A/N: Wow… I haven't updated in forever…. I am so sorry! We have finally reached the end of year 3. I truly hope you enjoy it and that it was worth the wait I put you through. Drop me a PM if you have any questions, and please leave a Review! I love to know what you guys think! Thanks guys and gals! Much love to ElephantShoes who has been a faithful reader since she stumbled upon my stories months ago. You are the best!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; if I did there would have been a lot less deaths, and more happy endings. I do however own this story and my Characters Tera, her family and her pets. There are some excerpts from the book in this chapter, but I tried to make them from Tera's point of view. No hating, just read and enjoy the Tera moments in their random abundance. I hope you all enjoy, and leave me a review. Much love to you, now enjoy the story.
Chapter Seven:
Exams and Executions
For the next week Tera watched as the Gryffindor team was on cloud nine. Even the weather seemed to be celebrating; as June approached, the days became cloudless and sultry, and all anybody felt like doing was strolling onto the grounds and flopping down on the grass with several pints of iced pumpkin juice. Perhaps playing a casual game of Gobstones or watching the giant squid propel itself dreamily across the surface of the lake.
But lazing about wasn't in the cards for any of them. Exams were fast approaching and instead of enjoying the heat and having fun, students were forced to remain inside the castle, trying to cram every bit of knowledge they could into their heads in time for exams, while trying to resist the temptation of the fresh summer air that would beckon to them through open windows.
Tera was also seen cramming, she would sometimes be seen helping Hermione to not pull her hair out while studying, and other times she'd be with Fred and George, helping to quiz them on things for their O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Levels), and they would in turn help her to study, which was a great help cause they had already been through the classes. When she would be up in Gryffindor Tower studying with Hermione or the twins, Tera was extra careful to avoid Percy who was getting ready to take his N.E.W.T.s (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests), the highest qualification Hogwarts offered. As Percy hoped to enter the Ministry of Magic, he needed top grades. He was becoming increasingly edgy, and gave very severe punishments to anybody who disturbed the quiet of the common room in the evenings.
When Tera had to do a Confusing Concoction in Potions class, she got nervous because Snape was hovering that she got some of the measurements wrong and her Confusing Concoction ended up causing a concussion instead of confusion. Luckily though she did good enough to pass, which was a major relief.
Then came Astronomy at midnight, up on the tallest tower, Tera charted out the constellations and smiled as she mapped out her favorites. Wednesday morning brought History of Magic, Tera quickly writing down all the things her grandmother had told her over the years about the medieval witch-hunts and the roles of different famous figures in them. Later that afternoon meant Herbology, in the greenhouses under the scorching-hot sun; then back to her common room to treat her sunburnt neck and cheeks, thinking longingly of this time tomorrow when all of this would be over with.
The second to last exam, on Thursday morning, was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Lupin had compiled the most unusual exam any of them had ever taken; a sort of obstacle course outside in the sun, where they had to wade across a deep paddling pool containing a Grindylow, cross a series of potholes full of Red Caps, squish their way across a patch of marsh while ignoring misleading directions from a Hinkypunk, then climb into an old trunk and battle with a new Boggart.
Tera made her way through the course relatively quickly, only pausing for a moment at the Hinkypunk's misleading directions before she climbed into the trunk with the Boggart. Once in the trunk Tera steeled herself to face off with the one thing that always can make her scream like a little girl and run crying to her mum. Before her was a humungous wasp, easily the size of a Bulldog and buzzing angrily, its stinger aimed at her and getting closer every second. Tera froze, trying desperately to think of something funny, anything. After a minute or two Tera was laughing hysterically at the Wasp, who had turned into an adorable little tiger cub who kept falling over and squeaking.
Upon making her way out of the trunk, her giggles having finally subsided, Tera came face to face with a beaming Professor Lupin. "Excellent, Tera! Well done indeed my girl, full marks."
Tera smiled and walked off to the side, flopping down and watching the rest of the class make their way through the obstacle course. Harry quickly made his way through and was out a little bit quicker than Tera herself had, then he came and sat down next to her and watched Ron and Hermione make their way through.
