I know, I know...the ending of the last one was REALLY obvious...but I was
tired and I wanted it to end, but I couldn't just stop it
randomly...forgive me!!!
And I finally have enough reviews to start answering them, so here goes:
To Rache: Thanks so much for the long review! I kinda see what you mean about Liana, but how can I fix her?? Any ideas, just e-mail me at jodragonfire@hotmail.com or leave another review. As for Hagrid, I'm pretty sure he was gamekeeper at that time. I've read a bunch of MWPP fics where he was, and considering he was at school with Tom Riddle, he should be pretty old right now. I thought I heard someone say he was sixty-ish in the HP generation, but I could be wrong...at any rate, he was certainly old enough for the job at the time, and Dumbledore probably gave him the opportunity early on. Um...I agree with you that I probably don't spend enough time developing my characters-usually I'm writing too fast and trying to get it all out before I can. I'll think about that more in the future. Anyway, thank you so much! You're the first person to give me anything helpful in ANY reviews for ANY stories I've written.
Alright-y then, here's chapter seven!
Chapter Seven
Hogwarts glowed brightly as it had the first time Remus had seen it when he and Liana emerged from the forest. He couldn't help but smile at the sight; this was the only place he was truly happy, and it shone all the more beautifully because of that.
Liana's voice cut through his thoughts, startling him: "Just curious, Remus- why were you in the forest so late at night?" He thought for a moment, wondering what he should say. He didn't want to hurt Liana's feelings by telling her it was because of her, so he merely shrugged.
"Just bored, I guess," he mumbled. Then he looked up sharply. "Why were you in the forest?" Liana never broke the rules, she was too scared of getting caught. He was pretty sure she'd never been out after hours, but here she was, wandering in the Forbidden Forest long after curfew.
Liana groaned inwardly. She was so bad at these kinds of things! She'd completely forgotten that Remus couldn't know that she was the black wolf, and that asking him why he was up might trigger the same question in his mind. She would never be an auror, or anything close, if she couldn't keep all the details straight. And she'd always wanted to be an auror...her parents were Muggle detectives, and she thought it would be great to follow in their footsteps-sort of.
"Madame Pomfrey let me out a little bit ago, and I thought I'd take a stroll," she said quickly, realizing how long it had been since Remus had asked her the question. Liana was suddenly very glad it was dark: her face was bright red.
"Okay," Remus mumbled, sounding far from convinced. Liana risked a glance at him: he was staring at her in confusion. She whipped her head back and quickened her pace. The sooner they were in the school and in their separate dorms, the better.
The front doors swung open smoothly, allowing the dim torchlight to spill out onto the grounds, bathing a rectangle of grass in pale orange light. Liana was surprised at how dim the torches seemed-they were usually kept bright until midnight, when they were dimmed by magic to discourage kids from sneaking around so late. Looking at the moon outside, Liana frowned. It couldn't be midnight already?
Remus hadn't noticed the torches and was already approaching the stairs towards the Gryffindor tower. Liana ignored the dim lighting as well, assuming it had taken them longer than usual to trek through the forest and across the grounds, and stepped into the school, closing the doors behind her. As soon as she did so, a wave of cold swept over her and the torches flickered even lower. She shivered and pulled her robes closer around her thin frame, but the cold went deeper than her skin...
Remus, on the stairs, was shivering uncontrollably. He clutched the railing for support, falling to a sitting position on the steps. Concerned and more than a little scared, Liana ran to him to help him up. But even as she approached the bottom step, the torches flickered once and went out completely. The cold intensified, and Liana clutched at her shoulders in fear. She had just enough wits about her to grab her wand and light it, using the same dim light Remus had used in the forest. What she saw made her stumbled backwards, tripping over her robes and falling to the floor in her effort to get away.
Coming down the stairs, about five steps above Remus, were about ten of the scariest creatures Liana had ever seen. At first she thought they were human, but they were easily two feet taller than the average man. They wore long black robes, the cowls obscuring their faces. The sleeves dangled beyond their hands, and their feet weren't visible under the robes. Looking closer, Liana thought they appeared to be gliding down the stairs...
A rattling noise filled the hall, as if they were breathing through marbles in their lungs, and Liana felt the cold wash over her again, penetrating the depths of her very soul... Without realizing what she was doing, the girl stumbled to her feet and ran, ran as fast as she could away from those creatures and the cold they possessed.
She didn't stop running until she couldn't feel the slightest trace of the cold. She noticed vaguely that the torches were burning brightly in this corridor, and she put out her wand with relief. Weak and shaking, she sank to the floor and curled up into a ball, rocking slightly and reassuring herself that she was fine, the creatures were far away, they couldn't hurt her here. As she began to calm down and her wits returned, she stood up quite suddenly. Remus! She'd left him there, in the presence of those...those things! Gathering up her robes so as not to trip, Liana began to run back the way she'd come, praying all the way that she wouldn't be too late.
* * *
Remus stumbled through the front doors, more tired than he'd been in a long time. He noticed distantly that Liana hadn't come in yet, but he was too exhausted to care. He began to slowly drag himself up the stairs, shivering in the cold air and thinking longingly of his warm, comfortable bed...why did these stairwells have to be so long?
He'd pulled himself wearily up about ten steps when he noticed the hall was getting darker. Looking around curiously, he saw that the torches had dimmed considerably. They must be on a timer, he thought drowsily. But before he could turn to start upstairs again, a wave of cold cut him deep to the bone. It was no ordinary chill; he'd felt this somewhere before, but his mind was too tired to place where, or why. Before he could put his finger on it, he heard a familiar screaming in the back of his mind... The room went cloudy white, and he felt oddly detached. The screaming grew louder, accompanied by growling and snarling. Remus looked around wildly for the source of the sound, but all was white. Suddenly he recognized it.
Beryd! he called soundlessly. His brother was in danger...he had to help him! The white faded away, but the snarling did not. Remus looked around in confusion. Why was he here? He had to save Beryd from the wolf...
Remus looked up the stairs and suppressed a yell. Looming above him was a crowd of dementors, breathing their rattling breaths, sucking the very happiness out of the air around him. Beryd's screams stopped abruptly, and Remus choked back a sob. His brother was dead, he was too late. The wolf would be after him any second now...
