A Potter/Black Alliance
24th April 1994
Alex, Susan, Daphne, Tracey and Blaise made their way into the library to start studying for their end of year exams.
They found an empty table in the corner near the Restricted Section and sat down.
"This years History exam is going to be the death of me, I didn't get even half of what Binns was on about when he was talking about Goblin Rebellions" said Tracey.
Alex pulled a roll of parchment out of his bag and handed it to her.
"Here, take my notes, they've got everything you need to know about Goblin Rebellions" said Alex.
Tracey took them from him.
"Cheers" said Tracey.
"DADA's not that difficult this year at least, Professor Lupin told our class that we have to do some sort of obstacle course" said Daphne.
"He wasn't meant to tell us what it was, but I think he just wanted to give everyone a heads up, not surprised when you see some of the dunderheads in our class" said Blaise.
Alex chuckled.
"Dunderheads, very Snivellus like Blaise" said Alex.
Blaise smirked.
"Yeah well, its the best term for describing Weasel, Ferret and his two cronies" said Blaise.
Alex shrugged his shoulders.
"Point taken" said Alex.
"Anyone know what we have to do for the rest of our exams?" said Susan.
"Nearly all of them are written exams, we don't do practical exams for the core subjects until fifth year" said Daphne.
"Well, that seems easy enough" said Tracey.
"Your not worried about your exams already are you Trace?" said Alex.
Tracey glared at him.
"A little" muttered Tracey.
"Don't be, you've passed all your exams for the last two years" said Blaise.
Tracey sighed.
"Okay, I better get started then" said Tracey unrolling Alex's History notes and reading through them.
Susan pulled her Potions textbook out of her bag and opened it.
"You know, I'm surprised anyone manages to pass their Potions exams with Snape as a teacher, all he does is give a brief explanation about each potion then sets us to work, we always have to study them even further to even have a chance of passing our Potions exam" said Susan flipping through the pages.
"How on earth does that overgrown bat still have a job here, surely enough people must have complained to the Board Of Governors to get him sacked" said Alex.
"I'll give you two guesses but your only gonna need one" said Daphne.
"Dumbledore" groaned Susan.
"No surprises there, Albus everybody deserves a second chance and must be redeemed Dumbledore, Snape is foul enough to be a Death Eater and Dumbledore lets him work with children" said Tracey.
"Who's to say he isn't a Death Eater?" said Alex.
"No one ever connected him to the Death Eaters" said Susan.
"Maybe he's one of those who slipped through the cracks" said Daphne.
"Yeah maybe" said Alex.
They heard Madam Pince tell them to keep their voices down so they went back to studying.
8th May 1994
Harry, Joe and Katie walked out of Mcgonagall's classroom after finishing their Transfiguration exam.
"Thank Merlin, no more exams" said Joe in relief.
"Couldn't agree more" said Harry.
"Well, we've got nothing to do for the rest of the day, so what do we do now?" said Katie.
"Anyone up for going down to the lake, I could do with a bit of relaxation after all those exams?" said Harry.
"Sure why not" said Joe.
"I'm up for that" said Katie.
"Lets ask the others, Cho and Marietta should be getting out of their Herbology exam by now" said Harry.
"Lets get some food from the kitchens, then we'll find the others" said Katie.
The three walked down to the kitchens and got a basket full of food and drink from the House Elves before walking back up to the Great Hall to look for their friends.
They met up with Alex, Susan, Daphne, Astoria, Dorcas, Tracey and Blaise outside the Great Hall.
Harry spotted Cho, Cedric and Marietta sat down in the courtyard and made his way over to them.
A few minutes later the four of them walked back over to the others.
They walked down towards the shore of the lake coming to a halt under a large oak tree on a slight hill.
They sat down on the grass and Katie opened the basket pulling a sandwich out.
Susan leaned back into Alex's chest.
"So who's going to the Quidditch World Cup this summer?" said Susan.
"My Dad got our tickets last week" said Cedric who was sat next to Cho who smiled.
"I was slightly surprised when your Dad got me a ticket" said Cho looking up at him.
"Yeah well, he's excited about meeting you, and when I told him your parents wouldn't able to get tickets he said you could come with us" said Cedric.
"My Dad got offered a private box next to the Ministers box, he's not entirely sure why he got offered it though" said Alex.
"Fudge wants to get in his good graces probably, he holds the Black seat, and he's regent for my seats until I'm 17, that makes him one of the most powerful members of the Wizengamot" said Harry.
"Why now though, Fudge has been using the gold and support of Lucius Malfoy for years, why would he suddenly want Dad's support?" said Dorcas.
