Chapter Forty-Nine

January the Thirteenth, Nineteen-Hundred Ninety Six

"They're here."

"Mm."

Davie smiled as Sirius Black – her husband – placed a kiss on her temple as he got up out of bed to see who had just come by Floo into the house. They had been married for just over two weeks now and, as a pleasant surprise to the rest of the Order, had been considerably more pleasant about being stuck in Grimmauld Place together after returning from their short honeymoon.

"Well obviously, they're occupied with other things," Tonks said impishly, garnering a loud shushing from Molly Weasley, and knowing laughter from everyone else, including Remus Lupin. Remus, they noted, was laughing at Tonks' jokes a great deal more nowadays, no matter how unfunny or inappropriate they happened to be, and as a result, Tonks had taken to telling more of them.

This early morning in particular, a muggy Saturday in January, Davie grinned in her state of half-sleep that Sirius had taken the hint; she still wanted to sleep. Usually, they would both rise together to greet whatever members of the Order were arriving, so that both of them could be privy to whatever news they came bearing. Today, however, she simply wanted to sleep, and Sirius, in a rare moment of magnanimity, didn't badger her further to get up. Her glee was short-lived, however, when the door opened again and she felt Sirius gently shake her by the shoulder before using his wand to dimly light a lamp in the room. She grimaced and attempted to pull the covers back over her head, but his hand stopped the thin sheet, lowering them again.

"They're asking for you," he said with clear annoyance in his deep voice. Davie sat up, rubbing her eyes gently and pulling a flannel nightshirt off of the bedframe to slip on over her camisole. She groaned and stretched her arms before walking out to the receiving room, squinting against the light until her eyes adjusted.

"Hullo Moony. Tonks," she yawned, crossing her arms over herself. "'Wos goin' on?"

"She's starting to sound like you, Sirius," Tonks said in amusement.

"Kingsley picked this up – fell out of someone's pocket at the Ministry," Remus said, pulling a sheet of parchment from the pocket of his traveling cloak and holding it out towards Davie. "He said you're better than anyone at recognizing penmanship –"

"Runcorn. I recognize this chickenscratch. Never liked him," Davie said sleepily, her brow furrowing in concern as she gazed over the parchment. Sirius raised his eyebrows gently – there had only been a few instances when he'd actually been able to see how good of an Auror Davie really was, but when those moments arose, he was frankly a bit awestruck that this shrewd, observant woman was the same girl he'd fallen in love with. She was something. "'The progress he has been making is considerable and must be slowed. He can be found, as always, at St. Mungo's –' who are they talking about?"

"Digby." Sirius said, his expression incredibly sour as he sneered a bit at the name. Davie's eyebrows rose when Sirius was faster to pick up on it than she was, and she frowned, shaking her head in disbelief. "Moony says supposedly, he's starting to get his memory back."

"They'll be after him for sure," Davie said, covering her mouth with her free hand. "He doesn't have much time –"

"And of course, you need to run off to his rescue –"

"Sirius, it isn't like before," Davie said shortly, turning to face him with an expression of exasperation. "You realize, he could –"

"I'm only pulling your leg," he said, forcing a smile that pulled his lips tight against his teeth. "I know. It's important, he might know something and – only you can get it out of him. But I don't suppose we could make it a double date?" Sirius said, grinning mischievously at Tonks and Remus before earning a sharp elbow to the ribs from Davie. Remus cleared his throat and looked away, while Tonks wrinkled her nose slightly, her hair turning a slightly brighter hue of fuchsia. Davie and Sirius glanced at one another knowingly – their time, too, would come. If a time came, after all these years, for the two of them, it would happen for Remus Lupin too.

"I'm in good hands with them, Sirius," Davie said, turning and placing her hands on her husband's shoulders. "I'll be back with at least three limbs."

"I want you back with all four."

"Three is good – three is passable," Davie reasoned before adding impishly, "I could still do plenty of things with three."

"Four or I'm Confunding you and never letting you out of this house again."

"Well, aren't we getting a bit demanding? We get married and all of a sudden, you're bossing me around," she smirked before pressing herself up onto her toes and kissing her husband gently. "We'll be quick."

Davie allowed a small smile to settle on her lips as she looked at Sirius for a moment. She had not honestly expected this, but being married truly did change everything. There was a confidence in his ability to let her go, because he was assured this time that she would come back – that she was his. Davie's first few steps away from him were hesitant – Remus filled the silence with explanations.

"We're going by Floo to a shop down the road from St. Mungo's. It should be safe there," he explained, more for Sirius' benefit than anything else. "We won't leave her side for an instant, Padfoot."

"Unless she runs off. She's quite quick," Tonks pointed out. "I've seen her clean an entire obstacle course in Bulgaria in less than—"

"I don't think that's helping, Tonks."

"Sorry."

"I won't run off," Davie interrupted, chuckling to herself at Remus and Tonks, in spite of the situation. "Let's hurry off and hurry back, then?"

