A/N Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up, between writer's block, and a sudden pile of school stuff to do, it took me awhile. Not like anyone is reading and reviewing anyway.... meh. Please do so! I would greatly appreciate it! Thanx to my beta reader, Jorvan!
CHAPTER 2
July 1st
"Yeah, so next time, just pull up a bit quicker than you did, and you won't have any trouble getting the Quaffle," Harry pointed out as he, Ron, and Ginny walked into the Burrow, brooms under their arms. They found Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen, bustling over some lunch preparations.
"Hello kids, have a fun time?" she called over her shoulder as they walked in. She continued without an answer. "Well, hurry up and get cleaned up. Come back down and we'll have lunch, and then we are off to Diagon Alley. We're going to go ahead and get your school things today, since the school sent all the lists out early. They came in the post today." She pointed to a small stack of envelopes on the table. Each of them grabbed theirs and headed up the stairs to get washed up. It took awhile for the three to get ready, primarily because Ginny took a long time in the bathroom to get ready.
"I swear, she is taking longer and longer to get ready when we go out. Like she is going to pick up any guys in Diagon Alley," Ron complained as he and Harry walked by the bathroom.
"I heard that you git," Ginny called out of the bathroom. Harry chuckled as he and Ron bounded down the stairs, Harry jumping the last few steps.
"You two make such a racket coming down those stairs. Do you really have to make all that noise or are you just trying to annoy me?" Mrs. Weasley said, sounding harsh even though she wore a smile on her face as she placed a couple of dishes on the table. Harry sat down while Ron went around the table and pulled his mother into a large hug.
"Aww come on Mum! Why in the world would your perfect son, and his perfect angel of a friend, want to annoy you? You know, it hurts when you say that kind of stuff to us."
"Mmhmm, I'm sure," she said sarcastically as she went back to fixing some more food for when Mr. Weasley came home. Harry smiled at Ron as he sat down, shaking his head a bit. Ginny came in at this point. They ate, and with still no sign on the Weasley's clock of Mr. Weasley's absence from work, the four decided to head to Diagon Alley. Each grabbing a pinch of Floo Powder, they shouted "Diagon Alley" and off they went for the day.
"Remus, come in, come in." Remus Lupin walked in the office, closing the door behind him, and then heading towards the desk with the old wizard behind it.
"Good morning sir." Dumbledore went back to finishing up his letter to the Ministry, while Remus went over to Fawkes, and petted him while looking around the familiar office.
"Please, have a seat, we have a bit to discuss." Lupin walked over to the chair in front of the headmaster and sat down. "Before you start, I know what is to come out of your mouth first. And I must assure you that Harry is doing quite alright, and will be quite fine at the Burrow. He is properly protected."
"Are you sure? I mean, Voldemort can find him so much easier there."
"Yes, I am quite sure that he will be safe, with Minerva as the secret keeper to the position of their house. Also, I made sure to put every known spell on the Burrow, even more than the Headquarters has. He is quite safe, and much happier than he would be-"
"-at the Headquarters, I know, I know. But, I can worry about him can't I?" Remus sighed and looked down at the ground, thinking about Harry, and all that he had been through. He had lost his parents, and now his godfather, the only other source of love he might find in 'family.' True family. It was true he had wonderful friends in Ron, Hagrid, and Hermione, but there was no true family left for him. And now, it seemed as though Harry thought that Dumbledore has somewhat betrayed him, had caused Sirius's death. He denied thinking that to everyone, but they all, the Order, Dumbledore, Mrs. Weasley who cared so much about him, could see the hurt in his eyes when he said this. Even Ron could see all the fresh pain Harry had to carry, as he was directly affected by Harry's sudden depressive moods.
