Disclaimer: Not meaning to bash bad information, but according to the lunar cycle of 1993, Remus Lupin would not have been present on the first day of school, September 1st. That was the full moon. But I will follow canon story lines and just pass it over. Thank you and enjoy!
Side Note: All original characters and places are mine. Please don't steal them.
Ch. 1 –Background Check, Please.
I guess you'd say I'm not average. Even in the wizarding world I'm not considered average. I grew up in Cambry, TN, a small mountain town with a girls' witches school and a boys' warlock academy. My mother is the instructor of Potions at the girls' school, Levton Academy. My little sister, Daphne Dodson, was born a few years after me, after Mom had decided to marry Charlie Dodson. She ended up divorcing a few years later. Probably because of her obsession with curing Lycanthropy. She was proud when I received my Hogwarts' letter four years ago. Even prouder when I was sorted into her house. Daphne followed two years after I did. She was sorted into Ravenclaw.
However, I never had a problem until fourth year. Which was the same year that Sirius Black escaped out of Azkaban. The same year that he came to the school, and she came to live with us.
"—Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," Dumbledore said at the sorting feast. There was a small applause, mainly from the group of the "golden trio" as Taeryn likes to call them down the table from where he and I were sitting.
Taeryn leaned over the table and whispered to me.
"Look at him. Looks like he's going to kill over any moment now."
I stifled a small smile and a chuckle, giving the new professor a glance as he sat back down. He looked tired and sick, regardless of the smile he was giving the hall. So that's him? I thought, remember the summer. Everyone knew the job was jinxed. Why it was, was anyone's guess. Snape was eyeing him dangerously, but that was how Snape was. Dumbledore continued talking about Hagrid being the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher and then called the feast.
"Yeah, and look at Snape," I said, once the food appeared before us. I filled my plate up with all sorts of meat. "He looks like he wants to murder someone."
"When does Snape not want to murder someone?" Alicia Spinnet asked, taking a gulp of her pumpkin juice.
Taeryn laughed.
"But he looks devilish now."
Alicia rolled her eyes but smiled.
"You two aren't going to be giving him hell this year, right?" she asked, nudging Taeryn in the shoulder.
Taeryn grinned, flashing his white teeth.
"Of course not," he said with sarcasm. "When do we never give him hell?"
"You boys… I swear…"
"What d'you swear, Ali?" I asked, folding my hands together and leaning on the table. "That you think one day we'll get expelled? Potter and Weasley will be expelled long before Taeryn and I will. Hell, Fred and George will get expelled faster."
"You know what, Chiron?" Alicia asked, mocking my pose and staring me down. "I think sometimes you're jealous of them because they get away with so much."
I rolled my eyes, leaning back and crossing my arms.
"Piss off, Ali. I wouldn't wish that on me at all. Load of cock and bull, if you ask me."
"Chiron, don't take things too personally," Taeryn joked, leaning over and hitting my shoulder. He looked over at Alicia. "And you, missy, need to hold your tongue. Chiron and I get away with just as much shit as those blokes do."
She looked at him angrily.
"Really? What kind of trouble have you been causing?"
I chuckled.
"I wouldn't really call it that… Just sneaking out of the castle, going to Hogsmeade, that sort of thing."
"You two have been sneaking out?" she whispered, dropping her voice so low we could barely hear her over the noise of the hall. "I hope you stop it with these dementors all hovering around the place."
Taeryn flashed his grin again.
"And who's going to stop us?" he asked her, giving her a look.
I laughed as she just sat there and stared, shaking her head.
"Why am I talking to you about this?"
Taeryn shrugged and began shovelling food.
"Who knows?" I asked, cutting up a piece of steak and eating it.
She only rolled her eyes.
The next morning I woke up a bit earlier than the other guys in the dormitory. I took a shower and dressed, grabbed my bag and headed down to breakfast. When I got down there, Professor McGonagall handed me my schedule. I groaned when I looked at it.
"Potions with Slytherin? After breakfast?"
McGonagall made a tut noise under her breath.
"Mr. Cartwright, you complain every year."
I heaved a sigh as she walked off. I sat down at the table and grabbed some eggs and bacon and looked over my schedule more thoroughly.
Not too bad, I thought to myself. I had Potions after breakfast (which clearly I was not excited about), Defence Against the Dark Arts with Ravenclaws, Muggle Studies, then I had Divination (Taeryn and I signed up for it last term as a joke), and Care of the Magical Creatures (with Hagrid) after that. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, however, I had Transfiguration, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Herbology, and Charms. No free periods for me.
The Great Hall filled up with students, and everyone was getting their schedules as they sat down. Taeryn and I examined each other's. When I had Ancient Runes and Arithmancy he had some other strange class and a free period. Laughing at my misery, the bell signalled for us to go to class.
