I do not own Harry Potter. That distinct honor goes to one J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 9: Stepenwolv
They did not go far before encountering another member of Tala's family. She was standing on a bench, tying a ribbon to the branch of a twisting tree. She looked at them all. The resemblance was only noticeable in the emerald green eyes. Otherwise, she looked nothing like her aunt. She looked to be in her late teens and had dark blond hair and a pale complexion. Her face was heart shaped and her nose small and fine. She did, however, share the radiant smile of her aunt. She jumped down from the bench, her soft yellow robes billowing as she ran to greet her Aunt.
"Texi, sweetheart." Tala embraced her with a return smile, looking into her eyes. She kept her arms around the young woman's shoulders when she turned to make introductions. "Everyone, this is Mitexi my niece." She smiled at them all, shaking hands when each was introduced to each other. Harry assumed that she was shy when she didn't say anything to them. When Tala came to Lupin, Mitexi looked at him appraisingly, then reached out to hug him. She pulled back and looked into his eyes, and his expression became startled.
"I'm very pleased to meet you, too." He said, examining her as though she were a puzzle needing to be solved.
"Texi," Tala said, and her niece turned to look at her. "Would you show them the facility? I want to take Remus to meet mom and dad." Texi nodded, and gestured them all to follow her, catching each of their eyes.
Moody demurred the tour, saying he wanted to check out their safety precautions. Texi nodded again, watching his eye swivel around curiously.
She didn't speak until they had headed off in a different direction, her back to them as she led the way. "I'm very glad to meet you all." She commented, her voice soft and sweet. "Tell me," She said seriously, "about Remus?"
"He's a great guy." Harry answered immediately. "An excellent teacher."
"Yes, he was the best teacher we ever had." Ron added.
Texi glanced over her shoulder at them in amusement, before looking ahead at the large stone building they were approaching. "No, tell me about HIM."
"He's very kind," Hermione said after a moment, "He is very patient and gentle. He'll always listen to you if you have a question and will answer as honestly as he can. He's also very proud," She continued. "and is very respected by those who know him."
"He's brave, too." Ginny interjected, "He's not afraid to do what is right, even if it's dangerous, as long as it may help someone else."
"He's forgiving, as well. And he knows when you don't really mean something you say without thinking." Ron said quietly. "And he is very loyal to his friends."
"Then I am happy." Texi said, and somehow everyone knew that she was exactly that. "Aunt Tala deserves someone like that." They heard a quiet chuckle. "Did you know that she once fell in love with a picture?"
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
She glanced at him again, green eyes meeting green. "We get files from all around the world, about werewolves. They want to know when we make a new discovery, you see. Well, Tala was looking through them one day, before I was born, even, and saw the picture of a young werewolf from England, smiling up at her shyly." She smiled warmly at them, before leading them on. "She loves to tell the story. How she fell in love with him, and spent her years looking for a cure and looking for him."
"Did she ever find him?" Ginny asked.
"Yes, she did." Mitexi said. "She loved him, and she still does."
"And he loves her too." Hermione replied. The boys looked at her. "Well, isn't it obvious who she's talking about?" She said in exasperation.
Mitexi laughed, a musical sound, as the boys went 'oh,' and Ginny looked embarrassed for not figuring it out.
"Hello, Texi." Someone called to her and they glanced over, seeing a thin young man with black hair, sallow skin and a hooked nose. Harry had to do a double take to be sure that he wasn't seeing a young Severus Snape. But then he caught the young man's eyes, and they were deep, midnight blue, open and friendly. He swept over, even walking the same, his dark red, almost black, robes floating behind him, and gave the young woman a kiss, then looked at the rest of them curiously, his arm slung around her waist.
"Everyone, this is Sarven." She said with a little blush. It took Harry a second to realize why everyone was staring at her, he was too occupied with staring at Sarven. Then his brow furrowed. Her mouth hadn't moved. In fact, he would have been surprised if it had moved during their entire conversation, realizing that she had been facing away from them each time she had spoken.
