Silvia and the Rising Moon [EDITING]

The Leg and the Legend

A week had passed since the Charlie O'Hara's attack. All was unusually quiet. Silvia felt eyes on her at all times. A couple people had asked her if it really was Remus who attacked Hermes and Charlie. Others asked in anguish why Remus had not been expelled. Why had Dumbledore let him walk free? What gave him the rights to make decisions for the Ministry?
It was a quidditch day: Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw. Silvia decided to stay inside out of pure uneasiness. She sat in the Common Room alone with a sulking James Potter.
"Evans. Who does she think she is? Strutting around acting like some kind of model, talking to people with all her brains and kindness. She's an angel. Why can't I have her?" He was blabbering again.
"James," Silvia began, looking up from the week's newspaper. "You're twelve, its not the end of the world."
"I'm thirteen, actually, so it kind of is." He crossed his arms. "Why does she think she's so much better than me?"
"Because she is. She's not a prick."
"Oi. You're not making me feel any better."
"I wasn't trying to."
A tall, bulky boy appeared in the Common Room. He looked James in the eye before he spoke. "You James Potter?"
James stood up and smirked at the boy, trying to conceal his obvious fear. "That's me, man. What can I do for you?"
The large boy fished out two pieces of paper from his robes. He held the two pieces together to reveal the picture James and Sirius had taken of the busty girl. "This is my girlfriend."
James whistled. "She sure is good looking. You're a lucky guy." He laughed nervously.
"You mean you don't recognize this picture?" He growled.
"Nope. I don't know her because-" suddenly, he sprinted out of the room.
The boy began to follow James quickly, angrily.
"Stupefy," Silvia said lazily. She jogged past the stunned boy on a search for James.
She quickly caught up to him. "James, wait!" She cried.
"Why should I wait for you? That big guy is probably right behind you!"
"I stunned him," she said as she caught up to him. "Follow me. I have somewhere that we can hide."
The two hurried to the fifth floor until Silvia caught glance of a familiar tapestry. "Wait here." She stopped James and turned to the other wall. "Please, we need a place to hide," she said to no one in particular. A door suddenly grew from the barren wall. "C'mon," she said, dragging James towards it.
The door opened to reveal a vast room full of junk.
"Ugh. What is this rubbish?" James asked, climbing over a broken chair.
"I asked the room for a place to hide. We can hide behind the junk," Silvia explained as they stepped through pieces of a broken lamp. "If we can hurry to the back, that big guy won't be able to find us." She looked over her shoulder disapprovingly at him. "We all told you not to take that picture."
"Last time I checked, you bet me to take it."
"I bet on it because I thought you would chicken out and lose."
"Never bet against a Potter."
Silvia rolled her eyes. "Hide behind this wardrobe."
"We're so far back, there's no way he could find us here," James mentioned as he pulled himself behind the wardrobe. "Ow, bloody hell, get this wooden thing out of here." He picked up a long, carved piece of wood that was in his way. He prepared to throw it.
"Wait!" Silvia cried. "Lemme see that."
James adjusted his glasses and looked at her in confusion before handing her the wooden object.
She scanned it. It was long, the. On one end, straps and buckles were connected. On the other was what appeared to be a wooden foot. Engraved just below where the knee should be we're the words "Crimea, 1856."
Silvia squealed out of pure joy. "It's the leg!"
"What leg?"
She held the wooden leg out. "The Unknown Soldier's leg! We have to go give it to him." She quickly stood up and grabbed James's hand to help him up.
"Are you so excited that you'd want to kiss me?" He asked, tightening his grasp on her hand.
She looked him in the eye, disgusted. "No. I refuse to be your second choice every time Lily rejects you." She let go of his hand and hurriedly crawled over various pieces of furniture. "Besides, you don't even know my name."
He stood with his draw dropped, trying to come up with a witty reply. "You got me there," he said after a brief silence.
In the hallway, the two ran into Sienna. "Ravenclaw won!" She cheered. "What are you two doing together?" She asked suspiciously.
Silvia held up the Unknown Soldier's leg. "We found this. Let's go."
"Oh, is that the leg?" She asked as they jogged together.
"Yes," she replied. The three appeared at the door of the soldier's room. "Stay here," she warned James and Sienna. She slid in the room alone. Within seconds, the door burst open to reveal an able-bodied Unknown Soldier, carrying Silvia in his arms.
"What's going on?" Sienna asked.
"The Unknown Soldier knows who stole his leg. He thinks its the same person who has been attacking students," Silvia explained.
The Soldier ran faster than the Hogwarts Express before slowing to a stop in Dumbledore's office.
Dumbledore saluted the Unknown Soldier. "I see you've found your leg."
The Soldier saluted back, grateful to the headmaster's charity. "This young girl has found it," he placed a ghostly hand on Silvia's shoulder. "In a secret room on the fifth floor."
