Chapter Four: Little Fall Backs...
"Blythe!"
The name was called so loudly it woke her from a deep sleep. She glanced around, dazed for a moment, then felt Remus tossing behind her and whimpering softly in his sleep. She immediately turned over and ran her fingertips along his cheek, speaking soothing words in his ear as she did so.
"My poor darling...", she uttered quietly. "...it still haunts you at night. Be still, love, I'm here."
Within moments Remus' body relaxed, the nightmare apparently over.
A thought came to Blythe's mind after she calmed her lover. She gazed out the window of their room at the twinkling night sky, then rose from the bed as quietly as possible, dressed and silently made her way out of the room.
When she arrived at the Headmaster's office she was surprised to see the staircase was already in plain view. "That's odd. I doubt many people would visit at this hour." She puzzled over this for a moment, then shrugged and ascended the stairs to the office. She didn't wish to disturb Albus if he was sleeping, but this was an important matter that had slipped her mind when they arrived at Hogwarts.
Before arriving at the door, Blythe could hear hushed voices from within, but just as she came into earshot of making out who was speaking, or what the subject was about, silence fell within the room. She raised her hand to knock and a voice called out before her knuckles touched the wood.
"Come in, Blythe."
She smiled gently and entered the office, setting eyes upon Albus first. "It never ceases to amaze me that you have this uncanny ability to know who's at your door before they even knock."
Albus grinned faintly at her and nodded to a chair. "You must have something important to see me about at this late hour."
"Yes, I do.", she answered, then chanced a look to the side and noticed Professor Snape sitting in the only other available chair. She nodded to him and spoke again. "I'm glad to see both of you here, actually, since what I've come for concerns the two of you." She sat down calmly, folded her hands in her lap and waited for their attention.
Professor Snape gave her a sidelong glance, scowled briefly and turned his eyes away again without a word. Albus nodded for Blythe to continue.
"When Remus and I arrived, I completely forgot to speak with you about the potion he needs. I was rather hoping the Professor here...", she indicated Snape with a sideways nod. "...would be willing to make it again while we're staying at Hogwarts. If he has time, that is." She turned to look at the man she once despised, her tone gentle and forgiving of the past. "I understand you're a busy man and I don't want to trouble you. If it's too much of a bother, I'll have to find someone else to make it."
Just as Albus was about to speak, Snape turned his head slowly toward Blythe and answered her with his usual cold disposition. "How long before the next full moon?"
Blythe looked out the window of Dumbledore's office to determine what phase the moon was currently in, then turned back to Snape and responded. "Approximately another three weeks. I hope that's enough time."
"Barely, but I should be able to meet the requirement. I'll send for one of you when the potion is ready." Snape rose from his chair and settled his eyes on Albus again. "We can finish our business later, Headmaster. I have other matters to attend." He turned on his heel without waiting for a response, and silently left the office.
Blythe let out a long breath of air and shook her head. "It seems his disposition hasn't changed much. Then again I'd have to spend more time around him in order for him to realize I'm not the daft, foolhardy woman I once was."
"It's quite alright, Blythe. I'm certain, given the opportunity, Severus will understand how much you have changed. Let's forget about him for now though. What was it you needed to see me for?"
"Oh, right. I'm sorry, Albus. It's so late and I'm not used to being awake at this hour." Blythe offered a kind smile. "I wanted to know if anyone here could construct a...shelter for Remus during his transformation. You see, even with the potion he's potentially dangerous. Or at least that's what he tells me.", she spoke with an amused smirk. "However, he told me before that he'd feel much better knowing he was locked in where he couldn't access anyone beyond the walls of his enclosure. I wouldn't want him to be in a separate room though. After what happened, I'd like to stay close to him for a little while longer."
Albus raised his hand and smiled gently, a sign that he understood. "Of course, of course. I'll be sure to arrange something first thing in the morning. I'm glad you came to me with this now as I may have been too busy over the next few days to see you."
"Oh? Is something important going on?"
"Yes. Beginning tomorrow I'll be setting your idea in motion by getting this castle fixed up. I believe one of the towers needs repairs first. I'd hate for anyone to be sent to the Hospital Wing due to crumbling rocks." His blue eyes glittered with mirth and it became apparent his mood was already beginning to lighten despite all that had happened.
