Previously on The Twice Blessed Child...
Hermione doesn't even look at Peter. Lupin and Black raise their wands, point them directly into Peter's face. He shrinks back trembling, closing his eyes in fear, when...
"No," Harry said
"Come again?" I ask
Peter's lids lift. Lupin and Black turn to look at Harry.
"Harry, this man..." Lupin said
"I know what he is. But we'll take him to the castle." Harry said
"Bless you, boy! Bless you -" Peter said
He stands up and grabs ahold of Harry.
"Get off! I said we'd take you to the castle. After that, the Dementors can have you." Harry said
__________________________________________________________
Later...
As Peter emerges from the gap, he prattles desperately:
"Turn me into a maggot. A dung beetle. A Flobberworm! Anything but the Dementors...Ron! Haven't I been a good friend? A good pet? You won't let them kill me, will you? I was your rat..." Peter said
As Ron draws back in disgust, a sleepwalking Snape bumps his head against a low limb. Hermione turns to us.
"Don't worry. He's under the Somnambulist Charm. It's primarily used to transport the seriously deranged." Hermione said
We all nod, Peter turns his pleading eyes to Hermione. Who won't even look at Peter once again. Hermione tugs her robes from Peter's sweaty grasp.
"That was a noble thing you did back there. He doesn't deserve it." Sirius said
I see Harry turn to look at Peter.
"I don't reckon my father would want his best friends to become killers for a worthless piece of vermin like Pettigrew," Harry said
We all look at Hogwarts. We are broke out of thought by Hermione.
"Harry... Ana..." Hermione said in fear.
We turn to see Hermione staring at the Full Moon.
"Sirius," I said
"Shit," Sirius said
Sirius moves so he stands in front of Remus.
"Remus, old friend...did you take your potion tonight?" Sirius asked
Lupin twitching shakes his head. Well, I'm all for taking steps forward but tonight was a bad night.
"Run. All of you. Now." Sirius said
None of us move, we are all transfixed watching as bristles poke through Lupin's skin. Sirius steps forward, wraps his arms around his friend, presses his mouth to his ear. I'm standing close enough to hear.
"You know the man you truly are, Remus. This flesh is only flesh. This heart is where you truly live! This heart! Here!" Sirius said
Sirius and I were paying to much attention to Lupin and didn't notice anything else till we heard Harry yell. I turn and see Peter turn back into a rat. Harry and I watch as Peter as a rat darts into the night.
A howl pierces the air I turn back around to see Lupin toss Sirius into the air, then turns to face us. He is no longer human. He's a werewolf. We all begin to edge backward and into a little group.
"Professor...?" Hermione asked
"He's not our Professor at the moment," I said
His eyes blaze. Long teeth glitter. Then a horrifying growl erupts from his throat. I move from the group, I see Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Dudley turn to flee...and run flat into Snape. As they collapse in a great clumsy pile, Snape's eyes flutter open. Seeing them on top of him he sweeps them aside.
"Out of the way!" Snape said
I see the werewolf preparing to pounce. Snape leaps to his feet, he draws his wand and steps forward, shielding Hermione, Dudley, Harry, and Ron. The werewolf howls sprints forward. I don't think I move. I run and push Snape out of the way. But I get slashed on the back.
"Ana!"
I hear people yell. It takes me a second to stand back up and shake it off. I look up and see that I'm standing face-to-face with the werewolf. I don't move I just continue to stare at the werewolf. I see him sniff like he did the night I helped him. I see something flash in his eyes and he steps back. He steps back far enough so that Sirius in his grim form can stand between us. The Grim growls at the werewolf, and werewolf whines in response.
"Sirius, can you get him back to the Shrieking Shack?" I asked
The grim nods his head and starts to walk away, the Wolf-Lupin starts to follow Sirius when a twig snaps behind me. Wolf-Lupin whips back around and moves faster than before so that he is standing between me and the others. Ready once again to pounce and attack. I slowly move so that I was standing in-between Lupin-wolf and the others.
