A.N./ Never would I have thought that this would come so far. The book strikes back in this chapter, if that grabs your attention. Anyone? Also, mad props to my main register girl, Lizzy! Where would I be without her to beta this for me?
So, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and possibly review! I need them so I can get through summer reading … Jane Austin. Why? Why, I say! Once again, please review.
Chapter 11: The Mysterious Book
Harry woke to the sound of thunder and the flash of foreboding lightning. His room held a sickly glow as the mist built up around the house and clouded the glass of his window. Harry turned toward his beside table, reaching blindly for his glasses. Once his fingers clasped around the smooth, thin, rims he placed them on and looked around, stretching. He started to get out of bed when something caught his attention.
On the nightstand sat the little plush dog. Harry studied it over for a moment then picked it up, marveling once more at how soft and worn it was. It no longer held traces of dust like the other day in the attic. It looked as if someone had brushed it off. He held it close for a moment, thinking about the time spent in making it, and the love he had once felt for it as a child.
He set it down on his pillow and lifted out of bed. The thunder rolled again, causing him to stop on his way out of the door. It wasn't raining just yet, but it was soon on its way. That meant another day spent in doors. What could that bring? The house was clean, the chores finished. What could they possibly do?
It didn't seem to matter, Harry thought finally. Tomorrow would be his last day to spend with his godfather and old professor, and he still had unanswered questions. He also wanted to savor his time with Sirius. He had grown fond, even attached, to them and he truly felt like he was a part of their family. Not only as individuals but as a couple. After spending so much time learning more about their pasts had enhanced his respect for them both men. They had become people he could truly look up to and trust, even more so than before. It was as if he had gained two fathers.
As for them together, however modest they may be, at least around Harry, they seemed very happy. Being used to the Dursely's relationship, it was hard for Harry to see a couple so close and actually content with each other. Molly and Arthur were a very loving couple, but they were usually apart on business … Yet, Sirius and Remus had something else. Something of a deep connection that everyone was aware of. Harry was very happy for them and would miss their company.
Harry walked down the hall and into the kitchen where he smelled breakfast cooking. Remus stood at the stove, pan of eggs in his hand, while Sirius stood behind him with his chin on the other man's shoulder. Sirius, not aware of Harry's entrance, kissed his neck and nuzzled his nose against it once.
Remus growled softly but turned his head, spotting Harry in the doorway. He ribbed Sirius' side, and the two sprung apart. Sirius, wide eyed and a bit tousled from sleep, stood staring for a moment.
"Sorry, Harry," he said, moving a bit farther away from Remus. He looked positively guilty.
Harry shook his head, smiling faintly. "It's fine."
"Indeed," Remus said, placing the eggs on a plate of bacon. "Sirius, could you get the toast?"
Once the food was on the table, the three ate in silence with a few exceptions of thunderclaps. Sirius chewed on a piece of bacon and considered the window until rain started to hit the pane. He sighed, finishing his plate.
"What a boring day this will turn out to be," he said, pushing around the remaining eggs on his plate.
Remus swallowed his last piece of toast and took a gulp of juice. "Well, you'll just have to find a way to entertain yourself," he said, sounding a bit bored himself.
"What do you have planned?" Asked a disgruntled Sirius.
"I was going to do some paper work for the Order. There are things that have to be done."
Sirius huffed, furrowing his brow in thought. He glanced over at Harry, who getting up to put his plate in the sink. "What about you, little Pronsling? You're not going to stuff yourself in some books, too?"
"Actually," interrupted Remus, "he needs to get some of his summer homework out of the way. Don't you, Harry?" He said pointedly, getting up from the table also.
"Sure," Harry said, unable to control the disappointment in his voice.
"Remus …" Sirius whined. "You take all the fun out of summer break. You always have! 'Homework, studies, school.' One day you'll shrivel up and die over papers. I'll have to bury you with books in your coffin."
"Don't be so crude, Sirius. And I do not take all the fun out of summer!"
Sirius scoffed, rolling his eyes to emphasize the audacity of Remus' advice of working during the break.
So, once again, Harry found himself in his room. He changed out of his nightwear and opened his trunk. Books stacked with papers lay ahead of him and he looked down on them. There was no reason for him to do his work, seeing as there would be no turning it in. Only Hermione would do her homework, even in this situation. Sighing, he sat on the floor, thinking of something to do.
Just then, Harry heard tapping on the window. Hedwig was perched on the sill, a letter strapped to her leg. When he opened it, she swooped in and landed on her post beside his desk. She ruffled her feathers and beads of water hit Harry's face as he moved toward her.
"I don't have any food now, Hedwig. I'll get you some later today, I promise." Harry said, relieving her of the letter, which didn't seem to be that wet. Hedwig nipped at his fingers as if to say, 'Well, fine then,' and swooped off and out of the window.
