the case of dawna flynn - r.j lupin

seventeen

"So this guy has a spell that could work?" Remus asked Dumbledore, they were all crowded infront of Dumbledores desk; Remus, Red, Sirius and McGonnogal. Harry Potter was with them also, Red had told Sirius that it was okay for Harry to come along.

Dumbledore nodded in his seat, though Remus wasn't quite sure.

"Is there any catch of sorts? It will turn her human again completely and permanently? Not temporarily?" Remus pressed and Dumbledore pursed his lips at the questions and glanced at th letter before him then back up to Remus. But Remus could see that the headmaster was actually looking at Red who was sat on his shoulders rather then at Remus.

"The spell will completely strip Miss Flynn of all her animagus capabilities." Dumbledore informed and Remus gave a sideways glance to Sirius.

"So it will turn her human?" Sirius asked and before Dumbledore could say anything Harry interjected.

"It could go wrong though couldn't it Professor?" The teenager asked and the adults all turned to look at him,
"What do you mean Harry?" McGonnogal asked, "The spell is proven to work, Fester has performed the spells many a time and it's gone fine. The subject no longer has the ability to become an animal."

Harry looked over at Red and held a hand out to her, she sniffed it gently before she lowered her head and he pet her gently.

"But the spell is always performed when the subject is human, I bet that Fester has never performed it on a subject stuck in their animal form." Realisation dawned on McGonnogals face as Harry spoke, "The human subjects basically get stuck in their human forms, if how Fester describes it correctly then they are completely unable to ever become an animagi again potion or not."

"Harry.." Remus' tone was low. Harry continued.

"What if when he performs the spell she gets stuck as a cat forever. And not an animagi, an actual cat. If that happens, she'll lose the animagi ability to ever become human again and most likely the ability to communicate with other animagi. Then if all the human aspects of her are stripped away then she'll lose her human consciousness. She'll just be a- well- a cat. A plain simple cat. "

The room went silent, it seemed as if no one dared to take a breath.

"So is it worth the risk?"

Remus was very suddenly undecided. Not that his opinion was worth anything, it wasn't his decision. But he couldn't help but worry.

If the spell was to go wrong like Harry suggested then Red would always be Red. There would he absolutely no more Dawna Flynn, she would cease to exist. And Remus loved Red as any guy would love his cat but without Dawna, Red wouldn't really be Red anymore.

Red was the way she was because Dawna was still there inside her. That human part of her was still alive.

"But surely the spell would recognise that she was originally human right? She was a human for most of her life." Sirius suggested and Remus thought about it and he shook his head solemnly.

"It's the end of June Pads." His voice was slightly strained.

"When did she dissappear?" Harry asked, "Well- get stuck."

"May 3rd 1978." McGonnogal answered.

"That would be.." Harry stumped on the maths as he began counting with his fingers but Dumbledore spoke before he even got half way through.

"Over 16 years ago." Everyone looked at him, Remus admitted he forgot the man was there. He'd been so silent. "16 years and almost two months."

Sirius shot a scared glance at Remus who's hand, which was shaking gently, threaded through Reds fur. He knew he looked at devastated as he felt.

"How old was she when this all happened Lupin?" Harry asked and Remus couldn't meet his eyes so he looked at Sirius to answer for him.

"She was fifteen Harry, 16 years ago she was fifteen."

"I don't think this would be a good idea." Remus said finally and very quickly everyone broke out into a bitter argument.

Except Dumbledore, he was silent and kept his eyes on Red.

He let the argument carry on for a few moments before he broke though it.

"Maybe we should let Miss Flynn decide." His voice was soft but everyone silenced immediately at the suggestion.

Remus looked at Red on his shoulder and he frowned deeply, she didn't look like a happy cat at all. She looked quite the opposite actually.

" Sirius." Dumbledore waved his hand at the man in a scrabby tshirt and in the blink of an eye a big black dog stood where Sirius Black stood just a moment before.

Red slid off of his shoulder and onto his lap to sit and face Sirius directly.

The room fell into an odd silence upon the interaction. This silence wasn't any less tense then the previous ones, even more so really and everyone just stared at the cat and dog who were watching eachother, unmoving and soundless.

Remus wondered how it worked, the whole communicating thing. Did they just speak to each others minds? If so how did it feel? Remus wanted to know, but he told himself he wouldn't. He'd never been interested before now and he'd watched the pair communicate like this plenty of times.

He knew it was his flight response.

He was scared he was going to lose Red and as a response his body wanted to distract him from the source of the problem by giving him the need to focus on something else.

He wouldn't do it this time. He couldn't abandon Red like he'd abandoned Sirius. He didn't think he could live with himself if he did.

Remus looked at Red with a fierce determination in his eyes.

He would do everything he could to help her.

Sirius appeared again suddenly and his big eyes scared Remus out of his thoughts and he looked up at the solemn looking man with hopeful eyes.

Remus hoped she'd chosen another way. That she'd decided they'd see if they can get anymore ideas from anyone else. But when Sirius hunched his shoulders all hope fell away and he looked down at Red. She'd made her decision.

"She wants to go through with it, as soon as possible."

Red looked up at Remus and he knew right then that there was no way he was going to be able to change her mind. Her decision was final.

"I'll send an owl to Fester and see how quickly we can get him over. I'll keep you all update." Dumbledore spoke and eveyone began herding to leave, Red hung in Remus' arms limply and Remus frowned.

He wondered if she became an actual cat if she'd still let him hold her like this, if she would still lay across his shoulders, if she would still comfort him when he was upset. All he could do was wonder.

"So..what do we do till then?" Harry asked, Sirius was Padfoot as they trudged towards the room they shared. They had to stop at the boundary where students weren't allowed past.

"We make the most of what we know." Remus answered, "Of the now. If there is a chance for it all to go wrong and end up like you suggested Harry, then we need to savour it all just in case the worst happens."

Harry nodded.