Tap, tap, tap, tap, the sound was going to drive me insane as was my mother. I turned and glared at her. She had invaded my space. Okay, so it wasn't really my space, but it was given to my by Professor Vector. It was last Thursday when she approached me, rather cornered me in a hallway right outside the arithmancy classroom, and asked me if she could have my help with the problem she was trying to solve for her own arithmancy project. Now it was Monday and she had been in my room for the past three days with me.
"Question?" I grumbled incoherently at her as she spoke up.
"What is it?" I was trying very hard not to add `mum' at the end.
"Remember last week when you said your parents fought in the first war and that is when they fell in love."
"I never said the first war," I let slip my correction before I could stop myself.
At this Hermione turned and faced me. I could tell she was trying to figure out what I meant. "But you said they fell in love during the war."
"There have been many wars, Hermione," My voice was cold as I tried to steer her off the subject.
"Yes," Her face showed she wasn't about to give up on that slip-up. "But you said something that intrigued me. You said that your mother would still live on in your father. In his soul."
"Yes, I did," I turned back to the chalk board once more checking my perfect solution. It needed to be right and it needed to be right tonight.
"What did you mean by that?" That right there was the question I was dreading for even I didn't know the answer. My parents had forged some impressive magic in the future, and they said it all had to do with a past mistake that had gone incredibly right.
"I'm sorry, Hermione, I have no clue. My parents never told me. They said I had to figure that one out by myself." Smiling, I turned to the window and saw that it was about four hours until sunset. "Come we must get down to dinner."
Harry and Ron met us in the entrance way just as they had done the past three nights. This time though I noticed they had been joined by Ginny. She was talking adamantly to Ron and Harry about something as we clambered down the stairs, but she stopped upon seeing Hermione and me.
"I should go," I said as Hermione joined her friends. But before I could step around them a hand reached out and grabbed my arm.
"Why don't you have dinner with us?" I looked and saw my father's hand encircling my arm. "I mean we have to make sure you don't waste your life away by doing work." My eyes stung with tears as he said this. Over the years I had lost count of the many times my father had said that exact same phrase to me.
"Sure," I said sneaking a glance at Aunt Ginny whom looked furious. "I guess I can put off studying for one night. I just don't want to fall behind."
"Why do you sound so much like, Hermione?" Ron said.
"I don't know," I stammered out.
"Relax," Ron swung one of his arms around my shoulder. "It was just a joke."
Dinner took longer then I expected. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville, who joined us, kept me laughing the whole meal. They continued to keep me laughing as we made our way up to the common room, but as soon as we entered we quieted down.
"So, how do you like it here?" My father's voice whispered into my ear.
"It's nice." I said brushing my hair out of my face. "I like the castle and my classes. I just miss home. My bed, my friends, my boyfriend," as I said this I noticed Aunt Ginny perk up.
"You have a boyfriend?" She asked me.
"Well, I did, but I don't know what I'll be going back to. Hopefully he won't forget me while I'm here." I thought longing of Ron and his grin and his eyes and his lips. I wished he was here with me. "I should do some work."
"Nonsense," Hermione said as she plopped down on one of the overstuffed chairs by the fire place. "It's only the third week. Not even I have put in as much work as you have these past three weeks." Yeah right, I thought, you've only been trying to figure out how to destroy Voldemort's soul these past few weeks.
I figured I still had two hours to waste so I decided to join them, but before I knew it way too much time had flown by. As I glance at the clock I saw it was seven thirty and I was wicked late. Swearing I got up and reached for my wand. "I have to go," I said loudly. "I can't believe I wasted this much time here." Scrambling I raced to the portrait hole and banged it open. I could hear their bewilder exclamations behind me and then three pairs of feet pounding down the hall after me.
The hallways to the hospital wing were oddly packed, "MOVE!" I shouted and several people did as I asked. I still had to shift through the crowd to reach the door. No one was going in so I threw the huge oak doors open and raced to where I knew something was going on.
"Jillian," A voice exclaimed as I flew past Aunt Poppy's office. I tried to stop right away but ended up sliding an extra ten feet for my efforts.
"I can help," I said through heavy breathing. "Mum taught me what to do."
Aunt Poppy's eyes grew wide and she nodded. I slanted my head to the doors there she saw my parents and Ron standing in the doorway staring at the end of the wing. Her and my eyes followed them down the wing to the bed at the end. Standing beside one of the beds was Professor Tonks with her signature bubblegum pink hair. I watched, as in slow motion, she sunk to the floor, giving everyone a clear view of Professor Remus Lupin.
My feet carried me down the hall before anyone else could react. I took several deep breaths as I reached his bed. Uncle Remus looked horrible. He was writhing and silently howling with pain. His veins were bubbling out of his skin, and I could see his skin was taking on a tint of grey, no of silver.
The wand that I had only use for good was suddenly being raised for one spell I had sworn to never use against another. "Sectumsempra!" I bellowed pointing my wand at Remus's chest. Two seconds later my body was flying backwards and it hit another hospital bed hard. I raised my wand once more but this time I had pointed it at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. All three froze in place with only their eyes being able to move. I knew Harry would recognize this spell as the same one Professor Dumbledore had used on him at the end of last year but caution needed to be thrown to the wind to save Uncle Remus's life.
"What did you do to them?" Aunt Poppy hurried over.
