I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANYTHING AFFILIATED WITH IT. I ONLY OWN DEVYN AND HER PARENTS.

Chapter 30

It was eventually worked out that Hermione wouldn't be able to help carry Ron back through the passageway; he was simply too heavy. So, it was decided that Sirius would help carry Ron, along with Harry.

Ron, quite reluctantly, put one of his arms around Sirius' shoulders and the other around Harry's shoulders and they walked through the passageway like that, having taken the lead.

Devyn and Neville took up the middle and Hermione stayed in the back with Pettigrew and Moony. Devyn could practically hear the murderous intent screaming out from inside Moony whenever he looked at Pettigrew. He wouldn't actually kill him of course, but it was completely understandable that he wanted to.

"Sorry about the bite," Sirius apologized. "I reckon that twinges a bit…"

Ron glared at him and said, "A bit? A bit?! You almost tore my leg off!"

"Well," Sirius said quickly, "I was going for the rat. Normally, I have a very sweet disposition as a dog. In fact, more than once, James suggested that I make the change permanent." The three of them paused for a moment and Devyn could hear Pettigrew begging Moony to do anything but give him to the Dementors.

Although Devyn could hardly blame Pettigrew for his fear of the Dementors, he deserved what was coming to him. After what he did…Devyn thought that losing his soul was probably the best he could have hoped for. It was a minor miracle in itself that Harry had stopped Moony and Sirius from blowing him to smithereens, so to ask for any more mercy was just plain stupid and pointless.

"The tail I could live with," Sirius told Harry, grinning. "But the fleas; they're murder."

Harry laughed at the pun and the three walked on. Thankfully, they soon made it to the entrance of the passageway and when Devyn emerged from it, she saw Sirius wandering off towards the castle and Harry crouched down near Ron, who had been settled on one of the enormous roots of the (now very still) Whomping Willow.

Devyn felt a chill run through her body as she climbed up into the night air. Hermione came up not long after her and Neville, and all three of them bent down to make sure Ron was okay.

"Okay," Harry said, as Ron grimaced. Harry's attention, however, was not entirely on their injured friend, Devyn noticed. His gaze followed Sirius as he walked off towards the castle, staring up at its silhouette.

"You better go," Ron said, having noticed where Harry's attentions were directed. Harry turned to look at his friends and said, "No, no, don't worry, okay? It's fine, I'll stay."

Hermione touched Harry's hand and said, "You go, we'll stay. The three of us can take care of Ron."

Harry stood and looked at Ron one more time. "You okay?"

Ron shook his head and said, "Fine. Go."

Harry walked off towards Sirius and Devyn watched him approach his newfound innocent godfather. They had a lot of catching up to do. Devyn squeezed Neville's hand and looked at him happily. He smiled at her just as Hermione winced when she looked at Ron's injury.

"Ah, that looks really painful," she said. Devyn and Neville exchanged glances with their eyebrows raised and just quietly backed off. Hermione had this – they weren't needed. However, they stayed close, about five feet away, just in case they were needed.

"So painful. They, uh, they might chop it," Ron replied, sending Devyn into a fit of silent giggles. Ron knew perfectly well that Madam Pomfrey would be able to put his leg right in a matter of minutes. Maybe the loss of blood had made him delirious.

"I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will fix it in a heartbeat," Hermione said, smiling at him.

"No, it's too late, it's ruined. It'll have to be chopped off."

Neville rolled his eyes and whispered, "What a drama queen," into Devyn's ear, making her laugh. She nodded and whispered back, "Yeah, but that's Ron. He wouldn't be himself if he wasn't a drama queen, now would he?"

Neville nodded and said, "Good point."

Devyn had just started to wonder where Moony was with Pettigrew when the two of them emerged from the entrance under the Whomping Willow.

"Turn me into a Flobberworm!" Pettigrew was begging Moony. "Anything but the Dementors!"

Devyn growled quietly when Pettigrew dropped to his knees next to Ron.

"Ron! Haven't I been a good friend, a good pet? You won't let them give me to the Dementors, will you? I was your rat!"

When Ron only grimaced, Pettigrew turned his attentions to Hermione instead. "Sweet girl, clever girl! Surely you won't -!"