The dementor closest to Remus stretched a scabby gray hand towards him, clutching his robes with an iron grip. The contact startled Remus out of his reverie. He couldn't save his brother, or himself, from the werewolf. That was in the past, it had already happened... But the dementors were now. Grabbing his wand with his free hand, Remus tried to focus on a happy memory. The day he'd gotten the letter from Hogwarts, that would do...
"Expecto patronum!" he bellowed, pointing his wand directly at the dementor. A thread of silver emerged from the tip of his wand, but the dementor ignored it. There were too many of them, he'd never be able to scare them all away... "Expecto patronum!" he yelled again, but the silver was a mere mist this time. It was too late, he'd let them get too close...
Then another hand grabbed at his free arm. He turned in fear, expecting to see another dementor, but it was Liana, her face grim. She pulled at his arm, staring down the dementor as it turned its head towards her. The other nine dementors behind it had overcome their surprise at seeing the wispy Patronus and were approaching Liana and Remus, drawing their rattling breaths and pulling back their sleeves. Liana swallowed convulsively and gripped Remus' arm tighter.
"Say it again!" she hissed in his ear, but he wasn't listening. His eyes had taken on a glazed look and his mouth was hanging open as he watched the dementors close in.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" came a yell from the top of the stairs. A huge silver bear, shining brightly in the black hall, came rumbling down the stairs. It circled the dementors, roaring ferociously and batting at them with its paws. They backed away in fear, and it chased them out the front doors, disappearing into the night and roaring at them in anger. Liana watched it go in amazement, wondering what it had been, and looked back up to the top of the stairs. Lily Evans was running down towards them, her face white and her forehead creased with worry.
"What are you two doing?" she screeched, looking Remus over before levitating him and running with him towards the hospital wing. Liana followed as best she could, trying to ignore her shaking knees. Lily was muttering angrily, but Liana knew she was more concerned than mad.
Madame Pomfrey peeked out into the corridor to see Lily and Liana came running up to her, Remus floating by their sides. She'd been up giving a student a potion to help stop his coughing when she'd heard Lily's angry voice and come out to see what was going on.
"What are you two doing?" she shrieked when she saw them. Her face went as white as theirs when she saw Remus floating along near them. Without another word, she plucked him out of the air and placed him carefully in a bed. Liana sank gratefully into a chair nearby, trying desperately to catch her breath. Lily remained standing, her arms folded in front of her.
"There are dementors in the school, Madame Pomfrey," she said angrily as the nurse began searching through her cupboards for an appropriate potion.
"Dementors! Well, then it'd better be chocolate..." she mumbled, turning to open a different cupboard. Liana was amazed to see that it was full of stacks of Honeyduke's chocolate, all wrapped up and surrounded with an anti- rotting spell that kept them fresh. The nurse grabbed four bars, giving one each to Lily and Liana, and unwrapped the other two. She put them in a bowl and, with a flick of her wand, melted the lot. Liana watched curiously as she propped up the unconscious Remus against some pillows and tipped the melted chocolate into his mouth. He woke up spluttering, chocolate dripping down his chin.
"What're y'doin'?!" he slurred, wiping the chocolate off his chin and trying to swallow what was left in his mouth. Madame Pomfrey solidified what was left in the bowl and handed him the bar.
"Well, then, if you're awake, we can do this the easy way," she said sternly, staring him down as he ate the chocolate. Liana realized with a start that she hadn't touched hers and took a big bite. The warmth swept through her like hot apple cider, and she smiled in relief as the last of the dementors' chill left her bones. Madame Pomfrey gave her a look, so she quickly finished the rest. Lily was nibbling at hers, babbling on about the dementors.
"...I never knew they were allowed here! I thought Azkaban was terribly far away, so how would they get here anyway? And to think what Dumbledore would have done if he'd found them! How could they have gotten here, and why on earth would they bother coming into a school? And so many of them! They were so tall, and so black, it looked like a mass of evil, wandering down the stairs..." Liana tuned her out again. It hadn't seemed like they were wandering down the stairs, but then, Lily hadn't been staring them down as her whole life flashed before her eyes. The bad parts of it, anyway.
Madame Pomfrey seemed to be ignoring Lily, also, and was getting more chocolate just in case. As she finished tending to her three new patients, what Lily was gibbering about seemed to hit her.
"DEMENTORS?!" she screamed, startling Lily into silence. The nurse's eyes were flashing dangerously. "You three stay RIGHT HERE while I go and talk to the Headmaster!" With that, she turned on her heel and hurried away.
Lily and Liana exchanged glances and the red-head began to eat her chocolate, not wanting to make Madame Pomfrey angrier if she came back to see it untouched. Liana settled into her chair again, sighing and closing her eyes against the bright moonlight streaming through the window. The rustle of bedsheets nearby reminded her of Remus. She opened her eyes again and saw with relief that he was looking much more alert, and some of the color had returned to his cheeks.
"Are you okay?" she asked timidly, scooting her chair nearer to him. He nodded and looked away, embarrassed. Lily hid a smile and wandered over to the window.
Liana watched her absently before turning back to Remus. "I-I'm really, really sorry, Remus," she mumbled. He looked at her questioningly.
"Why?"
"Because..." she stopped tears glistening in her eyes. "I deserted you!" she wailed. Lily glanced at her in surprise. "I left you there at those things' mercy, I ran away and left you there!" Liana was sobbing freely, hugging her arms to her chest and rocking back and forth in her chair.
"Oh." Remus stared at the girl, bewildered. Lily, much to his embarrassment and annoyance, was looking rather amused. Liana bawled away, explaining herself between sobs.
"I knew I wasn't a Gryffindor! I should've been sorted into Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff! I was so cowardly, and I wasn't thinking, and I just up and ran!" Remus patted her hand awkwardly, and she suddenly threw herself on him, hugging his neck tightly.
"I'm so, so, so sorry, Remus!" she wailed into his shoulder as he patted her on the back uncertainly. He saw over her shoulder that Lily was shaking with silent laughter and glared at her.
"Look, Liana, it's okay," he said loudly, trying to make himself heard over her sobs. "I didn't even know you'd left. You're only human..." At this, she only sobbed louder. Remus rolled his eyes and pushed her off him, forcing her to support her own weight.
"Wh-?" she began, but he hushed her.
"Liana, I don't blame you for running away. Just because you're a Gryffindor doesn't mean you're always going to be courageous, all the time. No," he said, holding up a hand to stop her from interrupting. "You lost your head. Plenty of people do when facing dementors, especially when they haven't seen them before. I mean, look at me! And I've been taught all about them by my parents." Liana nodded almost imperceptibly.
