Chapter 26
A Frosty Trip
12 October 1996
…I wish I there was more I could say. I wish instead of mere words on paper, I could be there to wrap you in my arms. Just know that I am well and I am safe…as safe as can be at least. And know that I love you and I long for the day I see you again. The thought of seeing you is all that keeps me going.
All my love,
Remus
I re-read Remus' letter for the third time that morning. It had been delivered not by owl, but by McGonagall through Dumbledore, through…another Order member, most likely Tonks. And it was the first bit of news I'd heard from him since he left on his mission, five weeks ago. I wasn't even sure how long ago he'd written it. I wished I could send him a letter in response, but I knew that was next to impossible.
I looked across the Great Hall down the Gryffindor table. Jonathan was reading a similar letter. As though he knew I was watching him, he looked back at me and smiled. I returned the gesture. His plate, I noticed, was still mostly full. He'd had the Mandrake leaf in for nearly two weeks now, but I knew he was still having a hard time adjusting to it.
I read the letter again for good measure before folding it and tucking it away for safe keeping.
It was the first Hogsmeade weekend of term, and it was cold and sleeting. It was miserable. If I didn't need some new quills and chocolate, I would have stayed snug in the castle. But, as it was, I did need them…the chocolate more so than the quills. So I headed down to the wintery village alongside the students.
As soon as I was through the gates, I apparated a little closer to the village. I went by Honeydukes first and stocked up in attempt to beat the crowd. I left just as Harry, Ron, and Hermione were entering. I made my way down the High Street, passed a boarded up Zonko's, to Scribbulus Ink Supply.
I was tucked behind a shelf examining some new refined parchment when it happened. A couple of students were an aisle a head of me and didn't know I was behind them. I'd like to think, that if they knew then they wouldn't have said what they did.
"I like Professor Potter; she's nice."
I smiled. I recognized the voice as one of my third year Ravenclaws.
"I know…but you shouldn't. She's a Packie."
My smile vanished instantly. That was his older brother speaking.
"What's that?"
"It means… it means she likes wolves."
"I like wolves too. Am I a Packie then?"
"Are you really that thick? Not wolves, werewolves."
"Oh…" The younger brother sounded disappointed. "But why? They're so…"
I decided I'd heard enough, and I really didn't want to hear exactly what they thought of werewolves. It was pretty clear already. So I grabbed the parchment I was looking at, and my self-grading quills, and made for the front counter. Of course, that meant heading up the aisle they were on. When they saw me they both froze with mouths ajar and eyes wide.
I smiled at them. "Good morning, Messers Cole."
"G—good morning, Professor."
"Are you enjoying your first trip to Hogsmeade?"
The youngest brother nodded. "Yes, Professor."
"Good. Make sure your brother takes you by Honeydukes. They have the best chocolate bars there."
I gave another smile and moved on.
"She still seems nice, even if she is a Packie," the youngest whispered.
I wish I could say that was all that happened, but as I was paying for my items, the clerk recognized me and gave me a look that clearly said she thought I was beneath her.
My experience in Scribbulus left me feeling a little down. I was missing Remus something terrible. And since I couldn't curl up next to him by a fire, I just wanted to get back to the castle and re-read his letter again while making a big dent in my newly purchased chocolate supply. As I was making my way back up the High Street, I noticed some commotion in the front of the Three Broomsticks. It took me a moment to realize who it was, until I saw the mop of untidy hair.
Harry had Mundungus pinned against the wall while Ron and Hermione tried to talk him down. Before I could get there to see what was going on, Mundungus had fled.
"COME BACK, YOU THIEVING—!" Harry shouted as he spun around looking for him.
"There's no point," said a familiar voice.
I looked around and saw Tonks standing off to the side. She looked as listless and dull as she had last time I saw her. She didn't appear to notice me either, because she didn't immediately turn and flee.
"Mundungus will probably be in London by now. There's no point yelling," she said.
"He's nicked Sirius' stuff."
"Yes, but still…"
"What's this about Sirius' stuff?" I asked, walking over. Four heads turned my way.
