Chapter 2! I forgot to say this in the first chapter, but I own nothing from this except my own original characters. Let me know what you think! Enjoy!
It had been 12 years now since that fateful night when I lost everything dear to me. My daughter, who I'd named Lily, was 11 and after Remus went into hiding he wrote to me and suggested that I go back to using my maiden name, Stroupe, which I did for Lily's safety. She would be starting her first year at Hogwarts, though she had been around the castle her whole life since I had become a professor there when she was two years old. Dumbledore had decided to add an extra professor for History of Magic, offered it to me, and I took it. My parents moved to Hogsmeade to help me care for Lily during the school year since I had to live in the castle while there were students there, and she was so excited to finally get to start her own journey at Hogwarts. I insisted that she ride the train and everything, just to make sure she got the full experience just like everyone else.
"Are you ready, Lily?" I called up the stairs to her. During the summer we still stayed in the house me and Remus had together before he went into hiding, putting various charms and spells on the house to keep it safe during the school year.
"I'm coming!" Lily called down to me and I could hear her run towards the stairs. It felt almost cheesy to name my daughter Lily, but it was the best way I knew to honor my best friend in death, especially since I raised her on my own practically.
"Are you excited?" I asked her as she bounded down the stairs, trunk following behind her.
"I'm so excited! I wish you could ride the train with me, though," she said and I took her trunk to the front door, shooing her into the kitchen for breakfast.
"You know I have to be sure I'm there before the students arrive. Now eat, before it gets cold," I said, placing a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of her. I knew she was excited when she scarfed down her breakfast faster than I'd ever seen her eat anything before.
"Can we go now?" she asked, looking up at me expectantly.
"Help me clean up first, then we'll go," I said, shaking my head with a smile and she groaned, bringing her plate over to the sink. We finished washing up after breakfast and Lily rushed to the door, bouncing on the balls of her feet from excitement. I got her trunk outside and grabbed it and her hand, apparating us into an alley behind Kings Cross Station, where Muggles couldn't see us, and walked to the front of the station, heading for platform 9 ¾. Up ahead of us I saw Harry Potter with his two friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. I watched as they went through to the platform, wishing I could be there for Harry and be close to him, but Dumbledore had told me not to say anything to him about his past, that I would know when it was the right time to tell Harry everything. I let Lily go through to the platform by herself, at her request, and followed right behind her. As we walked up the platform for her to get on the train, I thought I saw a familiar head of sandy brown hair ahead of us, but when I looked up again he was gone. I know I had just been seeing things, but for a moment my heart soared, longing to see Remus again.
"Mum? Are you okay?" Lily said, getting my attention.
"Of course, dear. Come on, the train will be leaving soon," I said and lead her to one of the doors to get on the train.
"I'm so glad I get to ride the train to the school," she said, her face lighting up with excitement.
"You have to have the full Hogwarts student experience. Now go, before they decide to leave you behind," I teased her, poking her side to make her laugh.
"I love you, mum. See you at school," she said, hugging me, and got onto the train. I hoped she would find some other children to sit with on the train, instead of sitting alone like I had on my first ride on the Hogwarts Express. I watched the train leave the station, and once it was out of sight I apparated to Hogsmeade and made my way to the castle. I got there well before the train made it and was able to go to my classroom and make sure I had things set up nicely for the first day of classes. When I looked up next, it was nearly time for the beginning feast, and I was sure the first years were already in their boats, gliding over the Black Lake to the castle. I walked into the Great Hall and took my seat beside Professor Trelawney.
"Hello, Sybil. Have a nice summer?" I asked her when I sat down.
"Yes, quite nice. How is your darling girl?" she asked me.
"She's doing well. She was very excited to start her first year," I said as the older students began to fill the Hall. It wasn't much longer until the first years came in for the sorting and Lily waved at me from the crowd of 11 year olds. I grinned and waved back, glad that she had seemed to find some friends already. I was beaming with pride when it was her turn to get sorted and the hate yelled GRYFFINDOR after about five seconds. In that moment she looked so much like her father, but I wasn't going to let thoughts of Remus dampen my mood for Lily's sorting. Soon, Albus stood up for his usually speech.
"Welcome to you all to another year at Hogwarts! First, our introductions! I would like to introduce Professor R.J. Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Dumbledore started and I felt all the blood leave my face. I couldn't believe what I had just heard. I chanced a glance over to where the new professor had stood and drew in a sharp breath. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Why had Dumbledore hired him on for the school year and hadn't said anything to me about it? I suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe and knew I had to get out of that room as I could feel it closing in on me. I wasn't paying attention to anything else Dumbledore said in his speech, I just got up and hurried through a door behind where I was sitting, alarming Sybil in doing so. As soon as I shut the door, I slid down onto the floor, hardly able to breathe. I only looked up when I heard footsteps approaching me, and I was hoping it wasn't Remus. I nearly sighed in relief when I saw it was just Minerva.
"Avery, are you alright, dear?" she asked me, kneeling down to the level I was on and suddenly I felt like a scared first year again.
"I can't breathe, Minerva," I said, only taking in short breaths and looking at the floor again.
