The Farther Shore Chapter 5: Flower of Venus, a harry potter fanfic

Part V – Flower of Venus

The Farther Shore - Part V: Flower of Venus

Warning: this is very long. Read when you have plenty of time.

Everything that is indented is flashback.

Standard disclaimers apply.

I've made some changes to the scenes at the end.

~

A word, a phrase, drifted across Andrea's sleeping mind. A voice, heard long ago. Her eyelids flickered open. Understanding crystallised in her thoughts, and she got up with a jump. She knew at once what she had to do. Her fingers awkward with impatience, she pulled on some robes and scraped her hair out of her eyes. It was still full dark outside, and the stars shone crisp and bright. Good, she thought. She hastened through down to the Infirmary and into the side chamber where Minerva lay.

Remus was sitting out the watch beside her bed. He swung around when she entered.

'Andrea? What is it? Is there a problem?'

'I know what to do, Remus, I've remembered.' Her voice was a little breathless with excitement.

'Excellent. I knew you would in time.' He stood up. 'Can I be of any help?'

Andrea was making the routine checks on Minerva as he spoke, but as usual she found no change. 'It would be good to have someone to come with me,' she began uncertainly.

'Go with you? Where?'

'Glastonbury Tor,' said Andrea. 'The flora Veneris grows there. It'll cure her.'

'The what flower?'

'Flora Veneris. I'll explain in a bit, okay. We've got to go quickly. If you're coming, you'd better put on something warm. It's chilly out there. Can you ride a Pegasus?'

'I'll try.' Remus reached out with his wand and conjured up his warmest cloak.

'Come on, then.'

They hurried down the stairs to a side entrance.

'I used to sneak out here when I was a student here,' said Remus reminiscently. 'Did you ever do that?'

'I never went to Hogwarts,' replied Andrea. 'I couldn't come.'

'Why not?' Remus asked curiously. 'I mean – you're more than powerful enough.'

'Oh, I was asked to come. But there was a fire, and I … well, it's a long story.' She whistled, and heard Altair's answering nicker as he came trotting towards her.

'It'll be better if you sit behind me. You might find it a bit nerve-racking, but hold on to me, and you'll be fine.' Andrea swung herself onto the horse's broad back. Remus took a tentative step towards him, and Altair laid his ears flat back and kicked out. Remus only just dodged in time.

'Stop that!' said Andrea sharply, slapping his neck.

Remus knew at once why Altair did not like him. 'He can tell what I am,' he said sadly.

'That's no excuse. He's not a skittish colt any more. Altair, stand.' She rested her hand on the horse's neck, and murmured reassuring words, nonsense syllables that seemed to calm the horse. 'Now, get on slowly. That's it.' Although Altair laid his ears back again, he stood still for Remus to mount. He clambered on behind Andrea. 'Hold on round my waist,' she said, and Remus obeyed.

'Okay, Altair, we're going to Glastonbury Tor.' He sprang into the air, and Andrea felt Remus clutch her in panic. She chuckled softly. 'It's all right, Remus, he won't let you fall.'

As they lifted into the night, Andrea's smile grew wider. She had begun to feel trammelled in the castle, despite its magnificence. But now, with nothing around her but the cold air and the stars, everything felt much better.

'So, what are these flora Veneris things, then?' asked Remus, a slight tremor in his voice. 'Doesn't that mean Flower of Venus?'

'That's right. They only blossom when Venus is high in the sky, at night. It's the most powerful herb against the Dark.'

'I didn't know that. And is Venus up tonight?'

'We wouldn't be going if she weren't. I saw her last night, about two hours before dawn, so she'll be up tonight as well.' They both looked at the sky. The moon was just rising, a waning crescent, and the stars were paler around it.

'How do you know about the flora Veneris?' asked Remus after a while. 'I mean, even Dumbledore didn't know what to do for Minerva?'

