Lost: Young Man, Answers to Harry

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He stood on the long table, the locket held high in his hand. Sirius could see the distant white oval of Bellatrix's face, her mouth hanging open. He could hear Dumbledore calling to him, ordering him to stop at once. He could also hear Lupin's voice, pleading for him to get down, and the voice of the Aurors he had jinxed, telling Lupin not to take another step. All these voices were blurred and distant in Sirius's ears. All that mattered was Bellatrix, and that she listen to him.

"Bella!" he yelled. "You know what this is! And I will smash it – right now – if you do not release my Godson!"

In fact, he doubted the locket would be that easy to destroy. However, it seemed Bellatrix was in just as much doubt, and did not want to risk the possibility that Sirius would smash it. He saw her raise her wand and heard the faint, "Accio locket!", but he was expecting this and clung to the chain with all his might. The spell snatched it and tried to rip it away, the chain digging into his palm as the locket flew forwards, but it was only a spell, and Sirius was stronger. Thwarted, Bellatrix lowered her wand and cried back to him. "You are proposing a trade, cousin?"

"You cannot lose," Sirius shouted. Something seemed to be pounding the inside of his head so that he could barely think straight, and he licked his lips before he spoke again. "Take the locket, and it is worth the same to you as Harry's life. But give me Harry and you know I will protect him. All that matters to you is that he is alive – and the locket is unbroken – and only this way can you ensure both – "

"Sirius," Dumbledore was standing below him, and Sirius almost quailed when he glanced at the Headmaster's face. He had never seen Dumbledore so furious. His beard was quivering, his eyes so cold they seemed to burn. "What are you doing?"

"It's a Horcrux," Sirius said. His voice was cold and hard as steel. He could not let Dumnbledore stare him down. "The locket. And they want it. Dumbledore – Moody's going to kill Harry – this is the only thing left for me to do."

"Do not give them that locket," Dumbledore commanded. "You are handing Voldemort another step to immortality."

Sirius tore his gaze away from those imperious blue eyes and looked at Bellatrix. The Death Eaters were moving and shuffling, muttering among themselves. Now that they could Apparate, they wanted to leave, but Bellatrix silenced them with a wave of her hand. It seemed that she alone knew what the locket was and what it would mean if Sirius destroyed it.

"Give the locket to me!" She yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth, "Use a banishing charm to send it to me and I'll let the boy go!"

"Sirius, she's lying! She won't let Harry go!" Lupin was struggling with the two Aurors, who, having let Sirius run straight past them, seemed determined not to allow anyone else get into the hall. Sirius swayed where he stood, at a loss. He wanted to sprint down the hall towards his godson, snatch him back from the filthy hands of the Death Eaters, but he knew they would overcome him and take the locket by force if he did.

"Give me the locket," Dumbledore commanded. Sirius looked at him sharply, and saw that the Headmaster was stretching out his hand. His face was white and there was not a trace of a smile in his eyes. They were so cold they seemed to burn.

"What?"

"Give the locket to me," Dumbledore repeated. "You are weak and confused, Sirius, and I do not trust you not to let your love for Harry overcome your good sense. Bellatrix will use your love against you, she will overcome you. But give me the locket – and I promise I will make the trade."

"No," Sirius croaked, pressing the heavy gold locket to his chest. His head was aching. What if Dumbledore was right? What if Bellatrix was able to manipulate him through Harry? If she tortured him…if she hurt him…Sirius knew he would not be able to keep a hold of himself. He did not know what he would do.

Behind them, Lupin elbowed Dawlish in the face, pulled free of Podmore's grasp, and dashed to Dumbledore's side. "Headmaster, you must stay here."

"Someone must trade…" Dumbledore began, but Lupin interrupted him.

"I will take the locket and make the exchange."

Dumbledore shook his head, his voice deep and forbidding. "Remus, you are in the same position. You care too much…"

"No, Dumbledore. I care just the right amount," Lupin said coldly, and he glanced up at Sirius. Their eyes met for a moment, and then, looking as if he was tearing his own heart out, Sirius nodded. He stepped wearily down from the table and held his hand out to Lupin, the locket lying open on his palm.

