Chapter 29
"Can you believe that Snape had the nerve to assign us an essay on werewolves? It's not even his class!" Harry was ranting to his friends while they spent time in a spare classroom. The group was comprised of Harry, Ron, Neville, Luna, Silver, and, to Harry's surprise, Ginny. She hadn't spoken a word, though and seemed to be there only because Silver had been with both younger girls when the older Gryffindors appeared. Hermione had run off immediately after lunch; her workload was starting to affect her free time.
"It's not that hard, if you read the material. The only reason I needed to do additional research was to find information that isn't biased. It was difficult, as most of wizard-kind is prejudiced against werewolves," Silver replied.
"You finished it already?" Ron asked, incredulously.
"Of course I have. My class was on Monday, and I like being able to do things on the weekends without being bogged down by homework. Perhaps you should try it sometime." Silver smirked.
"Maybe Professor Snape wants you to figure out something by doing the essay. That'd be a reason to assign an essay on something you wouldn't have covered until next term," Luna remarked, thoughtfully.
"What? You think someone we know could be a werewolf?" Neville asked, fearfully.
"It's definitely possible. As I told Professor Snape, the only way to distinguish a werewolf from the general populace is if they tell you themselves, or if they are outed. You can also figure it out if you pay attention to the lunar schedule. Tonight's the full moon, you know." Seeing Neville's suddenly fearful face, Silver continued, "Werewolves on the Wolfsbane Potion are harmless during the full moon. If there were one here, don't you think Dumbledore would know about it and make the necessary precautions?"
"Do you think that there is one among us?" Harry asked cautiously. Silver was silent. The question hadn't been directed at her, so she was waiting for the others to reply. Then she realized that everyone, besides Luna, were looking at her. Oh. Maybe that was directed at me.
"How should I know?" Silver asked, faking non-nonchalance.
"You always seem to know things way before anyone else. Figured if anyone would know whether there was a werewolf in the castle, it'd be you," Harry replied with a small smile. Silver looked around at her friends; all she saw upon their faces was curiosity. There wasn't any hostility, but it wasn't her secret to share.
"I wouldn't tell you, even if I did know one way or the other," Silver said after a few moments.
"What? Why not?" Ron protested.
"Because she doesn't share other people's secrets without their permission," Ginny replied quietly. Everyone stared at Ginny for a moment. Silver broke into a wide smile at her words, and gave Ginny an awkward side hug in thanks. Ginny flushed at the attention, though she gave a small smile to Silver in return.
"That's right. The only person's secrets I willingly share are my own. That doesn't mean I won't help someone figure out a secret that I think they should know, though. I just wouldn't tell them directly."
"Hmm ok. Have any secrets to share, Silver?" Harry asked, mischievously. Silver burst out laughing. She hadn't been expecting Harry to ask that. He took her laughter in stride, and smiled in return.
"I've been trying to research my blood family more recently," Silver replied, after her laughter had subsided.
"Really? Why?" Neville asked.
"Because I knew next to nothing about my parents except their names and where they went to school. Well, I knew father was self-centered and mother was kind, if a bit aloof at times. I want to know where I came from."
"You said you're pureblood, right?" Ron asked.
"Yep. Sullivan on my father's side, Sewlyn on my mother's."
"Your mother was a Sewlyn? That line died out, at least by the males. All known Sewlyn children are female, last I checked. Granted, it's been a few years since Mum's tried to have us study the tree, so it may have changed." Ron looked thoughtful.
"It's doubtful it's changed that much in that short amount of time, Ron," Ginny added.
"A lot can happen in a few years. It takes less than a year to birth a child," Luna replied.
"True. Anyways, I've been trying to learn about all aspects of my family that I can," Silver intervened, bringing the conversation back on track before they could stray too far.
"Have you learned anything interesting?" Harry asked.
"I've learned about a few new relatives that I didn't know about, such as my father's brother. Apparently they're twins, but are polar opposites in terms of beliefs and such. Uncle John was blasted off the family tree, officially anyways, when he decided to join the Peace Corps after finishing Healer training."
"What's the Peace Corps?" Ron and Ginny asked together. They scowled at each other when they realized they had spoken at the same time.
"It's an organization that branches out to disadvantaged countries and tries to help them achieve higher standards of living. For example, there are parts of Africa that don't have proper plumbing, which makes disease run rampant. Peace Corp members live among or near these disadvantaged people and try to help fix it." Both Ron and Ginny wore identical masks of horror; Neville just looked sad at the prospect.
