On the Turning Away

They trekked through the woods in silence, their eyes peering into the moonlit wilderness, searching for any sign of potential trouble. They’d been walking for over ten minutes, having preferred to apparate a mile away from the Dolohov home, than to have their presence made known by the loud pop that occurs whenever one apparates. Remus was accustomed to the walk, having taken it on a daily basis for a little over three weeks. Gwen was not at all acquainted with the forest, but she had spent many years roaming around the woods near her own home, so she knew how to move in the wilderness. Her mother always scolded her for running off into the woods, claiming that she should employ her time in a better fashion, but when it came to that, Gwen ignored her mothers words and at the present, she was all the better for it. She was skillfully making her way through the woods, her steps light and almost inaudible.

Up ahead of her, Remus lifted his right hand, signaling for her to stop walking. They came to a halt, a few feet away from the edge of the woods. There were thick bushes all around the front, they could easily hide behind them or if they wanted a higher view, the trees had branches that could easily support either of them. Not being in the mood to climb, Remus opted to crouch down behind the shrubs, his eyes firmly fixed on the brightly lit windows in front of him. Gwen did as he. She crouched down, her wand still firmly in her hold; she wasn’t going to take any chances. No. The last thing she wanted was to be caught without her wand. Nothing could be more disastrous than to have to pull her wand out of her pocket, while a foe had theirs pointed at her face.

“They spend their nights in their parlor area, right through that window,” whispered Remus. “On occasion, a guest arrives, always hidden from view by a black hood and whenever that person arrives, they draw shut the curtains.”

“Any leads as to who it might be?” asked Gwen, her eyes focused on the tall man’s silhouette, he was standing by the window, serving himself a drink.

“A few,” he replied. “The Dolohov’s have always had a very, shall we say, intimate relationship with the Lestrange’s. Antonin was very good friends with Rodolphus during their time at Hogwarts. That friendship persisted through their lives. They joined the ranks of the Death Eaters at about the same time. With them being so close, I find it very probable that either Rodolphus or Bellatrix is the one paying those visits.”

“Bellatrix . . .” she repeated the name softly. “My mum imprisoned her, didn’t she?”

Remus nodded, “Imprisoned them both. Rodolphus and Bellatrix made a run for it, started throwing curse after curse, but – from what I’ve heard – your mother deflected their spells and then shot an impressive combination of spells that subdued both fiends.”

“Sounds like my mum,” she said proudly. “But I have a question. Are we . . . are we allowed to dispose of Bellatrix or Rodolphus, if the opportunity presents itself of course. Dumbledore mentioned discretion. I can do it discreetly. Believe me.”

“As much as that would benefit the cause, I believe it’d be best to let things play out as they will. Perhaps we can discover something important through their visits. I was doing some reading on the techniques used at the Department of Magic in America and thought that we might use one.”

“Which one?” she glanced over to him before returning her gaze to the window.

“The bugging,” he said. “Did I say that right? Or is it just the bug? I can’t be sure.”

“No. You said it right.” Gwen pursed her lips together, mulling over his idea. “That could work very well. Can’t believe I hadn’t thought of that. It’s perfect really. We sneak in while their away, place a few of the listening devices around the house and then we can have everything they say on file, for analysis. Problem is we’ll have to figure out when they leave. Perhaps do it when they go on a trip to Borgin and Burkes.”

“We could arrange for someone to trail them in Knockturn Alley.”

“And we’ll stay here. Though I think it might be best to enlist one more wizard, in case things become complicated and we need a hand.”

“Yes, of course, that can very easily be arranged.”

“Good. Then I’ll see if I can come up with some devices from America. I’ll ask Ada if she can sneak some through. A woman at the Auror Office fancies her, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“A woman?” that was enough for Remus to remove his gaze from the house. “A-Ada fancies women?”

Gwen shook her head. “She doesn’t fancy them, but they’ve got a way of fancying her. And she’s completely oblivious to it. Thinks they’re just being nice. Hah.”