"As I said, Remus and I are at your disposal. I daresay Remus isn't in top condition yet, so I'll have to monitor what he tries to do and make sure he doesn't overburden himself." She stood from her seat and glanced to the door. "I should head back to my room now, Albus. Everyone needs as much sleep as they can get right now. Goodnight, and thank you for your time."
"Always a pleasure, Blythe. Sleep well."
She nodded once more and left the office behind.
When she arrived at her chambers, she found the bed empty. "Now where on earth...?" Then she heard a moan come from the floor. She sighed and smirked to herself as she made her way over to Remus who was just opening his eyes and looked quite befuddled. "You fell out of bed, dear. Let me help you up."
Once he was safely tucked under the blankets again, Blythe crawled in beside him.
"Where were you?"
"Visiting the Headmaster. I needed to see him about that potion you require. Professor Snape is going to fix it up for you again and let us know when it's finished."
"I'm still going to need a cage of some sort.", Remus mentioned with a yawn as he closed his eyes again.
Blythe rolled onto her side to face him and patted his chest lightly. "It's all being taken care of, dear. I spoke to Albus about that as well. Now stop your worrying and get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. We'll be helping to fix up the castle."
Remus opened his eyes to slits and looked at Blythe with a tired smile. "And I suppose you'll be watching me like a hawk to make sure I'm not doing much."
"That's right. I don't want you to waste your energy. You still need to heal up a bit. Now go to sleep before you keep both of us up till dawn." She laughed quietly and kissed him, then laid down on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
She felt him nod once, and before long his breathing slowed to an even rhythm, then she allowed herself to sleep.
The next morning Blythe woke to find herself alone in the bed. She sighed, thinking Remus must have fallen out again in the night, then turned to look over the edge only to see the floor clear of his body. "Now where did he get to?", she pondered aloud.
Finally she rose from the bed, quickly went about her morning chores, then set off to find Remus and make sure he was alright. Shortly after leaving the chambers she arrived at the Great Hall and heard a ruckus coming from within. She entered silently to find out what was happening. There before her eyes nearly every student of Hogwarts was lighting candles and using their charms to levitate them.
Blythe smiled serenely at the scene before her and made her way up to the head table. "What's all this?", she asked the nearest Professor.
"The Headmaster has given the notice the school is to be repaired and the students, before being asked, volunteered to help as much as they were able.", McGonagall informed Blythe with an impressed tone.
"I see." Blythe's eyes scoured the room quickly until she noticed one particular bunch of students apparently felt the work unnecessary and were instead eating their breakfast. "And it seems Mr. Malfoy believes all this manual labour is beneath him." She tutted and shook her head disapprovingly.
"He won't feel that way when he realizes the other houses are receiving extra points for their willingness to bring the school back to its former glory.", the transfiguration Professor answered smugly.
Blythe laughed. "He'll rue the day he decided to be lazy. I'll bet he'll become a little more anxious to help after that."
McGonagall simply smiled and nodded, then went back to watching the students work, until Mr. Longbottom got himself into a bit of trouble by casting the wrong charm on one of the candles. The poor lad was being chased around by a candle that more closely resembled a blowtorch until the transfiguration Professor was able to get to him.
"Never a dull moment around here, even when spirits are at a low point.", Blythe muttered to herself with a smile as she took up an empty seat. She quickly peered down the length of the table to see if she could find Remus. A frown creased her brow when she noticed he was absent from the table. "Where could the little bugger be?"
A thunderous crash sounded outside causing all activity in the hall to stop. Everyone turned to the great windows behind the Professors' table to see what might have happened.
Blythe slowly turned and uttered two words. "Oh no." She rolled her eyes and blew a few strands of hair out of her eyes in frustration. Her ear caught the sound of Albus Dumbledore chuckling. She turned to face him, shook her head briefly, then headed for the door to go outside and help clean things up.
"Remus Lupin!", called Blythe angrily when she reached the pile of rubble outside the Great Hall windows. "Just what do you think you're doing?"
Remus gave her a quite innocent look and answered simply. "Helping?" He lifted his hands to say he didn't understand what had happened.
"Ugh, honestly. If I had an ounce of magic in me I'd turn you into a mouse!" Blythe marched over and swiftly took in the surroundings. "Well, I guess we don't need to worry about anyone being hit by falling debris now." She looked up the castle wall to where the tower used to be and let out another annoyed blow at her hair.
