No One Is Above The Law
George wasn’t strong enough to keep this up, Anna wasn’t strong enough to keep it up and Remus only had strength enough to stay by Angelina’s bedside. George had worried about keeping her at Hogwarts, believing that if she stayed any longer and Dumbledore continued to try to convince the minister to release Darren, then he would eventually figure out where she was.
Remus wasn’t exactly happy at moving her so soon but agreed that the last place the minister would look was the Lockwood home. No one would think to go back since Darren’s arrest, thinking that she would be moved to a more secure location.
It was another few days before Angelina woke up again. To Remus’s surprise, Jocelyne had arrived in the early hours of the morning, he had been making breakfast for Angelina who was able to eat again. The potion was only enough to keep her going for so long before she would need to make the effort on her own, it was a slow process, but she was making progress quicker than Remus anticipated.
‘Remus.’ Jocelyne sighed, smiling through her tired features. She was carrying both of her children, barely three years of age and already it seemed they were entering a dangerous world, though Remus took a little comfort in knowing that Angelina would protect them if Jocelyne asked.
‘Jocelyne, what are you doing here?’ He said, taking the sleeping Harper and holding her close while Jocelyne closed the back door. Remus was suddenly aware that his shirt wasn’t buttoned all the way up and he wasn’t wearing trousers, well, he wasn’t exactly expecting company at that time in the morning. Jocelyne, however, didn’t seem to care in the slightest.
‘Benji said that Darren was arrested,’ she was keeping her voice lower than usual. ‘And that Angie was being treated at Hogwarts. I’m not an idiot, I grew up with two Lockwoods, I know that the safest place Angie would be moved to, was right here.’
Remus was very impressed. They took the twins to the living room and gently placed them onto the soft sofa. Remus gestured to a thin blanket behind Jocelyne while he quickly darted upstairs to grab his trousers.
‘Jocelyne’s downstairs with the twins.’ He said, a little out of breath. Angelina was wide awake and staring at the ceiling, but at the mention of the children, perked up and began sitting up in bed. Remus quickly helped her. ‘You need to be careful, you’re still regaining your strength.’
‘I want to see them.’ She said, pleading with her still bloodshot, blue eyes. Remus sighed and kissed her head.
‘Alright, have some breakfast for me first.’
Angelina agreed and Remus helped her settle comfortably before heading back downstairs to find Jocelyne finishing breakfast.
‘You hungry?’ Remus brought down another plate, as Jocelyne nodded. It was clear something was bothering her. ‘Is there a reason you came so early?’
‘Well, I guessed that it would draw less attention than arriving in the middle of the day.’
‘I suppose you’re right.’ They continued to make breakfast quietly. ‘She wants to see you, but I should warn you, she’s lost a lot of weight, barely survived her time in Tibet. She’s been in and out of consciousness for a couple of weeks now, we’re still not sure what happened, but George found her fighting off Yetis in her animagus.’ Jocelyne stopped what she was doing, holding back her tears.
Remus placed his hand on her shoulder and was hardly surprised when she turned to wrap her arms around his waist, quietly sobbing against his chest. He knew it was hard to be without Angelina for so long, but to have her back and know that she had seen horrors was somehow worse. Remus did what he could to comfort the young witch and eventually she took a few steady breaths, letting him go.
‘She’s safe, we can take comfort in that.’ Remus reassured her. Jocelyne attempted to smile and wiped away her tears, getting back to what she was doing. ‘Why don’t you sit down? Have some tea while I take Angelina her breakfast.’
‘Okay, that would be nice, thank you.’
Remus had never seen Jocelyne this way, she almost looked helpless, no idea what it was she was supposed to do. There must have been a reason she came to the house, a reason that Remus may not have been so eager to know about.
He placed a plate down in front of her and rummaged around for George’s stash of chocolate. Jocelyne smiled in thanks and ate quietly while Remus took Angelina her tea and toast.
‘Here we are.’ He smiled, but before he could set the plate down, she spoke.
‘I can feel them.’ There was a distance in her eyes that Remus had never seen before, like nothing was quite in focus, but she was definitely looking at something. ‘They’re dreaming about dancing figures and playing in the garden… Jocelyne’s worried about Benji, the minister is putting pressure on him.’ Suddenly her eyes snapped back into focus. ‘Why is the minister putting pressure on the Aurors? Is it because of me?’
Remus wasn’t sure what to do, she wasn’t making a lot of sense, who was she talking about? The twins? Remus sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Angelina, her eyes looked much more tired than they had done before.
‘You remember when I told you I could feel dark magic?’
‘Yes,’ Remus nodded. ‘The brother helped you when facing Nakamura.’