Sarven nodded at each of them, saying their names in a smooth voice. They kept staring at Mitexi. Finally, Sarven turned to her as well. He examined her for a moment before speaking disapprovingly. "Texi, not again." She flushed deeply and stared down at her clasped hands, twisting them self-consciously in her light robes, but she was smiling.
"I was seeing how long it would take for one of them to notice." She said quietly, her mouth still.
He sighed in a long-suffering way and looked up at them. "Texi is mute. She hasn't been able to say a word since, well, since she was thirteen."
"I've never heard of such advanced Legillimency." Hermione commented, impressed.
"She did take it to an unheard of level." Sarven agreed. "She is able to project her words into people's minds. She doesn't even need to maintain eye contact to keep up the link. Just a brief catching of the eye is enough for her. She is a master."
"Stop talking about me as though I'm not here." She said crossly, and Sarven looked away briefly to conceal his small smile.
"May I ask what happened?" Ginny inquired as Mitexi gestured and they followed her again.
Texi froze for a moment before glancing at her, "It was an accident." She said, and Harry could feel remembered terror and sorrow in the thought. "Mother was trying to develop a new potion and something went wrong."
The Facility was in the very middle of a large cleared area, the windows were small and resembled arrowslits, giving the stone building the appearance of a fortress. They came to the large, thick steel doors, and Sarven pushed them open. The hall was large and dim, the walls and floors all made of the same pale granite, but for the end, which was a brightly lit wood paneled with halls leading to the left and right. There, surrounded by candles, was a life-sized portrait of a lovely young woman dressed in a long, pale violet gown hanging in an ornate gilded frame. Her hair was light brown, her face heart-shaped and pale. Her eyes were brown and large, looking down at them as they approached. But for this, the painting could have been of Mitexi. Beneath the painting was a polished brass plaque, inscribed with the words; 'Marianne Stepenwolv-Snowfoot, Financier of Stepenwolv Research Facility.'
"My mother." Texi said, staring up at her.
Her mother smiled down at her gently, "Hello, sweetheart, Sarven. Who are your friends?" Sarven introduced them this time. "I am very pleased to meet you. I hear you came with dear Tala's fiancé?"
"Yes, ma'am." Ron said quietly.
"Very pleased," She said again. "They are in section four."
"Thanks, mom." Texi said, blowing her a kiss, which the painting caught. "She can't hear me." She said sadly as they moved down the left hallway, looking into rooms filled with various potion making equipments. "But she understands."
"She's..." Harry began.
"Yes, she died in the accident." She shook her head. "Dad was so broken up I think he would have looked for Karsis if it weren't for Tainn and I."
"Who's Karsis?" Hermione asked curiously as they approached another branching hallway and a picture of an elderly wizard with clouds of white hair. 'Jonas Stepenwolv.' The plaque read.
"Hello, Grandpa." They heard Texi say as she waved at him. He didn't seem to be able to hear her either, but he waved back. She looked over her shoulder at them, "Grandpa was the one who began financing the Facility after mom was bitten when she was a teenager."
"Your mother was a werewolf?" Ron asked incredulously.
"Yes." She said firmly. "It's difficult for female lycanthropy victims to have children, but she was determined."
"Who's Karsis?" Hermione asked again, determined not to let the prospect of new information slip through her fingers.
"Oh, sorry about that, Hermione." Texi apologized. "Karsis is a what, not a who. It's a legendary book that is said to contain an incantation that will bring back the dead."
"Like zombies?" Harry asked, recalling a muggle movie called 'Night of the Living Dead.'
"No, like living, healthy, breathing people. But like I said, it's just a legend. Many people have looked for it but no one has found it. It's just a saying, really, to 'look for Karsis' only means that they're willing to wander until they die, looking for the unattainable."
"Would that even be possible?" Ginny asked.
"I can't really say." Texi spread her hands.
"It is remotely possible." Sarven interjected, "But not probable."
"Sarven is a scholar." Texi commented proudly. "He likes studying obscure subjects."
"So do you think it really exists?" Harry asked eagerly.
