Betaed by rambkowalczyk
11 The Cat in the Grass
‘So you are tired with all those make-up spells? Your hair is still frizzy after hours of hard work? Your colleagues avoid you and your boss doesn’t appreciate you? Your voters don’t believe you? We have the cure!
With ‘Charming Charms: Glamour Charms for all Occasions’ you won’t have to trouble yourself with messy potions or witty talk anymore!
You’re in love but your sweetheart doesn’t notice you? A quick Beauty Glamour, and she’ll only look at you!
An important speech coming up? A simple Credibility Glamour and everyone will be at your beck and call!
There’s this cool concert in your town but the ticket-seller says you’re too young? Use our Confundus Glamour and all your problems are gone!
But remembers, folks. Don’t let the object of your Glamour out of sight, or the effect will wear off. Don’t forget to renew your charms regularly “ ‘Charming Charms: Glamour Charms for all Occasions’ does not provide you with the key to eternal fame. Once you’re dead, your Glamours are also dead!’
- Introduction of ‘Charming Charms: Glamour
Charms for all Occasions’ by Rose Charlatan
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The Forbidden Forest was the biggest magical area in Britain, and one of the biggest of Europe. It was, like Hogwarts, enchanted so that Muggles who found their way into it would find it boring and dull and would suddenly remember something urgent. But it wasn’t only forbidden for underage students and Muggles. The Forbidden Forest was the wizard equivalent of a National Park, and a refuge for many endangered beasts and creatures. But not only magical creatures had their home in the forest. Rare kinds of trees, butterflies that lived nowhere else in Britain, wolves, eagles, extinct species of animals from all over Europe had found their home in the untouched woods.
It was also a dangerous place, for some of the beasts living there could easily kill a wizard. But mostly it was not as dangerous as many students believed it to be. The Marauders had found out that it was mostly safe if you were either fast or small enough to run and hide. Remus couldn’t remember coherently any of the things he did as a wolf, but he knew his share from what the other three had told him, having spent many a full moon roaming around the nightly forest.
They apparated close to one of the highest points of the Forest. For here you could glance all over the Forbidden Forest to Hogwarts. The trees were dark and fiery red and orange, like a sea of fire. In the distance, the castle looked like a painting, beautiful but unreal with its many towers and high walls. A hint of the glistening surface of the Great Lake was to be seen at its foot, and behind it, a suggestion of smoke gave away Hogsmeade. Remus turned around, sniffing the cool air. Unlike the Welsh mountainside, the weather was bright and cool in Scotland. After a while he gave up.
“Nothing. Let’s walk down there, I think I know where the brook we saw in the Pensieve could be.”
Snape followed him, and they climbed down a steep slope, littered with grey boulders and the needles of fir-trees. The ground was wet, and it smelled of mushrooms, fallen leaves, earth and rain. Remus loved these scents. He would have liked to relish in them and forget their mission, but forced himself to focus. Suddenly he noticed another scent, a slightly confusing mix of English tea and animal. He threw Snape a glance but said nothing. A quiet understanding passed between them, there was no need for words. The forest could have eyes and ears.
Remus smiled sadly to himself. If he didn’t look at Snape, he could almost pretend that it was Sirius walking through the wilderness with him. If Snape had been Sirius, this would have been a great adventure. But on the other hand, he could rely on Snape not to do something reckless. There were advantages to both men, yet Remus would have preferred to be with Sirius. Sirius was dead, though, and Snape was here. If Snape had been a friend, Remus would almost have been enjoying this.
A few minutes later he spotted McGonagall shortly between the dark trees, a tiny fleck of grey fur, and gone she was again. Then he perceived the rushing sound of water.
“The brook,” he said and not much later they saw it. He crossed it with a small leap and scented once more. The wild smell of deer and boars, clear water, cat... the smell of cat was very strong, but he couldn’t spot her. Old traces of horses, birds in the trees.. he turned around and suddenly, in the corner of his eye, he got a glimpse of something small and ginger, flitting behind brown trunks. But it was gone before he could discern it, and maybe it had just been falling leaves. And then the wind blew a new scent to him and he forgot it, whatever it had been: the sweet smell of apple blossoms was in the air.
“There!”
