CHAPTER NINE Arising Questions

Soon after the first snowfall had blanketed the castle and temporarily suspended all outdoor activities, the Christmas holiday arrived.

Remus and Ophelia made plans for their friends to stay at the Manor during the last week of vacation, when they could properly go over all the gifts they had received.

On their way to Kings Cross, Lily was bouncing excitedly in her seat, all the while munching on a Cauldron cake.

"I have so much to show my family." she said, "My spellbooks... Oh! and the deck of Exploding Snap that Remus lent me, not to mention the Chocolate Frogs I stashed away on my bag."

James turned to the rest of them and made a strained face as Lily continued to list off the magical things she had packed away.

"Well, I hope they enjoy them." said Ophelia, ignoring him.

The Hogwarts Express pulled into the station and all of the students quickly exited the train.

They stood on the platform, huddled in a tight circle.

Sirius was shooting nervous glances over his shoulder. His parents, Aurelius and Hecate Black, were standing a little ways away. The couple was sharply dressed, as they were everyday, and exuded an air of superiority. Sirius' mother, Hecate, had a particularly sour expression on her face.

Ophelia realised that the recent news of her son's induction into Gryffindor thereby ending the Black tradition of being sorted into Slytherin, in addition to the Half-Bloods-- or worse --that now surrounded her, Hecate was probably having a fairly bad day.

Sirius caught Ophelia studying his parents and forced a brave smile.

"Good luck." she muttered

He shrugged his shoulders. "Five days is nothing compared to the time I spent with them before school began."

They said their good-byes and joined their families.

Talia was completely ecstatic, dancing round Noah, shouting out random things, such as what they had learned in the past few months.

"It's been so incredible!" she cried. "James and Sirius have been cursing all the Slytherins! And I know that's really bad but it's been quite fun to watch."

Once she had quited down, Noah retrieved the portkey- an intricately carven hand mirror -and they all placed a finger somewhere on it's surface. A few moments later, they were transported to the Lupin Manor in Edinburgh.

Ophelia looked around at the familiar sitting room. Their four house elves were lined up against the azure marble fireplace. All were dressed in a purple smock, the dominant colour in the family crest. They bowed low, their long snouts scraping the ground.

Already, Ophelia was plotting how to free this new lot. It seemed as though the Lupin family had an unnatural supply of house elves at their disposal. When she would release one from their service, two more were sent in their place.

Helena seemed to read her daughter's thoughts as she immediately stepped in front of them. "Maybe you children should go to your rooms and unpack."

Remus stomped up the staircase. "I'm almost twelve, Helena." he scoffed. "That's barely a child."

Ophelia ran in front of him and entered her familiar bedroom. Everything was as she had left it; her wardrobe and easel were on good order, as was the unmade bed.

She sat down at her large, black desk and took out the homework they had been assigned over break, hoping to get it out of the way as soon as she could.

Before going to bed, Ophelia sent an owl to Lily, saying that she hoped her holiday was off to a better start than her own.

When she awoke in the morning of 21 December, it took a few moments for her to realise that it was her birthday.

Remus bounded into her room and jumped onto the bed. "Happy birthday! Happy birthday!" he cried.

Ophelia sat up and motioned for her brother to calm down. "What did you get me?"

He grinned wickedly. "Well, you'll have to get up to see. It's downstairs."

Remus dragged her out of bed and they went to the family room, where a large, red was placed on the elaborately stitched rug.

Ophelia tore off the paper to reveal a tiny silver kitten curled up tightly in a wicker basket. "You got me a cat?" she giggled, picking the small creature up in her arms. "Thanks, Remus."

"You're welcome." he smiled. "But it's not a cat, it's a Kneazle."

She nodded her approval and named her new friend Celebel, Bel for short, and laid her down on the bed before joining the others in the breakfast chamber.

They feasted on glazed orange slices and fluffy pancakes, with banana juice to wash it down.

After the meal, Talia, Remus and Ophelia went outside to skate on the frozen lake. It was a fairly grey and dreary day, but several bright sea beasts swam under the ice, illuminating the crystal surface.

They stayed out in the biting cold until Helena sent a shivering Frinka to fetch them for dinner.

Soon after, Ophelia retired to her bedroom and for the remainder of the evening, she and Remus played with Bel.

The following days could not pass quickly enough, as they trudged about the house, searching for random ways to pass the time. Talia spent the hours playing Wizard's Chess with Noah in the study.

On the morning of 26 December, Remus and Ophelia were dragging a pink ribbon across the floor for Bel to chase, when Sirius fell through the fireplace. He crawled over to the couch and pulled himself up. Sirius looked exhausted, his hair fell limply across his brow and his eyelids were heavy. He wearily lifted his hand in a weak sort of wave.

"You look great." said Remus sarcastically.

