The Marauders: Year Seven Part Two

Traitor

"REMUS NO!" Sirius's voice echoed in the cave the moment after Remus had disapparated away to Fallengunder. He'd cawakened Urquart and demanded to know where he and Ned Veigler had just come from - confirmed that Voldemort had been the one to cast the curse - and gone without a moment's hesitation. There wasn't even a pause in which to think about what he was doing, madness of emotion having set into him. "Bloody hell!" Sirius drew his wand, intending to disapparate after him, but Marlene Mackinnon shouted at him --

"WAIT, Sirius! Wait. We need you here, alright? When Peter gives You Know Who the locket, he's coming here. We need you. We have to stay to the plan as much as possible. YOU are needed here." Marlene had leaped to her feet, as though ready to attack Sirius if he tried to go. "Merlin only knows what's taking Wendy and Maryrose so bloody long to get here and Emmaline and I can't hold him off alone and Remus's just left with the second port key, so there's no getting rid of him and --"

Sirius said, "Fuck the plan, alright? My fiance's just gone off and might be killed and --"

"WE NEED YOU SIRIUS!" Marlene yelled.

"AND SO DOES REMUS!"

"WE NEED YOU MORE!"

He opened his mouth to argue again, but instead, Wendy Brighton ran into the mouth of the cave, breathless from having just run the length of the path up the mountainside. "They - they took Maryrose... and the others."

Emmaline, Marlene, and Sirius all looked at Wendy as she doubled over, clutching her knees.

"What? Who?"

"Death Eaters," Wendy said, "Death Eaters. They - they showed up on the path about halfway up. We tried at stopping them, but - they - they knew about the plan. And then Alabastar and Jackson came and we were fighting them something fierce and -- I only just escaped, but the Death Eaters took them all."

Sirius looked at Marlene, "We ought to all go to Fallengunder. That's where they've most likely taken them. We can stop Peter from giving up the locket when we get there." He had a sudden realization, "James and Lily are at Fallengunder, too. Fuck. There's probably an all out war going on there!" His eyes were wild, and then they darkened suddenly. "Somebody's a fucking traitor."

They looked among each other nervously. "Well, obviously nobody in this room," Emmaline said, "It's got to be somebody else, yeah?"

"Yeah," Sirius said, "I'm sure it is." His jaw was tight.

"It doesn't have to be him," Marlene said, seeing in Sirius's eyes what his suspicions were. "It could be any one."

Emmaline looked at Urquart, who she'd stunned again after Remus had left, and Ned Veigler's body. "I've done what I can but Professor Urquart needs to be taken to St. Mungo's. What I've done will only patch him over..." She paused. "And what do we do about... about Professor Veigler?"

"Well he's dead," Sirius said, "There's not much to be done about the dead, is there?"

"We can't just leave him here," Emmaline argued.

"We'll come back for his body, of course," Sirius said, "But we need to take care of the still living first."

Emmaline looked near to tears.

"He's right, Em," Marlene said. Then, "Alright. New plan. Emmaline, you take Professor Urquart to Mungo's. Sirius, Wendy and I will go to Fallengunder..."

"What about Frank and Ali?" Wendy asked, "They'll be here any moment now. Why don't the two of you go on to Fallengunder and I'll stay here and wait for Frank and Ali and the second they arrive I'll tell them what's happened and we'll join you lot."