All credit for Harry Potter and anything recognized goes to J. K. Rowling. I'm nothing.
Thanks to my reviewers! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
"Moony! Wake up! We've gotta go to Hogwarts!" I sang, skipping into Remus' bedroom on Christmas morning. Dumbledore had said it would be fine to visit Harry on Christmas and we were invited to stay for the Hogwarts Christmas dinner.
"Five more minutes," he groaned into his pillow. I tore off his covers and he just buried his head deeper into his pillow. "Go away," he muttered, his voice muffled by the pillow. Shaking my head, I flicked my wand and snow began falling from the ceiling onto Remus' bed. "Keena!" he shouted when he finally deduced what was going on.
"It's Christmas Moony! We're supposed to go and see Harry!"
"But Harry is probably still sleeping," he accused, glaring at me and pointing to the clock on his bedside table which read eleven thirty.
"All the more reason for us to hurry," I stated, throwing up a small shield as a purple blast was sent my way. "Tsk tsk, must I take back all of your presents, Remmy?" the nickname earned me another blast but this time I fired back and Remus found himself looking very much like a snow man. A mistake on my part because next thing I knew a mountain of snow was racing towards me.
We arrived at Hogwarts a little past one and in time for the Christmas dinner. We were greeted loudly by the Weasleys as well as Harry.
"Thanks for the watch, guys," Harry said, grinning and gesturing to the present.
"I charmed it so it's also water proof," Remus said.
"I told him we should make it flame retardant too, but he said no," I added sadly. Harry and Ron and the twins all laughed at the face I made and Remus rolled his eyes.
Dinner appeared on the tables and Dumbledore made a quick toast before we all dug in. The twins were soon in their own little world discussing topics that would make Molly ground them in advance. Remus and I were talking with Ron and Harry about how their first year at Hogwarts was now that it was half over.
"What else did you get for Christmas, Harry?" Remus asked.
"Well I got this cloak, but there was no note saying who it was from it just said it used to be my dad's and to use it well," Harry said, frowning a little. "Do you know who had it before he died?"
I looked over my shoulder to make sure that everyone was having a conversation with someone else before I leaned in closer. The others followed my lead.
"Dumbledore was the last person that I knew had it. He took it for some secret missions he went on, I think, he never really explained to us why he had it really," I answered. "But you had better keep that between the two of you, we wouldn't want people thinking the headmaster was giving you special treatment," I winked and Harry nodded.
"I remember that cloak, we got into a lot of trouble with it," Remus said, gazing off in memory land.
"I remember the trouble we got into without it," I laughed.
The months passed and I remained on paid leave. At least I was still being paid but it didn't help that I had very little to do all day long. I thought about getting a pet but Remus reminded me I only had another year to wait until I was back in my own time.
I kept in contact with Lily and James and they said that they were doing well in their research but there was something in the forest and they didn't feel very confident about leaving their cabin too much. I also received a letter from Hogwarts informing me that Harry had received a detention and would be going into the forest to serve it. I hesitated about whether or not I should tell Dumbledore not to allow the detention and to have them serve lines instead but I remembered entering the forest and decided it was best to keep what was to happen to myself.
I also got a letter from Harry telling me what he had been doing to deserve the detention. I wrote back telling him that I wasn't mad at him but he should be more careful not to forget the cloak. Remus got his two cents in by telling Harry that he shouldn't have been out in the middle of the night in the first place (not that either of us could really talk). He did, however, commend Harry for his loyalty to helping Hagrid with the dragon situation. I was amazed that Lily didn't try to send me a howler after I told her and James about it, actually. She had not been happy to find out what the detention was for.
The night after the detention I got another letter from the school telling me what had happened in the forest. Apparently Harry had been saved by a stag and then carried out of the forest by a centaur.
"He was saved by a stag?" Remus asked, putting the letter down and staring at me. He had read the letter first because I had said I knew what it was about. "Why would a stag save Harry?"
"I don't know," I said, shrugging. "Maybe it was just another centaur and Harry was seeing things,"
"No, it was according to the centaur that a stag had led him to Harry. How many animals want to help a wizard?"
"Any that are from a story book?" I tried.
"You know, I haven't said anything, but you've been getting and mailing a lot of letters lately. Who are they all from?"
