Disclaimer: Yada, yada, yada. You already know!!
A/N: After an eye-opening e-mail from Rocky235 I have decided to give you another chapter.
Chapter Eight: A Little Hair of the Dog that Bit You
"WHAT!" Alan had really done it now. He had said something he definitely shouldn't have. Ron wasn't supposed to find out about Ginny's relationship with Draco until the proposal.
"Calm down," Alan was trying to keep Ron from waking the entire castle; "If you don't keep quiet you're going to force me into doing something I don't want to do." It wasn't any good, Ron was now swearing like a sailor. Alan quickly pulled out his wand and cast the silencing charm and full body bind curse. "Mobulicorpus," he whispered, and Ron's immobile body began to float. Alan beckoned for Harry and Hermione to follow him as he levitated the youngest Weasley boy up the stairs to his private dorm.
Once inside Alan let Ron down on the bed while he shut and locked his door. Harry and Hermione looked stunned as they sat in the chairs that Alan conjured. Ron was starting to regain his movement so Alan had to hurry.
"Ron if you stay calm I will explain everything." Ron didn't calm at all. "If you don't calm down I will keep you in a full body bind until next week." The treat was just enough to pacify him. As soon as he was sure Ron wouldn't shout or attack him Alan released him from the spells.
"Why?"
"It was necessary Ron. I was acting on instructions."
"Malfoy will only hurt her. You've got to stop it now. I won't let my sister get hurt."
"Hold on," Alan said as he walked over to his desk, "Maybe the Sages can help."
"I don't care what some dead people say. I won't let Malfoy hurt my baby sister.'
"First, Ron, your sister is hardly a baby anymore and second the sages know the fates of everyone. They are trying to cut down on casualties in the war. If certain people are close to each other there is less of a chance that they will die. If Ginny stays close to Draco she will not die."
Ron visibly paled at the thought of his little sister being killed at the hands of a Death Eater. Alan sat on the Persian silk rug on his floor and began to space out his cards. Once they were set he shuffled the remaining cards and began to make moves. No normal human would understand the rules to the game Alan was playing. He would place one of the cards in his hand onto this pile and it began to glow. Almost immediately a card in another pile started glowing another color.
After several minutes of this Alan seemed to find what he was looking for. He picked up a card that was glowing red. It had the representation of a tree that had been set fire. He placed it in the center of the setup and stepped back. The glow began to encompass the entire playing area. The light became more intense as the trio looked on in awe and fear.
The light faded and a faint transparent figure stood in front of them. He was dressed in royal armor and was holding a great glowing sword. His helmet was held under his left arm and his sword was held point down in his right hand. He turned to Alan placing his sword into his sheath and his helmet onto the floor.
"How mayest I be of assistance Chosen of Souls?" His voice echoed as though it was coming from some distance.
"Holy Arthur," Alan began, "I must needs you to show evidence of the honor of the youngest of the Malfoy line. Mine friend doest not understand the import of his sister's courting of Draco."
"Hast thou told him of thy instructions given by the Council?"
"I have. Sir Weasley has been done many a wrong by Sir Draco and he is not oft willing to trust the boy."
"Then I will provide the proof he must needs." The shade of King Arthur turned to Ron. "You must trust the descendant of mine misguided sister. I wilt show you what happiness awaits thy sibling in her future without the Pale One."
The long dead King of England began to chant as he pulled the great blade Excalibur free from its sheath. He traced a circular pattern in front of the four onlookers and gestured slowly inside of the now visible ring. The intangible screen began to show movement and then a picture became evident. The scene was ghastly. Ron and his family were grieving over a lonely headstone on the outskirts of a local cemetery. The grave marker read "Virginia Weasley — Died at the hands of the Dark Lord's forces" The dates were broken by years of weathering. The Ron in the scene seemed to be about forty years of age. The Weasleys of the future stood and wept. An older Harry entered the scene and placed his hand on future Ron's shoulder and spoke softly, "Your wife and son are in the car. Don't stay too long." He left then and the scene changed.
"Now watch the future of The Fierce and The Pale One." The Great King picked up his chant and the scene became clear again. It was a sunny day and a fully-grown Ginny was sitting at a glass garden table with an older Draco. They sat holding one another's hands and smiling as they talked. This continued for a few moments and then two small boys ran into the picture. One, crying, ran to Ginny and hugged her tight. The other stood, his head hanging low as if expecting a scolding. The two boys were clearly twins. Both having strawberry blond hair and pointed faces.
"Now Ron what did I tell you about pushing Harry over," Draco demanded in a reprimanding voice.
"I sorry daddy. It was a assident. I didn't mean to do it," the young boy defended himself.
"Alright," said Ginny, "Just don't let it happen again. Now come here and give mommy a hug. Its time for your nap."
Draco smiled at his wife as she took both of their sons for their afternoon naps. He couldn't have been happier. He had a wonderful family and a job as Head Auror at the Ministry. He wanted nothing more.
The scene finished and Arthur concluded his chant. He looked Ron straight in the eye and laughed. Ron was stunned. He hesitated and then asked what was funny.
"I would have expected no less from the descendant of Lancelot. His was always a most stubborn attitude. It took me years to convince that my sister had changed. He just couldn't think that Morgan Le' Fey could be anything but evil." With another laugh the greatest king England had ever known disappeared back into peaceful slumber in the spirit world. One more surprise was in order that night however, and before Alan could gather his cards another figure appeared. James Potter appeared where the other spirit had stood. Harry gasped and stared.
"Harry dear boy how are you? Good I hope." Harry and the others could only stare open-mouthed at the late father of the boy-who-lived. "Oh stop that," He said irritably. Their mouths snapped shut and Harry tried to speak.
