Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Forever and Always	By : cls2256 Category: HP Canon Characters paired with Original Characters > Het - Male/Female Views: 6832 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter or any of its characters or details, nor do I make any money from this fanfic.

Chapter List
- 54
- 55
- 56
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Whew! this chapter was a doozy to write. There is a lot going on, and it's kind of long. Hope you enjoy!

Penelope cried all morning, sobbing into her plate of French toast until her eyes nearly swelled shut. Remus and Mia had tried everything to console her—Remus even offered to attend her trial for support, but the idea was immediately shut down by both girls. Sending a werewolf into the Ministry, especially when his freedom had already been threatened by the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, didn’t seem like a good idea to either of them.
Mia’s anxiety was through the roof, but with Penelope falling apart before her, she felt she had to put on the brave face between the two of them. Her French toast slid down her throat like glass, her stomach bubbling irritably as she forced herself to choke down at least some of breakfast to keep Remus from having a fit. She wished desperately for a spike in her coffee— something to take the edge off the elephant sitting on her chest. Alcohol is not a coping mechanism she reminded herself you don’t need it.
After breakfast, Mia and Penelope walked to the Ministry together, arms linked and silent the entire journey. Penelope was dressed nice, but not overly done up— plain dress robes of dark blue and her ashy curls smoothed back in a neat chignon. Their heels clacked against the sidewalk; Mia had to take extra steps to keep up with Penelope’s long strides. Tonks met them half way, linking onto Penelope’s other arm and joining them in their silent procession. Rather than take the employee toilets, they entered the Ministry through the visitor’s entrance, the three of them cramming into the tight abandoned telephone box. Tonks dialed 6-2-4-4-2 on the rotary phone, a pleasant female operator’s voice speaking to them not through the receiver, but as if she were standing in the booth with them.
“Welcome to the Ministry of Magic, please state your names and business”
“Nymphadora Tonks, Auror and Amelia Lupin, Wizengamot Administrative Services escorting Penelope Clearwater for her court appearance”
“Thank you; please display your badges in a place where visible”
The phone spit out a visitors badge for Penelope before it lowered them below ground. Tonks handed Penelope her badge, receiving it with shaking hands. They stood in silence until they arrived at the Atrium, the phone elevator chiming softly when it came to a halt.
“I need to get to my desk— let me know how it goes?” Tonks gave Penelope a warm hug “it’s going to be alright, ok?”
“You need to go check in at that desk—“Mia pointed to a small desk positioned at the far end of the atrium as Tonks made her way to the lifts “That’s Travers. He will take your wand, send you through a scanner looking for more magical objects, and then have someone escort you down to the courts. I’ll see you down there.”
“Mia—“Penelope squeaked
“Penny, it’s alright” Mia said, her eyes locking with dark-haired, bearded Travers “You need to go now— He is looking at us”
“Why does that matter—“
“Travers is a Death Eater!” Mia hissed “He is watching us because he knows who I am. Go— I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
Penelope bit her lip “Alright”
She walked away, heading towards Travers as he and Mia glared at each other. Mia forced herself to break their stare, scurrying off towards the lifts. Her stomach was in her throat; she reached up into her hair and felt the bobby pin she had tucked behind her ear— her grandmother’s holly wand was concealed perfectly. All she had to do was get the bobby pin from her hair and into Penelope’s without Yaxley or Umbridge seeing. Easier said than done, when she knew Yaxley was hardly going to let her out of his sight.
She exited the lift and was hit by a bone chilling frost, the feeling of dread flooding through her as she heard her father screaming faintly in the back of her mind. She had experienced this same scenario the day previous, but something about today seemed worse. She felt more dreadful, more hopeless as she stepped down the hall, fearful of walking past the ominous creatures skirting around her. She stepped into the courtroom, met by Yaxley, standing just inside the room clutching a purple interdepartmental memo.
“Travers just sent me a memo” Yaxley said, looking up at her with his cold, brutal stare “You walked the mudblood into the Ministry today?”
“He certainly didn’t waste any time” Mia muttered contemptuously “Of course I did— I wasn’t going to send her into this bullshit alone”
Yaxley whipped his wand out and advanced on her. Before she could blink, a calloused hand gripped her jaw as his wand tip pushed into her throat.
“You watch yourself, Mia Roswell!” He spoke dangerously “The fate of your little friend rests in my and Dolores’s hands, and yet you still choose to give me cheek”
“It’s Mia Lupin, now” She glared at him, wanting desperately to spit in his face and tell him exactly what she thought of him, but refrained. “—Mr. Yaxley” she added with false politeness, after a pause.
She stood up straighter, as if giving herself an extra quarter-inch of height would make her more intimidating. It didn’t— Yaxley towered over her still, raising his brow ever so slightly as his harsh eyes bore into her. “The mudblood passed through the magical objects scan just fine, but something tells me you didn’t learn much from our conversation last week.”
