Chapter 3: No Longer a Werewolf
(Let's just settle on one thing; don't waste your time telling me my chapters are too short. A lot of other fine fics have short fics. I even prefer my sized chapters. They are easy to handle and can be written within an hour. Please say something more critical if you are complaining with the Grammar & Composition)
Camp Wallomohre was not the place Harry would have expected it to be. Magic wasn't completely noticeable, but it was there. To Harry or any other wizard, he saw regular Muggle things. It was nothing special. But pretty soon, Harry realized, it was a hideaway for Quidditch!
"This is a camp for Quidditch?" Harry screamed, more excited than ever.
"Yeah, that's why you came, wasn't it?" Oliver asked.
"No, my stupid aunt and uncle sent me away with Dudley! I only just learned from Siriu—from someone I know (careful now, he's still a fugitive) that the camp was magical. I didn't know it featured on Quidditch. Glad I brought my broom!" Harry said.
"Yeah, it's a basic three week session. In the mornings, there are the standard drill practices. Then every other night, the camp holds games. They are divided according to ability level. This year there's only five teams," Wood explained.
Harry was completely ecstatic. Not only was the one person whom he was excited to meet in this camp, the camp was also to practice Quidditch! He could barely contain himself!
However, Harry wasn't too keen on getting to know some of the campers. Most of them were younger than him and always begged to ride his Firebolt.
"OOH! What's that scar for?"
"DUH! He was diving for the Snitch and was struck by lightning!"
"YOU have a Firebolt?"
"I'm afraid to play him…he might send me flying in the Forbidden Forest!"
Then Harry had some serious questions. Was Hogwarts just on the other end of the deep forest? It did make sense….
* * *
Days passed and Harry had little time to search for Lupin. For one thing, the practices were more than he bargained for. Either the campers were extremely good, or his talents needed improvements. Thank goodness he had this place to make up for the whole year loss last year.
The other thing tying him down was Wood. He bombarded Harry with questions every free time they had. "Say, I've heard some nasty things about Hogwarts. Are they true?"
"Well—it depends I—"
"I'm sure you don't want to discuss it. Don't want to break your heart again."
Harry didn't like this one bit. Rita Skeeter had done permanent damage in the minds of some. "Say, Oliver, is Hogwarts on the other side of the woods?" Harry asked, thankful he could change the subject.
"Yeah, I think it's pretty creepy. This camp has some magic force field on it. That's why those, juvenile Muggles can't see us flying around. I don't think it's some charm or spell. It may be something more. Haven't been really looking at it closely because these youngsters are pretty demanding! Maybe Lupin's got something to do about it."
Harry pondered for a few minuets and finally decided to take a stand on the issue. "You know, I'm going to find him right now!" With that, Harry left the table and frantically searched for a cottage.
The thing that he reminded himself was that Remus probably wasn't in the obvious spots. The grounds were fairly basic, which made it even more difficult. He searched the Floating Oasis; the store where you could buy the standard candy and trinkets along with butterbeer that had the most outrageous flavors (banana cream splat, strawberry razzle, honey apple drip, which was Harry's favorite)!
Then there were the various cabins to search. There were ten cabins, five girls and five boys. The teams were matched evenly too. Then there were the staff cabins that Harry ignored because Oliver had said he wasn't a member of the staff. Of course then there was a strange cabin where this old crotchety man lived. He ended up being the full-time referee for the games. Harry stuck his tongue out in disgust as he headed toward the Muggle camp.
To Harry's understanding, the Muggles thought that the Quidditch camp was actually where people lodged for the whole summer. They spent their days dancing, fishing, and swimming with other friends. Harry could simply walk past a swimming pool (full of frogs) and he was there. A couple of meters beyond that lay a cabin.
Harry raced as he saw the name of the cabin Full Moon Lodge. Most cabins had names; Harry's was Snidget 1B. This was just too good to be true. Of course, upon arriving the cabin, he realized that Remus was an Auror. That meant that he could be with Sirius and Mrs. Figg, or he could be doing something very important. The other option was that he was patiently waiting for Harry to come and visit him. He gasped as he saw Remus looking out the window and smiling.
"You never cease to amaze me, Harry," said Lupin.
Harry just stood in awe, as if he was looking at a very famous celebrity. "Uh…hello."
"It seems that you've had your fair share of excitement lately. Well, brace yourself, it's not over yet," Lupin said. Harry rolled his eyes in agreement. "Come on in, I have some more information for you." Harry obeyed and walked in the Full Moon Lodge. It was kept neat except for the bed that was untidy.
"Ok, let's see, Sirius has told you about the Auror business. You've heard about Mrs. Figg…OK, now I know what my part is all about," Lupin looked over a small piece of parchment that held some notes. Harry just sat down and waited.
"What have you been doing?" Harry asked.
"Oh, it hasn't been much. Mostly, I've been writing back and forth to Dumbledore and Sirius, there are some others, but that's irrelevant. I was told that I was to stay close to Hogwarts, and I am."
"But what about your werewolf…uh…problem?" Harry wondered.
"Well, that's what I have to explain to you. Let's just say I've unleashed some more power that I am enabled to do. Here's the deal." Remus Lupin was very serious; his face was calm and cool. Harry knew he was an understanding person. It was just that Harry wondered if he could fathom all these secrets and details of what's to come.
