This night is never going to end, Harry thought, and it seemed like the truth. I’m just about dead on my feet. He sighed internally. The night was only half-over, at best.
Harry figured very centrally into Lupin’s plan to rescue Tonks. He and Lupin were hurrying along the shadowy, still, late-night streets, one or the other occasionally glancing behind them, confirming that Ron, Ginny and Neville were still trailing them from a distance.
“I could have asked one of the others to do it, Harry,” Lupin murmured next to him. “But “ but, if I bring you back, it’ll be the bigger coup “ a greater distraction. Plus, I figured you were the best equipped to deal with this sort of situation.” Lupin paused, held Harry’s gaze with very blood-shot eyes. “It was your faith in me, Harry, that saved all of us back there. I cannot tell you how grateful I am “ and always will be.” He clapped Harry hard on the shoulder.
“I didn’t do anything, Professor,” Harry was bewildered. “I just knew you had it in you to resist, that’s all.”
“Harry “ let me tell you something. Aside from love, and maybe loyalty, faith is one of the most powerful things in the world. Faith in the ability of others “ and in yourself. Never forget that, ok?” Lupin held his gaze for a moment longer as they rushed along a particularly dark alleyway, then stopped short at a tiny, round, wooden door carved into the side of a dank building.
“This is it,” he breathed. “You look pretty convincing. You remember what to do, right?” Lupin was looking Harry up and down critically.
He had performed a complicated spell on Harry, the result of which was Harry now looked like he’d gotten into quite a tussle with a werewolf. And had lost spectacularly. There were seeping, painless wounds showing through his torn, bloodied t-shirt and jeans.
“Yes,” Harry nodded. He felt fine, though he looked a wreck. He grinned tiredly at Lupin, who was still surveying the results of his Pain-Free Slashing Spell.
“Just one final touch “ not all people react to a werewolf attack immediately, and the moon isn’t quite full, but I’d like this lot to think you’ve ‘gone wolf’ as they like to say,” the older man paused, an uncharacteristic sneer turning his mouth down. “So, I’m going to, well, use some tricks Tonks taught me to make you look more the part.”
Lupin studied Harry’s face, murmured under his breath. Harry felt a tingling sensation emanating from his hands and the tip of his nose. He looked down and saw coarse, wiry black hair sprouting on his forearms and down towards his fingers. Suddenly a dark, round shape appeared in the center of his vision. It took him a moment to realize that he was looking at his own nose, which had elongated to become a bit snout-like. He let out a startled chuckle that sounded suspiciously like a bark.
“So. Brilliant! Very convincing. Just remember, I’ll deal with getting Tonks out of there. She doesn’t have her wand, so we’ve got to be very careful. You’re the distraction, Harry, so, well, make the most of it,” Lupin grinned rather fiendishly. The two of turned again to confirm the blurred outlines of the others, saluted briefly. “Ok, let’s do this.”
“Yes, let’s,” Harry decided this was going to be fun. He let out a snarl, for practice’s sake, and found it suited him just fine. Lupin pushed the undersized door open, and they were devoured by the darkness that lay beyond.
* * *
Harry kept his eyes half-closed, attempting to paste a drowsy, confused look on his face. Lupin was carrying him in his arms, as if in offering, and Harry could feel his muscles snap and pop with tension. His former teacher was breathing heavily, and Harry knew he was nervous “ nervous to pull this off, nervous to get to Tonks “ and get the hell out of there.
They were making their way slowly down a dimly lit, rounded passageway that made Harry think of a large, dried-out sewage pipe. Harry could imperceptibly feel the stone path ramping downwards, sinking lower and lower beneath the streets of Paris.
“We’re not going to be able to Apparate, unfortunately,” Lupin muttered. “But, there’s two brooms in there “ your job, Harry, is to get them, and get them fast. I am going to grab Tonks. On my word, pass me one of the brooms. It’s going to be tough flying Harry “ we’ve got to move quickly and carefully. You slam into one of these walls, and you’re through. But I have a feeling you’re up for the task,” Harry could hear the smile in Lupin’s voice. And in fact, he agreed. He hadn’t been on a broom in what seemed like forever “ he was looking forward to the ride, even if it was a bit dangerous.
