Last time: Remus is back from the hospital wing and is anxious about his classmate's reaction to his scars. His dad sends him a letter and a package. Remus gets an owl named Galaxie. The boys talk about Wolf-powers. Sirius makes sure Remus is okay.
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Blaming wolves.
More than a week had passed since they found out about Remus' condition - or furry little problem. James was confident there were no more secrets between them, and honestly, it felt nice. They no longer had to hide from Remus to find out what was going on with him.
Remus seemed more relaxed too. Not much, but enough for him to notice the difference. James quickly realized why. Remus no longer had to worry they would discover his secret and kick him out of the group. And out of Hogwarts for that matter. Plus, they had done a pretty good job convincing him they still liked him.
He was still a little hesitant sometimes and seemed surprised every time Sirius hugged him. James and Peter had also begun being more affectionate, but Sirius took up most of it.
They were all wandering towards the Great Hall when they heard the first sign something was wrong.
Rumour had it that Professor Eckbird had left the school.
They had arrived a little late because Sirius had been impossible to pull out of bed that morning. The Great Hall was almost full yet had never been quieter.
Many of the older students appeared tense. This had affected many of the younger students as well, even though they weren't sure why. The boys tried shrugging it off, but it was impossible to ignore the gloomy atmosphere.
They glanced at each other and quietly found their seats at the Gryffindor table.
James eyed the staff-table. There was an empty seat where Eckbird was supposed to sit. He glanced around the hall, but nothing gave away why everyone was quiet. Slowly, they began filling their plates with uncertainty.
Suddenly Dumbledore stood up and immediately had everyone's attention. He had never given an announcement at breakfast before. His eyebrows were furrowed in concern.
"As I'm sure many of you are aware of, Professor Eckbird has left the school and will not be coming back. Defence Against the Dark Arts will be cancelled the rest of the year. But those who have N.E.W.T.s and O.W.L.s coming up will be getting the opportunity to go over the necessary subjects in Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology and Charms. I will encourage each and every one of you to go over your textbooks, so you don't get behind. And again, if you need assistance you can always ask an older student or the Professors."
He paused, making sure he still had everyone's attention.
"The Daily Prophet released an article this morning concerning an event which took place last night. Several muggles were injured and killed, including a young muggleborn witch who previously worked at the Ministry. For the sake of her privacy, her name has been excluded from the article. This is a serious threat. The Aurors has been investigating these attacks for months, and need as much manpower as they can get, thus Professor Eckbird has gone to help them. Until the situation is further under control Hogsmeade visits are cancelled indefinitely."
Not a single person complained, and this just went on to show how serious they all took it. James shared a look with his friends. What could possibly have happened, and why hadn't they heard about any of those attacks before? James already knew his dad worked more than he used to, but he hadn't thought it was because of this. He suddenly felt nauseous: what if something bad happened to his dad?
"The All Hollows Eve Feast will be held as usual. I think we all need a joyous evening. Now, finish your breakfast and head off to class."
Most students left the Hall.
"I wonder what happened," James commented.
"He said it was in the prophet," Remus said. "We just need to find a copy."
They glanced around the hall until Sirius spotted one on the Hufflepuff table. A quick Accio charm made it land it his hands. James regretted he hadn't learned the spell already.
All four boys hovered over the paper. Their expressions quickly darkened as they read the headline on the very first page.
WEREWOLVES RELATED TO DEATH-EATER ATTACKS
They sent a not-so-subtle glance to Remus, whose expression was unreadable.
"This can't be true," Sirius suddenly said. "It wasn't even full moon last night. They can't know for sure."
Remus shook his head; he knew the words were only for him - to reassure him. "Professor Eckbird is a werewolf expert. It makes sense why they need him."
James wasn't sure what to think. How could the ministry know there were werewolves involved? He wanted to say something to Remus but was unsure what to tell. Or if he even should say something. Wouldn't it be the same if a muggle would reassure him that he wasn't evil just because some sorcerers was? A thought suddenly hit him.
"Wait, Professor Eckbird was a werewolf expert?"
Remus nodded. "That was why he was on insistent on us learning about werewolves even though it isn't second-year material."
"But the book he had us buy, that's an anti-werewolf one," Peter said, his face pale. "Why would Dumbledore hire a man who hates werewolves?"
Remus simply shrugged and sent a glance toward the staff table where Dumbledore was talking quietly to McGonagall. He had thought the same so many times before.