He flashed a smile at Snape, but Snape looked grim and was checking their surroundings with mistrustful eyes. He followed Remus as he led them through the last part of Forest, past the scattered grey rocks, closer to tree. Remus could smell it strongly now, but the tree remained invisible, even when he was sure that it should have been in front of their noses. But almost as strongly he smelled a sharp scent of something like a cat, but ten times stronger. The tree was here, and so was their foe.
“I can’t see it,” he said with a frown to Snape, and wished Snape would use his Legilimency on him for once. That was a disadvantage of both Snape and Sirius: they could be terribly insensitive.
“He’s hidden it. Glamours seem to be his speciality,” Snape murmured darkly, and giving no sign that he had understood Remus’ frown, he raised his wand. They both had held them in their hands ever since they had entered the Forest. But before Snape could think of a spell to unveil the hidden tree, another spell was cast.
“Expelliarmus,” a smug voice said, and out of nowhere, Regulus Black appeared, mere feet away from them. Their wands flew out of their hands and into his hand. The tree hadn’t been the only hidden thing in the Forest. Regulus had hidden himself with a Glamour, a neat alternative to an Invisibility cloak. Neither Snape nor Lupin bothered to look surprised at the sudden appearance.
“Thank you for the compliment, Mr Snape,” Regulus said with his smooth voice and put their wands into his pocket while aiming his own wand at them. “Glamours are indeed a favourite of mine.”
Black was looking much like he had when he visited them in prison. Relatively short and lean, with brown hair that had grey and dark honey-coloured streaks in it. He was wearing expensive robes in dark red and gold and a cloak of midnight black. His face was showing a perpetual smile, mask-like and superior, and when he grinned he showed unnaturally sharp teeth. His right foot was stiff from some old injury, but he still managed to walk smoothly.
“Is that all you could come up with, gentlemen? You must have known it was a ploy,” he observed with a tone of disappointment. “Perhaps you saw how hopeless your situation is and came here to be arrested?”
“Certainly not,” Snape hissed. And in the brown grass behind Regulus, Remus spotted a small grey animal, moving soundlessly closer. Now it was time to somehow distract the man.
“You didn’t think we’d make it out of Azkaban, did you?” Remus asked, trying to sound mocking. “You even helped me with your healing spell, thank you very much for that.”
Their eyes met, and for the fraction of a second Regulus didn’t say anything. His face lost the taunting smile and some other emotion emerged. And then he suddenly whirled around on his healthy foot and fired a spell.
McGonagall had turned human again in the same second. The wizard and the witch whipped out their wands and aimed at the same time, but Black was faster than the elderly professor.
“Stupefy!” he yelled and a blast of red light threw her to the ground. She was instantly out cold. Snape used the second of distraction to throw himself at Black, but the man was faster. Before Snape could reach him, a wand was touching his forehead, and Black smiled once more. A small portion of his left arm was uncovered, and they could both the Dark Mark grinning at them.
“That was not very fair, wasn’t it? Attacking me from behind.” He gave Snape a small push with his wand and Snape shrank back from him, grounding his teeth. Their plan had gone horribly wrong, Remus realised. McGonagall was maybe injured, the Stunning Spell seemed to have affected her badly. And now nothing kept Black from handing them over to the Dementors once more. His thoughts raced, while their foe aimed his wand at Snape.
“Incarcerous,” he said, and thick ropes shot out of the tip of his wand, binding Snape tightly.
What could he do? He didn’t have his wand, and Black seemed to possess the reflexes of a wild animal. Remus stared at McGonagall who had collapsed in the grass. There was no chance she would wake up any time soon. And then he saw it.
The ginger cat, bigger than any of his species, was tip-toeing around the unconscious witch’s head, sniffing her face and licking her cheek. He hadn’t seen that pet for more than a year, and yet he recognised him on the spot.
“It is a pity that you came here so soon. It would have provided more entertainment to wait for you until my Lord comes,” Regulus said lazily, pointing his wand at him.
“At Halloween,” Remus said pointlessly. Anything to keep him talking.
“Yes, of course, at Halloween. Poetical justice. The Boy-Who-Lived, defeated on the date of his greatest victory. Dead in the night of the Dead, just like his dear father James!” Regulus spat out the name of Harry’s father with particular venom, just as the spell hit him.