"But that doesn't make it less cowardly," she mumbled between hiccups.
"It wasn't cowardly to run from danger. I've done practically the same thing..." Remus' voice suddenly gave out. He remembered all to vividly how he'd lain there, unmoving, as the werewolf tore his brother's throat out...
Liana took a shuddering breath, calming herself, and smiled a watery smile.
"I believe you, Remus," she said quietly, "but I still hate myself for leaving you there. It was very uncourageous, in my opinion."
"But you came back for him, and that is what counts," said someone from the doorway. Liana turned to see Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey entering the hospital wing, silhouetted by the light from the torches in the corridor. Liana's cheeks reddened. How long had they been standing there? Had they seen her crying? Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling more than usual, and Liana was pretty sure he had. He passed her and Remus, approaching Lily by the window.
"You seem to be the most put-together at the moment," he said with a smile. "How about you tell me just what happened?" Lily nodded.
"Well, Professor, I really wasn't there much at all, so I didn't see the whole thing. I woke up in the middle of the night, realized I hadn't finished my Potions homework, and ran down to the common room to finish it." Dumbledore looked amused. "There was a cat down there, and it was scratching at the portrait hole to get out, so I opened it up for him. It was then I heard the screaming," she said somewhat dramatically. Lily loved drawing things out and making them more interesting, although she always stuck to the truth.
"Who was screaming?" asked Dumbledore, humoring his student.
"I think it was Liana, but I'm not sure. Then someone yelled something, and the cat, which had trotted towards the stairs, turned and came streaking back to the common room. I was pretty curious, and concerned about the screaming, so I grabbed my wand and ran out to see what was going on." Lily paused for breath, or maybe it was to shake off the memory of the dementors' chill. "There, on the stairs, were about ten dementors. The hall was pitch black except for a tiny glow from someone's wand, so I lit my own wand to get a better view. They were advancing on somebody, who wasn't doing anything to stop them-and probably didn't know how-so I summoned a Patronus and it took care of them for me." Dumbledore was surprised.
"I wasn't aware that you've been taught how to ward of dementors," he said slowly, raising his eyebrows. "I thought that was sixth-year curriculum." Lily shifted her weight.
"Well, yes, it is...but I was curious when I saw them practicing it once. I was on my way back from the hospital wing, last year, because I'd broken my wrist playing Quidditch. I heard them practicing, and watched for a while. I later looked it up and practiced it on my own."
"And it's good you did," Dumbledore muttered absently. "We'll have to move that particular spell down a year, although I doubt most fifth-years will be able to grasp it." Lily nodded.
"It took me the whole rest of the school year last year to perfect it, and even tonight I wasn't sure I'd be able to produce a strong enough one to defeat all those dementors. I think the only reason I could do it at all was because they were directing their...evil towards Remus and Liana." Dumbledore nodded again.
"I assume you escorted them here right away?"
"Oh, yes. My Patronus chased the dementors out of the school, and I brought Remus and Lily here." Dumbledore thanked her and turned to Remus and Liana. Behind him, Madame Pomfrey was shoving more chocolate into a protesting Lily's mouth.
"Now that Miss Evans has told what she knows, would you two fill in the rest of the story?" There was a flash of anger behind the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes, and Liana hoped they wouldn't get in too much trouble. She glanced at Remus, who was looking as if he didn't want to relive it again, and wondered where she should start. It would be too easily misinterpreted to say that she and Remus had gone for a stroll in the forest, so she changed the first part a bit.
"After Madame Pomfrey let me out of the hospital wing this afternoon," she began, knowing from the glare she got from the nurse that she'd started out wrong, "I-I went for a walk on the grounds. I must've fallen asleep-"
"No wonder, she didn't even stick around two hours..." the nurse grumbled. Liana swallowed, her cheeks reddening again.
"'Cause next I knew, it was night. I went back to the school, but dinner was already gone, so I was going to go to the kitchens for some food." A small smile was playing on Dumbledore's lips, and Liana realized with a start that she wasn't supposed to know how to get into the kitchens. I'm screwing it all up again! she thought angrily. "But, see, when I got to where I'd heard they were, I realized I didn't know the first thing about how to get inside. So I had to go all the way back to the Gryffindor common room, and my legs were getting tired, so I was slow." Liana's cheeks went even redder. She'd never be able to account for all the hours she'd been out! It had been after midnight when she came back into the school with Remus, and so far in her story, it wasn't even close. "And then Peeves started bouncing around the halls, and I didn't want to get caught, so I just hid behind a suit of armor for a while. When I finally got to the entrance hall, I saw Remus heading up the stairs to the Gryffindor tower. Then it got all cold, and the torches went out." Dumbledore's face had gotten very serious, and Liana knew he didn't really care why she'd been out, after all. "Then the-what did you call them? Dementors?-they came down the stairs, and there were so many of them..." Liana blinked away tears. She hated to think of what might have happened to Remus, all because of her. "So I ran," she said, staring at her feet in shame. "And when I finally realized that I'd left Remus there, I went back, but I couldn't do anything about it. If Lily hadn't been there, I don't know what would have happened." It was true; even after encountering them, she still didn't know exactly what they did-apart from making things dark and scary.
Dumbledore thanked Liana, too, and Madame Pomfrey bustled over with more chocolate. As the Headmaster turned to talk to Remus, the nurse pushed Liana unceremoniously onto the nearest bed. Liana was about to protest, but the angry look in Madame Pomfrey's eyes and the colorless line that was her lips stopped the girl before she could open her mouth.
"How dare you leave without my permission, you could have made that wound even worse!" the nurse hissed angrily. Liana had the distinct impression that she'd made an enemy of the lady-especially when the nurse pulled her robes out of the way so forcibly they ripped. Grumbling, she repaired the robes and turned the girl onto her side for closer inspection of the wound. When the nurse finally left her alone to get some kind of ointment, Liana could hear Remus talking quietly with Professor Dumbledore.
"I heard my brother dying," the boy said quietly, looking away from the Headmaster. Liana stared at him in shock, aware that her mouth was hanging open. Remus had a brother? Well, he had had one, anyway... She shuddered and turned onto her side again as Madame Pomfrey came back with the ointment. The nurse seemed less angry now that she saw the wound was healing just fine, and looked almost apologetic when Liana cried out at the coldness of the gel. It felt almost as cold as when the dementors had been there. Almost.
