Hidden Truths

Hidden Truths Chapter 11: Announcements of a Controversial Nature

\"They what?!\" Remus exclaimed as he sat at a long table in the Room of Requirement, appalled at the now revealed explanation as to where Tonks had gotten off to.

\"Shhh!!!\" Severus shushed the former werewolf harshly. \"Only Dumbledore, myself, and now you know, and the rest won\'t be told until the meetstarstarts.\" Indeed, he had gotten up this morning (Emily had of course left around 3 AM in order to be at home when Christmas morning arrived) only to have been hit with the dreadful realization that somehow he was going to have to break the news to Remus, a man he knew cared deeply for the woman in question. Now, as the Order gathered on Christmas evening, (a change that had only occurred that morning after Willow and Harry\'s secret had inadvertently gotten loose when Molly had correctly diagnosed Willow\'s mysterious symptoms) Severus had decided to do something rather kind for a change and not subject Remus to a huge shock in front of everyone.

Remus was quiet, still in shock and then"¦\"Well, why didn\'t you try to get her out then?\"

Severus shook his head wearily. \"I don\'t know where she is just that she\'s been taken. Voldemort does not divulge those kinds of secrets to everyone. Lucius would know, he got him out of the veil after all.\" He sighed. \"But I am afraid that he may be starting to suspect where my loyalties truly lie.\" He paused, hesitant to say what needed to be said to the former werewolf but knowing that it needed to be said. \"Remus, until we tell the Order about this, there\'s really nothing that can be done.\"

Remus nodded his head shakily in acknowledgement. He was deathly afraid for Tonks right now but Severus was right. Until the Order was made aware of the situation, nothing could happen and even then"¦.Remus wondered how a rescue mission could be arranged without blowing Snape\'s cover completely. His thoughts were broken as Harry sat down next to him.

\"How\'s everything going over here?\" Harry asked, having not liked the intensity of the conversation he had observed from across the room where he had been chatting with Dumbledore. It wasn\'t that he didn\'t trust Snape. On the contrary, he trusted him with his life. It was just that with the history Remus and Severus had, things sometimes got a little TOO intense and the animosity from years of insults and deep seated resentment tended to rear their ugly heads.

\"Fine Harry,\" Remus said brightly, pasting a smile on his face for the moment. He could break down later but for now he had to put on a brave face. After all, the meeting was going to start soon and he would be required to help formulate a plan to solve not only the Tonks issue, but Willow\'s pregnancy and the change of battle plans that it entailed for the Order. Speaking of Willow, perhaps she could fashion a locator spell to help find his imperiled love"¦.he furrowed his brow as he scanned the room looking for the familiar face of Harry\'s wife. He finally spotted her, talking quietly to Hermione and Ginny and looking quite pale. \"Is Willow alright?\"

\"Hmmm?\" Harry murmured, taking an alarmed glance towards her before relaxing as he realized what ailment Remus was referring to. \"Yeah, she\'s fine,\" he exchanged a knowing glance with the former werewolf and Severus. \"That time of day.\"

Remus and Severus both nodded understandingly. Indeed, they had both known about the pregnancy within 24 hours of it being revealed and had also been privy to the unfortunate side effects from it. Severus could even personally say that he\'d gotten too close to it, having been victim to a bout all over his robes one evening after dinner when he had stupidly tried to talk to her as she hurried out of the Great Hall.

\"Why did she change the time of the meeting then?\" Remus inquired softly, watching Willow grow paler, gulping visibly before making a break for the restroom situated conveniently five steps from where she had been standing.

Harry rolled his eyes at his wife\'s behaviour, knowing that he had been right and they should have scheduled the meeting earlier or even later in the evening before getting up from the table. He loved Willow but sometimes she could be so stubborn, much like himself. \"You know Willow; she doesn\'t care about her own comfort so much when action needs to be taken.\" He turned an eye to Remus and placed a hand on his shoulder. \"And action does need to be taken. Dumbledore told me about Tonks.\"

\"Did he?\" Remus exclaimed quietly, surprised that Dumbledore would have told Harry about this new development considering the pressures he was under.

\"Um-hm. Don\'t worry. We\'ll get her back,\" Harry said quietly, \"Now if you\'ll excuse me, I need to go make sure Willow took the pills Madame Pomfrey gave her otherwise she\'s probably not going to make it through the meeting tonight without puking on someone again.\" He gave Severus a knowing glance as he said this.