"Stay back, this might cause a minor explosion." I said as I hovered my wand right above Uncle Remus's chest and placed both hands on his stomach. My hands were immediately drenched in blood but it didn't matter any more because I had started to focus my whole mind on the spell work that needed to be done.
My lips began to chant the words to the magnet spell over and over, and I could feel the energy building inside of me. I was using my wand as a focal point to where I wanted the substance contaminating Lupin to end up. It wasn't long before I felt the blood on my hand beginning to draw back and another smoother substance take over. I opened my eyes briefly to see silver coming up and encasing my hands. Willing it with all my might I let the magic I was casting to dig deeper into Remus. As the last of the silver left his body I was thrown backwards and hit the wall. I let the darkness take hold as I knew Remus was going to live.
"Jillian," I was hiding under the stairs as Aunt Ginny and Daddy argued. My tiny seven year old self didn't like it when people yelled. Unclenching my eyes I saw Uncle Remus standing over me.
"Is it over?" I asked and he smiled down at me.
"What were they arguing about now?" Uncle Remus asked as he scooped down and picked me up.
"Me."
"Really?"
"Yes," I nodded into his neck for extra acknowledgement. "I told Daddy that I didn't want to go with Aunt Ginny because she doesn't like me and ignores me. Daddy got really upset at this and accused Aunt Ginny of being an overzealous six-year old."
"I see you learned a new word?" Uncle Remus let out a chuckle and I took in his smell. He always seemed to smell of soap and fresh air.
"Mummy taught it to me yesterday." I said happily. "Uncle Remus, why does Aunt Ginny not like me?"
"Jillian," The voice of Aunt Poppy interrupted my dream. As I got brought to the world of the waking I reflected that Uncle Remus had never told me the answer to that question.
"What time is it?" I said trying to sit up only to be held down by a hand on each of my shoulders.
"You have been asleep for two days. I don't even think I need to tell you to please stay still." At this I opened my eyes to come face to face with a stern looking Aunt Poppy. "You did an incredibly stupid and brave thing the other night." With these words she shoved a potion down my throat and as I heard her leaving my bedside I sank back into darkness.
Hours later I finally woke up. Letting out a sigh I sat up in bed and looked around the normally empty (except after a quidditch match) hospital wing. To my right sitting in a chair was a sleeping Professor McGonagall and to my left was a sleeping Aunt Tonks. Then as my eyes drifted over her they met the brown eyes of Uncle Remus.
"Uncle Remus you're awake," I said forgetting my role. Immediately I threw my hand up to slap it over my mouth.
"Oh its okay, Jillian Potter." He smiled at me and I grinned back at him. "I recognized your magic the minute it entered my system. Thank you for saving my life, and next time I will listen to your warnings. I heard it was some impressive magic you did."
"What did you mean you recognized my magic?"
"Well, you are a Potter and it just so happens that I happen to be a magic brother with a dead Potter."
"Grandpa James," I said with a sigh and let my body fall back on the bed.
"Yes," He saw my gaze turn to the sleeping Aunt Tonks. "Don't worry your secret is safe with me. She will never find out unless you tell her yourself. So how is the future?"
I couldn't help but laughing at this, "It is good. Much better then this place." I said with a wave of my hand which sent the vase on the bedside table smashing into the wall. Aunt Poppy came rushing at the noise and Professor McGonagall awoke with a start. "Whoops," I said casually as they started checking me over.
"What happened Poppy?" Professor McGonagall questioned as she looked me over.
"This," she said pointing at me, "Overtaxed her magic making it become extremely unstable."
"Unstable," I shouted trying to sit up again. They pushed me firmly against the bed and held me down.
"You need to stop struggling," Aunt Poppy said and I tried to relax. "Your body needs time to rebuild up its magic. To be honest I'm surprised it is healing itself so quickly. But then again," She seemed to sigh as she said this and I felt a tingling spread through my arms. "Okay I put a paralysis charm on your body but you can talk. Don't fight it off and you have a visitor."
At this a person came around the corner and I saw it was Harry. What is he doing here? I thought. Remus seemed to sink back into his bed and it was then that I noticed Aunt Tonks was still sleeping. She really can sleep through just about anything.
"Hi, Jillian," my father looked flustered. "I was just came by to see how you are doing?"
"Lying is not becoming, Harry." I shot back at him and he immediately became defensive.
"You are right it isn't." His tone was accusatory, "I need to know how you know that spell."
"What spell?" I said quietly. "The spell I used to heal Remus was a magnetic shield coupled with a purity charm. Of course I made it stronger by actually infusing my magic with his."
"Infusing with my magic?" Uncle Remus spoke up.
"Yes, the purity charm infused with your magic and should have flushed out anything that was hindering you."
"Poppy!" Uncle Remus shouted causing Aunt Tonks to wake up. "Poppy!"
At the second call Aunt Poppy came running into view, and she looked like she was about to kill one of us. "Remus what is wrong?"
"I need you to check me over?"
"Check you over for what?"
"I need you to see if I'm still a werewolf," Remus looked over at me with a mixture of shock and joy on his face.
"There is no cure," Tonks spurted out.
Poppy ignored Tonks and did the diagnostic spell. She did it four times before she turned to me, "What did you do?"
"I cured him," I said softly. "I had to." As I said this I remember my mum they morning she sent me here remember its okay to change the future and I had done just that. I could do little more because Aunt Tonks had launched herself on me and started hugging me to death. Just through her shoulder length brown mousy hair I could see my father looking stunned and slightly worried.
-->