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Harry Potter and the Unusual Alliance	By : RikuRocks Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > Slash - Male/Male Views: 5752 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Harry Potter, nor am I making any money from this work of fiction.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
Chapter 12: Messrs. Moony and Padfoot.
Lupin smiled kindly at the four teens, which put them at ease right away. "I have my methods," he answered lightly.
Ron looked unusually introspective for a moment before focusing on Lupin. "You know, you didn't seem very surprised when we told you that Harry and Malfoy were here the other day either."
"That's true," Hermione agreed, and then turned to Lupin after sparing an impressed glance at Ron. "In fact, your calm little smiles" -here all the males blinked a few times- "Didn't falter at all until we said that Malfoy was hurt, and even then there was no surprise�you were just concerned."
"I had a feeling Harry would return to this place sooner or later," the lycanthrope said mildly. "So I�d been keeping an eye out for him. Once he finally arrived, I assumed he would be in and out for a time."
The lycanthrope turned his attention to Harry. "This is actually one of the things I came to discuss with you. Is now an acceptable time?"
As politely as he stated the question, Harry knew that saying no would only be delaying the inevitable. "Yeah, there are some things I wanted to talk to you about, too."
The raven-haired teen glanced at Draco and then looked at Hermione and Ron. He could not think of a nonchalant way of asking his two best friends to leave without asking Draco to go as well, and he wanted the ashen boy to be present for this conversation.
Fortunately, Hermione seemed to catch on, for she stood and moved to pick up her book-laden bag. "Ron, could you help me with these? I want to get started on my research."
"Sure�" The redhead answered in a slightly confused tone, but he followed Hermione's lead anyway.
Harry could not help but notice the slight blush that reached the girl's cheeks when Ron took her bag from her.
"Before you go, Hermione, I thought you might find these old school notes useful." Lupin handed the brown-eyed girl a few sheets of old paper.
Hermione took the proffered notes and instantly scanned her eyes over them. Part way through however, the progress of her eyes slowed drastically and her mouth opened slightly before she actually spoke. "These� This is amazing. How did you come up with this, it's�wait." She looked up at Lupin in evident surprise. "How did you know what we were trying to do?"
"Well, I don't know what �D.A. coins� are, but when it comes to magical mischief and mayhem, I used to run with the best of them. I know how to recognize the signs of a plot in the works," Lupin answered evenly. "My guess is those coins are a method of communication, most likely a Protean Charm?"
Ron and Harry raised their eyebrows, and Hermione returned her attention to the notes in her hand. "When did you come up with this?"
"In my fourth year," the werewolf�s warm eyes shifted to Harry, who was listening intently. "I was tired of Sirius and James earning themselves detentions for passing notes all the time, but I had long given up on talking them out of doing so in class. Thus, I thought of an alternative.�
Lupin wore a small smile as he indicated the notes. �We used this charm on some pieces of parchment; anything written on one will appear on the others, and they are activated and cleared similarly to the map. I believe that was part of the reason why I was chosen as prefect the following year. I think the professors actually thought that I had succeeded in stopping them from passing notes, since they were never caught again."
Harry was glad that Lupin had decided to explain the circumstances of the notes. The former professor did not seem to like to talk about himself or his past very much, especially since Sirius had fallen. Harry, however, found himself wanting to know more about his father and godfather as of late. He wondered if Lupin could tell.
"Well, thank you," Hermione said as she turned towards the door, "This is all the research I need for communications. Ron, let's get started�"
Ron rolled his eyes, but smiled benignly as he waved a hand before following the muttering girl out of the room and closing the door behind him.
"That will keep them busy for awhile. Why don't you sit down?" Harry motioned to the vacant bed across from him and Draco.
"Thank you, Harry." Lupin sat down on the other bed facing the two teenagers. The blonde wore a mix of apprehension and awe in his eyes, and Harry guessed that none of the adults he had grown up around would probably enter his room and sit on a bed to converse with him in such a way.
