Kindred Spirits

by Tailkinker

This is a work of fan fiction based on the Harry Potter series and the Sailor Moon franchise created respectively by J.K. Rowling and Naoko Takeuchi. The characters and settings belong to their respective owners and no copyright infringement is intended. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes and should not be considered as part of the official canon of either series.


Secrets Unveiled

Harry dropped into a seat at the Gryffindor table and began to rub his brow.

"I told you, you should just learn it the old-fashioned way."

Harry turned and glared at Hermione, who was trying—and failing—not to look overly smug. "I'll have you know that my headache was not caused by the memory transfer. It's due to lack of sleep."

Hermione frowned. "Why haven't you been sleeping?"

"I've been having really weird dreams," he said. "For the last three days—ever since I got the memories. I can't remember a lot, but I'm pretty sure they're Hotaru's memories, cropping up in my dreams." He chuckled. "She watched some really strange anime. Talking cats and magical girls."

"What's anime?"

Harry paused, then said, "Cartoons. Why did I say 'anime'?"

"Because it's the Japanese word," said Hotaru. As she often did, she'd managed to sneak up on him, and startled him into jumping. She giggled, and switched to Japanese. "Good evening, Harry. Are you well?"

"I'm good," he answered—then paused again. "That was in Japanese, wasn't it?"

Hotaru giggled again. "It seems that it's working."

"It takes me a second to realize," he said.

"That would make sense," said Hermione. "After all, if you got her earliest memories, you'd get the language at an instinctive level."

"You're welcome to sit in on our lessons, Hermione," offered Hotaru. "However, without Harry's 'jump-start', you probably won't get much out of it."

"Why not?" Hermione looked offended at the idea that she might not get something out of a lesson.

"Because she's really just reminding me how the words are used," said Harry. "I don't consciously have access to her memories; they're sort of leaking into the part of my brain that does languages." He winced. "And my dreams."

"Your dreams?" Hotaru suddenly looked nervous. "What do you mean?"

"I've had some odd dreams," he said. "I think I saw your mother in one of them—it was a woman who looked a lot like you, but with longer hair."

"That does sound like Mama," she allowed.

"And I think I got some of the stuff that...we talked about over Christmas," he said. He glanced over at Hermione, unsure of how to continue.

"My nightmares." Hotaru nodded to Hermione. "I trust you with that, Hermione. You've seen how the Dementors affect me. Well, they also sparked some really bad nightmares. And it looks like Harry's gotten a taste of that." She turned back to Harry. "Sorry about that."

Harry shrugged. "It's fine."

"I heard what Trelawney said." Hermione shook her head. "But I didn't realize it was that bad."

"Reminds me, though," said Harry. "Professor Lupin's expecting us tomorrow. He said he's finally found another Boggart."


It ended up being another two weeks before Harry and Hotaru could attend a lesson with Professor Lupin. That very evening, Sirius Black broke into their dormitory room. He had accidentally awakened Ron Weasley, whose screams woke the rest of his year-mates. Black fled the room, and the castle was put on lock-down while the Professors hunted for the fugitive.

The weekend after was the Hogsmeade visit. Neither Harry nor Hotaru had intended to go this time—Harry felt that there wasn't much to do in the town if you didn't have any shopping to attend to. And while it was the weekend of St Valentine's Day, neither he nor Hotaru were dating anybody. But he also knew that there wouldn't be any chance for lessons. As he stood at the window and gazed up at the evening sky, he knew that at least one professor wouldn't be finding that full moon romantic, St Valentine's Day or not.


"You remember your first encounter with a Boggart, Harry?" Professor Lupin was sitting on a large trunk, a cup of tea in his hands. His appearance was better than Harry had previously seen after a full moon, but he'd had most of a week to recover.

Harry nodded. "Didn't really get a proper go, did I?"

"No," admitted Lupin. He glanced over at Hotaru, then back to Harry. "Do you mind if I tell Hotaru?"

Harry shrugged. "That's fine."

"I'm afraid I cut Harry off, before he had a go at it," said Professor Lupin. "I suspected that it might change into Lord Voldemort, but it became a Dementor instead."

"I was more afraid of Dementors," said Harry. "I've beaten Riddle twice now."

"Riddle?" asked the Professor.

"Tom Riddle," said Harry. "In second year, I learned Voldemort's real name."

"Hm. Didn't know that." The interest in Lupin's eyes belied his verbal disregard. But he moved on. "And Hotaru, here, has never faced one, either. I'm afraid that one of her year-mates—Ms Brocklehurst, I believe it was—forced it into a form that she found amusing, but that allowed it to escape before everybody'd had a go.

"But given that you are here for the same reason as Harry, I suspect that when it confronts you, the Boggart will become a Dementor as well." He stood up. "To be on the safe side, though, we'll have Harry approach it first, and stay near you when you face it, to try to prevent it from shifting. Understood?"

Both nodded. Hotaru said, "Yes, Professor."

"All right. Wands out, and happy thoughts forward. Harry, go ahead."

Harry thought he had just the right memory—when he discovered that he was a wizard, that the Dursleys were wrong about him, that his parents didn't die in a car crash. He performed the half-twist and jab, and yelled, "Expecto Patronum!"

This time, his Patronus was a solid shield. Professor Lupin looked overjoyed.

"Well done, Harry. Whatever your memory was, it was much stronger than any you've used yet. That shield could probably hold off a Dementor easily enough."

