Disclaimer - It's not mine. Never was. The only thing I own is the original characters that J.K. Rowling has not put into her wonderful stories. They are all mine. So don't take them without asking

Special thanks to the following people for reviewing

Princess Danae - Hey hun! How's it going? Anyhow, you're almost ready to graduate, aren't ya? I'll see ya there. Don't worry, I am not going to burn out on this story. I'm not so sure I'll have it done before the sixth book comes out, but…what the hell? Love ya lots!

Forever-a-Wanderer - Well, Happy Birthday! And thanks for pointing out the 'drug' thing. I'm from the Southern U.S. so that is actually a word down here. Sorry. Anyhow, I fixed it. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy the newest chapter.

Camilinha- Yeah, Sable's kinda got a plate full, doesn't she? I think I over did it a bit. ;( Anyhow, hope you enjoy the newest chapter. Later

Sarah - I read back over the conversation between Remus and Ailric, and I noticed what you mean. Yeah, he did jump the gun a little, but I blame that on nerves. I mean, wouldn't you? As for the questions you posted: The twins abilities rely mostly on who their father is. You'll get a bit of clarification in this chapter. As for how much longer it is going to be before you find out who is Sabine's dad…..I can't answer that. It's a surprise, and if I told you, it would ruin the ending. And as for the length…it's going to be good and long. I can't write a story that's not! Thanks again for the review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Later!


Wolf's Bane II: Return to Hogwarts

Chapter 11

It's Not All Bad…


"It's a bit odd, don't you think?" Hermione asked, lifting her head up to look at the two boys sitting across the table from her. "I mean, really."

"What is?" Harry asked, pulling his concentration away from the Potions text he was reading. They were once again in Dr. Lee's library, trying to finish up what little bit remained over their summer homework. However, it seemed that Hermione had other things on her mind.

"Dr. Lee and the others, just disappearing the other day." she clarified, frowning.

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked. "Dr. Lee went with Remus for his transformation, she told us that. It was a full moon a couple nights ago."

"I know that." Hermione said, her brows furrowed in concentration. "But what about. Ms. Meadows and Mr. Robbins? They didn't have to go as well. That would be a bit dangerous, don't you think?"

"Dr. Lee told me that Ms. Meadows is off doing some work for the Order." Harry said absently. "That's why she's not back yet. And Mr. Robbins came back with Remus and Dr. Lee. He probably just went with her to make sure that nothing happened during Remus' transformation."

Hermione did not look to happy with that explanation, but had to concede that Harry had a point. There had been an Order meeting the day before the full moon, and Ms. Meadows had left right afterwards. Of course, the three of them had no idea where she was going, or what was even going on because Mr. Weasley had finally learned to put an Impertuable charm on the doors every time there was a meeting so that the twin's Extendable Ears were rendered useless.

"It still seems fishy to me." Hermione said simply, folding her arms across her chest. It's been barely a week since Remus was brought here after he was attacked, why would Dr. Lee take him somewhere else to transform during a full moon? He could stay upstairs and in his room as long as he took the Wolfsbane potion."

"He probably just did not want to take any chances." Harry muttered. "You know how he is. Where is he, anyway? I haven't seen him all day?"

"I think he's helping Mr. Tartavu with some of the animals, or something like that." Ron said, scratching his head. "I saw him follow Mr. Tartavu outside earlier when we came in here."

"I thought animals didn't like werewolves?" Harry asked.

"They usually don't." Hermione said, shrugging. "But as long as Mr. Tartavu is around, his animals seem to behave themselves for anyone. They don't like Snape, though. The last time he came by, the owls tried to attack him. "

"You know he's going to be taking Hagrid's place as the Care of Magical Creatures teacher for a while, don't you?" Harry asked.

"Mr. Tartavu?" Ron asked. "Why?"

"I think Dumbledore's sent Hagrid back on another expedition to try and get the giants to help out." Harry said. Ron and Hermione looked at his quizzically.

