Chapter 18

True to her word, Wendy had managed to spend most of her time out of the office. George had been extremely pleased to have her volunteering for so much undercover work. She had even agreed to take some of the younger Aurors with her and offer them advice on going undercover successfully.

Unfortunately, she still had to return to the office to file her reports. In the past, Lucius had spent quite a bit of time at the Ministry, and she kept expecting to run into him. So far she had been lucky.

With the latest round of reports filed, it was time for her to go home. As she walked past the other cubicles, she finally took note of how late it was. She was the only person on the floor. When she reached the landing, she pressed the button for the lift and began impatiently tapping her foot. Naturally, they were all at the lobby level.

"I think that you have been avoiding me," came a voice from the shadows.

Wendy spun around, wand at the ready, and saw Lucius giving her a playful grin.

He lowered her wand with his fingertips. "Now, now, you wouldn't want to hurt me, would you?"

Even knowing what she had promised Remus, she found her body reacting to his silky smooth voice and masculine presence. "No, of course not," she replied coyly.

He brushed her cheek, tracing her scar, and laced his fingers into her hair. "I didn't think so."

She pulled away from him, afraid of what her body was doing.

"Are you avoiding me?" he asked suspiciously.

"No, not at all. I've just been very busy." She found herself backing away from him.

"And now?" he asked, his voice full of desire.

"Lucius, please, we're in the Ministry," she protested as she looked around nervously. She had to get away from him, but without the lift, there was nowhere to run.

"There's no one here," he whispered before nibbling at her neck.

She found her resolve melting. There was something about his touch that made her lose her sense of reason. Desperately, she tried to cling onto her desire to flee.

"Since you have finished your work for the night, I think perhaps I know what you can do for the rest of the evening," he said seductively.

There was a reason why this wasn't a good idea. What was it? She found her fingers laced into his hair. Had he been wearing it loose before? She gasped as she felt his hand reach between her legs. Even with the layers of fabric separating their skin, she could still feel the heat pooling from his touch.

"Why don't we go to your house?" he suggested.

This seemed like a very good idea. Everywhere he touched her, it felt like her skin was on fire. She had a nagging feeling that they shouldn't go to her house, though. Why was that? Oh, yes. "I have a houseguest right now." Yes, she wanted to go home, but without Lucius. She tried to push him away.

He pulled her tight against his body and grinded his hips into her. "That's rather inconvenient, but I believe I have a solution."

When he pulled her into the lift, she wondered when it had gotten there. She didn't remember the door opening. Before she could think of anything else, he pressed his lips against hers and forced her mouth open. The fire within her demanded she return the kiss. As the doors opened, she noticed they were on Level One. "Where?"

"Shhh." He pulled her down the hallway and into an office. Once there, he took hold of her arm and Side-Along Apparated.

When the spinning stopped, Wendy noticed she was in his suite. She returned her attention to him when she felt her outer robe drop to the floor.

"Now, then, my dear. It's been far too long, don't you think?"

At this point, she didn't know what to think and nodded. Her fingers began working on unfastening his buttons, searching for the smooth skin hidden beneath.

Lucius grinned lasciviously at her. She had always been putty in his hands. He would have to convince her to spend more time with him. She had been downright neglectful recently. He had needs and it was her job to fulfill those needs.

Wendy found herself wandering the park near her house aimlessly. When she left Lucius' suite, she had been about to return straight home, but then realized something wasn't quite right. After half an hour in the park, she realized what it was: she had never intended to be with Lucius. Now she was left with trying to determine how it had happened.

She knew that Remus would react quite poorly to this. After all, she had told him that she would do her best to avoid the man. Sinking down onto a park bench, she ran her fingers through her hair.

Only when she noticed Muggles staring at her did she realize that she was still in her robes, and headed home.

Remus heard the front door open and decided to investigate. He and Wendy were the only ones that should be able to open the door, but she always Apparated home. He saw a visibly shaken Wendy heading towards the stairs. "Wendy?" he asked tentatively.

She turned to face him, her eyes puffy and red from the crying she had done. "I didn't mean to," she sobbed before collapsing into his arms.

He was very concerned and confused. "You didn't mean to what?"

