Chapter 6

Summer Challenges Part 1

The summer after my first year was a busy one. It was only the second day of the holidays when Lupin had got me up and told me he needed to start training me. I'd just groaned and pulled the covers back over my head. The training he had in mind was this Animagus thing I had. Once he'd finally got me out of bed and down in the kitchen he explained to me over breakfast what exactly it was that I had.

'Most people who wish to change into animals become Animagi,' he explained. I was just dozing with my head on my hand, trying to stay awake. I really couldn't be bothered to listen. 'They have to use spells and potions to become ones.'

'Hmm,' I mumbled, pretending to listen.

'You, however,' continued Lupin, louder. My head snapped up and I fell off my chair. He just chuckled. I glared at him and sat back down, completely awake now. 'You were born as one. The technical term is a Feramorph seeing as you are able to transform into any creature, magical or not. Owing to the time the first one was discovered in 1755, wizards didn't know how to react to them so they were classified as half-breeds under the Classification of Beings and Beasts made by the Wizard's Council, later known as the Ministry for Magic, due to the fact that, like with werewolves, they spent most time as human, rarely transforming enough times to be classified as a "beast".'

'So I'm a half-breed according to the eyes of the Ministry?' I asked. 'But then if I am a … a Feramorph, why do you call it a rare-typed Animagus?'

'Studies were done on these Feramorph. It intrigued other wizards and compelled them to research a way for normal wizards and witches to change into animals. In the late eighteen-hundreds, they managed to create a series of complex spells and potions to do so but they could only master transforming into a single animal reflecting the person's personality, each with particular markings.

'They christened this discovery "Animagus", meaning animal magician. When it was created, those scant few who were Feramorphs took the name Animagus as well so as to not draw attention to them, but declared it to be a "rare" form of the potions.'

I nodded. I'd understood that much but it still didn't explain why I was one.

'That's all well and good,' I told Lupin, 'but that doesn't really tell me why I'm one.'

'Because your Mum was,' Lupin replied. 'Your great-grandma was also one. The … gene, I think Muggles call them, skips several generations. The last known rare-Animagus was recorded in 1805. After that, everyone assumed they died out and so gave up registration of them, only registering those attempting the Animagus transformation, getting the animal they change into and their particular markings. Nowadays, it's illegal to do it without registration.'

'And what exactly is it that sets me apart?' I asked.

'Just the ability to change into any animal at will,' said Lupin. He casually took a sip of his coffee. 'There's nothing special about it. You're just able to change your form into an animal's. Tala, your mother, was so adept at it she learnt how to change single parts of her body at a time. Something no doubt you'll learn. The only thing you must remember is that you've got to be willing to transform and willing to change back.'

Apart from the fact under the eyes of the Ministry I was classified as a half-breed, it sounded pretty cool being this "Feramorph" or "rare-Animagus" or whatever you want to call it. I was already thinking about how great it would be to do animal transformations for Harry, Ron and Hermione, and all the cool magical creatures I could change into like phoenixes and unicorns or even a Pegasus.

'There's just one condition,' added Lupin. I looked at him curiously. 'Because of it being such a rare talent, any who are revealed to have it tend to get shunned because of its half-breed status. Your grandma told your Mum the same thing I'm telling you now: you are not allowed to flaunt this nor are you to tell anyone what you are for risk of exposure. Do you understand, Jenna?'

I have to say I was a bit miffed at that moment but I could understand the reasoning. But where there's a will, there's a way. I was pretty sure I could bend this in order for me to have a little fun.

Then again, if people like Malfoy found out what I was, ooh, I shudder to think what he'd do. Blackmail me into doing his bidding in fear of him telling my secret. The annoying thing was that I couldn't tell Harry, Ron and Hermione about it and they were my best friends. Of course, they eventually found out but I'll get to that later.

After thinking about the so called "rules and history" of what I was, I looked up at Lupin grinning and said, 'When does training start?'

I regretted it the moment I said it.

God, Lupin's training was stir-rict! Because we lived on the outskirts of London, there were a few fields around Moonlake Cottage. He used these to every advantage. Any creature that lived on land, he made me transform into it (he was looking through Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and some Muggle animal books for inspiration) and then do different tests as that animal or creature. Unicorns, dogs, owls, salamander, Nundu (not Lupin's best idea), you name it, I changed into it.