“She passed her scan” Mia said with a shrug “She showed up for trial. At this point, Mr. Yaxley, She and I have cooperated fully.”
He paused for a moment, narrowing his eyes “Need I remind you what will happen if you don’t behave today?”
Mia instinctively rubbed her neck as she imagined dementors prying Remus’s face back and performing their dreaded kiss inside a filthy cell in Azkaban. She felt a slight bit defeat, but she kept her face firm, not wanting him to see her falter.
“No, Mr. Yaxley, there is no need to remind me” she said quietly.
“Good girl— Travers recommended Mafalda Hopkirk record keep today, go send a memo for her to join us.”
“If Mafalda is scribing, then what am I here for?” Mia asked “I thought the whole point of me working on this bull—“ she stopped when she saw Yaxley’s eyes flash. She took a breath and rephrased her question. “I thought I was here to scribe.”
“And you will, for all the other court dates that you don’t have a vested interest in. I do not trust that you won’t record inaccurate information for Miss Clearwater.”
“Then what am I doing here today?” She asked, trying but failing to keep sass out of her tone. “Wouldn’t I be more of use to Delphin—“
“You are here—” Yaxley squared his body threateningly “—because we ordered it so.” He glared at her intensely “You will sit next to me and observe, silently. Go send for Mafalda and then find Dolores— last I heard she was on level one.”
Mia gritted her teeth and nodded. She spun on her heels and walked out of the courtroom, a shiver tracing down her spine as a dementor floated next to her. Her mind raced; she was being watched from all angles. The might of the Ministry seemed to be closing in around her, any plan or idea that she had to help Penelope seemingly childish in this moment.
As she stood waiting for the lifts just minutes later, Mia wrapped her arms around herself protectively and stood off to the side, uncomfortable to hear the Minister of Magic Pius Thicknesse and Umbridge discussing court proceedings with the upmost disrespect for Muggle-borns. She had always hated the term mudblood, and to hear these people use the term with such casualty made her blood boil. The lift clanged in front of them, the golden gate springing open to reveal Mafalda Hopkirk and Albert Runcorn.
“Ah, Mafalda— Travers sent you? You received Amelia’s memo?”
“Yes!” Mafalda squeaked softly
“Good, you will do perfectly well—” Umbridge turned her attention to Thicknesse, “That’s that problem solved, Minister; if Mafalda can be spared for record keeping, we should be able to start straight away”
Umbridge sent a slight, irritable glance at Mia before she consulted her clipboard. By her demeanor, it seemed that Mia getting pulled off scribing was not at Umbridge’s request.
“Ten people today— and one of them the wife of a Ministry employee; Tut tut— even here, in the heart of the Ministry!”
They stepped into the lift. Mia was crammed towards the back, clumsily bumping against Mafalda’s shoulders. She gave the witch a sheepish look, mouthing ‘sorry’ before directing her eyes at the floor. Mafalda simply squeaked in acceptance of her apology, looking uncomfortable to the point of almost sick.
“We’ll go straight down, Mafalda. Everything you need is already in the courtroom— if you have any questions, Amelia can answer them for you—“ Umbridge paused and looked over at tall, robust Albert Runcorn “good morning Albert, aren’t you getting out?”
“Oh, uh, yes” Albert Runcorn’s deep voice answered. “Of course”
The wizard stepped out, and the lift’s golden gates slammed shut, and then began to lower them down. The lift stopped at the basement courtrooms, the depressing chill hitting Mia as hard as it did when she met with Yaxley in the courtrooms just a few minutes earlier. The Muggle-borns were lined up down the hall to the courtrooms, all looking terrified; shaking and shivering as they sat on hard wooden benches.
“Amelia, be a dear and go line up the Mudbloods in order?” Umbridge said sweetly. “Make sure everyone is here?”
She swallowed hard “Yes ma’am, I will go check” she said quietly, accepting the clipboard.
She began at the beginning of the line, moving a few people into a different order as she confirmed the names of the defendants. She felt Penelope’s eyes on her as she made her way down the line, Penelope somewhat in the middle of the ten people awaiting trial. She reached the woman just before Penelope, trying hard to focus and maintain a calm appearance as her friend’s stare bore into her. The shaking, teary-eyed woman had her dark hair pulled tightly into a bun, and was dressed in plain robes. She had a kind face, despite the fearful look in her eyes.
“Mary Cattermole?” Mia asked, looking at the woman as kindly as she could.
“Y—yes” the woman choked. “M—my husband works for Magical Maintenance, Reg Cattermole? Do you know if he is on his way? He said h—he would be here…”
“I’m not sure, Mrs. Cattermole” Mia said with a sympathetic expression “I’m sure he will be here soon”
Mrs. Cattermole nodded stiffly as Mia stepped to Penelope, who looked at Mia with the most terrified expression she had ever seen on her friend.
