Chapter 18
As they walked through the passageway back to the Whomping Willow, Cassidy furrowed her eyebrow at her father.
"You've been spying on me?!" She said, alarmed. "You were the bear?!"
"Cassidy, you and I know full well that at the time, I was told one of my former best friends, convicted of being a murderer, could be lurking around. I knew you wouldn't listen to my warnings, so I asked Dumbledore—"
"Dumbledore knew?!"
"—if I could stay here. Most of the time, I was in Animagus form, and I checked on how you were doing in class through Lupin."
Cassidy whirled to turn to Lupin, who was smiling down at her.
"When you were born, I made him your godfather. Meet your Uncle Moony." Joshua said, and Lupin wrapped an arm around him, laughing softly. Cassidy rolled her eyes despite herself, smirking. "He's the reason I named your owl Moony, and he was the person that thought up your middle name, though he disappeared off the face of the earth after that."
Lupin chuckled. "I only wanted to keep you all safe, Joshua. I apologize."
"No worries, old friend." Joshua replied, before looking back at Cassidy. "It became a joke between us all, back in the day. James swore that I was going to have a daughter one day, and Remus insisted that she be called Noelle. I couldn't let him win, however."
"So he made it your middle name, and proceeded to name you after a famous Seer, Cassandra Trelawney." Lupin completed, and Hermione snorted. Cassandra Trelawney was Professor Trelawney's ancestor.
"That's why you called me Noelle on the train? That's why Sirius was calling me Noelle as well?"
The two men nodded.
"Oh, Merlin." Cassidy said tiredly, all this new information whirling around in her head. "So you told my dad about my Boggart, then?" She asked Lupin. He nodded slowly, and Joshua put his hand on her shoulder.
"You were brave, Cassandra. Even in the face of something as horrible as that. And for this, I am proud."
Cassidy smiled up at her dad, but remembered Ron.
"Oh, dad, I have to check on Ron... his leg's still broken."
She rushed ahead to see how he was holding up. As the two men watched her go, Remus turned to Joshua.
"She loves that boy, you know. Ronald."
Joshua scoffed. "I doubt it."
"No, you don't." Remus replied, and Joshua didn't say anything in reply.
"You need to tell her about that necklace."
"She'll find out in her own time."
"And how long will that be, Sparks?" Remus said, raising his eyebrows. Joshua sighed.
"I'm not sure." He grumbled.
Cassidy finally arrived behind Harry and Sirius, who were helping Ron. His leg had been badly injured, and he could barely walk.
"Sorry about the bite. I reckon that twinges a bit." Sirius was saying. Ron widened his blue eyes at him, making Cassidy stifle a laugh.
"A bit? A bit?! You almost tore my leg off!" Ron said, voice cracking.
"Was it really that bad?" Cassidy said, voice full of concern.
"Oh, no, it was... it barely even hurt." Ron said suddenly, changing his demeanor immediately upon seeing Cassidy. Harry turned away to hide his smile.
"Oh, that's a relief," Cassidy sighed, oblivious. "You're really strong for that, Ron."
"Y-yeah, that's me." Ron said, wincing as he straightened himself. "Feels like a minor scratch."
"Now, I was going for the rat." Sirius started to explain. "Normally I have a very sweet disposition as a dog. In fact, more than once, James suggested that I make the change permanent. The tail I could live with, but the fleas..."
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Peter was cut off by both Remus and Joshua tugging him to his feet, pointing their wands at him.
"Don't make any funny moves, I and Remus could still severely injure you." Joshua seethed. "Harry is the only reason you're alive."
Cassidy looked away from her father, a bit afraid; she realized then and there that for all her aggressiveness and strength, she never stopped to consider where she'd gotten it from.
She looked to the sky slowly, admiring the stars... they sure were pretty...
Then her heart stopped.
"Dad."
"Not now, Cassandra—"
"Dad, look at the moon." She said quickly, slowly getting to her feet. Hermione looked at the moon as well, eyes wide. She whirled to where Harry and Sirius stood.
"HARRY!"
Joshua rushed to Lupin as he started to stagger, his eyes becoming blood red. Sirius ran over, Harry in his wake, and tried to speak to Lupin, tried to comfort him.
