A Different Kind of Magic--UNDERGOING EDIT

This was a tricky, fascinating chapter to work on and I just love the dimension it adds to the story. It will tie in nicely with the main theme and adds depth and texture to some of our secondary characters. Pay close attention to the events of the past, for they greatly influence how the characters of the present will interact with one another. Enjoy and thanks for sticking with me. Reviews are always appreciated! Mwah!

Chapter 35- The Truth of the Matter

Ava was relieved to finally be free of her duties for the summer. She immediately packed her things and Apparated to St. Mungo’s to sit with Professor Lupin. The psychiatric ward staff was dubious when she first explained that her presence might help him stabilize and recover, that is until she told them of their budding romance. They reluctantly allowed her to wait in a comfortable room for family members of patients, first having explained he was at a treatment session. Not willing to give her any more information, she was forced to sit and wait until they allowed him visitors.

--

The memories being brought forward burned like liquid hot candle wax dripping onto the front of his brain. They were unwanted, drawn there by the spell continually cast on him simultaneously by four different Healers. Moony desperately wanted to break free and rip them all limb from limb. With excruciating slowness he relived the memories in his minds’ eye as his muscles tensed and he mentally tried to claw his way out of the torment to no avail. The Petrificus Totalus kept him immobile and at their mercy.

’Moony, it’s time.’

Peter tugged on the sleeve of his robe, urging him to follow. He did. He still wasn’t sure about this, but having no other recourse except to go along with it or have Lily tell James about their indiscretion left him with a heavy heart. Wincing, he recalled the moment near Hogsmeade when Snape had discovered him with his hands all over Lily and her ready to drop to her knees, although he supposed Snape hadn’t known that. Remus knew it was risky to do something so brash out in public, but the factor in possible discovery was an aphrodisiac to the beautiful witch, and he had been desperate for her attentions. No other woman had paid him those particular favors before. With a heavy heart and aching loins he had acquiesced, and fallen in love with the witch as surely as James and Severus had done.

Remus cried out, his blood boiling, fighting the spell that made him relive the pain of brotherhood and betrayal.

‘It’s about time you two got here!’ Lily hissed. ‘I only told Professor McGonagall we’d be gone for two hours and
you’ve wasted half of it!’

‘Sorry Lily,’ Remus mumbled. Padfoot and Prongs were splashing water from the fountain that rested just inside the Forbidden Forest behind Hagrids’s hut. It was a popular Apparition point, so James had erected anti-Apparition wards for the time being. They’d be lucky if they completed the ritual before someone came to check up on the site to remove the wards once they were discovered.

‘Would you two quit messing around and get over here?’

Sirius rolled his eyes and winked at the gorgeous witch. ‘Right, love. At your service.’

James shot Sirius a serious glance but jumped down from the ledge and sauntered over to his girlfriend, wrapping his arms around her waist possessively. Remus’ heart lurched in his chest at the sight. He kept his head down so as not to betray his true feelings.

‘What’s the point of this again?’ Sirius muttered as he preened over his robes. ‘I’ve got a hot bird waiting for me after dinner. Can we get on with it or what?’

‘If you lot would stop prattling I will explain.’ The impatient woman put both hands on her hips, reminiscent of the look they all knew so well that warned not to mess with her. ‘You are all aware of the challenge that Slytherin House has made toward Gryffindor House.’

The boys all nodded. Tensions had been building ever since the incident with Snape that had publically humiliated him in front of Lily in which he had called her a Mudblood. Snape had, in their opinion, embellished the story to the point of claiming to know of a secret Gryffindor plot to frame Slytherin House in some grand end of year prank. Slytherin House had taken the bait and issued a wizard’s duel of their house’s seventh year students against Gryffindor’s seventh years.

The school year was drawing to a close and the group wanted to have an advantage. Lily had discovered a spell in the restricted section she had claimed to have changed to suit their needs with help from a friend she refused to reveal. It was supposed to bind their magic and combine it so they had the upper hand in the duel. A side-effect she warned them of was that they’d all be permanently bound to one another psychically, and she did not know what type of permanent effect it would have on them all.

‘I still don’t like it,’ murmured Remus quietly.

Lily looked at him sharply and gave an unladylike snort. ‘You’re either with us or against us, Remus. Maybe you’d like to duel with the Slytherins?’