"How do you know that?" Hermione asked. "I hadn't heard anything about it?"

"Yeah, mate. Did Fred and George tell you or something? Cause they wouldn't crack when I asked them what was going on in the meetings." Ron said.

Harry shook his head, trying to come up with something to tell his friends that would sound plausible. He couldn't exactly tell them that Dr. Lee had been keeping him up to date on most of the actions of the Order, just like she'd promised, but he didn't want to lie to them either.

"I heard Dr. Lee talking to Mr. Tartavu about it." he said, not looking at either of them for fear of being caught in the lie. He'd been going to his Occulemency lessons every other day, and was slowly starting to figure his way through. But the best part was actually after the lessons, when Dr. Lee would tell him stories of his parents and Remus and Sirius while they were at Hogwarts.

It felt better, knowing that there was someone who he could relate to, and who was willing to tell him what he wanted to know about his mom and dad. Dr. Lee had even pulled out her Pensieve and let him see some of the old memories first hand. The woman seemed more than willing to share the information she had, and he was happy about it. Harry was not sure that Remus would be all that forthcoming with what he wanted to know, but Dr. Lee did not seem to mind it as much.

"Wonder how long it'll be before Hagrid gets back to Hogwarts." Ron said, flipping through a book about advanced level Transfiguration.

"No telling." Hermione said, standing up to replace a book she had finished reading. She disappeared between the rows of books and the boys could hear the scraping noises of her shelving the tome, and pulling out another one.

"Hey, mate." Ron said, pulling Harry's attention from the book in front of him once again. "Dad said that he might be able to get us out of here for a few hours this evening." Harry frowned, knowing that Ron had been getting antsy with not being able to leave the grounds of Haven's Hallow for the few weeks they'd been there.

"Where we going?" Harry asked.

"Not far." Ron said, shrugging. "Just to the Burrow. There's some stuff that dad wants to bring to Dr. Lee, and he needs some help. So he said that we can give him a hand if we want to. We should be leaving after lunch."

"Sounds good to me." Harry said. Truth be told, he was getting a little claustrophobic as well, being cooped up on the manor grounds. It would be good to get out for a little while. "How are we getting there? We can't Apparate."

"Dad's getting this place hooked up to the Floo network for a few hours." Ron said, shrugging. Harry nodded and tried to go back to his work, only to be interrupted once again when Hermione dropped a half dozen books on the table. Ron grabbed one and scanned over the cover, a frown on his face.

"Hogwarts A History: The Truth Behind the Myths" he drawled. "Sounds fascinating, Hermione." The bushy headed girl flushed and took it back.

"It's for my research." she snapped.

"Research?" Harry asked.

"Yes, research." she said primly. "Dr. Lee told me about an assignment that she is going to set, and I wanted to get a head start on it."

"Doesn't she always?" Ron mumbled, only to get a glare in his direction from Hermione.

"I'll have you know, Ronald Weasley…."

"What's it about?" Harry asked, interrupting the two of them before they could start arguing again.

"We have to research one of the myths surrounding Hogwarts." she explained. "You know, like the rumor of the Chamber of Secrets…"

"Write a bloody book about that one, we could." Ron said, frowning.

"Or something in Hogwarts that can be explained and linked back to the Founder's time. Like the moving staircases. Or the changing floor plan."

"What about the Room of Requirement?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded and flipped through some of the texts.

"I don't see why not." she said, shrugging.

"When is she setting this essay, anyway?" Ron asked.

"I think she said sometime in October." Hermione said.

"October?" Ron asked. "Hermione, it's only the end of July!"

"So?" the girl asked, one eyebrow raised in question.

"You've got three months before she ever sets it! And another month before it is more than likely due!" Ron exclaimed.

"The month she gives us for turning it in I'll be spending trying to make sure your research is correct, Ron." she said simply. "And that is only if you don't wait until the night before to write it."

