Weasley Twins - A Fate You Can't Escape

Chapter 65 - Missions with Moony

The next week I get a surprising visit.  None other than Remus Lupin appears in the potion shop.  I hurry down the steps, trying not to keep him waiting.

"Hello, Prof- I mean Remus, how are you?"  I greet the man.  He has a few new scars on his face.  A couple of them look pretty recent. 

"I'm doing alright, Hazel.  As well as one can in these times, I suppose."  He has his hands shoved awkwardly in his pockets, and he rocks back on his heels a bit.

"What can I do for you?"  I prod.

"Ah, yes.  Dumbledore had something he wanted me to do.  And insisted you come with me?  Said you possess a certain skill that may be helpful."  Remus glances over at where Eric stands, not wanting to say too much in front of him.

"Cool.  Let me grab my coat."  I agree before heading back up.  I also shove a water bottle and a few granola bars into the enchanted inner pocket of my cozy puffer coat.  I have no idea where we're going or for how long.  It it's more than an hour or two I'll probably start to get munchy.  Living so close to the kitchen at Hogwarts trained my stomach into needing lots of snacks.  A rather unfortunate side effect, but a tasty one nonetheless.  

"I'm ready.  Where to?"  I ask, jumping over the bottom step.

"Are you okay doing a side along?"  Remus offers me his arm and I take it.  The tugging feeling hits me a bit harder than usual as we apparate.  We arrive in a small village of sorts, muggle by the looks of it.  Brick houses line the street in tight little rows.  Identical wheelie bins sit out by the road, waiting for pick up.

"So why are we here?"  I spin a circle to see if anything stands out.  Absolutely no clues.

"We're here to collect a powerful artifact."  Remus sets off down the street and I quickly follow him.  The mid day sun shines weakly over head and the dead leaves rustle as the breeze blows them down he street.

"Yeah?  What kind?"

"A divination artifact."  Remus answers, and I understand why I'm here now.  

"Does Dumbledore expect me to use it?"  Apparently you give one prophecy and you become the Order's resident oracle.  

"Not necessarily.  We're retrieving it in hopes of keeping it out of You-Know-Who's hands.  It possesses a lot of magical energy.  For someone without experience with divine energy, it could easily overwhelm them, going as far as to put them in a catatonic state."  Remus says casually.  

"What?  And Dumbledore just hopes that I'll be fine?  Because I have a trace of prophetic energy in me?  What if he's wrong and it fries my brain?"  I can't believe Dumbledore.  Sometimes it feels like we're all his little puppets as he plays with our lives.  

"He said he was confident that you would be fine."  Remus tries to reassure me, but I notice that his forehead carries a bit of worry as well.

"Great."  I grumble, but stay regardless.  Remus stops in front of one of the many identical houses and opens the front gate.  Why would such a powerful artifact be kept in a muggle village?  I don't know why, but I expected Remus to knock on the door.  But he takes out his wand and casts alohomora on it.  The lock clicks open and he turns the knob.

"The muggles who live here should all be at work.  Shouldn't be too hard to find it."  Remus steps into the house, closing the door behind me.

"What are we looking for?"  I look around at the house's interior.  Whoever likes here really likes roses.  Rose wall paper, rose carpets, rose painting.  It's a little overwhelming.

"A mirror."  Remus ducks into the sitting room and I follow.

"That's rather vague."  I take ques from my companion and start searching the room.

"Dumbledore said you would know it when you saw it."  Remus mutters, cracking open the piano bench and rifling through it.

"Right."  I stand up from where I was looking at the bottom shelf of a bookshelf.  "I'm going to go look upstairs in the drawer by her bed."

"What?"  Remus asks, but I'm already headed to the stairs.  I make a beeline straight for the third door on the left, opening it to reveal, unsurprisingly, a rose themed bedroom.  I pop open the nightstand on the right side and grab the silver mirror that rests inside.  This is it.  My hand tingles where the mirror touches, sending a warm sensation up my arm.

"Got it!"  I head back down the steps, meeting Remus halfway.

"How did you..."  He glances down at the mirror in my hand.  "I guess what they say is true.  Hufflepuffs are really good at finding things."

"Of course."  Seeing an opportunity, I go for it.  "Speaking of Hufflepuffs, how's Tonks?"

"Tonks?"  Remus blushes, and I fight to keep a big grin off of my face.

"Mhm?"  I bounce down the stairs.  The owner would be home in ten minutes and forty two seconds, so we need to head out.

"She's alright?"  He sounds nervous as we venture into uncomfortable territory for him.

"That's excellent to hear.  She's fantastic.  I really look up to her, you know."  I open the door with my left hand, mirror clutched in my right.

"That's cool."  

"You should really ask her out.  If not, Nathan from the Department off Magical Transportation, will ask her out on October seventeenth at eleven thirty four in the morning."  I skip down the street feeling strangely alive.

"But Nathan's just a friend, she said."  Remus hurries after me.

"Yeah, but if you don't go for it, she might give him a chance."  I suddenly turn down a side street, just feeling like it's a good idea.

"Where are you going?  And how do you know about Nathan?  Did she put you up to this?"  Remus hesitate for a moment before following me.

"I'm going this way, obviously.  And no.  Nathan's not worth mentioning to me.  I just know."  I pause, holding out a hand to stop Remus from passing me.  "Now shush."

He just stares at me like I've grown a second head.  I elbow him and point to where the alley open up onto a bigger road.  Two death eaters in long black robes hurry past.  His eyes widen in surprise.  I wait for eight and a half seconds after they pass.  The I step out into the street, brushing off Remus's hand as he tries to stop me.  

"Stupify!"  I cast the spell at the one of the right.  He falls in front of the one on the left, causing his companion to trip.  The still conscious one drops his wand.  It rolls off the curb and down a storm drain.  "Look!  A hostage!"

"Hazel!"  Remus says, completely shocked.

"Come on.  We only have a couple of minutes.  We want them to know that we've been here.  That way they'll leave Ms. Morris alone."  I kick the fallen death eater in the head as he fumbles to find his unconscious partner's wand.  He slumps to the ground and I find the wand he was looking for.  I also summon the wand from the storm drain.

"Here you go!"  I hand both wands to Remus.  "We better go.  Moldyvort will punish them plenty."  

"You just want to leave them here?"  Remus sounds concerned.

"Yes.  It's best that we do."  I grab his arm.  "Ready?"

"Wait, we can't just leave them here!  They're death eaters!"  Remus protests.

"Dumbledore told you to follow my lead after we acquired the mirror.  You trusted him enough to risk my skin.  Now trust him with yours."  And with that sassy remark, I apparate us both out of there.