Chapter Four: Memories

Exhausted by the night's many events, Harry fell asleep quickly. When he woke up, for a while, he even wondered if it had been a very long dream. But he quickly dismissed this when he saw that he had a bruise going around his neck from when he had been strangled by Pettigrew.

Harry quickly dressed and went down to the Great Hall, seeing that Ron had already gone. He sat down next to Ron as he always did. Hermione sat across from them, smiling as she looked at her plate.

"Why are you so cheerful, 'Mione?" Ron asked through a mouthful of hash browns.

"Oh, you'll see," Hermione said.

As if on cue, the doors to the Great Hall opened, and in walked a girl about their age. Harry didn't recognize her, but he did know that she had to be the prettiest girl he'd ever laid eyes on, including Cho Chang. And apparently, it wasn't just Harry who was openly gawking at the girl. Ron was leaning forward and practically fell out of his seat. Neville actually did fall out of his seat. Harry had never before now had such respect for the girls' uniforms.

The girl had long, straight black hair that touched around her knees, and she had eyes of a very soft silver. She had a very fair complexion, and a very small amount of make-up was applied, bringing out her very inviting, rose-colored lips. But after a while, Harry was not only looking at her lips, which was very typical for any other sixteen-year-old boy.

As she passed, the only thing that every male student could think of was, "Oh Merlin, please let her sit by me." But the girl was obviously getting upset by all this gawking. Of course, by now, anyone who was looking at her was no longer looking at her face, and they continued to stare.

But as she went by the Slytherin table, Malfoy stood up and blocked her casually. He began talking in a very non-Malfoyish way. The girl simply rolled her eyes and walked away to... the Gryffindor table.

She sat down next to Hermione as many of the Gryffindor boys continued to stare. But as soon as Harry heard her voice, he immediately wanted to back off.

"I can't stand wearing these clothes. They're so -- flaunty," said none other than Wren. Ron quickly straightened himself, a shocked expression on his face.

"I thought so," Hermione said, smirking at her two best friends. "Anyway, Wren, how do those fit?" she asked, frowning as he noticed that they were quite loose on her.

"They're rather big on me, actually. Except around the chest. Around the front of the outfit, it's a lot tighter," Wren said. Hermione looked quite shocked. Ron was practically drooling.

"Oh," Hermione said, obviously downhearted.

"Who was that annoying blonde guy? He was saying the most disgusting things to me," Wren said, who looked quite troubled by him.

"Draco Malfoy. You'll want to stay clear of him. He's the biggest horse's arse in the world," Ron replied.

"And his friends. They'll try to beat you to a bloody pulp, you know," added Harry.

Wren smiled at them. "Guys, are you talking about those two idiots? I've seen them in the halls. If they were any slower, they'd be going backward. Anyway, I'm sure I could take care of those three goons in one swing," she said. Wren looked up and saw that a good number of the boys were staring at her, eyes wide, and even some had their mouths slightly agape.

Wren rested her head on the table, and picked up a butter spreader. She handed it to Hermione. "Could you please just start sawing at the nape of my neck? It'll take a while, but I'll be dead soon," she said jokingly.

This made them all laugh. Harry tapped at her head and slid his cereal bowl in front of her. She looked at it in confusion. "If you drown yourself, it'll be faster and less painful," he joked.

"Oh yeah. Thanks, Harry. But do you think you could hold my head in the milk?" Wren laughed.

"Sure," Harry said, smiling.

"Ooh, look! Timetables!" Hermione said excitedly. McGonagall walked over and passed out their timetables.

Wren put her head up, smirking slightly. "Hi, Professor McGonagall. My you're looking lovely. That

-- erm -- bun looks really nice on you," she said quickly.

McGonagall looked over and smiled. "Thank you, Miss Lup- -- I mean, Miss Isaacs," she said before handing them their timetables then quickly walking away.

"What was with the flattery, Wren?" Ron asked, hardly able to contain his laughter.

"I'm insuring my good grade in whatever the hell she teaches. So long as I'm here, I'm not going to look like a total idiot," Wren said quietly.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh please. You of all people must know millions of things, considering -- well -- considering what happened to you," Hermione said, her face suddenly turning a bright crimson.

