I do not own the Harry Potter series or Pokémon.
Some scenes and dialogue are derived from Prisoner of Azkaban.
Chapter Thirty: Overdue Conversation
When her breathing evened out and her legs stopped wobbling, Moon headed down the staircase. She wanted to force the incident during the exam out of her head, and she needed to meet up with the others. Harry had asked her to go to the portrait of the Fat Lady. As interesting as seeing the inside of the Gryffindor common room was, she had to make a detour.
She had had enough time to think on the stairwell, and came to the conclusion that there were two things that she had to do before the day ended. The first being retrieving the map and the cloak, as it had been several days since she made her promise, and it was unfair to make her friend wait even longer to get his possessions back.
The second thing was talking to Lupin.
It was an inevitability that she had to face at some point. The Boggart had shown her that her self-doubts had gotten out of hand. Lupin had been avoiding her (as she predicted), but he had been concerned when she took extra time to deal with the Boggart. She didn't believe that he would have checked on any other student that was in the same situation. Harry, maybe, but his Boggart required special attention. An Absol didn't cause the same issues that a Dementor did, and she had been able to use the defensive spell when they practiced in class. He shouldn't have been worried about her if he didn't care at all.
That thought was what drove her to the door of Lupin's office. Moon raised a hand to knock, only to be startled by the sound of something crashing. A huff came from behind the door, followed by a drawer being slammed shut. Footsteps moved from one side of the office to the other. She rapped on the door twice, and the room went silent.
"Professor Lupin?" she said, loud enough to be heard through the door. "Mind if I drop in?"
She waited for ten seconds before Lupin's voice called, "Come in, Moon."
She twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open. Lupin's desk was clear of any papers, quills, or books that could have piled up over the year. A briefcase sat in the middle of the desk, the top open and the sleeve of a shirt hanging over the edge. Lupin was holding a small pile of textbooks that he had pulled off the shelf. He went over to the briefcase and lowered the books in carefully, his arms barely long enough to set them down without dropping them in the extended space. He looked up when she closed the door behind her. Moon stood there with her arms crossed, her eyes focused on the windows.
"So," she said, not sounding as confident as she would have liked, "given your reaction to the photograph, Professor Dumbledore kept his promise?"
She looked at the professor. The man's initial confusion to her question gave way to resignation.
"Dumbledore knows."
"He was the one who told me," she said. "He said he wouldn't tell you about... well, you know—"
"The fact that we're related?" he interrupted, moving to a shelf near the back of the room to get a large, old book. "Not sure he had the right to keep that from me."
"He thought it would be better if I told you," she said.
"And were you planning on telling me?" he asked, not breaking eye contact as he put the book in the case and closed it up. Moon didn't hesitate in shaking her head.
"I figured it'd be best if you didn't know, at least until I found a way back home."
"And why did you think this?"
"There's not exactly an easy way to explain this," she said. "I couldn't have just gone up to you and said, 'Hullo, Professor Lupin, your father's alive and, surprise, I'm your half-sister,' now could I?"
His hands gripped the edge of the desk as he sat down in the chair. "I know you possess more tact than that, Moon."
"I also didn't want you to start acting like I didn't exist."
Lupin frowned. "You'd thought I would ignore you?"
"Less that, and more not acknowledging the situation."
"Like you were?"
"Figured you were dealing with enough things this year, and I shouldn't add to the list," she said with a shrug. "I'm not exactly Gryffindor material. Prefer to not have everything out in the open."
The frown disappeared from his face, replaced by a look of contemplation. He rested his arms on the desk, tapping his fingers against the wood.
"When's your birthday?" he asked suddenly.
"The first of August."
"Year?"
"1980."
He sighed, and it wasn't hard to guess what he was thinking. She was the same age as Harry, his dear friend's son.
"My—our father disappeared from here in 1978," Lupin said. "Do you know why?"
She shook her head again. "He never mentioned anything. Didn't even know about magic until Dumbledore told me."
Lupin stared down at the briefcase, his lips pursed and his hands laid flat on the desk. He was thinking carefully about what to say next.
"Dumbledore… did—he must've told you about my… condition…"
"Lycanthropy, you mean?" she said bluntly, noticing how he flinched in reaction to the word. "Yes, Dumbledore told me about that."
"Have you told anyone?" he asked cautiously.
"Not exactly. Hermione Granger knew after Professor Snape assigned the essay on how to recognize werewolves. I asked her to keep it a secret."
He nodded slowly, his eyes focused on her again. "What else did he tell you?"
"He said you had three close friends when you were here at school, and that the war tore you all apart from each other. I figured out later that he meant James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black. He mentioned that the past decade has been a struggle for you… and that's pretty much it."
"What about," he said quickly before stopping, weighing his next words carefully, "what about the Boggart? What was it before you cast the charm?"
"It was you," she said, choosing not to sugar coat the situation, "telling me that I was worth nothing. And my mentor, Red, calling me pathetic."
"And you thought that the form it took was funny?"
"I don't think that a werewolf who's not on Wolfsbane is going to be friendly, if that's what you're asking," she said, her arms tightening around her. "But yes, I thought that it was funny."
Lupin took a deep breath and looked around the room, as though he were looking for something to distract him from the conversation.
"Are you aware of something called Nihilego Draught?" he asked. Moon's mouth twitched as she repressed a grin.
"I believe I've heard of it."
"It's a recent discovery, only approved of a few weeks ago. It strips away lycanthropy, effectively curing werewolves of their condition."
"Really?" she said, raising an eyebrow as if she were surprised. "That's fantastic."
He nodded, looking down at his watch. "I'm supposed to be heading over to St Mungo's for that, actually. I have an appointment," he said, standing up from the chair and grabbing the briefcase.
