Okeeday, here's the next chapter! I haven't gotten even the customary TWO reviews for chapter eight, but Mals reviewed and that's enough for me! This one is...rather depressing. I'm sorry, they all seem that way! But I promise things are going to cheer up really soon, I think even in the next chapter! Broom racing is coming! And you shouldn't know what I mean by that, because it was invented by Mals and Corie! You'll see...

The title for this one sucks, but that's life for ya. I hope you enjoy the chapter, or rather I hope you don't because that would make you rather sadistic...but it isn't all dark, there's some humor in it, so please enjoy SOME things! Right, enough of that-on with the chapter!

Chapter Nine

Dumbledore's Worst Fear

"Okay," Remus said with a small sigh. "I guess I've put this off long enough." Jesse merely gaped at him for a moment, unable to believe her ears. He'd agreed? He was willing to talk?

"Um, good, okay," she mumbled. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sirius walking away, giving them privacy. She made a mental note to thank him later, then tried to collect her thoughts. "I...okay...um, first of all-" she stopped. Remus was laughing. "Are you laughing at me?" she asked in mock indignation. He bit his lip and shook his head.

"No," he replied, still chuckling. "Well, sort of. It's just...you're the same as before. You never could talk about serious stuff very well..." They were silent for a moment, staring at each other somewhat sadly.

"What happened to that?" Jesse asked quietly. She paused, amazed that she finally had the opportunity to voice the question she'd been wondering for so long. "Why do you hate me so much now?" Something flickered in his eyes, and he looked away.

"I don't. At least, not anymore, I don't think."

"Well, why did you before? And don't deny that-I saw how you looked at me all the time, I knew what you were thinking." Sort of, she thought to herself. She never really knew what he'd been thinking, but she could guess.

"Well, why shouldn't I have hated you? After what you did to me, going against everything you'd said!" She stared at him, perplexed.

"What I did to you? I didn't do anything! We were on excellent terms before I left!" Suddenly, it dawned on her. "Wait, this is all because I moved? This is all because my parents dragged me off? I can't believe you'd get-"

"Oh, come on!" Remus interrupted. "Don't try to blame this on your parents. You wanted out of there too, once you found out about me." Jesse frowned, truly confused now.

"I-I never wanted out! I don't know what you mean, Remus. Found out what about you?" He rolled his eyes and gestured with his chin towards his bound hands.

"About all of this! You left for the same reason my father did."

Jesse stared at him, at a loss for words. That didn't make any sense...

"I don't understand...how could you think that?" she asked quietly. "I didn't even know...not until I saw you with my own eyes."

"Yeah, and then you up and moved. It was a lot harder pretending you liked werewolves once you lived next door to one, wasn't it?" Remus' voice was harsh and bitter, and he stared at Jesse with the hatred she'd seen only in her first few weeks at Hogwarts.

"But...I didn't know about that! Not until I got here!"

"Don't lie to me," he spat, and for a split second his eyes flashed yellow. He closed them and took a few deep breaths.

"Are you okay?" Jesse asked warily, pressing on his wrist lightly. He shivered slightly under her touch, but looked up at her again.

"You saw me that night," he said angrily, though keeping his voice low so the other patients, most of whom were gone by now anyway, wouldn't hear him. "Two nights before you left, you saw me changing back. You knew what I was, and from that moment on, I was just another werewolf, just a monster." Jesse was shaking her head, mouth slightly open in disbelief.

"No, no! You've got it all wrong!" she whispered when he was done. "I never saw you...not until Thanksgiving night. We moved because-" She stopped herself. That was private, he couldn't know that. But he was waiting expectantly, and she couldn't leave it hanging. "Because my mother really wanted to see the States," she finished lamely. Remus scoffed.

"Like hell she did..." he muttered, turning his head away. Jesse saw immediately that if she didn't tell the truth, she would lose her chance. He'd go on thinking she'd left because he was a werewolf, and that would be the end of any friendship they'd ever had.

"Remus," she said softly. "Remus, I'll tell you the truth, but you have to look at me. I won't say it to the back of your head." He hesitated, then turned and met her eyes.

"Go on, then," he said irritably when she didn't continue. She sighed.

