Chapter Twenty-Nine
Everyone's Dangerous


September 2nd, 1973

The first few days back at Hogwarts, Remus almost felt normal.

The full moon was still over a week away, and he barely felt it approaching. Ashamed as he was to admit it, Mia had been right the year prior when she had suggested that his transformations were getting worse because of a growth spurt. Though he had grown another inch over the summer, his transformations were not nearly as bad as last year—still agonising to the point of wishing he could black out, but not nearly as torturous. The aches, pains, and nausea that came with the approach—and descent—of the moon, were dealt with, in part, due to a massive supply of chocolate that his friends had given him for his last birthday. Unfortunately, their supply ran dry within two months, but thanks to James's Invisibility Cloak and a few unadventurous nights scouring the castle that led to what Sirius dubbed "the most amazing discovery ever," Remus and his friends found the most glorious secret that Hogwarts had kept hidden: a secret tunnel leading to Honeydukes.

Well-plied with sugar and eager for the term to begin the following morning, Remus sank back into the pillows strewn about his four poster bed, welcoming the night with a book in his hands, while his three comrades were off sneaking in third and fourth helpings of dinner from the house-elves in the kitchens. It was only when he yawned, catching a faint scent in the air, that he was reminded of another unfortunate symptom of lycanthropy that had, until very recently, remained dormant.

"Jamie?" Remus heard Mia whisper softly.

He closed his eyes, letting the scent of her wash over him like the river behind Potter Manor had washed over his body once Mia finally convinced him to jump in with her. The water then had been cold—which was helpful—but the scent in the air that now poured over him was warm. Much too warm. He swallowed hard and tried to remain quiet.

"Sirius?" she whispered next, and a part of him bristled as he heard her pull the curtains away from the bed across from him.

She had come looking for her brother, of course, and Remus had immediately assumed it was because of her nightmares, which grew worse upon their initial return to Hogwarts each year. He felt terrible for her and wanted to help, but—despite the fact that Sirius's bed was directly next to James's—Remus could not help but silently complain over the fact that once she had found her brother missing from the room, she had gone to Sirius next.

He heard footsteps, and his eyes widened. He had known she would not find Sirius in his bed, which only meant that she would seek him out next, but he was yet unprepared as her scent grew closer, so he clenched his eyes tight to try and focus on something else. It was normal for a fourteen-year-old boy to deal with arousal, especially in the general vicinity of the female population, but it was something entirely different for one who had a nervously charged werewolf inside his head.

He finally heard her whisper his name and groaned quietly. He forced the sound back down his throat as he tried to forget that she had called him beautiful a month ago with her hand against his scars, nothing but a scrap of cotton separating her touch against his skin.

"Yeah?" He winced as he pulled the curtains back revealing a sad-looking Mia with dishevelled hair—which was not helping his issue—fidgeting with her hands. She had dried tear tracks on her cheeks. "You okay, love?"

"Are you okay? Oh, are you sick? I thought it had been getting better. I'll go." She frowned and made to move.

"No, it's nothing." Lie. "Not wolf related at least." Lie. "I think I just ate too much at dinner." Lie.

"Oh." Mia chewed the side of her lip, toeing the floor.

"Nightmares?" he asked softly, and she hesitated before nodding. "I don't know when James is due back. Those idiots ran for the kitchen the second we got back to the dorms," he admitted, a part of him annoyed that James was not here to take care of his sister. The wolf in him was grateful that he had been alone—the sole person left behind to care for the girl.

"I should just . . . This is ridiculous. I am this old, and I can't sleep without my bloody brother." She sniffed, looking embarrassed, and Remus knew for certain that she had woken up in tears from whatever it was that plagued her.

"Do you . . . Do you need company?" he asked, rephrasing his original Want to climb in? with something he felt was more appropriate. It had been a year since they had shared a bed at Potter Manor. It felt innocent then, especially since James and Sirius were both there with them, encasing Mia between them all as if to protect her from her dreams. They were barely twelve at the time. Hell, most of them still drank their pumpkin juice from straws.