“Penelope Clearwater?”
“Really?” Penelope asked softly, scrunching her nose slightly.
“Penelope Clearwater?” Mia repeated, a little more forceful.
Mia flashed her eyes at her, willing Penelope just to play along and answer her. She didn’t seem to catch on; Penelope blinked at her for a moment before answering slowly.
“Obviously…”
“Thank you” Mia nodded quickly, purposely shifting her weight to trip and bump into Penelope, sliding the bobby pin into her hair. Her chignon was the perfect hairstyle to conceal the bobby pin fully; Mia tucked it deep within the bun, praying it wouldn’t accidentally slip out between now and when she would need to transfigure it back. “Sorry about that, Miss Clearwater”
“Mia—“ Penelope squeaked softly, looking on the verge of tears. “I’m scared…”
Mia gritted her teeth and refused to look at her as she stepped away and moved to the next person in line, regretting she couldn’t sit and comfort her friend through this. Another shiver of dread accompanied by soft screaming in her mind cut through her as a dementor skirted past them. She gripped the clipboard to keep her hands from shaking as she looked over her shoulder; she felt immense relief to see that Yaxley had not witnessed her clumsily ‘stumble’ into Penelope just a moment earlier.
She took another few minutes verifying the defendants; all ten were present. She walked back into the courtrooms, handing the clipboard back to Umbridge.
“All the Muggle-borns are present, Dolores”
“Excellent, thank you” Umbridge nodded
“mhmm” Mia hummed flatly, turning to take her seat on the bench.
“Oh, Amelia?” Umbridge called, stopping her. Mia felt Yaxley’s eyes on her as she turned back to face Umbridge “Where is your wand?”
“Right here” Smirking, she pulled her acacia wand out of the front of her robes, holding it up to show Umbridge and ignoring Yaxley’s burning stare. “Where else would it be?”
Umbridge smiled sweetly, but her smile was forced. “Just wondering”
The second day of Muggle-born trials proved to be just as horrific as the first. All the Muggle-borns today so far had been found guilty of ‘stealing magic’, and sent off to Azkaban. As if the screams and sobs of the innocent begging for mercy weren’t enough, Yaxley felt the need to keep one of his calloused hands on Mia’s thigh the entire time, gripping if she shifted her weight or coughed. She knew this was his reminder of her that he was watching her, ensuring she stayed silent and behaved— by his standards.
Umbridge looked positively pleased with herself as Mia felt the urge to vomit severely. The sick feeling deep in her stomach reminded her of how she felt during the first trials she ever scribed for; watching Umbridge berade werewolf Jasper Hughes had been as horrible as watching her berade Muggle-borns today. Even her long-haired cat patronus look smug pacing up and down the bench in front of them, protecting the prosecutors from the effects of the dementors nearby. Mia noticed how uncomfortable Mafalda Hopkirk looked, curious as to her view on the events before them. She didn’t know Mafalda that well, but Mia took note that her face drained of color as the man they had just found guilty shrieked uncontrollably.
“Look him up! My father is a wizard! He’s a wizard, I tell you— you have to believe me!— get your hands off me! Get your hands off me!”
“If you resist, you will be subject to the dementor’s kiss” Umbridge said smugly “Mary Cattermole!”
Mia bit her lip and shifted uneasily, the man’s screams setting her teeth on edge. Yaxley’s hand tightened, his cold stare seemingly burning into her. Mia refused to look at him, leaning her body weight to one side as if to put as much space between them as possible. She focused on the defendant chair in front of them, her stomach flip-flopping when she realized there was only one Muggle-born until it was Penelope’s turn to sit before the court. She watched helplessly as Mrs. Cattermole slinked into the courtroom, shaking and looking absolutely petrified.
“Please, sit down” Umbridge said, pointing to the chair in front of them. The woman sat down, shackles springing up out of thin air and containing her to the chair. Dementors were posted in the corners of the room, floating ominously, waiting for direction. Mrs. Cattermole tugged at the shackles for a moment, looking panicked to be contained so brutally. “You are Mary Elizabeth Cattermole?”
“Y-yes”
“Married to Reginald Cattermole of the Magical Maintenance department?”
Mrs. Cattermole began to shake so hard the chair rattled underneath her “I don’t know where he is, he was supposed to meet me…”
“Mother to Maisie, Ellie and Alfred Cattermole?”
Her shaky voice was overcome with sobs “they’re f-frightened; they think I might not c-come home”
“Spare us!” Yaxley growled “the brats of mudbloods do not stir our sympathies”
Mia wanted nothing more than to drive a quill through Yaxley’s eyeball in this moment. Mafalda knocked over her bottle of ink with a slight squeal, causing Mia to flinch. Yaxley’s hand tightened on her thigh once more, his fingertips mercilessly bruising her.