"Well," Sarven said slowly, as they approached a lighted room, they could hear voices inside. "I've only read a few references to it, and they usually put it in the legend category. There was one book, however, that spoke of it as though it truly existed. It said that the Book of Karsis was written in the tenth century by a European wizard named Ambrus Czanron. It was never used, however. He, realizing the uses to which the book could be put, became fearful and worked the Fidelus Charm on his most trusted friend." He pursed his lips briefly. "If it does exist, and the Fidelus Charm was passed on, it could be anywhere, and only that one person would know where it is."
"Like a needle in a haystack." Texi commented wryly.
"And you're not even sure if there is a needle, let alone a haystack." Hermione commented dryly as they reached the lighted doorway.
"Quite correct." Sarven agreed. He walked inside, and Harry heard a startled exclamation. It sounded like his professor. He followed quickly, and saw Lupin leaning against the side of a large cabinet, clutching his chest and breathing heavily. Tala was patting his shoulder
"Gave me a fright." He said when they asked if he was alright. "Looks just like...when he...at school." They nodded, showing that they had noticed as well.
Sarven was staring at him in obvious surprise. "Do I remind you of someone?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Just like..." Lupin said again. "Coming back to haunt me." They had rarely seen him so out of sorts.
Hermione answered for him, "You look...a lot like the Potions Master at our school." She said. "Professor Snape."
An odd, closed look appeared on the young man's face. "Ah." He said briefly. Mitexi took his arm and he looked at her. She must have said something because he relaxed. "Well, they do say that everyone has a double." He tried to say lightly.
"Not him, never would have said that." Lupin said, giving one more deep breath before straightening up. "I'm Remus Lupin." He said offering his hand. "I'm sorry about that, please do not hold it against me."
"Sarven Pensouss." He replied, taking the professor's hand. "And I won't." He said with a smile.
The room they were now in was quite large and filled with cabinets and cauldrons. It, like the rest of the Facility was made of stone. The windows were small and narrow, letting in little light, so there were lamps lit around the walls even with it being mid-day. A few people were there working, their cauldrons bubbling or steaming, one harried looking wizard with singed eyebrows was trying to get his cauldron to stop emitting small tongues of flame that hovered in the air and flew at him regularly. He was cursing and ducking as one of them set his hat on fire. There was a witch hurrying over to him, her wand at ready, dressed in moccasins, a pair of khaki shorts and a short green robe.
"Apprentices," Texi said. "We make extra income by taking them in over the summer and tutoring them in potions. The real work is done in those smaller rooms we passed."
The witch succeeded in putting out the fire and emptying the cauldron, talking to the smoking wizard quietly before heading over to where they were standing. The wizard sheepishly began his potion over. Harry stared at the woman who was walking towards them. She was very slight, and very scarred, her salt and pepper hair looked as though it were chopped off close to the scalp with a blunt knife. Her green eyes were like slits in her smiling face. "Sarven," She addressed the young man, "Would you keep an eye on things?" She leaned forward conspiratorially, "I don't want anyone else setting themselves on fire, and goodness knows what would happen if we left them alone."
"Yes, ma'am." He said, and he swept over to the students, a very Snape-like sneer on his face.
"He has no patience for Potions." She said with a rueful grin. "Come, let's go outside before they decide to blow something up."
She turned to them once she had led them out of the smoky dimness, through a reinforced wooden door and out into a small garden. She didn't ask their names, probably figuring they were tired of introductions, and commenting, "I'd just forget them anyways." She ran her hands through her short hair, making it stand on end. "You can call me Chepi." She pointed one long, thin finger at Remus, "And you call me mom."
"Yes, mom." Lupin said with a smile.
"Hurst and Mingan are at the house with Tainn." She said, "We don't trust him in the facility, he's too..." She thought. "Too."
"He doesn't work here?" Ginny asked.
"No," Chepi replied, leading them along a flagstone path towards a large and slightly lopsided clapboard farmhouse. "He's the assistant Care of Magical Creatures professor at Sundonoma Academy."
"The Wizarding school of the western United States." Hermione said promptly.
"Yep." Chepi said, striding along ahead of them like a much taller woman.
They passed a group of young wizards, who were taking turns riding a toy broomstick and playing with fake wands that Harry was fairly sure came from Weasly's Wizard Wheezes' mail-order catalogue.
