Never Forget a Name
“Duck!”
The large number of black and scarlet clad students dropped to their hands and knees, pressing their foreheads against the grass at Lawrence Biggs’s warning. Third year Gryffindor, the eternally uncoordinated Jules Hannigan, came plummeting at the spot where the group had been standing. Hannigan pulled up before he hit their backs and soared up once more before plummeting again. He gripped his broomstick tightly, his face scrunched in fear as the ground loomed ever nearer. Biggs hurried to stop Hannigan before he contacted the ground, but failed miserably. He was not even close to the third year before the tip of the broomstick cracked on the ground and Hannigan went tumbling forward. There was a collective groan of sympathy from the crowd of students still crouched on the ground as they cautiously peeked up.
“He never stood a chance,” James muttered to his fellow Chaser, Jamie Kirkland, as he picked himself.
She nodded in agreement and stood up as well. “He stayed up longer than I thought he would, though.”
“Yeah, we’ll give him that.”
They watched as Biggs helped Hannigan to his feet and they saw that the boy’s nose was bruised, crooked, and bleeding. The knees of his pants were ripped to shreds, revealing dirt covered knees and there was a gaping hole in his jumper, showing small cuts on his stomach. Hannigan’s face was shocked, to say the least. He appeared as if he had seen his entire life flash before his eyes. The crowd watched as Biggs escorted the third year over to Oliver Pulliman and asked him to take Hannigan to the Hospital Wing. Once Pulliman and Hannigan left, Biggs turned back to the group and called out for fifth year Mary Macdonald to come up and do her tryout. The Gryffindor team and the potential Seekers watched as she swerved around, following the path of the Golden Snitch. She was good, but was nowhere near as good as Cory Hamilton had been.
Two hours later the Gryffindor team was sitting lazily against the wall of the stands, watching as Biggs told off a few second years for roughhousing with the brooms. The second years had been bored and levitated a few of the broomsticks after a third year girl who had tried out. They didn’t stop until she spun around and was knocked in the forehead with the handle of one of the broomsticks. The second years were indignant, thinking that they had done nothing wrong. The fact that the third year was knocked unconscious and bruised had no bearings on them.
“So, when d’you reckon he’ll be finished with them?” asked one of the Beaters, fifth year Anthony Mitchell.
Sixth year Gina Reynolds, his fellow Beater, checked her watch. She shook her head sadly. “They’ve been going at it for a while.”
James checked his own watch and saw that it was nearing six in the evening. He had to meet his friends at half past in the Room of Requirement. They were going to discuss what they needed for the potion. However, none of them could leave until Biggs officially announced the new Chaser. Biggs wanted the entire team to be there. James glanced to his right and saw the crowd of hopefuls was getting restless as well.
Anthony leaned forward so that he could look past Jamie and at Oliver, who had returned in fifteen minutes after bringing the unfortunate third year to Madam Pomfrey. “Hey, Oliver, you’re a Prefect, aren’t you?”
Oliver nodded slowly, unsure of the purpose of the question. “Yeah… why?”
“Go over there, give them detention and dock some points. That’ll get this going.”
Jamie looked outraged at the suggestion. “You want him to dock points from Gryffindor?”
Anthony frowned as he thought about what he had said. “Oh, yeah, well just give them detention.”
James groaned as another five minutes passed and the arguement had not desisted. He was cutting it too close. He had to be there and he was not going to have a bunch of second years keep him from leaving. He stood up, clutching his broomstick in one hand and balling his other into a fist. “Hey, you lot!” he shouted heatedly at the quarreling second years. “Shut up already so he can tell us who got on the team and we can leave!” This proclamation was met with many cheers of agreement from his teammates and the hopefuls. The second years stared at James and then at Biggs, who raised an eyebrow pointedly. They grudgingly tossed the school broomsticks aside and trudged up to the castle, muttering mutinously all the way. Biggs threw James a thankful grin and cleared his throat, bring everyone to attention.
“Okay, now that that’s over with,” he said as the crowd closed in around him. He consulted his clipboard, where there were numerous scribbles and cross-outs next to the names of the people who had tried out. “It is time to announce our new Seeker.” The group became still, their hearts pounding almost audibly, as they waited in painful anticipation. “Many of you were great, but unfortunately you can’t all have the position, even though that’d be really convenient for substituting. Try coming back next year if we have openings. So, the new Seeker is Robbie Brown.” The sixth year cheered loudly, along with the rest of the Gryffindor team.
