No I don't own Harry Potter just this plot and the charactors that emerged from my own imagination.

Chapter Sixty-four

A Test of Loyalty

It was nearly midnight before Taylor convinced Ron, Hermione and Ginny to return to their common room and their beds. She told Harry to go with them but he refused point blank.

Through the long night Taylor sat staring absently down the long dim corridor. She glanced over at her brother different times, thankful for his presence and support. Even if he was tipped back in his chair sound asleep.

She kept going over and over in her mind what she should have done differently. The biggest thing was, she should have noticed the full moon. She knew what it could bring. She had seen it first hand even in her third year. The thing that seemed to haunt her the most was where had the werewolf come from? She was almost positive it couldn't be Lupin. Professor Slughorn always made the Wolfsbane Potion for him unless… it was the unless that bothered her.

The sky was paling to blue and the sun just about to make it up over the horizon when Taylor heard footsteps heading in her direction and looked up to see three people walking towards her. She rubbed a tired hand over her face as she sat forward in her chair, a lead weight fell into her stomach as she recognized two of them. One was the Head Mistress of course and one of the others was the Head Boy's father.

Taylor came to her feet as they drew nearer and heard her brother's chair come back down on its front legs with a thump as he stood up beside her.

"Taylor, I guess I'm not surprised to see you here." Mr. Hunter spoke in a tight voice.

"Mr. Hunter…" What could she say? She was sorry? It sounded hollow even in her own mind.

The Hufflepuff's father stopped in front of her and she could see the heavy lines of worry etched into his tired face. "The Head Mistress told me that you were with… that you… brought him here."

Taylor could see that he was struggling and an unwanted tear slid down her cheek. She didn't know what to say.

"Thank you, Taylor. Thank you for saving my son." Mr. Hunter said thickly as he patted her on the shoulder. Then he headed in through the hospital doors with McGonagall and the other wizard, that looked to be his brother.

Taylor felt her bottom lip tremble and was thankful when her brother put his arms around her and held her once again.

Greg's father stayed in the hospital for a couple of hours. Occasionally she could hear their voices but she could never make out what they were saying. Ron, Hermione and Ginny arrived shortly before Mr. Hunter and who she figured was his brother came out.

Mr. Hunter stopped again and looked down sadly at her as he shook his head slightly. "Thank you again Taylor… I hope… well I hope that you can…"

Taylor spoke up as she lay her hand on his hand, that he was gesturing hopelessly with, "Mr. Hunter, I'm not going anywhere. I will not leave him just because of last night. Greg means way more to me than that."

Mr. Hunter nodded his head but he couldn't seem to speak. The other man spoke up gently as he put his hand on Mr. Hunter's shoulder. "Thank you, Miss Porter. Greg is going to need his friends now, more than ever." His eyes swept past Taylor to the other Gryffindors standing there and nodded before the two continued down the corridor.

Taylor backed up a step and dropped into the chair. Leaning forward she put her head in her hands.

"Taylor…" Hermione whispered as she sat down by her friend and put a comforting hand on her back. Taylor nodded. She knew Hermione felt now, like she had before, not sure what to say.

A few minutes later McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey came out of the hospital doors and Taylor stood up to ask her if she could go see the Hufflepuff. White dots swam in front of her eyes as she swayed on the spot.

"Hey!" Harry cried surprised as he reached out and steadied his sister, helping her sit back down before she fell down.

"Miss Porter, when was the last time you've had something to eat?" the Nurse asked concerned as she waved her wand over the woozy witch.

"I want to go see Greg." Taylor asserted but her stomach gave a loud growl.

The nurse sighed, "Go get something to eat and I will let you in to see him when you get back, for a few minutes."

Taylor looked up at the nurse and nodded.

"Mr. Potter, keep an eye on Miss Porter. I do not need another patient today!" The nurse said in her usual brisk tone before heading back in through the door.

Taylor was surprised that she could eat, nothing really had any taste but she did start feeling less lightheaded. She was eating her third piece of toast when Sally-Anne and Justin came into the Great Hall and seeing the Gryffindors sitting there, hurried towards them. Taylor groaned and Hermione put her hand on her arm.

She knew she had been very lucky so far, as it was still fairly early Sunday morning and there weren't very many students in the Great Hall at this hour, especially the older students.