She felt arms wrap loosely about her waist and a chin lean down on her shoulder. "I'm terribly sorry, love. I had no idea just how bad the damage to the tower was. The charm I used should've made it a bit stronger and held the loose rubble in place, instead the whole thing came crashing down around us.", whispered Remus in her ear.
"I understand, darling, but you really ought to be more careful. I warned you that you're not in proper shape yet, and even a spell that seems simple to you could actually do more damage than anything else." She glanced around again. "Obviously." She turned her face just enough to see him, then kissed his cheek lightly. "I just hope no one was hurt."
Remus shook his head and smiled. "We leapt out of the way before anything could happen."
"I'm glad to hear that at least.", she breathed. "Well, I suppose we'd best get all this looked after before we sit down to eat." Blythe removed herself from Remus' arms and began moving some of the rocks out of the way by hand.
"Don't strain yourself, Blythe. There are quicker and easier ways to go about this.", came the aged voice of the Headmaster. "Besides, I don't recall having seen you eat anything yet. I believe there will still be food on the tables. Why don't you have a bite before you help out? You're going to need the energy."
"Very well, but I'll be back out here the moment I finish my meal." She turned her eyes to Remus again and raised a solitary eyebrow. "You'd best behave yourself." And then she walked back to the school.
When she re-entered the Hall she noticed the students had finally set back to work with the candles and there were only five Professors present while the others were busy with the ruins outside. Three of them were unfamiliar to Blythe, but she knew the other two fairly well. McGonagall was still helping the students cast the proper charms upon the candles, while Severus Snape was hunched over a plate of food at the head table.
Blythe decided she should start making amends while she had the chance. She approached the usually foul tempered Professor and sat two chairs away from him to eat her own meal. She opted to wait until Snape noticed her before disturbing him.
The window of opportunity opened when he cast a not quite so evil look her way. She cleared her throat quietly and attempted a polite conversation. "Good day, Professor. I hope you slept well."
"As well as possible when there's a war going on.", was Snape's cold reply.
"I'm sure life here will settle into a more lighthearted routine once the castle has been mended a bit."
He turned to her with a dour expression on his sallow face. "Do you really believe that tidying the castle will end the attacks? I wouldn't think it possible that you could have grown more naive since you were here last, but you've just proven me wrong." He seemed to be waiting for her to make some sort of harsh retort, but he would quickly be disappointed.
"Blythe!"
The name was called so loudly it woke her from a deep sleep. She glanced around, dazed for a moment, then felt Remus tossing behind her and whimpering softly in his sleep. She immediately turned over and ran her fingertips along his cheek, speaking soothing words in his ear as she did so.
"My poor darling...", she uttered quietly. "...it still haunts you at night. Be still, love, I'm here."
Within moments Remus' body relaxed, the nightmare apparently over.
A thought came to Blythe's mind after she calmed her lover. She gazed out the window of their room at the twinkling night sky, then rose from the bed as quietly as possible, dressed and silently made her way out of the room.
When she arrived at the Headmaster's office she was surprised to see the staircase was already in plain view. "That's odd. I doubt many people would visit at this hour." She puzzled over this for a moment, then shrugged and ascended the stairs to the office. She didn't wish to disturb Albus if he was sleeping, but this was an important matter that had slipped her mind when they arrived at Hogwarts.
Before arriving at the door, Blythe could hear hushed voices from within, but just as she came into earshot of making out who was speaking, or what the subject was about, silence fell within the room. She raised her hand to knock and a voice called out before her knuckles touched the wood.
"Come in, Blythe."
She smiled gently and entered the office, setting eyes upon Albus first. "It never ceases to amaze me that you have this uncanny ability to know who's at your door before they even knock."
Albus grinned faintly at her and nodded to a chair. "You must have something important to see me about at this late hour."
"Yes, I do.", she answered, then chanced a look to the side and noticed Professor Snape sitting in the only other available chair. She nodded to him and spoke again. "I'm glad to see both of you here, actually, since what I've come for concerns the two of you." She sat down calmly, folded her hands in her lap and waited for their attention.
Professor Snape gave her a sidelong glance, scowled briefly and turned his eyes away again without a word. Albus nodded for Blythe to continue.
"When Remus and I arrived, I completely forgot to speak with you about the potion he needs. I was rather hoping the Professor here...", she indicated Snape with a sideways nod. "...would be willing to make it again while we're staying at Hogwarts. If he has time, that is." She turned to look at the man she once despised, her tone gentle and forgiving of the past. "I understand you're a busy man and I don't want to trouble you. If it's too much of a bother, I'll have to find someone else to make it."
