Chapter 21

The next day I sought out Dumbledore and told him I'd need to get ingredients for Moony's potion as we were coming up on the full moon. He was reluctant to have me go into Hogsmeade and certainly did not want Harry to accompany me, so I suggested sending Cass and I could accompany her in owl form. Since no one knew her, it seemed likely she could safely do business. I arranged where I would meet her, transformed and set off. She Apparated to Hogsmeade from the tunnel and I met up with her a few minutes later. I had given her the list of what we needed and she decided to lay in a good supply in case we were unable to readily get more ingredients at a later time.

She willingly agreed to work with me on the potion so that she could learn to make it as well, recognizing the possibility that something could prevent me at some future point and Snape might not be available either. Remus was already starting to show signs of the approaching full moon, looking more tired and worn than usual, but having Cass nearby seemed to make the entire process easier on him. She was quite content to sit quietly with him, reading or talking. And unlike previous occasions, he didn't seem to withdraw so much within himself as he usually did when the full moon grew closer.

Nothing much changed for any of us over the next few days. We knew there was much going on in the wizarding world and that attacks were continuing almost daily. Two days after we got to Hogwarts, Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Ginny and Draco returned also. Mr. Weasley popped in and out, but it had been deemed safest for them to remove themselves from the Burrow. Hermione followed later that same day and told us Dumbledore had set protections on her family as well.

No one really seemed to know how everything would play out. The Order was trying to get a handle on what Voldemort might be planning, but other than seemingly random attacks, they hadn't been able to detect a pattern as to what his goal was. They knew that eventually he would seek out Harry, but were having difficulty finding out anything specific. For lack of anything better to do, Harry resurrected Dumbledore's Army out of those of us who were at the school, this time including Draco, and we spent a couple of hours each day practicing the skills we already had and trying to learn new ones that might prove useful. Any teachers that had returned to the school, or stayed there over the summer, participated on occasion to lend support and suggestions.

But mostly, all we could do was wait. We tried to go about normal activities, though being at Hogwarts in July wasn't normal for any of us. We had a small birthday celebration for Harry and that allowed us to temporarily forget about Voldemort and the shadow hanging over our lives. The full moon came and went. Cassie insisted on staying with Remus during the transformation and kept him company through the night. I think it may have been his least stressful transformation ever.

To break up the monotony a little, Ginny convinced Harry and Ron to play Quidditch against her and Draco. When Moony was feeling better, he came out to watch with Cassie and me. It was during one of these matches, that a thought occurred to me, "Hey, Sandy, what about your job in New York?"

She explained that she had taken a leave of absence for the time being since we didn't know how long things would last. For the moment it was a six-month leave. After listening to her explanation, Remus asked me curiously, "Why do you call her 'Sandy' sometimes?"

I realized we had never explained to any of them about our Andy/Sandy nicknames. "When we were much younger, we spent so much time together people said we were practically twins. Muggles tend to give their twin children similar or rhyming names and since our names are similar, we got dubbed 'Andy' and 'Sandy'. It doesn't get used by too many people anymore since they don't see us together as often, but now and then Mum and Dad or one of us will revert to those nicknames."

He smiled in amusement and turned his attention back to the game, which at present, much to Ron's astonishment, Ginny and Draco were winning. I sat there idly watching the players' attempts to score and found my mind drifted to how innocent life seemed at this very moment. "Moony," I asked softly, "what happens now? You've been through this before - what's going to happen?"

I guess he understood the basis of my question and answered, "It's hard to say. Things are very different now than they were then. The Order is better organized and prepared, and this time we have Harry, who we have every reason to believe is a definite threat to Voldemort. The last time no one knew if there even was a way to stop him. Not until a boy lived."

We all tried to go about our business and not worry about what might come, but you could always feel the underlying tension, as if we expected something to jump out at us around each corner. Sometimes I almost thought it would be a relief when things 'started' so we would have something concrete to focus on.

My birthday passed uneventfully. I had really been looking forward to turning sixteen and being legal to do magic anytime; well, at least in America. But somehow it didn't seem all that significant anymore. The thought even crossed my mind that I might not ever reach my seventeenth birthday. I hoped that wouldn't be the case, but also realized that in a war people died and it would be foolish to think none of the deaths would be of people I knew. At meals in the Great Hall, I'd look at my friends and the teachers and Dumbledore and wonder if all of them would still be here when it was over.

Late one night, after everyone had gone to bed except for me and Harry, we sat gazing at the idle fireplace in the common room. After a time, I began, "Harry, I need to ask you to do something for me."

He looked at me curiously and gave his ready reply, "Sure. Anything."

"It may not be as easy as you think. When the war reaches us, and you have to fight Voldemort, as we know you will, I want you to try very hard not to let thoughts of me intrude on what you have to do."

He was looking puzzled at what I was getting at so I elaborated, "I know you worry about me and my safety, and I appreciate that, but I don't want that to distract you at a crucial moment and cause you to fail. Because if Voldemort defeats you, then we're all as good as dead anyway."

Finally he caught my meaning and nodded. Then he told me, "You, too. Keep yourself safe. Don't do anything foolish because of me." I squeezed his hand in acknowledgement of our agreement.