"Kate! Mundungus went back into Grimmauld Place and he nicked Sirius' things! Nicked them!"
I put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Look, Harry, I understand why this upsets you—I don't like it any more than you do," I cut over him. "But Sirius…he hated everything in that house. He wouldn't care if everything was nicked from it."
"Yes, but Mundungus…"
"Is on our side, but… I will see to Mundungus. You three, go on inside where it's warm and dry."
They nodded and left, Harry more grudgingly than the others. When I turned around I was surprised to find that Tonks was still there. We were both silent for a moment, neither of us knowing how to break the tension apparently. Finally, I smiled.
"Hey. How have you been?"
The answer was obvious in her appearance, but she didn't say as much.
"All right. You?"
"Yeah… Yeah, I've been well too. I…"
"Sorry… I have to go."
The she turned and started walking away. I stood, frozen and hurt, for a moment and watched her. Then something inside me just snapped; I was tired of her running away.
"No. No!" I started after her. "No, you don't get to walk away this time. Tonks… Tonks!"
I was calling her name and I knew she heard me. People were starting to stare but she wouldn't acknowledge me. So I did something a little risky with and Auror.
I turned on the spot and apparated just in front of her. She collided with me straight on and I could feel her reaching for her wand as she started falling. I quickly grabbed both of her shoulders to steady her before pulling her off to the side between two buildings.
"Merlin, Kate! Are you daft! I could have cursed you!"
"Then do it. Go on! Maybe it will make you feel better?"
"What are you on about?"
"What am I…?" I huffed incredulously and shook my head. When I looked at her closely though, she did seem confused, like she didn't know why I was so upset. At least she wasn't running away.
"Look, I'm sorry alright?" I said. "We knew…we knew one of us was going to get hurt in the end. I'm glad it wasn't me, but I hate that it was you. And I don't what to be those girls that let a silly boy come between them."
"You think this is about Remus?"
"Well I'm damned if I know what else it could be."
"I haven't been avoiding you because of him."
"But you do admit to avoiding me? Good. At least I know it's not all in my head, like Remus seems to think it is. So then… what is this about if not him?"
"I… I thought it was what you wanted. Look, don't get me wrong, Remus is a decent bloke. And, yeah, it hurts a little, but I told him to tell you how he felt. He and I never stood a chance against the two of you. A blind man could have seen that, and I'dve been daft to try.
"Did you know, that every time we went on a mission together he spent half the time talking about you, and the other half about Jonathan?"
"He didn't?" I asked in a half laugh-half sob. "That git."
Tonks laughed a little too, and I saw that her eyes had clouded as well.
"That's what I tired telling myself," she said "But it didn't really stick, because…"
"…Because it's Remus," I finished for her. "He flashes those puppy dog eyes and you forget why you were ever mad at him to begin with."
She nodded and we let a moment of silence pass.
"So… this isn't weird for you?" she asked.
"No. Is it for you?"
"Not like I thought it would be."
"Good, because I miss my friend."
"I kind of miss mine too." She paused for a beat before adding. "You don't know where I might find her by chance? She's fit, quirky, a bit of a nutter, but she's a good Mum."
I laughed. "Sorry, kid, you're stuck with me. And if you thought she was a nutter, you've got a whole new world of trouble now."
She laughed a little. "I guess I'll take my chances."
"Good. Are you free now? I could use a friend."
"Yeah, sure. We can step into the Three Broomsticks if you like."
"I was thinking more like the Hog's Head."
She gave me a funny look.
"Abe's less likely to turn his nose up at a Packie."
Her eyes widened and her hair turned red. "No! Who said that? I'll box 'em good."
"Come on; I'll tell you all about it."
We turned and began making our way towards the pub on the edge of town.
"Do you really think I'm fit?" I asked.
"Please. If I were a bloke, I'd definitely want to bang ya."
Tonks and I spent a good long while in the pub. I could slowly see the color come back to her cheeks. We generally stayed away from talking about Remus; though, she did ask if I received the letter he sent, and she waited while I wrote quick one back. I never thought I'd get a chance to write him.
