Wolf and Wings - Remus and Narcissa

Chapter 13

Lucius Malfoy had grabbed Narcissa Black and disapparated from the front yard of Potter Manor, unwittingly bringing Remus Lupin along, the three of them vanishing with a crack.

They left behind a beat of shocked silence before Sirius's scream tore through the high, vaulted entrance hall out into the sunny morning air through the open door.

He shot a stupefying curse at the nearest enemy target, his younger brother Regulus. "Where has he gone?" he hollered as Regulus barely managed to shield himself from the hit. "You know where they are."

Regulus was stumbling backward, trying to escape but unable to disapparate inside the house.

"They've got Remus. Tell me!"

Amycus Carrow had drawn his wand on James. "Not so bold without your missus and your fancy soulmate spells, are you, Potter?" he taunted, regretting it immediately as James disarmed him. He scrambled to retrieve his wand from the shrubbery outside, leaving Regulus to face both James and Sirius alone.

"Reg, just tell us," James said, a hand on Sirius's arm.

"They are going to kill Remus. If you do nothing, you may as well have killed him yourself," Sirius said, still shouting.

"No. No, he's clever," Regulus stammered. "He's strong. He'll get away."

Sirius bared his teeth. "He might have escaped on his own, but he won't go anywhere without HER."

Regulus was outside now, glancing around for Carrow.

"No, you're not going anywhere. You're taking us to Remus. Right now." Sirius said, still advancing on him. "And then you'll tell us about the rest of what I heard this filthy lot saying down by the road."

Regulus's flushed face blanched white. "Sirius, that's - "

Sirius wasn't listening, firing a leg locker jinx at Regulus. He skipped over it but was left staggering against the doorframe, his eyes trained on Sirius's furious snarling face.

"How can you stand with people like this?" Sirius demanded. "My own brother, a child who was welcomed into this house, fed ice cream here and treated like family, given whole days of peace and refuge from that beast of a mother of ours. How could you turn around and join with people cruel enough to look Effie Potter in her sweet face and - "

Just as Sirius came close enough to grab at his brother, Carrow surfaced from over Regulus's shoulder. He yanked the boy backward into the shrubbery, twigs snapping as he turned on the spot. They were about to disapparate when Regulus's wand flashed red.

Sirius howled as they vanished, but James tugged hard on his arm. "Look!"

In the air where Regulus had stood a cloud of light remained, waving and fading, but lasting long enough for them to read the message in it, a single letter, a capital letter M, drawn in a stately old script, like the engraving on a signet ring. Without calling it out for Carrow to hear, Regulus had confirmed where Remus had gone.

"Right then, M for Malfoy Manor," Sirius said, brandishing his wand to disapparate himself.

"Rus, no," James said, clamping both of his arms around him, keeping him from turning.

"Get OFF me, James."

They scuffled together, quidditch teammates evenly matched only James was taller and had the advantage of already having Sirius's arms pinned. He toppled the pair of them onto the hard tiled floor just inside the doors.

"Will you slow down and think," James begged as they tussled. "We can't rush into the house where Riddle and all his thugs are encamped. There's too many of them, all battle trained and ruthless."