"Get away from her!" Moony snarled, pulling him up by the arm. Pettigrew immediately scurried towards Devyn and Neville. He reached out and put a hand on Devyn's shoulder, getting ready to spew some sort of inane reason why he shouldn't be handed over to the Dementors, but she never gave him the chance.

Drawing back her fist, she clocked him right in the jaw, sending him reeling backwards a few feet. He looked dazed for a moment and looked at Devyn in shock. Flexing her hand and shaking away the pain, she shrugged and said, "I warned you. And if you touch me again, I swear to god, I will punch you into paralysis!"

Pettigrew stumbled away from her and Neville and went back to begging Moony for some semblance of mercy. After about two minutes straight of him babbling nonsense and begging for mercy, Neville snapped.

"Oh, will you shut up?! You don't deserve mercy after what you did! You should have died rather than betray your friends, but you didn't and now James and Lily Potter are dead! Because of you, twelve innocent Muggles lost their lives, so don't sit there and bleat about how you deserve forgiveness, because you don't! You deserve to rot in hell for all eternity, you son of a -!"

Neville reeled himself back in before he could actually swear at Pettigrew and turned and walked away from Pettigrew, rubbing his knuckles, as though he longed to smack Pettigrew as hard as he could.

Pettigrew fell silent for a few moments and was about to open his mouth again and start begging for mercy (and driving them all slowly to insanity) but Moony raised his wand and said, "Say one more word, Peter, and I will make you wish you were with the Dementors right now."

Pettigrew closed his mouth and didn't say another word, thankfully. Devyn was watching Hermione tend to Ron, when a bright light started lighting up the entire area. Devyn looked to her left and saw the bright white moon emerging from behind a mountain. She admired it for a moment before reality sank in and panic started taking over.

It was a full moon! Moony!

"Harry!" Hermione yelled, catching both Harry and Sirius' attention. They turned and Hermione pointed to the moon, which was sneaking up from behind the mountain rather quickly. Devyn's heart skipped a few beats when she saw that Moony had gone rigid.

He was transforming.

Devyn was standing right next to him and saw his blue eyes turn into a violent green and his teeth start to sharpen and lengthen. She looked at Neville and said, "Run. Run now, and run fast. Get Harry and Hermione and Ron out of here!"

"No, I'm not leaving you!" he protested. Devyn looked at him and saw the fear in his eyes as he watched Moony start to transform. She kissed him like it would be the last time and said, "Neville, don't argue with me. Just run. Please. Run."

Neville looked her in the eyes and kissed her before quickly turning and making his way towards Hermione and Ron. Devyn stood her ground and transformed into Snow within the blink of an eye. She didn't know if it would help, but perhaps if the wolf sensed a member of his pack nearby, he would be easier to control.

"Remus, my old friend!" Sirius shouted as he reached Moony. "Have you taken your potion tonight?"

He looked down at Snow and nodded before turning his eyes back on Moony. He was shaking horribly and he doubled over from the pain. Sirius rushed over and put his hands on Moony's chest, trying to keep him upright. Harry joined the others behind Sirius and he and Hermione helped get Ron up.

"You know the man you truly are Remus! This heart is where you live, this heart here!" Sirius shouted, trying to make Moony hear him over the sound of his own cries of pain. Snow's heart was breaking to see her godfather like this, but there was nothing she could do for him now. Pettigrew hopped in place from one foot to the other, looking utterly petrified, but Snow wasn't paying any attention to him.

"This flesh is only flesh!" Sirius yelled as Moony let out an inhuman snarl and dropped his wand. Snow realized the problem a second too late. Pettigrew had picked up Moony's wand and used it to transform himself back into the rat. Harry was only seconds too late in trying to disarm him and the stupid cretin waved goodbye tauntingly before he scurried off into the night.

NO! Snow thought angrily. She pounced over to where Pettigrew probably was at moment and she slammed her paws down into the ground with all the strength she had, hoping that there would be a rat trapped underneath her claws when she moved them, but she had no such luck.

Pettigrew was gone and Snow let out a furiously loud snarl. He had gotten away!