"We moved because my uncle needed us. He was living in the States at the time, and he was having trouble with the police. Magical police, mind you. Ministry men." She paused, wondering if she was doing the right thing. It was her uncle's business, after all, not Remus'. Then again, he would understand...he'd have to. "My uncle is a werewolf," she said finally. No reaction from Remus. She continued. "He was visiting us in England all those years ago...he'd come for my fourth birthday."

Jesse held her breath, waiting to see what he'd do. But there was still no reaction.

"So?" he finally said, annoyed that she'd stopped, that she'd expected that to mean something to him.

"So... Remus, what happened three days after my birthday?" He flinched. She knew exactly what had happened that night, she didn't need to hear it again. When he remained silent, Jesse sighed. "My uncle was the werewolf. The one that attacked your brother-and, as I realized on Thanksgiving, you- that night."

Remus felt as if all the wind had been knocked out of him. He stared at her, wide-eyed, trying to catch his breath. That couldn't be...that would mean...her uncle was responsible for his curse. For his brother's death...

"That's why we had to leave so suddenly four years ago. He'd been found out by American Ministry officials. They somehow tracked him down over the years, with the help of the Ministry here. Because the Ministry of Magic here found out he'd run away to America after the attack, and they got help..." Jesse stopped, realizing he wasn't really listening. "Remus?" she asked tentatively. He was staring straight up at the ceiling, breathing very fast. "Remus, I'm sorry..."

"Why didn't you tell us?" he whispered after a few minutes of silence. "We searched for years, and you knew about it...but you never told us." Jesse took a deep breath and blinked back tears.

"I know," she whispered. "I know, we should have told you right away. But, Remus, you have to understand. We all loved my uncle, he was a wonderful man...we couldn't turn him in like that. You know what happens to werewolves who kill..." She blinked more rapidly and looked away to compose herself.

"But you could have told me!" he protested. "You knew how it killed me, not knowing who the werewolf had been. You could have at least told me!" Jesse shook her head, locking eyes with him again.

"No, my parents wouldn't let me. They knew you might tell your parents, or somehow let it slip, and then our uncle would've been caught. We couldn't take that risk, for his sake. Besides," she added, staring down at her knees, "you might have gone after him yourself."

Remus had to admit that was true. He had been so angry in the months after the attack...having to deal with the loss of his brother, plus the painful transformations, plus his father leaving... He would have loved to take the law into his own hands, hunt down the werewolf responsible for the steady deterioration of his life.

"Remus, I'm really sorry," Jesse said again. "I didn't even know he'd bitten you-that you'd been bitten at all-until Thanksgiving of this year! I swear it! I never would have left, even if I had known. I meant what I said about not judging werewolves...I mean, look at my uncle! I love him almost as much as I love my dad." Remus sighed heavily.

"Then I owe you an apology, too," he admitted finally. "I assumed too much...I jumped to conclusions. I saw you in the woods the morning after my transformation, running back to your house, and I was sure you'd seen me. Then you didn't talk to me for two days, and you moved without even telling me...what was I supposed to think?"

"I can see why you would think that. I did hear you in the woods that morning, though I didn't know it was you. I ran back because I wasn't sure if it was safe for me to be there. When I got back to the house, my parents had just received notice about my uncle being in trouble with the law, and they told me all about it. We decided we had to help him, so we started packing up right away. I didn't tell you I was moving because I knew you'd want to know why so fast, and I didn't trust myself not to tell you the truth. It was my last chance to give you the real truth, and I desperately wanted to. But I couldn't, especially now that my uncle had been found out, so I avoided you. It was wrong, and it led you to believe the wrong things...but I really didn't know what else to do. Lying to you seemed even worse of an option."

"So," he said slowly, a strange look on his face, "this has all been a misunderstanding. For four years, I've hated you. Thought you were prejudiced, and that you had gone back on your word. Of course, I didn't hate you all that time...just for a while. But when you came here all happy to see me, it was like seeing my father come back and pretend he'd never left. It was just...awful." He looked at her, something like a smile on his lips. "Rather ironic, I would say." Jesse let out a nervous laugh.

