LINER NOTES:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I WAS DONE! DONE, YOU HEAR! EDITING FINISHED! REVIEWS ANSWERED!
AND THE COMPUTER DELETED IT! GAAHHHHH-breathes heavily to regain composure- Okay, okay . . .I'm not
answering Eleonora's review AGAIN . . . it took me half an hour to answer it . . . and little girls need to be going to bed, cos
they're sick and it's late . . .
DISCLAIMER: JKR would be eating this bowl of ice cream without worrying about getting fat, because she can take care
of it. Contrariwise, my life savings amounts to eighteen dollars and change.
RATING: This chapter is rated PG-13 for language.
REVIEWS:
Miss Anonymous hp: All I can say is, well spotted.Macnair replaced Nott in the third(final) draft of this chapter, after I
realized that we have no idea what Nott Sr. does for a living. MacnairSr, of course, is an executioner for the Ministry - which
ishow his son knew about the "seven numbers" beingMinistry wards.
ThePurpleEmperor: Sorry, I'm sorry! I . . . no I'm not. You're enjoying it. That much is clear. And I assure you: your notes
are NOT worse than mine. Example: When Harry says "Why do I have to study Occlu- thing?" in OotP, there's a note in the
margins that says "Terribly articulate, isn't he? Why can't he ever talk straight when Snape is around?" (Yes, when I'm done
with "Bottle of Ink" or when I get more time on my hands, I'll be starting a Harry/Severus. How did you guess?) When you
start writing in-jokes to yourself in your margins, we'll get together and set up a support group.
Nightshade-013: I do enjoy original fiction (sometimes), but it's one thing I won't beta - I tend to be far too harsh. (No
wonder I like Snape so much.) It might be a few days before the next chapter gets out, as I'll have work to catch up on . . .
Eleonora1: I'll fully answer your review later in an email (I promise), but I do have a couple things I want to answer here: 1.
Remus clearly states that the life-threatening prank occurred after he graduated, therefore it was definitely NOT the Shrieking
Shack. 2. Severus will be giving Remus the "mysterious object" at some point very soon, though you won't find out why until
after the de- er, after January in the BoI universe. Remus' note from Severus? Irrelevant and highly inappropriate. (Suffice it to
say there's a reason we never find out - I know there are a lot of young people reading this story.) The Forest is no longer
completely forbidden for several reasons, but yes, one of them is because of Remus. (The centaurs will be shifting slowly to
join the humans in the fight against Voldemort, as well.)
As always, this story is dedicated to Eleonora1, my best friend Alicia, and ImmortalFlick, though I'm not currently too
happy with her because "Unwanted or Improper" has yet to be updated!
Enjoy!
.:":.Haruka.:":.
Disbelief met Harry's statement when the Gryffindors all gathered after dinner.
"What?"
"No way, Harry!"
"You've got to be joking."
It was Hermione's next comment that prompted the Gryffindors from stunned disbelief into action mode. "We have to do
something about this."
"Bloody damn right we do!"
"We can't lose Professor Lupin to the bloody Minstry, like they know anything to begin with."
"We don't have to put up with this!"
"Professor Lupin shouldn't have to put up with this."
"But what can we do?"
"Here, Michael, do you want to sign this?"
Michael Corner read the petition that was circulating the breakfast tables. "Sure. Want me to pass it down our table so you
can go back to breakfast, Parvati?"
"Sure, thanks, Michael."
Michael Corner's signature was number four hundred and seventy nine on the petition to remove Remus Lupin's Ministry
order of resignation.
"Excuse me, Professor?" Minerva McGonagall looked up from the stew she was eating for lunch - not that she had much
appetite.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"Um - do you want to sign the petition?" Professor McGonagall furrowed her brows.
"What petition is this, Miss Granger?" Hermione handed her the quill and clipboard. Professor McGonagall read the statement
across the first page of the parchment and flicked through the several pages of signatures before adding her own in space six
hundred and thirty two and passing the clipboard to Pomona Sprout, who was sitting right next to her.