Sirius shook his head. "I had no clue five days could feel like five years."

"It's relativity." Ophelia replied distractedly.

"It's what?"

"Relativity." she repeated, looking up at them. "Lily's been telling me about it. Basically, it explains how time is inconsistent and how an hour can feel like a minute when you're doing something you enjoy, while in the flip side, an hour can feel like an eternity when you're doing something you despise."

Remus frowned. "How did she learn about that?"

"Her father is a brain doctor. Lily reads all of his brochures and things." explained Phe.

"Well anyways, the last week was torture." Sirius continued. "Hecate was particularly horrible, she spent the entire time telling me how I had shamed the Black family by not allowing myself to become a Slytherin." Sirius scrunched up his face and imitated his mother's voice. "You're a failure to our family and to yourself." A wide smile spread across his face. "That part was fun at least. Knowing I had disappointed--"

James tumbled from the fireplace and knocked Remus over. He jumped to his feet and brushed the soot from his face.

"Sorry about that, mate." he said. "Ah, you survived then?"

Sirius grinned. "Just barely. How are you James? Have a good Christmas?"

He collapsed next to his friend. "Very good, actually. I got a new SilverFlash. Fastest broomstick I've ever ridden. How about you?"

Remus laughed dryly. "Phe and I got the only thing Noah and Helena know how to give...which is money."

"Better than what I got." chuckled Sirius. "Lectured on how to befriend the better House. Apparently," he continued, "They'll like me more if I don't hex them."

"You've been going about it all wrong then." giggled Ophelia, getting to her feet.

"Where are you going?" asked Remus.

She cocked her head to the side. "Lily's coming. But..she'll be delayed. She's never traveled by Floo before. She'll be upstairs. In Remus' grate."

The three boys stared back at her skeptically. How do you know that?" James demanded.

"I don't know." she replied, making her way upstairs.

The others followed, eager to see if her prediction would be accurate. They didn't have to wait long, for as soon as they opened the door to his bedroom, Lily rolled out of the fireplace.

Seeing her friends, she broke out into a smile. "That was different."

The following days passed as slowly as they had come. Before they knew it, they were returning to Hogwarts to begin their second term.

A week after they arrived from holiday, Remus left for the shack. Before he left, he told his friends the usual story; Helena was sick and he had to visit her.

Only after he left did James and Sirius realise they had seen his mother only a short while ago and she had appeared to be perfectly healthy.

"Why didn't you go with Remus?" asked Sirius, when he and James had cornered Ophelia in the common room.

"I'm,er..susceptible to germs." she hastily explained. "Remus has a natural immunity against it."

James smiled, content with her answer. "Well, that makes sense."

Ophelia gathered her books. "Yes, well, if there are no more questions I must be going."

James checked his watch. "Oh. So do we, Sirius, if we're still going to complete our Astronomy charts." Sirius sat silently by the window, deep in thought, before he darted up to the dormitory.

When James breathlessly reached the room, Sirius was tearing through his bureau drawers. "Wh-wh-what are y-you doing?" panted James.

Sirius was studying his calendar, every so often flipping to the next month. "There's a pattern to Mrs Lupin's illness." he said finally.

"Well?"

"It's always during a full moon. Isn't that a bit odd?"

James shrugged his shoulders. "Could be a coincidence."

Sirius drifted over to his friend. "Or maybe..she's a werewolf." he said, dropping his voice low.

"Come off it!" replied James, almost breaking into a laugh. "We've known Helena for six years. She's not a werewolf."

"But how do you know that?" Sirius urged.

James sat down, deciding to humour his friend's idea. "Alright. So say she is a werewolf. What good is Remus visiting her going to do?"

"I don't know."

"And if visiting is good for..a werewolf, why would Phe make excuses not to go?" he continued.

"I don't know." Sirius repeated. "Unless...no.."

"Unless what?"

"Unless...you don't think Remus could.."

"What? Be a werewolf?" This time James did burst out laughing. "That's hilarious."

Sirius' expression was grave. "I don't think I've ever seen him on a full moon. Or the day after, come to think of it. And when we do see him, he's kind of feeble-looking, wouldn't you say?"

James had given up trying to dissuade Sirius. "At least go down to the library and research it properly before you jump to the wrong conclusion."

He grudgingly agreed and they made their way to the library. Mai, the girl that had warned them against the Screeching Powder a few weeks ago, was crouched in a corner desk, poring over an old volume.

Sirius led James to a section covering Half-Breeds, such as Vampyrs, Veela and of course, Werewolves. They selected a heavy reference book, entitled 'History of the Werewolf and Ways of Identifying'.

Following hours of comparing Remus against the given characteristics of a common werewolf, a bleary-eyed Sirius had come to the conclusion that his best friend was a werewolf.