"No idea, but I doubt its good" said Alex.
"Anyway, any of you going to the World Cup?" said Cho looking at where Daphne, Astoria, Tracey and Blaise were sat.
"Yeah, Mum and Dad got us a private box, Tracey and Blaise are coming with us as well" said Daphne.
"Great, its gonna be a good final, Bulgaria vs Ireland, quite hard to pick a winner to be honest" said Cedric.
Harry nodded.
"Yeah, and Sirius told me that they've spent the best part of a month finding a suitable location and preparing the stadium for the final" said Harry.
"How did he know about that, I thought he worked in the DMLE" said Marietta looking at Harry.
"Fudge ordered some Auror's to provide security on site, no idea why though, what trouble are they going to run into while setting up the stadium for the Final" said Harry.
Marietta formed an O with her mouth in understanding.
"I heard that some of the foreign Minister's are attending the Final as well, the Irish and Bulgarian Ministers are coming, along with the French and German Ministers" said Astoria.
"Probably, maybe even more as well, the Final is one of the biggest events in the wizard world, people from all over the world will be attending" said Joe.
"Your parents not attending?" said Cedric.
Joe shook his head.
"No, they don't attend big events like this, they've always been very private people, so me and Katie are going with Harry" said Joe.
Cedric nodded.
"Professor Lupin's bringing his family, they've been invited to sit with the German Minister" said Alex.
"Wow, how come?" said Cho.
"He and his family live in Germany, its where his wife invented the Wolfsbane Potion, and that new pregnancy potion that was released a few weeks ago, the one that allows you to choose whether you have a boy or a girl" said Alex.
"Wow, so she's a big thing in Magical Germany" said Marietta.
"Yeah, though the Wolfsbane Potion never reached Magical Britain it was a success all over Europe, and they're already saying that this new pregnancy potion is expected to be a hit worldwide" said Dorcas.
"Wow, no wonder she's been invited to sit with the German Minister" said Marietta.
"Yeah, she told me the German Minister takes a great deal of pride in her work" said Harry.
They spent the rest of the afternoon down by the lake eating their picnic before heading back up to the castle.
15th May 1994
Alex, Susan and Dorcas were sat at the Gryffindor table with Harry, Joe and Katie when the morning owls arrived delivering the morning edition of the Daily Prophet.
Harry unrolled his and growled at the article on the front page as other students gasped upon seeing the article on the front page.
"What is it?" said Dorcas as people started looking at the Staff Table with fear and disbelief in their eyes.
Harry reluctantly handed the newspaper to her and she gasped.
WEREWOLF TEACHING AT HOGWARTS
By Rita Skeeter
Dear readers it is my displeasure to inform you that Albus Dumbledore has been allowing a full Werewolf to teach at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry since last September.
Remus John Lupin age 36, who holds the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts is in fact a Full Werewolf and has been since he was bitten by known criminal and Werewolf Fenrir Greyback when he was 6 years old.
Myself and many others have questioned Albus Dumbledore's teaching appointments for DADA over the last two years beginning with the appointment of suspected fraud Gilderoy Lockheart in September 1992 as well as refusing to hire Mr Lockheart's temporary replacement, Auror John Dawlish (40) on a permanent basis. It was after this that Professor Dumbledore hired Mr Lupin for the same position knowing full well of his status as a dark creature.
Knowing all of this I ask you my rabid readers. Do you feel safe allowing your children to be taught by a Werewolf who could attack your children in the blink of an eye.
Dorcas threw the paper down on the table where Katie picked it up and gasped.
Remus had obviously read the paper since he had gone slightly pale.
He stood up and walked over to Dumbledore. He leaned down and whispered something in his ear before walking out of the Great Hall as mutters and whispers were aimed his way.
Unfortunately one particular student chose to voice his opinion rather loudly.
"I can't believe it, we could've been bitten at any point this year" said Ron dumbly.
"Ron, you shouldn't be so quick to judge him, he's been a great teacher, so what if he's a Werewolf" said Hermione.
"So what, Hermione he's a Werewolf, he's a dark creature, that means he's evil" said Ron.
Dorcas snarled and stood up making her way over to stand behind Ron.
"Weasel" snarled Dorcas.
Ron turned around and fixed her with a harsh look.
"What do you want?" said Ron annoyed.
Dorcas punched him in the right eye knocking him onto the table.
"That's for insulting my Godfather you prat, who is a better man than you could ever hope to be" snarled Dorcas before turning around and quickly walking out of the hall as Neville tried to help Ron.