Andrea frowned. 'It was a long time ago,' she began slowly. 'When I was seven. It was one of the strangest things that's ever happened to me. I was going home from a party with my older brother, late in the evening, and my brother walked more quickly than I did, and left me behind. Then a centaur suddenly stepped out from behind the hedge. I was stunned; I'd never seen one before, and I've never seen one since. He stopped me, and he said, 'I have something you must not forget. It will be the turn of three lives, one for each flower. Remember what I tell you. The flora Veneris. It blossoms only under the light of Venus, and it grows only on Glastonbury Tor. And it is the most powerful herb against the Dark that exists.' I had no idea what he was talking about, I thought he was crazy. But all he said was, 'I can see that one day you will need to know all of this. It is written.' Then he vanished.' She knotted her fingers in Altair's mane, silent for a moment.

'When I told my brother, he was frightened that he'd get into trouble for not taking proper care of me, and he made me promise I'd never tell anyone. I forgot all about it in time, I was very young, and there were plenty of other things to occupy my mind. And the flora Veneris isn't used in healing or anything, so I never thought of it later. But then, just now, I dreamed of the centaur, and I realised what he had told me for.'

Remus looked at her in wonder. 'Whose were the three lives, I wonder? Minerva for one, but who are the other two?'

'I have no idea.'

Altair began to fly lower, circling a hill, a mass of light and shadow.

'This is it.' Altair landed neatly, and stood still for them to dismount. At once they both turned to scan the moor around them.

'Do you know where the flowers will be?' asked Remus. Behind them, Altair snuffled and they heard the sounds of his teeth in the grass.

'I know they're around here somewhere. They won't be easy to miss, they glow brightly when Venus rises. But we do have to be quick, because they stop being useful once she sets.'

Remus turned to scour the landscape, but Andrea looked at the sky.

'You won't find them yet. Venus hasn't risen yet.' She sat down on the grass and gazed up at the stars. Beside her, Remus' face was half in shadow, but she saw him smile. Andrea began to see the shapes of the constellations and let out her breath in a long sigh.

'I used to love Astronomy when I was younger,' she said, apropos of nothing. 'But apart from medical astrology, Healers don't use it much. I don't often get the chance to sit out at night like this, not working shifts.'

'I was never any good at Astronomy,' Remus responded, his words slow. 'The night sky, the moon … no.' His voice trailed off, and Andrea looked at him compassionately.

'It must be hard,' she murmured. Remus did not reply, gazing with a strange fascination at the waning moon.

'Professor Sinistra despaired of me,' he said lightly.

'Who?'

'Our Astronomy teacher – oh, of course, you wouldn't know. Is this really the first time you've been at Hogwarts?'

'Well, more or less. The first time was earlier this month when I came to the League meeting. I couldn't come as a student.'

'Where did you go to school, then?' Remus' voice sounded as if he was merely curious, but his eyes were fixed to her.

'I didn't. I studied mostly by myself, at home, teaching myself out of books. Minerva helped me in the school holidays, because she was a friend of my parents before they … died.'

Remus' gaze became full of concern, and he made a soft sound of sympathy. Andrea continued to talk, almost as if to herself.

'We had a fire, and only my brother and I survived. He's done well, my brother, he's married and he has a little son Oliver.' She paused again. 'But then – I had received the Hogwarts letter, of course, and my brother was already there, but I couldn't go. I spent most of the next three years in and out of the Halls of Healing.' Andrea fell silent, remembering the pain and the misery of being confined to her bed, and the loneliness of those years. Remus watched her spellbound, fearing to speak lest he break into her thoughts.

'Then, when I was better, Voldemort –' she stumbled over the name '- Voldemort had appeared, and the Ministry had passed some silly law to guard against his agents, and one part of it meant that students couldn't be admitted to Hogwarts apart from in the first year. Not that it did them much good. So I lived with my grandmother and Minerva taught me what she could. I knew I was going to be a Healer, and I went as an apprentice to the Halls a year early. I still love every minute I spend there.'

Andrea fell silent, wondering why she had suddenly told Remus all that. But he was watching her with sympathetic and understanding eyes, and she sat back with a sigh. A few moments later, in an effort to bring the conversation back to normal, she pointed at the sky. 'You see that – that's Canis Major, and Sirius there.'

