This is the seventh part to my series, and it's kinda long, I know, but this is one situation, so I couldn't really break it up. There's just one part after this, I promise, and it's very short. I post it fast, if I get good reviews.
"We could, I don't know, use the Polyjuice Potion on one of us," Sirius said frantically. It was nearly five o'clock in the morning, and I had only an hour or so left to make my choice. Already, though, I knew the choice I'd make. I'd go. There was no other choice.
"Sirius, it'd take forever to make a Polyjuice Potion, and we don't have forever, sorry," I snapped.
"I'm just trying to help," he wailed. "And how can you be so calm?"
"Everyone gets what they deserve eventually," I said with a little laugh. It was not a happy laugh. "I just consider this to be what I deserve."
"You do not deserve this," Snape said from between clenched teeth.
"Whether I do or not doesn't matter, now does it?"
"Of course it matters," Dumbledore said firmly. I looked around the room. Minerva McGonagall had left the room an hour or two earlier, and Madam Pomfrey had gone with her, but Snape, Sirius, Jake, Draco, and Dumbledore were still here, trying their best to come up with something.
"No it doesn't," I said with a fury that surprised me. "It doesn't matter because you're not going to have to do this. The only thing that's keeping me from just refusing to go out there is the thought of what Voldemort can do." There was moment of silence, then:
"Why did he have to do this?" Jake whimpered, and I didn't have to ask who he was referring to. Voldemort.
"Because I made him mad. Because I made look like a fool in front of his own followers. Because he played his all his cards the right way and I still left."
"Why not one of us?" Sirius said to no one in particular.
"I told you," I said, my temper finally under control once more. "He needs me. If he lets me get away, he'll lose credibility with his own followers. He has to get me." I sighed. "I just don't know how I could've been so stupid as to think that I could totally get away from him." I rose from my chair and walked over to the window, watching the sunrise. My last, I realized with a surprising lack of emotion.
"What are you thinking about?" Sirius asked. I looked over at him, and crossed the room to him.
"Lots of things. Mostly how stupid I was to think I could truly leave the past behind." Before he could reply, I walked out the door of the staffroom to the huge front doors of Hogwarts. He followed.
"That wasn't stupid," he whispered. "I want to leave the past behind, too. Everyone does." Ignoring Sirius, I opened the doors and looked out at the magnificent sunrise. It was amazing how many things you noticed and appreciated when you knew you might never see them again. I transformed into the wolf, and glanced over at Sirius. Obeying my unspoken command, he too changed into his dog form. I tipped my head back and howled, a wild and yet somehow mournful sound. Sirius followed my lead. Suddenly I heard a voice behind me.
"Wow, pretty dogs," said a girl's voice. I looked around to see a third year girl who's name was Courtney if I remembered correctly. She walked over to us and started petting us. I looked over at Sirius and grinned wolfishly. He rolled his eyes. Courtney studied me carefully, then let out a yelp of fear.
"It's a werewolf," she whispered fearfully. Sirius changed back and tried to reassure her.
"It's okay," he soothed. "That's just Remus." He glared at me. "Change back," he ordered. I shook my head.
"Do it," he demanded. I stuck out my tongue at him, and Courtney giggled.
"It's okay, Mr. Black, I'm not scared of him," she assured Sirius.
"Okay, now that's over with, what on earth are you doing up?" Sirius asked.
"I couldn't sleep, so I was going to go down to the library and do my Defense Against the Dark Arts homework." She looked down at me and grinned mischievously. "It's about werewolves." Sirius tried to keep a straight face, but after a moment he burst out laughing. I changed back to my usual form and glared at him.
"What is so amusing about werewolves, huh Sirius?" I asked him.
"Nothing," he managed to get out between giggles. "It's just an awful coincidence."
"What's going on?" demanded another voice. Hermione walked over to us, scowling. "Well, what do you have to say for yourselves?" I couldn't help it, I cracked up too, and soon Courtney and Hermione had joined in.