They had finally stopped, and Harry cracked his eyelids open a sliver. Directly in front of them was a rounded metal door, similar to the bank vaults in Gringotts. Lupin stepped very close to it and growled out a phrase, his voice reverberating down the dim corridor behind them.
A slot in the center of the door opened like an eye, and half of a hairy, ravaged face appeared. “Where’s Fenrir, Remus? What have you done to him?” The voice was unmistakably a woman’s, despite its raspy, guttural quality. Her blue eyes gleamed from the room beyond the door.
“There’s no time to explain, Monnie “ open the door! Can’t you see who it is laying in my arms here?” Harry could feel Lupin’s heart beating rapidly, and through the haze of his own eyelids saw dawning comprehension on the face of the she-wolf called Monnie.
“My god, Remus, is that --? Could it be --? What will You-Know-Who do --?” Her face moved away from the portal and the door swung open with a shriek of surprise. Lupin crossed the threshold and took a deep breath.
“NOW HARRY!” He cried, releasing his grip on him.
Harry landed unsteadily on his feet, gained his balance. He had less than twenty seconds to survey the room “ but his darting eyes, searching for the brooms that Lupin spoke of, took in a large, dank space with a dozen or so people, all of them obviously werewolves, sitting at a large table to left of the door. They appeared to be studying large paper schematics “ what looked suspiciously like sewer blueprints. Behind them, against the far wall, was a heap of dirty clothes lying in an untidy pile.
The werewolves turned as one, lifting their heads from their studious labors, their not-quite-human eyes blazing at Harry. Without even thinking, Harry leapt away from the door, mere seconds before the largest of them pounced halfway across the room, landing exactly where he’d been standing a split second before.
Harry noticed a network of beams above him, and jumped with all his might, grasping a thin pipe and swinging his feet directly into the giant wolfish face. The man went down with a growl, and Harry risked letting go with one hand. Dangling, he pointed his wand at the supine form and shouted, “FRIGARIO!” His victim turned momentarily white, then still, frozen in place. Two more werewolves were advancing on Harry “ Monnie, the woman from the door, and a small, black-haired man with long teeth.
“Don’t worry about them, Harry, get the brooms!” Lupin shouted from across the room, pointing. He had Tonks, who appeared to be unconscious, slung over his shoulders. Harry realized with a start that what he had mistaken for a pile of laundry a few seconds before had actually been the fallen Auror. Three werewolves lay in a heap in front of Lupin, stunned or frozen by his wand.
Harry tightened his grip on the ceiling pipe, inched his way along it and out of reach of the grasping claws of the black-haired werewolf. He saw the brooms now “ they were hidden under the table. He pointed his wand and cried, “ACCIO BROOMS!” They zoomed towards him like obedient dogs, and Harry grabbed one and tossed it to Lupin in one fluid motion. The other hovered patiently under his hanging body, and he let go of the pipe and landed on it with a grunt.
“GO, HARRY! GO!” Lupin, astride the other broom, shouted. Tonks was draped precariously over it, in front of him. There were still half a dozen werewolves standing, and two of them upended the large wooden table, launching it across the room at Lupin’s broom.
Harry’s heart nearly stopped. “Destructio!” The table splintered into a thousand tiny shreds, dusting the room with a snowstorm of wood. “Go, Professor! Now!” Lupin gave Harry an appraising glance, his hair dusted with shards of the table. He aimed the broom at the door and shot through it into the corridor. The remaining werewolves howled in frustration
“You’re not going anywhere, Potter!” Monnie snarled, standing in front of Harry’s only way out.
“Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong!” Harry responded gleefully. He couldn’t believe how great it felt to be flying again. He pointed himself directly at her, like a human missile. She wouldn’t know what hit her. He flew at her and saw her hideous face wrinkle in surprise “ she jumped towards him, meaning to pull him down, but Harry dodged her easily. He hadn’t been the youngest Hogwart’s Seeker in a century without reason.
He slipped out the door and sped up the corridor, loving the breeze created by the motion of the broom, swerving carefully, quickly, around the twists and turns he’d recently taken on foot. He could hear Lupin ahead of him, and the werewolves following behind, but he couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. The battered broom was no Firebolt, but damn, it was amazing to be airborne again. He pressed himself flat against the old broom, relishing the speed and grace of flying.
The dim tunnel slowly brightened, and Harry saw Lupin’s broom soar through the round “O” at the mouth of passageway. There were shifting shadows that he knew were the others, preparing to attack if necessary the minute Harry cleared the doorway. The entryway was approaching “ he was less than ten yards away. He saw more clearly the tall silhouette of Ron, flanked by the shorter ones of Neville and Ginny.
“Harry! Duck!” Ginny yelped, brandishing her wand. He didn’t even think, he just tucked himself closer to the broom’s rough handle. He felt Ginny’s spell shoot over his head, hear a dog-like yelp of pain behind him as one of his pursuers tumbled to the ground. The humid, sweet summer air hit his face and he shot into the sky briefly, circling around and skidding to a halt in the alleyway just in time to see the mouth of the tunnel collapse onto itself.
Ron, Neville and Ginny pocketed their wands. Ginny turned to him, her eyes gleaming. She dashed over to him and threw her arms around his neck. He brushed her messy hair away from her face.
“Nice flying there, Potter. No wonder you’re the Quidditch Captain.” She smirked at him.
“Well, nice hexing there, Weasley, you saved my skin yet again,” he grinned back at her, kissed her nose. He turned to Ron and Neville. “Well done, mates.” He nodded at the blocked entrance, from which the sounds of the werewolves’ outrage could clearly be heard.
Neville’s usually sheepish face was alight. “Y’know Harry, I sorta forgot how interesting this whole fighting evil thing is “ scary and all, but interesting, for sure!” He wiped a smudge of dirt from his round cheek. Harry almost laughed out loud, then he saw Ron’s tired face.
“We’re going to find her, Ron,” he said firmly. “We are. Don’t think twice about it.”
“As if I could think about anything else,” Ron replied bleakly. Harry and his best mate stared at each other for a moment. They were interrupted by Lupin, who was kneeling over Tonks’ prone figure.
“Tonks! Tonks, can you hear me? It’s Remus!” Harry and the others walked over and knelt around the young witch. Harry noted with relief that her chest was moving up and down “ she was alive. Lupin looked unsure of how to revive her. “I think I better get her to St. Mungo’s “ I don’t want to use the incorrect spell on her. I am not sure what they’ve done to her”. His face, still partially transformed and wolfish in the moonlight, looked all the more human because of his deep concern.
Lupin brushed her face tenderly with one hairy paw, pushing the back the short blond bob of hair that Harry had last seen her with. “Nymphadora? Please, please wake up,” Lupin placed his head across her stomach, seemingly completely exhausted. Harry and Ginny exchanged worried glances. Just then, Tonks’ hand fluttered, landed in Lupin’s knotted hair.
“Remus? For god’s sake, ‘Nymphadora’? Please don’t tell me I’m dying or something, because that would be the only reason I’d let you get away with calling me ‘Nymphadora’”! She pushed herself into a sitting position as Lupin and the others gaped at her. “Nope, definitely still alive!” She cried, squeezing her eyes shut, wrinkling her nose, and producing the trademark pink spikes of hair.
“So, what’d I miss?” She grinned at the rest of them as Lupin showered her face with kisses. “Anything important happen?”
The Time is Now by Hermione816
Chapter Notes: Lupin and Harry go on a rescue mission to save Tonks...and Harry gets to do something he hasn't been able to do in awhile...