It stunned everyone that Remus was still almost completely oblivious to the rebel movement going on all around him. Though
he was aware of a petition being circulated to prevent his sacking, he had no idea how many people had signed it - until
Severus signed it, commenting (more to himself than anyone) "I'd never have believed they'd have more than seven hundred
signatures in two and a half days." Remus scrambled to pull the clipboard around, and stared at the pages with signatures
ranging from little more than scrawls all the way up to elegant calligraphy. He was even more stunned to see several Slytherin
names on the pages without even looking for them. Then Severus passed the clipboard on to Flitwick. Remus didn't eat
anything more. He wasn't entirely sure he could remember how to close his mouth.
Twelve days after Remus' letter, Percy Weasley entered the office of Cornelius Fudge with a thick envelope. "Sir, I think
perhaps you should have a look at this."
In the time since Remus received his letter, a group of five students had collected sixteen hundred and eighty one signatures
from students, staff, and parents.
The Ministry couldn't discount the validity of the petition, even though about half the people who'd signed it were underage.
Fudge sighed angrily. "Weasley, take a letter."
Remus was pretending to eat his last breakfast at Hogwarts - he wasn't really hungry, but he didn't want to distress anyone by
appearing to not eat - when a tawny owl dropped an official-looking letter in front of him. He sighed and closed his eyes
before reaching for the envelope. He had a very good idea what was in it - or so he thought.
Everyone in the Great Hall looked up at the Head Table abruptly when there was a loud shriek and the crashing of a heavy
wooden chair. Remus had stood up so quickly he'd knocked his seat right over, and now he was staring, wild-eyed, at a
letter clenched between trembling hands. Dumbledore stood up, righted Remus' chair, and then gently pulled the parchment
from the slightly hysterical man's hands. He coaxed Remus back into his chair, returned to his own seat, read the letter
through twice, and then stood again. Silence reigned throughout the hall.
"I am pleased to inform you all," Dumbledore announced, "that your efforts as a unified group have paid off. The Ministry has
withdrawn Professor Lupin's order of resignation."
The Creevey brothers were the first to respond, breaking into applause. Remus' sister Melody followed them, and then a
dark-haired, dark-skinned girl from the Ravenclaw table stood up with a shout of "You go, Remus!" Remus blushed as most
of the Hall followed the four upstarts into applause and appreciative whistles. The common goal they'd succeeded in had done
something Dumbledore had been trying to do for many years - Remus had united them all.
Tonight, the Halloween dance. Harry felt a bit stupid - he hadn't been able to think of a costume, so he was going as a Light-
Shadow. His mask was full-face, and painted black and white in four quarters. The rest of his outfit was split similarly - one
half of his shirt white, one half black, and the trousers done the same way in reverse. He added a black glove (and a white)
one and shoes (both black) beneath a black robe and a white necktie. Well, it could have been worse. Hermione had made
the mask, so the two halves of the face looked like half of one of the comedy/tragedy theater masks. One half was laughing,
the other crying. He supposed maybe he could survive this unscathed.
Harry wanted to get down to the Great Hall early for two reasons - one, nobody had been able to find out the name of the
band playing that evening, but it was rumored that Dumbledore, Flitwick and McGonagall had been changing the wards on
the castle. Secondly, he wanted to see what Severus was wearing. He knew the Potions Professor would be there. He'd said
so, though he was really only going because he had to. Harry wondered if he'd spend his night sulking in the cornstalk maze
(1) outside the front doors like what he'd done at the Yule Ball in Harry's fourth year. This question was quickly answered
when Harry walked directly into a man wearing a costume he recognized instantly as the Phantom of the Opera, complete
with a mask that covered the left half of his face and his right eye.
"Might I request that you watch where you're going, Potter?" The voice was unmistakeable.
"Er - sorry, Professor," Harry responded, but he grinned as he turned away to go sit at one of the many tables scattered
throughout the Great Hall. He was quickly joined by Remus, Severus, and three people Harry didn't recognize (their masks
covered too much). The rest of the table was soon filled by Ron, Hermione, Neville, Dean, and Seamus.
"I'm sitting in the middle of a crowd of bloody Gryffindors," Severus informed Remus superfluously, clearly trying only to
appear disgusted (he wasn't really). Harry was hard pressed to determine just who, exactly, Remus was supposed to be.