"Now what's going on?" Hermione asked, when we'd all recovered from our laughing fits.
"Not much," I said innocently. "We haven't been sleeping much, and we decided to come downstairs and have a good howl." She rolled her eyes.
"That was an awful joke," she told me.
"Wasn't joking," I retorted. I changed back into my wolf form, threw my head back, and howled as loud as I could.
"Oh, stop that howling and change back before I curse you," Hermione said sternly. I winced at her mention of the word `curse', and she looked confused for a second, then remembered Voldemort and his little deal.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said softly. I obediently changed back and shook my head.
"Nah, don't be sorry. It's not your fault."
"What's not her fault?" Courtney asked, interested.
"Never mind," I said hastily. "You'd better go back upstairs."
"But my homework," she wailed.
"Don't worry about it. Severus is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts these days, isn't he?"
"Who?" Courtney asked, looking mystified.
"Professor Snape," Hermione clarified, and Courtney nodded.
"Yes, he is."
"Then I'll just tell him that you didn't do his homework because you had an, er, practical lesson on werewolves."
"Okay, thanks," she said, and went running back upstairs.
"Now, Professor Lupin, I am really sorry for that little slip up. I totally forgot," Hermione said earnestly. I started to tell her to just call me Remus for what had to be the millionth time, then decided it wasn't worth the effort.
"That's okay," I said. "It doesn't matter."
"You sure?"
"Absolutely. Besides, we haven't got time to argue. It won't be long." I looked out the still open front door, and couldn't suppress a shiver. As I watched, Voldemort came striding toward the door.
"Ready?" he snickered. He was enjoying this.
"Nah, I have a couple things I gotta do," I said coolly. Voldemort looked surprised by my lack of fear. Of course, I was actually terrified, but he didn't need to know that.
"You or Harry," Voldemort reminded me.
"Shut up," I hissed from between clenched teeth. "You think I need reminding? I'll be out in maybe ten minutes, no more." I leaned against the doorframe, trying to sound casual. "Unless of course, you're impatient, then you can just leave." Voldemort gritted his teeth and glared at me, but did nothing else. He knew he wouldn't, and couldn't, walk away. Satisfied, I shut the door in his face, then went back to the staffroom.
"Is it time?" Snape asked, and his voice was shaking a little.
"Yes. Voldemort's outside the door. He's rather impatient. Oh yes, and Courtney won't have her homework. I told her she didn't have to." He nodded slowly, as though he thought I was insane or something, worrying about such a trivial thing as homework at a time like this.
"Well, this is it then," I said hesitantly. "Good-bye." I picked up my wand from the table beside Snape's chair, and headed for the door. After a second, Snape, Draco, Dumbledore, Hermione, Sirius, and Jake followed. I opened the front door to see Voldemort standing there, waiting patiently, or as patiently as a man like him can, anyway.
"Here's your precious Harry," he sneered. Harry was standing behind Voldemort, apparently under a freezing charm.
"Let him go," I said, and my voice sounded stronger than it felt.
"Swear that if I let him go, you'll still come out."
"I swear," I said instantly. Voldemort laughed nastily, but with a wave of his wand, he freed Harry from the spell. He shoved him forward, into the castle, so hard that Harry would've fallen if Sirius hadn't caught him.
"Now keep your word," Voldemort prompted. Before anyone could make a move to stop me, I stepped forward, one step that put me totally under Voldemort's control.
"Very good," Voldemort said wickedly. "I knew you'd do it."
"Remus, no!" Harry screamed, but it was already too late.
"Imperio!" Voldemort called out, pointing his wand at me. Instantly a dreamy, peaceful feeling washed over me.
"Come," Voldemort sneered, walking back toward the main group of his wizards. Automatically I started to follow, but after a few steps another voice had awoken in the back of my mind.
Stupid thing to do, said the voice, and I paused.
"Come," Voldemort said again.
Obey Voldemort? I don't want to, thanks, said the voice, more stubbornly this time.