Harry offered the pale boy a comforting smile before turning his attention back to the lycanthrope. "So how do you know when we arrive and leave?"
"As I said, I have my methods." Lupin held out a piece of parchment that he had carried in with the notes he gave Hermione.
"What's this?" Harry asked as he took the slightly tattered parchment, although he already had a pretty good guess.
Lupin pulled out his wand and leaned forward to tap the parchment; "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Harry grinned and Draco arched an eyebrow. Then, Green and Silver eyes turned to the parchment as words began to appear across the top of the previously blank page.

Messrs. Moony and Padfoot,

Purveyors of Aids to the Cause against Dark Lords and General Oppression,

Are proud to present

The Marauder's Map of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.

Just like the Marauder's Map of Hogwarts, this one showed every detail of Grimmauld Place, including the grounds and a few hidden passages that Draco identified as servant halls. There were also several ink dots, each labeled with a name in minuscule writing. Harry saw Mrs. Weasley bristling about in the kitchen, Kreacher inside his old Mistresses room, and Ron and Hermione entering Hermione's room.
"You and Sirius made this?" Harry smiled, thinking of Sirius causing trouble even while trapped in the Headquarters of the Order. "Why?"
Lupin shrugged, "Sirius did all that he could to give me some sense of freedom when I felt caged. The least I could offer was to do the same for him."
"Did he ever get to go out?" Harry asked hopefully.
"He wouldn't have lasted if he didn't," the werewolf answered solemnly. "When things were slow here, he and I would slip off to my parents' old cottage for an evening. It wasn't much, but it got him out of here for a little while at least."
Harry smiled at the lycanthrope. "Between that and you moving in here with him, I bet it meant a lot."
Lupin nodded, "I think so too. Thank you, Harry."
"I kind of thought the Order would decide not to help me at all," the green-eyed teen said as he watched the dot labeled Ron pace around Hermione's room on the map. "Once I decided not to keep them in the loop."
"The Order did." Lupin answered lowly. At the surprised and intrigued expressions on the two boys� faces, he wore a kind but tired expression and explained. "They are doing what they think is for the best. Now, I am a rather forgiving person, I believe-" Harry nodded enthusiastically here and Lupin offered a grateful nod in return before continuing. "But to forget is foolish, and I can't anyway, not when most of what I have left is my memories.
�The Order did what they thought was for the best during the last war as well, and we know how that turned out. Do not misunderstand me, I believe in the Order; I support it, and I will continue to offer my services to it, but I have simply lost too much. I refuse to lose you as well. You are going and I cannot stop you, nor can I force you to allow me to accompany you, but I will aid you in any way that I can and as much as you will allow.�
The lycanthrope met his surrogate godson�s eyes as he finished sincerely, �Please accept whatever help I can offer, Harry, and be careful. That is all I ask."
Harry was too touched to speak for a moment; he tore his eyes away from Lupin when he felt a hand touch his own. He turned to meet a pair of grey eyes looking at him with a mixture of concern and respect. "You were right about him," Draco said quietly.
Harry smiled and turned to the lycanthrope. "I'm glad you offered before I had to ask. I knew you would agree to help, but I wasn�t sure how to bring it up. This going to take a while to explain, do you have some time?"
"For you Harry,� Lupin sat a little straighter, "Always. What do you need me to do?"
"Well, for starters�er�" Harry looked at Draco, who turned to Lupin after a brief nod from the raven-haired teen.
"Do you know what a Horcrux is?" the silver-eyed teen asked flippantly.
After Lupin nodded slowly, Harry took over. "Well, we know that Voldemort has several. Dumbledore thought he had six, but now Draco and I have reason to believe that he actually had eight."
"Had�meaning past tense?" asked Lupin, eyes shifting from one boy to the other.
"Yes," Harry answered as Draco nodded. "There was a diary in second year; it's kind of a long story-" The raven-haired boy paused to figure out where to begin and how much to divulge.