"He was there, at the Ministry, and I don't know what happened. One minute, I was waiting for the lift, the next..."

If she said anything more, he couldn't understand it through the tears. "Wendy, what happened? Who are you talking about?"

"Lucius," she sniveled. She could feel him stiffen. "I don't know what happened. I wanted to get away from him. I tried to get away from him, but... I don't know. The next thing I knew, I was with him. He has to be using a potion. That's the only solution I can see. I didn't want to. I wanted to come home to you." She broke down into tears again.

A potion. That made sense, but could he believe her? Watching her emotional breakdown, he knew that she was telling the truth. "Shhh. Darling, it's all right. Why don't you go upstairs and have a nice long shower? I can have a bite to eat ready when you get out? How does that sound?"

She nodded. "Okay."

He kissed the tears on her cheeks before kissing her lips and sending her upstairs.

When she emerged from the bath, he was in the bedroom reading a book. "How do you feel?"

"A little better," she replied. Sitting at the table, she picked at the tray of food. Deciding to not dwell on what she had done, but on what she had learned, she said, "I think my brother may be taking a more active role than he did the last time. Lucius seemed to hint that there was someone important at my brother's place. I'm not sure who it is. It might be one of the escapees. It's disturbing that my brother seems to be taking a more active role this time around." She paused and looked away, unsure of how to continue.

Remus rose from the divan and knelt beside her. "What else is there? Did he hurt you?" If Malfoy had hurt her, he would kill that arrogant bastard.

"No, it's not that. He told me that Timor has pulled Andorra out of Hogwarts. I fear he may send her to Durmstrang. At least this year I've been able to see her in Hogsmeade. Now, I worry what will happen to her between Durmstrang and my brother being more open in expressing his loyalties."

"Is it possible Malfoy told you this to try to get you to do something reckless?" He didn't see that Malfoy would just offer that information for no reason.

She shook her head. "I don't think so. He's one of the few that knows that Andorra is my daughter." She paused. "Remus, I'd like to go see her."

"But you said there may be a rather dangerous Death Eater there." He recalled the last time she had talked him into a spying mission.

"I don't care about that. I just want to see her. Please?" She ran her fingers through his hair, wanting to touch him, to know that he was real.

He could see how much she wanted to do this. "What's your plan? Surely you aren't planning on just knocking on the front door?"

"No. My brother was never a very good wizard. I've always been able to get by the wards when I wanted to and I know where Andorra's room is."

"You want to sneak in with your invisibility cloak?" he asked incredulously.

"No. That's far too risky. In the past I have climbed up to her window and watched from there. You could hide in the garden below while I climb up in the cloak."

"It still sounds risky. While your brother may not be that good of a wizard, his guest probably is, and there's a good chance the wards have been updated. We still aren't sure how we were discovered in Little Hangleton. If there is an escapee there, we could get help from the others."

"And how would that help us? We'd break into my brother's place and conduct an unauthorized raid? That would draw exactly the wrong sort of attention to me. He still has enough influence in the Ministry to make it very uncomfortable if any of us were caught. No, I just want to look in her window and see her again. That's all. I won't go prowling around, causing trouble, or looking for Death Eaters. I just want to see her again. Please? We could go tonight and we'd only be gone about an hour." She was running her fingers through his hair and kissing him in hopes of convincing him to agree.

He found he couldn't say no. It seemed like such a harmless request. After all, she had grown up in that house. "All right. We'll go. How soon would you be ready to leave?"

"Just let me grab the invisibility cloak," she said and hurried out of the room and downstairs.

She seemed so much happier now that he had agreed to this trip. He tried to convince himself that he was doing the right thing. After all, they weren't capturing anyone or spying on anyone.

They Apparated to a wooded area that couldn't be seen from the manor. "Which way?" Remus asked.

Wendy looked around, getting her bearings. "This way," she replied and led him into the darkness. They had both agreed that using their wands would be a bad idea.

"How far?" he asked.

"About five minutes."

They moved cautiously through the trees. Pausing at the edge of the glade, they stared out across the vast lawn that made up Wendy's childhood home.

"What now?" he asked.

