The sound of the howling wind on a deeply cold winter night, whistling through a chimney and through the cracks in the shutters is a ghostly sound indeed. But it could not compare with the sound of the inferi's moans and shrieks, echoing through the sewers, through the darkness of long abandoned tunnels of the underground, through pipes and drains... The ghastly wails carried long and far, and any who heard them were chilled to the bone.

Regulus had gotten away from the Death Eaters gathering as quickly as he could, though it was the morning after he'd been transported to Voldemort's summons. He had Kreacher bring him as close to the flat in East London as he dared go - incase someone followed him. He'd run through the early morning downpour all of the way, so that by the time he'd arrived his trainers were soaked through, his robes clung to his body, and the cold had sunk into him so deeply that he felt the shivering in his very bones. "Inferi, loads of them, in London," he gasped as Remus Lupin put a blanket about his shoulders, as Lily Evans handed him a steaming hot cup of tea, as his brother stared blearily from the doorway, as James Potter knelt before him and began asking him questions. He couldn't stop his shaking.

"Are you sure?" James asked, "You actually saw them? Where?" 

"Underground," Regulus wheezed, his teeth chattering. "Sewers, tunnels, pipes -- they -- so many of them -- I --" his eyes found Sirius's, he stared right into them, his wide and his brother's narrowed with worry or suspicion or something. "I hate th-them, Sirius," he said.

Sirius nodded, "I know."

"I h-hate inferius," Regulus repeated.

Sirius stepped closer and sat on the coffee table to one side of where James was kneeling before Regulus. "I know, Reg."

Regulus continued to tremble. Remus rubbed his arms under the blanket and used his wand to send a jet of warm air beneath it, hoping to calm the trembling, though it was now more about the sight of all of those inferi than about the cold.

"But an inferius itself is merely a puppet, really," Remus said, "It does the bidding of a master, but it can't think for itself..."

"He's using them as a distraction," Regulus said.

"For what?" Sirius asked.

Regulus shrugged, "I was late to the meeting."

"Of fucking bloody course you were."

"But he's sending a swarm of inferi - I saw them, I saw them moving south. When I left they were nearing Watford. They're controlled by the Death Eaters, and some by the Dark Lord himself. They're coming through the underground."

"Watford? Were they coming along the Metropolitan or the Main Service line?" Lily asked.

Regulus stared at her dumbly. "I - I dunno, I don't know the muggle Underground."

Remus said, "Either way, at this hour, they'll be rather crowded... all the muggles - going to work..."

They all exchanged glances.

James ran his hand through his hair. "Bloody hell."

The alarms were going off in the Auror Center.

"Bloody Moody," muttered Fabian Prewett, rolling his eyes and grabbing his wand from his desk, which had been half-buried under a good deal of shuffled paperwork. He looked at Gideon, who sat at his own desk across from his twin brother's and shook his head, "One of these days, I swear to Merlin's testicle, I'm not going to respond when he runs these blasted drills."

Gideon nodded, sighed and grabbed his own wand. They stepped into the hall and nearly collided with Edgar Bones, who was in a full run.

"What's the rush, Boney?" the Prewetts said together, in unison.  They laughed. Fabian grinned, "This part of the drill, too? Moody send you to rouse the troops into action?"

"Bit elaborate," Gideon remarked, "Seems you'd have better to do."

"Yeah, what'd he offer you, a bleedin' promotion if you got us to move our arses?"

"It's not a drill," Edgar said, "Not this time."

The twins looked at one another, then broke into a run alongside Edgar through the corridors of the Auror offices. Not everyone had arrived in just yet, most of the trainees for example weren't due for another hour. "Caradoc! Benjy!" Edgar yelled, seeing two of the other members of the Resistance coming their way from down the corridor that led off to the floos that connected to the main Ministry of Magic building downtown. The pair rushed to follow Edgar and the Prewetts.

"What's on?" Caradoc Dearborn asked, reaching them, "Anyone heard?"

