Figured You Out

37: Figured You Out

Remus ran as fast as his animal induced body would go; for once, he was grateful for the extra speed and agility. The Death Eaters had not spotted him until he was practically on them. Grabbing one by the shoulders, he threw him against a nearby wall and continued to the next one. Scattering binding and stunning spells, Remus felt the presence of the other Order members’ crowd around, joining him in all directions.

Dodging a severe hex, he dropped to his knees and slowly looked up. There she was, on the cot next to O’Brien and she looked—horrible, her hair looked mussed and face ashened. His hands reflexively fisted. He wished she would glance his way, just to meet his eyes and he could see those dark, passionate emeralds. There! Oh, Merlin!

“REMUS!”



“David, what else can I say?” She said hesitantly, slowly crawling away from him.

David Michael O’Brien was a man who seethed silently and his whispers were as harsh as roars. However tranquil his eyes had seemed they were truly burning and scarring. “It would do you well to see me in a different light,” he told her gently, one hand coming to rest against her cheek.

“There is no light in you,” she turned her face away from his touch and bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. “There is only darkness.”

His laugh was dark and sensual, a sound that made her skin crawl from its sheer barbarity. It scared her more than anything; more than Dementors, vampires and even death. For this was a living thing, it breathed, it lived and therefore it could hurt more than death ever could. When it came down to death, it was an ending. It ended pain, despair, and torture. But David was alive and nothing would end until he was through.

“A darkness that loves you so. Tend to your every whim and love you more than any other man.” His hand gently caressed her hair and it was suddenly clean and brushed. “AVERY!” He called out to the battling shadows. “Bring the child!”

Tears stung her eyes as she watched Avery bring Andrew and drop him in her arms. He wasn’t crying or moving but he was warm, what was wrong? “Andrew, it’s mummy,” she whispered. She touched his cheek and he did not wake. “What’d you do?” Her abrupt anger sent heat and energy through her body. Her telekinesis came back and along with it a sharp pain in her temple that made her cower.



The fight was unraveling, the Order, and Ministry Aurors outnumbering the Death Eaters. Remus finished binding Rodolphus Lestrange when he saw a body burst through the air, arms, and legs flailing, then smacked unmoving into the side of a building. Finding where it had risen from and he found a large group of Death Eaters gathered.



Merlin it hurt and it nearly stunned her into unconsciousness. “David,” Amber gasped. “Help Andrew, what’s wrong?”

“A small freezing charm,” he sniffed. “That bloody Malfoy boy needs some real lessons.”

Bless Draco, Amber thought. A freezing charm she could do on her own without a wand. She gently pressed the palm of her hand onto Andrew’s forehead and muttered a silent plea. The power she used drained her energy, her power sources were just returning and it hurt her body if she did not let it regenerate fully.

The little baby cradled in her arms stirred, stretching his chubby arms and legs and making soft baby noises. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and opened them wide. Amber smiled when he recognized her and laughed as he gurgled at her.

“We have to get going, it’s getting quite dangerous,” David murmured as he surveyed the ongoing battle around them. He placed a commanding hand on the back of her neck and said, “both of you will be coming with me. A family we will be, happy and carefree. I can give you and your little boy everything. He can have a worthy father.”

Amber tensed and drew Andrew closer to her body. He let out a squeal and the blue orb engulfed them, throwing David and the Death Eaters back several yards.



Remus watched, utterly fascinated with the blue light, some kind of force field, he thought. He continued until he came to the blue energy, “REMUS!”

He looked up and his fierce gaze met shining emerald. Forgetting about the field surrounding Amber, he started to step through and it disappeared without a trace. Remus hurried to her as she started to shake with sobs and a small high-pitched wail came from her. “Are you hurt?” He said, looking for any sign of brutality.

“No,” she wept. “It was Andrew.”

