Chapter Sixteen
The Beast Within

Vicky Stone stood hidden behind the thick, knotted branches of a leafless hedge while she watched Ruta Lupin embrace Teddy before sending him back into his grandmother's house. She saw Ruta leaving through the garden, with the easy, relaxed walk of someone who doesn't need to hurry. Now she had a much better view of her face… and she still found it overly plain and boring. How did Severus Snape come to know Ruta? Were they friends… or was it even possible that he bedded her?

Vicky suppressed an excited giggle, her hand closing around the phial of Polyjuice Potion. It didn't really matter if they were only allies or actually spent their nights together. As soon as she had the information she was craving she would give her imagination full scope and combine facts and mere rumors freely for the sake of the roaring success she was dreaming of. Who cared for the truth anyway?

She followed Ruta with her eyes until she saw the other woman vanishing around the bend. It was highly improbable that Ruta would come back any time soon; this was the moment Vicky had been waiting for. She drew back deeper into the shadow of the hedge, opened the phial and at the same time the small silver box. She slipped the last, gossamer-thin thread of hair into the mud-colored fluid and saw it change its color to the clarity of water. Then she emptied the phial with one long gulp.

Vicky closed her eyes, stoically enduring the unpleasantness of the change; she didn't forget to pull a small mirror out of her handbag, to quickly control her outward appearance. Again she felt a sharp, piercing shock at the sight of grey hair and wrinkles; Merlin forbid that she would ever allow time to do so much damage to her own face. But a few wrinkles for an hour would be worth it. If she really gained a fortune with the story she was about to tell, she would have the means to preserve her own precious loveliness for many years to come.

She took a deep breath, smoothed the gray robe (grey hair and grey garments; the old hag really had no taste whatsoever!) and walked the last few yards down the road until she reached Andromeda Tonks' garden gate. She crossed the garden, stood in front of the door and pulled the chain. A melodious jingle came from inside, then she heard footsteps. The door opened, and Teddy Lupin blinked up at her, open joy shining in his eyes when he recognized her transformed face.

"You… you are Lottie Stanhope, aren't you? We talked about you, Aunt Ruta and I… you just missed her! I had breakfast with her this morning, you know, and she brought me home."

He gave her a dazzling smile and turned to call back into the house.

"Gran Dromeda, look who's come for a visit!"

"Hello Teddy," Vicky Stone said with a benevolent smile. "I'm very glad to see you again. May I come inside?"

vvvvv

The silence in the Potters' parlor was heavy and full of unspoken misgivings. Finally Seeker stirred, his lips twitching. "And does Miss Skeeter's latest travesty already have a title?"

Ginny looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Yes," she murmured, her voice balancing on the edge of a nervous giggle. "Severus Snape - Scoundrel or Saint?"

"Brilliant", Seeker remarked acidly. "Too bad that I can't come back as a ghost to haunt that insufferable cow."

Harry laughed, trying to break the tension.

"If Skeeter's biography about you is as bad as the one about me, I can only hope that you'll never actually have to read it. I read mine, and it took me weeks to recover."

"Harry." Ginny's voice had a sharp edge. "Don't you understand? It may well be that Ruta is not the only one under observation. A story about the cousin of the 'faithful Werewolf", fallen under the same curse as he did, may be a juicy piece of gossip – but imagine the sensation if that woman is able to add Severus Snape's resurrection to the cocktail!"

"I wonder which came first," Stephen Seeker said thoughtfully. "Did the Stone woman seek for some unknown facts - or attractive rumors - about Snape… and then discovered Ruta Lupin as an extra bonus? Or was Ruta her aim from the very beginning?"

"And why?" Hermione added. "If this is some kind of revenge, Ruta must have made a formidable enemy of her. But when?" She ran both hands through her hair, making a mess of her ponytail.

"Wait a moment…" Seeker slowly said. "Vindictia Stone... Vindictia... Vicky Stone. Ravenclaw. She was hanging about the edges of Slughorn's coterie when I was in my seventh year. He used to waffle on about her delightful knack with love potions." He rubbed his nose, eyes half closed in concentration. "Ruta was in the same year… and in the same house. She might have gotten into her way somehow."

"Ruta?" Harry looked at him, frowning. "But she's better at Herbology than Potions – I mean, she created the mildew potion, but that was twenty-five years ago, and besides, how likely is it that this Stone woman has held a schoolyard grudge for that long?"

He met Seeker's gaze, and the bone-deep irony in the black eyes hit him like a blow.

"Do you really need an answer to that question?" Seeker asked, speaking very softly.

"No." Harry cast down his eyes. "I guess not."

Silence fell over the room. When Seeker spoke again, his voice was gentle with reminiscence.