Just as Albus was about to speak, Snape turned his head slowly toward Blythe and answered her with his usual cold disposition. "How long before the next full moon?"
Blythe looked out the window of Dumbledore's office to determine what phase the moon was currently in, then turned back to Snape and responded. "Approximately another three weeks. I hope that's enough time."
"Barely, but I should be able to meet the requirement. I'll send for one of you when the potion is ready." Snape rose from his chair and settled his eyes on Albus again. "We can finish our business later, Headmaster. I have other matters to attend." He turned on his heel without waiting for a response, and silently left the office.
Blythe let out a long breath of air and shook her head. "It seems his disposition hasn't changed much. Then again I'd have to spend more time around him in order for him to realize I'm not the daft, foolhardy woman I once was."
"It's quite alright, Blythe. I'm certain, given the opportunity, Severus will understand how much you have changed. Let's forget about him for now though. What was it you needed to see me for?"
"Oh, right. I'm sorry, Albus. It's so late and I'm not used to being awake at this hour." Blythe offered a kind smile. "I wanted to know if anyone here could construct a...shelter for Remus during his transformation. You see, even with the potion he's potentially dangerous. Or at least that's what he tells me.", she spoke with an amused smirk. "However, he told me before that he'd feel much better knowing he was locked in where he couldn't access anyone beyond the walls of his enclosure. I wouldn't want him to be in a separate room though. After what happened, I'd like to stay close to him for a little while longer."
Albus raised his hand and smiled gently, a sign that he understood. "Of course, of course. I'll be sure to arrange something first thing in the morning. I'm glad you came to me with this now as I may have been too busy over the next few days to see you."
"Oh? Is something important going on?"
"Yes. Beginning tomorrow I'll be setting your idea in motion by getting this castle fixed up. I believe one of the towers needs repairs first. I'd hate for anyone to be sent to the Hospital Wing due to crumbling rocks." His blue eyes glittered with mirth and it became apparent his mood was already beginning to lighten despite all that had happened.
"As I said, Remus and I are at your disposal. I daresay Remus isn't in top condition yet, so I'll have to monitor what he tries to do and make sure he doesn't overburden himself." She stood from her seat and glanced to the door. "I should head back to my room now, Albus. Everyone needs as much sleep as they can get right now. Goodnight, and thank you for your time."
"Always a pleasure, Blythe. Sleep well."
She nodded once more and left the office behind.
When she arrived at her chambers, she found the bed empty. "Now where on earth...?" Then she heard a moan come from the floor. She sighed and smirked to herself as she made her way over to Remus who was just opening his eyes and looked quite befuddled. "You fell out of bed, dear. Let me help you up."
Once he was safely tucked under the blankets again, Blythe crawled in beside him.
"Where were you?"
"Visiting the Headmaster. I needed to see him about that potion you require. Professor Snape is going to fix it up for you again and let us know when it's finished."
"I'm still going to need a cage of some sort.", Remus mentioned with a yawn as he closed his eyes again.
Blythe rolled onto her side to face him and patted his chest lightly. "It's all being taken care of, dear. I spoke to Albus about that as well. Now stop your worrying and get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. We'll be helping to fix up the castle."
Remus opened his eyes to slits and looked at Blythe with a tired smile. "And I suppose you'll be watching me like a hawk to make sure I'm not doing much."
"That's right. I don't want you to waste your energy. You still need to heal up a bit. Now go to sleep before you keep both of us up till dawn." She laughed quietly and kissed him, then laid down on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
She felt him nod once, and before long his breathing slowed to an even rhythm, then she allowed herself to sleep.
The next morning Blythe woke to find herself alone in the bed. She sighed, thinking Remus must have fallen out again in the night, then turned to look over the edge only to see the floor clear of his body. "Now where did he get to?", she pondered aloud.
Finally she rose from the bed, quickly went about her morning chores, then set off to find Remus and make sure he was alright. Shortly after leaving the chambers she arrived at the Great Hall and heard a ruckus coming from within. She entered silently to find out what was happening. There before her eyes nearly every student of Hogwarts was lighting candles and using their charms to levitate them.
Blythe smiled serenely at the scene before her and made her way up to the head table. "What's all this?", she asked the nearest Professor.
"The Headmaster has given the notice the school is to be repaired and the students, before being asked, volunteered to help as much as they were able.", McGonagall informed Blythe with an impressed tone.