Sirius was shouting Moony's name, trying to remind him of the man he truly was, but it was no use; the transformation was almost complete. Moony's cries and screams of pain deepened; his fingernails became claws; his teeth became like fangs; his spine lengthened and curved, splitting his jacket; his legs became the hind legs of a wolf…

"RUN! RUN!" Sirius screamed at Harry and the others, but it was no use. Where Snow's godfather had stood before at a comforting 6 foot 3 inches, there now stood a full grown werewolf, standing, when it was on its hind legs, at 7 feet tall. His nose and mouth had become a snout, full of razor sharp teeth, his hair had shrunk backwards into his skull, his ears became pointy and his eyes went from the bright green they had been after changing from the usual calming blue, to a hawk like yellow.

The transformation was complete, and Snow could only stand there, frozen to the spot as Sirius was hurled away from the werewolf. She didn't see where Sirius had landed, but they could no longer see him, so it must have been a good amount of distance.

The werewolf was crouched over, still standing on his hind legs, whimpering in pain to himself. Snow crept towards him carefully, as Hermione tried to do the same thing.

"Bad idea, bad idea," Ron whimpering, trying to keep a hold on Hermione. Snow shot Neville a look and he nodded. Stepping forward, he wrapped his arms around Hermione's middle and hauled her away from the werewolf.

Snow knew what Hermione was trying to do, but it was no use; Moony wasn't in there anymore. This…this wolf was not her godfather.

Hermione protested quite vocally about Neville manhandling her, for which he apologized, but stopped talking immediately when Snow growled at her. Hermione looked at the rather large (but miniscule compared to the werewolf) white wolf and nodded. She would stay put now.

Snow continued moving towards the werewolf carefully.

Moony? Moony, it's Snow…I mean, it's Devyn. Can you hear me?

The werewolf, still whimpering, looked at her with those glowing yellow eyes – so very identical to the ones from that horrid nightmare that had haunted her for weeks – and then Snow heard it.

A deep gravelly voice, very unlike her godfather's soft and gentle one, resonated in her head.

Yes, the voice said. Yes, I can hear you. I'm afraid I'm not who you want me to be, though. I'm not Remus. You've never met me before. You say my name all the time, but you've never met me before, little one.

Snow understood immediately. You're Moony, aren't you?

Yes, I am. I haven't been this free in a very long time. I need to hunt…I must hunt…

Snow's heart froze in her chest when the werewolf (she refused to acknowledge him as 'Moony'. This wasn't her Moony, and she refused to call him that) cast his gaze upon her friends and boyfriend.

No! No, you can't hunt them! They're a part of my pack, and I'm in your pack! We're family! You can't hunt your own family.

The werewolf turned to her, with something that looked like a smirk playing on his mouth. Just watch me, he told her. The werewolf's whimpering ceased and an earsplitting howl took its place.

Her friends jumped back out of fright and the werewolf got down on all fours and started advancing on her friends. Snow growled and darted in front of them. The werewolf looked down on her in annoyance and batted her out of the way.

Snow felt one of her ribs crack as she hit the ground some ten feet away, but she ignored the pain and got right back up, once again rushing in between her friends and the animal her godfather had become.

I told you no! Leave them alone!

Get out of my way, child! Don't be stupid. You're not strong enough to beat me. You'll die trying.

Then I'll die. I will die for my friends, but I won't let you hurt them!

The werewolf's eyes met her own and for a split second, Snow thought she could see her godfather staring out at her, but then the moment passed and it was the werewolf she was looking at. There was something like pity mixed in with the fury in his gaze.

So be it, his voice said, echoing into the very recesses of her mind. The werewolf was about to take a swipe at her with those frighteningly long claws, but froze in the act when none other than Snape came rushing out of the entrance to the Willow passageway.

"There you are…Potter!" Snape snapped, standing in front of her four petrified friends. He sounded as though he was about to scold Harry, but never got the chance. The werewolf unleashed a heart-stopping roar and Snape whirled around, terror carving itself onto his features as he stretched out his arms to protect Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville.

Snow was still standing in between the humans and werewolf, so when the werewolf took another swipe at them, she was knocked off her feet, landing beside the others. She couldn't be sure but Snow thought her rib might have broken this time.

The adrenaline was running too fast throughout her body for her to really be positive of any injuries. The werewolf was about to go in for the kill, and Snow leapt in front of her friends and her teacher, clenching her eyes shut, ready to take the devastating blow for them, but it never came.

