The Revenant, Chapter 9
by Geri ([email protected])
My homepage: http://www.geocities.com/geri_chans_fics/index.html
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Snape/Lupin
Author's note: {} Indicates character's unspoken thoughts
Disclaimer: Characters belong to J.K. Rowling, except for Hob, who belongs to
William Mayne, and Death, who belongs to Neil Gaiman; no money is being made off
this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Warning: AU; events that occurred at the end of Order of the Phoenix were
significantly altered from the book.
Sequel to: Always, Summer Vacation, For Old Time's Sake, Three's a Crowd, Return
of the Raven, Phoenix Reborn, Phoenix Rising, and Aftermaths.
Summary: Dylan tries to reason with his captor.
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Chapter 9: The Hostage
James Apparated to the Shrieking Shack and unceremoniously dumped the bound,
half-conscious boy in a corner. This wasn't really an ideal hiding place, but it
would do for now. His cottage in Godric's Hollow and the Potter mansion had both
been destroyed. Rabastan knew of several hiding places that the Death Eaters had
established, but his host's memories were blurry and distorted, and James wasn't
sure if he would be able to Apparate safely based on those hazy images. Rabastan,
of course, would have no problem Apparating to the hiding places, but that would
require giving control of his body back to Rabastan--something that was
obviously unacceptable. James didn't think that it would occur to Moony and
Padfoot that he would return to the site of their old confrontation with Snape.
Or would it? It was so hard to think with his heart clamoring for revenge, and
with Rabastan clamoring inside his head, demanding the return of his body. He
had the Death Eater walled off in a small corner of his own mind, but it was as
if Rabastan was pounding on that wall with imaginary fists, frantically trying
to break it down. His efforts were completely ineffectual, but they did serve to
give James a pounding headache.
James groaned, rubbing his temples. He should be glad to have his body--or a
body--back again, but he had forgotten how inconvenient bodies could be, with
their aches and pains, and need for food and water and rest. If they stayed here
too long, he would have to venture out to get some food for himself and the boy,
not to mention the fact that the plumbing in the Shack probably didn't work
anymore. Besides, he shouldn't give Snape too long to prepare a counterattack.
The problem was, James wasn't sure what he intended to do next. He had rushed
off to confront Snape in a blind rage without really thinking about it. Then
he'd seen Evan's son, Snape's pet and protege, and he had realized that he could
steal the boy, a fitting revenge for the way that Snape had turned Harry against
him. And then he had gotten the idea of exchanging Dylan for Harry, because that
was what he really wanted, wasn't it? To see Harry again, to win back his son's
affection and restore Harry's faith in him?
"Where are we?" Dylan whispered, interrupting James's train of thought. The boy
struggled to raise himself up--rather awkwardly, more kneeling than sitting
since his limbs were still bound, but he managed by bracing himself against the
wall.
"None of your business," James replied curtly, then set about casting silence
spells and obscurement spells to avoid attracting the attention of the Hogsmeade
villagers, as well as warding spells to alert him to the presence of intruders
and delay their entry.
"Do you really think that Harry would approve of this, Mr. Potter?" Dylan asked,
still looking weak, but obviously shaking off the effects of the Stupefy spell.
"Shut up!" James snapped.
"You're wrong, you know," Dylan persisted. "About Professor Snape turning Harry
and Remus against you. Remus always talks about what good friends you were, and
how much it meant to him that you didn't care about his lycanthropy."
"I'm not interested in your opinion, Rosier," James said sharply. The boy's
voice was earnest and persuasive, but James remembered what a smooth talker Evan
Rosier had been, and he didn't intend to let himself be swayed or distracted by
Evan's son.
"And you're wrong about Harry," Dylan continued. "We talked once, about how much
we loved our fathers--"
"Don't compare me to your Death Eater father!" James snapped. "We have nothing
in common!"
"He told me that he was happy to be living with Sirius, but that he could never
forget you or his mother," Dylan said. "Even though he was only a baby at the
time, he still remembers how the two of you fought to protect him from
Voldemort. He knows that you sacrificed your lives to save him; he could never
turn against you. Just because he loves Sirius doesn't mean that he loves you
any less."
"I said, shut up!" James shouted, barely able to think straight between the
double assault of Dylan's arguments and Rabastan's silent screams inside his
head.
"Even if the Professors do agree to your demands, what do you intend to do when
you meet Harry?" Dylan asked in a reasonable voice. "Do you think that he'll be
happy that you've kidnapped one of his friends?"
Dylan's questions touched a nerve in James, probably because he had just been
asking himself the same thing. He didn't know what he would do when he saw
Harry. It wasn't as if they could go off and live happily-ever-after together as
father and son. Technically, this was Rabastan Lestrange's body, even if James
was in control of it, and the Aurors would want to arrest the fugitive Death
Eater and bring him to justice. Even if they could be convinced that Rabastan
hadn't gone insane and wasn't trying to trick them, and that James really was in
control of Rabastan's body, they wouldn't just let him be. They would consider
it an abomination, and be determined to exorcise James's spirit from Rabastan's
body and "set him free". And once, James would have been content to move on and
join Lily, after he had cleared things up with Harry. But now, he was tempted by
this unexpected second chance at life. After so many years of watching Harry
from a distance, the thought of being able to actually physically hug his son
brought tears to James's eyes. He wanted to catch up on all the years he had
missed--to talk to his son, embrace him, watch him play Quidditch...
But at best, this would be a temporary reunion, a chance to patch things up with
Harry before moving on into the afterlife. Otherwise, he would have to live as
Rabastan had, a fugitive on the run from the Aurors. There was no way that he
would subject Harry to that kind of life, and there was no point in living in
Rabastan's body if he couldn't be with Harry.
