History and Truth

Loose Pages

Later that night as he lay in his bed Teddy couldn't help but wonder what his dad thought when he was a first year laying in the tower. He desperately wanted to take the book out but there were so many other people now that wanted to share in it. He couldn't sleep so he took the book with him down to the common room. He went and sat in front of the fireplace watching the dancing flames.

"Would you rather be alone, Teddy?"

He looked up to see Hannah smiling down at him. He moved over on the sofa to make room for her. The pair sat there quietly for a few minutes and then heard Seth clearing his throat from behind them.

"Did you two start without me," he asked.

Teddy laughed, as he said, "No we didn't we were just sitting here."

Seth hoped over the sofa and landed on the other side of Teddy before saying, "I wasn't sure if you were going to read or just wanted a different place to sit and ponder. Either way I figured I'd check on ya."

"Thanks mate. Both of you actually," Teddy replied. He sat quietly for another minute and then picked up the book and began reading.

"He stood and placed a hand on my shoulder urging me up and then forward. My family remained seated apparently in stunned silence. Professor McGonagall finally brought them to their senses and ushered them out of the office, down the stairs and eventually to the Great Hall.

My muggle grandparents were soon as enthralled by the Great Hall, as I had been that morning. We made our way to the High Table, where six additional seats had been added. The gold dishes glittered and shone as they were passes around and eventually emptied. My stomach did an odd sort of flip at the thought that were there for my benefit. Having eaten very little that morning, I was now stuffing myself with gusto.

Once everyone was sufficiently filled, Professor Dumbledore led us all out into the grounds. He was making small talk with my parents, asking me what I thought of the school. When we neared a secluded niche in the Black Lake close to the woods he seemed satisfied and brought the stroll to a stop.

'I wanted to speak with you all in a more relaxed manner before we got into the reason I asked to speak with you. My deputy headmistress and I have discussed the matter and we, she and I, see no reason Remus could not attend school here in two years.'

All of us were shocked. My parents made to protest but were silenced by a look from their former professor.

'As I was saying, certain precautions would need to be taken of course. It is my understanding that your basement at home is presently where Remus transforms. That being the case, a location could be set up here for him to transform. Of course, measures would need to be taken to ensure no students accidentally stumble on the safe house if you will. There are other things to be considered. Remus would have to agree to follow the rules we put in place and promise to inform us if a need relating to his lycanthropy should arise. We have just under two years to take care of the details. Does this proposal sound appealing to you?'

I had been staring at the Headmaster. I turned to look at my family and found all of them in tears. They were speechless. I finally asked, 'Can I really come to school here, Headmaster?'

'Yes, Remus, if your family agrees. You may.'

My father still could not speak. He extended his hand to Professor Dumbledore and nodded. My mother seemed beside herself with joy. Then she wrapped her arms around Dumbledore and whispered, 'Thank you for this.'

I was going to Hogwarts!

The 3 of them found they were all worked up and as excited as they could tell Remus was. They wore identical goofy grins. The other two nodded at Teddy to get him to continue reading. As he went to turn the page a couple of loose pages fell out. Teddy felt horrified at first thinking he had tore up the book but soon realized they were not the same paper as the book so they must have been written in something else and stuck between pages. As Teddy looked closer at the book he realized that several sections were on different paper than the main book but had been added to the spine by a spell. Teddy figured his dad had intended to do the spell on these but his dad had not gotten around to it before he died. The thought made Teddy both sad and excited at the same time but he wasn't sure why. He carefully unfolded the pages and began to read.