"Oh yeah. The Voldemort thing. Oh well," Wren said quietly. "If you can believe it, I'm not really all that doltish when it comes to learning magic."

"I guess not," Hermione said, who looked almost a little jealous.

Meanwhile...

Up at the professors' table, Remus watched his long-lost daughter sitting with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. She was so very pretty. It wasn't long for Remus to decide that Wren looked almost exactly like her mother -- minus the dog ears. But they were hidden in her very long back hair right now, even though Remus wanted to see them because, truth be told, he was absolutely fascinated and infatuated with those ears of hers. He had been since the day she was born. Of course, those imbecile pediatricians said that they had to be a deformity, but really, what did they know? They had suggested that they be cut off. Even his darling Sophia thought that was the wisest decision so she wouldn't later be taunted about them, but Remus would not have it. To him, those ears of Wren Taylor Lupin's made her even cuter.

But now they were hidden. If they weren't, Wren would undoubtedly die. And it was all because of that despicable man Fudge, sitting next to Dumbledore, along with that Umbridge woman. And because of them, Remus's daughter was considered a fugitive. Had he known that this was her fate, Remus would have gladly agreed to having that horrible operation done. It killed him to watch as his little girl had to deal with this all on her own.

But Remus was niether stupid, nor naïve. He saw how all of those boys had stared at her openly when she passed. Wren was growing up, after all. But Remus didn't like it. No. He did not like it at all. Had he really missed all of those years with his daughter? Had it really been that long? It seemed much, much longer than that, truth be told. And the other professors were now giving him piteous looks. Everyone that had known Sophia and Wren (as a little girl, obviously) had acted as though Remus had forgotten. How could he? He still possessed a few of Wren's baby things in fact, though he never looked in the box in which he kept them. Remus had been mentally arguing with himself for years about getting rid of them. But he never did manage to discard the items. Yes. Everyone thought that until now, Remus had forgotten. Everyone...except for Sirius.

Sirius, who he had been best friends with for around thirty years. Sirius, who even now did not like to mention his best friend's dead wife or daughter. Yet, somehow, Remus was certain that Sirius knew that he had not forgotten. Forgetting. That was the hardest part of anything. Remus wanted to forget, but then again...if he released any memories he had of Sophia, it would be like letting a little bit of her go. No, Remus decided. I don't have to forget. I just have to make sure nothing happens to Wren. My daughter. The words sounded strange even in his own head.

Remus shuddered as Tonks's words came back to him: "...you'll be a grandfather soon." Remus wondered what he'd done to deserve this. To miss so many years of his own daughter's life was like torture. He told himself that he wouldn't tell her today. No. Not until he knew more about her. That was precisely why he'd asked many of the other professors to do him a favor by telling him what they'd figured out about her by the end of the day.

"We'd better get to our first class, you guys. We've got Defense Against the Dark Arts first," Ron said, reading off from his timetable.

"That's the best class. At least, it is when Lupin's teaching it, and he is this year. He's really good at it," said Harry.

"Oh. Well that's good," Wren replied. She stood up and stretched her legs before the other three got up as well and started off to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

The four got to the classroom before anyone else, except for Lupin, of course. He turned when he heard footsteps, and froze when he saw who it was. For some reason, he panicked at the sight of his daughter.

He spun around quite fast, in turn knocking down one of his many old records. It shattered on the floor as Lupin looked up.

"Oh. Hello," Lupin said quickly.

"Sorry, Professor Lupin. We didn't mean to startle you," Wren said with a brief smile.

"Oh. Not a problem," Lupin said quickly. "You four are here quite early."

"It was accidental," Ron said, yawning widely.

Wren looked around the classroom. She ran a long fingernail/claw down what looked to be a jewel that was smoking from the inside. "You have a very interesting collection of items, Professor Lupin," she said, obviously captivated by the jewel.

"Thank you, Wren, but actually, that was just a trinket I picked up in some shop ages ago," Lupin said with a small smile.

