Defence Against the Dark Creature

Chapter Eight

On the morning of Hallowe'en, Anne-Laure Dauphin looked up from her pumpkin pie and said in a quiet voice:

"Professor Merlot?"

Remus had never heard her talk about anything besides her hair, her fingernails and her favourite subject, Charms. In fact, he hadn't heard her talk much at all; she stuck together with Rachel Fitzgerald and Karolka Wyszinski all the time and usually let them do the talking.

Yet there was something in her voice this time that stopped all the talk in the dining room and made everyone look at her expectantly.

"Yes, Anne-Laure?" asked Charlotte, who knew that her compatriot was fond of hearing her full name.

The girl was suddenly looking very nervous. "I was wondering whether we should write a letter to the Daily Prophet and tell them what we really think, what we really... are. I mean, that article wasn't really talking about us."

The students and teachers looked at each other, stunned. The only reaction Charlotte allowed herself was a slight raise of her eyebrows and a small smile, and her reply sounded as though she had given this a great deal of thought herself.

"I'm afraid nobody would listen to us, dear. It's true that what we said was so distorted by that... woman... that their readers can't help fearing us. But any letter we would write would be similarly changed."

Anne-Laure was now looking positively frightened at all the attention she was getting, but she didn't seem convinced. "But there must be some way we could show the public that we're not, you know. Dangerous. I mean, we..." She looked around the table, at all the other students who were looking at her. "We are. But we know how to deal with the danger. Somehow we must find a way to convince them that we're human, errr... 97 percent of the time."

She threw an inquiring glance at Gómez, their Arithmancy teacher-to-be, and he nodded, smiling slightly. It seemed that next to Charms, this was her other hobby.

"That's very idealistic, Anne," chimed in Teri Longbottom, who couldn't pronounce 'Anne-Laure' and didn't care one bit whether she liked the abbreviation of her name or not. However, she was the girl's favourite teacher and the only one who got away with it.

"Unfortunately, even if by some miracle the Prophet printed our letter in our exact words, few people are bound to change their opinion. And, you know, those people who are likely to believe us often have enough sense not to take the Prophet too seriously anyway."

It seemed to Remus as though she had wanted to end on a more positive note. As for him, time and experience had taught him that people like that hardly existed - but then, he hadn't known Charlotte until now.

"How quickly she's growing up!" Charlotte exclaimed later, when she was sitting with Remus in the teachers' common room, chatting and watching the morning's Flying lesson outside. "I remember only a year ago she still blushed and giggled whenever she was addressed, and didn't seem to have any other worries besides the colour of her eyeshadow."

"Yes, it's a fascinating age," Remus agreed. "I didn't know she was planning to do something about that article."

"Oh, I know that girl," Charlotte said. "She's very... how shall I put it? Spontaneous in her thoughts and opinions. I'll bet you anything that the thought just popped into her mind this morning."

She stared out of the window. Anne-Laure was trying to keep up with Aimée Martin, who was speeding along on her broom towards the ball they were supposed to catch - Remus might have found Teri a bit tedious at times, but her Flying lessons certainly looked like fun.

"Speaking of spontaneity," Charlotte said, tearing her eyes away from the window. "What are you doing this weekend?"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "I'm scared now."

Her laugh sounded somewhat forced. She seemed to consider whether to speak or not. "Listen, I've been thinking about this for a while, and this morning's conversation - let's say it inspired me to come to a decision. I want to go to France to have a word with Anne-Laure's parents. And I want you to come with me."

Remus frowned, wondering which question to ask first. "She's not in contact with her parents at all, is she?"

The Headmistress shook her head. "They left her in Ste Marianne's when she was bitten. But they paid for the treatment, at least - or let's say, for the attempts at treating her - and I think her mother visited her a few times. However they broke off all contact when I took Anne to England." Looking slightly guilty, she sighed.

"A few weeks ago Anne's mother wrote to me, asking how her daughter was, telling me how much she missed her and how much she regretted not being there for her now. However she hasn't written to Anne yet because she thinks the girl hates her... and apparently her husband hasn't mentioned their daughter once since she left France. I asked Madame Dauphin whether she wanted me to visit them and have a word with Anne's father, and she seemed to think it would be a good idea."