‘I don’t need his help anymore, I can do it better without him.’ Angelina tried to explain. ‘It’s one of the things the Oracles taught me to do. They also taught me to feel other types of magic, to see things I never thought possible. I will show you when I can.’
Remus just sighed again and tore his gaze away to think. ‘You need to eat, Harper and Jackson are sleeping, I believe you when you saying you know what they’re dreaming about, but this is a lot for everyone to process, you understand? I just want you to feel better before you do anything too arduous. So please, just eat for me, rest and try to appreciate whatever reaction Jocelyne will have when she comes to see you.’
The familiar misunderstanding in Angelina’s frown appeared and it pleased Remus to no end, it was the only thing that told him that underneath everything, she was still the woman he loved. She nodded and let Remus kiss her still cracked lips gently.
He headed back downstairs to see Jocelyne still eating in silence, he put music on in the background and smiled politely at her.
‘How is she?’ Jocelyne asked as he sat down, sipping his tea. Remus suddenly didn’t feel very hungry.
‘She’s awake.’ Remus didn’t really know what else to say.
‘Harper misses you.’ That made Remus chuckle a little. ‘Jackson is more adventurous… Angie has missed out on a lot, you’d think she would want to spend more time with them, I know she’s been away and there’s a reason for it,’ Jocelyne started to lose control of her tears again. ‘But Jack never even saw them.’
Remus wasn’t expecting that, Jack Rathborne had been dead for three years and the world continued to move on without him. It was hard to know just how difficult life had been without him, but Remus was starting to get a glimpse.
‘I’m sorry,’ Jocelyne held her head in her hands. ‘I shouldn’t be saying these things. Benji says we need to be careful what we say out loud.’
‘Well, I think we can safely assume that in this particular house, there is very little that will make it into the outside world.’ Remus again placed his hand on her shoulder. ‘George and Anna take the safety of their family very seriously, I doubt even the Aurors could break in if they wanted to, let alone anything else.’
At least that made her laugh. It was suddenly apparent that Jackson and Harper were awake. Jackson was probably leading his sister into trouble of sorts. Jocelyne just shook her head and went to get them both, while Remus finished his tea.
‘Emus!’ Harper came bounding into the kitchen and Remus had to laugh at her slight speech impediment, getting his name a little wrong.
‘There she is,’ Remus said, enthusiastically and picked her up to sit on his lap. ‘Are you hungry?’
Remus followed Jocelyne’s lead and grabbed some toast, which he tore slightly smaller pieces off to hand to Harper.
‘Will you make the lady dance again?’ Jackson asked and Harper nodded along. Remus had the distinct impression that he was only asking because his sister enjoyed it.
‘Well, what if I said I knew someone who can make a hundred people dance all around the room?’ Remus watched Harper’s mouth drop open in disbelief. Jocelyne just watched him, with a smile on her pretty face, probably the first proper smile she’d had in a long time. ‘If you finish your breakfast, we’ll go and see Angelina, that is if she is well enough.’
‘Is she sick?’ Harper suddenly had a very sad look on her face.
‘No, not exactly, but she has been on a very long trip, so she is very tired.’ Remus tried to give an explanation to avoid any worrying on the two-and-a-half-year old’s behalf. ‘So, it’ll only be a quick visit, but I’m sure she’ll have a great story to tell you both.’
Remus and Jocelyne helped them finish their toast and wash the dishes. Remus rushed upstairs to make sure Angelina was up for a visit and to his surprise she very much was. He helped her change her shirt and sit up comfortably in bed, before entering with three of the four Meyers.
‘Angie,’ Jocelyne sighed and straightaway hugged her best friend. Remus held the twins hands and led them to the edge of the bed, next to the chair Remus usually sat in. ‘I’m so happy you’re home. God, you’re so thin.’
‘Yeah, I noticed that.’ Angelina laughed and hugged Jocelyne again, before spotting her god children. ‘Well, well, well, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you two. Remus says I owe you a story.’ Harper was much shyer than Jackson who indicated he wanted to get onto the bed with his mother, whereas she just clung onto Remus’s arm, unsure of what to do. Remus just picked her up and let her sit on his lap while Angelina thought about a good story she could tell.
‘What about the Triwizard tournament?’ Remus suggested. ‘If I remember correctly that one involved a mighty hero, dancing and a rather large dragon.’
‘Dragons!’ Jackson cheered and Harper took a slight interest when the dancing was mentioned.
‘You’re right, lets see if I can remember how that one goes.’
Remus always knew Angelina was a good story teller, she always loved a good performance for the first years when she was at Hogwarts, and he had seen her educating young students beside the black lake with incredible animation and enthusiasm. This story was no different. She told the story of her journey through the Triwizard tournament, creating the character of the champion and making her into a strong hero that would entertain the twins.