"Hey Chepi!" One of them called. "Miss Tala!" He noticed, poking his friends. "Miss Tala's back!"
"Hi Andy." She grinned, "boys." The clustered around her, chattering, and she produced a back of Chocolate Frogs from her pocket with a finger to her mouth and a wink. "Spoil your suppers," She whispered.
"Thanks, Miss Tala!" They chorused, then darted off to find a private spot to consume their chocolate.
Chepi rolled her eyes at her. "You spoil them, Tala."
"I know, Mom." She smiled.
Hermione had been looking after the retreating boys, "Are they all..."
"No, girl." Chepi said, leading on, "Only Andy and Evrain."
Lupin had also been watching them, a far-off smile on his face. Harry realized he was remembering another group of boys from another time.
They reached the house a few moments later, Harry noticing that it looked even more lop-sided close up. It was covered in flaking yellow paint and roofed with red tiles. The windows were open and Harry could see curtains flapping out of a couple of them, red, like the roof, the purple shutters occasionally banged against the sides of the house, causing more paint to flake off. The lawns surrounding the wrap-around deck were wild and tangled, and it looked as though any gardening that might have been attempted at one time had been quickly abandoned. There were trees growing all around it, one seeming to be growing right out of the roof itself. There were several cats lounging around on the railings and an owl perching on the very top of the roof. Chepi climbed the rickety stairs up to the wide, covered front porch, opened the ripped screen door with a loud creak and gestured them inside.
Moody was waiting for them in the large kitchen, sitting at the table and talking to another man who was almost as scarred as he was, with dark gray hair braided and laying over his buckskin clad shoulders. A tall staff leaned on the edge of the table next to him. He had the strong nose that Harry associated with Tala, though his had a slash across the bridge, and black glittering eyes in a heavily lined, coppery face. Harry supposed that werewolf study was a very hazardous occupation, not just standing over cauldrons and brewing potions as he had thought. There was another man in the room as well, a tall man with a long black braid down his back, nearly blending in with his black robes, he turned as he heard the door creak open, a long spoon in his hand dripping gravy on the floor.
He must've looked just like his father before he had become so scarred, but his green eyes belonged to his mother, and were obviously a very strong trait in their family. Chepi walked over and gave her husband a kiss on the cheek before looking across the table at Moody. "Wow, and I thought YOU were the most scarred man in the world, Hurst, dear. You have competition." She said with a sly smile and a wink at the old Auror.
Moody stared at her as though he didn't know quite what to make of her. "I'm Chepi." She said. "And you're Alastor? May I call you Al? Good, good." She nodded approvingly without waiting for him to reply.
Texi skirted around the rest of them and kissed her father on the cheek. He looked at her, then nodded, "I'm fine sweetie." He had a rough, gravelly voice. "Don't worry. Where's Sarven?" He listened, then nodded. "As long as he's here for dinner."
Chepi turned her attention to her tall, solemn son. "And this is Mingan."
"Pleased." He replied briefly. "Dinner's almost ready, if you would have a seat."
"I thank the graces that Mingan can cook," Chepi said, " You would THINK that I could, but I think he learned how in self-defense."
Soon the room was filled with chattering members of Tala's family, as Tainn bounded down from upstairs and Sarven swept in, muttering about idiot potion inepts, and sounding very much like Snape. They settled down at the table. And Tala ladled a sumptuous stew onto their plates. There were rolls and fresh milk and corn, and pitchers of butterbeer, which was just as good here as in England.
Before they all began eating, Hurst cleared his throat and stood, a goblet in his hand. The rest all fell silent. "To all our guests, I propose a toast, I propose a toast to family and to friends, and welcome to our table a young man whom our Tala has decided to bring into our close-knit group. Though she will be leaving us to make a new life in a new place, we will keep them both in our hearts. To old dreams coming true and new lives beginning." His voice was dark and velvety smooth. He raised his glass at Remus, who was beaming self-consciously. "Son." He moved his glass around to include all the members of Lupin's group. "New friends."
Then they drank, and Harry heard Texi's voice in his mind, "Hear, hear."
