Chapter Five
Alice stared at the two men as the Healer who had been with Frank rushed past to help move John Lupin to a nearby bed. She was roused from her state of shock by a thump behind her and turned to find Frank trying to catch his balance after sliding off the bed, his broken arm still held tight to his chest. She helped him stand straight.
"What happened?" he demanded, and she could hear the alarm in his voice. "Where's Gawain?"
Dawlish didn't answer as he heaved Lupin onto the bed. Then he turned and faced them. Alice had been so stunned by Lupin's appearance that she hadn't even noticed her friend: he was dirty, his robes ripped, a large cut on his head bleeding down the side of his face. He appeared very unsteady on his feet.
"We were attacked," he gasped out.
"Obviously," Frank snapped, and Alice laid a hand on his arm to calm him.
"Where's Gawain, John?" she asked as gently yet urgently as she could. "Is he all right?"
Dawlish shook his head. "He told me to get Lupin out. He was fighting them all…we need to go back…" He took a step forward, as if intending to help to his partner, but his knees buckled beneath him, and he slumped to the floor.
Alice hurried to help him as another Healer ran over. Frank swore again; as soon as Alice was standing, he took her arm again and led her away. Her leg was still throbbing, and she tried not to limp.
"He'll be fine here," he said. "But he's right: we have to help Gawain."
Alice stared at him, wondering if he had gone mad. "You're hurt, I'm injured, and we don’t even know where he is!"
"I'm guessing at Lupin's house. We have to at least try." Frank took a deep breath. "You went through basic healing spells in your training, right?" Alice nodded, not liking where the conversation was going. "Then immobilize my arm and cast a pain-relieving spell. I'll do the same for your leg."
"Frank, we should--"
"There's no time!" he snapped again. "Just do it so we can get out of here."
Alice could tell from the look on his face that he was determined and that she would not talk him out of it, so she took a calming breath, conjured a large bandage that bound his arm to his chest, and cast a quick pain-relieving spell. It would not work as well as a draught, but she saw him relax as it kicked in; he raised his wand and cast matching spells for her leg. She couldn't help but snort: some pair they were, charging to the rescue.
He gave her a lopsided grin as they headed back into the reception room to the small area set aside for Apparating. "We can do it. Come on. Lupin's house." She thought he was going to take her arm for another Side-Along, but he let his hand drop at the last minute, then turned on the spot and disappeared. She reluctantly did the same.
She reappeared in the dark just outside John Lupin's home. Frank was frowning, for it was peaceful and silent: it appeared as if nothing were wrong whatsoever. They exchanged a worried glance and ran toward the back door, wands out.
Inside, it was dark and quiet; Frank lit his wand as they carefully made their way through the house searching for Gawain Robards. All around them were signs of a fierce fight: broken chairs, scorch marks on the walls, glass from picture frames strewn about the floor. The house was practically destroyed. A blood trail leading down the hallway chilled her.
They found Gawain Robards in the front room of the house, his oddly contorted body lying still and silent beside the sofa. There was another body on the other side of the room. Alice felt her heart stop as Frank ran toward his former partner.
He turned Robards over, cradling his head in his lap with his good arm. "Gawain?" he said softly, and Alice heard the catch in his voice as she glanced around the room, wand ready in case any of the attackers were still in the house. "Stay with me, partner. Come on, wake up and tell us what happened."
Alice walked over and placed a hand on Robard's chest. He was breathing, but barely. His right leg was obviously broken, and his face was battered and bloody. He could have a concussion or internal injuries, or he might have fallen to a spell of Dark Magic. They needed to get him to St. Mungo's as soon as possible.
"I can Side-Along with him," she said quietly to Frank. He looked at her with wide eyes, obviously stunned at finding his former partner so seriously injured. "He's alive, but we have to stabilize him and get him to the hospital."
Frank nodded as Alice set the spells she had learned in training to stabilize an injured Auror for transport. He took a deep breath as he stood and glanced around. "Thank you. You take him back. I'll stay here and make sure it's clear and secure."
Alice shook her head. "No, not by yourself. You need backup, in case they return."
"I'll be fine--" Frank protested, but she stopped him again.
"You have a broken arm. You need to get back to St. Mungo's too." She raised her eyebrows at him. "So you're coming with us or I'll jinx you and Side-Along you both."
Frank opened his mouth to protest, apparently reconsidered, then finally nodded. "Fine. Let's secure the area and go."
It took only moments to set the spells over the house and yard that would keep anyone from contaminating what was now a major crime scene. Other Aurors would be sent to investigate once they reported to the office, but for now, they needed to take care of Robards.
Frank picked up a photograph from the floor, a picture of John Lupin with his son. He was gazing at it as if in a daze, and Alice lightly touched his good arm to get his attention. He practically jumped at her touch. "We need to go, Frank."
She wondered if he would really leave, or if he would stubbornly wait for backup, but when she said his name again, he rolled his eyes at her and Disapparated. She followed carefully with Gawain Robards, hoping that they weren't too late.
