Till Forever Falls Apart

The Guessing Game

*I love that you guys thought I would let things be happy for a little while.

SIKE! WE DON'T KNOW PEACE HERE

Sometimes we do. As a heads up, this chapter includes anger and fighting.

Much love to you all <3 Enjoy loves!

July 1, 1993

Dolores Umbridge has paved the path for stricter laws acknowledging the dangers of werewolves in our community. "Half Breeds are not welcomed in civilized, modern wizarding society," she says. "It is up to us to keep our way of life safe, and clean of their horrid mark on humanity."

The Anti-Werewolf Legislation Act states that those who have been turned must be registered or face time for their secrecy in Azkaban, depending on their occupation and length of transformation. Rewards will be given to any who can come forward with information regarding the possibility of a werewolf in the community. If one is marked on the Registry, they are free to contain themselves to lives of solitude and will not be acknowledged by the Ministry unless it is the night of a full moon, where they will be put into the appropriate holding cells for the mandatory days of the transformation. No employer that contains a business permit from the Ministry is allowed to provide jobs, or face the closure of their shop.

"We are just beginning," Umbridge finished in her interview with our reporters. "Better rules, living standards, stricter guidelines. It is a mess that I intend to fix, and I am very pleased that the Ministry has taken the appropriate measures ensuring the wizarding community's safety in these dark times."

Val wanted to scream.

She wanted to swear, rip the paper in half, have someone hold her while she went slack from the possibilities that swarmed her mind as though each were a bee, and she was trapped in their hive, closing in, stinging.

But Remus, perfectly closed off Remus Lupin, was calm.

Sirius cursed like a sailor as James repeated his reason for leaving his job behind.

"They were going to write a two-page report in the sports section telling people how to look for signs of a werewolf on our teams," he shook his head. "How their lycanthropy was a game to them, just as quidditch is to us. When I saw what one of the writers put on my desk, I went to the head of the entire newspaper and asked what werewolves had anything to do with my department. He said that all of the sections had to include how dangerous they were so people would realize just how serious the Ministry is. I handed in my resignation right then and there."

"You shouldn't have done that," Remus said bleakly, letting Val take his hand in hers. "You loved that job. You loved the traveling, the people-"

"People call me a blood traitor," James smiled weakly. "Might as well add 'proud werewolf supporter' to the list. It gives me more free time now. I'm starting to get offers to commentate at matches, coach teams. I couldn't stand by and let that article be published, Remus. I couldn't. I would have never forgiven myself."

No one spoke for several minutes after that. The three Lupin-Blacks were still standing in the center, torn and enraged.

Val had heard people speak in hushed tones, cowering at the mention of the wizard prison. Only the worst types of people went there. Murderers, thieves, people who had done terrible things. She couldn't begin to understand what could drive a person to do such acts. It was no place for her father, kind and generous. The dad who taught her how to read and bake cookies. He was more than a werewolf-he was human. A man who had suffered far more than anyone she had met, and still smiled and laughed though his face and heart were scarred.