"Yeah..." There were a few moments of thoughtful silence. "I'm sorry for making you feel that way." Remus smiled.

"I forgive you. And I'm sorry for assuming you were a prejudiced bitch." Jesse laughed.

"And I forgive you." They stared at each other, each at a loss for words. Finally, Jesse spoke up.

"So, are we back?" she asked warily, not sure what he'd say.

"I think so," he replied. She let out a sigh of relief, then looked up just in time to see Madam Pomfrey approaching.

"It's been half an hour," the nurse said firmly. "That's all the time I promised Mr. Black. You'd best be going back to your bed, Ms. Philbin." Jesse looked from the nurse to Remus, then back.

"Just a bit-" she began, but Madam Pomfrey shushed her.

"No. I've already gone against Dumbledore's word enough this week, and this is the last time! Back to bed, or I'll drag you bodily from this wing!" Jesse sighed and stood up, her hand still on Remus' wrist. She'd hardly noticed that it had been there throughout the conversation.

"I guess I should go, then," she said dejectedly, looking down at him. He nodded, and she pulled her hand away. "I'll see you in the morning." Remus nodded again, then closed his eyes. Jesse sighed and turned to leave.



Remus watched her go, painfully aware that the monsters within him had woken up again. Perhaps it had been the distraction of talking with her, or perhaps her touch had soothed them, but they had both stayed quiet during the conversation, except the few times he'd gotten really worked up. He sighed and settled into his pillow, waiting for the fighting to start up again. Moments after the nurse had turned to leave as well, it did. The familiar wave of pain washed over him as the vampire made the first strike, leaving him breathless and sore. He closed his eyes, knowing they were bright yellow once again, and waited for the werewolf's retaliation.

Half an hour of the usual battle passed, and Madam Pomfrey was throwing him worried looks again. Remus was too preoccupied to notice, though; he found it hard to concentrate on much of anything except the war waging inside his body. Suddenly, around midnight, he felt a definite change.

The werewolf had just made a particularly angry attack on the vampire, leaving Remus gasping for breath. But this time, there was no retaliation. The vampire stayed quiet, didn't make any kind of counter attack.

Had the werewolf finally killed it?

But no, it was still there, still alive. But barely...it appeared to be weak, unable to attack the wolf, which had quieted down as well. That part was normal; the wolf, usually dormant this far from the full moon, often rested when it wasn't being attacked.

But it was almost always being attacked. The vampire hated the wolf's presence, and rarely left it alone for very long. Whenever it did, it was only to gather its own strength for a renewed attack. And that wasn't happening this time. The vampire was actually weakened this time, wounded somehow...

And that simply couldn't be. Remus had been told only yesterday by a very grim Dumbledore that the vampire was the only one who could win. Vampires could only be killed in a few ways, such as a stake in the heart or the death of its "master." No werewolf could do that, and therefore Remus' only hope was that the vampire would eventually wound the wolf enough that it would die.

But that had been a scary thought, too. The wolf was so much a part of him now, it was like having it killed would mean having half of him cut away. He'd voiced his worries to Dumbledore, and for once the wizard had not had an answer. In fact, he'd been worried about the same thing, and had written to St. Mungo's hospital. The answer was presumably in the post at the moment...

Remus was distracted by a strange feeling inside him. He concentrated on it, trying to identify it...it was something he'd felt before...

He shuddered, suddenly realizing: it was death. The vampire was dying.

At that moment, Professor Dumbledore ran in, clutching an official-looking letter. He looked around wildly for a moment, then approached Madam Pomfrey quickly. He said something to her in a hushed voice, then came to Remus where he was tied up in bed.

"Mr. Lupin, I have just received a letter from St. Mungo's. They informed me that our fears were correct: the death of the werewolf in this fashion would mean your death, as well." Remus stared up at him, startled-but not at the news. He'd suspected as much; what surprised him were the tears brimming up in the Headmaster's eyes.

"Professor-" he began, but Dumbledore shook his head.

"I'm having Madam Pomfrey give you a sleeping potion, so the vampire will go to sleep as well. It will stop fighting the wolf, and we'll have some time to think about what to do. I'm only relieved we're not too late..." The nurse approached with the potion.