"Let me worry about that," James growled at Dylan. "And you had better hope for
your sake that they do bring Harry to me."
Dylan lifted his head, staring James straight in the eye, and said in a level
voice, "However angry you are at Professor Snape, I know that you won't kill
me."
"And what makes you so sure of that?" James retorted.
"Maybe you didn't get along with Professor Snape," Dylan replied. "But the man
that Remus knew, the one that befriended a werewolf and even became an Animagus
to help him, would never kill a helpless prisoner, even the son of a Death
Eater. My father may have been your enemy, but I have never done you any harm,
Mr. Potter. I was not even born when you died."
Dylan's words awoke a twinge of guilt and uncertainty in James, while at the
same time the reminder that he was dead, that his life had been stolen from him
by Voldemort infuriated him. And without thinking, he backhanded the boy across
the face and screamed, "I told you to shut up!"
The boy's face suddenly filled with shock and fear, a trickle of blood oozing
from a small cut on his lower lip. James came to his senses and stared at Dylan
in horror. He had struck a boy--the son of a Death Eater to be sure, but still,
a boy near Harry's age. A year younger than Harry, if he remembered correctly.
James didn't hurt children, even the children of Death Eaters. That wasn't the
sort of thing that a Gryffindor did.
"I...I'm sorry," he stammered. "Lestrange must have taken over for an instant."
{Oh, and I suppose that it was me who cast the Cruciatus Curse on him, too?}
Rabastan asked sarcastically inside James's mind.
"Shut up!" James cried, clutching at his head, as Dylan flinched, squirming
further back into the corner of the room. "Just shut up! I'm in charge here, not
you!"
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Dylan hastily scooted backwards--for all the good that would do. It wasn't as if
James couldn't kill him anytime he wanted; he was essentially helpless with his
arms and legs bound. Professor Snape did not like to talk about his past, but
the few things that he had mentioned about James Potter did not paint a very
flattering picture. Still, Remus had loved James, and said that he had been kind
and compassionate, so Dylan had assumed that there was some good in James, and
he had tried to remain calm and reason with his captor. He had thought that if
he could manage to reach the James that Sirius and Remus knew and loved, then
everything would be all right. While he was frightened and confused, Dylan had
not really believed that his life was in danger; James Potter was an idealistic
Gryffindor, after all. He had saved Professor Snape from being killed by Remus
in the Shrieking Shack even though they had been enemies.
But when James struck him without warning, Dylan realized that there was indeed
a very good chance that he might be killed. And it reminded him that his body
still ached from the Cruciatus Curse; it was also highly out of character for
noble Gryffindors to cast Unforgivable Curses, too. Besides, being a Gryffindor
was no proof of nobility--look at how Peter Pettigrew and Ian Williamson had
turned out. The James Potter standing in front of him was not the same James
Potter that Remus had known.
Dylan huddled in the corner as James ranted and raved, until he realized that
James was shouting at Rabastan, not him. His tongue darted out and nervously
licked away the droplets of blood from his split lip. He didn't really
understand how James's spirit had come to possess Rabastan's body, but he did
believe that it was James. Unfortunately, James didn't seem to be entirely in
his right mind. He wasn't sure which of the two was more dangerous, Rabastan or
James, but Dylan thought that he would have preferred to face Rabastan, even if
he was a murderous Death Eater. Rabastan was dangerous, and he probably would
want to kill Dylan for being a traitor, but at least Dylan was familiar with the
Death Eaters and how they thought. Although the Lestranges had once been
fanatically devoted to Voldemort's cause, by fleeing the scene of the final
battle, Rabastan had proven that he valued his own life more than he valued that
cause or even revenge on the Master who had betrayed him. Dylan might be able to
cut a deal with Rabastan, convince the Death Eater to spare his life in exchange
for helping him escape capture by the Aurors. A long shot, perhaps, but he would
rather take his chances with a sane Death Eater than an insane spirit, even one
who had once been a supposedly kind and noble Gryffindor. Especially when a
spirit, unlike a live Rabastan, had no reason to fear death, and doubly so when
that spirit seemed consumed by an irrational rage against Dylan's foster father.
Why would James listen to Dylan when he wouldn't listen to his own best friend
Remus? So for the moment, Dylan gave up trying to reason with James and
struggled with his bonds, trying to loosen his hands just a little. If only he
could reach his wand...his hands were bound behind his back, but he slowly and
awkwardly tugged at the loose folds of his robe, trying to draw the pocket that
held his wand closer to his fingers. He kept his back turned towards the wall,
trying to shield his efforts from James's sight, but then James stopped ranting
and frowned at him, his gaze focusing on Dylan once again.
"Ah yes," James said, "I almost forgot." And he searched Dylan's pockets and
plucked out his wand. "I'll hold onto this for now." Dylan braced himself for
another blow, or worse, a curse or hex, but James did not look angry; rather, he
still seemed shaken. "Look," James said almost apologetically, "you won't be
here for long. Just until they bring Harry to me, then I'll let you go." James's
face brightened. "Once I talk to Harry, explain things to him, then everything
will be all right."
Having learned his lesson, Dylan very carefully kept his mouth shut and did not
point out that Sirius might not want to let Harry anywhere near a Death Eater,
even one possessed by James Potter's spirit. He didn't ask James what he would
do if Snape didn't bring Harry to him, nor did he ask what James intended to do
after he "explained things" to Harry. Somehow he couldn't picture James tamely
releasing his hold on Rabastan's body and passing on into the afterlife. But he
just nodded silently, not wanting to provoke James into another violent rage. He
had to trust that Snape and Remus would find a way to rescue him, and in the
meantime, he would remain alert and watch for an opportunity to escape.
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