Window into the Past

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I opened my eyes, finding Tiny tucked under my chin. "How are you feeling?" Madam Pomfrey asked me as I woke up. "Groggy but okay," I nodded. "Feeling up for some visitors?" she asked me and I nodded. 

She opened the door and Ron, Hermione and Harry came in. "Joy, you got sick again?" Ron sighed. "This isn't the first time?" Harry asked, concerned. 

"No," I shook my head. "I get sick a lot." 

"A weak immune system?" Hermione asked me. "No, more like chronic illness because of the moon," I told her. 

"The moon makes you sick?" Harry frowned. "No way!" Ron gaped. "You're a were..." 

"Shush!" I smacked his arm. "I don't want people knowing. It's a variant of lycanthropy. My father was a werewolf and obviously he and my mum had me. It's rare to inherit it but I was born April 30th 1980 on the night of a full moon. My dad turned and my mum went into labour once the full moon rose and I was born with....this. Being born with lycanthropy is extremely rare. Not to mention it's extremely frowned upon in our society. You guys have to promise me you won't tell anyone. Anyone."

"Of course we won't," Hermione reassured me. "Promise me," I looked at them all. 

"We promise," they said in unison.

"What are you getting for the sickness?" Hermione asked me. "I just take a Sleeping Draught to sleep through it," I told her. "It was way worse when I was younger, I'd be in pain and I'd be so angry and sometimes..."

I sat up, purposefully not finishing my story. "So any news?"

"Snape is a complete nutter," Ron told me. "I said news, Ron, meaning something new," I laughed.

"We think Snape let the troll out," Harry told me. I sat up, intrigued. "I saw a scar on his leg, he tried to get past that three headed dog on Halloween."

They let me out of the infirmary on the day of Harry's Quidditch match. I walked into the Great Hall, Harry spotted me and looked very glad to see me up and about once more.

"Joy!" Ron leapt out of his seat and hugged me. "You're out!"

"There was no hoping hell I was missing the Quidditch match," I smiled, sitting down and Hermione handed me the platter of sausages.

"Will that be happening once a month?" Hermione wondered. "Unfortunately," I sighed. "There's no cure?" Ron asked me. "I've been like this since I was born, Ron. It's a chronic illness I have, meaning it's not going away anytime soon. But...I manage. It's twelve days in a whole year...I can manage it."

"Don't worry, we'll cover for you," Harry reassured me. I gave him a small smile and helped myself to the food.

At around eleven, me, Ron and Hermione headed for the Quidditch stands. I wore some face paint and I shot gold and red sparks from my wand.

"You should try out for the Quidditch team next year," Seamus Finnegan said to me. "Wasn't your mam on the Hufflepuff team?"

"Trust me, the second that tryouts are on, I'll be there," I laughed, waving a flag.

Lee Jordan was doing the commentary, which was bloody hilarious. Hagrid was on the side of the Gryffindors and we all cheered once Gryffindor scored.

"Any sign of the Snitch?" Hermione asked me as I looked through my binoculars. "Nope."

We watched Harry speeding off, he must have spotted the Snitch. As he was riding after it, his broom suddenly stopped and like a bull, tried to throw Harry off.

"What's going on?" Ron took my binoculars to have a look. "The broom is trying to throw him off!" I exclaimed. "Only Dark Magic could do something like that," Hagrid told us.

Hermione took the binoculars from Ron to have a look. "It's Snape! He's jinxing the broom!"

"I'll sort it," I offered and I made my way through the panicking Gryffindors.

I ran behind the stands where the teachers were sitting. I closed my eyes and whispered a few words under my breath and I heard shrieking on the stands.

Mission accomplished.

I ran back down, to see Harry holding the Snitch triumphantly. I clapped and I started cheering loudly.

***

"We saw him do it!" I exclaimed once the mug was placed in front of me. "Rubbish," Hagrid brushed us off. "Why would Snape do something like that?"

"He was trying to get past that three headed dog on Halloween," Harry explained. "It bit him, he was trying to get what it was guarding."

"How do you know about Fluffy?"

"FLUFFY?!"

"It has a name?" Ron gaped. "Bought him off some Greek chap," Hagrid told us. "I lent him to Dumbledore to....."

"Yeah?" Hermione wondered. "Nothing, don't ask me anymore, it's top secret."

"Snape is trying to steal it!" Harry made the point abundantly clear.

"That's rubbish!"

"Then why did he try to kill Harry? I know jinxes, Snape didn't take his eyes off Harry," Hermione insisted. "No blinking or anything.

"You're wrong!" Hagrid laid it out for us. "Snape wouldn't try to kill a student, the four of you are getting into something that you shouldn't. Forget the dog and what it's guarding, that is between Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel."

"AHA!" I suddenly exclaimed.

"I shouldn't have said that," Hagrid sighed.

So, something was being guarded by Fluffy, that Snape was after. And only Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel knew about it.

Well, well, well. We're going to be busy.