TO ALL MY READERS: I apologize that it has been so long since my last update. To those of you who have stayed with me I thank you. To those of you who have given up I hope you will come back.
Chapter 51
Meredith felt a hundred pounds lighter after her talk with her Dad. She could now attend her Defense Against the Dark Arts classes without feeling sick to her stomach. Oliver had been avoiding her since the incident. She knew he felt horrible about letting her Dad see the memory. She was on her way to the library when she spotted him speaking to her Dad in the hall. Her dad appeared to look amused while Oliver was rather embarrassed. He kept looking at the wall, the floor, the ceiling, anywhere but at her dad. Remus looked up and saw her. He gave her a quick nod and patted Oliver on the shoulder. Oliver saw her and looked away.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey," he said.
"Haven't seen you in a while," she said.
"Yeah, uh, well you know I've been uh busy. Practice. We're playing Ravenclaw next weekend. If we don't win we'll be out of the running."
"Right," Meredith said. Any other day she might have believed Oliver had nothing else on his mind but Quidditch. But she knew him a little too well. He'd been avoiding her.
"What were you and my dad talking about?" she asked casually. Oliver's face grew red.
"He was uh…thanking me for coming to his daughter's aid. Said that his daughter is lucky to have a friend like me."
"His daughter agrees." Oliver ran a hand over his hair.
"Look Mere, I'm sorry…"
"No," Meredith said, "you were right. I should have told him before. I guess I was just too much of a coward."
"Meredith," Oliver said in shock. "You are anything but coward. You're the bravest person I know." She shrugged.
"I guess so. Anyway, I better get to the library."
"Yeah, I uh gotta get to practice."
The next two weeks were exhausting for Meredith. NEWTS were coming up sooner than she wanted to think about them. She knew her NEWT marks would have a huge impact on whether or not she would be accepted to St. Mungoes. On top of that her Dad had gone through an especially rough transformation, so he had needed her to cover almost all of his classes for an entire week, Snape being too busy to stand in. This had not made Patricia happy as Meredith had not had not been able to help her study and she had gotten a D on her last essay. By the weekend Patricia was barely speaking to her. Meredith and Patricia were not the only strained relationship in Gryffindor either. Apparently, Hermione's cat had eaten Ron's pet rat Scabbers and Ron was blaming Hermione for it.
"C'mon Ron," Fred said to him at breakfast the day after the 'murder'. "You were always saying how boring Scabbers was. And he's been wasting away. Probably better for him to go quickly. He probably didn't feel a thing."
"Cut it out Fred," Meredith scolded. She couldn't help agree that Scabbers hadn't been looking well and had most likely been nearing the end of his life. Lord only knew how he'd lived so long. Rats typically didn't have incredibly long life spans. Three years was usually the longest a rat lived yet Percy'd had him since he was eleven maybe longer. Yet it wouldn't help matters to remind Ron of that fact and she could feel for Ron though. She would be heartbroken if anything ever happened to Bianca. The one she truly worried about though was Hermione. The poor girl looked completely exhausted everytime she saw her. She didn't know how she was managing to get to all her classes but it was obvious the girl had taken on more than she could handle. Having her friends turn on her wasn't helping matters. She glanced over at Patricia who was talking to Emma Avery and pointedly ignoring her. She rolled her eyes. She'd had her fill of Patricia's little snits. She turned and glanced over at the teachers table and saw her dad. He was reading the Daily Prophet and had a most disturbed look on his face. Curious to what he could be reading she turned to the fourth year who had a copy of the prophet with him.
"Could I see that?" she asked. The fourth years shrugged and handed it over. Meredith opened it up and immediately saw it.
SIRIUS BLACK TO RECEIVE DEMENTORS KISS
After nine months of being unable recapture the escaped murderer Sirius Black The Minister of Magic has granted the Dementor's permission to administer their final punishment upon apprehension.
"We cannot afford to take the chance that the villainous Black could escape again," said Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge."
The Dementor's Kiss? Meredith dug into her bag and pulled out her Defense Against the Dark Arts Book. She flipped to the chapter on Dementors. She skimmed down until she found it
The Dementor only lowers its hood to deliver its final punishment. It has been called the Dementor's Kiss due to the Dementor clamping its jaws to its victims face. The Dementor will then suck out its victims' soul leaving its victim as an empty shell.
Meredith slapped her book shut. Sucking out someone's soul? The very idea made her cold. She stuffed her book back into her bag and headed to class.