Ron did very well until he reached the Hinkypunk, which successfully confused him into sinking waist-high into the quagmire. Hermione did everything perfectly until she reached the trunk with the Boggart in it. After about a minute inside it, she burst out again, screaming.
"Hermione!" said Lupin, startled. "What's the matter?"
"P-P-Professor McGonagall!" Hermione gasped, pointing into the trunk. "Sh-she said I'd failed everything!"
It took a little while to calm Hermione down, Tera held onto her and reminded her that it was a Boggart and not really Professor McGonagall. When at last she had regained a grip on herself, she, Harry, Ron and Tera all made their way back to the castle. Ron was still slightly inclined to laugh at Hermione's Boggart and Tera would defend her, but an argument was averted by the sight that met them on the top of the steps.
Cornelius Fudge, sweating slightly in his pinstriped cloak, was standing there staring out at the grounds. He started at the sight of Harry.
"Hello there, Harry!" he said. "Just had an exam, I expect? Nearly finished?"
"Yes," said Harry. Hermione, Tera and Ron, not being on speaking terms with the Minister of Magic, hovered awkwardly in the background. Tera shifted from foot to foot, wanting to get inside and out of the heat
"Lovely day," said Fudge, casting an eye over the lake. "Pity… pity…"
He sighed deeply and looked down at Harry.
"I'm here on an unpleasant mission, Harry. The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures required a witness to the execution of a mad Hippogriff. As I needed to visit Hogwarts to check on the Black situation, I was asked to step in."
Tera jumped, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the Minister. They were going to kill Buckbeak? Her heart plummeted as she listened to the rest of the conversation; she decided that she was going to go down and see Buckbeak one last time, wishing that the poor dear didn't have to die.
After they entered the Great Hall Tera quickly excused herself and headed off to find the twins, pulling them away from their studies to make sure they ate, giving them a handful of walnuts each. "Brain food, you two have been studying so much that you haven't been eating right. And no, chocolate frogs and butterbeer do not a nutritious meal make." She scolded, hands on her hips. Sighing she sat down and helped herself to a sandwich and some orange juice, just one more exam and the day would over with.
Before heading to her Muggle Studies, Tera hugged each of her boys, pecking them on the cheeks and wishing them luck with their next class, and telling them to meet her out on the grounds once they were done. Tera met up with Hermione and they made their way to class, sitting down and immediately starting work.
Time flew and Tera finally got to stretch her sore body, she had finished her test just moments after Hermione and felt good about it, knowing she passed for sure, though thinking maybe she should have written another page or two on the essay, hoping that the 5 pages she already had would be okay. Smiling she skipped her way out of the class, leaving behind Hermione who wanted to talk to the Professor about her exam.
Tera quickly made her way out onto the grounds, smiling and waving to the twins who were relaxing under their favorite tree before joining them there, flopping down with a dramatic sigh. "Finally free! So how'd your O.W.L.s go boys?"
Fred scooted so he was lying right next to her and sighed dramatically. "Eh, just glad they are finally over."
George nodded his agreement, and scooted to Tera's other side, resting his head on his book bag.
The three of them just relaxed and watched the clouds, pointing out the shapes they would see such as a bunny, owl, wand, and even a dog. They stayed there for about an hour before heading inside for dinner. Tera left early though, sneaking out to visit Buckbeak, moving quickly and quietly to remain unseen. The rest of the school would be getting out from dinner in around thirty minutes, which would give her enough time to say her goodbyes to the beautiful creature.
Walking up to him, Tera bowed low, keeping eye contact and walking towards him with a smile when he bowed back. "Hello handsome. I'm so sorry to hear about what's going to happen to you." She whispered, resting her forehead against his shoulder.
Buckbeak nuzzled her, clicking his beak and ruffling his feathers, not liking the sad morbidness that had be around him since his trip to London.