"Wait, Professor-" Remus began again, but this time Pomfrey shushed him.

"Just drink your potion, dear," she said calmly, though she was obviously very scared. "We can discuss this in the morning."

"But wait!" he said, turning away before she could pour it into his mouth. Some of it splashed onto his pillow. "You have to listen to me, Professor- the vampire is dead!"

There was silence. Madam Pomfrey forgot to tip the potion vial up again, and more sleeping potion was spilling out of it. Dumbledore calmly took it from her and set it on the bedside table.

"You're sure of this?" he said slowly. Remus nodded, feeling his wet pillowcase rub against his head.

"It just happened, just as you came in." Dumbledore considered this information a moment. Remus was wonderfully relieved that the headmaster no longer looked on the verge of tears.

"Did the werewolf win, then?" Dumbledore asked after a moment. Remus shook his head.

"You said yourself that's impossible. The vampire was about to attack again, but then it...it just...died." There was simply no other way to describe it. Dumbledore straightened up, worry on his face again.

"I will be back in a few minutes, Mr. Lupin," he said quickly, then turned and left.

Ten minutes later, he hadn't returned. Despite himself, Remus felt his eyes growing heavy...he hadn't slept in a long time, it seemed, and the prospect of a peaceful night's sleep was almost too good to be true...

The next thing he knew, it was morning.

Remus sat up; the ropes had already been removed from his wrists and ankles. He looked around at the nearly empty hospital wing, out the windows at the overcast sky, and sighed happily when he realized he wouldn't have to spend another night there.

Madam Pomfrey came over, alert as always, and gave him his usual breakfast of a sludgy brown "nutritious drink." Remus looked up at her skeptically.

"You don't think I'm ready for some real food?" he asked hopefully. Madam Pomfrey made an exasperated noise, snatched the drink from him, and sent him off to breakfast. Remus flashed her a grin and ran to get dressed.

Breakfast was just getting started when Remus entered the Great Hall. He ran to his seat and grabbed some sausages and toast without even using a plate, then commenced to eat it over a napkin. His friends were all staring at him.

"Hey, Moony, we were just gonna come get you..." James said with a smile. "You're feeling better, then?" He gestured at Remus' hastily disappearing breakfast. Remus nodded, his mouth full of sausage. He swallowed quickly and set his food down for a moment to tell his friends what had happened.

"It's all over!" he said excitedly, pausing to take a drink of juice. The eyes of everyone listening to him lit up, and he stared cheerfully at each surprised face in turn. "It happened last night...just after you left, Jesse! The vampire just...up and died!"

"That's wonderful!" Lily cried, getting up to give him a huge hug.

"Thank goodness for that," Sirius said with a grin, covering up his relief with a casual grin. "Now we can all get back to normal." He was feeling especially cheerful; Jesse had told him the basics of her talk with Remus- that it had all been a stupid misunderstanding, and that they'd talked everything over and were on good terms again. His friends were all happy again, and that was all that mattered to him.

James, sitting next to Remus, clapped his friend on the shoulder wordlessly, while Peter grinned at him from across the table. Jesse, sitting next to Peter, was smiling rather tearfully.

"So, how does it feel to be out of that hospital wing?" James finally asked. Remus grinned, his teeth slightly orange from the pumpkin juice.

"You can't imagine! I think I would've gone crazy if I'd had to spend another night there." Not that I ever really noticed where I was anyways, he thought to himself. But that didn't matter-it was over, and everything was going to be fine.

Jesse, who was staring about as she ate, nodded towards the Ravenclaw table, which was next to theirs.

"What's up with them?" she commented, speaking in a rather low voice. They all turned in their seats to see what she meant. It was quite obvious to the Marauders, now that they were paying attention, that there was a definite gloomy feeling to the house table. Almost everyone was staring around disconsolately, or talking quietly; a group of girls at one end were crying silently and hugging each other.

The Hufflepuff table, in contrast, was chatting excitedly-though not particularly happily. There were intense, grim expressions on most of the students' faces as they gossiped amongst themselves. The Slytherins, beyond them and the farthest away from the Gryffindors, were snickering with a little less fervor. Sirius noticed that Snape, in particular, was looking uncharacteristically upset.

