Chapter 3: Results
Harry cautiously reached over to get his glasses. When the creature made no movement to attacked, he quickly grabbed them up and put them on. Relief flooded over him.
"Hedwig!" exclaimed Harry. She clicked her beak happily and flew across the room to join the other owls, who were sitting on Harry's desk, allowing him to sit up. There were four of them, three of which were carrying packages.
Harry moved toward a bronze colored owl first, and untied the letter from its claws. As soon as he did this the owl took off, evidently knowing its job was completed. Harry then turned the letter over, and found the Hogwarts seal holding the letter tightly shut. He opened it and inside found the usual letter telling him to catch the Hogwarts Express on September 1 and his list of school supplies. But there were two other pieces of parchment behind the first two. One of which told him his O.W.L. grades. Harry closed his eyes and gulped before looking at it:
Subject: Score: Transfiguration: A Potions: A Astronomy: P Charms: A Herbology: A Defense Against the Dark Arts: O Care of Magical Creatures: O Divination: D History of Magic: P
Well, that wasn't to bad, thought Harry. Even though I got a D, I still managed 6 pass grades. And no T's. Looks like he'd be able to take potions after all. Now it was time for the fourth piece of parchment. Harry took it out of the envelope and examined it carefully. He was supposed to mark off the classes he wanted to take his 6th and 7th years. Since the owl was gone, though, he decided to wait and see if he was going to be seeing Ron before summer was over so that he could fill it out with him. Or even Hermione.
Remembering his other letters Harry went over to Pigwidgeon, so that he could relieve his burden. As he got closer the small owl twittered madly and zoomed about as much as possible with a package holding him down. Harry untied the package from the owl's leg and went over to his bed to open it. First he read Ron's letter:
Harry,
Did you find out your O.W.L. score yet? Mum wasn't very
happy when she found out mine. I managed three A's and an O, but that
was in Care of Magical Creatures. Nothing much going on round here.
Mum and Dad have to go between here and Number 12 so much, I think we
may have to move back their for awhile. None of the members who come
here will tell us anything about their efforts. Hopefully you can
come over soon. I need help deciding what classes I'm going to be
taking next year. Happy Birthday!
Ron
Going to the burrow (or even Grimmauld Place) sounded great, though Harry wondered what it would be like to be around friends again, especially Lupin. Before he still had school to worry about, so he had kind of pushed his feelings aside for awhile. But now the unfairness of it all weighed down on him, so he was a bit more susceptible to tears. And often times Harry found himself wondering, why me? Or even, why Sirius? Harry wrote Ron back telling him that he would love to come over, but didn't know how he would get their. And that he needed to get to Diagon Alley anyway. He also told him all about his O.W.L. scores. Harry tied the letter to Pigwidgeon's leg, who took off immediately; evidently glad for the light load. He ten opened the package, which was a box of chocolates from Mrs. Weasley. Harry then went over to Hedwig, who also had a letter and package for him. It was from Hermione:
Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday! It's a good thing Hedwig showed up, or I
wouldn't be able to get this to you. Hope your summer is going well.
I just got back from a trip to the United States with my parents. We
went to New York and saw the statue of Liberty. I've been reading up
on wizards in America, they seem quite fascinating. Even thought they
speak English hear, it's a bit different from ours, so they were hard
to understand at times. I've been reading up on something else to,
though. I knew you wouldn't want to talk about it, so I asked Neville
how Sirius died instead. So, for awhile I've been trying to find out
as much info about the veil as I can. I hope you don't mind.
Well, Ron says maybe we'll be able to stat at his house soon,
or even Grimmauld Place. By the way, have you gotten your O.W.L.
scores yet? I got two A's, but the rest were O's. Hope you did well,
and hope to see you soon,
Hermione
It was a little hard to believe that Hermione had gotten two A's, but he wouldn't mention that to her. Harry didn't feel like sending Hedwig off again, so he set the letter on his bed so that he could reply later.