Harry stifled a grin on his face at the shocked look on his best friend's face. Hermione was right on the mark when she said that. And Harry had no doubt that Ron would indeed be searching her out to verify his essay before he turned it in to the new Defense professor. He was just about to question Hermione about the assignment further when an owl swooped into the room and landed in front of Hermione.

She looked somewhat surprised, but took the letter from the bird and petted it softly. Harry had never seen the owl before, so he didn't recognize it at all. But apparently Hermione had because she walked over to a small bowl that Dr. Lee kept full of owl treats and fed the beautiful bird perched on her shoulder a handful. While the animal was eating, Hermione opened the letter and shuffled the three or four pieces of parchment, scanning over them. She shot wide-eyed look over at Ron, who was watching her with curiosity, then folded them up and put them back in the envelope.

"Who's the letter from?" Ron asked, his curiosity piqued.

"No one." Hermione answered nonchalantly, grabbing a spare piece of parchment, scribbling a short note, then sending the owl off again. Ron seemed suspicious, but said nothing else about it, and the three of them settled back down to finish their homework.

A half hour later, Mrs. Weasley called them for lunch, and they left their work for later. Besides, according to what Ron had said, he would be leaving right after lunch to go help Mr. Weasley drag some stuff to Haven's Hallow.

'Probably more Muggle electrical appliances.' Harry thought with a grin.


"You know, I've heard of having an unhealthy obsession with a hobby, but this is absolutely ridiculous." Harry stated, looking down at the six boxes of shrunken appliances that Mr. Weasley wanted them go to through. They had been brought to the Burrow by the Weasley patriarch, and left there with instructions to go through the boxes and sort out the junk according to what it was supposed to do. Mr. Weasley had been called back to the Ministry on some report that there were biting garbage cans somewhere in London.

"Now's the only time I can bring it out since Molly is at headquarters." he said with a wink before Apparating away. Ron just shook his head and plopped down on the couch nearest.

"Well, it's still better than hearing Hermione harp about getting our homework finished." he said, pulling open the nearest box. "I mean, we've still got a month before school starts. What's the big rush?"

"I expect she just wants to get ahead." Harry said, pulling a remote control out of the box.

"Well, this is still better than pouring over dusty old books." he said. "Who do you think that letter was from anyway? She wouldn't let me see it."

"Probably Krum." Harry said easily, then kicked himself for even mentioning the Bulgarian Quidditch player.

"What!"

"Well, the only time she hides what she's doing is when Krum is involved with it." Harry pointed out, trying to head off Ron's jealous ranting. "I doubt it is anything serious though."

"She's still writing to that….that…."

"Yes, she's still writing to him, Ron." Harry said. "And she's going to keep on writing to him despite what we tell her. You know she's not going to listen to your ranting and raving."

Ron fell silent, but his anger was apparent to Harry. The tips of his ears were redder than his hair. Harry didn't even think that was humanly possible.

They continued to sort the boxes as best they could. Ron didn't know what half of the stuff was, but Harry gave him a brief explanation for each one as they went along. The red head especially seemed to like the set of ball point pins that Mr. Weasley had somehow acquired.

"Look, Harry!" Ron said as he scribbled on a piece of the Daily Prophet. "The ink comes out of the tip. You don't even need an ink pot!"

"Fascinating, isn't it?" Harry questioned, rolling his eyes at Ron's enthusiasm over everyday things.


When they got back to Haven's Hallow that evening, the first thing Harry noticed was that all the lights were off in the living room. He, Ron, and Mr. Weasley had flooed back to the manor, and the only light that was visible was from the dying embers of the green fire from the fireplace.

"Uh…Mr. Weasley?" Harry asked, reaching out to feel for some surface. "What's going on?"

"Well, Harry, I'm not exactly sure." came the disembodied voice of his best friend's father.

"You don't think they've all went to sleep already, huh?" Ron asked.

"Doubt it." Harry said. "It's barely dark outside." Almost as if he had spoken some sort of magic word, the entire house suddenly lit up, and numerous voices yelled out at Harry.