Sitting on the bed, Harry opened the letter and saw that it was from Ron. The Weasleys were doing fine at the moment, just laying low and keeping to themselves. The twins visited often, and were bringing over new merchandise from the shop for Ron to try out, which was brilliant, said Ron. Hermione was still there, complaining about homework and Ginny was still trying to get her interested makeup. "But there's no way that is going to happen anytime soon," said Ron in the letter.
Harry sighed, looking over the letter a few more times. Ron asked him to come as soon as he could and to write back, but Harry decided that he just wasn't going to write back. It wouldn't be important if he did because they wouldn't go through with the corresponding or visiting. Harry frowned then. He hadn't planned spending the remaining time with his godfather reading over letters and rotting away in his room.
He folded the letter and placed it on his desk. A bolt of lightning flashed outside and lit his room, teasing him as he walked out into the hall. Further down, he could hear muffled sounds coming from behind the cracked door to the couple's room.
"Come on, Remus!" Sirius whined again. "It's so boring today! There's nothing for any of us to do." Harry could see him pull at Remus from the back, burying his face into the other man's shoulder.
"No, Sirius. I have work to do," he said, trying to squirm away from him. His attempts looked half minded, though.
"You can do your work later, Moony." Sirius said, pulling at his middle and spinning him around. "If you can entertain me for ten minutes, I swear I'll be good and let you work."
Remus sighed, as if to think over the situation at hand. Finally, a deep growl escaped his throat and he leaned into what Harry recognized as a kiss, though he could no longer see their face from the door. They sat there in the kiss for several long moments until Remus pulled away, grinning. He pushed Sirius out of Harry's sight, smirking evilly as he followed. Feeling the embarrassed flush sting at his face and ears, Harry moved on to avoid the door.
When Harry stepped into the study he instinctively went straight to the bookshelf. The old book about werewolves had been taunting him for the past few days, and he finally had the time to look over it. Running a finger over the long spine, he pulled it out, and sat down in the desk.
He opened it to the middle of the book to a picture. The sketch was of a human hand with long fingernails in the shape of claws. On the heel of the palm was a fine tuft of light hair. The beds of the fingernails held a red rim, as if the fingers had been smashed in a door. Harry turned the page to a close picture of a pair of eyes. The pupils were large and the irises were bright amber. A shiver ran down Harry's spine. These must be signs of being a werewolf, Harry thought and he turned the pages further down.
He forgot exactly where he was in the book before he fell asleep the night he first looked through it, but as he skimmed through the pages and glanced over the sketches and photos he could tell that he was getting closer to where he had left off. Most of the pages were in Gaelic and Latin, but he read some of the translated notes on the side and felt sick to his stomach.
(1644) Jake Osbert, bitten at the age of fifteen, was hunted down after a farmer caught him on a full moon devouring his chickens. The local townsfolk, in order to kill the beast, poured molten silver down his throat. The deadly mineral, coming in contact with his internal organs, caused his blood to boil and spill from his orifices such as his eyes, ears, and nose.
A separate note under the story read:
Internal silver, death. External burns.
Further down, Harry found more notes regarding stories about individual werewolves, but Harry didn't think that he could continue to read them. When he opened the next page, a pressed dried flower fell from between. He picked up the small purple flower delicately and placed it on the edge of the parchment. There was a sketch of a long plant with many of the violet blossoms.
Aconitum anglicum, Monkshood, Aconite -
All parts of plant are poisonous if ingested by a human, but not to werewolves. Toxicity: Extreme. It has been reported to bring death to adults with doses of only 1 mg. Symptoms of human ingestion would include: high salivation, vomiting, difficulty in swallowing, arrhythmia, heavy breathing, and convulsions.
The root of Aconite is highly poisonous and is the cause of death.
Blue-violet colouring, this bloom thrives in the shade and darkness of night. Research into this part of the plant is being made by wizards all over the world. The bloom is the only known object to alleviate pain during a werewolf's transformation, but does not full stop it.
Another separate note sat at the bottom of the page, reading:
Main ingredient in Wolfsbane potion, 1988.
After a few more minutes of searching, Harry found the page he was looking for. A photo depicted a pack of wolves, if they were werewolves Harry could not tell. There were two at the lead, one large gray wolf proud and strong with another at his side. Harry recognized Lupin's familiar writing to the side, and read.
Werewolves, like normal wolves, mate for life. There is no specific time when this mate is chosen, but is believed to be around the end of puberty, if the person inflicted with the curse is bitten at a younger age. The wizard or muggle bitten after this time frame chooses their mate at any opportune moment. Some werewolves, though, become loners and never choose a mate or a pack.
When a werewolf's mate dies, the wolf mourns until its own death. The werewolf's life is usually shortened by this grief and dies, not living long after the passing of the mate. The time ranges between werewolf to werewolf, but is roughly estimated to be around 4-5 years. Among the injection of silver into the bloodstream, severing the spine, and old age, this grief is one of the only know causes of death in a werewolf.
