DONE WITH FINALS! I AM BACK PERMANENTLY FOR THE SUMMER! I don't own Harry Potter.
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Ch. 12: "And When the Bough Breaks..."
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A stray strand of sunlight, lucky and strong enough to break through the grey clouds, ascended upon Hogwarts like a soft, gentle blanket. The lake, gloomy from reflecting the depressing heavens above, delighted in this change as it caught the ray unawares, claiming it as its own and revealing the light's full brilliance. Wind, the Messenger of Storms, blew along the lake, chiding it for claiming such a prize as angry thunder rolled overhead. The trees bent to the wind's power, swaying.
Winter was coming.
To all of this, Aya witnessed from the window of the Marauder's room, her heart joyful as she sat hugging her knees on the windowsill, looking out upon the world with a steady gaze. It was peacefully quiet, of the sort that allowed not for meditating, but solely for existing. She sighed as she glanced back at Remus' sleeping form, his mouth parted slightly in his peace. Suppressing a giggle, she crawled slowly and cautiously towards him to place her head next to his.
Silently, she traced a finger along his face, then ran her hand through his hair, her body tingling at the touch. Getting under the covers, she snuggled close to him, wrapping her arms around him, allowing herself to come closer...closer. Smoothing his hair, she kissed him gently.
"I'm glad this isn't a dream."
His voice startled her, raspy from sleep.
"Sh...go back to sleep," she whispered, meeting his gaze.
Breathing deeply, he replied, "And miss not being with you? No thank you." He placed his finger on her lips to stifle her own reply. "I dreamt about you last night."
She giggled and buried her face in his chest. "About what?"
"You and I laughing and being together," he whispered in her ear. She smiled, then looked up at him.
"Always?" she asked, her storm-grey eyes sparkling.
"Much longer than that."
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"Sneaking out of the room again, huh?" Lily asked, nudging Aya.
"Oh, hush, Lily. The professor's coming," she replied with a blush.
"Gee, I wonder where, oh where, you went," Lily said with a grin.
"So, this is a Hogwart's classroom," a croaky old voice said. Aya blanched.
"Yes, Mother. Isn't it simply dull?" Dolores replied as she escorted her mother in. McGonagall, her face livid, stole a glance at Aya before continuing on to her usual post.
"Take your seat, Lupin, Black, Potter. Now," the Professor replied, the urgency clear in her voice. Without a moment to spare, Remus sat down next to Aya, while Sirius and James took the remaining seats behind her. Peter, in front of them, stole a pitied look at the black-haired girl before turning back around. "Dolores, Amelia...you may take those seats in the back." And heaven help the poor students around those two.
"Fancy seeing you here in an actual classroom, Aya," Amelia hissed from the back of the room.
Aya stared ahead of her, gripping her quill pen so hard that it shook. "I must not fear. Fear is the Mind-Killer. It is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear..."
"Horrible bitch," Lily murmured. "Horrible."
"Hush, Lily," Aya whispered back. "They'll hear you."
I am going to ignore them. It will be easy. Focus on the lesson.
"Open your books to page four hundred and three," McGonagall said tartly, drumming her fingers on her desk. "Potter, read."
"'The importance of registering yourself as an animagus,'" James said rather hoarsely. Sirius nearly chortled, while Remus put his head in his hands in embarrassment. Aya held a giggle as Lily, a triumphant look on her face, watched James' face rather intently.
As James continued to read, Aya couldn't help but hear the whispering that came from the very back of the room, could feel their glares towards her direction, and could hear the scratch of a quill pen.
Ignore them...focus on the lesson...the lesson, Aya. Keep your cool. The lesson.
Her rapidly beating heart said otherwise. "I must not fear..."
"'First and foremost, the Ministry must know this so as to keep track of the witch or wizard, especially in their animal form. If you remember in Ch. 9, an animagus, once in the animal form, carries with him or her certain physical traits that he or she has in his or her human form,'" James continued in an amused voice.
"And to think the Ministry doesn't keep track of others besides animagus as well," Dolores proclaimed loudly.
Aya flinched. Remus bared his teeth. Bloody bitches, he thought.
"Ms. Umbridge," McGonagall said harshly, "I am trying to teach without interruption. Potter, continue."
"I'm simply pointing out an obvious flaw in the Ministry. Who's to say what kind of creature walks among us and looks like a human?" Umbridge replied, a smile on her face.
Focus...on...the...lesson...don't....lose...it...
"Continue, Potter. Now," McGonagall hissed.
"Second, the Ministry must know what sort of animal the witch or wizard has decided to become," James continued, his voice shaking from anger.
"Speaking of animals," Amelia said with an inane, horrible giggle.
Focus, Aya...focus on the lesson...
She could barely hear James. A sharp pain in her palm told her that she had clenched her fist a little too hard. As she stared down at the small, red, quarter-moon cuts forming on her hand, she heard James read something about "proper guidance from the Ministry."
"There's a thought!" Amelia interrupted yet again. "Guidance...it's too bad orphans don't have guidance, however nutty their ragged parents might have been."
"SHUT THE HELL UP!"
Aya's chair nearly flew to the ground as she stood, seething with rage, shaking uncontrollably. Her books clattered helplessly to the floor.
"How dare you!" Amelia hissed, her eyes mere slits as she stared the girl down. "You insolent whelp!"
"SHUT UP!" Aya screamed again. Remus made to say something, but held back. "You...bitch!" Aya yelled, kicking at the desk before she stormed out of the class, slamming the door behind her.
There was a tumult of noise from the students, and Sirius, finding his one and only chance, screamed out, "Serves you right, you heartless bastards!"
"That's bitches, Sirius...bitches," James hissed.