Instead, Snow heard a loud growl and she opened her eyes to see Sirius, now in his dog form, tackling the werewolf. She leapt into action, jumping into the fray and helped Sirius take on the werewolf.

It was a mess of claws and teeth. They were all bit and slashed and by the time the werewolf threw Sirius off, they were all bleeding heavily. Ignoring the steady waning of her strength, Snow jumped on the enormous creature that her godfather had become and sent a small apology to his mind before sinking her teeth into his shoulder muscles.

The werewolf screeched in pure agony and furiously threw her off him within seconds. He was now bleeding from his shoulder, but it was Snow that was an inch from death. She couldn't move – when she landed after being thrown off, the wind had been knocked out of her and she was frozen where she lay on the ground, bleeding and breathing heavily.

Just seconds before the werewolf could rip her to shreds, Sirius latched onto his arm and pulled him away from her, allowing her to get up, shaking horribly. She was losing a lot of blood, and she didn't know how much more she could take.

The werewolf went after Sirius and in the seconds before Snow jumped back into the fray to defend Sirius, her bright green eyes met Neville's in the gloom and she wished right then she could tell him how much she loved him. She really loved him. He hadn't immediately left, like she asked, and for that she was terrified, annoyed, and glad. His mere presence was comforting to her. It was when he nodded his head minutely that Snow knew she would fight against the werewolf to protect her friends until he killed her, which he had come close to doing a couple times already. She refused to give up.

Tearing her eyes from her boyfriend's, Snow charged at the werewolf again just in time to see Sirius leading him away from her and the others. Unfortunately, Harry panicked when he lost sight of Sirius and ran after him and the werewolf.

Snow growled softly and stumbled after her friend, blood still seeping out of her many long scratches and gashes. She didn't know how much longer she would be able to stay conscious. Panting heavily, she stood by Harry's side as he watched Sirius get thrown against a rock by the werewolf.

Her friend rushed into action and Snow tried to follow, but the second she moved, her vision swam before her eyes. If she couldn't see, she wouldn't be able to fight, and she was about two seconds away from passing out.

She looked up and she saw through the haze of her own vision just long enough to see Harry throw a rock at the werewolf's head, causing him to change targets from Sirius to Harry.

No…no, don't hurt him…

Her protest was little more than a whisper and she almost fell over from pure weakness. Somewhere off in the distance, she dimly heard a high pitched howl and it seemed to energize her long enough for her to transform back into her human form.

Devyn struggled to stand up and found she could barely walk. Her entire body was in pain and now she knew for sure that at least one rib was broken, if not more. She had a slash across her stomach – it wasn't too deep – but she had lost a lot of blood and the wound didn't show any signs of stopping without medical attention. In addition to that bloody injury, she had two slashes across the backs of her calves that would most definitely scar.

Her light green shirt, that had been torn half to shreds by the werewolf's claws, had been stained scarlet by her blood and the smell of it was making her nauseous. She knew she wasn't going to be conscious for much longer, but she needed to get back to her friends – back to Neville. She wanted to help Harry save Sirius, but if she kept going like this, she would end up dead. And then she wouldn't be any help to anyone.

Shaking uncontrollably, the second she came back into view of her friends, a wave of beautiful relief washed over her and she stumbled towards them. About ten feet away from Neville, who was now standing in front of the group, her legs gave out and she fell to her knees.

"Devyn!"

She wasn't entirely sure who called her name, but the next thing she knew, she was in someone's arms…they were holding her tightly…it was almost painful, but comforting at the same time. She was safe…but she was losing consciousness faster than ever…

Neville…it was Neville who was holding her so tightly...she wanted to say something…reassure him…she was okay…

But she couldn't…her jaw felt like it was made of lead and her head hurt so badly. She just wanted to sleep…she fought it as long as she could but a white fog was encroaching in her mind, clouding her vision…

The pain faded…she felt happy…peaceful…it almost felt like she was floating…

"Devyn…"

That was her name…someone was calling her…they sounded so far off but so close at the same time.

"Devyn, sweetie…open your eyes, love, you're safe…"

She had never heard that voice – it belonged to a woman - before, but somehow she knew it. It seemed familiar to her.

"Open your eyes, it's okay…you're safe."

And that…that was a man's voice…but who…?