"Yes, we all can, and I know that you know feel directly responsible to him, as the last living best friend to James and Lily, and he knows that you would do anything for him, and that we all would do anything for him." It was Dumbledore this time who sighed. "A child, even one so brilliant as Harry, should not have to carry the burden he must. He leads a troublesome life, and he knows it." Dumbledore paused, and Remus looked up. Dumbledore looked straight at him, fixing a piercing, yet soothing stare upon the man in front of him. "But he also knows how to deal with it, and deal with it he shall. He has the strongest soul I have ever seen, a force to be reckoned with. I feel pity for Tom Riddle." Remus laughed softly, and nodded his agreement. "Now to business. I called you here for reasons other than Harry. Well, this has to do with Harry of course. Much of what we do has to nowadays." Dumbledore put his wand to his head, pulling a basin out from underneath his desk, drawing his thoughts out of his mind. He placed them within the Pensieve, and looked back up at Lupin. "We have a new student joining our school. He is the son of the new American Ambassador to the Ministry of Magic. As you know, the Ministry is trying to gain as much experience as possible in fighting dark wizards, and Mr. Lupoc was the obvious choice to get some new insight into tactics for fighting evil. Dante Lupoc will be joining us as a sixth year, although the American schooling system has prepared him farther ahead than our sixth years. Now, I have talked to Dante more than I have with his father, and it seems that there is more to Dante than even his father knows."
"What is that?" asked Lupin, shifting in the chair as Fawkes had just flown over and landed upon his knee.
"He is a werewolf," Dumbledore said plainly, almost being drowned out by Fawkes's small screech of surprise as Lupin shifted in his chair quickly, throwing Fawkes off of his knee. Fawkes flew back to his stand, refusing to look back at the pair.
"What? Wait, are you sure? I mean, a new student during these times? And a werewolf at that? Come on, you know just as well as me that that is extremely risky and not to mention dangerous. Do you really want to risk any student's lives when Voldemort is plotting the same end for them? What if something happens to one of them, what if something happens to Harry? I mean, for crying out loud, it was a miracle that no one died at my hands while I was here!" Remus said, talking fast and loud, in total shock at this new development. How could Dumbledore be so OK with this when there were bigger problems to worry about, why would he bring something like this into the picture when the picture was chaotic enough already?
"I have everything under control and figured out. Come now Remus, you know me better than that," said Dumbledore with the same calm tone. "I also have a job for you in all this, if you would just calm down, I'll explain it to you." Remus ran his hands through his hair, trying to get his thoughts straight.
"All right, go ahead, I'm listening."
"I want you to meet him; he will be arriving in London tomorrow afternoon, and I have told him that you would meet him in the Leaky Cauldron on the Fourth at 10 AM. I think you will find he is quite the interesting young man." Dumbledore looked over his glasses at Lupin, who was staring almost blankly right back at him. A smile crept across Dumbledore's face. "Just like morning classes when you were here."
"It's 10. My parents wanted me home at 9:30. Plus, I still have to pack," Dante said softly, looking up at the ceiling, breathing softly. Dee's arm that was draped across his chest rose and fell with his calm breathing.
"Since when did you care about curfew?" she asked, smiling slightly as she looked at him.
"True, I guess I just had to say that. You know, just to see if you were still awake."
"Mmmhmm," she murmured, now sliding her hand through his hair, watching his eyes sparkle in the moonlight that filtered in through the window above them. "Just promise me one thing."
"And that is..." he said, turning his head towards her, sensing the importance of what she was to say. She sighed, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then looked back at him, straight into his ice-blue eyes.
"I just want you to be happy over there. Have a good time over there, don't be miserable over me, just keep the memories of the time we had with each other in your heart. Don't forget me," she said, with a certain tone only Dante could pick up on; only her mate could pick up on. She was completely serious on her request, she was willing to give him away, and she was willing to make sure that he was happy. "Trust me, I know you'll say right now that 'You'll always be mine' or some other attempt at a romantic phrase, but I know that the distance will make a huge difference, and I'd rather know that you are happy over there than sad over me. So, do that as a favor to me. Keep yourself happy."
"What about yo-"
"I'll be fine," she said, interrupting him, knowing he was going to ask that question. A silence followed that, Dante taking it all in. A silent understanding sunk into him, and all he could do was nod, barely visible, but Dee caught it, and smiled.
"So, is that all you had planned for me tonight?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, trust me, there are other plans," she said as she rolled on top of him, straddling his midsection between her legs, taking his arms and pinning them down on either side of his head.
"Well, I'm glad this house is remote and we didn't invite the pack," he said, smiling, as Dee released his hands, and started to work his shirt up.