Harper had crawled onto the bed with her brother when the dancing figures arrived, she adored the way they moved and Angelina used more skill than Remus remembered she had to please her goddaughter. It was at that moment, he heard someone arriving downstairs and excused himself from the story.
‘George?’ Remus said, as he stepped into the kitchen. The exhausted Healer looked over at him and sighed shaking his head. It was another unsuccessful plea. Remus could hear Anna sobbing in the living room, he hated to hear such pain, but the good news was that Angelina was awake and happily telling her godchildren a story.
‘That is good news.’ George said, sitting down with some difficulty at the kitchen table. ‘At least there’s that.’
‘You know the minister won’t be able to say no forever.’ Remus tried to encourage him not to lose faith. ‘Angelina won’t be stopped from getting her brother back, we all know that.’
‘The only question I fear the answer, is to what lengths will she go?’ George sighed and let his head drop onto his hand. ‘She won’t take kindly to the minister and if he puts up any kind of resistance, it might not end well.’
‘She’s different, George, we can all see it, she’s calmer, more clear headed. This doesn’t have to end badly.’ Remus said.
‘Perhaps you’re right.’ George sighed with exhaustion. ‘Perhaps, everything will be fine… in the end.’
It was the second time, Remus had witnessed George cry and it didn’t get any easier, he made sure George had a cup of tea and took one to Anna as well. She had fallen asleep on the sofa, it was no wonder, they both had been operating on little to no sleep for months, it was bound to catch up to them.
Remus encouraged George to take his wife to bed so they both could rest, they needed it desperately. He went back into Angelina’s room to find four sleeping bodies, Harper and Jackson both tucked under the quilt with their godmother and Jocelyne curled at the end of the bed. Remus grabbed a blanket to lay over her while he sat with the Daily Prophet and waited for the house to wake again.
I felt the twins fading as I came to the end of the story, Jocelyne was fast asleep before I finished, but I wasn’t expecting to tire so quickly myself. That was until I found my eyes opening and Remus coming into focus.
‘Morning.’ I said, seeing him reading the paper.
‘Good morning, Angelina.’ He smiled down at me. ‘I’m sure Jocelyne will ask you for more bed time stories when the twins are struggling to fall asleep. She’s missed you.’
‘So have you.’
‘I always miss you.’ Remus put the paper down and leaned closer to the bed. ‘Your parents are home. It was another unsuccessful plea to the minister and we’re running out of options, the trial has been moved to this afternoon and it doesn’t look good. If your father isn’t careful, he could be facing the same charges.’
I felt the familiar rage burning in my chest. How dare the minister take my brother. How dare he come near my family and threaten their lives. I would not stand for it.
‘You are getting better,’ Remus was always good at reading my mind. ‘But not enough to do anything just yet, just rest for me.’
How could I rest? How could I stay in the comfort of my bed while my brother was suffering at the hands of the dementors? It wasn’t fair. The minister had some questions to answer.
Jocelyne eventually woke up as did my parents, in time for Darren’s trial, I was doing my best to conserve energy, knowing that telling the story had taken a lot out of me and anything else may have been a little too much.
‘I’m going to take Jocelyne home,’ Remus said, climbing into bed with me. ‘Will you be alright without me for an hour?’
‘I’ll be fine.’ I smiled and wrapped my arms around his waist. I’d missed holding him against me. ‘Just make sure she’s safe.’
‘Of course.’ Remus kissed the top of my head, before leaving to take Jocelyne home.
I wasn’t quite tired enough to go back to sleep, so reached over to grab the paper Remus had been reading. My brother’s trial was all over the front page and I flicked past it, knowing it would only make me angry that I wasn’t there. Not much else caught my eye until I got almost to the sport section, it was a small article, barely a hundred words, but it told me everything I needed to know. The village in Tibet had been taken over by Yetis, no survivors. I felt a lump of guilt sitting in the pit of my stomach, I had caused this, it was my fault.
I wasn’t sure where I found my energy from, my body was weak, I was breathing heavily and just putting my trousers on was an effort, but I needed to get to the ministry, I would never let my brother down. I would never let that village down, I needed to make things right.
I grabbed a recovery potion from the cupboard in the kitchen and made sure I wrapped my long black coat tightly around my body. Remus wouldn’t be happy anyway, but if he found out that I’d both been neglectful and reckless, there would be hell to pay.
Apparating made me feel sick and made me fall onto my knees the second I arrived in the ministry reception, I didn’t have time to thank the people who showed concern for my wellbeing, instead, I downed the potion and headed straight for the courtrooms. I felt a small rush of energy and used it to find out which courtroom had my family in it. Courtroom ten.
