Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Remus could see light returning to the world and then began to feel the pain from hitting the ground. He tried to focus, but his head was still spinning.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Wendy asked angrily.

"What happened?" he asked groggily. His short-term memory was still foggy. Looking around, he could see that he was in a wooded area, but he still wasn't exactly sure why.

She leaned casually against a nearby tree. "You were sneaking around and I didn't know who you were so I stunned you."

He sat up and rubbed the back of his head. To his great dismay, he could feel a knot forming and grimaced. "Why did you do that?"

She crossed her arms and took on an air of superiority. "I told you, I didn't know who you were. I've learned to ask questions later. It keeps me alive longer."

"Aren't you going to apologize?" His memory was returning. He had come to help her scout the area for the Death Eater meeting. Given her recent actions, Sirius' assessment was beginning to sound more and more plausible.

"For what? You showed no interest in coming. I would think you would be smart enough to know not to sneak up on an Auror. After all, Moody is in the Order and he's the most paranoid person I've ever met." She watched Remus struggle to his feet, offering him no assistance. "Since you're here, I suppose I can make use of you. Scout around that way," she pointed to the north, "and see if there's a good vantage point. Meet back here in half an hour. If you see anything moving, stun it and ask questions later." She turned away and headed the other direction.

He couldn't believe she had offered neither an apology nor assistance. He loped off to the north to scout the area she had indicated, the pain dissipating the more he moved. This was turning out to be a horrible assignment. She clearly hated him for being both a werewolf and a Gryffindor and was determined to continually demean and bully him. If Albus wouldn't listen to her pleas for a new partner, perhaps the old man would listen to his. He simply couldn't work with her if she was going to continue to treat him like a servant, there to do her bidding.

He didn't see any place that would provide a good vantage point for watching the clearing and still provide concealment. He checked his watch and saw that if he didn't hurry, he would be late. He hurried back to the meeting point and found Wendy waiting impatiently. "I know. I'm late. The undergrowth is quite thick that way. I didn't find any place suitable."

"I didn't expect you would. Come on, I found a place over here." She led him to a slightly elevated, though still concealed area. "From here we should be able to see without being seen and the brambles are thick enough, it's not likely anyone would approach the clearing from this direction."

She headed toward the clearing and dropped an old shoe into the brush. "Remember where that shoe is. In case of emergency it will act as a Portkey and take you someplace safe."

"Where?"

"Away from here, but still in the middle of nowhere. I can't risk someone else finding it and ending up in my house."

"When you say emergency, what do you think might constitute that emergency? I can't help but notice that it is closer to the clearing than our vantage point."

"I'm planning on capturing one of them and interrogating him for information," she replied nonchalantly.

"You mean torture. You are no better than they are." How could Kingsley have recommended her to the Order?

She was starting to get irritated. He obviously listened to Sirius far too much for her liking. "I mean interrogate. I will use only Ministry approved methods. If I were to tell him I'm an Auror, that might convince him to cooperate, but that doesn't always work. Of course, I can't tell him that, now can I? That leaves my plan."

"Why are you on our side? You seem quite eager to do things their way." He probably should have asked this question sooner, but it hadn't occurred to him to question her motives.

She was aghast. "How dare you! I do not do things their way. I don't use Unforgiveables and I don't kill people. You just cannot accept the fact that not everyone was a Gryffindor. Add to that the fact you take everything Black says way too seriously. Not everyone does things the same way. What better way to get information from a prisoner than a little creative interrogation?" She gave him a cocky smirk.

He didn't like the way she accused him of blindly listening to Sirius. "And what if you are caught? We will be outnumbered," he reminded her.

She laughed derisively. "I know a few tricks to help out with that. Aurors learn a little something about crowd control."

He decided to change the subject a little. "You didn't answer the first part, why are you on our side?"

"I would think you would have figured it out, since I'm sure Black gave you all the details," she spat.

