Note to Readers: I thought I mentioned this in the beginning, but if I didn't oops. This takes place during Harry's fifth year, making the trio 15.
***I'm just changing this chapter and another, after watching Sexual Healing, I realized Maria's father left her at a different age then I posted, & it's been bugging me.
Chapter 8
Questions & Answers
Maria walked into the great hall the next morning to see her mother standing next to a strange man at the right end of the professor's table. As she got closer she recognized the man, it was her father, Remus Lupin. She quickly walked up to the table and stopped in front of them.
"Mom?"
Amy looked over and saw her daughter. Without a second thought Amy embraced her daughter. "I missed you so much." Amy told her.
"I missed you, too."
Maria pulled away first, and looked up a Remus. "Why did you leave?" She asked sternly.
"Because I asked him to." Amy said. "Can we eat breakfast first and then I'll explain?"
Maria nodded her head. She left them and joined the Hufflepuff table.
After breakfast Amy, Maria, and Remus went to the empty DADA classroom to talk.
"So?" Maria started.
"First off Remus isn't your father. I know I let you believe for so long that he was, but he isn't."
Before Maria could open her mouth, Amy continued.
"I know you are going to hate me for saying this, but I'm not ready to revisit the past and tell you who your father really is. Please be patient, this is painful for me, but I will tell you everything soon."
"Okay," Maria sighed, "I accept that, but I do want to know soon, and I'm also afraid to know." Amy took her hand. "I trust you, so you can tell me whenever you're ready, but I need to know one thing, why Remus?"
"After you were born, I had just moved out to Roswell, alone. My parents didn't approve of your father, who I had left at Hogwarts without knowing about you. I finished high school at Roswell High, but I had you in the middle of the year. I couldn't go to school, and care for you without an income. So I sent my last owl, pleading my friends for help. Remus answered, he lived with us and cared for you while I was at school and work. As you learned to talk, I let you call him dad. You had grown so attached to him."
Maria sat on the teacher's desk.
"But there was a complication." Remus explained. "I'm a werewolf and three nights a month during the full moon, I turn into a wolf. We though we had a handle on it, Amy bought a tranquilizer gun and locked me in the basement. To keep me sedated, she would leave a piece of steak down there covered in sleeping potions."
"But after you turned seven something happened." Amy said. "One night during a full moon I was forced to leave you with a baby-sitter. Your grade school teacher disapproved of my relationship with Remus and threatened to call child services if I didn't meet her for a parent-teacher conference. So I told the sitter that my dog had rabies and not to go into the basement. She listened, but you didn't. After she put you to bed, you crawled out and snuck into the basement. When I came home the sitter was freaking out, 'why did I have a wolf in the basement?' she wanted to know. She found you downstairs petting a large wolf. I put a memory charm on her and sent her home."
"We decided that it would be best if I left. You were heart broken, you were losing your father and new pet." Remus finished.
"Can I ask something? How did the town react to Remus living with us?"
"Well, everyone had their own theories. Jim Valenti thought he was my brother, while the Parkers thought he was your father. Mostly because you told Liz he was. Others just thought he was a friend. But Roswell is a small town, which comes with small minds and a werewolf and a witch would not be acceptable, just like an unwed living together couple. We thought it would be safer for everyone if Remus left."
"Um, how did I get so close to Remus anyway?"
"We don't know, the wolf was awake... When I came home you were tickling his belly, like he was a trained dog and the wolf was behaving like you was his pup." Amy explained.
Maria wasn't sure what to think. "My father isn't Snape, is he?"
"No." Amy said sounding slightly surprised.
"One more thing?"
Amy nodded.
"If you're a witch and my father's a wizard and I don't have powers, does that make me a squib?"
"Possibly or not, because of who your father was could have something to do with it." Remus said.
"How?"
"Well, I'm a witch from a muggle family and his father was a muggle, while his mother was a witch. It's possible that you are also a muggle."
"Hmm," Maria mumbled.
"Are you alright?" Amy asked.
"Yeah, it's all kind of confusing, but I understand about, just…when you're ready."
Amy hugged Maria. "I'm sorry for keeping all this from you."
"Well, I'm sorry I got mixed up with a bunch of aliens and ended up here."
Amt pulled away and smiled. "Don't be, Hogwarts is the best place for all of you right now."
"We are all just so tired of running. Even Michael of all people, didn't want to question the reality of this place."
As they hugged a black dog entered the classroom.
"Well, if it makes you feel better, Remus is your godfather." Amy told Maria.
Maria smiled, she turned to hug Remus and saw the dog. "Who's that?"
"What?" Amy asked.
"That man who is he?"
Remus closed and locked the door to the hallway. "How can you tell he's a man?"
Maria became confused. "What do you mean? He's right there, (she pointed to the dog) he's on his hands and knees."
"Sirus," Remus spoke.
The dog transformed into Sirus Black. He looked at Maria in confusion. He then noticed Amy. "Amy? Is this your daughter?"
"Yes, Maria, this is Sirus Black, Sirus this is Maria."