"Regardless, Uncle John's decision had clearly not been what his parents wanted for him, so they cut ties with him. I would be surprised if he even knew I existed. Maybe when I'm older, I can try to find out what happened to him." Silver checked her watch; she was due to check in on Peter in about an hour.
"We should probably start heading to our common rooms. You boys have a few assignments due tomorrow, if I recall correctly. I'll walk you up."
"You sure? It's a bit of a trek, and I'd rather you not get caught in the halls after curfew," Harry asked worriedly.
"It'll be fine. Besides, we still have an hour before curfew, so that's plenty of time for me to escort you all and make it back to my own common room on time. You can always keep an eye out if you're that worried." Ginny looked confused at that last statement, but Harry just nodded. He understood that she had meant keep an eye on the Map for her.
Once Silver had accompanied the Gryffindors back to their common room, she then walked up with Luna to the Ravenclaw tower.
"Thank you for walking me up every night we are together, Silver. It is considerate of you," Luna said as they were climbing up the last bit of stairs.
"Of course, Luna. I'm happy to do it, and it means I get to spend more time with you." Silver flushed a bit at this statement, though she wasn't sure why.
"Goodnight, Silver. Sweet dreams." Luna entered the tower after answering the doorknob's riddle.
"Goodnight, Luna," Silver responded quietly. She stood there for a few moments, hoping for...something to happen. But she was at a loss as to what. Finally, Silver descended the stairs and headed towards the Room of Requirement.
As she approached the tapestry, she heard a sudden thudding of paws skittering across the floor. When she turned towards the sound, she saw a flash of black fur before she was toppled over by an incredibly solid weight.
"Padfoot! I asked you not to come for a couple more days; what are you doing here?" Silver asked, once she caught her breath. Padfoot just whined and started pacing back and forth; he was clearly restless. Then, Silver heard why: Filch's wheezing breath and uneven footsteps were fast approaching.
Quickly, Silver pushed past Sirius and paced in front of the wall three times to conjure the room where Peter was held. She opened the door and Padfoot barreled through it. She followed and closed the door, just as Filch turned the corner.
As she focused on the inside of the room, she became aware of Padfoot's low rumble of a growl. His eyes were fixed on Peter, who was standing petrified in the cage. He started to tremble when he realized that Sirius wasn't changing back right away, clearly afraid that the large dog would attack him. He seemingly forgot that he was in a cage, where nothing could get in or out without some serious magic or manpower.
Sighing, Silver reinforced Peter's chains before crossing the room and starting the kettle for tea.
"Are you just going to stand there growling, Sirius? Or are you going to change back so that I can talk to you?" Peter jumped at the sound of her voice; he had been enraptured by Sirius's staredown that he hadn't truly noticed she was there. A moment later, the haggard form of Sirius Black stood where the dog had been. Although he looked haggard, he was much improved than he was when Silver had fed him during the summer. Peter seemed surprised by this; he had expected his old friend to be worse off than he was, since he had come from Azkaban.
"So why are you here, Sirius?"
"I thought it would have been obvious," Sirius responded.
"Found your opportunity to get into the castle and decided to take it while you could?" Silver replied.
Sirius barked out a laugh. "Exactly. See, I knew you were bright."
"Of course I am. I figured out you were an animagus long before you expected me to," Silver replied with a smirk. She took the kettle off of the fire, as it had started whistling, before preparing a tray of tea. She set up four mugs, before placing teabags into the kettle to brew.
"Did you forget how to count?" Sirius asked, perplexed.
"No. Make yourself comfortable, Sirius. You too, Peter. Standing there petrified won't help you get anywhere. Neither of you can hurt the other, as you're both wand less and there's a magic enforced cage between you." Silver then walked over to the door, as both men sat down in the chairs available.
"Come on in, Harry. No need for a wand, neither will harm us," Silver said, after she opened the door.
Sirius turned, surprised, when he spotted none other than his godson standing at the door. In his hand was the Invisibility Cloak and the Map, freshly cleared. Harry cautiously approached the couch, which was next to the armchair in which Sirius was sitting.
"Harry, that's Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. I'm sure you at least recognize Sirius. Pettigrew, on the other hand, looks next to nothing like he did as a boy," Silver remarked, not unkindly. Harry's expression went from confusion, then to anger, before it settled into a controlled anger. He had questions in his eyes, though, Silver noticed. Wordlessly, she prepared their teas, and levitated them to their intended target. The only exception was Peter's, which she handed to him herself. The cage wouldn't allow any magic through, regardless of intent.
There was a few moments of silence, before Harry broke it.
"Who wants to start explaining what the hell is going on?"