* * *
Remus looked away from Dumbledore, tears stinging his eyes. Telling the Headmaster what he'd heard was almost as bad as hearing it again. Dumbledore said nothing for a moment, allowing Remus to collect himself.
"Where did you learn the expecto patronum spell?" Professor Dumbledore asked quietly when Remus turned to look at him again. Remus shrugged.
"In our second house, we lived in the city near Azkaban. It was the one closest to my dad's new job. The first time I ever saw dementors, it was at night, and they were patrolling the streets, looking for someone who'd gotten loose while being transported to Azkaban. They actually came to our house, and I fainted, I was so scared. After that, my parents decided I needed to know how to defend myself against them, and they started me practicing every day-using my dad's wand-until I got the Hogwarts letter." He balled his fists and scowled. "I should have been able to take care of them, Professor! Since two weeks before I came here, I've never failed to conjure a Patronus when I try!" The Headmaster squeezed Remus' shoulder lightly.
"But you've never had to do it in front of real dementors, have you?" he said, more of a statement than a question. Remus shrugged and looked away again. "It isn't weakness, Remus. It's just terrible luck. You were present when Beryd died," Remus started at the sound of his brother's name, which he hadn't heard aloud in many years. "and I can't think of a single person who'd be able to think clearly with that going on in their mind." Remus nodded absently but believed strongly, like Liana had about her cowardliness, that it had been his own weakness, and that there was no excuse.
After asking a few more questions about the dementors, Professor Dumbledore turned to leave.
"Professor?" Remus said suddenly. The Headmaster turned back. "Why were there dementors in the school, or even anywhere near it?" he asked carefully, hoping he didn't sound accusing. A shadow crossed Dumbledore's face.
"I honestly do not know the answer to that, Mr. Lupin," he said quietly, then turned and left the room. Remus settled back onto his pillows, trying to think about why the dementors had been there, rather than what they had made him remember.
Madame Pomfrey left an extra bar of chocolate on Remus' and Liana's nightstands, tried fruitlessly to convince Lily to stay the night, and went huffily back to her office without giving either of her patients a potion for a dreamless sleep. Remus considered reminding her to do so, but he was already dropping off, and didn't feel like moving from his comfortable bed. His head sunk into the pillow and he was fast asleep in moments.
* * *
Remus woke up from his fitful sleep feeling as though he'd been awake the whole night. The first thing he noticed upon wakening was that his broken arm had been fixed, and the bandages wrapped around it were clean and blood- free. He tested his arm gingerly, making sure it didn't hurt, then hopped out of bed with a huge grin on his face. The previous night's horrors were dim in the small child's mind, and he couldn't wait to show his family that he was feeling fine. He remembered the grim look on his father's face and hoped this would cheer the man up.
The little boy toddled to the door and pulled it open. The hallway outside his room was dark and empty; the curtains at the end of the hall hadn't been opened yet. Remus hardly noticed this, running down the hall towards the kitchen, where he knew his father would be reading the paper and eating toast, his mother would be frying bacon and singing to herself, and his brother would be guzzling orange juice and giggling over the animated cartoons section of the Daily Prophet. Remus decided he'd be nice this morning, and not steal the page from Beryd until he was done with it.
But the kitchen was dark this morning, too. The curtains were open and the sun was streaming in, but Remus felt a chill when he saw the grave expression on his father's face and the puffiness of his mother's eyes. He slowed his pace and kneeled on a chair across from his father. The man had his chin in his hand, and the paper lay untouched in the middle of the table.
"Daddy?" Remus said timidly. His father started, looking up at his son as if just realizing he was there. He smiled faintly and took one of Remus' hands in his own. They were warm and comforting, and suddenly everything was okay again. Remus grinned, holding out his bandaged arm. "Look, Daddy! It's all better!" Mr. Lupin stared at the arm for a moment, his face suddenly pale again, and stood up from the table abruptly. He released Remus' hand and backed away slightly. The little boy stared at him in confusion, his smile wavering.
Without a word, Mr. Lupin turned and left the room. Remus watched him go, still holding out his arm, and his face fell. He stood from the table and went to his mother, tugging at her apron.
"Mum, what's wrong with Daddy?" he asked, staring up at her with a hurt look in his eyes. She met his gaze, teardrops dripping off the end of her nose, and stooped to gather her son up in her arms. She crouched there on the floor for several minutes, crying silently and clutching her baby boy. Remus, sensing that something was very wrong, began to bawl.
After a teary breakfast, Remus went outside to find his brother. He wanted to play broomsticks, and his parents never felt like doing that. Plus, he didn't like seeing his mother cry. The weather was beautiful: the sun shone down on the grassy lawn and colorful garden, unhindered by even the wispiest of clouds, and cheered the little boy greatly. He ran to the backyard, where his father was digging up weeds.
"Hi, Daddy!" he said cheerily, the events of the morning already forgotten. Mr. Lupin didn't even look up; he just pulled ferociously at a stubborn weed. Remus picked up his father's wand, which was lying on the grass nearby, and held it out to him.
"Why don'tcha use your wand?" he asked brightly, sticking the object under his father's nose. The man looked at it, startled, then suddenly ripped it out of his son's hand.
"Stay away from my things-monster!" he growled before turning and storming away. Remus was so startled he fell to the ground, and sat there bawling with pain and confusion until his mother heard him and came to the rescue. She held him on her lap, cradling him against her and whispering his name over and over...
* * *
"Remus! Remus, wake up," Liana whispered, shaking him lightly. She'd fallen asleep shortly after he, but his fitful dreaming had woken her again. He'd been tossing and turning for about five minutes, until she finally couldn't stand it anymore and went to pull him from whatever dream was troubling him so. She shook his shoulder again, and his eyes finally fluttered open.
"Mum?" he mumbled, staring at Liana blurrily. She shook her head. "Oh, it's you," he said, an odd tone in his voice. Liana stared at him in surprise.
"Yes-yes, it's me," she said uncertainly. What had he meant by that? Remus sighed and turned onto his side, facing away from her. "You looked like you were having a bad dream," Liana muttered quietly, trying not to attract Madame Pomfrey's attention.