Then Harry moved to the fourth and final owl. This one Harry had never seen before. It was a sleek silver color, mixed in with a bit of white. He took the envelope and package off the owl and opened the letter:
Dear Harry,
Meet Wolf, my owl. I hope you are doing well on your own.
I know that I have the Order here to help me get through this, but
you have no one. Therefore, I hope that you keep in mind that
whenever you need to talk, just send Hedwig. I will always have time
for your letters. And I will always be there for you, Harry. And
don't think I'm trying to replace Sirius, because no one ever can.
There will a funeral in one week, and I want you to be
there. So I convinced Dumbldore to let me come get you. I'll be
picking you up on Saturday, no matter what your Aunt and Uncle say.
You can spend the rest of summer with me at Grimmauld Place. I
believe the Weasleys and Hermione will soon be coming to stay too. If
not, you can see them at the funeral. I hope you like your present.
Remus
Harry was expecting a letter like this from Lupin, but he was appreciative nonetheless. What he wasn't expecting though was a funeral so soon. Perhaps it had been a month, but there was still hope, Harry thought, of saving him. When Lupin's present was unwrapped Harry found himself staring a framed photograph of at his father, Sirius and Lupin arm in arm and waving at him at probably about 16 years of age. Lupin must have known he didn't have a picture like this.
"The true marauders," Harry whispered to himself as he put the picture on his desk. As he went to sit on his bed to admire the photo some more, Harry accidentally sat on Hermione's present, which he had completely forgotten about. He unwrapped it to find a book entitled, Quidditch Teams of America.
He was flipping through it when something caught his eye. The page was headlined, The Georgia Grimmers. Underneath was an illustration of a big, black shaggy dog. Silent tears sprang to Harry's eyes as he remembered Sirius' paws on his shoulders (in fact, he could almost feel them) at Kings Cross Station just before he left on the Hogwarts Express the previous year. And he remembered Mrs. Weasley saying, "For heaven sakes, act more like a dog Sirius!"
Then another memory came into his mind, one he knew was not his own. He found himself once again being sucked into a memory from someone else's head.
"Come on Wormtail, you can do it," prompted Sirius.
"No, what if something happens?" whimpered Peter.
Harry found himself standing around Wormtail with Sirius and his father, in a Gryffindor dormitory. He guessed them to be a 3rd year. Glancing out the window, he saw the moon was full, though partly covered by clouds.
"Do it for Moony," said James. Wormtail whimpered again, but had finally given in. He slowly raised his wand to point at himself and muttered something under his breath. As soon as he did this, his body began to shrink before their eyes. Peter sprouted whiskers from his face and a tail from behind. Soon enough he was the lazy rat Harry had once known as Scabbers.
"That's it Wormtail!" cried Sirius, as James put the rat into his pocket.
James glanced out the window and said "there they go!" Harry too looked out the window and saw two shapes crossing the sloping grounds. One was shorter than the other, which was definitely Lupin, and the other was obviously Dumbldore. When they got to the Whomping Willow Dumbldore prodded the knot with a long stick that was nearby, and it froze. Then Lupin started to make his way down the tunnel.
"We better get moving if we want to make it there before he changes," said James. And with that the two of them threw the cloak over themselves, and took off for the stairs, Frantically Harry searched for something to disguise himself, but then remembered that he could not be seen. He then strained his ears for footsteps a followed them out of the common room, down many corridors, through they oak front doors and across the grounds. Finally they stopped in front of the Whomping Willow, where James and Sirius took the cloak off.
"Go prod the knot, Wormtail," said James as he took the rat out of his pocket and let him go. Peter dodged all the branches swinging at him, as he got to the base of the trunk. Once there he pushed one paw on the knot at its roots, making the tree freeze.
"Good rat," joked Sirius. Peter let out a squeak of annoyance as he ran down into the tunnel, James and Sirius close at his heels. Harry quickly followed. The four of them crawled through the tight tunnel, ending up inside the Shrieking Shack. Waiting for them on one of the dusty ripped- open chairs was Lupin.
