𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗸, remus lupin

˗ˋ 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
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-: sixth year :-

── IN WHICH IT'S CONTEMPLATED

. . .

Still hidden behind the statue of the St. Mungo's healer, Pandora was faced with a dilemma.

She rarely ever had such problems making decisions. Most of the time, her heart or mind was drawn to one option and no matter what it was, she would choose that option. 

But now, she was experiencing something unfamiliar.

And she hated absolutely every bit of. This sort of thing was why her mother spoke against her going to a boarding school, insisted to her father that she remained at home and she could learn from her. 

Pandora had known for a long time what her mother was doing with her. How she was grooming her into a perfect porcelain doll of a child, who behaved only how her mother wished - which wasn't good. She was being trained into copy her mother's mannerisms, treatinng people like her mother, thinking like her mother, practically living every single moment like her mother had.

Her magic had been showing far earlier than other magical children, in the sense that it was fairly obvious and couldn't be put down to chance or coincedence. And this was what spurred her mother on, wanted to train her daughter into a more powerful version of herself.

The magic had festered, remained mostly untrained other than what her mother wanted it to be like. She wanted Pandora to be powerful, wanted her to be dangerous and out of control, a force not even the most talented wizard could take down.

Then her father did whatever he had done to her, derailing her mother's plans and most likely her life. And with that simple action she had been left parentless and to fend for herself. 

In her trained mind, the Ministry was the enemy. They would stop her from doing what she wanted - which is what her mother told her was right. She should do whatever she wanted to do. Use herr magic in whatever way she wanted. 

Which was how Pandora had ended up at Hogwarts. She had recieved her letter for the sixth time and decided in a split second that she was far too bored of storing them in the secret wooden column cutout and that she was going to write a reply and go. 

And there she was. And she decided in that split second whilst hid behind the healer statue that she hated being at Hogwarts and completely understood why her mother didn't want to send her there.

And then she hated herself for agreeing with her mother. 

She actually did like Hogwarts, just a little bit. She liked being somewhere other than her dark house, liked having company and liked scaring Remus Lupin by climbing out of windows.

That led her back to her dilemma. She had two options, and neither of them particular appealed to her like they usually would do. One option, she could just go straight back to her dorm and try not to wonder too much about where Madam Pomfrey was taking Remus.

Or she could follow them, at least just a little while, so that she could ease her mind.

Thinking out a little longer, Pandora ended up choosing the second, daintly hopping down the butterfly-made steps and landing down on the stone floor in front of the Hospital Wing doors.

Producing yet another butterfly out of the tip of her finger, she sent it in the direction that Madam Pomfrey and Remus had gone. And then, she slipped down another corridor and up the staircase up onto the floor above.

It didn't take long for the butterfly to find the duo, and soon enough Pandora was following them along, keeping to the shadows and in the corridor above. 

"Ah.. crap." The girl breathed out as she came to the end of a corridor, no left or right to go, just a singular window. In her mind, the image that the butterfly was relaying showed Madam Pomfrey and Remus continuing through the corridors. 

But she had nowhere else go. And with a sigh, Pandora gave up her choice, deciding to spend her night wondering in a similar place to what she would whilst at home. You could see the world from the roof, and so Pandora flicked her hand and the glass disappeared.

Swinging a leg over the side, Pandora found a solid grip and somewhere to plant her foot. She pulled herself onto the side of the building with the agility of something not-quite human, using her butterflies to propel her upwards, making her way to the tiled roof above several more floors.

Settling on the edge of one of the flatter parts, Pandora lent against the wall of a chimney, eyes drifting upwards. But something moving caught her eye. 

There was something moving across the lawn - not just one thing - but two. Madam Pomfrey and Remus - it had to be. Waving her hand, a butterfly shot forward and ended up in the branches of the tree they were heading towards.

It twisted manically until it stopped, Remus disappearing into the trunk and Madam Pomfrey disappearing. Pandora was confused by this - but that only developed when she saw a stag, a large black dog and what looked to be a mouse or rat darting to the tree as welll. Something about it reminded the girl of Remus's three best friends.

Animagi - they had to be. But why?

Pandora got her answer when a painful howl echoed through the Scottish Highlands.

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