I own nothing but the story line
September 5th, 1971
All Mia felt when she woke up was pain. Her right arm felt like it was on fire.
"Good, you're awake!" Madame Pomfrey said happily. "You gave us quite a scare. Are you sore?" Mia couldn't find the words, so she nodded her head meekly. Madame Pomfrey handed her a potion and a glass of water. "This should help with the pain." She told Mia.
"What happened?" Mia asked the mediwitch.
"Well, you were having your lesson with Dumbledore and your fire ability got out of hand" The woman explained. "Your arm was completely burned. You won't scar, but you'll have to wear that bandage for at least a week."
"Madame Pomfrey, is Remus okay? I was supposed to check on him last night. Is he still here?" Mia asked, concerned about her friend.
"Yes, though I don't know if he is up for any visitors at the moment." Pomfrey told her.
"Oh, may I ask how long I must stay here?" Mia asked the woman politely.
"Only a couple more hours my dear, I have a couple more potions you need to take to help with the healing and then you should be good to go." The old woman told her.
"Okay, thank you very much." Mia thanked the woman with a smile.
"It was no problem at all my dear. Dumbledore said he'd contact you about your next lesson when you are feeling better." Pomfrey said, turning away. "Oh, and congratulations my dear on making the Quidditch team."
"Thank you." Mia said politely. She noticed her bag was on the foot of her hospital bed. She pulled out a book and began to read. She didn't know how long she was there before she heard the faint call of her name.
"M-Mia?" She could hear Remus call.
She looked at the bed across from her and saw him covered in bandages. She gasped in shock seeing that claw marks on his chest.
"Remus what happened to you?" She said from beside him. She didn't want to get too close in case her powers decided to make a dangerous comeback.
"Why are you in the hospital wing? Did I hurt you?" He said, sitting up and looking at his friend's injury with wide eyes and worry.
"No, you didn't hurt me Remus, by Godric why would you think that you hurt me? You're the one covered in bandages." She told him with worry.
"Why are you standing so far away from me?" Remus asked her, confused. The Mia he knew would've pulled him into a hug immediately. A sudden thought dawned on him. "So you know?" He asked her, looking defeated.
"Know what? I'm standing away from you so I can't hurt you." She told him with a look that showed she was telling the truth. She was afraid to hurt him.
"Mia, you would never hurt me. You can come closer. It's okay." He told his friend comfortingly.
"NO! Remus don't you get it? I am a monster. I can't come too close or I'll hurt you. I'm sure of it." She said with tears streaming down her face. She hurt herself. She hadn't meant to, but she did. If she could do that to herself, was she capable of hurting everyone?
"Mia, I assure you. You are not a monster." He told her calmly. "Why do you think you are going to hurt me?"
"Because I can do this." She grabbed the water glass from her hospital bedside table and frozen the glass instantly with her hand. Remus stared at her wide eyed.
"You can do wandless magic?" Remus asked her shocked.
"No! I can control the bloody elements! Ice, Water, Earth, Wind, and Fire! That's why I'm here, because I CAN'T CONTROL IT." She said, yelling to no one in particular. "I burned my hand because I can't control it. Who's to say I can't hurt you just by touching you." She said with tears pouring down her face.
"Mia, you wouldn't hurt me. You've touched me before and nothing has happened. I need you to breathe, okay? Sit on the bed and breathe with me, okay?" Remus instructed as he calmed her down. "If I tell you something, the reason why I'm here, can you keep it a secret?" She nodded. He took a few deep breaths, and Mia knew that whatever secret this was, Remus was having a hard time telling her about it.
"I-I'm a Werewolf." He closed his eyes, holding his breath and waiting for her to scream in fear.
"Merlin! How didn't I think about it before? The mood swings, the not eating, you can't stand potions, but that's because of the smell not because Slughorn can't teach. It all makes perfect sense." She said. "Thank you for telling me. Something tells me it's a secret you don't share too often."
"No I don't, but aren't you scared of me?" Remus asked, confused. He thought he'd have to run for the hills and leave Hogwarts for telling her.
"Scared of you?" Mia scoffed. "I think you should be more worried about me hurting you."
"Mia, does James know about this?" Remus asked her.
"No one but my parents and Dumbledore know. It has to stay that way. Promise me, please." She begged her friend.