\"Yes, go do that,\" Severus replied curtly to Harry\'s unspoken comment, remembering how long the stains had taken to come out of his robes. In the end he had just thrown them out.

\"Bye Harry,\" Remus murmured as he watched the Boy-Who-Lived walk away, chuckling lightly at his own joke and leaving he and Severus alone again.

\"Harry\'s right you know,\" Severus began again awkwardly. \"We WILL get her back.\"

\"Severus, you know that can\'t happen without jeopardizing your cover.\"

Snape shrugged, \"We\'ll deal with it if it does. Some things are more important.\"

Remus looked at him incredulously. Something wasn\'t right when Severus Snape was being nice to HIM of all people. Was this really the same person who had purposely used the most foul and bad-tasting versions of potions ingredients for his wolfsbane potion every month until Remus had been cured? \"Alright, who are you and what have you done with Severus Snape?\"

Severus shrugged, smiling slightly. \"Let\'s just say that my opinion on some things has changed.\"

\"Alright, who is she?\" Remus said after a pause during which he concluded that whatever these things were, they were probably big and more than likely involved a woman. After all, most of the reasons why a man changed his \'opinion\' on anything revolved around the fairer sex. Whoever she was, she must be someone special if Severus Snape, greasy git and Hogwarts very own Scrooge, could perform such an about face in regards to his position within Voldemorts innermost circle.

\"And just what do you mean by that?\" he replied in his usual fashion, with a sneer on his face. This was the Severus Snape Remus knew.

\"The woman that has you so tied up in knots that your \'opinion on some things\' has changed so rapidly.\"

\"There\'s no woman,\" Severus replied curtly.

\"Sure there is,\" a weak voice interrupted the conversation.

\"Willow,\" Severus jumped on the opportunity to get out of a situation that could potentially and inadvertently put him in a position to reveal his relationship with Emily. Granted he was a very good liar but he attributed it mainly to the fact that he hadn\'t really felt any strong emotions that would inhibit his ability to lie in years. It was different now. Emily made him feel"¦everything and while he could shield his mind from Voldemort, he found it difficult to do so around the people he trusted the most. And if the conversation kept going the way it appeared to be going, he would be revealing his secret much sooner than either he or Emily had planned. He only thanked his lucky stars that it was Emily\'s turn to watch the children while their parents were at the Order meeting at Hogwarts. If she HAD been here, he was certain that Willow at the very least would have been able to see right through his charade of indifference that he would have had to erect towards his lover.

\"Boys,\" she greeted them smiling, sitting down in the seat that Harry had vacated in order to hold back her hair in the bathroom. \"What\'s this I hear about a woman?\"

\"Severus, it appears,\" Remus started smugly \"Has changed his tune towards some things"¦he\'s becoming absolutely human.\"

\"Well who is she then?\" Willow said teasingly. Remus was right. It must be a woman for her quasi-father to suddenly grow a heart, at least in the company of people who WEREN\'T as close to him as maybe McGonnagall, Dumbledore or she were.

\"That\'s what I\'m trying to figure out,\" Remus replied before turning a concerned look on Willow. \"But I can see we\'re making him uncomfortable and quite frankly, I\'m more concerned about you right now Willow"¦how are you feeling?\"

Willow shruggwincwincing as she remembered the sumptuous Christmas dinner she had enjoyed"¦and then regretted eating in the first place as it made another appearance 2 hours later. \"Fine now, not so much earlier. But Harry made sure I took the pills Madame Pomfrey gave me.\" She looked up at Severus and Remus and ran a hand through her hair that her husband\'s hands had so recently touched. \"And he held back my hair really well.\" She paused as the two men sitting next to her began to chuckle lightly.

\"So you\'re alright?\" Remus continued his inquisition.

Willow nodded affirmatively, \"I should be.\" She smiled as familiar hands came down on her shoulders and the chair next to hers was suddenly filled. \"Hey Sweetie.\"

\"Hello dear,\" Harry smiled, setting a glass of water and a bag of salted crackers down in front of her.

