A/N: By the way - this story is most likely going to be 70 chapters. That's the plan, I have the chapters outline, but sometimes something unexpected happens and I can compact a chapter, or I have to split it. But for now - 70.
Enjoy the chapter ;)
Chapter 49: Tragic Reconciliation
“What’s wrong, Harry?” Hermione asked as they left potions together. “You’ve been acting really odd all class…”
“I don’t have time to tell you now,” Harry said, his pace quickening. “I have to go see Professor Lupin…”
“But Harry “” Hermione started as she tried to keep up with him.
“Later, Hermione,” he said as he took off away from her and dashed towards the marble staircase.
Harry had spent most of potions class in shock; he had been completely unable to concoct a proper Blood Replenishing Potion and a disappointed Alchemina had given him extra homework. Now, however, as he raced towards Lupin’s classroom, he was no longer shocked; he was angry. He felt a knot form in his stomach at the thought of how Lupin would react to the news that his newfound love wasn’t who she appeared to be; that she was planning something secret with strangers, that she was keeping him completely in the dark, that she was even ‘dosing’ him daily “ whatever that meant.
Harry was almost out of breath when he finally reached Lupin’s classroom; he strode inside quickly, but no one had arrived yet. He looked at his watch: there was still ten minutes until the next class. He decided that Lupin must have been off running an errand, and that it would be best to wait there for him.
Three minutes passed painfully before the classroom door clicked and opened.
“Professor Lupin!” Harry said, but felt himself flush when it was not Lupin who entered, but Alchemina.
“Oh, I’m sorry Mr. Potter “ did you need to speak with Professor Lupin?” she asked as she walked inside and strode over to Lupin’s desk.
“Yes.” Harry said, avoiding her eye. “It’s urgent.”
“That’s unfortunate,” Alchemina said. “But surely you realized that last night was a full moon?”
“Oh. Yeah.” Harry said dully. He had completely forgotten.
“Is there anything I can help you with?” she asked in a concerned tone.
“No “ no, I’ll just wait until he’s back,” Harry said as he turned to leave.
“I’ll be sure to give him the message that you were looking for him,” she said.
“Thanks,” Harry said as he fought back his building rage towards her and left the classroom in a cold sweat. He had felt that Lupin was in danger, but he told himself that nothing could really happen to him while he was in his werewolf form. Surely Alchemina didn’t go about poisoning him while he was a dangerous monster?
Harry left Lupin’s classroom quite distractedly, and wandered aimlessly through the halls for a few minutes before he carelessly knocked into a small second-year girl, causing her books to fall to the floor. Shaken from his thoughts, he picked her things up and, because he didn’t have class until after lunch, headed for the Gryffindor common room.
He thought absently for a moment that he was supposed to have met Ron and Hermione in the Library to research Augureys for the Care of Magical Creatures essays, but pushed it to the side; he wasn’t much in the mood for homework at that particular moment.
“Kneazle Hairs,” Harry told the Fat Lady as he reached her portrait, and she swung open to let him through to the common room. It was empty, except for one person: Katie.
She was sitting in an armchair looking very upset; her face was splotchy and her eyes red.
“Katie,” he said quietly, approaching her cautiously, “What’s the matter?”
She was quiet for a few moments.
“Why should I tell you?” she muttered sadly.
He was taken aback by this question, but he proceeded with determination,
“Because I care about you. I don’t like seeing you like this “ what’s happened?” he said.
“Funny “ if you don’t like seeing me upset, giving me the cold shoulder didn’t seem like the proper thing to do, did it?” she sounded as though she were trying to prevent herself from crying, and she wouldn’t look him in the eye.
Harry didn’t know how to respond; he didn’t want to get into the same fight again.
“Of course, you didn’t have trouble talking to Ginny, did you?” she asked, looking him in the eye now. “Let her have a good cry on your shoulder, while I spent Valentine’s Day alone…”
Harry felt a stab of impatience.
“Katie “ Ginny’s my friend, she’s grieving for her father. She needs support.”
“She’s not the only one…” Katie said, sounding closer to the verge of tears.
“What?”
“This arrived an hour ago, from my sister,” she told him, holding out a piece of parchment he hadn’t noticed until now. He took it from her and read the first few lines.
Dear Katie,
I’m sorry to have to write this in an owl, there was an attack at St Mungo’s. A Ministry official just arrived at my house to inform me “ Dad’s alright; but it was Mum’s ward they attacked, and “ well, she was killed, Katie…
Harry stopped, and looked up at Katie.
“Your Mum? She’s been “”
“Killed,” Katie finished.
Harry rushed over to her and wrapped his arms around her. She fought for a moment, but then laid her head on his shoulder and started to cry softly.
“I’m so sorry, Katie,” he whispered. He didn’t know what else to say. Katie then
“No…” she said, as she tried to pull away again. Apparently she was torn between her anger towards Harry and her need to have him holding her.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t trust you Harry “ please, I need to be alone…it hurts enough without having you here on top of it,” she said.