Harry grinned, and allowed the Patronus to lapse.

"Now you, Hotaru."

Hotaru glanced at Harry, and blushed. Before Harry could ask why, she turned and cast, "Expecto Patronum."

Rather than a shield, a silvery bird burst from her wand. It circled the room once, then faded out.

Professor Lupin's jaw fell open.

Harry smirked. "I told you she could do it."

"It wasn't...quite...corporeal," said the Professor. "But it was far closer than any twelve-year-old should be able to manage."

"Thirteen," said Hotaru. She appeared winded; casting the Patronus had clearly taken a lot out of her. "My birthday was last month."

"Yes. Sorry, I had quite forgotten. Happy belated birthday." Hotaru giggled at that, provoking a smile from Lupin as he turned back to the trunk. "All right. Now, when the Boggart takes on the form of the Dementor, it will have many of its mental abilities. It will inflict dread and despair, as a Dementor will, but cannot feed on them as a Dementor does. Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," said Harry.

"Very well." And he opened the trunk.

The Boggart-Dementor surged up from the trunk, reaching for Harry. And he could hear the woman's screams, along with a voice. A cold, high-pitched voice that he'd heard before.

"Step aside you foolish girl, and I'll let you live!"

The sound of Riddle's voice sent a jolt of adrenaline through him. He steeled his nerve, and cast, "Expecto Patronum!"

The Patronus shield formed before him, holding the Boggart-Dementor at bay. But it wasn't quite enough; Harry could feel the fear, as though it were seeping around the shield.

"Hotaru, back him up," called Lupin.

Hotaru stepped forward, her wand drawn. But she stepped just a bit too near, and the Boggart focused on her. With a muted crack, it transformed.

Before them stood the Handmaiden of Death, her spear held at the ready and chaotic energy crackling around her. Harry could see the resemblance to Hotaru, and the odd-looking glyph, like a lowercase letter H, glowing on the girl's forehead.

And this was no Dementor; Harry's Patronus faltered and collapsed. He stepped closer, raising his wand, but the Boggart remained focused on Hotaru. Beside him, Hotaru's eyes widened in terror. But she brought her wand up, and yelled, "Riddikulus!"

And the girl was now dressed in a purple dress with lots of bows, like a Victorian doll. Her spear turned into a massive pinwheel. Harry chuckled at the sight, but before he could do anything more, Professor Lupin stepped forward. With another crack, the Boggart transformed into the full moon, but Lupin's Riddikulus turned it into a balloon, which he forced back into the trunk.

He turned back to the teens, a look of curiosity on his face. "Is that the girl you were sketching over Christmas?"

"Yes," admitted Hotaru.

"I see." He turned back to Harry. "How are you feeling?"

"Not so bad," admitted Harry. "Better than I thought I would."

"Your Patronus helped," said Lupin. "We'll give it a minute before trying again. If either of you need chocolate, let me know."

Harry shifted his gaze towards Hotaru, her breathing still rapid and her arms wrapped protectively around herself. He reached out and gently placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, earning a soft, appreciative glance in return. The encounter with the Boggart had clearly shaken her, and he wished he could find a way to ease her unease. Then it occurred to him that Professor Lupin had attended school with his father. Here was a chance for him to learn more about his father, a man that he had only known through photographs and occasional stories.

Turning his attention to Professor Lupin, he sought to shift the focus away from the unsettling experience. "Professor Lupin," Harry began, choosing his words carefully, "I've been curious about my father. Professor Snape mentioned he was arrogant and full of himself." He felt a bit uncertain as he broached the subject.

"As hard as it is to believe, Harry, Professor Snape is right," said Lupin. "I'm afraid that, in his younger years, your father wasn't exactly a saint."

"Oh?"

"All four of us were pranksters," admitted Lupin. "But James had something of a personal vendetta against Severus. He got over it, eventually, but I'm afraid it seems that Severus has not."

"Professor Dumbledore told me that my father saved Snape's life," said Harry.

"Yes, he did," said Lupin. "Understand, Harry, that when I attended Hogwarts, the Wolfsbane Potion hadn't yet been invented. And it was far too risky to allow a transformed werewolf to remain on the school grounds, no matter how well contained they were. Professor Dumbledore had a secret tunnel made, that led to the Shrieking Shack. And every night of the full moon, I'd go through that tunnel to the Shack, and spend the night there."

Harry frowned. "I've seen the Shrieking Shack. It doesn't look very sturdy. How could it contain a werewolf?"

"There are many protective charms on it that are not visible to the naked eye," said Lupin. "And while they can be bypassed, this can only be done by a person in control of their faculties. Of course, the rest of the Marauders didn't want to leave me on my own, and so they would follow."

"Then how are they not also werewolves?" asked Hotaru. "Without the Wolfsbane Potion, wouldn't have you bitten them?"

"The curse causes us to attack humans," said Lupin. "But unlike real wolves, we don't attack animals. I shouldn't really be telling you this—I promised to keep their secrets—but the other three Marauders all became animagi."

"They could become animals?" asked Harry.

"Yes." Lupin chuckled. "Given James' pride, it was no surprise that he became a stag. Sirius used to chase the girls every chance he got, so a dog was equally unsurprising." His tone sobered. "Given that, we probably should have at least suspected something when Pettigrew's form was revealed to be a rat."

Harry felt like a ball of ice had formed in his stomach.

"Sorry, Sir. Did you say...a rat?"