"Thank you, Professor, for talking me out of taking more classes than I could handle. I did gather all I needed to know about the Wizarding world's view of muggles just from reading the textbook, and helping Harry and Ron with Divinations was enough. I'm sorry I tried to argue with you," Hermione said, sipping at her tea.
"You're welcome, Miss Granger," Remus said, bringing the hot chocolate to his lips. "What areas of study are you interested in pursuing?"
"I believe I will keep my current load. I like to keep my options open, you know," Hermione informed him.
"The sun is sinking lower in the sky and I have places I have to be before it disappears. Why don't you go and pester Prongslet into beginning his packing. This way, we only have to ask Minerva to bring a few items home," Remus suggested, standing up to escort the witch out.
"I'll try, but you know how he is. 'I save the world when I was a baby, you should pack for me!' It's quite irritating. I don't know why Professor McGonagall hasn't hexed him yet," Hermione commented, gathering her things.
"Surely you're joking, Miss Granger," Remus said, shocked.
"I most certainly am not joking, Professor. It's his way of things. As Ron said, 'Harry is generally a prat to literally everyone he meets.' He's my best friend, but he's so arrogant sometimes!" Hermione shouted a bit. Then, realizing who she was talking to, she blushed and added, "I'm sorry, Sir. I know he's your godson. I shouldn't speak like that."
"No, no, it's… uh… well not fine, really. But it is understandable. I'll just have to… I'll have a talk with…" Remus muttered and mumbled. Then he looked out of a nearby window and exclaimed, "Oh, is that what time it is? You best be going. Have an excellent evening, Miss Granger."
"I will, Professor," Hermione said before leaving.
"Wait until Sirius hears about this," Remus muttered to himself.
"Hears about what?" A voice startled him.
"Nymphadora? What are you doing here?" Remus asked, turning to look at his friend's cousin.
"Dementor watch. I pissed Moody off somethin' awful at trainin' last night, so I've got to watch; make sure these dementors don't go off after students," Tonks said, leaning against the door frame. "Thought I'd stop by and see you bein' all professoral. Totally worth it."
"Nymphadora, don't lick your lips like that," Remus chastised half-heartedly. She smirked and ran her tongue over her lips again.
"Dora, you're Sirius' baby cousin," Remus said, searching for his vial of wolfsbane.
"Not a baby anymore. I could prove it," Remus could hear the smirk in her voice.
"I remember quite well," Remus hung his head.
"I thought you didn't see anything over the hols. Distinctly said you didn't," Tonks teased.
"You knew I was lying. You're hair did that weird, pink, blue thing you do when you're shocked," Remus said, turning back to the pink haired girl.
"I knew you noticed me. Now, take your medicine and let's get you out to the Shack, yeah?" Tonks said, wrapping an arm around his bicep and leading him down the hall.
"What am I going to do with you, Dora?" Remus asked.
"I can think of things," Tonks smirked, looking up at him.
"Harry! Professor Lupin says to start packing now!" Hermione shouted as she entered through the portrait hole.
"Naw! I'll do it later!" Harry shrugged her off.
"Fine, your choice," Hermione said, flopping onto a couch. She immediately jumped up again as Crookshanks ran past her feet. "Crooksie! Where are you going?"
"Whoa! What's wrong with your cat?" Harry asked, staring at his friend.
"I don't know! Crooksie!" Hermione said, following her cat with single-minded focus.
"'Mione!" Harry shouted, running after her.
"Where are you two going?" Ron asked, watching them dart down the stairs.
"C'mon. Let's go make sure they don't get killed," Neville sighed heavily, turning to follow them.
Crookshanks led his trail of third year students down through the castle and out onto the grounds.
"Is that… Is that a rat!?" Hermione shrieked, pointing ahead of Crookshanks.
The three boys found what she was pointing at and looked at each other alarmed. There was a silent three way conversation before Neville just nodded his head and said, "I'll go. Minnie's used to it now. She'd go bonkers if it wasn't me."