Please review, thank you.
Chapter 9: Stepenwolv
They did not go far before encountering another member of Tala's family. She was standing on a bench, tying a ribbon to the branch of a twisting tree. She looked at them all. The resemblance was only noticeable in the emerald green eyes. Otherwise, she looked nothing like her aunt. She looked to be in her late teens and had dark blond hair and a pale complexion. Her face was heart shaped and her nose small and fine. She did, however, share the radiant smile of her aunt. She jumped down from the bench, her soft yellow robes billowing as she ran to greet her Aunt.
"Texi, sweetheart." Tala embraced her with a return smile, looking into her eyes. She kept her arms around the young woman's shoulders when she turned to make introductions. "Everyone, this is Mitexi my niece." She smiled at them all, shaking hands when each was introduced to each other. Harry assumed that she was shy when she didn't say anything to them. When Tala came to Lupin, Mitexi looked at him appraisingly, then reached out to hug him. She pulled back and looked into his eyes, and his expression became startled.
"I'm very pleased to meet you, too." He said, examining her as though she were a puzzle needing to be solved.
"Texi," Tala said, and her niece turned to look at her. "Would you show them the facility? I want to take Remus to meet mom and dad." Texi nodded, and gestured them all to follow her, catching each of their eyes.
Moody demurred the tour, saying he wanted to check out their safety precautions. Texi nodded again, watching his eye swivel around curiously.
She didn't speak until they had headed off in a different direction, her back to them as she led the way. "I'm very glad to meet you all." She commented, her voice soft and sweet. "Tell me," She said seriously, "about Remus?"
"He's a great guy." Harry answered immediately. "An excellent teacher."
"Yes, he was the best teacher we ever had." Ron added.
Texi glanced over her shoulder at them in amusement, before looking ahead at the large stone building they were approaching. "No, tell me about HIM."
"He's very kind," Hermione said after a moment, "He is very patient and gentle. He'll always listen to you if you have a question and will answer as honestly as he can. He's also very proud," She continued. "and is very respected by those who know him."
"He's brave, too." Ginny interjected, "He's not afraid to do what is right, even if it's dangerous, as long as it may help someone else."
"He's forgiving, as well. And he knows when you don't really mean something you say without thinking." Ron said quietly. "And he is very loyal to his friends."
"Then I am happy." Texi said, and somehow everyone knew that she was exactly that. "Aunt Tala deserves someone like that." They heard a quiet chuckle. "Did you know that she once fell in love with a picture?"
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
She glanced at him again, green eyes meeting green. "We get files from all around the world, about werewolves. They want to know when we make a new discovery, you see. Well, Tala was looking through them one day, before I was born, even, and saw the picture of a young werewolf from England, smiling up at her shyly." She smiled warmly at them, before leading them on. "She loves to tell the story. How she fell in love with him, and spent her years looking for a cure and looking for him."
"Did she ever find him?" Ginny asked.
"Yes, she did." Mitexi said. "She loved him, and she still does."
"And he loves her too." Hermione replied. The boys looked at her. "Well, isn't it obvious who she's talking about?" She said in exasperation.
Mitexi laughed, a musical sound, as the boys went 'oh,' and Ginny looked embarrassed for not figuring it out.
"Hello, Texi." Someone called to her and they glanced over, seeing a thin young man with black hair, sallow skin and a hooked nose. Harry had to do a double take to be sure that he wasn't seeing a young Severus Snape. But then he caught the young man's eyes, and they were deep, midnight blue, open and friendly. He swept over, even walking the same, his dark red, almost black, robes floating behind him, and gave the young woman a kiss, then looked at the rest of them curiously, his arm slung around her waist.
"Everyone, this is Sarven." She said with a little blush. It took Harry a second to realize why everyone was staring at her, he was too occupied with staring at Sarven. Then his brow furrowed. Her mouth hadn't moved. In fact, he would have been surprised if it had moved during their entire conversation, realizing that she had been facing away from them each time she had spoken.