"Shh, I know sweetling, I know. You have to be strong, keep your pride." She mumbled, smoothing his feathers down. She heard a shuffling noise coming from Hagrid's hut, hugging Buckbeak again around the neck she turned and quickly made her escape, tears blurring her vision. Knowing that the rest of the school was leaving the Great Hall, Tera ran to the forest and headed straight to her usual clearing, falling to her knees and letting the tears flow. "Stupid Malfoy! Buckbeak does not deserve to die… maybe I can help… I could let him loose… but then that would go back on Hagrid… Damn it all!"
Tera sat there for another 10 minutes, trying to think of a way to help Buckbeak, annoyed when nothing came to mind that would actually work. She was thinking of going out into the woods farther for a run, but paused, turning her head to listen for a moment. What in the world was that rustling sound? "Hello…?" she asked, getting ready to bolt in case it was something dangerous.
The large black dog she had seen with Crookshanks slowly came out of the bushes, its head low as it stared hard at her, assessing as to whether or not she was a threat. It slowly circled her, getting a bit closer until it was about three feet away from her, its light colored eyes looking at her almost like it was wondering what she was doing out here.
"What are you doing out here big guy?" she asked, making herself as unthreatening as possible, holding out a cautious hand. Looking at him, she figured he must be a stray, his fur was matted and he looked to be skin and bone, but his eyes were what really got her attention. They seemed… very familiar, as though she had known them long ago… they were full of intelligence, and maybe a bit of sadness, but also wary of her. Feeling unthreatened by him, Tera threw caution to the wind and got closer, holding her hand out for him to sniff.
The dog slowly moved closer to her, sticking his nose out and taking a tentative sniff before bumping her hand, giving her the sign that he wasn't going to bite.
Tera slowly placed her hand on the dog's head, scratching behind his ear and smiling when his tongue lolled out, his tail thumping against the ground. "You aren't so scary, are you?" she asked with a chuckle, looking into his eyes though, Tera got an odd feeling. "You remind me of someone…" she mumbled, a fuzzy image coming to mind, something from when she was still very little.
The dog turned his head, his ears perking up as if hearing something he had been waiting for. Giving Tera a lick on her cheek he quickly got up and broke into a run, heading towards the castle.
Running after him Tera stopped when she heard a wild howling and her whole body went cold. "That sounds like Hagrid…. Oh no, Buckbeak!" she sobbed, standing there indecisively for a moment before quickly turning and running back into the woods, her body shifting as she tried to run from the heart wrenching pain she was feeling.
After nearly an hour of running Tera finally stopped, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Turning she started making her way back, her head hung low in grief over that fate of Buckbeak. When she was about a 20 minute walk away from the edge of the forest Tera heard an eerie howl, her ears perked as she looked around her, wondering where it could be coming from. She started walking again, but stopped when she heard a loud cracking noise and rustling about 100 yards ahead of her. Crouching low she tried to skirt her way around whatever it could be, but she accidentally stepped on a branch which resulted in a loud crack.
The rustling quickly made its way towards her and Tera found herself face to face with a male werewolf. Thinking quickly Tera tried to keep herself calm and to slowly back away from it, not making any sudden or threatening movements. The werewolf though seemed to have focused in on her, its muzzle was scratched, and it seemed to have been in a fight very recently. Trying to put a bit of distance between herself and him, Tera yelped in pain when she felt something jab her leg.
Her yelp was taken as a sign of weakness and he lunged at her, throwing her into a tree and stalking towards her. Tera quickly got herself up, grunting at the pain in her side before she quickly dodged the next attack, the training she had been doing kicking in and helping her to protect herself from getting thrown again. Lunging at him Tera latched onto his shoulder, trying not to let herself be shaken off but after a couple minutes of being shaken the werewolf ripped her away from him and threw her into another tree.
Realizing she wouldn't be able to keep fighting for much longer Tera quickly shifted and pulled her wand out, pointing it at the werewolf and screaming "Stupefy!" hitting it directly in the chest and watching it hit the ground with a thud. Tera slowly made her way around it and hobbled off towards the school, wincing as she held her ribs, feeling the warm stickiness of blood blossoming from under her hand.
Shifting back to her other form, she quickly made her way across the grounds, able to ignore the pain for the most part. When she reached the entrance to the Great Hall she shifted back, pushing the door open she fell inside, gasping and curling in on herself at the jolt of pain that went through her side.