Charlotte sighed again, gazing once more out of the window. "She's a very insecure girl. It would do her so much good..."

Remus was still frowning. "Charlotte, I'm not sure if that's a good idea. Her father won't like being confronted with that again."

"Oh, but I don't care whether he would like that, Remus!" Charlotte's temper was rising again. "You're always so sensitive towards everyone. This man needs a good shake, a reminder that he has a daughter out there who lives on despite his neglect. What are you smiling at?" she added, in a slightly aggressive tone.

"Oh, you just reminded me of a friend of mine, who always says that I'm too diplomatic and too careful. In fact, you remind me of him a lot; he's quite hot-tempered himself."

Charlotte grinned. "Do bring him here one day, he sounds perfect. Is he single?"

"He definitely is. I will introduce you if I ever get the chance." Remus smiled. "Anyway... how will you convince this man that his daughter is not a beast?"

"Well, that's where you come in. A grown-up, educated, calm werewolf is something Monsieur, and probably Madame Dauphin would never deem possible, and your presence could convince them that Anne-Laure is in the right hands. They might even support the school, which is always a nice bonus."

Charlotte didn't sound entirely convinced of this herself, and Remus shook his head resignedly. He had a bad feeling about this, but he knew Charlotte well enough to know that, now that she had decided, she would go, with or without him. And in that case, he would rather accompany her. "All right; what shall we tell the others about where we're going? I don't suppose you want to tell them the truth?"

"Definitely not. I was thinking we could tell them we're going to Mali to get a Clabbert for Care of Magical Creatures."

He nodded. His new subject was starting next week, and so far he had brought a dozen Mokes; he had been thinking of getting a Clabbert anyway. "Maybe we can really do that if we have the time."

"D'accord." She clasped her hands together. "So we should probably go to the International Floo and Portkey Office in the morning, it's always so full on weekends."

"And you just reminded me," said Remus, "that I will need to use the Loquilingua Charm. I learned French once, but I was never particularly talented for it. And I heard the French were a bit, er, peculiar about talking to people who addressed them in English."

For the first time that day, Charlotte laughed out loud, something she usually didn't go without for long, and the day felt much more normal at once.

