Snape took great pride as he told the story of what happened in the Shack. From the way it was framed, it seemed as though Snape had come in at the right moment as Sirius seemingly had Remus convinced that his old friend was not the murderer of Lily and James Potter. Snape who was then rendered unconscious by Harry – Eliza had to prevent herself from being proud of the young boy for disarming an adult wizard – only for Snape to awake around the time that Remus turned into a werewolf.
It was like someone threw a bucket of cold water onto her. She felt nerves go numb at the thought that the children could have gotten hurt, but more about how Remus was going to feel once he was conscious again. Eliza wanted to scream. Instead, she kept her mouth shut and balled her hands into a fist.
"I alarmed Mr. Fudge, of course," Snape continued. "Black is unconscious and locked away."
"And Mr. Black is where exactly?" Dumbledore's voice was calm and did not betray any sign of emotion. There was no sign that he was ready to defend Sirius, as though she had never told Dumbledore what happened that night.
"Locked away," Snape gave an exact description. "He lured Mr. Potter to the lake where the Dementors tried to kiss Black as well as Harry!"
"Is he alright?" Eliza asked. How had they ended up at the Black Lake? Why had they tried to kiss Harry?
"I hope that concern is for Harry and not for that traitor," Snape warned. "Or else I might even question if you aren't involved as well."
"Severus," Dumbledore warned. Then, he turned it to Eliza.
"I'd like to take some time to speak with Mr. Black. I'm sure he is well injured – don't muggles have that convention that says that every human is entitled to first-aid, yes?"
"He murdered Lily, Albus!" Snape snapped. "What more do you want? He doesn't deserve pity."
"Justice," Eliza voiced. It was calmer than she expected as she cleared her throat. "Let him one moment of dignity, Severus"
"Your friend Remus can join him as well with dignity" Snape scowled. "He's on the school grounds you know. Running around as a wolf. He forgot to take his potion. I'm sure that also breaks some not well-known wizarding convention." Each word rang in her ears.
Eliza squeezed her eyes shut. She prayed that no one was out in the woods tonight and that none of the children were hurt. It had been going so well this year. Why out of all days now?
"You are despicable, you know that, Severus?" Eliza said slowly. "You wouldn't think to listen to what Sirius had to say?"
"He nearly killed me, if you haven't forgotten. You were there and yet you still have the audacity –"
"Severus, Eliza, I think we need to think about the matter at hand," there was a glint in Dumbledore's eyes. "Would you be so kind as to make arrangements with Fudge?"
"Certainly, Professor," Snape gave Eliza a stink eye before leaving, but he held his chin up and seemed to be quite proud of himself. Eliza swore that he was skipping down the corridors. Maybe it was because he was rubbing her the wrong way, but she felt like he was holding his chin up a little bit too much and had a spring in his step. She understood it. Sirius had been one of his tormentors. When someone whom you hated had reckoning coming, anyone would be happy about it. But it reached the point where it was blinding Snape.
"Hate can paralyse minds, don't you agree?" Dumbledore started."If things get out - And you know Severus - Remus is not safe here at Hogwarts and I can't do anything."
"I know."
They walked down the corridor and past many flights of stairs until they got to where they were needed. It was relatively quiet as Dumbledore unlocked the door and allowed Eliza inside. The figure who was cowered in the darkest area of the cylinder looked up and let out a hoarse cry upon the sight of Eliza. He reached out but then noticed Dumbledore standing behind her. Sirius dropped his hand, unsure of what was about to come.
"Albus."
"We do not have much time," Dumbledore said. "Professor Shafiq, please tend to Mr. Black while we speak. I know a lot, but I want every single detail. Do not leave anything out – no dramatisations."
Eliza took out her wand and kneeled down, the cold stone floor leaving a stinging sensation. Sirius flinched slightly when she touched a bruise, but as Dumbledore was interrogating him, he couldn't let out a comment.
Sirius talked like a man who couldn't talk for 12 years. He laid out everything he had and how he escaped, the story of the Marauders, and what happened the night the Potters died. When he was done, a silence filled the room. She could hear the rush of wind outside, the sound of animals fleeing in the Forbidden Forest.
It must be because of Remus, she thought.
"I… cannot save you," Dumbledore said.
"Albus," Eliza started but he held up his finger.