"Vicky Stone. She can't have been entirely innocuous, even as a student. Lily helped her for a while with her class work. But by Christmas I believe the arrangement had fallen apart. And Stone was definitely one of the students who got stripped of points after that debacle in the Great Hall. I don't think she ever had the temerity to approach your mother after that."

"You're not sure?" Harry asked, and Seeker's face darkened.

"No." He spoke calmly, but his tension was more than obvious. "By that time, Lily and I only spoke to each other when it was absolutely unavoidable. But I witnessed the scene in the Great Hall." A very small smile. "Your mother was marvelous. I don't think I've ever seen so many young idiots disabled with so few spells by a prefect before or since."

He rose from his chair.

"I think I should contact Minerva McGonagall; she can give us further details about Miss Stone's school career… and she may be able to find out how well Ruta and Vindictia knew each other."

"Ahm… McGonagall?" Harry asked, barely able to trust his ears. "Does that mean that she knows…"

"Yes, it does, Mr. Potter." Seeker looked at him. "You may congratulate yourself on discovering my secret ally at Hogwarts." He got to his feet and started toward the fireplace.

"Not that one," Harry said hastily, still trying to digest this newest and most spectacular piece of information. "You'll need to use the fireplace in my study: we use the Floo network in there because its easier to lay in more protections in a room where... uhm..." Harry realized he was floundering and turned to find his wife smiling at him with mild amusement. "Would you show him the way, love?"

Ginny left the room, Stephen Seeker in her wake, and Harry poured himself a cup of tea, his head spinning.

Minerva McGonagall. That was unbelievable.

vvvvv

Five minutes later they were back.

"She will consult the archive and the yearbooks, and Flitwick," Seeker said. "We'll hear from her within the hour."

"We must warn Ruta soon, "Ginny piped in. "But Andromeda should be warned, too. I've been thinking, and if Lottie Stanhope has been in the Werewolf Registry before, they must know what she looks like. Perhaps Miss Stone has found someone who sold her Polyjuice Potion… which would enable her not only to use Miss Stanhope's signature but her identity, too. And Dromeda would certainly trust a person who appeared on her doorstep, wearing Lottie Stanhope's face."

"Entirely possible," Seeker replied grimly.

"I can go," Hermione offered. "It would be better if you," she looked at Seeker, "stayed out of sight for a few days – in case that Vicky Stone really is trying to complete her research in St. Mary Green. She might not know me but she definitely knows you."

"She knows me, too," Ginny said, "but I can play the harmless housewife any time. And if she really shows up as Lottie Stanhope, we ought to be able to delay her until she's forced to change back to her real form."

"That could be dangerous," Harry said, deeply frowning.

"The Battle at the Ministry was dangerous, too," Ginny said, taking his hand. Her gaze was clear and sharp, "So was the Battle at Hogwarts. You and I, we are still a part of Dumbledore's Army… and this time I don't mean to sit at home and wait for you to return from the fight… or not."

Harry sighed, torn between pride and annoyance. "Okay… I'll tell Kreacher to keep an eye on James while he's taking his midday nap."

"He'll be delighted," Ginny retorted with a grin. "He's been sorting the cellar for nearly two hours now… a task far beneath his dignity."

"We shouldn't wait much longer," Seeker said, his eyes troubled and absent-minded. "I don't like the thought that Ruta Lupin might have to face an old foe in disguise… she's still unable to use her wand."

vvvvv

Ruta stood in the back garden of her cottage in Tulip Close; she had made a small side-trip on the way home, walking along the stalls of the weekly farmer's market. In her wicker basket she carried eggs, a good chunk of cheddar and a generous piece of smoked bacon. Perhaps she could take a handful of leeks from her green house and ask Winky to cook a leek pie – though she would certainly not be hungry for quite a while, not after that huge breakfast with Teddy.

She was just about to enter the kitchen through the garden door when she discovered Teddy's long fringed scarf, draped over her old rake. So the boy had forgotten his scarf after all… and she hadn't noticed it while she accompanied him back to Andromeda.

"Great aunt, are you?" she scolded herself, but she wasn't really irritated; the sun was more than pleasant, and if she took Teddy's scarf and returned it to that small muddler, she would have the chance to spend even more time in fresh air. After far too many weeks of being an invalid and the shock of the last full moon she felt nearly normal today – her body hungered for the exercise it had been accustomed to for most of her life. And it would take her only twenty minutes more if she walked fast.

She pulled Teddy's scarf from the rake and wound it around her neck. Then she took the path to the front side of the house again, leaving the basket beside the rake. It was cool enough outside, and she would be back very soon anyway.

Ten minutes later she had reached Andromeda's house. She walked to the door and pulled the chain, waiting for Teddy or Dromeda to open it, a blithe remark ready on her tongue – but no one came. She pulled the chain again, but everything remained silent.