"I don't know, just random people I guess," my voice faded out to nothing as Remus began giving me The Look.
"Keena, what is it you're not telling me?"
I took a big breath and headed for the living room and sat down, Remus followed in suit.
"Swear you won't get mad first, okay?" I said looking at him seriously. He nodded, though his eyes were fixed on mine. "Desino Letum does work. I was in the house when Voldemort came calling. He killed James first and then he came upstairs to where I was trying to get Lily to leave with Harry. There were barriers and we were stuck. Voldemort saw me and said something about Dementors being able to perform Legilimens before binding me with ropes. Then he turned to Lily and killed her too and the rest…well that's history. After the house fell I got up and uncovered Harry and laid him on a blanket. I then went and found Lily and James in the rubble. I brought James back first and then he brought Lily back." I paused so that Remus had a second to digest all of what I had just told him.
"So you were there in the house?"
"Yes," I said nodding. I had never told anyone that I had witnessed the murders, it hadn't seemed important.
"But I saw them. At their wake, they were dead,"
"No, James and I transfigured two beams to look and feel like Lily and James so that everyone would think they were dead. They wanted to keep Harry safe, that's why they left. They knew he could grow up thinking he was normal in the muggle world and that he'd be safest away from any sort of publicity. They didn't want him to come into hiding with them because they didn't know where they were going to go or how they would provide for themselves, much less a growing boy,"
"But they've settled now? Why can't they come back?"
"They've been looking for why Voldemort didn't die. I've only seen them a couple of times. Once to become their secret keeper and the second was so they could tell me about their suspicions for Voldemort's survival."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"At first it was because we didn't know if there would be any after effects from the spell. I thought they were dead for a really long time because they hadn't contacted me. It was just easier to keep it to three people," I said. "But we decided long ago that if anyone ever figured it out we would let them know they were right."
"So that was James who saved Harry? Do they live in the forest?"
"Yeah, they live really far in away from the castle," I said. "I'm sorry, Moony; they seemed so out of options,"
We stayed quiet for a few minutes while Remus took in all of the information.
"Does Harry know?" he asked, finally.
"No," I replied in a near whisper. "They want to destroy what they can of Voldemort before they go back to Harry. They don't want to risk losing everything twice,"
"They didn't have to lose it the first time," he answered in monotone. "Something could have been arranged."
"There was nothing we could have done, Remus. That doesn't make anything feel better but I did look for other options,"
"Can we go see them?" he asked, somewhat desperately.
"If you want, I'll write to them and tell them we're coming to see them,"
He nodded, though he still seemed to be in a state of shock, not that I blamed him.
"Maybe you should just sit here for a little bit, I'll get you a calming drought," he nodded slowly and I walked into the kitchen. Along with the potion I brought out some parchment and a quill so that I could write a letter telling Lily and James they should expect us soon. When I reentered the living room it was to find Remus covering his face with both hands. He heard me come in and he quickly sobered up, as though trying to hide his emotions away.
"Thanks," he said when I handed him the calming draught. He drank it in small sips, deep in his thoughts. "So was it their idea to get Harry a watch for Christmas?"
"Yes, James asked me if I would—his father did the same for him when he got into Hogwarts," I answered.
"To think they've been alive all this time…It's just so…shocking."
"It's a lot to swallow—we helped them cheat death,"
"And now they're trying to figure out how Voldemort did it? But how do they even know where to look and how do they look?" His logical thinking meant that the potion was working.
"You mean how do they keep themselves hidden? Charms and transfiguration spells is what they told me. I suppose they look in libraries but I don't know of any that helped explain Voldemort's obsession," I admitted. "Although, they seem to think that they're close to figuring out how to destroy him."
"But how did he survive?"
"He used Horcruxes,"
"In the plural?" Remus asked, perplexed. "Isn't that dangerous to his soul?"
"Very," I nodded. "Though that probably makes the job of destroying them a little bit easier," I added as an afterthought.
"Perhaps I could do some research at the bookshop," he said, rubbing his chin with his left hand while his right scratched his head.