"At least he didn't force us to read the book. Hopefully, everyone else will have forgotten about next year," Sirius said. Peter took the paper and began reading.
"It doesn't matter. We'll learn about them next year. I can just hope our future Defence Against the Dark Arts professor is more like Professor Casher." Their Defence Against the Dark Arts professor from the previous year had taken a liking to Remus. She was a werewolf supporter and had often helped Remus.
"She knew about you?" James asked. He had assumed that seeing as Professor Eckbird didn't know, she wouldn't have known either.
"Well, she's a… a werewolf supporter."
Sirius grinned. "I'm glad. That explains why she was so nice to you, although there are other reasons as well." Remus was simply a likeable person. He was always nice towards other people, while still being ready to prank them whenever.
"The article isn't even about werewolves!" Peter slammed the paper onto the table. "Some muggle eye-witness described one of the death-eaters similar to Fenrir Greyback who is supposedly a werewolf."
"He is a werewolf," Sirius stated. "I remember my parents mentioning once. But it sucks they're using a headline like that to hurt the werewolf-reputation."
Remus paled at the mention of Fenrir Greyback. He had heard so many stories from his dad about the things Greyback did. Attacking children and forcing them to live with him, raising them to become just as wicked as himself. Greyback was powerful. Remus had always been told to stay as far away from him as he could, and run away if they would ever encounter. He had been the one to bite Remus back when he was five years old.
James noticed the way Remus first paled, and then became green.
"Are you okay?" His question dragged both Peters and Sirius' attention toward Remus.
"I…" He shook his head. "It's just… he…"
James could only guess what Remus was trying to say, yet he hoped he wasn't right. "Greyback can't get you here. Not when Dumbledore is here to protect you. And us as well." He gestured to Sirius, Peter and himself. "We won't let anyone hurt you."
Remus smiled weakly and muttered a quiet thank you.
"What's the article about," Sirius quickly asked, not feeling too comfortable with how sweet the situation was getting.
Peter paled slightly. "People in masks showed up at a muggleborn witch's house and killed her along with her entire family, only a few of them survived but with major injuries. They suspect she was targeted because she was fighting against them."
Sirius frowned, and turned to James. "Do you think it's related to the attack on another muggleborn witch last year, and what happened in Diagonally this summer?"
Sirius had spent much of the summer holidays with James and they had gone to Diagonally together when suddenly there was screams and hooded figures on the street. A green light that only Sirius had known the true meaning of.
James nodded. "My dad works more than usual. And last summer he always had to be ready to go if the ministry needed him, and that has never happened before."
"So it started last summer?" Peter asked.
"No…" James hesitated. "My dad couldn't come with me to the platform at the beginning of our first year. He's a top-Auror so I just figured that was why, but maybe the attacks started already back then."
"How come we haven't heard of it till now?" Sirius demanded. He searched his brain, trying to dig up memories of his parents mentioning it. Two muggleborn witches had been attacked to his knowledge. Those 'Death-Eaters' or whatever clearly shared views with his family.
"We're kids," Remus stated slowly. "Only adults and older students read the Prophet, and don't you think our parents are trying to shield us from it?"
"Isn't it better that we know?" James snapped. If he had known his dad was putting himself in danger like that, he would have hugged him tighter the last time he saw him. James had a sudden childish need to go home.
Remus shrugged. "We know now."
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A/N
Is this story cancelled?
Sadly, yes. I haven't updated in what? Three months? The reason is when it comes to this story, I have no inspiration at all, so I'm afraid I'm just gonna have to quit.
Will you ever come back to it?
Yes, kinda. When I first started writing this, two years ago, I just jumped into it, without thinking, and now I regret that. There are so many things I want to change about this story, and I think it would just be easier to start all over.
This means I'll be gone for some time while I make a draft and an outline, simply because I want it to be better structured. And then, I'll write the same story, but better.
Also, my writing skills have improved massively since I started two years ago, so I'm hoping I can make it better this time.
Where can I find the new story?
I'll keep this story as it is, and I'll update it with more details when I'm ready for it, so if you follow this one, you'll be notified. The new story will have the same name, simply because I love the title so much.
Thanks for your love and support.
I wanna thank all of you who supported this story. All your comments and reviews have helped me find inspiration to update as much as possible. And I promise I'll be back with more. Nothing will stop me from writing about the Marauders' seven years at Hogwarts! :D
Regards
The author.