* * *
Several hours later, Alice sat with John Dawlish as he recovered from his injuries. Although it was the middle of the night and he clearly needed his sleep, it was important that they learn what had happened before the details were lost to hazy memory. Frank was with Gawain and Head Auror Robertson, his arm set but sore; Alice half-wished she was with them, as Frank had seemed unusually distressed by his former partner's state.
From what John told her, he and Robards had done their best against multiple attackers, but had been overwhelmed by stealth, strength, and surprise. John had been outside when he had been Stunned from behind, hitting his head on a rock as he fell, and when he had come to he had found Gawain standing over Lupin in the front of the house, desperately holding back four Death Eaters in spite of multiple injuries. Dawlish had taken down one man to get to Gawain's side, where his partner had immediately ordered him to take Lupin to St. Mungo's.
He had protested, but he had already taken a blow to the head and knew he wasn't in it for much longer. And so while Gawain had created a quick diversion, John had Apparated to St. Mungo's with Lupin while his partner stayed behind. Alice filled him in on the rest.
"We went back to the house, but it was over," she said softly. "Robards was unconscious. There was one body, but no sign of any of the others who attacked you. We secured the area for later and came back here with Gawain."
"What were you doing here at St. Mungo's in the first place?" asked John, eyes closed as he lay in bed. "I thought you two were out on assignment somewhere."
"We were," she said with a sigh. "We got into a scrap of our own down in Godric's Hollow. Frank Apparated us here with some evidence to have his arm set right before you arrived."
John opened his eyes. They were dull and glassy, but he was tired and probably in shock after his first real battle as an Auror. Still, he looked concerned. "What evidence?" he asked. "And are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Alice said. "Just a hit to my leg. I can still outrun you any day." She smiled ruefully. "And I don't know what it was, some envelope we caught a couple of Death Eaters exchanging at a pub in the village."
He twitched his head as if fighting off a shiver of some sort, then closed his eyes again. "How's Gawain?" he asked after a few moments of silence. His voice sounded flat, full of guilt and grief.
"He'll recover," answered a voice from the doorway. Frank was standing there, and he looked as exhausted as she felt. For some reason, Alice had to hold back the impulse to jump up and embrace him. She knew he was all right, after all; it was just that he looked so tired and tense.
"I shouldn't have left him," John said, opening his eyes and shaking his head.
"Maybe," Frank said, his lips tight. "But he probably would have sent you back by Portkey if you hadn't, so you did what you had to. You were following orders."
Alice gave him a funny look: is that what Frank would have done, sent her back by Portkey if she had refused to follow his orders? She'd have to remember that if the situation were ever reversed. "Did he have anything important to tell us?" she asked.
"He's got some pretty serious injuries, so we didn't press him too hard, but he said the same thing you told us," Frank replied, nodding at Dawlish. "That you were taken down outside, and suddenly there were four inside that went straight for Lupin."
"And how is Lupin?" asked Alice. When Frank didn't answer, she felt a cold hand wrap around her heart. "No," she whispered. "He's not…"
Frank ran a hand through his hair and then rubbed his cheeks as if trying to get the words out. His voice broke when he spoke. "He didn't make it--didn't have a chance, really. John Lupin died an hour ago."
He seemed to be making a point of not looking at Dawlish. Turning to her friend, Alice saw he was pale and sweating, his eyes broken as he shook his head. "I was too late," he whispered. "It's my fault, I should have done something…"
"You did your best," Frank replied, but Alice wondered if he was forcing the words. In a way, Dawlish was right: he had failed in his duty to protect John Lupin. The Ministry's last best connection to the werewolf community had been murdered, and there was no one to take his place. Voldemort had likely just won a minor victory in the ongoing war: numbers to swell his ranks. Small numbers, perhaps, but frightening ones none-the-less.
"It's not your fault," Alice said, taking his hand and squeezing. He didn't look at her, but she continued anyway, desperate to reassure him. "It was the wizards who killed him. You tried to save him."
John just shook his head and closed his eyes, and Alice glanced helplessly at Frank, who was looking down at the injured Auror with pity. He met her eyes and murmured, "Can I talk to you? In private?"
She nodded and stood. John appeared to be sleeping, but she doubted he would rest well. She could only imagine his anguish, the guilt he must be feeling over losing his charge. Only a week earlier she had been in his place, guarding the Lupin house from out on the grounds. It could have been her that was attacked outside, her lying in that bed. She felt her own guilt grow from the relief that it wasn't--and more importantly, that it wasn't Frank in the other room.
She followed her partner into the hallway. Again she felt the strange urge to embrace him. It just seemed like he needed the comfort after such a long night. Then again, he was the experienced Auror: he had been through far more and perhaps far worse. Maybe she was the one who needed support, the one who wanted a hug. Shaking her head, she tried to smile at him, and to her surprise, he smiled back.
"You did good tonight," he said, surprising her even more.