Harry sat there, shell shocked at what he just read. If Sirius and Remus really were mates, then that meant that … Since Sirius died, Remus was also dying? Harry couldn't remember the professor grieving as the book said, but he wasn't around the man to tell. What if Remus was really dying? Slowly, yet surely, he was wasting away by every passing of the moon. Harry shuddered. What a horrible way to die.
"What are you doing in here, Harry?" Came a voice from the door and Harry jumped, slamming the book shut.
Remus stood at the door, adjusting his collar around his neck. He was looking first at Harry, then at the book in his hand, but made no move toward him. He asked the question again, but Harry only got up to replace the book.
"Nothing. Just trying to find a book for some extra information over monkshood. Snape's set an assignment to recap everything we've learned," said Harry, his hands trembling slightly and he gripped onto the shelf ledge to still them. He couldn't be caught now.
The old professor started at him then at the bookshelf. He looked disbelieving, but nodded to Harry. "That's fine, Harry. You just surprised me, is all."
Suddenly, Sirius came up from behind him, grabbing his waist roughly. He started to growl things into his hair, but stopped when he spotted Harry. "Mother of – Harry, I didn't see you," he said, pulling away from Remus for the second time that day.
Harry cleared his throat and said that it was all right, moving to the door. Once he was out in the hall, he felt Sirius following him and he turned around.
Sirius smiled, almost wearily. "Do you want to take a walk outside?" he asked, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.
"But, it's raining." Harry said, looking at him quizzically.
"Afraid of a little rain, Potter?" he said challengingly.
"No," said Harry, laughing despite himself and the situation he just encountered.
Sirius grinned and shoved his shoulder, running past him to the door out and out into the yard. Harry first stumbled over his feet, but soon caught up with him. When he reached the door he stopped to feel the rain that was light, almost misty, on his face.
Sirius was all ready out in the yard and waved him over. The ground was soft and muddy under his shoes and the air smelled musty as he saw the gray sky spread out for miles. Sirius waited for Harry to run up to him, but started walking as soon as he was there. They walked in silence for a very long time, listening for the crickets in the grass and the distant thunder in other clouds farther away.
"It's going to rain again, soon." Sirius said, shoving his hands in his pants.
Harry nodded, mimicking his godfather by pocketing his own hands. He stared out into the sky pensively, enjoying just being with Sirius. Suddenly, he remembered that by the end of tomorrow, all of this would be gone. He would have to wake up in Professor Dumbledore's office and back in the raging war. He sighed, walking a little closer to Sirius.
"Cold?" Sirius asked, considering the temperature by swishing his hand in the air.
"No, just … Never mind." Harry said, trying to sound casual.
"Oh," said Sirius, thinking. He smiled suddenly and threw an arm around Harry's shoulder, nearly knocking him over with the force. "You know, your father and I would walk in the rain after Quidditch matches. Much like this, you know. It would be after we'd won a game and your father would be bursting with energy. We'd race to the edge of the forest and walk back to the castle. In the end, Remus would have to come drag our sorry arses out of the rain and up to Madame Pomfrey."
Harry smiled, throwing his arm around Sirius' shoulder. "Tell me something else about my dad," Harry said, almost excitedly.
Sirius' eyes grew soft, and he gave a sort of watery smile, but continued to talk. "Well, when we made the mirrors that I gave you for Christmas last year, we used to come up with pranks to get out of our separate detentions. One time …"
But Harry wasn't listening. His thoughts turned to the mirror. The one that he smashed in a fit over his death, and Harry's stomach flipped sickeningly. He should have kept it. As something to remember Sirius by, or, at least, give to his grieving professor. Harry bit his tongue, cursing himself for being such a little prick about the whole situation.
He heard Sirius laughing, so he forced a smile and a slight chuckle, though he missed the entire story. Suddenly, Remus voice called over the distance, telling them to get in before they caught something.
"He's such a little dwarf housewife," said Sirius, rolling his eyes. "Next thing, he'll be asking for an apron so he can prance around the house." He laughed, his long bark like laugh. Harry began to miss it all ready.
Sirius shook his head, turning them toward the house. "Don't tell him I said that. He may look thin, but he can pack a lot of damage. Say, I'm hungry. What would you like for a bite?"
At that precise time, the rain began to fall and the pair had to bolt toward the house where Remus stood, laughing and giving them a look that said, "I told you so." To retaliate, Sirius shot him a look that said, "You can go shove it," but Harry could see that his old professor was the victor.
The rest of the day was spent lounging around the house with Sirius convincing Harry to gang up on Remus, pulling old pranks. When it was time for bed, the couple bid Harry good night but Harry stayed awake, listening to the sounds of the house. The light pattering of rain began to lull him to sleep and he reached out for the plush dog. He cradled it close to his chest, too tired to care, and faced the door. He waited for the morning and his last day with his godfather.
A.N./ Yet another 10th Kingdom reference in here. I've got it on the brain ever since I brought it over to Laura's about two weeks ago. It's very small, but if you can get it there is a special prize! Hopefully something you'll enjoy. Speaking of enjoying, did you like the chapter? Tell me, if so.