SLEEP NOT FOR THE BEAST WALKS

A prophet yet to foretell of a boy who will kill a Dark Lord…Her prophecy will be void when the Dark Lord brings forth a child…

Jeremy begins to prepare for the inevitable battle with Helena the Beast. Secrets are revealed and the truth of Jeremy's past is revealed in this final instalment of Sleep Not for the Beast Walks.

BOOK THE THIRD

TRUTH

Chapter 1: Return

Severus and Jeremy stepped toward the large, stone gates of the Refuge. They were knee deep in snow and, though Jeremy knew there were more important things to do, he desperately wanted a bath.

The doors opened and they entered.

Jeremy wondered when the Refuge seemed so clustered and small. He wondered if this was what Severus meant when he said that everywhere he had been seemed more like a prison than a home.

Jeremy followed the Councilman into The School.

From there, they went their different ways: Severus to his quarters, Jeremy to his.

It was smaller than he remembered. Even Harry's apartment seemed bigger than this…dump? Room? Apartment?

What was Jeremy's room called anyway?

He didn't know anymore.

Jeremy opened the door to his bathroom and turned the water on. He checked the temperature, to make sure he didn't burn himself, before taking his long desired bath.

He sat in the tub and thought, staring at the ceiling.

Who am I? Am I really Jeremy Campbell? What makes a boy a man? I've never been told I've grown up before—what makes someone…grown up? It's not age, I'm certain of that. Just because I'm a teenager doesn't mean I've grown up.

Jeremy raised a hand and stared at it.

I need to talk to Cole.

Jeremy stood and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his waist. Entering the room again, he grabbed fresh clothes and quickly dressed.

He toweled his hair dry and grabbed his wand, pocketing it in his inner coat pocket, and left the room.

He strode down to the library and kept an eye out for a room where no one would go. He doubted it'd be on the first five floors, but further underground in the older classrooms. Jeremy ran down the stairs, nearly tripping a couple of times, but otherwise without causing too much injury to himself.

Jeremy glanced through each room on the sixth level of the library. Then the seventh. Then the eighth. He stormed onto the ninth floor.

"Who's there?"

Jeremy ran toward the voice and looked into a classroom window. Cole stared back at him. "Hey."

"Jerry," Cole said, smiling. The smile vanished quickly and Cole jumped up, coming toward him. His hair, usually somewhat clean, was dirty and unkempt. A beard was growing. Cole's usually well kept appearance was dirty and grimy. For a moment, Jeremy wondered if this really was Cole. "When did you get back?" he asked, grabbing the bars that separated him from Jeremy. Definitely Cole.

"Just a couple hours ago, I guess."

"Did you find Terra?"

"Yes."

Cole blinked, confused by Jeremy's bluntness. "Did you bring her back?"

"No."

Cole blinked, taken aback. "What?!" he snapped.

"She wouldn't come back. She chose to stay with the Beast."

Cole stepped away. "Because of me?"

"I guess so," Jeremy said. "She tried to convince me to kill you."

"Terra did?"

"Yeah."

"Is that why you're here?"

"No. I want to ask you why you did it. I want to know why you hurt Terra."

Cole sat down on the cold ground, hugging his knees. Jeremy kept staring at him through the bars, waiting for Cole to speak. Cole wet his lips and began to talk:

"Because I was…I was upset and I was angry and I was hurting. I actually hate you, Jer. Every attempt I made—every pass I attempted to make toward her was always brushed away as though it was nothing. For ten long years I had to suffer that. I wasn't trying to hurt her. All I really wanted to do was talk to her about how I felt. I never meant to take things as far as I did. I never meant to…I never meant to steal her virginity."

"But you did."

"It wasn't premeditated, Jeremy. God as my witness, it wasn't. All that I wanted to do was talk to Terra in private."

"But something had to have happened to make you do it."

Cole nodded and continued his narrative:

"She told me to go away and rot in a hole. I was used to hearing that from her, so it didn't bother me. It was when she said she loved you that I snapped. I started yelling back. I asked if she ever thought how she was hurting me. Then she told me how she didn't even care how I felt about her. I grabbed her and…well…you know what happened after that."

Jeremy sighed and turned his back to Cole, leaning against the door. "So that's what happened?"

"Yes."

"And the reason you weren't looking so good when it all began was because you were disgusted with yourself, right?"

"Beyond disgusted," Cole said, nodding his head. "I didn't even know how I was going to face her after it happened. But then you told me that she was taken out of the refuge and asked me to go save her with you. I couldn't, so I just helped you get out. I wasn't ready to face her and I knew that if I went with you I'd never be ready. That and I would be walking to my death, most likely. I wasn't ready to die yet and I certainly didn't want to be killed by Queen's Eyes. I thought that's what would happen if I went with you, but I figured Old Lady Raquela would at least have me executed humanely for putting everyone in danger. I guess I was wrong. The Council just put me in here."