Ruta tried the knob; the door swung back and she stepped into the empty vestibule. Small grains of dust were dancing in a spot of golden sunlight.

"Teddy?"

Ruta went towards the kitchen; where she heard the murmur of a female voice.

"Dromeda?"

She entered the room… and froze.

Teddy was sprawled precariously between his chair and the table, with his head on his plate and one limp arm dangling ominously. A glass had tipped over beside his shoulder; a thin rivulet of pumpkin juice ran over the edge of the table and slowly dribbled down onto Andromeda's usually spotless tiles. Ruta could see his face; it was pale and lifeless, eyes half closed.

In two quick steps she was beside him, raising his head with trembling hands. His breathing was heavy and stertorous.

"Merlin, Teddy." She stroked his cheek with her good hand, and then felt for his pulse. It was alarmingly slow. "Teddy, for goodness sake…"

"Hello, Ruta."

She whirled around and saw the woman, emerging from the shadows behind the kitchen door, wand drawn. Lottie…? Could that be Lottie Stanhope? But there was something weird, something decidedly wrong… streaks of a reddish blonde, interspersing the grey, familiar hairdo and multiplying under her shocked gaze, and the features were blurring like the roiling water in a muddy maelstrom. Who…

"Petrificus Totalus!"

The spell hit her with full force; she stumbled back and crashed against the wall. A terrible pain shot down her spine. Ruta struggled to move, but she had no chance against the magic. She stood rigid as a broomstick, staring at the stranger who was rapidly losing at least twenty years of age while watching her with greedy excitement.

"Do you remember me?" her attacker asked, stepping close and looking into Ruta's widened eyes. "You don't? Never mind; you'll understand very soon, my dear. We have plenty of time."

vvvvv

Hermione and Ginny Apparated to Tulip Close barely ten minutes later. To enter the house through the front door proved to be impossible… the vestibule was flooded with soapy water, and Winky was joyfully conducting a cleaning mop criss-cross over the tiles; she assured them that she hadn't seen Miss Ruta for a while, but that she would doubtlessly be back from her errands very soon. They decided to try the back garden; again, no Ruta – but Ginny discovered the basket beside the rake and quickly scanned the contents.

"Ruta was here, then!" she said with a frown. "These groceries are fresh, she must have just fetched them home… but why didn't she go inside? Do you think something happened?"

"If she'd dropped the basket, the eggs would be broken," Hermione objected. "Perhaps she just forgot something. We can walk from here to Andromeda's house… with any luck we'll head Ruta off."

The two young women took the way down the road, craning their necks in all directions, but by the time they had reached Gardenia Close they still hadn't seen any sign of Ruta or Vicky Stone.

Andromeda Tonks' house seemed strangely deserted. A window on the first floor stood wide open, though, the curtain fluttering in the fresh breeze.

"That's odd," Ginny said, blinking into the bright sunlight. "That is her bedroom, and it's not like Dromeda to let the autumn chill in that way. Beside her impressive knowledge about housekeeping magic, she's a true font of warming spells."

"Hmmmm…" Hermione rubbed her nose. "Perhaps she's getting absent-minded in her old age."

"Andromeda? Never." Ginny snorted. "She has the memory of an elephant. Laugh if you want, but I'd prefer to be careful. – What is that?"

She stepped down from the path and fished a small cushion out of Dromeda's biggest aster bed. It was made of velvet and decorated with fine embroidery… nothing anyone would want to leave outside on a cold, damp day in October.

"I'm definitely not laughing," Hermione said, staring up at the window with narrowed eyes. "I wonder where that came from… and if she accidentally dropped it, why didn't she come to bring it back into the house? Let's sneak inside and have a closer look; if everything is fine, Dromeda may tease both of us."

The door wasn't locked, and they entered the house with soft steps. The vestibule was empty, and – like Ruta before – they noticed the open door to Teddy's room. Everything looked perfectly normal; Ginny was just about to open her mouth to call for Teddy's grandmother when suddenly a strange sound came from upstairs.

"Did you hear that?" Hermione whispered.

"Yes, I did," Ginny gave back, drawing her wand. "Listen, Hermione… I'll go up and check the situation and you stay here and keep watch."

She scurried up the steps and was gone. Hermione took cover, soundlessly working her way behind the bendy branches of the giant weeping fig that was Andromeda's pride and joy, and at the same time listening for any sign from upstairs. There was a voice coming from the kitchen. It was a woman, but she spoke softly, and Hermione wasn't hiding close enough to the door to understand what she was saying. For a moment she longed for a pair of George Weasley's Extendable Ears… and then she jumped when a hand closed around her upper arm.

"For Merlin's sake!" she breathed, lowering her own wand again before the tip could bump against Ginny's nose. "Don't do that to me ever again!"