Lupin waved a hand vaguely, "I already know most of it." He continued when Harry looked confused; "Near the end of your first year at Hogwarts, Hagrid wrote to me about photos of James and Lily for you. Afterwards, I asked him and Madam Pomfrey to keep me informed if anything like the issue with the Philosopher's Stone or the Mirror of Erised happened again."
"Oh, so you put together that album for me then?" Harry asked, and grinned when the werewolf smiled and nodded.
"Shall I presume the diary was a Horcrux?" Lupin brought the conversation back to its focus.
"Yes, so that was one down, although I didn't know it was a Horcrux -or even what a Horcrux was- the time�" Harry admitted.
"Regulus Black obtained another Horcrux," Draco continued. "He was killed before he could destroy the soul fragment inside, but he managed to hide it from V-Voldemort and we have it now."
"It's the locket of Salazar Slytherin," Harry added. "We also know that the cup of Helga Hufflepuff and the sword of Godric Gryffindor are Horcruxes."
"As well as the brooch of Rowena Ravenclaw, which we�ve procured as well," Draco stated.
"Dumbledore found and destroyed another one last summer," Harry said. "It was the Gaunt family ring."
"Is that how he injured his hand?" asked Lupin.
"Yeah, but I don't know how exactly."
"Most likely a protective spell placed on the ring by Lord Voldemort, I would think."

Lupin seemed to be doing some quick thinking again. Harry wondered if the man had always been able to take in and process information so quickly. "On their own, Horcruxes aren't particularly dangerous. They are classified as dark magic because of the deed required to create one, and the very concept of splitting one's sole is dark in nature."
"You know, we could have saved a lot of time in trying to find out what a Horcrux was, if I had just thought to ask you sooner�" Harry said in mock irritation.
"You would have had to think of a suitable excuse," Draco chimed in. "You were still under orders from Dumbledore not to tell anyone back then."
"I could think of a perfectly suitable excuse, thank you very much."
"Yes I'm sure," Draco answered dryly and then added softly, "Like a big secret weapon hidden in the middle of the Dark Forest?"
Harry chuckled as he responded. "Hey, Umbridge fell for it, and anyway, that was Hermione's bright idea, not mine."
"I hate to interrupt this lovely banter," Lupin stated mildly, "But I believe our list is short two Horcruxes. Are there any ideas on those?"
"Nagini�Voldemort's snake," Harry answered. "We don't actually know about the sword, cup, or Nagini for sure, but both Dumbledore and Draco are quite certain that these are all Horcruxes, and that's enough for me."
Lupin nodded and appeared to understand this reasoning completely.
"We're still at a loss for the last one," Draco admitted.
"You have done better than anyone else has," Lupin said reassuringly. "What do we know about the locations of the Horcruxes?"
Harry and Draco told Lupin about the cave, and about Malfoy Manor (sans Snape), as well about the other places they had on their list of locations to investigate.
"It sounds like you two really have a handle on this; I'm impressed." Lupin had a touch of pride and worry in his voice. After a pause he added thoughtfully, "I must say though, as reasonable as it sounds, I'm surprised that either of you thought of Azkaban. No offence intended, of course."
"None taken," Draco answered and looked at Harry timorously.
"�Because we actually didn't think of it," the bespectacled boy added nervously.
Lupin merely watched the two boys patiently, clearly allowing them to explain in their own time. Harry turned his attention to Draco. "I suppose we should start at the beginning."
"What is the beginning?" The pallid boy asked softly.
"Let's start with the Unbreakable Vow," Harry said with a decisive nod. "Help me out here, you know more about it."
So the boys explained the events of the past year to an ever-calm Lupin. They included everything they could about Snape, Draco, the Vow, and their orders and decisions. Harry noticed that Draco did not mention any of his time spent crying in the bathroom, or the sectumsempra incident, so he did not say anything about it either.
Lupin already seemed familiar with Harry's side of the story, no doubt having monitored him throughout the year. They finished with their confrontation-turned-conversation with Snape and their frail allegiance. They included Snape's brief explanations for his actions, although Draco looked at Harry uncertainly when the brunette angrily mentioned Snape referring to Lupin as Harry's 'pet wolf'.
