Dark Magic

Home Time

Dumbledore had summoned Harry to his office to share the news of my immunity to the werewolf bite, to which he burst into tears of relief. Relinquished of any guilt he may have been feeling at his inability to prevent the unchangeable events, the full moon prior, from occurring; even with the aid of a time-turner. We would break the news to Ron and Hermione later that day, before they left for King's Cross Station. And as Remus, Severus, Harry and myself sat in the Headmaster's office, watching him pace back and forth in deliberation, we waited for answers to an impossible question; why had my blood rejected the werewolf venom.

"Headmaster; could Miss Potter be having a delayed reaction to the bite and still be infected?" Severus' monotonous voice spoke by my side. Dumbledore halted in his pace, turning to face me and shaking his head, "No. If Emerald was infected, the symptoms would have shown this month. I shall require you all to swear secrecy to this occurrence; save for Miss Granger and Mr Weasley as they are already aware. Madam Pomfrey will need to run some tests to be sure. Which is why I must strongly advise you stay here for the summer and do not return home with Professor Lupin." The man spoke calmly, as though he already knew of my question. He must have searched my mind in my moments of weakness.

"B-But Professor, I helped Remus during his transformation this month. If I stay with him, I can help-" I began to protest, but they were short-lived by the Headmaster's next words cutting me off, "-Right now, Miss Potter, you are my main concern. I feel that this new revelation may help Mr Lupin in the long-term. Of course, you are welcome to visit him and your friends, during the summer. But I will require you to stay at Hogwarts until the foreseeable future, do you understand?"

The wise man's eyebrows raised towards me expectantly, waiting for an answer as I squirmed under his guise. It could help Remus in the long run. That was all I needed to keep me in my place and not run away with my Godfather when he would later board the train with my sibling and his two best friends. Sighing, finally, I allowed my shoulders to slump in the seat and a nod to emit from me. The rest of the conversation was short and informative of what was to come in the following weeks, before Dumbledore dismissed us for the day.

Severus sauntered ahead as Harry, Remus and I walked slowly behind. "Don't be sad, Emerald." Remus reassured with a small smile, his own sadness filtering through as he outstretched something in his hand towards me, "There's more than one way to sneak out of Hogwarts." A wide grin spread across Harry and I's lips as we gawked at the Marauder in disbelief, our eyes glazing over the slightly discoloured and tea-stained piece of parchment. "You mean, we can have it back?" Harry gasped.

Remus chuckled with a nod, "I think your father would want you both to have it." My smile faltered suddenly at his words as I felt a small pain hit my chest, causing it to tighten. "Do you think they'll find Pettigrew?"

The silent response was enough of an answer to my question. The man had hidden successfully for thirteen years. The possibilities were slim. "I hope so." Remus' words lingered in my mind. Hope. Hope was all we had at the moment. So I clung onto that hope, knowing we would all pull through together. After so many years without a family, I finally had one. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Remus, Severus and now...Sirius Black.

***

I waited for my turn to say goodbye to my quartet of friends at Hogsmeade Station, hugging Ron and Hermione and promising to write over the summer, as I had the year previous. Severus would be staying in the castle most of the time to aid Madam Pomfrey, for he was the only Professor at the school so well-versed in the creatures of the Dark Arts; along with his exemplar Potion knowledge. It would be a long summer, but it would be worth it if it could help Rems in any way with his monthly transformations. Whatever Dumbledore had in mind must have been a better solution that Wolfbane each month...

Harry smiled as he pulled me into a tight embrace, lifting me into the air and spinning me around in a circle as I let out a small shriek. The two other friends just watched, not doing anything to help me. "Harry! Put me down!" I cried in laughter, the air being squeezed from me as he placed me back onto the floor and I took a moment to find my footing.

"I'm going to miss you, Sis. Promise you'll come and visit!" He spoke pointedly towards me. Laughing, I nodded, "I promise. As long as Marge isn't coming round. I don't think I could bear spending another meal with that woman after the last one."

"Uncle Vernon said she's never coming over again, whilst I'm home. She doesn't remember a thing, either! The Minister modified her memories." Harry reassured, causing another small scoff to emit from me.

"Let's just hope it works. Love you, Harry." I sighed, allowing him to pull me into another, loving hug as I tried to force the tears away. "It's alright. We'll be together again, soon. I promise." Harry's voice croaked and I knew he was trying to prevent his own tears from falling as we both blinked them furiously away.

I turned to quickly swipe one from my cheek, my attention diverted onto eyes that were watching us from afar. Remus stood leaned against a pillar, a small smile spread across his cheeks as a look of nostalgia glinted in his eyes; almost as though he was seeing an old friend for the first time in years.

Walking towards him, his grin widened and he pulled me into his arms. "Write to me, Remus. I'll visit whenever there's a full moon and keep Moony in check, don't you worry." I soothed, his chest hammering as a light laugh emitted from him. "Your mother and father would be so proud of you, Emerald. Remember that." His voice spoke softly, a small and fatherly kiss planted on the top of my head before his arms released me from his embrace. A sudden cold washed over me as I watched him gather his trunk and board the Hogwarts Express train.

"Um....Potter?" I turned at the sound of my name, my eyes meeting those icy blue ones as they watched me sheepishly on the platform. Looking the teenage boy up and down, I smirked. "Malfoy. We're back on a surname basis, I see." He chuckled at my comment, placing his hands into his pocket as he closed the gap between us a little.

"I uh...I meant to give you this before the accident; to apologise for what happened to the Hippogriff."

"Buckbeak." I corrected, narrowing my eyes a little. The school knew that I was involved in an accident, requiring me to stay in the Hospital Wing for a few days; but no-one except for Harry, Ron and Hermione knew any truth beyond that.

Draco nodded, a small and internal curse echoing through my mind that he must have thought; having chosen the wrong words. I tried not to laugh at his inner turmoil, having to pretend I was upset at Buckbeak's demise; although, at this point, he was probably halfway across the continent with Sirius.

"Um, yeah...Buckbeak." He nodded, pulling a circular, compact mirror from his pocket. "This was my mother's; the other belonged to her sister, Andromeda, which I have." He explained, pulling out an almost identical one to my own. "They would use it to talk to one another, due to Andromeda being exiled by her family when she married a Muggleborn. It's a two-way mirror. If you say my name when you look into it, we can talk to one another whenever you want. At least that way, we won't have to worry about our letters getting intercepted."

I smiled at the boy, a hitched breath emitting from me as I flung my arms over his shoulder, "Thank you, Draco. Truly." He took a moment to pat my shoulder rather awkwardly, my arms retreating back to my side out of slight embarrassment. "No problem at all. I'm sure my house is just as lonely as Hogwarts. I'll see you soon, Emerald."

I waved as the train departed on the platform, forcing the tightness in my throat away at the sight of my friends and family returning home. I knew I would miss them all so much. As much as I hated to admit, I missed the world outside of Hogwarts, also. It felt ever so isolating, as though I had lived in a bubble for a year; unable to venture out. It was surprising that a huge castle could be so lonely, as Draco had said.

"You ready to go back to the castle, Miss?" Hagrid's voice spoke roughly as a last glimmer of red disappeared into the trees surrounding the station. Nodding, I heaved and deep breath and turned to face him, taking his giant hand in my own, "Yes, Professor Hagrid. I'm ready."