The three walked over to the still lit fireplace and reached for the Floo Powder – Remus first, then Davie stepped up, with Sirius calling after her, "All four limbs! No negotiations!", and finally, Tonks. The abandoned storefront they'd chosen as their location was cluttered and a bit difficult to navigate in the dark, but a better choice than risking being seen by unexpected Muggle passersby.

Davie's mind raced furiously as they made their way to where Romnic Digby was kept – this, she realized, could be the moment she finally received answers. Since she was seventeen, the mystery of what Romnic Digby needed to tell her – even if it no longer mattered – lingered in the back of her mind. Maybe now, there would be peace of mind. Flanked protectively by Remus and Tonks, Davie managed to make her way up the floors at St. Mungo's and push open the door to Digby's ward room. It was still barely lit by the light from the small window, revealing a sky still a good while from sunrise, but Romnic stirred immediately.

"Rom—"

"Davie?" he said with lucidity that quite frankly was surreal – almost scary. Davie inhaled sharply, and didn't even notice that the expression on his face was one not of pleasant surprise to see an old friend, but one of worry and fear.

"I came to see you – they know you're getting better –"

"They couldn't care less about me, Davie – you should know better," he said hoarsely, raising his hands and signaling for her not to come any closer. "They'll know you've come! You need to leave. You need to go –"

"Digby," Remus said sternly. "We just came to be sure that –"

But he did not have a chance to finish, as there was a sound of a crash downstairs that caused Tonks, Lupin, and Davie to all exchange surprised, worried glances as it sounded as though footsteps were climbing upstairs.

"You shouldn't have come, you've been set up," Romnic said, his eyes wide. "You shouldn't have come for me, Davie – go!"

Tonks clenched her eyes shut briefly, then looked at Davie and Lupin in shock. "I can't apparate – they've set up some kind of ward, we have to get out on foot –"

"But they'll come for Rom –"

"Davie, forget about me! Go!"

For a moment, Davie looked into the eyes of the first boy she had ever kissed, had ever held hands with – and though it was not what she expected from this meeting, something about this brief meeting gave her a sense of resolution for over a decade of wondering. Romnic, he knew, had still harbored some hope that he could win her back when he'd asked her to meet him at the greenhouses that night at Hogwarts – but that time was gone now. She nodded briefly, then pointed her wand at the window, sending it flying open.

"Remus, Tonks, you first," Davie said sternly, in a voice which suggested that arguing with her would simply use up time that they could not spare. The pair made their way to the window, and Davie pointed her wand, yelling "Descendo!" – they began to float down to the ground below as the door to Romnic Digby's room burst open. Davie looked back over her shoulder and caught sight of the black-cloaked figures – Death Eaters – just as the man in the front yelled an unfamiliar incantation that hit Davie square in the chest, sending her flying backwards and out the window.

"Arresto Momentum!"

Davie clutched her chest in pain, her eyes clenched shut as she felt herself hurtling to the ground, slowed by Remus' spell only just enough so that she landed and rolled gently, landing on her back. She opened her eyes, and pushed Remus away as he attempted to help her up – she pointed upwards at the figures descending from the window.

"We need to get out of here," Lupin said as the Death Eaters began hurling more hexes in their direction. "Tonks –"

"I think we've cleared the ward, we can apparate from here."

"The Hog's Head," Davie hissed, only in earshot of her friends. "We can't lead them back to – Protego!" Davie's face was still contorted in pain, and her skin was pale and almost sickly looking. Her left hand still clutched her chest while her right continued hurling spells towards the Death Eaters. "On my count! One. Two –"

But before she called 'three,' another spell hit her in the chest, knocking her onto her back again. Taking the chance, Lupin dove towards her, grabbing a hold of Tonks wrist as well so that they all disappeared with a single pop!

They landed with a thud on the floor of the Hog's Head, right at the feet of the proprietor, Aberforth, who looked at them questioningly – Davie, however, was in too much pain to even answer the question. She clutched her chest and drew shuddering breaths. "What happened to 'er?"

"We don't know – would you alert someone at the school? Just – not Umbridge?"

Davie felt the searing pain in her chest giving way to nothingness, just as she lost consciousness entirely…

Davie wasn't sure how long it was before she came back to her senses, but by that time, she had been rested on a table with not only Remus and Tonks hovering over her, but also –

"Severus, why did you leave the school?" Davie asked groggily. "Umbridge can't know that you've anything to do with us." She moved to sit up, but found that her arms barely allowed her to tilt herself even slightly upward. Her entire body just felt so weak. She grimaced and fell back onto the table with a defeated huff.

"I have seen this spell," Snape said, crossing his arms and, as usual, neglecting to even acknowledge Davie's protests. He pulled a corked vial of a dark amber potion from his robes and laid it on Davie's chest. "The Dix Damnatio –"

"That doesn't sound very promising," Tonks frowned. Davie managed a slight smirk at the younger woman's outburst, while she tried to lift her arm enough to take the vial. Shakily, she managed to uncork it and pour it into her mouth – immediately, color began to return to her face.

"The curse cuts ten years from the victim's life." Snape continued tersely, which elicited a look of surprise from the three others. "You were hit twice."

