FIC: Once in a Blue Moon - Ch 22 (WIP)
Start of the story, including summary, full ratings, warnings, pairings etc. Here
Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognise. J K Rowling retains all copyright.
To Fight For the Right (PG)
Remus sat quietly in his seat as the teachers argued his fate. He wished that Sirius was still at his side, though he had no idea what the other boy could have done to help him…other than be there beside him, offering him support.
Finally, it seemed that a decision was reached.
“Come along, Remus,” Dumbledore said. “We’ll floo directly to the Ministry, and Professor Spion will follow us.”
“I’m coming too,” Madam Pomfrey insisted. “There’s no telling how long it’ll take you to get through the red tape, and I’m not leaving the poor boy alone with him.”
“Very well,” agreed Dumbledore, much to the obvious dismay of Professor Spion.
Remus stood up and watched Dumbledore use the floo powder to travel to the Ministry.
“You know what to do?” Pomfrey asked kindly.
Remus nodded and took a handful of powder. He’d never travelled by floo before, at least not that he could ever remember, but it didn’t seem like there was much to it.
“Make sure you speak very clearly,” Professor Spion warned. “Don’t think you can give us the slip by mumbling, we’ll still find you.”
“Really, Professor,” McGonagall muttered. “Does the boy look like he’s about to go on the run?”
“It’s been on the run for years already,” Spion snapped. “I’m just warning it that if it tries anything now it won’t get very far.”
Remus nodded and stepped into the fireplace. He spoke clearly and felt the world begin to spin. A few moments later he arrived at the Ministry of Magic, where Albus Dumbledore awaited him.
“Remus, listen to me carefully,” Dumbledore advised. “We don’t have much time before Professor Spion joins us here. I’m going to do everything I can to help you, you must believe that. But in the hearing I may suggest something that you will find shocking, you mustn’t interrupt me, nor argue against what I suggest. Do you understand?”
“Not really,” Remus replied with a frown of confusion. “What is it you’re going to say?”
“I can’t explain just yet. I need to speak with someone first. I was hoping we would have a little more time before this day arrived. Poppy will be here shortly and she’ll take care of you until I return. Now, I must have your word to let me do what I must to help you.”
“I promise,” Remus whispered.
“Very good.”
Dumbledore nodded firmly just as Poppy Pomfrey stepped out of the fireplace. “Obnoxious little man tried to push me aside to come through first,” she huffed loudly. “Obviously they don’t teach good manners in Durmstrang these days.”
“I doubt it is the school that’s at fault,” Dumbledore replied in an undertone that Remus suspected wasn’t for his ears, but caught nonetheless.
“I’ll take good care of him,” Poppy promised.
“Try to delay things as much as you can,” Dumbledore asked. “It’ll take me at least an hour to get everything ready.”
Poppy nodded and pulled Remus close to her side. “I think the boy’s looking rather peaky, don’t you think? Perhaps a full medical examination is in order? It could be something highly contagious like Dragon Pox, and it’d be such a shame to expose everyone to it.”
“Dragon Pox?” Spion asked as he stepped from the fireplace. “Who’s got Dragon Pox?”
“I think perhaps Remus might be coming down with it,” Poppy suggested as Dumbledore took his leave and stepped across the atrium towards a fireplace that was well out of earshot of the others.
Spion barely seemed to notice Dumbledore departing, as he looked Remus up and down suspiciously. “It looks perfectly fine to me.”
“Are you a qualified Healer?” asked Poppy, her tone of voice making it perfectly clear that she already knew the answer to the question.
“This is just a ploy to squander time and put off the inevitable,” Spion argued. “I suggest we waste no further time and report to the Werewolf Capture Unit immediately.”
Spion directed himself and Poppy to walk ahead of him, clearly not wanting to let them out of his sight, and they made their way towards the nearest lift.
“Now, isn’t that beautiful,” Poppy announced as they approached a large fountain. Poppy stopped Remus, much to Spion’s annoyance, as she told him a little history about the Fountain of Magical Brethren. “Of course, you know the local centaur herd personally, don’t you?” she asked.
“Just a few of them really,” Remus admitted quietly so that Spion couldn’t hear him. He didn’t want to get his friends within the herd into any trouble. “Firenze is only a few years older than me, so we hang out sometimes.”
“I don’t believe I’ve met him, although I’ve heard nothing but good things about his father. I believe the centaur who posed for this sculpture was one of their ancestors.”
“Is the guided tour really necessary?” Spion snapped impatiently as he came up behind them.
“I just thought he might be interested in a little history,” Poppy replied with a small shrug. “The fountain is a symbol of unity amongst all creatures.”
“Really?” Spion asked with a raise of an eyebrow. “Because from where I’m standing I don’t see a werewolf in the quartet. Or maybe I missed it?”
“Werewolves are human most of the time,” Poppy pointed out. “They are represented by the wizard, as I’m sure you already know.”
“Foolish sentimentality,” Spion spat. “Come on, the lift has just arrived.”
Remus could tell that Poppy was torn between stalling a little longer or walking towards the lift. Eventually, she seemed to reach the decision that hovering around the fountain might result in her being pushed into it, and she ushered Remus towards the lift.
“Why are some of the owls different colours?” Remus asked as a blue owl entered the lift with them and a green one flew out.
“The coloured owls are for messages between the different Ministry departments,” Spion explained. He seemed far more willing to impart his knowledge about the Ministry now that they were actually moving towards their destination again.
“Where’s this blue one going?” Remus asked.
“I don’t know,” Spion admitted. “But blue owls are from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Horrible, messy creatures; the Ministry is looking at other ways of internal communication.”
“Is the Law Department where we’re going?”