“Petrificus Totalis!” a bright voice rang behind him, and the evil wizard froze. Remus was just as surprised when it happened.
Behind Black, an invisibility cloak dropped into the grass, revealing a young girl. It was Hermione, still pointing her wand at the man she had just petrified. She was looking pale but fierce, first at him, then at her cat and the stunned Professor.
“Hermione!” Remus said gladly and quickly retrieved their wands from Regulus pocket. But then he froze. Hermione was still under Regulus’ spell, he could see her confusion and mistrust. She was frowning, staring at the four people: two frozen by magic, one bound with ropes and Remus staring back at her. Then Crookshanks sauntered over to him, rubbing his head against Remus’ shin. Hermione’s lips twitched and she blinked. He could almost see her thoughts racing. Remus attempted a smile.
“Professor Lupin?” she whispered suddenly, as if waking up from a dream. “Professor Snape? Professor McGonagall?” Her eyes shot back to her Transfigurations Professor lying unconsciously on the ground. Hermione had stunned Regulus even though she had been under his spell, just because he had attacked her favourite Professor. Quickly she bent down to Professor McGonagall and felt for a pulse. Then she looked up at them.
“He’s not on our side, is he?” she asked Remus. He nodded and pulled back Regulus’ left sleeve. The Dark Mark was glowing black. She looked at it, horrified. Then she nodded slowly.
“It made no sense at all.. why didn’t I realise? It made no sense! Crookshanks hated him all the time. And I noticed that he was going into the Forest every day. I was even following him here! I could not see him, but Crookshanks smelled him... but I did not realise!” She was furious at herself.
“Hermione, he was using a Glamour on all of you. It’s not your fault.” Remus tried to soothe her. “Did you follow him alone? Where are Harry and Ron?”
Behind him he could hear Snape shuffling, but he kept his eyes on the girl.
She grimaced. “They wouldn’t listen to me at all. I told them something was wrong. But they wouldn’t listen. You were innocent, of course. How could we believe that you weren’t?”
Now she was miserable. Remus could forgive her easily for what had happened. At least she hadn’t mistrusted him on her own accord. Then he heard Snape clearing his throat impatiently.
“Oh, sorry.” He undid the ropes with a Finite Incantatum and ignored Snape’s glare, then he turned back to Hermione. She was trying to wake McGonagall up. Snape took his wand, stunned Black in addition to the Petrifying Spell and then undid the petrifaction so that he could tie him up. Tugging the ropes tightly against his wrists seemed to satisfy him immensely.
“It’s hit her badly,” the girl worried.
“You should bring her to Madam Pomfrey,” Remus agreed. “We’ll take Black with us. It’s time to find out what is really going on here.”
“I’ll tell Harry,” she promised. “I’ll make sure he believes me this time.”
“We haven’t got time for small-talk, Miss Granger,” Snape interrupted her coldly. “Bring Professor McGonagall to the infirmary, and then stay at Hogwarts. You will not leave the grounds again.”
Hermione, who respected most of her teachers, threw Snape a dark look. “You should be thankful I left the grounds this time, Professor.”
“Be careful, Hermione,” Remus said quickly. “Voldemort will be attacking Hogwarts on Halloween. Try to warn Harry, please.”
“On Halloween?” she asked, looking insecure suddenly. “But what will we do? Dumbledore is gone, and Harry isn’t ready to fight him...”.
“Dumbledore isn’t dead. He will return, we’ll make sure of that,” Remus promised. And she believed him, he saw it on her face. Nothing was as heart-warming as that spark of trust and belief. It gave him hope like nothing else.
“Thank you,” she said. She cast a Lifting Spell on her unconscious Professor and together with her cat, she walked back to the castle. Remus hoped that she would be safe.
“No wonder these brats are so impertinent,” Snape sneered. “With people like you always encouraging them.”
“I just try to provide some balance from you discouraging them,” Remus said with a shrug. “And she just saved our lives.”
They turned back to Black. The smell of apple-blossoms and big cat was just as strong in the air as before. Remus stared wistfully at the forest. They couldn’t do anything as long as they didn’t see Dumbledore and the tree. But at least now they had Regulus Black in their hands.