"Of course Mia, I promise." He swore to the girl. "Now can I hug you now or are you going to keep calling yourself a monster?" He asked with a chuckle.
"I am a monster." She said with a glare.
"I thought that I was too, before I met you. I'll just have to convince you otherwise." He told her, smiling. "So what's this about you being on the Quidditch team? I must have heard wrong. You're a first year, you can't try out."
"Long story short, Alecto Carrow was being a bitch and decided to steal Mary's pin while you were being taken to the hospital wing. I chased her for it, she threw the pin, and McGongall saw it and decided to introduce me to the captain. They asked me to be a seeker, and that was that." She told him simply.
"You must be the-" Remus started
"Youngest seeker in a century, I know. James and Sirius have no doubt bragged about all of this to the entire school." She said, laughing. "Oh shit, James doesn't know where I am! I told him I was studying last night and I never came back!"
"Where were you really?" Remus asked curiously.
"I am having lessons with Dumbledore to control my powers, and it got a little out of hand last night when it came to fire." She told Remus, gesturing to her injured arm. "I was doing so well. I grew a seed from nothing, I froze and unfroze water, but when I came to the fire in my hand I freaked. I kept thinking about how much power it is, and how I have little to no control over it. I could really hurt someone if I'm not careful." She explained to him.
"It'll take practice Mia, you just had your first lesson. Don't be too hard on yourself, you'll get it, I know you will. You must be the smartest person I've ever known, and you'll only get better with practice." Remus encouraged her. "It seems as though you only lost control when you freaked out, it must be connected to your emotions." Mia nodded.
"That's what I figured." Mia told him. "Oh my gosh how selfish of me, here I am complaining about my problems. You are probably in so much pain..."
"Mia it's okay, I'm used to it." He told her somberly.
"What do you mean used to it?" Mia questioned him, eyeing him down. "How long have you had this...furry little problem?" Remus chuckled.
"Is that what we are calling it now?" Remus said, still laughing, and wincing occasionally as he laughed through the pain.
"Settle down Rem, you're going to make it worse. Stop avoiding the question. How long?" She asked him again sternly. Remus stopped laughing and looked down at his lap.
"Since I was four." He told her simply.
"Four! Who does that to a child?" Mia said angrily. 'Honestly who does that to a helpless child. What kind of monster...' Mia couldn't finish her thought before Remus started trying to calm her down.
"Mia! You need to calm down, okay? Your powers are still coming out through your emotions." Remus said calmly. He waited until she sat back down in her chair before explaining. "His name was Fenrir Greyback. My father works for the Department of Magical Creature and when Greyback was in captivity, my father had some choice words about werewolves. Naturally Greyback was furious, and he escaped, coming after my father for revenge, but he found me first. Figured it'd be better to corrupt my father's only child, and created me, a monster."
"You are not a monster Remus Lupin! You were put into a position that you have no control over. I am so sorry that this happened to you, but your furry little problem only occurs once a month. That's 12 times a year, and all the other days you are still my Remus so don't you ever call yourself a monster again." She told him, irritated that he still referred to himself as a monster.
"Then you aren't allowed to call yourself a monster either Mia. You have no control over who you are and what you can do. All you can do is learn to control it better, and live with it." He told her. "I think it goes without saying that you can't tell anyone about what I am. Not even James." He watched as Mia's face flashed with shock.
"Of course I wouldn't Rem. We all have our secrets." Mia told him. "I know you must have so many questions about my situation, as I do with yours, but I think you need rest."
"Wait Mia! Can you...I don't know, sing me to sleep? Sorry that was weird I shouldn't have asked." Remus requested, his face turning bright red at the question. Mia thought for a minute before reluctantly agreeing.
"Fine but you tell no one about this, got it?" She told him with a stern look. 'I don't need Professor Newcombe to get me to sing in class' Mia thought to herself. "Any requests?"
"Anything, lullabies help tame the wolf in me after a full moon." He informed her. Mia thought for a moment before she started singing a tune with no origin.
"Where the north wind meets the sea
There's a river full of memory
Sleep, my darling, safe and sound
For in this river all is found
In her waters, deep and true
Lie the answers and a path for you
Dive down deep into her sound
But not too far or you'll be drowned
Yes, she will sing to those who hear
And in her song, all magic flows
But can you brave what you most fear?
