The next few days fell into a pattern for Gwen. She went to school, hung out with Shane, annoyed Shania and Nat, and talked with Remus at night. He gave her several books to read which Gwen found very interesting. A week after she moved in with Remus, they decided to pay a visit to Gwen's biological parents. It went rather well. Mr. and Mrs. Blakely signed the papers and proceeded to give the pair a piece of their mind. In English, French, and Latin. Only Gwen understood the French and Latin and she was very glad Remus couldn't. Her parents knew some juicy cuss words. That weekend, Gwen appeared before the Ministry and had her name changed. As far the rest of the world was concerned, Remus Lupin was her father. She excitedly told Shane the next Monday at lunch.
"He adopted me, Shane. Can you believe it? I have a real dad, now. One who loves me." She noticed Shane was spacing out and waved her hand energetically in front of his face. "Shane? Hello are you in there?"
"What? Oh yeah. Listen, Gwen. Do you think I could come over after school for a while? Shania's having a party and I don't want to be there." Gwen was confused. She hadn't told Shane about her being a witch. She didn't want to push too much on him at one time. But she did want him to come over. She missed hanging out with him and playing pranks on his sister. They couldn't play pranks in school anymore because after their last one, which involved snails, face-paint, and the vice-principle's toupee, they were constantly followed by a teacher. They were never left alone together at for one second. People were afraid of what they might do. She made a split-second decision and told him. He took it rather well.
"Cool! Can I come over and look at all the stuff in your wonderful house?"
"I don't know. I'll have to ask Remus. Come on." They stealthily snuck out of the cafeteria (a hard feat for two students who are watched more than Survivor) and down to Gwen's locker. She pulled a small, grey stone out of the back of her locker, rubbed it, and whispered 'Remus Lupin'. The color swirled and Remus' face appeared in the stone.
"What's up?"
"Can Shane come over after school today?"
"I don't know Gwen…"
"I told him about me being a witch."
"I guess so. Oh, before I forget. Sirius will be picking you up today. I have to work late and probably won't be home until after you go to bed. Sirius is spending the night with you."
"Okay. Bye Remus. Love you."
"Love you too." The picture faded.
"How cool was that!" Shane exclaimed. "What was that thing?"
"It's called a Seeing-Stone. It's the closest thing wizards have to a telephone."
"So it's kind of like a Palantiri?"
"Yeah. Something like that." The two friends bounded out of school after the last bell of the day rang. They stopped short in the courtyard when they saw Sirius. He looked so strange. He was dressed like a muggle hippie in tight jeans, a tie-die shirt, and a jean jacket. He had a thick belt made out of hemp wrapped around his waist and wore large pink platform shoes. He had somehow (probably by magic) given himself an afro and wore large sunglasses and a goofy grin on his face. He also had a tie-die tie that clashed with his tie-die shirt wrapped around his big hair.
"Peace out, dudes!" He yelled at them, waving his hands in a peace sign. They walked slowly over to him, not really wanting to be seen with the gay-looking hippie. Then they saw what he was driving. It was a large, ancient, VW Bug. It probably was from the 60's.
"Padfoot, please tell me you were cursed to act like this." Gwen pleaded when they reached him. He shook his head merrily.
"Climb in children. We're going on a magic carpet ride!" They regretfully climbed into the back after putting their bookbags where the engine was supposed to be. After all, the engine was in the back and the trunk was in the front.
"He's high." Shane whispered to Gwen who nodded at him.
"Whatever he's got, I want some." She replied. Shane grinned. Surprisingly, they and the car were in one piece when they reached the Moon Hut (the name of the Lupin residence). Sirius went upstairs to do something while Shane ran from room to room, obsessing over various magical objects. He was particularly interested in a moving picture of the Potter family. Only Harry and his wife were smiling. The kids were all pulling out each other's hair and generally doing things that Padfoot approved of. Shane and Gwen had settled in the living room doing homework when the flames in the fireplace turned green. Shane's eyes were the size of dinner plates when a small figure stumbled out of the fire. Gwen hurried forward to dust Harry Jr. off. He was followed by his parents and siblings. Gwen performed introductions to Shane. Ron started jumping up and down pulling at Gwen's pant leg.