But now . . .

"Is that all right?" she asked quietly.

"Come on." Remus scooted to the side, kicking back the covers and allowing her to slip beneath them. He set his book down on the bed, somehow using the pages to keep her body from touching his as she made her way beneath the blanket, and closed the curtains behind her, blocking out the light that the sliver of moon in the sky allowed into the room.

He was momentarily reminded of the many times she had crawled into his bed in the hospital wing on the mornings after his transformations, once she was finished healing his bloodied and broken body. At first, it had been healing to his soul to have her there, willingly touching him and showing kindness, but after so long, it became increasingly difficult to rely on her so much. Not only did he not want to become dependant on her, but a nagging sense of pride somewhere deep down said that he wanted her to see him as strong.

Now, with her head cradled against him, he was suddenly the caretaker, and his wolf gave an internal yip of approval. He remained absolutely silent, not wanting to question her about the nightmares or her dried tears. That was the comfort of their friendship. Words were never necessary.

The moment she fell into a deep, deep sleep, Remus could not stand it any longer. He leant forward and nuzzled his nose into her hair and breathed in deep, hoping that if he grew accustomed to her scent it would not feel like a craving every time she walked into a room. He exhaled slowly with a frown when it did not work. Yearning to inhale her scent increased steadily, and he gave in to it, burying his nose in her mane of curls again.

Just then, he heard the door to the dorm room open as his three friends returned.

"Don't take it personal, Pete," James said consolingly.

"Bloody house-elf called me fat," Peter bitterly grumbled as his footsteps carried him into the bathroom where Remus heard the shower turn on.

Sirius burst into a fit of laughter. "She didn't look like she was trying to offend. Just said how no other wizard enjoyed her food as much. Ever."

"Shh!" Remus scolded quietly, kicking the curtains around his bed aside.

"What's wrong?" James asked, raising his wand defensively, squinting across the room into the darkness toward Remus's bed.

"Lumos," Remus whispered and held his wand up to look at James, then moved the glowing stick over the form of the sleeping girl next to him.

James raised a questioning brow and nodded with a comprehending frown as he crossed the room to Remus's bed. Tucking his wand back in his pocket, he tossed the Invisibility Cloak over Remus's trunk and smiled appreciatively.

"Thanks," he said before collecting his sister in his arms.

Sirius frowned as he watched Mia subconsciously snuggle deeper into James's embrace. "Still bad?"

"Still bad." James nodded, and Sirius and Remus watched their friend bring his sister to his bed and tuck her in quietly.

All three boys shared a look of frustration and desperation. Wizards, the lot of them, and no idea how to fix the one person they had sworn to protect.

Our job, Sirius had said.

And they were failing.


September 3rd, 1973

Mia did not know what she was thinking when she chose her elective courses for her third year. The classes offered were as usual: Divination, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies, and Care of Magical Creatures. She was absolutely not going to have an exact repeat of her original third year at Hogwarts. Her life was already upturned thanks to a Time-Turner, and she was in no mood to use another one just to accommodate a full schedule.

It had been her plan to take on Ancient Runes with Remus and Lily—seeing that it was a subject she never tired of learning—as well as Arithmancy because it was the hardest, and she could use a refresher course. Despite what her friends were aware of, Mia had no need for Muggle Studies, and she laughed hysterically when she overheard the boys thinking about taking on Divination.

Sirius grinned at her. "You're not interested in predicting the future?"

"Not in the slightest, Sirius Black." Mia scoffed, as though she were offended by the question. "In fact, I might already be a Seer. Which is why I don't need to take Divination."

She smiled up at Remus, who passed her morning cup of tea across to her as she refilled his glass of juice, their tandem breakfast routine never breaking momentum as they engaged in conversation with others.