Wren blushed. "Oh," she said, feeling very idiotic.

Lupin smiled at how very like her mother she was. Only when he realized that he must look rather stupid, standing there with an unexplained smile, did he turn and start shuffling pieces of parchment, for the simple reason that he could not stop his smiling.

The class soon filled up as Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Wren took their seats -- right next to each other. Lupin turned around only when he had thought of enough very sad things in order to keep a straight face.

"Good morning, class. I think I'm just going to skip roll today. All the seats are occupied, so I find no need for that. Now, today we're just going to review a bit from last year..."

The four were relieved when classes ended that day, as all of the professors were trying to impress the essentialness of staying on track. Every class they'd had that day, they'd been lectured about how important it was to "keep your heads out of the clouds" and to "not wander away from your studies." Harry was very thankful when he came out of Binn's class, the last class of the day.

"That ghost really brought down my morale," Wren said, stretching widely.

"Binns just drones on and on and on and on and on and --"

"That's enough, Ron. I think she gets the point," Hermione said, looking sternly at him.

Harry laughed at this while Ron's ears turned pink. They entered the Great Hall for dinner and sat down at the Gryffindor table, most male students still gawking at Wren, who was staring blankly down at her plate, her face scarlet.

Fudge leaned over to Dumbledore. "Who's that girl sitting with Potter and his little friends? I haven't seen her here before," he said quietly.

"Oh, you mean Wren, Cornelius? I'm surprised you haven't. Wren has been coming to Hogwarts since she was eleven. She's been friends with Harry for a long time," Dumbledore said seriously.

"Really?" Fudge asked thickly.

"Of course, Cornelius. Wren's been here all along," Dumbledore replied.

"That name sounds familiar," Fudge said, looking deep in thought.

"Oh, I bet it does. It was quite popular for a while," Dumbledore said quickly.

"No, that's not it..." Fudge saw something small, white, and furry appear from under the girl's hair. He then realized it was a dog ear. "I KNEW IT!" Fudge exploded, jumping to his feet as everyone watched curiously, each thinking the same thing: 'Fudge had finally flipped his lid.'

"I knew you were hiding that mutt-demon here! You've gone far enough, Dumbledore!" Fudge roared, starting toward the Gryffindor table, Umbridge to his left. Both had their wands out.

"You are hearby arrested for the many murders of Muggles and Wizards within the past five years," Fudge said loudly to Wren.

"What?" She looked horrified. A hand traveled up to her ear, and her jaw dropped. "I didn't - I would never... I punched a few Death Eaters, but that's it! I swear!"

But Fudge continued. "In cases like these, the beast, being you, will have a trial, though that seems unnecessary, and you will undoubtedly be slaughtered," Fudge said, looking like Christmas had come early.

"I'd never...ever take a life that didn't desperately deserve it," Wren said, her face very pale.

Fudge smirked. "You're protesting arrest? All right then. This way will just be a little more fun," he said, pointing his wand at her. He began a spell under his breath, but Fudge's aim wasn't exactly good, so his wand was pointed just to the left of Wren -- at Ron.

But apparently, Fudge thought he was still pointing his wand at Wren. She knocked Ron to the ground, falling atop his chest as a flash of green light passed them both. Ron blinked in disbelief.

In an instant, Wren was at her feet again, ready to flee. Fudge sent another spell at her, but she easily avoided this by taking an incredible leap forward. When she landed, she took another great leap and continued to do so as she sped toward the door to the Great Hall. But in mid-jump, Fudge hit her with a Protego spell, making her fall to the ground with a nasty crack. Before they could catch up, however, Wren stumbled to her feet and hurried on, not attempting the jumps any more.

"Cornelius!" Dumbledore was at his feet, looking enraged. It was all Lupin could do to sit there, clenching his fists and mentally cursing Fudge.

Fudge stopped and let out a heavy sigh. "What, Dumbledore?" he snapped, turning around.

"I cannot allow you to go after one of the students," Dumbledore replied, his voice icy. His eyes matched his tone.

"Dumbledore, while you're chatting, that beast is getting away!"