"Remus!" Voldemort yelled. I took another step forward, and then paused. And in that instant, the curse broke. I pulled back, away from Voldemort, and the peaceful sensation vanished. I was myself again, and I knew exactly what was going on.
"I don't think so, Tom," I said, using Voldemort's hated real name. He glared at me furiously.
"Looks like it's going to take more than that to get you," he observed. "But I'll get you, don't worry about that." He pointed his wand at me and muttered, "Crucio."
The effects were immediate. I collapsed on the ground as pain shot through me. But even as I felt my own will weaken under the influence of Voldemort's spell, I realized I was not alone. I felt the wolf's pain, but also it's fury. Instinctively, I shifted forms, and as I became the wolf, anger gradually outweighed pain. Voldemort looked rather shocked that his spell wasn't having the desired effects. I snarled ferociously, and he backed up a step.
"I didn't want to have to do this yet, but... Avada Kadavra!" If I had been human, I would've died, and even with the wolf's superior reflexes, I barely got out of the way. I lunged for Voldemort, and as he backed up, trying to get out of the way, he tripped and fell. I pounced. I snatched up his wand, and, with him watching every move I made, I snapped it between my massive wolf jaws. Throwing the broken wand aside, I advanced upon Voldemort. Without his precious wand, he suddenly didn't look so confident.
"Remus, don't!" said a voice behind me. I turned to see Harry coming up behind me. Voldemort started to get to his feet, then, when I turned back around and snarled at him, he decided he'd stay where he was. As Harry approached, I flattened my ears back and growled.
"Moony!" he scolded, shocked by my reaction. He knelt beside me and picked up the broken pieces of Voldemort's wand. I growled again, unwilling to let Harry anywhere near Voldemort.
"Remus, let it go," Harry soothed. Finally, I gave up and changed back to my human form.
"That was so cool!" Sirius said enthusiastically. "Beyond cool!" Jake, Dumbledore, Hermione, Sirius, Draco, and Snape came running over. Dumbledore put a freezing spell on Voldemort, and stood guard over him while we talked. All of sudden, though, I knew there was something wrong. I couldn't say what it was, but it was definitely there. I looked around for a minute or two before it hit me: Voldemort's wizards weren't were they'd been before! I didn't even have time to call out a warning before they struck.
"Get back inside!" I yelled. "I'll hold `em off!" Everyone scrambled for the relative safety of Hogwarts castle. Dumbledore and Snape went last, taking Voldemort with them. I changed back into my wolf form and carefully guarded Albus and Severus as they pulled Voldemort inside the castle. I backed in after them. That's when I saw our mistake. By dragging Voldemort inside the castle, we'd basically invited him in, which meant that if he got away from us, he could invite in the rest of his horde. Which, I realized suddenly, was what they'd been after all along.
Dumbledore slammed the door shut and turned to Voldemort, who appeared to be unconscious on the floor. Dumbledore lightly tapped Tom with his wand, and Voldemort, in one swift movement, had snatched Albus' wand out of his hand.
"Freeze, or he gets it," Voldemort hissed. I stared at him, and he laughed cruelly.
"Change back into your usual form, Remus," he ordered. Reluctantly I did as he commanded. Voldemort started pacing across the room, keeping the wand pointing
straight at me. "I hate being beaten by a werewolf. I hate being beaten by a traitor even worse. So Remus, it looks like you're out of luck."
"How do you figure that?" I asked, trying to keep my voice level.
"I'm pointing this wand right at you, and if you so much as sneeze, I'll curse you faster than you could say Voldemort."
"Do I look scared?"
"You should be."
"Maybe, maybe not. You see, you made a vital error in what you just said."
"What would that be?"
"You should never threaten me directly. I really don't care."
"You're bluffing."
"Want to find out?" I changed into my wolf form and slowly started toward him. Despite himself, he started backing up.
"One more step," he threatened. I took a step. "One more step and I'll..."
"You'll what?" Sirius asked, enjoying this. Of course, all good things come to an end. When I was no more than three strides from him, Voldemort mumbled a spell. The last thing I remembered was listening once more to the cruel laughter that haunted my dreams.
