Beaten and Blown By the Wind

Chapter Nine: Two Conversations to Consider

The group talked a bit more after Aislynn's recount of the legend Harry was so prominently featured in, mostly about that very legend, but also lighter topics such as Fred and George's legendary departure from Hogwarts the year before and the impending O.W.L. results that should find their way to Harry, Ron, and Hermione any day, before they started splitting up. Ron had challenged Ginny to a game of chess she headed off to lose and Harry just looked like he needed some sleep and a little time on his own. Aislynn suggested they head off to bed, as it was getting sort of late, but Harry was the only one who followed. They walked in silence up to the second floor where most of the occupants of the house kept their rooms. Aislynn would have to pass Harry's to get to her own, so she stopped him at his door before heading off to bed herself.

"Are you alright, Harry?"

"I think so. It's a pretty big responsibility, but I suppose the odds are in my favor now."

"You realize that this will all happen within the next two years, right?"

"That's what I was afraid of. You're going to help me get ready for this, aren't you?"

"In every way I know how, Harry. I wouldn't let you face that thing without being as ready as you could possibly be. I want you to remember that."

"I will," Harry started into his room as Aislynn continued down the hall. Suddenly Harry stopped and turned and looked at her retreating back, a curious thought biting at his mind. "Lynn?"

"Yeah?" she stopped and turned to him.

"How did you know all of that? Did you pick my memory too?"

"For the bit in the graveyard, I didn't need to. I knew that from your mother's memory. The rest? No, I didn't go picking your memory for that."

"Then how do you know so much about what I've done?"

"I told you, Harry. I was supposed to keep an extra close watch on you, save you if absolutely necessary. There were certain instances I couldn't find my way to you, such as the maze your first year and the chamber of secrets your second. Your third year, I should have been there once you were in the shrieking shack with Sirius, but I knew he'd never harm you. That's one of the reasons Remus went to find you. I was supposed to be guarding you from Sirius, for one. Remus was greatly perturbed to see both your names on the map and not mine. But then he saw Peter's name and had this funny feeling that I may have been telling the truth all along about looking for a rat missing a toe. He went to protect you, but he wasn't sure from whom."

"You were supposed to guard me from Sirius? Isn't that kind of a paradox?"

"You'd think so, but it was assumed that Sirius had spit in the face of his destiny when he was sent to Azkaban. You might have noticed he aged whereas I did not. No matter how ancient or complicated the spell, any spell or charm can be lifted or broken. Dumbledore was asked to take the anti-aging charm that had been set upon us both off of Sirius before he was sent to Azkaban. It broke his heart to do so, but even Dumbledore couldn't figure out who else could have betrayed your parents."

"Didn't you tell him it was Peter?"

"I did, but at that point everyone thought I was just trying to save Sirius out of desperation. They knew I was losing everything with him. People will do anything to stop their lives from being taken from them. They assumed I'd lie about who betrayed my best friend just so I wouldn't lose everything," she paused, seeming to collect herself after her voice cracked slightly. "Harry, I loved Sirius with everything I am, I still do, whether he is dead or no, but once I took that charm that marked me as your guardian, I knew that I had to put that in front of everything, including him, and he did the same. I would have turned him in before he had a chance to talk to Voldemort if that had been the case."

"Because of that you were assigned to guard me from him?"

"No. I was assigned to guard you from him because they knew I could do it quietly and without gaining your attention. I was assigned to guard you from him because everyone knew he was coming for you and they thought him a danger to you. But mostly because I agreed. They knew that the first person he'd seek out would be me. I was the only one who truly believed that he was innocent, the one he lived with, the one supposed to share a fate with him, the one wearing his ring, so on and so forth. He'd come to me for help and shelter, the Ministry knew that, so they came to me before the news of his escape even got into the papers. They told me their choice was that their chosen aurors were going to protect you on their watch for him or I could. Mind you, I hadn't worked for the Ministry since he had been taken away and now they were asking me to help find him. I knew what was awaiting him come his capture and I knew that his only chance of escape was through me. So I told them that I would betray him, the man I loved, and turn him in when I found him, if I got you. If I had found Sirius and turned him in, you would have been in my custody three years ago."