"Class, return to your reading. Dolores, Amelia, get out of my classroom," McGonagall hissed triumphantly at both Umbridges' shocked faces. "Remus Lupin! You get back here this instant! Lupin!"
But Remus was already shutting the door to her outcries even as Dolores and Amelia began to push themselves out.
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As she reached the cover of the forest, Aya rammed her fist into a nearby tree, kicking at it. "Stupid...goddam...hideous....BITCHES!" she screamed, grabbing a small, stray pebble and throwing it as hard as she could. She kicked at the ground, making the leaves scatter about madly. Putting her hands to her head, she screamed again, then turned to beat the same tree with whatever energy she had left, collapsing soon after at the foot of the tree.
Her breath came in ragged breaths that turned quickly to sobs as she placed her face in her hands. Damn it all...I shouldn't have done that...but...how...how dare she talk about my family!
The thought nearly drove her wild again, but she instead leaned against the tree, trying to calm her breathing as she wiped angrily at the tears on her face.
"That was bloody brilliant back there."
"No it wasn't, Remus," she replied breathlessly, refusing to open her eyes.
"Quite a tantrum you've got," he said quietly, sitting down next to her. "Come on, they got what they deserved."
"Go away," she said unhappily, turning her back to him.
"I most certainly will do no such thing," he replied calmly, crawling around to face her. "Look at me."
Slowly, she opened her eyes to glance furtively at him before looking away. "Just...go away," she whispered helplessly, trying in vain to push him back.
"I'm not going to go anywhere, Aya, and you know it," he replied gently, placing his hand on her knee. "You did the right thing. Why are you ashamed?"
"Because I'm not supposed to do such things!" she replied bitterly as fresh tears fell down her face. "I'm not supposed to get all crazy like that and act like an...like an....an..."
"An animal?" he finished, narrowing his eyes. She looked away again. "Look at me!" His voice was commanding, yet gentle. "Why are you so afraid of that? Huh? Is it because you're a werewolf? Is a werewolf, a human person, not supposed to act human at all?"
"You don't get it!" she replied angrily, glaring at him.
"I most certainly do!" he yelled. "What did people do to you at your old school, Aya?" He placed his hands on her shoulders.
She squirmed, trying desperately to get away, but he held her still. "Let go!" she pleaded. "Let me go!"
"I will not!" he yelled. "What did they do to you?! Tell me, damn it! What did they do?!"
"They...they...they beat me, okay?"
A raven cawed in the distance, sending a lonely echo down to their hiding place. Remus sat back, speechless as he stared at her desperate face. "Why?" he asked hoarsely.
It seemed as if everything she had ever hated came boiling to the surface as she blurted out, "Why? Why? How the hell should I know? I was different; everybody knew that! Llitesat is an Orphanage, alright? Kids there are...messed up, and Amelia hates half-breeds...centaurs...especially werewolves...the whole lot of them. She's the headmaster. And she told everyone there that I was a werewolf and should be beaten for it, so I was, alright? You should've seen the stuff they did!" She laughed bitterly. "Oh, it's all rather hilarious, isn't it? I've got soooo many stories! The day of a full moon, they used to drag me across the grounds to beat me with a stick, and then I was tied to a stupid tree so I had to bite myself out of the ropes when I transformed! I've got the scars to show you! Oh, they did all sorts of funny stuff! They used to tie a chord around my neck and parade me around campus, yelling about their new pet dog! Oh, it was all sooo very funny! Ha! But they loved their sticks, didn't they? And they just loved dunking my head underwater in the fountain. Oh, that was fun! But my favorite part was where I had to do all the chores the morning after a full moon and be laughed and gawked at. 'Moonshine! Look, it's Moonshine!' That's what my nickname was! Oh, that was just fun! Fun, fun, fun, fun, damnable, horrible fun!" she cried, shaking.
"Aya..."
"Oh, just go away!" she yelled as fresh tears fell down her face. "I just don't care anymore! I'm sick and tired of having to throw on a smile for Umbridge all the goddam time! I'm sick of being laughed at by her, I'm sick of being a werewolf, and I'm sick of not having my family! I should have died with them! I HATE IT!"
She pulled away from him, desperate to get away. He grabbed her around the waist and held her, gritting his teeth. "Let me go! Let me...GO!" she screamed.
"NO!" he cried, pinning her down on the ground. "Knock it off! Just calm down, alright!" Inwardly, he was burning with a rage he had never felt before: rage at those who had hurt her. He wanted nothing more than to rip the Umbridges' heads off slowly and painfully, then move on to the children at the Llitesat school/orphanage.
No, he thought as he fought against her struggles, my main priority is to calm her down. She's got to calm down.
He remembered how his mother had always dealt with his younger brother's tantrums, the effects of his own mental health. Straddling the girl, he pinned her down without a single word and held her there. Though she fought, eventually she grew tired and relaxed, her eyes closed tightly, tears falling down her face, her breathing short.
Slowly, he moved off her. When she remained still, he reached down and gathered her into his lap. As if by a signal, she buried her face in his robe and cried, her sobs breaking his heart with each and every breath that she took. He rocked her back and forth as his own tears spilled down his face.
"You just go ahead and give yourself a good long cry," he said, staring ahead blankly. "Just let it all out, Aya. Go ahead and cry...I'm right here."
Still rocking her, he lay down on his side, holding her close. Slowly, he closed his eyes to let his own tears fall silently down his face.
The minutes passed on, and Aya slowly grew quiet and unmoving. Wrapping his cloak around them both, he held her tightly to his chest.
And the wind, bitter yet refreshing, blew softly over the trees, singing a soft lullaby of reassurance to them both.
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"Fun" stuff to write...please review...I appreciate it greatly.