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"We could, I don't know, use the Polyjuice Potion on one of us," Sirius said frantically. It was nearly five o'clock in the morning, and I had only an hour or so left to make my choice. Already, though, I knew the choice I'd make. I'd go. There was no other choice.
"Sirius, it'd take forever to make a Polyjuice Potion, and we don't have forever, sorry," I snapped.
"I'm just trying to help," he wailed. "And how can you be so calm?"
"Everyone gets what they deserve eventually," I said with a little laugh. It was not a happy laugh. "I just consider this to be what I deserve."
"You do not deserve this," Snape said from between clenched teeth.
"Whether I do or not doesn't matter, now does it?"
"Of course it matters," Dumbledore said firmly. I looked around the room. Minerva McGonagall had left the room an hour or two earlier, and Madam Pomfrey had gone with her, but Snape, Sirius, Jake, Draco, and Dumbledore were still here, trying their best to come up with something.
"No it doesn't," I said with a fury that surprised me. "It doesn't matter because you're not going to have to do this. The only thing that's keeping me from just refusing to go out there is the thought of what Voldemort can do." There was moment of silence, then:
"Why did he have to do this?" Jake whimpered, and I didn't have to ask who he was referring to. Voldemort.
"Because I made him mad. Because I made look like a fool in front of his own followers. Because he played his all his cards the right way and I still left."
"Why not one of us?" Sirius said to no one in particular.
"I told you," I said, my temper finally under control once more. "He needs me. If he lets me get away, he'll lose credibility with his own followers. He has to get me." I sighed. "I just don't know how I could've been so stupid as to think that I could totally get away from him." I rose from my chair and walked over to the window, watching the sunrise. My last, I realized with a surprising lack of emotion.
"What are you thinking about?" Sirius asked. I looked over at him, and crossed the room to him.
"Lots of things. Mostly how stupid I was to think I could truly leave the past behind." Before he could reply, I walked out the door of the staffroom to the huge front doors of Hogwarts. He followed.
"That wasn't stupid," he whispered. "I want to leave the past behind, too. Everyone does." Ignoring Sirius, I opened the doors and looked out at the magnificent sunrise. It was amazing how many things you noticed and appreciated when you knew you might never see them again. I transformed into the wolf, and glanced over at Sirius. Obeying my unspoken command, he too changed into his dog form. I tipped my head back and howled, a wild and yet somehow mournful sound. Sirius followed my lead. Suddenly I heard a voice behind me.
"Wow, pretty dogs," said a girl's voice. I looked around to see a third year girl who's name was Courtney if I remembered correctly. She walked over to us and started petting us. I looked over at Sirius and grinned wolfishly. He rolled his eyes. Courtney studied me carefully, then let out a yelp of fear.
"It's a werewolf," she whispered fearfully. Sirius changed back and tried to reassure her.
"It's okay," he soothed. "That's just Remus." He glared at me. "Change back," he ordered. I shook my head.
"Do it," he demanded. I stuck out my tongue at him, and Courtney giggled.
"It's okay, Mr. Black, I'm not scared of him," she assured Sirius.
"Okay, now that's over with, what on earth are you doing up?" Sirius asked.
"I couldn't sleep, so I was going to go down to the library and do my Defense Against the Dark Arts homework." She looked down at me and grinned mischievously. "It's about werewolves." Sirius tried to keep a straight face, but after a moment he burst out laughing. I changed back to my usual form and glared at him.
"What is so amusing about werewolves, huh Sirius?" I asked him.
"Nothing," he managed to get out between giggles. "It's just an awful coincidence."
"What's going on?" demanded another voice. Hermione walked over to us, scowling. "Well, what do you have to say for yourselves?" I couldn't help it, I cracked up too, and soon Courtney and Hermione had joined in.
"Now what's going on?" Hermione asked, when we'd all recovered from our laughing fits.
