Title: Forgetting Innocence (2/6)
Author: Fabs G.
Summary: Sequel to Faking Innocence. Harry & friends happily return to Hogwarts after the Christmas holidays, not knowing that Voldemort already has a plan between his hands.
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: slight Sirius/Remus. Hints of Ron/Hermione but not until the last chapter.
Warnings: Contains very mild slash (just some kisses, people!)
Disclaimer: Lovely Joanne owns nearly everything here! All I own here is the plot, Professor Fengel and Methilda Shotclear
A/N: As always, this makes much more sense if you read the previous two fics (Judging Innocence and Faking Innocence, both at ff.net), mainly because this is part three of the Innocence series. This although, is much darker than the previous one. The basic you have to know: Sirius is free, he's romantically involved with Remus and they're both teaching at Hogwarts.
Enjoy! Review!
------------------------------ CHAPTER 2: Gone"How come someone study with that bloody giggling!" complained Harry, getting up from his bed and throwing the book across the room, utterly pissed. He climbed down the stairs to the common room, prepared to scold whoever was having such a loud fun.
He stopped right at the foot of the stairs. What had previously sounded as giggling, Harry was now sure it was someone sobbing. It was coming from one of the armchairs closer to the fire. Harry crept quietly and looked who was sitting in the armchair. It was Hermione, huge tears running down her face.
"Hermione!" said Harry, alarmed. He had never seen her like this. Come to think of it, probably no ever one had. Harry run a soothing hand through her hair, taking no notice of the book in her hands "What's the matter? Why are you crying?"
Much to Harry's surprise, Hermione smiled at him, making an odd contrast with the huge tear in her left cheek.
"You're so nice. I'm fine. Just-" began Hermione, but then limited herself to raise the book in her hands. Harry looked at it. It was a battered copy, probably from the library. It was titled 'Hairy Snout, Human Heart' and had a picture of a man in robes patting a wolf. There was no author name visible.
Hermione quickly dried her cheeks and looked at a puzzled Harry. "It's my favorite novel, a wizard classic. It's the account of a wizard who was turned into a werewolf when he was just a child. It was published in 1975 and no one knows who wrote it"
"And why were you crying?"
"Well, the entire book is fascinating and heartrending but now he's talking about solitude and having no friends and I was thinking of our first year, and how we are all close now… I took one from the library two years ago when I knew Professor Lupin was a werewolf. I bought my own this summer and I've read it a thousand times already. It's beautiful."
Harry looked at her a second longer "You're ok then? I mean… I never saw you like that."
"I'm fine Harry" He stood up and headed for his dormitory, but Hermione's voice stopped him "Harry?" he turned around and looked at her "Thanks for worrying"
He smiled at her and went back to his dormitory, vaguely thinking of reading the library copy.
That night, the Hufflepuff common room was deserted when two fifth years entered surreptitiously through the secret passage and crept quietly to their dormitories. They did not notice a rat following close behind them and watching them go to sleep.
Neither did Justin Finch-Fletchly notice the rat turn into a short balding man, cut a lock of his hair and pocket it. He turn back into a rat, crept quietly out of the dormitory and back into the common room, and settled himself to wait patiently until another student opened the passage again and he could return to his master.
"Harry" called Ron over his breakfast "What did they do in the full moon?" he asked, looking at Sirius and Remus.
"I don't know, I haven't had a chance to speak to them. If Snape has been doing the Wolfsbane to Remus, probably just crawl in their chamber"
"Look at Snape's face. Do you think he's doing something for Professor Lupin except try to ruin his life?" Snape was quietly eating his breakfast, pretending to listen to professor Flitwick's continuous blubber about something, but it was crystal clear that Snape was paying attention to Sirius and Remus, both of whom were talking to each other, laughing happily about something. (Snape, most probably)
"Dumbledore wouldn't allow for Snape to refuse to that" interrupted Hermione.
"Neither would Remus, come to that. My god, look at his face! He's never even looked at me with that much hatred"
Ron chuckled to his sausages "What, you really thought you could have the exclusivity of Snape's hate? Think again"
"What do we have now?"
