The Tunnel of Erasade

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor have I ever. J.K. Rowling is an amazing writer, and no one shall ever change that.

A/N: Sorry for the little delay. I went to my cousin's wedding this weekend, where I was a bridesmaid, so I got held up. I'll be updating as much as I can this summer, since I don't have much other plans ahead! Keep reading, reviewing, and enjoy!

As soon as Albus and Axton left the mysterious passage they had found, they made sure to seal it again so no one else could find their way in; Axton had difficulty pushing the large stone back over the hole while Albus scattered some random leaves around the visible cracks. When Axton asked why they were covering the hole, Albus explained that he didn't want any other students finding it and claiming it as their own discovery. When the two boys were certain that the passage entrance was fully covered, they walked back through the forest. Albus examined the fake Galleon along the way, rolling the thin coin of gold between his fingers.

"That's not a real Galleon, is it? I mean, look at the detail on it!" exclaimed Axton, pointing down at the lion's head, who roared back angrily at Axton.

"No, it's not," said Albus, biting his bottom lip as he slipped the Galleon into the pocket of his pants.

"And who do you know that will explain it? I mean, we've only been here for a few days, and we haven't met anyone," said Axton nervously.

"You'll see."

Albus lead Axton back inside the castle, being very careful to not be seen by any students or teachers as they made their way out of the Forbidden Forest. They crept into the main corridor, up a twisting tower, and in front of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

"Professor Lupin? You're going to ask a nineteen-year-old-barely-trained Professor what this lion has anything to do with the fake Galleon," Axton said, staring up at the shiny, gold name-plate by the door:

Professor 'Teddy' Lupin

Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor

Son of Former Teacher, Remus Lupin

"You'll see," said Albus and, without another word, he tapped the door of Professor Lupin's office with his bare knuckles three times, stepping back as he awaited an answer.

The door to Lupin's office opened, and there he stood. Unlike his appearance before, his hair had been taken out of the ponytail and was hanging loose down his shoulders, now in a strange shade of red, black, brown, and blonde. His eyes were tired, and his robes were opened, revealing a dim grey jumper and black pleated pants. He stared down at Albus and Axton with a tired, yet startling expression.

"Oh, hello there boys," said Lupin more lively than he looked. "What can I do for you?"

"Hello, Professor," said Albus calmly. "Can we have a word?"

"Of course, come in." Ted Lupin stepped back from the doorway to allow them inside.

Lupin's office was decorated in a very odd, yet unique way. There were rows and rows of shelves, all packed about a foot apart from each other on, on one wall. On the shelves stood jars with different-coloured liquids in them, from red to black to a strange mixture of pink, green, and blue. Most of the liquids held objects in them, floating half-way above the top of the watery substance. Albus glanced around at the jars, which held some of the strangest things he'd ever seen; unicorn horns floated lazily in jars of bright pink liquid, pixie wings hovered against ripples and waves of bright blue-and-green striped liquid, and frog tongues spun against the tides of red bubbles. On the either side of the room stood an enormous bird cage which held a large red, orange and yellow-coloured bird, which was very similar to the bird Albus' father had shown him in picture albums, who he said was named Fawkes. Beside the birdcage was Lupin's desk, unorganized and cluttered with papers, quills, ink bottles, and random opened books, such as Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them and The Tales and Diaries of Magical Misfits by Ruby Stergamore. Behind Lupin's desk sat an enormous, over-stuffed black armchair, and in front of his desk stood three identical, smaller ones.

"Please, have a seat while I get us some snacks," suggested Lupin and, with a wave of his wand, he cast a spell on Albus and Axton, sending them flying back against the chairs softly. Albus adjusted himself on the seat as Lupin made his way to a cluttered side table which held a stack of shiny, silver goblets, a large jug of pumpkin juice, a few unopened bottles of butter beer, and a stack of cauldron cakes and pumpkin pastries. Lupin sat a variety of the cauldron cakes and pumpkin pastries onto a tin tray along with three bottles of butter beer and made his way back to his desk, clearing room for the tray before sitting down in the larger chair, smiling at them.

"What can I help you with?" he said, taking a cauldron cake as his hair changed to a bright blue colour.

Albus shifted in his seat as he rummaged around for the fake Galleon. When he finally felt the cold metal between his fingers, he set it down on the desk in front of Lupin. "We found this in the Forbidden Forest," started Albus, pausing for a moment as he saw the look on Lupin's face. "I mean, on the edge of the forest, and we were wondering if you knew what it resembled. We've already come to the conclusion that it can't be a Galleon, because a Galleon doesn't have that sort of pattern on it. As far as I can tell, it looks like the houses of Hogwarts, except it's missing the Hufflepuff badger."

