A/N: Thank you again to people who have reviewed especially Kate and Mal who have reviewed every chapter so far. Thank you.

Chapter 20

Things settled back down to the slow, laborious routine again after the Christmas holidays. The first years were given surprise tests to see how much they'd remembered from last term, but it wasn't really a surprise after their second or third lesson of it. It was just a horrifying prospect. Especially for Lily, who remembered it all but was so unsure of herself that she sometimes put the right answer, scribbled it out and wrote a wrong answer.

The staff of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were unsettled and the pupils could feel it. There was something in the air that wasn't right. There was impure or 'dark' magic looming around them. Many suspected it was left over from the disastrous Quidditch event from the previous term but some thought that they were about to experience something else.

James and Sirius sat staring out of the window in their fascinating Herbology lesson. They were meant to be making posters describing the uses of plants in medicine but really couldn't be bothered, they were waiting for the weekend. Remus on the other hand had made his poster and was now putting the finishing touches to it. He was making the colours and text move and change colour with the aid of a simple spell.

Lily was sat at the front of the class. Surprisingly enough she wasn't making posters either, but for a different reason to James and Sirius.

"Miss Evans why aren't you making your poster? I thought you were a hardworking girl!" Professor Sprout said in amazement.

"Um…Professor, would it be ok if I wrote it in essay form rather than in a poster?" Lily asked, timidly.

"Why is that Miss Evans?" Professor Sprout asked curiously.

"Because I think that poster making is immature and childish!" Lily said. The whole class snorted with laughter and was only silenced when Professor Sprout threatened them all with detention.

"Well, I suppose you can," said Professor Sprout on the outside but on the inside she was thinking 'My, what a strange girl! Bright but strange, I have a feeling she'll go far in life!'

That evening, when Sirius, James, Remus and Katie were sat in the Common Room playing chess, Remus suddenly told them that he had to go home, because his auntie was ill.

"Your auntie? I thought she was ill at around this time last month!" Sirius exclaimed.

"No, that was his grandma!" said Katie, who was trying to concentrate on her next move but wasn't really all that good at chess.

"Katie! You can't move there! You'll put yourself in check mate!" Remus said, staring at the board.

"Remus! You weren't meant to tell her that!" James said, annoyed that he wouldn't win instantly.

"So, really Remus, why are you leaving?" Sirius asked, "You're not really going home are you?"

"I don't know what you mean," Remus said, looking at the floor.

"I mean, it's not really your auntie is it, it's actually the moon isn't it?" Sirius continued.

"I don't know what you're talking about! Of course it's my auntie! And of course I'm going home! Where else would I be going?" Remus said uneasily.

"Fine, go and see your 'auntie' then," Sirius said loosing patience with the boy, he didn't understand why he didn't just tell them all. They were his friends weren't they! And friends don't keep secrets!

Remus left the Common Room without another word. He didn't like people asking questions for fear that they would find out his secret. But Sirius sounded awfully convincing, but he couldn't know, could he? He'd been so careful!

The werewolf went as usual to Professor Dreamstone's office so that she could take him to the Shrieking Shack safely. After his previous incident the staff didn't feel as safe around him as they had done before. All the staff except Dumbledore that is, he said that he'd trust Remus until his dying day, which was a long way off yet!

Professor Dreamstone escorted the young boy outside and to the Whomping Willow. A black-haired boy looked out of the window in his first year dormitory. He saw the dark-haired woman lead the sandy-haired boy into the tree. She pressed the knot and he climbed in out of sight. She then peered into the darkness to make sure that no one was watching and then satisfied, she left.

Sirius' thoughts had been correct. There was something up with Remus and to him at least it was very obvious. He didn't want to tell anyone, just on the off chance that he was wrong. But he knew it. Remus was a werewolf!

James had just beaten Katie at wizard's chess. Again. There was really no use in playing her as she lacked any sense of logic or strategy. James switched the game to exploding snap, at least now there was some excitement when she lost. Chess was so boring when the same person won with the same moves over and over again.

