{CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE}
"Go to sleep. Go to sleep. Go to sleep."
Secret are made to be kept.
For most individuals secrets are small and not usually life changing. For many teenage girls their biggest secret is who they fancy or what they did at a party.
But not Harlow.
No, Harlow's whole existence is filled with secrets. She has a fair share of smaller ones like how she slept with Sirius.
But her other secrets are life changing.
Harlow appeared in Dumbledore's office late in the Sunday night. She had her duffle bag in her grasp and her wand in the other.
Dumbledore snapped his head up to look at the girl and away from his artefacts. He did a double take as he saw Harlow. She looked rough, and she sure as hell felt it.
Harlow blinked slowly as she stepped forward and out of the fireplace. "I'm uh-I'm back." She muttered, hiking the strap of her bag further up her shoulder. "I'm just gonna-"
Dumbledore turned towards Harlow. "I was surprised that there was no news coverage like last time." He remarked as he strolled over to stand in front of Harlow.
Harlow's eyes narrowed at the man, the bags under her eyes wrinkling as she did so. "This wasn't a battle or a war. It was a mission." She stated, "A secret mission that the muggle public will have no knowledge of." She added.
Dumbledore slowly nodded and hummed in agreement. "I understand." He simply said and gestured towards the exit of his office.
Harlow exhaled with relief and made her way to the set of stairs. Before she got out of view Dumbledore called out to her, "Good to have you back, Miss Loughty."
Harlow cringed at his words and continued on down the stairs. She knew Dumbledore wasn't glad to have her back. He was just thankful that he could keep an eye on her and try to control the girl.
"Whatever." Harlow murmured to herself as she left his office. The halls were dark and not at all lit well. With Harlow's cloudy head she thought it to be best to use her wand as a light.
She cast lumos and held her wand as she walked.
It was a short walk to the Gryffindor common room but it took longer than it should for Harlow to get back into it. She found herself exhausted by the time she got back to her room after climbing up the many stairs.
She was more than ready to just burrow herself into her blankets and create a warm cocoon. But first she wanted to change. Harlow wasn't in her hospital gown but she was in a pair of jeans and a jumper, she needed to be comfortable first.
Harlow was quick to remove her bra and let out a sigh of relief after doing so. She was still burning up, her temperature not lowering since the surgery. Harlow doesn't feel heat so she usually sleeps in a pair of cotton shorts with a vest top.
Harlow was putting of a shower until the morning. She was convinced she would somehow manage to fall asleep in the shower if she went for one.
Harlow lunged herself into her bed and hid under her covers. The softness of her mattress was a great comfort to her and the pillow was relief to her blaring head.
But everything just felt so wrong. In that split second that Harlow's head hit the pillow the fogginess went away and clarity came. And her clarity brought alarm, and not for her.
She snapped up and launched herself out of her bed. Harlow immediately rushed to the door and yanked it open. Without even looking and checking no one was around, Harlow sprinted back down the stairs and towards the boys tower.
She didn't even look around the common room to check if anyone was there. She didn't care that her scars were showing, something was really wrong.
When she reached the Marauder boys room, she didn't bother knocking. But their room was empty, their beds were empty and nobody was there.
And then Harlow remembered. The full moon.
The full moon explained why Remus was not in his bed. It explained how something bad could be going on but what wasn't given an explanation was where the other boys where.
Harlow had a feeling in her gut and it wasn't a reassuring kind of feeling. It was the type that ended in disasters and death. She felt it back in New York and even further back in Russia.
Something wasn't right and the combination of her instinct, curiously and hero complex made
her need to investigate.
She needed to find her boys and something was telling her she needed to do it quick.
Harlow flew back down the stairs and out of the common room. She sped walk through the corridors, bare feet slapping against the floor. Her eyes were constantly in the move, tracking the hallway paintings.
Something struck inside Harlow. Her mind was far more alert than before and her speed walk turned into a desperate sprint.
Harlow slammed into the double doors that lead to the school grounds. The doors slammed open and hit of the sides of the building due to the force.
Harlow's chest was heaving as he eyes racked the dark scenery or the outside. But then she heard it. A howl. A scream.
"Shit!" Harlow cursed and took of in the direction of the noise. She was panicking. Harlow was panicking.