Lupin jumped to his feet, pushed over the edge. "She is NOT a beast, you cretin!"

"Cornelius, she may be different, but she is a student here. While I am headmaster here, I cannot and will not let you try to destroy this girl's life," Dumbledore said, warning flashing in his eyes.

"And you believe you have more power than I, Dumbledore? Ha! You really are losing your wits," was Fudge's response before walking out of the Great Hall.

Everyone was too shocked to even whisper about what had just happened.

Later...

The Order of the Phoenix was again assembled in Dumbledore's office.

"You have not yet told Wren, Remus?" Dumbledore asked, an eyebrow raised.

"No, Dumbledore. I didn't think it'd be very wise," said Remus.

"Why not? The poor dear deserves to know that at least her father's still alive," Molly said, looking at Remus as though he were crazy.

"Molly, I haven't told her yet because...because I'd like to at least know a little bit about my daughter, all right?" Remus quickly lied. A good cover, he decided. Besides, it's not that he didn't want to tell Wren. He was still trying to decide how to tell her. Anyway, Remus did want to know something about Wren before he told her the truth of her family. "Which is why I've asked all of her professors to try to find something about Wren," he added hastily.

"Speaking of which," Severus said, digging in a pocket of his robes. "I still can't see why I agreed to this," he muttered under his breath. "That puppy couldn't stop drawing," he said scathingly, shoving a piece of parchment at Remus.

Remus was about to say something very witty to Severus to defend his daughter, but looked at the drawing and stopped. Sirius leaned over. "Whoa. That's really good." The drawing was of a wolf. A very detailed wolf. It stood behind a willow, its eyes yellow and gleaming.

"This is really realistic," Remus said, admiring the piece. He looked up. "There wasn't anything else, was there?"

Minerva, Flitwick, Sprout, and Trelawny all handed him other drawings, all very detailed and well done.

"Well, you know one thing, mate. Wren's at a level just above stick-people," Sirius said sarcastically, clapping Remus on the shoulder.

Remus sighed. "Any clue as to where she is?"

Molly patted his hand reassuringly. "Remus, dear, she can't have gotten far. And even if she has, she's got enough sense to come back," she said.

"Yeah, and she has to have enough sense to do that. I mean, genetics don't lie, mate," Sirius said, smirking at him. "And together, you and Sophia aren't exactly half-wits."

Remus knew exactly what Sirius was was talking about. Back at school, Sophia had always gotten the highest grades along with Lily. Sophia and Lily had been inseperable at school, and it continued that way until Lily's death. Remus could still remember the day that he'd met Sophia...

It was September the first, and the Marauders were all sitting in a compartment together. They were entering their sixth year at Hogwarts.

James and Sirius were playing poker against their loathed enemies -- Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy. Peter was watching at the side, tongue between his teeth. Remus sat in a corner of the compartment, reading a book about vampires and occasionally sneaking a glance at the game.

James laughed. "Peter, stop looking at the cards like you can eat them. You just had five of those pastries when the trolley came round," he said.

"I didn't have breakfast," whined Peter, as though this were an excuse to devour five of those pastries.

"Get back to the game, James. Hey, what d'you reckon we make this a little more interesting, eh, Sevvi-poo?" Sirius said with an evil grin.

"What do you mean, Black?" Lucius snapped at him.

"The winner gets your compartment. The loser gets this compartment," James suggested, a smirk spreading across his lips.

Lucius's and Severus's faces paled slightly.

"What's so great about their compartment?" Remus's interest got the better of him.

James and Sirius both grinned at him. "It's next to a bunch of really cute girls' compartment," James said happily.

"Yeah, and James's looooovvver is there too," Sirius said, making sure he put extra emphasis on 'lover'. "You know, Remus. That Lily girl."

"EVANS?! No way! How can I like a girl who's threatened to castrate me?" James demanded, his cheeks turning slightly red.

"Ahh, but Ickle Jamesie's cheeks are turning a trifle red," teased Sirius, pinching one of his cheeks. James batted his hand away.