Lupin however, just shook his head, "He still can't let go."
"What do you mean?" asked Harry.
"He used to call me Sirius' pet wolf, among other things, after the incident at the Shack in our sixth year," the werewolf explained. "At least he had the decency to lower his voice, and not to say it in crowds�although the latter was most likely due to Dumbledore."
"So, you're alright with Snape?" Draco asked diffidently.
Lupin sighed, "I don�t know that I'll ever be alright with Snape, or he with me. There is just too much history there. However, I am willing to work with him�so long as he is not acting against Harry's best interests."
The silver-eyed boy nodded his comprehension. "Understood; Harry already made some vague threats about you hunting Snape down and killing him if he hurt Harry."
Lupin raised an eyebrow at Harry. "No wonder he called me your pet wolf. Personally, I've always been content not to voice facts when everyone already knows them to be true."
The three males shared a small smile at that comment, before Lupin once again brought the conversation back on track. "You said that Hagrid may have overheard an argument between Snape and Dumbledore last term?"
"Yeah, he said something about Snape feeling overworked�or something among those lines," Harry responded with a shrug.
"Do you mind if I ask Hagrid about that?" The lycanthrope asked kindly and appeared to be doing some quick thinking yet again. "I'll be discreet about the reason, of course."
"Of course, I trust you to keep a secret." Harry said offhandedly, which earned him a deeper smile from the werewolf then he had ever seen on him before. This briefly reminded Harry that while he was one of the few veterans of the previous war against Voldemort, Lupin was not even forty yet. He briefly wondered how much of his older demeanor and appearance were actually direct results of being a werewolf. "�But I can talk to Hagrid if you want."
"Thank you, Harry, but I have to go to Hogwarts to do a favor for Pro -McGonagall- anyway," Lupin answered politely.
"For the Order...?� The green-eyed boy felt his curiosity flare. "What kind of favor?" The question earned Harry another small, fond smile from the lycanthrope.
"It's actually for Hogwarts, although it's essentially the same thing I normally do for the Order. You see, McGonagall is having a difficult time with the inhabitants of the dark forest and the lake. None of the residents there will tolerate a human presence in their territory. Therefore, she cannot send one of the professors or go herself, I, however, am a different story."
"Then�you're a sort of diplomat between the Order and�dark creatures�?" Draco obviously was ashamed of his choice of words, but it seemed that he could not find any other term to use.
"I suppose you could call me that," Lupin said, seemingly unaffected by the blonde�s bluntness. "Although several aren't classified as dark, and many don't enjoy being referred to as creatures."
"Sorry;� the silver-eyed teen�s apology was quiet, but genuine.
"Its fine, I understand,� the werewolf responded with a considerate expression.
"What's this speech you've been giving the creatures you meet with�the one Snape said would have given me a better grasp of motives?" asked Harry lightly, hoping that his attempt to change the subject was not too obvious.
"I don't actually have a speech prepared," Lupin offered a vague smile, clearly content to accept the subject change. "I simply tend to make the same points. It differs depending on whom I am trying to convince. For instance, it's much easier to convince centaurs not to join Voldemort than werewolves."
"So, when dealing with a� pack�?" Lupin nodded once, and Harry continued, "Of werewolves, what do you tell them?"
"Well, I generally start by stating facts that we all know. Then, once they realize that I am, essentially, in the same position as they are, I make my argument." Remus answered simply.
"What is your argument?" Draco asked at the same time that Harry asked, "What facts?"
The lycanthrope appeared hesitant to answer, but finally conceded after gazing at the two boys for a moment. "Werewolves are never going to be completely accepted by society� period. Fighting alongside Lord Voldemort will only harm my kind more. If we join that side, we lose�regardless of the outcome of this war.�
Both boys continued to frown at the werewolf, who crossed his legs and continued to explain. �Voldemort and his followers consider werewolves as beast -full moon or not- just as the Ministry does. However, his side shows even less tolerance of half-breeds. If Voldemort wins, it is only a matter of time before he runs out of uses for the 'animals' who served him, and then the Death Eaters will torture and kill them all.