Can you face what the river knows?
Where the north wind meets the sea
There's a mother full of memory
Come, my darling, homeward bound
When all is lost, then all is found."
Mia looked over at Remus to see that he was fast asleep with a smile on his face. 'I wonder where I know that song from?' Mia asked herself. She stood up and got changed behind the curtain of her hospital bed. She grabbed her bag, wondering how it got there. 'Dumbledore must've brought it for me' she thought. Madame Pomfrey brought her the last of her potions and rebandaged her wound before giving her permission to rejoin her classmates in the Great Hall.
"If you need anything dear, please come back here, we don't need your arm to scar or get infected." Madame Pomfrey told Mia.
"I will thank you Madame Pomfrey." Mia told her graciously, "Tell Remus I'll visit him after classes and collect his notes and homework for him."
"So I take it he's told you?" Madame Pomfrey said, eying Mia down.
"Yes, though I promised him I'd keep it a secret. He knows about me as well. He won't tell, I trust him." Mia told the old woman confidently.
"You'll inform Dumbledore I presume?" Madame Pompery questioned the raven haired girl.
"Absolutely. I really must be going. Sirius and James must be worried sick." Mia told the healer as she started racing towards the great hall.
"Look James, it's Mia!" Sirius said, pointing to the young girl running into the hall. They both ran and took her into a tight hug.
"Mia where were you? You didn't even come back to the common room last night. Why is your arm all bandaged up?" James started as he rattled off questions a mile a minute.
"James, I'm okay. I was on my way to the hospital wing to visit Remus when I was going up the moving stairs and tripped. Luckily I only landed a couple feet below, but I broke my arm and was quite hysterical. Pomfrey thought it best I spend the night with some calming draught." Mia lied. She could tell the boys didn't really believe her but they didn't question her further.
"Did you see Remus? Is he okay? He never came back either." Sirius asked her as they sat down to breakfast, the boys piling their food high.
"Yeah just a small case of the flu, he should be back by dinner." Mia lied simply. She didn't like lying to Sirius or James, but she couldn't put them in that kind of danger. Telling them about her powers could prove to be a dangerous thing to know in the future.
"That's too bad. I'll take his Transfiguration and History of Magic notes and James could probably take his Potions and Herbology notes. I think you have Charms and DADA with him so we can all cover two of his classes." Sirius offered to Mia. She was surprised that he was actually being helpful and planning for once, which was so unlike Sirius.
"Who are you and what have you done with Sirius Black?" Mia questioned him teasingly, James laughed.
"Kitten, I can be serious about something that's not my name for once in my life." He said with a smirk and flirtatious wink, Mia rolled her eyes.
"Kitten? I hate nicknames." Mia said, daring Sirius to call her that one more time.
"Good thing it's a pet name Kitten." Sirius said, proud that he'd outsmarted the raven haired girl.
"He's got you there Mia." James said, high fiving his friend for his cleverness.
"Oh just hurry up you two, I'll be late for charms and you'll be late for your classes." She told them.
"Yes mom." James said with a playful smirk before shoving a piece of toast in his mouth, grabbing his bag and leaving the Great Hall.
"I'm really glad you're okay Mia." Sirius told her with a genuine smile before heading off to his classes for the day.
"Hey Mia!" She turned to see Gideon and Fabian gesturing for her to join them, she walked over to them just as Gideon grabbed her bag.
"We will be walking to you to class today to ensure you learn how to use the moving staircases properly." Fabian told her, Mia felt her face turn red with embarrassment even though it was a lie it was still humiliating that the older students don't think she can use the stairs.
"You heard about that?" Mia asked meekly, face still red with embarrassment.
"I think the whole Gryffindor table heard you." Gideon told her, smiling at her blushing cheeks. They started making their way up to Mia's Charms class.
"Great." Mia said, rolling her eyes.
"Aww nothing to be worried about, they're still talking about you making the quidditch team." Fabian informed her.
"I almost forgot about that! I should ask Gail what the schedule is to make sure I'm there." She told the two red heads.
"First practice is tomorrow night." Gideon told her.
"How would you know?" She questioned him.
"We are on the team. Beaters." Fabian informed her.
