The Unnerving Bet (Marauders' era)

[N.Black1753]

((Hm...well...here's the action. Enjoy.))
It was remarkable, Nadia mused as she carefully climbed the ivy fence that rested on the back wall of Malfoy Manor, how some families designed houses so similarly. Malfoy Manor was laid out exactly the same as the Lestrange place. The dining room, like the other house, was two stories in height. Even the windowsills were wide enough for one or two people to stand on comfortably. She sighed as she slipped into position and tapped her earpiece twice. “Lupin, do you copy?” Nadia mouthed; no response. One glance to her watch told her that she was twenty minutes early.

Sighing again, Nadia leaned against the outside frame of the window, glancing down into the dining room below. There was Lucius Malfoy, looking snobby as always with his silver snake-headed cane and black attire. Does he ever grow tired of looking like a woman? she wondered to herself with a smirk. Supposing not, Nadia closed her eyes for a moment, rubbing her forehead. Lupin’s letter still registered as peculiar in the danger-sensing part of her mind, but he would answer for it when he arrived. All would be well.

“Perhaps you will tell us now, Nikolai, where your daughter is,” said a cold, high-pitched voice in the dining room. Nadia’s earpiece picked it up immediately, and her eyes flew open.

Dad? she thought, turning her head ever-so-slightly to look in the window. Sure enough, there was her father, on his knees before Voldemort and a laughing crowd of unmasked Death Eaters. She put both hands, covered by James’ invisibility cloak, on the window and leaned in closer. From her vantage point, Nikolai Ramsden had been severely beaten. His clothes were in shreds.

Her father, the head of the secret agency she worked for at the Ministry, had been missing for a few days. Some of the senior agents thought nothing of it, attributing his absence to a lead he was following and had yet to report in on. In the back of her mind, Nadia had known better. Her father always reported in, no matter what he was doing. He usually called her off her assignments to join him, if he got in too deep.

As a response, her father spit at Voldemort’s feet. While some Death Eaters reached for their wands to rebuke the man for his bravery, Voldemort simply raised a hand and chuckled. “Yes, I see where her legendary temperament comes from. You have lasted long through torture. I can only hope that dear Nadia-” Here Voldemort paused for another cruel laugh. “-will last longer.”

Barring his teeth at the Dark Lord, Nikolai growled, “You’ll not lay a hand on my daughter!”

“Remus,” Nadia mouthed; static was her only answer. d**n him, where was he? He was the one who’d told her to be here! She looked at her watch; fifteen minutes were left until eight o’clock. Nadia tapped her earpiece five times, a signal of emergency. “Any Eastern seaboard agents based in U.K., please respond,” she begged silently. “Bravo leader in danger. Please respond.” The static on the other end of her earpiece seemed to be having a good laugh at her predicament.

Yet again, Voldemort was laughing. He slowly rose to his full height. “You disagree, Nikolai?” he genially inquired. With a nod to Bellatrix Lestrange, who suddenly disappeared, Voldemort looked right into Nadia’s father’s eyes. “We’ll see.”

With her eyes glued to the scene below her, Nadia was caught off-guard for the second time that day when Bellatrix reappeared right next to her in a puff of black smoke. She felt a hand jerk off the hood of the cloak, and heard the little laugh she’d always hated. “Well, well, look who I found!” Bellatrix giggled, viciously ramming Nadia’s head against the windowpane.

Nadia’s vision exploded in pain. She experienced the sensation of being pressed into thin air, and knew Bellatrix was Apparating back inside the mansion with her inattentive hide in tow. Bellatrix threw Nadia at Voldemort’s feet. Nadia wasn’t completely aware of what Bellatrix said to the Dark Lord; she was too busy trying to focus her sight.

“My sweet,” Nikolai rasped. Nadia reflected that had he, too, not been in the same situation, her father would’ve been scolding her for her lack of vigilance. She looked to her left, where her father’s voice had come from, and slowly crawled over to him. Resting her head on his shoulder as she used to do when she was a little girl, Nadia was vaguely conscious of the fact that her father’s hands were tied behind his back.

“I’m sorry, Commander,” she said, biting her lip to keep from howling in pain. “I got caught.”

He shushed her, pressing his lips to the top of her head. “You did all I could ask for, sweet,” Nikolai whispered reassuringly.

“Touching,” Voldemort murmured. Nadia suddenly fell over; her father was snatched from her by Lucius, and Voldemort leaned down next to her. “However, dear Miss Ramsden, I do believe your father has outlived his use.”