Lily and James wrote back telling us not to come until the term ended. The 'creature' in the forest had not left after Prongs had scared it away and they had found an almost fatally wounded unicorn right outside of their cabin just a week after the scare. They also asked me to make certain that Harry would not be entering the forest again anytime soon. I wrote back agreeing and telling them that Remus had found some books he thought might be useful and he bought them as an anonymous customer and promised to bring them when we visited. He probably figured (as did I) that the quicker the Horcruxes were destroyed the quicker Lily and James would be able to reunite themselves with Harry and the Wizarding World.
It was late June now and I had just come home from taking a walk and I found myself being pulled inside by a frantic Remus. Without saying a word he tossed me my cloak and headed for the floo. Looking at the coffee table, I noticed a letter with the Hogwarts seal embedded on the envelope.
"Remus, don't have a heart attack," I said as he thrusted the floo powder at me, still not having said a word. "Harry will be fine, remember? You saw him when he was a fifth year," Though he still didn't reply I could tell my reminder had made him feel a bit easier.
"Dumbledore's office, now," he said in a low voice.
I didn't argue and went through the fireplace first, moving out of the way quickly so that Remus didn't squish me. He dusted himself off and pointed to a chair which I immediately took a seat in.
"Keena, Remus, nice of you to join us," Dumbledore said pleasantly from behind his desk. McGonagall was standing next to Remus' chair. "Judging by his reaction, I take it you forgot to inform Mr. Lupin of what would be occurring at the end of Harry's first year?" he smiled pleasantly and Remus supplied me with a withering look.
"It sort of…slipped my mind? But even if it hadn't what would you have wanted me to say? 'Oh, Moony, by the way, Harry is going to go down into a secret passage and nearly kill himself for the sake of a stone against Voldemort and a possessed Quirrell'?"
"A little bit of warning would have been nice," Remus admitted.
"It would have been nice on our part as well," McGonagall added, stiffly. "Do you even comprehend the shock we were all in? We all thought that Harry was done for!"
"You honestly think I would allow that? Especially after all that has happened to him?" I asked her, seriously. All three of them looked away to avoid answering. "Is he awake?"
"No, that is why we needed to have you both come immediately," Dumbledore stated. "He has been unconscious since yesterday when I retrieved him and Poppy is unsure as to when he will wake up,"
"It shouldn't be terribly long; he'll be up in time to get dismissed by Poppy's standards to go to the feast. Well, you sort of had to convince her if I remember correctly," I said. "Could I stay with him until he wakes up, though? I wouldn't be much of a godmother if I didn't at least stay,"
"I still think you should have prevented it," McGonagall muttered and Remus nodded his head.
"This was already a part of my history and I can't use my knowledge like that, especially when nobody's death is involved. That was the agreement I made with the headmaster," I said, nodding towards Dumbledore how nodded his head in confirmation of what I had said.
McGonagall let out an impatient huff before excusing herself saying she needed to grade papers. Dumbledore led Remus and I to the all too familiar Hospital Wing. The doors were crowded around by a number of students holding cards and boxes of candy.
"Headmaster, good, would you please tell all of these children to leave the hospital immediately? They may be interfering with my patients' recovery!" Madame Pomfrey said flustered.
Without saying anything, Dumbledore gave the students a look and they all scurried away as though they feared being punished so close to the end of the year. After the last of the students had departed, we entered the wing to find a couple of the beds in use. Ron and Harry were at the other end of the wing, Ron was staring at the ceiling and Harry was still out.
"Professor! Finally, can you please tell Madame Pomfrey that I'm well enough to leave now?" Ron practically begged. He had a couple of minor scratches along one side of his face and his wrist was wrapped to make sure the magic held.
"How long have you been awake for?" I asked before Dumbledore could answer.
"I woke up yesterday! I don't know what the big deal is, it's not like I'm…" he looked over at Harry's unmoving body.
"He'll be fine, Ron, don't worry," the three of us turned around to see Hermione and myself (Kailey) coming into the wing. I felt myself give a little gasp at seeing 'Kailey'. It was like an out of body experience. Unconsciously, I moved myself a little closer to Remus to avoid 'Kailey' seeing me.
Remus snorted, bringing everybody's attention to him. "Great minds think alike I suppose," he said quietly. I glared at him.