'What? Sirius?' Remus followed her pointing finger.

'Yes, the Dog Star. That very bright one on the horizon. The brightest star in the sky, in fact.'

Remus chuckled appreciatively. 'The Dog Star? That's good. He's so clever.'

'What do you mean?'

'Oh … nothing. Sirius just likes dogs, that's all.'

Andrea's eyes narrowed as she heard a false note in his voice, and she turned away stiffly. Did all werewolves lie? Beside her, Remus sighed.

They sat without speaking. Then Andrea stood up. 'Venus has risen.' She began to scan the grass around them.

'What should I look for?' asked Remus, seeing nothing but piebald shadows.

'The flowers will be shining. You won't miss them.'

At the same moment, they both saw it. In the grass at the top of the hill, a shining patch of ground. There was no need to speak, and they matched strides towards it.

There were several clumps of the flowers, glowing like fallen stars. Andrea knelt down in the damp grass and cupped a flower in her hand. The five petals were silvery blue and glowing, almost throbbing with light. Remus bent down beside her and extended a finger to touch one, as if it were made of glass.

'It's warm,' he said in surprise. Then, in a soft voice, 'I don't want to pick it.'

'It'll be all right, it won't kill it until Venus sets.' But Andrea's hand was very reluctant as she put her fingers around the stem. The sound of her plucking it seemed too loud in the night.

Remus picked a second flower, and Andrea a third.

'We only need three.' Remus handed her his flower, and she held them carefully in between her finger and thumb. For a long time they looked at the flowers growing in the grass. Then Andrea was suddenly sharply aware of Remus looking no longer at the flowers but at her with a strange expression. She straightened up.

'We'd better get these back as soon as we can. There isn't much time.' She whistled, and a moment later the great winged horse stood nudging her with his nose. Altair looked white-eyed at the flowers, and his ears pricked forwards.

Andrea mounted, still holding the flowers, and Remus sat behind her. The horse did no more than lay his ears back as he drew near, and Andrea stroked his neck calmingly.

The flight back passed quickly, for Altair seemed to understand their urgency and flew low and swift. When they arrived, the sky was still dark, and Venus was high in the east.

'We have until dawn,' said Andrea, springing from Altair's back. Remus followed her into the castle.

'I'll go and warn Professor Dumbledore, then, shall I?' he suggested.

'Good idea.'

Andrea went up the stairs two at a time to the Infirmary. The flowers still shone, lighting her path. In the still-room, she carefully mixed up a clear liquid, her hands trembling a little with haste. She poured it into a crystal goblet.

Then she took the flowers and dropped them in one at a time. The light grew brighter, until the whole room shone with a yellow-gold glow. She touched the crystal, and was pleased to find it warm. When the light was almost too bright to look at, she carried the goblet into the side-chamber where Minerva lay.

The rays fell on her pallid face, and she turned and murmured something in her sleep. A smile crossed Andrea's face. Moving very carefully so as not to spill any of the potion, she sat on the edge of the bed. She dabbled a few drops of the warm, shining liquid on Minerva's lips and waited.

A few moments passed, and Andrea could see Minerva breathe more deeply, and her face lost the strained, fearful look it had been fixed in. Her eyelids fluttered. Andrea trickled a little more of the potion into her mouth, and gently brushed the hair away from her face. Then Minerva's eyes opened. For some time, she seemed to see nothing, and Andrea did not hurry her or disturb her. She knew from experience that waking up for the first time from any kind of coma was a slow process. When Minerva's eyes flickered to her, Andrea put a gentle hand on her arm.

Minerva tried to say something, but her voice was hoarse with disuse. Andrea could see that the curse was still hanging in the air around her, and she said softly, 'Drink this and you'll feel better.'

She held the goblet to Minerva's mouth with a steady hand. The potion worked swiftly, and very soon Andrea could sense that the dark shadow that had lain across Minerva for so many days was gone. With a gentle sigh, Minerva relaxed. Andrea could only smile for joy at her recovery.