Lips rearing back in a snarl, Nadia jumped to her feet. “Not if I’ve got anything to say about it.”

“Yes, I thought you might. Bella,” Voldemort said offhandedly over his shoulder. Bellatrix waved her wand before Nadia could so much as go for her own, and disarmed Nadia. Nadia fell on her back, but Voldemort picked her up by her collar, holding her, his chest against her back. He whispered into her ear, “You are mine, Miss Ramsden. Not even your precious father can save you now.” Laughing cruelly, he shoved her in Bellatrix’s direction. Bellatrix caught Nadia in a chokehold and held her there, making sure she was watching as Voldemort raised his wand at the crumpled form of her father.

Nadia, though still a little disoriented from Bellatrix shoving her head into the window, struggled with all she had against Bellatrix’s grip. The Death Eater only giggled, tightening her hold. “You aren’t escaping, sweet,” she hissed into Nadia’s ear.

Scowling, Nadia knocked her head against Bellatrix’s. The witch let Nadia go, shouting in surprise. The clock was chiming eight o’clock, and time practically came to a standstill as Voldemort waved his wand and said the words that Nadia had least wanted to hear. “Avada Kedavra!” he shouted.

“No!” Nadia screamed, feeling as though she were sprinting underwater as she ran to throw off Voldemort’s aim. It was too late, however. Time sped up to its normal pace, and the green jet of light that issued from Voldemort’s wand charged toward her father.

Regardless, she dove for Voldemort, hoping to tackle him to the ground and beat him senseless. Lucius Malfoy roared, “Stupefy!”, and the red flash hit her right as her fists were inches short of making contact with Voldemort’s face. She hit the floor hard, and let out a groan.

Voldemort, clapping, came to a halt and looked down at her. “Very good, Miss Ramsden. Very good.” Two pairs of hands hauled her to her feet before him, and she was disgusted to feel one of Voldemort’s long, spindly fingers trace a path around her lips. “Such a performance. I daresay I enjoyed it almost as much as when first we met. Do you remember that night?”

“I’d hoped it to be our last time,” Nadia retorted, spitting blood out of her mouth. Without warning or giving it a second thought, using the hands on her arms as balance points, she did a backwards flip and spun into a roundhouse kick that sent Rodolphus Lestrange flying across the room. A simple punch to Lucius Malfoy’s nose took care of the long-haired snob.

“Why you little wh***!” screeched Bellatrix Lestrange as Nadia took a waiting stance before Voldemort. She flew at Nadia, wand in her hand.

Holding up a hand to stop his minion, Voldemort chided Bellatrix, “Now, now, Bella. You must understand, Miss Ramsden is quite angry at the moment.”

“So am I!” Bellatrix cried, restrained by her master’s arm. Nadia, whose lip was bleeding, smirked at the woman’s situation. “Let me kill her, Master! Please, let me kill her!”

“Oh no, my lord, allow me the pleasure of at least dueling with your little slave before I die,” Nadia shot back, glaring right back at Bellatrix Lestrange.

Clearly amused, Voldemort replied, “Perhaps later. Are you joining our side, then?” Nadia turned her murderous glare on the man, who seemed disappointed. “Very well. Lucius?”

The last thing Nadia felt was a violent blow to the back of her head, delivered by the head of Lucius’ walking stick.
((Oh wow. Thoughts, fair readers?))

[Ginny Weasly]

You wrote the action very well, I could see it all in my head. Good job!

[dobby888]

I love it!! I always expected that Remus would burst in right on time and save Nadia's father from death, but still I loved it!!

[N.Black1753]

((Well, of course, we can't end this chapter without a word from our dear werewolf friend...))
Jaw agape, Remus could not believe his eyes as Nadia collapsed at Lucius Malfoy’s feet inside the mansion. He wasn’t thinking when he yelled out, “Nadia!” in alarm.

All the heads in the dining room turned in the direction of his position, and he thought, Bugger. Voldemort was the first to grin. He let Bellatrix and Lucius disappear in two black swirls of smoke. They reappeared behind Remus.

Remus was completely unprepared, and on top of that, he had none of the skills Nadia possessed. He wouldn’t have lasted two seconds, nevermind the few minutes she had lasted in the hands of Death Eaters. Quick only on the draw of his wand, Remus faced fate and aimed his wand at Lucius Malfoy. He began to cast a spell at Malfoy, but Malfoy was quicker. “Expelliarmus!” The spell was so powerful that Remus was sent flying backward through the window.