“A wand was taken from you upon your arrival, 8 ¾ inches; cherry with unicorn hair” Umbridge continued “Where did you acquire this wand?”
“I b-bought it, from Ollivander’s when I was 11” Mrs. Cattermole squeaked “It c-chose me!”
Umbridge laughed a soft girlish laugh, that annoying laugh that made Mia wish she could hex her right here and now. Umbridge leaned forward, glaring at Mrs. Cattermole with her dark beady eyes.
“Wands only choose witches and wizards—“ a glint of a large gold locket swinging forward caught Mia’s eye as Umbridge leaned further, pointing a stubby finger at Mrs. Cattermole “you are not a witch.”
“That’s pretty, Dolores” Mafalda complimented, gesturing to Umbridge’s bosom.
“What?— Oh— yes, it’s a family heirloom” Umbridge said “the S stands for Selwyn— I am related to the Selwyn’s, one of the last true pureblood families out there.”
“Stupefy!”
The deep voice that came from nowhere made Mia jump nearly to the ceiling. Umbridge fell forward, cracking her forehead against the bench. She looked over, and right behind Mafalda was a disembodied hand, floating and holding a wand pointed directly at her and Yaxley.
“What the…” she whispered as Yaxley drew his wand. The disembodied hand was quicker; the deep voice bellowed the stunning spell incantation once more as a jet of red smacked Yaxley square in the chest. Mia watched the brutal faced wizard slump over, crumpling into a heap on the floor next to her. The disembodied hand was now revealed to be attached to the body of Albert Runcorn. Mia drew her wand, pointing it square at Runcorn’s chest.
“Mia, it’s me!” He boomed, holding his hands up “Harry! We used polyjuice!”
“Wait— Harry??” She asked incredulously, narrowing her eyes “What the— is that Hermione?!?”
“Harry!—“Hermione cried shrilly “Mrs. Cattermole!”
The dementors were swooping in around the shackled, helpless witch. A scabby, scaly hand grasped her chin, pulling her face upwards as another was getting ready to lower its hood, ready to suck out her soul.
“Expecto patronum!” Harry called; a silver stag erupted from his wand and cantered around the room, driving the dementors back and out of the room. “We need to go, now! How do I get rid of these chains?”
Mia pointed her wand at the shackles around Mrs. Cattermole. “Relashio!”
The chains broke apart and Harry helped the witch stand “Hermione, come on!”
“Hold on!— I need to duplicate this, so Umbridge doesn’t realize its missing when she wakes!”
“You broke in here for an ugly old locket?” Mia asked incredulously “Seriously?”
“Never mind!” Hermione squeaked “I can’t focus with you talking!—“
“Here, I can do it—“
Mia grabbed the locket out of Hermione’s hand and waved her wand, instantly creating a virtually identical copy of the locket. Hermione fastened it back onto Umbridge’s neck with shaking hands.
“How are we supposed to get out of here with all these dementors?” Hermione asked.
“Patronuses” he said “as many as we can get— Mia, cast yours.”
Mia nodded, flicking her wand and sending her shimmering, brilliant wolf leaping after Harry’s stag.
“Ok, Hermione, yours now” Harry said with a nod
“Expecto patronum!” Hermione cried, nothing happening “expect— expecto patronum!”
“It’s the only spell she has trouble with” Harry shrugged to Mia.
Finally after a couple tries, a silver otter burst from her wand, swimming through the air towards the wolf and stag. Harry grabbed Mrs. Cattermole’s arm as he pointed to the door,
“We need to go, come on!”
They followed the patronuses out of the courtroom and into the hallway. Penelope shrieked, running to Mia and embracing her tightly.
“Mia, what the hell is going on? I heard commotion—“
“You won’t be sitting for your trial—” Mia said quickly, looking over her shoulder “I need you to cast a patronus”
Mia waved her hand, and the bobby pin tucked into Penelope’s chignon grew into the long holly wand. She drew it from her hair, gripping it with shaking hands.
“I— I haven’t been able to before” Penelope said nervously “what’s going on? What’s happening?”
“I’ll explain later, just cast your patronus!”
“You all can follow the patronuses out to the atrium, you’ll be able to leave” Harry announced to the group that was sitting in the hall.
Mia grasped Penelope’s shoulders, “You can do it— just try! Focus!”
Penelope nodded with uncertainty, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath “Expecto Patronum!” she called, and a large, silver spider shot out from the end of the wand, scurrying off after the stag, wolf and otter.
“Holy shit” Penelope breathed “I did it. I DID IT!”
“Wasn’t expecting a spider—” Mia said with a small chuckle, clasping a hand on her friend’s shoulder “But nice work”
They all followed the patronuses down the hall, the dementors now all having fled the area. They arrived at the lifts, only to find a soaking wet weasel-y looking man exiting one of them.