Spion shook his head. “No, we’re going to the Werewolf Capture Unit, which is part of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Magical Law Enforcement deals with proper wizards not animals.”
“I am a proper wizard,” Remus muttered under his breath.
“I think you’ll find that the members of the Wizengamot, in whose hands your fate lies, don’t share that opinion.”
Remus reached up to pet the owl, which was perched on a railing with several other birds. “Ow!” he squealed as it bit into his finger.
“You see,” Spion crowed. “Animals sense dangerous creatures and react accordingly.”
Remus sucked on his finger and ducked his head. Maybe Professor Spion was right. Maybe he wasn’t anything more than an animal.
He didn’t have long to dwell on his thoughts. Poppy reached down and examined his hand carefully. “Oooh, that looks quite nasty. We should get it treated right away. Nasty things owl bites, we get so many at Hogwarts, but this one looks really bad.” She turned to Professor Spion, her face all business. “We should go to the nearest Healer Station before we go to your department.” It sounded like a suggestion, but Remus could hear the commanding order in her tone.
“It’s barely a scratch,” Spion scoffed.
“It’s a bite, and they can get infected if they’re not treated properly and promptly.”
Remus privately agreed with Professor Spion that the bite was hardly worth bothering about. He had suffered far worse injuries and had the scars to prove it. Remus wasn’t stupid though, and he knew exactly what Poppy was playing at. He gave a small pitiful whine, playing up the bite to the best of his ability.
“Make it quick,” Spion barked as they stepped out of the lift and turned down the corridor for the nearest Healer Station.
“Poppy!” the healer at the desk exclaimed with a bright smile and a slight French accent. “What brings you here today? I didn’t think Hogwarts had broken up yet.”
“The Express is on its way to London as we speak,” Poppy replied. “How are you doing here? Settling in well?”
“Wonderfully. Everyone’s so friendly and helpful. I’m still learning my way around though. The Ministry is huge compared to my last place.”
“I’m sure you’ll soon learn the ropes,” Poppy assured her. “And how are things with your beau upstairs?”
“Not good,” the healer replied with a small sob. “I think he’s cheating on me with one of the Auror trainers.”
“Oh, you poor thing,” Poppy sympathised. “He’s obviously a fool.”
“If we could get back to the matter at hand,” Spion insisted. He glared at the two healers, his harsh gaze finally landing on the young witch at the desk. “We don’t have all day to discuss your love life.”
The healer on the desk promptly burst into tears and Poppy turned to scowl at Spion. “Now look at what you’ve done!”
Remus skulked in the background, wondering whether the Healer had been notified prior to their arrival to put on a bit of a time-wasting show, or whether her unfortunate boyfriend problems were merely a stroke of good luck for him. He felt slightly guilty as soon as the thought occurred to him, and hoped that it was the former.
Ten minutes of sobbing and wailing ensued before Remus’s finger was even looked at. Then Poppy and the Ministry’s Healer debated for a further five minutes on which was the most appropriate course of action for Remus, the walking wounded.
“Don’t you think he’s looking a little peaky?” Poppy suggested. “I’m thinking maybe he should be checked for Dragon Pox.”
“You think so?” the healer asked. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen a case before the second stage is reached.”
Poppy nodded knowingly. “Do you notice the greenish tinge to the complexion?”
“Now you mention it.” The healer nodded. “Have you been feeling nauseous?”
Remus nodded, quite truthfully. The longer they played for time, the more anxious he felt. He didn’t bother to elaborate on the origins of his queasiness.
“Perhaps we should get him admitted to St Mungo’s?” the healer suggested with a cautious glance at Spion.
“Absolutely not!” Spion snapped. “I’ll suffer no more of this nonsense. We’re expected at the Werewolf Capture Unit.”
“You are?” the healer asked, frowning in confusion. “There are some awfully dodgy characters hanging round that department. Do you think it wise to take a young boy in there?”
“The ‘young boy’ is the werewolf,” Spion informed her coldly. “And I must insist we waste no further time on trivialities.”
Remus barely heard the rest of the argument. The only thing that he was taking in were the eyes of the healer as Spion’s words registered in her mind. The kindly face of a moment ago had vanished, replaced by a cold glare that Remus recoiled from. The hand that had so recently tended the tiny owl bite was now gripping her wand purposefully, poised for defence.
“Come along Remus,” Poppy quietly urged. “I’ll stop by again, dear,” she told the healer as she steered Remus back down the corridor. Remus risked a glance back at the healer and felt his heart sink at the horror and fear so evident on her face.
They arrived at the Werewolf Capture Unit a short while later and Remus felt a comforting hand gripping his arm. “Try not to worry,” Poppy murmured as Professor Spion approached one of the staff in the department. “Professor Dumbledore has a plan, we just need to give him time to get back. Now, I know you can read, but perhaps it might be better if you struggled a little. Being poorly educated might buy us a little more time.”
Remus looked up at Poppy who gave him a small smile and a wink. He smiled back weakly and waited for Professor Spion to wave them over to one of the offices.
“Once the forms are filled in, they’ll be sent to the head of the department. He’ll check the warrant is still effective and that’ll be that.”
“You despicable little man,” Poppy snapped with a frown. “Speaking so callously about someone’s life.”
“It’s a werewolf.” Professor Spion waved them towards the seats and sat down at the desk. “Full name please?”
Remus looked at Poppy, who nodded slightly.
“Remus Lupin.”
“Middle name?”
“Erm…”
“It’s John,” Spion snapped impatiently. “Surely you know that?”
“If you knew, why did you ask me?” Remus muttered.
“In case of mistaken identity. You must confirm your details for the forms.”