"What's going on?" James wondered aloud, the toast forgotten in his hand. At that moment, one of the girls on the Gryffindor Quidditch team came rushing over.

"James-have you heard?" she whispered anxiously, sitting down between him and Remus. James shook his head, as did the others. They all leaned forward, listening intently. The girl, a sixth year by the name of Mandy Mitchell, was looking much more pale than usual. She glanced nervously at the Ravenclaw table, then lowered her voice even more.

"It's the Mant siblings-they were-" But whatever she had to say about the two, she didn't get the chance. At that moment, Professor Dumbledore stood up at the staff table and cleared his throat for silence. Everyone shushed immediately and turned to stare at him. James and Sirius exchanged a glance, then shifted their attention to the headmaster.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Dumbledore began, his voice rather low and melancholy. Remus had never heard him speak that way before. His face was drawn and pale, and he looked terribly old and sad-quite unlike the Dumbledore they all knew and loved. "I am afraid that I have terrible news for you all this morning." One of the girls at the Ravenclaw table burst into fresh tears; she was immediately comforted by the girls on either side of her.

"Last night, a terrible crime was committed within the walls of this school. Someone took the 'law' into his or her hands and murdered two Hogwarts students."

There were a few scattered gasps from those who hadn't heard the news yet, and many of the Ravenclaws-boys and girls both-began sobbing again. Remus gaped at Dumbledore, unable to believe what he'd just heard. Murder? At Hogwarts? It wasn't possible...it simply wasn't...

Dumbledore held up his hands to stem the flow of gossip that had begun to start up again.

"I ask that we all take a few moments of silence in respect for Alyssa and Jason Mant, who were killed in the Ravenclaw corridor last night." Remus closed his eyes and hung his head, feeling his stomach sink to his shoes. So that was what had happened...his "master" vampire had been killed, and so he'd been freed from her curse.

Some time later, the students sensed that it was time to look up again. They stared up into the sad eyes of their headmaster, waiting to be told what to do next. He looked over his students, and intense anger filled his face.

"The culprit will be apprehended," he assured them all, his voice dangerous. "This is unacceptable, even for of-age wizards. Certain circumstances arose, and a fact about Mr. and Ms. Mant was brought to light that had been unknown before, but the actions taken were rash and illegal." Remus suddenly realized what Dumbledore was talking about: whoever had killed Alyssa must have known she was a vampire, and had perhaps heard that she'd bitten him, Remus. They'd decided to punish her, and had killed her... He knew that, at one time, it was legal for of-age wizards and witches to "eliminate" vampires that posed a danger to society-the same had been true for werewolves. But recent laws had stopped the killing of these creatures, and instead had come up with alternate punishments for them, varying depending on what kind of crime they committed... Rarely was a vampire sentenced to death anymore, and underage wizards certainly couldn't take matters into their own hands like this. Whoever had done this to the Mants would be punished.

But, thought Remus bitterly, they'll probably only get a few years in Azkaban. It isn't as much of a crime if the victim was "dangerous..." He shook his head angrily and looked around to see how his friends were taking this news. Lily and James were comforting each other as usual, Lily moaning something about "and I said she was a harlot..." Sirius had a shocked look on his face, and was staring blankly at the Ravenclaw table. Jesse, to Remus' surprise, was staring straight at him. When he locked eyes with her, she looked away to the Ravenclaw table. Peter was leaning on one hand, poking his fork into his eggs with the other. Every so often, he would heave a sigh.

"Sirius?" Remus said finally, thinking his friend needed to be shaken out of his daze. He jerked, snapped his mouth shut, and turned to Remus.

"Yes?" he said quietly. Remus was surprised at how sad he looked; it was his understanding that Sirius had hated Alyssa, though they had made peace somewhat next to his bed last night...

"Are you okay? You're looking kind of..." Remus trailed off, realizing that everyone at the table was looking equally shocked and pale. He shook his head. "Never mind." Sirius gave him an odd look, then stared at his plate. James, who was still holding a disconsolate Lily, turned his head to look at Remus.

"This explains it then, doesn't it?" he said quietly. "Why the vampire...left you last night. You really should tell Dumbledore," he added grimly. "It would help them figure out who did it, knowing about what time it happened."

