Lupin Meets his Childhood Sweetheart
by: Kiana
Disclaimer: I don't own HP.
Note: I was really rushed towards the end of this, so the last half was pretty rushed, and I think you can tell. :S Anyway, I like the begining a lot! Please review!
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It was perhaps one of the loveliest spring days Hogwarts had seen all season, thought Remus Lupin as he aimlessly strolled through the school grounds. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, the students were screaming in pain as their bodies were thrashed into a bloody pulp.
Wait……
Lupin whirled around and caught sight of the crying victims. It appeared two second years had gotten themselves into the Whomping Willow and were now being beaten within an inch of their lives. Lupin had often wondered why Hogwarts kept such a deadly plant so near the school grounds where any student (particularly one returning from a Shrieking Shack on a moonless night with a particularly full bladder) could wander upon it and be brutally murdered. However, Lupin had no time but for a passing thought of annoyance, and perhaps a harsh thought towards whoever planted the damn tree. With those two quick thoughts, and one reflexive movement, Lupin's wand seemed to leap into his hand, and he yelled, "Accio students!"
He soon found himself with two mangled students in a crumpled heap at his feet.
"Well?" He said. "What's your story?"
A face emerged from one of the heaps, which Professor Lupin now recognized to be Aretmis Huxlie, a Slytherin in his sixth hour class. "We were just trying to get Joline's wand. She dropped it and it got tossed under the tree. I dropped mine too, and it was near the outside of the branches, so we didn't think it would attack us, but…"
Lupin knew more likely they had both been dueling illegally, and as classes were almost about to start, there were no students around which they could ask for help. They certainly weren't going to tell a teacher about the rule they'd broken.
"Is that right, Joline?" Lupin asked.
"Yes, Professor," she murmured, looking up at him through a swelling eye.
Lupin did not have the heart (or evidence) to take points from their house.
"Well, off to the hospital wing with you two," he sighed.
"Thank you, Professor," Joline said, staggering to her feet with Huxlie's help.
Lupin checked his wristwatch and realizing that he was going to be late to his class, set off at a hurried pace for the castle.
"Ah, Remus, just the person I wanted to see," Professor McGonagall said, as she met Lupin in the hall.
"Excuse me, Professor, I have a class I have to get to," Lupin attempted to dismiss himself.
"That's what I wanted to ask you about," she said. "We have an auror staying with us for a few weeks, and we would like her to speak to your class about Auroring. She seemed enthusiastic about the idea. Is that alright with you?"
"Sure," Lupin nodded, catching his breath. "She can go today if she's ready. I'm sure it would be more beneficial to them than Polifrogs."
McGonagall nodded, a pleased look on her face. "I'll send her over in a few minutes."
It turned out, as Lupin had predicted, that the sixth year Slytherins and Ravenclaws needed no introduction to auroring. In fact, many were already studying to become one themselves.
The door suddenly opened, and a woman's head poked through. "Is this room 203?" She asked, glancing down again at her map. Lupin was too speechless to answer, but fortunately, one of the students answered for him.
"Are you the Auror?" Casey asked.
"Yes," she said. Her gaze suddenly fell on Professor Lupin, who had not taken his eyes off her since she came in. "Professor Snape asked me to tell you to go to his office," she said.
Lupin nodded, and silently left the room. He walked the corridors like a person in a dream, his face a mix of confusion, surprise, and doubt. When that Auror came in it had been like a jolt right out of the past. He'd tried so hard to forget that old life which had caused him so much grief, and finally he thought he had succeeded.
It might have been nothing but a wild imagination, but Lupin could've sworn… well… it wasn't that he wanted it to be so, because he knew it was impossible. It was just that the girl who had entered his room then had a striking resemblance to someone he knew once. Remus scolded himself for such thoughts. Long ago, when he was a child, there was a little girl he liked. She'd told him they would get married when they were older, and Remus believed it. Back then, they were inseparable.
However, their village was plundered by followers of a small rebel lord who planned to start a revolution. He was killed three months later by a faulty apparation, in which his head arrived in the middle of a road and was run over by several cars. His body was found in his hideout by a group of Muggle children on a birthday party, playing hide and go seek in the woods.
Remus lived on the Eastern side of the town, and escaped the attack and the fires which followed. But the little girl did not. Remus's father and sister also died in the attack.