‘Yeah, I bet Snivellus would just love to have a Gryffindor werewolf on his team.’ Sirius choked up with laughter at his friends’ expense.

‘Stop it, all of you!’ James whispered harshly. ‘This isn’t a pissing contest. We’re all on the same side, remember? If we fight amongst ourselves than they’ve already won. Now let’s get on with it and get to dinner.’

One by one the Marauders and Lily placed their hands in a pile in the center of the small circle they formed. Remus was the last to put his hand on top after stern looks from the two Head students.

Lily held her wand over their hands and began an intricate singsong incantation. Her beautiful green eyes turned a swirling violet as she spoke, her concentration deeply set upon the spell she cast. The world seemed to fade away from view as darkness descended over the group. It was a warm, almost welcoming sort of darkness that made one feel drowsy and safe. Entranced and barely able to breathe, the four boys stood stock still under the invisible binds that wrapped about their conjoined hands until they were lashed so tight their hands turned purple from loss of blood.

Lily’s lilting voice grew louder as an invisible wind arose from the nothingness and swirled around them gently. It grew in intensity with the sound of her voice seeming to egg it on. Her incantation and the breeze chased one another over their heads and around their legs, weaving in and out of their bodies until winding tendrils could be felt about each of their bodies in the same tight embrace as their hands.

Peter gasped and cried out in pain. He was certain something had gone horribly wrong and they were all going to die.
James gritted his teeth, determined not to follow suit even though he could feel the blood flow being cut off to his brain. Sirius was failing to appear unaffected as his eyes started lolling into the back of his head. Only Remus appeared stoic in the face of such extreme pressure slowly crushing each of their bodies. Lily was oblivious to them all, consumed by the spell as she was.

Just when it seemed the boa constrictor tightness would be the end of them all, she brought her wand down sharply in a move that seemed to sever all ties at once. The party of five was thrust back into the wizarding world behind Hagrid’s hut next to the fountain as they were all shoved unceremoniously to their backsides from the momentum of being released.

Each of them took a shaky breath and looked to one another. Sirius was the first to grin and he burst out laughing. ‘That was cool! Hey Lily, where did you say you got that spell from. I want to try it again!’

James nudged him with his foot. ‘Don’t be an ass, mate, that was dangerous.’ He looked seriously at his girlfriend. ‘I hope it worked.’

Lily gave him a smug grin and opened the palm of her hand. She traced a simple pattern with her wand and said, “James”.
She thought of something and projected it at him and he grinned.

‘Wow! Is that how this spell works?’

She smiled back at him and showed each of them how to make the wand movement on their palm and say their friend’s name, directing thought or emotion to the person in question. She still wasn’t exactly sure how the combined magic portion of it was going to pan out, but they were all delighted by the new connection they shared.

Arm in arm the five of them traipsed back up to the castle to the Great Hall, just in time for dinner.

Remus looked back just as they were entering the castle and frowned, sniffing the air. He caught a glimpse of Snape, hands buried beneath his school robes coming from the general direction they had just traversed. Snape gave him an ugly sneer before Remus turned away with a troubled heart.

He was sidetracked by a boisterous Lily who dragged him inside with her free hand. ‘Come on slowpoke!’

After that night he forgot all about Snape’s dark look, and the much-hyped duel between houses never came to pass. After fooling around with the bond back and forth for pranks and a few secrets, the five grew tired of the new trick and promptly forgot about it shortly after graduation.

But Remus remembered what happened the night his friends died at the betrayal of Pettigrew and his own innocent slip of confidence that led to their doom. A mental scream of horror was ripped from his throat as it all came rushing back.

The Healers all scrambled for his bed when blood shot from his nose, ears and tear ducts, a silent scream constricting his throat as his frozen body seemed to be contorting in on itself. They quickly released him, holding him down manually as another poured a Dreamless Sleep down his throat.

Within minutes he was out, and his body went limp. The Healers all conferred with one another for several moments before
Remus was escorted from the room and back to a supervised, independent wing of the unit.


--


Remus awoke to the gaze of a worried Healer above him. He growled low in his throat when she came near, frightening her into receding to the other side of the room.

“What have you done to me?” he rasped hoarsely. He felt as if he’d been tied to a Nimbus 9000 and dragged along the ground for miles.

