The Serpens Order

Chapter 26

That Boy Is a Monster

…...

Alexis stopped abruptly on her way down to the great hall, a yellow sheet on the note board outside had caught her attention. Suddenly she almost fell over as someone walked into her.

"Ouch, Alex watch where you're going" Remus rubbed his shoulder.

"Girl" Sirius rolled his eyes, wording the exact thoughts of Alexis. The two of them chaired a smile. She and Sirius had developed a mutual understanding this last months because of their similarity, and of course, they where actually family. Only he didn't know that.

"Sirius when you say it like that it actually hurts" Remus retorted in a faked a hurt face, making James snort loudly. Alexis grin grew even wider, she didn't know how she would survive without her new friends. Since the night when they "saved her"(not that she needed it) she'd grown closer and closer to the group, except for Peter, he was still ew.

"Why did you stop anyway?" Remus asked, as she'd walked over to the note board, and trailed her finger along the sheet.

"Quidditch tryouts?" James asked with a raised eyebrow, and she nodded solemnly.

"I think I'm going to try out, I've missed it a lot, makes me feel like home" She smiled to herself, she did everything she could to feel at home. The marauders helped, the school helped, James (from this time) could sometimes make it worse by reminding her of her James. Oh, she'd just referred to James as her James. But quidditch, it would probably help, Dumbledore said he wasn't done fixing the time turner yet, even it had been more then two months. And she missed her own time desperately.

"I didn't know that!" Remus exclaimed with a surprised face, as James and Sirius both made girlish squeals of delight. She looked at the two best friends with amusement, they where both on the team already. James as a seeker( well duh, Potter men) and Sirius as a beater. Does it seem familiar somehow?

"That's awesome, are you good, whish position do you play?" James had pushed past Remus who glared at his friend, and grabbed her shoulders enthusiastically. Alexis chuckled softly as she caught a sight of Lily flashing past them, sending a glare towards James… or was it meant for her?

"I'm playing chaser, and yes I like to consider myself okay"

"Great, prove it at tryouts, having you on the team would be awesome!" Sirius slung his arm around James, and the two of them went into the great hall, Alexis saw a few Hufflepuff girls swooning as Sirius flashed them a charming smile. Remus narrowed his eyes from beside her, looking rather sour. She nudged him in the ribs with her elbow.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing" He turned away with a controlled look, and she sighed loudly. Teddy had obviously gotten his stubborn side from his father.

"I can tell that you're lying" Because she did it regularly herself. He did actually turn back, and a faint smiled played on his lips. Alexis always found it surprising that Remus was a marauder, he was completely different from James and Sirius, and Peter did everything that they did. But Remus, he was bookish, cute, tawny and kind.

"It's just… I feel that the more I get to know you, the more you have things in common with James and Sirius…"

"And?" She encouraged wonderingly.

"I don't want to loose you, you're one of the best things that happened since I met the guys" Remus blushed slightly, looking down at the floor and scratching the back of his head. She chuckled again at his innocent appearance and stood on her tiptoes trying to wrap her arm around his shoulders. But didn't manage since he was a head taller then her, so she settled it around his waist instead, and resolutely picked his arm up and put it around her shoulders.

"Remus, you're undoubtfully one of the nicest and most honest guys I've ever met" And your son can be proud over you, even if he doesn't know you, she thought. And a wave of guilt went over her, as it had regularly since she traveled back to 1977. She was here, with the parents and grandparents of her closest friends. What wouldn't they do to be in her place? But then, she had to endure her own relatives too…

"If you only knew… then you wouldn't say that" Remus mumbled darkly, and she ignored it. He thought she didn't know he was a werewolf, but she did. And she liked him anyway, too bad she couldn't tell him. But it would compromise her cover, and she couldn't afford to raise suspicions.

Together the two of them walked into the hall, sat down with James, Sirius and Peter (who reconciled as she glared at him) at the Gryffindor table.

"I miss cheeseballs" She suddenly declared to the group, and they gazed wonderingly back at her.

"What's that?" Remus asked.