It was not long after the tragedy that his mother decided the village was unsafe, and he went with his mother to live with his grandpa in the country, where he had remained until he received his invitation to Hogwarts when he was eleven.
He hadn't given much thought to the little girl since then, for the loss of his family seemed much more overwhelming. He never forgot her, but she had gone to a place in the back of his memory. Now she was fighting her way to the surface.
Lupin took a sudden turn, and began heading another direction. Snape would have to wait.
"Artichoke dip!" he said quickly to the old man who lived inside the picture frame and guarded the entrance to the wing where the male teachers had their rooms.
"Someone's in a hurry," said the old man in his raspy voice. "No one has any time to stand by and chat for a bit, not even a 'hello, ol' chap, fine day today, isn't it?' When I was a lad—"
Lupin was already through the secret entrance long before the Old Man could go into his tales of the good old days.
Lupin swung open the door to his room and striding over to a large chest, brushed some dirty clothes off and began to dig inside, somewhere near the bottom. After a few minutes, he found what he was looking for. He tossed everything he'd taken out back into the trunk, making a mental note to fold them later, and set off for the dungeon, pocketing the small treasure.
"What took you so long?" Snape asked, when Remus finally arrived. "I was beginning to think my next class would show up before you did."
"I'm sorry about that," Remus apologized. "Your message was delivered all right, but I got distracted. It's my fault."
Snape glared at him down his large nose. "Don't let it happen again." He handed over the potion.
Lupin thanked him, and was about to leave, when a thought came to his mind and was past his lips before he could think about it. "Severus," he said, "have you ever seen a miracle?"
"No," Snape replied, looking up from his work again. "I'm sure such a thing does not exist."
With a sad nod, Lupin left the dungeon.
There were four more times since then that Lupin caught sight of her again. Once, in a crowded hallway during passing time, once through a window, once while he was talking to Professor Sprout, and also during lunch, though she sat on the other end of the table, at Dumbledore's side. Lupin never got the opportunity to talk to her.
The thing that bothered him most was her name. The more he saw her, the more certain he became she must be at least related to the little girl from long ago. He wanted to know her name so he could find out. Lunch passed, and he had to hurry to his next class without seeing her. She was not speaking at the other classes, because most other years were either having a test or experiments which could not be moved to another day.
Sixth hour finally came. Lupin had no class at that time, and was filled with accumulating frustration, so he went outside to work it off. He had nowhere to go, but the day was bright and warm, so he decided to go to the stables and visit the lame unicorn Hagrid had rescued a few days ago.
A voice drew him out of his thoughts along the way. "Professor Lupin, may I have a word with you?"
Lupin turned to see the female auror from his class. "Certainly," he said.
She turned and lead him into a small forest until they arrived at a clearing. Suddenly, she turned and threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. "Oh, Remus," she said, her voice losing the unfamiliarity she had maintained when he saw her in school. Lupin realized immediately it had all been an act. He knew now that he had been right in his suspicious.
"Please, Remus, tell me you remember me," she said softly, her voice filled with sadness. "Even if you don't, please say that you do, because I've never stopped thinking of you."
The initial shock faded, and Lupin gathered her into his arms. How could she think he would forget her? "Kala…" He murmured the name to himself. Still, he did not believe what was happening.
"You do remember!" she exclaimed, pulling back to look into his face, her eyes brimming with tears.
"How could I forget?" Remus asked. "Even after all these years, I remember how much I adored you. But I thought you were dead! How did you survive and no one knew? What are you doing here?"
"When I heard you were here I had to come," Kala said. "I did lose everyone, pretty much. I was washing clothes in the stream for my mom when they came, so I hid in the bushes, and they passed me by. That is all I wish to say for now. You understand, don't you, Remus? I heard you also lost family that day."
"Yeah," Remus said, quietly.
"I'm sorry."
"It's alright," Remus said. "I didn't lose as much as I thought I did."
"I missed you too. When I was staying with my grandpa, I was so worried about our town. I didn't know who was alive and who was not. My mom forbade me to go down there because she thought it would be too disappointing," Kara said. "But once, I snuck into my uncle's cart when he was heading toward the city. I left a note on my pillow, but my mom was still made when I got back. I saw the city, though now I wish I hadn't. I went to your house to find you, but it was all boarded up. I was afraid. A neighbor told me part of the family there had died. 'A man and a child,' she said. She couldn't tell me who the child was, and I assumed it was you.