At the sight of the expression on her friend's face her mouth snapped closed. She took a deep breath. "What…?"

"Dromeda." Ginny whispered, lips tickling her earlobe. "She's upstairs in her bedroom, trussed up like a Christmas turkey."

"Oh." Hermione felt a twinge of panic. "We're too late! Did you free her?"

"No," Ginny retorted. "I got the gag out, but Vicky Stone used very tricky magic. Touch the bindings with a spell and they get tighter – and yes, she appeared here disguised as Lottie Stanhope. She stunned Andromeda and hauled her upstairs. Dromeda kicked the cushion out of the window, hoping that someone might notice it and understand that something was amiss. "

Hermione turned towards the kitchen. "What about Teddy?"

"No sign of him," Ginny grimly murmured. "He must be in the kitchen with her. I don't think we can risk waiting for Harry and Snape to turn up, can we?"

"Absolutely not," Hermione said, disentangling herself from the ficus. She tiptoed over to the door, pressed down the handle and pushed gently. Ginny stood behind her, listening with bated breath.

"…twenty years." The voice which Hermione had heard before drifted out of the kitchen, now clearly understandable. "Twenty years of writing for page three, of proofreading the garbage of wannabe-authors and brewing coffee for that old idiot Cuffe. And then I was 'promoted' to play second fiddle to Rita Skeeter, of emptying her wastebasket and watching her reaping the rewards of my dirty work." A sharp laugh. "And all because you couldn't keep your mouth shut about that book. I was improving Monvoisin's recipes! I could have been the best potions teacher Hogwarts ever saw, instead of that greasy Death Eater of yours. Oh, yes, I know about him. I saw the look on his face when he walked out your door."

"Who on earth is she talking to?" Ginny whispered.

"I have no clue," Hermione whispered back, holding out her wand. "But we'll find out - NOW!"

The door flew open and the two young women burst into the room. They saw Teddy, collapsed over the table, and a woman with red-blonde hair who jerked back at their sudden appearance, her face a mixture of sheer consternation and rage. And they saw Ruta Lupin, her back against the wall, hands raised in helpless, frozen defense.

Ginny turned to the stranger. "Expelliarmus!"

vvvvvv

"Of course I remember Vindictia Stone," Minerva McGonagall said, carefully wiping some stray flakes of ash from her glasses. She had arrived in Harry Potter's study five minutes ago, carrying a huge leather portfolio. "Pretty thing… always looked and behaved as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. If you caught her out in class she'd invariably try big eyes and an air of injured honesty. But since you ask me, I think she was overambitious, conniving and lazy. And smart, too… very smart. But she constantly used her wits to avoid using her brain. You should look at this first, I think."

She chose a sheet from the slim stack of parchments in the portfolio and handed it to Harry.

AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE, Harry read, written with golden letters, and then RUTA LUPIN. His eyes hastily scanned the text, catching: "… for a brilliant essay about the use of mandragora vernalis…" and "… extraordinarily gifted student any school may righteously be proud of…", and finally coming to rest on the jaunty signature of the Headmaster. Albus Dumbledore.

He did his best to absorb the familiar sting of pain, heritage of a bitter war and the loss of the man he had looked up to most in his youth.

"'Dromeda's mentioned this. But what has it to do with Vindictia Stone? And wasn't it after their last year?"

"1980, yes," Minerva McGonagall said, studying another sheet. "However, it was no secret that Vicky Stone was also in contention for the award. They were classmates, in Ravenclaw. Miss Stone began to sell love potions during her fifth year, and with great success. She was one of Slughorn's… protégées for the rest of her school career."

Harry saw the exchange of glances between McGonagall and Seeker: it seemed that their opinion about the former potions teacher was more than in accord.

"Something must have happened during the last months before the N.E.W.T.'s that year, though," McGonagall continued, "for in June 1980 Vicky Stone was summoned to the Headmaster's office for breaking into Ruta's school chest and burning the original text of her essay and every single note."

Harry blinked. "She did… what?"

"She burned the text of Ruta's essay," McGonagall calmly repeated. "But a clean copy had already been sent to the editor of Magical Herbology Today. It was published and well-regarded, and Miss Stone's vandalism backfired on her. She escaped being expelled by a hairsbreadth, and Ruta never found out who had played that particularly nasty prank."

"Why didn't they tell her?" Harry asked in honest confusion. "She should have known, shouldn't she?"

Seeker shook his head.

"Dumbledore always had a very… special way of handling the truth," he said. "And he was rather obsessive about giving hopeless cases a second chance." His lips curled in a slim, crooked smile, and Harry saw it mirrored briefly in McGonagall's eyes.

"Can we be sure that this is personal?" he said. "Perhaps it is only a reporter's greed for a juicy tale."

