Disclaimer:I don't own any of the characters her (besides Celina), nor the setting. The story itself, however, is mine. So DON'T STEAL IT, or I'll send my band of rabid dogs out to get you!
Thirteen
"Mister Lupin, may I have a word with you quickly before you go off to bed?" Dumbledore asked, gliding over towards Remus, who sat frozen in his chair.
"Of course, sir," he replied.
Dumbledore looked to Lina and said, "Oh, hello, Celina. Would you mind if I had a private word with Mr. Lupin for a moment?" Lina gave him a defying look, but he gave her a more defying look back. She groaned and turned on her heel, walking towards the doors leading into the Entrance Hall.
"Urgh, I want to hear what he's saying!" she grumbled. She felt someone elbow her in the ribs. She turned and saw James, who looked down to show the silvery piece of cloth he had hidden under his robes. It was the Invisibility Cloak.
Lina grabbed the Cloak and ducked behind a table. She threw it over herself and emerged from behind the table to hear what they were discussing.
"Now that everyone's gone, Remus, I just wanted to tell you that I have some good news," her father said quietly.
"Yes, sir?"
A smile brightened Dumbledore's already twinkling eyes. "We have found a solution to your little problem."
Remus' mouth dropped as he said, "You mean it? They discovered a cure?"
"Well, not a cure, exactly, but a potion. You drink the potion once a month, right before you're about to . . . change. The potion won't prevent you from changing, so you'll still have to sneak out, but it will make you tame, so that you do not have to worry about hurting anyone," Dumbledore explained.
Remus' eyes lit up as he ran his hands through his hair, completely disbelieving that such a thing could be true.
"You mean it, sir? This is awesome! I mean . . . I mean . . . wait, who will brew the potion for me?" he asked.
"Well, Mr. Severus Snape will be brewing it for you."
Once again, Remus' mouth dropped open, but this time in horror. He shook his head, however, and said, "This is amazing, sir, you don't know how thankful I am."
"It's no trouble, Remus. I'm glad you're so happy," Dumbledore said.
Remus gave him one last smile, then turned and ran down the center of the tables. Lina reached out and grabbed his pants, pulling him down next to her. He screamed, "Ow!", but she covered his mouth.
"Remus, are you alright?"
Lina stealthily took off the cloak to reveal only her head. His eyes widened. She covered herself again and helped him up.
"Yes, I'm alright, sir, I just tripped."
"Be careful."
"I will, sir, thank you!"
Lina crept along, next to him, and was careful not to make a sound until after he had shut the door to the Great Hall tightly behind him. She ripped off the cloak and threw her arms around him in a tight hug.
"Oh my God, Remus, I can't believe it! You're so lucky!" she cried.
"I know, I know. That was so unbelievably nice of Dumbledore to do so," he replied. "Maybe it was an early Christmas present."
Lina suddenly stopped hugging him and broke away.
"Snape will be making your potion? Is he crazy? Doesn't he know that you guys hate each other?" she exclaimed.
"Even if he did, he must trust him a hell of a lot. That's probably a big honor, you know, for him to be able to make it. Dumbledore puts trust in him – I, for one, do not."
"We'll just have to go with the flow, I guess," Lina said.
The next couple of days were incredibly hectic for Lina. She was trying to get her last minute Christmas shopping done – a chess set for James, some fudge from Honeyduke's for Lily, a broomstick for Peter, an Owl Care Kit for Sirius, and for Remus she bought a huge bag of sugar, on which she wrote, "You satisfy my sweet tooth."
Christmas came and went (everyone was very satisfied with their presents, even Remus, whose present Lina had thought was a little cheesy), and soon it was the beginning of a new year. And with that new year came a new month, and with the new month came a full moon.
Remus and Lina prepared a plan to get her in to the Shrieking Shack. They would, once again, use the Invisibility cloak, and sneak her in under there while Madam Pomfrey brought Remus in the same direction. Remus would have already taken the potion before he left, but since it was a new potion, they were not sure if it would work. Their plan was that Lina would keep the cloak on until she had determined whether or not Remus was violent. If he was, then she would sneak out the exit, still covered with the cloak. If not, she would take off the cloak, revealing herself to him, and therefore begin the process of introducing herself to Remus in the wolf form.
The day came. They were both nervous – almost too nervous to speak to anyone, let alone each other.
"Are you sure this is safe, mate?" James asked him that afternoon in the Common Room.
"Yeah, I mean, it is Snape who's brewing the potion, after all," Sirius added.
Remus said, "Snape wouldn't dare do anything that would hurt me. Dumbledore would know who did it."
"True, but the potion might not work. What about Lina, then? What if she can't get away in time?" Peter asked, a worried expression on his face.
"I'll be fine, Peter. Don't worry about it," Lina insisted. "I promise, I know what I'm doing, guys."
"She'll be careful. She knows what I can do to her, and she is completely informed as to what to do if anything bad happens."
Around five o'clock that evening, Remus made his annual trip to Dumbledore's office, with Lina hidden under the cloak beside him. But this time, the trip would be a bit longer.
"Here you go, Remus," Dumbledore murmured, handing Remus a steaming goblet with a bluish liquid inside.
"Are you sure this is safe, sir?" Remus asked timidly, looking at the fluid he was about to drink.
"Perfectly safe, Remus, don't worry. It has been tested on a few certified werewolves. There are a couple side-affects – you may be feeling under the weather a bit longer than usual, but you will be rest assure that you will not hurt anyone if you escape," Dumbledore answered confidently.
"Alright . . . . here goes nothing," he muttered. He placed the goblet to his lips, his hand trembling with fear, and tilted his head back. Lina watched from under the cloak as he drunk the rest of the potion. He wiped his mouth and waited.
"I feel exactly the same," Remus said quietly.
"Of course you do! You're not in your other form yet," Dumbledore replied.
Remus said, "Well, how will I know if it's worked or not?"
"You will be able to remember certain things in your past. You won't recognize people or where you are, but you will be able to look back on things in your mind and remember when you did them as a human. Also, you will no longer have any urges to attack anything that moves," he responded simply. Author's Note: Bear with me, guys, I know the potion doesn't really do this, but for the purposes of the story, it does, alright?
"Thank you so much, sir, I don't know how I'll be able to repay you."
"It's nothing, Remus. You must hurry, though – you know the way. You do not want anyone to see you changing."
"Thank you, sir."
Remus turned and pretty much ran out of his office. As he sprinted down the corridors, Lina panted, "Remus – why – are – we – running?"
"You heard what Dumbledore said," he hissed, "I don't want anyone to see me changing!"Lina followed him outside to the grounds and to the passageway. He made the tree stop moving ("Imobulis!") and together,they climbed in to the passage.
Asthey sped along the corridor,Lina could only pray that the potion would work. Because this time, no one was there to save her. No stag would jump out of the shadows, thrusther on to its back, and carryher off into the night. No black dog would fly from besideher and lock jaws with the wolf that was Remus, praying thatshe would get away. No rat would hearher terrified screams.She was all alone.
