Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Still. Yeah, I know. I'm working on it.
A/N: Hey there everyone. Okay, so I apologize for putting this story on hold, but I really didn't want to give away things that will come in future chapters of I Dated the Chosen One. However, I feel that it's going to be a very long time until I reach this part of IDTCO and don't feel like keeping you all waiting much longer, so I'm going to update. I am warning you now that there are spoilers in this, in regards to IDTCO, however they are not entirely major. I hope you enjoy, and I thank you all for being so patient.
Chapter 16: Supressed Memories
Maddy decided the leave the very next day. Mrs. Wormwood had filled her with such hope, and she couldn't wait until she saw Harry again. She promised the children that she wouldn't leave until the afternoon, so she could spend a little time with them.
Dame Victoria was glad that Maddy was leaving. Since the conversation in Mrs. Wormwood's room, she had not been very taken with Maddy.
Around noon, Maddy heard the doorbell ring throughout the house. She hurried down the stairs toward the front door.
"I GOT IT!" she called out.
Christopher stuck his head out of the dining room, and watched as Maddy approached the door. They hadn't had much company lately, and couldn't imagine who it was.
"Don't worry! I got it…" Maddy reached out for the handle, and opened the door. "Yes?"
The man on the other side of the door didn't get the chance to say anything. Without a word, Maddy fainted upon the threshold.
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"Maddy…Maddy…" a man's gentle voice sounded from somewhere above her.
A damp cloth dabbed the sides of her face. Her vision was blurry, and could only see the outline of an older man with graying hair.
"Maddy, are you okay?" he asked calmly.
I know that voice…
Maddy sat straight up, and knocked her head upside his.
"Uncle Remmy!"
Maddy completely forgot about the throbbing pain in her head, and threw her arms around the man sitting in front of her. In the corner of the room, she could see all four of the Wormwood children, Mrs. Wormwood and Dame Victoria, watching them with curiosity.
Remus Lupin kissed Maddy's cheek and held her at arm's length. His stone gray eyes looked her over. He shook his head slowly.
"My God…" he said, quietly.
Maddy frowned. "What?"
"You're…You're beautiful...a beautiful young woman…" Remus nodded, "Sirius would be proud…"
Maddy's heart twinged at the mention of Sirius's name. Her frown flickered for a moment, and she smiled.
"And look at you…" she said, jokingly; "An old man!"
Remus half-shrugged, "I guess that's the price of being a werewolf…"
Maddy laughed, "Sure…blame it on that…you're just old. Admit it. Sirius would…"
"If Sirius had hair like this," he tugged at a lock of his gray hair, "He would have locked himself up."
Maddy nodded. Yes. Sirius always was keen on his appearance. But that was before…before everything changed…
Remus continued to stare at Maddy in disbelief. The last time he had seen her, she looked frail and sick, but here she looked happy and healthy.
Maddy caught sight of the family who was still waiting in the corner. Dame Victoria looked insulted that Maddy had not introduced them already.
"Oh!" Maddy said to them, standing up and grabbing Remus's hand. "I want you to meet someone…"
Dame Victoria had not gotten a good look at Remus. She made a face as she noticed the shabby robes that adorned him. Mrs. Wormwood knew immediately that this was another member of the Magical Community. She even thought she had heard them say the word 'werewolf'.
"Remmy, this is Mrs. Jane Wormwood and Dame Victoria Wormwood." Remus nodded in each of their directions. "These are Mrs. Wormwood's children. The eldest: Elizabeth. The youngest: Marie. And the twins: Christopher and Michael."
Remus chuckled lightly as he saw the twin boys in front of him; "How do you do?"
"Everyone…" Maddy addressed the rest of the room, "This is my uncle, Remus Lupin." She paused for a minute. "Well…not really my uncle…it's just kind of what I call him…" her voice trailed off.
Everyone else nodded in greeting. Dame Victoria still looked rather perturbed by the shabbiness of Remus's appearance.