"What d'you say, boys?" Sirius's attention turned back to the two Slytherins.

Lucius and Severus looked at each other, then back at the two challenging Gryffindors. "All right," they both said at the same time.

Ten minutes later, the Marauders were lugging their things down the narrow corridor to the losers' compartment. After having put away their trunks, they went to investigate the girls' compartment. Well, three of them did. Peter went off to find the sweets trolley.

Sirius opened the door to the compartment and leaned against the wall, smiling at he looked at the five girls that sat in the compartmnet. Three of them were very thin blondes, sitting at the same side, giggling and applying make-up. They were all very pretty.

But Sirius then looked to the other side, where a red-headed Lily Evans sat, flipping through a copy of some girly magazine. Next to her, a girl with black hair had her face buried in a book.

"Hey there, girls," Sirius said. The three blondes looked up and their faces turned pink and they began giggling harder.

"Ooooh!"

"Like, oh my gawd, it's --"

"Yah, I totally know who he is, Mary!"

"Like, what do you think, Sue?" A/N: Haw haw! Mary and Sue!

"Total stud," replied the blondest and the one with the most make-up on, smiling seductively at Sirius. It seemed like her skirt was six inches shorter than the other girls'. Sirius smiled weakly back. He hadn't yet met this girl, but he was sure that he liked her already.

"Hi," Sirius said weakly.

"Slut," was spat from Lily's direction.

The chick -- Sue, was it? -- turned back around and looked at Lily. "What?" she snapped.

The black-haired girl sat the book in her lap, and Remus noticed that this girl was extremely beautiful. She put her hands in her lap and blinked at the blonde. "I believe Lily just called you a slut. Am I right, Lils?"

Lily nodded at her. "Precisely."

"Uh! I don't need to like - take this from you two - like - FREAKS!" shouted the leading blonde.

Lily and her friend sat and made their eyes water up. "Sniffle. Sniffle. Oh -- sob. Wait a second. I forgot. I don't care. You, Sophia?" Lily said, and both their faces turned back to highly unamused.

"I don't think I could care less."

The three blondes walked over, and Lily and Sophia stood up as well, glaring right back at the three.

"You'll regret saying that," snapped Sue, poking Sophia roughly in the collar bone.

James sat down where the three blondes had just been sitting. "I'm glad we won," he said in a whisper.

Sophia took out her wand and pointed it at Sue. "Here's a hint. Don't ever point your finger at me, okay?"

The blonde looked at Sophia's wand. "You can't use magic unless we're at Hogwarts. You'll be expelled."

Sophia smirked. "I don't need magic to stick this up your arse," she said, nodding at her wand.

Remus could hardly keep from laughing.

"I...You...I..." stammered Sue.

"Oh, I'm sorry, we didn't know you had a speech impediment," Lily said, smirking.

"It's more common in people who have more boobs than brains," Sophia said with a laugh.

With a huff, the three girls left the compartment. Sirius and Remus sat down on opposite sides of James.

"So..." Remus started. "Your name is Sophia?"

Five years later...

"Easy, pet. Deep breaths, Sophia, darling, deap breaths," Remus soothed his wife, holding her hand as she huffed and puffed. Lily Potter dabbed at Sophia's forehead with a damp cloth, watching her piteously. She'd been in this same position only about six weeks ago.

"Remus Lupin, if you EVER think of impregnating me EVER again, you're DEAD!" roared Sophia Lupin.

"Yes, dear, so long as you breathe," Remus said gently.

Damn that man. Damn his gentle tone. Damn that gorgeous smile. That was what had gotten her here in the first place. It had been twenty-one hours since she checked into St. Mungo's, ready to have her baby. She'd been pushing for three hours. It just wasn't fair! About a month and a half ago, Lily had had her baby, Harry, and she'd had a Hollywood labor! Three hours of contractions, half an hour of pushing, and out that baby had come!

Sophia just didn't understand it. According to the medi-wizard, the baby inside of her wasn't even big! Harry had been eight-and-a-half pounds at birth. Sophia now decided that had to be impossible.