"So you never found him?"

"Of course I found him. He showed up at this very house a day after I promised to keep watch for him. I was to stay here for two days before heading off to tail you."

"But you didn't turn him in..."

"No, I didn't. In fact, I took him in and told him to take advantage of the house for the day and made up a lead somewhere just outside of London and told the Ministry I was perusing that. With a lead so far from the Whales home, the Ministry didn't even look at it. I went back the next day and told him he had to run for it and what I had promised the Ministry. He looked at me as if I had already turned him in and said something about him being wrong, that there wasn't a reason for him to leave Azkaban if I were going to hand him over to have his soul sucked away. I could've killed him right there for his stupidity and making me feel like such a shit."

"So you had no intention of ever turning him in?"

"No. I wasn't sure what I planned to do right when I agreed to it, but I knew I'd be tell him to run one way and chase a false lead the other for the rest of my life if I had to. After seeing him, the plan slowly formulated in my mind to team up with him and kidnap you. We'd take you off to my father's home in the Swiss Alps. It's practically impossible to get there other than by floo and I'd cut it off from even my father's system once we got there. We'd wait several years, lying low, teaching you all you needed to know about magic, and then disappear to America or somewhere where no one would be constantly searching for us. It was a good plan; I was half tempted to carry it out. In fact, I told him as much and he agreed. We were going to take you that night in Magnolia Crescent. We had been keeping watch on you all day, me under the guise of keeping watch for Sirius, who had somehow been spotted in Whales by then, and he under the disguise of the dog."

"Why didn't you?" Harry asked, astonished. He would have missed Ron and Hermione and most of the rest of the wizarding world he had grown to love, but Harry couldn't deny that he would have loved to go and start over somewhere where he was just another wizard, not the boy who lived, with his godparents.

"You were sitting there and we were about to take you and I suddenly got a vision. Just a clip of the world under the rule of Voldemort. It was awful, Harry, everything, everything was just gone or destroyed. You'd never imagine how horrible it'd be. And there we were in America, the last place to be taken over by Voldemort, being sent to our deaths, the world's last hope in our care, but unprepared and unable to make a difference in fate's cruel turn through my own selfishness to have a few years of happiness," she paused, barely noticing a tear running down her cheek until Harry, who had walked towards her as they spoke until they were face to face again, brushed it away. She hen blinked back into focus. "I'm sorry, you don't want to be hearing all that. We've avoided that. We lost Sirius, but that's not the point. It wasn't our time for happiness. We had that and it passed. When I saw what our selfishness could do, I realized that all three of us would have to endure one painful event and loss after another until you had the chance to triumph, Harry, because this is your turn for happiness. If you don't win, there's no future for any of us. Remus doesn't realize how close he was to certain annihilation, so he wants to put the past behind him and forget about it because there's pain in remembering it. I was close enough to realize that I won't see the good times again, that they're gone for good, so that I may as well enjoy the past by letting you share it with me because as painful as it was, it was also wonderful. Harry, the future is yours. That's what Sirius gave his life for. I made him stop from reaching for you, and I put the thought in your mind to hold out your wand and light it. I knew you had to go away before we did the stupidest thing of our lives. And do you know what he did? He screamed at me. He called me a traitor and a liar and told me to get away from him. He asked how much time he had before the Ministry arrived to take him and wouldn't calm down until I grabbed his arm and made him see what would have happened. Then he just got sad. He looked at me after a minute or two of silence and asked if he'd see me again. I told him not if he was lucky and told him to run. The Ministry was sure to be scanning the area for anything unusual, they'd expect him around."

"So he just left?"

"More or less. He kissed me goodbye and told me he loved me and that when the time came, we'd meet again. He meant the time for us to prepare you for your stand against Voldemort, and I knew that. He told me that if anything should part us before that, he'd wait for me and made me promise I'd wait for him. Then he hit me with one hell of a nasty curse and ran, I suppose. I was unconscious."

"Why'd he curse you?" Harry was more than concerned about that.