"Er…Mr. Lupin…" (Maddy sniggered.) "How did you find out where Miss Maddy was?" Dame Victoria spoke with a tone of distaste.
Maddy had thought the same thing, but in all the excitement, had completely forgotten to ask. She looked up at him, curiously, her eyes asking the same question.
"Well…My wife told me that Maddy had married Duke Charles Penly, so I went there first, and one of the maids there said that she was here, and would be here for a while…so I came here…"
"But…why didn't Tonks come?" Maddy asked, looking a bit upset. She would have loved to see Tonks.
"Er…Nymphadora? She er…" Remus looked uncomfortable.
The twins snorted at the mention of Tonks's first name. Mrs. Wormwood placed her hands on their shoulders. Maddy could see the same look in Remus's eye that Harry always wore when he was doing something that he didn't tell anyone about.
"She doesn't know, does she?"
Remus shook his head. Mrs. Wormwood opened her mouth to make a comment, but closed her mouth quickly, remembering that this man was Maddy's uncle. Not a suitor.
Maddy clapped a hand on Remus's shoulder and laughed, "A true Marauder…through and through…"
None of the Wormwood's knew that a Marauder, to Maddy and Remus, was a compliment. They thought it meant that Remus was a thief or a bandit. This made them feel a little uncomfortable.
"Well…if you're here…maybe you could give me a lift home…" Maddy said, hinting to him that she would really appreciate it.
Remus looked uncomfortable again, "Well…actually…I Apparated here…"
The Wormwood's again, looked confused as Maddy's face fell. She kept forgetting. Everyone else could Apparate. Since she was no longer in school, she couldn't do it legally without a license. She cursed herself under her breath for not thinking about doing that before she ran off.
"And…you…." Remus started.
"Can't…I know…" Maddy nodded, solemnly. Suddenly, she smiled. "But that's never stopped me from doing something illegal before, has it?"
"Maddy…" he said warningly.
"Oh come on! I've been to Azkaban! How bad could it be now?" Maddy felt like she was fifteen again, arguing with him like this.
"They have the dementors back…"
Maddy went rigid, a look of terror on her face. The dementors were one of the scariest things in the world. They made you relive the worst moments of your life. Maddy wasn't sure what moment that would be, but she was positive she never wanted to relive it.
"You know what…I-I think I'll take the limo…" Maddy said, forcing a small smile.
Remus nodded. "I thought so…"
The Wormwood's were so lost that it wasn't funny. Maddy almost laughed when she saw the identical looks that they were all wearing. The twins and Marie looked extremely interested in what Remus had to say, but they didn't understand any of it.
Remus stayed for a couple of hours, and the children seemed to hang around him like flies. He didn't seem to be annoyed by them at all, and enjoyed talking about the different kinds of magical creatures he's seen in his life.
When the time came to leave, he gave each of the children hugs, and shook Mrs. Wormwood's hand. (Dame Victoria seemed to have disappeared.) He kissed Maddy's cheek and told her to call whenever she wanted and that they would have to set up a dinner or something where everyone could get together and see each other.
Maddy nodded, blinking back tears, and shut the door. She jumped as she heard the cracking sound of someone Apparating. Dame Victoria came bustling into the room at the sound.
"What the hell was that?"
Maddy looked up at her quickly, her back pressed against the door. "Remus was just leaving…"
"Good riddance!" she said, rudely. "I say, that man dressed as low as a pauper. And to have him in your house, Jane…" she glanced at her daughter-in-law in disgust. "Well…I'm certainly glad to be rid of him."
Mrs. Wormwood, who was standing on the other side of the foyer, glanced at Maddy who was looking rather insulted.
"Mother, it is not kind to speak of Mr. Lapin that way…"
"Lupin…" Maddy corrected her.
"Yes, that." Mrs. Wormwood nodded, "He may not be as high up in class as we are…so we cannot judge-"
"Oh!" Dame Victoria cut in, "Is that how the lower class is dressing these days? Goodness, this world is going to the dogs!"