The medi-wizard poised between Sophia's legs looked up. "All right, Mrs. Lupin. The baby is right there. I need you to take a deep breath and push, okay?" he said. Sophia nodded weakly.

Having decided that she would personally castrate her husband later, Sophia pushed with all of her might while her husband, her best friend, the medi-wizard, and a nurse coached her to push. It was all very confusing. One was saying harder, one was saying that she was doing fine, and another was repeating the word 'push' over and over again.

"SHUT UP!" Sophia finally roared. Silence. Oh, blessed silence. Her usually-quiet personality had been replaced by another one, one triggered by pain and anger.

Only the medi-wizard dared to speak. "All right, Mrs. Lupin. The baby's head is out. You just need to give a really big push on the next contraction and the shoulders will come out. The rest of the baby will slip right out after that," he said.

Sophia nodded and braced herself for what lay next. She gathered up all of her remaining strength and pushed as hard as she could. Sophia didn't think it was possible, but it hurt worse, which is when she realized that the shoulders of a person are much wider than the head.

Sophia let out a scream in agony as the baby's body slipped out of her own. She collapsed against the bed, exhausted.

"It's a girl!" Lily exclaimed happily, grinning widely at the baby as a nurse brought her over to a scale.

Sophia smiled weakly up at Remus, whose face showed nothing but shock. Finally, after this had registered in Remus's mind, he looked down at his beloved Sophia.

"A girl," Remus said weakly as his smile broadened. "My daughter."

"What does she look like, Remus? I didn't see her! Is she beautiful?" Sophia said hurriedly.

"She's beautiful, Soph. She looks just like you. But tinier," Remus said, before kissing her lightly.

"Five pounds, three ounces!" one of the nurses declared the baby's weight. She scooped the baby up in the cloth again before bringing her to the end of the bed.

"Mr. Lupin, I believe this is your honor," said the medi-wizard, nodding to a pair of sterile scissors in his hand.

Remus kissed Sophia one more time before he moved over to the end of the bed. He snipped the baby's umbilical cord, smiling uncontrollably.

He was given the baby and brought her over to her mother. Sophia struggled to pull herself up, hardly having any strength left. "Lemme see her, Remus," she pleaded weakly. Remus sat down on the edge of the bed and handed the small bonneted baby to his wife. Sophia's eyes watered as she kissed her daughter's cheek. She had silver eyes just like her mother. Now to see what color hair she has. Sophia peeked beneath the bonnet to see a mess of black hair -- her black hair. Sophia ran a finger over the baby's hair, and found something very odd. She pulled off the baby's bonnet, and saw nothing but a mess of black. She must have imagined it.

Sophia ran two fingers over the baby's head again, but felt the difference once more. Curious, Sophia moved the baby's hair about so she could see her scalp. Then she saw it. Flattened against her head was something silvery-white. Sophia ran a finger over it and looked at the baby's reaction. She didn't seem to mind at all, only snuggling closer to her mother. Sophia painfully pulled herself into a nearly sitting position, looking at the baby's head.

Remus persuaded the new mother to lay back down. She continued to investigate the baby's head as the medi-wizard cleaned Sophia up.

"Just curious," the medi-wizard said once he had finished and walked over to Sophia's side, "but what exactly is so interesting about the top of this beautiful baby's head?" he asked, leaning over her.

"I'm not sure. There's something white and silvery at the top of her head. I'm not sure what it is." Sophia's finger again lightly rubbed the tip of the odd thing atop her daughter's skull. But this time, it twitched, and it (and the same thing but on the baby's left side) rose up. They looked almost like...

"Dog ears," Sophia said, her mind coming to a blank. At last, one thought rose to her mind: How on earth could this baby have gotten such an abnormality?

The medi-wizard took the baby from her mother, which got him an angry wail from the girl. He was just as surprised as the new mother. He flipped back some of the baby's hair by one of her ears to find that there was no ear. This was more than a shock. The skin had not even a tiny blemish of where an ear would be.

"Dog ears?" The medi-wizard said this quietly, in shock.