With a slight groan, Davie reached for the collar of her shirt and yanked it down as best she could struggling to see her chest where she had been hit – two faint, X-shaped markings remained on her skin where the spells had hit her. They were already beginning to fade, but it was already visible that the skin beneath them was left almost a pearly white, like the scar of a burn.

"I don't believe in this rubbish," she said, finally managing to slowly, shakily sit at the edge of the table. "It's preposterous. There's no predetermined time for me to die, what idea does a bloody curse have what its taking twenty years off of? It stings a bit, but I don't believe for one second it's going to –"

"Padfoot is going to have our heads," Tonks said, shaking her head in disapproval. "He was worried you'd lose a limb, and now you've gone and lost two decades."

"I've not lost anything, and he is never going to hear about this – this Damnatio," Davie replied shortly. Remus shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing. "For all we know, I could've been meant to live to a hundred. That means I still get the ripe old age of eighty and I won't complain at all. I'll still get stiff knees and lose my teeth with the rest of you."

"We came to get you for this, and it was a trap, Davina," Remus said, raising a hand to silence his old friend. "This is our fault."

"There's really been no harm done, Moony, you don't need to plan me a funeral quite yet," Davie replied with a lopsided grin. "Let's just get home – I suspect Professor Snape will be missed at the castle. Umbridge would hardly allow anyone's absence to escape her."

"Lupin. You and Tonks go prepare the Floo. I think I require a brief audience with… Missus Black," Snape said sternly, and Remus hesitated – Severus Snape had a way of very profoundly upsetting Davie when they spoke alone, but he seemed unwilling to be dissuaded. Lupin nodded for Tonks to follow him across the room to start up the fire. Snape, meanwhile, turned to loom over Davie again – if she did not know him better, it would have been terrifying, honestly. It would have been ominous. As it was, Davie did know better.

"Let's hear it then," she said calmly.

"You," Snape began, his voice low and at a prescribed volume meant only for Davie's ears. "Have been married for all of two weeks and already, your husband is unable to keep you out of trouble –"

"That's hardly his job, Severus," Davie answered. "Thank you."

"I didn't do this for you.

"Thank you, anyway."

For a moment, Snape simply stared at Davie. After years of knowing her, she never ceased to be strange to him. At times he found her exceptionally dim, and Davie was well aware of it. Davie was a girl with great intelligence, great resourcefulness, but also great passion that tended to overshadow all of it. Somehow, for reasons Snape didn't bother trying to understand, she still harbored some strange level of fondness for him. For every reason he had given her to hate him, to wish him dead, she had shown him an exponential amount of friendship.

And she knew, even if Snape did not acknowledge it as such, that in strange ways, he did the same.

Davie forced herself to sit up straight and got to her feet, though she found herself wavering. Snape reached out – not tenderly, or gently, but with concern nonetheless – and caught her by her forearms. "It's a good thing we can still travel by Floo here," he said stiffly. "If you were to attempt Apparating back –"

"If I were to attempt it, I'd wish you all luck trying to find all the pieces when I splinch myself a hundred ways from here to Timbuktu," she laughed weakly. "I can make it. I'm fine."

"Of course," he said shortly. "And you have no intentions of telling Black about the –"

"About that silly curse? Merlin, no," Davie said with a dismissive roll of her eyes. "You don't even know if it works –"

"I created it. I am certain."

Davie finally froze – and it made a glimmer of sense. That was how he knew so quickly how to help her recover. That was why he of all people had a potion to help her already on hand. And while their friendship had at times been tenuous and built on trust no more stable than sand, she knew one thing – Severus Snape was a gifted wizard, and any spell or curse of his making was sure to serve its intended purpose.

"I see," she said, her voice lacking the strength it possessed just moments earlier. "I suppose we'll all be waiting with bated breath to see what happens." With that, she forced a lopsided grin and walked back over to the fireplace where Remus and Tonks were waiting, eyeing her with the utmost concern. "Don't do that," she chided with a tired chuckle. "Sirius is going to think we're up to something if we show up looking so somber."

"Davie," Remus said, holding the jar of Floo Powder out of her reach. "I think Padfoot –"

"Deserves to know?" Davie answered, her forehead wrinkling as she tilted her head to one side. "Well, I don't. He's been through enough." Davie reached forward and took a fistful of Floo Powder, stepping into the fireplace and, before they could stop her, bellowing, "Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place!"

She felt a little more dizzy than usual when she stumbled back into the receiving room of the old house, and Sirius hurried forward to make sure she didn't fall over - he had clearly been waiting the entire time, as there were several wrappers of Chocolate Frogs strewn around the room that hadn't been there before. Davie shook her head in attempts to clear it just as Lupin and then Tonks arrived through the fireplace, and she turned to them, putting on as much of a grin as she could muster. The Dix Damnatio was rubbish. Severus Snape rarely made mistakes, but this clearly had to be one of those instances - she dusted herself off and turned to her husband, spreading her arms with a flourish and making a joking curtsy.

"All four limbs, as promised," she smirked before he reached out and pulled her in for a kiss. He was never going to know, she decided. He never needed to.