The Werewolf's Daughter

8: Letters from a loved one

Maya and Professor McGonagall arrived back at the school at 5.15pm.

'We should go straight to the Great Hall' McGonagall said, 'Is that ok?'

'Of course – I am quite hungry!' Maya said, as they left the office. 'Professor – thank you very much for coming with me today.'

'It was no problem Maya; I had a nice time looking at those photos and remembering your mother.'

Maya looked down; she wasn't quite ready to talk about her mother again. Instead they walked to the Great Hall in silence and when they got there McGonagall headed straight to the staff table as Maya sat down next to Hermione at the Gryffindor table.

'Maya! Where have you been?' Hermione asked.

'Oh, I had some personal things I had to deal with. I'll catch you up later. How was Hogsmeade?' she asked.

'It was ok, to begin with.' Hermione answered slowly not looking at Harry or Ron. 'But then-'

'But then, I found out that the murderer Sirius Black is my godfather!' Harry muttered.

'What?' Maya shouted.

'Keep your voice down!' Harry said, sending a death glare Maya's way.

'Sorry!' Maya said sheepishly. 'He's your godfather?'

'Yes. Oh, and also, he is the reason my parents are dead. Dirty traitor!'

Maya couldn't even ask what he meant as Harry stormed away from the table. Ron and Hermione both stood up to go after him.

'Maya, I'll speak to you about it later!' Hermione said, as they sped away.

It took a minute for Maya to wrap her head around what had just happened; once she had she decided to eat and then go and try to help. She would not be able to do anything on an empty stomach.

Maya was halfway through her tea when she felt someone watching her. Looking up, she saw Malfoy staring at her...again! 'What is his problem?' she muttered to herself. No longer hungry, Maya finished what she had in her mouth and left the table. She made her way to the common room first but there was no sign of the trio there; she went up to the girl's common room, but no one was there. Unsure where they would be, Maya decided to head to the library to look over her mother's letters. She still had the ones she had found in the house in her robes and she found the others at the bottom of her suitcase.

Once in the library, Maya found a small table right in the back corner, hidden behind a bookshelf. Hopefully no one would bother her here!

Before she started, Maya checked the letters – they all had dates on, so it was easy enough to sort them in to order. Once she had done that, Maya picked up the earliest letter – it was a letter from her Mother to her Aunt Lyra. The date was 12th September 1971.

'Dear Lyra,

I hope you're well and not missing me too much. I miss you every day – I wish you were here! Next year though! I hope everything is ok at home and you and mum aren't fighting too much!

I love Hogwarts; I was sorted in to Gryffindor House "Where dwell the Brave at heart!"; I've made friends with loads of people – Lily Evans is one of my best friends – and my classes are all going well. My favourite is transfiguration – the Professor can turn into a cat! It's so cool! I hope one day I can become an Animagus.

Write to me as soon as you can to let me know you're ok – if I don't hear from you within 1 week, I will speak to the Professors here and get someone to come and check on you!

I love you so much!

Moira

Maya continued to read the letters; they were all much the same – lots of 'I miss you'; 'I love you' messages and, surprisingly to Maya as she didn't know her Grandmother, a lot of 'I hate her' messages when it came to her. Maya had just finished reading a letter her mum sent to her Aunt, dated 2nd April 1972, her mother had ended it with 'Not long until Summer now and then come September you'll be joining me at Hogwarts! Remember, write back within 1 week or I will get worried. I love you, Moira.'

Maya picked up the next letter, expecting it to be from her Aunt, and so was confused to see the date was 3rd August 1978.

'What? Why would there be no other letters?' Maya asked herself. Still confused, Maya decided to try and find answers before moving on to the next letters. Gathering up her things, Maya left the library and made her way back to the common room – she would speak to her Professors the next day.

'Maya, there you are!' Hermione said as Maya walked in to the girls' dormitory. 'I've been waiting for you to come back'! Hermione said.

'Sorry Hermione, I had stuff to do in the library. Everything ok?'

'Yes, I just wanted to update you on Harry. Ron and I managed to calm him down, but he's still pretty shook up.'

'Well, I suppose anyone would be!' Maya exclaimed 'Before this term, Harry didn't even know who Sirius Black was and now he's found out he's his Godfather, he was his parents best friend, but he is also the one that got them killed. That's surely going to be a shock for anybody!'

'Well of course it is – but no one else knows that Harry knows, so he can't keep getting angry about it all over the place.'

