Queen of Wolves Chapter 23
As the sun began its descent down the gradually darkening sky, the gang (âWe are NOT calling ourselves the Marauders 2.0, Sirius!â) apparated to the edge of the graveyard at Godricâs Hollow, Mia and Harry Side Alonging with the unsurprisingly quiet older wizards. There was no denying the complicated emotions that came with this visit.
For Remus, who had only seen the ruins left behind years after that fateful night, this place was but a memorial to his dearly departed friends. But for Sirius⊠Mia canât even imagine whatâs going through his head right now. The one and only time he had been here two of his best friend were dead, their son was orphaned, they were all betrayed by one of their own, and Sirius was blamed for it all.
Godricâs Hollow was the last place Sirius Black stood as a free man. And as he stood there now, Mia could see the anguish in his eyes as the memories threatened to pull him under. Remus reached him before she did, taking Siriusâ hand in his and intertwining their fingers together. He said nothing, merely offering his silent support, letting the normally vibrant man lean into him.
Mia looked away, feeling like she was intruding on something that she shouldnât have. She caught Harryâs eye and jerked her head, motioning for them to step away and give the Marauders a minute alone. Harry didnât linger, coming to the same understanding that she had. They moved closer to the graveyard, not yet entering it though. As much as Mia trusted Ban, Remus still had his reservations and wanted to check for any traps first. Mia started weaving the enchantments, the Glamour they had previously cast over themselves covering her actions.
Eventually Remus joined her, lending his own magic to help her run multiple detection charms and setting up wards around the perimeter of the graveyard. It wasnât long before the air started to shimmer under the haze of their combined magic.
âAll clear,â Remus finally announced, wiping sweat from his brow despite the chill in the air. âIf someone so much as sneezes within a hundred yards of that gate, weâll know.â
âHarry,â Sirius said gently, his usual bravado replaced by the weight of nostalgia and regret. âGo. We have time.â
Harry nodded wordlessly, taking Miaâs hand and following Sirius pointed finger away from the graveyard and further into the little town, towards what looked to be an obelisk commemorating the casualties of some Muggle war. But as the duo approached, the obelisk transformed inot a statue of three people: a man with untidy hair and glasses, a woman with long hair and a kind, pretty face, and a baby boy sitting in his motherâs arms.
Harry stood frozen, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. Mia watched him, her heart aching for the boy that had lost his whole world before he was old enough to even understand. The Boy Who Lived reached out with a trembling hand, softly tracing the stone contours of his motherâs smiling face.
âThey look so happy.â His voice was barely a whisper.
âThey were,â came Siriusâ voice from behind them. Mia turned to face the approaching wizards, but Harry remained where he was, refusing to leave his parents.
âI remember when we were setting up the house,â said Sirius, his voice thick with emotion. âProngs was a fucking mess. He tried to hang the curtains in the nursery with a Permanent Sticking Charm and somehow managed to glue his own hair to the wall. Lily had to quite literally cut him free. The bald patch was a work of art.â
Remus chuckled weakly. âAnd Wormtail⊠he was the one who suggested soft blue for the walls. Said itâll help calm you down when James is being chaos incarnate. We all spent weeks here, layering every protection we knew. Wards against tracking, against intrusion, even against natural disasters. We thought weâd made this place a goddamned fortress.â
âWe were all there the night you were born, Harry,â continued Sirius. âNot at the house here â Lily went into labour early, in the safe house they were using before the Fidelius was set. Prongs actually fainted when the Healer told us it was time. Hit the floor like a sack of fucking potatoes. Had to Revive him before Lily murdered him for missing the main event.â
âWe all held you. First Lily and James, of course, then Sirius, me,⊠Peter. That was the last time the Marauders were all together. The last time we were all⊠whole.â
âDumbledore moved you into the new house almost right after. The Fidelius went up and everything changed. Moony was sent to the wolves, fucking WormâPeter straight up disappeared, and Dumbledore had me running around on âOrder businessâ pretty much all day every day. We werenât allowed to visit, we could barely talk to each other, even our letters had to go through Dumbledore.â
Sirius looked at the memorial statue, pain flashing in his eyes.
