"HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE! YOU CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS ― HAS ― SOMETHING ― TO ― DO ― WITH ― POTTER!"
Maddy jumped so violently at the sudden shouting, waking her from her dreamless sleep, that she fell out of her bed. She sat up, disoriented, and rubbing her eyes, trying to figure out what was going on. She noticed Harry, Hermione, and Ron still in their beds. They too, minus Ron, who was somehow still asleep, were feverishly looking around the room.
"Severus ― be reasonable ― Harry has been locked up ―"
Maddy stood up, using the bed as support, when the door flung open, revealing the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, Dumbledore, and Snape, who was fuming.
He stormed over to Harry, bellowing out every word he spoke. "OUT WITH IT, POTTER! WHAT DID YOU DO?"
If Maddy was confused before, she was completely bewildered now. Madam Pomfrey was shrieking at him to calm down, and the Minister was attempting to reason with him. Dumbledore seemed to be almost enjoying himself.
"THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE! I KNOW IT!" Snape was pointing accusingly at Harry and Hermione.
"Calm down, man," barked Fudge, "You're talking nonsense!"
"YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER!" Snape shrieked, looking around like a mad man, "HE DID IT, I KNOW HE DID IT ―"
What is happening? Maddy asked, sitting on the edge of her bed criss-cross.
"That will do, Severus," whispered Dumbledore, not noticing Maddy's question. "Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfret, have the students left their beds?"
"Of course not!" insisted Madam Pomfrey. "I would have heard them!"
"Well, there you have it, Severus," said Dumbledore calmly, "Unless you are suggesting that Harry and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further."
Snape stod, seething with rage. He turned so quickly that his robes swished behind him, and he stormed out of the ward, not too different than when Maddy stormed out on him.
"Fellow seems quite unbalanced," Fudge stated, staring at Snape's wake, "I'd watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore."
Maddy snorted, attempting to hold in her laughter. Dumbledore sent her a glance, and she composed herself.
"Oh, he's not unbalanced," replied Dumbledore. "He's just suffered a severe disappointment."
"He's not the only one!" Fudge puffed. "The Daily Prophet's going to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that hippogriff's escape to get out, and I'll be a laughingstock! Well... I'd better go and notify the Ministry...."
Maddy's eyes widened. Hippogriff?" Harry noticed and gestured for her to wait a little. She gave him a small nod to show she comprehended.
"And the dementors?" asked Dumbledore, "They'll be removed from the school, I trust?"
"Oh yes, they'll have to go," said Fudge distractedly, "Never dreamed they'd administer the Kiss on an innocent boy.... Completely out of control.... No, I'll have them packed off back to Azkaban tonight.... Perhaps we should think about dragons at the school entrance."
What did I sleep through? Maddy was so befuddled, nothing anyone said had any significance in her brain.
"Hagrid would like that," said Dumbledore, smiling at Harry and Hermione, causing Maddy to wonder what inside joke that was. Fudge and Dumbledore promptly left the Hospital Wing, and Madam Pomfrey locked the door behind them, muttering to herself as she departed towards her office.
I'm still as confused as ever? What happened? Is Sirius alright?
Maddy would've continued to ramble out questions if she wasn't interrupted by a groan. She turned to see Ron, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, looking around. "What ㅡ what happened? Harry? Why are we in here? Where's Sirius? Where's Lupin? What's going on?"
Harry and Hermione shared a glance, and Harry helped himself to some chocolate that Madam Pomfrey had left out. "You explain," he told Hermione. "Come over here, Maddy, you have every right to know as well."
■□~□■
Maddy didn't sleep at all that night. Harry and Hermione's story seemed like something out of a novel that she would stay up late to read, a story of adventure and time travel. Soon after the trio fell asleep, Maddy heard a knock at the door, and Madam Pomfrey opened it to reveal her father, wearily looking around the room. Maddy ran to his side and grabbed his hand, guiding him over to the bed.
"Maddy?" he yawned, rubbing his eyes, "What are you doing awake? And why are you in the Hospital Wing? It can't be later than five o'clock."
Remus wasn't wrong. The sun was barely scraping the horizon, colours bursting against the green foliage. Just a lot in my mind. Do you remember last night?
Remus let out a string of curses, and Maddy looked at him empathetically. "I don't think I killed something. I didn't eat anything, either. I remember seeing you, though. Which leads me to ask you what you were doing?"
Maddy walked over to the end table, and picked up Remus's wand, and handed it to him. Here. I went looking for your wand. So, anyways, you didn't seem dangerous at all! Why are you always going on about how you're a monster?
"Apparently, I'm not dangerous to you. You smelt like a werewolf, and so I knew not to attack you. Still, it was pretty ㅡ pretty reckless of you to wander into the Forbidden Forest alone."
Sorry. Maddy apologised, a look of guilt filling her eyes.
Remus sighed, "It's alright. Do you have any idea what happened to Sirius?"
A smile spread across her face, and she told him the good news.
■□~□■
Am I allowed to go to breakfast, Dad?
Remus nodded, "I'm not very hungry, so I'll wait here. Come back as soon as you finish."
Maddy smiled her thanks, and ran out of the Hospital Wing. She almost made it all the way to the Great Hall when she was stopped by Peeves the Poltergeist.
