Howling Loud [Remus Lupin's Sister] (A Harry Potter Fanfiction)

Chapter 8

I want to start by saying I am truly so very sorry. It's been almost three years, and believe me, I am truly ashamed. I will try to update but, honestly, I cannot promise anything. I love you all and thank you for not hating me.
Xoxo
-E

I woke up feeling a warm body next to me. I looked next to me and saw Justin Finch Fletchley. He was maybe as confused as I was. Our hands were still intertwined and we both quickly let go.

"You okay, kiddo?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I think so. What happened?" He asked me.

"We were petrified, just like Colin, Mrs. Norris, Hermione, Penelope Clearwater..." I began, now I knew why the vision showed me Penelope and Hermione in the library, they were the next to be petrified.

"But, Hermione and Penelope were fine the other night..." he interrupted me. I panicked, how would I explain to him how I knew?

"Uh, they're right there" I told him, quickly finding them with my eyes.

"Oh" he said simply.

We both got up from the bed and walked to Madame Pomfrey's office. She was sitting behind her desk with oval spectacles over her nose, reading some papers and adding ingredients to a potion. We decided not to interrupt her, so we just stood there kind of awkwardly until she raised her head to look at us and smiled.

"I'm glad to see you both on your feet. Now go back to bed, I want to monitor you for the next couple hours, then, you can go" she shooed us away from her office and back into bed, now each one on their own.

Madame Pomfrey walked around, administrating a potion to all the petrified students, and once they woke up, she plopped them back into bed. She checked on out heartbeat and breathing a couple times, as well as gastrointestinal functioning, we were petrified for so long she was worried it might leave sequels go our organism. It was about dinner when she finally let us go off with the instruction to come the following week for a checkup.

For being petrified for so long, I didn't feel any different, there was no... there was actually nothing. I had no idea how long I was out, there was no memory gap or anything, it was just as continuous as from nightfall to daybreak, as if I had just fallen asleep.

I looked around the Great Hall and it kind of hit me. I didn't realise how long I was out, but I had missed on so much. So many things I didn't do, so many pranks I didn't play, so many Quidditch practices I missed.

"Lŷkaina!" I hear a pair of voices yell.

"Fred! George!" I ran to my friends as I saw them run towards me. I jumped into their arms and they caught me in the air, holding me in an embrace between them. As I felt their contact, z
I realised I felt what I had missed. As if there had been a part of myself missing and now, with them, I was complete.

•••

Summer passed and a new school year approached. I was really excited, mostly because Remus would be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts this year after stupid Lockhart obliviated himself with Ron's broken wand. The other reason I was happy was because Flint failed Transfiguration last year and I was the chosen one. Yup! I had been chosen as substitute for at least the first game or until Flint passed the tests... honestly, I hoped he didn't. It was not all great, he could still call shots on some things, like training schedule and replacing players if necessary but when it came to Quidditch, the team was all mine.

The train ride to school was uneventful... until dementors appeared. The train suddenly stopped and the windows were frosted, everything around was cold. Felix, Adrian and I were in a compartment with Cedric Diggory and a Ravenclaw boy called Fai Zheng. We saw the dark figures pass by, and one stopped at our door, but then decided to move on. The four of us were petrified in shock, as if all our breaths were caught in our throats. Fai had slowly stood up, raising his wand, in case they decided to come back.

A blinding light then filled the train, and the frost disappeared. They were gone. I left the compartment to go and find Remus, who had had a terrible night and decided to sleep in an empty compartment. As soon as I found him and saw he was in the same compartment as Harry,  I knew this year was not going to be quiet... again. With my luck, I'm probably gonna end up in the middle of it all... again.

When we got to the castle, I sat with Felix and Adrian, and we chatted as Dumbledore explained that Dementors would be roaming the castle because of Sirius Black. That name was vaguely familiar but I couldn't put my finger on the why. Perhaps I read it on the Daily Prophet? Dinner ended sooner than I would have liked and instead of going to the dorm, I went to see my brother.

"How are you feeling?" I asked him, leaning on the frame of his door. He was putting all of his books in their places, making too much effort for someone who barely slept two hours and had his energy drained for become a werewolf.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" He smiled at me and shook his head.

"Shouldn't you?" I counterclaimed, "look at you, Remus, you look exhausted. Go to bed, I'll help you finish unpacking in the morning, I promise. But you really have to sleep" I gently pushed him towards his personal chamber, to the bed. I sat him down and put the covers over him.

"Will you stay until I'm asleep?" Remus asked like a young kid.

"Of course" I told him, sitting in the bed, next to him.

For as long as I could remember, it had always been like that, Remus would be my cool big brother most of the time, until full moon came. Then he would be almost like a zombie, because of wolvesbane, but still transform, the wolf would drain his energy and weaking him so much he could barely walk. I would care for him those days. It was hard for me to leave him for school, knowing he wouldn't have anyone to care for him. Taking care of him drained me too, not so much physically but mentally, seeing my brother in that state was hard, knowing he can't do anything to revert it or to prevent the symptoms... all I could do was watch as the wolf consumed him each month, how he seemed to age decades those days after the transformation.

Once he was finally asleep, I went to his office and took out my wand, putting everything in place so he didn't do it in the morning. Once I was pleased with how it turned out, I went to the dorm and plopped myself in the bed in full robes. I looked out the window, seeing the moon, after full moon but still not on waxing gibbous. Once it reached Waxing Gibbous, Remus would be fine again, he would return to his own self. The moon has always been able I've loved, yet feared. I loved to see her in the night, lighting the way, but I dreaded the night of full moon, I counted the days, wishing it would never come, even though it was when she was most beautiful.