Sarven nodded at each of them, saying their names in a smooth voice. They kept staring at Mitexi. Finally, Sarven turned to her as well. He examined her for a moment before speaking disapprovingly. "Texi, not again." She flushed deeply and stared down at her clasped hands, twisting them self-consciously in her light robes, but she was smiling.
"I was seeing how long it would take for one of them to notice." She said quietly, her mouth still.
He sighed in a long-suffering way and looked up at them. "Texi is mute. She hasn't been able to say a word since, well, since she was thirteen."
"I've never heard of such advanced Legillimency." Hermione commented, impressed.
"She did take it to an unheard of level." Sarven agreed. "She is able to project her words into people's minds. She doesn't even need to maintain eye contact to keep up the link. Just a brief catching of the eye is enough for her. She is a master."
"Stop talking about me as though I'm not here." She said crossly, and Sarven looked away briefly to conceal his small smile.
"May I ask what happened?" Ginny inquired as Mitexi gestured and they followed her again.
Texi froze for a moment before glancing at her, "It was an accident." She said, and Harry could feel remembered terror and sorrow in the thought. "Mother was trying to develop a new potion and something went wrong."
The Facility was in the very middle of a large cleared area, the windows were small and resembled arrowslits, giving the stone building the appearance of a fortress. They came to the large, thick steel doors, and Sarven pushed them open. The hall was large and dim, the walls and floors all made of the same pale granite, but for the end, which was a brightly lit wood paneled with halls leading to the left and right. There, surrounded by candles, was a life-sized portrait of a lovely young woman dressed in a long, pale violet gown hanging in an ornate gilded frame. Her hair was light brown, her face heart-shaped and pale. Her eyes were brown and large, looking down at them as they approached. But for this, the painting could have been of Mitexi. Beneath the painting was a polished brass plaque, inscribed with the words; 'Marianne Stepenwolv-Snowfoot, Financier of Stepenwolv Research Facility.'
"My mother." Texi said, staring up at her.
Her mother smiled down at her gently, "Hello, sweetheart, Sarven. Who are your friends?" Sarven introduced them this time. "I am very pleased to meet you. I hear you came with dear Tala's fiancé?"
"Yes, ma'am." Ron said quietly.
"Very pleased," She said again. "They are in section four."
"Thanks, mom." Texi said, blowing her a kiss, which the painting caught. "She can't hear me." She said sadly as they moved down the left hallway, looking into rooms filled with various potion making equipments. "But she understands."
"She's..." Harry began.
"Yes, she died in the accident." She shook her head. "Dad was so broken up I think he would have looked for Karsis if it weren't for Tainn and I."
"Who's Karsis?" Hermione asked curiously as they approached another branching hallway and a picture of an elderly wizard with clouds of white hair. 'Jonas Stepenwolv.' The plaque read.
"Hello, Grandpa." They heard Texi say as she waved at him. He didn't seem to be able to hear her either, but he waved back. She looked over her shoulder at them, "Grandpa was the one who began financing the Facility after mom was bitten when she was a teenager."
"Your mother was a werewolf?" Ron asked incredulously.
"Yes." She said firmly. "It's difficult for female lycanthropy victims to have children, but she was determined."
"Who's Karsis?" Hermione asked again, determined not to let the prospect of new information slip through her fingers.
"Oh, sorry about that, Hermione." Texi apologized. "Karsis is a what, not a who. It's a legendary book that is said to contain an incantation that will bring back the dead."
"Like zombies?" Harry asked, recalling a muggle movie called 'Night of the Living Dead.'
"No, like living, healthy, breathing people. But like I said, it's just a legend. Many people have looked for it but no one has found it. It's just a saying, really, to 'look for Karsis' only means that they're willing to wander until they die, looking for the unattainable."
"Would that even be possible?" Ginny asked.
"I can't really say." Texi spread her hands.
"It is remotely possible." Sarven interjected, "But not probable."
"Sarven is a scholar." Texi commented proudly. "He likes studying obscure subjects."
"So do you think it really exists?" Harry asked eagerly.