“Reg?” Mrs. Cattermole asked, wide eyed. “Why are you all wet?”
“Water” The man said weakly, wiping his wet forehead “Harry, Hermione; they know there is an intruder— I reckon we have 5 minutes”
“Wait— Ron?” Mia asked, narrowing her eyes
“Mia? Penelope? Blimey, I didn’t expect to see you tw—“ he stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening “is that a spider?” Ron’s unfamiliar face drained of all color, his voice raising an octave as he backed up a few steps “Is that a spider?!”
“Oh, it’s just a patronus, Ron—“ Hermione cried “come on!”
They all entered the lifts, rising up and up until the lift shuddered to a halt, the disembodied voice speaking ‘level 8, atrium.’ They filed out of the lifts, looking at wizards sealing off all of the fireplaces.
“STOP!” Harry called “This lot needs to leave before you seal off the fireplaces.”
“We were told no one is to leave” a wizard called “aren’t those the mudbloods awaiting trial?”
“Their blood is pure, which is more than I can say about most of you, I’m sure.” Harry growled “now let ‘em through!”
The Muggle-borns filed into the open fireplaces, the last ones to leave were Penelope and Mrs. Cattermole. A man identical to the one Ron was impersonating came running into the Atrium, out of breath and panicked.
“Reg?” Mrs. Cattermole asked, looking from Ron to her husband incredulously.
Ron swore loudly, pushing Reg and his wife towards the fire place. “Go, now!” he said. They obliged without much protest, disappearing up the chimney. Mia turned to Penelope, pointing to a fireplace.
“Penny, go home and tell Remus what happened—”
“What?” Penelope cried “No, I’m not leaving you here!”
“I can’t leave! Yaxley will have my head if he knows I helped—”
“Stop right there!” Yaxley’s voice shouted from the lifts “Stop them! Their helping mudbloods escape!”
Mia swore as Yaxley came running after them. Harry threw one of the hardest punches he could at him, hitting him square in the jaw. He, Ron and Hermione grabbed hands, sprinting towards the nearest fireplace. Yaxley didn’t falter much; he sprung up almost as quickly as he fell, and grabbed ahold of Hermione’s robes. Mia acted without thinking, grasping Penelope’s hand with one of her own, and lunging at Yaxley, catching the tail of his robes as they were vacuumed up the chimney.
The wind was knocked out of her as Mia landed with a thud on grass. She scrambled to her feet, coughing and looking around wildly for Penelope. She recognized they were at 12 Grimmauld Place, and Harry, Ron and Hermione were nowhere to be found. She spotted Penelope across the lawn and took off after her, screaming her name as Penelope stumbled to her feet. Yaxley sent a few hexes at her, the spells whizzing just over her head as she ran. She grasped Penelope’s hand as Yaxley lunged at them— just as she initiated the apparition, she felt him grab onto her robes as they were vacuumed away once more.
They hit the floor of their living room, Mia wasting no time to send a stunning charm at Yaxley. He flew back and hit the television set, shattering the glass and collapsing into a heap. Her mind raced, panicking with what to do that Remus hollering swear words didn’t even register to her. The back of her left hand stung harshly; she looked down, noticing her skin was missing atop the very peaks of her knuckles. Splinched. She was thankful it was just the skin on her knuckles and not her entire hand. She bit her lip and looked around wildly, wracking her brain with what to do about the unconscious wizard before her. She couldn’t focus; her adrenaline was surging through her so intensely she started to shake. Frankie and Lionel hooted irritably, banging against their wire cages as they flapped their wings.
“Incarcerous!”
Black ropes flew from Remus’s wand and bound Yaxley; if he were to wake up, he certainly would not be able to move. Mia rushed to his side ripped his wand out of his hand, shoving it in the waistband of her skirt.
“What the hell is this?!” Remus hollered “What happened?!”
Penelope let out a squeak, unable to form a coherent sentence. Mia took a deep breath, rubbing her face furiously as she let out a frustrated groan. “Things might’ve gotten out of hand…”
“Might’ve?!” Remus asked incredulously “Why the hell is Corban Yaxley in our living room?”
“He followed us out of the Ministry!” She said “Harry was there, with Ron and Hermione…”
“Wait what?” Remus narrowed his eyes “why were they there?”
“I don’t know, but we helped them get out, but Yaxley followed us to Headquarters. He grabbed onto my robes- well, I grabbed his robes first, and then he grabbed mine…”
Remus held his hands up to stop her “This compromises the Fidelius charm!” he hissed “We can’t stay here anymore!”
“You think I don’t know that?!” Mia snapped “you think I don’t know what deep shit we are in right now?!”
Yaxley began to stir; Remus sent a stunning charm at him, knocking him back to silence again.
