A close shave
Chapter 17 - A close shave
At long last Remus and George-Harry reached the Burrow. George-Harry was almost completely unconscious as he began to return to his original self, the black hair now turning ginger, as his figure lengthened. Remus and Harry, real or imposter, had to carry him into the house. Molly said he would live, but there was no chance in restoring his ear. After ensuring it was the real Harry who was accompanied by Hagrid, Remus decided to wait outside for Dora and the rest. To his dismay, their portkey had arrived without them, Remus’ heart sank as he laid eyes on the rusted oilcan, it was still emitting a faint glow. George's dried blood remained on Remus' hands and clothes, but he couldn't bother cleaning up, his mind had only room for Dora.
Hermione and Kingsley arrived next on their thestral, they appeared shaken, but otherwise unscathed. Remus and Kingsley both asked security questions to each other, Hermione on the other hand just rushed into Harry's arms. Although he wasn't too pleased about this, Remus decided to let this slide, they were just teenagers in a war after all. Arthur and Fred arrived next, but still no sign of Dora and Ron. Muriel's wasn't too far away, even if they had missed their portkey it shouldn't have taken that long to get here by broom. Fear began to engulf Remus, it was comparable to the chill one would feel in the presence of dementors. He clenched his fists in his pockets, his nails digging into the palms of his hands, it was only a matter of time before he drew blood.
The rest of them except the twins and their parents made their way outside to wait for the others. They stood shoulder to shoulder as they watched the night sky for the faintest sign of the arrival of any one of their own. Arthur was comforting Molly inside, with his arm wrapped around her shoulder. How Remus wished it was him and Dora in each other's arms, his heart was caught in his throat, he didn't know what to think. Remus knew Dora was a skilled auror, but that was the problem, she always prioritised capture over murder, as part of her training. Remus had a mad urge to fly off into the night sky to look for her, he couldn't take it any longer.
'Remus!' cried the voice he was most anxious to hear, the next thing he knew, Dora was in his arms, as she should be. Remus was lost for words, he never wanted to let her go.
'So what kept you? What happened?' asked Remus a little too loudly, he couldn't contain his frustration.
'Bellatrix. She wants me quite as much as she wants Harry, Remus, she tried very hard to kill me. I just wish I'd got her, I owe Bellatrix. But we definitely injured Rodolphus...then we got to Ron's Auntie Muriel's and we'd missed our portkey and she was fussing over us -'
Remus just nodded as he pulled her closer, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Dora buried her head in his chest, and Remus kissed the top of her head. They broke apart only when Molly and Arthur thanked them for bringing their sons safely. Both Dora and Remus thought this was rather silly of them since they loved all the Weasley children. The last to arrive were Bill and Fleur, also on thestral. They had brought back grave news that Mad-Eye had been killed, and Mundungus had fled. This shook Dora, she has always been close to Mad-Eye, and he was like a second father to her. Tears streamed down Dora's face as Remus held her. It was his turn to take care of her, just as she took care of him during Dumbledore's funeral.
They all raised their glasses to Mad-Eye before Remus and Bill left to look for his body. Dora didn't want him to go, but she couldn't bear the thought of Mad-Eye's body being found by the Death Eaters instead. Dora kissed him on the lips before he left with Bill. Dora, Remus and Hagrid would be spending the night at the Burrow, although they had to rough it out, it was safer that way. Molly refused to let Dora go home by herself until Remus got back with Bill. Dora and Remus would be spending the night in the living room while Hagrid camped outside, still within the protective boundaries of the Burrow.
Dora was wide awake, she was accompanied by Molly, and Fleur in the kitchen. Both of them refused to go to sleep until Bill returned, especially since his wedding was only a few days away. Arthur and Fred had taken George upstairs, they would be taking care of him tonight. His bleeding had finally stopped, and Molly had neatly bandaged his wounds. Dora suspected Hermione would be sneaking into Harry and Ron’s room tonight, she smiled at the thought. Sometimes she couldn't help but wish Remus and her had been at Hogwarts together, they would have had a lot more time together, dates at Hogsmeade, sneaking off for a snog between classes. But it didn't matter, they've got the rest of their lives to be together, and who said snogging was only for teens. Professor Lupin was particularly good at that.
The air was tense in the kitchen as they waited for Remus and Bill’s return. Each of them hardly spoke. Mad-Eye was dead, and someone had leaked information to Voldemort and his Death Eaters. How else could they have possibly known Harry was to be moved today, especially when they had planted a false trail at the Ministry. Thank Merlin their protective enchantments around all the halfway points worked. Had they not, Dora was sure she would have been dead, or dying at her aunt's hands. She knew Remus and I got married, thought Dora to herself. Her insides squirmed slightly, she knew this was why Bellatrix seemed more blood-thirsty today. The Blacks hated half breeds almost as much hated blood-traitors and muggle-borns.
After a few hours of waiting in agony, the three witches jumped in surprise as they heard voices from the back garden. Dora made sure it was Bill and Remus before letting her guard down, and letting them in. Unfortunately, their search ended in vain as they didn’t manage to recover Mad-Eye’s body. Dora’s heart sank even further as she broke down again. First they lost Dumbledore, and now Mad-Eye. Dora felt a pang of guilt as she thought of all the unsaid things between her and Mad-Eye, she never properly thanked him for all he’d done for her.
Mad-Eye was one of the only ones who saw Dora’s true potential, and never gave up on her, despite her clumsiness, and as some would say, her lack of seriousness. Remus held Dora in his arms the entire night as they talked about Mad-Eye. Remus told her plenty about him during the first Wizarding War, when Dora would have been just a kid, and Dora returned the favour by telling him about her time with Mad-Eye during her auror training. They laughed, they cried, they smiled, and finally they fell asleep, still in close embrace.