"Hm," Remus said distantly. Confused and slightly hurt, Liana returned to her own bed, but sleep didn't claim her until the sky began to lighten with the dawn.
And I finally have enough reviews to start answering them, so here goes:
To Rache: Thanks so much for the long review! I kinda see what you mean about Liana, but how can I fix her?? Any ideas, just e-mail me at jodragonfire@hotmail.com or leave another review. As for Hagrid, I'm pretty sure he was gamekeeper at that time. I've read a bunch of MWPP fics where he was, and considering he was at school with Tom Riddle, he should be pretty old right now. I thought I heard someone say he was sixty-ish in the HP generation, but I could be wrong...at any rate, he was certainly old enough for the job at the time, and Dumbledore probably gave him the opportunity early on. Um...I agree with you that I probably don't spend enough time developing my characters-usually I'm writing too fast and trying to get it all out before I can. I'll think about that more in the future. Anyway, thank you so much! You're the first person to give me anything helpful in ANY reviews for ANY stories I've written.
Alright-y then, here's chapter seven!
Chapter Seven
Hogwarts glowed brightly as it had the first time Remus had seen it when he and Liana emerged from the forest. He couldn't help but smile at the sight; this was the only place he was truly happy, and it shone all the more beautifully because of that.
Liana's voice cut through his thoughts, startling him: "Just curious, Remus- why were you in the forest so late at night?" He thought for a moment, wondering what he should say. He didn't want to hurt Liana's feelings by telling her it was because of her, so he merely shrugged.
"Just bored, I guess," he mumbled. Then he looked up sharply. "Why were you in the forest?" Liana never broke the rules, she was too scared of getting caught. He was pretty sure she'd never been out after hours, but here she was, wandering in the Forbidden Forest long after curfew.
Liana groaned inwardly. She was so bad at these kinds of things! She'd completely forgotten that Remus couldn't know that she was the black wolf, and that asking him why he was up might trigger the same question in his mind. She would never be an auror, or anything close, if she couldn't keep all the details straight. And she'd always wanted to be an auror...her parents were Muggle detectives, and she thought it would be great to follow in their footsteps-sort of.
"Madame Pomfrey let me out a little bit ago, and I thought I'd take a stroll," she said quickly, realizing how long it had been since Remus had asked her the question. Liana was suddenly very glad it was dark: her face was bright red.
"Okay," Remus mumbled, sounding far from convinced. Liana risked a glance at him: he was staring at her in confusion. She whipped her head back and quickened her pace. The sooner they were in the school and in their separate dorms, the better.
The front doors swung open smoothly, allowing the dim torchlight to spill out onto the grounds, bathing a rectangle of grass in pale orange light. Liana was surprised at how dim the torches seemed-they were usually kept bright until midnight, when they were dimmed by magic to discourage kids from sneaking around so late. Looking at the moon outside, Liana frowned. It couldn't be midnight already?
Remus hadn't noticed the torches and was already approaching the stairs towards the Gryffindor tower. Liana ignored the dim lighting as well, assuming it had taken them longer than usual to trek through the forest and across the grounds, and stepped into the school, closing the doors behind her. As soon as she did so, a wave of cold swept over her and the torches flickered even lower. She shivered and pulled her robes closer around her thin frame, but the cold went deeper than her skin...
Remus, on the stairs, was shivering uncontrollably. He clutched the railing for support, falling to a sitting position on the steps. Concerned and more than a little scared, Liana ran to him to help him up. But even as she approached the bottom step, the torches flickered once and went out completely. The cold intensified, and Liana clutched at her shoulders in fear. She had just enough wits about her to grab her wand and light it, using the same dim light Remus had used in the forest. What she saw made her stumbled backwards, tripping over her robes and falling to the floor in her effort to get away.
Coming down the stairs, about five steps above Remus, were about ten of the scariest creatures Liana had ever seen. At first she thought they were human, but they were easily two feet taller than the average man. They wore long black robes, the cowls obscuring their faces. The sleeves dangled beyond their hands, and their feet weren't visible under the robes. Looking closer, Liana thought they appeared to be gliding down the stairs...
A rattling noise filled the hall, as if they were breathing through marbles in their lungs, and Liana felt the cold wash over her again, penetrating the depths of her very soul... Without realizing what she was doing, the girl stumbled to her feet and ran, ran as fast as she could away from those creatures and the cold they possessed.
She didn't stop running until she couldn't feel the slightest trace of the cold. She noticed vaguely that the torches were burning brightly in this corridor, and she put out her wand with relief. Weak and shaking, she sank to the floor and curled up into a ball, rocking slightly and reassuring herself that she was fine, the creatures were far away, they couldn't hurt her here. As she began to calm down and her wits returned, she stood up quite suddenly. Remus! She'd left him there, in the presence of those...those things! Gathering up her robes so as not to trip, Liana began to run back the way she'd come, praying all the way that she wouldn't be too late.
* * *
Remus stumbled through the front doors, more tired than he'd been in a long time. He noticed distantly that Liana hadn't come in yet, but he was too exhausted to care. He began to slowly drag himself up the stairs, shivering in the cold air and thinking longingly of his warm, comfortable bed...why did these stairwells have to be so long?
He'd pulled himself wearily up about ten steps when he noticed the hall was getting darker. Looking around curiously, he saw that the torches had dimmed considerably. They must be on a timer, he thought drowsily. But before he could turn to start upstairs again, a wave of cold cut him deep to the bone. It was no ordinary chill; he'd felt this somewhere before, but his mind was too tired to place where, or why. Before he could put his finger on it, he heard a familiar screaming in the back of his mind... The room went cloudy white, and he felt oddly detached. The screaming grew louder, accompanied by growling and snarling. Remus looked around wildly for the source of the sound, but all was white. Suddenly he recognized it.
Beryd! he called soundlessly. His brother was in danger...he had to help him! The white faded away, but the snarling did not. Remus looked around in confusion. Why was he here? He had to save Beryd from the wolf...
Remus looked up the stairs and suppressed a yell. Looming above him was a crowd of dementors, breathing their rattling breaths, sucking the very happiness out of the air around him. Beryd's screams stopped abruptly, and Remus choked back a sob. His brother was dead, he was too late. The wolf would be after him any second now...
The dementor closest to Remus stretched a scabby gray hand towards him, clutching his robes with an iron grip. The contact startled Remus out of his reverie. He couldn't save his brother, or himself, from the werewolf. That was in the past, it had already happened... But the dementors were now. Grabbing his wand with his free hand, Remus tried to focus on a happy memory. The day he'd gotten the letter from Hogwarts, that would do...