That's how Fred and George found her; they had been sneaking into the kitchen for a late night snack, but upon seeing her laying on the floor in the fetal position their appetites went out the door. They quickly ran to her, not knowing what to do. "Bloody hell Ter, what happened to you?" George asked, moving her hand from her side and gasping at the sight of blood.
"We better get you to the hospital wing love." said Fred, gently picking her up and starting to head in that direction.
"N-no!" she gasped, wincing as that outburst caused her pain. "Please don't ta-take me there.."
"Ter, why not? You need healing, your bleeding for heaven's sake." said George as he walked along next to his brother.
"They'll a-ask too m-many questions." she mumbled, burying her face in Fred's robes and gripping tightly, trying not to let them see just how much pain she was in. "Ju-just drop me o-off at the H-Hufflepuff entrance… I'll b-be fine."
"Leaving you alone is the last thing we are going to do!" growled Fred, turning from the way to the hospital wing and instead heading towards Gryffindor Tower. "If you don't want to go to the hospital wing, fine. But we're going to take care of you love."
"Lucky for you we paid close attention when you taught us those minor healing spell. They'll help a lot." said George before giving the password to enter the common room.
Fred set Tera down on the couch, crouching down next to her and gingerly touching her side, frowning when she arched and gasped in pain. "This seems pretty bad… I can't tell exactly what's wrong though."
"I… I think I h-have a few cr-cracked rips, a busted l-lip and a pu-puncture w-wound on my left side…" she said, closing her eyes and focusing on of the places in pain. "I think that's it.."
"What do we do Ter?" asked George, getting down on his knees next to his brother.
Tera slowly moved her arm and clicked the 5th button on her watch, shakily pulling out a tiny bottle with an eyedropper, holding it out to Fred, who grabbed it before she dropped it.
"What is this?" he asked.
"Mum told me it's a p-pain revealer. It'll make it ea-easier for you to t-treat my wound if I'm not cringing in p-pain. T-Two drops should d-do it.." she mumbled, wincing when George hesitantly moved her shirt up to see the puncture wound, grimacing at how deep it was.
"It looks like you got stabbed by a branch Ter, it's pretty bloody and there's lots of bruising, I'll need to clean it…" he said while his brother quickly gave her a few drops of the foul tasting pain reliever.
Tera just grit her teeth and nodded, wincing as George wiped the blood away, then sighing as the pain reliever started taking effect. "All you need to do is treat the puncture wound, other than that everything else will be fine." She mumbled, licking the bit of blood from her lip.
"Let us just heal the wound and your busted lip at least." Taking out their wands they each pointed at one of her wounds, mumbling Episkey and concentrating.
Tera felt her side and lips go uncomfortably hot, then cold, smiling when she didn't taste blood on her lips anymore. "You guys did great.." she mumbled around a yawn, her energy was quickly leaving her, all the adrenaline rushing out of her body and leaving her exhausted.
The twins smiled, each sitting down on the couch with her, sliding under her legs and her head.
"Get some rest love, Merlin knows you could use it." Fred said, brushing a bit of hair out of her eyes and smiling down at her.
Tera smiled sleepily up at him, her eyes drifting shut as she dozed off.
A few hours later George woke up to a light humming and something playing with his hair. Opening his eyes though all he saw was hair, upon sitting up he noticed that Tera was awake, and somehow had switch places with him and Fred, their heads resting in her lap.
"Hullo Georgie." Tera said with a soft voice, still absentmindedly playing with Fred's hair while he slept.
"Hi Ter…" he replied, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. "So… what happened to you tonight?"
Tera sighed, not wanting to lie to him. "I… had a bit of a run in with a werewolf.." she mumbled.
"A werewolf!? It didn't bite you did it?" George asked with alarm.
"No of course not! It tossed me around a bit and I defended myself." She said.
"Wait… where were you when this happened?"
Tera looked down, took a deep breath and answered truthfully. "The Forbidden Forest…"
George blinked, looking at her with wide eyes. "Ter… what were you doing out in the forest… and how did you fight a werewolf…?"