"You're a Seer? That's sexy. Ow!" Sirius winced and looked up to see James glaring at him. Brushing off her protective older brother, Sirius turned his attention back to Mia. "Come on then, love, give us a prediction."

"Fine," she agreed boldly in between sips of tea. "I predict that a girl will smack you by the end of the day."

"Ooo, I love it when girls smack me. Will it hurt?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'll do my best."

Sirius winked. "I bet you will."

"Knock it off!" James groaned and hit Sirius again, while Remus laughed quietly.

"Hey, she said she's a Seer," Sirius said in his own defence, holding up his empty plate as a shield against James and his attacks. "I want her to tell me my future!"

Mia frowned as a cold chill filled her.

She closed her eyes and could see it so clearly. Their future, her past. Sirius and Remus standing in the Shrieking Shack, reunited after twelve horrible years apart, both looking broken and wounded beyond repair. Images of Sirius being attacked by dementors, and of an older Remus sobbing in her arms after his first full moon in years without the Wolfsbane Potion. Memories of pulling Sirius from the veil, and of Remus crying over the thought of his child being infected with lycanthropy. A vision of them both being tortured by Death Eaters, and Voldemort with the Elder Wand aimed at her.

And nothing of James.

"Mia?" Remus whispered gently, reaching across the table to touch her hand. "Where'd you go?"

"Far away," she admitted sadly and then turned to look at James and Sirius, who looked just as worried. "Stop. I'm fine."

She finished her breakfast and pushed her plate away, but not before grabbing the last two pieces of bacon she had not finished and setting them onto Remus's plate. He looked up at her with a grateful smile but scowled when Sirius snatched one piece up for himself.

"You boys go ahead with Divination if you'd like. Write down all your little predictions and let me know what you 'see,'" she said, actually bringing her fingers up to use air quotes sarcastically. "I'll be more than happy to tell you how wrong they are."

A part of her thought how amusing it would be to really pretend to be a Seer. She would become the most famous Seer of all considering how much she knew about the future. As laughable as the thought was, it was equally dangerous. Mia could not imagine what Voldemort would do to her if he knew that she had detailed knowledge of his eventual destruction.

In the end, only Peter kept the course, which was fine with her as it was one less class where she had to look at him.


Despite standing firm on Divination, she had still broken down when James, Sirius, and Remus had guilted her into changing her choice of electives. While she kept Ancient Runes to stay close to Remus and Lily, she now stood outside the castle near the Forbidden Forest where a large group of small pens had been put together to look like a Muggle petting zoo.

A battle-worn man leant against a large post, looking grumpy as though someone had just rained on his parade.

"I'm Professor Silvanus Kettleburn," the old wizard grumbled. "Welcome to Care of Magical Creatures. Not that you'll actually be caring for anything of any real interest. As the Ministry has seen fit to remind me that if one's leg is eaten by a dragon, one shouldn't then try to introduce said dragon to students."

His left leg was missing just below the knee. Unlike Mad-Eye Moody, who wore a wooden prosthetic, Professor Kettleburn appeared content to just hop around.

"It wasn't even really a dragon," he added with a pout as though it made all the difference.

"Merlin, this is where Hagrid gets it," Mia whispered to herself as the professor, with his one remaining hand, scratched at the stump where his forearm used to be.

"Oh, this?" He gestured to the elbow as the students stared. "Chimaera. Cuddly little things. They've got quite the appetite, though." He smiled wistfully as if he were remembering an old pet. "Right then, come on over and take a peek at the pens. We've got nifflers right there, a few puffskeins, some nogtails, and a knarl. Thought I'd show you lot a handful of little things to start with."

James pouted, his shoulders slumping as he made eye contact with a nogtail that purred at him. "These fluffy things are pets. Where're the dragons?"

"I want to see the chimaera that chewed his bloody arm off," Sirius whispered.

"I want to be in Arithmancy," Mia complained.

Remus chuckled softly and patted her shoulder consolingly.