Potions with Professor Snape was always a disaster for me. I think he expected me to be as good as my mother is, which is not the case. My little sister is the one that got Mom's knack for Potions. So, Snape loved to give me and Taeryn detention. It was always so much fun.
Taeryn and I sat together in the back of the dungeon as usual. I got my book out knowing all too well that Snape will have us start working on stuff today. Everyone else started chattering, but stopped once Snape shut the door.
"Welcome to another term," he greeted us coldly, swishing his cloak to turn and face us. His greasy hair was hanging in his gaunt face as usual. Jameson Blue, a Slytherin that always sat in the front, raised his hand. Taeryn rolled his eyes, and I snickered quietly. Blue always asked stupid questions.
"Yes, Mr. Blue?" Snape inquired, knowing this question from one of his own House was going to be dumb.
"Are we going to be working on anything today, Professor?" Blue asked, getting a small laugh from the class.
"Yes, Mr. Blue," Snape sneered. He turned around and picked something up from his desk, a plant with dark, spiny leaves and yellow blossoms on it. He looked in my general direction. I drained my face of emotion.
"Cartwright, could you tell me what this plant is?" he asked me.
I swallowed, quickly trying to examine the plant. Mom had some growing in the house.
"Wolfsbane, Professor," I answered as coldly as he asked.
His eyes narrowed.
"This plant is highly poisonous. Can anyone tell me why?"
I leaned to Taeryn.
"I can," I whispered to him.
He chuckled softly.
"Cartwright, ten points for talking when not asked to," Snape growled.
Some of the students turned and looked. Alicia made a face at me. She was on the Quidditch team, so every point that was lost effects everything. She hates it when we lose points. But she should understand by now that it's Snape and he likes to dock points.
I didn't say anything for the rest of the class. He lectured on the Wolfsbane plant and all of its lethalness. As the rest of the class took notes I stared at my composition book, my mind at home….
…. Mom was preparing something for lunch when there was a knock on the door. Daphne got up off the sofa to answer it. She talked for about a minute before calling for Mom, and then she came back into the living room and slumped on the sofa.
"Who is it?" I asked her, changing the channel on the television, but keeping my voice down.
Daphne shrugged her shoulders.
"Dunno. Some girl in Mom's class I guess. Said she needed to ask 'Ms. Cartwright' for something."
She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and made a face.
I raised an eyebrow at her.
"What's your problem?" I asked.
She shrugged again.
Huffing at my sister's lack of responding, I left her the remote and walked into the hallway. Mom was standing there, talking quietly to a girl about my age. The girl looked at me. She had dark red hair that fell down some ways passed her shoulders, ending in a slight curl. She had a dusting of freckles across her nose. Her eyes were bright hazel.
"Hallo," she said to me, her English accent thick, "my name is Jessica Greene. Jess or Jessi is fine." She gave me a nervous smile.
"Jess is a student of mine from Levton," Mom explained. She had a solemn look about her face and she was clutching an envelope in her hand. She looked at me and then back to Jess. "She's from England, one of the few that didn't go to Hogwarts. But instead were accepted to Levton."
I nodded as if I cared. Yet, when I realized I was just staring at Jess, I quickly looked away and clenched my jaw. I glanced down and saw a few suitcases.
"Are you going to be living here?" I asked, my voice stoic.
"Chiron, would you take the suitcases up to the spare bedroom?" Mom asked, walking somewhat passed me. "I'm going to finish lunch. It should be ready in a few." And she left me and her in the hallway.
"My godfather doesn't want me to be in England right now…. Said it was unsafe," she commented as we took her things upstairs. Her voice was dry. "I figured it's about Sirius Black. You did hear about him, didn't you? They said he escaped out of Azkaban, which is said to be impossible. My godfather was livid about it all. And then he got asked to teach at Hogwarts this term, apparently a class that is jinxed. Or at least, he said it was jinxed. Said that every term there was a new one…."
I nodded, opening the door to the spare room and placing her things inside.
"Yeah, Defence Against the Dark Arts," I said quietly thinking about how much she talks and how plain it was. Reminded me of Hermione Granger at school, who I do enjoy talking to from time to time in the library. And if she didn't have buck teeth she would be quite pretty….
"Oh, yeah, Ms. Cartwright did mention that you and your sister attend Hogwarts. What House are you in?"
"Gryffindor," I said.
"And your sister?"
"Ravenclaw."
She nodded as if she understood. She took one of her suitcases and set it on the bed. She turned to look at me.
"Thank you," she said quietly, "for your hospitality."
I laughed.
"No need to thank me."