"That would be bad enough," McGonagall retorted, "and dangerous to boot." She leafed through the stack of papers again. "But I asked Filius Flitwick about that confrontation with Miss Stone in Dumbledore's office, back in June 1980. As her head of house, he attended, of course. And he remembered quite vividly that on the walk back to the dormitories afterwards Miss Stone was furious about Ruta; she was absolutely convinced that it was her fault that her school career ended this miserably. 'It was she who grassed me,' he's sure she said and something along the lines of 'pay her back in spades someday'. Not very clever, of course, although she had had the sense not to rant in front of Albus. Still it wasn't the wisest thing to start muttering within earshot of her head of house."

"Absolutely stupid," Harry agreed.

"Very true. He kept an eye on Vicky after that, but she never tried anything, and he had hoped she'd forgotten about the whole matter. Even Ravenclaws do, sometimes, you know." McGonagall shoved the sheets back into the portfolio. "I have to leave now… I have scheduled a meeting of the staff in my office within the next ten minutes, and I guess I'd better be back in time. Keep me up to date, if you please. "

"Of course, Minerva." Seeker said, a deep, vertical fold between his eyebrows.

She put the portfolio on the table, nodded at him and gave Harry a smile, then stepped into the fireplace and disappeared in a whirl of green flames.

"I think we should get to St. Mary Green and prepare to defang Miss Stone, as quickly as possible." Impatience radiated from Seeker's form in palpable waves, and Harry found his concern more and more contagious.

"Give me just a moment," he said. "I'll tell Kreacher where we're going."

vvvvv

"Relaschio!"

Hermione pointed her wand at the rigid figure leaning against the wall. Ruta's limbs relaxed abruptly; she gave a small yelp of pain and slipped down to the floor.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked, still keeping Vicky Stone in check. "Did she hurt you?"

"I'm fine," Ruta snapped, pushing herself quickly upright again. "But Teddy! And Dromeda? Have you seen Dromeda?"

"She's upstairs," Hermione said. She'd already reached the table, feeling for Teddy's pulse and lifting one of his eyelids. "Bound and gagged, but otherwise unharmed."

Between them they gently took the unconscious boy to the rocking chair beside the kitchen window, and began to examine him. "I don't think it's a spell," Hermione ventured. "It's more like he's been poisoned."

Ruta turned swiftly to examine the spilled pumpkin juice. "I can't smell anything," she said, and brought a drop up on a fingertip to touch carefully with her tongue. "Or taste anything, either. We need Stephen."

"Stephen?" Vicky asked avidly, her eyes alight with curiosity.

"None of your business," Ginny answered sharply.

Hermione opened Teddy's mouth and looked inside. "I don't see any blistering. I think it would be quickest to see if we can get him to bring it back up."

"What do we need?"

"Water, first, and then ipecacuanha."

As Ruta began to fetch down a glass for the water, Vicky made an impatient noise. "Don't bother – it will wear off soon enough. If Fenrir Greyback couldn't kill the brat then, a little Veritaserum won't do him any harm."

The glass shattered on the floor.

Ruta turned to face her old classmate. "What do you know about Greyback?" she said, deep in her throat.

"I know he vanished. And only a few days later you landed in St. Mungo's. From what Pemberthy said..."

"How did you know that Greyback was alive?" Ruta growled.

Hermione and Ginny exchanged alarmed glances, and for the first time Vicky Stone seemed to realize that she had made a mistake.

"He wanted to know... to know where... the boy... It was my chance. He said he could tell me things about werewolves that would finally get me out of Skeeter's shadow. I couldn't not tell him!"

Before Ginny or Hermione could even begin to realize the enormity of what Vicky Stone had just admitted, Ruta was in motion. With one long bound she was on top of the intruder, pinning the wandless witch's throat to the ground, her teeth showing and her eyes spinning from blue to a fierce, feral yellow.

"No!" Hermione yelled. "Ruta, don't!"

vvvvv

Harry Potter heard the shout as soon as his feet touched the path leading to Andromeda Tonks' front door. In a moment he and his companion were through the door and into the kitchen.

In the middle of the room: a woman with strawberry blonde hair, sprawled on the floor, mouth covered by Ruta Lupin's hand. Ruta's other hand pressed down on the woman's exposed neck, and she knelt over her body like a triumphant hunter over his prey. Harry saw Ruta's face and felt his heartbeat stumble in shock.

He could see the bone structure beneath her skin, the familiar pattern of planes and hollows all twisted, alien. He saw the flash of teeth in her half-open mouth – had they always been that white? – and the sharp, prominent line of her nose. And he saw her eyes, fixing her prey with a vigilant, unblinking stare of blazing gold.