Landing in glass shards, Remus moaned. Something wet rolled down his forehead, and he instantly closed his eyes, not wanting to think of what it could possibly be. He didn’t even try to pick himself up as Nadia might have done. “Well, well!” came Voldemort’s voice somewhere above him. “Miss Ramsden’s partner. Not at all as skilled as her, it seems.”

He opened one eye, and next to him Remus found Nadia’s unconscious form. Remus reached out for her hand to feel for her pulse, and found she was still alive. He wasn’t sure, however, whether life was a good thing or a bad thing at the moment. He’d been amazed by her courage, her sheer talents without her wand; he hadn’t been aware what a deadly weapon his partner was. Voldemort was talking again, but he didn’t hear any of it. He blacked out still holding Nadia’s hand, and surprisingly, he wasn’t mad at himself for touching her.

((I must apologize to Remus for throwing him through a window. Sorry, Moony. Thoughts, my readers?))

[Ginny Weasly]

Haha, now I have to apologize...for laughing when he fell through the window....lolz

Bump!

[dobby888]

Fantastic!! Please write more!!

[N.Black1753]

((Don't you just hate it when you're reading a book, the hero gets into big trouble...and it leaves the hero hanging, switching to some other character you couldn't possibly care about at that moment?  ;D Well. I'm pulling that one here. Thought a little James and Sirius might be a nice change of pace.))

Sirius paid very little heed to Remus’ absence. He laughed to himself, wondering if ol’ Moony had finally run off with Nadia like James seemed to think Remus would do. “Nah,” Sirius chuckled aloud, shaking his head. Five months were left until Lily’s due date, and he very much doubted if Remus would so much as hold Nadia’s hand by then. Of course, Sirius knew he’d been wrong before…but to his thinking, those weren’t too many times, and he knew both of his good friends, especially Nadia.

Did he ever know Nadia! She adored torturing Remus. Hell, to Nadia, teasing Moony was a bloody sport that she’d been perfecting since her first year at Hogwarts. Sirius was simply a spectator, but he knew the game well and had sometimes served as a referee alongside Lily in their later school years. Shaking his head with a grin at the memories, Sirius tossed back the last of his milk and got up to put his glass in the sink. Maybe Remus had simply found himself a girl--other than Nadia, of course—and forgotten about coming home for two days. That was it, Sirius told himself.

“Have you seen Nadia?” James suddenly appeared in front of him, and Sirius just barely stopped before he collided with his best friend, who had a rather worried look on his face.

Sirius laughed, nonchalantly pushing past James and setting his glass down in the sink. “’course not, mate, she’s not my girl. Not anyone’s girl, last I recall.”

“Very funny,” James said, pulling a crumpled letter out of his pocket. “One of the guys from the all-mysterious Agency brought this to me.” After smoothing it out, he handed it to Sirius. “Read it and tell me what you think.”

With a yawn, Sirius took the piece of parchment from James and glanced over it. He gave it a second glance, and read:

Nadia,

Dumbledore just passed on word about a meeting at the Malfoys’ mansion. Eight o’clock. Same spots as Lestranges’ place, I assume?

Remus

Eyebrow raised, he held the letter up to the light. “What, was Nadia trying to forge ol’ Moony’s writing or something? If she was,” he added, pressing it back into James’ still-outstretched hand, “she did a crap job. Doesn’t look like Remus’ handwriting at all.”

Giving Sirius a grave look, James slowly slipped the letter back into the inside pocket of his robes. “Exactly.”

Out of the blue, Sirius began to recall Remus coming to tell him that he was leaving for another night of duty. “Wait…” Squinting as he brought the memory to mind, he continued, “Remus said Nadia sent a letter to him two nights ago, not the other way around. And don’t they use those silly codenames they picked out for each other at Le Masque when they write?”

“They do,” James answered, his eyes growing more fearful by the moment. “You haven’t heard from him since he left Saturday night, have you?”

Sirius shook his head, involuntarily shivering. Whenever Remus went out on duty with Nadia, he always made a prompt return in the early hours of the morning, about six or seven o’clock. Remus would walk past Sirius’ room, give a wave, and abruptly collapse onto his bed with little to no words passed between them at all. “And what about Nadia?” Sirius asked numbly.

“I don’t know, but we’d better find out just what exactly was going on here,” James said, “starting with Dumbledore. Let’s go.”

((Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it! Regardless of that, this is my present to you all. Thoughts?

PS-I don't think I've mentioned it, but my icon is Eva Green, the actress I think would play Nadia if she was a real HP character. Agree? Disagree? Already figured that one out? ;) ))

[Ginny Weasly]

Agree...and figured it out. Lolz. She's who I had in mind when I imagined all you wrote.

Weeee. Do Sirius and James save the day?

[N.Black1753]

((Haha. Well, she does have that scratchy voice Remus likes/hates so much. At least, she did in Casino Royale. And as for Sirius and James saving the day... ;) I'm not sure yet.))

Consciousness was an elusive creature. Nadia wasn’t sure at what point in reality she finally grabbed hold of it, but when she did, she was slow to open her eyes. In her experience, the light when one woke from a period of unconsciousness was unbearable, and moreover, it was smart to feign that unaware state just a little while longer in order to check out one’s surroundings. All these were things she’d learned from her dad, who would tell her when she got out of this—

Nadia’s thoughts came to a stop, and her eyes opened wide to the darkness that surrounded her. Remembering that she had just seen her father killed the last time she was conscious, Nadia felt as if the breath had been knocked out of her. Her father was dead. Daddy’s…gone?

The words echoed around her mind. Daddy’s gone. It seemed...strange to think, this phrase. It couldn’t possibly be true! Nikolai Ramsden was an immortal, in Nadia’s mind, an immortal that seemed ten feet tall and completely spell-proof. In public he had been the Commander; in private, he’d been simply ‘Daddy.’ Her father had gotten a tough job when her mother, Katya, had been killed in the line of duty, and he’d been left with a teenage daughter to bring up by himself. Nadia, however, thought that her father had stepped up to the responsibility with exceeding skill. While most of his duties were put on hold when she was at Hogwarts, he still took care of his “sweet.”

“Nadia?” a voice rasped from behind her. She recognized it as Remus’ voice. “Are you awake?”

Blinking in a useless attempt to bring her eyes into focus, Nadia realized that she was sitting down. In fact, she was in an uncomfortably straight-backed chair with her hands tied behind her back and her legs bound to those of the front of the chair. “Un…” Nadia groaned, trying to put her jumbled thoughts into a coherent response. “Unfortunately,” she replied weakly. She leaned her head back, but bumped hers against someone else’s. “W-was…” The effort of talking was almost too much. “Was that your head?”

“Yeah,” was Remus’ strained answer. “We’re tied back-to-back.”

“d**n,” Nadia instinctively swore, wishing she could rub her head. Her lip felt sort of swollen, and she was sore all over. Trying not to bump her head against Remus’ again, she grasped what her reply could’ve been construed to mean and weakly added, “No offense.”

Laughing faintly, Remus shot back, “None taken.”

A very feeble smile crossed Nadia’s face. “Good. I’d have taken offense if there were. Might…” Pausing to take a shallow, aching breath, Nadia finished, “Might have had to come back there.”

They both laughed, that time. Laughter, Nadia knew all thanks to her late father, was the key to surviving torture, which was undoubtedly what they would be put through before long. Nadia was certain they would have to keep the witty, light banter going in order to keep alive…or, at least, keep what was left of their sanity about them.

“You and what army?” Remus retorted half-heartedly. She grinned, now. This sounded, surprisingly, rather like the man she’d come to know through long nights of unexciting stake-outs.

“My fists,” Nadia breathed jokingly, letting her head settle against her chest for a moment.

“Your what?” asked Remus, sounding as if he’d just been Stupefied.

“Fists.” Despite the fact that he couldn’t see her, Nadia raised a skeptical eyebrow. “What’d you think I said, Lupin?”

((Hehe, a little humor between our heroine and favorite werewolf. What could Remus have POSSIBLY thought she said?

Thoughts?))

[Ginny Weasly]

Mits? Kiss? I dunno....

[N.Black1753]

((Close, close...let's find out.))
Remus fell into a rather embarrassed silence. What had he thought she said? Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but Remus could’ve sworn that Nadia had named her lips—not her fists—as her army of choice.

The part of Remus that still resisted all friendly thought of Nadia made his current train of thought squeal to a screeching halt. Wishful thinking? it scolded. Of course not. You don’t think of her like that. Ever.

That isn’t true, said a second part. Remember that blind date?

He didn’t know who she was! protested the first part.