"I won't keep you here, then," Moon said, moving back towards the door.
"Wait."
She paused, her hand dropping before she reached the doorknob. Lupin walked towards the door, stopping to face Moon.
"I don't believe you're worth nothing," he said gently. "You're an exceptionally talented witch and, from what I've seen, a trustworthy friend. I don't know if we'll ever consider each other as brother and sister, but I'm willing to try."
Moon gave a tentative smile and nodded. "I think that might work."
Remus smiled warmly before glancing towards the door. "I should get going. It was hard to get a spot so soon, and I'm afraid they'll give it away if I'm late."
One last look of understanding was exchanged before the professor headed out the door. He left the door open behind him. Moon waited until she heard his footsteps fade away to check the hallway. It was empty, as expected, as most teachers were busy with last-minute work and students were celebrating their freedom. She headed for the desk.
"Renuntiatio," she whispered, pointing her wand at the drawers. Light wavered from the tip, settling on the drawers as she moved from one to the next. One drawer glowed orange, indicating a minor alarm spell had been placed on it. A quick Finite Incantatem removed it. She pulled the drawer open to see several pieces of blank parchment. She repeated the Revealing Charm, watching as the light landed on one piece and lit it up like a rainbow. Moon pulled the parchment out from the pile and closed the drawer as the light faded from it.
'There's a ton of spellwork that went into this,' she thought as she exited the office, pulling the drawer closed behind her. Moon slid the map into her bag and headed to her next destination.
The hallway with the One-Eyed Witch statue was thankfully empty as well. Students were walking past the entrance to the corridor, but they were too busy chatting to look down the hall and notice the third year pulling out her wand and opening the secret passage.
A smooth cloth was pooled on the ground, just as Harry had said. Moon marveled at the liquid-like coolness of the cloak. It certainly wasn't any old Invisibility Cloak that could be made by hand or bought at the right store. There had to be a secret method to make something so unique.
Moon folded the cloak and slid it into her bag on top of the map, thankful for the extended space that it gave her.
The portrait of the Fat Lady was next. Gryffindor's common room entrance had been revealed back at Halloween, when Sirius Black ripped her portrait to pieces. She had been restored, but had insisted on being guarded. The trolls eyed Moon suspiciously as she passed by them. She stopped in front of the portrait, not seeing Harry nearby.
"Excuse me, have you seen Harry Potter recently?" she asked the woman in the portrait.
"He went inside just a moment ago," the Fat Lady replied.
"Could you let me in, please? I'm supposed to talk to him."
"Unless you have the password, you'll have to wait."
Moon evaluated the portrait silently. Of course security would be taken seriously after the last break in, but she was obviously not the escaped prisoner. Or maybe the password regulation was the norm for the Gryffindor common room. She still needed to get in, either way.
"Ogden Brew," she said clearly, using the first guess that came to mind. The Fat Lady took a sharp breath, startling the third year student.
"Who told you that?"
"It was a lucky guess," Moon said. "If that was the password, you need to let me in, right?"
The lady's face twisted into a pout before the portrait opened up like a door. Moon slipped inside and the portrait closed behind her, a bit more forcefully than required.
The combination of red and gold covered the entire common room. There wasn't a speck of any other colour, aside from the neutral browns and greys that went mostly unnoticed in favour of the prideful colour scheme. The room was virtually deserted, save for a familiar group of three huddled near the entrance, each with their back turned toward her.
"I don't know what could be taking her so long," she heard Hermione say.
"Maybe she foresaw that she'd be late anyway and decided to take her time," Ron said.
"Can't fight fate, now can I?" Moon said, loud enough to grab the attention of the trio and break them apart.
"How did you get in here?" Hermione asked.
"Lucky guess," Moon answered, reaching into her bag to pull out the two things that pulled her off track. "Thought I'd grab these before I dropped by."
Harry's eyes lit up at the sight of the cloak and the map, and Moon couldn't help but grin.
"How'd you get the map?" he asked as he took both objects from her hands.
"I was overdue for a chat, so getting into the office was easy, and the professor was in a hurry to leave."
"Better than breaking in, I suppose," Hermione said, but Moon could tell she wasn't too put out. She winked at the bushy-haired brunette before turning her attention back to Harry.
"Mind showing me how the map works?" she asked eagerly. Harry unfolded the parchment and went over to the couches, setting the cloak to the side as he placed the map on a coffee table. Moon followed him along with Ron and Hermione, choosing to sit on the floor so the other two could be near their friend.
Harry pointed his wand at the blank parchment and spoke carefully, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Ink appeared on the page, sprawling out from where the wand met the parchment like a web. The lines twisted and crossed as they made their way to the edges of the map. Words in green ink appeared across the top in curly font:
Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
are proud to present
THE MARAUDER'S MAP
Every inch of Hogwarts, save the Come and Go Room, was documented on the map. All rooms, hallways, and passages were revealed as well as the outdoors. Dots of ink with names attached moved across the map, showing where everyone was located at any given time.
"Wow," Moon whispered, her eyes watching the dot labelled Peeves bounding through a corridor, closely followed by Filch. "No wonder there's so many spells on this. The enchantments must've taken ages."
"Fred and George gave it to me for the trip before Christmas break. They took it from Filch. No clue how it was made, though, but it has to be old."
"Don't know about that," she said, thinking over the four names on the parchment. "If I had to guess, it's less than twenty years old."
Her eyes trailed over the page, going on to the grounds. Students were starting to head inside, as curfew would soon be put in place. Looking a little closer to the edge, Moon spotted a name that caused her heart to miss a beat.
Dawn Berlitz.