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Chapter thirteen - Snow White's New Plan

Lia didn't know what to think. Everything was messed up in her mind. She was sitting in the Transfiguration class. Professor McGonagall was explaining the importance of transfiguration, but Lia didn't pay attention. She stared at the blackboard while the teacher kept writing and drawing some schemes, but her mind was somewhere else.

"Miss Jones, are you feeling ill?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Lia shook her head and looked at the professor. "What? Excuse me, I wasn't paying attention."

"Miss Jones, I demand your full attention during my class as it is one of the important subjects." Professor McGonagall said. She noticed the concerned look on Lia's face. "What's wrong Miss Jones?" she sat next to Lia.

"I went out last night." Lia started, looking at the ground. "I was walking through the corridors when I saw Virginia. We went out to the forest looking for Wolf; she was worried about him. When we reached the lake, two black hooded creatures appeared and we felt really cold and I felt that happiness was being sucked out of me. It was an odd feeling. I think I passed out then. Then, when I woke up I saw Wolf next to Virginia and me. She was unconscious too. He led us back here, and I saw strange eyes staring at me from behind the trees. I followed them, and I was lost. Then, a wolf appeared and started to chase me. I was so scared and I ran. However, it seemed that it showed me the way back. When I reached near the huge tree outside the gates, I saw a man standing there. I walked closer to him but he ran away. I think it was John." She looked at McGonagall with tearful eyes. "My boyfriend who was killed by Voldemort."

Professor McGonagall listened silently to what Lia had to say. If she was angry about her being out in the middle of the night, she hid her face expression pretty well. She smiled at Lia and put her hand on her shoulder. "You know that you did a wrong thing by going out at night. Don't you?" Lia nodded. "And I assume that you have seen a ghost. As you know, there are many ghosts in Hogwarts, and maybe that was one of them, and he happened to look like your boyfriend."

"But he was real. I mean, I know how a ghost looks like. I've seen Professor Binns. He's gray and somehow transparent. But that man wasn't gray colored at all, not to mention transparent." Lia said.

"I will speak to Professor Dumbledore about this. You may go to your room to have a rest before dinner."

"Alright professor. Thank you for listening to me. I didn't know whom to talk about this."

"You can come to me whenever you need help, or even if you just want to talk." Professor McGonagall smiled warmly to Lia.

"Thank you professor. I'll keep that in mind." Lia smiled back. "See you at dinner?"

"Yes, of course. Have a nice evening."

Lia left the class and went to her room. McGonagall's smiley face turned into a concerned one. She quickly went to visit the Headmaster.

Remus opened his eyes to see that it was evening already. He has slept all day, and he felt relaxed. Lia's massage had helped him to sleep peacefully. He looked at his watch; it was seven o'clock in the evening. He got up and got dressed, then he went out. Lia's door was closed, he stared at it and wanted to knock, but then he thought against it. He continued his way to the guest dormitories to see how was Wolf doing.

He stood in front of a portrait of a young witch and said the password.

"Butterbeer."

The portrait swung to a side and opened a passage to the common room. He climbed the stairs and noticed King Wendell sitting in front of the fireplace reading a book.

"Good evening Your Majesty." Remus said.

"Good evening Mr. Lupin." Wendell replied.

"Remus, please."

Wendell smiled. "Have a seat Remus. It's nice to see you visiting us."

Remus sat on an armchair next to Wendell. "I was wondering how Wolf spent the day. It was full moon last night as you know."

"He just went to his room. He'll be back soon, I guess."

Virginia came out of the door that led to the dormitories. "Remus! How nice to see you here!" she said happily. "I wanted to thank you for saving our lives last night. Those black creatures were frightening."

Remus looked confused. He wasn't in the Great Hall at Breakfast and he missed the conversation about him being the one who conjured a patronus to drive the dementors away. "Oh, er… yes, they are quite dangerous." He said.

"It seemed that they brought winter with them, it was awful." Virginia said, as she sat on another armchair.

"I wouldn't recommend going out to the Forbidden Forest anymore." Remus said.

"Well, someday we'll have to." Wendell said. "The portal leading to my palace is there."

Virginia froze in her seat. "Oh my God!"

"What is it Virginia?" Wendell asked.

"There was no one to turn off the mirror in the palace when we came here!" Virginia said with obvious panic in her voice.

"You're right! Someone, or something would fall through it accidentally!" Wendell said and got up. "I have to go back."

"Go back where?" Tony asked as he came into the common room. "Hi Mr. Lupin." He said as he saw Remus sitting there.