"That's certainly rude!" Maddy interjected. The two older women stared at her. "T-That saying…. 'Going to the dogs…' There's nothing wrong with dogs…"
Dame Victoria laughed, "Good Lord, I do believe she'll be talking us into buying one soon!"
Mrs. Wormwood smirked lightly. Maddy felt herself grow angrier.
"I love dogs! What's wrong with dogs?" This was partially true. Her uncle had been a dog-animagus, and she loved him. So, she assumed she loved dogs.
"They're dirty, mangy mutts!" Dame Victoria said roughly. "Nothing but a mess just waiting to happen…"
Maddy was ready to snap, "IF YOU EVER HAD TO GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY, EVEN IF IT WERE FOR JUST ONE DAY, YOU WOULD DIE!"
Dame Victoria gawked in Maddy's direction. Maddy's chest was rising and falling rapidly, as her breathing quickened. She felt a small cough starting deep inside her.
"YOU MUST BE THE MOST POMPOUS, PRETENTIOUS OLD HAG THAT I HAVE EVER HAD THE MISFORTUNE TO MEET! IF ONLY YOU KNEW WHAT I HAD TO GO THROUGH IN MY CHILDHOOD! THE WORK I HAD TO DO TO GET WHERE I AM TODAY!"
Then it started. Small at first, but it grew. The coughing. Maddy tried to cover it, and started toward the stairs. Or, one of them at least. Her vision was swimming in and out of focus. Mrs. Wormwood raced forward in an attempt to help her.
"Miss Maddy…is something wrong? Here…here you go…we'll go up to your room…"
"Jane, dear…" Dame Victoria started.
"Not now, Mother! Can't you see something's wrong?"
Maddy's coughing ceased as she sat down on her bed. Mrs. Wormwood drew up the bedclothes, and fetched a wet washcloth. She prayed that Maddy would not pass out again.
"T-Thank you…" she muttered as the wet cloth was draped across her forehead.
"Are you going to be all right?" Mrs. Wormwood asked, concerned.
Maddy nodded. "It's just a small chest cold…" she lied, "I get them a lot…ever since I was a little girl…"
Mrs. Wormwood wasn't buying it. "Miss Maddy, that seemed certainly much worse than a simple chest cold…are you sick?"
Maddy sighed and closed her eyes. No, she wasn't sick. Or she shouldn't be. They had told her that she was fine. They had told her she would never have to deal with it again. But why was it coming back?
"When…When I was a little girl…" Maddy started shakily, not opening her eyes, "I came down with a sickness…something they hadn't seen in over…t-three hundred years. They had lost the cure, and were stunned when I tested positive f-for it." She took a deep breath, "There wasn't much chance for survival, but for y-years I took a p-potion for it…for years, I had to watch what I ate…." She laughed to herself, "Harry used to be on my case about it all…all the time…"
Mrs. Wormwood smiled weakly, "But you survived…"
Maddy nodded, "I don't know how…I don't know why…. For the longest time…I…I just…" she paused and shook her head. Tears were starting to form in her eyes, again. "I just wanted to die. So much was happening…my last guardian was dead…Dumbledore was dead…and Harry…oh God…the stress with Harry…I didn't…I didn't know how I would survive…"
"Everything seemed to be going downhill…" Mrs. Wormwood finished for her.
"Y-yes…everything was…so…so difficult. Harry…Harry was thinking about going after Voldemort…all by himself…Ron and Hermione too…they wouldn't let him go alone. They were all crazy…for once, I felt like I was the only sane one…which was saying something, 'cause…'cause I was always the one nobody could understand…"
Mrs. Wormwood had no idea what Maddy was talking about, but she nodded sympathetically. Maddy knew, but she appreciated just having someone there to listen to her.
"And then what happened?" Mrs. Wormwood asked curiously.
