A/N: Please review this guys! I'll make a deal with you: the more reviews I get the faster I'll update! I really want your feedback! Ok I'll shut up now. This chapter is going to be pretty long. There's some twists coming up that I'm sure you wouldn't have expected. Enjoy!
J.S.B
Mrs. Weasley kept Harry and his friends so busy cleaning the house the next day, they couldn't even think about seeing another memory before supper had come around.
"Isn't this supposed to be summer vacation?" Ron groaned miserably as he threw the last of the spider webs they had found in the corner of the upstairs library into a nearby garbage. "It's more like a summer nightmare- working like bloody muggles and invading spiders' homes."
"You are such a complainer, Ronald." Hermione sighed, exasperatedly.
"I'm not complaining, Hermione. I'm merely stating my disapproval about the labor we're doing when we could be doing something far more interesting. Now I'm sure for you that might be reading a new book, but I would personally like to see the next memory."
"Oh put a pipe in it, little brother!" Fred said.
"Yeah, before we slip a couple of spiders into your pumpkin juice at dinner." George grinned.
Half an hour later the five of them entered the kitchens, where Mrs. Weasley greeted them warmly. Harry noticed Fred eyeing the table.
"Why the extra placemat, Mum?" Mrs. Weasley smiled.
"We have surprise company tonight." She announced. And right on cue, the side door opened and a man dressed in Shabby, grey robes stepped in, his pale eyes gleaming. It was Lupin.
'Hello everyone." He looked straight at Harry(who was momentarily too stunned for words), beaming.
"Professor!" The twins shouted, together.
"You're back!" Ron and Hermione exclaimed.
"Yes I am, and I think I may be staying for a while this time." He told them. Just then Arthur Weasley walked in. He kissed his wife on the cheek, and then turned to the group.
"There is much to say."
"So let me get this straight," Ron said. "Fudge might lose the top job?"
"That seems to be what is expected at this point." Mr. Weasley confirmed.
"But who'll take over?" Harry inquired.
"They should give the job to Percy!" Fred laughed. "I'd say he definitely has the spirit!"
"It's really not a funny matter." Lupin said seriously. "Fudge has been storming around the ministry for weeks now, sacking anyone he suspects to be voting against him.
Yesterday alone he told three people to clear out their offices. It's sort of his-"
"Last attempt at revenge." Hermione finished for him.
"Exactly." Lupin said.
"Now do you see where I'm going with this?" Mr. Weasley asked, gravely.
"Oh Arthur, do you really fear your position is in danger?" Mrs. Weasley's eyes were filled with worry.
"You know I do, Molly." Arthur sighed. Mrs. Weasley looked suddenly furious.
"Oooh I swear if that man weren't the Minister I'd- SPIT on him!" She shook violently as tears spilled down her cheeks onto her apron.
"Molly-" Lupin began, reaching out for her arm.
"NO!" She pulled away frantically. "For all he's put us through- put our children through- I won't stand by and take it anymore! I'm writing to Dumbledore to inform him of this, immediately!"
"Well that's the thing, sweetheart." Mr. Weasley said, a bit louder now, but smiling slightly. "You see, the way it looks now, Fudge is going to lose his job TO Dumbledore."
"WHAT?" Harry, Ron, Hermione and the twins yelled out together.
"He can't be both Minister for Magic and Headmaster of our school!" Ron objected.
"And he absolutely can't leave us- not at a time like this." Hermione added.
"Hogwarts won't be half as safe without him! We've known that since our second year!" Harry reminded him.
"Believe me, Harry, that's his biggest concern." Lupin assured him. "But now that they know the Dark Lord is back, the people want Dumbledore to lead them to his downfall." Harry said nothing. He looked away then, but inside he was suddenly very uneasy. Who would he turn to for help once Dumbledore was gone? Lupin seemed to be reading his mind. "I'm definitely no Dumbledore, Harry, but you may like to know I'll be working at Hogwarts again this year, and you can always talk to me about whatever may be troubling you." Harry turned to him. Ron and Hermione both exchanged very surprised looks.
"You're coming back?" Harry asked him, disbelievingly. "But I thought you couldn't-" Lupin smiled, weakly.
"Fudge was furious when Dumbledore announced it publicly."
"You're kidding me!" Hermione said.