She could feel Patricia not looking at her as she entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts. She rolled her eyes and went to stand next to Percy.
"Good morning class," her dad said as he entered. Meredith bit her lip. Her dad still looked exhausted. Was it a good idea for them to do this today? She quickly set her bag down and moved to his desk.
"How are you feeling?" she said softly.
"I'm fine," he said seriously.
"You don't look fine you look like you're barely standing on your own two feet. Maybe we shouldn't do this till you're recovered."
"I'll be fine love," he said. "I've taken precautions; no one's going to see anything. Please, take your seat." Meredith sighed. She did not have a good feeling about this but she could hardly keep standing there arguing with him. She turned and went to take her seat beside Percy. Patricia was giving her a suspicious look with Meredith returned with a challenge of her own. Patricia lowered her head and Meredith slid into her seat.
"What's up?" Oliver whispered behind her.
"Nothing," she said back. "I'm fine."
"Most of you have nearly mastered Occlumency. Our last class I was unable to get past the shield many of you had put up. However, the day may come when you will be under attack and not be prepared for it. You may not even know it. So you must always be ready for it. Your own thoughts can betray you so you must always be able to clear your mind."
"Wouldn't it just be easier to avoid eye contact with anyone you think might be reading your mind?" Rose Bucklin asked.
"That would be one way to do it yes." Remus said. "However, it is not the best way to go about it. So, I want you all to form a circle around me. Go on." They all moved into a circle with her dad standing at the center.
"Now," Remus said. "I want you all to clear your minds. Keep them clear. Whatever tricks or techniques you may use to keep your mind clear you must keep that constant flow of emptiness going. I will be randomly attacking you. You will not know when I will pick you or when the attack will come. Keep your minds empty. Fight back if you can. Everyone understand?" He was met with nods. Meredith took a deep breath and tried to calm her mind. She let her eyes go unfocused and let her mind go blank.
'Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing…..' She was dimly aware of what was happening around her as her father attacked her classmates. She could faintly hear his exclamations of approval, and their cries of victory, or defeat. He had not come to her yet. Her mind was her own but she would not lower her shield. She had to be ready. Ah, there it was. What used to be a fist punching into her brain, now felt like little more than a tiny pinprick. She could feel it poking at her shield. Her wall stayed firm, unyielding. As it poked at her she could feel herself start to push back. She could feel the tiny probe being pushed back away from her brain.
'Excellent' she could hear her dad say. She kept pushing away the tiny probe sliding from her and away. She kept pushing and then suddenly her mind was her own again.
'Stop,' she said. 'You can stop now.' But she kept pushing. It could come back. Tighten the wall. Don't let go. He could attack the moment you think you're safe. Sure enough she felt the probe come back. It was barely touching her mind but she could feel it trying to breach. She shoved it back with all her might and suddenly she could see things in front of her. Memories, memories that were not her own…
'A dusty, creaky, dilapidated room…so much pain…so much misery…it's was nearly time…they'd be here soon…PAIN…agonizing pain…it was all over…burning her…three boys…two tall with black hair one short and round with light hair…as the transformation took her over she saw them start to change…'
"PROTEGO!" Meredith fell backwards and landed hard on her backside. A protection spell had been cast but not by her. She looked up and saw her father. His face was flushed. He looked angry. All around her her classmates were staring, their eyes full of questions.
"That will be all," Remus said turning his back on them. "You're dismissed." Meredith glanced around her and saw her classmates scurrying out of the classroom. Meredith slowly got to her feet and gathered her things. She saw her father go into his quarters without so much as a backward glance at her. She slung her bag over shoulder and hurried from the room. Outside the door she leaned her back against the wall and slid to the floor. Merlin, she'd been afraid of this. He'd said he'd taken precautions but…she knew. She supposed she should be grateful that it had been her and not another student to see her dad's memories and that was exactly what she had seen. She was sure of it. But why had he been so angry? What was that dilapidated room and who were those boys? Why were they there during the transformation? She knew it could not have been anything else. GOD! She'd felt the agony he'd felt as she'd pushed into his mind. He went through that every month. God, she knew it was horrid but she'd never imagined anything like that. She got to her feet and went back into the classroom. Her dad was nowhere to be seen. She climbed the steps to his quarters and pushed open the door. She saw her dad standing at his desk with his back to her. She was about to say something when her father did something strange. He lifted his wand and touched it to his left temple. As he pulled his wand away it seemed to pull a long think silver thread with it. In amazement Meredith watched her dad drop the thread into a large silver basin. She shut the door quietly and turned away.