âThe next time I saw this place⊠well, we all know that fucking story.â
A troubled silence fell over the group; no words could ever be enough to erase the years of torment the ex-prisoner had endured.
It was Harry responded first, finally pulling away from his parentsâ statue. He pulled Sirius into a tight hug, then pulled him along to return to the overgrown graveyard. There was one more place to visit while they still could.
The headstones were made of white marble, eerily similar to that of Dumbledoreâs tomb. The stone seemed to shine in the dark, highlighting the words written in elegant font: âThe last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.â
Mia remembers hearing the words at church on Easter years ago, when she was dragged along by her parents. The verse referenced Christâs sacrifice and triumph over death. A fitting message to honour a motherâs sacrifice and her sonâs survival, it would seem. It didnât really seem like something that a wizard would have picked out though. Mia wondered once again whether Petunia Dursley really had hated her sister as much as she claimed to.
Mia conjured a small bouquet of white lilies and pressed them into Harryâs still shaking hands. He shot a grateful grimace in her direction before crouching down in front of his parentsâ graves.
âHi Mom and Dad. Itâs nice to finally meet you.â
Beside her, Sirius made a small choked off sound that sounded suspiciously like a sob. This time, Mia reached out to him, gently guiding the older man away from Harry to give him a small circle of privacy. He knelt in the snow, his shoulders shaking. Mia looked away, her eyes stinging. She looked at Remus, then together they stood guard, wands drawn but lowered, watching over their loved ones as they fell apart.
Suddenly, a small bell sounded as the wards alerted them to the presence of a magical human.
A tall, hooded figure emerged from the shadows of the trees lining the small graveyard. They walked with a deliberate, slow pace toward the Pottersâ grave. They didn't seem to notice the four of them at first, or perhaps they simply didn't care. They reached the headstone and placed a single lily on the ground.
Then, the mystery person looked up. They pulled a piece of parchment from their dark robes and held it out. On it was a crudely drawn symbolâthe same symbol on Miaâs necklace, the same mark that appeared on her skin. This was their benefactor, Banâs gift to Mia to help them with their mission.
Mia stepped forward at the same time Remus drew up his wand.
The figure reached up and pulled back the long hood.
The moonlight hit the sallow skin and the hooked nose, the greasy black hair framing a face that filled Miaâs nightmares for weeks following the death of Albus Dumbledore.
âSnape!â Harry yelled, scrambling to his feet, his wand already level with the manâs chest.
âYou fucking murderer!â Sirius lunged, a jet of red light flying from his wand.
Snape deflected it with a lazy flick, his expression unreadable. âRestrain yourself, Black. I am not here for a duel.â
âLike hell you aren't!â Remus growled, joining the fray. Spells began to flyâstunners, disarming charms, blasting curses. Snape moved with a fluid, lethal grace, parrying their attacks with a Shield Charm that seemed impenetrable.
Mia stood frozen. Her mind was racing. Ban did this. He told us to trust Snape. How could Ban do this? I thought we could trust him. How could he betray us like this?
But, Snape has been helping. He sent us those books, he sent the materials. Ban trusts him. Why would Ban tell us to turn to Snape if heâs not on our side?
âStop!â she screamed, but no one listened.
Just as Sirius prepared to launch a particularly nasty curse, a low, earth-shaking rumble echoed through the graveyard. Out of the darkness, a massive, spotted shape appeared without warning.
She didn't attack. Instead, she planted her massive body directly in front of Snape, her back to the wizard, her throat inflating like a grotesque balloon, her amber eyes glowing with a warning.
The effect was instantaneous. Everyone froze.
âI knew it!â Remus spat, his voice trembling with rage. âI knew that Ban couldn't be trusted! Heâs protecting him! Heâs on his side! That giant furry monster is proof!â
The Nundu turned her massive head, looked at Remus, and then, with deliberate slowness, walked over and sat directly on the werewolfâs feet.