"Back to the palace Anthony, we've left the Mirror of Magic opened."

"What? How could that skip our minds?" Tony said. "We have to go back!"

"I'll go back. No one knows that I have left, and the kingdom might be in crisis now. You know how Lord Rupert is." Wendell said.

Lord Rupert was Wendell's Chancellor. He was promoted after Wendell's coronation, and he liked everything to be organized by him. Sometimes, that turned into a disaster, as he tried to do something strange on each attempt, especially when it concerned decorations and Royal balls.

"He would probably try and paint the thrown room in pink!" Tony said. "And I'm sure he would add some of those heart shaped balloons from Kissingtown! Wendell, we have to go right away."

"Yes, let me get ready." Wendell said and went to his room.

"Dad, how are you supposed to find the way to the place we arrived?" Virginia asked.

"I don't know." Tony replied. "Wait! That horse guy we met! He said he's a teacher remember?"

"Yeah, but I can't remember his name." Virginia said.

"Firenze?" Remus asked.

"Exactly!" Tony said. "Do you know how can we find him?"

"I don't know, maybe he's in his classroom on the first floor. He is one of Lia's personal teachers." Remus said.

"I'll go and see if I can find him there." Tony said and stormed out of the common room.

"I hope dad can find him. If a suspicious creature ends up in the Fourth Kingdom, we're doomed. Wendell might lose his thrown." Virginia said.

"Let's not think about that right now. I'm sure everything will be fine." Remus said and Virginia smiled.

At that moment, both Wolf and Wendell came to the common room.

"I'm ready." Wendell said.

"Ready for what? Hi Remus!" Wolf said.

"Hello Wolf."

"Wolf, we need to go back to Wendell's palace, we forgot the mirror opened. Someone could fall through the portal." Virginia said.

"Cripes! Let's go then!" Wolf said. "I can find our way back."

"Now we'll be late because of dad! I totally forgot that you can find the way back to the portal by your smelling abilities." Virginia said.

"That's okay my little sausage. Let's just go and find Tony."

They all left the common room and headed to the first floor. Tony was walking toward them with a concerned look on his face.

"He's not there. What're we going to do?" Tony asked.

"I can find the way back, Tone. Remember?" Wolf said.

"Oh, yeah, right." Tony said.

"What're we waiting for? Let's go!" Virginia said.

They headed to the Entrance Hall and when they reached it, they saw Professor Dumbledore speaking with Professor McGonagall.

"Ah! It's nice to see you all!" Dumbledore said. "Heading for dinner?"

"Actually Professor, they are going to the Forbidden Forest. They have left their mirror opened." Remus said.

"We think that someone could fall through it." Wendell said. "And no one in my kingdom knows that I've left the palace."

"I've taken care of that Wendell." Dumbledore said.

"But, how? The mirror should be turned off from the other side." Wendell said.

"Snow White visited me last night and she told me that you all were so excited about coming here that you forgot about everything else." Dumbledore said, and Wendell blushed. "So, we decided to send someone else to take your place during your absence."
"And who is this person?" Wendell asked.

"Unfortunately, I can't tell you. But Snow White said that she will put a charm on him to turn him into you, and no one in your palace will notice that you're not there."

"Does that person know anything about ruling a kingdom?" Virginia asked.

"He'll learn." Dumbledore said. "At least, I hope so. But Snow White will be there to guide him."

Wendell had a concerned look on his face. "But what if something happens that would break that spell?"

"As I said, Snow White is going to be there all the time. Therefore, you don't have to worry. Besides, you all are here on a quest, and you have to complete it before returning."

"Professor, we don't know what quest are we on, other than finding Lia." Tony said.

"I'm afraid that's not all Mr. Lewis. There has been a murder of an infant. Lia and Harry have witnessed it. And I believe that it has something to do with your quest."

"Who was it?" Virginia asked.

"We don't know who the child was, but Voldemort gave the order to his servant to kill him." Dumbledore said.

Virginia's face went pale. "Why would he kill an innocent kid?"

Wolf put his arm around her shoulder trying to comfort her. "Don't worry my creamy girl. We'll make him pay for it."

"Let us all go to the Great Hall now. Dinner is about to be served." Dumbledore said.

"Huff-puff! I'm ravenous!" Wolf said.

"You always are." Tony snapped.

Professor McGonagall managed to hide a smile. They all went to the Great Hall and sat around the table, which was located in the middle of the Hall. After a few moments, Professor Snape entered, followed by Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout.

"Good evening professors!" Dumbledore said. "Come join us!"