�If he loses, and the wizarding population sees that all of the 'dark creatures' sided with the dark side, then their hatred and fear of us will only increase; The Ministry will be able to pass all the laws and regulations concerning us that they hadn't dared to before because of concerns about public opinion regarding humane treatment. They may even start euphonizing. It's a lose-lose situation; joining Lord Voldemort only impairs my kind."
Remus sighed tiredly, "The main problem comes in trying to determine if I should even attempt at convincing them to fight against Voldemort. Most magical beings have been mistreated at the hands of wizards, and in particular, the Ministry. Therefore, even if joining their side were an option, which as of now it is not, many of my kind would not take it. Therefore, neutrality is usually my best and sometimes only option."
"You've actually been able to convince� magical beings�to remain neutral in the war?" Draco asked reverentially.
"Quite a few, actually," Lupin said with no hint of boasting. It was merely a stating of fact. "Many of them find this reasoning very logical, a few even have asked about opposing Voldemort without attempting to work with the Ministry."
Harry perked up at this, "Do you tell them about the Order?"
"To a degree, yes," Lupin answered with a slight grin in warm his eyes. "They'll assist us when the time arrives."
Harry was happy to be talking to Remus like this. He knew that by Lupin offering much of the information that he had, he was sharing the same trust that Harry and Draco had when they told him their story. He also enjoyed the thought of becoming closer to the former professor, whom had always been a comforting and guiding force ever since he entered his life four years ago�and who was also Harry�s last link to his parents.
The subject of Harry�s musings interrupted his thoughts. "What is your next course of action?"
"We'll spend a day or two looking over the books and stuff we brought back from Malfoy Manor," Harry answered. "That way, Draco's injuries should be mostly healed, and we'll both have had a chance to rest and let Mrs. Weasley feed us up so she doesn't have a fit."
"That sounds reasonable," Lupin agreed. "Do you know where you�ll go after those two days?"
"To one of the places we guessed the Horcruxes might be hidden," Harry shrugged. "We'll decide which one before we go and we'll let you know.�
Harry then noticed that Draco seemed to be contemplating something. The wan boy kept shooting nervous glances at Harry before looking down at his hands thoughtfully. Harry moved his elbow so that it knocked into Draco's upper arm. When the blonde looked at him, Harry raised his brows questioningly.
The fair Slytherin hesitated a moment before speaking calmly. "�Do you recall exactly where the house in Godric's Hollow is located?"
Harry paused for a moment. "How big is Godric's Hollow anyway?"
Both boys turned to Lupin with questioning expressions. "Would you like me to accompany you, or would you prefer me to draw you a map?" When both boys remained quiet, he added, "Why don't you consider it while you decide when you're going next, and then let me know what you would like to do?"
"Alright," Harry answered as Draco nodded.
"I believe dinner is about ready, and I gather that you two haven't eaten all at today," Lupin said as he stood.
"Yeah, we really shouldn't have done that," Harry said, taking in Draco's emaciated form. The blonde merely arched an eyebrow as he took in Harry�s thin frame as though challenging him to comment.
"If you're going to expect me to be supportive of this, then you'll have to start taking better care of yourselves," Lupin said gently, "And each other."
Draco stood next; he looked at the map lying on Harry's lap. "How do we clear that?"

Harry tapped the parchment with his wand and said "Mischief managed" and as expected, the map erased itself.
"Clever�" the Slytherin murmured.
Harry made to pass the map back to Lupin, but he shook his head at the bespectacled boy. "I want you to keep it. This way I know you won�t hesitate to return here for concern of running into anyone you would rather avoid. No one else knows about this one," He tapped the map with a slender finger.
"Thank you," Harry folded the map and tucked it into a pocket. "It'll come in handy."