A few moments later, Minerva looked up at Andrea, confused. 'Why …?' she croaked. 'Have I … been ill?'

'Yes, you have,' she said softly. 'But don't worry about anything now, Minerva. What you need is sleep.'

Minerva turned her head and saw the beginnings of morning light in the east. 'How long…?'

'This is the eighth day you've been here.' Andrea put a reassuring hand on her shoulder as she said this. News like that was always a shock.

'But … my classes…'

Andrea almost laughed out loud. It was so typical of Minerva that the first thing she was concerned for was the school.

'They've been fine. Don't worry. It's all been taken care of.'

Minerva sighed and closed her eyes.

The door opened, and Dumbledore came in, with Remus trailing behind him. Andrea made a quick gesture for quiet, but almost broke into laughter herself at the sight of Professor Dumbledore in slippers and a dressing gown embroidered with greenery and flowers. Both of them looked first to Minerva, who had opened her eyes again.

'Albus …' she began. 'Is everything all right? My classes… '

Professor Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. 'Everything is fine. You don't need to worry, Minerva. Remus has taken care of things most admirably.' He crossed the room to take a good look at his colleague. 'It's good to see you're better.'

Remus glanced at Andrea, who was placing the goblet carefully on a shelf. The movement caught Professor Dumbledore's eye.

'Ah, the flora Veneris. Remus explained everything to me. I must say it was something of a surprise to find that they had other applications than the old wives' tales.' He nodded to himself, and for a second his eyes flickered to Remus. 'Not that old wives' tales don't have a grain of truth in them.'

Minerva rested her head on the pillow and yawned.

'Right, both of you, you can talk to Minerva later. Right now what she needs is sleep.' Andrea stood up. Remus obeyed her at once, and with a final smile for Minerva, Professor Dumbledore followed. Once the room was calm again, Andrea smoothed the covers around her patient and pulled down the blind. Very quickly, Minerva fell asleep.

When she was sleeping soundly, Andrea went into the still-room. Carefully, she took the still-glowing remains of the flowers from the goblet. They would lose their potency when Venus set. She flung two into the fire, but hesitated when she picked up the third. An old wives' tale about the flora Veneris came into her mind, the one Dumbledore had meant. It was said that whoever kept a flower plucked under Venus would find true love come to them. With a self-mocking smile for her own credulity, she slipped the third flower into her pocket.

The next day Minerva was fully recovered, and so Remus and Andrea were no longer needed at Hogwarts. They were going back together, Andrea to the Halls of Healing and Remus to his flat not far away. The sky was grey and it was a cloudy afternoon as they walked away from the castle. In the meadow, Andrea whistled for Altair and waited.

'I'm going to see what I can do about the Wolfsbane Potion,' she said. 'Those side effects you mentioned really shouldn't have happened. There must be a way of fixing it.' For a moment her eyes looked inward as she thought.

'You don't need to worry about it. No matter what the side effects are, it's better than the transformation,' Remus assured her.

'Yes, but I don't like the thought of it not working properly. And if I'm going to make it for general use, which I haven't yet because it's so experimental, I won't want to have to deal with side effects as well.'

'Hmm, I suppose that makes sense.'

The winged horse came ambling over, nosing through the long grass hopefully. Remus looked at him in renewed amazement.

'How did you come to get Altair?' he asked, reaching out to stroke Altair's neck. The horse flinched away and laid his ears back, and Remus winced.

'It's a very long story.' She was reminded of what Remus was by Altair's response, and she busied herself picking bits of straw from his mane for a while.

'He's such a magnificent creature, and they're incredibly rare. I certainly have never been this close to one.' Remus nudged her with his comments.

'He's very special.' Andrea's voice took on a loving tone. Remus watched her, keeping a respectful distance from the horse's heels. 'I've had him – what, nine years now.'

She swung herself onto his back, and Remus mounted behind her. The flight was high, above the clouds so that they would pass unnoticed by the Muggles, and the wind would have whipped any words from their mouths in an instant. Andrea's eyes were watering, and she bent a little lower over Altair's neck. It was about an hour's flight, and when they landed behind the Halls of Healing they were both chilly.