She gave a small laugh.
"I'll let you unpack. Mom should almost be done with lunch…"
She nodded. As I walked out of the room, I heard a sniff and silent tears. I don't think she knew that I could hear her crying the whole way down the stairs….
…. "Hey, Chi… Chiron!"
And then I was back in the dungeon, the class all packing their things for the next class. I glanced over at Taeryn.
"I fell asleep, didn't I?"
Taeryn shrugged, putting his book into his bag.
"Not really. More like lost in thought."
"What are we going to do with her, Chiron?" came Alicia's voice above me. I chose not to look at her, but instead put my things away.
I shrugged.
"Lock me up and call me crazy, I guess."
Alicia laughed.
"Easy for you to say."
I rolled my eyes.
We left the dungeon and went up to the Defence Against the Dark Arts room and took out seats. We had it with the Ravenclaws, so for once, it will be quiet and orderly. Then again, anything will be better than last year with Gilderoy Lockhart. That man didn't know a thing.
I took out my book for this class and set it on the desk with my wand on top of it.
The rest of the class waited anxiously for Professor Lupin to arrive. He came in through the door and walked up to the front of the room. His robes were in the worst for wear. Some of the girls behind me whispered to each other, talking about how his hair is greying and how old he looks and wishing that Lockhart was back. I had to stifle a laugh. Lockhart was a joke.
Professor Lupin had a small smile on his face as he dug into his briefcase and took out a roll of parchment.
"So, to start things off, I will do a quick roll call of everyone, just so I can place a name to a face.
"When I call your name, would you please raise your hand so I know where you are."
He called out the names of the few that were ahead of me in the alphabet, stopping at my name.
"Cartwright?" he asked himself, almost so quietly that no one would have possibly have heard him if they didn't have super-hearing. "Cartwright, Chiron?"
I raised my hand half-way, my eyes not wanting to make contact with him. I looked down at my book, clenching my jaw as if I was being punished. I looked up, still with my head down, and saw he was looking at me with that small smile. He nodded and continued with roll.
The class was relatively boring. We took notes as he talked about various curses that are potentially deadly. At least we learned something.
After the bell signalled, I followed Taeryn to the door.
"Chiron?" came Professor Lupin's voice from behind me.
I turned around and saw he had walked over to me.
"May I ask you a question?" he asked.
"Sure," I said, giving him a small shrug.
I followed him to his desk. He put some papers back into his brief case and closed it. For some reason, I was getting an awkward feeling about something.
"This may seem a bit too personal, so forgive me," he sighed. "Are you perchance related to a Sallie Cartwright?"
I let out a laugh.
"Yeah. That would be my mom." Right, I thought, this was awkward.
He gave a slight nod. He looked at me, but instinct told me to look down.
"Does Professor Snape give you a hard time about it?" There was a joke in there, somewhere.
"Yeah, he does. Doesn't like her, so in turn, he doesn't like my sister and I, even though Daph is good in Potions…. I didn't pick up the talent, though." I scrunched my nose. For some reason I didn't like being here. He smelled… different…
He must have seen the look on may face because he said, "Well you get on to your next class."
I nodded and left the classroom. I couldn't get the smell out of my nose. I had never smelt another one before…
Taeryn and Alicia were waiting for me outside.
"What did he ask you?" Alicia asked as we walked on up the stairs to the North Tower.
"Asked if my mom was who he thought she was…."
"Oooh…"
We didn't talk as we got up to the tower. We took our seats in Trelawney's cramped, heavily perfumed classroom, took out our Divination books and began to wonder who was going to die this year.
Care of the Magical Creatures was cancelled for the afternoon. There was a mishap with the class before ours (the third years) pertaining to a Hippogriff attacking Draco Malfoy. Taeryn and I laughed when we heard about who it was later in the common room. Katie Bell and Alicia gave us awful looks. But Fred and George Weasley were having a ball with it.
So, needless to say, that class dragged on when we met again the following week. Hagrid got into trouble, so we were taking care flobberworms as well as the third years.
By the end of September the routine was set. Class, homework, eat, sleep. Not necessarily in that order, of course.
I woke up on Friday to a splitting migraine. Alicia and Taeryn noticed how pale I was at breakfast.
"Are you not going to eat?" Alicia asked, staring at my plate of untouched food.
I sighed heavily.
"I'm not hungry."
"Well, mate, you do look dreadful…." Taeryn pointed out, drinking some pumpkin juice. "Maybe you should go to the infirmary…."
"No," I protested. "I'm fine"—
"Fine?" Alicia stood up, grabbing me by my arm and lifting me up. "Chiron, you look like you're going to kill over any minute." She dragged me out of the Great Hall, Taeryn following closely behind.