"Hi Taylor." Sally-Anne greeted the one Gryffindor, though she smiled at the rest before looking back at Taylor. "Have you seen Greg? Justin said he didn't come back last…" The Hufflepuff's voice trailed off at the look on all the Gryffindors' faces. "Oh Merlin! What's happened?"

Taylor swallowed. She knew these were Greg's friends but she didn't know what to tell them. It wasn't really her place to tell them what had happened out on the grounds last night. But she knew she couldn't lie either. "Greg… he…" Taylor glanced over at her brother before looking up into Sally-Anne's concerned face. "Greg was hurt last night. He's in the Hospital Wing."

Sally-Anne gasped as she dropped down onto the bench beside her Gryffindor friend. "How…? Is he going to be all right?"

Taylor looked down at the floor. "I don't know. Madame Pomfrey didn't let me see him." Well that was partly true. The nurse hadn't let her see Greg that morning.

"How did he get hurt?" Justin asked his voice dropping down dangerously.

Taylor knew what the Hufflepuff was thinking. He still really didn't trust her. Looking up into his angry eyes she said, "That isn't for me to say."

The Hufflepuff glared down at Taylor before he snarled. "What do you mean it isn't for you to say? What did you do to him?"

Harry and Ron both came to their feet, as Harry said dangerously "I think you had just better be very careful what you say, Justin. Maybe it would be a good idea for you to head along. If Taylor can't say, then she can't say."

Taylor looked into Sally-Anne's suddenly frightened eyes and she shook her head sadly. Justin was already out the oak doors as the Hufflepuff witch jumped up to run after him.

"I hope you know what you are doing, Taylor," Ron warned, "because you have just stirred up a beehive by not telling them."

"It's not my place to tell them that." Taylor said simply, but she noticed her brother's face was a little worried, as were they all.

By the time the five Gryffindors arrived back at the Hospital Wing, most of the seventh year Hufflepuffs were gathered outside and they didn't look none too happy to see the Gryffindors walking down the corridor.

Ernie stepped forward, "Potter, what do you know about what happened to Greg?"

Harry glanced quickly at his sister before answering, "Like Taylor told Flinch-Fletchly in the Great Hall, it isn't something we can say."

"But you do know?" someone called.

Harry didn't answer but he met their angry looks without flinching.

"You're protecting Porter again aren't you? It's something she did!" Flinch-Fletchly challenged as he joined Ernie in the front.

"I've already warned you once Flinch-Fletchly, I will not repeat myself!" Harry's voice dropped into a dangerous tone.

"Harry!" Taylor warned as she moved out from behind her brother. He had stepped protectively in front of her. "I did not do anything to hurt Greg. You should know me better than that by now! If you don't, then you never will. But I also won't betray his confidence just to appease you of your curiosity. So if you want to blame me, then go ahead! I couldn't give a hairy Hippogriff's ass! But do not blame Harry or the others, because they weren't there!"

Taylor had called them out and most turned away grumbling but unwilling to openly question her anymore. Flinch-Fletchly was one of the exceptions as he continued to glare at her but he didn't say anything.

Madame Pomfrey came to the hospital doors then and said briskly. "Mr. Hunter is under my care and he is not well enough at this time to have visitors! You are welcome to come back tomorrow or the next day and I will let you know then if you can see him. For now I want you all to move along. This is a Hospital and my patients need rest."

Taylor decided the best thing for them to do would be to go too, so she tugged on her brother's sleeve and headed back down the corridor away from the Hospital Wing. Ron grumbled under his breath and Taylor heard words like git and prat. When they were one floor up, she stopped.

"I'm going to see Greg. Pomfrey said I could and I'm going to. Why don't you guys just go study or whatever? You don't need to sit down there with me."

Harry looked into his sister's hazel eyes and saw the worry and fear there, and he knew if something like that had happened to Ginny… A shiver traveled down his back. "Here take the mirror. If you need us, all you need to do is call, okay?" His sister nodded and he gave her a quick hug, before she turned and hurried off towards the Hospital Wing. He caught Ginny's hand and gave it a squeeze and she smiled up at him and squeezed his back.

Taylor wasn't long getting back to the hospital doors and she knocked softly and waited for the nurse to open it.

"Come in Miss Porter," The nurse said softly when she saw who it was. "He is resting more easily now that the moon has waned, but he is still asleep."

Taylor stared at the nurse not fully comprehending what she was saying.