"I thought I was the one who got us into trouble in the first place," she replied, confused. "Back at the pub."
"That's true, you did," he laughed, an overtired edge to his voice. "But you fought well. And if you hadn't landed us in that bit of trouble, we wouldn't have been here tonight and might not have found Gawain in time."
"Is he really going to be all right?" she asked softly, wondering if he had tempered his words for Dawlish. Frank nodded, stifling a yawn.
"Yes, he will. He'll be out of work for a while, though. Broken leg, several cracked ribs, nasty head wound, and some sort of Dark magic that he'll be shaking off for weeks."
"So what now?" she asked.
"Now we go home," he replied. "Robertson's orders. He's got another team at the house already and said we can do our paperwork tomorrow."
"We're not even getting the day off?" she tried to joke, and was rewarded with another wan smile.
"Did you really think we would?" he asked. "Come on, I'll walk you out."
"How chivalrous," she murmured as she walked out of the ward with him. She still had so much she wanted to ask him. They were silent as they left the hospital; it was the middle of the night and the excitement had died down, so everything was quiet. As they stepped out into the cool night, Alice gazed up at the stars and thought about how different the world suddenly was after all she had just experienced.
"Tell me about John Lupin."
Frank gave her that long look he had when he was thinking. Finally he blew out his breath and sat down on the curb. She joined him, not really caring about getting dirty anymore.
"He was practically gone when Dawlish brought him in. Something brutal, some curse that…that…" He swallowed thickly, as if it were too horrible to contemplate, and shook his head. "It killed him. Painfully."
"Was it Greyback?" she asked. They were sitting shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee, but she made sure to keep her hands folded tightly in her lap.
"Yes, it was Greyback. Gawain got in a good shot at him too, so hopefully he's injured somewhere out there."
"Why would they kill Lupin but not John and Gawain?" she asked. "Why leave them alive?"
"Maybe they were lucky." Frank rolled his neck as if he was trying to relax. "Or maybe Greyback just wanted to make them suffer even more."
"Then why not wait till the full moon?" she pressed. "That would be even more devastating, wouldn't it?"
He shrugged. "I don't know why they attacked tonight. But I do know it's very likely You-Know-Who will have the werewolf population on his side within weeks."
"It doesn't make sense," she said. "Why would they support You-Know-Who when one of his own just killed their best link to wizarding society?"
"Fear," Frank replied, his voice flat. "They'll be scared, for one. And Lupin was always fighting a losing battle. Werewolves are so stigmatized that they readily believe You-Know-Who when he says he'll give them equal rights. Now they have no one trying to convince them otherwise."
They were silent for a moment as they thought about the repercussions. It was a seemingly small yet significant loss for them all. And then she remembered: John Lupin had a son.
"Has anyone contacted Remus Lupin?" she asked. "Merlin, he's just lost his father…"
Frank let his head fall into his hands. "Yes," he whispered. "He was there, at the end. One of the Healers is apparently a member of the Order of the Phoenix. She got word to Dumbledore somehow, and he arrived with Remus almost immediately. It was awful."
"Did you know him at Hogwarts?" she asked curiously. She remembered Remus Lupin from her last four years at Hogwarts, though she had not had much contact with him.
"Just a bit. Did you?" She nodded, but didn't say anything. They were silent once more, sitting side-by-side on the chilled pavement. Alice felt remarkably comfortable and resisted the urge to lay her head on Frank's shoulder. She was tired, but they were still partners, after all, and definitely not those kind of partners. Finally he stood and offered her a hand to help her up. She took it without thinking and felt a small shock course through her arm at his warm touch; her breath caught in her throat as she gazed down at their intertwined fingers.
He seemed to have felt it too, because he stared at their hands as if in a daze, then shook himself free. With a nod, he stepped back, as if distancing himself from the strange feeling. "Thanks for everything tonight, Hamilton."
"You're welcome," she replied automatically, still gazing down at her hand. "But now that we've Apparated together, why don't you call me Alice?"
She looked up to see him nod slowly, licking his lips. A sudden vision of him leaning down to kiss her came to mind and she literally blinked it away. He abruptly turned away; she wondered if he had thought the same thing. "Good night, Alice," he called over his shoulder. "See you in the morning." With a glance around the empty street, he turned and Apparated away.
Alice gazed at the spot where he had stood before she turned in her place and reappeared in her own flat. Throwing herself into bed without even bothering to change, she tried to put the long night from her mind: the men at the pub, the duel in the street, the sight of John Dawlish struggling into St. Mungo's with John Lupin. Most of all, she tried to forget her partner's clear blue eyes gazing into her own, and the strange new feelings that had fluttered in her chest when he had taken her hand and helped her up.
They were working partners, nothing else. And she suspected they were about to have much, much more work to do after that night.
* * *
Love and Order by Gmariam
Chapter Endnotes: More thanks to my hard-working beta, karaleydargen!
And thank you for the reviews!