"Remus, my old friend. Have you taken your potion tonight?" Sirius asked, while Joshua struggled with holding him up.
Cassidy felt herself exhale in shallow breaths, her vision blurring as Lupin started to cry out in pain. She turned to Ron, trying to help him up. He wouldn't be able to out run a werewolf, especially on an injured leg.
Harry came over to help Cassidy carry Ron, and she tried to block out the screams of agony from Lupin. What she had said to him that first lesson reverberated in her mind.
"Professor, you look like hell."
And she wished more than anything that she could take it back, that she could help Professor Lupin, her uncle Moony. Tears started to roll from her eyes, silently, as she carried Ron with Harry and Hermione.
Peter tried to make a run for it, but Joshua pointed his wand at him immediately.
"DON'T YOU DARE!" he yelled, and Peter shrunk away in fear. But his attention was quickly back on Lupin and Sirius, and his wand slipped out of his hand.
"You know the man you truly are, Remus," Sirius said, trying to speak to Lupin as he screeched in pain. "You know where you truly live. This heart, here!" He pointed to Lupin's chest desperately. "Your flesh is only flesh!"
"Remus," Joshua struggled with the convulsing man. "Remus, remember who you are. You are not this affliction," Joshua said, tears brimming. "You are a kind, thoughtful man, you're an excellent teacher, you are—"
Peter Pettigrew could be seen reaching for Joshua's fallen wand, and brandishing it at the three men. Harry broke away from the group, shouting an "Expelliarmus!"
The wand dropped from his hand, and he looked towards the group slowly, grinning before waving. Then he turned into Scabbers, scurrying into the darkness.
"No!" Cassidy yelled. Harry tried to go after him, but Hermione held him back. Cassidy started to run after Scabbers instead, but her foot caught on a tree root and she fell to the floor, gasping in pain. She had twisted her ankle.
"Cassandra!" Her father shouted, seeing Cassidy try to sit up. But he couldn't go to her. Holding off Remus from harming any of the children was more practical, and so he kept trying to help Sirius hold Lupin together, to stop him turning into the monster he so desperately dreaded.
It was no use.
The screams of pain turned into growls, his fingernails elongated and turned black, and his clothes started to tear.
"CASSANDRA! HARRY! HERMIONE! RONALD! RUN!" Joshua yelled, and Harry ran to Cassidy to help her up, Joshua and Sirius being thrown back by Remus's transformation.
Harry pulled more than guided her to the rest, and she couldn't bear to look at Lupin in this state.
But she had to.
Gone was the kind-eyed, tired Professor at Hogwarts that had guided her and nurtured her through her favorite subject. Gone was the man that called her Noelle that day on the train. Gone was the man that had offered her chocolate. What stood there was terrifying, was bloodthirsty, was a wolf.
Hermione let go of Ron, stepping towards Lupin, and Ron clung to Cassidy and Harry, looking on.
"Professor?" Hermione said gingerly.
The wolf looked up at Hermione slowly, and Cassidy saw there was a bit of humanity left in his eyes. She let go of Ron.
"Cass, what're you doing?" He hissed.
She didn't reply, going to stand beside Hermione.
"Uncle Moony?" She said slowly, tenderly.
Remus locked eyes with her, and she saw the man in the train, in the classroom, in the office, her godfather. And he howled to the night sky. Cassidy stood there, trembling, and Hermione had to pull her back.
"No, no!" She struggled against Hermione. "He's in pain! He's suffering, let me go to him!" But Hermione didn't listen, because she knew Cassidy didn't know what she was saying, that she was acting irrationally because she was upset.
Hermione held on to Cassidy, who was still struggling, and the rest of the group enclosed her in a tight embrace, stopping her from going.
"No! Leave me be!" Her necklace seared with heat in response to her anger, glowing softly in her pocket. "Let me GO!"
The werewolf approached them all slowly, growling. And yet Cassidy still struggled.
Suddenly, a tall figure stood in front of them.
It was Professor Snape.
"Potter—" he started, but the growl from behind him made Snape whirl around, his arms shielding the children.
He raised his paw, striking Snape to the ground and knocking down the other four.
Cassidy lay there, shaking, eyes wide...
And Lupin was crashed into by a dog and a bear.