"I," he repeated. "cannot do it. Neither can you, my dear Eliza. Your fate, Sirius, is far worse than death if things don't happen exactly as they do and if we did something now it would be too obvious that we freed him."
"We could still hide him," Eliza thought quickly. "Somewhere far from the ministry's reach. They won't think of looking outside of the British Isles."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. The old man crossed his arms. "He stays here, Eliza. I'll give you two a minute. One minute only. Don't untie him. You'll leave with me."
Dumbledore left the room, but noted that the door was open by a was he on about? Eliza had no time to think about it. Instead, she turned her gaze to Sirius. He was looking at her, his lids having a hard time staying up, hands still shaking from nearly losing his soul.
"Just so nothing gets infected," Eliza healed some of his bruises and reached for a Bon Bon in her jacket that would restore his energy. He looked like skin that had been stretched over bone. He stared at her.
"Is this how you will waste our minute?" He said hoarsely. "No escape plan? Not even with Old Beardy listening for adventure? Eliza, please look at me."
Eliza did look at him. She looked at him between his eyebrows, because she didn't know if she could handle looking into his eyes directly.
"Please," he begged and carefully put a hand on her face. It was extremely cold and startled her a little. It felt so foreign to her. He had touched her face before, but now it felt even more real. They weren't as she remembered them. He had calluses on his palms from years of playing Quidditch that still scratched against her skin, but they were rougher. He couldn't take care of them in prison.
"If I might die, could you at least give me that?"
"You won't die," Eliza glared at him. "I spent far too long regretting you for you to die."
"That's the closest I'll get, I suppose," he said softly.
"Huh?"
"You never were one to talk about your feelings. I had to get you angry to even hear an I love you, let alone in past tense… after nearly 15 years. Imagine that?"
Eliza pursed her lips. She felt time slipping from her fingers, the seconds moving past them. There was so much she could say, wanted to say, but it weighed on her tongue and dared not to come out. It had never occurred to her that she never said I love you.
"Alexandria," she said and nearly regretted it afterwards. She saw the tears that threatened to spill out from Sirius's eyes, but then his face hardened. "You can lay low there for a few days. Answer the Sphinx's riddle and it will let you in."
Their time was nearly up. He would be good for the next couple of days if he managed to leave. Maybe she was giving him hope, maybe she was just hoping that Dumbledore had a plan that she didn't know about. There was nothing she could offer. The home she had built for herself wasn't safe for him. There was space for him there, yes, but where do they fit in?
Eliza rested her forehead on his. She couldn't kiss him, not yet. Not when she didn't know what she wanted and certainly not after he probably hadn't brushed his teeth in ages.
"I'll see you soon," his hand lingered as Eliza pulled away. "I'm sorry."
Just then, the door opened for Dumbledore to tell them that their time was up. Dumbledore sealed the door shut behind them as they walked towards to hospital wing. She kept her composure the entire time as they hurried to the hospital wing.
"It's a shame, really," Dumbledore mentioned before they opened the doors to the hospital wing. "That your time was cut so short."
Eliza said nothing. She kept walking so that she wouldn't have time to think about what he had said. It was true. They never had the time to really sit down and talk about how they felt about each other. They were always hiding, then bickering about something, and when the dust settled she would leave things unsaid. Arabella Figgs had been right. Perhaps she should say what she felt more. Maybe she should talk more about herself than she did about others.
When she entered the room, Harry and Hermione were on their feet and already running their story about the night's events. Dumbledore held up a finger and began to speak something cryptic to Hermione.
"Three turns shall suffice," Dumbledore mentioned. "Professor, care to check on Mr. Weasley?"
"Oh, sure…" it wasn't her responsibility, but she turned around to check on Ron. She couldn't see what the others were up to. There was a shuffle of feet, silence, and then, shortly before Dumbledore closed the door, another shuffle of feet. Then, the door was locked.
"Am I allowed to take care of my patients now?" Poppy was in a bad mood. Harry and Hermione quickly scrambled back into their respective beds. However, she noticed that they seemed a little more winded and tired than she had seen them before – there was a new scratch on Hermione's cheek that hadn't been there.
It was quiet for a good 40 minutes before someone came raging in. Angry voices sounded around the corridor and they were nearing closer. Something about apparating.
"One of you did this!" Snape snapped.