"Oh, prejudices, prejudices! Anyway, you're right of course. That Charm needs to be cast by someone else, doesn't it? I never learned it in Beauxbatons - and you can keep your thoughts to yourself on that," she added, seeing that Remus was smiling. "We'll ask Teri to do it."

~~~

Teri was normally scheduled for the two hours of afternoon study on Tuesdays, but Charlotte had allowed the children a free afternoon (even though officially it was called "unsupervised homework and study"), so that she herself could prepare whatever surprise she was cooking up. This meant that Teri was free to cast the Loquilingua Charm on Remus.

"Do you know why somebody else has to cast it?" Remus asked, when they were sitting in the Charms classroom in the afternoon. "It seems like a rather complicated procedure for such a useful Charm."

"Oh yes. I've often wished to understand the Kolnikov brothers!" Teri said. "However, as far as I know - historians aren't sure about this - the use of the Charm was restricted a long time ago because it had been used too often in an irresponsible way. People weren't really aware of the implications - understanding each and every language spoken around them..."

"... and often provoked the most difficult conflicts by reacting to something they shouldn't have understood," added Remus, who suddenly remembered Professor Binns mentioning this. I must have been distracted in that particular lesson, he thought.

"Exactly," replied Teri. "Besides many people didn't know how to end the Charm, and that can get quite difficult. Our brains can't process all the information over a long period." She gave him a half-smile. "I'm afraid you'll have to live with it till next Monday, though, because I won't be here before that. You can already test it tonight."

She suddenly looked a bit awkward. "I'm afraid the only way to see whether it's working is by awakening my very rusty Spanish. You don't happen to understand... er... Por qué te gusta ser profesor?"

Remus smiled. "I can guess the last word, but that's about it."

"Good." Without further ado, Teri stood up and raised her wand. "Loquilingua. I'll see you tonight then." She made to turn away and walk towards the door.

"Where did you receive your education, by the way?" Remus asked, who had long been impressed with her abilities as a Charmer. She stopped and turned around.

"Salem Witches' Institute. But I went to learn with a professional Charmer in Salem after graduation, Fridolina Finsley, she's one of the best. I still work with her, that's why I'm only here part-time."

She seemed to want to leave, but Remus' curiosity had been awakened. He wasn't usually of the sort to press others into telling their life story, but he supposed one or two discreet questions couldn't hurt.

"You were born in Salem, then?" he asked, already anticipating a negative answer.

Her expression seemed to tense slightly, but he could have imagined that. "No. I come from a small town in the north of Lancashire. I moved to the States with my mother when I was very small."

Remus nodded to himself - Frank had once said something about only growing up with his father... But it seemed almost impertinent to ask any more, so he stayed silent; this time, however, it was Teri who continued the conversation.

"You went to Hogwarts as a schoolboy, right?" she said, approaching him again and sitting down. Seeing him nod, she continued, "Remember the Hufflepuff prefect?"

Remus blinked. He couldn't believe she was bringing up the subject on her own, but there she was, making a clear reference to Frank Longbottom. He had been one of the most lenient prefects Remus had ever experienced, and had even taken part in one of their... projects, once. He had also been a very valuable member of the Order before the attack.

"Of course I remember Frank." He paused. "I assume the two of you are related?"

"He's my brother." Her expression was still as neutral as always, but her voice was quivering slightly. Suddenly, she said, very quickly, "What's Neville like?"

Remus didn't know this woman at all, and he had the feeling it would take a lot of time to do so, but he knew that he was experiencing a very rare moment, one that was not to be lost.

"Neville is a very quiet student. Rather clumsy at times, and insecure, but - from what I could tell - very loyal to his friends and courageous in his own way. He's in Gryffindor."

Teri blinked, and looked away. Suddenly she smiled. "He's always been clumsy. I went to visit him and his grandmother once... he was about six or so, and kept overturning things..." She broke off, and seemed to struggle to regain her composure. When she spoke again, she was back to her booming, self-confident tone.

"Well, we're done here," she said and stood up. "You'll see tonight whether the charm works or not, but I'm pretty confident it should. Just remember not to react to everything you hear." She nodded at him distractedly, but strode past him with determination. On the doorstep, however, she seemed to remember something and turned around.

"Remus? Por qué te gusta ser profesor?"

It was a very odd feeling - something in the back of his mind registered that the sounds were different to what he usually heard and understood, but had they not talked about this before, he wouldn't even have known that Teri had just spoken Spanish.

He smiled. "Because it's exciting to fill young, unexperienced minds with knowledge, and to be able to subtly include lessons of morality."

He would have been completely unable to tell which language he had just spoken himself, however, had not Teri raised her eyebrows and muttered, "Well, I understood about half of that, but I guess the charm is working."

~~~

It was the first time in more than a decade that he would be at a Hallowe'en party, and it felt unusual, to say the least. Yes, there was always the cliché of "they wouldn't have wanted you to mourn them forever." But that didn't make it any easier to enjoy himself on this very night.

Actually, the last real Hallowe'en was so long ago that he hardly remembered anything about it; the war hadn't given them much chance to have real parties at all after they had left school. They had tried to meet regardless, and there had always been some joke by James, or some prank Sirius played on any member of the party. But it had always been behind locked doors, always with the thought in the back of their minds that an owl or another messenger could break up their circle at any moment. Maybe that was why their friendship had grown so intense during those years.

Remus had been walking down the stairs, deep in thought; he was early and wasn't expecting anyone to go down to the feast yet, so he was surprised to find Nora at the bottom of the stairs, looking quite apprehensively at the door leading to the dining room.

"Scared to go in?" he inquired, coming to a stop next to her. Not that he could blame her; he himself was a bit afraid of finding out what exactly Charlotte had planned for tonight.

Nora nodded sideways at him as a way of greeting. Their relationship, far from just being a student - teacher one, had almost developed into that of two colleagues. Which was, among other things, due to the fact that, during the last full moon, Nora had - after initially putting up a fight - finally granted him a place at her side. It looked as though they were going to be the first platonic Alpha male and female in history; for Charlotte had told him in secret that the Alpha female seemed to have given her heart to a certain other wolf, her protector, long ago. "It seems as though the animal is a bit quicker on the uptake than the human," she had added, grinning.