“What if I lied and said I was someone else?”
“That would be very unwise,” Spion warned. “Considering your situation, it would be very unwise indeed. Now, confirm your full name please.”
“Remus John Lupin.”
“Age?”
“Fourteen years, three months, er…”
“That’s fine. Date of birth?”
“March the tenth.”
“And the year?”
“I’m not very good at counting,” Remus lied.
“1960,” Spion muttered, adding it to the form. He didn’t bother to comment on Remus’s lack of mathematical skills. Apparently it was to be expected.
“Place of residence…well, how long have you been hiding out amongst the normal children at Hogwarts?”
“I…” Remus ducked his head again. Spion made it sound like he had no right to be anywhere near boys his own age. If the reaction of the healer earlier was any indication, he wasn’t the only one who shared that opinion. Perhaps his friends were simply too young to know better.
“How long?” Spion asked again. “It’s not that difficult a question.”
“I don’t know,” Remus whispered. “I wasn’t well when I first arrived. I don’t know when it was exactly.” He didn’t meet Spion’s eyes as he bluffed his way through the question. Although it wasn’t entirely a lie, he could easily give him the answer he wanted if he merely confirmed that it was immediately after the December full moon.
Remus played up his ignorance as much as possible as they worked their way through the various forms. He could tell that time was getting on and he hoped that Professor Dumbledore would return soon. He didn’t know how long it would take for the forms to be processed, but he suspected it wouldn’t take that long.
He waited with Poppy as Professor Spion hurried out of the office with the paperwork.
“What would have happened if I’d refused to give him the answers?” he asked curiously.
“Then you’d have been treated as a hostile capture and they’d have brought the Aurors in immediately,” Poppy explained. “You did very well to drag things out so long.”
“Do you think Professor Dumbledore is back yet?”
“I suspect he’s on his way, if he isn’t back already. It’s been nearly three hours.”
“It has?”
“Almost,” Poppy confirmed. “Thank goodness for the reams of paperwork that the Ministry insists on inflicting on everyone these days.”
A few minutes more passed before the door to the office slammed back against the wall. “It seems that whilst we’ve been working our way through the paperwork, Albus Dumbledore has applied for a custody hearing under the new Familial Ties legislation,” Professor Spion snarled. “We’re wanted in room five in ten minutes.”
“What’s the Familial Ties thing?” Remus asked.
“It means Professor Dumbledore has done what he set out to do,” Poppy replied with a grim smile. “Come along, no sense wasting time sitting around here.”
“Sure,” Spion sneered. “Now you don’t want to waste time.”
Poppy ignored him as she ushered Remus out of the door and back towards the lifts once more.
Room five was two floors and several long corridors away, but they made the journey in less than five minutes. Dumbledore was waiting outside the door with a serious expression on his face. “Thank you, Poppy,” he said with a small nod.
“Do you have it?” Poppy asked quietly.
“I do. I just need to convince everyone in this room that this is the best course of action.”
“I’m sure you can do it.”
“I’m afraid I cannot share your optimism,” Dumbledore sighed. “The three members of the Wizengamot who are hearing the application are not known for their broadmindedness.”
Remus chewed on his lip and cast a darting glance down the corridor. Doing a runner had never looked so tempting. Somehow he’d always thought that Dumbledore would have the answer to all his problems, but if the formidable headmaster was unsure, then it shook his own faith. The idea that things would turn out for the best seemed little more than a vague dream.
The room where the application was to be heard was nothing like Remus had been expecting. Sirius had told him - after a great deal of pestering from Remus - about Romulus’s trial before the Wizengamot, and he had been expecting a similar room full of people looking down on him and deciding his fate.
Instead, there were two witches and one wizard sitting at a circular table in a fairly small room that bore a slight resemblance to Professor McGonagall’s office. He glanced at the bookcases lining the wall but was unable to linger for long. Poppy steered him to a seat next to her and Professor Dumbledore took the seat on his other side. He looked across the table at the elder of the two witches and tried to catch her eye. He thought might be the grandmotherly type; not that he had any experience with grandmothers. Unfortunately, the woman seemed to be engrossed in her paperwork, that or she simply didn’t want to look at him.
“Where’s the applicant?” Professor Spion asked as he took a seat between the younger witch and the wizard on the other side of the table.
“He’s right where he’s been since his capture,” Dumbledore replied easily. “His application is on paper only. It was considered to be for the best.”
“Quite right,” the witch who appeared to be in charge of hearing the application commented. At least Remus thought she was the one in charge. She certainly seemed to have the largest stack of books and parchment in front of her, and it was to her that Dumbledore addressed his remarks.
The witch looked at the thickest roll of parchment and skimmed it quickly. “The Familial Ties law was introduced primarily for the vampire community, in order that any vampire who chooses can apply to have a vampire they have sired be treated as family and next of kin in the case of any emergency. That vampire would also be able to override the wishes of any living relatives of the applicant were they to differ.”
“The law doesn’t specifically state that it can only be used by vampires,” Dumbledore pointed out quietly. “The wording is open to interpretation and many werewolves consider those who they have turned to be family.”
“Not all of them,” Spion retorted.
The witch in charge turned to glare at Spion. Remus guessed he either wasn’t very popular at the Ministry, or he simply shouldn’t have been talking out of turn. Either way he couldn’t stop the small smile that appeared on his face at the silent reprimand.
“Albus,” the witch continued, turning back to the headmaster with a sigh. “Although I agree that many werewolves consider their pack as family, the applicant has always been a loner, and a particularly vicious one at that. To turn a child over to his care would be reprehensible.”
“If you don’t, that same child will be turned over to the executioners,” Dumbledore replied calmly.