"I'll have to write my mum to owl my broom." She thought out loud. They approached the Charms classroom. Fabian ruffled her hair and gave her a quick wave goodbye, giving his twin a look before heading off to his first class.
"You'll be great, practice is at 3 right after classes, so don't be late. Wood isn't too kind to those who are late to quidditch." Gideon told her with a smile. "Don't worry about the stair incident, people will forget all about it when you get on the pitch. I gotta go, but remember our bet, it's still on." He said with a wicked smile, handing over her bag before running off in the same direction as his twin.
Mia's day went well after that. In Charms she'd finished all her work early, so she'd decided to write her parents a letter about how her first week at Hogwarts had gone so she could send it by owl later.
Dear Mum and Dad,
How is everything going? My first few days at Hogwarts have been interesting to say the least. First of all James is doing well. Hemet a boy named Sirius Black on the train, and lets just say that we've all become fast friends. They are rooming with Remus, as well as a boy named Peter. I haven't spent as much time with him but I'm sure he's very nice. We also met a girl named Lily Evans, and Severus Snape, a boy with her on the train, but needless to say I don't think James and Severus will be friends anytime soon. I think James fancies this Lily Evans girl, she's my dormmate and has been quite a good friend to me.
The sorting went well, after almost 15 minutes that hat finally decided on Gryffindor. I've heard that's the longest hat stall in history. James of course was quite eager to start bragging to the entire Gryffindor table that I was his sister. Anyways, I also met these two boys named Gideon and Fabian who are in 3rd year, and they've been very good friends to me.
We had our first flying lesson, and this Slytherin named Alecto Carrow stole my roommate Mary's pin. She started flying around the pitch with it while Madame Hooch took Remus to the hospital wig (He is fine, just a small case of the flu.) I chased her around the pitch until I caught up with her and she threw the pin. I chased it and Professor McGonagal saw me. She came down to the pitch and looked really mad but then she took me to meet Gail Wood, who is the Gryffindor quidditch team captain, and told him that she'd found a seeker for the team. So that's how I became the youngest seeker in a century. James and the boys were quite proud. We have our first practice tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited. That reminds me, can you please send one of the brooms from home? The brooms here are terribly outdated, and I'm worried about my safety.
Lessons with Dumbledore did not go as expected, I was fine with every element, other than fire. Needless to say, I burnt my arm and spent the night in the hospital wing, but I will be fine. I miss you both terribly and can't wait to see you during the holidays, or maybe my first match if you could make it!
Lots of the Love,
Your Daughter Mia
She walked up to the owlery during lunch to use Hedwig to deliver her letter. The owl seemed very happy to see her, as she hadn't delivered anything while Mia and James had been at Hogwarts. After her owl flew off, Mia went to the rest of her classes for the day. Her last class of the day was music, potentially her favourite class at Hogwarts. She walked in and saw that no one else was there yet, so she pulled out her Piano for Beginners book and walked over to the piano. She started playing "Can't Help Falling In Love" by Elvis Presley. She'd snuck in a lot over the last couple days to practice her skills and had taken to the piano like a fish to water.
Mia closed her eyes as the music carried her fingers over the keys. She didn't even hear the door close as James, Sirius, and Remus came into the room. There were a couple others as well, but she couldn't hear them either. As the song ended and she opened her eyes, she heard a slow clap coming from behind her, and turned around to see her whole class clapping at her performance.
"Well look at that, it seems we have quite the natural pianist." Professor Newcombe praised with a smirk on her face. "I trust you've been getting in extra practice to be able to perform a full song near perfectly after only a few days with an instrument." Mia blushed, realizing all her peers had heard her play.
"Yes Professor Newcombe, at home my father listens to a lot of muggle music and this is one of my favourites. I saw the song at the end of my book and knew I wanted to learn it. I thought if I primarily focused on just the one song, I'd pick it up easier." Mia said timidly.
"Well you played it beautifully. We will be starting some assignments for those who wish to get their vocal performances out of the way. Perhaps you'd be willing to help me by learning some of the songs and playing them for the other students?" Professor Newcombe asked. Mia stood shocked. She knew she could play if she focused on the song, but to play for her peers assignments?
