Larry Lupin and That Which is Broken

This was written for the Crack fiction challenge at the Teacher's Lounge.

Chapter One

The war was over! At least that's what Harry kept having to tell himself. It seemed that Harry's subconscious had not gotten that all important news. Harry was still waking almost nightly with nightmarish visions of dead friends laid out in front of him. Even those whom Harry knew had lived were not spared in Harry's mind.

It was one such nightmare that had driven Harry from the castle, where the crews helping repair the castle were staying. Ginny had gone home to grieve with her family. Harry had been told by Mr and Mrs Weasley to come stay with them, as he was considered family. Harry thanked them but told them there was stuff he wanted to work out alone. They didn't agree with him but respected his decision. Ginny was not so understanding. She knew what Harry was going through and wanted to help him. Harry couldn't explain it, but he felt for some reason he would be hurting Ginny if he let her help him. He hadn't been able to explain his feelings completely to her, and this caused the largest fight the couple had ever had. He just knew that Ginny could not help him with this if she was going to be safe. Ginny saw this as cowardly and a cop out and told Harry as much before stomping off and not speaking to him again.

Ron and Hermione had left soon after to find Hermione's parents in Australia. Hermione had not invited Harry to help but asked for support from Ron. Harry joined up with the repair crews because it gave him something to do, and he thought that if he helped repair the damage to the castle it would somehow help him heal, he was wrong. Everything was changing ... except Harry. He was stuck in the war in his head, and everyday it felt like he was losing a little more ground.

The night air was humid and still. Harry walked aimlessly towards Hagrid's new hut. The old one had been destroyed in the war, and they had built him a new one. The windows were dark, and no one answered Harry's knock. So Harry sat on the porch and looked out over the grounds. He saw the hill sloping down towards the lake and then back up again to the castle. If he closed his eyes, he could still smell the fear and death coming from that tranquil place. Harry shook his head, stood up, and walked towards the lake.

He saw her come out of the forest and wrap her shawl tightly, almost as if she was cold despite the heat and humidity. Harry wondered what Professor Sinistra was doing out of the castle and in the forest this late at night. He followed her and caught up with her at the castle gates.

"Professor," he said, jogging up to her. "What are you doing up so late?"

"Oh my stars, Potter! You frightened me," she said, quickly regaining her composure. "I think more to the point is what are you doing out of the castle?"

"I couldn't sleep, and I went to see if Hagrid was back yet," Harry said, unsure. "So what were you doing in the forest? It's not that safe, ya know."

"Oh, dear boy. Thank you for your concern, but I had matters to discuss concerning the stars and their portent with the centaurs, and I am not completely helpless. Here, let me show you something," she said, turning Harry around so he could see a spot in the night sky. "See that band of stars right there?" she asked, pointing to the sky.

"You mean the one that looks kinda like the Giant Squid?" Harry asked.

"Well yes, I suppose it does a bit. Yes, I can see it now. So do you know what that is called?"

"Uhm ... sorry, Professor, I don't."

"That's right, you don't. In fact no one does. It just appeared the night after the war. The centaurs were of little use, as is the norm," she said disgustedly. "All they would say is that it was a portent of the Harbinger." She cleared her voice and did a perfect impression of a dispassionate centaur. "And the son shall precede the sire and all that is broken shall be made whole and that which is torn asunder shall be rejoined." She cleared her throat. "What the bloody hell does that mean?"

"Sounds like Trelawny," Harry grinned.

Professor Sinistra grinned and patted Harry on the shoulder. "I suppose it does. You try and get some sleep, Potter," she said, going into the castle.

"I will, Professor," he said distractedly, looking at the night sky and rubbing his scar out of habit. "I will."

-ooo-

Across the lake from the castle in a hidden cove, the waters of the Black Lake began to roil and bubble. Bright green light began to grow in the depths of the lake and move closer to the surface. As the light got closer to the surface, it began to take from of a man. Well, it was mostly a man except it had tentacles and an almost wolf-like face. The creature carried a large wicked axe across his back and had an air about him that screamed death as he walked across the last few feet of water to the shore

The creature looked around and took his bearings. He walked back to the shore of the lake and bent down putting his face close to the black waters, as if listening to something.

"Hmm ... yeah, Carl, I see how that could be a problem. Thanks for letting me know," the creature said. A large tentacle burst from the waters and squeezed his shoulder. "Yeah, it has been too long," he said. "I miss the swims too. Tell you what: I will get this mess figured out here, and when I get back, Phoebe and I will come visit." The man-creature paused as if listening. "I would like that, too. Again, thanks for the heads up. It seems my brother doesn't even know how to win properly. What's that?"

The man crooked his head to listen more intently. "Yeah okay, I will try to take it easy on him ... to start. But I tell you if he starts whining about all the people who died, I am not sure I can hold my tongue. I mean, I am just so sick and tired of all this mamby-pamby boo-hooing about the bloody dead. They fought a war, people died, and they won. That's what wars are about: killing people and breaking shite." The man had started pacing up and down the shoreline. "Generals lead people to their death to cause other death. That's what they do. That's what Caesar did, and you didn't hear him saying, 'I came, I conquered... I feel really bad about it.'" The water exploded, splashing the man. "Yeah okay ... not highly helpful. I get it," the man said sheepishly.

The tentacles slowly sank back beneath the waters, and the man turned towards the castle. Yep, Harry Potter was broken, and like most things in this universe when they break you call a repairman. The repairman in this case was his Were-Squid half brother twin from a different dimension.

"Yeah," Larry Luping said aloud disgustedly. "This is gonna be a piece of cake."

He adjusted the Axe and headed off towards the castle, not having a clue as to where to start.