"Dumbledore already knows," Remus explained calmly. He was surprised at how well he seemed to be taking the news; it seemed so unreal, he couldn't quite accept that it had really happened. "He came running in just after it happened, with a letter from St. Mungo's." Remus decided not to tell his friends what the letter had said; they didn't need to know how close he'd come to death, not with all that was going on now. "I told him about it, and he went off again. I think he guessed what might have happened..." James shook his head disbelievingly.

"Too bad he didn't pass them while it was happening, maybe he could've stopped the killer, or at least have caught him. You'd think he'd have gone right by Ravenclaw corridor on his way, if he came from his office." Remus shrugged.

"Maybe he wasn't coming from his office. He had just received a letter; maybe he'd been up in the owlery." James nodded and turned to stare at the Hogwarts coat of arms on the wall facing him. He, like Remus, seemed very calm, as if the news hadn't quite sunk in yet.

"This is so surreal..." he muttered, staring at the wall hanging. "I can't believe something like that could happen here, in Hogwarts..." Remus nodded; he felt the same way. He'd come to accept that Dumbledore was unbeatable, that he could solve anything and that there was nothing that could hurt him while Dumbledore was there. After all, hadn't he survived many terrible things while staying at Hogwarts? The latest had been by far the worst, but he'd survived it anyways.

But he'd only survived because of someone else's death, he reminded himself. What would have happened if Alyssa hadn't been discovered, and killed? It made Remus feel terribly guilty to have such selfish thoughts at a time like this, but he couldn't help feeling slightly...grateful...

No, that was wrong. He shook his head to clear it of such awful thoughts. A terrible thing had happened, and he was being rude and selfish in thinking it had had good side effects. He looked around at the Ravenclaw table, staring at all the tearful students, and suddenly, he began to grasp what had happened.

Alyssa was dead. Her, and her brother, were dead, gone. They wouldn't come back at lunch, looking pale but feeling fine. They wouldn't go to their classes, or visit their parents over Christmas break. They wouldn't have snowball fights with the rest of the students once the snow came, they wouldn't go to the next Quidditch match and cheer on their team. They wouldn't laugh, cry, scream, or smile. They would never again feel the joy of a warm sweater on a cold day, or try new candies from Honeydukes while their friends watched apprehensively. They wouldn't celebrate another birthday, or another Christmas, or another Halloween. They wouldn't learn how to make a love potion in time for Valentine's day, or practice transfiguring cows at the end of the school year. They wouldn't go to Hogsmeade, huddled up in cloaks and fighting the wind as they made their way to the Three Broomsticks for a hot butterbeer...

Remus was startled to feel hot tears running down his cheeks. The intensity of what had happened suddenly hit him, the absoluteness of the event. He thought he knew death that cold night as he lay on the Astronomy tower, letting his life wash away in the rain. But there had been no time, then, to think about what it really meant...he simply would have died, had he not become a vampire, and that would have been that. Alyssa and Jason probably didn't realize what was happening until it was too late. They probably hadn't had time to think about all the things they'd be missing...they'd just...gone. It was those left behind who really had to suffer.

He sighed, brushed away his tears, and tried to shake such thoughts from his mind. Maybe it would be best just to go to class...he grabbed his things and stood up, vaguely noticing that most people were doing the same. It seemed everyone was keen to get their minds off the tragedy, but things just weren't that simple.

The Gryffindors had Transfiguration, with the Ravenclaws, first. Ten minutes before the bell was due to ring, everyone was settled into their seats, staring around or talking quietly. One of Alyssa's good friends was sobbing uncontrollably into Professor McGonagall's robes; when the bell finally rang, the professor spoke to her quietly. The girl nodded, took a few shuddering breaths, and returned to her seat, among her equally tearful friends.

"I realize some of you may think I'm being horribly insensitive by saying this," McGonagall began in a voice much less strict than usual, "but I feel it is best we practice yesterday's spell as usual. The best way to get over such a tragedy is to grieve, and then move on. I hope I haven't offended anyone by saying this..." She paused, but no one looked daggers at her, and she took that as a good sign. "Alright then, you may begin. The plants are in this corner of the room, you may take one if you wish, though I will understand if you'd rather not..."