Sirius left the bedroom and went back down to his friends. But then something strange happened. He was glued to the spot. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak, blink, or anything. His muscles were frozen and he definitely wasn't going anywhere. Neither was anyone else at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The whole school was frozen solid. Like the lake at the moment. Eyes were glassy, hair was stiff and mouths weren't moving. The school looked like a scene from Madam Tussaurd's. Waxworks littered the silent school. The moon shone through the windows and cast eerie shadows on the pupils.

"I'm coming for you Albus," said a voice. A piercing voice that shattered the silence of the air. It reached into every nook and cranny and smothered it in darkness. It washed around the walls and coated it in evilness.

"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, you won't live to see another day. Your time is up. It will happen tonight. Everything will end tonight. Evil will out all." The voice said. It was hard to tell whether it was male or female because of the way it was entwined with impure magic.

A sandy-haired boy emerged as the moon moved to create place for the sun. He crept out of the secret tunnel and looked around for any other sign of life. He saw a figure. A woman, with tight, curly black hair and red, silky dress. She danced her way through the long grass of the school grounds and up to the main entrance. She giggled like a schoolgirl and waltzed up the steps.

The boy wondered what to do. He realised that the school must be in danger from the way she was talking. Talking about Dumbledore. He looked at the distance from him to her.

'If I aim from here I can probably stun her. Or immobilise her or something,' he thought. He couldn't let anything else happen. He had to do something and something soon. She was pulling open the huge, wooden doors.

"Stupe….Stupe" he tried but he was too cold. He tried warming himself up by rubbing his hands together. "Stupefy!"

The flashes of light span from his wand and hit the woman straight in the back. She jerked and fell to the floor in a heap. The boy left his hiding place and ran up to the castle, tripping from the sheer speed at which he was getting up there.

He ran up to the school and saw the woman sprawled out on the steps. He looked at her. She could have been pretty, if she hadn't been corrupted by evil. Her eyes were wide open in shock and were icy blue. The colour of the lake just before Christmas. Her lips were full and coated in cherry coloured lipstick. He ignored her and opened the double doors.

He was shocked by what he saw. Everything was still and inanimate. It was like walking into a muggle photograph and not being part of it. He walked up to Lucius Malfoy who was walking through the entrance hall. Ah the pranks he could play on him at that moment. But he didn't.

There was nothing that he could do to help. So he ran up to the owlery and composed a letter to the Ministry of Magic.

Dear Ministry,

My name is Remus Lupin and I'm a pupil at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Something dreadful is happening here. Please send someone to help me. I'm all alone. Please come quick.

Yours truly, Remus Lupin

It was good enough for the short time he'd had to write it in. He looked around for an owl, only to find that they were all still and glassy eyed as well. He didn't know what to do and fell to the ground in floods of tears.

Just then he head a loud screech. He looked outside and saw a large, brown owl heading his way. It must be returning from an errand. He strapped the letter to its leg and sent it on its way. Then he collapsed again and waited for a reply.

An owl flew into the Ministry at breakneck speed. It landed on the reception desk in a parcel of feathers. The receptionist looked down at it in shock and opened the letter that was attached to it. It must be important to have the owl that stressed.

She read the letter and her eyes widened. "MINISTER! MINISTER!" she screamed as she ran up to his office. He met her on the way, after hearing her urgent cries.

"What is it Melissa?" he asked the frantic woman. She shoved the letter in his direction as she gasped for breath. He read it and ran past her shouting orders in every which direction. He disapparated and found himself outside the Hogwart's gates. He levitated himself up to the owlery, missing everything that was within.

"Minister?"

"Remus Lupin I presume?" the boy nodded. "I don't understand exactly what happened but show me something, anything that's gone wrong." Remus led the man out of the room and into the corridor. It was immediately clear what was the problem was.

"Ah, I see. Remobilus!" he said and everyone was walking again as if nothing had happened.

"Also, Minister, Sir, there was a woman. I stunned her as I came in. She's outside, on the steps" Remus explained to the man. They raced there as quickly as possible, gaining plenty of weird looks.

They got there but were too late. She no longer lay there. She had gone.

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