"You know how Professor Merlot is our History teacher?" said Nora in her quiet voice, and Remus nodded. "Well, she never misses a chance for a more practical approach. Last year at Hallowe'en we entered that room and suddenly found ourselves in October 31^st, 1749, when the Statute of Secrecy was breached."

"What, you travelled back in time?" asked Remus, astonished.

"Oh, no, it was a simulation, but I assure you it was a very realistic one." Nora shuddered. "At least we were only spectators, I wouldn't have wanted to get into one of those wizard-Muggle fights back then. Or when the vampires decided to interfere."

"That sounds like a very original thing to do on Hallowe'en."

"Oh yes, very original. Tell me," she looked at him, cocking her head to one side, "is the Headmaster at Hogwarts any less eccentric?"

Remus laughed. "No, he is just as bad. And Nora, that's not the way to talk about one of your teachers."

She smiled. Very rarely had he heard her laugh. "I'm sure she would consider that a compliment. Shall we go in, then?"

As they approached the door - hearing shrieks, the clattering of hooves, the ringing of church bells coming from inside - Hedda and Jedda suddenly opened their mouths and shouted:

"IF YOU'RE A WITCH AND YOU LOVE LIFE,

HIDE YOUR WAND AND SWITCH IT FOR A KNIFE!"

They burst into shrieking laughter as usual, but it sounded far more menacing this time, probably because of their words. Nora and Remus looked at each other with raised eyebrows and entered.

They found themselves in the middle of what looked like a medieval marketplace: a large square surrounded by half-timbered houses with pointy roofs, and an impressive-looking church. It was well after nightfall, and the strangest things seemed to be happening. Owls and ravens kept swooping in and landing on people's heads, other people were being chased across the marketplace by inanimate objects such as teapots and brooms, and many seemed to be eager to reach their houses safely, lock themselves up and extinguish all the lights once they had arrived.

A woman, having seen them standing in the middle of the place, came hurrying towards them, strands of thick curly hair falling out from under her bonnet. "Quick, sir and lady, you must find shelter, the witching hour is near!" She made to drag them with her away from the marketplace, but in that moment a family of white mice shot out from underneath the carriage next to them, straight under her long skirt, and she shrieked and ran for dear life.

"What is this place?" asked Nora, gazing around as if searching for a familiar face and looking, like Remus, torn between bewilderment and amusement.

"I assume it is an English town on October 31^st in the 13^th or 14^th century," he replied, shaking his head in amazement. "And it looks as though the wizarding population is quite active tonight."

Nora shook her head. "What are they thinking of, performing magic in front of the Muggles like that?"

Remus smiled amusedly. "Well, we can assume that this is a first lesson your History teacher wants you to learn - surely you remember the year the Statute of Secrecy was introduced?"

Nora snorted. "Good point. Errr... I think it was at the end of the 17^th century?"

"1692, if I remember correctly," said a familiar voice right behind them, and they turned to find Sofie Bradley - wearing a look that said that she always remembered correctly - accompanied by Samuel Harris, Leonid Dimitroff and Felix Rosenstrauch, as well as the Kolnikov brothers who were eyeing their surroundings with far more interest than they usually dared to show. In fact, they seemed to be quite enjoying themselves, while Sofie shook her head reprovingly at her surroundings.

"This is exactly the sort of behaviour that provoked all those witch burnings in the 14^th century!" she said in a scandalized voice, and Remus saw the boys roll their eyes behind her back. It even looked as though Andrej Kolnikov was about comment, but in that instant there was suddenly a loud uproar behind them, and Remus and Nora whirled around.

Crowds of furious-looking men and women were marching onto the market place, carrying torches, pitchforks and other weapons, and - Olivier Mbomo and Joseph Joplin, who were struggling on the shoulders of some of the men.

"Olivier!" called Nora, looking more frightened than Remus had ever seen her, but her shout was drowned out by the loud chorus chanted by the Muggles.