Remus, unsure of what to do next, decided to laugh with her. And then after a short moment of mutual laughter, they fell silent, their eyes once again focusing on the window. They sat in the bushes for the entire night, not leaving their post until the sun began to rise. Gwen had hoped for more excitement, for a duel to breakout or for someone to visit the Dolohov home, but she knew that excitement during surveillance was rare and far in between. On most days, she knew they were just going to sit there, peering into the windows. That was all a part of surveillance and she hoped that the day she would finally be able to see action, would be a glorious day to remember.

When the sun began to make its way up towards the heavens, they abandoned the bushes and commence the walk back to their designated apparating spot. They were both tired, staying up all night would never be an easy task, but they knew that it was a sacrifice that needed to be done. Their walk back was much slower than their walk to the Dolohov house. Their feet seemed to drag, it was as if one foot had to ask the other for permission to move, but eventually, they made their way to their spot and that was when Remus took the opportunity to inform Gwen of the change in plans for the night.

“Might I have a word?” he asked her.

Gwen turned to look at him, “Of course.”

“I am sure that you have been informed of my condition . . . my lycanthropy. Am I right in assuming that?”

“You are.”

“Good,” he muttered to himself. “Well, there is a full moon scheduled for this night and I am afraid that my coming would not be in your best interest or in anyone’s, for that matter. As such, I have taken the liberty of finding a suitable replacement for myself. That way we don’t miss a moment.”

“And who’s the replacement? Is it Tonks?”

“No, she’s at Hogwarts, arranging the protection for the start of term.”

“Then who is it?”

“Bill Weasley,” he said, completely oblivious to their past. “He might not be an Auror, but he’s quite talented with defensive magic and he spent a few days here with me, so he knows the land.”

Whatever reservations she had about working with Bill, were not shown. Instead she nodded her head in understanding and said, “If he knows the layout, he’ll be a valuable resource.”

“He will,” agreed Remus. “I wouldn’t leave you with someone who wouldn’t. And I’d like to apologize for not being able to be here tonight. If I could I would, it’s just . . .”

“I understand.” Gwen reassured. “It’s not like you could help it.”

“Thank you for being so understanding.” Remus smiled. “Shall we be on our way then? You must be quite tuckered out, I know I am.”

Gwen really was tired and after bidding Remus farewell, she apparated to the family home in Surrey. All she wanted to do was climb into bed, snuggle into her pillow and sleep seven undisturbed hours. She deserved that after spending the entire night awake and she most certainly needed to be well rested for the night that lay ahead of her. She was going to have to be completely focused on her work, only her work, and she’d have to ignore Bill’s remarks, because Bill, being the annoying ginger that he is, would surely try to talk to her about their past. But she wouldn’t pay him any mind. She was there to survey and that was exactly what she was going to do.

When she got to the house, it was perfectly quiet, the only audible sound was her father’s snores, but they were faint. She crept through the house as quietly as she could, not wanting to rouse him from his slumber as she crossed the living room, which was acting as his temporary bedroom. He hadn’t slept in his room since the funeral. Why? She didn’t know. He’d been lugging around her mother’s urn, treating it as if it were her, so she thought that he would’ve felt comfortable with sleeping beside it in the bedroom he’d once shared with her, but apparently that was too odd for him. Apparently he couldn’t sleep with the urn but he had to face it in the living room. His body had to be curled up on the couch in a manner that would face the coffee table on which the urn rested, at all times.

With a sigh, she walked by his sleeping figure and over to the stairs, she took them two at a time, eager to get to her comfortable bed. She hadn’t bothered making her bed, the blankets were messily draped across it, perhaps someone else would’ve been bothered by the sight of the unmade bed, but she wasn’t. She just looked at it fondly, like some treasure that she’d just discovered and after kicking off her shoes and shimmying out of her pants, she slid under the covers and tried to get comfortable. She tossed and turned; first lying on her back, then on her side, then on her stomach. The only thing she wanted was to get some damn sleep, but her mind was buzzing with pesky thoughts that should’ve annoyed her at another hour.