I didn’t bother knocking, I just pushed the doors open to see that the trial was near enough over. Darren was nowhere to be seen, I could feel the remnants of him and that of my parents, but they were no longer in the room. Everyone was looking at me as I strode into the middle of the room, I could hear the minister being called back.
‘Angie Lockwood?’ He said and I felt myself immediately hate him.
‘Where’s Darren?’ I asked, not wanting to spend any more time on these people than I needed to.
‘I’m afraid the trial is over,’ Fudge tried to explain. ‘He has been found guilty-‘
‘I asked you a question minister. I will have my answer.’ Even I felt the growl in my chest, something was happening. My body was slipping back into survival mode, I could already feel my muscles getting tighter, warmer, ready to move.
‘I’m afraid he has already been taken back to Azkaban.’
‘Release him.’ I ordered.
‘Not possible.’ The minister went to walk away.
‘Don’t you dare turn your back on me!’ I roared. The entire room focussed on me, there was a bombardment on my mind, there were far too many people and I hadn’t yet learnt to control what I was seeing, the oracles never made it that far. I needed to try and block out the background noise and focus on the minister. I took a steady breath and looked up at the startled man. ‘Why have you sent my brother to Azkaban? Tell me the charges.’
‘He lied.’ It was that sickening voice, the one I hated more than any sound in the world. Umbridge. ‘And lying to the minister is one of the most severe crimes a person can commit.’
I glanced at her and knew I would need to take a different approach.
‘If you don’t tell me minister, I will be forced to find out through other means. Don’t test me.’
‘Is that a threat?’
‘Oh, do shut up, Umbridge.’ I said, exasperated.
‘Perhaps you should answer Dolores’s question instead of strutting in here barking out demands.’ Fudge spoke up.
My body suddenly surged with a burst of adrenaline, something was causing my body to react. Where was the brother when I needed him?
‘Don’t make an enemy of me minister.’ I stepped forward keeping my voice low, I could feel the familiar wolfish growl in my chest, it was getting louder. ‘You’ve been looking for me for a reason, you’ve taken my brother from me, you’ve ignored the pleas from my parents and I know that you heard about what I did in Tibet. So tell me, how smart do you think you are right now? What makes you think this is a good idea? Taking my brother away from me, trying to hurt my family. Do you really think that I’ll just sit back and allow you to continue?’
‘No one is above the law, Miss Lockwood,’ I heard the quake in his voice, no one else would have noticed, but it was clear as day. ‘Despite your brother’s celebrity status, he is not immune to-‘
‘I’m running out of patience minister.’ I was dangerously close to morphing back into my animagus, I couldn’t lose control like that, not now. I could feel something at the front of the minister’s mind, something that was making him feel guilty. ‘Tell me about the list.’
I latched onto the minister feelings, his heart had dropped, clearly the list was something important. ‘How do you know about that?’
‘The same way I know that…’ something else was drawing me in, distracting me, but somehow it felt important. A hospital bed, a body lying in it, unconscious not dead. It was a memory, not recent. I could feel where the memory was coming from, it was screaming at me to look. I was blinded by pink, but eventually everything came into focus. ‘You stood over my bed and threatened me,’ Umbridge suddenly looked very uncomfortable. ‘Three years ago, my father told you that I would not be available for questioning, you ignored him and came into my room anyway… I know every word of what you said.’ She was just about to interrupt. ‘It doesn’t matter if I can prove it, because now you know that I know what you did.’
‘This is all very entertaining, Miss Lockwood.’ Fudge cut in and I spun back around to face him. ‘But I’m afraid this court has other matters to be dealing with.’
‘Minister if my brother isn’t returned to me, I will be forced to retrieve him myself.’
There was a hum of laughter that echoed around the room.
‘I hardly think dramatics are the solution here, his crimes stand as does his sentence.’ The minister began moving to leave.
‘What happens if you’re wrong? What happens if I walk into Azkaban, get my brother and walk out?’
Fudge sighed and half laughed. ‘You’ll never get to Azkaban, the dementors will not allow it.’
‘You drop all charges against my brother,’ I could feel my energy slipping away again. ‘That’s what will happen, because if I succeed you will have no choice.’ Everyone stopped again. ‘I will get my brother back, a few hundred dementors won’t stop me and you know that, that’s why you’re so keen to leave, to ignore the problem, but let me tell you now, minister, I am a Lockwood! That name is older than any of you can imagine and it will not be called into question. I have no intention of living a criminal life, but I am determined to eliminate that which is dark by nature. Nothing will stand in my way! I hope you live long enough to thank me for it!’
I didn’t wait for a response, I strode out of the courtroom with one destination in mind. Azkaban.