"Hunter was bitten early in the evening just as the moon was coming up. A person infected at that time of night starts to suffer before the moon goes down. That is why I had to sedate him so heavily last night."

Stunned Taylor only nodded before she walked over to the screen and the bed hidden behind it.

Greg looked a little better this morning she noted. He wasn't as pale and his breathing was more natural. She went and knelt beside him again, brushing his hair gently off his forehead. She noticed that he stirred slightly and she lowered her hand. She didn't want to disturb his sleep.

Pomfrey seemed to not mind the witch there, as she came out of her office to check on her patient periodically. Taylor was content to just sit by the sleeping Hufflepuff and even hold his hand for a while, when she noticed it was moving a little in his sleep and stilled when she put her hand in his.

The shadows were growing long when he finally started to stir and she saw his eyelashes flutter before his eyes opened.

"Hey," She whispered as she moved so that he could see her. Recognition appeared in his eyes and he smiled a little before his blue eyes clouded and she could see him trying to remember what had happened. Suddenly his eyes grew wide and with a heavy heart she knew he was remembering.

"I… the werewolf… Oh God, Merlin, Nooooo!"

Taylor's heart broke as she knew he realized the full extent of what had happened, his voice full of fear and anguish. She could hear Pomfrey hurrying across the ward, as he sat up in the bed.

"What are you doing here!" Hunter cried his voice full of revulsion.

"I came to see you." Taylor said firmly, as Pomfrey rounded the screen.

"Mr. Hunter, lie back down in that bed this instant or I will tie you in it!" Pomfrey ordered.

"No! Go Taylor, go away!" Greg yelled.

"I'm not going anywhere." Taylor said in a hard voice.

"What is going on? Greg! There is no need to yell like that!" Mr. Hunter commanded, as he suddenly appeared around the screen, the other man with him again also.

Greg glared up at his father as he ground out angrily. "I want Taylor to leave! She shouldn't be around someone like me!"

Taylor could feel the pain, like a knife, piercing her heart at his words.

"Uncle Mike, make her go!" Greg yelled and she could see he was becoming more and more agitated.

With a flick of her wand Pomfrey froze the Hufflepuff but his eyes continued to dart back and forth almost feverishly. Taylor nodded and backed slowly away. She didn't need Pomfrey to tell her that she needed to go. When she reached the end of the bed she turned and walked out of the hospital doors, but she didn't go any further.

With a shuddering breath she slid down the wall and sat on the floor, her head resting against her knees. She could hear Greg again, yelling at his father and uncle, they were hurtful words about not being fit to be around people anymore and being a monster. She wasn't really sure why Pomfrey didn't sedate him again, maybe it was better if he yelled himself out now. Even her name was yelled, always though about never wanting to see her again.

It had grown dark for quite some time before Mr. Hunter and his brother came out of the hospital doors. Greg had quieted down a while ago. She suspected that Pomfrey had finally given him some sleeping potion.

"Taylor?" Mr. Hunter asked softly when he noticed her sitting against the wall. "Oh my dear I hope you haven't been here all this time."

Taylor looked up at him but she knew by the way he sadly shook his head, that her face had answered his question.

Sighing tiredly, he held out his hand to help her up off the floor. "Come on. Up you get. Madame Pomfrey has given my son some potion to knock him out for a while. I know he said some very hurtful things but…"

Standing Taylor shook her head, "I'm not going anywhere, Mr. Hunter. I know he has got to be terrified right now, and he is just… He wants to try to push everyone away. But I'm not worried about that. I will wait for him to come to grips with it…"

The man Greg called Uncle Mike spoke up solemnly, "You do know what Greg is…?"

Taylor met the man's eyes as anger coursed through her. "Yes, I know Greg is a werewolf now. That does not bother me at all," At his incredulous look, she ground out in a cold voice. "I happen to have a very good friend who is a werewolf! So no it does not bother me! I will be here for Greg when he calms down."

Mr. Hunter smiled faintly as he put his hand on her shoulder. "He is going to need you, desperately, in the coming days. My son was truly lucky to find you I think. He will come to see it as time goes on. However for now, why don't you go get a good night's sleep, Greg won't wake up again until morning."

Reluctantly Taylor left the hospital and made her way slowly up through the castle. She knew Greg was hurting, hurting in a way that she couldn't fix. All she could do was to be there for him, like he had for her. Muttering the password she climbed woodenly through the portal and walked over and sat down beside her brother and Ginny on the sofa. He took one look at her face and put his arm around her shoulders. Taylor leaned her head against him and gazed into the fire as tears trailed down her face unchecked.