"My wife and I are both werewolves," Remus said. Surely this had to be the reason for the cute little dog ears perched on top of the baby's head.

"Oh," the medi-wizard said.

"She's healthy otherwise, right?" Sophia asked, her voice choked.

"Yes. She scored a nine on the Apgar scale. She didn't cry very much, so we took off one point. But she's perfectly fine, medically," the medi-wizard said, handing the baby to her father.

"Thank God. They're kind of cute, actually," Remus said, smiling as he stroked one of the baby's ears.

"They should be removed," said the medi-wizard.

Remus turned, hugging his baby close. He knew he was being quite irrational, but he would not have it. "No. You won't be removing anything on my baby," he said sternly.

"Remus, I know they're cute, but think of the life she'll have to lead. When she goes to Hogwarts, what will the other children say?" Sophia said, dabbing at her eye.

"Sophia, dear, this is the Wizarding world. It would be a lot harder if we lived in the Muggle world, but we don't, love. Besides, if they were removed, do you honestly think, sir, that nobody would notice the lacking of ears? She'd be deaf! And personally, I'd rather have my daughter laughed at than deaf," Remus protested.

"You have a good point, Remus. Besides, they just make her a little cuter. No, I don't think we'll have them removed," Sophia said, nodding her head.

"Very well. Shall I let your visitors in?" the medi-wizard said.

"Yes, please."

It all seemed like just yesterday to Remus. "She'll probably feel betrayed," he said, another thought occurring to him. "Like we betrayed her. Bringing Fudge here and everything."

"We had no power against it. What were we supposed to do, tell Fudge not to come?" Mad-Eye said gruffly.

"She was almost killed, I hope you know, Mad-Eye," Remus said coldly.

"I know that, Remus. It doesn't mean that the girl will immediately think that we betrayed her," Mad-Eye replied coolly.

"Sorry. I guess I'm a bit edgy, that's all," Remus said, his face turning red slightly.

"I'm sure that's fine, Remus. Maybe you should go back to your quarters and get some rest. You look exhausted," Dumbledore suggested with a smile.

"Right. Thanks, Albus, you're right," Remus said, getting to his feet. He walked back to his quarters, deep in thought. He made himself a hot cup of tea and sat down on the couch, reading one of his favorite books on vampires.

But his mind couldn't keep on the book. It kept wandering back to his daughter, wondering if she was all right.

Eventually, sleep took over Remus Lupin, and he fell asleep right there on the couch, book in lap.

Suddenly, Remus was awoken by a noise. It took him a few seconds to realize that there was a soft tapping at his door. With a stretch and a yawn, Remus got up and opened the door cautiously. He was very surprised when someone fell into his arms, sobbing. He looked at his watch, which read three

thirty-one.

"Wren?" Remus managed weakly, pinching his arm to make sure he wasn't still asleep.

"P-P-Professor Lupin, th-thank the g-gods you a-a-answered!" wailed Wren. She was trembling, and Remus new that she was very frightened.

Remus lightly patted her back and returned the embrace, hoping this would calm her down at least a little bit. "Ssh. There, there. You're fine, just relax," he said gently. "Come on. I'll get you a nice hot cup of tea. Or better yet. Hot chocolate. You do drink it, don't you?" he added, leading her into the small kitchen. She nodded, her lower lip trembling. Remus sat her down at the table, and in that light, Remus realized that Wren's face was very scratched up, and so were her arms. He thought about this as he went to work on making a cup of very strong tea and hot chocolate.

"Oh, P-Professor, I'm so s-s-sorry. I t-tried getting into the c-common r-room, but the F-Fat Lady o-o-only started shrieking that I -- that I w-was a mutt-demon, and sh-she wouldn't let me in. S-so I tried t-to find D-Dumbledore's office, on my s-sense of smell, y-you know. B-but I was just s-so distraught that I c-couldn't f-find it. S-so then I decided to find someone e-else, and I knew you w-were the only one I could s-surely trust, so I came here," Wren stammered, though the stuttering lessened as she spoke.