"SURPRISE!"

Harry looked around the room, rubbing his eyes while they adjusted to the brightness. When he quit seeing technicolor spots, he wasn't sure that he landed in the right place.

There were colorful streamers hanging all over the living room, and balloons floating around the ceiling. And a large number of sparkling fireworks whizzing in between the levitating balloons. He spotted Mrs. Weasley standing next to the dining room table that was groaning under the weight of a triple layered cake with 'HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY HARRY!'written on the sides, as well as a large pile of brightly wrapped boxes. It finally sunk in what was going on, and Harry stood there in shock.

They had thrown him a surprise birthday party.

His very first birthday party. And a surprise party at that!

"Happy birthday, mate." Ron said, coming to his side.

"What…how…?"

"It was Hermione's idea, dear." Mrs. Weasley said, walking over and gathering him in a warm, motherly hug. "She thought it would be nice to give you a party this year since we got you away from your aunt and uncle in time for your birthday."

"I…"

"I know we're a day early, Harry." Dr. Lee said, coming forward and giving him a smile, then hugging him lightly. "But a many of the people who wanted to be here have to leave early tomorrow morning for some Order business, so we thought we'd just have it early."

"Hope you don't mind." Remus said, walking up to Dr. Lee's side, a grin on his face. The full moon had only been a few nights before, and Remus still seemed to be recovering from it, not to mention the ambush when he had been on reconnaissance work for the Order.

"No…not at all." Harry grinned, looking over to where Hermione and Ginny were stacking up the pile of presents. He scanned the room and found that the house was much more full than it had been when he and Ron had left.

Most of the members of the Order were present, including Dumbledore and McGonagall. He done a quick headcount and found that all members of the Weasley family were present as well, with the exception of Percy. Dr. Lee, Mr. Robbins, and Mr. Tartavu, were there as well, along with Ms. Robbins. Even Hagrid was standing over in the corner, a big grin on his face.

"Harry! Good to see you old chap!" George said, coming over to slap Harry on the back in greeting.

"How have you been? Keeping out of trouble, I hope?" Fred intervened, a big grin on his face. "Not driving mum up the wall, are you?"

"Cause you know, she's about loony already thanks to us."

"Don't need to push her much further…"

"..and she's going to be so far gone…"

"..not even St. Mungo's…"

"..would have a place for her!"

Harry grinned at the twins fanatics, well aware of the tension between the brothers and their mother. He had heard from Ron that Mrs. Weasley had demanded to know where they had gotten the money to finance their business, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. When they had only grinned and said a very prominent wizard in need of some good fun, the Weasley matriarch had blown her top. Fortunately, Mr. Weasley had gotten her calmed down, and she seemed to have let the matter go for the time being.

Harry was just thankful that they had not brought his name into the mess. He didn't want to get on the wrong side of Mrs. Weasley, but he also knew that by giving the twins the Triwizard Tournament winnings he was helping them realize their dream.

"So, how's the joke shop coming along, guys?" he asked.

"Splendid!" George said happily.

"We're going to put Zonko's to shame, we are." Fred said, that mischievous grin on his face that always meant trouble.

"Can't keep the shelves stocked!"

"Well, that's good to hear." Harry said.

"And we owe it all to our wonderful behind the scenes investor!" George continued on, grinning identical to his twin. "Such a generous soul, really." Harry just shook his head and nodded.

"Think nothing of it." he said quietly, turning away from where Mrs. Weasley was scolding Bill about the length of his hair. "Consider it a gift." The twins just chuckled and continued on their way, randomly throwing out some more fireworks in their path. He walked over to where Hermione and Ginny were standing and couldn't help but smile at the two of them.

"A surprise party?" he asked, pining Hermione with an unreadable look.

"I thought you might like it." she said, smiling.

"And you didn't see fit to tell me about this earlier?" he prodded.