“A boy—my boy,” he growled possessively and stared at the blankets. He wanted to see his son, look at him and cradle him. There was no time for that now, the fight was still blazing and Remus was surprised they’d not been caught with a stray spell. “I’ve got to get the both of you out of here,” taking her by the arm, he protected his family with his body as they scurried to a place where the dueling wasn’t as severe.

He kicked open a door to an abandoned building, rushed Amber in and closed it quickly. Remus turned and looked Amber as she fussed with Andrew.

“Andrew,” Amber whispered. He was squirming in her arms, he wouldn’t lay still and it was hard for her to handle him. “Easy darlin’, mummy’s got you.” She looked up and found Remus barely inches away from them with his gaze fixed on her. He glanced down at Andrew and she lifted the blanket away from his face. She swallowed a lump in her throat, “here.”

“I don’t know if I should, it—it has been a while—”

“He’s your son Remus and he won’t stay still in my arms. I think it’s one of those things I read about, he can feel you near and he has yet to set eyes on his father,” she held him against Remus’ chest.

With his wand still in hand, he scooped Andrew awkwardly into his arms until Amber slipped the wand from his grip and he was able to adjust the bundle comfortably. “Brown eyes and black hair,” he whispered softly.

“They have a bit of a gold light to ‘em, such handsome eyes. He’ll be a lady killer alright.” Amber smiled at the picture they made, knowing that Remus would naturally be a wonderful father. Andrew lifted a tiny hand and tugged at Remus’ nose. In his eyes and the way he caressed Andrew’s hair made Amber want to have so many more children with him that it made her start crying again.

Remus’ chuckle stopped once he heard her. Holding Andrew in one arm, he wrapped the other around Amber’s shoulders and drew her close. He knew she was a strong woman but was surprised that she had lasted this long as a captive.

She slipped her head into the crook of his neck and shook, letting forth every bit of emotion. Remus slipped a finger under her chin and lifted her face to meet his gaze. He pressed his dry lips against her wet cheek and kissed the other. She responded eagerly, fisting her hand in his hair and pulling his lips to meet hers. It was a kiss of repressed desire and mixed emotion. Amber wanted the weakness to go away; she wanted to feel something besides the helplessness that clutched her heart. And the heat she felt in Remus’ kiss was just the trick. His lips were alive and they made hers tingle. “I’ve missed you so much, Remus.” She whispered against his lips, feeling his warm breath on her face.

Remus pulled back and caressed Amber’s cheek. It was hard enough to keep his urges and boiling blood at bay but he couldn’t let his passion intervene—not yet anyway. Then pressing a finger to the communication device in his ear, he said clearly, “update. Order member Lupin.”

Amber gazed lovingly at him, her eyes lingering over the new change in his appearance and she brushed it with her lips. “Mmm, I do love this mustache. It gives you a little more edge to your untamed side,” she purred.

Remus gulped, the devouring look she gave him nearly broke his control, and he made a deep rumble in his throat.

He heard static in his ear then a voice came through. “Remus, its Harry.”

Remus frowned, squashing the order to tell him to go back to Hogwarts that was on the tip of his tongue. “Harry,” he hesitated.

“Where are you? I haven’t been able to catch sight of O’Brien. Snape said that he would be with Amber.”

“Amber’s with me, give Severus my signal.”

“You’ve got her? Is she all right? What about—”

“Yes, both are fine. Please Harry.”

The static returned and then there was a quiet pop behind them. Amber jumped, her nerves frazzled and she found Severus standing with wand in hand.

Remus moved Andrew to his shoulder and caressed the back of his head, marveling at the beauty he and Amber created. The feeling filled the emptiness in his heart and made life feeling so much bigger than what he used to see it.

“Severus, what are you doing here?” Amber asked, her eyes nervously flicking towards the door. “If one of them finds you in here, do you know the problems it will cause?”

“The thought invariably crosses my mind whenever I am out, it is quite a nagging concept,” he sneered. He raised his chin and glanced at Remus, “he truly is the only good that has come out of this war. What name have you chosen for him?”

“Since he is a boy, we agreed on Andrew James,” Remus answered, touching his lips to his sons’ temple.