"Dunno, haven't heard just yet," Edgar replied, "Following protocol until we're briefed..."

"There are inferius in the Underground system," came a booming voice, and they all turned to see Mr. Underhill coming toward them.

"Inferius!" Edgar cried, "In London?"

Mr. Underhill nodded.

"How'dya know?" asked Benjy Fenwick as they all fell into step alongside Mr. Underhill, who was leading to the exit of the center.

"My intern's just informed me," Underhill answered.

"Potter?" Fabian asked.

"Do I have any other interns, Mr. Prewett?"

"Just askin'," Fabian replied, shrugging.

Frank Longbottom was standing outside the center on the embankment, overlooking the Thames as Bones, Dearborn, Fenwick, Underhill and both of the Prewetts emerged from the Training Center, as well as several other members of the Magical Law Enforcement team. "Heard the alarms from out here, figured I'd just stay 'til the drill was ended," he said, laughing - then he saw the serious looks on their faces.

"Not a drill, Longbottom," said Fabian.

Frank hurried after them. "Not a drill? What's happened?"

"Inferius," Gideon said.

"In London?" Frank was astonished.

"That's the word on the street," Fabian replied.

"Where?" Frank questioned.

But even as the words came out of his mouth, Underhill was leading them into the mouth of the tube stop, and Frank swore and hurried to keep up with the group, yanking his wand from his pocket.

A train car rushed through the underground at Northwick Park, the smell of the wretched grime and heat of the station rushed across the platform in great billows and the headlights illuminated the tunnel as it swept along into the abyss of darkness beyond. The platform was empty - the hour still early - and none were there to see it when James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Lily Evans apparated there with a series of loud cracks.

James motioned for them all to huddle close and to be quiet and they stood in the dim, flickering lights of the Underground, listening intently. Aside from the distant thundering of the train that had just passed through, there wasn't much else for sound, and they could each distinctly hear the others' breathing. Remus shivered, and Sirius stepped closer to him, rubbing his hands over the arm sleeves of Remus's jumper.

James walked up to a directory on the wall, which showed the entire London Underground in a convoluted jumble of lines that criss-crossed and intersected all over the city, mostly to the north and west of the serpentine shape of the River Thames. "Lumos," he whispered, holding his wand up, looking over all of the names of the stations along each of the colored lines.

"Here we are," Lily pointed to the Northwick Park station, a small dot on one of the uppermost lines, a burgundy stripe that was labeled as the Metropolitan Line on the legend. She used her wand to point to the top, where to branches - one the continuing Metropolitan line and the other the Main Line - broke away to the north. "Watford... Watford Junction..." Lily pointed to the far ends of each of the branches. "Both end in Watford, via different routes."

James nodded. He turned 'round to face Remus and Sirius. "Break it off in pairs, then?"

Remus nodded solemnly, and Sirius pushed the sleeves of his shirt up past his elbows, ready to get down to business. 

"Alright," James said. "Me and Evans will take the Metropolitan, you lot take the Main Line." He reached into his pocket and withdrew the two-way mirrors, holding one out to Sirius.

"Good thinking," Sirius said, taking his and shoving it into his trousers pocket. 

Lily hugged Remus and Sirius each in turn. "Please be careful, both of you," she said earnestly. "Please."

"When am I ever not careful?" Sirius demanded, grinning with a self-indulgent grin.

"Gods. Rey, watch out for this idiot."

"I always do," Remus answered.

They broke away into the two pairs, walking opposite directions down the platform to the yawning mouths of the tunnels on either end. Sirius plunged over the edge of the platform and onto the rails themselves, and Remus looked back as he carefully slid over the side and down, following after Sirius, whose wand lit up in the dark tunnel beyond. Remus waved to Lily, who was looking back as well, and then turned and hurried to catch up with the pinprick glowing in the distance.

Lily felt the pit deepen in the bottom of her stomach.