"Professor?" James asked. "Are we going to see anything, I don't know, bigger than this? I heard we've just got a herd of hippogriffs brought in. And there are unicorns in the Forbidden Forest, aren't there?"

Professor Kettleburn shook his head. "Not for you lad. Unicorns don't take much of a liking to young men. They wouldn't like you much."

"Evans must be a unicorn." Sirius chuckled, and Remus joined in, while James glared at them both.

"As for the hippogriffs, they're being evaluated before students are allowed near them. Temperamental, if you aren't respectful of them." He dipped his chin, and Mia quietly smirked; the thought of watching either of the Carrow twins getting mauled by a hippogriff—as Malfoy had been—made her happy inside.

"So nothing interesting, then?" Sirius complained.

"Depends on what you'd consider interesting. I think it's interesting that you've got a niffler about to take that Muggle watch off your wrist."

"Hey!" Sirius yelled, spinning around just as the tiny animal latched its little paws on his arm, tugging at the watch that he had bought that summer. "Let go!"

Rolling her eyes, Mia approached, putting her hands under the front legs of the niffler and prying it away from Sirius, giving the boy a reproachful look in the process. "It's only a baby," she said with a teasing lilt to her voice.

"You can ask me anything you want about any creature that exists, I've basically seen it all," Professor Kettleburn said and moved like he was going to cross his arms over his chest, except he was missing one of them. "I'd rather you see with your own eyes, but the Ministry has rules in place. So, you'll just have to trust your books there and my expertise."

"What's the proper way to feed a werewolf?" Sirius asked, and Mia turned and glared at him after putting the baby niffler back with the others.

Remus shook his head knowingly as he approached the niffler pen.

"Let's say," Sirius continued, "that you've got a werewolf—cute little thing. And your werewolf starts getting fat . . ." He grinned and watched as Remus turned and narrowed his eyes at his friend.

Professor Kettleburn stared at Sirius. "Mr Black. Werewolves aren't pets."

"They did this on purpose didn't they?" Mia asked Remus.

"Yes."

"You knew?"

He chuckled. "Of course."

"Is this the entire reason that we're even in this class? Remus, please tell me that we did not sign up for an entire class based on the fact that Sirius wanted to make a werewolf joke." She glared and watched as Remus turned and grinned wryly at her, silently confirming the answer she already knew. "Wonderful. I could have been in Arithmancy right now with Lily."

"You could be in Divination with Peter," Remus teased.

"I don't need to read tea leaves in the bottom of a cup to know that I'm going to throttle Sirius when Professor Kettleburn is not looking." She turned to glare at Sirius, who was now asking about dragons as though purposely diverting attention from the subject of werewolves, despite the fact that he had been the one to bring it up in the first place.

"I was never allowed to have a pet," Remus said under his breath as he looked down into the pens of the small animals, all of which appeared to be scuttling as far away from him as possible. Some were quaking and looked terrified. Remus exhaled sharply at the reaction and frowned.

Mia placed a hand on his arm and smiled. "Don't take it personally. They can smell you just as easily as you can smell them. They see you as a predator." She caught his immediate horrified look and sighed. "It's not a bad thing, Remus. Predator and prey is the way life is. It's the way animals work, even magical ones."

When he still refused to take the self-condemnatory look off his face, she went on. "Do you know much about hippogriffs?"

"Just what the book mentioned," he replied, gesturing to the tome in his bag.

Mia smiled, knowing that he had already read the whole thing. Had she not known him well enough, she would have assumed he had read all of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in order to make sure his name and address was not listed inside, but she did know him better and was well aware that Remus took his studies just as seriously as she did.

"Tell me some defining characteristics of a hippogriff."

Remus let out a frustrated sigh. "Why do I feel that this is one of the life lessons you're always trying to teach me?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Humour me."

"Fine. Hippogriffs are proud, easily offended. You're supposed to take extra caution when approaching them, bowing and such. They're extremely dangerous, but can be fiercely loyal and protective of . . ." He stopped and glared at her. "I am not a hippogriff, Mia."

