CHAPTER ONE The Week of Changes

Ophelia's life as she knew it began on July 1st, 1971, when her brother Remus, their surrogate sister Talia and herself received their invitations to study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A few days later however, letters from Beauxbatons and Lochland Academy arrived, asking her to join their fall semesters. The envelope from Beauxbatons was particularly beautiful, with Ophelia's name written in gold ink across the purple parchment. Her name had never looked as grand as it did that day. Ophelia Lupin now sounded like the name of some fantastical witch.

"Beauxbatons is a school for snobs, you know." Remus said during dinner that night.

"Remus!" Talia cried, trying desperately to suppress her laughter.

Helena smiled. "I went to Beauxbatons."

"Yes, but when you realized what a wretched place it was you transferred to Hogwarts, where you met father."

Ophelia shrugged and continued to move the food around her plate.

"The only magic you'll learn there is how to properly brew a love potion." he continued.

Noah came to his daughter's aid. "Beauxbatons is a fine school, Remus, as are Lochland and Hogwarts. Which ever your sister chooses will be right for her."

"I've already decided."

"Well? Which is it?"

"Are you daft? I can barely stand to be away from you for more than a few hours, never mind the next seven years. I'm going to Hogwarts, of course."

Remus leapt up, knocking over his chair in the process, and wrapped her in a tight hug. "This will be perfect," he said, "All of us together."

At that moment, a loud crash echoed from the sitting room, followed by a string of curses.

"Bloody hell! What do you think one at a time means?"

"I think I broke my leg.."

"Oh, it's always about your problems, isn't it?"

They excused themselves from the table and headed to the sitting room, where James and Sirius lay tangled in a heap under the fireplace.

"Get off!" yelled Sirius, pushing James onto the floor. James quickly stood up and shook the soot from his permanently rumpled hair. Meanwhile, Sirius jumped to his feet, ignoring the dark smudges that covered his face.

"Hello everyone." said James, sniffing the air. "It seems we've interrupted supper."

"Don't you always?"answered Ophelia, collapsing onto the couch.

Sirius grinned wickedly and flopped down next to her. "I heard you're going to the Veela school. Looking forward to drinking tea and eating crumpets all day then?"

"No more than you're looking forward to the Dark Arts at Durmstrang. I'm not going, you prat."

"You're coming to Hogwarts with us?" James asked excitedly.

"Of course." she turned to Sirius. "Haha, you're glad I'm going."

His face flushed. "So what if I am?"

"So nothing." Ophelia repeated, sticking out her tongue at him. "Are you both spending the night?"

James nodded, his dark hair flopping onto his forehead. "We could play Quidditch."

"In the dark you mean?" Talia piped up. "I don't like it in the dark."

"Oh come on. We can set up the flying lights Noah got us. How 'bout it, Phe? Boys against girls."

"Alright, I guess I'll play. But I don't think it's fair to put Sirius with us."

"Oh bugger off!"

Ophelia lay awake in bed two nights later, the night of the full moon, listening to the her brother's anguished cries. It had been almost two years, and approximately twenty-one full moons since the disastrous day when Remus had been attacked.

A low, drawn out scream echoed from the fields, past the Quidditch pitch, but still relatively close to the house. Their father, Noah, had constructed something of an underground cellar, where Remus could live out his tortured nights, without being 'a danger to others', as Helena had so eloquently put it.

"But what about being a danger to himself?" Ophelia said aloud, her thoughts, as they usually did during the full moon, traveling back to that infamous week. A memory which she vividly recalled with little effort, as though it had only taken place a few days ago.

October 1969

Ophelia sat at the dining room table, staring at her reflection in the polished, black wood.

"How I loathe when you do this." Helena sighed.

"Do what?"

"Waste your time, your youth, by lounging around the Estate when your father or brother are not near."

"What would you have me do, mother?"

She cringed at that word, mother. "Something more productive."

Ophelia shrugged her shoulders. "Remus will be home in a few minutes. I'll just wait for him."

