A/N: I wrote this for a challenge on the forums. It had to answer at least three of the following questions: What happened to her? Why did she become a nurse? Who did she love? What did she do? How many kids has she cured? What sort of illnesses? When was it worst? Has she ever regretted it? What was her childhood like? And it had to take place before Harry comes to Hogwarts.



Just before start of term my second year working at Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore called me to his office. Although I had no reason to believe I was in trouble, I began to feel some of my old student fears. I timidly walked down the hall and nearly whispered the password, “Gummy worms.�

However, when I entered the office, Professor Dumbledore’s warm smile chased away all my apprehension at once. “Poppy!� he said brightly. “I have something to discuss with you. Please sit down.�

As I sat, I looked around the familiar office. Most of the portraits were sleeping, but an old witch took one look at me and shrieked, “Albus, I thought you’d have graduated that troublemaker by now! Granted, it’s been some time. . . .�

“Go back to sleep, Ursula,� Dumbledore chided, smiling as I blushed and squirmed. “Poppy is our school nurse now.�

“What did you need to speak with me about, Professor?� I asked, starting to get uncomfortable as more portraits awoke and looked at me with raised eyebrows.

“Well, as you are our school nurse, I have a rather delicate assignment for you.�

“Yes, Professor?�

“This year, Remus Lupin is starting at Hogwarts. He is a werewolf.�

“Oh!� I exclaimed. “A werewolf? Are you sure that it’s quite safe for him to be here, Professor? With all of the other students, I mean?�

“He’s only dangerous once a month, Poppy, and this is what I wanted to discuss with you. We are in the process of making a–sanctuary, you might say, for him to be in when his transformations come on. I’m going to put you in charge of escorting him there and back, making sure everything’s secure.�

“A-all right, Professor,� I stuttered, looking anxiously at Ursula, who had been muttering louder and louder throughout the interview. “If you say so.� I stood up. If that was all he had to say, I rather desired to leave.

“I say so,� Dumbledore replied. He smiled at my urgency to get out of Ursula’s presence. “Enjoy your year at Hogwarts, Poppy.�

“Thank you, Professor!� I cried as I fled.

Once I was safely away from the headmaster’s office, I took a deep breath, shook my head, and started to laugh. I’d rather hoped Ursula had forgotten the time when, waiting for Professor Dumbledore, I’d lost my temper and somehow transfigured her nose into a banana (to this day, I couldn’t figure out how I’d done it). Apparently, she hadn’t forgotten, though as she said it had been a long time since I’d been in Dumbledore’s office for troublemaking, nor had she forgiven me. Oh, well. Not much I could do about that now.

My thoughts turned to the young werewolf. The poor thing, having such a burden on him. It was a burden on me to have to take care of him. What if something went wrong? I couldn’t bear it if someone got hurt and I couldn’t do something about it. I sighed and went to go find Jon. He’d want to hear the news.

***


On the second day of school, I was summoned to Dumbledore’s office again. This time I knew what it was for, and the only nervousness I felt concerned that little boy. What would a young werewolf be like?

As soon as I got there, my attention was riveted on a pair of big brown eyes in a pale face, staring back at me. The boy’s light brown hair was cut short and neatly, and I couldn’t help but notice how small he looked, almost engulfed by the chintz armchair he was sitting in.

“Hi!� I said after a moment. “I’m Pop–er . . . Madam Pomfrey.�

A smile lit up the pale face. “Popper Madam Pomfrey?�

“Well, um . . .� I could feel myself blushing.

“My name’s Remus,� he said, offering a hand to shake.

“Nice to meet you,� I replied, ignoring my embarrassment.

“Madam Pomfrey is in charge of your transformation arrangements.�

I jumped. I’d forgotten about Professor Dumbledore. Over his shoulder Ursula thumbed her nose at me (I suppressed the urge to stick my tongue out back).

“Shall we go down, see what’s in store for you?� Dumbledore continued.

“I’d like that,� I said, “considering I don’t know what’s about either. But let’s hurry–I’ve got Elaine Drumzel with an apple on top of her head, some fool thought he’d play William Tell and stuck it on there when she wasn’t looking (not a Permanent Sticking Charm, thank goodness) and poor Martin Wexler ate a Bouncing Bean or two, his friends dared him to swallow them whole. I’ve already given him some Impedimenta Potion, but he’ll be needing more soon or those beans might just pound their way right out of his stomach.�

“Busy already, Poppy?� Dumbledore said.