"I left…" Maddy said simply. "I couldn't deal with it anymore…I didn't want to face Voldemort…I didn't want any more dying and death in my life. I have no idea how Harry could stand it. Sometimes I wanted him just to stop. Take a break from being a hero…it was killing him, slowly…and I couldn't stand it…"
Maddy's eyes were still closed. Mrs. Wormwood nodded again, and moved to leave. Maddy spoke up.
"Mrs. Wormwood?"
"Yes, dear?"
"Can you…hand me that leather photo album in the bottom drawer…" Maddy pointed in the general direction of her desk.
Mrs. Wormwood moved over to the desk and pulled out the bottom drawer. Beneath a small pile of books, there was a black leather photo album with a strange family crest on the cover. She handed it to Maddy, who clasped it to her chest.
"Thank you…" Maddy said, finally.
Mrs. Wormwood smiled as she turned the doorknob. "You're welcome…"
The door was only closed for a minute, when the sound of feet appeared again outside it. There were several knocks and Maddy told whomever it was, to come in.
Each of the four Wormwood children, filed into the room, looking nervous. Marie climbed up onto the bed next to Maddy, and glanced at her brothers.
"Uh-oh! Doctor Christopher…I don't think she's gonna make it!"
Maddy laughed, but the sharp pain in her chest made her stop. Marie peeled the wet cloth off Maddy's forehead and placed it on her own.
"How can you see with this thing on?" she asked, playfully.
"You're not supposed to…" Elizabeth said, calmly. "It's for when you're sick."
Michael looked at Maddy from the end of her bed, "Are you sick, Miss Maddy?"
Maddy shook her head, "No…I'm just tired. Just very, very tired…"
"Oh!" Elizabeth said, quickly, "Then we shouldn't disturb you. Come along, we should leave…"
Maddy held out a hand. "No…you don't have to leave. I like the company…"
Christopher and Michael climbed up onto the bed next to their younger sister, and Elizabeth pulled up the chair to Maddy's desk. Marie tugged at Maddy's hair.
"Do you want us to tell you a story?"
Maddy shook her head, "No…I don't think I want a story right now…"
"What's that?" Michael asked, pointing to the album clutched in Maddy's hands.
"This?" Maddy said, sitting up in bed, "This is a photo album…it was from when I was a little girl…"
"Like me?" Marie piped up.
Maddy chuckled, "A little older than you…"
She laid the album down on her knees and all four of them drew closer. Christopher pointed to the crest on the cover.
"What's that?"
Maddy frowned, "That's my family crest…it was on almost every item in my grandparents old house…I was lucky to get this before someone could throw it out…"
Maddy opened the front page. On it were two photographs of Maddy when she was fourteen. These were taken when she and Sirius had been on the run, and they spent the summer in the Caribbean. The summer sun shone on Maddy's black hair, which was past her butt.
"Whoa…did you ever cut your hair?" Michael asked.
Maddy shook her head, "Nope…Not until I was fifteen. It was getting a tad too long…"
She turned the page where there were photos of Ron and Hermione and Harry. Maddy had taken the photos, so she wasn't in them.
"Who're they?" Marie's voice came from somewhere beside her.
"Those were my best friends." Maddy said simply, readying herself to turn the page again. Harry's face was staring up at her, and it was unnerving.
"What're their names?" Christopher said, quickly.
Maddy sighed and pointed to each of them in turn. "Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter…"
Marie, Christopher and Michael all looked over the names and urged her to turn the page. Elizabeth however moved closer, and peered at the pictures.
"Harry…"
Maddy didn't look up from the page, and turned it quickly. The next page involved pictures that were different. Maddy smirked.
"They move!" Michael exclaimed.
Maddy nodded, "Yep. Magic."
She turned a few more pages that contained photos of the Weasley's, other students, members of the Order of the Phoenix, and of course, Maddy herself.
The next time she stopped, there was a giant photo in the middle of the page. Across the top of the page, in fancy lettering, Maddy had written: My Small Family.
Maddy gazed down at the photo. Smiling and laughing back at her, were Harry and Sirius. Her photographic self was smiling widely on one side of her uncle.