Everyone stood and took a plant, then returned to his or her seat. It seemed to Remus as if everyone was moving through water, or molasses. No one spoke, except to utter the spell, and they all moved slowly, as if they weren't sure they wanted to or not. There was a look of shock on every Gryffindor's face, and of sadness on the visage of each Ravenclaw. It seemed impossible to Remus that they would ever snap out of this state and move on.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was next. Since the Gryffindors didn't share this class with any other house, it was a rather small number of students that stared sadly up at their teacher when the bell rang. Professor Grae gave them an encouraging smile and informed them that they weren't going to work that day, but would have a talk instead. She told them it was best to discuss some things openly, and perhaps this would help them all to feel better.

"We should try to remember Alyssa and Jason in the best way possible," she said softly, looking at each of her students in turn. That was one thing Remus liked best about Professor Grae: she always included everyone, and made them feel particularly important and special. "Let's not dwell on how sad we are now that they're gone, but instead think of the many ways they've affected us and our lives. What we've learned from them, how they've made us think differently, and so on. Does anyone have a story to share about either Alyssa or Jason?" She looked around hopefully, but everyone was rather shocked at this different approach. They looked at each other uneasily, each thinking that his or her own story would somehow offend someone else.

Finally, to the surprise of the Marauders, Lily, and Jesse, Sirius raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Black?" Professor Grae asked kindly. Sirius swallowed a few times and glanced around; it was the first time anyone had seen him nervous in front of other students.

"I-I met Jason for the first time two nights ago," he began quietly. "He was about to sneak into the kitchens for the first time, and I-sorta helped him out." James smiled knowingly. That was just like Sirius... "He was a good kid, caught on quick like most Ravenclaws do. He would've made a good Marauder." This got a few nervous laughs, and Professor Grae smiled, ignoring the fact that Sirius had broken a school rule.

"I'm sure Jason's friends would like to hear about what happened that night, Sirius," the professor told him. "Perhaps you could talk to them sometime." Remus was surprised at this; none of his professors ever called students by their first names. He was glad she had, though; it made everything feel a bit more friendly.

Sirius' story, though short and simple, had broken the ice-now nearly everyone had a hand raised. Remus decided not to offer anything, as none of his stories about Alyssa were particularly appropriate. He was surprised, though, at how many people had known either Alyssa or Jason-many knew the boy from their little brothers or sister, but they still had things to share about him. By the end of class, they were all laughing heartily at a crazy prank Jason had pulled on his next-door neighbor. Sirius wiped a tear from his eye, though Remus wasn't quite convinced that it was from laughing.



Professor Grae repeated her form of comfort for each class, and soon people were swapping stories even in the corridors. It became common to hear groups of people laughing over Jason's antics or smiling at Alyssa's acts of kindness as they made their way to class. Within a couple of weeks, most of the school was able to put the tragedy behind them to some extent; they would never forget the crime that had been committed within the walls, but they could at least stop dwelling on how sad it was.

But that wasn't true for everyone. Alyssa's closest friends and admirers, including Snape, remained disconsolate even throughout the memories and stories. They were still upset that the killer hadn't been caught, and had begun making up theories of their own. The Marauders went down to breakfast one morning about a week after the tragedy to find Snape and three Ravenclaw girls waiting for them just inside the doors. Snape immediately jumped forward and blocked their path to the Gryffindor table, his face an angry red.

"Black!" he spat, positioning himself directly in front of Sirius. "You had something to do with this, Black!"

Sirius stared at Snape in total bewilderment. The girls came up behind Snape, surrounding Sirius and attempting to isolate him from his friends. But James and Remus kept them back, glaring at them and standing protectively next to their friend.

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked, genuinely confused. He thought he knew what Snape meant, but surely that was too far-fetched even for him?

"You know what I mean!" Snape snarled. "You killed my girlfriend!"

Sirius staggered back as though he'd been slapped. Indeed, he felt as though he had. Him, capable of murder?! Not even Snape was dim enough to think that...