James crouched and jumped down onto the track, pausing to listen for a moment, staring off into the complete darkness. He turned 'round then and held up his arms, catching Lily as she slid off the platform and gently lowering her to the ground. They stood side-by-side, collecting themselves for a moment, and then James's hand searched the air between them and caught her fingers with his. They laced them together, their palms touching flush against one another, wands each held in their free hands. 

"Alright, Evans?"

"Let's go," she answered resolutely.

They stepped into the darkness - only their wand tips and the far off glow of a directional light dimly illuminating the track in the distance. 

Harold Minchum did not wait to be announced or introduced or any of the pleasantries that he might normally observe. He stepped through the floo into the office of the Prime Minister of England. His arrival surprised Jim Callaghan, who looked up from his paperwork at his desk, lowering his glasses to the table as he stared at the green flash of light. His eyes flickered to the painting on the wall, the one who usually announced such arrivals, but the subject of the painting simply shrugged and then went back to pretending to be still.

Harold Minchum's face was somber, unshaven, and his eyes heavy set with concern. "Good day, Mr. Prime Minister," he said in a booming voice.

"Erm... yes, good day," Callaghan murmured, clearing his throat. He shifted in his seat and waved to the chairs opposite him at the desk, knowing from experience that it was much easier to entertain Harold Minchum and get it over with than it was to argue and say he hadn't the time to take care of whatever the hell it was that had brought the Minister for Magic out into this the "muggle minister's office", as Minchum called it. Trying to explain to Minchum that there wasn't time to discuss whatever it was Minchum had come for would only burn more time and honestly Callaghan had enough going on that it would be simply easier to listen to whatever the Other Minister had to say. "What can I help you with today, sir?" he asked, trying to put on as pleasurable an expression as he could.

Minchum sat, though he was an imposing figure and even in the small chairs of the Minister's office he seemed big and important.

"I need for you to stop service on all of the Underground lines," Minchum said. "Immediately."

"I - what??? Are you mad?" spluttered Callaghan. "Stop the service? To all of the lines? Right now?"

Minchum's eyes remained as serious as ever, his mouth a hard line as he stared down Mr. Callaghan for a long moment. "If you'd prefer that your citizens stay alive, then yes."

"London is under attack," Minchum said somberly. His eyes met Callaghan's, the seriousness of the situation plain on the Minister for Magic's face.

"Well I was borned a coal miner's daughter... in a cabin, on a hill in Butcher Holler...  we were poor but we had love... That's the one thing that daddy made sure of.... he shoveled coal to make a poor mans dollar..."

"Dear husband of mine - will you shut up, please??" Remus hissed. "If there are any inferi in this tunnel, they'll come barreling this way for sure, just to shut you the hell up."

"Else they'll turn and run the other way," Sirius said, and he started crooning and caterwauling all the more as they walked, picking their way over the uneven terrain between the iron tracks.

Remus kept one palm pressed to the wall of the underground, trying to remind himself that they weren't completely lost in the dark. It wasn't that much worse than the tunnel from the Whomping Willow to the Shrieking Shack, he tried to tell himself as they walked. Sirius's back hovered before him, but his knee was getting sore and he paused to catch his breath, leaning against the tiled wall. "Sirius," he said, bending to rub the sore part of his knee, "Hold up a mo'." He closed his eyes, wincing, and started walking again, following the sound of Sirius's horrid impression of Loretta Lynn. "Padfoot?" Remus called up, "Oi, let me catch you up."

Up ahead, Sirius had come to a stop, his singing dying away - but it had nothing to do with Remus's shouts.

A cold went through the tunnel, an icy blast that pressed through the hot, humid air so unexpectedly that it took Sirius's breath away. He suddenly felt as though the tunnel were no more than a mere tube, a small little tube, closing 'round him. His heart clenched and he clutched at his chest, as though he could take hold of it and stop the sensation going through him. 

"I stopped for but a second and I thought I lost you," Remus panted, catching up to Sirius. Then he felt the cold, too, and he stopped dead in his tracks at Sirius's side, his eyes wide as he looked about the tunnel with an air of panic. "Dementors," he whispered.