"No I'm not. It was just two days ago. Apparently Dumbledore gave a speech to the entire Wizengamot on how it was time for the ministry to stop preventing half-breeds from employment. And as I'm sure you've already figured out by now- Dumbledore's word is gold to everyone these days. People are sick of lies, they want the truth, and Dumbledore has it, so of course they're all turning to him. Anyways, he managed to convince them that I'd be no danger whatsoever to the students as long I took my potion monthly. Now the Ministry's going to test my behavior for a year, before deciding what's next for me. If everything goes well till then, half-breed employment may become completely legal."
"That's great Professor!" Ron said, cheerfully.
"It is." He agreed, and turning to Harry he said, "Remember what I told you, Harry. I'm sure this summer has been hard on you, believe me, it's been hard on me as well, but we're in this together- all of us- so remember, you're not alone. Things are changing drastically, you'll start to see it for yourself when you return to school."
"I don't think anything would surprise me anymore." Harry confessed.
After supper, the trio went back upstairs to Harry and Ron's room.
"It was really nice seeing Professor Lupin again." Hermione said. She was sitting on Ron's bed, petting Crookshanks.
"Yeah, and I can't believe he's coming back to Hogwarts!" Ron said.
"You think he'll teach defense against the dark arts again?" Harry asked his friends.
"Don't know, mate." Ron shrugged. "I'm just glad he's going to be there, what with Dumbledore gone and everything."
"Oh honestly, maybe we're making too big a deal about that. I mean, Dumbledore taking over as Minister has got to ultimately be a good thing." Hermione pointed out.
"Yeah, but who do you suppose will take his place as headmaster?" Harry questioned her.
"My bet's McGonagall!" Ron grinned. "She's the only one Dumbledore trusts enough."
"Maybe." Hermione said. "But you can never be sure with Dumbledore."
"You got that right." Harry said. "Anyways guys, where are Fred and George? Are they coming with us to see the next memory?"
"I don't think so, mate. They've been waiting for a chance to test their new products all day." Ron told him.
"Speaking of memories, Harry, how come you didn't tell Lupin about the book?" Hermione asked him.
"I don't know. I mean, I guess it's because it was something between Sirius and my father only. What if he doesn't even know about it?" He explained, but that was only half of his reasons. The real one was that he didn't want Lupin to think he was so desperate to see Sirius again he'd even resort to seeing him in his past memories.
"I see." Was all Hermione said.
"So what do you think?" Harry said, wanting to change the subject. "One more trip to the past before we call it a night?"
"Sounds good to me." Ron obliged.
"Same here." Hermione said. Harry grinned at them. He reached out for the book. It was lying on the edge of his night table, as if waiting to be used again. Harry removed the suede belt, opened it, and turned it slowly to the fifth page. The trio stood side by side, as a flash of white light shot out of the novel.
"Here we go!" Harry called.
They were in the library. Students sat in groups with their friends, their heads over piles of books, spare parchment and quills beside them. All talk was barely more than whispers. The librarian sat at her desk in the corner of the room, her long, crooked nose was touching a stack of papers she had piled up in front of her. Every once in a while she'd raise her head to scowl at a student who's conversation was growing loud enough for her to follow.
"Home sweet home, huh Hermione?" Ron smirked at her, and she hit him in the ribs.
"Guys look!" Harry pointed ahead to a table far back, where two girls were sitting. One of them had long, red hair. "It's my mom." The three of them walked towards the table, and, upon arriving there, took chairs from the surrounding empty tables and sat beside Lily and her friend. Lily's head was bent over a picture her friend was showing her. The girl Lily was with had thick, dark brown hair and rich blue eyes that were heavily lidded. She was very beautiful, and she looked strangely familiar to Harry.
"His name is Tom Marvolo Riddle," She was telling Harry's mom, and the trio exchanged looks of horror. "but he calls himself Lord Voldemort." She gushed, lovingly.
"He's cute." Lily said.
"And powerful." Her friend added.
"And A LOT older." Lily laughed at her. She giggled. "That is SO your type, Trix!"
"BELLATRIX LESTRANGE!" Harry, Ron and Hermione shouted in unison.
"They were friends?" Hermione exclaimed.