Remus blinked, his anger momentarily replaced by sheer bafflement. The weight of a thousand-pound apex predator pinning him to the spot was enough to drain the fight out of anyone.
âIt appears,â Snape said, his voice as cold and oily as ever, âthat the beast has more sense than the lot of you.â
âTalk,â Harry snarled, though he didn't lower his wand. âTalk before I find a way around that cat.â
Snape straightened his robes. âSome weeks ago, I was visited by a⊠ghostly spectre of an unknown man,â he said, looking directly at Mia. âShortly after an incident involving a certain house elf and the Room of Requirement. I assumed I was hallucinating at first, and chose to ignore him. He was... persistent however. He refused to leave, until I listened to reason. I was prepared to dismiss him as merely a minor inconvenience until he told me information that no one else could possibly know.â
Miaâs breath hitched. Ban. It had to be. He was appearing to Snape as a ghost? What does that mean? Is Ban⊠dead?
âHe told me of your... progress,â Snape continued, his eyes flickering to Harry. âHe told me about the Horcruxes. Information that Albus Dumbledore, in his infinite wisdom, saw fit to keep from me for years.â
âDumbledore trusted you!â Harry shouted.
âDumbledore used me!â Snape snapped back, his composure finally cracking. âHe had me playing double agent, a spy for both sides for decades, but he ensured I never knew enough to truly tip the scales. He left the fate of the wizarding world in the hands of three children. Three teenagers, wandering the woods with no plan and no support!â
âWeâre not children!â Harry protested.
âOf course you are! Thatâs all you should be! You shouldn't have had to be anything else!â Snapeâs voice rose to a shout. âLily did not sacrifice her life so that her son could be served up as a lamb to the slaughter while the adults played their fucking war games! She died to give you a life, not a suicide mission!â
âDon't you dare use her name!â Harry screamed. âYou killed her! And Dumbledore! You killed the only person who was trying to help us!â
âI did what was necessary!â Snape shouted.
âYouâre a coward and a traitor!â Harryâs face was purple with rage. âVoldemort is going to kill you the second he finds out youâre here!â
Miaâs heart stopped. âHarry, no!â
The air in the graveyard suddenly turned ice-cold. The Taboo.
The silence of the graveyard was shattered by a dozen simultaneous cracks as shadows swirled and solidified into figures in dark robes and bone-white masks. In the centre stood a familiar man with yellowed teeth and long, curved fingernails, his eyes already half shifted even though the full moon was still a full week away.
âGreyback,â Remus whispered, his face pale.
âLook what we have here,â the werewolf leered, his eyes fixated on Harry. âThe Boy Who Lived and his merry band of warriors! Oh, whoâs this here with our Lordâs most hated enemy? The traitor Snape! This is turning out to be quite the wonderful evening, donât you think boys?â
âRun!â Snape yelled, throwing a curse at the nearest masked figure.
But it was too late. They were surrounded. Spells erupted from all sides. Mia felt a Stunning Spell clip her shoulder, sending her spinning. She looked around for Aron, but the creature had vanished into the shadows the moment the Death Eaters arrived. Why? Why wouldnât you stay to help? You have before!
âMia!â Harryâs voice was cut off by a grunt of pain.
She felt rough hands seize her arms. A heavy weight hit the back of her head, and the world began to tilt.
When her vision cleared, she wasn't in the graveyard anymore. She was being dragged across a cold, polished marble floor. The air smelled of expensive perfume and old blood, a nauseating combination that threatened to upend her already upset stomach, the aftereffects of Side Along pulling at her. Mia blinked rapidly, trying to get her bearings.
They were in a grand drawing room, lit by a massive crystal chandelier. And there, standing by the fireplace with a look of pure, unadulterated glee, was Hermioneâs worst nightmare come to life.
âWell, well,â the evil witch cackled, her eyes dancing with madness. âLook what the dog brought home.â