Severus snorted, “you’re not going to name every child after—”

“I happen to like Andrew James,” Amber sniffed back, mocking his arrogance.

Remus walked over to place Andrew in Severus’ arms, “if you drop him, the next full moon I won’t bother taking the potion. I will make sure I am in the same room with you.” Nothing was comical about his threat and Amber could tell by the light in his eyes.

Severus did not bother with a retort as he silently accepted his grandson into his arms. “Amber, you are coming with me to a safe house—”

“Severus, I should have known,” O’Brien clipped from the doorway. The front of his body was shadowed as he pushed himself off the door jam and made his way into the room.

“Don’t walk one step closer,” Remus growled and stood in front of Amber. It was in his body, in his mind; the urge to protect was overwhelming and drove his senses into overload. He could feel O’Brien’s heartbeat and smell a trace of fear and it made the wolf in him want to howl. Remus was oblivious to the way he was stalking around O’Brien, circling his prey in silence with a predatory look on his face.

“What are you going to do? Hunt me down like a wild animal?”

“Exactly,” Amber was thinking clearly now. “Don’t you know the influence the wolf has on a man’s conscience? When his emotions are high, he could repress the wolf’s instinct or embrace them.”

O’Brien followed Remus with a turn of his head and said, “do not worry Amber. I will have you out of here in a second.”

Without a sound, Remus pounced and O’Brien ducked. Remus landed on his stomach and jumped to his feet, spinning on heel to take him on. When Remus was about to have another go at him but he stopped in his tracks and growled, finding a wand tip at his nose.

He was going to torture him, Amber knew that without a doubt, and there was nothing that she could do.

“Amber,” Severus hissed, taking her by the arm. “We’ve got to leave now.”

“I-I—”

“Lupin can do this alone.”

“I can’t leave him,” she whimpered, her eyes glistening with tears.

Severus nodded, stepped back and apparated.

Amber stepped forward with a smirk on her face and took a deep breath, “don’t do anything to him.”

“Don’t worry Amber,” Remus growled. “I won’t make a mess of him.”

She took a hold of O’Brien’s shoulders as he passed by and brushed her cheek against his. “David, don’t mess him up too badly. All that blood, I can’t stand it,” she whispered.

Remus’ eyes widened and his jaw dropped open. It hurt Amber to have to do this but it was the only way.

O’Brien even seemed surprised when he tilted his head back and looked down at her. She gave him a small smile and brushed her finger against his bottom lip. “I’ve missed you too long, David. I’m sorry I left you but it hurt when I found you with that girl.”

“A mistake by a boy. After all, I am a man.”

“Yes,” she sighed. “You certainly are. A fine one too.” She slid the palms of her hands up his chest and licked her lips.

With a smug smile towards Remus, he leaned down and took her in a brutal openmouthed kiss. Amber cringed from the kiss, leading David on to believe it as a shiver. His free hand tangled in her hair, the other pushed her closer by pressing the other against the hollow of her spine.

Amber heard Remus whimper heart broken cries slipping from him and it broke her heart to do it. It was the only way that she could distract David long enough.

David moaned into her mouth and she squeezed her eyes tighter when she felt the hand on her back slide up to her cheek. Her arms fell limp at her sides, slipped a hand behind her back and with a painful surge of magic, a dirk materialized in her palm. She gripped the hilt tight and pulled away from his lips. She opened her eyes to find him gazing intently back into hers and the tip of the sharp blade broke his skin. She faced him with a wooden expression while his mixed with pain and shock. His wand fell to the ground and his hands clutched hers. His bright blue eyes showed pain, his face contorting, and his breath quickening. Then as if his body weight was too much for his legs to handle, he slowly fell to the ground; knee by knee and fell onto his side.

She stared down at him; life drained from his face, the brightness in his eyes dulled and his lips darkened. The rise and fall of his chest stopped and only then did she let Remus turn her from the sight and took her into his arms to apparate away.