The crowd of rejected students began to disperse, leaving only the seven Quidditch players to talk about the upcoming season.
“Where is James?”
“Still at tryouts, probably.”
“I’m bored, when’s he going to get here?”
“You’re always bored, Sirius. And he’ll get here when he gets here.”
Sirius, Remus and Peter were sitting in the Room of Requirement for at least forty five minutes and Sirius was getting restless. He was currently pacing back and forth in front of Remus and Peter, who had settled themselves in the squashy armchairs. Peter was tossing his left shoe up in the air, not quite sure why he was doing so but needing something to do anyhow, and Remus was leafing through the Animagus book, though he was not having much success. His eyes traveled from reading to watching Sirius pace before him. Finally he’d had enough and set the book down.
“Sirius, you’re making me sick.”
Sirius stopped walking. “Well, stop watching me.”
Remus rolled his eyes and forced them down on his book. Sirius continued his stride, casting annoyed glances at the door every so often as though if he did it enough James would materialize. Again he paused and turned to Remus and said with frustration, “You’re ignoring me!”
Remus slowly looked up from his book. He calmly turned to Peter. “Can I borrow that?” Peter, looking confused, handed Remus his shoe. Sirius was far enough away that Remus had no problem throwing the shoe at his friend’s face.
Sirius flinched as the shoe connected painfully with his chin. He stooped down to pick it up and tossed it back to Peter. “When did you get so violent?”
Remus pretended to look thoughtful for a moment, rubbing his chin. “I think it was around eleven years ago, you know, when I was bitten by a werewolf… That might factor into the violent thing.”
Sirius sat down next to Peter, rubbing his forehead, a smirk concealed by his arm. “I need some normal company.”
“Because you’re so normal?”
“Stuff it, Remus.”
“You two argue like you’re married,” Peter observed, sitting up straighter in his chair and folding his arms across his chest.
Both Remus and Sirius pulled faces. “Sorry, Pete, but I’m pretty sure I like girls,” Sirius said firmly.
“Same here.”
“What did I miss?” The three looked up to see James, still in his Quidditch robes, standing in front of the closed doorway, looking breathless. He must have run straight from the Quidditch Pitch. He was looking from Remus to Sirius to Peter, his eyebrows raised, as he tried to catch his breath.
Sirius took the liberty of filling James in on what he had missed. “Peter was making suggestions as to whether or not Remus and I like girls.”
James’s curious look turned to mildly surprised. “Why?”
“Did you ever hear the way they argue?” Peter asked.
“Yeah,” James replied, sitting down at the table and pulling off his boots. “It’s pretty funny.”
“You see, Pete.” Sirius stood up and snatched the Animagus book from Remus. “We’re entertainers.” He crossed the room and set the book down on the table, flipping through the pages to find the one they needed. He found the page that had the ingredients they needed for the potion. “Okay… Lacewing Flies, those are in Slughorn’s storage. Err… beetles; those are simple, unless they all suddenly die out, in which case we’re lost. Sopophorous Beans… does Slughorn have those in the student storage?”
“Good thing I’m not drinking that,” Remus commented, tying his shoelace.
“Why?” James asked, looking from the book.
“I’m allergic to those things. Remember the summer before our second year?”
Realisation dawned on Peter’s face, making the connection. “Yeah… I remember that. I’ll handle getting those.”
“They’re in Slughorn’s storage,” Remus confirmed for Sirius. “I saw Lily move a box of them during our tutoring sessions.” Occasionally Slughorn would grant Lily access to his private storage. They never really needed anything from it, but Lily went inside once to see what was there. He stood up and went over to look at the book as well. “What else do we need?”
“Nothing else right now. We can start with those.”
Peter looked at Remus, his eyebrows knitted together. “So I guess we’re breaking into Slughorn’s storage tonight?”
“Looks like it.”
“I have a question.”
“What’s that, Pete?” James said, rubbing his chin as his eyes skimmed the page.
“This doesn’t sound difficult at all. If we could do this, why don’t millions of other wizards?”
“Making the potion and getting the Patronus are only bits of it.” James waved Peter over and pushed the book forward so he could have a better look. “Once you do that, you’ve still got to be able to clear your mind enough to transform into the animal, and then you’ve got to figure out how to change back.”
Peter’s eyes widened. “We could get stuck like that?”
Remus nodded. “Precisely the reason wizards don’t try it very often. What if you were a fly? You wouldn’t be living very long.”