"Sorcerers! Devils! Demons! Burn them!"

The children and Remus watched as more than fifty people, among them many who had been fleeing from enchanted objects earlier, spilled out onto the marketplace, bringing twigs and branches, shouting angrily and waving their fists at the two boys, who were looking positively terrified.

"So that's what this is about! Witch burnings!" shouted Sofie Bradley over all the noise. She was wearing a look of keen interest now, although she still eyed the villagers warily. "What do you think we should do, Professor? Help them with magic or somehow tell them to use a Flame Freezing Charm?"

Remus had just opened his mouth to answer when he heard someone behind him muttering, just loudly enough, "Maybe we should stick the know-it-all on there instead and see how well she does," and someone else sniggered in response.

He turned around and stared at the Kolnikov brothers, who stared back at him in turn. And he suddenly realized that he shouldn't have reacted at all. Andrej had been speaking Russian. Leonid Dimitroff, standing between them and Felix Rosenstrauch as usual, was looking extremely uncomfortable, but didn't reply.

Forcing himself not to comment, Remus turned around again. Olivier and Joseph had now been tied together on a large stake. "I'm not sure they would hear us over all that noise," he said, trying to calm himself with the thought that this was just a simulation. He was also held back by the thought that the children were supposed to learn from this, so he should not interfere. "Perhaps they will - Nora! What are you doing?"

Nora had suddenly run forwards into the crowd and drawn out her wand. She was shouting at the boys, but they couldn't hear her; they were surrounded by more than twenty people screaming insults at them. Olivier seemed paralysed, and Joseph had closed his eyes in terror.

Remus tried to run after Nora, but the crowd was becoming thicker by the minute and it was almost impossible to get through. Struggling, he watched helplessly as Nora sent a few red sparks at the people surrounding the boys, and was grabbed almost instantly by angry villagers around her.

"Oh, this is not good, this is not good!" whimpered Sofie Bradley. "They're going to take her wand away!"

But when Nora was tied over the fire next to Olivier, who stared at her in pure horror, shaking his head violently, Remus saw her drawing her wand behind her back and giving Olivier a small, reassuring smile. Remus gave up trying to fight his way through the crowd, watching as the flames started to burn below them, but the three children weren't even sweating. Joseph, however, was shrieking so convincingly that the villagers seemed satisfied.

"If that isn't true love, then I don't know," said Felix Rosenstrauch.

***

Joseph still hadn't quite recovered from the events of Hallowe'en on the weekend. He and Olivier, who were often to be seen sticking their heads together, presumably planning a - mostly harmless - trick on one of the other students, had been unnaturally quiet for a few days. Although Remus (who now knew what it was like to be teaching young pranksters) had thought that made for a nice change, he was still a bit worried about their state of mind.

He had discussed Charlotte's approach of teaching History of Magic with her afterwards, and she had admitted that her simulation had turned out a bit more chaotic than she had planned; but she firmly objected when he said that the students should have been better prepared.

"That is precisely what I was trying to do, Remus - prepare them to react when they're not prepared," she said and smiled. "For one thing, I wanted to show them first-hand what life was like back then, of course; and to be frank, I'm quite glad Olivier and Joseph found out that there are some limits to their practical jokes." She suddenly grew serious again. "For another, they can never be sufficiently prepared for what is coming after school."

And here, she had given him a curious glance. "I daresay you know what I mean when I say that we have some difficult times ahead."

Remus had raised his eyebrows in surprise. "As far as I know, the Daily Prophet is busy trying to convince everyone of the opposite... what makes you say that?"

"Remember my friend, Dorothy Granger, whose daughter you taught at Hogwarts? Dorothy is a Muggle, and so she doesn't know much about the matter, but her daughter seems very sure that ... You-Know-Who has returned." Charlotte shuddered, but she seemed to have accepted the truth some time ago.

Remus nodded. "She would be." He had wondered for a brief moment then whether Charlotte knew where he went almost every Sunday; he was sure she had her suspicions, but she had never asked.

It was Saturday morning, and they were preparing to leave for London. Anne-Laure's mother had written back and agreed to their visit, although she had sounded quite apprehensive in her letter, Charlotte said.