"Ana, what are you doing?" Hermione asked
"Please be quite Hermione," I said
"Lupin. Let's head to the shirking shack okay. Don't you want to follow the dog." I said
Wolf-Lupin looks towards Sirius, who barks. Wolf-Lupin shakes his head and whines. My shoulder starts to sting so I rotate it a little, and wince at the pain which once again causes the Wolf-Lupin to whine. I shake my head. I nod and bend over, and as I bend over I feel the change happen. I had turned into an animal once again. I let a bark and made my way towards Sirius. Wolf-Lupin looked at Snape for a moment but turned and followed after Sirius and I. We quickly made our way back to the Shirking Shack. It took us longer than it would've because of Wolf-Lupin evidently has a one track mind. Once we in the Shirking Shack we headed back up to the room that was usually used. Sirius moved around the room. I just laid down on the ground. My body was killing me, it was trying to reject the venom from the werewolf scratch.
I heard a whine come from across the room. I looked up and saw that it had come from Wolf-Lupin. I let out a shaky breath and felt myself shift back to human. I sat up, I took off my jacket and reached my hand over my shoulder. I touche the wound and pulled my hand way to see black blood.
"Great. Just great." I whisper
The Lupin-Wolf lets out a whimper.
"It's not your fault. I'll be okay." I said
For the rest of the night, I stayed in the Shirking Shack with Sirius and Lupin. When the sun came up and Lupin started to change back I conjured a blanket and handed it to him. I also conjured one for Sirius and called Tikki who bought us the potions. Once she gave them to me, I gave them to Lupin. It took him a second to recover but he couldn't even look at me when he did recover.
"Remus, how are you feeling?" Sirius asked
"Guilty. Ashamed." Lupin said
"Why do you feel those things. You finally controlled the wolf within. You had complete control." I said
"Yeah, but I hurt you. I was going to hurt Snape." Lupin said
"I would hurt Snape too. Plus, this is just a scratch." I said
"Just a scratch! Ana you have claw marks from your right shoulder down to your left hip. It goes clear across your back. I did that. That is not a scratch, they are deep cuts. You could bleed to death. You will now be a werewolf. I doomed you." Lupin said
Sirius and I looked at each other.
"I won't turn Lupin," I said
I turned to show Lupin my back. I pulled my shirt over my head so my back was bare to him, but my front was still covered.
"Look. It's already healing at the bottom. There will only be a scar at the top and maybe to the middle of my back. Do you see the black ooze coming from the wound? It's the stuff that would make me a werewolf." I said
I turn back around to face Lupin, I put the shirt back over my head.
"I won't be turning into a werewolf. I can't. I mean I guess I could shift into one but... who cares." I said
Lupin was quiet for a moment.
"No one can truly love a werewolf," Lupin said
I moved fast and slapped Lupin across the face. His head went to the side, he raised his hand to his cheek.
"You need to get over yourself. That man over there loves you." I said
Lupin just continues to look down.
"Look at him," I said
Lupin just continues to look down.
"I said Look at him," I said
Lupin's head moved so that he was looking at Sirius who had a look of hurt in his eyes.
"That man loves you. He became an Animagus for you. He comes here every full moon because he loves you, and he doesn't want you to be alone. Look him in the eye and tell me again that you believe that no one could truly love a werewolf." I said
Sirius and Lupin look at each other. Sirius slowly makes his way over to Lupin. He sits down next to me in front of Lupin. He cups Lupin's face in his hands. He looks him square in the face.
"I love you Remus Lupin. I love the man. I love the wolf. Because they are one and the same. They are you, Remus. I love you." Sirius said
Lupin starts to cry. Sirius whips the tears away.
"I'm sorry, Sirius. I'm so sorry for doubting you. Please forgive me." Lupin said
"I will always forgive you, Remus," Sirius said
They lean and kiss each other. I sit and watch them. I get a weird feeling watching them kiss. It was a good feeling, a feeling that I liked. They continued to kiss and I continued to watch. I honestly thought that they forgot I was there, will that thought didn't last long. They stopped kissing, they both turned their heads to look at me.
"What?" I asked
"Did you enjoy the show?" Sirius asked
"Yes, I think I did," I said
Sirius and Lupin look at each other for a moment then they both looked back to me. I went to say something but I didn't get the chance to. Because Sirius moved fast, and next thing I know I was being kissed by Sirius. Sirius pulled away, and once again before I got the chance to say anything I was once again being kissed only this time it was by Lupin. He pulled back as well, then they both kinds of just looked at me.