"He told me your husband was a Death Eater," he said simply, hoping to draw some more information.

"There's your answer," she replied shortly, clearly not wanting to discuss the subject.

He didn't think it was much of an answer. "Because your husband was a Death Eater? That's it?" Could it really be as simple as some sort of twisted revenge? If that was the case, they definitely didn't need her on their side.

Her voice went cold. "We aren't going to talk about my personal life. I have no love of the Death Eaters, so I'm on your side." She stalked back into the trees.

Remus was left to follow her. He had obviously struck a nerve.

She stopped in a small clearing. "This is where we'll Apparate. We'll go back to the house until later. I figure if we arrive about ten o'clock we'll be early enough to get here before any of them." She then Disapparated, leaving Remus to follow.

He Apparated and instead of finding himself in her house, found himself on a sidewalk on a well-appointed Chelsea boulevard. Once again, she wasn't treating him as an equal by neglecting to mention she had anti-Apparition wards. Realizing he had no idea which house was hers, he looked down the street both ways for any sort of sign. He saw her poke her head out of the door on number sixteen and headed in that direction. When he entered the main hall, he started looking for his hostess. She didn't seem to be on the main floor. He heard the stairs creak and saw her coming down from the second floor.

"You might want to wash up before lunch." It was less of a suggestion and more of an order.

"Am I being permitted to stay?" he asked cautiously.

"We will have a strategy planning session this afternoon. I suggest you get a few hours rest after lunch and then we'll start planning at tea. We should be well rested before facing our adversaries." When he didn't move she said, "There is a water closet at the end of the main hall on the left."

"How gracious," he replied. After he washed, he found she was already eating her lunch. Once again, she was making him feel like her inferior.

When he sensed she was almost done with her lunch, he asked. "Why do you hate me?"

"What?"

"Why do you hate me? You didn't hate me when you first met me. You only hated me once you found out what I am. I thought we should clear the air since we will be working together for the foreseeable future." As painful as it might be, he had to know.

"I don't hate you. I have a very strong dislike and distrust of werewolves and stupid Gryffindors. You score two for two on that scale," she explained.

"Why do you feel that way about werewolves?" If he could get her to realize that he was a person and that he deserved a fair chance to be accepted, he thought their working relationship might be more pleasant. One of equals, instead of the current senior/subordinate relationship they had.

"Werewolves are dangerous and unpredictable," she said shortly.

He thought she sounded like she was quoting the Ministry stance on his kind. "You're prejudiced."

She set down her fork and turned her attention on him. "I'm practical. Look, I'll work with you as long as I am told to work with you, but that doesn't mean I have to like you. The next time I see Albus, I plan to push for reassignment. I prefer not to socialize with werewolves."

"And how many werewolves have you known?" He knew that most people had never met a werewolf and based their opinions on hearsay.

"Enough," she replied and then got up from the table. "This conversation is over," she said with finality.

He was unwilling to let this subject rest. "We are normal people. We're just afflicted with an incurable curse. I have the same emotions you do."

"I will not discuss my hatred of werewolves with you," she growled and started walking out of the room.

"So, you do hate me," he replied.

She spun back on him, menace in her gaze. "You want to know why I hate werewolves? I'll tell you, if you really want to know, but I guarantee you will not like the answer. Do you really want to know?"

Remus was not willing to admit he was afraid of the disdain in her voice. "I do."

She leaned forward on the table to appear more intimidating to the still seated Lupin. "It was early in my Auror career. I was at my family home, visiting my brother and his family. It was full moon and we could hear the distinct sound of a werewolf somewhere on the property. I was young and felt invincible. After all, I was an Auror. I decided to take care of this werewolf.

"I thought I could capture the werewolf. I was able to track him down and I had an opportunity to kill him, but I wasn't going to do that. Along with being young, I was naïve. I went for the capture instead. That werewolf escaped from me." She stood straight and walked towards the window.

