Chapter Fourteen
Forgotten
- "No, why should I listen? I've spent enough of my life listening to someone else... now its time for someone to listen to me... and I just want you to leave me alone." -

Rachael woke up early the next day, or at least she thought it was early. In reality, it was nearly eleven o' clock. She saw that Lily and Alice were still fast asleep and, not wanting to disturb them, she dressed silently and went down into the common room. In the common room she saw James, Sirius and Peter sitting by the fire. She saw that the storm still raging outside. The trees in the Forbidden Forest were swaying violently in the gusts of wind and the windows were fogged down.

"It's bad out there," Sirius said when he spotted Rachael. "Not even Peeves'll go out there." Rachael laughed shortly and walked over to the window, only to jump back as there was a bolt of lightening. "You think your brother's going to get back today?"

"Maybe," Rachael answered offhandedly. "Today or tomorrow."

Sirius nodded.

Rachael needed to go down to the Hospital Wing to see her brother; she hoped they got him back okay. It was his first time transforming at Hogwarts. She wasn't so sure if they managed. Rachael excused herself from the three boys saying that she had to go ask Professor McGonagall something and ran down to the Hospital Wing, only to find that no one was there. She wondered if maybe Madam Pomfrey had already gotten Remus and he was in the Great Hall, though she knew it wasn't likely. Either way, Rachael made her way down to the Great Hall to see it half full; she looked down the Gryffindor Table, no Remus. She looked up at the staff table and there was Madam Pomfrey, chatting animatedly with Professor Sinstra.

Rachael couldn't believe it. Had Madam Pomfrey forgotten about her brother? She had checked the entire Hospital Wing and saw no sign of Remus ever being there. The nurse forgot him. Without thinking, Rachael ran through the Entrance Hall, burst through the giant oak doors, literally slid down the grassy slope leading towards the Whomping Willow, getting covered from head to foot in mud while doing so, and grabbed the long stick. She advanced cautiously towards the willow's vicious branches, dodged one branch, but got hit hard in the face with another.

She fell backwards, but quickly stood up again, tasting blood in her mouth. She crawled on all fours towards the small knot and prodded it gently. The Willow froze, the branches stopped and it looked as though it had never moved. Rachael wiped the blood from her mouth with her sleeve and slowly slid down into the tunnel under the Willow. Squinting her eyes, she looked down the dark cavernous tunnel. She wondered how long it was, but it didn't matter. Her brother had to be at the end. She dashed down the tunnel, slide on the wet stone ground, and found herself at the end facing a wooden door.

Gasping for breath, she opened the door and found a stairwell. "Great," she gasped, "more running."

She ran with her little bit of energy up the stairs and found herself in the bedroom Remus was in. She looked over to the bed and saw Remus lying flat on his back, one arm dangling over the side of the bed and the other on his stomach. His eyes were half open, his face covered in small cuts and bruises.

Rachael crept quietly over, not wanting to frighten her brother.

"Remus?" she said quietly. His eyelids flickered. "Remus?" He turned his head slightly to face her. For a moment, it looked as though he couldn't figure out who she was; he was too dazed. He let out a moan to let her know he heard her. "Remus, why are you still here?" He shook his head, but stopped quickly, it hurt too much. "They forgot you! I can't believe it!"

"Stop yelling," Remus moaned.

"Sorry," Rachael whispered. She sat down on the foot of the bed and thought. He couldn't make it back out there by himself. He could hardly stand up and he was too heavy for her to carry. How were they going to get out? Maybe he could walk? "Remus, do you think you could walk? We have to get back to school."

Remus didn't know. "I can try," he moaned. He pushed himself upright, swung his legs over the bed and stood up. He trembled as he stood, but it was good enough.

"Here, I'll help." Rachael went over, took Remus's arm and put it around her shoulders and told him to just lean all his weight on her. Slowly, they made their way out of the building, through the long tunnel, and were once again out on the Hogwarts grounds. Rain was still coming down hard, thunder shook the ground and lightening illuminated the sky.

"I can't believe I forgot him!" Madam Pomfrey cried as she walked about the Hospital Wing trying to find all the ingredients to make a Cold Curing Potion for Remus, who had contracted a cold in the building the night before. She opened a large cabinet and took out various items, lugged them over to a steaming cauldron and began adding them in.