Eliza sprung from Madame Pomfrey's desk. "I beg your pardon? The door was locked this entire time! They need to rest."
The minister of magic looked at Eliza. "The door was locked this whole time?"
"Yes," Eliza said annoyed. "Ever since professor Dumbledore locked it 40 minutes ago."
"That adds up," the minster rubbed his forehead. "I visited Black shortly after professor Dumbledore was there. Goodness Black AND the creature… they're not going to be happy."
"What about my Order of Merlin?" Snape insisted.
"Well we can't give an order for something that we have no evidence for…"
Snape stormed off. Eliza felt her mouth go dry.
Sirius had escaped.
This time, she felt happy about someone breaking out of prison.
"He seems rather unbalanced, Dumbledore. You will need to keep an eye out for him," Fudge fidgeted. "The Prophet will have a field day with this! We had him cornered and then he slipped through our fingers!"
"And will you get rid of the Dementors?"
"Yes… I couldn't imagine how they would kiss an innocent child."
Poppy kicked out everyone that wasn't needed in the room. Eliza finally looked around to see if anything was out of place. Harry was grinning from ear to ear. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Mr. Potter," she said in a joking tone. "Care to share something with the class?"
"Oh nothing, professor. He's free."
"Certainly, he is."
Buckbeak is gone. Sirius is gone. Someone must have freed him in a very short time. Dumbledore must have been behind it.
"Eliza," Harry asked. "What will happen to Lupin?"
"Well, I'd have to go find him in the morning. He will be tired, cold, perhaps hungry and shocked. He will feel guilty –"
"But it wasn't his fault!"
"That doesn't stop him from being guilty," Eliza reasoned. "Besides, we went through so much effort and it was working, then it didn't. It will still work, but we'll have a hard time convincing Remus that he isn't a danger to anyone."
"That's not his fault," Harry said again.
"I know, Harry," Eliza poured a sleeping draft into a glass. "It's far too late now, and you nearly died tonight. One way or another. Go to sleep."
Many thoughts ran through her brain, but tonight she would be happy about one thing. Sirius was innocent. He wasn't a free man just yet, but more people knew about the truth.
She walked into the Forbidden Forest the next morning. On the way, she picked up the remnants of what happened last night – the map, the cloak, and found herself tracing the aftermath. She could see the footsteps in the grass which led to the Black Lake.
It was shortly before sunrise when Remus' body would morph back into a man. A centaur told her where to find him, warning her of his dangerous manner. With a kit in her hand, she walked upon the shrivelled-up body of Remus and brought his body on a stretcher. He was naked, but she was smart enough to bring a dress robe along. No one was up at this hour, especially not after all their exams were over. They'd be alone. Discrete. No one would know.
By the time Remus came to, Severus had let it slip during breakfast that Remus was a werewolf.
"It was bound to happen," Remus was propped up weakly against one of the pillows. "I could have killed someone last night. Even worse… turned them. I shouldn't have left so hastily."
"Stop blaming yourself. We have the truth now."
Remus sniffed at the tea she handed him. "What is this?"
"Chinese herbal tea. I can't give you potions all the time."
"No aspirin? No nothing?"
"Not today."
He looked remorseful. "I'm going to miss this, Eliza."
"You are not going to walk out of my life again," Eliza said firmly. "If anything, I will make sure to show up on your front door once every month – where ever you are, I will find you."
"Sure you will," he said softly. "Like you won't have a life after this. You're not going to have the time and certainly I won't let you waste all of your money on me."
"Waste my money so that you have a better life?" Eliza crossed her arms. "I assure you, some of the ingredients can be found far cheaper than most potions and herbal stores have. We can start growing them too."
"You're not changing things around for me –"
"I was not living a good life, Remus," Eliza thought about what Sirius had said. "I was comfortable. I did not like going out of that comfort zone. I wanted peace and I got it but at the price of losing everyone." She crossed her arms. "I need something else."
"And what do you need?"
"You."
He scoffed and he allowed himself to lay down again.
"You don't believe me?"
"Why would anyone need me?," he asked.
"For one, you are the most beloved DADA teacher," Eliza started. "You are extremely careful, think things through more or less, though you have the tendency to avoid situations like I do –"
"Oh come off it," Remus cut her off. "I was so ready to believe that Sirius was a murderer. You at least fought for him. I gave him up entirely."