Ron looked at his timetable. He groaned "ARGH what a day! Potions and then Divination"
"Oh joy" said Harry, his voice as flat as it could go.
The Potions dungeon always got icy cold whenever it rained outside, and today was no exception. Everyone waited patiently for Snape to arrive, wrapping their cloaks tighter and breathing into their cupped hands to warm them.
"Today!" said Snape after banging the door of the classroom open and making them jump a foot "we will deal with Portkey potions" he settled himself in front of the class, arms crossed and eyes colder than the day outside.
"Portkeys can be made in two ways- a charm that professor Flitwick will be teaching you anytime soon and a potion I will now teach you. You pour a few drops over the object to be made a portkey while stating the location that object will take you."
He then indicated them to follow the instructions in their books to Portkey Potions, which was supposed to look yellow.
Ron and Harry added the ingredients to their cauldron, sighing heavily at the tiny ray of sunshine that crept through the high window up in the wall.
"Wouldn't it be cool if we made a portkey to the Bahamas or Bermuda or Hawaii and send Snape there?" asked Ron hopefully.
"I doubt it, Weasley" said a cold voice behind him, making both Harry and Ron grimace "I do not like the sun much"
"Which bat does?" whispered Seamus to them, making both Ron and Harry snicker loudly.
"Ten points from Gryffindor!" said Snape, and Malfoy smirked at Harry.
"But professor!" said Harry before he could restrain himself. It was a huge mistake. Snape fumed at him as if he had dared to punch him in his crooked nose.
"Detention then! And let's separate the nice twosome. Weasley, sit with Goyle. Potter go sit besides Malfoy. And better make a good Portkey potion or I'll be the one sending you to Hawaii"
Harry groaned and scowled at Snape, but not wanting Snape to have any more excuses to get more points from Gryffindor, moved to sit besides a still smirking Malfoy.
The next Defense against the Dark Arts class was much more enjoyable than potions, even if it was one of the few theoretical classes he ever gave.
"Today we will be covering a very serious subjects. Many of you, specially if you come from wizarding families, will know that common spells you perform everyday are not the only kind of spells going around. Dark wizards do perform our same spells, the kind you are taught here, but they also have another stack of spells besides the unforgivable curses which are called The Dark Arts spells. These hold a very noticeable difference with ours. Can anyone tell me which that difference is?"
To no one's surprise, Hermione's hand shot up in the air.
"Yes, Hermione?"
"The common spells we perform everyday project nothing over our desires. The Dark Arts spells seem to hold up so much power that they lure the inattentive or naïve wizard to the dark side without them even realizing"
"Correct. Five points to Gryffindor" Hermione glowed at him.
"Swallowed the book again, Hermione?" smirked Ron in her way. She scowled
Remus continued "Suppose any of you, tomorrow, perform a Dark arts spell. The most probable result is that your spell will work, but because you are not experience with the dark arts, the spell's power would enchant you into wanting more. And more. If you happen to have the bad luck of being alone in the world, no family and no friends, it is very likely no one will realize this. Alone, you would be lured to the dark side and you wouldn't even know it. By the way" He added, with a crooked grin "all dark arts spell books are in the forbidden section of the library, quite unreachable for you." He narrowed his eyes towards the end of the class, his gazed fixed pointedly at two people "The forbidden section is also the place two of our students seem to be, judging from the attentive and alert behavior POTTER and WEASLEY are showing"
At the mention of their names, Ron and Harry looked at Remus who, if not mad, looked quite amused. "Harry, Ron pay attention please. This is an important class. Do you think I ever talked in class or caused mayhem?" he smiled as Harry rolled his eyes and Ron covered his face with a hand.
"Right, before Harry and Ron can say 'Look who's talking' shall we continue? Take this down…"
An hour later Remus dismissed the class, and shut the door, but a few minutes later one of the Hufflepuffs popped his head inside, looking at Remus very nervous indeed. "Professor Lupin?" he said.
"Yes, Justin?"
"Could I have a word with you?"
"Of course. Sit."
Justin Finch-Fletchely sat down in front of his professor, quivering much more than he should.
