Chapter 4 - Silvery Substances
That eve during the full moon the Griffindor dormitory was peaceful and quiet. Only the sounds of Peter Pettigrews snoring were heard that evening. Every one of the young teenage boys was in their dreamlike slumbers bar one. Sirius Black couldn't sleep even if he tried, He fiddled his thumbs in his pajama sleeves nervously waiting for his friend to come through the door.
However, it was almost five in the morning and there was no sign of Lupin anywhere. Sirius had always made Lupin promise to come back to the dormitory straight away and Lupin had always agreed. Nevertheless, it seemed he was not coming at all. Sirius thought again and again about what he was about to do and then nodded in agreement, if Lupin was in danger he had to find him--even if he would get detention for a month!
He went to grab his cloak, when he noticed James's invisibility cloak just lying there on his trunk. Sirius gulped loudly, he wasn't gonna steal it--just borrow and then give it back and besides he and Lupin had made it for these tricky situations in the first place…
He snatched up the cloak and cloaked himself head to toe in the silvery grey material and slowly but ever so surely went to find Lupin.
Sirius slumped against the wall after an hour of restless searching, Lupin was no where--he wasn't in the library--he wasn't in a classroom--he wasn't in the toilets--or the third floor corridor--he wasn't outside any teachers office--He wasn't in Hagrid's hut and he certainly wasn't in the Shrieking Shack.
He went to cry out in anger, but instead felt like sobbing, I need to find Lupin now! He thought angrily, I need to make sure he is safe… When he saw a new door magically appear beside him. Sirius was weary, this wasn't ordinary--even for Hogwarts…he slowly walked forward and opened the door, and saw a figure…the very figure he was looking for knocked out a nasty cut running down his head.
"Oh my God! Lupin! Thought Sirius getting down on his knees "Wake up Remus! Moony please…" he said, his voice breaking in sadness, he may have been a little too loud for six in the morn, but at that moment he didn't truly care. When Lupin's blue eyes opened and looked around the room, the blue eyes were filled with even more fear than usual…
"SIRIUS!" said Lupin when he saw him, and then he began to sob…"Go away I don't want you hurt too! Go run! I won't let you get hurt Sirius get out!" he said brokenly, Sirius went to help him stand, it was obvious that his friend was hallucinating.
"Moony, I'm not leaving, there isn't anyone else---it's just you and me…" Sirius reasoned but Lupin didn't here him.
"No he's just round the corner of the tree Sirius please! You're my best friend and you always will be! I don't want what happened to me to happen to you!"
"I won't Lupin!" said Sirius trying to calm his friend down. "I'm here to help you Moony! I will help you through this alright!" he said and the words must have sunk in because Lupin nodded weakly.
"Ok," said Lupin and Sirius helped him up and they walked, Lupin limping weakly, out of the room, which sealed shut and faded away behind them.
Both looked back bewildered. "What was that place?" said Lupin said, his voice was still broken, he stuttered and slurred his words and that was caused by fear.
Sirius shook his head. "I don't know mate…but for once I don't really want to find out especially when it is…six in the morning!" said Sirius, and Lupin went an even lighter shade of pale.
"Six?" said Lupin,
Sirius nodded. "Yeah…and I was waiting up for you since you left…I know you may feel bad, but what exactly happened?" said Sirius.
Lupin looked into Sirius eyes, and he heard the voices he heard again in his head.
"Look in the water boy…look hard and look deep…"
The urn…
"Come on my big boy, stop hiding now!"
Snowing…
"Dad…Daddy wake up,"
Blood…
"REMUS!"
Love…
"DAD! HELP ME!"
Agony…
"REMUS…"OH GOD! NO! REMUS! TALK TO ME! DON'T DIE ON ME SON PLEASE!"
Terror…
Be brave son…I'm gonna help you through this I promise you…your gonna be ok…I swear to you your gonna be ok…"
And hope…
Lupin just bowed his head. "Do I have to tell you yet?" he said. Sirius just laughed.