Tera sighed, gently shifting Fred's head and setting it on the couch; she got up, walking to the center of the room and then looked back at George with nervous eyes. "I went out originally to clear my head, but when I heard Hagrid howling, I ran cause I didn't want deal with the pain of Buckbeak's death… so I shifted and ran."
"…shifted?"
Tera nodded, taking a deep breath to steel her nerves. "Yes, shifted." She said, taking a step back and smiling shyly. "Don't freak out…" she said before shifting before his eyes.
George was flabbergasted. He had just watched Tera shift from herself into a russet colored wolf with a white starburst on its hip and the transformation had caused him to jump back in surprise.
Tera quickly shifted back, looking at George in concern while holding her side, her ribs were getting sore again. "Are you okay Georgie…?"
"How… How did you do that…?" he asked, still in a bit of shock.
"I'm an Animagus… Have been for a few years.." Tera said with a shrug.
"How… It takes a lot to become one… how did you accomplish it at only 13?" George asked as he sat down, completely confused.
"My great aunt Sylvia… she's a bit batty. I went to stay with her when I was nine because Callum had the dragon pox and I'd never had them. Mum was off in the south of France on an emergency call and nana didn't want me sick too. Well I was there for two weeks, and in that time I got made into an Animagus. Nana and mum blew up when they found out; they asked great aunt Sylvia why she did it and all she would say is I would need it one day." Tera explained, still completely confused about it herself.
"Wow… that's crazy. So you turn into a…wolf?"
"Yeah, not the most practical thing, but it works." Tera nodded a smile on her face as she sat down next to him. Looking over at Fred's sleeping form, she frowned though. "How… How am I going to explain this to Freddie…" she mumbled, worried about how he would take it and if he'd freak out.
"I'll tell him Ter, and don't worry, he isn't going to freak out about this either. He'll probably think it's cool." George reassured her, patting her knee comfortingly.
"Okay… hey Georgie?"
"Yeah, Ter?" George asked, turning to look at her.
"Uhm… did…. Did Fred talk to you… about what happened before Christmas…?" Tera asked, a blush dusting her face.
George smiled, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "You mean your guy's kiss?"
"Yeah… that…"
"Yeah Fred told me. He also told me about how you ran off afterwards. Want to tell me what that's about Ter?" George asked, placing a hand on her knee.
"I… I was dating Cedric at the time… It's not right to be kissing someone behind your boyfriends back…" she mumbled.
"Tera… I think you ran because you knew if you didn't, you wouldn't want to leave. And you were afraid of possible rejection." George reasoned, looking at her knowingly.
Tera's blush spread to the roots of her hair, her eyes wide as she looked at him. "You… how… am I that easy to read Georgie?"
"Tera, I know you have feelings for my brother, that much is obvious. At least to me anyways." George said with a shrug. "My brother is just sometimes too much of a stupid git to see it."
At that Tera smiled lightly shaking her head. "Other than Hermione, you're the only person I've talked to about this Georgie. I… I felt something during that kiss… but I don't want to ruin my friendship with him over my silly little feelings." She said while looking down with a sigh.
"Tera… your feelings aren't stupid. You just have to give my brother time. He can be a bit thick at times." George said, smiling over at his brother's sleeping form.
"Thanks Georgie… why don't you help Freddie up to bed, I'll let myself out in a few minutes." Tera pecked him on the cheek and Fred on the forehead before walking over to the window and looking out across the grounds.
George nodded and pulled his brother up, throwing one arm over his shoulders and hefting him up the stairs to their room. "Good night Tera."
"Good night Georgie-porgie." Tera mumbled, her eyes focused on a figure flying over the forest on the back of a Hippogriff. "Good luck Sirius…" she whispered before turning and heading out the porthole.
The next morning Tera was wandering the halls, her feet seemed to lead her to Professor Lupin's classroom, where she came upon him packing up his things. "What's going on here…?" she asked, confusion etched on her face.
"Oh, Miss Howell, well as I'm sure you must now know, I'm a werewolf –" he started, placing another book in a box.
"I've known for a while Professor." She admitted.