"Hey!" he greeted them happily, though looking quite pail. "I think the clouds are about to shift," he said glancing through one of the boarded up windows.
"Well, shall we, mate?" James asked, turning to Sirius.
"Yes, I think we should," Sirius replied.
The two then in unison pointed their wands at themselves, and muttered something under their breaths. Both of them grew in size. One started to have a muzzle coming of his face, the other growing antlers out of his head. Soon enough Sirius was the dog Harry had seen him as many times before, and his father was the stag Harry had only seen in a white mist- like form. It was true; his father had always been there for him when he was scared.
The clouds then shifted, and so did Lupin. His body reformed itself as he sprouted hair and cried (or rather howled) out in pain. When he was completely transformed, Lupin attacked the first thing he saw. Harry's father. Snarling, he lunged at him.
"NO!" Harry cried, running forward. Forgetting that Lupin was a viscous werewolf. Forgetting that he could not touch anything while in someone else's memory. All he knew was that he had to save his father.
Before Harry even reached him though, Sirius jumped in the way and took the full blow. Harry stopped dead in his tracks. The two dogs fought jaw to jaw, and claw to claw. That's when Harry felt a tug and started being dragged into the real world. He tried to resist, wanting so badly to save Sirius and his father. His last image, Lupin the werewolf biting Sirius before he pushed him out of the way and lunged again at his father. The last thing he heard, Sirius' yelp of pain.
Harry sat on his bed crying for a few minutes, before he looked up at the photo. He felt so helpless, so alone in the world. The photograph now showed Lupin standing next to a bear-like dog and a magnificent stag. Most of the comfort Lupin's letter had brought him before was now gone. It was hard to imagine that the beast he had just seen was now the closest thing he had to a father. It's not his fault though, Harry thought. I must keep that in mind.
^O-O^ ^O-O^ ^O-O^ ^O-O^ ^O-O^ ^O-O^ ^O-O^ ^O-O^ ^O-O^ ^O-O^
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate it! I haven't written the next chapter yet, so expect it in a couple of days. Hope you liked this one!
Harry cautiously reached over to get his glasses. When the creature made no movement to attacked, he quickly grabbed them up and put them on. Relief flooded over him.
"Hedwig!" exclaimed Harry. She clicked her beak happily and flew across the room to join the other owls, who were sitting on Harry's desk, allowing him to sit up. There were four of them, three of which were carrying packages.
Harry moved toward a bronze colored owl first, and untied the letter from its claws. As soon as he did this the owl took off, evidently knowing its job was completed. Harry then turned the letter over, and found the Hogwarts seal holding the letter tightly shut. He opened it and inside found the usual letter telling him to catch the Hogwarts Express on September 1 and his list of school supplies. But there were two other pieces of parchment behind the first two. One of which told him his O.W.L. grades. Harry closed his eyes and gulped before looking at it:
Subject: Score: Transfiguration: A Potions: A Astronomy: P Charms: A Herbology: A Defense Against the Dark Arts: O Care of Magical Creatures: O Divination: D History of Magic: P
Well, that wasn't to bad, thought Harry. Even though I got a D, I still managed 6 pass grades. And no T's. Looks like he'd be able to take potions after all. Now it was time for the fourth piece of parchment. Harry took it out of the envelope and examined it carefully. He was supposed to mark off the classes he wanted to take his 6th and 7th years. Since the owl was gone, though, he decided to wait and see if he was going to be seeing Ron before summer was over so that he could fill it out with him. Or even Hermione.
Remembering his other letters Harry went over to Pigwidgeon, so that he could relieve his burden. As he got closer the small owl twittered madly and zoomed about as much as possible with a package holding him down. Harry untied the package from the owl's leg and went over to his bed to open it. First he read Ron's letter:
Harry,
Did you find out your O.W.L. score yet? Mum wasn't very
happy when she found out mine. I managed three A's and an O, but that
was in Care of Magical Creatures. Nothing much going on round here.
