When Sev got back to Spinner's End, Remus had the two Muggle born children settled by the fire in the parlor with mugs of hot chocolate. He had got them cleaned up, dressed them in old tee shirts of Sev's he had drummed up somewhere. The girl wore a green shirt with Slytherin blazed across the chest in faded silver script. A faint silver snake wound its way lazily in and out of the letters, the spell he had cast years ago, old and worn out. The boy wore a black shirt with the mustard yellow emblem of Puddlemere United. They had been Sev's quidditch team in his youth, when he cared about such things. Both the children were small enough that the shirts served as adequate nightdresses.
"This is Amanda and this is Gavin," said Remus gravely to Sev.
Sev just nodded at them.
"This is the man who rescued you," Remus explained.
Sev nodded again.
"You're a bloody hero," Remus said, looking at him.
"Less said the better," said Sev curtly.
"It's still true," said Remus.
"They're already a huge security risk."
"Sev, their parents. They must be frantic."
"Dead," said Sev shortly. "And don't use my name."
"Oh." Remus looked over at the children with concern but they showed no reaction. Either they already knew, or they were too traumatized to react.
"Our dad's alive," said the little girl in a whisper.
"I thought your parents were killed," said Sev.
"That's our step dad," piped up the boy. "Our real dad lives in London." And he started crying.
"Oh Merlin," said Sev and sank down into the spindly armchair by the fire. A little puff of dust rose from the burgundy velvet. He buried his face in his hands. In the quiet room the fire crackled and the little boy continued to wail.
"We've got to get them back to their father," said Remus urgently.
"I agree," said Severus. He looked over the children critically. "Do you know your father's address?" he asked the little girl. He was trying to sound gentle but it didn't really work. It came out harsh, imperious.
"Yes," said the child tremulously, and she gave an address.
"Where's that?" asked Sev, looking over at Remus.
"It's in East London, near Hackney. I know the neighborhood. I lived there for a spell," replied Remus.
"They can't go back into the Muggle world," said Sev. "They'll just be picked up again. They'll have to be hidden."
"And the parents are Muggles?"
"That's what they said at the meeting. Someone screwed up if they left the father alive. Didn't do their research right," Sev said. He couldn't keep the grim satisfaction out of his voice. In the world of Death Eaters, one person's failure was another's opportunity. He looked up at Remus. "You'll have to come with me."
"I....." Remus looked taken aback. "I haven't been out of this house in weeks."
"I know," said Sev. "I don't like it, but we'll just have to risk it."
Remus just ran his hand through his hair and looked at Sev in confusion.
"Lupin," said Sev, realizing as he said it that he had broken his own rule and used Remus' name. "Do you really think I can win the trust of some strange Muggle parent all by myself?"
"Right," said Remus. "I'll just get cleaned up, then, shall I?"
********
They apparated to a dark alley next to the address Amanda had given them. Remus clutched tight to Amanda's arm, and Sev held Gavin, who was still crying, though he had quieted down to a kind of snuffling into Sev's collar. Amanda's eyes were wide as saucers after apparating.
"Do you know where his door is?" asked Remus gently and Amanda led them across the way and up the stone steps of a white row house that stood in a shabby line of similar buildings. They were all leaning slightly to the left. The front door was unlocked. Amanda led them through a poorly lit foyer that smelled of cats and up two flights of stairs. There were doors to two flats on the landing. Sev set Gavin down and he stood beside his sister in front of the doors. She knocked on the left hand one. It opened just a crack, and a gruff voice whispered, "Who's there?"
"Dad, it's us," Gavin said, in his high childish voice and the next second the door was flung open and a large red faced man was gathering Amanda and Gavin in his arms with obvious relief. It only took him a moment to notice Sev and Remus lurking in the shadows, however, and with a start he stood, placing the bulk of his frame between his children and the two strange men, a look of hostility on his face.
Remus took a deep breath, and dove in. He could tell winning the trust of this Muggle stranger was going to be a challenge.
"Hello," said Remus quietly. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name, and it's safer if we don't tell you ours, but I am here to tell that you and your children are in serious danger. We are here to offer you a safe place to hide."
"Are you.....police?" the man asked suspiciously.
"No."
"Kidnappers?" asked the man. "I've no money if that's what you're after."
"We rescued your children from the kidnappers."
"My ex is dead," the man said, eyeing them suspiciously. "And her husband. My kids have been missing for two days."
"I know," said Remus. "It's horrible. But I'm asking you to trust us. It could have been far worse, if we hadn't gotten to them when we did."
"Why should I trust you?" asked the man narrowly. "How do I know you're not one of the killers. You......haven't shown me a badge or anything."
"Ask them," said Remus, gesturing to Amanda and Gavin.
"Dad, they helped us," said Amanda, simply.