He'd charmed his hair to his shoulders and then to a shade of dark brown. He had a black silk eye mask on his face, black
gloves on his hands, a rich red cape, black pants, a white shirt under a black vest, and black button up boots. He was also
attempting to speak with a thick Spanish accent.
"Ahh, but my friend, you are also sitting next to the great Don Juan!" Well, that answered one question. Harry had been
leaning more toward Zorro. "Surely you will admit that it is a great honor to be in the presence of such a man."
"A man who slept with more than a thousand women?"
"Si, my friend!" Severus shook his head. "I far prefer music to women. They're really not my type."
Everyone at the table laughed. Harry could have sworn Severus gave him a very small, wryly placed wink.
Dinner passed quickly. Tables were moved to the walls, a stage appeared, and Dumbledore moved on to it.
"Good evening, everyone." He was greeted by a general murmur of "Good evening" from the students and staff. "Tonight it is
my great honor to announce that for the first time since 1642 (2), Hogwarts is welcoming several nonmagical members of the
community. I would ask you all to give a great welcome to our guests this evening, and to enjoy the entertainment I have been
assured they will provide."
Everyone started clapping as the mystery people from Harry's table trooped up onto the stage, pulling off masks and parts of
costumes. Harry was stunned. Impossible. Completely impossible. But there they were - and then Remus came racing up on
to the stage with his usual trademark entry-line to almost anywhere: "Sorry, sorry, sorry Raven, sorry . . . " Several people
laughed, but most appeared shocked, as Remus came to a halt in front of his guitar. "Couldn't get the stupid bloody cloak off.
That's the last time I let somebody else tie it."
Raven didn't appear to be paying attention. Instead, she had her head tipped back so far Harry feared her neck might break.
"Bloody hell, Remy, where's the ceiling?"
Remus managed to catch his breath before answering. "You're looking at it, Raven. And could I ask you to keep it toned
down - just a little? I do believe I mentioned I have to face most of these kids on Monday."
Raven turned her head and grinned at him evilly. The people up front all laughed. And the dance began.
"Ahhuurrrooooo!" Raven tipped her head back and let out a very mangled imitation of a werewolf cry. Remus moved up next
to her, motioning with his hands. "No, no, I keep telling you - from the back more, Raven, back of the throat. Very gutteral."
"Arrouuhhhooooo?" Laughter. Remus shook his head and rolled his eyes and gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder. "We'll
keep working on that."
"Arrooooouuuuuuu!" Raven froze. "Remy, did you hear that?" She scanned the crowd nervously.
Remus stared at her obliviously. "Hear what?"
"Arroooouuuuuuuuuuu!" Raven turned to him as the eerie sound echoed through the Hall again. "That."
Remus grinned - but it was a slightly nervous grin. "Oh, that - that's - a werewolf, actually, Raven. Forest's full of them."
Raven continued to scan the room nervously.
"Arrouuuuuuuuuu!"
"Remy?"
"Hmm?"
"That . . . that wasn't outside." Remus stared at her, openmouthed. "Are you saying I did that?"
"Arrrrouuuuuuuuu!"
"No . . . but . . . Remy, that's not outside." Another howl. "Remy, that's behind us."
"Oh, bloody hell, I'll go look for it." A slightly prickly Severus pushed past them. A door creaked on splintery hinges, and
everyone heard footsteps and more howls. Then the door slammed. And the lights went out.
Several people screamed. Then Hermione grabbed Harry's arm and pointed behind the stage as music started. "Look!"
A screen had magically appeared behind the stage, and everyone could see Raven moving through an old, abandoned
wooden house that looked suspiciously like a larger, more elaborate version of the Shrieking Shack, minus most of the
furniture. The screen shed an unearthly glow down on the stage as Remus started to sing - but he really didn't sound like
himself. This voice was younger, less trained, more spectral. On the screen, something grabbed Raven's arm - she turned,
looked into golden-red eyes, and let out a silent scream. Muted red lights shone down, dimly lighting the stage and the front of
the hall.
After several minutes of aliens and werewolves and a few zombies, Remus started reciting something in a voice that was
slightly comforting and yet frightening at the same time - he sounded almost like he did in the classroom. He moved up behind
Raven and pulled her around to face him, turning her face as he came to the end of what seemed an eerie poem. The screen
went black and showed only an evilly glowing pair of red eyes. Remus started laughing an evil, unearthly laugh. Raven
screamed.
