Chapter 11
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Meredith had a plan. She didn't know if she would be able to pull it off but she was certainly going to try it. Ever since Remus had told
her about being a werewolf she had been reading every book on werewolves she could get her hands on. From all that she had read it
was obvious people did not like werewolves one bit. Werewolf persecution went back hundreds of years. Some of the pictures she'd
seen of what happened to werewolves were quite grusome. Nothing was written about the people that werewolves were when the moon
wasn't full. Apparently in the eyes of the wizard world being a monster once a month made you a monster all the time. It was so unfair.
Why should someone have to suffer so much because of something they had no control over? When Remus dropped her off at
Andromeda's house she behaved as she always did, sad to see him go but nothing out of the ordinary. Andromeda was harder to fool.
Meredith figured Andromeda must be a mind reader because she always knew when Meredith was up to something. All evening
Meredith could feel Andromeda's eyes boring into the back of her head, as though trying to drill her secret plan out of her head.
Somehow Meredith managed not to crack under the pressure. When Andromeda tucked her into bed she still had that look of suspicion
on her face. Meredith snuggled under the covers and closed her eyes. But she was not asleep. She was waiting. Waiting and listening for
Andromeda and Ted to go to sleep. It seemed like forever but she finally heard them come upstairs. She heard them getting ready for
bed and after awhile the house was quiet. Silent as a mouse she threw off the covers and slipped out of bed. Carefully she pushed open
the door to her room and crept down the hall and down the stairs. Through the window she could see the full moon. Remus would be
transformed by now and down in the basement. The house was dark but she managed to find her way to the fireplace. She stood on her
tiptoes and reached up to grab a handful of floo powder. She climbed into the fireplace.
"Home," she said softly, throwing down the powder. She felt herself spinning faster and faster and pulled her arms to her sides. When she
saw her living room she threw out her hands and tumbled out onto the carpet. She jumped up and dusted the soot off her pajamas. She
could hear rustling in the basement. She grabbed an afghan from the sofa and made her way to the basement door. She crept down the
stairs and paused at the bottom. She blinked a few times and when her eyes adjusted she saw the wolf curled up in the corner. The big
yellow eyes stared at her. Very slowly she approached the werewolf. It looked just like the pictures in the books. But the way it looked
at her, she knew Remus was in there.
"Hello Remus," she said softly. The werewolf looked at her hard, disapproval clear in its eyes. She ignored it and went over to where he
was. She wrapped the afghan around her and curled up beside him.
Remus couldn't believe this. What was the child thinking? Remus wanted nothing more at that moment than to be able to pick her up and
take her back to the Tonk's but in his werewolf form there wasn't anything he could do but lay down beside her and shut his eyes.
Tomorrow, he vowed. Tomorrow they would be having words.
Remus awoke the next morning feeling stiff as he always did after spending the night on the basement floor. But there was something
different. He turned his head and found Meredith curled up next to him on the floor sound asleep. He'd hoped it was a dream and that
Meredith hadn't really snuck home last night. He was so mad he could barly contain himself. How could she do this? How many times
had they been over why it wasn't safe for her to stay home on the night of the full moon?
With a huff he stood and dressed in the clothes he had brought down the night before. He gathered Meredith in his arms and carried her
upstairs. He laid her on her and covered her with a blanket. He gazed down at her sleeping so peacefully, you'd hardly know she'd slept
next to a werewolf last night. He shook his head. He'd let her sleep and then they were going to have a serious talk. He trudged
downstairs just as the fire lit green and Andromeda's head appeared.
"Remus," she called.
"Right here Meda," he said squatting down.
"Oh Remus, Meredith wasn't in her room this morning, Ted and I looked everywhere"
"She's here," Remus said stiffly."She snuck home last night"
"Oh dear," Andromeda said. "Is she all right"
"She's asleep. My God, foolish child. What if I hadn't been in my right mind, what if I had bitten her"
"What if what if what if," Andromeda said shaking her head. "Remus, you can't spend your whole life wondering what if? Just be glad that
nothing happened"
"Nothing happened," Remus said. "And nothing is going to happen because this will never happen again"
"What are you gonna do Remus," Andromeda said. "Keep her tied up to a chair? I think you're forgetting whose daughter she is. Don't
be too hard on her Remus"
"Remus?" a sleepy voice said behind him. Remus turned and saw Meredith standing there. She was looking at him timidly.
"Good morning Meredith," Remus said stiffly. Meredith looked down at the ground and Remus instantly felt bad. Andromeda was right.
He couldn't blame Meredith for her curiousity. Merlin knew how many risks he and the other maurauders had taken in thier youth. But
still, she had to understand.
"Meredith come here," he said kneeling down. Meredith moved closer so that he was looking directly into her eyes. "Meredith, you know
what you did last night you should not have done." Meredith hung her head.
"I know," she said.
"When I tell you something, I'm not saying it to hear myself talk. Nothing happened last night but it might not have been that way. You
could have been seriously hurt. You understand that right"
"Yes, Remus." Meredith said. "But I don't agree. I don't want to stay with Andromeda and Ted when you change. I want to stay here
with you"
"Meredith"
"NO! Meredith shouted pushing away. "I won't. You said we're a family. Family's stick together no matter what." Remus clenched his
fists at his sides. Control your temper, he told himself. She's just a little girl who doesn't know any better.
"Meredith, I am your guardian and you will do what I think is best"
"NO I WON'T!" Remus jumped as the pictures on the wall flew across the room and several windows shattered. Meredith looked
scared and began to cry.
"I'm sorry," she whimpered. "I didn't mean to."
"It's all right," Remus said quickly doing a reparation spell. "It's all right." He knelt in front of her and gathered her in a hug.
"I'm sorry," Meredith said again. "Look at me," Remus said. Meredith looked up at him. It was always a bit painful to look into the eyes
of his former best friend.
"Meredith I know that you think it's brave to and that you are somehow helping me by staying here when I transform but the basic simple
fact is it is not safe"
"I don't care," Meredith said. "I don't. I want to stay with you. I don't want you to be alone when you transform. You said we were a
family"
"We are a family," Remus said.
"Then let me be your family, please." Every instinct in Remus's body was saying this was not a good idea. But those eyes, Padfoot's eyes,
would not let him say no.
"All right," he said. "All right you can stay with me. But you have to stay locked up in your room when I transform. On that I will not
negotiate." Meredith grinned.
"Okay," she said. "Okay," Remus said.