"Clever girl… when did you figure it out?" he asked with a shake of his head.
"My mum gave me a book over the summer that had information on werewolves… so when we were going against the Boggart and it turned into a full moon for you… that kinda clued me in, Professor Snape's essay just confirmed my suspicions more…"
"Why didn't you say anything if you knew?" Lupin asked in confusion.
"Because, I knew you weren't going to harm any of us if you could help it. I'm sure you didn't ask for this to happen to you, and you can't control it when you change. I'm sure you didn't mean for anything to happen." She said, her hand absentmindedly drifting to her ribs.
Lupin's eyes widened for a moment when he noticed her hand holding her side. "Dear girl, what's the matter with your ribs?" He asked, taking a step towards her with a hand raised in concern.
"Oh… uhm…" she bit her lips, looking up at him and contemplating lying, but thought better of it and sighed, deciding to tell the truth. "We sort of had a bit of a run in with each other last night…" she mumbled, looking down at her shoes.
"I…. I didn't bite you… did I?" he asked in a low voice full of fear.
"Oh no! Nothing like that, you just tossed me around a bit… You probably have a mark on your shoulder from me…"
Lupin blinked, moving his shirt he looked down at his shoulder, confusion exploding across his face. "But this isn't something a girl your size could do. This looks like a bite from an animal…" he stopped and stared at her for a moment, flicking his wand at the door to shut them in. "What are you child, surely not a werewolf.."
"You're right on that. I am not a werewolf, but I am a wolf…" she said sincerely.
"An Animagus..? At your age, that's just remarkable. Dear girl how ever did you do it?" he asked, leaning against his desk and staring at her in wonder.
"Long story short, I have a batty great aunt who thought it would help me later in life. I've been one since I was 9 but have only recently gotten a hold on it."
"If I may be so bold, would you show me please?" he asked, looking at her like a puzzle he was starting to piece together.
Tera sighed and took a step back, her form smoothly shifting from a small human girl to a russet colored wolf. Her green eyes staring up at him as she sat down on her haunches, a creamy white colored starburst pattern on her right hip.
"Magnificent, I will admit I haven't met someone quite like you in a long while Tera." Lupin said, nodding at her to shift back to her normal form.
Tera stood up and with a pop was back to being herself. "But you have met Animagus before." She said, a knowing gleam in her eye.
"Yes, three of my best mates when I was in school were Animagus. I'm sure your mother could tell you all about my group of friends."
"My mother… You were friends with James and Sirius…" she said after thinking for a moment, remembering her mother talk about her school years.
"Yes, they were my very best friends, us along with Peter Pettigrew used to get into as much trouble, if not more, as your friends the Weasley Twins." He said with a chuckle.
"Sirius… he was here last night, wasn't he?" she asked, looking up at him with her vivid green eyes.
"Yes, and he got away from the Ministry and its dementors. I'm sure you already know that."
"Yeah, I saw him and Beaky both get away…" she mumbled. "What…. What was his Animagus form Professor? And don't lie to me that he hasn't got one, cause I know better."
Lupin chuckled, seeing so much of her mother in her determined look. "A large black dog. That is Sirius's form."
Hearing that Tera teared up a bit, remembering her meeting with the large black dog in the woods and how familiar is seemed, and its affectionate farewell. "Siri…" she mumbled, flashes of a happy, healthy man with twinkling eyes full of mischief flashing across her mind, and then her mother's tears telling her he wasn't coming back. "Professor –"
"Please child, I'm not really your Professor anymore. You may call me by my name." he said, a kind smile on his face.
"…Remus. Why… why did Sirius come here? Was… was he really trying to kill Harry? I want to know the truth. Is Sirius Black really a bad man?" she asked, her voice wavering ever so slightly.
"He didn't come here to kill Harry. Quite to the contrary, he came to protect Harry. Peter Pettigrew is still alive; he told Voldemort where James and Lily were when they went into hiding. Sirius was wrongfully persecuted child, he was innocent." He answered, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders.
"But he still left! He left me and mom! My brother…. Sirius doesn't know about him…"
Lupin paused, looking down at the girl before him. "Tera… how old is your brother?"