"I see that not all of us are here." Snape said and at that moment Harry entered the Hall. He sat next to Remus.

"Where's Lia?" Remus asked.

"I thought she was here." Harry replied.

"Well, she's not. Have you checked her room?"

"No, you?"

"No, I didn't." Remus said. "I think I should go and check on her now." He got up but Professor McGonagall held him back.

"Remus, I asked her to go and have a rest before dinner. I think she might be still sleeping." She said.

"Alright, if she doesn't show up I'll take her dinner to her room." Remus said and sat down.

With a wave of Dumbledore's hand the table was filled with different kinds of food. Wolf's mouth dropped open at the sight of lamb chops and chicken. He quickly filled his plate and started to eat. Snape stared at him in disgust, but Wolf didn't seem to care.

After dinner Remus took a plate and filled it with some lamb chops and smashed potatoes, then he filled a glass with some apple juice and put them on a tray and took it to Lia's room. Harry went with him. They knocked the door, but there was no reply.

"Do you think she's still asleep?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. Should we enter?"

"Yes." Harry said and opened the door. They saw that Lia was curled up in her bed, still in her school robes and Rex was lying next to her, his head on her hips.

"Thank God she's here." Harry whispered and walked to her.

"How did Rex come here?" Remus asked and he placed the tray on a little table near the bed. "Is she sleeping?" he asked.

"I guess so. But she looks pale." Harry replied.

"She must be really tired." Remus said.

Harry shook Lia gently. "Lia, wake up. We brought you dinner."

Lia stirred and opened her eyes. "Can I sleep a little bit longer?" she asked in a sleepy voice.

"You'll have all the time you want to sleep. But first you have to eat." Harry said.

Lia sat up and saw Rex next to her. "Rex? What're you doing here?" she turned to Harry and Remus. "Did you bring him here?"

"He was here when we came." Harry said.

"I feel sleepy." Lia said and yawned.

"You can sleep right after you eat something. You didn't come for lunch." Harry said.

"Yeah, I guess I lost the track of time when I was at the library today."

"Lia, are you feeling alright?" Remus asked and put the tray on her bed.

"I'm fine." Lia replied and took a sip of apple juice. "Mmm, this is good."

"Don't change the subject." Remus said. "I know that you're hiding something that is concerning you."

"I really don't want to talk about it." Lia said as she helped herself with some smashed potatoes.

At that moment an owl came into the room and dropped a letter in front of Remus' feet and flew out of the window again. Remus picked up the letter and read the name on the envelope. "Moony" He recognized the handwriting. The letter was from Sirius. Remus put the letter in his pocket.

"Who is it from?" Harry asked.

"From an old friend." Remus said.

"I thought you didn't have any friends other than my dad and Sirius."

"They were my best friends. This one is someone else. You don't know him."

"Alright." Harry said.

"I'll be in my room if you need me." Remus said as he got up.

"Okay." Harry said.

"Oh, and Lia, thanks for the massage this morning. It really helped." Remus said with a smile.

"You're welcome. If you need to have one again, just let me know." Lia replied.

"I will." Remus said and left the room.

"What massage?" Harry asked.

"He was so tired this morning and he looked pale. So I massaged his back and he slept almost instantly."

"Oh, okay." Harry said. He knew that Lia still didn't know about Remus being a werewolf.

"I really wonder how Rex came here." Lia said as she scratched behind Rex's ears.

"Maybe he sneaked in." Harry said and Rex barked once.

Lia laughed. "He sneaked in."

"Genius!" Harry said. "You can be a lot of help to Fred and George."

"By the way Harry, do you have any news from your friends?"

"They are all fine. Ron wrote me yesterday saying that he really wants to come, but his mother wouldn't let him."

"What about your other friend?" Lia asked.

"Hermione is in France now. I didn't receive any owl from her yet."

"Harry, did you ever see your parents? I mean, in front of you, not in a dream." Lia asked.

Harry looked confused. "Well, I once saw them in a mirror."

"The Mirror of Erised?"

"Yeah, how do you know about it?"

"I saw it a couple of days ago. What I mean is, if you saw them standing in front of you."

"I saw them once as ghosts. It was two years ago, when I was dueling with Voldemort." Harry said and he remembered the day he and Cedric Diggory won the Triwizard Tournament, and ended up in a graveyard where Voldemort killed Cedric. "But why do you ask?"

"What color were they?" Lia ignored his question.

"Gray, as all the other ghosts." Harry replied.

Lia sighed. "I think I saw John last night near the forest."

"Did you talk to him?"

"No, he ran away."