She wasn’t in the mood to think about Bill. He was an annoying git that didn’t deserve a second of her time, but there she was, wide awake even though her body was begging her mind to just let her fall asleep. She’d lost enough sleep over Bill in the past. There’d be so many nights when she’d lain awake thinking about him. She’d thought she was over that. Apparently she wasn’t. Apparently not seeing him for nearly a decade hadn’t been enough. But she wasn’t going to let him know that he’d manage to get in her mind again. Oh no. Gwen was going to take a sleeping pill, knock out for a good six to eight hours, and when she woke up, she’d feel refreshed, ready to focus on the task at hand. Yes. That was exactly what was going to happen. And after fishing out the prescription bottle from her purse, she popped a pill into her mouth and forced it down, within twenty minutes she fell into a dreamless slumber.

Hours later she awoke feeling completely refreshed, the sun was poking through a tear on her curtains, creating a small path that landed on her discarded pants. For a moment, she just lay there, staring up at the ceiling as she formed a list of what she’d have to do. Her main priority was getting Adelaide to procure the listening devices. They could very easily be bought somewhere else, but the ones at the Department were top quality, coming by those was hard, even in the black market. She was also going to have to get some exercise in, a run and some weight training so she could her stamina up. A groan left her lips as she thought about exercising, she wasn’t a fan of it, she wasn’t one of those people that were overly excited to get a workout in, the only reason she did it was because she had to. And so she decided that the first order of business would be taking a run through the country, when she came home she’d lift weights and have lunch.

It took about an hour and a half for her to finish her work out routine. By the end of it, her legs were threatening to give out beneath her and her arms felt a bit like the strawberry jelly her mum made her as a child, but that was how it had to be. That was how one made oneself stronger, and as she stood beneath the showerhead, relishing in the feel of the warm water running down her skin, she couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction over her morning’s endeavors. She was going to be ready for the day she did battle against the Death Eaters.

After her shower, she walked downstairs to get something to eat. She half expected to see her father in the living room. He hadn’t left the house much since his wife’s passing, but the note on the refrigerator door told her that he’d decided to go back to work at St. Mungo’s. Apparently, he’d thought it best to try to get his life going again and although she was upset that he hadn’t mentioned it to her, she was glad that he was at least trying to get back in the swing of his life. Maybe this would be the first step in his recovery process.

“Hmm . . . what to eat, what to eat?” she muttered to herself as she opened the refrigerator door.

There was still some food left over from the funeral. Adelaide had stored it in the fridge for Gwen to heat up if she wasn’t in the mood to cook, but Gwen was tired of the food. She’d had it for the last four days in a row and felt like something else. She couldn’t really think of what she wanted, but she wanted something different, something not as heavy. Perhaps some oatmeal with fruit, yes, that’d do the trick. With oatmeal on her mind, she searched through the cupboards looking for the container her mum always put it in. She eventually found the container, hidden away behind a wall of cans. That was her father’s doing. He’d always hated oatmeal and complained whenever his wife fixed it for breakfast. He’d hidden it in hopes of her not finding it and making for them, silly old man.

The oatmeal was soon prepared and she ate in silence, staring out the kitchen window as spoonfuls of the warm nourishment were taken in. It was a beautiful, wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the sun shone brightly, much brighter than it usually did. That reminded her of her days at Hogwarts. The days spent running around with Tonks . . . with Bill. They’d been some of the best of her life. It was strange to think that it had almost been a decade since they’d graduated, since she spoke to either of them. She’d lost contact with Tonks, because they’d each been too caught up with their Auror training and then after with their jobs. She lost contact with Bill, because he was a bloody git that didn’t deserve the time of day. She’d loved him more than anything and he’d ruthlessly stomped over her heart. He was a git. And she was determined to not think about him. She was an adult now, a grown woman that didn’t have time for childish nonsense.