Remus felt his hands begin to shake as the word executioners echoed through the room. He felt Poppy place a warm hand over his own and he squeezed her fingers slightly in acknowledgement of her support.
“You are asking that the child be allowed to be brought up by the very creature who made him what he is, and could, if given the opportunity, guide him and encourage him to be an even more cold-blooded killer than he is himself.”
“As you are already aware, the applicant was taken prisoner by the Werewolf Capture Unit late last year. He is not in a position to be influential in that manner.”
The younger witch cleared her throat and Remus turned to look at her. She appeared nervous but her voice was strong and steady as she addressed Dumbledore. “Why has the applicant made the application, if not to try to mould the young boy into a monster like himself?”
“Since his capture in December, the applicant has been kept in total isolation within the Dangerous Creatures Camp. As a guardian to Remus he would be allowed certain freedoms.”
“Surely you’re not suggesting he be released to take care of the boy?” the witch asked, her eyes widening in shock.
“Certainly not,” Dumbledore replied with a shake of his head. “But by making the application he is showing more humanity than he has so far. Enough that he may be, in a few months time, integrated into the main quarters of the Camp in which he resides. He would still be a prisoner of course, but would be treated like any other resident.”
“So you’ve bribed him into making the application?” the wizard, who had until this point remained mostly silent, asked.
“Hardly a bribe,” Dumbledore argued calmly. “I have no control over whether he will be integrated into the main Camp, I only gave him a choice that may lead to that possibility.”
“If we were to grant the application, where would the boy live?” the elder witch asked.
“The applicant has agreed that he will pay for Remus’s education at Hogwarts, and as headmaster I would be happy to have him with us.” Dumbledore turned to smile at Remus. “Arrangements can be made for him to return to his home in Hogsmeade on the nights of the full moon, and he would be no danger to the other students.”
Hogwarts? If the application was granted, he could go to Hogwarts?
Remus shifted impatiently in his seat and subtly crossed his fingers in hopeful anticipation. They didn’t sound like they were just going to usher him into the next room and kill him. They sounded like they were actually considering what Dumbledore was saying.
A small part of him was concerned that the werewolf who had bitten him was being put in charge of his life, but when the alternative were the parents who wanted him dead…well, there was no doubt in his mind who he should be rooting for.
As the adults debated how long the rest of his life was going to be, he wondered what the werewolf who had bitten him was like. It didn’t sound like he was a particularly nice person but Remus knew better than anyone that on the night of the full moon there was nothing he, nor any other werewolf, could do to control his or her actions.
He wondered if he would be expected to live in a Dangerous Creatures Camp during the holidays or whether he could stay at Hogwarts all year round. Maybe he could even stay at his home in Hogsmeade with Romulus?
He was idly contemplating what he would say to the older werewolf if he were to meet him when he felt a hand resting on his shoulder.
He looked up at Albus Dumbledore who was smiling down at him kindly. “You agree to this course of action, don’t you Remus?”
Remus blinked a time or two, wondering what he had missed whilst his mind had been wandering. He nodded weakly.
“Then the applicant is granted,” the witch in charge announced. “As of this day Remus John Lupin’s legal guardian is the applicant, Fenrir Greyback. Albus?”
Dumbledore nodded in response to the prompt that he was apparently expecting. “As the legal guardian of Remus John Lupin, Fenrir Greyback has authorised me to apply for the warrant of execution to be retracted immediately.”
“Application granted,” the witch replied promptly, much to the dismay of Professor Spion.
At that Madam Pomfrey gave a thoroughly undignified whoop and threw her arms around Remus. “I knew you’d do it!” she exclaimed to Dumbledore as her eyes began to water.
-o-xXx-o-
Sirius trailed after his father as they walked through the front door of Grimmauld Place. The prank on the train had never taken place and he’d spent the whole journey worrying about what was happening to Remus. James and Peter had been almost as downcast as him, and for the first time Sirius truly accepted that the other two Gryffindors were just as concerned for his friend as he was, and were true friends.
James had assured him that Remus would be fine, because Dumbledore was the greatest wizard in the world and he wouldn’t let anything happen to him, but Sirius was still more worried than he had ever been in his life.
Now, back at Grimmauld Place, it seemed that Remus had never been further away from him. His two-way mirror was still in his trunk, but he knew that Remus would be unable to reply to his calls for some time to come…if ever.
“Don’t know what the world’s coming to!” Walburga ranted as soon as they’d closed the door. “Have you seen the Evening Prophet?”
Orion shook his head, clearly confused.
“That ridiculous new law they passed earlier this month,” Walburga elaborated. “Dumbledore has invoked it to give some werewolf custody of another one.”
“I don’t see what that has to do with us,” Orion replied, even as Sirius’s heart seemed to stop. It had to be Remus they were talking about, but what did this news mean for his friend?
“Don’t you?” Walburga asked. “Well, maybe you’ll think differently when you realise that the young werewolf will be at Hogwarts next term? He’s Sirius’s age and could easily be sharing a dormitory with him.”
“Sirius can take care of himself,” Orion announced. “Or would you rather he change schools?”
“It’s something to consider,” Walburga contemplated. “Durmstrang has possibilities.”
“No!” Sirius exclaimed. “I like Hogwarts, my friends are there. I don’t want to change schools.”
“You’re not old enough to make that decision,” Walburga told him sternly. “We’ll consider it over the summer.”
Sirius glared at his parents and bolted for the stairs. He pushed Kreacher aside as he slammed into his room and threw himself onto his bed.
It simply wasn’t fair. Remus - it couldn’t be any other werewolf - was going to go to Hogwarts and his parents wanted to consider sending him somewhere else instead.