"But one day, I found an issue of the Daily Prophet, which had an article titled: 'Gryphindor Seeker Wins Cup for Team in Hogwart's Quidditch Championship.' The article was about a boy named James Potter, and in the picture he had he had his friends around him, cheering. I recognized you instantly. " Kala pulled a newspaper clipping out of her pocket and handed it to Remus. "I knew you would be safe there, and I kept hope because your face never turned black.
"Pictures do that when the people in them die, don't they?"
Remus nodded, and reached into his own robes, producing a picture of his own.
"What's that?" Kala asked, trying to look at it.
"Remember that day the fair came to town and a squib painter painted our picture?"
"Yes! It didn't move, but it was a great painting. Is that a copy?"
"It's the original," Remus said. "I placed a shrinking charm on it."
"You kept it?" she gasped, admiring the painting. "I thought surely this had been lost!"
"I saved it," Remus said.
Remus offered her back her newspaper clipping, and Kala reached out as if to take it, but instead grabbed his wrist, pulling it toward her.
"Kala…"
"4:45. I have to get going," she said, looking at his watch. "I'm working with Dumbledore on establishing an elective class for people interested in becoming aurors. That's part of the reason I came here, but don't tell anyone yet! You're not supposed to know about it."
"When will I see you again?" asked Remus.
"I don't know. Maybe breakfast. I'll be with Dumbledore this evening, but after seven I might be done. It might run long, too, so don't wait for me."
"Ok."
"I mean it, Remus. Don't wait."
Remus gave a small smile. He had indeed been planning on waiting for her anyway. "Same time, same place tomorrow?" he asked.
"I'll be looking forward to it," replied Kala.
They met again in sixth hour the next day, and the day after that. Their free times conflicted for the most part, and meeting became difficult. However, after the first day Kala was no longer obliged to sit at Dumbledore's side. The headmaster was interested to hear she had a friend at Hogwarts already, and that that friend was Remus Lupin.
One day as Lupin was grading papers at his desk, he heard a creak and looked up to see Kala, her face poking through the door almost the same as that day he had first seen her asking directions to room 203.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"We've covered almost all the first semester curriculum, so Dumbledore said we could take a break for the rest of the day," she said.
"How long do you plan to stay?" Lupin asked.
"I don't know. Probably a few weeks. It takes a lot longer to establish a class that most people imagine. Maybe a month or two."
"Oh."
"Or three or four."
"Ok."
"I rather like it here."
"There's going to be a schools trip to Hogsmede on the 24th. I was wondering if you'd like to go with me?"
"I'd love to!" exclaimed Kala.
They talked some more, then Lupin had to go meet with Dumbledore, so they left. :-(
Remus thought the week before Hogsmede seemed so short, he actually checked the calendar to make sure no days had been skipped.
The kids in his DADA class all noticed something different about him in the days since Kala's arrival. Although most students were remarkably unobservant, there were some, such as third year Gryffindor, Hermione Granger, who made their own conclusions and spread them about as though they were facts. The current rumor going around was that Lupin loved Kala, but she thought of them only as friends. It also appeared Hermione thought it her own personal responsibility to make sure he didn't find out and become heartbroken. Rubbish. It was the product of an over-romantic imagination, and a girl who could not leave other people to their own buisness. The rumors were wrong, of course, but Lupin did not care. Let them think what they wanted; rumors didn't bother him.
Lupin still met with Kala in the woods every day at sixth hour. Ms. Granger had found this out, and now the rumors were shifting again. Remus took little notice.
Unfortunately, Remus also took little notice of his surroundings, and soon they were lost. They didn't realize they were lost until they came upon an old barn.
"Let's go in!" suggested Kala.
Remus reached for the handle, and his hand froze just before touching it, a look of wonder on his face.
"What is it?" asked Kala. "Do you recognize this place?"
"No," said Remus. "But I've heard rumors about it. They call this the 'heavenly door.' They say to find this door is to experience a piece of heaven." He said. "Kala… what I feel when I'm with you, this must be heaven."
"I'm sure it is, Remus." She smiled. "there will be many reunions such as this when we get there." She paused, then added, "but aside from that, just being near you, even had we been together all these years is quite… heavenly." She eyed the door with a mysterious smile.
Remus and Kala never told anyone about the Door.