She looked up at the sky. The moon was nearly full and illuminated the lawn enough that anyone looking out a window would surely spot them. Thankfully, there were clouds in the sky. "We wait for one of the clouds to cover the moon and then we run across to the manor."

"This isn't a very good plan," he stated.

"Well, this whole side of the house is dark. Downstairs are the ballroom and dining room, both likely to be deserted. Upstairs are the family rooms. Andorra and Caroline's rooms will be there. The other two rooms should be deserted. Guests wouldn't be kept in the family area."

He looked at the side of the building and couldn't see any clear handholds. "And you're sure you can climb up to her room?"

"Positive. My brother, in a fit of arrogance, decided to give her my old room. Let's just say, I used to sneak out of that room on a regular basis," she replied confidently.

"That was more than twenty years ago," he reminded her.

"Actually, the last time I climbed up there was last summer. I'll be fine." She gave him a reassuring smile and looked up at the sky. A large cloud moving across the nearly full moon. "Let's go."

The two of them sprinted across the lawn and into the shadows of the manor's wall. They slunk along the wall until they were under Andorra's window.

"Not to question your abilities, but how are you going to get up there?" Remus asked.

"There are enough irregularities in the rock that I can get a good hand and foot hold on it." She gave him a quick kiss, covered herself with the invisibility cloak and began scaling the wall.

Since he couldn't see her, he decided to keep watch around the rest of the grounds.

Wendy made it to the small balcony without incident. The doors were closed and the drapes were drawn. With a small wave of her hand, she was able to part the curtains enough to look into the room. She could see Andorra sleeping in her bed. How she wished she had made different choices all those years ago. But if she had, she never would have met Remus.

She had just started climbing down, when she saw a stunner heading for Remus. There was nothing she could do about him getting hit by it, but she pushed off from the wall and rolled to the ground, coming up with her wand at the ready to retaliate against whoever had attacked him. Unfortunately, their attacker had moved and she found herself stunned before she could attack.

Remus could feel. And what he felt wasn't pleasant. It was cold, dark and the ground was hard. He felt the stiffness and disorientation the came with waking from a stun. He had no idea where he was. Wendy! Perhaps she escaped? he thought.

Crawling on his hands and knees, he began investigating his surroundings. His hands found another in his cell. "No, no, Wendy." He shook her gently, trying to rouse her. Gently slapping her cheek, he said, "Wendy, please, wake up."

She swatted at the hand that was slapping her cheek. "Quit it." Slowly opening her eyes, she tried to take in her surroundings. "Where are we?"

"I was hoping you could answer that."

She sat up and tried to make out anything in the room. They were in almost complete darkness and it was difficult to see anything. "Damn, whoever it was got me, too. I saw you get hit and tried to take out your attacker, but whoever it was, was too fast for me." She got to her feet and started feeling around the room. "I think we're in one of the storerooms." A quick search of her pockets revealed her wand was missing. "Is yours gone, too?" she asked.

"Yes. It seems we are quite helpless. Unless you know a way out of here?" he asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not. This particular storeroom is warded against magical entry or exit. In the past it was used to store some rather nasty magical items. If I had my wand I could get out of here, but wandless magic is nowhere near powerful enough to provide an escape."

"What are they going to do with us?"

"I have no idea. Depends on who captured us." She sat back down and leaned against the wall. "There's nothing to do but wait." She could feel Remus sit next to her, and she leaned up against him for comfort. "I'm really sorry about this. I had no idea this would happen. I seem to get us in an awful lot trouble."

"It's all right. I should have said no to you. I knew it wasn't right for us to come, but I came anyway." He should have listened to that little voice in the back of his mind, but it had been too quiet.

"We almost made it," she replied half-heartedly.

As time passed, the two of them drifted into an uneasy sleep.

They both jumped to their feet as they heard the door click. Timor Leah came into their makeshift cell, and used his wand to light the lamps on the wall. "Well, well, well. Little sister. What a surprise to find you here?" he drawled. "I'm quite surprised you were sitting here in the dark. I thought you surely would have lit the lamps."

Truthfully, she had forgotten about the lamps on the wall. She had never spent much time in the storerooms. "What do you want, Timor?"

"I could ask you the same. After all, you were the one that was trespassing. And who do we have here?" he asked as he examined Remus. "Could my sister finally have taken a lover?"

