****Nursie Note*** Sorry this took so long to get out there... my beta was busy with a birthday or so he says. This part may bring up some more questions, however the next Interlude as well as the Part that comes after that are ready to post. They should answer questions as well as point them out. But your answers will come hopefully...
Just so you know... this Interlude takes place before Part 8. It's mostly got Lupin in it. I love Lupin. I think even Werewolves need some luvin... but alas they never do not even when it's my own fic. Does anyone else think there is something more to Remus Lupin? I feel he is a very important character to canon. If they don't portray him right in the movie... I'm hunting down the casting agents!
Enough said? I'll update with the next Interlude within a day.
Interlude 1: Willow's Confession-
Willow hugged her arms to her chest and shuddered visually. Leaning her head into the wall next to her she suddenly hit it hard. She screamed stomping her foot on the ground then turned leaning the small of her back into the wall. Tears streaked down her face and her mind was flooded with events from her short eighteen years on earth.
"I'm not teacher damn it Dumbledore…" She cried wiping her nose and jerking her hand away from her face. She heard someone approaching, she stood up straight trying to compose herself but winced when she saw the face of her godfather, only vastly younger looking than she remembered him.
There was no gray in his hair as she remembered and Lupin had a glint in his light blue eyes that she hadn't ever seen. She recognized it… and she sighed accordingly.
~ Hope…~ She knew exactly what his eyes held and she grieved for the godfather she knew and loved.
Remus Lupin, or at least the man moving towards her did not know what she knew. He did not know her as she knew him.
Lupin saw her against the wall staring blankly into mid air and he stopped, curious about the expression on her face.
"Professor Warren… are you alright?" He inquired smiling gently at her. He reached out for her hand trying to comfort her.
Willow smiled. Although sensing the touch of his hand was a bit more forward than it should be, she figured if he knew the truth about who she was, then he would be grasping her hand as he was. She breathed in catching his eye.
"Call me Willow please…" She said softly.
"Ok Willow then. Are you alright?"
She shook her head vaguely. "No… Moony… I'm not."
Lupin looked at her stunned. Nobody called him Moony besides the other Marauders and Harry on occasion. No one else but Dumbledore knew his pet name. "Where'd you hear that name Willow?" He asked his eyes focused and startled.
Willow looked up at him expectantly. "Can I talk to you?"
Lupin stepped back a bit. "What about?"
"Not here. I need to speak with someone about a lot of things and I know I can trust you."
"Me? Why me? I could be a werewolf for all you know." Lupin choked sensing there was definitely something to be learned.
"Don't give me that… You are only dangerous when there's a full mood." She shook her head seeing the panic cross his features. She proceeded with her answer grabbing his arm. . " Because you know me… you just don't know it yet. Come with me… We can't talk here… the walls have ears you know." She smirked seeing the look on his face.
Lupin followed her without question, staring at her as he watched her robes flow behind her. He caught the tickle in his throat as he started to laugh when her hat started to slide off her head. She grabbed it with her hand, plucking it from her head.
"I'm no teacher Moony… I'm about to tell you just what I am."
Lupin found himself in his old office, smiling as he remembered how he would crawl up on the rug just over next to the fireplace during the full moon, that was when he had the wolves bane potion.
"Ok… What is it you wanted to talk with me about?" He asked tilting his head as Willow handed him a cup of tea. He took a sip then arched his brow at her. "How did you know how I take it?"
"I know a lot about you Moony."
"Well that's obvious. But I know nothing about you."
She laughed nervously. "Do you swear not to tell anyone… including Harry what I am about to tell you?"
Lupin looked skeptical. "That depends on what you tell me. I can't make a promise I can not even fathom keeping."
"I knew you were going to say that." She paused. "Alright then… I need to say something. I blame myself for all of this… I know I shouldn't but I do. Much like Harry does."
"Do you know something you are not telling us Willow? If you do, Dumbledore should know right away."
"What Dumbledore knows… was up to Dumbledore himself. He got all the information he was allowed when I came
here."
"When you came here… What do you mean by that?"
"Do you have some time Moony… this may take a bit." She admitted.
"I'll make the time. Something about you makes me want to learn as much as I can." He reached for her hand but she moved it before he made contact. Practically jumping from her seat she stood walking towards an old beaten up chest. Upon it was an old toothless bushy looking cat. The cat jumped from the chest sticking it's bottlebrush tail in the air and limped gingerly towards a comfortable looking spot on the same rug Lupin used to curl up on. He eyed Lupin curiously then hissed at him flexing his claws and making himself comfortable.
Willow scolded the cat in a whisper. Lupin could have sworn he heard her call the old cat Crookshanks but he shrugged it off looking up at Willow who had retrieved something from the chest and now stood next to the fireplace.
"My story starts a little over eighteen years ago… almost nineteen. Or should I say approximately seven to eight months from now… give or take a week or two."
Lupin sat up straight. His eyes grew wide with meaning and opened his mouth to say something. Willow held up her hand holding something that ran through her hands like liquid but was so obviously material.
"Just wait Uncle Moony… I'll get to your questions… you'll probably have more when I'm finished." She sighed loudly and turned her attention to the fire. "It was a dark night… or so I've been told."
Madame Pomphrey grabbed Hermione's hand and screamed in pain when Hermione squeezed it hard. Almost hard enough to break the bones in her finger. She tore her hand away from the younger woman's hand shaking it instantly trying to rid herself of the pain.
"MY gods Headmaster.. This isn't right." She rushed over to the Professor Dumbledore as she stepped away from Hermione laying on her left side and breathing rather heavily.
"It's not time… they are four months too early." Poppy motioned towards Hermione as she screamed in excruciating pain.
"Poppy… there is nothing we can do… her trauma has been too great and with the state of the wizarding world… there really is no other way."