"Go," he said quietly.

"I'll come back," Lupin promised. It felt like a lie. He resisted the urge to pull Sirius into a goodbye hug. Then he turned towards the far end of the hall and raised the locket so that Bellatrix could see it.

He heard Dumbledore mutter, "Sonorus," and a moment later the headmaster's powerful voice rang throughout the hall as Lupin stepped forwards, "Bellatrix, one of my Professors will deliver the locket to you. But first, bring both of the hostages out into the open. You must come forward to receive the locket. Harry and Tonks must be on either side of you when the exchange is made. And you must all be wandless, as my Professor will be."

Lupin glanced at Dumbledore, who nodded. With a twinge of fear, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher held out his wand and gave it to the Headmaster, who did not put it into his pocket but held it in his left hand as if he, like Bellatrix, was capable of wielding it just as well as his own. Dumbledore bent a little to speak quietly to him. "Once they have let Tonks go and Harry is in your hands, Apparate back to us, and tell Tonks to do the same. Do not wait."

Lupin nodded, but did not speak. His jaw seemed to have locked up.

They waited a moment while Bellatrix relayed her instructions to her Death Eaters, pointing and gesturing to the empty space in front of the dais. At last, she handed the two wands in her hand to a man beside her, and then vaulted boldly over the table, raising her hands to show she was unarmed. Two of her Death Eaters followed her. One of them was keeping a firm hold on Tonks as she clambered over the table, the other was clutching Harry's arm while the boy scrambled down onto the floor of the hall. The five of them walked forwards into the open space and waited.

Lupin took a deep breath and, holding the locket in front of him, began to make the long walk between the house tables towards the Death Eaters. He did not look back.

The pulse of his footsteps sounded impossibly loud in his ears, until he realised he was hearing the blood pumping from his heart. Without his wand, he felt naked and helpless. But he could see Harry's face clearly now. And the boy was smiling with relief, the faintest of tremulous smiles, but it was there.

The Death Eaters holding Tonks and Harry were standing closer to Lupin than Bellatrix, who was poised a little further back, her black robes spilling around her. As he walked closer, Bellatrix stretched out her arms as if she could pull the locket towards her with the power of her will alone, a greedy grin on her face. Feeling revolted, Lupin looked away from her. To the left, at Harry, then right, and his eyes met those of Tonks. His steps faltered a little.

Tonks' face was not hopeful, nor relieved, not even fearfully apprehensive. She looked totally, helplessly, despairing. She was mouthing something, turning her head so that the Death Eater standing behind her holding her arms could not see. Lupin couldn't make it out.

He looked back at Bellatrix. Her desperate, greedy expression was awful to look upon. Bile rose in Lupin's throat. Before he could think about what he was doing, he stopped and stood, a few feet away from her. Tonks and her guard were now directly on his right, Harry and the second Death Eater on his left.

"Give it to me," Bellatrix spat. She clutched at the empty air, the smile vanishing from her face. "Give it to me now! Now!" she spat again, beginning to sound like a spoiled child.

Lupin turned his head and looked at Tonks. Now he saw what she was trying to tell him, and a cold fist closed around his heart. Her mouthed moved soundlessly, forming the words one by one, Take Harry now. They will kill you.

He looked back at Bellatrix, whose hands were now bent into claws, her mouth open in a rage-filled snarl. The Death Eaters standing up on the dais were watching, and Lupin saw that several of them were trying to conceal their wands. They were waiting for Bellatrix to give a signal. They were going to curse Lupin and Tonks down as soon as the locket was in Bellatrix's hands. Lupin looked at Harry, whose eyes were pleading.

Harry was all that mattered.

"Give it to me!" Bellatrix commanded in her cold-wine voice. Her face was twisting in a snarl of fury but her voice had become aloof, imperious. She knew he had nowhere to go, no choice left now. Except, maybe, one chance…

He wasn't thinking about Bellatrix. His mind was focussing on a point just in front of Harry. He didn't like Apparating. He'd never particularly liked it as a method of transport, just as he didn't like Floo powder. But a little discomfort was sometimes necessary. "Come and take it," was what he said to Bellatrix, and at the last word, he was gone.