"Calm down, Poppy. It was your first time dealing with this," Professor McGonagall said soothingly. She was standing beside Remus's bed as he lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling. Rachael was in the bathroom of the hospital wing spitting blood in the sink from when the Willow hit her; Madam Pomfrey was too frantic about her brother to notice her. When she came back, she saw Madam Pomfrey stirring a potion and Professor McGonagall watching.

"Miss Lupin," Professor McGonagall said abruptly.

Rachael turned to see her looking very stern. She couldn't be in trouble, could she? "Yes, Professor?" Rachael answered nervously.

"How come when you found this out you didn't come to me or another staff member?"

"Well... I was nervous and – err - didn't think of that."

"I hope you know that you shouldn't have left the grounds."

"But, Professor, it was for a good reason! You can't take away points for that!"

"Who said I was going to take away points? I was just warning you for the next time."

"Oh, well, okay."

Once Madam Pomfrey was finished with Remus she tended to Rachael. Rachael had a long cut inside her mouth from when the willow hit her. She gave Rachael a potion to drink that would clear the cut up and then she could leave.

"Is my brother going to be okay?" she asked as she was leaving. Remus was lying on one of the hospital beds, his eyes closed, but not sleeping. Madam Pomfrey wanted him to stay the night just to make sure he was okay. The nurse assured her, saying there wasn't anything to worry about. Rachael left the Wing, but she didn't feel like heading back to the common room, even though she needed to, she was covered in mud. She wandered blankly down the cavernous hallways, not paying attention to where she was going.

She was walking down a long torch lit corridor when she heard a voice behind her.

"Oh look, a little piece of Lupin scum."

Rachael turned around to see whom the voice belonged to. Much to her luck, it was Snape. It was bad enough she had to put up with him in potions, but did he have to bother her outside of class to? Snape was smiling grimly, as though he had a nasty little secret up his sleeve, which he probably did. She wouldn't put it past him.

"Oh look what the giant squid barfed up," Rachael answered smartly. "And, my God, it can walk to!"

Snape gave a sarcastic laugh. "Aren't we the smart one?"

"Aren't I? Wish you could be smart, don't you?" Snape's hand slowly traveled to his robe pocket. Rachael noticed this, but pretended she didn't, instead she slowly moved her hand toward her pocket where he wand was resting, in case this got ugly. "But, then again, what would I expect from a Slytherin?"

"You know, it's a shame. Filch won't like having to pick your guts up off the floor."

"He'd enjoy it more than picking up yours!"

With that Snape's wand was raised in the air and he was poised to strike. Rachael didn't react; she wasn't even scared for that matter. Nasty as Snape was, she strongly doubted whether he'd ever hex a girl, he was just trying to be tough. Instead of being scared, she burst out laughing. Snape looked at her utterly perplexed. Did she think of him as a joke? Of course she did. After all, who wouldn't? She knew he wouldn't really hex her, not because she was a girl, but because he knew a teacher would be lurking around somewhere. This was just to give her a scare, a real good one. He gradually advanced on her, his wand steady in their air, never wavering. He pointed his wand right between her eyes, and yet Rachael still did not show any signs of fright. There was a reason for this.

"Severus Snape! What the heck do you think you're doing?" Snape wheeled around to see Professor Lupin sprinting up the corridor behind him, a look of fury blazing on his face. He snatched the wand away from Snape and held it in front of him. "What'd you think you were doing? If I catch you with a wand near my daughter again, you will wish you were never born!" Snape looked at him expressionless. "Now get to your common room before I get your Head of House!"

Without a word or look or sneer of any sort, Snape dashed down the hall and made his way towards his common room.

Professor Lupin rounded on Rachael. She expected him to look worried, but he was still blazing. She knew she shouldn't have expected different, she and her dad had never made up.

"Did you start this?" he asked.

"Why do you think I did?"

"I know you only too well. You would provoke someone into doing that. I've seen you do it before, you are my daughter after all."

Rachael said nothing. Could this be her dad talking to her? The one who had always understood her? Who never questioned her? She couldn't take it.

"Well, you know what, Dad?" she said, walking around him with her hands folded behind her back. "I wouldn't provoke Snape into doing that. He started it. Tell me, when have you seen me do it before? And you know what else, you don't know me as well as you think!" She started to go down the hall, only to be stopped by her dad.

"Rachael, listen-"

"No, why should I listen? I've spent enough of my life listening to everyone else. Now its time for someone to listen to me - I just want you to leave me alone."