He knew, even without looking, why Ginny was standing with her wand ready, and why she hesitated. He could see Hermione from the corner of his eye, shielding his godson, slumped unconscious in the rocking chair. He was acutely aware of Seeker's looming figure beside him, but even so he flinched at the sound of that deep, harsh voice.

"How long has she been in this state?"

Ginny cleared her throat, and the golden gaze immediately focused on her. "Just... just now."

"And the boy?"

Hermione answered. "We're not sure. From what she said, it's an overdose of Veritaserum, but..."

"Here," Harry dug into his pocket for the emergency supplies he was never without and came up with a small object that he tossed to Hermione. The yellow eyes snapped to him, and he raised his hands to show that they were empty. "It's a bezoar. A bezoar, Ruta. It will make Teddy better."

There was no sign that the words had penetrated.

"And what else?" Seeker asked. "If that were all, Ruta would be doing her best to help the boy."

"She was," Ginny said. "But that was before we found out who sent Greyback here."

"What?" Harry whispered, feeling his stomach lurch. "She did…?"

"Ah." Seeker regarded Ruta's victim without a hint of pity. "That explains everything."

One of Vicky Stone's legs kicked weakly, and she gave a small, panicked whimper.

"What…" Harry hesitated. He felt still unable to turn his eyes away from Ruta's frozen, watchful face. "What do we do now?"

Seeker sighed. "To tell you the truth, there is not very much we can do at all. Ruta has to do most of the work now. The fact that she hasn't fully changed yet gives me some hope… there might be enough of her human nature left to respond."

He turned back to the two figures on the floor. Ruta's left hand still lay over Vicky Stone's face; at his movement, however slow and unobtrusive, the fingers of her other hand closed around the throat of her foe again, causing a strangled moan.

"Ruta? It's me, Stephen."

Harry stared down in surprised awe at his former teacher and the one he tried to rescue. Seeker's voice was full of confident authority, and at the same time infinitely gentle. It was the voice of a man calling out for the woman he loved.

"Ruta? Listen to me. Let her go – now. She is unworthy of your revenge. Let her go and come back."

vvvvv

the world is a red fog of rage and her flesh hungers for the change hungers to give in to the sweet tempting call of the bloodlust filling her to the brim it will be so easy to succumb to the curse that is no curse any longer but blessing and redemption and fiery delight and her spirit yearns to leave the useless shell it is trapped in to run with the moon to tear the flesh of her trembling prey apart

no

this cannot be

I will lose myself completely

I will lose everything I care for

this cannot be

but the blood the blood the beast screams with greed the blood and the flesh and the joy of killing you won't take that away from me don't you dare to shrink back from what you truly are kill her kill your foe she has ambushed you she would have dragged you into the light and wreaked havoc with what is left of your life

oh but it is an urge so overwhelming a hunger so consuming

it runs in my veins like fire how can I fight it all on my own

give in give in now complete the hunt take your share this is your right you were born anew under the power of the moon accept your birthright complete the hunt

"Ruta? It's me, Stephen."

no no no don't you dare to listen don't you dare to go back to your miserable weak self the moon is stronger the moon will always be stronger

"Ruta? Listen to me. Let her go – now."

don't listen to that man he's betraying you like she did he has had his own share of darkness he won't help you he won't save you he is lost like you are don't listen to him complete the hunt

"She is unworthy of your revenge. Let her go and come back."

don't listen don't listen don't listen

stephen

don't you dare to listen

This is Stephen.

don't you dare

I don't have to fight all on my own.

don't

I am not alone.

vvvvv

"Stephen…?"

vvvvv

Ruta blinked. She lifted her hands from Vicky Stone's mouth and neck and blinked once again. Her face changed… not the dramatic morphing of features Harry knew from the use of Polyjuice Potion but something much more subtle. This was the woman he knew, body and spirit reunited again… the wolf was gone.

"Ruta." Harry could hear the bottomless relief he felt himself in Seeker's voice. "Welcome back."

Suddenly Vicky Stone stirred, hands frantically feeling over the floor. Her face was a mask of hatred.

"You filthy beast! Wait until I…"

She bucked up, and Ruta shot forward with a startled gasp; Seeker lunged towards her, caught her around the wrists and swung her into safety. Vicky Stone rolled over, as fast and slick as a snake, and Harry saw that she had snatched Ruta's wand from the folds of her robe. She gave a short shriek of triumph as her hand closed around it, and Harry found to his dismay that Seeker's body offered her a perfect shield against any attempt on his part to cast a spell.

"Stupefy!"

Vicky froze on the spot and collapsed to a crumbled heap on the floor.

Harry turned around and saw his wife behind him, wand still pointing at the passed out Miss Stone.

"There you go!" She grinned with grim satisfaction. "I should have done that much sooner; I'm definitely out of practice."

"Bravo, love." Harry's face relaxed in a huge smile. "Neatly done."