Mum and Dad have to go between here and Number 12 so much, I think we
may have to move back their for awhile. None of the members who come
here will tell us anything about their efforts. Hopefully you can
come over soon. I need help deciding what classes I'm going to be
taking next year. Happy Birthday!
Ron
Going to the burrow (or even Grimmauld Place) sounded great, though Harry wondered what it would be like to be around friends again, especially Lupin. Before he still had school to worry about, so he had kind of pushed his feelings aside for awhile. But now the unfairness of it all weighed down on him, so he was a bit more susceptible to tears. And often times Harry found himself wondering, why me? Or even, why Sirius? Harry wrote Ron back telling him that he would love to come over, but didn't know how he would get their. And that he needed to get to Diagon Alley anyway. He also told him all about his O.W.L. scores. Harry tied the letter to Pigwidgeon's leg, who took off immediately; evidently glad for the light load. He ten opened the package, which was a box of chocolates from Mrs. Weasley. Harry then went over to Hedwig, who also had a letter and package for him. It was from Hermione:
Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday! It's a good thing Hedwig showed up, or I
wouldn't be able to get this to you. Hope your summer is going well.
I just got back from a trip to the United States with my parents. We
went to New York and saw the statue of Liberty. I've been reading up
on wizards in America, they seem quite fascinating. Even thought they
speak English hear, it's a bit different from ours, so they were hard
to understand at times. I've been reading up on something else to,
though. I knew you wouldn't want to talk about it, so I asked Neville
how Sirius died instead. So, for awhile I've been trying to find out
as much info about the veil as I can. I hope you don't mind.
Well, Ron says maybe we'll be able to stat at his house soon,
or even Grimmauld Place. By the way, have you gotten your O.W.L.
scores yet? I got two A's, but the rest were O's. Hope you did well,
and hope to see you soon,
Hermione
It was a little hard to believe that Hermione had gotten two A's, but he wouldn't mention that to her. Harry didn't feel like sending Hedwig off again, so he set the letter on his bed so that he could reply later.
Then Harry moved to the fourth and final owl. This one Harry had never seen before. It was a sleek silver color, mixed in with a bit of white. He took the envelope and package off the owl and opened the letter:
Dear Harry,
Meet Wolf, my owl. I hope you are doing well on your own.
I know that I have the Order here to help me get through this, but
you have no one. Therefore, I hope that you keep in mind that
whenever you need to talk, just send Hedwig. I will always have time
for your letters. And I will always be there for you, Harry. And
don't think I'm trying to replace Sirius, because no one ever can.
There will a funeral in one week, and I want you to be
there. So I convinced Dumbldore to let me come get you. I'll be
picking you up on Saturday, no matter what your Aunt and Uncle say.
You can spend the rest of summer with me at Grimmauld Place. I
believe the Weasleys and Hermione will soon be coming to stay too. If
not, you can see them at the funeral. I hope you like your present.
Remus
Harry was expecting a letter like this from Lupin, but he was appreciative nonetheless. What he wasn't expecting though was a funeral so soon. Perhaps it had been a month, but there was still hope, Harry thought, of saving him. When Lupin's present was unwrapped Harry found himself staring a framed photograph of at his father, Sirius and Lupin arm in arm and waving at him at probably about 16 years of age. Lupin must have known he didn't have a picture like this.
"The true marauders," Harry whispered to himself as he put the picture on his desk. As he went to sit on his bed to admire the photo some more, Harry accidentally sat on Hermione's present, which he had completely forgotten about. He unwrapped it to find a book entitled, Quidditch Teams of America.
He was flipping through it when something caught his eye. The page was headlined, The Georgia Grimmers. Underneath was an illustration of a big, black shaggy dog. Silent tears sprang to Harry's eyes as he remembered Sirius' paws on his shoulders (in fact, he could almost feel them) at Kings Cross Station just before he left on the Hogwarts Express the previous year. And he remembered Mrs. Weasley saying, "For heaven sakes, act more like a dog Sirius!"
Then another memory came into his mind, one he knew was not his own. He found himself once again being sucked into a memory from someone else's head.