"John is just a friend," she replied casually.

"And what are you doing here?" Timor asked.

"I heard that you had withdrawn Andorra from Hogwarts, and not knowing when you would send her to Durmstrang, I wanted to see her. I had no intention of being seen. I just wanted to look at her," she replied truthfully.

"How touching. But I find I don't believe you. What else should I think when I find a pair of Aurors on my property?" he asked suspiciously.

"I'm not an Auror," Remus replied.

Timor raised an eyebrow. "Not an Auror? Interesting. I didn't realize that Wendy socialized. What, pray tell, do you do?"

"I work in a Muggle bookstore," he said defensively, thankful that he really did have an honest job right now.

"A Muggle bookstore?" He turned his attention to Wendy. "Have you stooped so low that you can only associate with Mudbloods?" Timor said snidely.

"He never said he was Muggle-born," Wendy said defensively.

"No self-respecting pureblood would ever work for a Muggle. Not even one of the Weasleys, and they are an embarrassment to the name of Wizard."

"What are you going to do with us?" Wendy asked, eager to change the subject.

Timor crossed his arms and considered her question. "I haven't the foggiest. Your story is plausible, but there could be more to it. I'll have to consider what I'm going to do with you."

"I don't suppose you could detain us somewhere more comfortable?" she asked. "After all, I am your sister."

"And that, is why you are here. You will know as soon as I decide on your future." He walked out of the cell, humming a happy tune.

"What do we do now?" Remus asked quietly.

Wendy closed her eyes and ran her hands along the doorframe. "I don't know. Without my wand, I can't get out of this room." She walked over to the very small transom window. It was much too small for either of them to crawl through. "I'm so sorry. I should have listened to you." She gave him a hug.

"Do you think he knows what's going on in here?" Remus asked.

"He might be able to hear, but I don't know of any magic that would let him see. I'm not sure how much interest he'll have in me."

"How long do you think it will take for him to decide what he's going to do with us?"

"I don't know. He can be petty, but he has to keep in mind that if I'm gone too long, it will raise a lot of suspicion at the Ministry because I am an Auror."

"Do you think he would keep you here more than a day?" he asked nervously.

"Why?" As she asked, the reason suddenly dawned on her. "Oh, shit!"

"While I took my potion last night, if I don't take it this evening..." he couldn't finish that sentence, he just held her tight, trying not to think about it.

"I need to think." She took a seat in the middle of the room.

"About what?" Remus asked.

"How to get out of here. Perhaps in the depths of my memory is something useful. It might be some time before I speak again." She closed her eyes and slowed her breathing, traveling within her mind.

Remus had been alternately pacing and sitting against the wall, watching Wendy and the door. Neither had moved. From the light coming in the window, he could tell it was past mid-day. Checking his watch he saw that it was nearly three o'clock. He was disturbed by the fact that neither food nor water had been brought to them. He grew more nervous as it got later in the day. If she didn't emerge from her trance soon, he would have to wake her.

He looked up when he heard the door click. A tray with a pitcher of water and a small loaf of bread was shoved into the room. A part of him wanted to devour the bread and water, but he knew he had to share. He decided he would wait another half hour.

Just as he was about to break her trance, she collapsed sideways to the floor. He scurried to her side. "Wendy, are you all right?"

She rolled onto her back and opened her eyes. "Fine. That just took a lot out of me."

He helped her to a sitting position. "Someone brought us food and water. I waited for you."

"Thanks." She smiled sadly at him. "I could use some water."

He helped her over to the side of the room so that they could sit against the wall. Handing her the pitcher, he let her drink first. "Did you find anything?"

"I'm not sure. I have one spell that I'm not sure will work, but I'll give it a go."

He thought she was hiding something. "Just the one spell?"

"Yes," she replied, before ripping the bread in half and slowly eating her half.

"I'm sure it will work," he replied nervously.

Once they had finished their meager meal, she announced, "I'm ready to give it a try." She took another small sip of water and moved towards the door. "Please, stand back." She didn't want him to hear the spell.

Remus stayed where he was and watched. She stood close to the door and began waving her hands in a complex pattern and chanting quietly. He couldn't make out the words, but he could tell from her behavior that it was very old magic.