"Well," Sarven said slowly, as they approached a lighted room, they could hear voices inside. "I've only read a few references to it, and they usually put it in the legend category. There was one book, however, that spoke of it as though it truly existed. It said that the Book of Karsis was written in the tenth century by a European wizard named Ambrus Czanron. It was never used, however. He, realizing the uses to which the book could be put, became fearful and worked the Fidelus Charm on his most trusted friend." He pursed his lips briefly. "If it does exist, and the Fidelus Charm was passed on, it could be anywhere, and only that one person would know where it is."
"Like a needle in a haystack." Texi commented wryly.
"And you're not even sure if there is a needle, let alone a haystack." Hermione commented dryly as they reached the lighted doorway.
"Quite correct." Sarven agreed. He walked inside, and Harry heard a startled exclamation. It sounded like his professor. He followed quickly, and saw Lupin leaning against the side of a large cabinet, clutching his chest and breathing heavily. Tala was patting his shoulder
"Gave me a fright." He said when they asked if he was alright. "Looks just like...when he...at school." They nodded, showing that they had noticed as well.
Sarven was staring at him in obvious surprise. "Do I remind you of someone?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Just like..." Lupin said again. "Coming back to haunt me." They had rarely seen him so out of sorts.
Hermione answered for him, "You look...a lot like the Potions Master at our school." She said. "Professor Snape."
An odd, closed look appeared on the young man's face. "Ah." He said briefly. Mitexi took his arm and he looked at her. She must have said something because he relaxed. "Well, they do say that everyone has a double." He tried to say lightly.
"Not him, never would have said that." Lupin said, giving one more deep breath before straightening up. "I'm Remus Lupin." He said offering his hand. "I'm sorry about that, please do not hold it against me."
"Sarven Pensouss." He replied, taking the professor's hand. "And I won't." He said with a smile.
The room they were now in was quite large and filled with cabinets and cauldrons. It, like the rest of the Facility was made of stone. The windows were small and narrow, letting in little light, so there were lamps lit around the walls even with it being mid-day. A few people were there working, their cauldrons bubbling or steaming, one harried looking wizard with singed eyebrows was trying to get his cauldron to stop emitting small tongues of flame that hovered in the air and flew at him regularly. He was cursing and ducking as one of them set his hat on fire. There was a witch hurrying over to him, her wand at ready, dressed in moccasins, a pair of khaki shorts and a short green robe.
"Apprentices," Texi said. "We make extra income by taking them in over the summer and tutoring them in potions. The real work is done in those smaller rooms we passed."
The witch succeeded in putting out the fire and emptying the cauldron, talking to the smoking wizard quietly before heading over to where they were standing. The wizard sheepishly began his potion over. Harry stared at the woman who was walking towards them. She was very slight, and very scarred, her salt and pepper hair looked as though it were chopped off close to the scalp with a blunt knife. Her green eyes were like slits in her smiling face. "Sarven," She addressed the young man, "Would you keep an eye on things?" She leaned forward conspiratorially, "I don't want anyone else setting themselves on fire, and goodness knows what would happen if we left them alone."
"Yes, ma'am." He said, and he swept over to the students, a very Snape-like sneer on his face.
"He has no patience for Potions." She said with a rueful grin. "Come, let's go outside before they decide to blow something up."
She turned to them once she had led them out of the smoky dimness, through a reinforced wooden door and out into a small garden. She didn't ask their names, probably figuring they were tired of introductions, and commenting, "I'd just forget them anyways." She ran her hands through her short hair, making it stand on end. "You can call me Chepi." She pointed one long, thin finger at Remus, "And you call me mom."
"Yes, mom." Lupin said with a smile.
"Hurst and Mingan are at the house with Tainn." She said, "We don't trust him in the facility, he's too..." She thought. "Too."
"He doesn't work here?" Ginny asked.
"No," Chepi replied, leading them along a flagstone path towards a large and slightly lopsided clapboard farmhouse. "He's the assistant Care of Magical Creatures professor at Sundonoma Academy."
"The Wizarding school of the western United States." Hermione said promptly.
"Yep." Chepi said, striding along ahead of them like a much taller woman.
They passed a group of young wizards, who were taking turns riding a toy broomstick and playing with fake wands that Harry was fairly sure came from Weasly's Wizard Wheezes' mail-order catalogue.
