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By the Light of the Moon	By : chrmisha Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 1963 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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By the Light of the Moon: Chapter 2

It was a cool autumn evening when she arrived at the Leaky Cauldron. She studied the picture Sirius had sent of himself and Remus one last time, engraving the image in her mind. She�d find him if it was the last thing she did. And what will you do with this stranger once you find him? He doesn�t even know you. She brushed the thoughts aside. Finding him is what matters. I�ll deal with the rest later. She searched the patrons faces; old, young, happy, sad. None of them were Remus. Clutching the tuft of fur in her hand, she let herself relax and become the antennae she knew she was. Just a low hum. He�d been here��maybe yesterday, maybe twenty years ago. He definitely wasn�t here now.

Diagon Alley was always a strange and exciting place for her. She�d been raised a Muggle and although she went to a magical school and enjoyed it immensely, she chose to remain mostly in the Muggle world. For the memory of her mother, she supposed. She never knew her father. No one knew what to make of her strange gifts when she was growing up. No one else in the family had them, certainly not her mother, nor the man she always thought was her father. It had been kind of a standing joke. Lost your beloved pet? Just ask Amera, she�ll find it for you. And she had, every time. She�d even found an escaped zoo animal once and was written up in the local newspaper. When she�d finally received the invitation to the US School of Witchcraft and Wizardry it all made sense. Her abilities were no longer so unusual, or so she thought. She soon learned, though, that not all witches and wizards could communicate with animals, much less track them. She remembered the words of her favorite teacher: You have a very special gift, Amera, use it wisely. Was this wise?

Sadness strummed through her as she remembered telling Sirius about her gift. She�d been afraid to tell him, afraid he�d think she was crazy. But much to her surprise, he�d had it too; that was the reason he and Remus were so close. Sirius could communicate with Moony in ways the average person could not. Sirius was the first person she�d ever met that had the same gift she had. But Azkaban had taken it away from him, like so many things. She�d wanted to use her gift, their gift, to find Wormtail, to set Sirius free, but he forbid her, telling her it was too dangerous. Peter was working with Lord Voldemort now, and she�d likely end up dead chasing after him. It pained her to see him constantly on the run. She wasn�t able to ease his suffering in life; she was determined to do so in death. His last wish.

Absently, she purchased what she needed from the Apothecary. Just in case. The humming in her mind and body continued to pulse. He�d been to Fortescues, he�d been to Flourish and Blotts many times, he�d been lots of places in Diagon Alley, but he wasn�t at any of them now. She stood in the middle of the street concentrating, willing her gift to lead her in the right direction. She walked north, paying close attention to the vibration in her hand growing slightly stronger with every step she took.

Opening her eyes, she found herself at the crossroads with Knockturn Alley. Damn. She knew this place by reputation. It was not a place an attractive young witch like herself should be walking alone after dark. She would be a prime target for many untoward things. Taking a deep breath, she pulled her hood up and held her head high, gripping her wand tightly. She�d learned in the Muggle world that if you were in an unsavory neighborhood you should always walk with a purpose and look confident. She would not give in to her fears, she would not be a victim. Taking a deep breath, she plunged forward into the darkness, her wits her only defense.

Fires lit the trash bins as witches and wizards hovered over them, stealing their warmth. Dark buildings etched the evening sky. A sense of foreboding settled heavily on her soul. She swallowed, trying to keep her nerves in check, her heart knocking against her ribcage. She drew many stares as she went on her way. The humming grew stronger. She knew she was going in the right direction. The fur in her hand vibrated eagerly. He�d come this way recently. She only hoped it was recently enough. For all she knew, she�d find herself at a dead-end only to discovered he�d Disapparated from the very spot she was standing.

Suddenly, she was gripped by fear at the sight of a group of wizards approaching her, evil grins on their faces.

�Well, well, well, I haven�t seen the likes of you here before,� the one on the right taunted while the others leered at her.

She willed her heart to stop beating so fast and took a calming breath. With more courage than she thought she possessed, she pasted a crazed smile on her face and let her eyes roll around in their sockets a moment before coming to rest on the wizard who had spoken. She could smell the scent of alcohol on their breaths. She could sense they were up to no good. She would not be a victim. Raising one eyebrow, she leaned in and spoke very clearly, �Aye, mustn�t keep him waiting. No, no. You know how angry he gets when he�s kept waiting. Lord Voldemort is a very busy wizard.� The shockwave that washed over her pursuers at the mention of the Dark Lord�s name was palpable. They backed away from her before quickly disappearing into the shadows. With immense relief, she let out the breath she was holding. Picking up her pace, she continued to follow the humming vibrations that continued to grow stronger. The sooner she found him, the sooner she could get out of there.

She reached that proverbial dead-end not five minutes later. She stepped into the shadows before looking back over her shoulder. No one was following her. The brick wall in front of her seemed impassable. Yet the antennae inside of her beckoned her forward. The wall stretched higher than she could see, certainly she couldn�t climb it. Using her wand she whispered a spell causing the wall to reveal itself for what it was. One of the bricks glowed ominously golden in the night. She tapped it with her wand three times. The gold light seemed to spill onto the other bricks causing them to shimmer. It must be a passage she thought to herself. Cautiously, she touched one of the bricks. Her finger slipped inside as if she was putting her finger in a glass of cool water. When she withdrew it, though, her skin was dry. She tested it again with her whole arm. Shrugging her shoulders, she held her breath and stepped into the wall. The sensation of walking through water was quickly replaced by fresh air and more darkness. She wouldn�t mind if she never had to do that again. She squinted in the dim light to see that she was no longer in Knockturn Alley, but what looked to be a seedy Muggle neighborhood in London. Great, I go from a bad situation to another.