When it came to water animals and ones that flew, Lupin took me to the beach, again with the same method of training. The way he did the flying as birds though I didn't like. He'd Side-Along Apparated us to Dover and led me to the top of the cliffs. I looked down and instantly took a disliking to what he might be planning. The waves looked pretty fierce from all the way up there.

'Lupin,' I said nervously. 'What exactly are you planning for me to do?'

'Well, birds fly,' he said.

'I know that.'

'And you can't.'

'I know that too. Well, not without a broomstick.' We'd had flying lessons through the first year. I was pretty good at it, if I must say so. Not as good as Harry though.

Lupin put his hand into his backpack and pulled out a broom. I stared slightly. He'd just pulled a full-size broomstick out of a small backpack. That was impossible, wasn't it? It was when he said, 'Now, I'll fly alongside you and catch you if you start to fall.'

'And how am I going to be falling?' I asked him warily.

'Oh, um, like this.'

Next thing I know, Lupin had pushed me off the cliff and I was falling towards the water. A thirty-foot or so drop! I just scrunched up my eyes and thought of the first bird that came into my head. It happened to be a phoenix; I'd been fascinated by them when training started and found them, for some reason, the easiest bird to change into. I felt feathers sprout on my face and the familiar twisting of my bones. Opening my eyes I saw my arms were wings.

'Start flapping, Jenna!' Lupin yelled behind me.

I saw the water getting closer and I was heading straight for it, headfirst. I started to flap the wings I'd just gained but it didn't seem to work. Panicking, I flapped harder. Again, it didn't seem to do anything. With one last attempt as the water was now about five-feet away I flapped as hard as I could. Next thing I knew, I was zooming across the water surface before rising upwards and hovering over the sea. Talk about a rush of adrenaline.

'Nice one, Jenna!' I looked up to see Lupin flying downwards and levelling with me. 'I knew you could do it.'

'Thanks!' I shouted at him but all I heard was a caw come from my mouth. Well, I was a phoenix at that time.

'Fly back up to the top!' Lupin shouted. He pointed upwards and headed that way. I followed. However, instead of being all "Wow, that was amazing" I was …

'What the hell did you do that for?' I shouted at him once we were back on the top of the cliff and I'd transformed again. 'I could have died!'

'It's how Tala was taught to fly as a bird,' replied Lupin. 'All these methods were done by your Mum. It's how she would have wanted you to be trained.'

He was being casual? Casual?! Honestly, if I wasn't eleven years old at the time and was able to do magic outside of Hogwarts I would have hexed his arm off. Still, without Lupin's training from what he'd seen my Mum do all those years back I wouldn't be able to transform as easily as I can now. It's a painful process until you get used to it.

The majority of my holiday was taken up with this training but there were still other things to do. It was a holiday full of learning. I learnt so much in the space of two months about the wizarding world and what happens in it. I was amazed how Muggles coped without magic. I also learned more about my family.

I saw loads of pictures of my Mum and Lupin's family. My Gran had the same long hair as me and my Mum (it was now nearing my waist, all one length) but hers was auburn. Lupin looked a lot like Granddad but his eyes were blue like mine. Lupin's were brown. Oddly there were no photos of my father and his family. Was Lupin hiding them from me or something? Or did my father just not exist to him? There was this one guy who kept appearing and did look familiar but he was just in photos from when they were at Hogwarts. And when I asked Lupin about it he changed the subject by going off and making a cup of tea (something he did a lot of).

When he disappeared I went upstairs to my room with the photo album and pulled out the picture of my Mum and Dad I'd got before I was adopted. I looked at the two photos. The man in both of them … they looked very alike, only a few years difference I guessed. Before I could do anything about it though, Lupin came into my room and found me looking at the two photos. He seemed to pale when he saw the one of Mum and Dad in my hand with the other he'd shrugged off.

'Time we packed up those photos,' he said casually, taking it out of my hand and snapping the book shut. 'Best put these away so they don't get damaged.'

'Lupin!' He stopped and looked at me. I wanted to ask him whether the younger man was the same as the one with my Mum, however, words failed me. 'Thanks for showing me my family,' I said instead.