"Ran? Ghosts don't run, they fly."

"Harry, he wasn't gray. I mean, he didn't look like a ghost at all and he looked just like John."

"But he's dead, right?"

"I saw him die! I was there." Lia's eyes filled with tears. "Harry, I don't know what to do."

Harry sat closer to her and took her into his arms. "I'll try to find out who was that man you saw. Don't cry, please."

"I'm starting to think that I'm seeing things." Lia said.

"You might have seen just a shadow there. I mean, after the dementors and all. Did you eat chocolate?"

"No, why should I?"

"Because that's what you should do after facing a dementor. I think that's the reason why you saw that man and thought that it was John, besides, you were sleeping all evening." Harry said. "That's it! You didn't eat chocolate, and that's what made you see John near the forest!"

Lia pulled back and looked at him. "Are you sure about that?"

"Of course I'm sure. I've seen dementors before. And more than once."

"You don't know how much you helped me Harry!" Lia hugged him. "Thank you so much! Now I feel a lot better."

"Hey, what are cousins for?" he said with a smile and got up. "I think I should go to my room now. It's getting late."

"Okay, good night."

"Good night." Harry said and left the room.

Lia sat there with Rex who was staring at her. "I'm fine Rex." She told him and pulled him into her lap. "I just hope that Harry said the truth."

O o O o O

Remus entered his room and locked the door behind him. He sat on his bed and took out the letter from his pocket and opened it.

--------------------------------

Dear Moony,

Just wanted to tell you that Snow White is sending me somewhere, and we won't meet for a while. I don't know for how long I am going to stay at the place she's going to send me. She said that I couldn't use owl post from there as they don't use owls. I'll see you after I return.

Take care of Harry and Lia. I hope that seeing me last night didn't frighten her.

P.S.: Don't reply to this letter, as I won't receive it.

Yours,

Padfoot

--------------------------------

"Where is she taking you?" Remus asked himself and put the letter back in his pocket. He got up and headed to Dumbledore's office.

He reached the stone gargoyle and said the password. The gargoyle moved to a side and Remus climbed the stairs and reached the office. He knocked the door and entered. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk reading a book.

"Remus, what brings you here?" he asked.

"This." Remus gave the letter to Dumbledore who read it.

"Oh, I see." Dumbledore said. "Have a seat Remus."

Remus sat on a chair in front of the desk. "Is he the one who's going to replace Wendell?"

"Yes, he is. Snow White thought that he was the best candidate, as he didn't have much to do over here."

"But what if he ruins everything there? You know how Sirius is."

"I don't think that he will cause a mess while Snow White is there with him all the time."

"But he doesn't even look like Wendell." Remus said.

"Snow White will transform him into Wendell. He will stay there until his name is cleared, and then we'll bring him back."

"Have you talked to the Ministry about this?"

"I have visited Minister Fudge a couple of days ago. He didn't like the idea, of course, but I think that he will change his mind."

"Does he know about Sirius being alive?"

"Not yet. I don't want anyone to know, yet."

"I forgot to tell you professor, that Wolf has met with Sirius when I took him to the Shrieking Shack."

"It's alright Remus. Wolf is on our side, and I'm sure he can keep a secret. He didn't tell anyone that Sirius was the one who conjured the patronus near the lake last night."

"Yeah, and I was wondering why did Virginia thank me for saving them from the dementors. I guess he didn't tell her that I'm a werewolf."

"Well, that's good to know. We don't know how will they react if they knew."

"Yes, you're right."

"And one more thing, when Sirius gets back from his mission, remind him to provide some chocolates to the people he is saving from the dementors. Thankfully, Virginia wasn't affected that much, but it seems that Lia had a trouble staying awake and she was having illusions."

"I agree with you about her sleeping, but what she saw wasn't an illusion at all." Remus said.

Dumbledore stared at him. "Remus, John is dead."

"It wasn't John, professor. Lia saw Sirius last night. The stupid foul stood there to take a look at her and she saw him. She says that she saw John, and she is wondering why he didn't look like a ghost."

"And I a trusting him a kingdom!" Dumbledore said. "I told him not to show up in front of people in his human form!"

"He said that he wanted to see how Emily's daughter looked like. And maybe he didn't think about transforming into a dog before getting closer." Remus said.

"Well, I hope that he won't have to repeat that mistake by the time he gets back." Dumbledore said.

"I hope so." Remus replied and got up. "I better get back to my room, it's late already."

"Yes, have a good night Remus."

"Thank you professor. Good night, and see you in the morning." Remus said and went to his room.