Disclaimer: Characters are JK's. Except Peter Pan and Tootles, who belong to the genius and ever-child J.M. Barrie.
Author's notes: I finally got to incorporate one of my favorite books outside of the Harry Potter series. Peter Pan. You should all definitely check it out. It won't take you long either, only took me a few hours. All the information I put in here about Peter Pan, except the part about the wizarding community, is real. Um. I'm also going to apologize for not updating as quickly as I usually do, my muse took a holiday and got ran over by a bus and then ate some poisonous berries and...(this is just a joke, I've been feeling uninspired). But anyway. Read Peter Pan. Enjoy this chapter. And know this chapter actually does have some relevence.
Life's funny. One minute, you're completely ignorant to everything, and the next you're scrambling to get whatever information you can get your hands on. I didn't want to be left behind when I first got accepted to Hogwarts. I wasn't. In fact, I was almost immediately at the top of my class.
Which isn't to say I wasn't at the top of my class before Hogwarts.
Anyway, I didn't get here by standing around and looking stupid, like Harry and Ron seem to think is best.
Studying. That's how I got here! I'll be damned if I find a day that wouldn't be better without the knowledge instilled in the pages of those old books.
Of course...Professor Lupin never really studied too deep into his condition. If he had, we could've known what was going to happen. (Maybe not, but that's what I keep telling myself.)
So, here are his Final days, right? And I sit here reading to him everyday, pretending there aren't tears drizzling down my cheeks like the rain on the windows. Occasionally, I find myself snuffling softly. I keep telling him its allergies, but I know he doesn't believe me.
Again I find myself here. The rain hasn't stopped for two days straight. I keep musing that the angels themselves cry for Remus Lupin. The pounding of the droplets on the roof makes me think of tap-dancing pixies and I have to smile, thinking of second year and Professor Lockhart's pixie-problems.
Professor Lupin tracks my movements, though he's nearly entirely blind at this point. Sometimes I think he follows me by ear and not by sight. I wouldn't be surprised; I've never been pegged as quiet and graceful in my movements.
"Hallo Hermione," he greets me amicably.
"Hallo Professor." I adjust my skirt, crossing my ankles and tucking them behind one leg of the chair. Settling the great tome in my lap, I flip through the pages, looking for exactly the right one. "Ready for another bit of the story?" I force myself to say with a smile. A smile he can't see.
He nods and his lips curl gracefully. He has such a lovely smile. It reminds me quite a bit of Harry's, so full of pain, but they both smile. Admittedly, Harry had his childish moments, something I doubt Professor Lupin ever had, but he always manages to come out of everything with at least a hint of a smile.
How is it they can smile? Why? It isn't fair. It shouldn't be like this. They shouldn't have to suffer. We shouldn't have to suffer watching them like this.
My voice starts out shakily, "'By two bells that morning they were all stirring their stumps; for there was a big sea running; and Tootles, the bo'sun, was among them, with a rope's end in his hand and chewing tobacco. They all donned pirate clothes cut off at the knee, shaved smartly, and tumbled up, with the true nautical roll and hitching their trousers.'"
"Do you know, Hermione-" Professor Lupin interrupts me, "There is a theory that Peter Pan was actually the Grim Reaper. All the Lost Boys were apparently based off boys who had died, disappeared or runaway in his neighborhood."
"Hm...Yes, I believe I heard a theory like that once. I also heard the name Wendy was made up specifically for this story, all because of a little girl's mispronunciation of the word 'friendly.' Margaret...Maragret..."
"Henley!"
It is always like this. We have never gotten very far with any of the books on most days. We just compare facts about the stories or related stories and legends.
"There is a Peter Pan like figure in much of Wizard mythology too. Rather thought of like the Grim," Remus says nodding.
"Really? Will you tell me? Please?" I'm never one to skimp when it comes to finding out more on a subject. You must all know this by now.
"Well. They say children, who are young, are known to see a boy who can fly in the place of the Grim. Of course, sometimes Pan is substituted for the Grim in adults' cases, and I have a theory that-"
"You believe this?"
"Yes, I've seen enough to know, one shouldn't doubt Old Wives' tales all the time. As I was saying, I have a theory that the elder wizards and witches who see Pan-" Have you noticed he doesn't call him Peter? I'll giggle about that later. "-are actually people who didn't, or couldn't, have a happy and or fulfilled childhood."
"Who is this 'they' you keep speaking of?"
"Well, some of this is recorded in..." He's in his element. I can see it. Look how his eyes light up, his lips curving ever so lightly, he even looks younger. Younger. Was he hinting at something with Peter Pan?