"A kind of muggle snack, I haven't eaten them since…" She trailed off as she remembered her stay at the beach house together with the Potter and Weasley last summer. When James had stolen her cheeseballs, when things was still good. What if she'd known then that she loved James, maybe they could have been together. But no, probably not, he wouldn't return her feelings and their families would stop them. A Malfoy and a Potter didn't get together, that was the rule. Not that she'd ever been one to follow the rules…

"Hurry up Alex, class is starting soon" Remus nudged her and she obediently stove a sandwich into her mouth in one bite. The marauders made disgusted faces as her cheeks bulged.

"What?" She asked innocently, still chewing. Wonder what her mother would say if she saw her right now, something about not being a proper lady probably. "You have too eat too play quidditch" She added with a defiant face.

"Then I'm glad Lily doesn't play quidditch" James smirked, and she snatched Remus potions book out of his hands, and threw it at James, hitting him squarely above his head.

"Ouch, you're messing up my hair!" He wailed as Sirius let his head sunk down on the table with a defeated sigh.

"I'm surrounded by girls"

…

Said and done, a few days later she was clutching one of the school-brooms at the pitch. And surprisingly enough, they where actually new! Guess this is the brooms that they still use back in her own time. Remus and Peter sat in the stands, and she waved to Remus, and pointedly ignored Peter. James and Sirius where fighting beside her, and she turned to see what the two of them where arguing about.

"I can't believe it Sirius! Lily is never going to talk to me ever again now" James looked like he was about to burst, and Alexis instantly felt sorry for him.

"What? I only had some fun with Snivellius, you've never had anything against that before mate"

"I don't, but not when Lily's around, it makes me look bad"

"Eh, he called her a mudblood, he doesn't deserve her compassion" Sirius waved it away and mounted his broom. James looked like he was torn between thinking like his best friend and trying to impress Lily.

"She'll come around man" Alexis patted his back lightly, and he shook his head, looking like a wet dog.

"I know, she just doesn't know she loves me yet. But now Mallory, ready to kick some ass?"

"You betcha!" Alexis was actually exited for real, she wasn't faking. She longed to be up in the air, and let the speed wash away all pressing thoughts and longings. Keeping it away was the only way to keep the nightmares away.

"Go get 'em" James gave her a scuff towards the captain, and she followed the rest of the students trying out. Most of them where younger, and she didn't really think they where any match for her. She'd made the team her first year, this was a walk in the park.

Turned out some of the kids where pretty good, but she still owned them all, the keeper didn't catch one of her quaffles. The beaters didn't manage to hit her with any bludgers. She'd missed being in the air, she disconnected herself from everything else and just flew, and it felt good. When her feet hit the ground again, she was instantly overthrown by two bodies.

"You where amazing!" James beamed.

"You owned the shit out of those brats!" Sirius shouted.

"I told you so!" She managed to giggle as she pushed them off her, and lay panting on the ground for a few seconds. When someone blocked the sun for her.

"Move along, you're blocking the sun" She told the figure, that was only a black shape against the sky. She heard James and Sirius groan beside her.

"I was only going to tell you that you made the team Mallory" The deep voice of Alan Wood, the captain rang out, and she twisted around immediately as the guys howled with laughter.

"I did?" She yelped, and shot up from the grass.

"Sure, you're a natural" He patted her on the shoulder and walked away, she stood astounded for a few seconds. Thinking that you would make the team and actually hearing it in words where two entirely different things.

"Congratulations" Remus had joined up with the group, and before she had the time to think she squealed girlishly and took a leap towards him. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he staggered back in surprise. Sirius let out a wolfwhistle and Remus glared at him over her shoulder, she would have done so too, but she didn't want to spoil her great mode. She slid out of Remus arms instead, and together the four of them made their way back to the castle. And for a short time, things didn't seem so bad after all.

After that the days passed by faster, with quidditch practice and a lot of homework. She'd done the math and knew that by now Hogwarts would have started back in her own time again. What would James and Fred say? Maybe they didn't even miss her… maybe they had forgotten her. She twisted and turned in her bed, the sheets felt warm and pressing. She glanced out the window, it was a clear night… maybe she should just get some fresh air? Yeah, that would help, she couldn't take the suffocating feeling in the room any longer. She slid out of the bed silently, careful not to wake up Perfect Prefect Lily, the redhead wouldn't approve of a good night stroll after hours.