"Um. Why?" I asked
Sirius didn't answer, neither did Lupin. They both leaned forward and kissed my cheeks.
"We will talk more in depth later. For now, we should get back to the school." Lupin said
"That means Sirius has to leave," I said
"Yes, I have to leave. But I'll see you both soon." Sirius said
"Tikki," I said
With a pop, Tikki was there.
"I need you to bring clothes for Sirius and Remus," I said
"Tikki will be back soon," Tikki said
With a pop, Tikki was gone. A few minutes pass in silence before a pop is heard. I turn to see Tikki.
"Tikki have brought Master Sirius and Remus some clothing. Tikki also grabs Mistress Anastasia a jacket." Tikki said
"Thank you, Tikki," I said
Tikki handed each of us what she had brought for us. We put them on and left the shirking shack. Sirius went one way, while Remus and I headed up towards the school. As we walked towards the school the silence got a little more awkward.
"Anastasia about what just happened..." Lupin started
"Not now Lupin. Sirius said we would talk about it together." I said
He nods his head and we went to the castle. Breakfast was going on in the Great Hall. Lupin entered the Great Hall and then a few moments later I entered the hall. I walked over and sat down next to our group.
"Ana!" Hermione said
"Later. Right now I'm hungry." I said
They nodded their heads. Once breakfast was done we headed up to the dorm room, then up to the boy's dorm.
"I got to grab something from my room, wait here for a moment," I said
I left the boys room and quickly went to my room and grabbed some of the ambrosia I had in my trunk. I grabbed it and headed back to the boy's dorm. I sat down on one of the beds and started to eat the ambrosia.
"Ana are you okay?" Hermione asked
I looked up.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" I asked
"You got scratched by a werewolf. That scratch could turn you." Hermione said
"I'm fine Hermione," I said
They all look at me and let out a small sigh. I put the ambrosia down on the bed. I undid my jacket and pulled it off. I turned so my back was facing them, then I pulled it over my head so they could see my back.
"The black ooze you see is my body rejecting the stuff that would turn me into a werewolf. Plus look the scratches have already started to heal at the bottom." I said
I put the shirt back on, then I pulled the jacket back on. I grab the ambrosia and started eating it again.
"Anything else, because I need a shower," I said
"Yes, a few things actually," Hermione said
"Okay, Hermione ask away," I said
Hermione straightness up getting ready to ask her first of many questions. But Harry beats her to it.
"Is Sirius okay?" Harry asked
"Yes, Harry Sirius is fine, and before you ask Professor Lupin is fine. He is feeling really bad about scaring all of us." I said
I went back to eating the ambrosia.
"What are you eating?" Dudley asked
"Ambrosia. And no you can't have any." I said
"Why not?" Dudley asked
"I'll tell you later. Hermione before you start asking questions let me ask you a question. How have you been making to all of our classes?" I asked
Hermione looks to the side. She reaches into her shirt and pulls out a gold necklace.
"This is a Time-Turner. McGonagall gave it to me first term. This is how I've been getting to my lessons all year." Hermione said
We all kind of just looked at Hermione.
"I think we have rubbed off on you Hermione and not in a good way," Ron said
"So how about we never talk about you using a time-turner and you do not ask all those questions you have in your head," I said
"Can I ask at least one?" Hermione said
"Sure," I said
There were a few moments of silence while Hermione thought about which question she was going to pick.
"Okay, I've picked my question," Hermione said
"Then ask it," I said
"How did you save Buckbeak?" Hermione asked
"I simply had a conversation with the Minister of Magic. I told him that Lucius was kicked off the board of governors for putting the life of every Hogwarts student at risk. I told him what happened that day with Buckbeak. I also asked him if he wanted everyone to know that he is just a pawn to Lucius Malfoy? I then told him I knew he wasn't someone's pawn. So he made the smart decision and decided to let Buckbeak live." I said
They all kind of just looked at me.
"That would have been so cool to watch," Dudley said
"You totally made the Minster of Magic bend to your will," Ron said
"No, I didn't. I simply played his ego. Now then am I allowed to leave and go take a shower." I said
"Yes," they said
I got up and left the room. I headed back to the dorm and put the ambrosia back in my trunk.