“We need to hit the road. Get changed and pack your things—“Remus said, grasping his hair in exasperation “I need to find a place to dump him”
“Where are we going? We need to call Eric” Penelope interjected
Remus stopped, looking at Penelope regretfully “Penny, he can’t come with us…”
“So… what?— we just leave and not tell him where we are going??” She snapped “Absolutely not, I’m not leaving without him!”
Mia jumped in, holding her hands up in an attempt to console Penelope. “Let’s go to my Mum’s— we can call him from her place, and figure out a plan there”
Remus sighed heavily, eyeing Yaxley with extreme displeasure before turning back to the girls “Go pack your things,” he muttered quietly, then gestured to the unconscious wizard “I’ll deal with him”
Mia opened Frankie and Lionel’s cages, “go fly to Susan Roswell’s house. We’ll meet you there” she gave both owls a treat biscuit, and sent them out the window. She watched as the two owls flew in formation, growing smaller against the sky. She felt Remus’s hand lightly grip her shoulder, non-verbally reminding her to go and pack her things.
Once in her bedroom, she began throwing whatever she could see into a suitcase with shaking hands, unsure of where they would be going and what they would need. She threw all she could find inside; clothes, shoes, an array of sleeping draughts, Remus’s whole stash of wolfsbane. She went to throw her photo frames in with her things, stopping to admire a photo of her and Sirius making silly faces in the infinite loop of the photograph. What she wouldn’t give to return to that moment, that moment where life was still easy, simple, and she still had hope that their side would win this war. Now, standing here with a half packed suitcase getting ready to go on the run, she felt more helpless than she ever had in her entire life.
“You two—“ Susan pointed to Mia and Penelope sternly “are in deep shit.”
Susan scowled at the girls bowing their heads on the couch as Remus paced behind them.
“Mum, Harry was there…” Mia began
“Oh I know Harry, Ron and Hermione broke into the Ministry” Susan scoffed “Trust me, we heard all about it, and about you, I might add—“
“What was I supposed to do?” Mia snapped, cutting her off “plus, I had to get Penelope out of there!”
Susan sighed, rubbing her face and letting out a frustrated growl. “At least tell me what you did with Yaxley?”
“I ditched him behind a dumpster— unconscious” Remus said “we kept him knocked out, but since he already got through the Fidelius chart—”
“Yes, you cannot go back to your flat.” Susan said sourly “But you cannot stay here— it’s only a matter of time before I am going to have to go on the run as well.”
“Mum, why don’t you come with us?” Mia asked “It can’t be worse than going back to work”
“No, I can’t leave the Prime Minister” Susan shook her head “Not until Kingsley and I can make other arrangements for his safety.”
“Susan, may I use your phone?” Penelope piped up “I need to make some calls”
“Yes, go” Susan gestured to the kitchen. “Tell your parents not to come back to the country— it’s not safe for them”
Penelope made her way to the phone as Susan turned her attention to Remus and Mia, crossing her arms and pursing her lips.
“Well, I just hope you two have a plan…”
“We don’t— yet” Mia said quietly “that’s why we are here…”
Susan sighed heavily. “I can’t believe this; this is such a mess…”
Penelope was on the phone for quite some time with her parents before calling Eric. Mia, Remus and Susan remained silent to listen to Penelope’s side of the phone conversations.
“Mum and Dad are going to stay in Italy for a while—“ she announced as she reentered the living room “and Eric is on his way over here”
“You can’t possibly be thinking your bringing a muggle with you…?” Susan looked at Penelope incredulously. Penelope rounded her shoulders, biting her lip awkwardly “Oh, sweetie… you can’t take him with you.”
“Why not?!” Penelope snapped “I can’t just leave without him!”
“Not only is he essentially defenseless, but he is in the military—“ Susan said “he can’t just abandon the Air Force”
“He gets out next month!” Penelope cried “We just talked about it last week. He isn’t renewing his contract” she burst into tears, sobbing profusely. “We were waiting to see how the trial went— he didn’t renew so he could stay with me…” Mia threw her arms around her, holding her tightly as she blubbered “I love him, I haven’t even told him yet, but I am in love with him. I can’t leave him behind; I don’t want to leave him behind!”
“shhhh….” Mia whispered soothingly, shooting her mother a dirty glance “Let’s just wait until he gets here, then we can all discuss it”
A half-hour later, Eric arrived. He rushed to Penelope’s side and pulled her into a tight embrace, allowing her to sob against his chest. “You’re ok, you’re alright…” he whispered soothingly
“I’m far from alright!” she snapped, her voice muffled against his chest “I’m a fugitive!”
Eric embraced her tighter, looking between Susan, Remus and Mia. “What are we going to do?” he asked quietly.
Remus shifted awkwardly as Susan crossed her arms. Mia cast her eyes downward, chewing her bottom lip and picking her fingernails. Remus cleared his throat, taking the lead in the uncomfortable conversation.