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They brought him to the Eyrie with a portkey, and there they chose one of the two small bathrooms and Remus conjured a pair of handcuffs to shackle his hands to one of the iron pipes above the bathtub, while Snape quickly bound his feet with a rope. The room was the smallest, had no windows and nothing that could be used to escape.
Having done that, the two men stared grimly at their prisoner. He lay in an ungracious heap in the old bathtub, the stupid smirk gone from his face. Only now Remus realised something really strange.
Regulus Black had an almost ashen complexion and the skin of a man past his thirties. His unconscious face seemed tired and wasted, not unlike Sirius, and while he was neither as haggard nor as haunted looking, it gave him the appearance of someone who has lived through many hard years. But his hands were soft and smooth like those of a youth, his lips were still full and there were barely any lines around his mouth and eyes.
Remus did a quick calculation. Sirius’ brother was three years younger than him, which would make him thirty-three. This person, whatever was up with him, was not 33. But then Remus remembered Lockhart. Glamours could do a lot. So he was probably just vain.
“Enervate,” Snape said, and the wizard in the bathtub began to stir. His mouth twitched painfully and he opened his eyes, giving them a heavy-lidded gaze. Then his haughty smile formed once more on his face and he sat up straighter.
“Ah, so you had more than one cat in the grass?”
He leaned back against the wall, eyeing his shackled hands, bound feet and the small cold bathroom. The room had no window, and the furniture consisted of an ancient sink, the bathtub and a small wooden chair. He gave them a smug look.
“And now what?”
Remus wondered how Black had guessed that there had been another cat. Had he just made a joke and involuntarily guessed right?
“Now you’re going to talk,” Snape said, and the cold smile on his face would have scared Remus to death if he had been the one bound and shackled. It wasn’t there on purpose, that smile, it wasn’t for show. No, it almost seemed as if Snape wasn’t even aware that he was smiling.
“Oh, talk.” Regulus gave a haughty laugh. “Let’s talk, sure. You haven’t told me yet how you escaped from Azkaban. Want to give me a tip or two how I can get away from here? I prefer a little more up-level accommodations, you must know.”
Snape, having his arms crossed in front of his chest, tapped his wand against his arm. “You fool. Yes, go on mocking us. But I have ways to make you talk.”
Regulus laughed more. He didn’t look intimidated in the least, and also strangely indifferent to the fact that he had been captured. Remus had the impression that he didn’t buy Snape’s bluff. He seemed to be of the same kind as Bellatrix Lestrange and Barty Crouch Jr., driven by fanatic madness, unaware of their own pain or the pain of others.
“Wands are one way, Black. I know my share of the Dark Arts, be sure of that. But there are also a lot of nice potions. The Dark Lord himself relied greatly on my skill to make people talk. Something that eats you up nicely from the inside, how about that? Something that makes your eyeballs rot away in their sockets?”
“But Severus!” the younger wizard laughed out loudly. He had a surprisingly light voice. “You changed sides, don’t you remember? No torturing captives for you anymore.”
“Do you think so?” Snape raised his wand with deliberate slowness and pointed it directly between the man’s eyes. “Cru-“
Until now, Remus had believed that they were going somewhere along the lines of ‘good cop, bad cop’, but it seemed that Snape wasn’t accustomed to that particular bit of Muggle pop culture either. He quickly put his hand on Snape’s arm.
“Stop it! You can’t do that.”
“I can,” Snape growled, shaking his hand off with an angry motion.
“No, you can’t,” Remus insisted. “Use Veritaserum, if you must, but not that.”
Snape eyed him irately. “You think we’ve got time for morals, Lupin?”
“Morals are not a question of time and leisure, Snape,” he retorted. This was not something he would discuss. He, too, had killed in battle, and once there had been a short moment in which he would have killed in cold blood. But he would never resort to torture. He would not use Cruciatus to make someone talk. He had been a friend of Frank and Alice Longbottom.
Snape gave him a nasty look. “You Gryffindors all think you’re so above everyone else.”
With that he turned on his heel and left the room, presumably to get Veritaserum, but maybe just to sulk. The bathroom door slammed shut behind him.
Remus sighed and sat down on the small chair next to the sink. That had just been a typical example of how Snape just couldn’t let go of schoolboy arguments. Regulus eyed him with undisguised interest.
