Collector
Standard disclaimer applies; if you recognize something from the wizarding world, then I do not own it.
…
From the notes of Dr. Grey
Still trying to answer the question, what do boggarts look like when no-one is there? Have tried one-way mirrors, a series of mirrors so not in boggart's sight, and photographs. I wish their magic didn't interfere with a videorecorder's mechanics. As fascinating as magic is, it really is a pain sometimes. Has anyone ever directly touched a boggart? Held it while it shifted? Dissected one? Clearly they die that they have ended up here. How do they breed? Much more research in shapeshifting is needed, best to start at the source of it all, the boggarts.
…
Shapeshifters Wanted
Pesky boggarts haunting your attic?
Kelpies terrorizing your local waterways?
Floo Us and We'll Pay YOU to remove them!
Remus had to blink at the poster staring back at him. He never would have thought he would see anyone so cheerful to remove boggarts and kelpies as the beaming witch in the advertisement suggested. His next thought was that he really should be worrying about more important things than the ad, such as where he was. Remus started looking at his hands which were, thank Merlin, completely human. They appeared just as they had when he died, scarred and weathered with age.
Looking around his surroundings Remus was surprised that he recognized the alley he stood in. He walked toward the street and found himself standing in Diagon Alley, right next to Flourish and Bolts. Even more shocking, though really, he should have expected it, were the faces he recognized as they walked past.
That was clearly the McKinnons who walked past, and his elderly neighbor who passed when he was a child and-
"Well, hello Moony," an arm wrapped around his shoulders, "welcome back to the other side of Diagon Alley."
….
Sirius was staying in a flat in London with, much to Remus' shock, his little brother Regulus. Sirius obstinately didn't meet Remus' eye after revealing that little detail. "It turns out Reg did quite a bit himself to bring Voldemort down. Just wish the idiot had switched sides a lot sooner."
Remus continued to stare, "You always said that if you got the chance, you'd wring his neck yourself."
"Yeah, well, turns out beneath all the brainwashing Regulus is just my kid brother." He cleared his throat awkwardly, "it has been good to get to know him, after all this time."
Looking around the main room of the flat Remus had to admit it appeared the brothers had found some semblance of peace with each other. The place was small, with what appeared to be only the room he stood in, a kitchen, a bath and two bedrooms. A fireplace dominated the wall across the entrance, an obvious sign of wizarding design, and a ratty looking couch filled the space. Sirius' collection of motorcycle magazines sat near what had to be Regulus' notes on the coffee table.
"Are you sure it's all right for me to stay here?"
Sirius threw a lounge pillow at Remus' face, "What after living with me for more than seven years of our lives you suddenly think I'll kick you out?"
"Well, it's just…" Remus stuttered, "If you're connecting with your brother I'd hardly- "
"You're not in the way, and Regulus won't mind." The eye-roll he gave was worthy of the most sarcastic of adolescent. "As it turns out, Reg will probably be delighted to see you again. He is currently working for Dr. Whats-His-Face, studying shapeshifters of all kinds."
"Oh?" Remus casually raised an eyebrow.
Sirius waved his hand dismissively, "I mean that Reg has a brand-new appreciation and sympathy for any changelings he might encounter."
…
From the notes of Dr. Grey
Today I studied the kelpies further. It is still my hypothesis that they absorbed a boggart in their ancestry. It is hard to distinguish when the shifting begins and ends, just like with the boggarts. Found out the hard way that they are very territorial. Abandoned study to separate the fighting individuals, difficult because they shift to assist in fighting. Noted that forms they shifted in included standard horse, wolf, large cat, and human. Also need to check next time that they are not both male. The smaller male sustained more severe injuries of the two before I succeeded in separating them; he continued to shift after I had separated them. The larger male stopped shifting almost as soon as the smaller was gone. Is their shifting linked to distress? If source of shifting absorbed boggart would make sense, boggarts shift in response to stress.
…
Tonks looked around where she had landed. The familiarity of the place struck her and she had to stop and stare to figure out why that was. The realization nearly knocked her off her feet; Hogsmeade! She appeared to be in the alley between Gladrags Wizardwear and Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. Being somewhere so familiar after the bizarreness of the last places the afterlife took her seemed so very surreal.
"Dora?"
The soft familiar voice spun her around. Her eyes began to water at the sight of the figure in front of her. "Dad," she gasped as she ran to him.