"What do you think the ministry would say if I just let him walk away from me? I was supposed to be catching him, remember? I knew he was going to do it and he knew he didn't have a choice. If it didn't look like I tried to stop him, the Ministry would know something was funny about my 'searching him out'. When they found me and brought me to, they asked what happened and I started crying. I told them that I had made sure you got on the knight bus safely to London and that he had come up behind me and when I tried talking to him, I realized how wrong I was about him and he just took advantage of my heartbreak, cursed me, and ran for it. No one could blame me for getting hit, they knew I'd been through a lot, and I promised I wouldn't let him fool me next time. As time passed, it got harder and harder to try and get food or money to him. That's when you started helping him and the ministry had decided I had searched enough, that you were my main priority."

"Did you see him before that night in the department of mysteries?"

"Once. I visited him at Grimmauld Place. Dumbledore had told me he was there and promised to keep an extra close eye on you for a day so I could visit. Remus was there for a while, it was almost like old times, the three of us waiting at our apartment or somewhere for Lily, James, and my sister to come and join us," she smiled at Harry sadly. "It was a happy day. We all talked and laughed and remembered the good times. Then only a little while after Remus left, I got word that you and Dumbledore were both in trouble. Nice day you picked to get caught in an illegal club meeting," she joked, smiling a little to let Harry know she didn't blame him for anything or hold any grudge. "I went to leave immediately to make sure you were alright, I figured Snape would sneak me into the school if necessary, I knew he'd be meeting me in the spot I had picked for such emergency meetings. Sirius grabbed me by the arm before I could leave and spun me around and held onto me like the world was about to end or something. When I asked him what was the matter, he said he had this horrible feeling he'd never see me again. I told him he was being silly, I would know if that were the case, but I couldn't help catching that feeling off of him. So I told him that if that really were the case I'd wait for him and made him promise he'd wait for me with that smile he only smiled for me, told him you needed me, kissed him goodbye, and went. Damn him to hell, too! That really was the last time I saw him. He had promised me that smile at our next meeting. I waited in that damned house for hours for that smile and he never came back," she was really crying now, only for the second time since his death, scaring herself with the complete emptiness she felt without him.

"I'm sorry I took him from you," Harry whispered, feeling her pain over his guilt at his death. Aislynn looked up at him in surprise.

"Oh no, child," she breathed, pulling him into her embrace. "It wasn't your fault, not at all. If it were anyone's it was Bella's. She's been after him for revenge for their family's name since before you were born. It's not your fault, Harry," Lynn couldn't help but cry on him, which only made Harry feel guiltier for making her cry in the first place. "If it makes you feel any better, love, I'll promise you that he was destined to give his life protecting you the moment he accepted the fate as your guardian. One way or another, he would have eventually died in protecting you, Harry, and that's nothing to feel guilty about. Some things are just meant to be. My fate is exactly the same, so you have to promise me right now to not hold any guilt at my death...no, don't try to argue with me Harry, just promise me that you can accept that. Sirius and I are doing what we were meant to do in protecting you with our lives Harry; it's in our souls as surely as the bitterness Voldemort's soul inherited. This is just the way things are and I promise you with everything I know and love that this fate is for the better. That the lives of us and your parents have the potential to save the lives of millions if you fight for it, Harry. I hate to put this all on you, but that's where it is. The fate of the world will rest with you, but I promise you I will do everything I can to help you be victorious. Just promise me you won't feel guilty about our lives, Harry, please. There were good times, lots of good times. We were very happy for a while. I would have liked it to be longer, but everyone always wants the good times for longer than they are there. Just promise me to go find your own after you save us all, Harry. Promise me these things."

"I promise," he muttered into her shoulder. Harry was starting to get tired of having the fate of the world on his shoulders and doubted there was ever another time in his life where he was so grateful to have Lynn here as a friend, guardian, and mother to just promise him he'll be able to do it and tell him that everything's alright for now.

"Then you should get to bed then, you need to sleep...as do I," she said, pulling his face down towards her own to kiss his forehead as he could imagine his mother would have. "Sleep, I promise you'll feel better in the morning."

"Alright," Harry said, hugging her one last time. "Goodnight, Lynn."

"Sleep well, Harry."

........................................................................................................................................