Chapter 23
Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognise. J K Rowling retains all copyright.
To Fight For the Right (PG)
Remus sat quietly in his seat as the teachers argued his fate. He wished that Sirius was still at his side, though he had no idea what the other boy could have done to help him…other than be there beside him, offering him support.
Finally, it seemed that a decision was reached.
“Come along, Remus,” Dumbledore said. “We’ll floo directly to the Ministry, and Professor Spion will follow us.”
“I’m coming too,” Madam Pomfrey insisted. “There’s no telling how long it’ll take you to get through the red tape, and I’m not leaving the poor boy alone with him.”
“Very well,” agreed Dumbledore, much to the obvious dismay of Professor Spion.
Remus stood up and watched Dumbledore use the floo powder to travel to the Ministry.
“You know what to do?” Pomfrey asked kindly.
Remus nodded and took a handful of powder. He’d never travelled by floo before, at least not that he could ever remember, but it didn’t seem like there was much to it.
“Make sure you speak very clearly,” Professor Spion warned. “Don’t think you can give us the slip by mumbling, we’ll still find you.”
“Really, Professor,” McGonagall muttered. “Does the boy look like he’s about to go on the run?”
“It’s been on the run for years already,” Spion snapped. “I’m just warning it that if it tries anything now it won’t get very far.”
Remus nodded and stepped into the fireplace. He spoke clearly and felt the world begin to spin. A few moments later he arrived at the Ministry of Magic, where Albus Dumbledore awaited him.
“Remus, listen to me carefully,” Dumbledore advised. “We don’t have much time before Professor Spion joins us here. I’m going to do everything I can to help you, you must believe that. But in the hearing I may suggest something that you will find shocking, you mustn’t interrupt me, nor argue against what I suggest. Do you understand?”
“Not really,” Remus replied with a frown of confusion. “What is it you’re going to say?”
“I can’t explain just yet. I need to speak with someone first. I was hoping we would have a little more time before this day arrived. Poppy will be here shortly and she’ll take care of you until I return. Now, I must have your word to let me do what I must to help you.”
“I promise,” Remus whispered.
“Very good.”
Dumbledore nodded firmly just as Poppy Pomfrey stepped out of the fireplace. “Obnoxious little man tried to push me aside to come through first,” she huffed loudly. “Obviously they don’t teach good manners in Durmstrang these days.”
“I doubt it is the school that’s at fault,” Dumbledore replied in an undertone that Remus suspected wasn’t for his ears, but caught nonetheless.
“I’ll take good care of him,” Poppy promised.
“Try to delay things as much as you can,” Dumbledore asked. “It’ll take me at least an hour to get everything ready.”
Poppy nodded and pulled Remus close to her side. “I think the boy’s looking rather peaky, don’t you think? Perhaps a full medical examination is in order? It could be something highly contagious like Dragon Pox, and it’d be such a shame to expose everyone to it.”
“Dragon Pox?” Spion asked as he stepped from the fireplace. “Who’s got Dragon Pox?”
“I think perhaps Remus might be coming down with it,” Poppy suggested as Dumbledore took his leave and stepped across the atrium towards a fireplace that was well out of earshot of the others.
Spion barely seemed to notice Dumbledore departing, as he looked Remus up and down suspiciously. “It looks perfectly fine to me.”
“Are you a qualified Healer?” asked Poppy, her tone of voice making it perfectly clear that she already knew the answer to the question.
“This is just a ploy to squander time and put off the inevitable,” Spion argued. “I suggest we waste no further time and report to the Werewolf Capture Unit immediately.”
Spion directed himself and Poppy to walk ahead of him, clearly not wanting to let them out of his sight, and they made their way towards the nearest lift.
“Now, isn’t that beautiful,” Poppy announced as they approached a large fountain. Poppy stopped Remus, much to Spion’s annoyance, as she told him a little history about the Fountain of Magical Brethren. “Of course, you know the local centaur herd personally, don’t you?” she asked.
“Just a few of them really,” Remus admitted quietly so that Spion couldn’t hear him. He didn’t want to get his friends within the herd into any trouble. “Firenze is only a few years older than me, so we hang out sometimes.”
“I don’t believe I’ve met him, although I’ve heard nothing but good things about his father. I believe the centaur who posed for this sculpture was one of their ancestors.”
“Is the guided tour really necessary?” Spion snapped impatiently as he came up behind them.
“I just thought he might be interested in a little history,” Poppy replied with a small shrug. “The fountain is a symbol of unity amongst all creatures.”
“Really?” Spion asked with a raise of an eyebrow. “Because from where I’m standing I don’t see a werewolf in the quartet. Or maybe I missed it?”
“Werewolves are human most of the time,” Poppy pointed out. “They are represented by the wizard, as I’m sure you already know.”
“Foolish sentimentality,” Spion spat. “Come on, the lift has just arrived.”
Remus could tell that Poppy was torn between stalling a little longer or walking towards the lift. Eventually, she seemed to reach the decision that hovering around the fountain might result in her being pushed into it, and she ushered Remus towards the lift.
“Why are some of the owls different colours?” Remus asked as a blue owl entered the lift with them and a green one flew out.
“The coloured owls are for messages between the different Ministry departments,” Spion explained. He seemed far more willing to impart his knowledge about the Ministry now that they were actually moving towards their destination again.
“Where’s this blue one going?” Remus asked.
“I don’t know,” Spion admitted. “But blue owls are from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Horrible, messy creatures; the Ministry is looking at other ways of internal communication.”
“Is the Law Department where we’re going?”