She never usually panicked but after the crash and fight in America all she had done since was panic.
Harlow was getting to the start of the Forbidden Forest and came to a halt. She paused, rapid breaths falling out her quivering lips, her feet were covered in mud and her head was moving rapidly.
"James hurry!"
Harlow's head snapped to the left, as her eyes zoned in.
"James!"
She finally saw the heat signatures, she finally saw their bodies. There was four of them and something bigger chasing after them.
Harlow's jaw dropped slowly as she let out a single breath. "Oh Remus." She mumbled in sympathy, the something was the werewolf, it was Remus.
Harlow shook her head forcefully and took another breath before starting to run again. She kept her eyes focused on the figures to ensure she didn't loose them.
She knew it was a life or death situation.
Running in the forest in bare feet was much harder than on the grass. Harlow was cutting her feet on all sorts of twigs and plants. But she didn't care, she couldn't care.
She continued running and found herself at the edge of a clearing in the large forest. The bushes and trees for the most part stopped and left a large patch of grass in the centre with her occasional plant.
Just as Harlow entered the clearing she saw the boys running into it from the opposite side. Peter was at the front with his arm around Snape, which came as a massive shock to Harlow. And James was trailing slightly behind supporting the weight of an injured Sirius.
And a metre behind was Remus. Poor innocent Remus who was cursed with the cruelty of being a werewolf at such a young age.
Harlow sped up, trying to reach the boys before Remus did. They hadn't take notice of Harlow yet. The task of running for their lives distracted them.
Peter noticed her first. For a moment he was confused but quickly pushed it away when he heard another growl coming from the werewolf. "Harlow, run!" He shouted out, his voice hoarse from previous shouting as he ran as fast as he could.
Snape looked over to Harlow after hearing Peter mention her. His face was paler than usual and his eyes were blank with fear. If it wasn't for Peter pulling him with him, Snape would've been food for the werewolf. He was in shock.
James on the other hand became even more scared. He was carrying Sirius who was drifting in and out of consciousness, but the mention of the girl seemed to wake him right up.
"Harlow run." Sirius weekly muttered as he tried to help James run faster, but it was no use.
"Harlow fucking run!" James screamed when he saw Harlow was still running towards them and was making no effort to run away. "Har-"
Harlow eyes widened, the werewolf was far to close for her liking. As he swung his claw in the air Harlow knew that it was her time to intervene. "JAMES DUCK!" Harlow instructed, screaming at the top of her voice.
James did as she said and dropped to the ground, dragging Sirius down with him. Just as he landed on the floor he saw Harlow leaping over him and slammed her body straight into the werewolf taking him down with her as they fumbled to the ground.
James scrambled to his feet and pulled Sirius up with him. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Harlow's back collided with the ground after slamming the werewolf into a tree. She let out a cough, her breath having been taken out of her lungs. She let her head roll to the side and witnessed the werewolf regaining it ability to stand.
Harlow watched closely to make sure the werewolf was close enough before she sent her fist slamming to the ground, releasing a jolt of energy as she did so.
The ground shook briefly and made the boys and the werewolf lose their balance. Harlow rolled onto her back and used momentum to jump and get back onto her feet.
The werewolf came charging at Harlow and on instinct she threw up a fire wall in between them and it worked. It made the werewolf pause.
"I-I but- what?" Peter stuttered, his eyes blow wide as he finally pulled himself off the ground.
Harlow gulped and looked over her shoulder at the boys, her arms still in the air and holding the fire wall. She couldn't look them directly in the eyes. She had lied to them and they knew it now.
"You're- you-" Sirius wheezed, leaning into James as he stared at the girl.
"Just go. Go straight to the medical wing." Harlow told them, waiting for one of them to move. "Now!" She exclaimed feeling the werewolf start to force himself against the only thing separating the two of them.
"Harlow!" James called out grabbing her attention once more.
Harlow looked over to James, her eyes softening. "I'll keep him safe, don't worry." She reassured him.
James eyes narrowed as he realised Harlow knew. He wasn't sure if the girl knew before, but he was guessing that she did.
She seemed to know a lot about them, but they didn't know much having her.