"Professor?" Hermione asked the man sitting across from her who was staring at his feet, lost in some unknown thought.

"Remus, Hermione," he insisted in his quiet manner. "It's been a long while since I've been your professor, and as much as I appreciate the respect meant by it, it's just not necessary. I've told Harry the same and will tell Ron and Ginny as much when it comes up."

"Remus, then?" she questioned, not to be deterred.

"What did you want to know?" he asked, looking at her with the same weird smile he had given her the other day which she chose to promptly dismiss.

"What did Lynn mean by the guardians sacrificing themselves? Sirius already died, does that mean she has to give her life so that Harry can have her knowledge and power to defeat Voldemort?" though she was almost certain of the answer, a small glimmer of hope lit her eyes. Remus sighed heavily to give her the answer he had been trying to deny for years.

"I'm afraid that's exactly what it means. Sirius wasn't supposed to die so soon, but for his power to be passed to Harry, it was necessary sooner or later. Unfortunately, it's the same for Lynn," the man gave a small sarcastic laugh through his frown. "Not exactly the kind of thing you want to think about too much."

"I don't know if Harry can deal with the loss of her. She's becoming too important to him," Hermione worried, her brow knotted in concern.

"I'm sure she'll talk to Harry about that in a more secluded conversation. It's not the kind of thing you want to discuss in a group," he reassured her. "It's hard for her to know it too, you know. She's known since she was about your age that she was destined to die for her best friend's kid. It's not an easy thing to grow up with, I commend her for doing so well, actually, but realizing that helps in understanding why it took her so long for her to get back on her feet after her life fell apart."

Hermione suddenly got a shocked look on her face, having not put the two facts together until then, and found it hard to imagine knowing that she was born to die for Ginny's kid before even getting the scores to her O.W.L.'s back. Then she imagined fighting for a semblance of a happy life, getting it, and having it all stolen away suddenly, faster than it took to build it. Try as she might, she couldn't.

"Maybe I was a little harsh in judging her," Hermione countered.

"Don't worry about it. She obviously holds no offence to it," Remus chuckled a little bit, sounding very Dumbledore-esque. "In fact, the other day she was commenting to me how well you question and analyze everything. You impress her too much to offend her by not using the same tactics on her that you do to sum up everyone else, in fact, she may have been offended if you didn't, knowing her. That's why she doesn't tell people about who she is more than Dumbledore telling her to keep it quiet. She'd rather people treat her like anyone else instead of someone who's on their death bed or something."

"Oh," Hermione whispered, feeling a little ashamed none the less that this woman she was so slow in trusting obviously liked her, but decided to believe Remus that she'd be upset had Hermione been any different.

"You remind me a little bit of her at your age, Hermione, and I'm sure she sees that," Remus smiled at her shock. "She always was a top student, and worked for it, but she was also a notorious prankster because everyone knew a lot of the bigger, later pranks of the Marauders had her name stamped to them in one way or the other, but never once was anyone able to tie her to them. Like I said, you remind me a little bit of her. The study skill definitely matches, but the rest of either of your personalities are completely individual from the other."

"Has she really been trying to cure you from being a werewolf?" Hermione asked, another question coming immediately to mind.

"Yes. For years now. Other than Harry, I have a feeling it's what she's been living for since they took Sirius to Azkaban," the man looked guilty. "She's so excited about every advancement we make, but never reports any of them. She refuses to. She could be world famous right now for that last potion that went right, but no, she doesn't want to be."

"She's using potions?"