Spion shook his head. “No, we’re going to the Werewolf Capture Unit, which is part of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Magical Law Enforcement deals with proper wizards not animals.”
“I am a proper wizard,” Remus muttered under his breath.
“I think you’ll find that the members of the Wizengamot, in whose hands your fate lies, don’t share that opinion.”
Remus reached up to pet the owl, which was perched on a railing with several other birds. “Ow!” he squealed as it bit into his finger.
“You see,” Spion crowed. “Animals sense dangerous creatures and react accordingly.”
Remus sucked on his finger and ducked his head. Maybe Professor Spion was right. Maybe he wasn’t anything more than an animal.
He didn’t have long to dwell on his thoughts. Poppy reached down and examined his hand carefully. “Oooh, that looks quite nasty. We should get it treated right away. Nasty things owl bites, we get so many at Hogwarts, but this one looks really bad.” She turned to Professor Spion, her face all business. “We should go to the nearest Healer Station before we go to your department.” It sounded like a suggestion, but Remus could hear the commanding order in her tone.
“It’s barely a scratch,” Spion scoffed.
“It’s a bite, and they can get infected if they’re not treated properly and promptly.”
Remus privately agreed with Professor Spion that the bite was hardly worth bothering about. He had suffered far worse injuries and had the scars to prove it. Remus wasn’t stupid though, and he knew exactly what Poppy was playing at. He gave a small pitiful whine, playing up the bite to the best of his ability.
“Make it quick,” Spion barked as they stepped out of the lift and turned down the corridor for the nearest Healer Station.
“Poppy!” the healer at the desk exclaimed with a bright smile and a slight French accent. “What brings you here today? I didn’t think Hogwarts had broken up yet.”
“The Express is on its way to London as we speak,” Poppy replied. “How are you doing here? Settling in well?”
“Wonderfully. Everyone’s so friendly and helpful. I’m still learning my way around though. The Ministry is huge compared to my last place.”
“I’m sure you’ll soon learn the ropes,” Poppy assured her. “And how are things with your beau upstairs?”
“Not good,” the healer replied with a small sob. “I think he’s cheating on me with one of the Auror trainers.”
“Oh, you poor thing,” Poppy sympathised. “He’s obviously a fool.”
“If we could get back to the matter at hand,” Spion insisted. He glared at the two healers, his harsh gaze finally landing on the young witch at the desk. “We don’t have all day to discuss your love life.”
The healer on the desk promptly burst into tears and Poppy turned to scowl at Spion. “Now look at what you’ve done!”
Remus skulked in the background, wondering whether the Healer had been notified prior to their arrival to put on a bit of a time-wasting show, or whether her unfortunate boyfriend problems were merely a stroke of good luck for him. He felt slightly guilty as soon as the thought occurred to him, and hoped that it was the former.
Ten minutes of sobbing and wailing ensued before Remus’s finger was even looked at. Then Poppy and the Ministry’s Healer debated for a further five minutes on which was the most appropriate course of action for Remus, the walking wounded.
“Don’t you think he’s looking a little peaky?” Poppy suggested. “I’m thinking maybe he should be checked for Dragon Pox.”
“You think so?” the healer asked. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen a case before the second stage is reached.”
Poppy nodded knowingly. “Do you notice the greenish tinge to the complexion?”
“Now you mention it.” The healer nodded. “Have you been feeling nauseous?”
Remus nodded, quite truthfully. The longer they played for time, the more anxious he felt. He didn’t bother to elaborate on the origins of his queasiness.
“Perhaps we should get him admitted to St Mungo’s?” the healer suggested with a cautious glance at Spion.
“Absolutely not!” Spion snapped. “I’ll suffer no more of this nonsense. We’re expected at the Werewolf Capture Unit.”
“You are?” the healer asked, frowning in confusion. “There are some awfully dodgy characters hanging round that department. Do you think it wise to take a young boy in there?”
“The ‘young boy’ is the werewolf,” Spion informed her coldly. “And I must insist we waste no further time on trivialities.”
Remus barely heard the rest of the argument. The only thing that he was taking in were the eyes of the healer as Spion’s words registered in her mind. The kindly face of a moment ago had vanished, replaced by a cold glare that Remus recoiled from. The hand that had so recently tended the tiny owl bite was now gripping her wand purposefully, poised for defence.
“Come along Remus,” Poppy quietly urged. “I’ll stop by again, dear,” she told the healer as she steered Remus back down the corridor. Remus risked a glance back at the healer and felt his heart sink at the horror and fear so evident on her face.
They arrived at the Werewolf Capture Unit a short while later and Remus felt a comforting hand gripping his arm. “Try not to worry,” Poppy murmured as Professor Spion approached one of the staff in the department. “Professor Dumbledore has a plan, we just need to give him time to get back. Now, I know you can read, but perhaps it might be better if you struggled a little. Being poorly educated might buy us a little more time.”
Remus looked up at Poppy who gave him a small smile and a wink. He smiled back weakly and waited for Professor Spion to wave them over to one of the offices.
“Once the forms are filled in, they’ll be sent to the head of the department. He’ll check the warrant is still effective and that’ll be that.”
“You despicable little man,” Poppy snapped with a frown. “Speaking so callously about someone’s life.”
“It’s a werewolf.” Professor Spion waved them towards the seats and sat down at the desk. “Full name please?”
Remus looked at Poppy, who nodded slightly.
“Remus Lupin.”
“Middle name?”
“Erm…”
“It’s John,” Spion snapped impatiently. “Surely you know that?”
“If you knew, why did you ask me?” Remus muttered.
“In case of mistaken identity. You must confirm your details for the forms.”
“What if I lied and said I was someone else?”