The man looked from Severus to Remus and back. Sev was still in his traveling cloak. With his pale face, lank hair and dark eyes he looked otherworldly in the low light of the landing. He still had a smudge of smoke from the explosion across his forehead. Remus had done what he could to make himself presentable from Sev's shabby collection of cast off Muggle clothing. He was in a black tee shirt, a tattered black jacket and faded jeans. Sev thought he looked rather handsome, then shook his head and tried to stay focused. Remus' Celtic spell was wearing off and his bones, no longer sparkling with magic, felt incredibly heavy and dense.
"That one," Gavin said, pointing at Sev, "Got us off the ceiling and that one," pointing at Remus, "Gave us hot chocolate."
The father looked both children in the face. "You're really all right then?" he asked hoarsely.
They both nodded solemnly.
"Best come in and explain, then," he said gruffly. He stood aside. Amanda, stepped forward, took Remus' hand, and led him inside. Severus followed.
*********
Once inside Amanda and Gavin's father locked the door and set a deadbolt above the knob. Sev and Remus eyeballed each other in silent agreement.
"I apologize," said Remus to the strange man. "But we need to do something that will seem very peculiar, and we need to do it now."
The man just nodded, tightly, and watched quietly, one arm around each of his children, as Sev and Remus got out their wands and warded the room. Sev took the left side of the door, Remus the right. They both went around, casting concealment and protection charms. Remus cast a final spell in Welsh, "Amddiffyn ac tarian hwn ty,"* and the room tingled with that unfamiliar, protective magic.
"What are you?" the man whispered when they were done.
Remus looked at him a long moment. "Can we ......sit down?" he asked.
It took a while. It took a long while. It took so long that Sev started to grow restless as Remus patiently explained the wizarding world to this poor, unfortunate, Muggle man whose ex-wife had just been murdered and whose Muggle born children were in mortal peril. He explained about Voldemort and his war, he explained about the Order and what they were doing to fight him, he explained about how Amanda and Gavin were, indeed, very special, but that they were not the only ones, that there was in fact, a world they were about to enter, a magical world filled with schools and shops and other children just like them. Amanda and Gavin sat on either side of their father, wide eyed, silent, taking it all in.
"I always knew my kids were different," said the father at last. "Stuff would happen around them, you know, weird shit. One time.... How old were you Gav? Maybe four? Remember when you got that train set to run on the ceiling? I never could work out how you did that. And those little flying butterflies Amanda used to make out of leaves. I thought maybe I was going mental when I saw that."
"It was magic, wasn't it?" asked Amanda, looking at Remus, her eyes huge in her face.
"That's right," said Remus, gently, looking at her and smiling.
"I never could get them to keep the sprouts on their plates," said the dad. "I knew they weren't eating them, but they just......disappeared."
"We hate sprouts," supplied Gavin, with a shy grin.
"So......." said the man slowly, his eyes on Remus. They were small, set deep in his head, and slightly bloodshot. "You say me and my kids are in danger. You say these.... Wizard blokes killed my ex and her husband. What do we do?"
Remus looked over at Sev, who was sitting in a tattered armchair, watching the conversation, his forefingers steepled before him. It was a gesture reminiscent of Dumbledore, though where Dumbledore had always managed to look coolly detached, Sev somehow looked menacing. His eyes met Sev's dark ones and they looked at each other a long moment.
"I think you'd best stay with us," said Sev turning to the man. "At least for the night. The wards we put on this room will only last a few hours. And we're going to need to keep the children safe. They'll just be picked up again if they're out in the world. Tomorrow I'll work on finding a suitable safe house."
"Go with you?"
"Yes," said Sev.
The man turned to Remus with a questioning look on his face. "I agree, " Remus said. "I know this is sudden. But it's the only way to keep Amanda and Gavin safe. Do you have a job? He asked the man. "Relatives who would worry? A girlfriend?"
The man shook his head and looked to the ground. "No," he said and shuffled uncomfortably. "I'm.... on the dole. And no girlfriend, nor nothing. Just....them," he said gesturing at Gavin and Amanda. Both kids got up and hugged him tightly. He ruffled their hair and looked embarrassed.
"All right, that's easy then," said Remus kindly. Sev had faded back into the shadows again. "Why don't you just.....er.....Pack up a few things and we'll be on our way."
"You're the good guys, yeah?" he asked.
"We are," said Remus.
"What about the bad guys?" he asked.
"We're going to get them," said Remus.
The man stood and looked at Remus for a long moment. He had a quiet dignity, in spite of his disheveled appearance and obvious rough circumstances. Remus had the distinct feeling he was being sized up. He had no doubt the man would do anything to protect his children.
At last he seemed satisfied. He extended his hand to Remus, who grasped it.
"Tim," said the man. "My name's Tim McAllen."
"I'm Remus," he replied, evenly. "And this is Sev."
*Protect and shield this house.