Alex moved to stand up but Harry stopped him.
"Stay here, I'll go to her" said Harry.
Alex nodded before Harry stood up and walked out of the Great Hall.
He ran towards the DADA classroom catching up with her just outside the room.
"Hey, you okay" said Harry softly.
"No… its just not fair, Remus is a great teacher and great man, he didn't deserve to be outed like that" said Dorcas sadly.
Harry wrapped his arms around her pulling her to his chest.
"I know, its not fair, and I've got a pretty good idea who leaked that story to Skeeter" said Harry.
"Snape" snarled Dorcas.
"Yeah, come on, lets go and see Remus" said Harry.
Dorcas nodded.
"Okay" said Dorcas sadly.
Harry led her over to the door and knocked on the door.
A few seconds later the door opened a crack.
Remus looked at them and opened the door.
"Come in" said Remus.
The two walked inside where he led them up to his office.
When they got inside they saw an open trunk with clothes levitating themselves into the trunk.
"Your leaving then" said Dorcas sadly.
Remus nodded.
"Yes, this time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving, people won't want their children being taught by me" said Remus in resignation.
"But its not fair" said Dorcas.
Remus smiled at her.
"I know, but what's done is done, there's nothing I can do about it" said Remus.
Dorcas was trying to hold back her tears.
She detached herself from Harry and wrapped her arms around Remus.
"But what about us, your just going back to Germany, you came back into our lives and now your leaving again" said Dorcas.
Remus wrapped his arms around her.
"Sweetheart, I'm not leaving forever, I was planning to surprise you but me and Natalya have been discussing moving to Britain, she's planning to sell her shop over the summer and set up a new shop over here, we both want to be near you guys, James does as well" said Remus.
Dorcas looked up at him.
"Your, your moving back here, so I'll be able to see you more often" said Dorcas.
"Yes, we've been thinking about it for a few months now" said Remus as the last of his clothes landed in the trunk.
He detached himself from Dorcas and closed his trunk before placing it on the floor.
Remus turned to Harry and wrapped him in a one armed hug.
"You've grown up so much from the little 2 year old I used to hold in one hand, you really have the best of both your parents in you Harry" said Remus.
Harry smiled.
"Thanks Remus" said Harry.
Remus smiled and let go of him as Dumbledore appeared in the doorway followed by Alex, Susan, Joe, Katie, Daphne, Astoria, Tracey and Blaise.
"Your carriage is waiting in the courtyard Remus" said Dumbledore.
"Thank you Albus" said Remus taking hold of the handle on his trunk.
He bid one last farewell to two and the others before walking past Dumbledore down the stairs.
Harry turned to Dumbledore.
"So Professor, what are you going to do about Snape?" said Harry.
"Professor Snape Harry, and I'm not quite sure I know what you are on about" said Dumbledore in his grandfather voice.
Harry scoffed.
"Don't pretend you don't know, it was obvious that Snape was the one who told Skeeter about Remus" said Harry.
"Professor Snape did nothing of the sort, so I advise you drop these childish accusations" said Dumbledore before turning around and leaving.
Harry and Dorcas walked over to Alex and the others who were looking displeased and slightly angry at Dumbledore who left the room.
"Senile old fool" muttered Dorcas.
Alex wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"Come on, lets go" said Alex.
They left the room and walked back down towards the Great Hall.
Harry noticed Marietta sat in the courtyard writing a letter on one of the benches.
He said goodbye to the others and made his way over to her.
She turned to face him and gave him a quick kiss as he sat down next to her.
"Can you believe that?" said Marietta haughtily.
"Believe what?" said Harry.
"You know, believe that Professor Lupin is a Werewolf, that Dumbledore allowed a Werewolf to teach children" said Marietta.
"So" said Harry.
"What do you mean so, he's a Werewolf, he shouldn't be allowed around children" said Marietta.
Harry looked slightly shocked.
"What is your problem Marietta?" said Harry slightly angrily.
"My problem, can't you see it, why should a Werewolf be allowed to teach children, our laws prohibit them from getting jobs, if you had kids would you want him teaching them?" said Marietta.
"Yes I would" said Harry angrily.
Marietta looked at him in disbelief.
"You knew didn't you, you knew he was a Werewolf" said Marietta.
"Of course I knew, I've known for years, and its never bothered me, you just found out he is a Werewolf and your acting like its the end of the world" said Harry.
"Can you blame me, he's a Werewolf, Werewolves are dark creatures" said Marietta.
Harry stood up.
"Where are you going?" said Marietta in slight shock.
"Away from you, go spread that bigoted shit somewhere else Marietta" snarled Harry.