"Come on Wormtail, you can do it," prompted Sirius.
"No, what if something happens?" whimpered Peter.
Harry found himself standing around Wormtail with Sirius and his father, in a Gryffindor dormitory. He guessed them to be a 3rd year. Glancing out the window, he saw the moon was full, though partly covered by clouds.
"Do it for Moony," said James. Wormtail whimpered again, but had finally given in. He slowly raised his wand to point at himself and muttered something under his breath. As soon as he did this, his body began to shrink before their eyes. Peter sprouted whiskers from his face and a tail from behind. Soon enough he was the lazy rat Harry had once known as Scabbers.
"That's it Wormtail!" cried Sirius, as James put the rat into his pocket.
James glanced out the window and said "there they go!" Harry too looked out the window and saw two shapes crossing the sloping grounds. One was shorter than the other, which was definitely Lupin, and the other was obviously Dumbldore. When they got to the Whomping Willow Dumbldore prodded the knot with a long stick that was nearby, and it froze. Then Lupin started to make his way down the tunnel.
"We better get moving if we want to make it there before he changes," said James. And with that the two of them threw the cloak over themselves, and took off for the stairs, Frantically Harry searched for something to disguise himself, but then remembered that he could not be seen. He then strained his ears for footsteps a followed them out of the common room, down many corridors, through they oak front doors and across the grounds. Finally they stopped in front of the Whomping Willow, where James and Sirius took the cloak off.
"Go prod the knot, Wormtail," said James as he took the rat out of his pocket and let him go. Peter dodged all the branches swinging at him, as he got to the base of the trunk. Once there he pushed one paw on the knot at its roots, making the tree freeze.
"Good rat," joked Sirius. Peter let out a squeak of annoyance as he ran down into the tunnel, James and Sirius close at his heels. Harry quickly followed. The four of them crawled through the tight tunnel, ending up inside the Shrieking Shack. Waiting for them on one of the dusty ripped- open chairs was Lupin.
"Hey!" he greeted them happily, though looking quite pail. "I think the clouds are about to shift," he said glancing through one of the boarded up windows.
"Well, shall we, mate?" James asked, turning to Sirius.
"Yes, I think we should," Sirius replied.
The two then in unison pointed their wands at themselves, and muttered something under their breaths. Both of them grew in size. One started to have a muzzle coming of his face, the other growing antlers out of his head. Soon enough Sirius was the dog Harry had seen him as many times before, and his father was the stag Harry had only seen in a white mist- like form. It was true; his father had always been there for him when he was scared.
The clouds then shifted, and so did Lupin. His body reformed itself as he sprouted hair and cried (or rather howled) out in pain. When he was completely transformed, Lupin attacked the first thing he saw. Harry's father. Snarling, he lunged at him.
"NO!" Harry cried, running forward. Forgetting that Lupin was a viscous werewolf. Forgetting that he could not touch anything while in someone else's memory. All he knew was that he had to save his father.
Before Harry even reached him though, Sirius jumped in the way and took the full blow. Harry stopped dead in his tracks. The two dogs fought jaw to jaw, and claw to claw. That's when Harry felt a tug and started being dragged into the real world. He tried to resist, wanting so badly to save Sirius and his father. His last image, Lupin the werewolf biting Sirius before he pushed him out of the way and lunged again at his father. The last thing he heard, Sirius' yelp of pain.
Harry sat on his bed crying for a few minutes, before he looked up at the photo. He felt so helpless, so alone in the world. The photograph now showed Lupin standing next to a bear-like dog and a magnificent stag. Most of the comfort Lupin's letter had brought him before was now gone. It was hard to imagine that the beast he had just seen was now the closest thing he had to a father. It's not his fault though, Harry thought. I must keep that in mind.
^O-O^ ^O-O^ ^O-O^ ^O-O^ ^O-O^ ^O-O^ ^O-O^ ^O-O^ ^O-O^ ^O-O^
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate it! I haven't written the next chapter yet, so expect it in a couple of days. Hope you liked this one!