger ready to be unleashed. For Maeve the temptation to put Ron between her and his explosive mother was great.
“And Maeve.” Dumbledore was satisfied that Remus was in one piece so he turned his attention to his rebellious Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.
“I’m sorry, Professor,” she said in a sad, little voice, which was quite unlike her usual one.
“Sorry?” Dumbledore said.
“I’m sorry that I did something so stupid and so thoughtless. I could have had us all killed, including Ron. That would have been completely unforgivable of me. I’ll understand if you want me to resign my position. It will be very difficult for me to continue now given what I have done.”
Remus was shaking his head at her in an attempt to stop her babbling but she was full of contrition, intent on laying herself at Dumbledore’s feet as if she were some sacrificial lamb.
“I risked the life of a student. I ignored your instructions. I have possibly caused the death of an Auror…”
Dumbledore smiled gently at her, placing a warm hand on her shoulder.
“Please, Maeve. There is no need for this,” he said quietly. “You acted with the best of intentions. No one has been harmed. You are all back safely. So please don’t upset yourself unnecessarily.”
“What?” she asked sharply. She couldn’t believe she would be let off so lightly. After preparing herself for the worst, and the possibility that she would be leaving Hogwarts, the relief she felt was palpable. “But what I did was…”
“Rash?” Dumbledore suggested. “Foolhardy? Brave? It was all of these things and more. But you had the courage and the strength of mind to succeed, Maeve. For that Remus is indebted to you.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “It wasn’t me, I just knew the way. We were attacked and Ron saved us, without him we would have been killed. But it was Roderick who ensured we got out safely…”
“Ahh, yes. Roderick.” Dumbledore smiled.
“He managed to waylay Bellatrix Black. Without him we would have been caught and no doubt we would all be dead. I don’t know what happened to him, Professor. He made us leave without him.”
There was a chuckle from the armchair that was half hidden beside a huge bookcase.
Maeve turned her head slowly to try and find the source of the voice. Her quota of shocks for the day was not yet exhausted as a burgundy-cloaked figure rose from the seat, turning his head to smile at her.
“Roderick?” she gasped in disbelief. “But how did you manage to escape? How did you beat us home?”
“I have my methods,” he said mysteriously. “Suffice it to say Apparition is considerably quicker than a broomstick in a tight spot. I didn’t have the boy to worry about so it was nothing to just pop across the sea in a matter of seconds. Of course only being able to get as far as Hogsmeade was a bit of a pain in the posterior but the beautiful Madam Rosmerta obliged with the use of a spare broom for the last leg of the journey.” He grinned at her but she could see the faintest tightness around his eyes, which gave away the strain he had been under.
“Speaking of the boy…” Molly Weasley could keep quiet no longer. “How could you?” she said the words with venom and Maeve turned to her, ready to apologise. She was surprised therefore, to find Molly ignoring her and speaking directly to an embarrassed Ron.
“Oh, Mum, don’t,” her son said with a scowl. “I’m knackered. I just want a good meal and a lie down.”
“A good meal!” Molly shrieked. “That’s all you ever think about, Ronald. There are worse things in life than an empty stomach, like death, for instance. It’s not enough that I’ve lost one son, is it? Do you want me to die of a broken heart, Ronald, do you?”
“Of course not, Mum,” he said wearily. “But if I hadn’t gone then Maeve wouldn’t have gone and Remus would still be with You-Know-Who.”
Maeve was about to speak as Molly turned to her with a frown. She seemed on the point of saying something but Dumbledore gave a very faint cough, causing Molly to close her mouth for a moment. When she reopened it she had a tight smile playing about her features.
“Yes, well. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have known better,” Molly said quickly. “But I’m sure Ron was only to happy to go along with the plan He’s always been a thoughtless lump.
Maeve was about to speak again but Ron stepped in.
“Look, Mum. I’m really, really sorry but I’m here now, safe and sound.”
“Well, it won’t do, Ron. I don’t think I can stand much more of this,” she said with exhaustion. “Come and give me a hug.”
Ron allowed himself to be hugged before Molly insisted she take him down to the kitchens to get the house-elves to rustle something up for him. Harry wanted to get all the details and he knew he would get more from Ron than he would from Maeve so he made his excuses, following them quickly out of the office. Maeve watched as Percy did his best not to watch their exit but he couldn’t help his eyes flickering in his mother’s direction. Just how was he managing to keep so distant, she thought to herself, and how had Molly been so cool about being in the same room as him?
“Sit down, all of you,” Dumbledore said and they all pulled chairs up to huddle around his desk. “We need to talk about what happened to you, Remus. I see someone has hit you with a very strong curse.” Dumbledore nodded towards the front of Remus’ robes.
“Yes,” Remus said. “It’s a bit of a mystery that. I can’t remember very much prior to waking up this morning.”
“Well then, it is fortunate that we have someone who has been made privy to the details of what exactly occurred at Abbeylara,” Dumbledore informed him. Maeve raised an eyebrow and looked directly at Roderick, who grinned back at her.
“Hang on,” she said. “Just how do you know Bellatrix Black and why were you able to get in and out of Abbeylara without coming to any harm?”
“Can’t tell you, I’m afraid,” he said, with an even wider grin. “But let’s just say old family connections come in useful sometimes.”
Both Maeve and Remus looked at Dumbledore but he shrugged. “That’s Roderick’s decision. I won’t break a confidence.”
Maeve sat back and sighed. “Well, go on then, tell us what you know. Unless you can’t enlighten us on that either.” She was a little annoyed that he was being suddenly coy with her.