We reached the infirmary. Alicia almost threw me on a bed and went to Madam Pomfrey's door, knocking on it a little too hard.
I let my head hang to the side as Taeryn sat down in the chair next to the bed. My head was throbbing, and my arms began to hurt.
"I probably have a head flu," I told him, quietly as Madam Pomfrey strolled over with her array of gadgets.
"Ah, let's see here…"
She began to check my vitals. I was definitely running a high temperature.
"Ok, you two," Madam Pomfrey growled at Taeryn and Alicia. "Out. He needs rest. A fever like that means he's contagious."
Taeryn and Alicia left after telling me to get better.
The next few hours, Madam Pomfrey kept coming to check on me as I laid there in the bed, keeping my eyes shut because the light hurt my head. As the day wore on and I laid there, my body ached and ached even more.
Until it clicked.
I bolted upright.
"Madam Pomfrey!"
She came running out of her office, I guess expecting me to have been sprouting tentacles or something. When she saw that I was ok, she calmed her pace.
"Yes?"
"What's today's date?"
"The 30th," she answered narrowing her eyes at me. "Don't you think about leaving that bed, mister."
I looked away from her gaze and looked at the clock. It was only four in the afternoon.
Madam Pomfrey stared at me.
"Why did you want to know the date?" she asked quietly, moving to come and sit next to the bed.
I shook my head.
"No reason," I lied.
She raised her eyebrows.
"I can tell a lie when I hear one, Mr. Cartwright. Now, why?"
I laid back down and turned my head away from her. I could tell her. She wouldn't tell anyone, except maybe Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall, since they had the right to know. I had managed to keep it under control since I was nine. It was only during the summers when I was home that I let it go.
Yet when I was to tell her, the pain started again. This time in my back. I curled up in a ball, hugging my knees. I covered my self with the blanket. The pain had never been this bad before. My head throbbed. I was starting to wish I could curl up in the dormitory and close the curtains on my bed and just lie in the dark….
I opened my eyes with a start, screaming in excruciating pain. Not here, not now…. I was being wrestled to hold still, but instinct fought back. The smells of the people nearby were so much. I recognized Madam Pomfrey, Professor McGonagall's perfume, and Professor Dumbledore. Madam Pomfrey was wrestling me down, as I could hear Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore talking.
"Albus, d'you think that he may have done something?"
"No, I do not believe it was him. This may have been something we didn't know about."
"I just don't understand how we had never noticed before…."
Madam Pomfrey had finally gotten me stable enough to shove something in my mouth. I swallowed, not knowing what it was, but was instantly relaxed. I laid there, still feeling my head spin. I was trying to use every bit of my essence to control myself.
"Chiron," Dumbledore said quietly and distantly.
I looked up at him, seeing him in a blur. It was hard to keep focused. Whatever it was that Madam Pomfrey shoved down my throat, it was working.
I must have looked distant because Dumbledore nodded over at Professor McGonagall. She left the room. Madam Pomfrey sighed.
"Mr. Cartwright, how come you never mentioned this before?" she asked, standing at the foot of the bed.
"I… don't usually have problems with it…. I can generally control it…."
"Do you keep your mind?" Dumbledore asked.
I turned my head to look at him and gave him a sad look.
"Sometimes. Sometimes my… mom has to lock me in the shed out in our back yard…."
He stood there looking at me with those piercing blue eyes for several minutes. Madam Pomfrey had left to go to her office.
Eventually Professor McGonagall came back to my beside. With Snape.
Snape stared at me, his brow furrowed, as if trying to make sense of what was going on.
"Severus, do you have some of that potion left?" Dumbledore asked, his face still solemn.
Snape gave a slight nod.
"Yes, Headmaster. I do." He glared at me. I rolled my eyes and looked up at the ceiling.
"I think Mr. Cartwright needs a goblet before sundown."
Snape left to go to the dungeons, his cloak billowing behind him.
Professor McGonagall looked at Dumbledore but didn't say anything to him.
As Professor Snape came back with a goblet of some smoking potion, did I start hoping that no one in the school would know what I was. I drank the potion, making a disgusted face as it went down my throat. Wolfsbane. Mom had made it for me over the summer, since that's when I'm ok to change.
I just wish it wasn't at school. I wondered, as I lay there in a isolated room of the hospital wing, alone, how and if I could tell Taeryn. Or Alicia. I scratched behind my ear and then curled up. It was going to be a long night….
I hope you liked this one. I've been meaning to write him for years, but had never gotten around to doing so. I wanted to break this into two parts, but it didn't happen. Figured one chunk was enough. If you want to know any back-ground stuff, feel free to send me a PM. :D