I was among the last to make it back to the castle; night was beginning to set in. There was a strange buzz floating in the air, and murmurs spreading through the Great Hall. I'd already ate in the Hog's head though, so I went straight back to my rooms.
"Where have you been?" Jonathan rounded on me the moment I walked through the doors.
"Sorry. Did I miss my curfew?" I had to hold back my laughter as he sounded like he had a cotton ball in his mouth.
"Katie's been cursed!"
"What?"
"Katie's been cursed! She picked something up at the Three Broomsticks, a package of sorts. She was supposed to deliver it but she opened it and now she's been cursed," he blurted out in a rush, his cheeks flushed.
"Whoa, slow down, Jonathan."
He took a deep breath and repeated what he just said.
"It's bad, Mum; it's really bad. They don't know if…" His voice faded out and his eyes glazed over.
"Oh, Jonathan. I…I'm so sorry."
I set my bags down and pulled him in for a hug. He held me tight and I felt his shoulders shake.
"No one knew where you were, Mum. Harry said you said something about seeing to Mundungus, and… and…Katie was cursed in Hogsmeade. If they can get to a pure-blood here then what would they do to you there?"
"Oh, Jonathan," I pulled back to arm's length. "Look at me. I'm right here, alright? I'm here and I'm fine. No one got to me."
"I see that." He rolled his eyes and tried to put on an air of nonchalance. "So then…where were you?"
"I was in the Hog's Head with Tonks."
"Oh. So then…so you made up then?"
"Yeah we did. She was avoiding me, and you can tell you father that she did admit to avoiding me, because she thought I wanted it or that I'd find it weird because she was almost 'the other girl' or some ridiculous notion like that. Turns out, she also felt a little guilty for Sirius' death and thought I'd blame her. That's why she didn't come to the memorial."
"That's almost as ridiculous as the first thing you said."
"That's what I told her."
"I'm glad you two made up; maybe now you'll stop moping about it."
"Me too. She also volunteered to deliver a letter to your father for me. If you'd like to write one too, I'll see if she can meet me at the gates tomorrow."
"Yeah. Yeah, I do."
"Right. Now, tell me more about Katie. Is she in the hospital wing?"
"I don't know," he shrugged a shoulder, eyes clouding over again. "They said they were going to move her to Sr. Mungo's."
"Well, let's go see if she's still here. If not, we'll stop by Professor McGonagall's and see if she can tell us anything new."
Jonathan nodded and quickly wiped at his eyes. I knew then, that his feelings for Katie were probably still more than just friendly, but that he couldn't say otherwise for whatever reason.
McGonagall couldn't tell us much of anything, unfortunately, and it quickly became clear that Katie wouldn't be returning for some time. Two weeks after she was cursed, Harry had to replace her on the Quidditch team.
Meanwhile, Jonathan's quest to become an Animagus continued. The second step in the process consisted of taking the saliva steeped leaf and placing it in a clear crystal phial that had been struck with the rays of the full moon. Then you had to add a single strand of one of your hairs, a teaspoon full of dew that had been untouched by the sunlight or human feet for seven days, and the chrysalis of a Death's-head Hawk Mouth. The phial was then to be placed in dark and quiet place where it would remain undisturbed until the first lightning storm.
The whole step, however, depended on the night of the full moon being a clear, cloudless night. If the moon's rays were blocked then the Mandrake leaf process had to be started over. When the full moon came around…it was a cloudy night, so Jonathan had to endure another month of Mandrake-Mouth.
October gave way to November, and there was no word from Remus. I saw Tonks since Hogsmeade, and she assured me that she had delivered the letters about a week after our first meeting. But then Remus went underground again. Meanwhile the Daily Prophet continued to report nothing but more deaths and disappearances, both wizard and Muggle alike. The Order was losing ground. And the sinking feeling in my chest was all too familiar. Despite all that, I did my best to hang on to hope; if not for me then for Jonathan and Harry. A little bit of hope was what we needed.