"Guess what? Guess what? Guess what?"
"What?"
"I turned Lily's hair green today! I'm a wizard!" The four-year-old announced proudly.
"Congratulations, I guess." Lily stuck out her tongue at her little brother and his hair turned green. Their mother changed it back with a wave of her wand.
"We came over to help you out, dear. Sirius is a horrible cook so I decided to come make dinner for you and your friend. I hope that's alright?" She said.
"Of course it is, Ginny. To tell you the truth, Remus isn't that good a cook either." The girls walked off chatting to the kitchen while the boys began roughhousing. After dinner, Ginny brought out her knitting, Harry Sr. and Gwen played chess, and Harry Jr. and Shane told the little ones scary stories. Ron fell asleep in the middle of Sleepy Hollow and Ginny decided it was time to go. She took the kids home while Shane watched Harry and Gwen finish their game. Gwen lost and Harry Disapparated with a cheerful wave. Gwen and Shane had finished their homework and were in the middle of a good poker game when Sirius came downstairs, holding two goblets, both contained a smoking liquid. He handed one to Gwen.
"Drink up." She stared at him mutely after sniffing the potion.
"There's no way in hell I'm drinking that."
"You have to. So does Remus. It's a potion that helps you keep your mind when you transform."
"But the full moon isn't for another week!"
"You have to take it every day for a week preceding the moon or it won't work." Gwen glared at him, but downed the potion. She shuddered.
"That bad, huh?" Asked Shane.
"Yup. Can I add some sugar or something tomorrow?"
"No. Sugar makes it useless." Sirius turned to Shane. "Shouldn't you be getting home? It's rather late. D'you need a ride?"
"Um, actually the party my sister's having is a sleepover. Mum thinks I'm spending the night here." Sirius frowned.
"Boy-girl sleepovers. I don't think I like that."
"Oh come on, Sirius. Weren't you the one encouraging me to visit the Astronomy tower at Hogwarts? And it's not like we're going to do anything. We've done this before." Sirius still looked doubtful. "You can lock us in separate rooms if you want." Gwen offered, pulling a puppy-dog face. That melted Sirius in an instant.
"No, that won't be necessary. As long as you two promise to behave I guess you can bunk down here." Sirius conjured two sleeping bags and some pillows for them and went back upstairs. They spent the night planning evil pranks. The week passed almost too quickly for Gwen. Before she knew it, Friday, and the full moon, arrived. Shane made arrangements to spend the night at her house again, so he could be there when she was back to normal. He and Sirius sat up all night, waiting for the two werewolves to emerge from the soundproof, locked room that Remus used for his, and now Gwen's, transformations. They emerged, bloody and aching, at dawn. Sirius rushed over to support Remus, as Shane did likewise for Gwen.
"What happened?" Asked Sirius. Remus hadn't looked this bad since the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered.
"It doesn't work. The potion doesn't work on her. She loses her mind. I don't know whether it's because she's young, or because she's an Arctic wolf."
"An Arctic wolf?" Shane interrupted.
"She's white. All over. Very beautiful." Gwen didn't speak. She remained silent while Sirius healed their wounds. Shane handed her and Remus a cup of tea. She handed it back to him. Wordlessly, he got a glass, poured some sugar in the bottom, filled the glass with ice and a lemon, and poured the hot tea in. He stirred it for about a minute before handing it back to Gwen, who drank it. After she finished the iced tea, she spoke.
"I'm sorry." She whispered to Remus with tears in her eyes. He gathered her in his arms and rocked her.
"It's okay, Gwen. Werewolves heal fast anyway. We'll just have to find a separate room for you to transform in. Maybe I can find some chew-toys so you don't claw and bite yourself." She cried into his torn shirt and eventually fell asleep. Remus carried her to her bed and Shane curled up on the floor next to her bed.