'No problem, Jenna,' he replied.

I knew that was not the time to ask him about my Dad. For some reason it appeared to be a very sensitive subject to him. But I wasn't going to let the subject drop. Lupin knew something, I knew he did, I could tell. And no matter what it took I was going to find out who my father was.

Nearing the end of July, Lupin took me back to Azkaban. Instead of giving me another few lessons in transforming into animals, Lupin told me we were taking a trip out. Though curious, I didn't ask where. But it was Azkaban. It was the second time I'd gone there. And again, Lupin had left me in the courtyard.

It wasn't as cold as last time but I still felt like something was chilling my bones. And it wasn't long till I caught the attention of an unwanted guest. It was a Dementor. Instantly I felt my heart sink and I knew in a matter of seconds I'd be hearing my mother's voice again, seeing her death yet again. Why did they like me so much? It didn't take long. The rattling breath came … so did the cruel, cold laughter …

'You're pathetic, Black! Your magic is no match to ours!'

'No, I won't just give up.'

'You will have to learn! Crucio!'

Screams … painful screams …

'Had enough yet?'

'Peter, why are you doing this? The Marauders –'

'Ha! Those losers. Never did they appreciate me, always mocking me.'

'They never did, you were their friend. But now you show your true colours and not those of Gryffindor.' The woman's voice was getting weaker. Her time was shortening. I wanted to help her. I knew any moment the man with the cruel laugh would kill her. I wanted to scream for someone but I knew no one would hear me, not with the Dementor doing what it was doing to me. I just remained crouched on the ground, my hands covering my ears, crying.

'Give it up, Black! Your pitiful spells will not defend you against three Death Eaters! Let us kill you easily or die trying.'

'Then I'll die trying.'

'So be it. Regulus, end this woman's unworthy blood traitor life.'

'Regulus, please don't do this …'

'You'll pay for your insubordination. Avada !'

'Mum!'

I didn't realised I'd screamed that, let alone what I did afterwards. I'd passed out again.

-o-

'Are you ready to give back the necklace?' said Lupin quietly, his back against the cold wall. Black was listening in his cell.

'It's all I have left of my wife,' said Black heavily. He didn't have the energy or strength to stand up and speak to Lupin properly. 'You knew how much I loved her. Why do you want to take that away from me too?'

Lupin looked up at Black through the bars, hidden in the shadows.

'And what about me, her own brother?' he asked him. 'You knew how close to her I was. How do you think I felt, having my sister taken from me? Not a year later, my niece lost as well? I never got to say goodbye.'

'Neither did I. And Jenna's my daughter. Do you not think I regret what happened to her? She was all I had left.' There was a brief silence before Black spoke again. 'Why are you here, Moony? Why do you come for answers you'll never get?'

'For the sheer chance I will get the answers I seek,' replied Lupin. 'The answers to the questions I've been asking for years. Why Tala? Why kill her, what had she done? Who even killed her? Would I ever be able to tell my niece the truth … if I ever found her,' he added. He did not want Black to know she was alive.

No emotion penetrated Black's appearance or his physical being. Inside, however, thoughts of depression, regret, guilt and pain stabbed at every nerve, every sense, and every fibre of his body. Did Remus not think he asked himself those same questions every night since he first came to Azkaban? Even more importantly: was Jenna even alive?

'You might as well leave, Moony,' said Black finally. 'Like you said last time; the necklace rightfully belongs to Jenna. If I ever see her again, if she's even alive, I will give it to her. For now … I'm keeping it.'

Lupin let out an angry sigh and stalked off out of the castle. Black had always been too arrogant for his own good even when they were at school. When Black and his sister had got together they were inseparable and so to this day he'd been asking himself why. Why his best friend of ten years at the time would go to the dark side and let his wife, his sister, die? He did not have time to think of that. When he reached the courtyard he found Jenna yet again collapsed on the cold stone. A Dementor was floating over her but unlike last time, it couldn't get to her. Standing over her was a large white horse. It seemed to look at Lupin for a second before rearing and chasing the Dementor away.

'Hooves,' Lupin mumbled, unable to believe what he could see. 'But how –?' Jenna couldn't produce a Patronus. She was only eleven, how could she make a full corporeal one? She didn't even know the incantation.