His warm, comforting, familiar scent engulfed her as his arms wrapped around her. Tonks closed her eyes and basked in the feeling.
After a few moments Ted backed away, "Hey now, there is no need for these," he wiped her tears away, "Let's head somewhere comfortable for some tea, hm?"
Tonks had to chuckle wetly before nodding her head in agreement.
….
Ted Tonks lived in a small apartment over Dervish and Banges in Hogsmeade. When asked he admitted it had been the flat he and Andromeda had lived in when they were first married. He prepared the tea with his usual flair, spinning the kettle around and dancing with the teapot before filling a teacup and depositing it with two lumps of sugar before his daughter.
Tonks, for her part could do nothing but take it all in. His mannerisms, his silly little gestures all spoke 'Dad' to her, and she had been bereft her father for far too long.
"Ah-ah-ah, what did I say about tears?" her father reminded her gently.
Tonks sniffed and wiped her eyes, "It's just I wanted to see you so much while you were on the run, and I kept telling myself I would share so much with you when I saw you again, and then… w-we heard that … and then you were gone."
Ted sat on the sofa next to her, placing his own teacup on the table. "I'm here now. You can share everything with me, just like you wanted."
Tonks grinned weakly up at him. "But now I don't know what to say." She took a sip of her tea and noticed her hand holding the cup shaking. The longer she looked at it the more it shook until she had to slam it down and slopped tea over the side.
"Dad, I died!" she turned abruptly, "And you never got to meet Teddy! And-and now I will never see him again, either!" She had no idea where her outburst had come from, but now that it had started she couldn't stop, "I found Remus -dead- during the battle, and then I had to fight Bellatrix before I could reach him! And Mum was never quite the same after we learned that you had been killed! And Remus and I are both here! We left Mum and Teddy alone, a-and I don't know what's going to happen to them!" With that she burst into unceremonious sobs and sought shelter in her father's arms.
"Shh, shh, I'm relatively new to this dead thing myself, but I can tell you what I have learned so far. Once you settle more, become more comfortable and stop jumping from place to place so much, there are ways you can look after those you left behind. I've already found that when I make potato soup I can see your Mother in the steam. It seems silly, but I can tell how she is doing and that is comforting. I gather from those who have been here longer than me that there are clearer ways too." Here he grinned, "So I don't have to constantly make potato soup."
Tonks hiccupped. "Have you been eating a lot of potato soup?"
"Of course, and I have seen my brand-new grandson, he is beautiful," his smile dropped, "I also knew I would meet you again after such a short time. I had hoped you would have stayed with your Mother a bit longer."
"I'm sorry."
"I know," and he kissed her head.
….
From the notes of Dr. Grey
Captive veelas have finally confirmed suspicions. Traces of boggart genes are in their DNA, which must be the source of their shifting ability. Still not sure why shifted form is bird like, must research origins of that. Evidence supported by the fact that half- and quarter- veelas lose the shifting ability. Will release/wipe-memories of veelas soon, they have not been good subjects. One bit me as I was taking DNA sample. I suppose they did not approve of intrusive methods and the captivity.
…
When Regulus returned he was as eager to meet Remus as Sirius said he would be. "Remus Lupin, I must apologize for my attitude while we were at Hogwarts. Back then I was just trying to do anything I could to fit in with the other purebloods." He said all this while shaking Remus' hand. "Is there anything I can do for you? You're welcome to stay here as long as you like."
"Well," Remus began, "any wisdom about the afterlife would be welcomed, your brother has been immensely uninformative on the subject."
Sirius snorted, but otherwise ignored the two from his position on the couch.
"As it happens, I've been dead a bit longer than my brother, so perhaps that is why he hasn't been able to tell you much." Regulus grinned mischievously, "Once you manage to come to terms with being in the afterlife and settle down some, I recommend finding and pursuing a career. I never dreamed that shapeshifting theory would be so fascinating, and yet I feel far more energized than I was when I was alive while pursuing it. Speaking of which," here Regulus reached into a pocket and pulled out an ad, "Dr. Grey is finishing his research on lycanthropy, and thinks he has found a way to cure it. He paid a bunch of werewolves just to study the disease. Here is the ad he had for a while."
Remus took the ad and read:
Shapeshifters Wanted
Have you been infected with Lycanthropy?
Do you want to earn some extra cash?
