Never Let Me Go ⚡︎ [ harry potter ]

⚡︎ • ❝ t w e n t y o n e ❞ • ✴

"Wait a moment, Harry," Remus called as the students started filtering out of the classroom once the lesson was over. "I'd like a word," Harry hesitated, looking from Professor to Lupin to Grace, Hermione and Ron, and nodded. Ron and Hermione told him they'd see him later as they left, but Grace lingered. "Yes, Grace, I suppose you can stay too," he added, and Grace felt herself smiling as she closed the classroom door.

She didn't intrude on their conversation, she simply lingered. Even though it's been a week since Halloween, and the Quidditch match was two days ago, Grace was having a picking feeling that didn't like being away from Harry for too long. She couldn't explain why, but, being around Harry made her feel safe. She thought she was silly, but she liked the fluttering feeling she got around him, and she didn't want them to stop.

"I'm sorry about your broomstick. Is there any chance of fixing it?" Remus asked gently.

"No," Harry shook his head gloomly, "the tree smashed it to bits."

Remus sighed. "They planted the Whomping Willow the same yar that I arrived at Hogwarts," Grace frowned at that bit of information. She knew about him going to the Shrieking Shack, but the Whomping Willow? That was news to her. "People used to play a game, trying to get near enough to touch the trunk. In the end, a boy called Davey Gudgeon nearly lost an eye, and we were forbidden to go near it. No broomstick would have a chance."

"The Dementors..." Harry started hesitated. "Why do they affect me like that.. am I just ..."

"It has nothing to do with weakness," Professor Lupin cut him off sharply. "Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this Earth. They feed on every good feeling, every happy memory, until a person is left with nothing but their worst experiences. The dementors affect you worse than others because there are horrors in your past that your classmates can scarcely imagine. You have nothing to be ashamed of." Remus continued, and then his eyes went to Grace. "Both of you," he added, including her. "Neither of you are weak."

"Why did they come to the match?" Harry asked bitterly.

"They're getting hungry," Remus answered cooly as he closed his briefcase. "Dumbledore won't let them into the school so their supply of human prey has dried up," he paused. "I don't think they could resist the large crowd around the Quidditch pitch. All that excitement, emotions running high... it was their idea of a feast."

"Azkaban must be terrible," Harry muttered. Grace shivered at the thought and Remus nodded grimly.

"The fortress is set on a tiny island, way out to sea, but they don't need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when they're all trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a single cheerful thought. Most of them go mad within weeks." Grace shivered again at Remus' words. She wondered how he knew that much about the prison, she wondered if he had ever gone. She knew he wasn't ever sentenced, but...

"But Sirius Black escaped from them," Harry's voice bringing her back from her thoughts. Thump. Grace turned and saw Remus bend to pick up his briefcase.

"Yes," he said, standing straighter. She noticed his mood darken at the mention of Sirius Black. "Black must have found a way to fight them. I wouldn't have believed it possible... Dementors are supposed to drain a wizard of his powers if he is left with them too long."

"You made that dementor on the train back off..." Harry said.

Grace frowned, looking at Remus. He always got fidgety and looked uncomfortable whenever Sirius Black was mentioned. It wasn't often that he was in passing conversation, but whenever Grace mentioned him, or when he would notice Sirius Black in the paper, he always got the same way. She thought back to when she asked Remus if Sirius Black was her father, how uncomfortable he got. Now he's dropping things when Harry mentions him? And how he talked about Azkaban, as if he's been there, even if it were for a visit. Although, there was no reason for Remus to visit... unless he knew Sirius Black. But how did Remus know Sirius Black?