“It would appear that our Mr Lupin managed to cheat death at the hands of Voldemort,” he began. “But as to how he did it, Bellatrix could not say. Apparently he was managing to shrug off the Cruciatus Curse quite well before the sudden and unexpected transformation into a werewolf. Apparently Voldemort wasn’t too bothered about this and used the Killing Curse on you.” Roderick nodded to Remus, whose hand automatically sought out the hole in his robes. “That did work, or at least it seems to have worked on the werewolf.” It was the first time Maeve had seen Roderick look truly impressed.
“How could it have killed the werewolf and not Remus?” Maeve asked, curious.
“Who knows?” Roderick winked at her and she made a moue of annoyance. “I’d say it was enough to know that it didn’t kill your friend here, wouldn’t you?”
But Maeve’s enquiring mind, released from the threat of imminent dismissal, was not happy with letting it go at that. She thought of Severus and wondered what he would make of this. Thinking about Severus brought her back to earth with a jolt. Professor Dumbledore and Molly Weasley were one thing, but Severus was an entirely different kettle of fish.
“It must have been the potion,” Remus said. “What else could it have been?”
“I agree,” Maeve said eagerly. Her mind was tripping over all sorts of possibilities and it kept stumbling back to the potion that Hermione had made. “Perhaps more work could be done to find out why it allowed you to survive while the werewolf perished. Oh!” Her hand flew to her mouth as she thought of another possible outcome of the events at Abbeylara.
“What is it?” Remus asked. “What’s the matter?”
“If the werewolf has been killed…” She almost didn’t dare voice the rest of her idea; it was too wonderful to contemplate.
“Yes?” Remus prompted.
Roderick looked at him as if he were stupid. “Hello?” he said sarcastically. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“Roderick!” Maeve found his tone objectionable. “I would imagine Remus doesn’t even dare consider the possibility.”
“You think the werewolf will be permanently dead, don’t you?” Remus said flatly. “Well, I doubt it.”
Remus wasn’t going to give any thought to a ‘cure’. His parents had almost killed themselves with grief trying find a cure for him so he certainly wasn’t going to waste any effort chasing rainbows as far as his condition was concerned.
“I think we will have to wait and see,” Dumbledore said quietly. He too had felt the same flicker of hope that Maeve had but he fully understood Remus’ reluctance to even consider the possibility.
“Well, I think the rest of this discussion can wait until you two have cleaned yourselves up,” Dumbledore said, rising from his seat. “Perhaps you would like to make use of the room beside Maeve’s, Remus.”
“Thank you, Albus.” Remus stood up as Percy opened the door for him. Roderick also stood up and made to leave.
“We’ll catch up later, sweetie,” he said to Maeve as he whirled from the room. Maeve couldn’t resist pulling a face behind his retreating back. She made to accompany them but Dumbledore called her back.
“Please stay, Maeve. Just for a moment,” he said softly, before dismissing Percy.
When they were alone he turned to her with his twinkling eyes. Maeve was sure now that his earlier attitude was just for the benefit of the assembled company and that now she was going to be told off. She should have known Albus Dumbledore better than that though.
“I am glad to see you safe home,” he said. “It hurt me a great deal to know that you had risked your life, against my wishes, for such an uncertain cause. However I have to admire your courage and your loyalty to Remus. I wish there was someone who loved me enough to risk their life for my own.”
“Oh, I am sure there are plenty of people who would willingly do that, Professor.”
“No,” he shook his head. “I don’t think so. Not many people would do what you did with the same amount of love in your heart.”
She smiled uncomfortably beneath his piercing gaze.
“Perhaps you could now extend the same amount of understanding that I have shown you to Hermione Granger. She has been in a very bad way since you left, partly because she knew she was the cause of this and partly because you had Ron with you.”
Maeve had the grace to look ashamed of her treatment of Hermione. She knew that she would have to call in on the girl and make her peace with plenty of sincere apologies.
“I will go and see her,” she promised. “As soon as I have changed out of these robes and had something to eat I will find Hermione and apologise to her. I think I was a little emotional yesterday.” She couldn’t believe it had only been yesterday– it seemed like years.
As she stood up she could see Dumbledore’s eyes move towards the door. Maeve knew why even before the door was thrown open. She didn’t realise it, but as Severus stepped into the room she stopped breathing. She stood stock still waiting for the confrontation that must surely come. He moved towards her slowly, a hard look on his face. His eyes were expressionless as he brought his face level with hers and she thought he was going to open his mouth to speak but he didn’t say a word. Still she didn’t breathe, aware that a spell was being cast but not one that had ever been written in any textbook. His face was so close to her now that their lips were almost touching and she could feel his icy breath on her face.
“Don’t you ever do that to me again,” he snarled, through gritted teeth. “EVER!”
Maeve turned pale under his frosty gaze. Her breath released itself in a long, slow gasp as she felt her arms grasped roughly. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from his jet-black ones because she found the closer she looked, the deeper she could see into him. It felt like she was tumbling down into a place from which she would never return as Severus finally made contact with her lips and kissed her. She found herself returning the cold kiss as his hands continued to grip her arms. Severus held on to her as if the slightest loosening of his grip would allow her once again to go chasing after her own death.
After a few moments Albus Dumbledore rose quietly from his desk and walked towards the door. Casting one last look at the two figures he felt satisfaction that finally their two souls had been able to make a tentative contact.
“At last,” he whispered, closing the door gently behind him as he left them in their own world.