'I'm taking Altair to the stable.' Remus followed Andrea across the lawn to a barn at the end, with a large field behind it. 'It's lucky there are so many wizards in this area,' she said. 'Otherwise it would be impossible to keep Altair here.'

Remus nodded.

In the stable, she began to rub Altair down with a handful of straw.

'I don't know that much about them, but I do know they're very rare. Is it true that they can understand speech?' Remus gave Altair a half-nervous glance as he spoke.

'I think so. Not all the time, and not everything, perhaps, but some things. They're far more intelligent than Muggle horses.' She caressed Altair's head. 'That's why they're so valuable, of course.'

'Do many other people in the country have one?'

'I don't really know. I've never seen anyone else riding one, but that doesn't mean much. They aren't very common in England, there are more of them in the north of Greece, where the original Pegasus came from, and in the middle of Russia, in the southern Urals. And there are none at all in the Americas.'

'Are they difficult to catch, then?'

Andrea considered this. Everyone said they were, but she had tamed Altair without a great deal of difficulty. Of course, the circumstances had been unusual, but even so….

'They're supposed to be. But I got Altair when he was very young, so it wasn't as difficult. Like most animals, if you catch them young they're easy to tame.'

'Was it in England you caught him?'

Andrea nodded. She could see he was still curious about how she had caught Altair, but she thought it would be better not to tell him. It wasn't exactly a pleasant story. But Remus asked anyway.

'How did you catch him, then?'

Andrea was silent. For a moment she was nine years away, running, terrified, running faster than she ever had in her life. Altair nudged her with his nose, and Remus looked at her sudden pallor with worried eyes.

'Are you all right?'

' – oh – yes, yes.' She leaned across Altair's broad back, seeing Remus' face above hers, concerned. 'It's not a very nice story,' she began uncertainly. 'I don't want to – upset you.'

'Don't worry about me,' said Remus at once, his curiosity even more piqued.

'Well, all right.' She took a deep breath. 'It was when I lived with my grandmother, and I had gone out one night to stargaze. We lived in a fairly isolated spot, but there were a lot of trees, and it was a long walk to go to a place where I could get a proper look at the sky. It was the full moon.' She shot a glance at Remus, and saw the muscles of his face tense slightly. 'That's not the best time to stargaze, you know, but there was a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, and that's worth seeing. So I went out on my own to One Tree Hill…'

The moon was so bright it was almost day, and Andrea walked without fear. She knew the way to One Tree Hill blindfold, in any case. The woods were different at night, enchanted and beautiful in the silver shadows. She heard the low rustling of the autumn leaves as a night breeze kissed them, and a fox barked far off. He was answered, and an owl gave its hunting cry.

When she reached One Tree Hill, the planets were drawing closer, and she sat on the grass to watch the sky. The moon's light competed with the double gleam of Saturn and Jupiter, the two brightest of the planets. She watched the two lords of the heavens meet, disregarding the chill that began to grow in the autumn air. She watched for hours, until they began to move apart again. Finally she rose stiff-limbed and looked back at the world around her. On the far side of the hill, towards the river, there was something moving, rising into the air, and she heard a horse's neigh. She gazed down with eyes not used to the deep darkness of the earth. Then the creature in the air was silhouetted against the paler sky. For a few moments, Andrea did not recognise it, the creatures were so rare. But then she saw the wings, and the head of a horse against the moon, and knew that it was a Pegasus. She stared, and saw another rise, and another.

There must be a herd – or should it be a flock, she wondered – of them. Breathless with wonder, she began to go down the hill towards them. Nearer, she was full of awe and wonder at their beauty. They were stamping and flicking gleaming tails as they stood close together. One sniffed the wind, and gave a snort. He lifted into the air, gracefully, easily. Andrea wished she could touch one. But the others began to follow him, up and away.