"Honestly, how the two of you live by each other. It won't be like that when you're older and living on your own. You might as well get use to going periods of time without him."

"Wasn't that the grande plan of things? Having us eleven months apart, and than raising us in relative seclusion? Wasn't all of that effort made so that we would be close?"

A small smile danced at the corners of her delicately painted mouth. "Ophelia, you are far too beautiful and smart for your own good."

"James says that parents praise their children as a way of praising themselves. So what you're really doing is complimenting your own intelligence and beauty."

Helena laughed, the sweet sound filling the room. "Where did he hear that?"

"One of his uncle's psychotic therapy books."

"I think you mean psycho therapy." she corrected. "James is such a good influence on you and your brother."

"Don't you mean James and Sirius are both good influences?"

She cleared her throat and began playing with the napkin in her lap. "Yes, I suppose..."

"Helena," Ophelia began, "He did practically save my life when I wandered into Knockturn Alley all those years ago. Who knows where I would be today if-"

"Alright, alright, Sirius Black is a saint!"

She stuck out her tongue. "I wouldn't go that far."

At that moment the sound of Crinkett, their guard dog, could be heard running up to the foyer.

Ophelia grinned as Helena looked her way. "They're home.' they said in unison. She scrambled off her chair and ran to greet them.

Noah swept her up in his arms. "Good morning, Phe. Hello Helena. I trust you are packed?"

Their house elf Frinka lugged the heavy suitcase down the staircase.

"You're going away?" she cried, "You've only just returned!"

"Only for a few days, sweetie." he reasoned. "We'll be back by Friday at the latest. We have to take care of some legal matters regarding...well..you'll see in good enough time."

She dropped to her feet. "Fine. Have a good time."

In a mere minute he had disappeared, accompanied this time by Helena.

"Do I even get a hello? Maybe 'How was your trip Remus?'"

Ophelia pulled him into a tight squeeze. "Hello. How was your trip Remus?" she repeated. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too." He smiled, returning the hug.

"Where are they going?"

"I don't know. Must be important though, right?"

"I guess."

"So Noah and Helena are gone for the next couple days. Should we invite James and Sirius over?"

They headed back into the dining room, the remains of breakfast still on the table.

"Sure. We haven't seen James in almost a week." she smirked. "It's been absolute torture."

Remus began tucking into the leftover eggs and bacon on her plate. "Does it ever bother you that you don't have any girl friends?"

"No..why would it? You and James are the only friends I need."

He laughed. "Still a bit sore with Sirius then?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."she lied.

"Then let me refresh your memory: You were laying outside near the lake just after dinner last week when Sirius thought it would be funny to play a trick on you."

"Oh that."

"Further more," he continued, "He made you think that a rowdy gang of goblins had come to take you back to a Gringotts."

"It wasn't funny!" she cried. "He said they were going to lock me up in one of their vaults, and he knew I just had a nightmare about that happening, it practically scared me witless!"

"He didn't mean anything by it. He was just having a bit of fun."

Ophelia closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. "Invite Sirius too."

"You won't mind?"

"I won't mind." she promised.

He grabbed a strip of parchment from the cupboard. "Thanks, Phe."

Later that evening, Ophelia was holed away in her bedroom, sprawled across the dark purple duvet. She was starting a game of wizard's chess; her against herself. The boys were in the family room doing what she could only imagine.

"Queen to B2." she muttered. A loud knock echoed round the room. "Come in." Sirius entered and strode over to the bed. "Hello."

"Hello." she returned stiffly.

He flopped down next to her. "Come now. You're not still angry with me, are you Phe?"

She turned away, holding her tongue.

"I didn't mean anything by it."

"That's what Remus said."

"Well, he was right." Sirius reached inside a velvet bag hidden by his side. "I've just returned from France as you well know."

Ophelia dropped her guard. "How terrible was it?"

He grinned. "It will surely go down as one of the worst experiences of my life. Regulus got lost in the Eiffel Tower. I brought you something."

