Hurt | Remus Lupin

~75~ Unexpected Death

I felt like I couldn't breath. Mad-Eye? My mentor? My teacher? Dead? Mad-Eye couldn't just die. That man seemed immortal to me. My legs seemed to give away and Remus caught me in an instant. 

"We saw it," said Bill. Fleur nodded, tear tracks glittering on her cheeks in the light from the kitchen window. "It happened just after we broke out of the circle: Mad-Eye and Dung were close by us, they were heading north too, Voldemort—he can fly—went straight for them. Dung panicked, I heard him cry out, Mad-Eye tried to stop him, but he Disapparated. Voldemort's curse hit Mad-Eye full in the face, he fell backward off his broom and— there was nothing we could do, nothing, we had half a dozen of them on our own tail— " Bill's voice broke.

"Of course you couldn't have done anything," Remus said, still holding me up. 

I wasn't crying, but I was breathing heavily. 

"Breath  Sara." Remus whispered to me. 

Tonks was looking just as aghast as me, Ollie holding on to her. 

Remus helped me as we followed Mr. and Mrs. Weasley into the house and to the Living room. I could hear Tonks crying behind me. The twins were laughing.

"What's wrong?" said Fred, scanning their faced as they entered. "What happened? Who's—?"

"Mad-Eye. Dead." said Mr. Weasley.

And that was when I lost it. 

I let out a sob, my knees giving out again as I dragged Remus to the floor with me. 

"Sara, come here-" Remus picked me up and placed me on the couch and I bent over, hugging my knees and sobbing. 

"I can't believe it!" I wailed.

Bill walked over to the sideboard and pulled out a bottle of firewhisky and some glasses. "Here," he said, and with a wave of his wand he sent twelve full classes soaring through the room to each of us, holding the fourteenth aloft. "Mad-Eye,"

"Mad-Eye," we all said, and drank.

"Mad-Eye," echoed Hagrid, a little late, with a hiccup.

"So Mundungus disappeared?" said Remus.

 "I know what you're thinking," said Bill. "and I wondered that too, one the way back here, because they seemed to be expecting us, didn't they? But Mundungus can't have betrayed us. They didn't know there would be seven Harrys, that confused them the moment we appeared, and in case you've forgotten, it was Mundungus who suggested that little bit of skullduggery. Why wouldn't he have told them the essential point? I think Dung panicked, it's as simple as that. He didn't want to come in the first place, but Mad-Eye made him, and You-Know-Who went straight for them. It was enough to make anyone panic."

"You-Know-Who acted exactly as Mad-Eye expected him to," sniffed Tonks, "Mad-Eye said he's expect the real Harry to be with the toughest, most skilled Aurors. He chased Mad-Eye first, and when Mundungus gave them away he switched to Kingsley. . . ."

 "Yes, and zat eez all very good," snapped Fleur, "but still eet does not explain 'ow zey knew we were moving 'Arry tonight, does it? Somebody must 'ave been careless. Somebody let slip ze date to an outsider. It is ze only explanation for zeim knowing ze date but not ze 'ole plan."

Everyone went silent, including me, as I slowly stopped my crying after a bit. I was still sniffling though. 

"No," Harry said out loud, and we all looked at him, surprised. "I mean . . . if somebody made a mistake," Harry went on, "and let something slip, I know they didn't mean to do it. It's not their fault," he repeated, again a little louder. "We've got to trust each other. I trust all of you, I don't think anyone in this room would ever sell me to Voldemort."