"Well, it wouldn't exactly be a 'surprise' if we'd told you about it, now would it?" Ginny asked, her hands on her hips, a George and Fred grin on her face. She had recovered from the attack on her mind rather quickly, and Harry didn't know what Dr. Lee had done to stop the invasion of privacy, but it apparently had worked well enough for Ginny to get back to her normal self.

"Was Ron in on this as well?" he asked.

"He was given the task of getting you out of the house while we set up." Hermione said. "You can thank Ginny for coming up with the Muggle appliance excuse. That was all her."

"Well, dad's had that junk sitting around the house for ages." she said with a shrug. "He doesn't know what it all does, or even if it works. But I figured it would serve as an inconspicuous distraction. Did it work?"

"I had no idea." Harry said, laughing at the red head. She winked at him.

"That was the point." she said, smiling.

"Come now, everyone." Mrs. Weasley called out before he could say anything else. "It is time for dinner."

"Yeah, mum's cooked up enough food to feed an army." Ginny snickered. "Come on, everyone!"

As everyone in the room slowly filed into the dining room, platters upon platters of food began floating from the kitchen and settling down onto the table. Harry sat down between Hermione and Ginny, watching as Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, and Dr. Lee carried more plates and dishes into the dining room.

When the last of the food was placed on the table, Dumbledore cleared his throat and rose from his spot in the center of the long table. Harry honestly thought he was about to make some kind of speech, but the only words out of the wizened man's mouth were,

"Eat up."

That seemed to be what everyone was waiting for. Suddenly, dishes of food were being passed around, and the level of noise in the room rose dramatically. Everyone was talking, and all their conversations were blurring together.

By the time dinner was over with, and everyone had their fill, Harry was absolutely sure that this was the best birthday he had ever had. Dr. Lee and Mrs. Weasley quickly charmed the table clear of everything except the huge birthday cake and large pile of presents. He couldn't remember how many times someone had wished him a happy birthday, but it was a lot considering he'd talked to everyone present at dinner.

"Time to get to the best part." Tonks said with a wink, gesturing towards the pile of presents. "Let's see what the birthday wizard got."

Harry tore into the presents with glee, quickly piling up his gifts. Ginny had given him a set of raven quills charmed to never run out of ink. Ron had gotten him a life time subscription to Quidditch Weekly. Fred and George had given him a huge box of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes pranks and jokes, including half a dozen fake wands and some candies that he was not in a hurry to eat. Hermione had gotten him a new school bag, saying that his other one was about to fall to pieces despite the charms she had put on it at the end of last semester.

By the time it was all over with, Harry had garnered a new pair of dragon hide Seeker's gloves, three pairs of new socks, mounds of sweets and rock cakes, a set of books about famous wizards with rare abilities, and an Egyptian pendant that was supposed to ward off evil spirits.

Around eleven o'clock, the Order members and various Weasleys began to disperse. By half past eleven, all the guests of the evening had left, and Harry was getting Ron and Hermione to help him carry his stuff up to his room. Ginny was helping her mother tidy up the dining room and kitchen, and Remus had left out with Mr. Tartavu and Mr. Robbins a few minutes before.

"Harry, can I speak with you for a moment?" Dr. Lee asked, catching him before he got up the third step of the staircase. He motioned for Hermione and Ron to go on up, and then turned to follow Dr. Lee into her office.

"Is something the matter?" Harry asked, taking his customary seat in front of the woman's desk a few minutes later.

"Nothing at all, Harry." she said with a smile. "I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday, and to give you your gift."

"Excuse me?" he asked. "I thought you already…"

"Yes, the books were part of my gift to you." she said, waving it off. "However, there is something else that I wanted you to have. Well, actually, it came from a great number of the Order members, not only me. But I can take the credit for the idea, however." She reached down and withdrew a small box from her desk drawer, sliding it across the smooth surface towards him. Harry took the small package and opened it carefully. Inside the tissue paper was a small, multifaceted crystal ball-like object sitting on a pewter stand.