"That's disgusting!" Ron said, looking repulsed. "How could Harry's mother ever associate herself with someone like her?" Harry looked at the two girls in front of him, two bewildered to speak. Instead he leaned over to look at the picture Bellatrix was holding. Tom Marvolo Riddle had looked so much different back then, but his pale skin, dark, hollow eyes, and thin mouth still stood out.
"Yeah I guess he is." Bellatrix agreed. "Sort of like the way James Potter is your type." She grinned slyly at Lily. Lily raised an eyebrow dangerously.
"Don't cross the line, Trix!" She warned her. "Potter is nothing close to my type and I sincerely doubt he ever will be."
'Whatever you say, Lils, but I still think he's HOT!" Bellatrix told her, and then she burst into laughter. Harry noted that it was a laugh quite different from the one he had heard in the Department of Mysteries.
'This Bellatrix still has a soul, she hasn't been completely tainted yet.' Harry thought to himself. Still he thought his mother was crazy to be hanging around with her.
"Lunacy." Lily shook her head at her, yawning she glanced at her watch. "Argh! I'm getting nowhere with my studying, thank God the OWLS are in another three months! I'm going to bed."
"Ok, see you later Lils." Bellatrix said.
"Night, Trix." Lily waved goodbye to her, and then stood up from the table and made her way out of the library.
"Let's go." Harry told Ron and Hermione, and they got up and followed her.
Once they were out of the Library, they spotted Lily a little further ahead of them, her book bag swinging loosely on her shoulders, she was heading towards the Gryffindor common room. A moment later though, something made her stop. She turned around and stared right in the direction of Harry and his friends. For a second Harry feared they had somehow became visible, but then he heard light footsteps behind them. He, Ron and Hermione turned around at the same time. A few feet in front of them a boy was limping as he made his way down the staircase. Lily turned back and walked toward the trio.
"Remus?" She whispered, puzzled, and the next thing they knew, she was following him. Down the staircase, past the Great Hall, out into the grounds.
"Harry I don't have a good feeling about this." Hermione whimpered as they trudged along, inches behind Lily.
"She's heading for the Whomping Willow!" Ron pointed out. And sure enough Lily watched Remus enter the ground beneath the tree, and then carefully made her way up to it and imitated the way he had made his entrance.
"We have to jump in right after she does. Get ready you guys!" Harry warned them, and as soon as Lily had slid down the hole the three of them pursued. The ground above them shook as they landed on the path that led to the shrieking shack. In front of them, Lily was getting back on her feet, cleaning the dirt off her robes. Cautiously the three of them followed her as she quietly traced Remus's footsteps.
"Your mother was pretty brave to be here right now." Hermione(Who looked herself as though she were about to faint) said to Harry. A few minutes later they arrived at a door. A huge scratch, which looked as though it had been made by a rather savage animal, was scraped into its wood. Lily slowly creaked the door open. Remus was standing a few feet away with his back turned toward her. As she closed the door behind her, he spun around.
"LILY!" He cried. "What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here!" Lily saw the fear in his face.
"I- I saw you limping as I was heading to the common room- I just wanted to know if you were alright." She stuttered, and then taking in her surroundings she asked him what she really wanted to know. "Remus what IS this place."
"Believe me Lily, it's much better that you don't know. Please leave!" Remus pleaded with her.
"Remus just tell me the truth, If you need help I'll help you, just-"
"Lily, the best way you could possibly help me right now is to leave!" Remus was begging her now.
"I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going on here! The faster you do the sooner I'll be out of your way!" Lily's eyes flashed dangerously, and Remus saw that she meant what she was saying. Sighing heavily, he sat down, and she took her place beside him.
"Wow, James is right, you ARE stubborn." Remus chuckled at her.
"Shut up!" She joked. "Remus where are we? Why are you in this place alone?" Remus removed his gaze from her for a moment, and when he looked back Lily found herself frightened by the distance in his pale eyes. It was as though she were looking at a stranger.
"Lily can I trust you?" He asked her, gravely.
"Of course! Remus whatever it is I'll understand-" He took her hand.
"Lily you need to swear to me that you'll tell no one what I'm about to reveal to you. You need to understand- My life could be ruined if the wrong people found out!"
"I promise, Remus." She said solemnly. He breathed deeply.
"Ok. Right now we are in the Shrieking Shack." He told her.
"The Shrieking Shack?" She repeated, befuddled.