Floo Us and Make your living today!
"We're finishing up our studies of Boggarts and Kelpies, but the boss was getting restless. He says he wanted to start making a difference with his findings, and he thinks he has narrowed down the cause of lycanthropy and is working on a cure. Dr. Grey believes that Boggarts are the source of shapeshifting in almost all cases, and that if we understand them, we can better understand any and all shapeshifters."
"This means that in this world I'm still a werewolf?"
Regulus blinked surprised, "I never thought about it, but I suppose you aren't necessarily a werewolf in every afterlife, are you?" He sighed, "Yes, unfortunately in this world those who were werewolves while alive are still werewolves."
Sirius stood up, "don't worry about it, Moony, we'll make sure you'll have somewhere safe to transform – Or better yet, perhaps the Doctor will have finished his cure by then."
….
From the notes of Dr. Grey
Still no luck. Werewolves lining up for miles, public constantly flooing about boggarts, but no metamorphmagi. Must be patient. There are only about five individuals born every century, usually after skipping several generations in the family. Perhaps if they see how well I've helped with others-? But no, boggarts, and werewolves have been viewed negatively in their lifetime, kelpies sometimes are nuisances. But not Animagi, Veelas, or Metamorphmagi, and of those three Metamorphmagi are the rarest; hence my trouble gaining any to study.
The veelas gave me the idea to look for boggart traces in the werewolves' blood.
One hundred and fifty-two werewolves have agreed to be observed over the course of a month with regular collection of blood, DNA, saliva, and tissue samples. Should prove straight forward to discover shifting mechanics. As thanks and to generate positive public relations will try to create cure for werewolves. If viewed positively by public, perhaps more animagi and metamorphs will consent to being studied.
Hypothesis that stress a prominent factor in shifting, as boggarts, kelpies and veela all shift in response to stressful stimuli. The wolfsbane potion contains elements of the calming draught to calm the mind of the werewolf. Contributes to hypothesis of stress shifting. Animagi and metamorphs – must obtain subjects! - do not appear to support hypothesis.
….
Shapeshifters Wanted
Are you an Animagus, Veela, or Metamorphmagi?
Do you know someone who is?
Floo Us and Earn your reward today!
Tonks looked uneasily at the ad stuck in the alley of a prominent appiration point. Something about the advertisement made her uneasy.
Instead of dwelling she struck out into the dingy street and crossed over to the Leaky Cauldron. She had enjoyed her week with her father, catching up and riding the tidal waves of emotions. But it was time to try and find Remus, to see if he had also landed in this afterlife.
Her father had suggested starting her search with the Leaky, for just like with the living the Leaky here too served as a portal through which everyone passed. If Remus was here chances are someone at the Leaky Cauldron had seen him.
Looking around inside the dingy pub Tonks spotted not Remus but another man she desperately wanted to catch up with. Sitting at a table finishing up a firewhiskey was Sirius Black. He appeared much as he had during his final year of life: thin and clean with a shadow of hard times previously lived. Tonks marched right over and stumbling into the chair next to him, "Hello Sirius, Death treating you well?"
Sirius looked in surprise at the witch beside him, "Tonks!" He snaked an arm around her and dragged her into his embrace, "What are you doing here, you crazy little witch!"
He pulled back to look at her and his face sobered, "So you were the nymph, everything was so surreal back there I had hoped it wasn't you."
Tonks could only shrug in response.
"How did you die? If you don't mind telling me, of course."
Tonks sighed, "Bellatrix, at the battle at Hogwarts."
Sirius grimaced, "I'm sorry, Damn Bellatrix." He seemed to shake himself and grinned mischievously at his little cousin, "So I heard about you and Moony, how did that happen?"
Tonks raised her eyebrows, "you mean you don't already know?"
He sniffed, "I'm not all that settled in my death as others, most of what I know I heard from James and Lily. Or Regulus. And Moony hasn't been very forthcoming on how you two hooked up."
"Regulus, your brother? Wait, have you seen Remus here?"
Sirius rolled his eyes, "I've been catching up with Reg since entering this world, and Remus popped up about a week ago. The three of us have been rooming together not far from here. Now, spill. How did you and Remus get together? All I know is that when I died Remus had been mooning after you for a while but stubbornly not making any moves. What pushed him?"