"What are you on about, Snape?" James asked slowly, carefully keeping his voice even. "Sirius isn't a murderer." Snape sneered at him.

"Is that so?" he said quietly. "Then explain what he's just done!" James glared back, his face inches from Snape's.

"I don't know where you got this cock-and-bull theory," he hissed, "but you'd better give it up right now. Sirius had no reason to harm Alyssa."

"Other than the fact that she was a vampire? That's the only reason they were killed, you know. And I wouldn't put it past this creep to go after them just for that-" James reared a hand back and aimed a punch right at Snape's nose-

But his fist connected with Sirius' palm instead. Sirius had collected his wits just in time to stop the punch. He glared meaningfully at James.

"I can fight my own battles, Prongs," he said in a low voice. James hesitated, then nodded and backed off, though he still remained at the ready in case something should happen. Sirius turned to say something to Snape, but at that moment, Professor McGonagall arrived. She looked angrily from Snape to Sirius to James, then beckoned all three of them to follow her.

"As for the rest of you," she said sternly as the three moved to join her on her way out of the Great Hall, "I trust there will be none of this behavior while I'm away. Please go to your tables." They did so quietly, Remus and Lily shooting occasional glances at their friends as they were escorted out of the hall.

"What d'you think she'll do to them?" Peter asked calmly. Remus had noticed that he seemed a bit...strange lately. As if the deaths of the Mant siblings had shaken him deeply, changed him in some subtle way. Lily shrugged and sighed as she sat down to her breakfast.

"I don't know...probably detention as usual. I don't know what it is about you boys," she continued scoldingly, glaring at Remus and Peter. "Why do you always have to get into fights?" Remus held up his hands innocently.

"Hey, how many fights have you seen me in? Ever?" Peter nodded vigorously, but Jesse chuckled as she speared a bit of sausage on her fork.

"What?" Remus asked defensively.

"You can't say you don't fight, Remus," she said with a smile. "Remember that Macmillan kid down the street? You used to get into rows with him almost every day." Remus rolled his eyes.

"Well, that was different," he explained. "He kept stealing my stuff, remember?"

"Oh, yes, of course..." she said wistfully, staring up at the ceiling as though in remembrance. "We will forever mourn the loss of your bright pink blankie..." Remus turned very red as Peter laughed loudly and Lily snorted into her juice.

"I was three," he said firmly. "And it was nothing to her neon green teddy bear!" he added suddenly. "What was his name? Mister Ninnykins?" Jesse laughed at the memory.

"Yeah, whatever happened to him?" Remus got, if possible, a bit redder.

"Well...Beryd and I sort of...set him on fire." Jesse stared at him in shock, her mouth hanging wide open. While Jesse began berating Remus for destroying her favorite toy, Lily studied Remus' face. He'd never mentioned his brother so casually before. In fact, as well as she could remember, he'd never even said the boy's name. But now he was talking about Beryd as if he were just away on vacation or something.

"What! Madam Phyllis too?!" Jesse exclaimed, still laughing through her surprise. "You two were just regular pyros!" Remus grinned apologetically and nodded.

"Well, it was Beryd more than me-no, really, it was! Everything bad we did was always his idea, I swear it. I actually liked Madam Phyllis-she was a natural color."

"Until Beryd changed her hot pink with orange stripes," Jesse reminded him. Remus laughed appreciatively.

"Yeah, he was pretty good with dad's wand," he commented. Lily was surprised yet again; Remus never, under any circumstances, mentioned his father. Whenever he did by accident, it always created a very tense silence. But not this time-he just continued reminiscing as if nothing uncomfortable had been said.

"Well, I suppose I can forgive you for Madam Phyllis," Jesse was saying. "After all, you did buy me a new one after she...ahem...went missing." She grinned. "I'd always wondered why you did that...and here I thought you were just generous!"

The four of them talked happily about Remus' childhood with Jesse throughout the rest of breakfast. Peter asked lots of questions, to Lily's surprise; he was usually very quiet. Well, the day was just full of surprises, wasn't it?

A/N: I forgot to mention this, but this chapter was dedicated to Dan and Joe Scafidi, who died in a car wreck in my freshman year. I didn't know Dan, but Jason in this chapter was kind of based on Joe...