mirrorball

chapter six

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Two days later, Kreacher had still not returned. The group was growing anxious as they waited with nothing to do but research and think about their next steps.

Clara and Hermione had been scouring books for any insight to the other Horcruxes but had been unsuccessful in their search. In singular investigations, Clara had also failed.

She had been examining Dumbledore's gift to her over the past few nights. If you could call it a gift, that is. It felt strange to Clara to be included in the wizard's will. She didn't think he liked her all that much and she certainly had her opinions on him. Nevertheless, he had left her something and she didn't know what to make of it.

Clara sat upright on a couch in Grimmauld Place. It was getting darker outside and Clara's eyes were struggling to adjust to the darkness around it. She tossed the small pocket watch around in her hands, watching as the gold decals shimmered elegantly. There were no secrets within it. It was simply a watch. Of course, nothing of Dumbledore's was simple. Instead of numbers, the clock was designed with planets surrounding its hands. It also didn't seem to actually follow real time. As hours changed, the hands swung to seemingly random planets.

"Don't move!" shouted Harry from somewhere downstairs. Clara shoved the watch into her pocket and bolted down the stairs. At the sound of his yell, the curtains hiding Mrs. Black must have flew open as she began to scream, "Mudbloods and filth dishonoring my house—" 

Clara reached Harry at the entrance to the house. She lifted up his wand, following his lead and stopping right behind his left shoulder. Ron and Hermione came crashing down the stairs behind them, wands pointing, at the unknown man now standing with his arms raised in the hill below. 

"Hold your fire, it's me, Remus!" 

"Oh, thank goodness," said Hermione weakly, pointing her wand at Mrs. Black instead; with a bang, the curtains swished shut again and silence fell. Ron too lowered his wand, but Harry and Clara did not. 

"Show yourself!" Harry called back. Clara gripped her wand, ready to unleash a horror of spells if necessary.

Lupin moved forward into the lamplight, hands still held high in a gesture of surrender. "I am Remus John Lupin, werewolf, sometimes known as Moony, one of the four creators of the Marauder's Map, and I taught you how to produce a Patronus, Harry, which takes the form of a stag." 

"Oh, all right." said Harry, lowering his wand, "but I had to check, didn't I?" 

"Speaking as your ex-Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, I quite agree that you had to check. Ron, Hermione, you shouldn't be quite so quick to lower your defenses." They ran down the stairs toward him. Wrapped in a thick black traveling cloak, he looked exhausted, but pleased to see them. Clara let her arm drop downwards. "No sign of Severus then?" he asked. 

"No," said Harry, "What's going on? Is everyone okay?" 

"Yes," said Lupin, "but we're all being watched. There are a couple of Death Eaters in the square outside— " 

"We know— " started Clara. 

"I had to Apparate very precisely onto the top step outside the front door to be sure that they would not see me. They can't know you're in here or I'm sure they'd have more people out there; they're staking out everywhere that's got any connection with you, Harry. Let's go downstairs, there's a lot to tell you, and I want to know what's happened after you left the Burrow." They descended into the kitchen, where Hermione pointed her wand at the gate. A fire sprang up instantly. It gave the illusion of coziness to the stark stone walls and glistened off the long wooden table. Lupin pulled a few butterbeers from beneath his traveling cloak and they sat down. Clara sat next to Hermione and allowed her friend to lean onto her slightly. Clearly, the whole group was exhausted.