Lupin ran over to Jenna and carefully picked her up in his arms. She was ice cold and her skin was very pale. The Dementors were having a worse effect on her. Lupin knew he shouldn't have brought her with him after last time but he didn't want to leave her at home alone. But he also didn't want her to meet Black so he wouldn't bring her in. Looking up Lupin saw the white horse beside him, gazing down on her. He smiled.

'Always protecting her,' he said to it. Lupin gave a nod of his head and the Patronus vanished, before he Apparated them away from the prison.

-o-

My head was pounding when I woke. I felt even weaker than last time, as if my magic had been drained, not just them trying to take my happiness. Beside me on my bedside table was a huge block of chocolate which I went for straight away, taking a large bite in order to regain some of my strength. As I did so, there was a knock at the door and Lupin stepped in.

'How are you doing?' he asked. I couldn't speak quite yet and so I just nodded at him, eating my chocolate. 'Make sure you finish that,' said Lupin firmly. 'The Dementors got you worse this time.'

I nodded again and swallowed the chocolate, going for another piece. With that in hand, I braved repeating to Lupin what had gone through my head when the Dementors had been near me.

'I saw Mum again, and the people who killed her,' I mumbled. Lupin looked at me, almost expectantly. 'I saw the man with white hair and the others. They were much clearer. One was shorter and rounder than the others, the other lean. One of them had short black hair and his eyes were cold. He was wavering behind them, nervous about what they were doing.'

'Go on.' Lupin was listening to what I said very carefully. Something had obviously clicked in his mind from what I'd said. As if I'd spooked him or something.

'I could hear what they said. One of them mocked what Mum said … about the Marauders, whatever they are.' I didn't notice Lupin become startled by this. I didn't realise at the time what it meant. 'Another was going to be punished for not killing Mum.' I looked up at Lupin, tears in my eyes. 'I wanted someone to help her, to help her myself. No one did. I screamed but no one heard me.'

'I suggest you don't dwell on this,' said Lupin kindly. He came and sat on my bed beside me. He ran his hand over my cheek and smiled. 'I was worried about you but you seemed to have it under control.'

'I did?' I asked him, confused.

'Somehow, even I don't know how, you produced a Patronus,' replied Lupin. What was one of those? Lupin continued when he saw my face. 'A Patronus is a sort of positive shield which gives Dementors something to feed on instead of a person. It explains why you're so drained of energy. I'm not sure how but you managed to produce a full, corporeal Patronus and it protected you. And what intrigued me most was the form it took.'

'What was it?' I asked.

'A horse,' said Lupin. 'The exact same one your mother used to transform into when she'd help me with my … "furry little problem".' Lupin let out a chuckle as he said that. 'I guess Tala will always be around to protect you.'

That was the first time I produced a Patronus. I was pretty surprised as well as Lupin. I hadn't done any of the things that you had to do to produce a Patronus; I hadn't thought of anything happy, I hadn't used my wand, I hadn't used a spell. How could I have done it? I spent the rest of July and the beginning of August thinking about that, and what I'd heard and seen in my head. The one thing that did make me happy was the fact its form was like my Mum, like she would always be with me.

My twelfth birthday came (and so did Harry's, I sent him a card) and so did my letter from Hogwarts. When I looked at it I saw that virtually the whole list was made up of books by this guy called Gilderoy Lockhart. I'd heard of him. Apparently every witch who'd read his books was in love with him or something. I personally couldn't see why. He looked like an airhead.

By the end of the holidays, I received a letter from Ron saying he hadn't heard from Harry all summer and was going to attempt to rescue him with the help of his brothers, Fred and George, and a flying car of some sort. I wrote back saying be careful. I bloody hoped they would be. I also got a letter from Hermione asking if I was able to go to Diagon Alley and meet up with her and the others on the Wednesday before school started. I wrote back saying it was all right and I'd meet her there.

All in all I had a pretty good summer what with its surprises and challenges. I was able to transform into dozens of animals quite easily, I had somehow produced a corporeal Patronus, but I still wasn't any wiser about my father. I wanted to know who he was more than anything now. It wasn't until the following summer that I finally learnt who he was, something that turned my world upside-down.