Jeremy straightened and turned back to Cole. "There's a huge possibility that the Beast is going to siege the Refuge. I'm certain she's using Terra for her advantage to get inside. All Terra wants is your head, but I'm sure that Helena is going to kill everyone here. I thought you should know that. Later."

"Yeah."

Jeremy walked away slowly without looking back at the cell that Cole was locked away in. He ascended back to the surface of the School.

When he opened the door, he didn't even look up at the person who had a tray of food in their hand. He walked past them and browsed through the library.

Funny, Jeremy thought, did I really become this sentimental so quickly in just a few days?

"Jeremy?"

He looked up at Remus. "Yo."

"You idiot!" Remus shouted. Jeremy backed away. "What the bloody hell possessed you to leave the Refuge?! Do you have any idea how worried I've been?!"

"Okay! Okay. I'm sorry," Jeremy said. "I'll get to work on that Dumbledore essay ASAP."

"Jeremy, I could care less about that essay."

"But…"

Remus shook his head and sat down at a desk, covering his face. "What happened while you were away?"

Jeremy debated how much to tell him. Don't mention Harry, his subconscious told him. Don't get his hopes up about Harry. He's probably really dead now.

Having decided what he could and could not say, Jeremy told Remus most of what happened, saying that it was Neville that took him to London and helped train him. He told Remus about meeting Terra again and her decision.

"Tonks isn't going to be happy to hear that," Remus muttered, lowering his hand. "But at least she's alive."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Are you angry?"

"Yes, but there's more important things to deal with right now. I'm sure Raquela held one of those big meetings about it."

"She did. Everyone's been preparing for the worst. Why?"

"No reason, just wondering," Jeremy answered truthfully. Remus stared at him firmly.

"You're not fighting."

"Eh? I never said anything about fighting."

"You didn't have to. You're not fighting them, Jeremy. You're not going to put yourself in danger."

"Why? Do I have to be fifteen?"

"Y—"

"Remus, I have to fight."

"Absolutely out of the question."

"Everyone here made Harry fight!" Jeremy shouted without thinking. "They made him fight when he was younger than I was! Wasn't he eleven when he first fought Voldemort?"

"Voldemort was still presumed dead."

"And everyone assumed he'd go and fight the creature in the Chamber of Secrets, right?!"

"Jeremy what are you getting at?"

"You expect me to fight even though you say I'm just a kid and tell me not to!"

Remus silenced. "What did you say?"

"Isn't that how everyone treated Harry?"

"Why all this interest in Harry Potter all of a sudden?"

"Jeremy."

Jeremy turned around to look at Severus, who jerked his head over to a wall of books. Jeremy walked away from Remus and followed Severus.

"Are you feeling alright?" Severus asked, once they were secluded. Jeremy didn't look at him, but stared at his shoes. "Jeremy."

"Why do I feel that people are expecting me to fight like they expected Harry to fight?"

"They don't. They aren't going to force heroics on you like they did him. Jeremy, look at me." He did so. "You aren't going to be forced to fight. If anything, they don't want you or anyone your age and younger to fight unless it is absolutely necessary. I won't force you to join the others if you don't want to, but listen to me Jeremy; I want you to be safe. If you choose to fight, you do as I say."

Jeremy nodded.

"And whatever you do," Severus continued, "Don't talk about Harry around anyone here. Not even the little ones."

"Why?"

"If you do, people will wonder why you're interested in someone who, to them, has been dead for almost twenty years. Keep the truth about him secret."

"Yes, Sir. I'll try to keep quiet."

"Don't try. Do."

"Yes Sir."

Severus left and Jeremy returned to his room. As he walked away, he heard Remus and Severus talking, but he refused to listen to what they were speaking about.

Do I want to fight? Do I not want to fight?

I don't know. What do you want to do?

I DON'T KNOW!!! I don't know. A part of me wants to, but at the same time I'm scared of what could happen when the time comes.

Jeremy entered his room and looked out the window. It started snowing again.

Who am I!?! Why am I asking this question now? Why do I feel like something about me is missing?

Jeremy sat on the bed and wandered in his head again. Why do I feel a piece of me is missing now? Is it because of Terra?

Jeremy groaned and lay on his back, frowning. If none of this happened, what would life be like? What would life have been like if Helena never came to power?

Probably nothing much different other than that I'd probably be attending school at Hogwarts maybe…

Jeremy sat up and grabbed the book on Dumbledore. Though he doubted the essay would mean much now, it would keep his mind occupied.

"Ready to go?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

The trio remained silent, waiting for someone to speak. One of them nodded. "I have to do this. Let's get going. The Refuge isn't going to last long unless we get there soon."