Draco looked from Lupin to Harry. "If you'll both excuse me, I'm going to use the restroom before we head downstairs."
Harry and Lupin quietly watched Draco leave the room, and then Remus looked to Harry with concern.
The green-eyed teen continued to look at the door. "He's�I don't know, nervous, scared�? The manor seemed to affect him."
"He wants to go home, but he doesn't know where that is anymore." Lupin responded softly, still looking at Harry. "He's realized that home isn't a place�it never was. I felt the same way after that night." The werewolf did not have to say which night he meant, they both knew.
"When did you find your home again?" Harry asked, still not looking at Lupin.
"That night in the Shack�" Lupin responded quietly, and Harry had the feeling that he would rather not have answered.
"What about now tha- er, just now?� Harry did not want to say 'now that he's gone'.
Lupin's eyes turned to the window, "I've learned many lessons from experience, Harry. One of them is that you never know what life has in store for you. Regardless of any circumstances, you can always be let down further or given renewed hope�sometimes both."
They heard Draco moving outside the room; he had obviously decided to give them some privacy and was waiting further down the hall.
Lupin returned his attention to Harry, "You seem to have developed quite a report with him." Harry nodded absentmindedly. "Do me a favor please, tell him that if ever needs to talk to someone who knows what it is like to have their world come crashing down, he can come to me. I've been there a few times."
Harry looked at Lupin; it was not like him to pass information like that through someone else. Once his eyes met Lupin's, the lycanthrope said the words Harry figured he wanted to from the beginning. "You know that you can always come to me for anything, right Harry?"
The bespectacled boy smiled and had to swallow before he could answer, "I know�and after today, I will. I promise, Remus." Harry waited until he received a small smile in return before leaving the room and meeting Draco at the end of the hall.
Draco watched Harry silently for a moment before the corner of his mouth turned up slightly; "Everything alright now, Harry?"
Harry gazed at the other boy a moment before answering, "As good as it can be."
Lupin offered the boys a warm smile as he passed them; "Dinner in ten minutes, remember."
Both boys nodded, and then Harry looked back at Draco. "Let's go get Ron and Hermione. Between you and her, I think we can get those chocolate fog cards finished tonight."
Draco nodded his consent and followed Harry to Hermione's room. The raven-haired teen knocked on the door a moment later and heard some shuffling before his bushy-haired friend called, "Come in!"
The boys shared a glance and a grin before entering. Harry kept the grin on his face as he address the brown-eyed girl. "You know, Hermione, if you don't want anyone to ask what you're doing; you�re going to have to act less suspicious.�
"Oh, it's you," she said as she pulled a book with Remus' old notes stuck between the pages out from under the schoolbooks that were laid out in front of her.
"Why are we using your room as our research department again?" asked Ron as he pulled a book out from behind her trunk.
Hermione answered inattentively without looking up from the page she was reading; "Because it's the only room here where everyone knocks before entering.�
"Everyone knocks at Lupin's room," Ron pointed out.
"Yes but, even if he knew what we�re doing, I don't think he'd appreciate us appropriating his room." She looked at Ron and smiled before returning her attention to the notes.
"Actually, he does know what we�re doing," Harry said offhandedly. "We just told him."
"But if the Order knows-" Ron started, but was interrupted by Harry.
"The Order doesn't know anything more then what we said last night at dinner," he said firmly. "I said, we told Remus. He won't say anything unless it's to save our lives."
"And we could use his help," Draco added.
Hermione, who had looked up from Lupin's notes when Harry and Ron started talking, nodded. "We could use the help, and he is the best choice for that now." She turned her attention to Harry, "I'm glad you told him."
"Thanks Hermione," Harry said, both he and Draco were still watching Ron.
Ron seemed to consider something for a moment, and then he grinned. "Well if we're going to ask for help, having the brains behind the marauders is the way to go. Besides, after seeing him at�er, in action, I'd say he's up for the job."