Willow quirked an eyebrow at him. \"What\'s this?\"

Harry quirked an eyebrow right back at her. \"Insurance. You and I both know that those pills only work sometimes and I don\'t want you missing this meeting. It\'s important.\"

\"I\'m aware Harry,\" she said quietly, wondering whether she should be angry at his assumption that she would be spending the evening in the bathroom, even after downing two of the anti-nausea pills she had received from Hogwarts resident healer. Deciding that he was probably right (although she wouldn\'t be admitting that anytime soon, Harry would get a big head otherwise"¦) she simply replied, \"Thanks.\"

\"You\'re welcome,\" Harry nodded, \"Now what were we talking about?\"

He was interrupted however by Dumbledore calling the meeting to order. Severus sighed in relief as the possibility that the inquiries into his love life would continue abruptly stopped, and turned his attention to Hogwarts Headmaster.

\"Thank you all for joining me here tonight,\" Dumbledore smiled. \"Especially considering that it is Christmas and, as I\'m sure most of you know, there is much to celebrate.\" He turned twinkling eyes on Harry and Willow. \"Has everyone signed the document I passed around the room earlier?\"

At the nods he received at his question, Dumbledore continued, motioning to Harry that it was time for the announcement. With a sigh of resignation, Harry responded to both the nod his mentor had given him and to the squeeze of his hand he felt from his wife. He knew however how much Willow preferred that she break the news to the easily inflamed Order. He squeezed Willow\'s hands back in encouragement as she prepared to speak. It was over in a matter of seconds.

\"I\'m pregnant.\"

The room was silent, those who had already been told choosing to remain quiet despite the obvious conversation that would occur in the next two hours. They knew that with this new development, everything would change. Those in the room that hadn\'t been aware of the impending arrival were silent out of shock. After all, everyone knew that Willow had only had James a matter of months ago. The plan, as laid out a mere three weeks ago, had been a good one but now, it would have to be changed.

\"But there is still more news to consider,\" Dumbledore filled the uncomfortable silence with the next piece of information that needed to be resolved in the meeting. \"According to information that Severus received at the last Death Eaters meeting, Nymphadora Tonks has been kidnapped and is being held at wherever Voldemort is currently hiding.\"

Mad Eye Moody it seemed was the only one with the guts to speak first after two such shocking announcements. \"So it\'s back to the drawing board then?\" he said, clearly shaken with the turn of events that had taken one of his best Aurors from her undercover mission infiltrating a group of known Death Eater supporters into the hands of Voldemort himself.

\"Not necessarily,\" Willow broke in awkwardly. \"Look, my magic will be"¦unstable throughout the pregnancy but there\'s no reason why I can\'t teach someone else to harness Voldemorts power.\" She turned sympathetic eyes to Remus and Mad Eye Moody, both of whom Willow was aware knew Tonks the best and therefore were now hurting the most. \"For that matter, I could probably teach someone to cast a locator spell to find Tonks.\"

\"But who?\" Sirius asked, \"Willow, you\'re not just going to be out of commission, you\'re going to be a ticking time bomb. ANY magic AROUND you or cast BY you and weird side effects happen.\"

Remus shook his head in realization. \"He\'s right Willow, multiples are twice as much of a problem, as Molly could probably tell you from her experience with the twins.\"

\"Multiples?!\" Hermione said harshly, suddenly cutting into the dialogue as she realized just how dire the situation was. Indeed, she had been one of the creators of the plan to do away with Voldemort with first the stripping of his powers and then the death of the empty shell of a body that would be left. The fact that Willow could perform no magic in the next few months would be a huge problem if they couldn\'t find a replacement and while she was happy for Willow and Harry, she couldn\'t help but wonder at the timing of the whole thing which, in her opinion, couldn\'t have been worse.

\"Twins, Hermione,\" Willow replied softly, shocked by the tone of voice one of her best friends in the world had just directed her way. She knew that she might get a negative reaction from the group but she hadn\'t been expecting such an outburst from Hermione, who was usually so level-headed and understanding.

\"Way to go Harry,\" Ron said smugly, much to the chagrin of his wife, who nudged him harshly ie rie ribs in response to his less than crude comment. \"Ouch Hermione!\"

\"I\'m in agreement with Ron here,\" Fred broke in jovially, \"Excellent work Mate.\"

\"Excuse me?!\" Willow broke in, angry that the only concern anyone seemed to have at the moment revolved around her husband\'s apparent virility. \"Can we get back to the task at hand now? Let\'s not forget that a member of our ranks is currently being held hostage"¦\"

