"-hear about Lupin's…"

"-said that he wasn't mortal…"

"-in his soul?"

"-turned into You-Know-Who…"

"-something happens to Granger…"

Harry and Hermione sat in the common room in their normal cushy armchairs, surrounded by a bubble of condensed magic. It didn't manage to completely block out the whispered rumors and gossip.

Harry tried not to care, but it still grated.

"This should go without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway," Hermione began in a light tone, "if I do, in fact, slip into the Dark, you are not allowed to go on a genocidal rampage or sacrifice your soul to become a god or any other nonsense."

Harry couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, I know. Do you know why I saved Malfoy from Buckbeak today?"

"To help Hagrid?"

"Well yes, but really it was because of my new policy for determining the moral authenticity of my actions."

"New policy?"

"The 'what would Hermione do?' policy."

She laughed but smiled brightly at him.

"That policy will continue even if anything happens to you, I promise," he continued.

"Well, it sounds like you're in good hands then."

Harry laughed again. "Besides, if your soul ever slips too far into the Dark, I'll just snag Albus' favorite stick, rip Voldemort's pet rock out of his soul, maybe take a vacation to France, and then make Death 'cough you up like a hairball'."

Hermione froze. "You've thought about this a lot, haven't you?" she said softly.

Harry shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, kinda? As long as you're okay with me delaying your grand entrance into the afterlife."

"That's sweet, in a mildly disturbing way." She smiled at him again. "I suppose that you have my permission to find my wayward soul and bring me back from the veil. Like the opposite of a do-not-resuscitate? Just make sure that you get my body right before you stuff my soul back into it."

Harry did his best not to blush. He mostly succeeded.

"Professor Lupin?"

The tired looking man looked up from his desk in surprise.

"I just wanted to see if maybe um… you had a moment to talk before dinner."

Harry cringed a bit at how awkward he was being, but he wanted to gauge how the professor was reacting after the debacle in class that afternoon.

"Oh course, Harry. I can imagine that you're a bit shaken after class today."

Harry walked into the office and sat down. It looked a lot better without pictures of Lockhart covering every wall.

"I just…erm… I guess I don't know how much you know about me."

Lupin looked pensively at him over the cluttered desk between them.

"Dumbledore informed me that you and Miss Granger are prodigies of magic and that you used the Sword of Gryffindor to slay the Basilisk in the Chamber and save both Ginny Weasley and potentially the school. That is all that I was officially told. Unofficially, I was previously told that it would be dangerous for me to be near you, soon after that dreadful night twelve years ago. As for your current state, I felt that I would like to get to know you without any additional preconceived notions."

Harry blinked. He definitely needed to ask why it would be dangerous for Lupin to be near him. But it was also good to know what Albus had told the teachers, he hadn't been sure. "On my end, Professor McGonagall told me that you were friends with my dad. One of the Marauders, right?"

Lupin sighed and looked… tired. And a lot of other things, but it looked like they all combined together to be tired.

"Yes. Your father… and the others… were the best friends that I ever had. Everyone lost people that they cared for on that Halloween night, you more than any, but I also lost… more than most."

Harry could feel the deep well of pain, depression, and self-loathing within the man's powerful but beaten down soul.

"I would say that I understand but… I don't remember them. I just… miss the idea of parents, I guess? I put that in the 'process later' box and then never really got around to it."

Lupin just raised an eyebrow at him.

"Right. Um," Harry said, trying to remember what else he wanted to ask, "Professor McGonagall also said that you have been out of the country for work?"

Lupin looked surprised for a moment and then chuckled. "She has always given me far more credit than I deserve. I was indeed out of the country, and I was indeed working, but there were mitigating circumstances. I feel that I must make an obvious apology, Harry. I'm sorry that this is the first that you are hearing from me. I'm sure that James and Lily would have expected more from me."

Harry wasn't sure what to make of that. He hadn't really thought that the professor had any obligations to him.

"Why would it be dangerous for you to be near me, professor?"

Lupin looked nervous, in body and soul.

"I… you must understand that this is something that should remain between as few people as possible, but you deserve to know. I am a werewolf."

Huh.

"I can see why that may be an issue."

"Yes. I'll admit that Albus did not give me the full story, but my understanding is that something to do with your curse scar may exacerbate the wolf, and lead to unfortunate consequences."

"You could say that." He could definitely see his mark twisting a werewolf into something horrific.

"I will not pry further, but is there anything about the incident with the Boggart today that you would like to discuss with me?"

"I need to spend more time with Neville. But also, I am most likely far more powerful than your current estimate. What do you know about my father's cloak?"

Lupin looked confused but also vaguely nostalgic. "I spent far too much time running around under that cloak while at school. The number of times I saw James disappear under it with a grin that promised mischief and mayhem…" he trailed off.

"Right. So, it's a very nice invisibility cloak, but it is also an ancient artifact known as the Shroud of Death. In addition to making one invisible, with proper…understanding… it can also allow the wearer to temporarily enter the Dark and remove their body from physical reality, as well as allow them to hide from Death."

Lupin blinked at him.

"Hide from…"

"Yes. I have consumed the cloak and bonded it with my own soul, allowing me to survive the destruction of my body and return from the Dark. I have also done this with the Sword of Gryffindor, allowing me to call it forth at any time."