Lupin leaned over his desk and took the fake Galleon between his fingers, examining it in the sunlight. He squinted slightly and then his eyes went wide.

"It can't be," he muttered softly, staring from the coin, to Albus, to Axton, who was sweaty from nerves. Lupin glanced back at Albus. "Where did you find this?"

"We said, at the edge of the forest," said Albus. Lupin laughed quietly.

"Potter, I can already tell that's a lie. You found this in the Tunnel of Erasade."

"The Tunnel of what?" asked Axton, gnawing off his bottom lip.

"The Tunnel of Erasade," repeated Lupin, placing the coin back on the desk. "Hundreds of years ago, Donathon Alessandro Erasade was the most powerful wizard in all of Italy. He was born and raised in Rome, Italy, and was transferred to London, England at the mere age of seventeen. His family died from the well-known Killing Curse..."

"Avada Kadavara," Albus finished. Lupin nodded solemnly.

"Precisely, and when his parents died, he went mad. He regained his saneness from a very powerful wand, one that I believe your father earned, as well as the Dark Lord. They say the phoenix only provided two feathers for both wands, but in reality, it provided three.

"After Erasade received the wand, he created thousands of spells, charms and potions, including Lumos and Wingardium Leviosa, which are two popular ones used in Flitwick's first-year's charms class.

"But after he created them, he became so mad that he turned his wand on himself, and used the very same curse that killed his parents. He couldn't suffer with his own insanity, and fell backwards into the Forbidden Forest here at Hogwarts in his seventh year. His own spell didn't work, because he somehow became so powerful that all of his self-made charms and spells protected him from everything that could ever kill him.

"When he finally did figure out how to destroy himself, he figured that he would create something that when used properly would release the one charm that is so powerful and so mysterious, every witch and wizard wanted to know about it. No one even knows what the charm is capable of doing, but they wanted it. And he decided that the only way this would happen is if he made two keys, two fake gold coins that resembled Galleons to release the charm. He hid two of them, one in his home country and one in his new country.

"Then, prepared for his death, he made a large ditch, tunnel of you will, and created his own sort of tomb, one that no one besides himself knew about. Then, he created a large barrier against his tomb so that it would never be harmed, damaged, or burned. But the tomb was a different story.

He set fire to the tomb, and locked himself in it. At the same time, he cast the Killing Curse on himself over and over until he finally managed to break the shield of charms and die. No one found him. Instead, his spirit transformed his ashes into a clear air, and with his spirit, pushed both into one jar, while another jar held the world's most powerful charm ever."

Albus stared down at the fake Galleon they had found. This was it then. They had found the first key-hole to the most powerful charm known in the wizardry world, and all because of their own curiosity.

"So, what do we do now?" said Axton, staring down at the fake coin. Lupin stood up from his desk, handing them a bottle of butter beer each.

"It'd be best if you two boys hid this coin, safe away where no one else can find it. I suggest we go look at the tunnel tomorrow, after your classes are over and right before the feast. Perhaps we can find some sort of clue to where the other fake Galleon is," said Lupin, shoving another cauldron cake into his mouth and washing it down with butter beer.

"Where should we meet?" asked Albus eagerly. Lupin smiled as his hair turned into a vibrant shade of pink.

"My classroom, and if any teacher or friend asks you where you are going, you simply say you have last-minute homework questions for me."

Albus and Axton agreed on the plan and took the fake Galleon with them before leaving Ted Lupin's classroom and making their way down to the Great Hall so they could enjoy their lunch.

As they entered the Great Hall, a cheerful voice greeted their arrival.

"Hello, Albus! Good afternoon, Axton," said Helena Brown happily. Albus gulped softly as he stared into the eyes of the beautiful Helena, who smiled back. His knees wobbled a little and his palms became clammy as he smiled at Helena.

"Hello, Helena," he finally managed to spit out. Axton nodded his hello as he sat down beside Jackson Thomas, who was in a much better mood today and started to pass Axton bowls of steamed vegetables and plates of roast pork.

"Isn't it wonderful weather outside?" Helena said happily. Albus nodded slowly and bit his bottom lip. Why did he feel so nervous and strange around her? It was a new feeling like no other.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then. We have our first Potion's lesson together!" exclaimed Helena, smiling brightly and spinning on her heel. Albus watched and smiled, tilting his head. Helena was gorgeous, stunning, perfect, beautiful…

"Albus Potter! Please come to my office," said Ted Lupin's booming voice.

A/N: Kind of short, but I've decided to update stories where I left people hanging on by a thread. So I'll probably update in a few days after updating the others. Sorry! But read, review, and you know the rest.