She pulled on a pair of jeans under the oversized jersey she was sleeping in, since it was pretty cold outside now. She let her hair hang down her shoulders, it went all the way down to her waist now, since she didn't bother to cut it off. She stepped into her sneakers and then tiptoed over the room, and then closed the door behind her. She dashed through the common room and then sneaked through the cold and empty corridors. Aware to stay away from any teachers patrolling them, but she didn't even meet peeves. When she finally stepped out on the grounds, the blast of fresh air felt like a complete relief, and she thankfully let the wind play with the strands of her hair. She started strolling down the side of the lake, watching the water rippling from the wind. She didn't mind the cold, but she did mind the loneliness.

Knowing that all her friends and family where back at Hogwarts mad her jealous. She hadn't been home for long and still she gets herself sent away again. But it would all be worth it when she got the spell. But what if they all went on without her? She'd made it pretty clear to James she didn't like him that way. And what did she ever do for them, she only kept letting them down time after time.

She looked up at the cloud free sky, a large full moon where gazing back at her surrounded my millions and millions of stars. She imagined that there was a star for every lie she'd told. And a star for every time she'd let them down. And only one moon for her love. At least the sky didn't change with age.

A shadow in the corner of her eye made her turn around, she fiddled around for her wand, and realized with a gasp that she'd left it at the dorm. The shadow passed by again, followed by a loud growl. Realization hit her with the force of a bullet. Full moon, Remus had been looking sick. How could she have forgotten such an important thing?

She could distinctly make out the shape moving along the trees know, a large wolf, hunched slightly like a human. She shivered but knew she was safe. Teddy had told her that his father had been taking Wolfsbane when changing, so that he could stay in control.

The shadow was soon followed by two other shadows, only because she knew she could make out the stag and the large dog. They where hurtling down the forest, after the growling werewolf. That's when she noticed that something was wrong, she heard long wolfish calls, and the trashing off woods, and then the pained call of the stag. She slowly mad herself walk closer towards the wood, that now was pitch black and she couldn't see a thing, only hearing the sounds. It sounded like a violent fight, why where they fighting? Maybe they where just messing around?

Something leaped over her head, and she fell backwards in surprise, her arms trashing up against the ground. The werewolf started circling around her, yellow animalistic eyes blazing, and teeth chattering. His mouth where bloodied and she gasped at the deep cuts in his side.

"Remus, it's me, calm down" She tried to sooth the animal, but it only trashed from side to side, stepping closer. Seemed agitated by her voice. Something was terribly wrong, she didn't see even a part of the animal that was anything alike Remus. He would never do such a thing. She tried to crawl away, but the werewolf cut off her escape, snarling loudly. She felt her breath quickening up in fear, she'd never faced a situation like this without a wand. She'd never battled a werewolf, she'd been fighting with vampires. Wonder whish creature was the most dangerous? The cold awareness of the vampire or the savageness of an uncontrolled werewolf.

"Remus! Please, it's me, you don't want to do this!" She pleaded the animal, trying to slide away, but this time it attacked. She felt a sharp pain as it's teeth sunk down in her arm, and she cried out in pain.

The wolf staggered away at her scream that pierced through the otherwise silent night. And for a moment she thought she saw Remus brown eyes flicker, before it turned back to yellow again. She took the moment of slight hesitation and forced herself up on her feet again, clutching her arm tightly. If she just had a weapon.

"Remus, listen to me, if you hurt me you'll always regret it, I know you're in there somewhere" She looked back at the creature while backing away. For the second it seemed to be considering her. She suddenly realized it was playing with her, the way a cat plays with a mouse.

Her body was aching with pain streaming out from her trashed arm, she knew she was loosing a large amount of blood, and was beginning too feel a little dizzy. She made a run for it in desperation, and heard a loud roar of anger behind her as the wolf exploded with force. She closed her eyes, preparing herself for the blow…

It didn't come, instead a horrible clashing sound cut through the night, she cast a look over her shoulder, and saw that the wolf had been pushed aside in the jump, and a large black dog was panting beside it, limping. The two animals circled around each other, both growling and hurt. She stopped briefly and they both looked up at her, the werewolf growling angrily and the dog barking violently.