"D-Dad?"
"Yes Harry it's me. Pay attention, I need you to do something for me." Harry nodded his head. He was still wide-eyed. "I want you to tell Remus that there is a cure. All he needs to do is go back to his family cottage and wait for a full moon. He needs to find the wolf that bit him. Make sure he takes the Wolfsbane Potion. He'll need to have his wits about him. Once he's found the wolf he needs to rip out some of its hair. Tell him that he will need to wait for the next full moon and then add the hair to his potion. Once he does this he will transform one more time. That will be the last time. Tell him not to worry, tell him that the other one is still there."
While Harry wrote his instructions to his friend Alan asked where James had found the cure. "Actually I found it in an old muggle adage. 'A little hair of the dog that bit you will cure what ails you.' It's usually used to describe people who drink too much alcohol. I asked some of the sages and they said that a werewolf back in the tenth century found the cure but was killed by a Hunter before he could complete his last transformation."
"Interesting"
"Before I go Harry, I just want you to know that your mother and I are proud of you. Also Sirius asked me to tell you that it wasn't your fault. He's just as proud of you as we are." Then he was gone.
Harry held his letter to Remus Lupin tightly in his hand and cried. He had never been so happy. His parents were proud of him. Sirius was proud of him. Hermione stood, moved over to him, and hugged him. After a lengthy kiss she guided him to ht now unlocked door. She would put him to bed and use his cloak to send the letter to Remus. Alan was gathering up his cards and Ron sat stunned on Alan's bed.
"Now do you understand why Ginny and Draco must be together?" Ron looked up and nodded. He was pale and shaking. He slowly got to his feet, squeaked a "Sorry" to Alan and followed Harry and Hermione out of the room.
((()))
Remus J. Lupin was shocked. Harry's letter had indeed been accurate. He no longer had fur or claws. He was now standing upright on two feet. Next to him, lying in the grass was a woman. She was in worse shape than Remus had been before the Wolfsbane potion had been invented. He picked her up and carried her to his old family cottage. Their uncovered skin shone in the bright dawn.
They reached the Lupin residence about midday and Remus began attending the woman's wounds. He had found out what he wanted to know. He would first wait for a month and then invite some of the members of the Ministry to his home in London on the next full moon. There he would prove to them that he was cured. Then he would spread the word to the wizarding world. The cure for lycanthropy would be accessible for the first time.
It was nearly noon before the woman came awake. Remus had dressed her in a few of his spare things, covered her with a blanket and let her sleep on his couch. She had light brown hair that fell to the small of her back. Her face was delicate and she was quite attractive. She jumped up, clearly startled at her surroundings.
"You're awake I see." She turned with a start and saw Remus cooking lunch.
"Did I bite you," she asked right away.
"Well," he didn't quite know how to start, "Yes and no. You did bite me when I was younger. Last night however you helped me find the cure for lycanthropy."
"Please don't joke," her rich voice seemed pained, "There is no cure for our condition."
"O contraire," Remus countered cheerfully, "I used to be a werewolf. Two months ago I found you while the moon was full. I took some of your fur, and added it to the Wolfsbane potion. Last month I drank the concoction and went through my last transformation. Last night I wolfed one more time and ran into the night before retuning to normal at midnight. I found you sleeping in a small grove of trees a mile south of here. You looked pretty bad so I brought you here to recover."
"Where are we?"
"The Lupin family cottage. My parents old house."
"I'm terribly sorry about biting you. Its too bad that I'll never find the wolf that bit me."
"What do you mean?" Remus was curious.
"I was bitten years and years ago in a forest to the north. It would probably take the rest of my life to find it."
"You'll find a way. By the way what is your name?"
"Sandra Molk," she introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Remus J. Lupin."
((()))
Wormtail didn't know how he had done it but he had. The letters were sitting on his desk and he was just about to send them. Silently bubbling in a tarnished silver goblet was a Memory Altering Potion. He had tricked an owl earlier that week into becoming his messenger. He had promised her that as soon as she had delivered the letters she would be free. Peter Pettigrew coaxed the bird out of its cage and tied the letters to leg and sent it on its journey. He then turned to the potion. It was a sickly green color swirling with black lines. He reluctantly picked the cup up and downed the concoction in one go before he could chicken out. It tasted worse than old socks and petrol.
He gasped and screamed. He fell to his knees holding his head in his hands. It felt as though someone had put a bug in his ear and let it eat at his brain. The last thought that Pettigrew had was 'It's all in place'. He then fell unconscious to the floor.
((()))
Lord Voldemort, Heir of Slytherin, and Greatest Sorcerer in the world sat on his throne contemplating his impending victory. Wormtail sat at his feet groveling begging to be released from the pain. Voldemort had tried Legilimency and could not see where the worm had been for the last three months. Wormtail was his jester. He would entertain himself with patronizing and frightening the simpleminded fool. The worm was there when he needed to let off some steam when he felt peevish.
Tonight the worm had come back from his 'sabbatical' with news that the Ministry was becoming weaker by the day and that Harry Potter was close to graduation from Hogwarts. It didn't matter. The time was at hand. Each day that passed was one day less he had to wait to kill Potter. The plan had been in place since the last year. Nothing would stop the Dark Lord from his prize this time.
((()))
Harry received a strange letter in his morning mail one day in early May. It had no return address and just four words. It said:
My debt is paid
A/N: Well? Did you like it? If you did I would appreciate it if you told me. We are getting closer to the exciting conclusion of the story. Keep an eye out for the next chapter of Harry Potter and the Exchange Student.