I declined telling him how busy I’d really been, what with indigestion, falling out of portrait holes, and other first-day accidents, not to mention foolish behavior, and simply nodded.

“We’ll hurry, won’t we?� Remus said, looking a little nervously at Professor Dumbledore. You had to admit, he was a striking figure and a little intimidating, especially to one so small as Remus.

Professor Dumbledore led us down the Hogwarts grounds to a new tree I hadn’t really looked at before. It was waving rather menacingly and seemed about ready to attack when Professor Dumbledore conjured a long stick and pressed a particularly knobby knot and the tree froze.

“This is the Whomping Willow,� he explained. “It’s planted over a tunnel that leads to Hogsmeade, to a house there that I think will suit your needs quite nicely, Remus. Shall we continue?�

I looked askance at the tree but followed Professor Dumbledore through the roots. I could just see the accidents that would come from students playing too near that tree–if I didn’t have to patch them up, I’d be tempted to play with it myself.

When we arrived at the house, Dumbledore showed me how to lock the tunnel so that Remus couldn’t escape. Of course, the whole house was very protected, so everyone would be safe. I nodded.

“Well, that’s about all there is to it. Questions, either of you? Well, Poppy, you’d better get back to the infirmary to deal with your poor vegetation-challenged patients. And Remus, you should probably get back to Gryffindor Tower. Full moon is in two weeks.�

Just after dusk but well before moonrise I met Remus in the entrance hall.

“Let’s go,� he said.

From his manner, I quickly gathered that he was in a bit of a hurry to safely get to the house by moonrise.

As we walked down the grounds, in an effort to distract himself, he asked, “Um, that old lady in Professor Dumbledore’s office doesn’t like you very much, does she? What did you do to make her so mad?�

I started to laugh and told him about the banana incident. Of course, he wanted to know how I’d managed to land myself in Professor Dumbledore’s office so many times, so I related to him my favorite scrapes.

“My husband, Jon, didn’t even know me personally, but, as he says, ‘Everyone heard about Poppy Pope, auburn-haired hooligan!�

Remus laughed, then said as we neared the Whomping Willow, “You’re married? How did you meet?�

I smiled as I froze the menacing tree. “Well, it was a romance somewhat out of novels. I was straight out of Sospitasano, the Healer Academy, and had just started working at St. Mungo’s. Jon got there the day after I did, he had a fever that required a lot of forehead mopping. As the lowest of the low, that was my job, and, well, we fell in love.�

Remus smiled, although he looked distinctly ill. He wiped the sweat from his face with a trembling hand and asked, “How about kids? Do you have kids?�

I was silent for a moment as we walked down the tunnel, then said finally, with a catch in my voice that I’d been trying to avoid, “No, not anymore.�

“Oh, I’m so sorry!� Remus exclaimed immediately, although his voice quivered more than mine–his whole body was shaking violently as he stepped into the house. “I didn’t mean to bring up a sad subject.�

“No, it’s all right,� I told him, and he started backing away with a pained look on his face.

“I’ll see you later, okay?� he gasped, and ran into a different corner of the house. I quickly sealed the tunnel against him and started back up the tunnel. A long, painful howl behind me quickened my step and I reached the Whomping Willow in less than half the time it had taken us previously.

I took a deep breath as I walked back up to the school. The worst part of being a Healer, I reflected, was seeing suffering that I couldn’t alleviate–my little Freesia, Remus–I’d had top marks in everything (had to, if I wanted to be an all-around Healer as opposed to a specialist), but when faced with obstacles like that, there was nothing I felt I could do. As always happened when I thought of three-year-old Freesia, my daughter, my heart tightened and tears came to my eyes. It was hard, even though it had been a little more than a year.