"Sirius-" She trailed off, as the dog nodded towards the castle, then the werewolf launched itself at Sirius, they both fell to the ground, fighting. Alexis made her decision before knowing it, and picked up a rock from the ground, and aimed.

The rock hit the wolf squarely in the back of his head, and it howled around in surprise rather then pain. Sirius took the chance to lash out, and another form emerged from the woods. Alexis saw the stag, it stood disoriented for a second looking between the fight and her, where she was throwing all the rocks she could find. The dog barked again, this time to the stag, and before she knew it, it was beside her. Pushing her towards the castle.

"James no!" She called at the wounded animal, that stopped dumbstruck for a second, before starting to shepherd her away even more violently. She gave up resisting when they almost reached the castle, and obediently climbed in.

"Be careful" She called after the stag, as it dashed back towards the fight. With her heart pounding heart she rushed towards the nearest window, trying to get a view of the fight. But it was only blurred shapes to her now. She was barely able to make out the shape of the stag turning into a human, and with a blazing spell the werewolf where knocked backwards. Alexis gasped involuntarily and clasped her bloody hands over her mouth in fear. Her whole body was trembling from fear and injuries, and blood was dripping from the large wounds on her arm. She crunched against the wall beside the window, steadying herself as her head begun to spin violently.

"Miss Mallory? Miss Mallory what are you doing out of bed? Go back immediately! 20 points from-" McGonagall gasped as she shone her wand upon the wounds of Alexis, who was too tired to even try to squirm away from the teacher who had appeared behind her. "- what have you done child? Get to the infirmary immediately!"

"Remus… werewolf… James…Sirius…help…attack" Was all she managed to get out, as McGonagall looked out the window.

"Oh dear Merlin, I knew Slughorn wasn't to trust with that potion-" Was the least words Alexis heard before she blacked out on the stone floor.

…

Alexis heard voices around her, and forced her eyes open. She was faced with the bright light of the sun in the light infirmary, three pair of heads where gazing down at her.

"How do you feel?" A rather young looking Madam Pomfrey asked.

"What happened?" McGonagall asked.

"I'm guessing you won't answer the last question" Albus Dumbledore stated behind his half moon spectacles. She nodded, to the first question and the last statement. Her arm felt strangely tight, and she looked over at it, the wounds where completely gone, replaced by skin a shade pinker then her own.

"I'm fine" She finally mumbled.

"Is she okay?" A voice called out over the room worriedly.

"She just said she was okay dumbass!" Sirius answered the worried voice of Remus.

"I did this to her you doofus, I can ask her how she feels as much as I want to!" Remus sounded angrier then she'd ever heard him before.

"You didn't ask me how I feel" The mocking tone of James came. Alexis leaned out of her bed, and peered around the robes of McGonagall. The three boys where perched in the opposite beds.

"Alexis I'm so sorry, I couldn't control it-" Remus started.

"I'm so going to kill Slughorn" Sirius groaned.

"How did you know?" James finally asked the question, and the other two boys went silent. So did the teachers.

"I uh…" She glanced at Dumbledore.

"I think you just put two and two together didn't you? Remus being sick, the full moon?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at her, and she nodded fiercely.

"Yeah, that's it. You guys aren't really that sneaky about it, with the nicknames and all" She tried to smirk, and almost managed. The three of them dropped their jaws, she was pretty sure James hit the floor. Alexis sent a thankful glance towards Dumbledore, who winked back at her. While McGonagall looked utterly confused but went away shaking her head. Pomfrey fussed some more but then declared that Alexis would be able to leave the infirmary the same night together with the boys. Then all the adults finally left, and she slid out of her bed, and tiptoed to the other side of the room, and sunk down on the end of Remus bed. He was looking at her arm with pain in his eyes, and she smacked his leg.

"Stop making a martyr of yourself, I was stupid for walking outside at the fullmoon"

"Hell yeah, you screwed up things completely" Sirius growled and she sent him a glare.

"Oh and you're welcome for saving your ass" He snorted, and she let her glare fade into a grin.

"Thank you for saving me Sirius"

"No problemo"

"It was Slughorn's fault, he was the one who screwed the potion up in the first place. If he hadn't none of this would have happened" James added.