It had been almost a week and her dad had not mentioned what had happened in class. It bothered her more than she would admit that there seemed to be this distance between them. When he did not turn up at breakfast she decided it was best to seek him out. She found him in his classroom grading papers.
"Dad," she said softly. Her father looked up and smiled at her.
"Hello love," he said standing up.
"I, uh, don't want to interrupt," she said not meeting his eyes.
"Just grading essays," he said. "It will keep. What's up?"
"Um," she said nervously shifting from one foot to the other. "I just wanted to...I mean…Are we okay?"
"Of course we are," her dad said shocked. "Why wouldn't we be okay?"
"Just…after what happened in class…" Remus wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to his side.
"I admit, you surprised me," he said. "I hadn't expected any student to be able to project their Occlumency so I was not as prepared as I should have been. Your more powerful than I gave you credit for love." Meredith didn't know what to say to that. She'd always done well in Defense Against the Dark Arts but the thought of being more powerful than her classmates scared her a little. She could not help thinking of the day she'd blown up the potions lab and shuddered at the memory of it.
"Fortunately," he said. "I will not make that mistake again. Now, shouldn't we be heading down to the field?"
"The field?" she asked.
"Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw? Surely you'll want to go and support Oliver?" Meredith rolled her eyes. Yes, the match. It was all anyone had been talking about. Harry had been given back his Firebolt and had been showing it off at breakfast that very morning. Lord, it was annoying.
"Think I'll skive off," she said. "Got a ton of homework."
"Very well," Remus said. "I think it best I be there just in case." Meredith paused at her father's tone.
"You don't think the Dementors will show up again do you?"
"I can't be certain," Remus said. "And if they do I have every confidence that Harry will be able to keep them away at least until he gets to the ground. But, just in case…"
"Yeah," Meredith said. "Well, I'll see you later."
The common room was quiet, just the way she liked it. She pulled out her books and laid them on the table. She had so much work to do she did not know where to begin. She took up her Transfiguration book and started to read up on Disillusion charms. Tonks had had very little difficulty with these she remembered, but being Metamorphmagus probably didn't hurt in those cases. Meredith picked up her wand and started to practice trying to make her hand blend into the sofa. After awhile her hand seemed to grow slightly translucent. She grinned as she laid her hand on the sofa only to have it turn red and leathery like the sofa itself. She slid her hand over to lay it on the table and it took on the smooth texture of the wood.
"Finite," she said passing her wand over her hand. She giggled as it became flesh colored once more. She jumped as she heard a dull roaring sound. It had to have come from the Quidditch stadium. She could hear the faint sound of Lee Jordan's voice as he announced the match. She stood up from the sofa and went to the window. She pulled back the drapes and saw the sun shining. It was a beautiful clear day, nothing like it had been the last time Gryffindor played a Quidditch match. Meredith lifted the latch and opened the window. A gentle cool breeze blew in from the outside and ruffled her hair.
"…and look at that Firebolt go! Potter's really putting it through its paces now. Chang's Comet is just no match."
"JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS!" Meredith laughed as she heard her Head of House scolding the announcer. She sat down in a chair near the window. She should close it and get back to her studying but…it couldn't hurt to listen to what was going on at the match for just a few minutes. From the sound of it Percy would not be need to borrow the ten galleons he had bet Penelope on the outcome of the match. She still couldn't believe Percy of all people would be gambling. She leaned her head back against the chair. The warm breeze that blew across her face felt rather nice. Maybe she could just close her eyes for a minute…
She was on her knees digging in the dirt. She set a pretty red rose in the dirt and patted the soil around it. All of a sudden a black rose popped out of the ground to stand beside the red rose. Strange. It didn't seem to belong there but it looked right. Suddenly the sky turned dark and a bolt of lightning split the sky. She got to her feet and turned to hurry into the house. There, blocking her path was a big black dog. It was growling and snapping its jaws. Saliva was dripping from its mouth. She wanted to run but she was frozen to her spot. The dog suddenly stopped and tilted its head as though it was looking behind her. Meredith turned and gasped. In front of her stood a woman. Her hair was the color of flame and she wore a long white dress. She was not looking at Meredith as she held out her hand to the dog. Meredith watched in astonishment as the dog went to the woman. She laid her hand upon the dog's head as though she were greeting an old friend. All the breath left Meredith's body as the woman raised her eyes to her.