"I received a letter from my mother, and she wanted to know some things"
"About?"
"You. You know, as you are a- a werewolf. Security measures she said"
"Perfectly understandable"
"Are you taking Wolfsbane?"
"Professor Snape is making me the potion and I'm taking it everyday before the full moon"
Justin frowned. "What's the Wolfsbane supposed to do to you?"
"It tames me. If I take it a week before the full moon, I become no more dangerous than a Bulldog" Justin looked at him with an expression Remus would have sworn it was disappointed. He whispered something that sounded oddly like "killjoy"
"Do you have your own chamber?" Remus frowned "To be-" he swallowed "to be locked in, said mum"
"I have my own chamber, yes, but I go somewhere else during the transformation, outside the castle"
"You still go to the 'Shack" whispered Justin, almost melancholically.
"How do you know that?"
"I- because-" but Justin stopped abruptly as he saw his own light pink hands grow to the size of a grown man, his right hand returning to the shining silver. His bushy hair was slowly thinning. He took a hand and touched the top of his head- the bald patch was back.
"Peter!" barely a whisper was Remus' voice. He stood up and backed a few paces, realizing that Peter didn't need his wand to kill him. Silver kills a werewolf, and Peter had a silver hand now.
As the polyjuice potion wore out and Peter Pettigrew was back, he leapt into a run, blasting the door off its hinges with the wand Voldemort had produced him.
Remus went after him wand in hand, throwing body binds and stunning spells at him. But Pettigrew had transformed into his alter ego, Wormtail, and as much as Remus chased him, he was much too tiny to hit him, and Pettigrew escaped.
Peter panted, clutching his side and leaning on the doorframe of Voldemort's room, catching his breath again. He had run all the way out of Hogwarts, into Hogsmeade and apparated to where he now was.
"Stop panting and come in, Wormtail"
Still breathing hard from the effort, Wormtail opened the door and found his master sitting in his usual armchair by the fire. Three DeathEaters grew silent when they saw him. Voldemort waved a hand to them and they dissaparated
"How did it go, Wormtail?"
"He's taking Wolfsbane, he still goes to the Shrieking Shack… Master, he knows it was me"
"WHAT?!" Voldemort leapt from his chair, wand caught tightly in his hand. "What did you do, you filthy rat?"
"The time of the polyjuice wore out, master, I had trouble finding the Dark Arts classroom, it was changed since the last time I was there"
Voldemort fumed for some minutes and then directed his wand at Pettigrew "Crucio!"
Peter fall to the ground, numb and deaf with indescribable pain until Voldemort moved his wand.
"You will repair your error" he said to Peter still writhing on the floor "It is too late to stop him from telling anyone he saw you, I would bet my wand Dumbledore already knows. Tonight, you will get the werewolf. Thanks to you, my plan has been modified. You will pay"
Remus knocked at the Dumbledore's door, panting.
"Come in" said a cheerful voice from the inside. Dumbledore got to his feet when he saw Remus' white features. "Remus, what is it?"
"It's Peter" he said, catching his breath "He took some polyjuice, and came disguised as a Hufflepuff student. He asked me if I took Wolfsbane and if I went to the Shrieking Shack…"
"How did you know it was him?"
"The polyjuice started wearing out when he was talking to me. He run, I chased, but it was impossible to hit him while he was turned into a rat"
"Did he ask you about Harry?"
"Not a word"
"How odd. Does Sirius know?"
"No, and I think I will not tell him"
"Don't. It'll make him only worried when he can do nothing." Dumbledore paused, immersed in his thought. He stood up from his chair, went over to his pensieve and dropped a couple of memories in it. He returned to his chair and looked again at Remus.
"My contacts have lost track on Voldemort. His current whereabouts are unknown. But, if Pettigrew is here, it strikes me that Voldemort might not be too far. Go check Harry's map to see if Pettigrew's still in the grounds, although I doubt it very much. Voldemort's probably planning something and I think you seeing Peter was not included. Take care, be extra careful in all you say or do. I do not like this"
Still, next morning, Sirius woke up to an empty bed, a missing lover and a dark mark hovering over his own bed.