"Expecto patronum!" he bellowed, pointing his wand directly at the dementor. A thread of silver emerged from the tip of his wand, but the dementor ignored it. There were too many of them, he'd never be able to scare them all away... "Expecto patronum!" he yelled again, but the silver was a mere mist this time. It was too late, he'd let them get too close...
Then another hand grabbed at his free arm. He turned in fear, expecting to see another dementor, but it was Liana, her face grim. She pulled at his arm, staring down the dementor as it turned its head towards her. The other nine dementors behind it had overcome their surprise at seeing the wispy Patronus and were approaching Liana and Remus, drawing their rattling breaths and pulling back their sleeves. Liana swallowed convulsively and gripped Remus' arm tighter.
"Say it again!" she hissed in his ear, but he wasn't listening. His eyes had taken on a glazed look and his mouth was hanging open as he watched the dementors close in.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" came a yell from the top of the stairs. A huge silver bear, shining brightly in the black hall, came rumbling down the stairs. It circled the dementors, roaring ferociously and batting at them with its paws. They backed away in fear, and it chased them out the front doors, disappearing into the night and roaring at them in anger. Liana watched it go in amazement, wondering what it had been, and looked back up to the top of the stairs. Lily Evans was running down towards them, her face white and her forehead creased with worry.
"What are you two doing?" she screeched, looking Remus over before levitating him and running with him towards the hospital wing. Liana followed as best she could, trying to ignore her shaking knees. Lily was muttering angrily, but Liana knew she was more concerned than mad.
Madame Pomfrey peeked out into the corridor to see Lily and Liana came running up to her, Remus floating by their sides. She'd been up giving a student a potion to help stop his coughing when she'd heard Lily's angry voice and come out to see what was going on.
"What are you two doing?" she shrieked when she saw them. Her face went as white as theirs when she saw Remus floating along near them. Without another word, she plucked him out of the air and placed him carefully in a bed. Liana sank gratefully into a chair nearby, trying desperately to catch her breath. Lily remained standing, her arms folded in front of her.
"There are dementors in the school, Madame Pomfrey," she said angrily as the nurse began searching through her cupboards for an appropriate potion.
"Dementors! Well, then it'd better be chocolate..." she mumbled, turning to open a different cupboard. Liana was amazed to see that it was full of stacks of Honeyduke's chocolate, all wrapped up and surrounded with an anti- rotting spell that kept them fresh. The nurse grabbed four bars, giving one each to Lily and Liana, and unwrapped the other two. She put them in a bowl and, with a flick of her wand, melted the lot. Liana watched curiously as she propped up the unconscious Remus against some pillows and tipped the melted chocolate into his mouth. He woke up spluttering, chocolate dripping down his chin.
"What're y'doin'?!" he slurred, wiping the chocolate off his chin and trying to swallow what was left in his mouth. Madame Pomfrey solidified what was left in the bowl and handed him the bar.
"Well, then, if you're awake, we can do this the easy way," she said sternly, staring him down as he ate the chocolate. Liana realized with a start that she hadn't touched hers and took a big bite. The warmth swept through her like hot apple cider, and she smiled in relief as the last of the dementors' chill left her bones. Madame Pomfrey gave her a look, so she quickly finished the rest. Lily was nibbling at hers, babbling on about the dementors.
"...I never knew they were allowed here! I thought Azkaban was terribly far away, so how would they get here anyway? And to think what Dumbledore would have done if he'd found them! How could they have gotten here, and why on earth would they bother coming into a school? And so many of them! They were so tall, and so black, it looked like a mass of evil, wandering down the stairs..." Liana tuned her out again. It hadn't seemed like they were wandering down the stairs, but then, Lily hadn't been staring them down as her whole life flashed before her eyes. The bad parts of it, anyway.
Madame Pomfrey seemed to be ignoring Lily, also, and was getting more chocolate just in case. As she finished tending to her three new patients, what Lily was gibbering about seemed to hit her.
"DEMENTORS?!" she screamed, startling Lily into silence. The nurse's eyes were flashing dangerously. "You three stay RIGHT HERE while I go and talk to the Headmaster!" With that, she turned on her heel and hurried away.
Lily and Liana exchanged glances and the red-head began to eat her chocolate, not wanting to make Madame Pomfrey angrier if she came back to see it untouched. Liana settled into her chair again, sighing and closing her eyes against the bright moonlight streaming through the window. The rustle of bedsheets nearby reminded her of Remus. She opened her eyes again and saw with relief that he was looking much more alert, and some of the color had returned to his cheeks.
"Are you okay?" she asked timidly, scooting her chair nearer to him. He nodded and looked away, embarrassed. Lily hid a smile and wandered over to the window.
Liana watched her absently before turning back to Remus. "I-I'm really, really sorry, Remus," she mumbled. He looked at her questioningly.
"Why?"
"Because..." she stopped tears glistening in her eyes. "I deserted you!" she wailed. Lily glanced at her in surprise. "I left you there at those things' mercy, I ran away and left you there!" Liana was sobbing freely, hugging her arms to her chest and rocking back and forth in her chair.
"Oh." Remus stared at the girl, bewildered. Lily, much to his embarrassment and annoyance, was looking rather amused. Liana bawled away, explaining herself between sobs.
"I knew I wasn't a Gryffindor! I should've been sorted into Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff! I was so cowardly, and I wasn't thinking, and I just up and ran!" Remus patted her hand awkwardly, and she suddenly threw herself on him, hugging his neck tightly.
"I'm so, so, so sorry, Remus!" she wailed into his shoulder as he patted her on the back uncertainly. He saw over her shoulder that Lily was shaking with silent laughter and glared at her.
"Look, Liana, it's okay," he said loudly, trying to make himself heard over her sobs. "I didn't even know you'd left. You're only human..." At this, she only sobbed louder. Remus rolled his eyes and pushed her off him, forcing her to support her own weight.
"Wh-?" she began, but he hushed her.
"Liana, I don't blame you for running away. Just because you're a Gryffindor doesn't mean you're always going to be courageous, all the time. No," he said, holding up a hand to stop her from interrupting. "You lost your head. Plenty of people do when facing dementors, especially when they haven't seen them before. I mean, look at me! And I've been taught all about them by my parents." Liana nodded almost imperceptibly.