She didn�t have time to worry, though, as she felt her body being dragged to the west. She couldn�t control the sensation, but she could decide whether or not to act on it. Remus was very close, she could feel it. The fur in her hand was hot and vibrating furiously. She was pulled toward an old stone wall that was about three feet high. Behind it was an abandoned, run-down shack and some trees. Climbing over the wall, she walked slowly towards the forest. She looked carefully at the evening sky; one more night until the full moon. The last thing she needed was to come face to face with a full grown wolf.

The landscape she traversed quickly turned wooded. She hated being out here alone. There were any number of bad things she could encounter, none of which she wanted to think about at the moment. Remus was very near here and she had to find him before she scared him off. He could Disapparate. She could not. If he disappeared now, she�d be on her own.

She stopped suddenly and listened. Her body knew before her eyes did. She was finding it quite difficult to stand still while her whole body was being drawn to his like the pull of a very strong spell. She held on to the trunk of a tree for support. As the moon slipped from beneath the clouds, she could see the figure of a man facing away from her in a small clearing. He was wearing robes and holding something in each hand. She couldn�t see his face, but the clump of fur in her hand told her beyond any doubt that the man in front of her was Remus Lupin.

She swallowed, not sure how to approach him. Should she call out his name? Should she stun him and take him back to her apartment? Various crazy thoughts ran through her mind, until a sudden chill slipped through her body. Then, there were no more thoughts, just the pure horror of realizing that the thing in his right hand was a gun and he�d raised it to his temple while he looked at the moon and muttered something she couldn�t understand.

Without conscious thought, her body lurched out from behind the tree. With the speed and grace of an animal, she found herself behind him in an instant, her wand dug into his back. �Drop it!�

�Or what?� His hand was steady at his temple. She realized that he could just as easily tip his hand back and shoot her. Or he could pull the trigger. The next thought was even more comical. I�m threatening a suicidal man with a wand. He wants me to kill him.

�Remus, please, don�t do this,� her voice pleaded.

He stilled at the sound of his name. But just as suddenly, she saw the muscles in his hand twitch. He was going to pull the trigger. In an instant, she�d pointed her wand at the gun and muttered a few choice words causing the gun to evaporate in mid-air. As if he was expecting this, his left hand jerked and he quickly chugged the fluid that was in the vial he held. Her gut wrenched at what he�d just done. She watched as he sat casually on the ground, waiting for it all to end. He wasn�t going to fight it.

�Remus!� she cried, dropping to her knees in front of him. His eyes were closed, he refused to look at her. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes. Now was not the time, she reminded herself. Every second counted. She delved into her robes for the Port Key that Dumbledore had reluctantly made for her. She grasped his trembling hands and held them in place with her own. Slamming her eyes shut, she held on for dear life. She hated the sensation of free falling through time and space. But in mere moments, they materialized in her kitchen. Disentangling herself from him, she shook her head at his motionless body. The poison was already taking effect.

Dammit, Remus, I�m not going to let you die! Don�t do this to me! Don�t do this to Sirius!

Taking a steadying breath and wiping the sweat from her brow, she spun around her small kitchen. She had to act fast. The ingredients for the anecdote were on the table. Quickly, she mixed them together with those she�d picked up at the Apothecary. The antidote would neutralize the silver already in his bloodstream by binding the elemental silver into a harmless compound.

Looking back at his prone figure, she noticed that the convulsions were already starting. She knew she wouldn�t be able to stop the havoc he�d reeked on his body, she could only hope the potion would prevent it from killing him. As a vet, she knew the poison would travel through his gastrointestinal tract and burn every inch of it, wiping out the natural flora there. He wouldn�t be able to absorb nutrients from food, and any food in his system would come out rather rapidly��one way or the other. If he survived, it would be days before he would be able to eat again. If he survived.

All she could do now was sit back and watch and wait and pray. It was not a pretty sight, observing the man in front of her writhe in pain on her kitchen floor. She took a deep breath to distance herself. It was like watching one of her animal patients in the throws of being poisoned. She cleaned up after him as needed, wrapped him in warm towels, and ran her fingers through his hair as she would have stroked someone�s pet to comfort it at a time like this. And as with her animal patients, she felt just as helpless. She�d watched many of them die and there wasn�t a damn thing she could do about it, other than offer supportive care, as she did now. Still, it never got any easier. Once in awhile, the supportive care would work, and that glimmer of hope kept her going then, as it kept her going now.

When the convulsions finally stopped, she hooked up some IV fluids to keep him hydrated. When he seemed stable, she pulled the cushions off her couch along with some blankets and laid them on the floor next to him, dozing on and off between checking on him and cleaning up after him. The nervous feeling in her gut did not abate. She hated being stuck in this limbo between life and death. She hated not knowing. She hated not being in control.

Opening her eyes as morning dawned, she looked at the clock and bolted upright. She�d slept four hours! He was shivering slightly under the blanket she�d covered him with, but hadn�t thrown up any more since last night. She wrapped more blankets around him and checked his vitals before switching IV bags. His breathing was more steady, his vitals stronger. He wasn�t out of the woods yet, but he seemed to be progressing in the right direction.

With some of her fear abated, she noticed for the first time the man that lay before her. His sweat-drenched brown hair clung to his face. He looked young, mid-thirties maybe, his face lightly lined. He was thin, too thin, she thought. But all in all, he was actually quite handsome. His body was muscular and well-used. She imagined the wolf kept him in good shape. And his face looked peaceful. She swallowed. He had wanted to die. What on earth would she do with him when he woke up? If he woke up, she reminded herself. But she had a more pressing concern right now. Tonight was the full moon.
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By the Light of the Moon