"HARRY!" Hermione cried, tears streaming from her face and she held her oversized stomach clinging to the only sign of life Harry had. She looked up through her blurry vision seeing the familiar white beard of her headmaster. "I can't do this without Harry…" She cried.
"It's too early!!!" Hermione cried blowing out her breath almost hyperventilating.
"Push Mione! It'll be over soon." Ginny soothed her.
"I can't." Hermione sobbed. "I just can't." With that Hermione slumped down in Ginny's arms out cold.
"Madame Pomphrey!" Ginny screamed. "She's passed out."
"And you call yourself a mediwitch." Madame Pomphrey dropped what she was doing for a bleeding wizard in the corner. "Merlin Ginny you should have called for me sooner!" She cried looking at Hermione. She hiked up her apron pushing Ginny out of the way.
"I'm sorry… I didn't know… Damn it… I didn't know what to do… I didn't choose to do this!" Ginny placed her head in her hands.
"There's no time for that now girl… stand straight… nobody has chosen any of this." She cracked her neck then grabbed Hermione's limp upper body. "Come on Miss Granger… you are not getting off that easy." She ripped open Hermione's robes and the distinct sound of material ripping echoed throughout the room. She reached for her wand in her apron pocket and pointed it at Hermione's stomach. Using it as if it were a normal muggle scalpel she cut into Hermione's skin. "Ginny… get over here now!"
Ginny wiped her mouth with her robe clearing away the excess vomit from her chin. The smell of the army-like wizarding MASH unit had gotten to her… so many dead… She eagerly joined Madame Pomphrey to bring two wizarding lives into the world. Hopefully with any luck, they'd be able to fight in a few good years. And if they were really lucky… maybe just maybe one of them could do what their father could not.
The dark sky that haunted over the small wizard camp lifted with the sun shining, greeting the morning anew. Hermione awoke as she did every morning, forgetting Harry was no longer right there next to her as he had been the last three months of their Hogwarts education. He had been another appendage to her and she smiled brightly until her memories came back in rush and she saw Harry once again fall over that cliff in Godric's Hollow.
She pushed through the painful memory realizing she had matters to attend to and reached out for the nearest wizard to meet her new children. Although just still a child herself, not turning eighteen until the following autumn, she may have winced a bit from the after pains of a harsh child birth, but Hermione stayed strong, fighting to keep control of her jumbled emotions.
When Madame Pomphrey brought her new children to her, Hermione gasped at the likeness the boy already held to Harry… the girl had a few brown curls on top her fragile head and both had the clouded gray eyes that newborns do. They were extremely small, having been born so early, and she felt guilty for that. However, the one thing they did look was healthy. Maybe she should have told the others that she was further along than she was, but she hadn't even told Harry about her pregnancy. Another jolt of guilt ran through her. Harry never knew.
Madame Pomphrey handed her one baby at a time, starting with the girl, and something occurred to Hermione when she first touched her daughter.
"Twins… you said nothing about twins… Madame Pomphrey. How do I care for twins?" she inquired, more than a little frazzled. "I'm only seventeen… how?"
"You'll manage, Miss Granger… after all, women have been having babies since the beginning of time… and now is no different." Madame Pomphrey smiled and handed Hermione her son.
"I have no names for them… I wasn't even able to tell Harry about the one baby, let alone two." She stated eyeing the two, searching for four sets of fingers and toes. Satisfied with the math, she promptly looked around for the only person left from Harry's past in the infirmary. Her eyes settled on a shabby man… who looked much like he'd been through hell and back. His robes were in tatters, his hair disheveled and his eyes were blank and held no expression. What had happened to the hope in Lupin's eyes that had been there not more than a few months ago?
~I know… he lost Harry… WE lost Harry… That's what happened. ~
Hermione sighed and squeezed her babies to herself. "Hmmm." Hermione thought out loud. "I think Lupin will like the names I have chosen." She smiled openly. "Professor… would you like to see Harry's son and daughter?"
Lupin smiled as he bent down to pick up the sleeping child. He smiled roughly at Hermione and whispered something nobody would suspect. "Meet Willow and Sirus, Re..Remus… Merlin that sounds strange…." Hermione explained.
"Willow and Sirus huh? I don't think you could have been more accurate through their names." Willow clutched his thumb in her tiny fisted hand..
Lupin cocked a smile and looked at the babies. "They can call me Uncle Moony." Hermione swore she saw a momentary frown but it faded fast. "I wouldn't tell her she's named after a tree though. She may take offense." He suddenly chuckled trying to lighten the newfound oddness the air had taken on.
"Well then, she'll have a flower for a middle name. I'll call her Willow Lily."
Lupin's eyes went to Hermione's daughter. Staring at her, his eyes seemed to glow and water over. Hermione could never remember a time when the professor had done that. She eyed him curiously until he looked up at her.
"Yes… Lily is a lovely name."
"Excuse me…" Lupin interrupted Willow with startled wide eyes.
Willow turned away from the fire finally. "I wasn't done Moony."
"I realize that… but are you telling me that I'm somehow going to become some sort of father figure to you?"
"Yes." Willow stated simply. "Now… if you don't mind, I'll get to everything."
"Well if you're going to tell me an eighteen year old long story… I definitely am going to need something to snack on."
"I see you have the appetite of a wolf." She laughed pulled out the wand in her robes conjured a spread of various meat and breads for sandwiches. "Some things never change."
"What do you mean?" Lupin tried to say with his mouth full of food.
"You'll see… I just hope what I tell you is in time."
"Again…" Lupin swallowed his food. "I'm lost." He waited moment thinking. "By the way… what happened to your brother?"
Willow winced. "I don't even like to speak his name... He is a dark wizard."
To be continued…
Interlude 2: The Sorting Hat…