Lupin's mouth hung open.

"That is what the Boggart was referring to, among other things. I have no immediate plans to pull a Voldemort, but at this time the only person in the school who could stop me if I lost my marbles would be Dumbledore, and even he could not contain me, even if he might be able to permanently kill me. Not one hundred percent sure if he can do that or not. Probably fifty fifty?"

Lupin was still recovering.

"So, um… yeah. Sorry for disrupting your class. To be fair, it was partially your fault, but I bet most teenagers fear, like, acne and spiders.

Lupin took a deep breath. "The number of times that we hid under the cloak, and we never knew…"

Harry continued to ignore the buzzing whispers during dinner. He knew that it would die down eventually, but he couldn't quite think of a worse way for his-

"Again, I'm sorry for the trouble Harry. Seriously."

Neville was blaming himself, which Harry had expected but really wasn't remotely close to valid. There were other people at fault, mainly Lupin and Harry, although unintentionally and unavoidably on Harry's part.

"Really Nev, don't worry about it. You're right to be worried. Hell it's something that I worry about too. Obviously. Even if it wasn't just the result of the Mark acting up, I am, objectively, one of the more dangerous people in the school right now. And you are one of the few who are aware of just how badly it could go if I went off the deep end."

"Still, I…"

"If you do lose your remaining marbles, can I be your lead henchperson?" Luna interrupted.

"Luna… I guess? Unless Hermione wants the spot."

"Nope, I'm going to be the tragic and betrayed archenemy slash hero of the story." Hermione said idly from across the table.

"I'm hurt, truly. Mutiny from my best friend. Fine, yes, congrats Luna, you get the spot of number one Dark Lady of Doom."

"Yay!"

Harry looked out over the pale gray lake. It was still early, but he wasn't running today.

"I wonder if the giant squid gets bored down there. Maybe we should get them a friend."

He couldn't help but smile down at the tiny blonde next to him. Luna sat on the eroded bank, feet dangling twenty feet over the smooth surface of the lake.

Harry sat down next to her on the cool grass. "I would guess that it probably does. The lake is a bit smaller than the ocean. We can add it to the to-do list."

"You're a good friend, Harry."

Harry smiled softly. Sometimes Luna would say things that caught him off guard, both silly and serious, but he liked it. He considered her luminous soul and took her hand in his.

"I don't think that I can fix the cracks in your soul, Luna. And I'm not sure it would even help you if I did. The light that shines through your soul… it is something divine. Something even I cannot, and should not touch."

"That's fine Harry. My mother gave them to me; I wouldn't want you to take them away anyway."

Harry nodded slowly. "What I can do is help you learn to feel your magic, to become aware of the truth of things. You see more than most, even if this is a bit different, but it may help. It's not an exact process, just look at Hermione and Neville, but it seems to increase the potential for a magical awakening like Hermione experienced. I don't know if the emotional distress is required or not."

Luna just looked up at him with her wide, guileless, blue eyes.

"The process does require me to flood your soul with magic. We are unsure if this process subverts your soul or not. I don't think so, but I don't know everything. We would be going down the rabbit hole together, and your soul would be laid bare to me."

"I trust you, Harry Potter."

"So, did you enjoy being inside me, Bladesinger?"

"Don't say it like that ever again. Please."

Harry and Hermione sat in the Three Broomsticks, staring around the bar, two empty butterbeer bottles on the table between them.

"Is it just me, or is Hogsmeade kind of boring?"

"The history is kind of cool."

"Yeah, but like… I don't really need to do any shopping. The butterbeer was good, but…"

"Yeah. I get it."

"Want to race back to the castle and go flying?"

"You're on. Try not to choke on my dust, Death Walker."

Harry looked around the Great Hall suspiciously. The Halloween feast was coming to a close, and so far, nothing bad had happened. It had him on edge. It was Halloween. Something bad was obviously fated to happen to him. It was practically a requirement. Everything had gone well, and it left him feeling twitchy.

He caught Hermione's eye and knew that she was feeling the same way. Last year it was the first Basilisk attack, the year before it was the Troll, and this year…

"My goodness, it's Stubby Boardman!"

"What was that, Luna?"

Harry was almost relieved to find the portrait of the Fat Lady cut to ribbons. At least The Bad Thing had finally happened, and he could relax. Plus, he got to sleep in the Great Hall with Hermione, Neville, and Luna, which was pretty fun. Impromptu slumber party courtesy of their rogue dark wizard on the loose.

He felt the magical equivalent of a tap on the shoulder and allowed Dumbledore's power to subtly connect with his own.

I take it that you did not feel any indication of Sirius Black tonight, before or after the incident with the portrait?

No dice, sorry Albus. It wasn't like he was moving within the soul of the castle like the Basilisk, and I haven't been letting my magic permeate the whole school all the time this year. It's a lot of multitasking.

We will just have to be more vigilant in the future. Thank you, Harry.

Found any godly junk or soul bits?

I have a lead, but I must find time to leave the school. I will update you as soon as I make progress.

Lovely. Do you want to pull up a sleeping bag and join the slumber party?

Don't tempt me with a good time, Harry.