The young Healer stammered an apology. “You- you had memory repression therapy performed, sir. We’ve restored the memories that have been interfering with your daily functioning.”

Remus drew in a sharp breath as what seemed like a dream came rushing back. Lily! Oh God, what had he done? It was his fault they were dead! They were all dead! He squeezed his eyes shut tight as tears threatened to fall. He didn’t want to cry in front of the Healer.

The frightened witch drew closer to him, finally lending a comforting small hand on his arm. “If there is anything you want to talk about, I or another Healer will be here any time of day or night to listen. You aren’t under obligation to talk about the repressed memories, but we encourage you to release that which has caused you so much pain, when you are ready of course.”

He resisted the urge to throw off her well meaning gesture and instead schooled his face into a mask of polite acceptance. “Thank you. It might be awhile before I am ready to discuss this.”

“Of course, Mr. Lupin.” The young witch paused and glanced over her shoulder toward the door.

“Pardon me, but there is someone here that has been waiting for a long while to visit with you. Are you up to a visitor?”

He considered the inquiry for a moment and nodded stiffly.

The Healer smiled and quickly poked her head out the door and ushered in the last person he expected to see; Ava.

Bloodshot eyes flickered up at her and back down to his lap. “I told Rabastan not to let you come.”

“How could he stop me? Nothing would have, you know.” She un-shouldered her bag and set it down.

“I don’t want you seeing me like this.”

“How am I supposed to help you if you won’t let me see you?”

“Don’t you see!” he gestured emphatically. “I am in a psychiatric ward! My son is dead! I attacked Hermione!” He dropped his head into his hands. Despite his progress with the memories returning he had still done some terrible things that were unforgiveable.

Ava was oblivious to his inner torment from the repression therapy and tackled the issue of what she knew to be hurting him. “Teddy’s not dead! Don’t you dare say that! You know Hermione will forgive you.”

“Miss Longbottom,” warned the staff Healer quietly, “I am warning you not to further upset Mr. Lupin.”

Ava’s voice lowered. “Teddy’s not dead. They are going to find him and bring him home. You’ll see.”

“Severus…. killed him and disappeared to get back at me. I just know it. All is lost. He’s- he’s poisoned Hermione’s
mind and now she will join him.” He couldn’t seem to shake the dual feelings that now reigned inside of him. Despite his
returned, rational mind telling him to be optimistic, there was still what seemed to be another stronger, more insistent voice that forced him to speak of the worst.

“Hermione is back at the Weasley’s.”

He turned up his chin to meet her eyes. “She is?” The calm, rational side of him grew brighter with this bit of news.

“Yes, and she is working on the special project we talked about.”

He studied her intently. The war inside between the distrust and optimism wavered. “Are they sure this is wise? She could be biding her time.”

“Remus, if she was a bad person, don’t you think she’d have gone by now? She hasn’t made one attempt to leave or send off any messages. Arthur has been watching her around the clock. So has Rabastan when he is there. She’s not the person you think she is.”

Lupin seemed to mull over this new information with keen interest. “Does she talk about Severus?”

“She only says that she has complete faith in him, Remus. You do know that Professor Snape has lost his magical abilities?”

“No!” His agitation flared again. “I was never told that! How was I supposed to know? I’m not a mind- reader!” He could feel his blood pulse angrily through his veins. Something was still not right and Moony raged inside his head like a caged animal. It was making him unnecessarily edgy.

“Well now you know. Harry thought it prudent to tell everyone considering the circumstances since some of the Order members were under the impression that Snape had cast that scorching spell. Now we know there is no way it could have been him. If he had taken Teddy, it would have been on foot. He didn’t even have the ability to Apparate.”

“It could have been a Port Key,” he quickly interjected.

“Maybe,” she said slowly. “We are considering that possibility, but Minerva has re-considered several others. She’s come to the conclusion they were taken to an unknown location, but an anti-tracing spell was used to dissipate the magical
energy before it could be followed, which is why we can’t trace it.”

“He could have been meeting up with his old cohorts.”

“Remus!” Ava was trying real hard not to lose her patience or raise her voice.

“Why would Severus meet up with friends who scorched the ground and then disappear?”

“They could have killed my son and left.”

“But there were no human remains. No remains at all. No one was killed. There is one other thing.”

“Which is?”