When I’d first arrived at Hogwarts I’d absolutely thrown myself into my work, so I could forget. Seeing Remus’ suffering reminded me, but I thought now of all the students that I could help, all those I already had helped (some more than others, and I’d only worked a year). I was still the school nurse–everyone depended on me to take care of things. And that was perfectly fine with me–if there was one thing I’d never regret, it was taking the job as Madam Pomfrey, Hogwarts school nurse. Although there were heartaches, the job was so interesting, so challenging at times, that I could never get bored. And that, for me, was saying something.

***

I didn’t sleep as well as usual that night. I was plagued by horrible visions of wolves running wild in the school, and I saw Freesia’s face over and over. The last time I saw her, her face morphed into Remus’ sweaty, pain-ridden one. I opened my eyes and looked out the window. It was almost dawn.

I got up and splashed some cold water on my face. I’d had worse nights–I’d realized by now it was all part of being a Healer.

Yawning, I checked on the couple of overnight patients I had (all were sleeping quite peacefully). Then I grabbed a cloak against the early-morning chill and headed out toward the Whomping Willow.

Even though Dumbledore had assured me that I would be in no danger once the moon went down, I was a little worried at what I might find at the old house. I unsealed the tunnel and walked cautiously into the house.

“Remus?� I called.

“I’m here,� a weak voice replied. I followed it upstairs (the banister was partially ripped off) and found the little boy shivering in a bed with a great chunk taken out of the headboard.

I wasted no time in wrapping him in my cloak. “How are you feeling?�

“Terrible,� he croaked, and I noticed several abrasions in his skin that could only have been caused by teeth and claws. “I wanted to get outside, but I couldn’t. Pretty soon there won’t be any furniture left.�

“From the looks of it, there won’t be any of you left either. Come on up to the hospital wing,� I said. “I’ll get you some Pepper-Up Potion and you can stay there the rest of the day, or until you feel better.� I added conversationally, “A couple of boys from your dormitory came to visit me the other day. I got them sorted, never fear.�

“Who, James and Sirius? What did they do, exactly?� Remus asked, interested.

I smiled. “I’m not quite sure,� I admitted. “Since I was such a, hmm, rulebreaker as a student, I’ve decided that it wouldn’t be fair for me to pry too much into my patients’ lives. You’ll have to ask them yourself–I never ask too many questions.�

“I’ll have to do that,� he said. “Or . . . maybe not. They don’t know I’ve seen you–they think my mother’s ill.�

“Hmm,� I said thoughtfully. “That does present a problem.�

Remus stopped at the end of the tunnel and said, “Listen, I’m sorry about what I said last night.�

“Don’t worry about it,� I replied. “We have to hurry, now, the sun’s up and we don’t want to be seen.�

We soon got back to the hospital wing and I brewed up some Pepper-up potion and put a curtain around his bed so no one would notice him.

Professor Dumbledore came to visit in the middle of the day when the hospital wing was miraculously empty (except for Remus).

“I wanted to thank you, Poppy, for being so willing to do this.�

“Shh! Professor!� I admonished quietly, gesturing at Remus’ bed, where he was sleeping.

“Sorry,� he whispered. “Anyway, not everyone would consent to taking care of a young werewolf. Many people believe that half-breeds should be shunned.�

“Oh, he’s not a half-breed to me, Professor!� I said, shocked. “He’s just a little boy like any other. It doesn’t matter who someone is, I’ll take care of him.�

Professor Dumbledore smiled. “Trust you not to bother about political implications. It’s a treasure to have you with us, Poppy.�

I blushed. “Try telling Ursula that,� I smiled.

“I’ll leave you with your patient now,� Professor Dumbledore said, and left.

As soon as I was sure Remus was still sleeping, I went into my office and called Jon up to have some time together. Being more politically minded than I was, he wanted to talk about what it meant to have a werewolf at Hogwarts.

“Didn’t we discuss this when I first told you the news?� I yawned. “I just need a little rest.�

My wonderful husband smiled and wrapped his arms around me. “For just a few minutes, Poppy. You’re the school nurse, you know.�

Yes, I knew. And I was proud of that fact.


A/N: Yes, this was my first real attempt at fanfiction, how did you know? If Brunette ever reads this, since it was her challenge, I'm sorry it wasn't a very tragic life. I'm not a very tragic person. Hmm . . . I guess this isn't a very popular topic. Well, if you do happen to read it--and get all the way through it--drop a review on your way out!