"No, you're not," she agreed pleasantly. "Now, what do hippogriffs eat?"

"Small mammals," Remus answered. "Ferrets and weasels, usually."

"So hippogriffs are predators?"

"Technically," he said slowly.

"And would you say that hippogriffs are absolute bastards for being what they are?" Remus's jaw tightened, and his nose twitched. "Well look at that. If I didn't know any better, I would say that you have been easily offended. Wounded pride?" She asked, and Remus growled low in response. "You know that with that glare you've got in your eyes right now, you look extremely dangerous. But I'm not afraid because I know how fiercely loyal and protective you are."

"I am not a hippogriff," Remus repeated, his eyes flashing gold so quickly that she knew she was the only one to see it. "Stop trying to convince me that I'm not a monster."

She met him, glare for glare, and leant in close to his face, refusing to back down. "Stop trying to convince yourself that you are one!" she snapped and turned on her heels, storming away from him in a flurry of bouncing, wild curls.

Remus sighed in frustration as he watched her go, annoyed that the breeze blew toward him, essentially shoving the scent of her hair in his face.

"What did Sirius do now?" James asked as he approached Remus, watching Mia stomp away from the rest of the class.

"Sirius is still over there bothering Kettleburn." Remus gestured. "What makes you think he's the one that pissed her off?"

"He usually is." James laughed, and for a moment, Remus joined in. "So what did you say to get her that mad? She normally reserves that particular scathing look for Slytherins." He leant casually against the animal enclosure, and Remus took a step away from it, watching closely as the little nogtails made their way back to the centre of the pen, one even coming up to sniff at James's hand as it hung over the fence.

"She's pissed at me."

"That is obvious," James said with a chuckle, gently scratching the nogtail on the head.

"She tried convincing me that werewolves aren't monsters," he said, trying to take himself out of the sentence by referencing the species as a whole. It did not do much for the conversation, as James just shook his head and laughed harder.

"Oh, that would certainly set her off. There are few things that'll anger my sister to the point where she looks lethal, and anyone talking poorly about you is near the top of that list. It's about tied with anything to do with Sirius's family, or me putting myself in danger. Remember at the river when I slipped on that rock and hit my head? She yelled at me for hours after you all left."

"That's different," Remus insisted and lowered his voice despite the fact that they were not standing within hearing range of anyone except the little nogtails and nifflers. "She's naive if she thinks that she can talk me out of being dangerous."

"Get over yourself, mate," James said reprovingly. "Everyone's dangerous."

Remus growled. "Not like me."

"No, not like you," James agreed. "Mia's dangerous because she's too smart. Girl knows hexes and charms that we're not supposed to even learn until N.E.W.T. levels. Evans is the same. Sirius is dangerous because his temper's too short. The second years have a pool going around to see how many fights he gets into this year. It's a ten Galleon buy in, if you want."

Remus shook his head.

"I'm dangerous because I don't let people know how good I am at what I do," James went on as if he were a professor in his own class. "Everyone thinks it's ego and that I'm overcompensating. I'm not."

Remus understood. He, James, and Sirius had practise duelled a time or two the previous years, and James always dominated the two by speed alone.

"Peter's probably the only one of us who's not a danger," James laughed, trying to break up the tense moment.

"Peter's dangerous. He's too unsuspecting not to be," Remus said with a chuckle, and James followed suit.

"Hey!" Sirius ran over to them with a grin. "Did you guys know that chimaeras purr if you scratch their belly? And they make the same noise when they're eating human flesh."

They all looked back to Professor Kettleburn who was absently scratching his arm stump again.

Just before class ended, Mia returned, and without a word to Remus, she wound her hand back and hit Sirius over the back of the head. He let out a small yelp and turned to face her while James and Remus laughed behind his back.

"I must really be a Seer. I predicted that you'd be hit by a girl today."