Sirius noticed Peter’s anxious expression. “Don’t worry about it. We’re not going to get stuck.” He turned the book so the text was facing him. “And if we do, we have him,” he jerked his head at Remus, “to blame.”
“Because I’m the one who said ‘let’s become Animagi!’?”
“Old married couple,” Peter sang under his breath.
Later that night Remus and Peter found themselves crouching under James’s Invisibility Cloak and walking through the dark corridors of the castle. The Sopophorous Beans were what they were after; they could get everything else from the student storage. Remus had already agreed to get some when Lily was tutoring him. He would simply offer to get the ingredients and pilfer what they needed when he was there. They knew that to access Slughorn’s private storage they would have to break into the Potions classroom, all the way down in the dungeons. They were making decent progress, they were already on the third floor and they had been walking for a mere fifteen minutes. There was nothing standing in their way, preventing them from getting farther.
Nothing, they thought, until they saw a large shadow dash by stealthily. Remus put an arm over Peter’s middle and pushed him and himself against the cold stone wall. They couldn’t tell who it was from the distance they were at, and they only had a shadow to judge by. They knew, however, that this person was definitely not welcome in the school. Remus and Peter glanced at each apprehensively other, how long was this person planning to stay? They had promised James and Sirius that they wouldn’t be long. They heard a door open nearby and saw the distinct figure of Professor Twikom appear. What was she doing out at this time of night? And, more importantly, why was she meeting this unknown figure?
“What are you doing here?” she hissed furiously. The large shadow turned into a large, dark figure. Peter did not recognise this person, but Remus had a sinking feeling in his stomach. A certain conversation heard nights ago was ringing in his ears - I haven’t heard from him in years. I have no idea what Fenrir is up to lately. Remus had never seen Greyback in human form, but he had a feeling he was about to. He gritted his teeth, what was going on?
“You remember me, Agatha?” asked a dangerously hoarse and vicious voice.
Professor Twikom maintained a brave front, but the boys could tell she was frightened. “Of course I do. I was beginning to wonder if you’d forgotten everyone in your family, Fenrir.”
“The family that abandoned me when they found out what I’d become? How could I forget them?”
Twikom was visibly uncomfortable, the boys could tell from the way her figure was swaying slowly back and forth. “How did you get in the castle?”
“Don’t worry about that.”
“I’m a professor; I have to worry about it.”
“I just came to ask you a question.”
Twikom glanced around, searching for anyone who might overhear this conversation. Even in the darkness, the only listeners were invisible to her. “Make it quick.”
“Is it true that Dumbledore let a werewolf into this school?”
“So what if it is?” Twikom shot back dismissively.
“Who is it?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“It is my business because this werewolf is trying to pretend to be a wizard.” Greyback laughed harshly. “Like he’s one of them.”
Twikom forced some finality into her voice. “I think you should leave now.”
Greyback was not easily sent away, however. “Not until you tell me who it is.”
“I’ve been sworn to keep the student’s secret. I tell no one.”
“Not even family?”
“I haven’t heard from you in years, what makes you think I still considered you family?”
Greyback stepped forward so that he was towering over the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. “Fine, don’t tell me. I’ll find out one way or another. I can always find a list of the students who go here. I never forget a name.”
“Why does it matter so much?”
“He’s trying to be something he’s not; I’m going to show him where he really belongs.”
Greyback spun around and was off at a run. Twikom, looking severely shaken, retreated into her office. Peter breathed a sigh of relief, not over what he had heard, but because Greyback was gone. He stood up straight and began on the way to the dungeons again, before realising that he was walking easier than he should have been if there were two people under the cloak. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Remus had not left his spot on the wall. He was suddenly reminded of the night they had visited him in the Hospital Wing and Twikom had announced that Fenrir Greyback was a relative of hers. Remus’s face looked very similar to that. He looked like he was going to be aggressively ill.
Peter doubled back. “Remus? Come on, we’ve got to hurry.”
They didn’t have time to talk about what they had overheard, at least not at the moment. They were burning moonlight quickly. Remus followed Peter, though he looked as if he couldn’t quite recall where they were headed, what their purpose was for being out. The remainder of the way down to the dungeons was marked by their cautious steps and frequent pauses to make sure that Greyback had indeed gone from the castle and could not reappear. Yes, they were invisible, but the sight of the man would not make their trip any better. Luckily, they saw no other sign that Greyback was still around and they safely made it to the dungeons.
“What’s taking them so long?”
“You don’t think they got caught, do you?”
“How could they? They had my cloak.”