Tera sniffled and looked up at him, her green eyes huge and reflective. "He turned 12 in January..."
"Is he…?"
"Is he Sirius Black's son?" she asked with a laugh. "Yeah. My brother's full name is Callum Sirius Howell-Black." she answered, letting the cat out of the bag after years of her family hiding it. "Callum doesn't know though! You can't tell him anything. All he knows is his dad isn't around but he fought in the last Wizarding War. He thinks he died in a raid or something."
"Wow… I had to wonder, he looks a lot like him…" Remus mused with a smile. "Don't worry; your secret is safe with me. Well I had best finish packing, do tell your mother I say hi when you see her again."
Tera nodded, thinking only a moment before throwing her arms around his waist and hugging him, mumbling into his chest. "Mum used to tell me I had an uncle Remus… I'm guessing that's you." Looking up she smiled and pecked him on the check. "Do keep in touch, it's nice to have more family around." With that said Tera turned and left, but not before seeing a big smile spread across Lupin's face, making him look 10 years younger and much more handsome.
The rest of school seemed to fly by, everyone got their exam results on the last of term. Tera passed all her classes with flying colors, getting the second highest grade in Muggle Studies with a 315 percent. The twins managed to get a handful of O.W.L.s each and their older brother Percy got his top grade N.E.W.T.s. Tera ate dinner with at the Gryffindor that night amidst the Gold and Crimson décor, a smile on her face as she enjoyed the last day of school with her boys before summer kept them from seeing each other daily. Callum was of course now comfortable enough that he spent his time with his friends, stealing occasional glances at little Calliope Abernathy who would blush and wave at him shyly.
Once they were all loaded up on the Hogwarts Express Tera curled up in her seat, a small yawn escaping her as she lay out across her boy's laps. "Wake me when we're about 20 minutes from King's Cross." She mumbled before dozing off.
Fred and George both chuckled, deciding to play Callum a few games of exploding snaps, and splitting a tin of cookies Tera had left for them to eat on the trip. The twins of course also playfully teased Callum about Calliope, knowing that he really cared about her. When they were twenty minutes from Kings Cross Fred shook Tera awake, smiling when she nearly rolled onto the floor.
"Love, we're almost there. Time to get your things together." Fred said while helping her to sit up.
Tera nodded, pulling off her robe to reveal her blue jeans and black tank top underneath. Folding her robes and putting them in her trunk she pulled out a white button up shirt she had commandeered from Fred's trunk and pulled it on. Nudging Callum awake she helped him move things around in his trunk to fit his robes in, then turned to face her boys, holding her arms open with a smile. "I'm going to miss seeing you two on a daily basis."
"You'll see us on your birthday for sure, heck maybe we'll even see you at The Quidditch Cup too, your brother has been talking about it none stop for a month in the common room." George said, pulling Tera up into a bear hug.
Tera smiled, knowing how much her brother loves Quidditch. "Yeah, you just might see us there with how much Callum will whine to mum." She chuckled, turning to Fred she smiled tenderly and pulled him into a hug, standing on her tiptoes so he wouldn't have to slouch too much. "Don't be a stranger Freddie, we could always do with a few more pranksters running amuck at home. You two are always welcome."
Fred smiled and hugged her back, his face hidden in her hair. "No worries love, you'll see us so often you'll become sick of us." He teased, standing up straight and smiling down at the girl in his arms.
Tera blushed, but smiled back none the less. "I would never get sick of see you two, your my best mates and I love you to death."
The train finally reached King's Cross station and the group gathered their things and disembarked from the train, Tera and Callum went through the gates first, waving a farewell to the twins as they went off to find their mother.
Scanning the crowds Tera quickly found her mother and pulled Callum along with her, launching herself into Persephone's arms with a laugh. "Mum! Oh how I've missed you."
Persephone smiled fondly at both of her children, noting that Callum had hit a growth spurt and was now taller than his sister by a good 3 inches. "My, my Callum, looks like you're going to need new clothes. You're already as tall as I am." She said with a laugh, noting that her son was indeed as tall as she was at 5'4".