A sob was caught in Maddy's throat as she covered her mouth with her free hand.
"Who's that?" Marie asked.
"Marie, shh…" Elizabeth said, eyeing Maddy warily.
"That's my Uncle Sirius…" Maddy said, not daring to look away.
You were once, my one companion, you were all that mattered. You were once a friend and father, then my world was shattered… An old Phantom of the Opera song popped into Maddy's head as she continued to look at her uncle's picture.
Suddenly, she turned the page, unable to bear it any longer.
The page they were looking at read: My BIG Family. It had almost everyone in it. She smiled weakly as her eyes passed over the faces she used to know. On the next page, Maddy gaped at a couple of photos she had thought she'd burned.
"Who are you with here?" Elizabeth said, looking down at the top picture.
An attractive brown haired boy sat behind Maddy with his arms wrapped around her waist. A surge of anger erupted in the pit of Maddy's stomach, as she remembered what he had done to her.
"That's nobody important…" she said quietly.
"He looks important…" Christopher hinted.
Maddy's body began to tremble and ache as she recalled the last day they were together…
"Maddy…" Terry Boot's seductive voice was soft and gentle.
The sixteen-year-old Maddy wrapped her arms around his neck. She smiled and kissed him tenderly. His hand ran through her short white hair.
"What did you do to your hair?" he asked, quietly, "It used to be so long…"
Maddy pulled away from him. Her eyes were dark and were heavily lidded with makeup. Her once-black hair, was snow-white and cut short. It clashed horribly with her pale skin, but that was what the makeup was for.
"You don't like it?"
"No…" he said quickly, "I love it…it's just different…"
He kissed her in reassurance. Maddy brought herself closer to him and giggled. Slowly, Terry moved her backward toward the wall. She could feel his hand on her thigh, sliding her skirt up. She put her hand over his.
"Terry, no…"
Terry stared at her, "No?"
"Terry…" she tried to move away from him, now feeling uncomfortable, "You know I'm not ready…we've discussed this…"
Terry firmed his grip on her arm. Maddy winced in pain. He pushed her against the wall, gruffly causing her head to crack against the stone.
His fingers were creating cavities in her neck, as he crushed his lips against hers. Maddy squealed and attempted to throw him off her.
"Maddy!"
She fell hard onto the floor, gasping for air. Terry wrenched her up on her knees. His hand made contact with the side of her face. Maddy toppled over, crying and coughing.
"Get up!" he yelled.
"Stop it!" she sobbed, "Please, Terry…"
As she was thrown against the wall, again, she screamed. She covered her face with her scratched arms, and prayed. She could feel him moving closer to her, and suddenly thrown backward.
She had heard no spell cast, but perhaps she wasn't hearing things correctly. Opening her eyes, she could see Terry floating above her, cursing loudly. Through the tears, Maddy could see someone standing in the doorway. Someone extremely angry. Someone who was holding his wand out in front of him. Someone who was prepared to kill, if need be.
As she slid down the cold stone wall, the room faded to black…
Maddy snapped out of her flashback, shaking. Each of the children were staring at her, nervously. Marie's eyes were wide and fearful.
"Miss Maddy? Are you okay?"
It took Maddy a moment to realize she was crying. She sniffled loudly, and closed the photo album.
"Maybe it's time you ought to leave…" she said lightly.
Elizabeth nodded and hurried her siblings off the bed and out the door.
Maddy did not go home that evening. Instead, she stayed up in her room, staring absently at her ceiling. It seemed that the longer she stared, the clearer the face in the doorway from her flashback became. The startling green eyes, the round glasses, the jet-black hair, messier than all belief…
A/N: So there we are. Yes, that scene with Terry will show up around Year 6 in IDTCO, which is why I decided not to wait longer to post this (two more years to go in IDTCO before I got to it). In the mean time, could you all please please review. I want to know that you're still interested, even though you probably all hate me for making you wait. Please forgive me and I will update as soon as possible! Thank you so very very much!