Early the next morning, Taylor knocked on her brother's dorm room door before opening it, when someone called to come in. She could see Dean, Seamus and Ron's curtains were still pulled but her brother looked out at her and she went, and pulling the curtain aside, sat beside him on his bed.

"I want to borrow the cloak." She said without preamble.

"What happened?" Harry asked gently, he hadn't asked last night. He knew his sister had been really upset though.

"Greg kind of lost it yesterday when he woke up. He yelled at everyone, even his dad…"

"He yelled at you too?" Harry added.

"Yeah, he got really upset when he saw me. So I thought if I had the cloak… well you know I could be there for him, but maybe not upset him so."

Harry nodded slowly. He knew he'd want to do the same. "What about classes?"

"I can't think about classes right now, I just…. I need to do something."

"Hey, I understand. Hermione can take notes for you. You have the mirror?" When she nodded he continued. "It's in the trunk. Make sure you check in at least once today okay?"

She thanked her brother and made her way down through the castle and, pausing for a moment, threw the cloak over herself. She went to the kitchens to grab a bite to eat before she sneaked into the Hospital and sat on the bed beside the sleeping Hufflepuffs.

Sometimes during that day she felt like a peeping Tom, as she overheard conversations that she knew weren't meant for her ears. Sometimes she would stick her fingers in her ears so she couldn't hear as well and shut her eyes. She knew what she was doing was wrong but she just couldn't seem to make herself leave.

Greg's father and Uncle came to see him and he was calmer, but when his father mentioned her name the Hufflepuff became angry and said he didn't want to see her.

McGonagall and Moody came to see him also and she highly suspected that the old auror could see her sitting there with his magical eye, though he didn't say anything. They talked about the likelihood of Greg being able to stay at Hogwarts and finish out his year and take his NEWTS. The Hufflepuff did little more then listen and glare off into open space.

She also heard Pomfrey asking him about seeing some of his friends but he had flatly refused.

Most of the afternoon she watched the Hufflepuff go from being angry and punching his pillow, to heartbreakingly sad. She wished she could go to him then, even just to hold his hand.

By the time it was getting dark outside Taylor was getting very stiff and when the Hufflepuff got up to go to the washroom she gladly stood up and using a silencing spell she pulled the mirror out to quickly tell her brother that she was fine and wouldn't probably be back tonight.

Pulling a biscuit she had saved from that morning, she ate it slowly and quietly as she watched the brooding Hufflepuff.

That night though, she was glad she stayed. It was sometime in the middle of the night when suddenly she woke up. She hadn't meant to doze off but she must have.

A moan from the Hufflepuff's bed carried her over to him. She was fairly sure he was dreaming, but he kept repeating her name. Pulling the invisibility cloak off of her head, she reached out and took his hand leaning down by his ear she whispered "Shh, I'm right here. Shh. I'm not going anywhere Hufflepuff."

A sigh fell from his lips as he held her hand tightly.

For the rest of the night she sat with him, whispering in his ear when he became restless and brushing his hair back off his forehead, and always holding his hand.

When the sky started to lighten and the risk of him waking up became too great, she retreated back under the invisibility cloak and waited for the Hospital doors to open for the day.

Completely exhausted but pleased that she had been able to sooth him a little, she made her way back up to her dormitory and fell sound asleep on her bed still covered by her brother's cloak.

A/N Well there you go... Greg is now infected with the lycan virus(or what ever the magical world may call it)... I thought long and hard about doing this... but in the end I know it had to be done(more on that in later chapters) I know Greg is acting like a idiot... and I don't blame you if you really don't like him right now... but please be patient he has just found out his life will never be the same and he isn't dealing very well with that news. Remember he isn't Harry or Taylor, he hasn't lived the past seven years dealing with all kinds of dangerous things like they have.

I want to THANK YOU all for not only reading my story but leaveing reviews(I have 97! :D ) and Alerting and Favoriting this story! With over 280 000 words so far that is very much appercaited by this writter! So THANK YOU ALL! Plus I would be remiss not to say a huge THANK YOU to my wonderful beta barbc who without all her help and excellent betaing skills this story wouldn't be what it is... nor posted at all yet!

Well until next time(and I promise it won't be a long wait), cytpotter.