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.

Revelations and Resolutions

Harry and Hotaru were hard pressed to keep up with Professor Lupin as he stormed through the corridors of Hogwarts. The urgency in the Professor's movements sent a shiver down Harry's spine.

Lupin paused, however, when he reached the portrait of Sir Cadogan. "What's the password, Harry?"

"Courageous Heart," said Harry.

"Indeed it is!" cried Sir Cadogan, and the door swung open.

Lupin stepped in, and looked around the crowded common room quickly.

"Where is he?"

"Typically near the back, Professor," said Harry. "He keeps his chessboard back there."

"Ah, there he is." Spotting Ronald Weasley, he hurried over to him.

"Mr Weasley?"

Ron looked up, surprised. "Yeah? I mean—"

"Where is your rat, Mr Weasley?"

"Scabbers?" Ron frowned. "He's gone missing, Sir."

"I tried to tell you, Professor," said Harry. "Scabbers vanished back in November."

"Blast!" snarled Lupin.

Ron now looked very confused. "Why d'you wanna know about Scabbers? Sir."

"If you see him, Ron, bring him to me immediately," said Lupin quietly. "Your pet rat is in fact an animagus, named Peter Pettigrew."

"You're daft," said Ron. Then, apparently remembering that he was addressing a professor, he hastily added, "I mean...that can't be right." He frowned. "Can it?"

"'Fraid it is, Ron," said Harry. "Apparently, he and Professor Lupin were friends back in the day."

"Have you got a picture of the rat, Mr Weasley?" asked Lupin.

"I do, yeah," said Ron. "Lemme go get it." He hopped to his feet and ran for the staircase to the boys' dormitories. Lupin, for his part, opened the Marauder's Map and spread it out on the table. He took a quick look around the room, then shifted his body to block the view of the Map. He touched his wand to it.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Immediately, the lines of the Map spread out across the blank parchment.

"Quero Peter Pettigrew."

There was no visible change on the Map, and Lupin sighed.

"If he's in the school, he's in one of the areas the Map doesn't cover."

"Hold on," interrupted Fred. The Weasley Twins had wandered over, no doubt because of the use of the Map's pass-phrase. "How did you know about that?"

Lupin glanced over at them with a knowing grin. "Ah. I should have known it would be you two who figured it out. Don't worry. I shan't be dobbing you in. It would be against the Code."

"What Code?" asked George.

"The Code of the Marauders," said Lupin. "When it's just us, Harry or Hotaru, you may call me Moony." He raised a hand to forestall further questions. "The Code prohibits me from revealing the identities of the other Marauders. But you should know that Prongs is dead, and Wormtail..." He looked away, a touch of regret in his eyes. "Wormtail is a traitor."

The Twins glanced at each other, then back to Lupin. "What else is in the Code?" asked Fred.

Remus smirked. "One does not discuss the Code with those who are not Marauders."

George leaned forward in anticipation. "How does one become a Marauder?"

Lupin chuckled. "Ah. Well, that's also covered in the Code. Figure it out, boys."

The sound of approaching footsteps on the staircase drew the Professor's attention back to Ron.

"Found it, Sir." Ron passed a scrap of somewhat crumpled newsparchment over to Lupin.

Remus looked at the picture—one of all the Weasleys except for Charlie, taken in Egypt. Harry remembered seeing that picture in the Daily Prophet.

"That's him, all right," growled Lupin. I'd know that rat anywhere." He frowned. "He's missing a toe..."

"He's always been," pointed out Ron. "Ever since Percy found him."

"Percy Weasley? The Head Boy?" asked Lupin.

"Yes, Sir. Percy found him about twelve years ago."

"A rather uncommon lifespan for a common garden rat, wouldn't you say?" Lupin scowled, then turned back to the Map, and touched it again with his wand. "Mischief managed." He folded the now-blank parchment, and handed it to Harry.

"Now what, Sir?" asked Harry.

"Well, we can't exactly go back to your lesson, can we?" Lupin considered. "I think I should go to Professor Dumbledore. He needs to know that there's an animagus on the loose in the school."

"If I may, Sir," said Hotaru quietly. "Perhaps Professor Flitwick would be a better choice? He is the Charms Master of the school, after all. He could put up an alert charm to detect an animagus."

"Good thinking," said Lupin. "Miss Tomoe, you come with me, please. I'll drop you off at your dormitory before I seek out Professor Flitwick."

The two headed out, with Hotaru glancing back to give Harry a shy smile before the portrait closed behind them. Harry heaved a sigh and dropped into the nearest armchair.