Draco raised a criticizing eyebrow at the poor save before looking questioningly at Harry. "That's part of the story I said I'd fill you in on later," the bespectacled boy replied, ignoring the perceptive looks he received from Ron and Hermione.
Draco peered down at the notes Hermione was still holding. Despite the fact that he must be seeing them upside down from this viewpoint, he seemed to read them over. "Did he invent this all on his own?"
"Probably�or he may have gotten some help from Sirius and Harry's dad," Hermione answered without looking up from the page.
Draco gave Harry a glance before retuning his attention to the notes. "Imagine how much trouble Harry would get into if he had actually been raised around that lot; Weasley's brothers wouldn't compare."
Hermione quickly stifled a giggle while Ron kept shifting his gaze from Harry to Draco, obviously unsure of how to react. Meanwhile, a pair of questioning grey eyes met green for a moment before Harry laughed. "Considering the amount of trouble I get into as it is, I don't think I want to," he said with a grin.
Ron raised his eyebrows in surprise, Hermione beamed, and Draco gave Harry an appraising look before he returned the grin shortly.
"Can either of you cast that?" Harry indicated the notes.
"I think so," Draco answered levelly at the same time that Hermione gave a simple "Yes".
"How many do we need?" Ron asked as he pulled a small stack of chocolate frog cars featuring Dumbledore's likeness out of his pocket.
"Can the cards be set so that you can choose which one or ones to send the massage to, or does it have to appear on all of them?" Harry asked the room in general.
"That's part of what makes this spell so impressive," Hermione responded. "You assign each parchment, or in our case cards, a name and you say that name and tap your card to make the message appear on that person�s card. Or you can give generic command that you also assign, and it will appear on all the cards you enchanted together."
"Judging by this, it seems Lupin and his friends made four," Draco commented. "The word marauders made the message appear on all four pieces of parchment, or they could send it to one using their names."
"They called themselves marauders�I guess it sounded less condemning than troublemakers,� Harry offered. "Although between this and the map, I'm guessing you already suspected as much."
The corner of Draco's mouth turned up but quickly straightened when Ron said loudly, "You showed him the map?"
"No," Harry said defensively. "Well�not that map, he saw another one."
"What?" Ron asked with confusion written plainly on his face.
Hermione and Draco ignored Ron and Harry -who were standing beside each of them respectively- and each calmly questioned, "There's another map?"
"There are two Marauder's Maps now," Harry explained to the other three teens. "The original map, made by all four marauders, which covers all of Hogwarts�"
"That's quite impressive," Draco commented, his attention remaining on Harry. "These marauders were brilliant."
"Yes they were and are," Harry said as he met the pallid boy's eyes. "Two are still alive, by the way."
Harry turned to look at Ron and Hermione, "Anyway, Messrs. Moony and Padfoot made a second map, which covers Grimmauld Place."
"When did they make that one?" asked Hermione.
"And do Fred and George know about it yet?" Ron added.
"I don't know exactly when they made it, but it was sometime after Sirius was first stuck here;" Harry explained with a shrug. "And no, no one knows about it except for us and Remus."
"Do the maps work if you take them out of the places they cover?" Hermione asked curiously.
"I think so," Harry said, wondering why he had never thought to check before.
"Obviously the one we just saw does, so it's probably safe to assume they both do." Draco noticed Harry's questioning expression. "Lupin gave it to you in order for us to know when we can return here undetected. We would have to be using it from somewhere else for that scenario to play out."
"Good point," Harry said. "It's almost dinnertime; do you want to go over that spell before we go downstairs?�
"Alright, so how many cards did we decide to use?" Hermione asked as she picked up the temporarily forgotten notes.
"We didn't," Draco answered and looked at Harry in wait of an answer.
"Well, we should each have our own, I guess," Harry looked at the others. "Should we make one for Remus?"
"What do you want to do?" Draco asked pointedly.
"I don't want to bother him too often; after all, he is still going on mystery missions for the Order." Harry was pensive or a moment, "But I guess we could just not use his often?"