"Good man," Ron said before turning to the scene in front of him. "Now, how do we get passed the Whomping Willow?"
"Now, remember Peeves, we are the ones who thought of this, not my brothers, agreed?" Ginny said handing the poltergeist the stink bomb. "And if anyone asks where you got all of this, you tell them-"
"I tell them the smartest Weasley." He responded before rushing away.
The next day, Ginny and Luna walked into the classroom where all the other second years were slaving away to their textbooks. One of the Ravenclaw boys waved and blushed at her before looking back down at his books. And spilling his ink.
They were smart and had told Peeves to wait. It wouldn't be long now. Ginny and Luna pulled out her books, pretending to be studying. Hermione and Ginny had gone over the material one last time last night before they went to bed. Hermione kept reassuring Ginny that she would have top marks.
As she was lost in thought when it started. First the boxer and briefs. All the boys in the room went pale, seeing their tighty-whities floating in the air. They all blushed as the girls laughed and attempted to bag their own flying boxers in the room.
Then the stink bombs went off.
Then the Girls' knickers were added into the mix, rushing through the air.
They squealed as Peeves started reading all of the second year's secret notes he had collected throughout the school year into the chaos. "Did you see Ralf's hair this morning?" He started in a mocking voice. "I think I could run my hands through it for hours."
Then another. "You will never believe what happened in the bathroom today. Moaning Myrtle was trying to gather support for bathroom cleanliness and Cole started to trash the bathroom. Professor McGonagall was furious but no one would tell her."
"Oohh, here is a good one." Peeves went on.
"'Do you think I might have a shot with Ginny Weasley?'
'No way man, all those brothers, and Longbottom, Potter and Malfoy.'
'Wouldn't hurt to try, at least not until next year. We can go to Hogsmeade together.'
'Go for it then!'"
Ginny blushed. But it went on, for another thirty minutes. It only stopped thirty minutes later, when Professor Snape rushed in with the Bloody Baron.
Everyone knew who did it. But no one said a word as they all laughed, finally coming together as a class. And to identify who had the most embarrassing knickers..
Final exams were done. Minerva had just set down to have a celebratory drink, courtesy of Charlie Weasley and Nymphadora Tonks, confiscated the evening before graduation 1989. As she pulled the stopper on her decanture, she was made aware of a scuffling noise followed by what sounded like shouting.
"Professor! Aunt Minnie! It's… It's…" Neville Longbotton huffed and puffed, barging into her office.
"Of course. You haven't been here in a bit. Why shouldn't it be you? Where are they?" Minerva said, corking the whiskey and leading Neville away.
"Crookshanks chased Pettigrew out to the Whomping Willow!" Neville said, eyes wide with fear.
"No! He wouldn't! Not on a full moon! It's madness. Quickly, get Professor Snape, then floo your parents and Auror Moody from his office. This is a nightmare," Minerva ordered, not feeling a bit guilty about leaving a young boy out of this fight. Now, if only she could wrangle the other three hooligans.
"How the bloody- oof!" Ron shouted as a branch caught him in the stomach.
"It's just- gah!" Harry screamed as a second branch leveled him from the back.
Hermione, for her part, was screaming as the branch she clung to whirled her through the air. Getting close enough to the ground, she let go and dropped. Before she could reach the knot, however, she was thrown backwards by a stray vine. Suddenly, the tree went very still.
"Oh, Crooksie! Oh, you clever boy! I'll give you so much tuna for this!" Hermione cooed as she scratched her familiar's head. "C'mon, boys, let's go."
The trip down the tunnel under the Whomping Willow was dark and cramped. Nothing like Harry thought it would be. "I wonder how Dad fit down here with all those antlers."
"I don't think they changed until they were in the shack, did they?" Ron chuckled.
"Right," Harry mused. Then they continued on in silence.
Finally, they came to a door, but were hesitant to open it, based solely on the flashes of light they could see through the cracks.
"I think Padfoot and Moony found him," Harry whispered.