She traced her finger along the pattern on the covers. "What is it?"

"I knew you couldn't stay mad at me." he opened his fist to reveal a glowing, pink crystal ball, about the size of an apple. "It's a Mellezerent. It lets you remember the dreams you've forgotten and forget the dreams you've wished you never had."

He dropped the Mellezerent into her hands. "Sirius..thank you." she said, bringing him into a tight hug.

He shook his head, chuckling. "You're such a girl."

"That's a good thing." she reminded him.

His eyes fell upon the chessboard. "Playing against yourself again? Start a new game, I'll join you."

Ophelia cleared the board. "So how exactly did Regulus get lost in the Eiffel Tower?"

He sighed. "Long story, centered mainly around my brother being a git."

A few hours later, following three rounds of wizard's chess-- Sirius won, best two out of three --James and Sirius had finally left for the night, with promises to return the day after tomorrow.

Ophelia sunk into the deep, brown suede sofa, a sigh escaping her lips. "I am so tired."

"So am I." Remus agreed. He looked around the sitting room. "Where's Crinkett?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Outside maybe? Did you let him out?"

"No, I didn't. I'll just go have a quick look for him around the grounds."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, no, I'll only be a few minutes."

He left the room and moments later Ophelia heard the front door click shut. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the soft cushions. The only sound was the grandfather clock ticking away the seconds.

She began to count the minutes by the passing ticks. One..two...four..five...nine... What was taking him so long? Remus knew better than to wander too far away from the castle when Noah and Helena were not at home. Soon nine minutes turned to ten, and ten to thirteen. He was taking too long. Something had happened. Ophelia grabbed a jacket to fight the crisp air and went after her brother.

Her footsteps crunched on the frozen ground. She searched the vast yard for any sign of Remus, but found none. With a cold dread in the pit of her stomach, she turned her gaze towards the old forest.

Noah had always warned them against going to close near the edge, never mind inside. He said that things lived in that forest that weren't too friendly with people. The expanse of the wood reached into far Northern areas of Scotland, areas not entirely scouted because no one had ever returned. She and Remus had always dismissed these tales as straight magic folklore. But what if there was some truth behind it?

"Remus?"cried Ophelia, her voice breaking. "If this is you're idea of a funny trick, it's not working. Please come out."

He didn't return her call. She quickly mustered every ounce of strength she had in her young body and marched into the forest.

"Remus?" she called again. "Where are you?"

As she walked deeper into the forest, what little light was thrown from the full moon, was being choked out. The vegetation and shrubs were becoming more dense, making it harder for her to find any kind of path. Suddenly, she heard the familiar barking of Crinkett. Ophelia stopped in her tracks- something was wrong. More wrong than she had imagined. She began hurrying along towards the sound of Crinkett struggling.

In a small clearing in the woods, she could make out the shapes
of Crinkett and Remus, who was bent over at the waist.

"Remus!"

"Run Ophelia!" he screamed. "Run!"

Her feet stayed glued to the ground. "Remus!"

A hideous snarling came from the darkened trees, pacing back and forth.

"It's a werewolf Phe. Get out of here!" A voice in her head urged.
Remus' voice. She couldn't understand what was going on, but didn't heed the advice.

Ophelia persuaded Crinkett to come to her side, and whispered for him to chase away whatever was lingering outside in the blackness. Against all reasoning, he actually obeyed her wish, and padded to where the snarling had last been heard.

She rushed to Remus' side. His sweater was red and soaked through with blood. Ophelia gasped. "Remus...what..?"

He struggled to sit up. "We have to get away from here.." he sputtered.

She was able to get him to his feet. Crinkett returned, his left paw hanging limp at his side.

Ophelia draped his arm around her neck and slowly staggered out of the forest. They went along in silence, the only sound being Remus' raspy breath coming in and out in short bursts. The trees became lighter as they reached the edge of the forest. With this new knowledge that they were only a few yards away from home, their pace quickened, and she was able to drag him along with much greater ease.