When she spoke, her voice was filled with sorrow. "I didn't know that my nine year old niece had gotten outside the house. I was chasing the beast when I heard her scream." She closed her eyes as the memory of the night came rushing back to her. It was familiar, since she saw it so often in her dreams. Once again, she relived the horror of the night in slow motion. There was the werewolf, hunched over the small, prone body of her young niece, blood dripping from his jaws. Her voice caught, "By the time I arrived, it was too late. She had been bitten. I killed the werewolf before he could get away and hurt anyone else."

She turned back to face him, cold malice in her eyes and voice devoid of emotion. "Since then, I have killed every werewolf I find out in the wild and I will continue to do so. Unless you want to be number nine, you had best lock yourself up on full moon." She walked out of the dining room and upstairs.

Remus found he had suddenly lost his appetite. This must have been the event Moody had mentioned that ostracized her from her family. He could understand her hatred of werewolves. While his parents had never spoken of it, he knew they must have felt the same way about the beast that had bitten him. Thankfully, they had been able to show him love and look beyond his affliction.

He also understood how truly dangerous she was. She had let her emotions make her decision that day and it had cost her the love of her family. It was clear that she did not let them sway her now.

As he lay on the bed, he wondered what had happened to her niece. He had no idea how long ago this had happened, but he assumed that the girl had not attended Hogwarts since Albus had not mentioned it to him. Perhaps one day he could ask her about her niece. He might offer to speak with her about living life as a werewolf, but something told him that her life would be nowhere near as difficult as his since she came from a wealthy family.

When teatime arrived, Remus found Wendy in the library with a topographic model of the gathering place taking up most of the large table. "Nice of you to join me," she said sarcastically.

He checked the grandfather clock and saw that it was quarter to four and assumed she was goading him. "I was under the impression tea was at four. That makes me fifteen minutes early."

She arched her eyebrow at him, clearly surprised by his response. "Well, congratulations. Do you want a reward for that?" she asked sarcastically.

He moved closer to the table so he could get a good look at the model. There were two figures, which he assumed were the two of them, on the small ridge they had chosen as their vantage point. Never having seen this sort of visual representation of an area before, he was quite impressed by the level of detail.

She drew her wand out of her sleeve and waved it at the table. More small figures appeared in the clearing. "I'm going to assume that they would Apparate at the meeting place. You didn't hear any different, did you?"

"Well, the woman said she followed her man. I don't know that she would follow him if he Disapparated. Perhaps they walk up from the outskirts of town?"

She thought about his statement. "Okay, it would make sense for them not to Apparate directly into the clearing. I would be inclined to attack someone appearing in my midst."

"Obviously," he muttered.

She stared at him a few seconds before continuing, "It's likely they would have an Apparition point in this direction since it's the easiest way to approach the clearing and it's the same direction as town. That's another reason our hiding place is where it is, it's a more difficult approach to the clearing."

"What do we do if someone decides to use that approach anyway?"

"I'll take care of that."

"What does that mean?" He hadn't liked her tone of voice.

"It means, the less you know the better. You don't like the way I do business, so don't ask about it."

"The Order will not stoop to the same level as the Death Eaters," he said definitively.

"I'm not. I will not use an Unforgivable. I will break no Ministry law. That should be good enough for you."

"Look, I don't like the way you keep secrets. All of us in the Order have to trust each other. What I am doesn't matter and you have to put that behind you." He knew that she was new to the Order, but she should have trusted Kingsley's judgment about the rest of them.

"Do you know why I keep secrets? I'm an Auror. I am wary of anyone that I don't know, and I don't know you. I am working with you because I have a great amount of faith in Albus and he has ordered me to work with you. I'll do that. But I also know you're a Gryffindor and I know how you lot think."

He interrupted, "That's another thing, you seem to put me down just because I'm a Gryffindor. I have done my best not to judge you based on your former House affiliation, why can't you do the same? I am not weak and useless. I fought in the first war, which is more than I can say for you."