"Look closer…" Meredith's eyes flew open and she sat up in the chair. What in the world? She did not have time to think about the new twist her old childhood nightmare had taken on for she could hear the loud joyous cries of victory coming from the Portrait Hole. They spilled out in a mass led by Fred and George who had a large pile of food. Nabbed from the kitchen no doubt.
"Party in the Common Room!" They shouted laying the food down on the table. Meredith frowned at them and quickly gabbed up her books before they could be splattered with jam tart and what not. She vanished them upstairs where they would be safe and then went to speak to Oliver who was grinning from ear to ear.
"Guess I don't have to ask how it went?" He laughed and sprawled in a chair.
"Oh Mere it was magnificent. Merlin I wish you had been there. That firebolt can MOVE." Meredith smiled indulgingly and took a seat on the arm of his chair as he led her through the match play by play. She wasn't really paying much attention but she loved Oliver's enthusiasm.
"So Chang and Potter are both racing toward the Snitch, I can swear I'm gonna have a bloody heart attack! Then all of a sudden Chang gets this terrified look on her face and we all look down and there's these huge figures in cloaks just staring up at Harry." Meredith's fingernails dug into the arm rest.
"Dementors?"
"That's what we all thought," Oliver said grinning. "Potter doesn't even flinch! He just whipped his wand out and sent a Patronus straight at them." Meredith felt a surge of pride.
"He pulled off a full Patronus. It had a shape?"
"Yeah," Oliver said absently. "Something with four legs definitely. Didn't really get a good look. But that's when Harry grabs the Snitch and we WIN!" Meredith laughed at the goofy look of triumph on Oliver's face but she immediately was serious again.
"But what about the dementors? What did Dumbledore do?" Oliver grinned.
"They weren't dementors. Oh Mere you should have seen it. Flint and Malfoy and those two goons that always hang around Malfoy. Lying flat on their backs tangled up in these cloaks and looking completely shell shocked." Meredith tried to picture it in her head but couldn't quite get there. Flint, the git who had terrorized her fifth year and Malfoy that slimy little rodent blasted by a corporeal Patronus.
"Oh my stars," she muttered.
"Oh Merlin," Oliver said. "Next time I try to cast a Patronus I'll be picturing McGonagall going off on Flint and Malfoy. Detention for all of them and fifty points from Slytherin." Meredith grinned.
"We're in the final," Oliver said as though he were having trouble believing it. "We made it to the finals. We'll have to play Slytherin…"
"You'll crush them," Meredith said. "You've never played Slytherin and not had a victory. Last time you played them Harry made Malfoy look like an idiot. And Malfoy's Nimbus 2001 hasn't got the speed or the precision the firebolt has. He's gonna look like a sleepy old bear next to Harry." Oliver was staring at her as though he did not recognize her.
"I hear things," she said matter of factly. "I don't understand most of them, but I do hear them." Oliver threw his head back and laughed.
"You're pretty terrific sometimes Mere," he said squeezing her shoulder. He lowered his eyes.
"You will come to the final won't you Mere?" he said his voice suddenly shy. "It's the last match I'll ever play as a student. After that, who knows where I'll wind up? I hope England will take me eventually but until then I just don't know." Meredith felt a slight ache in her heart. It was really true wasn't it? They had just a few more months till they'd be taking their NEWTS and then…who knew? She still was holding out hope for St. Mungoes but there was no guarantee. A few short months and then who knew if she'd ever see her friends again. She glanced over where Patricia sat with a glass of pumpkin juice watching the Weasley twins shooting off fireworks. It had been nearly three weeks since they'd talked. Three weeks. They'd never gone that long without talking. She ran her thumb absently over the scar on her palm. She couldn't let it end like this. She slid her hands into her pockets and went over to where Patricia sat.
"Hi," she said. Patricia looked up at her uncertainly.
"Can I sit down?" Meredith asked. Patricia nodded. Meredith sat down in the chair and faced her oldest friend. Her blood sister.
"I guess it was quite a match," Meredith said staring at her hands.
"Yeah," Patricia said playing with a loose thread on the chair. "It was pretty exiting." Meredith bit her lip. Uncomfortable small talk. This wasn't them. They talked about everything, no secrets, anything goes.
"I miss you," Meredith said. Patricia looked at her sadly.
"I miss you too," Patricia said. "I miss how things used to be before…"
"Before my dad became our teacher," Meredith said. Patricia looked down at her lap.
"Your dad's a wonderful man, Mere," she said. "But it's just that since he's been here it's like he's the only one who matters to you."
"You know that's not true," Meredith said. "Patricia I love you. You're my best friend."