Tonks eyed him warily, "it really isn't nearly as happy as you think. What pushed him to finally acknowledge his feelings? —I'm fairly sure it was Dumbledore dying. Before that even though I knew he loved me he insisted on ignoring it and trying to do himself in." To her horror Tonks felt her eyes moistening. She quickly blinked.
Sirius snorted and placed his face in his hand. "What were you doing, Remus? I wish I was there to knock some sense into him."
Gathering up a smile she recalled happier moments in her relationship, "We were so happy when we did get married, even with the war picking up. Then I got pregnant so we went into hiding and we had our son a few weeks before the final battle." She glossed over Remus' insecurities, in the end they had been happy, and that was what mattered to her.
Sirius had been frowning though most of her account but he brightened up at the last bit, "A son? Congratulations! What did you name him?" A worried expression entered his face, "He isn't here, is he?"
"Edward Remus Lupin, and no, Teddy is still alive."
"Oh," Sirius' face contained the mingled happiness and concern. He reached over gently this time and hugged Tonks again.
….
From the notes of Dr. Grey
Magic is truly fascinating! I have indeed identified the cause of lycanthropy. It is a blood parasite of magical origins. The parasites themselves are so small I would have overlooked them had they not contained the boggarts' DNA. The parasite normally lives dormant in the hosts' blood, but under the light of the full moon all individuals flock into the hosts' bones, muscles and most heavily, brain. There the parasite forces the host to shift; the change encourages the parasite to breed and facilitates the transfer of larvae to the salivary glands.I suspect the parasites are in fact the true shapeshifters in the relationship, and that they just force their hosts to change along with them.
More study of wolfsbane potion found toxic elements (the wolfsbane plant) keep the parasite out of the neural system, this combined with the calming effect allow the werewolf to keep his/her mind even as the parasite still forces the transformation. Higher levels of toxin, however, would prove detrimental to werewolf regularly dosed with the potion over time. In potions that use wolfsbane plant overdosing can prove fatal. Must try to isolate werewolf parasite and test ideas of how to prevent transforming.
….
Remus, who had been reading the latest published findings of Dr. Grey curtesy of Regulus, didn't bother looking up from the couch as the flat door opened.
"Moony! You'd never guess who I found today!" Sirius' enthusiastic greeting sent a wave of nostalgic apprehension through the werewolf; when they had been young that tone of voice had been reserved for the most ludicrous and brilliant of pranks.
Instead when Remus lifted his head and saw his wife, smiling and beautiful, apprehension fled leaving a surprised joy. Dropping his reading material Remus quickly made his way over to gather Dora in his arms. The warmth of her arms returning the embrace and the scent of her hair filled him with a different mix of nostalgia, regret and love.
When the moment dragged on Sirius gradually shifted from smiling wildly to huffing in annoyance, "I'll put on the kettle, then." As he walked away he shouted over his shoulder, "And when I get back I want to hear about that romance of yours!"
At that Remus audibly gulped and Tonks giggled in response. She gave him a lingering kiss then pulled back enough to smile at him, "Ready to face the judgement of Padfoot? I'll be right beside you."
Remus rubbed his nose against hers, "You'll have to tell me what you've been up to, I missed you when I didn't quickly find you in this afterlife."
"Of course," she rubbed his neck, "after we survive Sirius' interrogation and ribbing." She smiled as she led him to the couch and they settled, holding hands.
….
From the notes of Dr. Grey
Summary of findings: boggarts believed to be the source of intrinsic shapeshifting, confirmed with veela and kelpies; they have boggart genes in DNA somehow absorb/bred with boggarts in the past. Still have not acquired enough metamorphs to come to a conclusion about them, but hypothesis is that they are similar. Lycanthropy, the disease of werewolves, is caused by a parasite. The parasite I believe originally lived in boggarts as a host, and hence gained the shapeshifting ability.
Still don't know why the parasite causes hosts to shift into a wolf, or why the full moon, other than as just the time when the parasites are most active in reproducing. Animagi shift with the ability to manipulate their own DNA into an alternate form for their magical core. Will begin testing methods of prevention of shifting with wolfsbane plant that can market as cure for lycanthropy.
….
….
Author's note: You get to see some of my head-canon prior to me looking things up on Pottermore. I edited this chapter, so any mistakes, awkward wording, etc. is on me, if you have constructive criticism I would like to hear it. This story arc is in two parts, Collector part 2 should be out within a week.