And the room was pitched into complete blackness. (3)
A door creaked. Someone near Harry moaned, "Oh, not again," but then the lights flickered on and Severus appeared in
front of the stage. "It wasn't anything but a plastic. (4) You ought to be more careful with your things, Lupin." Remus and
Raven looked at each other and started laughing weakly - until a creepy organ loop played. It stopped suddenly, and from
behind the keyboard the evil Sinelle Draconn laughed at her counterparts. Instantly the room was filled with laughter, and then
Remus held up his hand. "It's ten to midnight . . ." He struck a chord, announced "Find your partners," and then introduced the
song. "This one, this is another old one, but it's a favorite of mine because, it's, when it first came out it really described my
mindset, the middle part really, really described it, but then I grew up a little and fell into the trap of living the other half of the
song." Laughter from everyone. "So this song, this song's called 'Scenes From an Italian Restaurant (5)' and - oh, I'm just
gonna shut it now or you'll all repay me by falling asleep in class tomorrow." Everyone laughed, and then laughed again as he
pretended to snooze on top of the microphone stand before the song started, lyrics bouncing back and forth between
everyone on the stage. Remus got the part about "leather jackets and tight blue jeans," and Harry heard Lavender and Parvati
start giggling behind him. He wasn't entirely sure why - sure, that was essentially what Remus was wearing at that exact
moment, but he didn't see why that made it funny. "Girls," Harry muttered to Ron (the pair had nixed dancing in favor of sitting
near the stage and watching), and Ron nodded fervently in agreement. The song finally came to an end, and a slow song
started. Ron got up to look for Hermione (Harry didn't have a date), but was spared the trouble when she came up and took
his hand.
"Harry, would you care to dance with me?" Harry looked up into a pair of silvery eyes - from where he was, even the first
years were taller than he was.
"Er - sure."
If anybody had told Harry two hours ago that he'd be dancing with Luna Lovegood at midnight, he'd have never believed
them.
"It's the midnight hour . . . " Remus intoned into a microphone, and Sinelle played her spooky organ music again. (Harry
suspected one of those fancy synthesizer keyboards.) All around the room, masks came off, and Harry looked down at his
dance partner to see if he'd been correct. He had been. Luna absentmindedly brushed Harry's bangs out of his eyes, and he
blinked in surprise. "You look . . . er . . . different," Harry finally managed, and Luna smiled as though it were the best
compliment she'd ever heard. "Thank you, Harry . . . I have to be getting back to my table now . . ." Luna drifted off amongst
the dancers (there was another fast number going). It was several moments before Harry remembered to sit down.
"Harry, mate, you feeling all right?" Ron sounded worried as he handed Harry a butterbeer.
"Er - fine. Say, Ron, if I told you I danced with Luna Lovegood, would you say I was crazy?"
Ron didn't even consider. "Absolutely, mate. Lovegood's been sitting at that table -" Ron pointed across the room, to where
Harry could barely see a mass of blonde hair with cat's ears sticking out of it - "all night."
"Er - right," Harry managed. That wasn't possible, was it?
"Well everyone, hey!" Raven pulled the microphone from Remus' hand. "All right, everyone, you know what they say in
Mexico - we're not here for a long time, we're here for a good time (6), and like we say, it's time for the last dance . . . Last
Dance, Remy, did you - Remy? Remus . . . Re-mus . . . " Raven waved a hand in front of Remus' face. He was pretending to
snooze on the microphone stand again. "Remy, one more and you can go up to your room -" Remus shook his head. "Down
to your room?" Remus shook his head again and made some kind of motion with his hand. "Down to somebody else's room?"
Remus nodded, eliciting mostly giggles from the female element of the crowd - at least, the female element old enough to
understand the reference. "Remus, tell me you're not staying down there . . . "
"Absolutely not. At least let these kids believe I have morals, Raven." Again, the wave of laughter came mostly from the older
members of the group, but now it came from both genders. "Actually I am going to my own room. All - by - myself." Several
friendly-mocking "aww's" came from various people. "Of course, I never said there wasn't somebody already in there waiting
for me." Snorts and shrieks of laughter (the boys and mature girls) and giggles (the immature girls).