She stared at him in stunned silence for several long seconds as she tried to ensure control of her emotions. "Finished?"

"No. All I ask is that you treat me with some respect. I'm not one of your rookie Aurors. In addition to fighting Voldemort last time, I have also successfully taught a year of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Mad-Eye trusts me, Kingsley trusts me, isn't that enough?" He watched her raise an eyebrow. "Now, I'm finished."

"Understand that I grew up in a world far different from you. I grew up on the other side. I never fully subscribed to the pureblood philosophy and I guess I never realized how far my friends would go in following that philosophy. In a way, everyone I knew betrayed me. For that reason, I am leery to trust anyone's word on another person's trustworthiness.

"As for you being useless, I'll admit I entertained that thought, briefly. I know that wouldn't be the case with you in the Order. I just wonder why you were so deferential in the beginning."

He tried not to sound too frustrated. "Deferential? I was trying to figure you out. You did a complete turnaround on how you behaved towards me. You are a very complex and confusing person. Letting me know where your hatred of werewolves comes from helps, but I still don't know a lot about you."

"If I were you, I wouldn't expect to learn too much more. You are a partner that I do not particularly want to work with. I think you know as much as you need to know about me. Now, I know how you feel about the way I do things. I hear about it all the time from the others. Ask Kingsley about it next time you see him. You know what? I'm damn good at what I do, and when there's a particularly nasty job that they need an Auror for, they call me because they know I won't hesitate.

"Albus told us to gather information on suspected Death Eater activity in Gloucester. That's what I'm doing. He didn't give any more instruction than that, so I'm interpreting it my way. If your way is to only watch the meeting and maybe get names, which is unlikely since they'll be wearing hoods, you can stay here for all I care. I'm going to get some real information. And that's going to involve things you don't like. There's probably going to be some violence and torture and obviously some Obliviation to keep the first two a secret. If you're going to come, I need to know that I can trust you. I need to know that you won't balk at stunning someone."

"You obviously don't," he replied snidely.

She replied defensively, "No, I don't. And you know what? I'm still alive. Ask Moody about constant vigilance. I'm sure he can tell you an awful lot about it."

"He has." He refused to let her rile him.

"Excellent. Now that I've wasted enough time explaining myself, are you going to be a help or a hindrance? Because if it's the latter, you can go now and save me the time of planning for your presence."

"I'll help." She was so wrong for the Order. Once this mission was over, he would explain that to Albus. As powerful a wizard as Albus was, he could surely make her forget her involvement with the Order.

"Fine, now, back to planning," she said gruffly.

They spent the next several hours going over numerous conceivable sequences of events. She ended the scenarios by discussing what should be done in case of injury and a reminder of where the Portkey was hidden.

"Any questions?" she said when she was satisfied they had gone over everything. He had actually been quite useful in developing contingency plans. She thought they had covered just about anything that could happen.

He shook his head. "No." He knew that he probably shouldn't ask, since they seemed to be on reasonably good terms, but he had to. "Would you really torture them for information?" There just had to be another way. It's not that he had sympathy for the Death Eaters, it just wasn't how he liked to do things.

"We've been over this and I don't intend to change my mind. I will, if I have to. I have found some rather creative ways of getting people to give me the information I desire. Mind you, I don't do it on a regular basis, but sometimes the situation calls for extreme measures. Since these are suspected Death Eaters, I'm not overly concerned. Their adherence to the law is selective at best and since the Ministry refuses to acknowledge the current situation, there would be no trial."

"Does Albus know this is how you intend to handle things?" Remus did not like her way of doing things.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I would assume so. My methods are not a secret with the Aurors. I've worked with Kingsley many times so he knows how I am. I think I'm just what the Order needs. I will go out there and get the information we need."

"You know that we are supposed to maintain a low profile so the Death Eaters don't know we have reorganized," he reminded her.