Marietta just looked shocked as Harry stormed back inside the castle.
He walked back up to Gryffindor Tower dropping himself onto a chair next to Joe and Katie.
"What happened to you?" said Joe.
"Bloody Marietta" said Harry.
Joe and Katie looked between them.
"What about her?" said Katie.
Harry told them about his and Marietta's conversation which shocked the pair of them.
21st May 1994
Harry, Joe and Katie were sat in a compartment with the Weasley Twins and Lee playing a few games of exploding snap.
Suddenly a knock on the compartment door caught their attention.
Marietta was stood outside the door trying to make eye contact with Harry. She had a remorseful look on her face.
Harry sighed and stood up opening the door.
"Can we talk… in private?" said Marietta.
Harry thought about it for a few moments before nodding.
"Okay" said Harry.
He turned to look at the others.
"I'll be back in a bit" said Harry.
He walked out of the compartment shutting the door.
The two stood opposite each other just next to the compartment door.
"Okay, what do you want to talk about?" said Harry.
Marietta looked at her feet before looking back at him.
"Harry… I'm sorry for what I said the other day, I was out of line" said Marietta.
Harry locked eyes with her.
"Yes you were, why would you say things like that though, Professor Lupin was a great teacher, and a good man" said Harry.
"Harry, I don't have anything against him, its just I've had that bigoted stuff forced down my throat by my parents for years, I was just thinking of what they would say when I was talking to you" said Marietta regretfully.
"So why did you say it then?" said Harry.
"Harry, I've heard that stuff since I was very young, but I don't want to believe it, I just find it hard to ignore all of it having heard it for so long" said Marietta.
"So when you said all that stuff, you didn't mean any of it, you were just repeating what your parents told you?" said Harry sceptically.
Marietta nodded.
"Yes, Harry believe me, I didn't mean any of it, I'm sorry… and I miss you, I miss us" said Marietta sadly taking his hand.
Harry looked at her and smiled slightly.
"I know, I miss you too, but if we're going to be together, then this bigoted shit stops right now, understand" said Harry.
Marietta nodded.
"Okay" said Marietta.
Harry smiled.
"But I think we should take a step back, start off slow, what you did really shook my trust in you, so lets just start from the beginning again, okay" said Harry.
Marietta looked shocked but nodded.
"I guess I can understand your reasons, I gave you enough of them, so yeah, I think it would be best if we started again" said Marietta.
She leaned up and kissed him.
"I'll see you later okay" said Marietta.
She turned to walk back to her compartment.
"Hold up" said Harry.
She turned back to him.
"I will be meeting Professor Lupin on the platform, you owe him an apology as well" said Harry.
"Okay" said Marietta.
She turned and walked back to her compartment.
Harry walked back inside the compartment.
"You two got back together?" said Katie sounding surprised.
"Yeah, she explained a few things and we've agreed to start over" said Harry.
"Explained things" said Joe.
"Yeah" said Harry sitting down.
They didn't question him about Marietta for the rest of the journey back to Kings Cross.
When they arrived Harry met Marietta on the platform where the two walked over to where Remus, Natalya and James were stood waiting for them with Sirius and Marlene.
Marietta walked over to Remus and looked at him.
"Professor Lupin, I'm sorry, I said some horrible things about you on the day you left" said Marietta.
Remus looked slightly confused.
"Apology accepted" said Remus sceptically.
Marietta smiled and turned back to Harry.
"See you in a few weeks Harry" said Marietta.
She kissed him before walking back over to her parents who looked rather angry having witnessed her talking to Remus.
Alex looked at him.
"When did you two get back together?" said Alex in disbelief.
"Earlier on, why?" said Harry.
"Why would you get back with her, after what she said about Remus" said Alex.
"She apologised, and explained herself, so we decided to give it another go" said Harry.
"Just like that" said Alex.
"Yeah, just like that" said Harry sounding frustrated.
"Boys, cut it out" said Marlene.
"Fine" said Alex.
Harry nodded.
"Lets go" said Harry pushing his trolley towards the exit.
They followed Harry off of the platform and back through the barrier.
They all returned to Grimmauld Place where they threw a small going away party for the Lupins who were leaving the next day.
"We would stay longer but I've got the summer rush to prepare for, got dozens of orders to complete in the next few weeks" said Natalya as she led James into the fireplace.
The three were flooing to the Ministry so they could take an international portkey back to Germany.
"We'll be back a few days before the World Cup, the summer rush should be over by then" said Remus.
The three said goodbye to them before flooing to the Ministry.