Chapter 16: Werewolves and Grudges

Chapter 16

Werewolves and Grudges

Remus Lupin was nearing the end of his lesson with the 3rd year students. They were doing quite well with the Kappas and were just writing some last minute notes down in their books. He reflected upon what they had discussed at the staff meeting the night before. Minerva had brought up the fact that Snape's nephew was having way too easy of a time with the class materials. She felt he wasn't being challenged enough and that it was impeding his learning. McGonagall felt that Severus couldn't be expected to train a powerful Magi all by himself and that all the other professors needed to do their part. The headmaster had agreed that they should all make Sage do wandless magic and what's more, do wandless magic purely with his mind. No gestures, no words, just thought. Minerva had raised a few good points in addition to that too, that he intended to act on as well. She had said that most of the topics that they covered in classes were things that Severus had gone through with the boy before.

The class started to put their things away and look up at him since it was just about time for class to be dismissed. He made eye contact with Professor Snape's nephew, and was secretly surprised that the boy did not show any animosity towards him especially since Severus loathed him. Minerva had been right when she had said that Severus had taught the boy well. He was very intelligent, and unlike Hermione, was confident enough of himself that he didn't need to show it to the other students. Sage was always very quiet, but Lupin always knew that Sage knew the answers to the questions he was asking. Any professor knew that a student would look down and avoid eye contact when they did not know the answer, and Sage never, ever looked down or avoided eye contact. Like Severus, he had the sureness of himself.

"Okay class, good job today. I think ten points to both houses are in order. Read the next chapter for our next class and enjoy the rest of your afternoon."

The class began to get up when he added, "Mr. Snape, can I have a word with you."

Sage looked up at him and then took his bag off his shoulder and put it back down on the desk. When the students had left, both of them walked toward each other. Sage was appraising Lupin as if he was wondering what his intentions were. The professor smiled at him.

"How are you liking it here?" the man asked to break the ice.

Sage let his eyebrow come up. He knew that there was something coming, but he didn't know what. The professor hadn't asked him to stay after to make sure he was adjusting well.

"Just fine, sir," he answered.

"We were all hoping that you would do well here."

Sage nodded. Lupin knew that he would have to do more and better if he expected the boy to talk. After all none of Severus' relatives could be conversationalists.

"How are you finding the class?"

"Fine," he answered robotically.

"I am slightly surprised that you are a pleasure to have in class. I would have thought that your uncle's animosity towards me would have rubbed off on you. You are, however, at the top of the class."

The boy frowned slightly and then shook his head negatively, "I am not in the habit of letting others make my judgments for me sir, especially when they are judgments based on long-standing grudges. If my uncle were not clouded by his anger, he would realize that you could have had nothing to do with what happened that night. After all, why would you want to be responsible for killing another student. Logically, it makes little sense."

Lupin smiled at his frankness. The boy was giving him a lecture, or something much like it. A lecture about being judgmental. "Then you know the story?"

"Of course, sir, I said I didn't let him make my judgement for me, I did not say that he did not try to make those judgments for me or at least persuade me to his side."

"Well, you act much older than you are. I would have thought someone your age would be quick to judge, they most often are. Which is why I was shunned when I was your age."

Sage shrugged, "You are a good teacher, sir, and I have no reason to judge you badly no matter what you are. I too am something most people are unsure of and I would be as feared as you in some circles."

It was Lupin's turn to nod in agreement. Many people still feared Magi because they were so infinitely powerful, even if Merlin was so wonderful, that kind of power was threatening for any one person to have. That power was what Lupin had wanted to talk to him about.

"I'm glad that you feel that way because I am going to ask you some things and I want you to be honest with me." He waited for Sage to nod before he continued. "Your uncle has taught you a lot about the Dark Arts and not solely just its defense, am I correct?"

Sage narrowed his gaze at the man wondering if he should be talking about this. How much did Lupin know about him that he was asking such a question? But ultimately he found himself having a tentative trust for Lupin. "He's taught me a lot of what he knows, sir. I have studied it myself as well. My uncle believes that you cannot expect to have a defense against something you do not know anything about. If you don't know what might get thrown at you, you will not be prepared to fight it."

"That is very wise, Sage, and a position I myself agree with. But those things cannot be universally taught because of what happens when it is in the wrong hands, which is why we stay away from it here. Although, I have a feeling that may change soon. Given your background, this class is a little remedial for you then?"

Again, Sage was unsure of how to answer, but he found himself gravitating towards honesty. "Yes sir, but none the less good practice and review."