Remus continued. "I've known in my whole Auror "career" that I've been able to turn myself into an Animagus with just a few days of training. Of course, this kind of power is because of a special mark, or piece of jewelry that holds the power of an Auror. I would tell you what mine is, but it's against the code." So far, Harry was following.
"Now, as a specially trained Animagus, I also have added power in my animal transformation. So, I may display myself as a very powerful, humanoid wolf. That wolf can leap very high, run quickly on his hind legs, bite, tear, and even kill. I've decided the wolf basically because I'm a werewolf. However, I don't have to worry about that any longer."
"What?" Harry asked. "You mean could've prevented yourself from turning into a werewolf? We could've stopped Pettigrew then!"
"Harry, you don't understand that unleashing the power of the Aurors is only granted when the Auror Palace is opened. Then, I may choose to use my powers. The Auror Palace is where I learned to become one. It opened because of the Dark Lord. Now, it has opened again because he is in full flesh."
Harry stood amazed. Things were very serious now. He realized that being an Auror had some really beneficial powers.
"Is…Is Pettigrew an Auror?" Harry asked.
"No. Sirius and I became Aurors after your nearly fatal incident. Dumbledore helped us start out. He then trained himself as an Auror Supervisor. Now, he has called us for something very important. That's confidential."
Then Harry remembered hearing his Aunt and Uncle's words about the man paying them to get Harry out of the house. "I think Pettigrew's paying my relatives to get me out of the house. If Mrs. Figg were protecting me from Voldemort, then he would be desperate to get rid of me. Sirius said it was good that I stay at the camp. What do I do?"
Lupin rubbed his chin and thought for a long time. "Well, if Wormtail is on your case, we have to think of something. If only I'd known Snape's information!"
"What?" asked Harry.
"Oh, dear…I've said too much! Harry, it's awful that you have to be in the middle of this. But you are powerful, that much is true. The trouble of this situation is that Voldemort is getting to you. We should instead do something different." Lupin went to his bunkroom. Harry just stared around and waited.
He had a small vial with a blue liquid in it.
"Ok, when you stop in London, or some other place for a rest when the camp is over, drink this. Make sure your stuff is with you. This will take you my cabin immediately. Then, I'll take to you to the Weasley's house. Then we can set up some sort of protection there. I give you my word."
Harry grinned and was pleased. He couldn't wait to go to Ron's house again. "Is this all you wanted to tell me then?"
"Well, I would like to know in full detail the Triwizard Tournament. That's it. I just want to hear about the fun things you've been going through. After all, it's been over a year," said Lupin.
Harry continued talking with Lupin the rest of the afternoon about the previous year and how he had foiled Snape and how Moody saved his end more than once in the Invisibility Cloak. Then, Lupin promised to get out on his own personal broom. Harry couldn't help but laugh as Lupin's needed practice and slow broom. But a Firebolt was the fastest yet. He only wondered when it would become obsolete.
* * *
Pretty soon, it was time to leave the camp. Harry was pleased with his Quidditch team's record 8-2. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia sped in and out of the camp to pick up Dudley. They almost forgot Harry but the Jorkins greeter had a slight hold up by double-checking that the boy's entire luggage was there. He than shooed Harry away in the car, which was incredible dirty and full of trash.
The car trip was uneventful. Harry couldn't stand hearing Dudley's bogus account about how it rained the whole time and they were stranded in their cabins for hours upon hours, forced to write stupid letters and sleep.
Anxiously, Harry waited until they reached London and said that he had to use the bathroom and was very hungry. Fortunately, Dudley felt the same way too. If it weren't so, Harry had a good feeling that the very tanned Petunia and Vernon would have kept driving.
They pulled up to a gas station, which sold Deli sandwiches. Harry stayed in the car and picked up his stuff and found a note. SHOOT! He couldn't believe that he'd overlooked the message from the Ministry of Magic. He had used magic three weeks ago. But that wasn't what the letter was telling him.
Dear Harry,
The Ministry of Magic has seen your case of the use of magic. Instead of punishing you, we are warning you. The current situation proves that this was necessary that you did need to use the spell. However, that's not why we let you go. Something else has taxed the Ministry and we ask that you please be careful when thinking about using magic ever again in Muggle-populated areas. This is confidential information. Thank you for your cooperation.
Harry thought it was a very strange letter. What could be so hard on the Ministry that they didn't even try to punish Harry? Of course, there are some people that could easily convince the Ministry that Harry had done something for the best. He hauled his stuff and went to the bathroom that was actually on the outside of the station instead of inside. Harry was thankful for that. Vernon and Petunia had nothing to get mad at Harry. In fact, they almost needed him! He wondered what Remus had in mind for protecting Harry. No doubt Voldemort could come to the Weasley's house. Mrs. Figg could be back from her trip. Did Remus have a lot more power than Harry thought?
Harry decided to gulp the vial down as quickly as possible. A surge went through his body as if he was being pulled somewhere. It was an awful feeling. Harry would've taken a Portkey any day. This was almost torturing.
When he reached the cabin, it was completely trashed. There were papers ransacked throughout the house. The table was overturned. Harry was scared. Not because Lupin could've been badly hurt, but his scar was not hurting…