Surprise
"What do you want from me Lucius?" Alyssa snarled, longing to hex the blonde who, at one point, she had considered a friend.
"Oh, the usual," Lucius drawled, "Destroy those who vanquished Our Lord and bring him back to life."
Alyssa stared. "You're insane. The Horcruxes that allowed him to cling to life are gone, and his battered soul is in Hell where it belongs. If you expect to see him again, it will be when you join him."
"Perhaps," Lucius purred, "Or perhaps I have another way, a way to bring him back that doesn't involve Horcruxes."
"Oh?" Alyssa asked, arching an eyebrow disbelievingly, "You intend to resurrect him? You realize that he would be a puppet, not the puppet master."
"Real resurrection, leaving him as he was before you betrayed him," Lucius growled.
"Oh, so he'd be a snake again? Sad really, possessing his familiar to live," Alyssa taunted, deliberately goading her captor. Lucius always gives information away when he's angry. If I goad him enough…
"Blood of one with a dual nature. The body of an innocent marked by Death. And, most importantly, the heart of one who has cheated Death."
"And this concerns me because…?" Alyssa asked calmly. She was not as calm as she looked though, as she could quite clearly picture the people who would be picked to fill all three parts of the ritual. Remus's blood…Harry's body…My heart? Does he know how many times Death has come for me, has been turned away from his prize at the last moment? The feeling of dread increased as she thought, this whole experience was not only to capture me, but so he could entice the others to come for me.
"You should know why this concerns you," Lucius sneered, his false brightness disappearing. "Your husband," he spat, "Is a slave of the moon; at times vicious and bloodthirsty, mild mannered otherwise. A dual personality at its finest."
"Use Greyback if you want a werewolf guinea pig and leave my husband alone," Alyssa snarled, even though she knew the blonde wouldn't listen to her demands.
"The innocent marked by Death," Lucius continued, ignoring Alyssa's outburst, "Was easy to find. Your young nephew will be an interesting vessel for Our Master's soul. After all, he was the one to initially banish him from his body."
"The Dark Lord has no soul," Alyssa said, fighting the fear that had risen inside her when Lucius mentioned Harry, "And you will never touch one hair on Harry's head."
"Oh? I doubt that. Your family will come for you, just wait and see."
"You honestly think that they would send Harry into this snake pit? Even Gryffindors aren't that foolhardy," Alyssa replied, shaking her head.
"Once again, we have a difference of opinion. They will come for you, bringing the boy with them as they are afraid that we will get past your defenses. It has happened before after all," Lucius mocked.
"Shut up," Alyssa growled, angry that he was reminding her of past failures. Ignore him and focus on figuring out how to escape. I need to get out of here before the others come; that giant prat is right, they will come looking for me and I do not need them sharing my cell.
"Where could he have taken her?" Remus asked, head in his hands.
They were back inside the Lupins' house, the party all but forgotten. Harry sat on the floor, his presents sitting mostly unopened beside him as he watched his Papa pace. The bad men came for Aunt Lyss, like they did before. They want to hurt her, and she's worried about something. Why can't I See anything that will help her?
"I doubt they went back to Malfoy Manor," Severus replied, deep in thought.
"That would be the first place we looked for her, meaning that he would take her somewhere unexpected," Sirius agreed, thinking.
"Fawkes," Remus said, looking at the phoenix for the first time since his wife was taken, "Can you find her?"
The phoenix shook his head, trilling sadly. When his mistress had first fallen, he had been able to sense her, even though the sense was muted because she was unconscious. After she disappeared, he was dismayed to notice that he couldn't sense her anymore; it was like she had disappeared off the face of the Earth.
"Nyx, did you see or smell anything unusual?" Severus asked, looking towards the door where the snake's head was at.
"The scents were familiar," the snake said after a moment, "They were scents I hadn't smelled here before. They were the same ones outside the house in England after the attack. I noticed that when Fawkes called out that his mistress was in danger."
Remus groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Great, so Alyssa's at the mercy of the Malfoys and who knows how many Death Eaters, and we have no idea where she is being held."
"Calm down Moony," Sirius said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, "We'll find her. Alyssa will find some way to let us know where she's at, or Malfoy will send a ransom note. Do you honestly think we'd give up?"
"No, but I worry that Alyssa may push him to far; you know how she can be when angered, and being held hostage will not improve her temper."
"True," Severus admitted, "But you forget that Alyssa is a Slytherin. Self-preservation is one of the main qualities of our house, second only to our cunning."
"She has already proven that self-preservation doesn't come into play when we are in danger," Remus replied dully, imagining what Malfoy could be doing to her. She had told him about the Death Eaters when asked, anytime she woke up from a nightmare involving them. Their practices made him sick, and he shuddered to think how a traitor would be received.
"But we're not in danger," Sirius said calmly, not aware of how wrong he was, "And she'll be back to you soon, so you can fawn over her and the mini-Moony."
"Mini-Moony?" Remus questioned, looking at his friend for the first time since the conversation started.
Severus whacked Sirius upside the head. "She wasn't going to tell him until their anniversary mutt," Severus hissed.
"Oops," Sirius said, having the grace to look sheepish.
Severus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. "Why I tell you anything…"
"Is a mystery, we know Severus," Remus interrupted, looking from one to the other. "What was she going to tell me on our anniversary?"
"She's pregnant," Severus sighed, opening his eyes and looking at the shocked werewolf, "About two months along. She found out two days ago, and decided to wait for your anniversary to tell you. Surprise," he added dryly.