From her hiding place in the shadows of the trees, Andrea moved nearer on velvet feet. A cloud passed over the moon. At the same time, she heard a low growl that made the hairs stand up along her spine. Then there was a snarl, and a horse squealed in pain. She heard the rush of many wings and the pounding of hooves on the ground, and shrank into the darkness, one hand tight on her wand. If only she'd thought to come on a broomstick instead of walking. She heard another squeal, and a yelp. There was a break in the cloud, and for a second she saw the silver hind leg of a Pegasus lash out at a large dark shadow that was leaping towards it. The shadowy animal turned tail, and the winged horse stood still.

It was only a colt, she realised, looking at its gangling legs and short body. Andrea saw suddenly that one of its wings was held at a strange angle, and there was a dark patch on its silver-grey hair. Whatever that creature had been, it must have somehow hurt the horse. Her fear forgotten for a moment, she crept forwards. She extended a hand to the Pegasus, hissing softly under her breath. He stood quivering, but did not shy away. She crouched very still before him, and he nudged her hand with his nose.

'Easy, now, my beauty, gently now,' she murmured, and he did not move away. She reached up tentatively, ready to freeze if he showed signs of fleeing. But he stood still as she rested a hand on the top of his neck. Andrea knew about horses, and this was the place where a mare licked her foal. She stroked him, slowly and carefully, and he thrust his nose into her robes.

Suddenly his head went up, ears swivelling around, and his nostrils dilated as he sniffed the wind. She saw his ears go back against flat his head. He snorted and made an effort to fly. Andrea only got out of the way of his outstretched wing in time. But he could not fly, for one wing was damaged. She wondered if she'd done something to frighten him, and clucked gently. He was not soothed.

He swung around and bounded away. As if in slow motion, Andrea looked back and saw the shadowy creature was returning, padding from the far edge of the clearing. And the full moon shone upon it, and she knew in a flash of horror that it was a werewolf. For a long, terrible moment, she was frozen. Then with a gasp, she flung herself after the horse.

The werewolf followed. Andrea ran, ran faster than she had ever done before. She and the horse crashed through the undergrowth, racing downhill. And behind them the werewolf's teeth gleamed in the moonlight. Her heart was pounding, and she was desperately trying to think up some way to escape. There was only one hope, and that was the tiny deserted hut by the river. Everything else was too far away. Her legs carried her stumbling, knowing a fall would be her ruin, downhill to the river. The horse was at her side. She grabbed for its mane, and half-dragged herself across its back, praying it would not buck. Somehow, as the horse broke into a neat-footed canter, she managed to sit astride it. She cast herself flat across its neck as a low branch nearly swept her off.

The wild ride through the woods carried them to the banks of the river. There the horse wanted to cross, but Andrea could see the hut ahead of them. She steered the horse with all her might towards it. Behind them, the wolf howled. The horse put on an extra burst of speed. As they came to the hut, Andrea threw herself off. She rolled over on the ground and bounced to her feet. The horse came to a skidding halt beside her, and she heaved at the door. It was old and swollen with damp. The wolf howled again with a note of triumph. The door burst open, and she flung herself through into the cottage. The horse did not need any provocation to follow. As she turned to slam it closed, she saw the wolf's yellow eyes regarding her as he leapt, and the slavering jaw. He crashed against the door as she slammed it, and leaned her weight on it to hold it closed. There were some old rusty bolts on the inside, and she creaked them home.

Shaking violently, she dropped to the ground and lay there as her legs would no longer support her. Her heart was trying to beat its way out of her chest, she couldn't breathe. Tears of shock and fear began to leak from her eyes. Something touched her shoulder, and she stifled a scream. She turned over to see the winged horse bending his head to her curiously. Breathing shallowly, she pulled herself and put her arms around the horse's neck, pressing her face against him.

All the remainder of the night, the wolf padded around the hut, seeking an entrance. To calm her mind, Andrea tried to tend to the horse's damaged wing, conjuring what she needed. But she could not use her magic to Disapparate, because whilst she could move herself, the horse would stay behind. And his swift legs had saved her life.

