The Long, Long Night
“Have you tried looking for him Ron?”
“Are you kidding me?” screamed Ron.
“The sheets were covered in blood!”
Beth was in the Room of Requirement with Ron, Hermione and Theo. It was a Saturday, so they didn’t have any homework, but sometimes they spent time in here over the weekend just because of Theo.
Susan and Ernie were in the Common Room teaching Justin how to play exploding snap.
Ron and Hermione had been fighting for days, so Ernie and Susan were avoiding them.
Theo was trying to ignore them whilst he read a paper on advanced Arithmancy. The Slytherin Common Room was hardly the quietest of places, so he had learnt how to block out arguments.
Beth however couldn’t block out arguments so easily, she hated it when people shouted, even when they weren’t shouting at her.
After all the years living with the Dursleys, raised voices always but Beth on edge.
“Maybe he’s just sleeping?” suggested Hermione.
“Sleeping!” screamed Ron grabbing the biggest heaviest book he could find.
“Your cat murdered him!” yelled Ron throwing the book at her.
Hermione ducked under the desk just in time and missed the book by a fraction of an inch.
“Stop!” cried Beth standing between them, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Just stop! Stop fighting! Please!”
“You are best friends!”
Beth went running from the room leaving a very confused Ron and Hermione in her wake.
“She’s right,” muttered Theo, “you two are best friends and arguing about something completely stupid.”
“Crookshanks is a cat, it’s in his nature to kill rats, you can’t blame Hermione for that. Also, I would like to point out that Scabbers might not actually be dead.”
Theo turned the page and went back to his paper.
Beth rushed down to Remus’ office as fast as her legs could carry her and pounded frantically on the door.
“Hello?” asked Remus opening the door to his room.
“Beth what are you doing here?” he asked confused, “it’s nearly curfew.”
Beth threw herself at him and started to sob uncontrollably.
“Woah calm down there little one,” he muttered stroking her hair, “its ok.”
“Look whatever the matter is we can sort this out ok?”
Beth nodded and came through to Remus’ sitting room, sitting down on the sofa.
“What’s the matter sweetheart?” he asked putting his arm around her.
“Ron and Hermione are fighting,” she mumbled, “I don’t like people fighting.”
“I know, but friends fight sometimes.”
“Ron thinks that Crookshanks killed Scabbers.”
“But isn’t killing rats what cats do?” asked Remus.
“That’s Hermione and Theo’s point,” sighed Beth.
“It’s been going on for days,” she sobbed.
“Hannah and Ernie have started avoiding them and are in the Common Room so that they don’t have to listen to them.”
“What about Theo?”
“Theo can just block them out somehow,” muttered Beth, “he just ignores them and reads his paper.”
“Why did you get so upset now though?”
“Because Ron threw a book at Hermione,” she mumbled biting her lip.
“Is Hermione ok?” Remus gasped.
“She’s fine, he missed, then I shouted at them and ran out of the room.”
“I’m such a terrible friend!” she sobbed.
“They were fighting, and I made it worse!”
“No darling you didn’t,” said Remus getting out a handkerchief.
“Everyone has a breaking point, and clearly Ron and Hermione just found yours.”
“Hmm,” she muttered sniffling slightly as Remus dried her eyes.
“I can’t go back and face them all tonight,” she mumbled.
“Why don’t you stay here then, just for tonight, you can talk to everyone in the morning.”
“Ok,” she muttered.
“Do you want me put on some tea?”
Beth looked slightly uncertain.
“I’ve got chamomile,” he said beaming.
“Ok then,” said Beth giggling slightly sniffily.
“That’s my girl,” he chuckled kissing her on the forehead as he got up to make the tea.
“Remus,” said Beth as he came back over with the tea, “did you and your friends ever fight?”
“Oh yeah,” sighed Remus.
“Back when we were in our fourth year, Sirius decided to try and play a joke on Severus. Severus had been poking his nose and had started to become curious about where I was going every month.”
“Sirius decided to tell Severus that if he tapped a certain branch on the whomping willow it would lead to a secret tunnel, and if he went down that tunnel, he would find out what we’d been up to.”
“The only thing was, at the end of the tunnel was the shrieking shack, where I used to transform once a month, Severus found himself in the same room as a werewolf.”
“What?” stammered Beth hardly able to believe what she was hearing.
“Fortunately James found out, and rescued Severus before anybody got hurt. James somehow managed to persuade Severus not to tell anyone. Severus has held a grudge against Sirius ever since, Severus only forgave me this year.”
“Why did he forgive you?”
“Because of you sweetheart,” beamed Remus giving her a hug.
“Anyway, after I found out what happened, I didn’t talk to Sirius for months, James was pretty angry but forgave Sirius, he always did. But I didn’t talk to Sirius for nearly six months.”
“But you made it up?”
“Eventually yes,” nodded Remus, “because that’s what friends do.”
“Now then, do you want to get some sleep?”
“Hmmm,” nodded Beth drowsily.
Remus got out some blankets and made up a bed on the sofa in the sitting room.
“I’m going to be up a while, still got some marking, so why don’t you take the bed and I’ll take the sofa when I’m finished.”
“I don’t want to inconvenience you!” stammered Beth, “that’s your bed!”
“You could never inconvenience me,” he chuckled, “now go on, go get some sleep!”
Beth blushed slightly and went to bed still wearing her jeans and jumper that Mrs Weasley had given her for Christmas.
Remus was just finishing off his marking and thinking about heading to bed himself when there was another knock on the door.