"She has his eyes." Sirus whispered. "How, how did you know that I was a man?"
"I just saw you as a man." Maria explained in a very confused tone.
"I think we just answered Maria's question." Remus said. "You're obliviously a witch if you can see through Sirus' disguise."
"That explains why she wasn't afraid of you in the basement." Amy realized.
Remus nodded his head thinking. "Then that means that her powers are blocked somehow."
"You mean by a spell?" Maria asked.
"Possibly." Remus said as he looked at his watch. "It's nearly time for lunch. I'll need to do some research on this, and Dumbledore wanted to talk to you after lunch, Amy."
"Don't worry, Maria, we'll figure this out." Amy said.
"Well, I have a study session with Hermione this afternoon, so we can continue this later." Maria said.
"Where are you headed now?" Sirus asked her.
"To my room and then to lunch."
"Can I join you?"
"Well, I'm eating with the Gryffindors today."
"Perfect." Sirus smiled.
Remus smiled, too. "Sirus is Harry's godfather."
"Oh."
Sirus transformed back into a dog.
"Can you understand him as a dog, too?" Amy asked.
Sirus barked.
"Yeah, he just said 'lead the way',why?"
"Just wondering."
Maria unlocked and opened the door, she led Sirus out into the hall.
Amy turned back to Remus. "Who would want to block her power?"
"I don't know." He sighed. "Do you remember anything weird about your last year."
"I don't think so. I kind of tried to forget anything having to do with him."
"When did you first find out about him?"
"You mean when he turned evil."
Remus nodded his head.
"Sirus sent an owl the night before they captured him."
"So you know he's innocent?"
"Yeah, why?"
"You can tell Fudge and clear his name."
"You mean there were no other witnesses?"
"None."
Amy reached into her robe's right pocket and pulled out a yellowed envelope. "Then this will probably help." Remus took it and opened it to reveal 2 wizard photos. "I never opened the letter three days ago. They've been in a shoebox in my closet all this time, I've just been afraid to remember you guys."
"They're of Peter blowing up the street." Remus muttered.
"Yeah." Amy said quietly.
"I have to take these to Dumbledore right away."
"I'm going with you." The two hurried off.
Maria walked into the great hall and spotted Michael with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Maria sat down across from them. "Hey."
"Hey," they all greeted.
"Harry, I have a surprise for you." Sirus jumped up and sat next to Maria.
"What is he doing here?" Harry asked.
'Well, hello to you too.' Sirus barked.
"He said hello." Maria announced.
"What are you Dr. Doolittle now?" Michael asked and received confused looks from the trio.
"No, (she whispers) he's actually a man."
"What?"
"Werewolves are real and people can turn into animals." Ron explained.
"Oh, so who is he?"
"My mom's pet." Maria said as Fred and George sat down next to Sirus.
"Hey, Maria, cool dog." Fred said.
George petted him, "what's his name."
Sirus barked. "Padfoot," Maria answered.
"That's one of the names on the map." Fred whispered to George.
Maria scooped food and put it in front of Sirus with him telling her what he wanted.
Ron whispered to Harry. "When was the last time he ate?"
Harry shrugged his shoulders. Most of the table stopped to watch Sirus eat.
"What him go!" George said.
Sirus cleared his plate in a couple of minutes.
At lunch Amy found herself sitting next Snape. "Hello, Severus."
Snape mumbled a hello as he bit into his sandwich.
"So I'm kind of confused, how does someone who failed Potions in school become a Potions Master?"
Snape chocked and started coughing. A couple of students in the front tried to hide their giggles.
"Did he offer to get you a good job if you joined him?" She asked grabbing his arm where the dark mark is.
"How?" He croaked.
"Oh, come on, Severus, you sucked at Potions. Hell, you blew up half the dungeon. That Longbottom boy is probably better than you were."
"Is not."
"Well, we'll see, I saw Dumbledore before lunch and he found my old roster. I'm going to finish my two years. You know cause I never took my O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s." She took a sip of her pumpkin juice. "And I guess who I have first thing tomorrow."
Snape put his head in his hands forgetting that he was still holding his tuna sandwich.
Amy smiled seeing he mashed tuna into his hair. "You know this looks very familiar, except you blew up your frog. What potion was that?"
"Sleeping Draught." He grumbled.
Amy smiled. "So then I guess you couldn't have been the one who blocked Maria's powers."
He looked up. "What?"
"I think someone fed me a potion while I was pregnant to block my powers, but it blocked Maria's. It couldn't have been you, cause you would have blown me up."
Snape didn't move, "your never going to let it go are you?"
"No, you're connected to him, so I want to make sure none of them are going to find out about me. Understood?"
"Yes."
"It's for Maria's sake."
"He never knew?"
"No and he better not find out either."
"You have to tell Maria."
"I will when I'm ready, from what I heard she still doesn't know as much as these kids do."
"I would tell her before Halloween, which is only a month away."
"Why?"
"Ever since Potter arrived, something always happens on Halloween."
"I'll tell her when I'm ready."
"Just promise you'll let me be there when you do for your defense."
"Okay."