“Taking a muggle on the road isn’t a good idea…”
Eric furrowed his brow and held a hand up to silence him “Wait— you expect me to just let her go without me?”
“You still have a month in the Air Force…” Remus said
“Let me talk to my commanding officer, I can work something out— I’m literally on my way out anyway!”
“You can’t defend yourself!” Susan interjected “You would be a sitting duck!”
“I have guns!” Eric cried “Guns, knives— goddamn pepper spray! For Christ’s sake, I have my fucking black belt in taekwondo— I could crack Remus in half!”
Remus scoffed, leaning back against the fireplace mantle and rolling his eyes. “Could not…” he muttered contemptuously, under his breath.
“That is nothing compared to a wand!” Susan hissed “a gun will do you no good against a wand!”
“It will, if I am faster than the wand” Eric said matter of fact “Penelope, what do you think?”
“I don’t want to go without you…” she whimpered “I can’t leave you…”
“Then it’s settled.” Eric said simply “Let me go talk to my commanding officer. Mia, come with me so you can do a memory charm thing-y if we need to”
“No—“ Susan ordered “Thicknesse has Aurors crawling all over the city— I’m supposed to be out patrolling myself.”
“I’ll go” Remus said with a heavy sigh “They aren’t looking for me”
“Yet” Susan said darkly.
“Alright, Remus, let’s go” Eric said. He kissed Penelope on the forehead and stroked her cheek “I’ll be back, alright? I won’t be gone long”
Penelope nodded and let out a choking sniffle as she gave him another hug. Mia grabbed Remus’s wrist, her slender fingers wrapping around the smooth gold band that tethered the two of them together.
“Be careful” she ordered
“I always am” he gave her a quick peck on the lips “stay put— don’t leave this house”
Mia agreed with a nod. Remus cast a disillusionment charm over himself before he and Eric set out. The girls were silent as they listened to the start of the car engine outside, straining to hear its soft hum grow softer and softer. After a moment,
“Well, you guys are going to need some help.” Susan said with a heavy sigh “let me make some calls”
She threw a small handful of floo powder into the hearth of the fireplace, the flames turning from a soft orange-yellow to bright emerald green. Susan stuck her head into the fireplace; she seemed to be on the call for ages before she yanked her head back out and dusted ash out of her raven black hair.
“Give them some time, but help is coming”
Hours passed; Remus and Eric were still gone and the girls were starting to get antsy. Mia was amazed that Penelope still had tears left to cry— by this point it would’ve been expected for her to cry herself dry. Unexpectedly, a familiar voice rang through the fireplace, echoing through the entire first floor of the house.
“Susan? May we join you? It’s Kingsley, Cepheus and I”
“Is that Delphinus??” Mia whispered, craning to look at the fireplace.
Susan nodded “Why did you choose a bouquet of Carnations as your sympathy flowers after my ex-husband passed?”
“Carnations are Ohio’s state flower, where he was from.” Delphinus replied.
Her almost monotone, calm, stately voice was comforting to Mia; a familiar face to ease a crisis.
“You may enter” Susan said.
Delphinus glided in the room through a roar of emerald flames, followed by Kingsley, and another buff wizard that resembled Delphinus extremely well.
“Where is the Prime Minister??” Susan asked
“In his office, heavily enchanted.” Kingsley replied “This was more important.”
Delphinus turned to Mia, looking to her apathetically. “You realize the amount of work I am going to have since you won’t be returning to my office?”
Mia gave an awkward shrug “Sorry...” she mumbled sheepishly
“I foresaw this, I have an interview for a new aide scheduled on Monday” Delphinus replied simply, but not unkindly. “This is my baby brother, Cepheus— best curse-breaker Gringotts has in Egypt.”
“I am not a baby, Del” The buff wizard replied with a huff. He stuck his large hand out to shake the girl’s, flashing a handsome smile at both of them “Cepheus Gamal, I wish we were meeting on better circumstances”
The girls shook Cepheus’s hand politely, his hand swallowing both of theirs in size comparison.
“Penelope Clearwater”
“Mia Lupin”
“Cepheus and I were beaters for Hufflepuff in our last few years in school” Kingsley said, clasping a hand on the buff wizard’s shoulder
“You played quidditch?” Mia said incredulously “How did I not know this?”
“Never mind that—“Susan turned to Cepheus “Did you bring what I asked for?”
Cepheus grinned “It’s all in here” he said, handing Susan a small velvet pouch.
“What’s in that?” Mia asked, her brow furrowing
“Supplies” Delphinus said evenly “A tent, camping equipment, some essence of dittany, blood replenishing potions, common antidote to poisons, burn healing paste, sleeping draughts; we wanted to make sure you lot had some basic medical supplies— hopefully you won’t need it”
“All of that is in there?” Penelope inquired
“Extension charm, of course” Kingsley said “There is pretty much anything you’d need in case you are stuck in the woods for a few days— Cepheus likes to camp, so he had most of the camping supplies on hand.”