"Yes. This place was set up especially for me. When I was a young boy, I ran into the woods and got bitten by a werewolf. The bite, unfortunately, turned me into one myself.
Every month, at the full moon, I leave the school to come here and deal with my sickness, where there is no one else to endanger." Lily's hand was over her mouth in shock.
"My God, Remus, I'm so sorry. It must be terrible here, segregated from all your friends, unable to live a normal life!"
"It does get pretty lonely," Lupin agreed. "but you learn to manage, and I've come to terms with the fact that I will never lead a normal life. It's alright though really, I have amazing friends who are beyond faithful and supportive, and knowing that I can't harm anyone this way comforts me." The trio was dead silent. Hermione had tears shining in her eyes.
"So James, Sirius and Peter know about your condition?" Lily asked him.
"Yeah, and they're so great about it! They treat me as though I were one of them, just a normal guy. It was so hard telling them about it, I thought for sure they'd turn their backs on me, but they were so accepting of it all, and in this weird way it just ended up bringing us closer." He told her. Lily stared at him hard for a while.
"You're a great guy, Remus." She said, and then she did something Harry and his friends had definitely not been prepared for. She lifted her head up to his face and kissed him softly. When they broke apart, Lily clung to him, and he ran his hands through her hair. Then, as though suddenly realizing his actions, he let go of her and looked down at his feet.
"What's wrong?" Lily asked him, confused.
"I can't do this Lily." He said, grimly, and looking straight into her eyes he said, "James really cares about you, and I don't want to be the one to hurt him this way." Lily was so taken aback she didn't even know what to say. Then suddenly, Remus's eyes began rolling, violently, his whole body was shaking and twitching madly, as a petrified Lily watched him transform before her very eyes. Lily's eyes grew wide as the innocent, kindhearted boy she knew became an estranged monster. She made an attempt to run to the door, but wasn't quick enough. The werewolf jumped on her like she was prey. Lily screamed as it tore mercilessly at her robes, but before it could even plan its next move, the door flew open and a black dog, stag and rat came running in. Sure they would attack her also, Lily covered her face with her hands, but the animals ran right past her to the werewolf. Uncovering her face, Lily was mortified to see the black dog and stag ripping at the werewolf's skin. She tried to get up, but found she was too weak to, and collapsed, unconscious back onto the ground.
"Harry your mum's fainted!" Ron cried out, but just as he did the stag walked over to her, lifted her up and put her over his back. Then he made his way out the door.
"Come on!" Harry urged the other two. The followed them out, all the way down the path and back up to the tree. Once they were out, they saw the stag lay Lily's figure down on the ground a safe distance away from the Whomping Willow. They ran up to her. Her robes were covered in filth, she was bleeding on her leg where the werewolf had torn at her robes, and she was shivering. Harry, Ron and Hermione watched in amazement as the stag transformed into James. Standing over her with deep cuts all over his arms, Harry saw for the first time just how much he truly loved her. Lily's eyes were half opened now. She was peering at James in a state of trauma and confusion.
"James? You- you- saved my life, but- how-" James cut her off, quickly.
"Shhh." He said, holding a finger to his lips. "I'll explain everything once I take you to the Hospital Wing." And with that, he bent down, picked up her limp figure, and made his way back to the castle with her.
The picture was rapidly fading to black. Harry, Ron and Hermione took hold of one another as they felt themselves spinning back into their present time.
'I- I don't know what to say." Hermione said, quietly.
"Neither do I." Said Ron.
"Well then maybe we shouldn't say anything." Harry suggested. Ron and Hermione looked at him, nervously. "We'll discuss it tomorrow, I need some sleep anyways." He insisted, faking a small smile at them.
Lying in his bed that night a million thoughts swirled through Harry's head. His mother and Bellatrix Lestrange being friends. His mother kissing one of his father's best friends.
'How did she end up marrying my father?' Harry asked himself for the thousandth time.
He wondered whether he'd ever tell Remus about what he had witnessed. What would Remus tell him? Would he tell him the truth was he did have feelings stronger than friendship towards Lily? Harry didn't want to hear it. He was starting to realize that he didn't always need to know everything. For the first time in the whole summer so far he knew he really wasn't the only one suffering, and it hit him that just as much as he had lost his godfather, Remus had lost his best friend.