It was about the size of the Neville's Remembrall, but it didn't appear to do anything special. He wrapped his hand around it, and suddenly felt it warm in his grip. He released it just as quickly and looked up at Dr. Lee in confusion.

"What is it?" he asked.

"An Emotemorie sphere." she said. "It is a modified Pensieve of sort that allows not only the memories of its owner to be seen, the emotions that they were feeling at the moment as well."

"It holds memories?" Harry asked, somewhat confused as to why she would give him something like this.

"Yes." she said, suddenly becoming very nervous. "I…I thought you might want…..well…."

"Dr. Lee?" Harry said uncertainly. The woman in front of him had never stuttered since he'd met her. Now she seemed to be tripping over what she wanted to say to him. "You alright?"

"I'm fine, Harry." she said, taking a deep breath, seemingly steadying herself. "Just not sure of how to explain this to you." She stood up and walked over to the farthest window of her office, peering up at the near full moon and sighing. "Harry, I wanted you to have some memories of your parents. It's just not fair that so many of us knew them, and their own son doesn't."

"I don't understand." Harry said.

"There are already memories in that sphere." she said, nodding at the crystal in his hand. "You seemed to enjoy seeing my memories of your mother and father after your Occulemency lessons so much…that well…I gathered up ones from other people, members of the Order that knew your mom and dad. They're in that sphere, waiting for you see."

"You mean…"

"I can't tell you what type of people your mom and dad were, Harry, because there is no words to explain it." she said. "It's better for you to see for yourself how they were when they were younger. I can't give you back Lily and James, Harry, but I can let you know what kind of wonderful people they were. And I can show you how much they loved you."

"I don't know what to say." Harry said, looking down at the small sphere. "I…"

"I know it's somewhat of a touchy subject." she said quickly. "And I don't want to upset you; that was not my intention at all. You don't have to accept it, if you don't want to. I just thought you might enjoy seeing other people's perspectives about what your mom and dad were like."

"What about Sirius?" Harry asked suddenly, looking up at her.

"What about him?" she asked.

"Is he in there, too?" Harry asked. "Are there memories of him in there as well?"

"Yes, there are." she said. "Remus' memory of your parent's wedding is in there, including how Sirius got a little tipsy and botched his toast to your parents at the banquet that evening. Quite a laugh, that one is."

"Do these memories…does everyone still have them in their own minds?" he asked.

"Well, yes." she said. "Unlike a Pensieve, that sphere can actually copy memories and store them. So yes, Remus still has his memory of their wedding, and I still have the memory of your mother tossing James in the lake at Hogwarts and him coming up close and personal with the giant squid." Harry just sat back in complete silence, not sure of what to say.

For so long he had wanted to know about his parents. To see exactly how true it was when everyone told him that he was just like his father, or that he had his mother's eyes. Now he had that chance. He could see first hand how they were instead of picking up stray bits of information that he was told.

"Harry?" Dr. Lee asked, causing him to break out of his inner monologue. "You okay?"

"I just don't know what to say." he said, shaking his head. "I never thought I would be able to see them."

"The ones we love never dies, so long as we have memories of them to keep us company." she said solemnly. "You don't have any memories of them, so we're lending you some of our own."

"I….thanks." he croaked, his throat closing up at the feelings inside him that were threatening to get out. "Thank you, Dr. Lee. This is the best birthday present I could ask for."

"Like I said, you deserve it, Harry. You of all people have the right to understand how you got here." she said gently. "Now, do you want me to tell you how to work that thing?"

"Yeah." he said eagerly, still clutching the ball. The woman smiled and leaned up against the edge of her desk, arms folded.

"Well, the first thing you've got to do is….."


A/N - Okay everyone. Here is the latest chapter. I know what you're thinking…nothing happened. But I'm going to tell you that it is NOT a filler chapter. This will play a big part in the story later. So hang in there with me, and remember this chapter!

Anyhow, I'm off to write the next chapter.

Later,

A.A.

Oh, and remember to review. I want to know what you are thinking. ;)