Cepheus shrugged “I find it helps me connect to nature”
“Guns!”
Eric’s voice boomed through the house as he and Remus came bustling in the front door, a few oblong large bags slung over their shoulders, and a small suitcase levitating behind them.
“And lots of ‘em! I’ve got three hand guns and two shotguns with plenty of ammo.” Eric turned to Susan, giving her a petulant glance “Don’t try to tell me I am defenseless”
“He’s out— thanks to a little memory modification and some changes to his personnel file” Remus said, smiling slightly. “Who’s this?” he added, his eyes darting between the unfamiliar witch and wizard.
“This is my boss, Delphinus” Mia pointed to Delphinus, who gave Remus a stately nod “and her brother Cepheus— they hooked us up with camping supplies”
“We shouldn’t need it if we are going to—“
“STOP!” Susan cried “Don’t tell us where you are going”
“In case we are questioned with veritasserum” Kingsley added “we can’t know.”
Mia nodded “Thank you, Delphinus, Cepheus.” she nodded to the two siblings “We appreciate this more than we can say”
“Of course” Cepheus said “A friend of Kingsley or Del is a friend of mine”
“Thank you—“ Remus shook their hands “Thank you for your help”
“We are going to leave, I’ll be back in an hour” Susan said “Don’t be here when I get back”
Mia threw her arms around her mother, hugging her tightly “I love you, mum”
“Me too, sweetie.”
Delphinus, Cepheus, Kingsley and Susan all left through the fireplace, leaving the group in silence, staring at one another.
“Eric and I spoke on the way over; we are heading to the cottage. We’ll drive; I don’t trust the Floo network”
Eric kneeled down in front of Penelope sitting on the couch, taking her hands in his.
“I’m going to see about getting us plane tickets before we head out—“ he said heavily “I’m going to take us to my mom’s in Cincinnati.”
“The four of us?” Penelope asked
“It’s just Eric and you going” Remus said solemnly “Mia and I have to stay in the country in case the Order needs us”
“No! I can’t leave you guys!” Penelope cried “You agreed to this??” she looked at Eric incredulously
“It seemed like the best option, he insisted they can’t come” Eric said “we can have your parents come stay as well— I need to call my mom still, but I know she’ll be fine with it.”
Penelope’s skin paled as she opened and closed her mouth a few times. After a moment, she simply nodded, slinking back against the couch.
“Make the calls you need to while we are still here” Remus said “The cottage doesn’t have a phone”
Eric scurried off, on the phone for a few minutes before he returned, his head slung low.
“Well, I called the airline—“ Eric looked at the three of them despondently “Penelope is on a no-fly list”
Penelope let out a soft wail, burying her face in her hands “I’m so fucked!” she cried.
“What does that mean?” Remus asked “She can’t get on a plane?”
“Exactly; I can’t get her a ticket”
“Yaxley” Mia growled. “This is Yaxley’s doing—“
“Then what are we going to do if I can’t get her out of the country?”
Mia thought for a minute “Polyjuice. We can use polyjuice to get her on the plane”
“We don’t have polyjuice just lying around, Mad-eye’s stash has been used already” Remus said heavily
“Then we’ll have to brew some; we can get the ingredients from the village nearby the cottage. Eric, do you have anyone you trust that could send you their passport and a few strands of their hair?”
“I can call my sister, I’m sure she’d do it”
“Great— call her. I’ll send Lionel to get it from her”
“She’s going to think I’m crazy, sending an owl…” Eric muttered as he went back to the telephone. Mia, Remus and Penelope double checked all their bags for necessary items, listening and stifling laughter as Eric argued with his sister over the phone. Muggles.
“ASHLEY! Can you just do it? I know it sounds weird, but the owl’s name is Lionel— I KNOW! Just give your passport and a few pieces of your— NO I’m not high! Just do it, please?...Thank you!” Eric slammed the phone back onto the hook, sweating as he made his way back into the living room. “She thinks I’m high as a kite, but she agreed to it”
“Excellent, let’s get going— “ Remus said “stuff Eric’s things into the pouch.”
The four of them grabbed the bags of guns and his suitcase, forcing it down into the small velvet pouch along with Cepheus’s camping supplies, and the rest of their belongings. Mia curled up the pouch and shoved it into the back pocket of her jeans. Remus cast disillusionment charms onto Penelope and Mia as the girls got into the back seat, and Remus in the passenger seat. Penelope reached over and grasped Mia’s hand as they pulled out of the drive, looking to her earnestly.
“I love you” she whispered. “Thank you”
Mia smiled weakly, giving Penelope’s hand a light squeeze.
“I love you too”
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Forever and Always