"I would love to, but only if the student in question is comfortable with me helping." Mia said, feeling a bit more confident.
"You already know I would Mia." James told her.
"Me too." Sirius said, still amazed by what he'd heard a few minutes prior.
"Me three." Remus said, smiling brightly at the young witch. Lily, Alice and Mary all raised their hands as well, happy to have their friend play for them.
"I think that's a healthy load, don't you think Miss. Potter? You're lucky to have such loyal friends." Professor Newcombe told her. "Well then, we will be starting our performances next week. We will have 2 students every other week do vocal performances, and it will be voluntary. If there are no students that wish to sing that week I will have to ask randomly so please start preparing now. That being said, you may now use this time to practice your vocal performances or you may play your instruments."
Mia went back to playing the piano, trying to calm herself from the situation a few minutes prior. 'Me? Singing? I can't sing in front of the whole class! I'll start puking or I'll have some sort of nervous breakdown!' She didn't notice herself stop playing, as her hands shook, hovering above the keys of the instrument. Her breathing began to quicken, and her breaths were quiet but sharp.
"Mia?" Remus whispered in her ear, putting a hand on her upper arm. "Let's go get some air for a second, okay?" Remus brought her to the courtyard, rubbing small circles over her back as he tried to calm her down.
"I-I'm okay. I'll be fine." She whispered to Remus, not meeting his eyes.
"Mia look at me." He grabbed her chin softly and moved her face up to meet his eyes. "Tell me what caused you to have another panic attack, it will help if you talk about it."
"I wasn't having a panic attack." Mia denied softly.
"Mia, you can't lie to me. I used to have them all the time. Being around people always used to freak me out. I was always terrified that I would hurt someone." Remus confessed.
"Rem, that's ridiculus you wouldn't hurt a fly." Mia protested.
"Well that's what I used to think, but that all changed when I met you." Remus told her, a small smile on his face. "You totally freaked out when you agreed to play for our performances."
"I-I don't want to preform in front of people or help other people. What if I mess up? I would never hear the end of it." Mia said in a small voice, tears filling her eyes. Remus grabbed her chin and forced her to meet his eyes once again.
"Mia, you sang to me in the hospital wing. You were really good. As for your piano skills, you picked it up in a week. Mia, that's pure talent." He told the raven haired girl genuinely.
"I have major stage fright okay? Not even James knows I sing. I'm terrified of performing in front of people." Mia said wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her robes. "I don't want to mess up, so it's easier to avoid it all together."
"Well I understand that Mia, but you can't avoid it. It's a part of our final exam, you have to sing." He told her still rubbing circles over her back.
"I know. I'm hoping that she'll kinda just...forget?" Mia said with a questionable shrug.
"Professor Newcombe doens't look like the type to forget about something like that." Remus informed her.
"Remus please just trust me on this, I just can't. Please tell me you understand." Mia said, resting her head on his shoulder. Remus wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close.
"I get it, just-let me know if you need help? Panic attacks are no joke and you need to talk about them." He said grabbing her face in between his hands looking deeply into her eyes. "I'm here for you Mia, always." Mia noticed his green eyes flash amber. She was suddenly very aware of how close they were together, how close Remus's face was to hers. She could feel his breaths. 'Not now. Not like this' Remus thought to himself as he pulled away from the blushing raven haired girl.
"Mia!" Mia heard someone call from behind her, she turned around to see James and Sirius running towards her.
"James? Sirius? Why aren't you in class?" Mia asked, still flustered about that strange moment with Remus.
"Class just ended, Are you okay? I've never seen you like that." James asked, looking her over and checking to make sure she was okay.
"James, I'm fine, I was feeling overwhelmed and just needed a moment to myself." Mia explained, seeing Remus giving her a look from beside her.
"Okay." James said, not really believing her. "We were going back to the common room to play a game of Exploding Snap before dinner. You wanna come?"
"Sure, I'll probably just finish my potions essay though, I have quidditch tomorrow so I'll be having an early night." Mia told the boys. They all walked up to the common room. Mia finished her essay fairly quickly and had some time to help Peter with his Charms work before dinner.
After dinner Mia said good night to the boys and headed to her dormitories. She placed her silencing charms above her bed, which had become part of her nightly routine, and fell asleep to the sounds of the winds in the distance...