“The piece of fabric Arthur and Hermione found at the scene from his travelling cloak- it was burned. Whoever cast that scorching spell was aiming in the direction of Professor Snape. He had been on the tail end of the spell. The piece wasn’t torn off his cloak, it was burned off.”

She could tell it was difficult for Remus to accept this. His mind wanted desperately to place the blame on a man he distrusted so much, but his heart seemed to be arguing with that ill-fated logic. Ava held her breath. Would he be able
to find hope in the truth?

An alarm bell made them all jump. The attending staff member seemed torn between needing to leave and being duty-bound to stay. The former won. “Will you be alright with him if I leave you here? I will need to lock the door, but this is an emergency. It’s an ‘All Call.’ All staff needs to report immediately.

Ava nodded. “Yes, we’ll be fine. Just go. I am training as a Healer, too.”

“Alright then, but if you have any concerns,” she emphasized, “push the red button above the door.”

“I will.”

With that, she left and the pair was alone. Ava reached out for his hands, dropping the subject of concern. He pulled away at first, but then let her take them. It felt so good to hold her hands in his own. She was a balm against the unending storms in his heart.

“I’ve missed you,” she said simply, genuinely.

“I’ve missed you too; desperately. I’ve been so lost without your smiling face.”

“I’m going to visit you every day, from now on until you are released. After that, I am never going to let you out of my sight.”

“What are you saying, Ava?” His face lit up with a hope she hadn’t seen in the past weeks of darkness and worry.

“I know you wanted to give this more time, but these few weeks away from you have made me realize how much I’ve come to care for you. I’ve fallen in love with you, Remus. I want to be with you always.”

“Oh Ava,” he breathed, “I care for you so much. My sweet, darling Ava.” He gripped her hands tightly and his worries
faded away with the swell in his heart at her words. “What could an old werewolf like me possibly to have to offer such
a vibrant, talented young witch? You deserve someone young, someone-“

“I want you, Remus,” her tone firmly admonished. “You won’t talk me out of it, so don’t even try. You’re stuck with me
whether you like it or not. We will find Teddy and when I am done with my training, we can all move into your quarters at the school and have babies of our own.”

“I-I don’t know what to say-“

“Then don’t say anything, my love. Just tell me you want to be with me, and I will be happy with that until you are ready to tell me it’s for good.”

“I want to be with you Ava, I’ve always wanted that. You know that.” This was too good to be true. He had already loved and lost. Finding it again seemed as if it were being given to him only to be ripped away once more, but he was willing to take the love she so willingly offered if it meant he could make her happy.

“I know, Remus. I just needed to hear you say it.”

“What did I ever do to deserve you?”

“You are an extraordinary man and made me fall in love with you. I’ll forever be madly in love with you.”

Remus let his gaze drop to the floor. A fierce storm was brewing inside of him. His transfer to St. Mungo’s had been anything but smooth with the onset of his transformation. After a hideous three days in a reinforced, werewolf-proof cell, he had had to endure a complete magical blood transfusion that seemingly quieted the storm in his blood before the memory repression therapy, but now the slow burn in his blood was beginning to creep back into the edges of his feelings and mind. If he told the staff, they would send Ava away and force him into isolation. If he did nothing, he might end up hurting those he loved again. The hot impulsiveness that flowed through him seemed to prey off of his fears and insecurities. Goddess only knew what it would end up being the next time around. Remus was frightened, but he needed the strength and tenderness of this beautiful woman. She was his salvation.

“Ava.”

“Remus.”

They reached for each other for a tender, then impassioned kiss. His mouth hungrily suckled her bottom lip, tongues meeting and parting in greeting. He moved closer to her, kneeling in front of her chair. Arms entwined around each other’s shoulders. One hand pressed over Ava’s right breast. They both realized how quickly this was turning into something that would not be able to end the way they wanted it to. With great difficulty, they parted, panting heavily with desire for one another.

“We can’t. We’ll finish this another time,” he gasped with great restraint, holding her at arm’s length.

“I know. It’s okay; just promise me we’ll finish this when you get out of here.”

“I promise you, we will.” Moving back to their respective places and straightening mussed clothing, they allowed their
respirations to diminish and heart rates to come down to a normal pace.

The alarm bell was silenced. Shortly thereafter, the Healer came back into the room and eyed them suspiciously when she spied a smear of lipstick on Remus’ cheek.

“Did I miss something?”

They just smiled.