"Just take your time my good friend Mr Moony, and we'd better get back to the dorm…or we may be in serious trouble…"
When suddenly Mcgonagall came walking toward them, her face in a book. The two barely had time to cover themselves as quickly as possible in the invisibility cloak and she didn't even blink an eye lid.
"That was close," said Sirius Black giggling once the teacher had turned the corner and out of sight. Lupin nodded.
"We need to do this more often don't you think so?" said Lupin laughing weakly.
"Yeah…we could Moony! Or I could just beat you back to the common room right now…" said Sirius and he ran out from under the silvery grey cloak, laughing as quietly as he could as he stared back at Lupin's head floating after him.
That morning Lupin and Sirius got only 2 hours of sleep, but that didn't matter much, after all, they had bonded that night to be even better friends than they thought they could be. James had a go a Sirius for using his invisibility cloak without asking, but bar that, nothing had changed. James still had Quidditch practice, Lupin still kept getting top marks in Defence Against the Dark Arts whilst Peter was doing badly at everything.
That day James had Quidditch practice at lunchtime but it was called off because everyone was going to dueling club that day. Even some teachers came to watch the duelers. There was Ki Morwena and another teacher called Professor Tyrus who was one of the nastiest in the school and taught potions, also head of Slytherin house.
The hall was packed with students of all ages. Old and new, to participate and just to watch, but either way everyone knew that these teachers had it in for each other, and Lupin was the only one to know why.
It was the day before the dueling club Lupin found out, they'd been sitting down drinking butter beer in the shrieking shack.
"Tyrus and I are second cousins…just like your friend Sirius Black and that…charmingly…nasty girl Bella, as a matter of fact. We hated each other then and still do now and revenge couldn't be any sweeter than in front of a room of three hundred people!" said Ki laughing, and he flicked his wand in his boney pale fingers. "Though being a werewolf is a curse--you can get a lot of use out of it sometimes!" added Ki.
"Like what?" said Lupin.
"Well…every werewolf gets superhuman abilities--almost all get quick reflexes--perfect for duels when it's down to the quickest…" said Ki, "As well there is doglike hearing we get…you know it, how your always able to hear something louder! If your playing a dangerous hide and die duel as most people still do, you need to be able to hear the spell loud and clear to make sure you know which spell will deflect--or attack to be more powerful."
"Cool…so werewolves are good duelers…" said Lupin and Ki smiled at him kindly after washing his mouth with Butterbeer.
"We Lupin are the best duelers!" he said. "You'd better be coming to dueling club…I want a werewolf cub like you to see what a werewolf leader can do!" said Ki and Lupin smiled.
"I will indeed," said Moony and then they clashed their beer bottles together and drank to werewolves everywhere.
Lupin was in the front row with Sirius. James hadn't been able to get past the crowds since he met his Griffindor Captian in on the way. Ending up getting caught in the struggle as he talked about tactics. Peter had decided that he couldn't come since he had too much homework to do, though Lupin guessed that Peter just didn't want to get in a duel with anyone.
When then in walked both teachers. The room went silent and both professors gave a bow to the audience and then reluctantly to each other. There eyes not fixed on anyone else's but their rivals in front of them.
Tyrus was wearing his tradition green robes, which had been modified for the dueling, cut short at the bottom, and then he removed the cloak, his green eyes held nothing but envy. Whereas Ki Morwena wore something completely different, he was dressed in more primitive clothing, all black with a crescent moon on the each side of black cloak he beheld. Lupin got the point that he had worn it to show him how the werewolves at their HQ dressed, whereas the others in the crowd gaped at the amazing uniform.
Then Tyrus spoke. "Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls…welcome to the first day of the art of dueling, now I am sure you all want to get started. However I must explain the nature we duel at this club. We do not duel for fun--we duel for competition--we duel for freedom…we duel for respect…"
Said Tyrus and gave a quick glance over at Ki and frowned.