His Apparation was off by about three feet, and he appeared behind the Death Eater instead of in front of him. It took Lupin a moment to turn, but he was already bringing his fist up and smashing it as hard as he could into the black cloak, where he thought the man's neck must be. Back, and again he punched him, as the man grunted and double over: Harry was still trapped in the Death Eater's arms and the boy began to yell as the man's weight pressed against him. Again, and again, Lupin brought his fist down on the man's neck, with muscles that were unused to delivering blows. On the fourth punch, he heard a crack and pain exploded in his hand: it felt as if he had broken all his knuckles. But the Death Eater was toppling forwards and sideways and lay still on the ground.

Harry struggled to stand up, the unconscious Death Eater's arms still clutching him. Lupin reached down and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, wrenching him up onto his feet. He had one arm around the boy's shoulders, and his ears were full of shouting: Harry's voice, Bellatrix's voice, the voices of the Death Eaters.

Some of the Death Eaters were pointing their wands down the hall, to the great oaken doors, which suddenly slammed shut and glowed briefly white: the Death Eaters had sealed the doors. At the other end of the Great Hall Dawlish and Podmore hammered on them, casting ineffectual curses on them that rebounded, so that they had to duck to avoid their own spells.

Tonks was shouting now. Lupin saw her break free of the grip of the man holding her and fling herself to the ground to avoid bolts of magic that exploded from the wands of the Death Eaters up on the dais. They were leaping over the table, down onto the floor. They were rushing towards Tonks and Lupin, ready to kill, and Lupin had only a moment to Disapparate to safety.

At the other end of the hall, the shouts of the Aurors joined the yells of the Death Eaters: but they were distant and muffled, coming from the corridor outside: the front doors to the hall were sealed up too tightly. Lupin could not see from this distance, but Dumbledore was raising his own wand to break the barrier holding the door shut. Trying to block out the chaos around him, Lupin closed his eyes, preparing to side-along Apparate with Harry.

Then something like a hammer hit him in the side of the head and for a brief moment he lost all sense of where he was. He lost hold of Harry: or someone tore the boy out of his hands. When his vision cleared he was on the ground, and Bellatrix Lestrange had one bony hand around his throat, her knees pinning him down. Her thinness belied the crushing strength in her fingers, the hate that was driving her and lending her strength. She was choking him. Her other hand was scrabbling at his closed fist, where he still clutched the hard, sharp lump of gold.

"The locket! Give it to me!"

Lupin twisted, saw that Harry was trying to get to his feet a little way away, but a curse from the Death Eaters must have hit him: his legs were locked together. Lupin could no longer remember why he was still clutching the locket. Dizziness was thudding through him: he needed air…Bellatrix was going to kill him…

"Get off him, you bitch!" something bright pink slammed into Bellatrix's shoulder and the dark-haired witch was thrown to the ground, losing her grip on Lupin's throat. He rolled sideways as Tonks, her hair seeming to flame like a beacon in his swimming vision, pinned Bellatrix down and began to pummel her with her fists, her face twisted in rage. Bellatrix could barely raise her arms to protect her face.

Lupin, gasping for breath, half-staggered, half-ran to Harry's side, but there were Death Eaters surrounding them now. He knelt, clutching Harry's shoulder, trying to side-along Apparate them to the other end of the hall, but he was still woozy from oxygen deprivation. He couldn't focus: and now there was a circle of Death Eaters around them, there was a broad-shouldered man in a black cloak who had his wand pointed at Lupin's face: Lupin froze, wheezing, his throat aching where Bellatrix's fingers had crushed it.

Now Bellatrix had thrown Tonks off, snatched a wand off a Death Eater who was running to her aid and fired a curse at the pink-haired witch, who rolled away and pushed herself to her feet, leaping sideways to avoid a second curse.

"Stand up," the broad-shouldered Death Eater growled. Lupin realised the Locket was still in his hand: he glanced desperately around, but he was completely surrounded by a ring of snarling Death Eaters. Harry was sitting up, clinging to the hem of Lupin's cloak.