"And they won't. You have to trust me that this will work. There's a reason I was given this mission, I have no doubt about that. None of the others were told to see if they could figure out where Death Eater groups were meeting." She was truly tired of having this argument with him.

"And that was all we were supposed to find out, not spy on them or otherwise risk ourselves," he insisted. There were so many things that could go wrong, and if they were captured, it would place the Order in very real danger before they could return to full strength.

"So I'm supposed to be a mindless follower and pass up an excellent opportunity to further our cause? I'm supposed to be just like them, huh?" she asked, not bothering to hide her frustration.

She was twisting his words. "That's not what I said. You ask me to trust you, but why I should I? You have already said you don't trust me because you don't know me. I have the same reasons for not trusting you," he defended.

"Point taken, but that's not going to change the plan. I think we have minimized the risks. Now, if you have no further questions, it's about time for us to leave. We'll leave from the foyer in ten minutes."

Remus waited in the library since he didn't have anything else to do. When the ten minutes was nearly up he moved to the foyer to wait for Wendy. She came down wearing Muggle jeans and a dark jumper.

She saw him questioning her clothing. "It's easier to fight without having robes to get caught in anything. Ready?" She wrapped a cloak around her shoulders to ward off any chill from sitting in the forest waiting for the Death Eaters to arrive.

When they arrived near the clearing, they quietly moved to their place of concealment, wands at the ready. They had no idea if they would be the only ones arriving early.

After half an hour, Remus tried to start a quiet conversation, but Wendy gave him a scathing look that said she would not tolerate any noise. He leaned against a nearby tree and waited. He alternately checked the clearing and watched her. She looked very different than she had last night. Last night, she had exuded femininity. Tonight, it was an air of danger and menace.

The fact he was watching her didn't go unnoticed. "Stop watching me and watch out for the Death Eaters," she whispered harshly. "I'll be back shortly," she whispered as she got up.

"Wendy!" he called out in a hoarse whisper, but she didn't reply.

As the time for the Death Eaters to congregate arrived, Remus held his wand at the ready. He wanted to be able to help if she needed it. It wasn't too long before he started seeing the first Death Eaters filter into the clearing, and he hunched down further into the brush. He hadn't heard any unusual noises, so he assumed that Wendy had not been discovered. Surely if a Death Eater had found her, he would have raised the alarm. He noticed that they were all hooded and cloaked in typical Death Eater fashion.

As the clearing filled, he became concerned that Wendy still hadn't returned. His apprehension grew when the meeting started and there was still no sign of her. He was torn between watching the meeting to learn what he could and looking for her. He rationalized that whatever had happened to her, the Death Eaters hadn't discovered her since the alarm had not been raised, so she was most likely not in mortal danger. The mission was more important at the moment. Besides, it would be easier to search for her once the Death Eaters were gone.

The meeting lasted just under an hour. The various members reported on minor acts of Muggle terrorizing. Their leader insisted that they keep their activities low key for the time being, that the Dark Lord had plans, but they should not draw undue attention to themselves. They were also all encouraged to support the Ministry's stance that the Dark Lord had not returned and foster that belief in their neighbors.

All in all, Remus found this meeting a waste of time. He hadn't really learned anything that was useful and he was growing concerned about Wendy's absence. Had one of the Death Eaters captured her and decided to keep her for himself?

The meeting drew to a close and the Death Eaters began filtering out of the forest. He noticed one of them was hanging back, obviously trying to catch the attention of the one he had determined was the leader. Where is Wendy? This was her plan, he wondered. Watching the clearing, he saw the Death Eater hanging back pull a wand out of his sleeve and stun the leader. He leapt over the log he was hiding behind and ran down to the clearing, ready to attack.

"Put your wand down," said Wendy as she pulled the mask off her head.

"What they hell are you doing here? This wasn't part of the plan." Infiltrating the meeting had been even more reckless than her decision to capture one of them.