"Not much," I said innocently. "We haven't been sleeping much, and we decided to come downstairs and have a good howl." She rolled her eyes.
"That was an awful joke," she told me.
"Wasn't joking," I retorted. I changed back into my wolf form, threw my head back, and howled as loud as I could.
"Oh, stop that howling and change back before I curse you," Hermione said sternly. I winced at her mention of the word `curse', and she looked confused for a second, then remembered Voldemort and his little deal.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said softly. I obediently changed back and shook my head.
"Nah, don't be sorry. It's not your fault."
"What's not her fault?" Courtney asked, interested.
"Never mind," I said hastily. "You'd better go back upstairs."
"But my homework," she wailed.
"Don't worry about it. Severus is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts these days, isn't he?"
"Who?" Courtney asked, looking mystified.
"Professor Snape," Hermione clarified, and Courtney nodded.
"Yes, he is."
"Then I'll just tell him that you didn't do his homework because you had an, er, practical lesson on werewolves."
"Okay, thanks," she said, and went running back upstairs.
"Now, Professor Lupin, I am really sorry for that little slip up. I totally forgot," Hermione said earnestly. I started to tell her to just call me Remus for what had to be the millionth time, then decided it wasn't worth the effort.
"That's okay," I said. "It doesn't matter."
"You sure?"
"Absolutely. Besides, we haven't got time to argue. It won't be long." I looked out the still open front door, and couldn't suppress a shiver. As I watched, Voldemort came striding toward the door.
"Ready?" he snickered. He was enjoying this.
"Nah, I have a couple things I gotta do," I said coolly. Voldemort looked surprised by my lack of fear. Of course, I was actually terrified, but he didn't need to know that.
"You or Harry," Voldemort reminded me.
"Shut up," I hissed from between clenched teeth. "You think I need reminding? I'll be out in maybe ten minutes, no more." I leaned against the doorframe, trying to sound casual. "Unless of course, you're impatient, then you can just leave." Voldemort gritted his teeth and glared at me, but did nothing else. He knew he wouldn't, and couldn't, walk away. Satisfied, I shut the door in his face, then went back to the staffroom.
"Is it time?" Snape asked, and his voice was shaking a little.
"Yes. Voldemort's outside the door. He's rather impatient. Oh yes, and Courtney won't have her homework. I told her she didn't have to." He nodded slowly, as though he thought I was insane or something, worrying about such a trivial thing as homework at a time like this.
"Well, this is it then," I said hesitantly. "Good-bye." I picked up my wand from the table beside Snape's chair, and headed for the door. After a second, Snape, Draco, Dumbledore, Hermione, Sirius, and Jake followed. I opened the front door to see Voldemort standing there, waiting patiently, or as patiently as a man like him can, anyway.
"Here's your precious Harry," he sneered. Harry was standing behind Voldemort, apparently under a freezing charm.
"Let him go," I said, and my voice sounded stronger than it felt.
"Swear that if I let him go, you'll still come out."
"I swear," I said instantly. Voldemort laughed nastily, but with a wave of his wand, he freed Harry from the spell. He shoved him forward, into the castle, so hard that Harry would've fallen if Sirius hadn't caught him.
"Now keep your word," Voldemort prompted. Before anyone could make a move to stop me, I stepped forward, one step that put me totally under Voldemort's control.
"Very good," Voldemort said wickedly. "I knew you'd do it."
"Remus, no!" Harry screamed, but it was already too late.
"Imperio!" Voldemort called out, pointing his wand at me. Instantly a dreamy, peaceful feeling washed over me.
"Come," Voldemort sneered, walking back toward the main group of his wizards. Automatically I started to follow, but after a few steps another voice had awoken in the back of my mind.
Stupid thing to do, said the voice, and I paused.
"Come," Voldemort said again.
Obey Voldemort? I don't want to, thanks, said the voice, more stubbornly this time.
"Remus!" Voldemort yelled. I took another step forward, and then paused. And in that instant, the curse broke. I pulled back, away from Voldemort, and the peaceful sensation vanished. I was myself again, and I knew exactly what was going on.