"Mere, I…"
Whatever Patricia might have said was cut off by Ron saying loudly, "If Scabbers hadn't just been eaten, he could have had some of these Fudge Flies. He use to really like them…" Meredith's glance shot over to Hermione who had already looked on the verge of a nervous breakdown. At Ron's words she burst into tears and ran from the room. Meredith bit her lip.
"Go on," Patricia said. Meredith got to her feet and hurried after Hermione giving Ron a sharp cuff upside the head as she went. She hurried up the stairs to the third year girls' dormitory. The dorm was empty as everyone was downstairs in the common room. The drapes were drawn around one bed and she could hear the sounds of crying coming from the bed.
"Hermione," she said stepping up to the bed. "Hermione it's Meredith." There was no answer. Meredith took hold of the curtain and pulled it back. Hermione was curled up in a ball her face buried in her arms. Meredith knelt beside the bed and rested her arms on the bed. She rested her chin on her arms as she took in the lonely, exhausted girl in front of her.
"He'll come around," Meredith said. "Eventually." Hermione only shook harder. Meredith did not speak as she knew there was nothing she could say that would make Hermione feel better. Right now she just needed to feel as though she were not alone. After a while Hermione lifted turned her head to look at her.
"When was the last time you got any sleep?" Meredith asked her. Hermione looked away. Meredith lifted her chin from her arms and gave Hermione a hard stare.
"You're taking on too much Hermione," Meredith said. "You look more exhausted than I did when I was studying for my OWLs."
"You sound like Harry," Hermione said. "He said I should drop some classes."
"He's right," Meredith said. "I don't know how you're doing it but it's not healthy. Trust me I know. I wore myself completely out my fifth year because I wasn't taking care of myself. And I wasn't taking on nearly as much as you are."
"He acts like I killed Scabbers," Hermione said softly. "And Harry's on his side because of the firebolt."
"Boys can be incredibly stupid about things Hermione," Meredith said. "All we females can do is wait out the storm." Hermione sat up and wiped her eyes.
"Think about what I said Hermione," Meredith said standing up. "No one would look down at you if you dropped a few courses."
"Maybe," Hermione said thoughtfully, "maybe I could drop Divination. It's all a load of rubbish anyway." Having never taken the subject herself Meredith could offer no comment.
"I know you've been asked this before," Meredith said. "But just how exactly are you getting to all your lessons." Hermione looked down at her lap for a long moment. She looked up at Meredith and then reached into her robes. Meredith eyes widened as she saw the small hourglass. She sat down on the bed and reached for it.
"Is this what I think it is?" she asked Hermione incredulously. She had heard of time turners but she never believed that they actually existed.
"McGonagall wrote all sorts of letters to the Ministry to get it for me. She had to swear to them that I was a model student and wouldn't only use it to get to my lessons. I'm not supposed to tell anyone but…well I know you can keep a secret." Meredith looked at Hermione hard.
"What do you mean by that?" Meredith said her voice low. Hermione raised her head and met Meredith's eye.
"No one else knows about your dad," she said. Meredith's heart dropped into her stomach. She grabbed her Hermione's shoulders and held her in place.
"What do you know about my dad?" she said her voice deadly soft. Hermione grew pale and she started to shake.
"He's….he's….he's a werewolf," Hermione said. Meredith released her and stared at her in shock.
"How long have you known?" Hermione wiped her eyes and stared at her lap.
"Since professor Snape made us write an essay on recognizing werewolves. No one else did it because they didn't think it was fair. But it was all there. All the symptoms. He always gets ill around the full moon. And when he faced the boggart it turned into the full moon." Meredith's heart pounded in her chest. The secret she'd kept from so many for so long had been found out by a thirteen year old. Snape, that slimy hooked nosed bastard! He must have wanted her dad to be found out. Bastard! Why couldn't he leave her dad alone?
"Who else knows," Meredith said softly.
"No one," Hermione promised. "I swear I haven't told a soul."
"Good," Meredith said. "Keep it that way." Hermione nodded.
"I won't tell I swear. I like your dad. I want him to stay. He's the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had." Meredith stared at her hard trying to decide if she could trust her. Trust her with the secret that not even her closest friends knew? There was no other choice. Hermione knew, and there was no changing that.
"All right," Meredith said standing up. "You should get some sleep." Hermione nodded and Meredith stepped outside the curtain. As she did she saw a shadow pass the door as though someone had just left the room. Her breath stopped as she realized her conversation with Hermione may have been overheard. She raced to the door to try and catch the person but all she saw was a flash of blonde hair hurrying up the stairs.