"That could work�" Hermione said thoughtfully.
"�Or, we could ask the original creator of the spell if he could think of a way to make a card excluded from the 'send to all' command," Draco suggested.
"That's a good idea," Hermione turned to Harry, "Why don't you pull Lupin aside and ask him after dinner?"
Ron tossed the book he had been holding onto the bed. "I don't know about all of you, but I'm starved; let's head down to the kitchen."
"Alright, but we have to start sorting through everything after dinner," Hermione said matter-of-factly.
"We should have some sort of organizing system," Draco agreed.
Ron looked from Hermione to Draco and then back. "There aren't that many books, Hermione."
"If Harry and Draco write to us for information while they're out there, I want to be able to find it as quickly as possible," the bushy-haired girl answered.
Ron nodded as he led the brown-eyed girl out of the room. "That's true, although it's not like Harry suddenly has a time limit."
"This isn't something I'm going to drag my feet on, Ron." Harry stated as he followed his friends into the hall.
"�Besides, Death Eaters are looking for both of us," Draco added in a subjugated tone, "And sooner or later, V-Voldemort is going to realize what we're doing."
"We still don't know where all of�the things are," Hermione said over her shoulder.
"Or what they all are," Harry interjected.
"And we need to get them before V-Voldemort does," Hermione finished.
"The war won�t end until we finish this," Draco stated softly. "The longer we take, the more lives will be destroyed."
"As much as I wish it weren't, it's my responsibility to end this," Harry added quietly as the neared the stairs, "And I can't do that until I finish this task."
"At least our side is better off than it was during the last war," Ron said.
"I can't imagine how awful it was back then," Hermione commented.
"Everyone in my parents' graduating class and the next few had to grow up as soon as they left Hogwarts," Harry said.
"If not beforehand," Draco added, "Many were probably affected by the raids and such whist they were still in school."
Ron nodded his agreement, "That's a letter I hope I never receive."
"Why don't we talk about something else, at least until after dinner?" Agreeable nods and noises from the other three teens followed Harry's question.
They entered the kitchen to find Lupin setting the table, despite the protests of Mrs. Weasley, who was finishing up at the stove. "The kids can do that, Remus, you do enough around here."
"It's no bother Molly," Lupin answered as he lay out the flatware. Harry realized that Remus was the only wizard he knew who still tended to do things the Muggle way; he even recalled the man making and pouring tea for them at Hogwarts. Lupin looked up with a vague smile and nodded a greeting to the four teenagers.
Hermione scanned the mostly-set table to see what was missing, "Ron and I will get the glasses."
"Thank you," Lupin responded before sitting down at the table. Harry sat down beside him and Draco seated himself at Harry's other side.
"Only six tonight?" asked Harry, noticing the number of settings.
"Yes, Arthur won't be joining us tonight," the werewolf answered. "He had some things to do near Diagon Alley, so he decided to spend the evening with Fred and George."
"That's nice," Harry glanced over his shoulder to see Hermione and Ron distracting Mrs. Weasley. "Are you going to be busy after dinner?"
Lupin looked at Harry with a neutral expression for a moment before answering quietly. "No; what you need?"
"We want to try to alter that enchantment you wrote in school," Harry paused for a moment. "Is that possible?"
Lupin looked pensive, "That depends on what you want to modify; however, I can think of a few revisions that might be useful to your situation."
Harry grinned; he was very interested to hear what the lycanthrope had in mind. "Could you take a look at what we're trying to do after dinner?"
"Certainly, Harry." Lupin shifted his eyes, and Harry followed suit to see Mrs. Weasley approaching the table with Ron and Hermione in tow.
Mrs. Weasley seated herself across from Lupin. Ron and Hermione sat across from Harry and Draco respectively.
After a few moments, everyone had served him or herself and complimented Mrs. Weasley. The teens started some small talk among them but quickly faltered when Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat and looked over each one in turn. "Now, which of you would like to start explaining what it is you think you doing?"
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Harry Potter and the Unusual Alliance