"I don't think so, Tom," I said, using Voldemort's hated real name. He glared at me furiously.
"Looks like it's going to take more than that to get you," he observed. "But I'll get you, don't worry about that." He pointed his wand at me and muttered, "Crucio."
The effects were immediate. I collapsed on the ground as pain shot through me. But even as I felt my own will weaken under the influence of Voldemort's spell, I realized I was not alone. I felt the wolf's pain, but also it's fury. Instinctively, I shifted forms, and as I became the wolf, anger gradually outweighed pain. Voldemort looked rather shocked that his spell wasn't having the desired effects. I snarled ferociously, and he backed up a step.
"I didn't want to have to do this yet, but... Avada Kadavra!" If I had been human, I would've died, and even with the wolf's superior reflexes, I barely got out of the way. I lunged for Voldemort, and as he backed up, trying to get out of the way, he tripped and fell. I pounced. I snatched up his wand, and, with him watching every move I made, I snapped it between my massive wolf jaws. Throwing the broken wand aside, I advanced upon Voldemort. Without his precious wand, he suddenly didn't look so confident.
"Remus, don't!" said a voice behind me. I turned to see Harry coming up behind me. Voldemort started to get to his feet, then, when I turned back around and snarled at him, he decided he'd stay where he was. As Harry approached, I flattened my ears back and growled.
"Moony!" he scolded, shocked by my reaction. He knelt beside me and picked up the broken pieces of Voldemort's wand. I growled again, unwilling to let Harry anywhere near Voldemort.
"Remus, let it go," Harry soothed. Finally, I gave up and changed back to my human form.
"That was so cool!" Sirius said enthusiastically. "Beyond cool!" Jake, Dumbledore, Hermione, Sirius, Draco, and Snape came running over. Dumbledore put a freezing spell on Voldemort, and stood guard over him while we talked. All of sudden, though, I knew there was something wrong. I couldn't say what it was, but it was definitely there. I looked around for a minute or two before it hit me: Voldemort's wizards weren't were they'd been before! I didn't even have time to call out a warning before they struck.
"Get back inside!" I yelled. "I'll hold `em off!" Everyone scrambled for the relative safety of Hogwarts castle. Dumbledore and Snape went last, taking Voldemort with them. I changed back into my wolf form and carefully guarded Albus and Severus as they pulled Voldemort inside the castle. I backed in after them. That's when I saw our mistake. By dragging Voldemort inside the castle, we'd basically invited him in, which meant that if he got away from us, he could invite in the rest of his horde. Which, I realized suddenly, was what they'd been after all along.
Dumbledore slammed the door shut and turned to Voldemort, who appeared to be unconscious on the floor. Dumbledore lightly tapped Tom with his wand, and Voldemort, in one swift movement, had snatched Albus' wand out of his hand.
"Freeze, or he gets it," Voldemort hissed. I stared at him, and he laughed cruelly.
"Change back into your usual form, Remus," he ordered. Reluctantly I did as he commanded. Voldemort started pacing across the room, keeping the wand pointing
straight at me. "I hate being beaten by a werewolf. I hate being beaten by a traitor even worse. So Remus, it looks like you're out of luck."
"How do you figure that?" I asked, trying to keep my voice level.
"I'm pointing this wand right at you, and if you so much as sneeze, I'll curse you faster than you could say Voldemort."
"Do I look scared?"
"You should be."
"Maybe, maybe not. You see, you made a vital error in what you just said."
"What would that be?"
"You should never threaten me directly. I really don't care."
"You're bluffing."
"Want to find out?" I changed into my wolf form and slowly started toward him. Despite himself, he started backing up.
"One more step," he threatened. I took a step. "One more step and I'll..."
"You'll what?" Sirius asked, enjoying this. Of course, all good things come to an end. When I was no more than three strides from him, Voldemort mumbled a spell. The last thing I remembered was listening once more to the cruel laughter that haunted my dreams.
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