"Oh Merlin no," she thought as she raced up the stairs to the seventh year dorms. She pushed open the door and her worst fear was concerned. Patricia sat on her bed staring at the floor, her expression unreadable.
"Patricia?" Meredith said slowly approaching the bed. Patricia did not acknowledge her presence and continued to stare at the floor.
"Patricia?" Meredith said again. This time Patricia did turn and look at her. Her face was a mix of anger, sadness, and betrayal. Meredith sighed.
"So," Meredith said her voice strained and her chest hurting. "Now you know." Patricia stared at her shaking her head in disbelief.
"I'm sorry," Meredith said weakly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Patricia turned away and stared at the floor again.
"I should have told you," Meredith said, her throat burning from the strain. "I wanted to. I wanted to so many times but I was afraid how you'd react. I was afraid you'd hate me for it." Patricia said nothing.
"Merlin," Meredith said. "Will you say something?" Patricia did not look at her for a long time when she did the icy coldness in her eyes made Meredith shudder inside.
"All these years," Patricia said her voice cold. "All those nights we spent at your aunt's. Always on the full moon. Right there in front of me and I never put it together. God, how dumb can I be?"
"Please don't do this," Meredith said pleading.
"But that's me I guess," Patricia said as though she had not heard Meredith. "Stupid Patricia Patterson who couldn't even ties her shoes if the great and wise Meredith Lupin wasn't there to help her. God! When I think of it! You! My best friend. My blood sister! You let me stay in a house with a…a…a MONSTER!"
"He's not a monster!" Meredith protested. Though Patricia's words stung Meredith knew she had every right to be angry with her for lying to her. But she would not let Patricia accuse her father of things he could not help.
"What can Dumbledore be thinking letting him in a school with kids!"
"Will you listen to me?" Meredith shouted. Patricia stopped and stared at her.
"He's not a monster," Meredith said. "He takes a potion. It makes him safe."
"Oh sure," Patricia scoffed. "A tame werewolf. God, Meredith how can you be so naïve?"
"I've seen it," Meredith said. "I slept in the same room as him on the full moon. He was as harmless a baby niffler."
"If he's so harmless, if I was so safe when I stayed with you then why the hell didn't you tell me?"
"Cause I thought you might over react," Meredith said sarcastically. "What could I have been thinking?"
"Dammit Meredith!" Patricia shouted. "You don't know what these beasts are like. Soulless, mindless, they don't care who they hurt."
"You're wrong," Meredith shot back. "For god sakes Patricia you KNOW my dad."
"I only thought I did," Patricia said coldly her eyes blazing. "To think how I admired him. How I used to wish he was my father. When at any moment he could have turned on me and ripped me to pieces."
"Will you listen to yourself?" Meredith shouted. "God Patricia where is all this coming from?"
"It just proves what I've suspected for a long time," Patricia said speaking as though Meredith were no longer in the room. "Merlin, it all fits together now. Of course one monster helping out another."
"What are you talking about?" Meredith said her voice suddenly very low. If Patricia was implying what Meredith thought. Her hands were already shaking with rage.
"Oh I think you know exactly what I'm talking about," Patricia said. Meredith felt her face growing hot and her heart pounding in her chest.
"Don't," she said her voice going deathly low. Patricia glared back at her.
"Come on Meredith," Patricia said. "Just cause you don't want to face the facts doesn't make them less true."
"Stop it," Meredith said her voice shaking with barely controlled rage.
"They were FRIENDS!" Patricia shouted. "Black has been getting past those Dementors somehow! Someone has been letting him in! Why wouldn't one vicious bloody murdering beast…!"
"I said STOP IT!" Meredith said her wand suddenly in her hand and pointing directly at Patricia. Patricia stared at her incredulously. The shock in the other girl's eyes was a reflection of the shock that Meredith felt. Never in a million years would she have thought to draw her wand upon the girl who had been her closest and dearest friend for the last seven years.
"Are we really going to do this?" Patricia asked. Meredith felt something inside her break.
"I don't want to," she said. "But I won't let you accuse my father of something he didn't do just because of your prejudices."
"As long as you take the side of a werewolf…"
"The werewolf you're talking about is my father," Meredith said her voice firm but her heart breaking. "I won't go against him. Not even for you." Patricia looked sad but Meredith could see there would be no changing her mind.
"Then I'm sorry," Patricia said turning her back on her and leaving the room.