"I don't blame you for that," Eliza patted his hand. "When they said that there was a traitor in the Order and that person was close…we all underestimated Peter. I didn't know who it was. I was far away from all of it, and I regret not being able to see it through a lot better. I was so used to pulling strings to that things would go right. Sirius was the one person I could never control, really. He has always been far from my grasp."
Remus grimaced. "If Sirius listened to anyone, he wouldn't be Sirius."
They sat in silence, the fire crackling the only sound in the room. It felt easier to talk to Remus.
Sometimes, she wondered if she should have fallen in love with Remus over Sirius. It would have at least saved her a little bit of hurt. But Remus didn't like her in that kind of way and Eliza could not force it.
"Do you still want to leave?" She asked.
Remus nodded."It's safer for everyone. No one will want a werewolf teaching their children."
"Even if you are the best?" she stood up. "I'll help you pack, if that's what you want."
Lupin, after a good hour of rest, joined her. They released the grindylow, and then gathered the clothing that was lying around. None of them wanted to do it with magic. All of the things that belonged to Lupin in the DADA classroom were gathered and packed neatly into his suitcase. The marauder's map was on the table. The last time she glanced at it, she saw that Harry, Ron and Hermione had been released from the hospital wing.
"Are you sure about this, Lupin?" Dumbledore checked in on them. "I told Fudge you were trying to help Harry."
"It's not about that, Dumbledore," Remus said weakly. "It's more…"
"Your pride?" He supplied. "A lot of things could have gone wrong last night, but lives were saved. The truth came to light."
"I-"
"Don't be mad about it. I am actually intrigued at how the four of you were able to do this without my knowing. It's quiet impressive, really."
Eliza snorted.
"Sirius is probably off continent by now," Dumbledore mused. "Perhaps we should tend to those wounds first when this year is all over, isn't that right?"
He looked between his two former students.
"I know that perhaps our actions during the war caused distress. Maybe I shouldn't have sent you so far away on a fruitless mission, and you so close to the enemy," Dumbledore folded his hands in front of him. "I see that now."
"We can't turn back time, can we?"
"Actually, we can," Dumbledore answered Eliza. "But it is best not to dwell on the past."
It was around noon when Harry came knocking on the door. He came knowing he couldn't change Lupin's mind. It was there that Lupin gave him the map.
"I'm not your teacher anymore, so I won't feel bad. And –" he produced the invisibility cloak as well.
"You said that the makers of the map would want to lure me out of the school," Harry said in an amused tone.
"We would have found it funny and I am certain James would be mad if he own son didn't know about the secrets of Hogwarts," he smiled. Remus swung his wand around and the last of his things packed themselves into his luggage and closed itself. Dumbledore came again to tell Remus that his carriage had arrived.
"My carriage awaits," Remus said. He gave a nod to Harry and then, when it came to Eliza, he froze.
Eliza rolled her eyes and gave him a peck on the cheek.
"I'll find you after the term has ended," she warned. "Don't go hiding, you."
He hurried out of there.
The rest of the week went in a blur. A lot of students were sad to see Professor Lupin go, and everyone seemed to be in a strange mood. On the night before the Hogwarts Express would leave, she received a letter. It bore the Shafiq family crest and was delivered by a hawk, which told her everything she needed to know. He had made it into the mansion just fine.
"Will I see you again?" Harry seemed bummed out ever since Remus left.
"I'll write, you rascal," she pinched his cheeks. "Besides, officially I still live nearby. You should visit Figgs sometime, I think your uncle would prefer it if she was around."
"But I don't want to hang out with Figgs," Harry crossed his arm. "And most certainly Uncle Vernon won't let me if he knows you're there. He likes it when I don't have fun."
She smiled weakly. "You'll see me just fine somehow. I heard you will be going to the Quidditch Cup final?"
"Yes! Will you be there?"
"Absolutely," she squeezed Harry and watched as the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station.
It was quiet now. She gathered her things at the castle. Then, she closed her eyes and clutched her wand, feeling the pull in her stomach.
Privet Drive did not change at all in the time she was away. She was alone. All alone. After spending a year living in a castle filled with hundreds of students, there was only the sound of dripping water from the sink. The house had been lived in – she had rented it out to people, after all. But now, more than ever, after having nearly everything back again, it felt empty.