"My-- companion today Professor Morwena, and I, will demonstrate exactly what we mean by this in a small duel to the finish. We are not allowed to use the unforgivable curses, but we can get as close as we can to them if we wish…"
Ki frowned. Then turned to the audience, "Also after our "small" duel we want two students to battle aswell…to show your friends that it isn't as hard as they say…" he said his voice was strong and could heard over the hundreds that were there. Lupin and Sirius could both tell straight why he was such a great teacher and in Lupin's eyes a great leader.
"Even the smallest and what seemed the weakest person can have the strongest and biggest will and strength than any twice the size! That is what dueling this day and age is all about. That is what I am here to show you all today!" he said and with a hint of a smile on his face he continued. "However as for Professor Tyrus here well--" he added shortly "I honestly do not know…"
A few snickers and short giggles were heard, most of them Griffindor's and Ki's supporters, whilst the Slytherins groaned and Tyrus had a look which would have killed otherwise.
"Anyway!" said Tyrus trying to ignore the insult, shouting to silence the growing laughter. "We need a student to sign off our duel…" he said and turned to Dumbledore on the balcony above. "You can choose for us Headmaster!" he said and then the old headmaster stroked his beard in thought.
"How about you Mr Potter…seeing as you are speaking to your Quidditch Captian and not listening at all to the professors speech…" he said James gulped in the crowd and nodded.
"Yes sir…" he said loud enough for Dumbledore to hear, and walked through the parting crowd and up onto the dueling platform. Both professors walked to their end of the platform and James stood between them.
"Wands at the ready!" he said. Both teachers lifted their wands up and back down as they inclined their heads in a small bow, they didn't take their eyes off each other. Then before James started counting Lupin noticed that Ki gazed straight at him and gave him a playful wink. When the count down began.
It was like watching an old western film…
"FIVE!"
It all came down to who was fastest…
"FOUR!"
The Good Guy Ki Morwena, the werewolf dominator
"THREE!"
Or The Bad Guy Tyrus, his evil second cousin
"TWO!"
Either way, Whatever the outcome the young werewolf knew as he stared at the two rivals…
"ONE!"
That this Duel would be a hell of a match up!
"GO!"
James jumped off the platform to be beside his friends Lupin and Sirius as he signaled the start of the duel. Suddenly Tyrus moved for his wand, but Ki flicked his own to the air, "Maclido!"
Tyrus went so far back on the platform that he almost fell off, if it had been another time everyone would have laughed, but the tension in the air was too much, Lupin smiled
"COME ON KI!" He thought to himself, he would have originally shouted it out for his newest friend and guide in the world of torment he was in. If it had been in somewhere where people didn't know him or people were also cheering, but three hundred people were a lot even for Hogwarts.
Ki threw so many spells at Tyrus that he didn't get a single spell intact. The rule to the finish was when a dueler couldn't continue or in this case, when the headmaster ordered it to end. When Ki wasn't fast enough.
"Arabokva Ilsido!" Ki suddenly looked as though he was being held front to Tyrus by chains, his hands hanging above him as though he was held prisoner.
Tyrus took his wand and pointed it straight at Ki, and then began to annunciate a word Lupin didn't really understand, but by the look on Ki's face he knew it was not good at all.
"Tyrus! Tyrus stop!" he said, but Tyrus wasn't going to stop, He got closer and then said it.
"Argento!" said Tyrus, only Dumbledore stood in anger for Tyrus to stop, and even if Tyrus stepped down the spell would continue on course. Then Lupin's insides froze when he saw the liquid, which twisted out of Tyrus's long crooked wand and straight at the helpless Ki.
When Lupin realized what that grey substance was…a substance that are the only thing werewolves fear the most which poisons there body and like certain chemicals could tear off there very skin and that…and that substance is SILVER!
AN--I know this a short chapter--but the chapter following is much longer--I've been busy wih tests and my other fic "FINAL LEGACY OF MWPP" which I honestly think is better than these school ones--but to each his own...hope you enjoyed and d fifth will be up soon!
JEDISOLO