Ron snorted. "Never dull around you, is it."

If Professor Flitwick had devised any sort of plan, he had kept it to himself, not sharing it with either Harry or Hotaru. Harry was aware that Percy Weasley had been summoned before Flitwick and Lupin, returning visibly shaken. Harry hesitated to approach Percy about it, lacking the confidence to delve into the matter.

Days stretched into weeks, and Gryffindor's third and final Quidditch match was held against Hufflepuff, resulting in Gryffindor finally clinching the Quidditch Cup after nine years of uninterrupted Slytherin dominance. However, Harry's elation over the victory was overshadowed by his mounting concern for Hermione.

Her temperament grew increasingly irritable, a familiar peevishness that Harry had witnessed before. It was evident that she was pushing herself too hard, burdened by excessive workload, stress, and a lack of sleep. Whatever measures she was taking to attend all her additional classes, it was clearly taking a toll on her well-being. Harry was mustering the courage to do something about it, but before he could stage an intervention, events took an unexpected turn.

"You should have seen it," chuckled Ron. "She just snapped at Trelawney, dumped her crystal ball on the floor, and walked out."

"Has she officially dropped the class?" asked Harry.

"I don't know," admitted Ron. "Wouldn't take much, though. It's an elective, and you know that she shouldn't be taking so many."

The two of them turned into the Great Hall. Harry saw Hotaru waving at him, and the girl jumped up from her seat and hurried towards them.

"Where's Hermione?" asked Ron.

Harry glanced back at Ron, then over to the Gryffindor table. Sure enough, Hermione wasn't there.

"Hi, Harry!"

He turned back to Hotaru. "Hi. Err...have you seen Hermione? Only, she had a bit of a meltdown in Divination, and the last time she had a meltdown, I had to fight a troll."

Hotaru giggled. "Do you have the Map?"

Harry fought the urge to smack himself in the forehead. "Of course. Come on, you two."

He wasn't about to let the secret of the Map out in front of the whole school. He led the two into the antechamber, just off the Great Hall, where First Years waited before being Sorted.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He frowned. "What was the word Professor Lupin used?"

"Quero," supplied Hotaru.

"Thanks. Quero Hermione Granger."

A circle appeared on the Map, rapidly shrinking until it contained only a single pair of footprints, just leaving Professor McGonagall's office. Harry heaved a sigh of relief.

"Well, that explains it," he said. "She's gone to withdraw from the class."

"Let's go meet up with her," suggested Hotaru.

Harry shrugged. "Why not? Mischief managed." He folded the Map and stuffed it back into his book bag.

"If she's just going to the Great Hall—"

"Come on, Ron," interrupted Harry. "We ought to reach out to her. After all, she's been going through a lot lately, and she could use our support."

"Yeah," admitted Ron. "Suppose you're right."

It didn't take them long to catch up with Hermione. Harry noted that she already looked better, like a load had been lifted from her shoulders.

"Well, you were right," she admitted, before Harry could even speak. "Five courses was too much."

"Why would you even try it?" asked Harry, concern colouring his voice. "I mean, I know you love to learn new things, but let's face it. You went into Divination expecting it to be bunk, and I don't even know why you would take Muggle Studies."

Hermione sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly. "I guess I just wanted to challenge myself," she explained. "I wanted to prove that I could excel in every subject, even if it meant stretching myself thin. And with Muggle Studies, well, the more OWLs I have, the more options I have when I graduate."

"You could probably pass the OWL without even taking the course," said Ron. "You're Muggle-born, after all. You probably know more than the professor."

"I might do that." She snorted. "But I think you have to admit that I was right about Trelawney. The woman's a fraud."

Ron shrugged. "I'll give you that."

"Did you hear the things that she said about Harry? Absolutely absurd."

"What did she say?" asked Harry.

"Bunch of tosh about the Grim," said Ron. "She said that you'd set the Grim free, or something like that."

"What's a Grim?" asked Hotaru.

"Supposedly a big, evil dog," explained Ron. "If you see one, you're supposed to die. My uncle Bilius saw one, and within two days, he died." He paused. "Of course, he was pretty old."

"What she said today was the last straw," said Hermione. She glanced at Hotaru, then said, "It was about your sketches."

"What did she say?" asked Hotaru.

Hermione snorted. "That the 'Handmaiden of Death' would draw the attention of Kronos and call witches from their distant planets to the shores of Scotland. She put on this fake raspy voice when she said it, too."

"Witches from other planets?" Harry chuckled. "Yeah, she's gone off the twist for sure."