This thought struck Remus for a moment, before he came back to his senses. "But -- surely that's not the reason you're so upset?" he asked, sitting down next to the terrified girl, handing her a mug of hot chocolate while he added a bit of sugar to his tea.

Wren took a few swallows of the hot chocolate. When she spoke, the stammering was gone, but she was still trembling and her voice was still weak. "I ran into the forest when Fudge went after me. I went very far into the forest. I think I might have even gotten off of Hogwarts property. But that's not important. I was asleep in a tree when I heard rustling of branches below me. I...I mean to say, it was one of -- one of them," she said the word with only utter hatrid, and Remus knew at once that she was talking about a Death Eater. "There were at least a dozen others on the ground, and with Voldemort right beneath them. I...I didn't have much time to react before he Accioed me down. It was horrible, sir. He was just standing over me...grinning. He sent a killing curse at me, but I rolled over to avoid it. The Death Eaters chased me for a while when I ran, throwing curses at me. I ran all the way back here..."

Remus's eyes widened. "Wren, are you okay? Those look painful. Oh, right. Magical remedies can't be used on you. No matter. I can get some antiseptic and bandages from the cupboard," he said gently.

Wren looked up at her professor. "Professor, I'm really, really scared. He wants me dead now. And he's not going to stop looking for me until I'm dead. I know it," she said weakly.

Remus smiled at her before putting his hand over hers. "But they stopped chasing you at the barrier where Hogwarts grounds start. Voldemort doesn't want to risk coming to Hogwarts. You're safe at Hogwarts. Since you don't know the password to Gryffindor Tower, you can stay here for the night if you'd like, Wren," he said gently.

Wren smiled, but Remus could feel her trembling hand beneath his. "Thank you so much, Professor. I'm really sorry about the inconvenience," she said quickly.

"Not at all. The couch is a pull-out. I have a few extra quilts and such. We can set that up after our drinks," Remus said.

"Thank you, Professor Lupin. I really don't know how to repay you."

"Think nothing of it. Wren, the bathroom is just down the hall and to your right. In the cabinet there are bandages and such. I'll go set up the couch and be with you in a moment," Remus said, getting up. Wren nodded before walking into the bathroom.

It was only a matter of seconds that Remus set up the pull-out bed. At least it was with magic. He tapped softly on the bathroom door, which swung open. Wren had bandaged only the deepest cuts on her arms.

Remus's curiosity got the better of him. "How did you get those?"

"The small scratches are from the branches when I was running, sir. The bandaged ones came from Voldemort," Wren said in a small voice.

"Oh. I was just curious," Remus said, looking at a few of her wounds. "Erm, the couch is all set up for you, Wren. There are extra blankets beneath the couch. Make yourself right at home, all right?" "Thank you, Professor. I'm very grateful," Wren said, following the werewolf back into the sitting room.

"Just get some rest. You look dead on your feet," Remus said as Wren took off her shoes. "Erm, I've got a couple of night-shirts that are quite big on me. One might work as a night-gown for you, if you'd like," he added.

Wren smiled. "No thank you, Professor. I'll just sleep in my clothes," she said. She covered her mouth in a yawn.

"Suit yourself, Wren. Pleasant dreams," Remus said as Wren buried herself underneath the large quilt.

"'Night, Professor," Wren said, shifting about for a while. Remus sat in a chair, "reading" once more. The shifting soon stopped, and Remus could hear her rhythmic breathing.

He sighed. "You probably won't believe this, Wren, but I'm your father," he said under his breath.

Remus was very shocked at what happened next. "I know. I was just waiting to find more about you before I said anything. I'm glad." Wren had said this, her voice hardly above a whisper. Right after, Remus heard her soft, rhythmic breathing again, and knew she had said this in her sleep. Remus smiled, got up, and walked over to where Wren slept. He kissed the top of her head. "Good night, sweetheart," he said in a whisper before turning off the light and heading for bed.

End de la chapter! This was a LONG one! Did you like it? Did you hate it? Review, people, please! Reviews are getting a little thin over at my end of the pond! Go, Squishies, go! By the way, thanks

Kyo-grli91. First (and so far only pout) reviewer!