There was a tiny slit window in the hut, too small for the wolf to enter by. Through it Andrea could see the sky. The Eagle was flying low in the south-west, and a red star winked at her.

'Altair,' she murmured. The horse nudged her with his nose. That would be a good name, she thought, for a horse that flew like an eagle.

'Altair,' she said aloud as she washed the horse's cut. 'Do you like it? Is it a good name?' The horse seemed to agree, or perhaps it was just a trick of her mind. Well, it would do.

The wolf howled again. The night was growing paler, and soon it would be dawn. Andrea waited, cold, nestling her hands under Altair's mane. As the sky began to lighten, she sat on the earthen floor and pulled her cloak around her.

There came a scream, high and inhuman. It terrified her, and Altair's eyes showed the whites all around the warmth of the brown. The scream came again, and then a more frightening silence. Was some other person unfortunate enough to be out there? But no, the sun had just risen, and the werewolf would be no longer dangerous.

Not wanting to know, but unable to keep from looking, Andrea went to the slit window. On the grass she saw a shape in the grey light, covered in a ragged robe. A low groan came from it, and she saw the edge of a face scratched and deathly pale. His mouth was half-open, and she saw shining white teeth. It was not some victim, but the werewolf himself. Her skin prickled.

'Let's get away from here,' she said, breathless. Her hands shook a little as she pulled back the bolts and eased the door open. Andrea began to lead her horse homewards, taking a detour to avoid the werewolf lying on the ground. They walked together, Altair making no attempt to flee, through the woods and over One Tree Hill to Andrea's cottage. It seemed impossible that the birds could be singing as if nothing at all had happened.

'That's what I see … when I wake up in the middle of the night … not the wolf chasing me –' her voice was shaking '– but his face … like that.' Andrea was very pale, and she put her face in her hands. 'I had nightmares … for almost a year … I still do, sometimes.' Like that night I first met you, she thought, but did not say aloud. She took a sobbing breath. Without pausing to think, Remus put his arms around her and held her close. She recoiled for a second, and then she clung to him.

'It's all right,' he murmured, as if she were a small child. 'Don't worry.'

Andrea raised her head to look at him. How odd, she thought confusedly, that another werewolf should be the one who soothed her after the first had terrified her.

'I'm sorry … ' She wasn't sure what she was sorry for, but he only squeezed her shoulder.

'It's all right,' he said again. As she pulled herself together, she sat up and he released her.

'Thank you. I – didn't mean to go on like that…'

'You were extremely brave,' Remus reassured her. 'It's an incredible story. It must have been awful for you. And then creating the Wolfsbane Potion – it's amazing what you've done.'

Andrea stood up. What had possessed her to tell Remus so much about herself these past two days? But he had a way about him that inspired trust. She looked at him, thinking, until she realised he was looking straight back with clear grey eyes. Uncertainly, she turned away.

'I guess I'd better be getting up to the Halls,' she said. 'I'm sure I'll see you around.'

'Yes.' He straightened his robe and left the stable with her. They parted on the lawn, and Andrea did not look back as she went up to the door to the Halls of Healing.

'Right, this is it.' Andrea had been spending all her spare time working on the Wolfsbane Potion, and she finally had come up with another version that she hoped would have fewer and milder side effects. Remus looked at the murky liquid in the bottle.

'Wonderful,' he said. 'Do I still have to take it all this week?'

'Yes.'

'Have you done anything about the taste?' he asked with a grin.

Andrea lowered her eyebrows with mock severity. 'As if I haven't done enough work on it! It doesn't taste that bad, I had a sip of it.'

Remus laughed. 'All right, all right.' He looked around the laboratory. 'I tell you, this is amazing. I never quite got to grips with Potions, not so that I could understand the more complex stuff. It didn't really interest me.'

'Well, it's not as much fun as my real work.' Andrea unconsciously fingered the green belt with its emblem of a caduceus which she wore around her white robes. 'And speaking of which, if this works out I'll start producing the Potion for general use.'

'Good.' Remus took the bottle. After a brief silence, he said, 'I'd best be off now. Thank you very much.'