Callum smiled sheepishly, looking down at his pants that ended a few inches above his ankles. "Yeah… I guess I did get taller." He mumbled, stull not used to his change in height.
"Well then, let's get going shall we?" turning she made her way to her usual apparition spot, grabbing each of her children's hands Persephone apparated them into their back yard.
After coming home things just fell into a comfortable lull. That is until one morning when Tera woke up to a pair of chocolate brown eyes staring down at her from behind flaming red bangs.
"Morning love." came Fred Weasley's chipper voice, his eyes crinkling with his smile.
"Mornin' Freddie… what are you doing here?" she asked around a yawn that she turned and hid in her pillow.
George popped up next to Fred and smiled, rolling his eyes. "It's your birthday silly, we're here to celebrate!" he said, pulling out some of Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks and setting them off with a smile.
Tera chuckled, watching the fireworks zoom around her room. "You two are going to wake the whole neighborhood if you keep that up." Flipping the covers off, she got up and went over to her closet, pulling out a purple t-shirt and shorts. After shooing the boys out of her room she quickly dressed and threw her hair up in a ponytail, her bangs falling around her face.
Downstairs the twins were already trying to sneak some of the cupcakes that Tera's grandmother had set out, but only got their hands smacked and told to wait by the little old lady herself.
"I swear, all women have eyes in the back of their heads." Grumbled Fred as he rubbed his sore hand and pouted.
"We also have excellent hearing too." Nana Rosella replied from the other room with a laugh.
"Bloody hell!" Fred said in surprise only to cover his mouth and yell from behind it "Sorry!"
Tera smiled and walked up to the table, grabbing a cupcake and smiling cheekily at the boys who both looked at her in shock. "What?" she asked innocently as she took a bite out of the cupcake and tried to hide her smirk.
"How…?" they both asked, knowing that if they tried that their hands would be smarting again.
"I guess I'm just special like that." She replied with a laugh as she finished off her cupcake.
The rest of the day was spent laughing, playing games in the backyard and stuffing their faces with all sorts of birthday goodies. By the time the sun was going down Tera and the twins were all sitting on the balcony outside Tera's room, watching the evening colors get painted across the sky.
"Thank you for spending my birthday with me, you guys are amazing, you know that?" she said, her head resting on Fred's shoulder as she watched the sun hit the horizon.
"So we've been told." They both replied with chuckles, nodding at each other they pulled out a box each and presented them to Tera.
"You guys didn't have to get me presents." She muttered, knowing they didn't have a lot to spend on gifts.
"We thought you might like these."
Opening the first box Tera gasped with surprise as fireworks shot out and into the sky making wonderful shapes and exploding into 'Happy Birthday Tera!' with a smile she opened the other box and her eyes misted over. Inside was little teddy bear she had ever seen, upon closer inspection she noticed it had a bracelet around its neck.
It was the charm bracelet that Hermione had given her on her first Christmas at Hogwarts, but it had more charms on it now. Besides the 'T' that was already on it there were 4 new charms. Added to it was an 'F', a 'G', a howling wolf and looking closer Tera blushed, the last charm looked like mistletoe. Fred seemed oblivious but George was smiling at her like someone who was in on a secret.
"Wow you guys… I love it." She said, holding her wrist out for it to be placed on and marveling at it once it was on.
"We're going to at a new charm every year for something important that happens." said Fred who still hadn't noticed the mistletoe his brother had snuck onto the bracelet.
"One day you'll have so many charms on it you'll fall over from all the weight on it." George chuckled. Looking down at his watch he tapped his brother's shoulder and jerked his head towards the door. "We had better be getting home, mom will be expecting us back soon.
Tera walked with them down to the fireplace, pulling them both into a bone crushing hug. "I love you guys, I'm glad we got to spend the day together."
"We love you too Tera, Happy Birthday." They both replied, pecking her on her cheeks then grabbing some Floo powder and stepping into the fireplace after yelling 'The Burrow'.
Heading upstairs Tera dressed for bed, Pixie curling up on her hip as she fell asleep, a smile on her face. It was an amazing way to end her birthday.