***
Feeling emotionally drained, Remus had gone to bed early, but he didn’t get the chance to sleep for long before being woken by noises coming from the kitchen. He pulled on a dressing-gown and shuffled downstairs, assuming it was Arthur, Ron and Hermione, and wondering if they had had any success locating Tonks.
There was blood on the carpet, a trail of red that lead from the fireplace. Molly was standing in the kitchen in tears.
“What’s happened?” he asked.
She looked up and wiped at her face with a tissue. Her neutral expression was swiftly replaced by a glare that was directed behind him, and Remus turned to see that Sirius had joined them.
“Arthur found her. He’s taken her to St. Mungo’s,” Molly said in a muffled voice as she turned to get a brush and her wand. Kneeling down on the floor, she started a Scrubbing Spell and continued to sob. “Stupid, stupid girl. What was she thinking?”
“Molly, stop,” Remus said, a feeling of panic start to rise within him. He walked over and took her gently by the elbow. “I’ll do that; you sit down. Sirius, can you put the kettle on?”
For once, Sirius didn’t argue, and Remus methodically cleaned up the mess and tried to steady his mind.
“Ron and Hermione don’t know,” Molly said with a sniff. “They checked in by Floo about twenty minutes ago, before Arthur came home. They said they’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
Sirius handed her over a cup of tea and was glared at in return, as if Molly blamed him for what had happened to Tonks.
“Was she badly injured?” Remus asked, knowing the answer even before Molly choked out a yes.
He couldn’t bring himself to say anything further as he cleared away the last of the blood from the carpet. If only Arthur would hurry up and bring some news back from the hospital, any news. It was when he noticed the few drips of red on the table that he saw the book and realised what Tonks had done: she had gone back to Grimmauld Place by herself. Desperate to get rid of Sirius so she could have me to herself again, Remus thought half-heartedly. He was trying his hardest to be cynical to avoid dwelling on how worried he was, but he knew that was not Tonks’ motivation. It was he, Remus, who, only hours before, had said to Tonks, “The sooner we work out how to get Harry back, the better.”
A noise from the fireplace drew his attention, and Arthur stepped into the room, deathly pale, a grim expression on his face.
“She’ll live.”
At Arthur’s words, Molly rushed over and buried herself in his arms. Remus felt his legs give way out of relief and he sunk backwards onto a chair, feeling Sirius step closer and rub a comforting hand across his shoulders. Through bleary eyes, Remus reached for the book.
“Remus, I’m sure that can wait until morning,” Arthur said from the other side of the table, where he was holding Molly tight. “Get some sleep.”
Remus looked up at Sirius, saw the scar staring back at him and then glanced back at the old tome that was dashed with Tonks’ blood.
“No, the sooner we do this, the better. We can’t risk leaving it too late.”
Arthur escorted Molly upstairs in silence, leaving Remus to work his way through the book. It wasn’t long before he reached the page that had the top corner folded over, and he recognised the spell immediately. It was obvious what Harry had tried to use it for and why it had gone wrong.
Soul Dislocation - to
remove a soul from a vessel, or to switch souls between vessels
From Harry’s notes, Remus could see that he had assumed the word for vessel meant an object. But the proper translation should have been ‘body’—a body that had once been home to life, whether it was now dead or alive wouldn’t have mattered.
When Arthur returned, Remus asked if he remembered how far the magic had spread the first time that Harry had cast the spell. If he was right, then the same amount of energy would be released when they cast the reversal, and he intended to be far enough away so that it wouldn’t draw any attention to the Burrow. Arthur fetched a map of the local area, and together they worked out a suitable spot: the waterfall that Tonks liked—it seemed appropriate given how much she had put at stake to retrieve the book. Remus knew that they wouldn’t be able to Apparate because of the new restrictions set up by the Ministry; instead, he and Sirius would have to travel by broom.
With nothing left to do, the pair of them set off.
**
Although it made things less complicated without James and Peter with them, Harry felt down-hearted that he wouldn’t be able to see his dad one last time. He wanted more time with his dad, and with Remus. He wanted to stay and get to know them better, to indulge himself in this new relationship with Remus, but he guessed that he had probably done enough damage. And if he delayed it any further, there was a chance he might never get back. Part of him hoped that it was already too late.
“I’m not sure this will work,” Harry said to Remus, who was still waiting for an explanation of the spell. He didn’t see any point in telling Remus what was going to happen, not when Remus didn’t believe that he wasn’t Sirius. And whatever Sirius chose to say if he returned was beyond Harry’s influence, anyway.
Pulling Remus close for one last kiss, Harry tried his best to say his goodbyes without words. Then Harry stepped back, double-checking the page—Animae Extorquere to cast the spell, Animae Extero to reverse it—before pointing the wand at himself.
“Animae
Extero.”
**
When Remus and Sirius arrived at the waterfall they found Hermione and Ron already there hoping to find for Tonks. It was the last place that they had intended to look before heading home.
“How did you get the book?” Hermione asked.
“T went back to Grimmauld Place to get it,” Remus said. He couldn’t bring himself to tell them what happened, but Hermione seemed to guess from the tone of his voice.
“Is she all right”
“She will be. You two should go back to the Burrow.”
“No,” Hermione said. “We’ll stay—in case you need any help.”
Remus was grateful for the offer, despite wishing that they would go so he could have one last moment of privacy with Sirius.
“Okay,” he said. “But would you excuse us for a few minutes?”
Ron glanced between Remus and Sirius awkwardly, and in the moonlight, Remus could see Ron’s face start to flush.
“I don’t think Molly would—” Hermione began.
“She’s not here,” Remus said, cutting her short. “It’s just us, and I need to say goodbye properly. Molly’s opinion doesn’t come into it.”
“What about Harry’s opinion?”
“Hermione, trust me when I say that Harry won’t have a problem with it.”
“Did he really, er, well….” Ron said, stuttering in embarrassment over his words. “Did you two do stuff together?”
“Why don’t you talk about it with Harry later,” Remus said, his patience starting to wear thin. Not waiting any longer for Ron and Hermione to leave them alone, he turned to Sirius and gave him a wistful smile. “I know you’ll make it back safely. Just don’t resent me too much for not realising it wasn’t you.”
“I suppose I can try, but I’m not making any promises.”
“Remember I’ll always love you.”
Remus couldn’t stop the tears that ran passively down his face as he said these few words, and he reached out to kiss Sirius one last time. He expected Sirius to pull away, to resist at the show of emotion, but Sirius kissed him back and was even looking at him fondly as they drew away from each other.
“Well, I guess I do, too,” Sirius mumbled, shuffling dirt with his feet, “or I wouldn’t give a toss about this Harry bloke being in my bed. Not sure if I’ll ever be able to trust you again, though.”
“I should warn you that you’ll have a few detentions with McGonagall when you get back.”
Sirius snorted. “Bloody figures,” he said as he drew Harry’s wand ready to cast the spell. “Will it work with me using this wand?”
“It should do. It only requires a large quantity of magic to be released; it doesn’t have to be precise.”
“Guess I’ll see you at Hogwarts then. Animae Extero.”