“That would be very unwise,” Spion warned. “Considering your situation, it would be very unwise indeed. Now, confirm your full name please.”
“Remus John Lupin.”
“Age?”
“Fourteen years, three months, er…”
“That’s fine. Date of birth?”
“March the tenth.”
“And the year?”
“I’m not very good at counting,” Remus lied.
“1960,” Spion muttered, adding it to the form. He didn’t bother to comment on Remus’s lack of mathematical skills. Apparently it was to be expected.
“Place of residence…well, how long have you been hiding out amongst the normal children at Hogwarts?”
“I…” Remus ducked his head again. Spion made it sound like he had no right to be anywhere near boys his own age. If the reaction of the healer earlier was any indication, he wasn’t the only one who shared that opinion. Perhaps his friends were simply too young to know better.
“How long?” Spion asked again. “It’s not that difficult a question.”
“I don’t know,” Remus whispered. “I wasn’t well when I first arrived. I don’t know when it was exactly.” He didn’t meet Spion’s eyes as he bluffed his way through the question. Although it wasn’t entirely a lie, he could easily give him the answer he wanted if he merely confirmed that it was immediately after the December full moon.
Remus played up his ignorance as much as possible as they worked their way through the various forms. He could tell that time was getting on and he hoped that Professor Dumbledore would return soon. He didn’t know how long it would take for the forms to be processed, but he suspected it wouldn’t take that long.
He waited with Poppy as Professor Spion hurried out of the office with the paperwork.
“What would have happened if I’d refused to give him the answers?” he asked curiously.
“Then you’d have been treated as a hostile capture and they’d have brought the Aurors in immediately,” Poppy explained. “You did very well to drag things out so long.”
“Do you think Professor Dumbledore is back yet?”
“I suspect he’s on his way, if he isn’t back already. It’s been nearly three hours.”
“It has?”
“Almost,” Poppy confirmed. “Thank goodness for the reams of paperwork that the Ministry insists on inflicting on everyone these days.”
A few minutes more passed before the door to the office slammed back against the wall. “It seems that whilst we’ve been working our way through the paperwork, Albus Dumbledore has applied for a custody hearing under the new Familial Ties legislation,” Professor Spion snarled. “We’re wanted in room five in ten minutes.”
“What’s the Familial Ties thing?” Remus asked.
“It means Professor Dumbledore has done what he set out to do,” Poppy replied with a grim smile. “Come along, no sense wasting time sitting around here.”
“Sure,” Spion sneered. “Now you don’t want to waste time.”
Poppy ignored him as she ushered Remus out of the door and back towards the lifts once more.
Room five was two floors and several long corridors away, but they made the journey in less than five minutes. Dumbledore was waiting outside the door with a serious expression on his face. “Thank you, Poppy,” he said with a small nod.
“Do you have it?” Poppy asked quietly.
“I do. I just need to convince everyone in this room that this is the best course of action.”
“I’m sure you can do it.”
“I’m afraid I cannot share your optimism,” Dumbledore sighed. “The three members of the Wizengamot who are hearing the application are not known for their broadmindedness.”
Remus chewed on his lip and cast a darting glance down the corridor. Doing a runner had never looked so tempting. Somehow he’d always thought that Dumbledore would have the answer to all his problems, but if the formidable headmaster was unsure, then it shook his own faith. The idea that things would turn out for the best seemed little more than a vague dream.
The room where the application was to be heard was nothing like Remus had been expecting. Sirius had told him - after a great deal of pestering from Remus - about Romulus’s trial before the Wizengamot, and he had been expecting a similar room full of people looking down on him and deciding his fate.
Instead, there were two witches and one wizard sitting at a circular table in a fairly small room that bore a slight resemblance to Professor McGonagall’s office. He glanced at the bookcases lining the wall but was unable to linger for long. Poppy steered him to a seat next to her and Professor Dumbledore took the seat on his other side. He looked across the table at the elder of the two witches and tried to catch her eye. He thought might be the grandmotherly type; not that he had any experience with grandmothers. Unfortunately, the woman seemed to be engrossed in her paperwork, that or she simply didn’t want to look at him.
“Where’s the applicant?” Professor Spion asked as he took a seat between the younger witch and the wizard on the other side of the table.
“He’s right where he’s been since his capture,” Dumbledore replied easily. “His application is on paper only. It was considered to be for the best.”
“Quite right,” the witch who appeared to be in charge of hearing the application commented. At least Remus thought she was the one in charge. She certainly seemed to have the largest stack of books and parchment in front of her, and it was to her that Dumbledore addressed his remarks.
The witch looked at the thickest roll of parchment and skimmed it quickly. “The Familial Ties law was introduced primarily for the vampire community, in order that any vampire who chooses can apply to have a vampire they have sired be treated as family and next of kin in the case of any emergency. That vampire would also be able to override the wishes of any living relatives of the applicant were they to differ.”
“The law doesn’t specifically state that it can only be used by vampires,” Dumbledore pointed out quietly. “The wording is open to interpretation and many werewolves consider those who they have turned to be family.”
“Not all of them,” Spion retorted.
The witch in charge turned to glare at Spion. Remus guessed he either wasn’t very popular at the Ministry, or he simply shouldn’t have been talking out of turn. Either way he couldn’t stop the small smile that appeared on his face at the silent reprimand.
“Albus,” the witch continued, turning back to the headmaster with a sigh. “Although I agree that many werewolves consider their pack as family, the applicant has always been a loner, and a particularly vicious one at that. To turn a child over to his care would be reprehensible.”
“If you don’t, that same child will be turned over to the executioners,” Dumbledore replied calmly.