"Hey Chepi!" One of them called. "Miss Tala!" He noticed, poking his friends. "Miss Tala's back!"
"Hi Andy." She grinned, "boys." The clustered around her, chattering, and she produced a back of Chocolate Frogs from her pocket with a finger to her mouth and a wink. "Spoil your suppers," She whispered.
"Thanks, Miss Tala!" They chorused, then darted off to find a private spot to consume their chocolate.
Chepi rolled her eyes at her. "You spoil them, Tala."
"I know, Mom." She smiled.
Hermione had been looking after the retreating boys, "Are they all..."
"No, girl." Chepi said, leading on, "Only Andy and Evrain."
Lupin had also been watching them, a far-off smile on his face. Harry realized he was remembering another group of boys from another time.
They reached the house a few moments later, Harry noticing that it looked even more lop-sided close up. It was covered in flaking yellow paint and roofed with red tiles. The windows were open and Harry could see curtains flapping out of a couple of them, red, like the roof, the purple shutters occasionally banged against the sides of the house, causing more paint to flake off. The lawns surrounding the wrap-around deck were wild and tangled, and it looked as though any gardening that might have been attempted at one time had been quickly abandoned. There were trees growing all around it, one seeming to be growing right out of the roof itself. There were several cats lounging around on the railings and an owl perching on the very top of the roof. Chepi climbed the rickety stairs up to the wide, covered front porch, opened the ripped screen door with a loud creak and gestured them inside.
Moody was waiting for them in the large kitchen, sitting at the table and talking to another man who was almost as scarred as he was, with dark gray hair braided and laying over his buckskin clad shoulders. A tall staff leaned on the edge of the table next to him. He had the strong nose that Harry associated with Tala, though his had a slash across the bridge, and black glittering eyes in a heavily lined, coppery face. Harry supposed that werewolf study was a very hazardous occupation, not just standing over cauldrons and brewing potions as he had thought. There was another man in the room as well, a tall man with a long black braid down his back, nearly blending in with his black robes, he turned as he heard the door creak open, a long spoon in his hand dripping gravy on the floor.
He must've looked just like his father before he had become so scarred, but his green eyes belonged to his mother, and were obviously a very strong trait in their family. Chepi walked over and gave her husband a kiss on the cheek before looking across the table at Moody. "Wow, and I thought YOU were the most scarred man in the world, Hurst, dear. You have competition." She said with a sly smile and a wink at the old Auror.
Moody stared at her as though he didn't know quite what to make of her. "I'm Chepi." She said. "And you're Alastor? May I call you Al? Good, good." She nodded approvingly without waiting for him to reply.
Texi skirted around the rest of them and kissed her father on the cheek. He looked at her, then nodded, "I'm fine sweetie." He had a rough, gravelly voice. "Don't worry. Where's Sarven?" He listened, then nodded. "As long as he's here for dinner."
Chepi turned her attention to her tall, solemn son. "And this is Mingan."
"Pleased." He replied briefly. "Dinner's almost ready, if you would have a seat."
"I thank the graces that Mingan can cook," Chepi said, " You would THINK that I could, but I think he learned how in self-defense."
Soon the room was filled with chattering members of Tala's family, as Tainn bounded down from upstairs and Sarven swept in, muttering about idiot potion inepts, and sounding very much like Snape. They settled down at the table. And Tala ladled a sumptuous stew onto their plates. There were rolls and fresh milk and corn, and pitchers of butterbeer, which was just as good here as in England.
Before they all began eating, Hurst cleared his throat and stood, a goblet in his hand. The rest all fell silent. "To all our guests, I propose a toast, I propose a toast to family and to friends, and welcome to our table a young man whom our Tala has decided to bring into our close-knit group. Though she will be leaving us to make a new life in a new place, we will keep them both in our hearts. To old dreams coming true and new lives beginning." His voice was dark and velvety smooth. He raised his glass at Remus, who was beaming self-consciously. "Son." He moved his glass around to include all the members of Lupin's group. "New friends."
Then they drank, and Harry heard Texi's voice in his mind, "Hear, hear."
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