"We're almost there."said Ophelia, her pseudo-encouraging tone falling incredibly short of the mark. He only grunted in reply.

She threw open the heavy mahogany doors and bolted them shut once Remus, Crinkett and herself were all safely inside, if safely was the right word.

She gently laid Remus down on the sofa. He was drenched in a cold sweat and his body was trembling violently. His hair was matted to his sickly white face.

"Phe.." he whispered.

Ophelia held his clammy hand between her own. "What do I do?"

She gingerly lifted his shirt, to reveal a jagged wound, running the length of his chest.

"Is it a scratch or a bite?" he asked, the answer already known to them both.

"A bite." she choked. "Are you sure that it wasn't an ordinary wolf? Because-"
"It was a werewolf, Phe."

She grabbed a blanket and quickly wrapped him in it. "Should we take the Floo to Saint Bartholomew's?"

"No! No hospitals. You can't tell anyone."

"You're delirious, we have to get you to a Healer. The sooner, the better. I'll just send an owl to Noah. Or Uncle Aldolphus."

"No, I'll be fine. If you take me anywhere I will never speak to you again."

"No Remus, you won't be fine." she said, suprised at her own firmness. "I'm taking you to Saint Bart's, and if you want to hate me, then go ahead. But at least you'll be alive to hate me."

Ophelia sat in the straight back chair, her unblinking gaze falling upon the dull purple walls. The door to Remus' room opened and the Healer joined her in the hallway.

"Miss Lupin, your brother is sleeping right now, and we have notified your parents of his condition, although they will be unable to make it until the morning."

"I... don't care about my parents. How is Remus?"

"He was bitten by a werewolf. He is going to face a lifetime of difficulty and struggle, mainly physical, but also from within the community. I'm ashamed to say that there still remains a prejudice against werewolves."

"Isn't there something you can give him? A tonic, maybe?"

He shook his head sadly. "There is no way to reverse the process once it has begun."

Ophelia slumped back down into the chair, burying her head in her hands. She spent the night resting outside his room. When she awoke in the late morning, Noah and Helena had finally arrived.

Helena nudged her awake. "Hello Ophelia."

"Why didn't you come last night?"

They both seemed to be taken back by the question. "We had something we had to deal with." Noah explained.

"More important than your son being attacked by a werewolf?"

"It's complicated." said Helena.

"We've just seen Remus. He was asking for you."

"He was?"said Ophelia, before darting into his room. He was laying in bed, the white hospital linens drawn up to his chin. He opened his eyes and forced a faint smile.

"Hey," she whispered, "How are you feeling?"

"The Healers gave me a really good potion, so I don't feel a thing."

She pulled a chair closer to his bedside and sat down. "I'm..sorry about them." she spat. "Absolutely nothing excuses that."

Remus sighed weakly. "They acted as though it was nothing. As if I was just another errand on their list of things to do."

Ophelia took his hand, which was cold to the touch. "That was the broom that broke the Hippogriff's back, as they say. As far as I'm concerned it's just you and me now. I'll take care of you."

"I know you will." he said, yawning loudly.

She brushed the hair off his brow."I'll let you get some rest."

Remus was still fairly weak when she left, though the Healers promised he could leave the next day.

Ophelia shut the heavy door behind herself and surveyed the entrance.

Something was different.

"Hello?" she called. "Noah? Helena?"

She entered the living room and saw a girl about her own age, sitting stiffly on the sofa. "Hello."she squeaked.

"Hello." Ophelia repeated. "Who are you?"

"Talia." she said plainly.

Ophelia waited for her to say something more. But when Talia didn't, she replied, "Alright. Well I'm Ophelia. You can call me Phe. Everyone else does." She nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry, but what are you doing here?"

Noah entered the room. "Ah, Ophelia. I see you have acquainted yourself with our new houseguest Talia."

"Oh, yes. How long will you be staying with us?"

"Indefinitely," replied Noah quickly. "Your mother and I have adopted her."

Ophelia mustered a smile. "Welcome to the family."