Remus felt his hands begin to shake as the word executioners echoed through the room. He felt Poppy place a warm hand over his own and he squeezed her fingers slightly in acknowledgement of her support.
“You are asking that the child be allowed to be brought up by the very creature who made him what he is, and could, if given the opportunity, guide him and encourage him to be an even more cold-blooded killer than he is himself.”
“As you are already aware, the applicant was taken prisoner by the Werewolf Capture Unit late last year. He is not in a position to be influential in that manner.”
The younger witch cleared her throat and Remus turned to look at her. She appeared nervous but her voice was strong and steady as she addressed Dumbledore. “Why has the applicant made the application, if not to try to mould the young boy into a monster like himself?”
“Since his capture in December, the applicant has been kept in total isolation within the Dangerous Creatures Camp. As a guardian to Remus he would be allowed certain freedoms.”
“Surely you’re not suggesting he be released to take care of the boy?” the witch asked, her eyes widening in shock.
“Certainly not,” Dumbledore replied with a shake of his head. “But by making the application he is showing more humanity than he has so far. Enough that he may be, in a few months time, integrated into the main quarters of the Camp in which he resides. He would still be a prisoner of course, but would be treated like any other resident.”
“So you’ve bribed him into making the application?” the wizard, who had until this point remained mostly silent, asked.
“Hardly a bribe,” Dumbledore argued calmly. “I have no control over whether he will be integrated into the main Camp, I only gave him a choice that may lead to that possibility.”
“If we were to grant the application, where would the boy live?” the elder witch asked.
“The applicant has agreed that he will pay for Remus’s education at Hogwarts, and as headmaster I would be happy to have him with us.” Dumbledore turned to smile at Remus. “Arrangements can be made for him to return to his home in Hogsmeade on the nights of the full moon, and he would be no danger to the other students.”
Hogwarts? If the application was granted, he could go to Hogwarts?
Remus shifted impatiently in his seat and subtly crossed his fingers in hopeful anticipation. They didn’t sound like they were just going to usher him into the next room and kill him. They sounded like they were actually considering what Dumbledore was saying.
A small part of him was concerned that the werewolf who had bitten him was being put in charge of his life, but when the alternative were the parents who wanted him dead…well, there was no doubt in his mind who he should be rooting for.
As the adults debated how long the rest of his life was going to be, he wondered what the werewolf who had bitten him was like. It didn’t sound like he was a particularly nice person but Remus knew better than anyone that on the night of the full moon there was nothing he, nor any other werewolf, could do to control his or her actions.
He wondered if he would be expected to live in a Dangerous Creatures Camp during the holidays or whether he could stay at Hogwarts all year round. Maybe he could even stay at his home in Hogsmeade with Romulus?
He was idly contemplating what he would say to the older werewolf if he were to meet him when he felt a hand resting on his shoulder.
He looked up at Albus Dumbledore who was smiling down at him kindly. “You agree to this course of action, don’t you Remus?”
Remus blinked a time or two, wondering what he had missed whilst his mind had been wandering. He nodded weakly.
“Then the applicant is granted,” the witch in charge announced. “As of this day Remus John Lupin’s legal guardian is the applicant, Fenrir Greyback. Albus?”
Dumbledore nodded in response to the prompt that he was apparently expecting. “As the legal guardian of Remus John Lupin, Fenrir Greyback has authorised me to apply for the warrant of execution to be retracted immediately.”
“Application granted,” the witch replied promptly, much to the dismay of Professor Spion.
At that Madam Pomfrey gave a thoroughly undignified whoop and threw her arms around Remus. “I knew you’d do it!” she exclaimed to Dumbledore as her eyes began to water.
-o-xXx-o-
Sirius trailed after his father as they walked through the front door of Grimmauld Place. The prank on the train had never taken place and he’d spent the whole journey worrying about what was happening to Remus. James and Peter had been almost as downcast as him, and for the first time Sirius truly accepted that the other two Gryffindors were just as concerned for his friend as he was, and were true friends.
James had assured him that Remus would be fine, because Dumbledore was the greatest wizard in the world and he wouldn’t let anything happen to him, but Sirius was still more worried than he had ever been in his life.
Now, back at Grimmauld Place, it seemed that Remus had never been further away from him. His two-way mirror was still in his trunk, but he knew that Remus would be unable to reply to his calls for some time to come…if ever.
“Don’t know what the world’s coming to!” Walburga ranted as soon as they’d closed the door. “Have you seen the Evening Prophet?”
Orion shook his head, clearly confused.
“That ridiculous new law they passed earlier this month,” Walburga elaborated. “Dumbledore has invoked it to give some werewolf custody of another one.”
“I don’t see what that has to do with us,” Orion replied, even as Sirius’s heart seemed to stop. It had to be Remus they were talking about, but what did this news mean for his friend?
“Don’t you?” Walburga asked. “Well, maybe you’ll think differently when you realise that the young werewolf will be at Hogwarts next term? He’s Sirius’s age and could easily be sharing a dormitory with him.”
“Sirius can take care of himself,” Orion announced. “Or would you rather he change schools?”
“It’s something to consider,” Walburga contemplated. “Durmstrang has possibilities.”
“No!” Sirius exclaimed. “I like Hogwarts, my friends are there. I don’t want to change schools.”
“You’re not old enough to make that decision,” Walburga told him sternly. “We’ll consider it over the summer.”
Sirius glared at his parents and bolted for the stairs. He pushed Kreacher aside as he slammed into his room and threw himself onto his bed.
It simply wasn’t fair. Remus - it couldn’t be any other werewolf - was going to go to Hogwarts and his parents wanted to consider sending him somewhere else instead.
Chapter 23