Harlow watched as the boy continued running, making sure they were out of eyeshot before turning to tame the werewolf.
She couldn't kill him, she had to try her best bit to hurt him. So it severely limited her options.
Harlow pushed the fire wall towards the werewolf making him whimper and run back. She dropped her arms to the side and tilted her head at the wolf.
"I'm sorry." She whispered before sending two balls of energy to clasp at the werewolf's wrists. She was using the same method she used in the hulk. Harlow was attempting to take control of the werewolf's actions to give the boys enough time to get back to the castle before she properly dealt with the situation.
Her key concerns we're keeping the boys (including Snape) safe and keeping Remus safe and okay. And to keep Remus feeling okay later. She couldn't let him kill or harm anyone more than he already had. It would destroy him.
Harlow held him off for as long as she could but it was getting to the point where her method was no longer working. She had to put him to sleep or knock him out.
Harlow figured since she could suck energy out of objects she could do it to people too. Her heart was beating rapidly, she was worried she would siphon too much energy or cause some other damage.
But she didn't have a choice. Harlow never had a choice.
Harlow pulled on the fire that coated the werewolf's wrists and brought him with it. As soo mad the werewolf was close enough Harlow swung her leg up in an attempt to hit the werewolf and knock him out.
The werewolf intercepted, grabbing Harlow's ankle harshly and cutting into her skin with his claws. He released Harlow's leg and flung her away like a rubber band.
Harlow skidded onto her knees, the muddy ground denting underneath her and coating up the side of her legs. As her sniffing halted, Harlow looked up and saw the werewolf approaching.
With each step that the werewolf took, the gap between them closed. Harlow pushed herself up from the ground and tried to come up with a realistic plan.
Harlow knew she'd have to hurt him.
Harlow stood up, taking steps backwards until her back hit a tree. She waited as the werewolf approached, growling as he went.
The werewolf stopped in front of Harlow arms started sniffing her. She couldn't help but hold her breath as his wet nose came and inch from her face.
"I'm sorry." Harlow whispered before raising both her hands slowly. She heated one of her hand and slammed it against his side, while her other hand grabbed onto his arm and tried to syphon the life energy out of the werewolf.
The werewolf reacted quickly, roaring loudly and using his claws to scratch Harlow's chest.
Harlow cried out, she could feel the blood pouring out of the wounds and causing her top to stick to her stomach.
Harlow's hands clutched harder onto the werewolf. She tried to suck the energy up quicker, feeling it charging into her body.
But as the werewolf swung again she had to let go and drop to the floor to avoid being hit. Harlow crawled through the werewolf's legs and tried to make a run for it.
The back of her top got grabbed by the werewolf and suddenly her feet were dangling off the ground.
Harlow cursed as she tried to figure out what to do. The werewolf turned Harlow around so it's beady eyes were looking straight into Harlow's. It snapped it's jaw and let out a low snarl.
"Come on Harlow, come on." She mumbled to herself, staring the werewolf into the eyes and trying to scorch herself up. It would be the only way.
The werewolf reared back, still clutching Harlow. He went to bite her causing the girl to try and stop him. She threw her arms in front of her head and let out a relieved breath as she heard the werewolf let out a pained cry while no pain came to her.
Harlow eyes snapped open. The werewolf dropped her to the ground as it scurried back. It was letting out little whimpers as it did so, backing away.
Harlow looked to her arms and found them alight. She felt guilt immediately but also knew this was her chance.
Without giving the werewolf a chance to calm down , Harlow sprung into actions. Symphony his energy whilst putting pressure of his pressure point.
"Go to sleep. Go to sleep. Go to sleep." Harlow begged as the werewolf continued whining in pain. Tears formed in Harlow's eyes as she watched the werewolf cower in pain and eventually collapse to the floor.
Harlow dropped him to the ground and stared at the knocked out werewolf. She brought a hand up to wipe her tears, only to feel blood smearing against her cheek.
Harlow let out a silent sob as her
knees crumbled beneath her. "Im so so sorry, Remus." She whispered, her voice breaking and cracking as she cried.
Thank you to everyone who reads, and comments. It greatly helps me with motivation when I get notifications for the story!! And the random and funny comments always give me a good laugh.
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