"Honestly, you make it sound as if I don't worry at all!" I accused. "If it were anything life threatening we'd be in St. Mungo's!" he shrugged off my point and I folded my arms.
"Poppy, does Mr. Weasley have any real reason to stay any longer?" Dumbledore asked before our conversation could continue. "He looks fine to me; however, I am not a qualified healer,"
Madame Pomfrey huffed and folded her own arms. "I suppose I could let him leave. But no more of this hero business! I have never had a batch of first years visit me so much in one year," she rambled on as she flicked her wand, dressing Ron in his school uniform. "Now, no more visitors, all of you out! Mr. Potter will need to rest when he awakens in any case,"
I watched as Hermione, Ron and 'Kailey' scurried out of the wing without argument. They would be back later, I could tell by their looks of determination—not to mention the fact that I remembered our plan to sneak out with Harry's cloak.
I shook my head and turned my attention back to Madame Pomfrey.
"How long will he be in here for?" I asked.
"As long as I determine," she answered. "He will not be allowed out for a few days after he wakes up," she added.
"And when do you expect that to be?" Remus asked.
"Maybe another day or so, but I have never seen a child have to go through something like this. He is magically exhausted, although I would not inform him of that, it might give him cause for worry."
"So, you're thinking about two days?" I asked for clarification. She nodded her head before heading to her office. I sighed and took a seat next to Harry's bed.
"I shall leave you two to your privacy," Dumbledore said before leaving the wing.
I rubbed my head with both hands before looking at Remus who had taken a seat on Harry's other side. "What are you going to tell them?" Remus asked.
"I don't know," I said simply. "Anything I say will most likely make them both want to throttle me—not that I'm saying I blame them," I added before Remus could say he would have agreed.
"I'm not so sure."
"Not so sure of what?" I asked surprised.
"I think that the trust they have in you is strong enough to keep them from killing you, but I wouldn't rule out an attempted hex or two," he said with a smile which I returned.
"Shall we spend the night?" I asked, hoping he would say yes.
"If you want to," he replied shrugging. "I'll give my boss notice," he said, getting up to go write a letter to the book store he worked at.
"Will you explain to Lily and James as well?" I asked before he got too far. He nodded and headed out of the wing. I sighed again and turned to face Harry's sleeping face. "Harry, you are far too much like your father," I muttered. Seeing Harry lying on that hospital bed reminded me of the night Mrs. Potter had died. James had had to rest to recover from the shock and from the inferi wounds. It was unnerving to see Harry unmoving.
Remus came back and we talked for a little while before we each fell silent. Around five Dumbledore invited us to join everybody in the Great Hall for dinner. We declined the invitation and ate in the Hospital Wing.
Later that night I was startled by a noise. Immediately I took my wand out and stood up. I looked over at Remus who was also standing in the defensive position on the other side of Harry's bed. Before either of us could say anything there was another loud bang as a candlestick came smashing to the ground. I sent a jinx towards where the candle had fallen. I heard a yelp and then saw as Ron fell out of nowhere.
"Ron? What are you doing here?" Remus asked as I rushed over to help him up and perform the counter curse.
"Come out of the cloak, you two," I said, working hard to hide my smile. Sure enough, Hermione and 'Kailey' stepped out from underneath the cloak and Hermione put it in her pocket.
"We just wanted to come and see Harry, sir," Hermione answered Remus. "We're worried,"
"Relax, we're not teachers," I said.
"But you three really shouldn't be out of bed," Remus added when I failed to reprimand them. I felt I would be too much of a hypocrite for admonishing myself—present, past or future.
"Yes, sir," the threesome chorused.
"You can come and visit him when he wakes up, okay?" I promised.
"Alright, Keena," Ron said and the three of them headed back towards the door.
"Don't forget the cloak," Remus said just as they were about to exit the wing. Hermione blushed as she took it out of her pocket and threw it over the three of them. I watched the door open and close on its own accord before sitting back down in the chair I had fallen asleep in.
The next afternoon Dumbledore came to visit. Ten minutes after his arrival we heard a soft moan come from Harry. The three of us fell silent and turned to face Harry.
"Professor, Keena, Remus? Is that you?" he asked, his voice cracking a little because he hadn't used it in so long. I handed Harry his glasses then pulled him into a hug.