"Don't give it to them!" Harry's voice pierced through Lupin's muddled thoughts. Protect Harry, protect Locket, that was all that mattered…

And through a gap between the Death Eater's shoulders, Lupin saw Tonks' pink hair flashing as she ducked under Bellatrix's arm and head-butted the dark haired woman in the stomach. Bellatrix doubled over, winded, and Tonks raised her arm to hit her again.

"Tonks!" Lupin screamed. "Take it!" And without thinking further, he drew his arm back and threw the locket as hard as he could, over the ring of Death Eaters. The broad-shouldered man reached up but it was spinning high above his grasp: the golden locket was sailing through the air and Tonks had seen it. She leaned back, her arms stretched out, caught the chain with the tips of her fingers…

Bellatrix staggered forward and knocked Tonks off balance. The two women swayed and fell, the locket skidding across the stone floor, out of reach of two pairs of scrabbling arms. And Lupin heard Bellatrix's voice rise, "Accio Locket!"

At the other end of the hall, the Aurors broke through the Death Eater's barrier at last, swarming in through the main doors. It took them only an instant to register what was happening and Disapparate. Cracks filled the air as they Apparated around the Death Eaters, stunning spells already flying from their wands.

Either the Death Eaters panicked, or they heard Bellatrix screech in success as the locket zoomed into her hand and she pushed Tonks away. At any rate, they suddenly began to Disapparate as fast as they could. The wind of their leaving rushed across Lupin's face, as he clutched Harry's shoulder. Bellatrix, her face lit with triumph as she clutched the Locket to her chest, vanished just as Kingsley fired a stunner at her, and it slashed through the empty air where she had been standing. Relief and frustration washed over Lupin. The Locket was gone: but Harry was safe.

Sirius had Apparated with the Aurors, and he fired a curse at the broad-shouldered Death Eater, who blocked it with a shield charm and Disapparated. He stepped forward and saw Lupin half-kneeling on the ground. His eyes widened, his mouth opened, but before he could shout a warning something struck Lupin hard between the shoulder blades.

He tumbled forward. Sirius, already moving, caught him and dropped him just as quickly, lunging forward, his wand raised. The nameless Death Eater who stood there had a sharp, pointed face, and he was already firing: Sirius ducked and the curse missed him. But in that second that he had lost, the Death Eater had gained enough time. He bent, grabbed Harry by his hair and pulled him up. He was grinning as his arm locked around the boy's chest. Harry, his glasses askew, was trying to scratch the man with his free arm. And then the Death Eater gave a little twist in the air, and Disapparated.

A dull kind of ringing was filling Lupin's ears. He stared at the spot where the Death Eater had been, willing him to come back, tensed to act when there was nothing there to act upon. The throbbing ache in his throat and his hand receded to nothing. The Aurors around him were crying out triumphantly: they had captured several of the Death Eaters, though most of them had escaped. Lupin could not hear them.

Behind him, Kingsley was helping Tonks to her feet. She was sobbing, "I'm sorry…I dropped it…I dropped the locket…" and he was hushing her. Dumbledore had Apparated nearby: he was standing somewhere to Lupin's right: he did not speak, but stood, stone still.

"Where's the boy? Where's the boy?" That was Moody's voice. One of the Aurors answered him.

"Dolohov…at least, I think it was Dolohov…he Disapparated…"

"What?"

"He stunned Podmore…"

"…grabbed the boy…"

"…he was too quick…"

"…what happened…?"

"The Locket! Lestrange took it!"

"She what?"

Fragments of speech, unable to pierce the thick fog that had filled Lupin's head. He still stood, staring at the spot where Harry had disappeared. What did finally reach his brain was a soft clattering sound as Sirius's wand fell from his hand and rolled across the stone floor. And then Sirius was falling onto all fours, one hand clutching at his face, and he gave a terrible, animalistic moan of grief.

The Aurors were gathering around in a circle.

"Black!" Moody spat, limping forwards, shaking with rage. "What have you done? What have you done? We had everything under control – and then you – and Jones – you've ruined everything…"

"Get back, Alastor," Dumbledore's deep voice seemed to physically push Moody away, and the Minister stepped back a pace. Sirius was curled on the ground, his black hair falling forwards so that his face was hidden behind it. Dumbledore's strong brown hand grasped Lupin's shoulder.