“What in the world?” he muttered as he looked at his watch, it was a quarter past twelve in the morning.
He yawned slightly and pulled on his dressing gown a bit tighter as he went to answer the door.
Professor Sprout was standing there with a very frantic Professor McGonagall, both of which were in their pyjamas and dressing gowns.
“Hello Minerva, Pomona, is there something wrong?”
“Have you seen Beth Remus?” asked Professor Sprout.
“It’s a quarter past twelve in the morning,” he pointed out, “she’s asleep.”
Professor Sprout burst into tears and shook her head frantically.
“I think you’d best come in,” stammered Remus as the two witches came into his sitting room and sat down on the sofa.
Remus knelt down by the dying fire and added a few more logs, whatever was going on it was clearly important, they could be up for hours.
“Would one of you please tell me why you are both here at this time in the morning?” sighed Remus.
McGonagall bit her lip slightly.
“There’s been another attack,” said McGonagall giving into the inevitable, Remus had to know.
“Sirius attacked Gryffindor Tower again, and Beth hasn’t been seen for six hours.”
“I’m sorry Remus,” stammered Sprout, “I should have told you earlier.”
“Mr Nott came to tell me that Beth had had an argument with Mr Weasley and Miss Granger, and that she’d run off, nobodies seen her since.”
“It’s alright,” assured Remus, “she’s fine.”
“How can you know that?” sobbed Sprout, “Sirius could have kidnapped her! She could be dead!”
“But she’s not she’s fine,” he said gently.
“How do you know that?” asked McGonagall suspiciously.
Remus was never this calm when Beth was in danger, he clearly knew something they didn’t.
“Because she’s asleep in my bed,” said Remus simply.
McGonagall looked relived but Sprout seemed to panic even more.
“If you don’t believe me Pomona go and check for yourself,” he said chuckling lightly.
Professor Sprout nodded her head slightly and went to go and check the next room and came back looking much more relieved.
“I’m sorry Remus,” said Sprout sobbing in relief, “I should have let you get a word in edgewise.”
“It’s my fault, I should have told you she was here in the first place, you’re her head of house.”
“Can we just agree that it’s both your faults and get on with problem at hand,” said McGonagall, “Sirius Black has managed to get into the castle. This is the second time now!”
“What I don’t understand,” sighed Remus with his hands in his dressing gown pockets.
“Is why Sirius keeps on going for the Gryffindor Common Room if Beth’s a Hufflepuff?”
“He probably keeps on going for Gryffindor because he thinks that Beth is a Gryffindor like James and Lily,” said McGonagall.
“But how long is he going to keep that up?” stammered Sprout.
“Next time he might go for the Hufflepuff Common Room, we still don’t know how he’s getting in in the first place, or if he’s still here.”
“One moment,” sighed Remus getting out the map.
He unfolded and scanned it quickly.
“Well if he was in the school, he’s gone now,” said Remus handing the map to Sprout and McGonagall.
“I still can’t believe this map Remus,” muttered McGonagall, “even after you explained it to me!”
“But if he can get in twice, he can get in a third or a fourth,” sobbed Sprout, “he’s going to find her eventually. He’s going to kill her Remus; he’s not giving up.”
“Neither am I,” said Remus stubbornly, “if he wants to get to Beth, he’s going to have to get through me first!”
“Don’t be ridiculous Remus,” muttered McGonagall shaking her head, “he may have been your friend once, but Sirius is a mad man! He will stop at nothing.”
“Do you think I don’t know that!” yelled Remus shaking slightly.
“Of course, you do Remus, but how can you protect her from Sirius?”
“What else do you think I’m using this thing for,” said Remus waving the map, “keeping an eye on her, making sure she’s not getting into any trouble. Looking out for Sirius.”
“She’s a very curious child though Remus,” sighed Sprout, “do you remember in her first year with the Philosophers Stone?”
“Curious Beth may be, but she’s not stupid,” said Remus calming down as he sat back down.
“She knows that he’s after her, and she’s scared stiff! She wouldn’t do anything foolish when she knows she in enough danger in the first place with Sirius. She’s not reckless, she’s not James!”
“Remus?” muttered a small voice from the doorway.
A very drowsy and confused Beth stood in the doorway through to the bedroom, she looked as though she might have been crying slightly.
“Beth,” he sighed, “did I wake you up?”
“I think we’d better go Remus,” muttered Sprout, “extra security measures need to be sorted out.”
“Yes of course,” muttered Remus getting up to sort Beth out as McGonagall and Sprout left.
“How much did you hear little one?” asked Remus picking her up and tucking her back in to bed.
“All of it,” she muttered, “Sprout woke me up when she opened the door to check on me, and she left it open a bit.”
“Why didn’t you come in then if you were awake?” he chuckled.
“It was you we were talking about!”
“I know that,” she muttered, “but I also knew that you’d tell me everything I needed to know once they were gone.”
“Why did you get out when you did then?”
“Because you were upset, you were shouting. I don’t want you to be upset, I don’t want you to worry about me!”
“People get upset Cariad, it’s part of human nature,” sighed Remus brushing a lock of hair off her face.
“As for worrying about you, I worry about you because I love you.”
“You still worried about Sirius?”
“A little bit,” she mumbled.
“Well, I’ve checked the map, he’s gone. I check the map for you too, even managed to get the Room of Requirement on here.”
“Night Remus,” she muttered drowsily already half back to sleep.
“Goodnight little one.”