Finally, the day of Hogsmede had arrived. It was all a new experience for Kala, and Remus found himself dragged all over the village in search of new candy and trick shops which had been recommended to Kala. Not that he minded it, of course. Remus savored every moment in her company, and as he showed Kala all the fine points of Hogsmede, it was as though he were experiencing it all for the first time again. Finally, after Kala's twelfth butterbeer, they sat down at the LeBuku Botique.
"This place is amazing, Remus!" exclaimed Kala, as Remus took the seat across from her. "You really got to go here for school sometimes? Lucky! I never got to go anywhere for school, because I was home schooled."
"Home schooled?" repeated Remus.
"Yes. You see, we lived with my grandpa. He taught me everything, especially DADA. I learned how to become an auror from him." She explained, then added, "he is very wise."
"Oh." Remus said. "What made you want to become an auror?"
"Mostly bitterness," admitted Kala truthfully. "My family was killed by rouge wizards, and also because I want to protect people. I don't think people like that should get away with destroying the happiness of children. Stealing someone, especially a child's dreams is inexcusable, and I won't let them get away with it!" as she spoke, a fire woke in her eyes at the passion she felt for auroring.
And then they heard a crash! The people in LeBuku Botique all rushed to the window. Outside, there was a group of dark wizards who had apparently overthrown their guards and decided to make one last stand, even if it meant dying rather than going to Azkaban.
Before Remus knew what was going on, Kala had already bolted out the door and was suddenly facing the wizards, wand in hand.
Lupin realized with shock that Kala intended to take on the five evil wizards at once. "Kala, no!" Lupin shouted, running to the door after her. In the time it took between taking his eyes from the window, and his hand reaching the screen door which had not yet completed its closing swing from Kala's rough exit, there was the tell-tale whizzes, bangs, and screams of onlookers. But the fight was over by the time he got there, and the five bad wizards lay on the ground in a powerful full-body bind, as well as being knocked unconscious. Kala was laying on the ground motionless as well. Not even her chest moved.
"Kala, no!" Lupin cried again, pushing the bystanders aside to reach her. He felt for a pulse, but felt nothing. "Live, Kala!" he commanded, checking for the pulse again and again. "Please don't die on my again!"
He pulled her body into his arms, and his barely audible repetition "No, no, no…" gradually gave way to quiet, wordless sobs.
"Remus…" a voice came, so soft in Remus's ear he almost thought it was his own voice, or even his imagination. He looked down into the face of his childhood love, whose eyes were only slightly open, and her smile looked as one resigned to death. "I'm sorry," she said. "Sorry I can't stay with you. If I'd have known that finding you meant making you feel this again, I'd never have come." Her eyes closed again, as she rested, finding the strength to continue.
"…But… these weeks have meant more to me than all the years that came before it," she whispered. Her eyes closed once more, and Remus spoke.
"Looking back, I thought it was just puppy love, what I felt for you as a child," Remus admitted. "We were too young to understand, and you were just a hopeless romantic."
Kala laughed, and coughed blood. "I still am," she said hoarsely. "I love you."
"Don't die, Kala! You're not allowed to die!" screamed Remus. "I'm getting you to Hogwarts, and you're going to live at least until we get there!" he said, picking her up and dashing off as the crowd made way for him.
In his haste, Remus lost his way and ended up in the forbidden forest. "Oh no." he muttered, looking for a familiar sign.
Suddenly, Remus made a small sound of alarm as he discovered a very short person (or tall dwarf) looking up at him.
"I can save your girlfriend," said the raspy voice, as the old crone pulled back her hood.
Kala made a soft murmur.
"What?" Remus asked, stroking her hair, and willing her to life.
"I can't last to Hogwarts," she informed him regretfully. Her words were barely audible.
"Please help her!" Lupin pleaded. "I will pay you any money you want, but no souls or children, or any trickery like that."
"Ok, yes dear." The woman took Kala in her arms, and set her down on the forest floor. She put herbs in her mouth, and a cloth on her forehead, and mumbled words over her for what seem to Lupin years.
Finally, the woman sat back. "There is nothing else I can do," she said.
Lupin's heart sank in disbelief.
"Give her a week's bed rest and minimal physical activity. She'll be just fine."
Lupin's hand rose to his heart with a thump. "Don't do that to me!" he cried, his astonishment quickly being replaced by pure ecstatic joy. He threw his arms about the old woman, and when Kala got better, they were married and had lots of children and lived happily ever after. The end.