"Mostly, it was always one of her strongest subjects, you know. That, divination, astronomy, and DADA. Very strong in transfiguration, charms, and ancient runes as well. Arithmancy wasn't her strongest, but she got good enough grades to top most of us in that as well. But she always had a good mind for potions. I'm not entirely sure why, the whole meticulous study of it just doesn't seem in her personality, but she was second in our year only to Snape, and only barely. Maybe it's all the studying. Her and her sister both took to the books with a vengeance like you do. They were hardly ever not reading or studying during school aside from weekends, in which they only studied for some of the time," he laughed a bit at the memory. "Sirius used to shake his head after a few hours of homework and studying and tell her she'd have been better off with me, that he couldn't keep up with her. She'd just laugh and say if she were with me, she'd never get away from the books because neither of us would be able to talk each other out of them. He would always laugh at that and then turn around in his seat and talk with someone nearby who had also had enough of studying. He always wanted to stay close to her when possible, I'm not sure if you've caught on to the fact that until very recently he was entirely too protective and possessive of her, but that didn't mean he was willing to study like she did. We were studying werewolves in DADA one of those days and after writing her paper, she looked to make sure Sirius was too busy in conversation to hear her and leaned over the table to me and said that there were weak spots in werewolves, that she wasn't sure how, but one day she'd find one and break through it and I'd be free. She said she may not get to chose how or when she dies like many, but she'd choose what she did with her time, and she was going to free me of this damned half-life," Hermione couldn't help smiling with him. "She was one of the amazing people who saw it the same way I did, a curse or misfortune, and I was an ordinary person who had a few days of being not so ordinary every month, not some horrible or fearsome thing or creature. She didn't care at all that I turned into a werewolf three days a month aside from the fact that it greatly upset me and tired me out and made me quite sick before the wolfsbane potion. Her, James, Sirius, Lily, and her sister were as good as friends as I could have ever hoped for."

"No wonder you trust Harry with her."

"I'd like to say that has nothing to do with it, but I suppose trusting she won't accidentally kill me with one of her experiments does make me biased."

"It's not an all or nothing situation? Not one of those things you never look back on?" Hermione was confused, figuring that by this point in his life, undergoing such experiments, Remus had just as soon give anything, including his life, to be rid of the 'curse', so he called it. Instead, he looked at her a little, considering an answer.

"In the very beginning, I was afraid. I had a normal life, almost, and I didn't want to die. We didn't progress very far because she was afraid to try much. After everything happened and she retreated to Ireland, I was afraid because I knew she needed me, that I was all she had left after Dumbledore told her she wouldn't be getting custody of Harry. But by then she really started getting involved in the work and I was caught up in her enthusiasm and learned to trust that no matter what she tried, she wouldn't kill me and if it hurt me, she'd find a way to fix it. But now, I'm starting to get scared again. There's enthusiasm, of course, the same enthusiasm she's always inspired, especially now that we're really getting somewhere, but now there's more than that. You see, I've recently discovered within the past few years that there is a lot more for me to live for than I had believed. I was going to tell her to give me her best shot before she went, because it can't logically be too much longer now, as she so pointedly tells me anymore, but she won't let me forget that I have other...obligations, we'll call them, that tie me here. She smiled and said that she was going to make sure I was free or soon would be," the man paused, looking torn between a rock and a hard place. "Did she tell you she talked to Snape about you?"

"No," Hermione answered, truly confused. "Why would she ask Snape about me?"

"Her own reasons, I figure. I didn't even know she was doing it until after she already had and she told me about it. Apparently, despite his bitterness in class, he has told her you are one of his best students, if not the best in your year, that you do exemplary work for someone of your age, or of any age. He told her, so she says, that you have the makings of a great potions master, though it didn't surprise either of them all that much. He holds that against you. You're expected to do well, so he wants to see you humbled at something, especially something as meticulous as potions, but you're doing wonderfully. It may sound like less than the effort it took to earn it, but imagine what it took to get him to say that about you, even to her. You've received a huge complement, Hermione."

"Why do you suppose she was asking Snape about me? She doesn't mean to..."

"I don't know Hermione, I just don't know. That you'd have to ask her."

"Why won't she turn what she knows in? She could help so many people, others could help her work along faster," Hermione was still confused at her strange stubbornness to keep her findings secret. "Is she a perfectionist or something?" she asked, giving the only reason that came to mind, causing the werewolf across from her to laugh.

"A bit, yes, but I don't think that's why she doesn't turn anything in. You see, Hermione, she's more selfish than her research makes her look. She doesn't really care about helping all werewolves, just the one, just me. This isn't a righteous battle like yours for the elves. This is a battle for a friend whom she told in school she would one day let see the full moon without any fear."