"I should have could controlled it anyway" Remus clenched his jaw and James walked over to put a hand on his friends shoulder.

"There is nothing you could have done"

"I almost killed Alexis"

"I'm used to it" She had meant it to be sarcastic, but it came out serious and they gave her weird glances.

"But you could do one thing for me…" She trailed off, twinning a stray of her hair around her fingers intently, the boys waited patiently. "Learn me how to become an animagus"

…

James Pov:

James remembered how he had seen Alexis get off from the train, how he had caught a glance of her and her brother hugging their parents. His father had immediately gone to the ministry, and true enough, the Malfoy's where back, and Alexis engagement was off. He'd been so happy, and immediately sent her an owl, so did Fred, and Lily. But they didn't get an answer. After a week he'd started to worry, after a month he was beginning to grow crazy. His last hope had been put out when he'd looked through the entire Hogwarts express together with Fred and she wasn't there. They met up with the rest, Megan didn't know anything, neither did Shannon, Courtney, Aaron or Brian.

That's when anger started to grip him. She'd left, again, how could she do that? Wasn't everything good now, with her parents back and the engagement off? He couldn't concentrate on the food during the feast, only thinking about how it would have been if Alexis was there. How she would be jabbering away beside him, making it totally impossible to eat because she demanded an answer to every statement. But Alexis wasn't sitting beside him, a very sour looking Fred did. James glared over at the slytherin table, where he saw Malfoy, Montague, Zabini and Nott with their heads tight together at the end of the table and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He nudged Fred, and gestured towards the group, Fred followed his eyes and nodded solemnly.

"Time to get some answers"

They waited until the next day, and waited outside the slytherin entrance until the group came out together, stopping abruptly at the sight of the two serious looking Gryffindor's.

"What do you want Potter? Weasley?" Malfoy spat, but James didn't budge, he felt Fred crossing his arms beside him defiantly.

"We want to know where Alexis is" He said.

"If she doesn't want to hang out with you that only means she's finally come to her senses" Montague snorted, and the Zabini girl stepped on his foot rather harshly.

"We know your parents are back, and that the engagement is off. So why aren't she here? Or why hasn't she answered any of our owls this summer?" James prompted, and thought he saw the girl crumble behind her mask.

"If she cared she would have told you" Malfoy answered coldly, and the girl burst.

"Oh c'mon Score! They deserve to know, Alexis would have wanted it!"

"You don't have the right to decide that, I'm her brother-"

"And I'm her friend, and I know that she would want them to know!" She glared at her boyfriend and then turned towards a very surprised James and Fred. "I'll tell you if you promise not to ask further questions"

"We promise" Fred said immediately as James was about to protest, but he nodded too.

"Alexis went back in time with a time-turner to look for something"

"WHAT?" They both bellowed.

"Alexis went back in time to-"

"We heard you the first time! Why would she do that?" Fred exclaimed, looking quite crazy.

"We tried to stop her, but she was too fast, if she hadn't been a Gryffindor then maybe she'd stopped to think before-" Malfoy clenched his jaw tightly, glaring at them as if it was their fault that Alexis had acted without thinking.

"When did this happen?" James asked tensely instead, cutting Alexis brother off.

"The day we came home from the Hogwarts express" The girl answered, as she put an arm around Malfoy, seemingly to calm him down.

"What was she looking for?"

"I told you not to ask questions, I told you what you wanted to know. Now leave us alone" Zabini grasped her boyfriends arm, and Montague and Nott followed the pair into the great hall. James and Fred stood rooted at the spot.

"I didn't see that one coming" Fred mumbled in shock.

"Me neither mate"

"At least now we know…"

"Fred, something is wrong with Alexis, I just can't figure it out!"

"If she doesn't want us to, we probably never will"

James looked down at the floor, as much as he wanted to deny Fred's words, he knew that his best mate was right. They had only discovered a fraction of everything Alexis had been hiding from them. And those small fractions only raised new questions.

What the hell was going on here?

Yay, I finally feel happy to write again, this chapter didn't feel forced like the last one. So, how do you like this? I mean, quite a surprise with the whole time traveling thing isn't it? Anyways, Reviews are appreciated as usually!