'Hermione, you can't just demand that he not speak about his emotions; why doesn't he speak to Professor Lupin? Didn't he say that at one of their sessions, Lupin said he knew his mother? Maybe he would be someone good for Harry to talk to.'

'That's a good idea; I'll suggest that!' Hermione said, adding 'Of course, I'll tell them it was your idea though!'

Maya laughed and made her way in to the toilet. Once she had brushed her teeth and washed, she came out and put her PJs on. 'Did you get all your shopping done?' she asked Hermione, who was sitting on her bed reading.

'Yes, all done and sent off by owl to Mum and Dad' She answered, 'It's a shame you couldn't come – Hogsmeade is really great'.

'I've been before, but I would like to go again. Next time I'll come – McGonagall said as I don't have a guardian, she would sign my slip!'

'Fantastic – we'll have a great time!'

Maya smiled 'Night 'Mione – see you in the morning'

'Night Maya.'

The next day

As soon as she had finished her breakfast the next day, Maya made her way to Professor McGonagall's office, armed with the letters she had read last night.

Maya knocked and waited for the curt 'enter' before she went in.

'Miss Jones, not another trip I hope?'

Maya laughed 'No Professor, but I did have some questions for you, if you wouldn't mind me asking them?' McGonagall motioned for Maya to sit opposite her 'Well, I found these letters at my house yesterday and something doesn't make sense. The letters were between my mother and Aunt, while my mother was here in her first year. Every month my mother wrote to her sister and basically demanded a reply, so she knew she was ok; but there was no reply to the April letter. Do you know why? My mother told Lyra she had to answer every letter within one week or she would send someone to check on her but doesn't say why.'

McGonagall looked pained 'Maya, do you know anything about your maternal grandmother?'

'No, nothing. No one ever mentioned her, so I assumed she had passed away.'

'I am positive that now she is dead, but for a long time she was in Azkaban.'

Maya's mouth dropped open 'What?! Azkaban, as in the wizarding prison, guarded by those evil creatures currently guarding the school?'

'Yes, Azkaban.' McGonagall repeated 'I can tell you why, if you want to know?' Maya nodded, encouraging her Professor to go on. 'I thought Lyra would have told you but maybe she thought you were too young. Anyway, it was about 2 months before your mothers first year ended when she came running in to my office; she was crying and in a tizzy about something – I had to give her a calming draught before I could get any sense out of her! She told me that her younger sister, Lyra, may be in trouble. The reason your mother wanted her sister to respond to every letter within one week was because their mother, your grandmother, used to beat them.'

'Apparently, Lyra was her favourite target and when Moira was at home, she would be a blocker but when she left for here, she was worried about Lyra. Moira told me that day she didn't even want to come to Hogwarts because she thought she would eventually go home to no sister, but of course coming from a pure-blood family, her mother made her come.'

'I sent owls to everyone I could think of at once and they went to check on Lyra. They found her half-dead' Maya gasped and noticed a tear rolling down McGonagall's cheek 'We never got to know why, but your Grandmother beat her so badly that if we didn't check when we did, she would not have survived. Lyra was rushed to St Mungos where your mother visited her every night and every day at the weekends. Your mother saved her life; I think that's why Lyra took such good care of you!'

'Anyway, in May 1972, about a month after she had been found, she was moved to the hospital wing here on Dumbledore's orders.'

'And their mother went to Azkaban?'

'Eventually. She went on the run – although not for long. She was found two months after the attack and a unanimous jury vote sentenced her to life in Azkaban.'

'I can't believe it' Maya gasped, tears flowing down her cheeks now 'I never knew any of that. Why didn't anyone ever tell me?'

'Even now Maya, this is a lot for a 13-year-old to know.'

Maya nodded 'I know, but it would have made so much sense to me. Why Aunt Lyra was so sad and why she moved me away. Professor, what happened to them when Aunt Lyra got better? Where did they go?'

'They stayed here. They lived at Hogwarts all year round.'

'Oh, so is that an option then?'

'What do you mean?'

'Well, if I don't find my father, do I have the option of living here? I don't know if I would be allowed to live on my own. I don't know if I would want to actually!'

'I think it would be an option; we can speak about it again next year.'

'Thank you, Professor, for everything.' Maya said, and walked out of the office.

Maya didn't know how she got there, but she soon found herself outside on the grass. She sank down under a tree and cried. She cried for her mother and her aunt and for the horrible life they endured.