"Stephen?" Ruta disentangled herself from Seeker's firm grip and stepped away from him, looking increasingly confused. "I don't understand… I remember Vicky telling me about giving Teddy Veritaserum… and then: nothing."

"She told you that it was she who sent Greyback to St. Mary Green," Seeker said, choosing each word with great care. "And you – well, let's say, you lost your temper. To a… certain extent, at least."

"But I don't remember any of it!" Ruta replied, frowning deeply. "The only thing I know is that she tried to defend her betrayal… and the next thing I recall is your voice, saying my name."

Abruptly her face lost all its color.

"Now I understand," she breathed. "The moon will always be stronger. This is what I heard the beast say. The beast within."

She looked at them one by one. Her eyes had returned to the usual slate blue, but Harry vividly remembered the yellow, predatory stare he had seen before. He was unable to suppress a shudder, and he hated himself for it.

"Did I… did I hurt any of you?" Ruta turned her gaze to the silent form of Teddy in the rocking chair. "Did I… no. Teddy… Teddy was already..."

She wrung her hands.

"But it could have been me, couldn't it?" Her voice broke. "If I had changed completely, I might have killed you all."

"You didn't," Hermione said; she spoke very gently. "It is over. Forget about it, will you?"

"But that's the only thing I never can do!" Ruta exclaimed. "The only thing I may not dare… and it will never be over. Never."

She stared down at the floor, shaking from head to toe.

"Excuse me," she finally said. "I'm feeling sick. I think I need… some fresh air."

"I'll follow her," Ginny quickly said, lowering her wand as the garden door closed behind Ruta.

"Don't," Seeker said.

She turned to him, ready to object, but the sight of his face she closed her mouth. She saw sorrow and bitter understanding. Old pain seemed to bend his shoulders, burdening him with age far beyond his years.

"Don't," he repeated. "She won't be able to listen right now, no matter how noble your intentions may be. Let her go."

vvvvv

The sun was nearly touching the horizon by the time they finally finished the difficult tasks of that day. Harry had managed to free Andromeda, and Seeker had thoroughly examined Teddy; the potion Vicky had forced upon him was obviously of low quality and she'd overdosed him to boot. Although the bezoar had undone most of the damage, it was decided that his grandmother and Hermione would Apparate with him to St. Mungo's, just in case. Hermione promised to send back word as soon as she could. "My owl needs the exercise," she said wryly, giving Harry and Ginny each a quick hug before departing.

Ginny finished tidying the kitchen before returning to Berwick. Harry wouldn't have minded her staying, but she only shook her head. "Kreacher is a marvel," she pointed out, "but even the strongest elf magic is a poor substitute for breast milk."

But at last there were no more distractions, and they turned their attention to Ruta Lupin's defeated foe.

vvvvv

When Ginny's spell finally eased, Vicky found herself bound with the same bonds she had used on Andromeda, although she lay far more comfortably on a bed than the old witch, who had been forced to wait on the floor for her rescue. The room was small, the windows and curtains were closed, and the light was low. She turned her aching head carefully and found two men standing close to the door and quietly talking to each other: Harry Potter and Severus Snape.

Severus Snape.

She studied him with greedy interest. He had changed – of course he would have after eight years. His hair was cut short, and streaked with silver – but there was no mistaking the man immortalized in the ruthlessly honest portrait that hung in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. He was a legend – controversial and notorious, but still a legend. She cursed inwardly, overwhelmed by a wave of helpless rage and bitter loss. She had been close… so close.

"Ah – she's awake."

Snape walked over to the bed and looked down at her with an impenetrable expression. She stared back, trying to assume an appearance of unfazed bravery.

"Don't bother to put up a show," he said coolly. "However intricate your plans may have been, you have failed… even though you did more damage than we should have permitted you to do."

"Teddy Lupin is well," Harry Potter added, equally calm. "Just in case you should forget to ask."

Her gaze strayed away from Snape and found the Boy Who Lived. No boy any longer. She knew his features as well as those of the former Potions Master – what wizard or witch didn't? – but there was nothing left of the waif who had innocently stumbled into the trap of the Triwizard Tournament – and on the pages of the Daily Prophet, his personal drama distorted beyond all recognition by Rita Skeeter's Quickquotes Quill. This is the main difference between me and Rita Skeeter, Vicky thought maliciously. I've never needed any magical accessory to defame someone.

"No doubt about that," Snape said with a dry, cold chuckle, "although you have copied her in more than one regard, haven't you?"

Suddenly Vicky felt dizzy, helpless and terribly naked… every thought, every single memory in her mind was displayed before those black, dispassionate eyes.

"What are you going to do with me now?" she demanded, her voice overly loud in the silence of the room. "Kill me? Haul me to Azkaban?"