"I thought of a better one," she replied casually.

He couldn't believe she was so cavalier about the danger she had placed herself in. They could sort that out later. "Where did you get the robes?"

"From some other Death Eater. He's unconscious and tied up. He didn't really know anything useful."

"And what about this one?" Remus asked while pointing at the unconscious leader.

"We wait a few minutes to make sure everyone is gone and then we ask him some questions."

Remus frowned. He still didn't like the idea of interrogation. Despite all her assurances, there were too many things that could go wrong. "What are you going to do to him?"

"I've already told you not to worry about it. Now, let's move him somewhere I can tie him up." With a wave of her wand and a Mobilicorpus charm she moved him to the smaller clearing and tied him to a tree. She pointed her wand at her captive.

"Wendy, we shouldn't do this. It's too dangerous. What happens if he identifies us?" He hadn't liked the plan and this wasn't even part of the plan.

"Don't worry. I have everything under control. Just stay behind him so he can't see you." She replaced the mask, returned her attention to the captive and said, "Ennervate."

Remus cringed and didn't want to watch. She wasn't overly cruel, using itching and tickling charms for the most part, only occasionally using a pain causing hex, but he was reminded too much of the friends he had failed to control when he had been a student. Grudgingly, he had to admit that her methods were effective.

"Well now, I'd like to thank you for your cooperation, but you won't remember any of this," she said. She was about to Obliviate her captive when she heard a noise behind her. She and Remus both turned to face the noise, and she jumped out of the way when she saw motion. There was an explosion behind her, and she cried out in pain.

Remus took aim at their attacker and cried out, "Expelliarmus," before their attacker could get off another shot. Once their attacker was unarmed he stunned the man.

Wendy tried to get to her feet. "Fuck! Bloody hell!" she cursed from the pain of standing.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"No, dammit. I've got tree lodged in my leg. Fuck! Don't touch it," she ordered when he tried to take a look at the splinters. "Where's our friend?" she asked as she leaned up against a nearby tree.

"Over there," he pointed to the direction of the first attack.

"Bring him over here. I'll Obliviate them both and we'll be on our way." She limped closer to the Death Eater she had tied up and Obliviated him. She then stunned him. "Untie him and move him down to the clearing."

While Remus took the leader back to the clearing, she Obliviated their attacker. Then she realized that she still had to return the robes to the first Death Eater and that Remus had no idea where she had left that man. "Dammit." She looked around for something to use as a cane to help alleviate the pressure she had to put on her leg. Thankfully, it had only been her left leg that was injured. She pulled out her wand, cut a tree branch and transfigured it into a cane. After pulling the larger chunks of wood out of her leg, she ripped her cloak for bandages to stop the bleeding.

Remus returned to the clearing and found her gone. "Wendy," he called out, but not too loudly, in case there was anyone else around. He heard underbrush snapping and headed in that direction, wand at the ready. It didn't take him long to catch up to her. "What are you doing?"

"I have to return the cloak and mask. There will be enough questions already." She grimaced in pain.

"You're bleeding," he said as he got a good look at her injury in his wand's illumination.

"I know. I've bandaged it as best I can. I'll take care of it when I get home." She stumbled and would have fallen if Remus hadn't caught her.

"We can't wait, we need to get you home," he insisted.

"No, dammit. We need to finish the mission." When they found her captive, she pulled off the Death Eater robes and leaned against a tree to take the weight off her leg. "Dress him so we can get out of here," she ordered.

Remus dressed the man as quickly as he could. "Can you Apparate?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so." She reached for her locket, but it was gone. "We'll have to find the Portkey."

He tried to pull her arm over his shoulder to help support her, but she pulled away from him. "Don't...touch me."

"Wendy, we need to leave as soon as possible. You can move faster if I help." He was concerned that she was growing weaker and refused to admit it.

"I'll make it on my own," she growled. She didn't want that werewolf touching her.