"Ah." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "I see you've discovered the Room of Requirement. Multiple members of our staff, including myself, have scoured the room in a search for it. However, specific objects only make themselves known to those who have proven to be worthy. You, Miss Lupin, are worthy."
"Wait," she said, "I wasn't the one who stumbled upon it."
"Oh? Who might be the finder that I should give credit to?"
"James Potter, sir," Silvia explained. "We needed somewhere to hide, he stepped on it."
"He stepped on my leg?" The Unknown Soldier exploded. "He could have broken it!"
Dumbledore raised a hand to silence the Soldier. "I know that you are aware of who had taken your leg."
"Yes," the Soldier began. "There were two of them. An aging man, a large, old woman. I believe one of them to be a member of the staff. No one besides a staff member would have knowledge of my location. One must have guided the other one to me."
"Who would do this?" Silvia asked quietly. The room sat silently. Fawkes stirred in his cage.
"I have an idea," Dumbledore said, breaking suddenly through the drawn-out emptiness. He hurried out of the room, followed by Silvia and the Unknown Soldier. She followed the Headmaster throughout various hallways, over endless staircases, until after what seemed like forever, the trio appeared in front of a door.
"Professor Gainer?" Silvia asked. "What does she have to do with this?"
Dumbledore tapped on the classroom door thrice. It flung open. Professor Dorene Gainer sat at her desk. She rose quickly upon seeing Dumbledore followed by the Unknown Soldier. She glared into the eyes of the ghost. The room darkened around Silvia until all she could see was Gainer standing face to face with the Unknown Soldier.
"This is her." the darkness quickly fell apart with his declaration.
Loud, white noise filled the air. Silvia could feel the tension between everyone in the room. Chains quickly grew around the old wench. She laughed manically as they pulled her to the floor. Dumbledore hovered above her, wand at the ready. "Fetch Professor Slughorn. Ask him to bring the veritaserum."
The Unknown Soldier vanished. After an eternity of growing tension, he appeared once more, followed by Horace Slughorn, holding a small vial of potion. Dumbledore took the vial and forcibly entered its contents down Gainer's throat. "Thank you, Horace, you may return to whatever you were doing."
Slughorn scrambled out of the room. "Tell us everything," Dumbledore demanded.
The words spilled out of Gainer's mouth like a waterfall. "I assisted in taking the leg of the Unknown Soldier," her gravelly voice quickly admitted. "We needed him to be crippled. We needed his guard to be down so I could let him in."
"Who is he?" Dumbledore asked sternly.
Gainer laughed, revealing a set of rotten teeth. "The Dark Lord. You know him, Albus. He's the most powerful wizard known to man."
"Who is he?" Dumbledore barked. Silvia was taken aback by his sudden outburst.
Gainer laughed harder. Saliva flew from her trembling uvula. "Lord Voldemort," she sneered. "Don't you remember Tom Riddle?"
"I don't fear a former student," Dumbledore admitted. "What does Riddle want with Hogwarts?"
"You're hiding a weapon in this school. A student, specifically a werewolf hybrid."
Dumbledore's mouth twitched. "Remus Lupin is no weapon, he is just a boy. He will do nothing to benefit Riddle. Why have you been attacking students?"
Gainer grinned and closed her eyes. "Well, now I see you're making assumptions." Her eyes quickly opened. "However, you are correct. I have been sending centaurs out to attack students who I believe to have had connections to Remus Lupin. I asked Hermes and Charlie for information on Remus's whereabouts and modified their memories to make it appear that he had been the attacker." She scoffed. "This definitely made students turn against him. I had hoped that these alleged attacks would cause you, Albus, to expel the boy. I would have volunteered to take Remus to his parents. However, my true intention was to deliver Remus Lupin directly into the hands of Lord Voldemort."
Dumbledore stared at her, completely dumbfounded. "Dorene, I've been criticized multiple times by the Ministry for refusing to take 'proper' action in response to your attacks. However, now, I believe it is appropriate to relieve you of your duties and report you to the Ministry of Magic for putting the lives of students in danger and working with potential threats to the wizarding world. Minister for Magic Eugenia Jenkins will be arriving soon accompanied by Ezinma Kenra and other top aurors to take you away." He turned to Silvia, suddenly aware of her presence. "Thank you for your help, Miss Lupin. You and your friends will be awarded greatly for your efforts in protecting your school from possible dangers."
Silvia felt tears on her cheeks. She couldn't remember them leaving her eyes.
Dumbledore offered a handkerchief. She took it gratefully. "Your brother is safe now. Nothing bad can come to him here at Hogwarts. You are a brave girl, and an even braver sister. Remus is lucky to have you." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "There's something inside of you that will always make you stronger than the darkest of wizards, and that's love. Keep love in your heart. With love, wizards like Tom Riddle can never bring you or Remus down. Now, I think it's about time you clear his name. However, I would leave out the part about his condition." Dumbledore winked and sent the girl on her way.