"Come, we'll go see Poppy, she can give you a potion to help calm your nerves," she said, helping me stand up and walking with me to the Hospital Wing. I could hear the low din of the feast from the Great Hall and hope Lily hadn't seen what happened when the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was announced. Poppy looked up, puzzled, when we entered the infirmary.
"We need a very good calming potion, Poppy," Minerva told her, guiding me to sit on the edge of a bed.
"Of course. What happened?" she asked, taking a potion out of the cabinet behind her desk. I didn't even notice as Minerva told Poppy what had happened quietly, I just stared at the floor, trying to focus on breathing.
"Here you go, dear," Poppy said, handing me a potion. I gulped it down, wanting the effects to begin as soon as possible.
"Thank you, Poppy. And I'm so sorry, Minerva. I know that's no way a professor should act," I said as I handed the goblet back to Poppy, already beginning to feel the effects of the potion.
"It's quite alright. There was no way for you to know he would be here," Minerva said, sitting next to me.
"I know. I wasn't sure that I would ever see him again, and then all of a sudden, he's there. Right in front of me," I said, putting my head in my hands and my knees on my elbows. After another few moments, I felt ready to go back to the Great Hall for the end of the feast, knowing I had deprived the two other women in the room of their dinner
"Are you sure you'll be okay with this?" Minerva said when I stood up.
"I have to be okay with this. Especially for Lily's sake," I said and the three of us walked back to the Great Hall, entering the way we had left. When I sat back down I immediately saw Lily looking at me with a concerned look and she mouthed "are you okay?" I just smiled at her and nodded, which was enough for her to turn back to her new friends to continue their conversation. I completely avoided looking down the table where I knew he was sitting, though at one point I could feel a pair of eyes staring at me, but still I refused to look. It had been 12 long years since the last time I had seen my husband, though no one would know he was anymore. For those 12 years my name had been Avery Stroupe, not Avery Lupin. And Lily had never known anything about her father. She asked me about him once when she was 5 or 6 years old, and I told her what she wanted to know, but nothing more and she never asked again. When the feast was over and the students began filing out, Albus came to me, presumably about my incident earlier in the evening.
"Ah, Professor Stroupe, I hope you had a good summer?" he said as he approached me, though I knew he hadn't come to talk to me just for pleasantries.
"Yes, professor, I did. Getting ready for Lily's first year kept her excited all summer," I said, pushing my chair underneath the table.
"Good, good. Now, I would like for you to come up to the office once all of the students are settled. We have much to discuss," he said and walked away from me, as cryptic as ever. And in the break of the crowd I saw him again. He was talking to Severus, though it seemed strained on both ends. I had become cordial with Severus during my time as a professor and was sure he would make Remus' wolfsbane each month. Before he could notice that I was looking at him, I went down towards the student tables, seeing Lily lingering after the other students, which worried me.
"Lily, are you alright?" I asked as I approached her, putting one arm around her shoulders and walking with her slowly.
"I'm just worried about you, mum," she said, looking up at me. I sighed and glanced back at the staff table, looking away quickly when I made eye contact with Remus, unable to read his facial expression.
"Oh, don't you worry about me. You start your first day of classes tomorrow, are you excited?" I said as we walked, hoping changing the subject would make Lily forget about what happened during the feast.
"I'm so excited. And I hope I get to take History of Magic with you so it's a fun class and not some boring lecture," she said, going right back to her happy and excited self.
"Go on up to your common room, I have to go see Professor Dumbledore about something," I said as we approached the corridor his office was on.
"Okay, mum. See you tomorrow!" Lily said with excitement, practically bouncing up a staircase. I sighed and made the trek up the stairs to Dumbledore's office, hoping Remus wouldn't be there too. I knocked and waited for an answer, opening the door when I heard Dumbledore say come in.
"Professor Stroupe, thank you for joining me, please have a seat," he said when I walked in and I was relieved to find that it was just the two of us.
"Why didn't you tell me Remus would be here this year?" I asked immediately, not wanting to beat around the bush about anything.
"Ah, yes. Straight to the point as always," he said with a small smile. "I chose not to tell you of hiring Professor Lupin because I wanted to make sure your daughter continued to stay safe. I can assume she knows nothing about him?" he continued, pacing in front of his desk.
"You would assume correctly," I said, almost ashamed of the fact now.
"I thought as much. Now, I'm sure you know your classroom and his classroom are fairly close, so I don't want it to alarm you when you see him in any part of the castle, because you and I both know you will see him quite frequently," Dumbledore said, stopping to lean on the front of his desk.
"I'm aware of how frequently I will see him, professor. But I don't even know what I would say to him. The thought terrifies me," I said, relaxing back into my chair with my arms crossed loosely.
"I'm sure you'll figure something out. Now, we all need plenty of rest for the first day of classes, so I will bid you goodnight, Avery," he said, walking me to the door once I got up.
"Goodnight, professor," I said and slowly walked back to my classroom, going through my office to get to my bedroom. I sighed as I sat down on my bed, unsure of what would happen after that night.
Thank you all for reading! I would love to know what you thought about this chapter with it's twists and turns. And come back for chapter 3!