'Not at all.' Andrea began to clear away the equipment as he left. She hoped the potion would work as she had planned. It had been a lot of work, going through all the ingredients and trying to work out what caused the side effect and alter or replace it without destroying the use of the potion altogether.

The bell at her girdle rang, and she hurried down to the main halls.

Andrea looked back at the set of magical mirrors, scrying balls and enchanted charts that were arrayed across the tables. Nothing was changing anywhere. It had been a recent idea, to use the League's offices to house places where they would watch certain spots for any presence of Voldemort or his servants. Mostly, nothing happened, and watching it was deadly dull. The League only had three offices apart from Hogwarts: the one in Diagon Alley which had been attacked a few years ago, one in Edinburgh and this office in Aldershot, for they were the three largest magical settlements in the country apart from Hogsmeade. And because they both lived in Aldershot, Andrea and Remus had to do a lot of the work for it.

'Still nothing.' Andrea sat down again, yawning. They had been put on alert because of an attack in France, in Lille, and they had been in the office since noon when the attack had happened.

'I'd rather see nothing than find out that Voldemort's done something,' Remus commented. He looked at Andrea with a smile.

'True.' Andrea glanced out the window at the sun low in the west. 'Shouldn't you be going home now?' Though she did trust Remus, she had no wish to be present while he transformed. It had been hard enough the last time.

'There's some time yet,' he answered, a thoughtful look on his face. 'I won't be here tomorrow as it is, so I'll keep you company a bit longer.'

'It's all right, I'll be fine.' Andrea thought she would prefer to be alone than waiting for him to leave before the moon rose. 'Anyway, if the Potion works properly you should have no trouble at all. And this could have all blown over by tomorrow. Lille isn't exactly on our doorstep.'

He nodded absently and stared out the window. Andrea took the opportunity to look at him. He had seemed preoccupied all afternoon, but she had not asked him why. After all, it was the full moon tonight.

The sun was setting, and deep red rays filled the room. Remus took a deep breath and left the window. He gazed straight at her, and there was such strength of emotion in his eyes that she felt a twinge of nervousness. The red light glinted on his face, and a shiver ran down her spine.

'Andrea, listen to me. There's something I have to – to tell you.' Andrea raised an eyebrow. He looked very strange, so resolute and determined.

'I want you to know that ever since I first met you, I – I've loved you.'

Approaching her as he spoke, he put his hand hesitantly on her arm. Andrea stumbled back jerkily. His words, the same words Fenris had used, were crashing through her mind. The same words, the same lies Fenris had told her to win her to him. His touch, the same touch, seared through her. Remus' eyes were gentle, but she scarcely saw them, for the world seemed split in two.

Part of her knew full well that she was in the League office with Remus. Knew that he had taken the Wolfsbane Potion and could not harm her. But the other scene in her mind was clearer. Fenris was standing close to her, his breathing loud and heavy on her neck, and his voice was saying the words Remus had spoken. And he reached out and caught her arm to pull her towards his embrace…

'No! Leave me alone!' These, too were the same words she had used before, then to no avail. For a moment she didn't realise she'd said them aloud. But then Remus froze as though she'd slapped him. All expression drained from his face, and he looked at the ground.

Andrea was breathing raggedly, and her heart was pounding. She could not bear to look at Remus, lest she see the wolf glaring from his eyes the way she had seen it in Fenris' as he came nearer. For a second longer, she stood trembling. Then she whirled around and dashed to the door in a flurry of white robes.

She ran down the stairs and outside. A blackbird flew up with a sharp 'chack-chack' of alarm as she burst out the door, and Altair neighed. He trotted towards her and she flung herself across his broad back.

'Oh, Altair, why can't I meet a normal man?' she asked wildly. Catching her mood, he leapt into the air with a flick of his wings. 'Will werewolves chase after me all my life?'

As the Pegasus soared up, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the flower she had kept there. Whatever true love might be, she wanted none of it, not if it came in such a shape. She let the flower fall. The dry leaves and petals drifted downwards on the wind, spiralling down and out of sight.