"But that doesn't make it less cowardly," she mumbled between hiccups.
"It wasn't cowardly to run from danger. I've done practically the same thing..." Remus' voice suddenly gave out. He remembered all to vividly how he'd lain there, unmoving, as the werewolf tore his brother's throat out...
Liana took a shuddering breath, calming herself, and smiled a watery smile.
"I believe you, Remus," she said quietly, "but I still hate myself for leaving you there. It was very uncourageous, in my opinion."
"But you came back for him, and that is what counts," said someone from the doorway. Liana turned to see Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey entering the hospital wing, silhouetted by the light from the torches in the corridor. Liana's cheeks reddened. How long had they been standing there? Had they seen her crying? Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling more than usual, and Liana was pretty sure he had. He passed her and Remus, approaching Lily by the window.
"You seem to be the most put-together at the moment," he said with a smile. "How about you tell me just what happened?" Lily nodded.
"Well, Professor, I really wasn't there much at all, so I didn't see the whole thing. I woke up in the middle of the night, realized I hadn't finished my Potions homework, and ran down to the common room to finish it." Dumbledore looked amused. "There was a cat down there, and it was scratching at the portrait hole to get out, so I opened it up for him. It was then I heard the screaming," she said somewhat dramatically. Lily loved drawing things out and making them more interesting, although she always stuck to the truth.
"Who was screaming?" asked Dumbledore, humoring his student.
"I think it was Liana, but I'm not sure. Then someone yelled something, and the cat, which had trotted towards the stairs, turned and came streaking back to the common room. I was pretty curious, and concerned about the screaming, so I grabbed my wand and ran out to see what was going on." Lily paused for breath, or maybe it was to shake off the memory of the dementors' chill. "There, on the stairs, were about ten dementors. The hall was pitch black except for a tiny glow from someone's wand, so I lit my own wand to get a better view. They were advancing on somebody, who wasn't doing anything to stop them-and probably didn't know how-so I summoned a Patronus and it took care of them for me." Dumbledore was surprised.
"I wasn't aware that you've been taught how to ward of dementors," he said slowly, raising his eyebrows. "I thought that was sixth-year curriculum." Lily shifted her weight.
"Well, yes, it is...but I was curious when I saw them practicing it once. I was on my way back from the hospital wing, last year, because I'd broken my wrist playing Quidditch. I heard them practicing, and watched for a while. I later looked it up and practiced it on my own."
"And it's good you did," Dumbledore muttered absently. "We'll have to move that particular spell down a year, although I doubt most fifth-years will be able to grasp it." Lily nodded.
"It took me the whole rest of the school year last year to perfect it, and even tonight I wasn't sure I'd be able to produce a strong enough one to defeat all those dementors. I think the only reason I could do it at all was because they were directing their...evil towards Remus and Liana." Dumbledore nodded again.
"I assume you escorted them here right away?"
"Oh, yes. My Patronus chased the dementors out of the school, and I brought Remus and Lily here." Dumbledore thanked her and turned to Remus and Liana. Behind him, Madame Pomfrey was shoving more chocolate into a protesting Lily's mouth.
"Now that Miss Evans has told what she knows, would you two fill in the rest of the story?" There was a flash of anger behind the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes, and Liana hoped they wouldn't get in too much trouble. She glanced at Remus, who was looking as if he didn't want to relive it again, and wondered where she should start. It would be too easily misinterpreted to say that she and Remus had gone for a stroll in the forest, so she changed the first part a bit.
"After Madame Pomfrey let me out of the hospital wing this afternoon," she began, knowing from the glare she got from the nurse that she'd started out wrong, "I-I went for a walk on the grounds. I must've fallen asleep-"
"No wonder, she didn't even stick around two hours..." the nurse grumbled. Liana swallowed, her cheeks reddening again.
"'Cause next I knew, it was night. I went back to the school, but dinner was already gone, so I was going to go to the kitchens for some food." A small smile was playing on Dumbledore's lips, and Liana realized with a start that she wasn't supposed to know how to get into the kitchens. I'm screwing it all up again! she thought angrily. "But, see, when I got to where I'd heard they were, I realized I didn't know the first thing about how to get inside. So I had to go all the way back to the Gryffindor common room, and my legs were getting tired, so I was slow." Liana's cheeks went even redder. She'd never be able to account for all the hours she'd been out! It had been after midnight when she came back into the school with Remus, and so far in her story, it wasn't even close. "And then Peeves started bouncing around the halls, and I didn't want to get caught, so I just hid behind a suit of armor for a while. When I finally got to the entrance hall, I saw Remus heading up the stairs to the Gryffindor tower. Then it got all cold, and the torches went out." Dumbledore's face had gotten very serious, and Liana knew he didn't really care why she'd been out, after all. "Then the-what did you call them? Dementors?-they came down the stairs, and there were so many of them..." Liana blinked away tears. She hated to think of what might have happened to Remus, all because of her. "So I ran," she said, staring at her feet in shame. "And when I finally realized that I'd left Remus there, I went back, but I couldn't do anything about it. If Lily hadn't been there, I don't know what would have happened." It was true; even after encountering them, she still didn't know exactly what they did-apart from making things dark and scary.
Dumbledore thanked Liana, too, and Madame Pomfrey bustled over with more chocolate. As the Headmaster turned to talk to Remus, the nurse pushed Liana unceremoniously onto the nearest bed. Liana was about to protest, but the angry look in Madame Pomfrey's eyes and the colorless line that was her lips stopped the girl before she could open her mouth.
"How dare you leave without my permission, you could have made that wound even worse!" the nurse hissed angrily. Liana had the distinct impression that she'd made an enemy of the lady-especially when the nurse pulled her robes out of the way so forcibly they ripped. Grumbling, she repaired the robes and turned the girl onto her side for closer inspection of the wound. When the nurse finally left her alone to get some kind of ointment, Liana could hear Remus talking quietly with Professor Dumbledore.
"I heard my brother dying," the boy said quietly, looking away from the Headmaster. Liana stared at him in shock, aware that her mouth was hanging open. Remus had a brother? Well, he had had one, anyway... She shuddered and turned onto her side again as Madame Pomfrey came back with the ointment. The nurse seemed less angry now that she saw the wound was healing just fine, and looked almost apologetic when Liana cried out at the coldness of the gel. It felt almost as cold as when the dementors had been there. Almost.