"I see." Blythe's eyes scoured the room quickly until she noticed one particular bunch of students apparently felt the work unnecessary and were instead eating their breakfast. "And it seems Mr. Malfoy believes all this manual labour is beneath him." She tutted and shook her head disapprovingly.
"He won't feel that way when he realizes the other houses are receiving extra points for their willingness to bring the school back to its former glory.", the transfiguration Professor answered smugly.
Blythe laughed. "He'll rue the day he decided to be lazy. I'll bet he'll become a little more anxious to help after that."
McGonagall simply smiled and nodded, then went back to watching the students work, until Mr. Longbottom got himself into a bit of trouble by casting the wrong charm on one of the candles. The poor lad was being chased around by a candle that more closely resembled a blowtorch until the transfiguration Professor was able to get to him.
"Never a dull moment around here, even when spirits are at a low point.", Blythe muttered to herself with a smile as she took up an empty seat. She quickly peered down the length of the table to see if she could find Remus. A frown creased her brow when she noticed he was absent from the table. "Where could the little bugger be?"
A thunderous crash sounded outside causing all activity in the hall to stop. Everyone turned to the great windows behind the Professors' table to see what might have happened.
Blythe slowly turned and uttered two words. "Oh no." She rolled her eyes and blew a few strands of hair out of her eyes in frustration. Her ear caught the sound of Albus Dumbledore chuckling. She turned to face him, shook her head briefly, then headed for the door to go outside and help clean things up.
"Remus Lupin!", called Blythe angrily when she reached the pile of rubble outside the Great Hall windows. "Just what do you think you're doing?"
Remus gave her a quite innocent look and answered simply. "Helping?" He lifted his hands to say he didn't understand what had happened.
"Ugh, honestly. If I had an ounce of magic in me I'd turn you into a mouse!" Blythe marched over and swiftly took in the surroundings. "Well, I guess we don't need to worry about anyone being hit by falling debris now." She looked up the castle wall to where the tower used to be and let out another annoyed blow at her hair.
She felt arms wrap loosely about her waist and a chin lean down on her shoulder. "I'm terribly sorry, love. I had no idea just how bad the damage to the tower was. The charm I used should've made it a bit stronger and held the loose rubble in place, instead the whole thing came crashing down around us.", whispered Remus in her ear.
"I understand, darling, but you really ought to be more careful. I warned you that you're not in proper shape yet, and even a spell that seems simple to you could actually do more damage than anything else." She glanced around again. "Obviously." She turned her face just enough to see him, then kissed his cheek lightly. "I just hope no one was hurt."
Remus shook his head and smiled. "We leapt out of the way before anything could happen."
"I'm glad to hear that at least.", she breathed. "Well, I suppose we'd best get all this looked after before we sit down to eat." Blythe removed herself from Remus' arms and began moving some of the rocks out of the way by hand.
"Don't strain yourself, Blythe. There are quicker and easier ways to go about this.", came the aged voice of the Headmaster. "Besides, I don't recall having seen you eat anything yet. I believe there will still be food on the tables. Why don't you have a bite before you help out? You're going to need the energy."
"Very well, but I'll be back out here the moment I finish my meal." She turned her eyes to Remus again and raised a solitary eyebrow. "You'd best behave yourself." And then she walked back to the school.
When she re-entered the Hall she noticed the students had finally set back to work with the candles and there were only five Professors present while the others were busy with the ruins outside. Three of them were unfamiliar to Blythe, but she knew the other two fairly well. McGonagall was still helping the students cast the proper charms upon the candles, while Severus Snape was hunched over a plate of food at the head table.
Blythe decided she should start making amends while she had the chance. She approached the usually foul tempered Professor and sat two chairs away from him to eat her own meal. She opted to wait until Snape noticed her before disturbing him.
The window of opportunity opened when he cast a not quite so evil look her way. She cleared her throat quietly and attempted a polite conversation. "Good day, Professor. I hope you slept well."
"As well as possible when there's a war going on.", was Snape's cold reply.
"I'm sure life here will settle into a more lighthearted routine once the castle has been mended a bit."
He turned to her with a dour expression on his sallow face. "Do you really believe that tidying the castle will end the attacks? I wouldn't think it possible that you could have grown more naive since you were here last, but you've just proven me wrong." He seemed to be waiting for her to make some sort of harsh retort, but he would quickly be disappointed.