"We should go back. There's nothing we can do to help," Hermione advised.
"This is the man that killed my parents, 'Mione. He killed them, spied on you, and tried to kill Ron too. We aren't leaving here without him," Harry demanded.
"I'd almost forgot about that," Hermione blanched.
"Thought so," Harry said with a nod. They waited until the lights faded to pop the trap door open and crawl into the Shrieking Shack.
"What the hell are you lot doing here?" Sirius cursed as his godson came into sight.
"We followed Crookshanks, who followed the Rat Bastard," Harry said, staring at the scene in front of him. Pettigrew was bound with an Incarcerous and both Padfoot and Moony had their wands trained on him.
"Harry! I swear! It wasn't me! It was Black, he forced me!" Pettigrew begged from the ground.
"Don't talk to him!" Sirius raged, sending a silent stinging hex at the fat, balding man on the floor.
"Sirius, don't get carried away," Remus advised.
"Oh, hush it, you," Sirius turned on Remus.
"Professor! It's moonrise!" Hermione suddenly shouted from her place near the window.
The next few hours would always be a blur of confusion for those involved. Tonks arrived on the scene, but so did the dementors. Sirius had an adverse reaction to the cloaked figures, still upset over his one week stay in hell. Between Remus turning, and Tonks getting her first glimpse into what being with him would be like,and Sirius cursing and flinging hexes, Pettigrew slipping into his ratty form and made for the door.
Hermione, Ron, and Harry followed him out, only to find Minerva and Severus being trailed by a league of aurors. Pettigrew used the dark to cover his flight into the nearby Forbidden Forest, anxious to get back to his master and report his findings.
"That way! He went into the forest!" Ron gestured, showing his professors where to go. Just then, Moony, in all his wolfy glory, shattered a window and dove into the forest, followed by the Grim, and Tonks taking up the rear.
"Let's go, Moody!" She challenged. The aurors and professors followed the animals into the wood.
Harry, Ron and Hermione gasped for breath before they realized that the dementors were still there. Cold seeped down their spines and into their bones. Memories of diaries, cats, spiders, basilisks, and half-remembered screams flooded their young minds.
"Harry, Harry do the spell," Ron said, nudging Harry,
"I can't. I don't remember…" Harry trailed off.
"You have to, Harry, you're the only one Professor Lupin cared enough about to teach it to," Hermione snapped with enough venom that Harry was able to focus on her.
"What did you say?" Harry asked deadly calm.
"You heard me. I said you're a spoilt little brat who cries until he gets special lessons with Professor Uncle while the rest of us are stuck doing tedious paperwork!" Hermione screamed.
"You're right, Hermione. Uncle Moony did teach me, and only me, this: Expecto Patronum!" Harry screamed. A beautiful, ethereal stag burst forth and conquered the foe at hand. Minerva, realizing where she had left three of her cubs, burst through the tree line in time to watch the magnificent show. As the last dementor flew off, presumably to Azkaban, the three teens collapsed under the weight of their stress, anxiety, and post-exam haze.
"This should be an interesting night for clean up," Minerva muttered with a shake of her head. "Come, Severus, the aurors have that situation well in hand. Help me get these children up to the castle. It seems they've had too much excitement."
"Fine, Minerva, but you shall never speak of this event again," Severus agreed with a roll of his eyes. "Perhaps I should endeavor to teach Draco the same charm. Wouldn't want Potter to get a big head, now would we?"
Minerva rolled her eyes, then helped levitate the children back to the castle for some well deserved rest.
The news had spread all over the Wizarding World. Pettigrew had escaped all of the aurors, teachers, and dementors. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were kept out of the news. Merlin forbid Dumbledore let Harry be seen as weak or that he knew advanced magic.
The trio sat at the Gryffindor table the next morning with their friends, attempting to figure out the Rat Bastards escape plan.
"He could have climbed a tree." Ginny suggested, eating a bite of toast. "Then hid in a hole."
"Or he could have apperated out," Neville suggested both trying to make their friends happy again.