After five minutes, nothing had happened and he was starting to lose hope. She had to find a way out of this cell. She just had to.

She lowered her hands and her entire body slumped in failure. "I'm sorry, it didn't work."

He wrapped his arms around her and felt her collapse onto his chest. "It's all right." He knew it was only a few more hours until the moon would rise. "Wendy?" he really didn't want to bring this subject up, but he knew he had to.

"Yes?" she asked cautiously.

"I need to ask a favor of you if we aren't released soon."

She could see the torment in his face, and she felt a lump settle in the pit of her stomach. "What sort of favor?"

"If I turn into the wolf, I will likely kill you, or at the very least give you my affliction." He paused trying to find the strength to continue.

She suspected what he was going to ask of her and shook her head. "No, I can't. I won't."

He grabbed her shoulders. "You have to. I couldn't live with myself if I hurt or killed you. I need you to..."

She pulled away, not wanting to hear him say it. "No! I won't do it."

"You know I can't control myself. You have to, for your sake, for both our sakes. If we aren't released before the moon rises, you have to kill me."

Tears were starting to stream down her face. "No, I won't do it. I can't." She whispered, "I love you."

"And I love you, too. That's why I need you to do this. I can't give you my curse. And as hungry as I am, it's more likely that I would kill you. If one of us has to die, I would rather it be me. You have more to live for. Besides, I couldn't live with myself if I harmed you."

"No, there has to be a way. I can get us out of here," she was nearly hysterical.

"Do you know another spell?" he asked gently.

She replied evasively, "Well, no, yes, no! I'll find a way out."

He shook her gently, trying to bring her back to reality. "What do you know? Is there something that can help?"

She forced herself to look into his eyes. "Yes and no. A long time ago I learned a spell, a Binding Spell."

"Then do it!" he insisted, even though he had no idea what a Binding Spell was.

She pulled away. "It's not that easy."

"What do you mean it's not that easy?"

"Do you have any idea what a Binding Spell is?" She found she couldn't look at him.

"Well, no," he responded quietly.

"It's very ancient magic, done in rare instances when one person would become magically bound to another. It was generally done in the noble families to ensure the loyalty of the most trusted servants. It has effects similar to what binds a house-elf to a family. If I were to do this, you would become completely loyal to me. Not only that, but you would do my bidding without question. You would cease to be an individual. And I know of no way to reverse it. That was part of the appeal of the Binding Spell. It was irrevocable. I can't do that to you." Tears were streaming down her face.

He held her head in his hands, forcing her to look into his eyes. "You have to. There are two choices: you either do the Binding Spell or you kill me. I can't hurt you. I love you." He kissed her passionately.

"I don't think you understand. If I were to get mad at you and tell you to go away, you would, and you would feel no desire to return, ever. When, in the course of foreplay, I playfully tell you to stop, you would. If I were to tell you to drop dead, you would. Your will would be subject to my orders. You would not be leading a real life."

"But we would both be alive," he said insistently.

She held onto him tightly. "There are still a few more hours."

They spent the next couple of hours holding each other and saying very little.

"Wendy, it's time. The moon will be up shortly. You need to make your decision," he said sadly.

"I know. I just...I can't." Never before had she balked at doing anything difficult.

He insisted, "You must. I couldn't live with myself if I killed you."

"But there's a chance you wouldn't," she said optimistically.

"Not much of one. A hungry wolf will feed on whatever is available. You have gone against werewolves before. Could you defeat one without your wand?" he asked soberly.

"I could try. I could try an obscuring spell. It might hide me from you," she offered desperately.

"Then I would hope you are much better at it than I am. I could never hope to do one without my wand, and I don't know if it would mask your scent. Please, do the Binding Spell. Save both our lives," he pleaded.

"Remus, I..." She couldn't hold back the tears.

"Shh. I love you and will be loyal to you even without the spell. You must hurry. Time is running out. I can feel the moon," he said urgently.

Wendy picked up the tray and smashed it against the wall. When she saw Remus' inquisitive look, she said, "It is a blood spell." She picked up one of the pieces and led him to the center of the room. They knelt facing one another.