"Are you hurt, Remus?"

Lupin turned his head to look at Dumbledore. "No," he said faintly. His voice sounded very distant and weak. Dumbledore was looking at Sirius.

"Is he hurt?"

"I don't know," Lupin replied, and still it sounded like someone else speaking from the other end of the hall. He thought dully, what a stupid question, for Dumbledore must know that Sirius was worse than hurt. The Aurors standing around seemed to be going out of focus. This could not be real. This could not be happening. Harry could not be gone.

But this was real. Harry was gone.

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END OF PART TWO

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Epilogue

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Darkness had filled the night sky. The lights of Hogwarts castle were dimmed, except for a few golden points where students sat in their common rooms, talking late into the night, and in the tall windows of the hospital wing.

"Done," said Madame Pomfrey, cracking Lupin's knuckles with her wand to test his reflexes. It turned out that when Lupin had punched the Death Eater holding Harry, he had broken his thumb, but Madame Pomfrey had taken only an instant to heal it completely. Thanking the matron, Lupin stood up and began to walk the length of the hospital wing.

Curtains were pulled around the bed next to the one where he had been sitting. Lupin did not part them. Lying in that bed was the body of Professor Sinistra, a white sheet pulled over her cold form. She had been in charge of the magical barrier that covered the school, in the sky above its topmost tower. When she had been murdered, the ward had collapsed, and the Death Eaters had invaded the school from the air, via broomsticks.

But who had killed her was not yet known. Lupin had already asked Dumbledore where Professor Snape had been during the conflict, and Dumbledore had coolly told him that Snape had been in the Slytherin Common room, protecting the students there. And when Lupin had made the insinuation that Snape had been strangely absent just before Sinistra's murder, Dumbledore had fixed him with an icy stare and asked him if he would make his suggestions a little more clear, otherwise someone might think he was accusing Severus of killing the Astronomy teacher. Lupin had not brought the topic up again.

To his right, Dumbledore and McGonagall were sitting beside a bed where a young boy lay. He was not lying passive: he was writhing, the sheets twisted around him. He clutched his forehead with his hands, his teeth gritted, and every few moments he emitted a soft involuntary cry of pain. Dumbledore reached out and touched his arm.

"It is not lessening, Neville?" he asked softly. McGonagall leaned forward anxiously.

"No," Neville moaned through gritted teeth. "It keeps burning. Oh…he's happy…he's so happy…"

McGonagall looked at Dumbledore sharply and hissed, "What does he mean, Headmaster?"

Neville gasped, rolling onto his side, one hand pressed to the scar on his forehead. Dumbledore touched his shoulder gently, and said quietly. "I will explain everything later, Minerva. Neville already understands."

Lupin walked onwards. The lamps from here onwards had been extinguished, so that the rest of the long room was only lit by faint moonlight. On either side of him, a dozen and a half beds were full of children, but unlike Neville, most of them were sleeping peacefully. They were the students who had been hurt when the Death Eaters had broken into Gryffindor Tower. None of them were badly injured, Madame Pomfrey had assured Lupin.

Most of the children who had been held hostage had returned to their dormitories, but not all. One boy was sitting up, his knees drawn up to his chin: Ron Weasley. Hermione Granger lay in the bed beside him, having finally given in to sleep, and Ron was watching her silently. McGonagall had already told them both what had happened to Harry. As Lupin passed, the boy looked up at him, opened his mouth, then shut it again and buried his face in his arms.

Lupin continued on. In another bed on his right lay Hestia Jones, still unconscious. The spell with which the Minister had knocked her out would not do her any lasting damage. Madame Pomfrey had already managed to awaken her to give her a few mild healing potions, including one which had sent her straight back to sleep.

Across the aisle from Hestia, to Lupin's left, a girl sat on the edge of her bed, staring out the window at the rising moon, which was waning, and not quite full. Her short, spiky hair was colourless in the moonlight, but had it been daylight, it would have been a greying mousy-brown. As Lupin approached, she turned to look at him. Her cheeks were dry, but her eyes were shining.