“No, I’m not leaving you,” Harry said. “Please, Katie “ I promise you can trust me… I won’t leave your side…”
Katie looked painfully and longingly at him, then resigned herself to defeat and walked back to Harry, throwing her arms around him and breaking down into tears.
---
The news of Mrs. Bell’s death completely wiped the incident with Alchemina from Harry’s mind. He spent all day taking care of Katie. He left her in his dormitory while he brought her lunch from the Great Hall, and he didn’t go to the rest of his classes. He felt terribly for Katie, but at the same time, he was much relieved to have her back with him.
Around four o’clock, Ron came into the dormitory and told Harry that Hermione was worried out of her mind wondering where he had gotten to.
“Mind you, once she finds out you’ve been up here all day she’ll go mental…” he warned.
“Honestly, I don’t care,” Harry said.
“What’s wrong with Katie, how come she’s up her with you? I thought you weren’t talking,” Ron said, nodding to where she lay on Harry’s bed, having cried herself to sleep.
“She got a letter this morning from her sister,” Harry said quietly. “Her mum was killed.”
“Killed?” Ron asked, sounding stricken. “How?”
“There was an attack on her ward at St. Mungo’s…” Harry said.
“That’s horrible,” Ron said, watching Katie now with sympathy.
The door to the dormitory burst open, and Hermione came in, pale with anxiety.
“Ron “ is he in here?” she said, but stopped when she saw Harry. “Where on earth have you been “ I haven’t seen you since this morning…”
“Could you lower your voice just a bit? Katie’s asleep…” Ron said.
“Katie, why’s she in here?” she asked and she looked to Harry’s bed.
“And, try not to go parading into other people’s rooms uninvited while you’re at it…” Ron added.
“You don’t normally mind,” Hermione said coolly, and Ron flushed slightly. “Anyway “ what is Katie doing sleeping in here “ and why have you missed all your classes?”
There was a moment of tense silence.
“Katie’s mum was killed…” Ron told her.
“Oh, that’s awful!” Hermione said, clapping her hands to her mouth. “Is she alright? Oh, she must be terribly upset…”
“Yeah, she is “ I’ve been with her all day,” Harry said.
“But I thought the two of you weren’t speaking?”
Harry sighed in frustration.
“They’ve made up,” Ron answered for him.
“How come you didn’t say anything this morning?” Hermione asked anxiously.
“I didn’t know until after Potions…” Harry said.
“Then what was wrong with you during class? You seemed upset…”
It was the first time Harry had been reminded of what he’d overheard, and he felt a small amount of anger flare inside him.
“It’s Alchemina,” he explained. “I heard her talking to someone in her office fireplace. She was planning something, they were all on about how ‘Lupin must be kept in the dark’ and how ‘no one must know’ and apparently she’s poisoning him, too.”
“You have to be kidding me…” said Ron, eyes wide with shock as he dropped onto his bed, apparently unable to take any more bad news.
“No, she couldn’t be…” said Hermione.
“It’s what I heard…”
“And you couldn’t have misunderstood?” Hermione asked, now pacing the room.
“Seemed pretty clear. Lupin in dark, dosing him in his morning coffee, no one must know, consequences if they’re caught…”
“Did you tell Lupin about it?” Ron asked.
“I went to his office but “”
“ “ it’s the full moon. I tried to tell you when you went dashing off,” Hermione finished. “It’s a good thing too, because I don’t think you should say anything just yet.”
“How d’you figure that?” Harry asked furiously.
“You don’t have any proof.”
“No proof?” Harry hissed, trying not to wake Katie who was now stirring in her sleep. “I heard her, I saw her come out of her office when she was finished!”
“You may have misinterpreted,” Hermione said simply.
“Hermione, if Lupin is in danger, I’m going to tell him…”
“And what if it’s for nothing, and it ruins things with him and Alchemina?”
“If things are ruined between them it will be from the fact that she’s poisoning him, not because I tell him about it!”
“Please, Harry “ just do me a favor and hold on for a bit. We might be able to find proof…”
“Where? In the library?” Harry said, truly losing his patience at this point. “Because we all saw how much good that did us with Ophelia Cunningham. School records, I ask you…”
“Just wait, Harry,” Hermione said. “Besides, Katie needs you. Focus on her, and we’ll take care of Lupin later.”
She turned and walked out of the room, leaving Harry glaring furiously at the door.
“She is unbelievable!” he spat.
Ron was uncomfortably silent.
“I’ll just leave the two of you alone, then…” he said after a minute.
“Yeah, alright…” Harry said, and Ron left them.’
Harry lay down next to Katie and after a few minutes she woke up, her hand to her head, groaning.
“You alright?” Harry asked her.
She looked at him, then at her surroundings, confused.
“Harry? What “” and she stopped. Her face fell as she remembered what had happened and she lay back down. She moved closer to Harry, and he ran his hands through her hair.
“It’s okay,” he whispered.
She made a guttural noise and closed her eyes as though trying to shut out an image from a bad nightmare, and Harry wished to himself that everything really was just a nightmare, and that any moment he would wake up in a world where Voldemort never lived, and loved ones never died.