Slowly she pried her eyes open and looked around her…every bit of her surroundings were an off white color. She wasn't entirely sure where she was, but she was warm and felt at peace. She stood up and looked around for the people the voices belonged to, noticing that her injuries were gone.

The people that had called her name were nowhere in sight.

She looked down at her feet and saw that a strange light grey mist seemed to float just above the surface…if there even was a surface. It wasn't chilly, like you'd expect mist to be; instead it was warm and soothing like one of the fires in the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Devyn…"

She looked around for the source of the voice and noticed that the strange grey mist seemed to hang in the air everywhere she looked.

Devyn strained her eyes and noticed a vaguely human shape coming out of the mist…no, wait, there were two shapes…they were definitely people. As they emerged from the mist, Devyn saw that one was a woman, with long and straight dark brown hair and a kind smile. She was wearing white sundress. The other was a man, tall and strongly built, wearing a grey T-shirt and grey jeans, with a charming smile, short black hair and…and light blue eyes…eyes just like Devyn's.

"M-Mum? Dad?" she whispered, tears forming in her eyes.

Their smiles grew and Devyn felt the tears spill over. They were her parents. Her mum and dad.

Her mum walked towards her and looked down at her, tears in her eyes. "Oh, my little girl…you've grown so much…oh, my Devyn."

"Mum…" Devyn choked out. She rushed into her mother's arms and felt herself be held tightly. She had never felt this kind of protection before…that of a mother.

Her mum released her with a smile and Devyn turned to her father. "Daddy," she almost whimpered and rushed into her father's arms the same way she had her mother's. "I can't believe it's really you!"

"I can't believe it's you, either, my love," her father whispered, wrapping his strong arms around her much smaller frame. "I can hardly believe how grown up you are. We're so proud of you, Devyn…all you've accomplished…"

Devyn sniffed and wiped away the stray tears that fell from her blue eyes. She looked at her parents and, as she did so, a sobering revelation settled in her mind.

"You're both…I mean, you're not…you died…" Devyn said quietly. Her parents nodded and she said, "And I'm seeing you…I'm here with you…am I dead, too?"

Her mother smiled sadly at her and shook her head. "No, sweetie, not yet. You're close, but you see, you're not done yet. We're here to help you find your way back."

"Do I have to go back?" she asked. Before her mum even looked at her, she knew the answer.

"Yes, my love. You do. It isn't your time, just yet."

"But it wasn't your time, either! They took you from me! From all of us!"

"Well, that's the thing, sweetheart," her mum replied. "I know it seems unfair and it is, but it was our time. We didn't think it was either, at first, but…well, oddly enough, things make a lot more sense when you've been dead awhile."

"I don't want to leave you…I just got you back…please, Daddy…"

"Oh, Devyn," her father said, cradling her face in his hands. "Just because we're dead doesn't mean that we're gone. We're always with you…right here." He took her hand and placed it on her chest, directly where her heart was. She could feel it beating slowly - far too slowly for it to be normal - under her palm.

"Now, love," her mum said, putting a delicate hand on her shoulder. "We can't force you to go back…the decision is yours. But think of everyone who needs you there…Neville, Harry, Hermione, Ron…they all need you still. Remus…Remus needs you. He'd be lost without you. If you were to die from injuries he caused you…he wouldn't survive the guilt. It would kill him. He needs you, my love, much more than we need you. But it's up to you. You must decide quickly. You don't have very long, and if you wait too long, the decision will be made for you."

Devyn swallowed and nodded. "How close am I? To death?"

Her father tilted his head and said, "I'd say you have about…thirty seconds left. You have to decide now."

"I love you."

The words were out of Devyn's mouth before her mind could even process them. But she didn't regret them. She truly did love her parents, but there was a goodbye hidden in those words. Because she knew what she needed to do.

She needed to go back.

"We love you, too, Devyn. So very much. Just remember, we'll always be with you."

Devyn nodded, getting ready to go back.

"You've made your decision?" her father asked. Devyn nodded and said, "Yes."

"We'll see you again, Devyn. Many years from now, but we'll see you again," her mother said, taking Devyn's hands in hers and pressing a kiss to her forehead. She looked Devyn directly in the eyes and said, "Wake up, love. Wake up! Wake up!"

And she did.