“He’s true on that, you know? It’s really strange how becoming a Gryffindor can change a person. Suddenly everyone else is either to be pitied or to be hated,” he said with an intimate voice, as if they were having a friendly chat.
Remus looked up. “You’re talking about Sirius,” he realised slowly.
He didn’t really know much about Sirius and his relationship towards his brother. Sirius had always thought of Regulus as weak and stupid and other than the occasional mockery, he had just ignored his ‘little Slytherin brother’. But the man in the bathtub didn’t answer directly.
“Dumbledore was not like that,” Regulus went on. “Didn’t hate people just because of what they were. Always gave second chances.” His expression was sly, as if he were mocking the old wizard, but his voice was very serious. Remus felt his confusion growing.
“And you shamelessly used his trust in you.”
Regulus threw back his head and laughed, but when he stopped, his voice was grave.
“Yes, I did that.”
It was cold in the tiled bathroom, and Remus drew his robes closer around him. Outside it was raining and water gurgled quietly in the pipes.
“Who was that in your vault?” Remus asked all of a sudden. His prisoner winced but kept his eyes fixed on the tips of his shoes. Unlike his robes, they were in bad shape, dirty and chafed as if he hadn’t cared for them at all. It somehow didn’t fit with his otherwise vain behaviour.
“My vault?” he asked, and the lie was evident. He knew what Remus was talking about.
“The Black family crypt. A vault that was broken open, a vault into which a man was laid alive.”
The man shivered, then laughed, but it was a laugh on the verge of madness. “There is no such vault.”
“There is. I’ve seen it myself.”
Again, Regulus tone changed all of a sudden. “Ah, so then I cannot deny it. What can I say? It was all a sham. I’m not dead and this wasn’t my grave. I’m a horrible man, am I not? They call you a beast, Werewolf, but are you not more of a being than I am?”
“I know it was you in that vault. I’ve seen the memory in the Pensieve,” Remus stated flatly, ignoring what had just been said. He wanted to see the man’s reaction.
“The darkness! The wails of terror! Of course, this was the vault. What else could it have been. You’ve seen it. You know what it is like. It couldn’t have been a trick, a darkened room and a piece of acting, could it? Because Pensieves convey feelings so very well,” Regulus replied with raised eyebrows. “You’re a very believing man, Remus.”
A bit of irritation added itself to Remus’ confusion. He couldn’t tell whether the man was lying or being honest, whether he was serious or constantly mocking him. Perhaps he was just plain mad. This wasn’t getting him anywhere.
Regulus, on the other hand, was trying not to shiver. They had taken off his cloak before putting him into the bathtub, and now he was cold in his expensive but thin robes.
“Where are we?” the younger man complained. “Iceland?”
Remus didn’t reply. Their prisoner needn’t know where he was. Instead he asked another thing that had puzzled him from the start.
“You were enchanting all of us. Otherwise we would never have believed us.”
“My teacher was one of the best,” Regulus replied with an evil grin.
“Maybe. But even if Lord Voldemort himself was your teacher, why weren’t you able to deceive Snape and me?”
The corner of Regulus’ lip twitched. “You haven’t figured it out already? It’s because Snape is an Occlumens,” he said that word with particular derision, “and you’re a Werewolf.”
“I don’t see why being a Werewolf affects that.”
“Why, you’re special, Remus! So special. Being a werewolf makes you special, you knew that, didn’t you? After all, it was why Sirius liked you and everyone cared about you at all.”
“That’s not true,” Remus answered in a firm voice. Yes, he had once thought so as well. He had forever been insecure because of this nagging suspicion that they were only interested in him because of his nature. But that wasn’t true. Sirius had still been his friend even when they weren’t boys anymore, even after Azkaban and all those years. It had been a true friendship and Remus didn’t doubt that anymore.
“Are you sure?” For the first time, Regulus sounded slightly irritated. He tugged at the handcuffs. His left sleeve dropped down further, fully revealing the Dark Mark on his arm. It was black as fresh ink and looked worse than any Mark Remus had ever seen. Regulus bared his teeth in a hideous grin.
“Give it up, Lupin. You’re not going to make me talk. Even Snape with his Veritaserum isn’t. I am loyal to my master until death!”