"Remy?"
"Yes, Raven?"
"Aren't you the one who asked me to tone it down?"
"Raven, for all you know, the someone waiting for me is a big fluffy brown puppy dog with a bow around its neck because
waking up next to something happy to see you and slobber all over youis better than waking up all alone. Now would you
care to tell me why you woke me up?" More laughs, though these again were mostly from the Lavender-and-Parvati element.
"Last dance, Remy."
"Oh, good. That means I can go home. There's no guitar in Last Dance (7)."
Raven rolled her eyes in a manner that could have been meant as affectionate. "Right, Remy. So, all of you, it's Last Dance -
thanks so much for having us tonight, it's been a blast, and we've got Sinelle Draconn on keyboards and backup, Jason Tych
on drums, Remus Lupin on lead guitar and vocals -" Remus waved from where he was carefully disassembling his guitar and
the various things attached to it - "Sonny Barton on bass guitar, I'm Raven Knight on lead vocals, and we're the Irregulars!"
Applause scattered throughout the Hall, and the Last Dance began.
Harry filtered out into the entrance hall - Remus had waited with the rest of the band to help them pack up (apparently wards
that allowed electronics to work had been placed), and Harry wanted to talk with him. Remus looked up, saw him, and
smiled. "Did you have a good time, Harry?"
Harry nodded, and then saw Snape coming out of the Hall. "Er - I guess I should get going - you guys were great."
Remus saw Severus at the same time Harry did, and smiled again. "Thank you. Have a good night, Harry."
Harry embraced his guardian briefly before all-but-floating up the Grand Staircase and down the hall toward Gryffindor
Tower.
(The very, very long) REFERENCE NOTES:(Sorry)
(1) For those who don't live in places where there are cornstalk mazes, I pity you. They're quite fun. They're
exactly what they sound like - mazes made out of cornstalks (usually still unharvested or harvested by hand so
the stalks themselves are still in the ground), the insides often decorated with elaborate displays of Draculas,
Frankensteins, demented Jack-o'lanterns, and so on. The challenge, in a truly good cornstalk maze, is getting out
- you can't see where you're going because the stalks usually range between 8 and 14 feet tall and many of the
pathways go in circles!
(2) Unless my History of Magic is wrong (in which case I need to go reread a few things), this was the year that
heralded the permanent split between the magical and non-magical communities.
(3) Can you guess what song this is? HINT: The album was released in 1982, and the song itself is quite Remus-
appropriate. Incidentally, this was the song Remus was singing in the original draft of the reveal chapter - but
because it deals with werewolves, I felt it to be too 'obvious' and ditched it.
(4) Severus actually means a "vinyl," and is referring to a vinyl record.
(5) 'Scenes . . . ' is by Billy Joel and came out sometime between 1973 and 1985 (I'm pretty sure it came out in the '70s), which
would put Remus between 13 and 25 years old. Listen to the song, and you'll understand very well why it describes my
interpretation of Remus - if not himself literally, then people he may have known or his own general mindset. I transcribed
below the small chunk that got this song its place in this chapter, just in case you're interested:
Do you remember those days hangin' out at the village green?
Engineer boots, leather jackets and tight blue jeans
Oh you drop a dime in the box an' play a song about New Orleans
Cold beer
Hot lights
My sweet romantic teenage nights!
Sound like anybody we know? Yes? A little? More like Sirius than Remus? Yeah, I'd have thought so too . . . but then, you
guys don't yet know his whole history as written by me, and I do! (That triangle isn't the only tattoo he's got.) You'll know all
you need by the end of the story, though, I promise . . .
(6) This is true, and is part of the theory behind El Dia de Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead Ones), a day when Mexicans
honor their deceasedfriends and relatives, and is vaguelysimilar to our Hallowe'en. Just thought I'd also share where I first
heard this phrase, bringing the circle to its close - from alocal band!
(7) By Donna Summer. Album "The Dance Collection," 1987. This is, as implied, the last dance of the night, but
the name of the song is also "Last Dance." One of those puns I love making.