* * *
Remus looked away from Dumbledore, tears stinging his eyes. Telling the Headmaster what he'd heard was almost as bad as hearing it again. Dumbledore said nothing for a moment, allowing Remus to collect himself.
"Where did you learn the expecto patronum spell?" Professor Dumbledore asked quietly when Remus turned to look at him again. Remus shrugged.
"In our second house, we lived in the city near Azkaban. It was the one closest to my dad's new job. The first time I ever saw dementors, it was at night, and they were patrolling the streets, looking for someone who'd gotten loose while being transported to Azkaban. They actually came to our house, and I fainted, I was so scared. After that, my parents decided I needed to know how to defend myself against them, and they started me practicing every day-using my dad's wand-until I got the Hogwarts letter." He balled his fists and scowled. "I should have been able to take care of them, Professor! Since two weeks before I came here, I've never failed to conjure a Patronus when I try!" The Headmaster squeezed Remus' shoulder lightly.
"But you've never had to do it in front of real dementors, have you?" he said, more of a statement than a question. Remus shrugged and looked away again. "It isn't weakness, Remus. It's just terrible luck. You were present when Beryd died," Remus started at the sound of his brother's name, which he hadn't heard aloud in many years. "and I can't think of a single person who'd be able to think clearly with that going on in their mind." Remus nodded absently but believed strongly, like Liana had about her cowardliness, that it had been his own weakness, and that there was no excuse.
After asking a few more questions about the dementors, Professor Dumbledore turned to leave.
"Professor?" Remus said suddenly. The Headmaster turned back. "Why were there dementors in the school, or even anywhere near it?" he asked carefully, hoping he didn't sound accusing. A shadow crossed Dumbledore's face.
"I honestly do not know the answer to that, Mr. Lupin," he said quietly, then turned and left the room. Remus settled back onto his pillows, trying to think about why the dementors had been there, rather than what they had made him remember.
Madame Pomfrey left an extra bar of chocolate on Remus' and Liana's nightstands, tried fruitlessly to convince Lily to stay the night, and went huffily back to her office without giving either of her patients a potion for a dreamless sleep. Remus considered reminding her to do so, but he was already dropping off, and didn't feel like moving from his comfortable bed. His head sunk into the pillow and he was fast asleep in moments.
* * *
Remus woke up from his fitful sleep feeling as though he'd been awake the whole night. The first thing he noticed upon wakening was that his broken arm had been fixed, and the bandages wrapped around it were clean and blood- free. He tested his arm gingerly, making sure it didn't hurt, then hopped out of bed with a huge grin on his face. The previous night's horrors were dim in the small child's mind, and he couldn't wait to show his family that he was feeling fine. He remembered the grim look on his father's face and hoped this would cheer the man up.
The little boy toddled to the door and pulled it open. The hallway outside his room was dark and empty; the curtains at the end of the hall hadn't been opened yet. Remus hardly noticed this, running down the hall towards the kitchen, where he knew his father would be reading the paper and eating toast, his mother would be frying bacon and singing to herself, and his brother would be guzzling orange juice and giggling over the animated cartoons section of the Daily Prophet. Remus decided he'd be nice this morning, and not steal the page from Beryd until he was done with it.
But the kitchen was dark this morning, too. The curtains were open and the sun was streaming in, but Remus felt a chill when he saw the grave expression on his father's face and the puffiness of his mother's eyes. He slowed his pace and kneeled on a chair across from his father. The man had his chin in his hand, and the paper lay untouched in the middle of the table.
"Daddy?" Remus said timidly. His father started, looking up at his son as if just realizing he was there. He smiled faintly and took one of Remus' hands in his own. They were warm and comforting, and suddenly everything was okay again. Remus grinned, holding out his bandaged arm. "Look, Daddy! It's all better!" Mr. Lupin stared at the arm for a moment, his face suddenly pale again, and stood up from the table abruptly. He released Remus' hand and backed away slightly. The little boy stared at him in confusion, his smile wavering.
Without a word, Mr. Lupin turned and left the room. Remus watched him go, still holding out his arm, and his face fell. He stood from the table and went to his mother, tugging at her apron.
"Mum, what's wrong with Daddy?" he asked, staring up at her with a hurt look in his eyes. She met his gaze, teardrops dripping off the end of her nose, and stooped to gather her son up in her arms. She crouched there on the floor for several minutes, crying silently and clutching her baby boy. Remus, sensing that something was very wrong, began to bawl.
After a teary breakfast, Remus went outside to find his brother. He wanted to play broomsticks, and his parents never felt like doing that. Plus, he didn't like seeing his mother cry. The weather was beautiful: the sun shone down on the grassy lawn and colorful garden, unhindered by even the wispiest of clouds, and cheered the little boy greatly. He ran to the backyard, where his father was digging up weeds.
"Hi, Daddy!" he said cheerily, the events of the morning already forgotten. Mr. Lupin didn't even look up; he just pulled ferociously at a stubborn weed. Remus picked up his father's wand, which was lying on the grass nearby, and held it out to him.
"Why don'tcha use your wand?" he asked brightly, sticking the object under his father's nose. The man looked at it, startled, then suddenly ripped it out of his son's hand.
"Stay away from my things-monster!" he growled before turning and storming away. Remus was so startled he fell to the ground, and sat there bawling with pain and confusion until his mother heard him and came to the rescue. She held him on her lap, cradling him against her and whispering his name over and over...
* * *
"Remus! Remus, wake up," Liana whispered, shaking him lightly. She'd fallen asleep shortly after he, but his fitful dreaming had woken her again. He'd been tossing and turning for about five minutes, until she finally couldn't stand it anymore and went to pull him from whatever dream was troubling him so. She shook his shoulder again, and his eyes finally fluttered open.
"Mum?" he mumbled, staring at Liana blurrily. She shook her head. "Oh, it's you," he said, an odd tone in his voice. Liana stared at him in surprise.
"Yes-yes, it's me," she said uncertainly. What had he meant by that? Remus sighed and turned onto his side, facing away from her. "You looked like you were having a bad dream," Liana muttered quietly, trying not to attract Madame Pomfrey's attention.
"Hm," Remus said distantly. Confused and slightly hurt, Liana returned to her own bed, but sleep didn't claim her until the sky began to lighten with the dawn.