Lupin knew that McGonagall had been right, the boy did know most of the curriculum and while it was good for him to be in class and review and practice it, he ultimately was gaining skill by not using his wand, but not gaining any knowledge. "Well, I am going to do something for you, Sage, to help you. I understand why it is important for you to have a good breadth of knowledge of Dark Arts. I know that Voldemort spared you because your mother said that you were a Magi and that she would raise you as a Malfoy and a Snape, but not as a Potter. If he should ever rise again, which is to my knowledge inevitable, he may seek you out because of the powers you have that you can give for him. While others may believe that Severus is a Death Eater, I know better, and I know that he is grooming you to be prepared to resist him or fight him should Voldemort come for you. I know that your entire family never had any intentions of you following them and that it was just to spare your life, but it makes it necessary for you to be prepared, correct."

The lean boy was staring at him blankly, with a trace of disbelief on his slightly open lips, as if his mouth wanted to gape but he was preventing it. Sage did not know that Lupin knew this much about him and wondered how he had gotten that knowledge. Perhaps Dumbledore had told him, because his uncle surely had not.

"Yes, I have been training for that since I was seven," he said finally, "Because if I was simply naïve and unprepared, I might turn into something I do not want to be, something that Voldemort would love to exploit. I do not want to help the man who killed my father kill more innocent people."

Lupin felt himself feeling sorry that Sage had been forced into such thoughts and responsibilities. Thoughts and responsibilities that were greater than those of Harry Potter. Harry was just a target, Sage could be a mechanism or a means for Voldemort. Harry had the ability to push Voldemort somewhat into the background of his life, but Sage could not do that. Each day he spent in preparation for a day that would eventually come.

"I am going to help you to get something more out of this class. You will attend the class so that you can review and practice the spells wandlessly, but I do not want you to do any of the assignments I give out to them. You are already acquainted with that material. Instead I want you to take this, go to the library, and find one thing each week that you do not know about and write on that instead. I trust you to seek out what you do not already know, because unless I ask Severus there will be no way for me to know that you have not already worked with what you choose. Perhaps I may even ask you to talk to the rest of the class about what you are working on. Is that agreeable to you?"

Lupin held out the paper in his hand to Sage. The boy eyed it suspiciously with his blue eyes before he accepted it. He quickly read it and looked up at Lupin. It was a pass that allowed him access to the Restricted Section whenever he wanted it. It would be more work but it would definitely help him more than writing a short piece on Kappas. The last thing Sage was worrying about was encountering a Kappa or a Grindylow.

"It's agreeable to me, sir, thank you."

Apparently Professor McGonagall was rubbing off on all of his other professors. It seemed as if many of them had abandoned giving him the same class work as the other 3rd years and had begun handing him different projects and grading him on his ability to use his Focus to do wandless magic. He didn't really mind, because it did help him, but he was slightly sad that his classes wouldn't be so ridiculously easy anymore. He was especially enjoying the time he had to deal with the leather case the headmaster had given him and the old scrolls contained within. Perhaps he could come up with a reason to use the scrolls as an assignment for his History of Magic course, afterall the scrolls were historical.

When he left Lupin, he thought about his uncle's feelings about the man. Perhaps if he had not gotten the DADA position and had taken another appointment, Severus would not hate him so much. But he did know that his uncle was suspicious of the man because of what had happened when they were both in school and Severus found out that Remus was a werewolf in a non-conventional way. Sage thought his uncle was being a little juvenile about the entire matter, but he would sooner play with a fully grown dragon that even hint at that fact with Severus. No he knew that his uncle would continue with the grudge until given a very good reason not to anymore. He was quite stubborn. Sage was convinced that Lupin was a good man and very intelligent, and he would be sure not to be judgmental about the man. After all, he knew what it felt like to be quickly judged by others who did not even know him and did not want the chance to know him. He was fairly immune to those things now and had hardened himself to them, but he remembered how the people at the ministry had looked at him when he was a small child. He had been brought there after his mother had committed suicide and those that knew he was a Magi looked at him as if he was some dangerous magical creature or some volatile solution that could blow at any minute.

Sage had not been there long, they were very hasty about getting Lucius to take in his nephew and when that failed, they were quick to get the Snape side of his family to take him. Despite the fact that he was there for only a short time, he only remembered one person who had been nice to him and had treated him with care, treated him like a seven year old boy. The man had been the one who had come and picked him up at the house he was living in when his mother passed, a tall man, with red hair, whose name he could not remember.