"Why would she be doing so much just for you, Remus? Were you such good friends as that?"

"Not entirely. We were close, but not like her and Lily or even her and Severus. It was partially a righteous fight, that she hated seeing me get looked down upon and kicked out of homes and jobs because of something I couldn't help, but it was partially personal too. You hear her talk about her sister a lot, I'm sure you notice it," Hermione nodded. "They were very close. Her sister, she, and Lily were all friends the same as me, Sirius, James, and Peter were. Now contrary to us always including him, Peter had a tendency to go on his own. His mother was overprotective and never gave him permission to go to Hogsmeade and he was forced home on every holiday, and was usually not allowed to join in any summer trips we had either, so don't feel that he was the fifth wheel; he really wasn't around too much when it was more than the four of us. But her sister, Hermione, was possibly the nicest girl I have ever met in my life. Lynn was fanatically protective of her; she put Sirius' overprotection of herself to shame with the way she watched out for the girl, which was probably why the girl was so nice. Lynn wouldn't even let their father's wrath reach the girl, I swear, their father could point his wand at the girl saying the killing curse and Lynn would stand in front of her and tell her to run to their aunt's for a few days. You've never met a gentler girl, but she had that same fierce addiction to studying and learning that Aislynn did. We weren't lying when we said Aislynn's excuse of studying herself into an unbearable headache was common, they both ended up in the hospital wing with ungodly headaches and fevers at exam time, especially fifth and seventh years, for putting everything else aside to study - including eating and sleeping and occasionally class. Lynn's sister was incredibly practical, but loved fairy tales and legends even more than Lynn did, which I also attribute to Lynn - you've heard her tell stories, she not only loves to do so, she has a certain knack when she really wants to as well, Harry's caught onto that bug."

"I don't know, I hear her stories and I find them to be lacking," Hermione said, remembering her earlier complaint to Ron that she didn't go into much detail when telling stories anymore.

"That's because her and Harry have forged some kind of connection I never quite understood all in all. Lynn is a seer, you know that. But because of her blood and I suppose some kind of weird genetic mutation because of the pureness of the two lines her family is from, she has more magical energy than most witches or wizards I have ever met, aside from Dumbledore and perhaps Voldemort. But since she is a seer, she is able to channel that into telepathic and telekinetic paths. Harry might have mentioned she can accomplish most spells and charms without a wand, save the extremely difficult ones, and some without even words, if she focuses her magical energy properly. She can also read minds to an extent, more so as sensing feelings and perhaps what is directly on a person's mind most of the time, direct mind reading is difficult and takes intense concentration for anyone, talented or no. But once her mind is able to connect with someone else's, she can will her feelings or thoughts to them, even her memories. That's how both she and Voldemort sent Harry dreams. She's been sending Harry thoughts for years without him knowing so that he makes crucial decisions properly or other such things. She can will it into his mind so it seems like his own thought or memory. Scary, yes, but she doesn't like to use it because she also feels it's immoral and something that very well could be outlawed if the ministry was aware of it. She has yet to form that connection with you, or maybe she chooses not to honor it until you so wish. Harry, her sister, and I were able to see her stories as clearly as they were in her head because she wills us to do so. That's why she can sit there and tell basically her opinion as Harry sees the story panning out like a muggle movie or memory in his head. She used it with her sister sometimes when her sister got scared at night when they were little - even into their Hogwarts years because her sister was afraid of the dark. When she knew her sister wasn't sleeping well, she'd think up a story and will it to her. I'm sure if you asked, she would will you the memories as well. Or perhaps knowing this will open your mind enough to see them, you never know with Lynn, she can be tricky with these things," Remus smiled. "She gets a kick out of it. Her sister used to scold her all the time for bribing or blackmailing things out of people with visions she didn't really have, she used to tell her sister that sometimes she was too nice."

"Why don't either of you ever use her name?"

"That's my choice," Remus said, the smile instantly disintegrating into a frown of worried concentration, as if he were putting extra thought into his answer. He would have left it there, but Hermione was looking at him with a question on her face. He sighed and decided the truth was not only best, but easiest. "I have more than one reason, but one of the primary reasons I avoid it is because I'm not like Lynn, I have trouble facing the past. Hearing her by more than Lynn's sister makes me remember more than I'd like. You see, she was killed a few months before James and Lily were."