\"Indeed Willow, thank you for bringing us back on topic,\" Dumbledore said, stepping in to break up the imminent battle of the sexes that would follow should the current topic be continued, eyes twinkling madly. He hadn\'t been aware that she and Harry were expecting more than one child. A small chuckle escaped him as he thought of the antics two children of the Potters at one time could create for his Potions Master, let alone the chaos caused by three (if he included James who, at the time of the twins birth, would probably only be a year older). \"Now, to carry on, Willow and I have already spoken at length on what will be the best course of action at the moment. Willow, would you care to explain?\"

\"Thank you Albus,\" she said as she folded her hands primly on the table to avoid tapping them nervously. What she would say next she hadn\'t run by with anyone save Harry and with good reason. The person she had in mind would have to sacrifice quite possibly their grip on reality, and ultimately, all the good magic that was in them in order to first strip and then house the dark power of Voldemort. It was true that Willow was the only one currently qualified to do this without sacrificing anything but she was fairly certain that the person she had in mind could do an equally good job of it. \"In order for our plan to continue the way it has, a replacement will have to be found. One that is qualified to not only cast a locator spell wandlessly and then conjure a way out of wherever Tonks is for Tonks and themselves, but also powerful enough to contain the magic that Voldemort has inside him.\"

\"But Harry\'s going to be too busy killing the You-Know-Who to do that"¦\" Hermione, who was still unconvinced as to how this was going to work, said.

Harry shook his head negatively, correcting Hermione\'s false assumption. He couldn\'t blame her though, if he had been in her shoes, he would have thought of himself first too. \"No Hermione, not me.\" He exchanged a look with his wife before continuing as she allowed him to tell the group sitting at the table with them who the replacement would be. \"Emily.\"

\"What?!\" Bill started, concern for his daughter causing him to speak. \"Emily\'s not powerful enough to do any thing about that.\"

\"I\'m afraid, Mr. Weasley,\" Dumbledore started, \"That you\'re wrong in that assumption. Emily is extremely powerful in her own right. I harbor no doubt that she could perform this task admirably.\"

\"But what about after?\" Bill continued. \"After she\'s taken in this dark magic of Voldemorts, what then? Do we just let her lose her sanity?\"

\"Hey!\" Willow cut in hotly. She too had battled \'dark magic\' and hadn\'t lost her sanity thank you very much. She paused. Well, she kind of hadn\'t. And even if she had, she\'d gotten it back. Besides all that, Emily was different in the fact that she had been taught the craft instead of falling into it feet first, unaware of where she was going. This was a luxury that had been denied Willow, but she had strong hopes that in Emily\'s case, these details wouldn\'t be a problem. \"I\'ll have you know that I too have \'taken in dark magic\' and lived, with my sanity you\'ll be pleased to note, for the past few years without incidence and you don\'t see the hell goddess I helped defeat rising do you?\"

\"Willow, this is my daughter we\'re talking about. For Merlin\'s sake, she\'s just a little girl,\" Bill said awkwardly, knowing deep down inside that Willow was right. This made him both proud and despondent as he realized the implications of such a role in the war to come.

\"She\'s a grown woman Bill,\" Willow said sadly, \"Look, I\'m not saying we\'ll ultimately use her for this. We\'re going to ask her, but we won\'t make her ac the the responsibility.\" She paused. \"She CAN however help me with the locator spell. We covered that in class last year and hopefully she hasn\'t forgotten.\"

Bill nodded, accepting this much but still feeling quite certain that he didn\'t want his daughter having any part in this crazy plan the Order had concocted. He knew though that if she didn\'t, none of them might survive and this only made it harder to balance his own feelings on the matter. She was his only child, the only link he had left to the woman he had met in Egypt 19 years ago.

If he was being honest with himself, he would probably say that he had left her out of necessity. He had been too young to realize how deeply he felt for Catherine, and too stupid to stick around when the feelings became too much. In this way, Bill figured he owed his dead lover and mother of his child more than casual indifference as to the welfare of his own flesh and blood. In her memory and for his own sanity he would protect Emily with his life. There came a time though when a parent had to let their child make their own decisions and respect them accordingly. If she wanted to do this he wouldn\'t stop her.

No, for now Bill would sit back and listen as the others sitting at the table continued to speak of the possible scenarios and solutions to the current problem, devoting a section of his brain entirely to the next few months when Emily might be providing a priceless service for the rest of the wizarding world, not to mention in the fight to return Tonks to them. The wizarding world had better be thankful.