The last day of Silvia's first year came quickly. She placed a pointed hat on her head as she walked into the Great Hall. Ravenclaw banners dangled from the night sky ceiling. She waved as she walked past Marlene McKinnon, who sat next to Lily, and found a seat between Lydia and Sienna.
"I can't believe Ravenclaw is going to win the House Cup. Curse that Gainer for depriving me of so many points," Sienna fumed. "Hey, since she was fired, do you think I'd get my points back?"
Lydia shrugged. "Maybe we'll win next year."
"Ugh!" Sienna cried. She looked over her shoulder. "Oh no," she said suddenly. "Don't look now, Dixie O'Hara is walking toward us."
"Silvia," Dixie called. Silvia turned cautiously to face her. "I, um... I just wanted to apologize for accusing your brother of attacking Charlie. I knew he couldn't have done it, but everyone made it seem like he was guilty. I didn't mean to take my anger out on you. I'm sorry. I hope we can be friends again." She looked down in sorrow at her feet
Silvia stared at Dixie's Orphan Annie colored hair for a few seconds before saying: "I know it's hard to deal with loss. Apology accepted. We can still be friends, Dixie."
Dixie looked up and smiled. "Thank you, Silvia. I have to go now... We won the house cup!" She cheered before hurrying to sit with Calypso and Blaire.
Sienna rolled her eyes. "Why does she have to brag?"
"We'll just have to race to beat her next year." Regulus had suddenly appeared behind Lydia. He was walking with Selene Coldwater.
"You're on," Selene joked as she and Regulus walked away. Silvia heard booing. It was Sirius. Again.
A deep cry was heard and the Hall began to silence. "Attention!" Dumbledore cried a second time. All students turned to face him and his candle-wax podium. "Thank you. I'd like to congratulate you all for another successful year at Hogwarts. I would also like to congratulate the Ravenclaw house for being this year's house cup winners with a total of five-hundred and eighty points. Slytherin came in close second with a total of five-hundred and seventy points. With four-hundred and fifty points, Hufflepuff took third. And finally, with four-hundred and thirty points, the Gryffindor house takes fourth place." The crowd applauded. Sienna pouted. "However," Dumbledore said quickly. The room silenced once more. "I have a few last minute additional points to give out." The Ravenclaws became limp as the other houses perked up. "To Hermes Hornby, of Gryffindor, for withstanding an attack against the safety of our school and staying strong in the face of a threat, twenty points."
The Gryffindor table cheered. Lydia turned to Silvia and Sienna. "We're tied with Hufflepuff!" She cheered.
"To Charlie O'Hara, of Ravenclaw, for withstanding the same attack against wizard kind, and pushing to free a fellow student of blame, I award twenty points."
The Ravenclaw table cheered again.
"They're still going to win!" Sienna cried.
Dumbledore called for everyone's attention. "To James Potter, of Gryffindor."
The entire table gasped and turned to the beaming boy. "What did you do?" Sirius asked in shock. James winked at Lily. She, Marlene, and Alice all simultaneously rolled their eyes.
"I have been informed that Mr. Potter was the original discoverer of the Unknown Soldier's leg. His close bond with, and immense care for his friends, had allowed the leg to reveal itself to him. It is with great cause that an enchanted object reveals itself to one who seems fit." He searched through the crowd to look James directly in the eye. "Your loyalty to your marauding friends has gained you twenty points."
The table cheered. James turned to his friends. "You would say we are marauders, eh?"
"Next, to Sienna Rispoli, of Gryffindor."
Sienna jumped, gasping. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god."
"For joining in the efforts to retrieve the leg of the Unknown Soldier in order to help a friend, as well as always being an above and beyond student in all of your classes, I grant you fifty points."
"Yes!" Sienna shrieked. "Five-hundred and ten points! We can catch up."
"To Silvia Lupin, of Gryffindor." Remus and Silvia shared an excited glance. "For valor and loyalty, for working hard to fight against the forces of evil, for delivering the Unknown Soldier's leg, and for exposing Professor Gainer's efforts to assist dark magic, fifty points."
"Five-hundred and sixty points," Sienna declared excitedly. "Ten more points and we beat Slytherin. Forty more points and we win!"
"And finally, to Remus Lupin, of Gryffindor."
The room silenced. "Is he going to lose points?" Silvia heard someone ask nervously.
"For standing in the face of criticism and accusations, overcoming all odds against you, and never giving up when all turned to you for blame, I award you fifty points!"
Gryffindors erupted into roars and cheers. "We won!" Sienna cried. "We did it! We won!"
Peter hugged Remus. "Nice job, pal!"
"Thanks," Remus replied awkwardly. He smiled, red-cheeked, at Silvia, who smiled back as she clapped.
"Now, Dumbledore declared, "there are some changes to be made." He clapped his hands together twice, and the giant hanging Ravenclaw tapestries quickly changed to Gryffindor.
"Hats off!" Someone cheered as each and every student plucked their hats off and threw them into the air.

Silvia Lupin's first year at Hogwarts was officially complete.