"I hate to sound inconsiderate, but why does that affect you so much?"

"Because everything about her affected me at that point. Lynn shares everything she has with me not because I'm her only friend left or that she pities me. She's one of the few people that never pitied me, but the people around me for not being able to see a man instead of a werewolf."

"And she has quite the point," Hermione interrupted, gaining her questioning look back in response. "You've come to terms with it. It's everyone else who hasn't, and I say it's their loss, too, seeing the werewolf and forgetting the man, because you're quite a good man, Remus. You're always so respectable of everyone and everything and we've never had a better DADA professor, you obviously know a lot more than people give you credit for. It's not right that anyone else with your magical skill could be sought after in many professions but you can't keep a job! She's right to pity the rest of the world! They truly are at a loss!" she concluded, the S.P.E.W. determination coming into play just as much as her personal opinion on a man who has never been anything but kind to her despite his own condition.

"Thank you, Hermione. It truly means a lot for me to hear you say that," the man replied, no longer able to look at her, but at the ground in a bashful smile that told Hermione he wasn't used to being told by even his friends that they saw the man, not the werewolf in him, but it also bordered on pride. Hermione wrote that off to her complimenting his magical skill and teaching, it isn't everyday your students tell you how great you are, she supposed.

"But you said that she shares everything because she doesn't pity you. Why does she share everything with you?"

"I'm her brother-in-law. Her sister was my wife. The night she was attacked, I was hidden away for the full moon. I blamed myself for her death, so Lynn became frantic in trying to find a cure for me to try and take the guilt away. She feels the guilt's on her. Her sister was targeted just to hurt her by Bellatrix Lestrange."

"That's their unfinished business?" Hermione was incredulous.

"Yes. Bellatrix doesn't like her at all and has targeted her for reasons we're not entirely sure of other than old Mrs. Black's claim that Lynn charmed Sirius into betraying his blood. We all assume there were other Voldemort assigned plans and motives as well, but we can only assume Bella was picked for the former rather than the latter," Remus sighed heavily, looking for a split second like a man twice his age that had seen and was forced to bear three times as much as anyone should in a lifetime. "On top of all the other horrible things she did as a death eater, she killed Lynn's sister and now her fiancée. Lynn has it quite in mind to kill the woman when she next meets her," Remus looked grave. "We do all of this, Hermione, because Lynn has seen a future where things like that won't be necessary and people like Bella won't be tolerated by anyone or allowed to hurt or kill more than one person like she has. All that we've given up, Hermione, is for you."

"You mean Harry's going to win? There's a bright future for us all?" she asked, skeptical and hopeful all at once.

"One possible bright future. Nothing is certain. Lynn has seen a bright future and she has seen the dark one. Either is possible at this point, but many of us who know that there is still a way for the good times to return, as Lynn would say, ave dedicated our lives to do everything that is possible for us to make that come to pass. All in all, everything comes down to Harry and whether he is strong enough to win us that future. We all know he wants it, but he has to be willing to give up everything for it."

"And that's exactly what he has to do for it too," Hermione added bitterly. "He had to give his parents, Sirius, and inevitably will have to give up Aislynn as well so we can all live safe and happy once more."

"Don't be bitter about it Hermione. We've all known happiness, but we've all known bitterness as well. Lynn told me once that it was necessary to feel, know, and see all the dark, ugly, and horrible things of the world to know the difference and how lucky we are when the light, beautiful, and pleasant things are around. You wouldn't know day without night to provide contrast. Life is about balance, most people agree on that. But she insists that part of that balance is acknowledging the bad times as a signal of the inevitable return of the good times. I'm sure she's told Harry as much, it really helps you keep a healthier view on things," he admitted.

"Do you believe her, Remus?" Hermione asked, "Should I believe her?" she added, piling multiple questions a la Harry to the discussion, but bringing more happiness to the tired, tortured man than she would have believed with her faith in his opinion.

"I don't know," he said honestly. "But I think it's worth knowing if nothing else."