He sighed and walked close to her in case she stumbled again. After she stumbled the third time, he wrapped his arm around her waist. "No arguments. They'll be waking soon and we need to not be here when they do," he said firmly.

"Fine," she growled and let him help her. She had to admit they did make better time. They found the shoe fairly easily and with a touch, were in yet another wooded clearing.

"Where are we?" Remus asked.

"Oh, bloody hell!" she shouted, having forgotten the Portkey would take them somewhere safe, not back to her house. "Near Hogsmeade." She was trying to decide what to do next, but the pain in her leg was making it hard to think.

"Well, if you can't Apparate, we can take a room at the Three Broomsticks." He thought, If only the school year had started, I could have gotten Madam Pomfrey to heal her.

"No! That will draw too much attention, coming in at this hour." She sighed. There was only one choice. "We go into the village and call the Knight Bus." She truly hated traveling that way, but there was no other choice at this hour. The conductor and driver would not ask questions once she flashed her badge.

He helped her walk into the village and they summoned the Knight Bus. Wendy fished some coins out of her pocket, handed them to Stan Shunpike and then flashed her Auror Identification. "Next, stop, Chelsea."

Stan took one look at her badge, gulped, and replied, "Right. Chelsea it is." He decided it was best to leave them alone.

Wendy slapped Remus' hand away. "I can make my own way," she insisted, but when the bus lurched, she fell into his arms.

He helped her to the nearest bed. "Of course you can."

Remus watched her throughout the bus ride. He could see the color draining from her face and a look at the floor showed him a puddle of blood forming around her foot. Before he could say anything there was another bang and lurch as the bus stopped in front of her house. She tried to fight off his help, but was forced to accept it when she found she couldn't stand on her own.

Once in the light of her house, he could see her injury more clearly. Her left leg was soaked in blood. "We need to get you to a healer."

"No! If we do that, then I have to explain it. Cappa," she called out for her house-elf. "Get the aid kit." She hobbled into the drawing room and collapsed onto the sofa.

"And going in to work with a limp won't draw the wrong sort of attention?" How could she be so cavalier about her health? That is a serious wound that needs professional attention.

She tried to pull her blue jeans away so she could get a good look at her wound. "It looks like it's only a flesh wound. I can take care of that here."

"You've lost a lot of blood," he said, the concern very clear in his voice.

"The aid kit, Mistress," Cappa said as she arrived with a bag in her hand.

Wendy looked up at Remus. "If you don't mind?" She indicated that she'd like privacy.

Remus realized she must want to remove her jeans to treat the wounds. "I'm sorry."

"You can stay here in the guest room or you can return to wherever it is you live." The bite had gone out of her voice. She was too tired.

"I'll stay here in case you need anything," he replied quietly.

"Cappa is capable of tending to my needs. There is no need for you to stay," she said in a civil tone.

"I'll stay here. Tomorrow, we can report our findings." He felt a certain level of responsibility to make sure she was all right.

"You mean, my findings. Fine, whatever. You know where the guest room is. Now, if you will excuse me?"

Remus lay on the bed trying to assimilate the events of the night. He was beginning to wonder if his new partner had a death wish. He most certainly did not. Even with everything he had learned about her, he still felt there was much that he didn't know. She seemed to go out of her way to not let anyone close to her. Why did he even care? She would surely plead with Albus for reassignment every opportunity she had. Perhaps he could talk to the old wizard and add his voice to hers in requesting reassignment. They were clearly incompatible.

He finally heard her hobbling up the stairs and down the hallway. He could hear her grunting in pain as she walked by his door and wondered why she hadn't taken anything for the pain.

Tomorrow morning they would report to the Order on the night's events. He didn't have all the facts, since she had done some things without him, but he knew enough. While they had gathered some potentially useful information, he did not agree with the manner in which it been obtained. She took entirely too many risks. True, the interrogation had not been as bad as he thought it might be, but he still thought it was not appropriate.