"Hardly that," Harry Potter gave back. "Killing you would mean more trouble than you're worth, Miss Stone… and we'd just as soon not deal with the publicity of a full trial before the Wizengamot."

"What else, then?" Vicky asked, the first whisper of an irrational hope stirring in her heart. Perhaps she could…

"No, you can't. We won't let you get away with this, and we won't listen to any promise you might try to offer," Snape said, his eyes sharp as a bared blade. "We're not that stupid… and you aren't either. Do you know what Minerva McGonagall told us about your merits as a student? Overambitious, conniving and lazy. That hasn't changed a bit, has it?"

"McGonagall?" Vicky croaked. "You went into the Headmistress's records?"

"Did you really believe you were the only one able and willing to do thorough research?" Snape said, his voice full of contempt. "You've alienated far too many people for your own good this time, Miss Stone."

"And the wrong people at that," Harry growled.

Seeker didn't so much as cast a glance at the man beside him. He kept his bottomless black eyes locked on hers, until her own eyes ached to blink.

"Mr. Potter is feeling much more vengeful than I am. Blame that on his youth… and on the fact that you did serious harm to his godson and to his friend by betraying both of them to a murderer."

"And what are you?" Vicky spat. "Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater, you miserable fraud -- you have plenty of blood on your hands, just like Greyback did! Don't try to come haughty with me!"

"I'm not haughty," he replied with infuriating calm, "only clever and careful enough not to take my own thirst for revenge as a rule for my actions."

He took a step closer, and she flinched back; there was no escape, only the soft depths of the pillow behind her.

"And yes, I was a fraud, for far too long," he said, his voice suddenly as soft as silk. "But I've always been willing to learn, any other weaknesses of character notwithstanding. You can count yourself lucky that I've learned enough not to repeat some of my worst mistakes... or you would get the punishment you deserve."

He took a small glass bottle out of his pocket and raised his wand, holding the tip firmly against her temple. With disbelieving horror she saw thin, grey streaks rise from her skin, curling down towards the opening of the bottle.

"You can't do that," she whispered. "You can't take this story away from me!"

"Of course I can, and I will" he said. "You should be glad that I only take your memories… not your life."

His eyes seemed to grow until they filled her field of vision completely. Once again blue eyes blazed gold in a distorted face. Once more she saw Ruta spellbound, leaned up against the wall of Andromeda Tonks' kitchen… One more time Vicky watched a man leaving Ruta Lupin's house, feeling fierce triumph and the jubilant prospect of glory rise in her heart. Again she saw the corridors of St. Mungo's, heard the gossiping Muggles in the hair salon. A hooded figure, impossible and exciting, loomed over her in the backyard of the Wanton Witch and spoke to her with a deep, snarling voice. The scenes flickered through her mind and settled for a moment on another astonishingly clear image of Ruta Lupin, decades younger, sitting in a classroom at Hogwarts, head bowed over a roll of parchment, and once more in the Ravenclaw common room: You should ask Madam Pince for a copy of 'Philtres d'Amour' by Catherine Monvoisin… But all those memories were fading now, shrinking to pale miniatures without any meaning… Vicky finally lost her grasp on thought and let herself be drowned in the black gaze of a man whose face she knew only from doing research for one of Rita Skeeter's books… a man dead and gone these past eight years.

vvvvv

Half an hour later, they sat in Andromeda's parlor, a bottle of fire whiskey on the table.

"That was close, wasn't it?" Harry remarked, taking a sip and feeling the strong alcohol burn its way down into his stomach. Seeker looked at him, his lips forming a narrow line.

"It was indeed," he said. "And we can't foresee if there won't be another Vicky Stone coming along someday."

Harry took another sip.

"Perhaps Ruta should leave St. Mary Green," he said thoughtfully. "Neville still hopes to lure her into his Herbology project at Hogwarts."

"Perhaps." Seeker stared into the fireplace. "But she has to return first; she's been missing for more than four hours now."

He rose from his chair.

"I had best go and prevent Winky from having a nervous breakdown. She was to warn Ruta from leaving the house and when she learns about what happened today, she will be devastated."

"And I had best take Miss Stone back to London before she wakes up, and I'll need to drop in Pemberthy," Harry answered, trying not to make a sour face at the prospect. "Will you try to find Ruta?"

"I can't search the entire Eskdale," Seeker's voice was very tired. "But she will come home sooner or later." He paused. " It is the only place she is likely to feel safe."

"Maybe not the only place," Harry said, fidgeting with the bottle of memories before him, and remembering all he'd seen and heard since the man in front of him had walked back into his life. "I think she might feel safe at your house, too. With you, I mean. If you'll wait for her."

Their eyes met.

"Then I shall wait for her," Stephen Seeker promised. "No matter how long it takes."