"You gave us all quite a scare, even if some of us won't admit it," Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling.
"How long was I out for?" Harry asked, confused. "What happened to Quirrell? What about Voldemort! Oh no, what about Ron and Hermione and Kailey?" he panicked more and more with each name.
"Your friends are fine," Dumbledore said, holding up a hand. "You must relax or Madame Pomfrey will kick us out," he warned.
"Please, she couldn't keep me in here, how on earth do you expect her to kick me out?" I asked, rolling my eyes.
"As for Quirrell, he was unable to survive without Voldemort inside of him. There was nothing anybody could do," Dumbledore stated. "Voldemort's soul (for that is what I have decided it was) has disappeared once more."
"Sir, why couldn't he touch me?" Harry asked immediately. "Does it have anything to do with why he died?"
"Harry, Quirrell's body would have failed him in about a month. It wasn't him that couldn't bear to touch you, it was Voldemort." Remus said firmly. "Anything that happened to Quirrell as a result was Voldemort's fault and his alone. Do you understand?"
Harry nodded silently.
"Voldemort couldn't touch you because of the protection your mother gave you when she died," Dumbledore added. "She loved you enough that her sacrifice left you with a mark of love that flows through your veins,"
"So that's why I have to live with the Dursleys? Because Aunt Petunia is a blood relative?" Harry guessed.
"Precisely," Dumbledore nodded, sounding pleased that Harry had figured it out. "This protection must be refueled annually or else it would most likely fail,"
"Why did Voldemort choose me, sir?" Harry asked. "What happened that made him want to come after me so badly that he killed both of my parents to get to me?"
"That, my dear Harry, is a question I will answer when you are older." I shot Dumbledore a look which he ignored and Harry didn't press the issue.
Remus and I stayed a little bit longer with Harry before we went home. Before we left, however, Harry made us promise that he could come and visit us at least once over the summer. I agreed in a heartbeat and we decided that we would just pick Harry up at a random date.
As soon as we arrived home an owl flew in the window. In its beak was a scarlet letter.
"KEENA MCINTOSH AND REMUS LUPIN!" Lily's voice shouted, causing the house to shake. Remus and I both quickly cast silencing charms around the house and kitchen before she could continue. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU LET THIS HAPPEN TO MY SON! I DON'T CARE IF YOU KNOW FOR A FACT THAT HE WILL BE ALRIGHT, I DO NOT WANT YOU TO WILLINGLY ALLOW HIM TO PULL A STUNT LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN! I EXPECT YOU BOTH TO GIVE HIM A STERN TALKING TO FROM ME!"
"Lily, calm down," James' voice interrupted the recording. "I'm sorry guys, I tried to reason with her but she just won't get past the fact that Harry met Voldemort. Remus, I suggest you work on your explanation skills—you said the whole thing kind of bluntly, mate,"
"Bluntly!" Lily shrieked back. "Of course it was blunt! They didn't have any idea what was going to happen!"
"Lily, you met him when he was fifteen, it's obvious he was going to survive--"
"He told you didn't he!" Lily's voice suddenly accused.
"Um…maybe?"
"JAMES NATHANIEL POTTER! HOW DARE YOU KEEP THIS FROM ME! WHAT ELSE DID OUR SON TELL YOU?"
"Sorry about the message guys, hope to see you soon if my wife doesn't kill me first!"
With that the message burst into orange flames before we could hear Lily's reply.
I looked at Remus in shock before we both burst out laughing.
"See? I'm not the only one with a calm opinion towards the whole thing," I said finally. "James seems to agree with me,"
"Well you both had the unfair advantage of knowing this was going to happen," Remus said fairly. "But, just to be safe, maybe you should tell them about your second year,"
"Yes, because I really want to get killed before I reach my own time," I said sarcastically.
"Merlin, what's happening next year?" he asked, a grin hinting on his face. I hesitated.
"Moony…do you remember when you asked me about a basilisk?" I asked carefully.
He didn't reply, but paled drastically before running to the potions cabinet. I watched as he chugged down a large vial of calming draught.
Okay, that's the end of this lengthy chapter! Well, it feels lengthy to me. I hope you enjoyed it! Please don't forget to review! Next up is chapter 26!
:-D