Love and War

42

"Have you tried the Potter's dorm, my Lord? " Severus asked.

Tom smiled. That would be the first place he's now going to look. Lucius and Bellatrix have since broken off to go on their own, meaning it was just Tom and the professor. His first order from the snake man had been to look throughout the Hufflepuff Common Room, whilst he checked the dormitories. Snape nodded and left him alone.

Once he was out of view, the man took out his phone to text Draco. He made sure to tell him not to let Jane or Katniss away from where he could see them. Voldemort was now looking for only those two. Draco responded by thanking Severus and promising to do just that. After the short conversation, he proceeded to tell the students not to panic. Tom was only looking for two individuals. As long as no one got in the way, they would be safe. The Hufflepuffs nodded at him words and continued to avoid where the bitter air was.

Snape walked around the Common Room, waiting for Voldemort to return. It took a few minutes but the snake man came back with a look of anger on his face. Obviously, Jane wasn't in her room nor were any of her roommates there either. Snape hid his smirk as he followed Tom out of the Common Room. The students all breathed a sigh of relief the second Voldemort stepped away.

"Please don't ever come back here." Hannah Abbott whispered under her breath.

Severus heard her. He made a promise to himself to do everything he could to make sure Voldemort never returned to the Hufflepuff House. Hannah knew Snape was a very kind man under all that tough exterior. It was then that Justin's phone started to ring. When he answered it, Jane's voice came through with panic. She sounded as if she was being held captive or something. Justin didn't know what to do, so he gave the phone to Cedric.

"Jane, are you okay?" Cedric asked and tried to stay calm.

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Jane never made that phone call. Someone was impersonating her. They needed a person who was close to the Hufflepuff to answer and come to the room he had been keeping her. Cedric knew Jane would never call him if she had been upset. She normally talked to Draco about any problem she was going through. Something had to be wrong. He decided to listen to what this person had to say and determine if this would be a matter to involve Dumbledore and McGonagall.

"I'm fine, Cedric. Can you come over and help me with Katniss?" The voice said.

"Sure thing! I'll be over in a few!" He replied, hanging up after that.

Diggory hurriedly ran to the Gryffindor Tower and charged into Minerva's office. She had been grading a bunch of papers when she looked at the horrified look on the boy's face. Professor McGonagall stood at once, following where Cedric was leading her. She immediately recognized it as the dungeons below Hogwarts. Sure, there were ones that the Slytherins stayed in and classes had been held, but no one but the staff knew about. Diggory did his own research on the castle during one of his free periods and discovered all of the secret passageways.

By taking this one, Ced and Minerva could pop up in Jane's dorm without being noticed. The person impersonating the mom would never know how they got there, unless they were a member of staff or Filch himself. The Map showed every nook and cranny in Hogwarts. Filch had that thing memorized like the back of his hand. Mrs. Norris tried to run away from the old man once, but she didn't get very far. Minnie found this funny but kept her giggles to herself.

Jane had been tied to a chair in front of this man. She didn't know what he wanted or why he was doing this. The man wouldn't talk or even look at her. There was something almost familiar about him, though. His hair had been a mess, almost as if he hadn't showered in days. Jane thought back to when he spoke to someone when he was tying her up. He sounded like one of the professors, if she was being honest with herself.

Cedric and Minerva arrived a few moments later. The teacher gasped when she saw the man turn to face them. How could Remus do something like this? He loved Jane, he adored her daughter, and Draco was one of his best students. Diggory took the first step toward Lupin. He put his hands up, as if to say that he had no weapons on him, and started walking closer. Remus pulled his wand out of his sweater pocket. He pointed it right at Cedric, making the boy stop dead in his tracks.

"Professor? Why are you doing this?" Diggory asked.

"I don't have to explain myself to you." Remus spat.

There was something wrong here. Lupin would never do this. He wasn't the type of person to just up and betray his students nor his colleagues out of nowhere. Minerva placed herself in front of Cedric. She knew the Hufflepuff boy wouldn't be able to defend himself if Remus tried something. Diggory still never drew his wand on his teacher. Jane had been trying to hold back tears. She knew the reason Remus was doing this. The Hufflepuff decided not to say anything after she saw the fear in his eyes after he revealed his secrets. Jane was hoping there would be another way out of this but, every way she thought, all ended in either Remus or her dying.

"Where is Kat?" Jane whispered.

"She's fine. Narcissa has her." Cedric said, moving closer to her.

"Don't move. She will die if you take one more step." Lupin warned.

"What?!" Jane's voice shook.

Remus took a deep breath and put his wand back in his sweater. He couldn't keep this in anymore. It was eating him alive. Minnie decided to give the trio some privacy. She left the room quickly and carefully. Lupin was almost thankful when she was gone. Now it had been Cedric, Jane, and the professor in the room. Diggory still wouldn't take his wand out.

"Tom came to me. He threatened Tonks and Teddy if I didn't do what he wanted." He sighed.

"What did he want?" Cedric questioned softly.

"Jane. He said he wanted her alive, as he needed to talk to her one-on-one. I denied capturing her at first. Kat needed Jane, she needs her mother, but then the Dark Lord started talking about my wife and son. I knew I couldn't risk it. I'm so sorry, Jane." Remus turned towards the girl.

"It's okay, professor. Don't worry about it. Tonks and Teddy need their father." She nodded at him.

"It is definitely not alright! Remus, you have put one of our students in grave danger. Albus would have your head if he ever found out you were behind this kidnapping!" Minerva scolded.

Jane tried to reason with the Transfiguration teacher, but she wouldn't listen. She knew this wasn't something that she could just slide. Dumbledore needed to know what had been going on. McGonagall apparated to his office almost immediately and filled him in on everything. He marched down to where she had been. Remus, Cedric, and Jane were still there. The Hufflepuffs had been standing on the far side of the room with the Dark Arts professor in the middle. Albus disarmed the man.

"Remus John Lupin! You have hereby threatened the safety and wellbeing of not only one but multiple students. There is nothing more I can do but - " Dumbledore was cut off by Jane.

"Wait Headmaster! Please don't sack professor Lupin! He was only trying to protect Teddy and Tonks." Jane interrupted.

"Mrs. Malfoy, this is out of my hands." He said calmly.

Jane hurried over to Remus and gave him a hug. She knew Dumbledore would fire him. All she wanted to do was show him a little bit of kindness. He deserved it more than anyone the girl had ever met. Cedric followed in Jane steps and took the teacher in for a hug too. Minnie tried to pull the kids away from him, but they wouldn't budge. She saw in their eyes how upset they were.

"Albus, may I have a word with you?" She tapped his arm and pulled him out of earshot.

"You kids need to go back to your dorms, okay? I'm so sorry for the danger I've put you through, Jane. You didn't deserve that." Remus apologized and moved so they had a clear shot of the door.

"No. Professor, I'm not risking your family's life." Jane apparated to Malfoy Manor where she knew Tom would be.