Moaning, Remus hissed, “The both of you, shut it.” All this thought was making his head throb. What did it matter how he thought of Nadia? They were probably going to die pretty soon, anyway, and there was no way Nadia could free herself to “come back there”…was there?

“I wasn’t aware there was anyone else in the room, Lupin,” said Nadia from behind him. He heard her gasp for breath afterward, and supposed that in the small brawl she’d started, Nadia had probably sustained a few bruised ribs or worse. It sounded as though the effort it took for Nadia to speak wasn’t helping her condition at all.

“Stupid question,” Remus changed the subject and apologized before he even made his inquiry, “but are you all right?” They were so close in proximity that he could faintly smell the clean, ocean-like scent of her hair. She always smells nice, he thought absently to himself. Perhaps it was because Nadia wasn’t the dreadful creature from hell that he’d always made her out to be…something told Remus that creatures from hell smelt of ashes, not the ocean.

Oblivious to Remus’ thoughts, Nadia replied with an incredibly shaky laugh, “Not…sure. Breathing hurts worse than…” She coughed, and moaned before she finished, “worse than usual. Talking…” Again, Remus noticed the vast amount of energy it took for Nadia to string together a few words. “…doubly so.”

Feeling her head droop forward and away from his, he frowned in slight concern. Sure, he himself had been thrown through a window, but he hadn’t put up an exhausting fight as she had. “Try not to talk so much,” Remus chided her, his voice softened by his concern.

She chuckled frailly. “If I didn’t know better…” There was a long pause before Nadia continued, and Remus straightened in the darkness, alertly listening until she said, “I’d say you were a…a little worried about me.”

“A little,” Remus admitted, trying to keep up a bright dialogue for her benefit. “I couldn’t fight our way out of here like you could.” What he didn’t say was that he had been frightened by how the Death Eaters had taken her down. If they could defeat such a competent witch as Nadia, what hope was there for the rest of the Order? Certainly, there was strength in numbers, and the Death Eaters had remembered that before the young witch.

“I’m flattered, Remus.” Although Nadia broke down into another coughing fit, he could hear the smile in her voice. “Really.”

He couldn’t help but smile to himself—she’d never called him by his first name in such relatively civil circumstances before. The way she said it had a nice touch to it…it was just…

Remus wasn’t sure what it was, but he sort of liked it.

Before he could say more, however, the door to the basement was thrown open, and a seemingly blinding light preceded the two figures that entered the room. Remus, who’d closed his eyes against the light, didn’t see who the figures were until the door had shut and he opened his eyes. Once his eyes focused, he found Bellatrix Lestrange smirking at him from behind Voldemort, her wand emitting a glowing light.

Nadia’s head snapped up against Remus’, and again her head collided with his. “Sorry,” she hissed, a ferocious tension filling her tone.

“Oh, Master, she’s awake!” Bellatrix squealed in delight, clapping her hands together and giggling the most sinister giggle that Remus had ever heard.

Voldemort grinned a grin that raised chills on Remus’ arm, and Remus suddenly feared for Nadia. What were they planning on doing to her? Unfortunately, some part of him had a good idea. “How kind of you to join us, Miss Ramsden! I trust you’re well.” With Bellatrix following at his heels, Voldemort walked completely around Remus to speak with Nadia.

Remus heard a snarl in Nadia’s voice as she replied, “Go to hell.”

Laughing coldly, Voldemort kept up a pleasant tone. “Now, now. I’d hoped for more eloquence than that, Miss Ramsden. Perhaps a little persuasion?”

Gritting his teeth in worry, Remus held his breath. It made him quite uncomfortable not being able to see what went on behind him. Maybe that was the enemy’s intention in tying them to chairs that sat back-to-back. He wasn’t well as it was…

He didn’t need Nadia screaming in agony to add to his unease.
((Well...hm. My favorite part was when Remus figured out that creatures from hell would smell like ashes, not the ocean. Yours?...other thoughts?))

[dobby888]

ok this my kind of.... dirty, but I personally thought that Remus thought she said tits!!! lol

And I agree that was my favorite part, I'm half expecting that Remus will hold her hand behind the chair.

I assume that you've seen Casino Royale  Extremely good movie, although I had to keep pausing it to ask my brother to explain.

[iluvharryandginny818]

wow taht was amazing

[Ginny Weasly]

Wahahaaaa. Creatures from hell smell of ashes...hee hee. I always though brimstone was more like them.