*** Unknown Time Skip ***
Harry and I are walking softly towards Lupin's office and peer in. I see Lupin standing over a battered suitcase, filling it with the last of his books. Without turning he speaks to us.
"Hello, Harry and Anastasia," Lupin said
Harry jumps and I just laugh a little bit. Lupin turns and smiles through haggard eyes.
"Saw you coming," Lupin said
The Marauder's Map lies open on an otherwise bare desk. Harry and I both nod we both look up at Lupin.
"Professor are you okay? You are not looking too good. Are you still taking those potions?" I asked
"I've looked worse, believe me. Yes, Anastasia, I'm still taking the potions." Lupin said
"Good," I said
I look around the room. The open and empty desk drawers...the bare bookshelves.
"You've been sacked," Harry said
"Resigned, actually," Lupin said
"Resigned! Why have you done that? You are the only good DADA teacher we have had so far." I said
"It would seem that someone has let slip the nature of my condition," Lupin said
"Snape!" Harry and I said
"Whoever. It was bound to get out. This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving. Parents will not want a - someone like me - teaching their children." Lupin said
"But Dumbledore -" Harry said
"Has already done enough," I said
"Anastasia is right. He has already risked enough on my behalf. Besides, people like me, well...let's just say I'm used to this by now. But before I go, tell me about your Patrons." Lupin said
"Well. At first, I thought it was a horse, or perhaps a unicorn, but I think it was -" Harry trails off
"A stag," Lupin said
"Yes," Harry said
"Your father used to transform into one. That's how he was able to keep me company when I became..." Lupin trails off
I give Lupin a look.
"...the wolf. He was a great friend James." Lupin said
I give Lupin a small smile. Lupin smiles wanly, lifts his sorry suitcase. Then stops.
"There are stories about him and your mother, you know. Some are even true. But I think it's safe to say, in the end, you'll know them best by getting to know yourself." Lupin said
Lupin then - with a wicked twinkle - raises his wand.
"Mischief Managed," Lupin said
Harry and I watch the map go blank. We look back up but Lupin is gone.
*** Moments Later Great Hall ***
Harry and I are walking towards the Great Hall. We can see and hear Ron. We see him standing amid a circle of excited Gryffindors.
"Stand back, I said! I'll take it upstairs if you don't settle!" Ron said
We walk up to them, we both glance at Hermione who clears her throat loudly. The others turn, and to all speak at once.
"Harry! Wherever did you get it!" Neville said
"Can I have a go, Harry? After you, of course -" Seamus asked
"Quiet!" Ron yells
Everyone goes silent.
"Thank you. Let the man through." Ron said
Harry and I look at each other. Harry steps forward, the boys peeling away, clearing his view of the broomstick in Ron's hands. The label gleams Firebolt.
"Whose is that?" Harry asked
"Whose is it? It's yours, mate." Ron said
"But...how? Who?" Harry asked
"It's most likely from Sirius. He is Lord Black." I said
"Why don't take it for a spin," Hermione said
We all look at each other, then we all looked at each other. Then we all ran towards the doors. Boom! The huge vertical doors burst open and we all exit the castle. AS he strides off, others join the assembly - Hagrid, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle among them - curious to see what the commotion is all about.
We all stop just outside the castle. A hush hangs over the air.
"Go on, Harry," Seamus said
"Yeah. Let's see." Neville said
Harry mounts the broom. Licks his finger and jabs it in the air. A few others do the same. Hagrid does the same. Crabbe and Goyle start to do the same when Malfoy slaps their hands down. Finally, Harry places his hand on the broom. Sets his grip. Takes a breath. And...frowns.
"What's wrong?" Fred and George ask
"I don't think it works. I think it's defective." Harry said
A collective groan. Dejected, many of the kids begin to drift back towards the castle. Harry calls after.
"Oh, come on now. It's just a broom." Harry said
"Just a broom," Hagrid said
Harry's eye shifts to Ron, Hermione, Dudley, and I. A wink.
"The fastest broom in the world," Harry said
As everyone turns - whoosh - harry jets off and we all watch. A tiny dot, growing larger and larger, races upward. It's harry shooting straight into the blue on the Firebolt. A scream grows louder and as he approaches. A scream of release, of utter abandon. It's Harry screaming. But something else is clear as he jets past.