"Yeah, to Voldemort," Harry huffed. "I can't believe after all of this, after everything, he escaped."
"We don't know if he made it to Voldemort, do we?" Draco asked, coming over to the Gryffindor table, sitting next to Neville.
"I have a feeling we will know soon," Hermione sighed. "What do we do now?"
"He learn how to be animagi and we get ready to fight." Ron said standing up. "What other choices do we have?"
Remus sat up, huffing. He was exhausted after his night of running all over Hogwarts.
"So, you going to explain why you came in smelling like my baby cousin?" Sirius asked, sitting up.
Remus stared at Sirius for a full minute before saying, "Is that what you really want to discuss right this instant?"
"Yes," Sirius said, eyes wide.
"After everything that happened last night, and you want to talk about that?" Remus continued. Sirius nodded, hair shaking about.
"She was on dementor duty last night. She decided to visit me while she was here. That's all. Are you satisfied?" Remus asked.
"Do you like her?" Sirius asked.
"This is not the time, Sirius!" Remus bellowed.
"You do like her. You have my blessing," Sirius announced, trying to leave the Shack.
"I… What! She's 13 years younger than me! You approve of this!?" Remus shrieked.
"I do. You're literally the best she can do," Sirius said.
"You think that little of her?" Remus growled a bit.
"No. I think that much of you. Now, let's get to the Great Hall and embarrass Prongslet over breakfast. I overheard something from Peeves and I want to see what Ginny and that little blonde chit she's been hanging about with," Sirius commented casually as he led Remus down the path and past the Whomping Willow.
The final banquet was finally upon them. They had made it through third year, with less mischief than the two years before. It was almost over. Remus looked out on the students, all cheering for the house who won the house cup. He didn't know where he would go from here. That was when the first Howler appeared.
"REMUS LUPIN! HOW DARE YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN LEAVE AFTER THIS YEAR! MY SON HAS FINALLY LEARNED TO DEFEND HIMSELF, IT ONLY TOOK FOUR YEARS OF HORRENDOUS TEACHERS FOR HIM TO FINALLY GET A GOOD ONE, AND YOU THINK YOU CAN LEAVE! I'M ASHAMED OF YOU."
Remus went pale as he noticed the whole Great Hall looking up from their food and friends to see him get berated. "Go back to enjoyin-" He started to say before another Howler came.
"ARE YOU EXPECTING STUDENTS TO LEARN THE DEFENCE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS WITHOUT AN ADEQUATE TEACHER NEXT YEAR? AFTER THIS FIASCO, NO ONE WILL WANT THE JOB, AND YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST UP AND QUIT? YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE ALL THE SEVENTH YEARS HAVE YET ANOTHER TEACHER?"
Then came another.
"ON BEHALF OF THE FIRST YEAR RAVENCLAWS, WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO FORMALLY WITHDRAW YOUR RESIGNATION. WE THINK THAT IT SHOULDN'T MATTER WHAT OUR TEACHER IS UNLESS THEY CANNOT PROPERLY TEACH STUDENTS. RECONSIDER."
Then another.
"DON'T QUIT!"
AND ANOTHER
"PLEASE, PROFESSOR, DON'T LEAVE US!"
The howlers continued throughout the meal. Students even ran out of the Great Hall to grab quills and papers to send him a howler.
Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George looked at one another and winked.
Kat: Sorry the ending sucks. That's on me. Same with all the grammar mistakes. I'm still a little groggy. That brings me to why this chapter is sooo late. I started passing a kidney stone on Thursday and ended up in the hospital. Gabs is in California and adventuring into Disneyland as we speak eer-As I write this.
This is me telling you that we will not post for TWO weeks. Sorry. We need time to map out the next book more (they are going to get longer). We have a base plan for the whole story, but we need some time to sit and plan out more.
We don't own anything. Please review! We do love reading them and if you didn't notice, sometimes what you comment on finds it's way into the story somehow.
XOXO
Gabs & Kat