[N.Black1753]

((Hm. Never thought of Remus holding her hand, but it sounds incredibly...huh. I'd better stay quiet.  ;D ))

James knew that things were serious when Albus Dumbledore sat down in a stunned silence at his desk, resting his elbows on the desktop and bringing the tips of his fingers together. The headmaster's eyes were thoughtful behind the lenses of his half-moon glasses, and Dumbledore himself looked grimmer than James had seen him in a long while.

   As Dumbledore contemplated all that he'd been told, James turned to glance at Sirius...and found Sirius pacing restlessly. With a frown, James pushed the bridge of his thick-rimmed glasses back up his nose. Sirius was close to Nadia, almost as close as James was. James was disturbed by Nadia and Remus' disappearance, but probably nowhere near as much as Sirius was disturbed by it. Sirius looked after Nadia like she was the little sister he'd never had, and Nadia doubtlessly knew Sirius better than James himself did.

   Almost as if he felt James' eyes on him, Sirius stopped pacing long enough to look at James. Too many friends have disappeared at Voldemort's hands lately, James thought, figuring that the same thought was most likely circling Sirius' mind. Words of comfort were useless; Sirius wouldn't be comforted until Nadia and Remus were found alive.

   "I didn't send either of them any orders Saturday night," Dumbledore intoned gravely, folding his hands in his lap. "And what bothers me is the fact that she believed an obviously faked letter. She knows I send her and only her any orders."

   "It's not like her at all," Sirius gruffly agreed. "Nadia-"

   Dumbledore held up his hand to silence Sirius. Hearing footsteps hurrying toward the door, James, too, straightened and listened. The door was flung open, and McGonagall exclaimed, "Headmaster, quickly! A body's been found at the gates!"

   Sirius exchanged a terrified look with James and dashed out the door. Following his friend's example and not waiting on Dumbledore, James turned and pushed past the head of Gryffindor house, taking the stairs two at a time in order to catch up with his best friend. Just as he flew over the bottom step, James heard Dumbledore and McGonagall scrambling to follow them.

   As he caught up with Sirius, James heard his friend muttering, "It's not her, it's not her, it's not her," over and over like he was chanting some sort of incantation.

   Poor Padfoot, thought James as they sprinted through the familiar halls of Hogwarts. Of course, James wasn't immune to the same sentiments as Sirius. The Potters had lived next door to the Ramsdens since before James had been born, and in lieu of a sibling, he'd grown up alongside Nadia. They had practically lived at each other's houses and driven both of their parents crazy once they'd gotten brooms to fly. Memories flashed by at random: he and Nadia playing one-on-one Quidditch, he and Nadia getting on the train to Hogwarts for the first time, he and Nadia playing against each other as Seekers for their respective houses' Quidditch teams, Nadia rubbing a major Defence Against the Dark Arts grade in Remus' face, Nadia as Lily's maid of honor at his and Lily's wedding...

   He realized that in his mind, Nadia was impervious to death. How could Nadia possibly die? She'd been there for him for as long as he could remember, and James had gotten used to thinking that could never possibly change. Engrossed in these recollections, James ran straight into Sirius, who'd come to an incredulous halt at the gates of Hogwarts. "Sorry, ma-"

   Stopping mid-apology, James saw that it wasn't Nadia or Remus' body dumped carelessly at the gates...it was the body of Nadia's father.

   Stumbling back as if he'd had the wind knocked out of him, James felt two hands catch him just before he fell to the ground. If he had thought death held no sway over Nadia, then he'd certainly believed that Nikolai Ramsden was immortal...

   He had been wrong.

   Dumbledore knelt at the lifeless man's side, finding a note in Ramsden's shredded pocket. He stood up and read it to himself.

   "What does it say, Albus?" McGonagall, who kept a firm grip on James, inquired. James shook his head quickly and came back to reality. It wasn't like Voldemort or his followers to leave notes.

   Grimly, Dumbledore read aloud, "'His sweet will be next.'" Sirius snatched the note out of Dumbledore's hands and glared at it as if it were a Death Eater in disguise. Patiently, Dumbledore inquired, "I presume that refers to Nadia?"

   Nodding stiffly, James replied, "Nikolai called her his sweet." His voice seemed to be coming from some imposter...things went on as if James were watching from the sidelines. There was no question now that Voldemort had Nadia, and more than likely Remus.

   The question was...was either of them still alive?

((Just wondering...do you guys and gals think Remus is going to lose or win the bet? Lemme know! More as soon as you answer my question, lovely readers.))