James and Sirius were sitting in the empty common room, their wands lit and held out towards the portrait hole entrance. It was nearing midnight and Remus and Peter had been gone for more than an hour. Remus had promised them they would take no longer than a half an hour. Sirius and James were considering going out to find them and were about to do so when the entryway opened, seemingly of its own accord. James and Sirius jumped up and hurried to meet their friends. Peter pulled the Invisibility Cloak off and handed it to James. He stuck a hand in his pocket and pulled out a vial of Sopophorous Beans and handed them to Sirius.
“What took you guys so long?” Sirius hissed, putting the vial in his own pocket.
Peter cast a look at Remus, who had not seemed to have been breathing since their encounter in the corridor, witnessing Greyback’s confrontation with Professor Twikom. “We ran into a bit of trouble.” He led the way over to the couch and sat down.
“What happened?” James asked as he sat down in one of the soft armchairs.
Peter told them of the conversation they had heard. By the time he was finished, James and Sirius were looking uncharacteristically serious. “Merlin,” Sirius muttered, staring into the empty fireplace. “What are we going to do about this?”
James shrugged. “I dunno… but we have to think of something.” He leaned back in his seat. “How did he get into the castle?”
“That was what Twikom wanted to know.”
“He couldn’t have used the castle doors, could he?” Sirius wondered. “That’s too easy. There would be some sort of protective charm on them.”
“The castle has secret passages, doesn’t it?” James said. “He could have used any of them.”
“How would he know about them?” Peter asked fretfully. “Dumbledore doesn’t even know where half of them are.”
“The only one he knows about is the one under the Whomping Willow,” Sirius said. It only made sense that Dumbledore knew about the one he had helped construct. If that was the case, it wasn’t a secret passageway then. At least it wasn’t to Dumbledore.
“Can we stop talking about this?”
The three boys turned to Remus and saw that he was looking unusually panicked. They couldn’t blame him. The only times he ever appeared that way was when he was discussing the man who had turned him into a werewolf. This must have been the first time since that fateful night eleven years ago that Remus had seen the man “ or the beast.
James bit his lip. “Don’t you want to know how he got in?”
“Of course I do, but I don’t want to think about it right now.” He stood up from his seat on the floor. “I haven’t heard anything about him since my dad told me that it was Greyback who bit me and I haven’t seen him since I was three. Now he’s in the castle, asking Twikom who’s the werewolf who’s pretending to be a wizard so he can find them. So he can find me and turn me into someone like him.” His face contorted in disgust. “It won’t take him long before he finds out who it is.”
“He never forgets a name,” Peter said quietly.
“Exactly. The second he sees Remus Lupin on the school roster, he’s going to have all the information he needs.” He couldn’t stand to imagine what Greyback would do with the information once it was in his hands.
“But what can he do while Dumbledore’s here?” Sirius questioned, hoping that this made Remus realise that maybe he didn’t have to worry so much.
“Dumbledore can’t be everywhere at the same time.”
“Who says he can’t?” James said confidently.
“I know Dumbledore’s a genius, but he’s still human.” He moved towards the stairs leading to the dormitories. “And humans can’t be everywhere at once.” With that, he disappeared up the steps.
“He’s right, you know,” Sirius said when Remus had gone. “Dumbledore does everything he can to protect us, but he really can’t be everywhere at once.”
“I know that,” James snapped. “I was just saying that to make it seem better than it really is.”
“Ah, so you lied.”
James was silent for a beat. “Yes.” He stood up and walked over to the fireplace, staring into the empty grate. “What else are we supposed to do?”
“Not lie?”
“I know, lying was stupid, but I couldn’t think of anything else. So many terrible things happen to him and now we have this? We can’t solve every problem.”
“You know he’d do something for you, if you had a problem,” Peter reminded him.
“I know he would. I never said he wouldn’t.”
Sirius placed his hands on his knees and straightened up. “Look, why don’t we just try to forget this for now?”
Peter raised an eyebrow. “How are we supposed to do that?” He couldn’t think of any way to forget what he had heard on the third floor. Times were changing for the worst and they had proof of it right under their noses. Now it involved one of their friends. “We can’t just say that it never happened.”
“I know we can’t,” Sirius shot back defensively.
“Then why are you suggesting that we do?”
“Because I can’t think of anything else either!” Sirius clenched his teeth and folded his arms across his chest. “Okay, let’s not forget about it, but let’s not talk about it either?”
James shrugged. “That’s all we can do for now.”