"If it isn't Madman Madeline!" sang Peeves as he floated above her head, bopping her nose as he flipped. Maddy waved her hand as if she was getting rid of a pesky fly, and continued her way to the Great Hall. Peeves followed her, a wicked grin spread across his face. "Is Little Loony Loopy Lupin in a bad mood?" he taunted. Maddy, knowing not to encourage him, just kept her head high, and walked towards the Great Hall.
Peeves blew a raspberry at her, and flew in the other direction to find sleep-deprived students to pick on.
Maddy strolled between the Slytherin and Ravenclaw table when she heard four words she never wanted to hear. "Lupin is a werewolf."
Maddy's head snapped towards the voice. Snape stood with a smirk on his face, talking to the Slytherin table. She stomped right up to him, her jaw clenched, and her eyes burning with anger.
You! You! She accused, pointing at him, her other hand in a tight fist.
A Slytherin first-year screeched when she saw her, "Merlin! She's a half-breed!"
"That's not very nice," scolded another first-year, that she recognised to be Astoria Greengrass, "She's very smart and sweet. We've had lessons that she attended to all year."
Maddy gave Astoria a weak smile, before returning her attention to Snape. I can't believe you! Do you think only of yourself! You selfish, snivelling git! She grabbed a small container of yoghurt and a spoon off the Slytherin table and bolted to Hospital Wing.
She threw the yoghurt on the end table by her father's bed, shocking him, and let out a fluent string of curses.
"Maddy! Madeline! What's wrong?" Remus asked frantically.
That ― that. Remus scolded her slightly for her choice of words. Outed you. The Slytherins! They know! Snivellus told them!
Remus's eyes widened with fear and he stood up. "Go pack, Maddy."
What?
"I'm resigning. I said go pack."
Dad! You can't ―
"The letters will start tomorrow, no doubt. I'm off to see Dumbledore. Go to my office when you're finished."
Before she could protest anymore, he left.
■□~□■
Maddy quickly changed her outfit, realising she was still wearing the same clothes from the day before, and began to pack, tears flooding down her face. She kept Matilda and Quidditch Through the Ages separately, planning on keeping both with her to reread on the ride home. She also didn't pack her Nimbus 2000, regarding it as too special for her trunk. She put the books in a small rucksack she threw over her shoulders, and dragged her trunk in one hand, and her broom in the other, slowly making her way to the office.
Maddy sat on her trunk while she waited for her father, rereading the beginning of Matilda. Remus joined her shortly after, or so she thought. She failed to realise, being so engrossed in her book, that it had been a few hours. Remus had his stuff already packed in a small trunk. He took out the Marauder's Map, and laid it on the table, opening it with the simple phrase. He bent over the map, only looking up when there was a rap at the door.
"I saw you coming," Remus said. Harry stood in the doorway, causing Maddy to put a bookmark in her book, and stand up.
"I just saw Hagrid," he panted, "And he said you'd resigned. It's not true, is it?"
Maddy clapped to alert him of her location. It is.
"Why?" questioned Harry, "The Ministry of Magic don't think you were helping Sirius, do they?"
"No, Professor Dumbledore managed to convince Fudge that I was saving your lives." he sighed, "That was the final straw for Severus. I think the loss of the Order of Merlin hit him hard. So he ― er ― accidently let it slip that I am a werewolf this morning at breakfast."
It wasn't an accident. Maddy signed bitterly.
"You're not leaving just because of that!" exclaimed Harry flabbergasted.
Remus gave him a wry smile. "This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving from parents.... They will not want a werewolf teaching their children, Harry. After last night, I see their point. I could have bitten any of you. That must never happen again."
"You're the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher we ever had!" pleaded Harry, "Don't go!"
"From what Maddy and the Headmaster told me this morning, you saved a lot of lives last night. If I'm proud of anything, it's how much you learned.... Tell me about your Patronus."
"How d'you know about that?"
"What else could have driven the dementors back."
Maddy had a feeling that Harry knew that she told her father about it, but he explained it anyway. Remus was smiling broadly by the end.
"Your father was always a stag when he transformed. You guessed right, that's why we called him Prongs. Here ― I brought this from the Shrieking Shack last night." he handed Harry the Invisibility Cloak she and Snape had used the night before. He gestured to the Marauder's Map. "And.... I'm no longer a teacher, so I don't feel guilty about giving this back to you as well. It's no use to me, and Maddy won't start here until next year, and Hermione, Ron, and you will find uses for it." Harry took the map eagerly.
"You told me Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs would've wanted to lure me out of the school... you said they'd have thought it was funny."
"And so we would have," replied Remus, shutting his case."I have no hesitation in saying that James would be highly disappointed if his son didn't learn the secret passages out of the castle."
There was a brief knock, and Dumbledore walked in. "Your carriage is at the gate, Remus, Maddy." The reality of the situation hit Maddy like a freight train.
"Well ― good-bye, Harry," Remus said with a smile, "It's been a real pleasure teaching you. I feel sure we'll meet again sometime. Headmaster, there is no need to see us to the gate, we can manage."
Maddy walked up to Harry. I'll miss you.
Harry gave her a weak smile, "I'll miss you too. You're coming to Hogwarts when you're eleven, right?" Maddy nodded quickly. "Well, I'll be seeing you in a little over a year then! This is a see-you-soon rather than a good-bye. Just keep practicing what I taught you, and maybe we'll be on the team together."
Maddy pulled Harry into a hug, allowing tears to flow down her face. She let go, and wiped them quickly.
Thank you, Harry, for everything.