"I'm sorry," Tonks said. Her voice was low and hoarse. "I had the Locket, but she knocked it out of my hand. It's my fault…"

"Don't say that," said Lupin, stepping in front of her and taking her hands. "Don't. You did nothing wrong."

"If I hadn't dropped it, they wouldn't have Disapparated…"

"It doesn't matter now."

"Stop it!" Tonks closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them. She was clutching his hands very tightly. "Stop treating me like I can't take responsibility for myself. If it's my fault, it's my fault. If it's my choice, it's my choice!"

This, he realised with a sinking heart, was the crux of it. This was what she wanted to talk about: Love. Again. Lupin shook his head: he couldn't think about love, not at a time like this. "I can't let you love me. You're too young," Lupin croaked. "And there is a war on. And after tonight, there is every chance we will find ourselves on the losing side."

"But…"

Lupin leaned forward and kissed her forehead. He let her hand drop as he pulled away. "Please," he whispered. "I'm not ready for you. Not yet."

She watched him walked onwards.

The wing had been temporarily expanded, to accommodate for an emergency that had not resulted in as many injuries as feared. The rest of the beds in the Hospital wing were unoccupied, all but one. Lupin headed for this bed, at the very end of the room.

Sirius was lying on his side facing the wall, his hand curled by his chin. Madame Pomfrey had put him to bed and pulled the covers overtop of him, and she had also taken out the elastic band so that his black hair was spread around him like a veil. His eyes were open, staring blankly. If he hadn't blinked at intervals, anyone might have thought he was dead.

Lupin saw that there was a chair beside the bed. Dumbledore, of course, had left it there. Dumbledore thought of everything. Lupin pulled up the chair and sat down so that he was in Sirius's line of sight.

"Sirius," he said quietly. That was as far as he got, it was all he was able to say. A lump was jamming his throat so tightly no other words could escape. It felt as if blocks of ice had replaced his internal organs, as if angry wasps were filling his brain.

But as if his name had flicked on a switch, Sirius moved a little. No more than an inch, but it was something. His eyes remained staring at the wall, but his mouth opened and he spoke. "He's gone."

"No," whispered, Lupin shaking his head and wishing that he could make this true. If he could have made Sirius forget everything, forget Lily, and James, and Harry, even forget Lupin, just to rid his friend of the pain, he would have done so in an instant. "We're going to find him."

Sirius's eyes left the wall and focussed on Lupin, "Moony?"

"It's me," Lupin said, leaning forward. "I'm here."

"I let him go," Sirius's voice was so low Lupin had to lean down to catch the words. "I could have reached him…somehow…I should have been faster…"

"Don't think about that now."

Sirius didn't reply. His eyes slid back to stare at the wall, blank, emotionless. Lupin lowered his head, forcing down his tears. He had not only lost Harry, not only failed to protect a boy who had trusted him, who had relied on him. He had lost Sirius as well. Sitting there, Lupin felt as if he was drowning. It seemed impossible that things could ever be made right: it seemed impossible that Sirius would ever smile again. As surely as if a Dementor was leaning over his shoulder, Lupin felt certain that he could never feel happy again, not in this life, not for an instant.

And then he felt a touch on his fingers and looked up to find Sirius had reached out and taken his hand. Sirius was looking at him without despair, without bitterness, without self-blame, everything that Lupin was feeling. And in a voice that did not sound dead or toneless but alive and resolved, Sirius said quietly. "We will find him."

Lupin did not reply, but he waited there, until Sirius closed his eyes and fell asleep.

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A/N: And it is finished. I feel…bone weary, but somehow relieved. If you feel unsatisfied, tell me about it. I want to know. If you liked it – wow, I really want to know. Email me all your questions.

Big thanks to Uchethegirl, who once again took the time to tear large holes in this chapter. You are too precious for words.

PART THREE – coming soon. And by 'soon', I mean, 'once my exams are finished' in two weeks' time. What will Part Three be like? You may have to wait and see, because I still don't know too much about it myself. BUT – I will get the first chapter up as soon as humanly possible. All I can tell you is that there will be lots of Sirius and Harry, and some new characters.

Review replies can be found at my livejournal:

www . livejournal . com/users/tawabids