Many of the children, especially Felix Rosenstrauch and Leonid Dimitroff, had been thrilled to hear that they were going to Mali, and both boys had been asking them all week in a casual tone whether they would need help from two eager assistants who had, obviously, already learned a lot of Defence techniques. But Remus and Charlotte had fended them off by saying they were far too young.

They Apparated directly into Diagon Alley, which was busy as usual, even more so since it was the weekend. The International Floo and Portkey Office was at the other end of town, and they had to travel for an hour by tube to get there. However, unlike most other witches, Charlotte was quite talented at dressing in the Muggle way, and Remus had had many years of experience, so they didn't attract any attention.

"Remus Lupin?" said the witch behind the counter, looking up from her register and eyeing him curiously. "Where do I know that name from?"

"I don't know," he replied innocently, feeling Charlotte's look on him. The witch behind the counter shrugged. "Oh well. France it is, then? Room 24, Mr Laurent."

"Thank you," said Charlotte, and they proceeded to room 24. "You get that a lot, then?" she inquired while they were walking up the stairs.

"Oh yes. And you had better prepare for it, too." Remus smiled wryly. "Now that you have acquired fame."

"I suppose so," she said darkly and knocked at the door. A rather short man in dark blue robes opened, smiled up at them and beckoned them in. "Good day! Where are you going to?"

Again, it took Remus a moment to notice the man had spoken French. Interesting, he thought, so it isn't even assumed that we might not speak it. Is he expecting us to use Loquilingua, or does Charlotte look French to him somehow?

"To Aix-en-Provence," replied Charlotte, and before Remus even had the chance to properly analyze her different intonation - her voice sounded higher, somewhat - Mr Laurent clapped his hands together and exclaimed:

"Ah! A charming town! On holiday?" he asked, looking from Charlotte to Remus interestedly, clearly thinking them a couple.

"Visiting a few friends," Remus replied, and saw Charlotte looking at him with a very amused expression - apparently, he sounded just as different when he was speaking French.

"Very well," replied Laurent and, tapping a glass on the table with his wand, he said, "Portus. This will take you directly to our office in Aix, in twenty seconds exactly. Have a good trip!"

They thanked Laurent and got up, holding the glass between them. Exactly twenty seconds later, they arrived in a very similar-looking office.

"I hate Portkeys," grumbled Charlotte, still speaking French. They left the office and emerged in the centre of Aix-en-Provence, which was indeed a 'charming town', Remus thought. Although it almost looked a bit too perfect for his taste - everything was very clean, the people were well dressed, and ...

"Bourgeois," muttered Charlotte, eyeing the people around her with clear dislike. Then, noticing Remus' curious glance, she explained, "This is the sort of environment I grew up in. It seems like a great society, everyone's polite and friendly, but if you're really looking for charity, or if you don't follow your parents' path, you're suddenly an outcast." She was looking as though she was already regretting coming here. "Let's get it done with."

They rode on a bus (Charlotte had paid with Francs she had kept "out of sentimentality") for more than half an hour, passing the outskirts, driving through beautiful countryside and finally arriving in an even smaller town which consisted of a few very fancy-looking houses with huge gardens and gleaming fences. It looked as though it were purely inhabited by Muggles. Remus studied his surroundings uncomfortably. This did not exactly look like the sort of place that would be friendly towards werewolves.

Charlotte was looking similarly apprehensive, although she, like Remus, seemed to want to hide her thoughts. Maybe they both thought that, if they only believed it could work, then it would. Remus sighed inwardly. His bad feeling was increasing by the minute.

"There we are," said Charlotte, when they had been walking quietly for a few minutes. They had arrived in front of a house that was slightly smaller than the ones they had seen first - a good sign, perhaps? - but it still looked extremely well-kept and large enough to be inhabited by two families.

They were standing in front of the black and golden fence. "You know," said Charlotte, looking more nervous than Remus had ever seen her, "I'm not quite sure Mme Dauphin has told her husband about us. She seemed to think it would be better if we broke the news to him here and now."

Remus' uneasy feeling intensified. "I don't know whether that will improve matters."

Charlotte sighed and rang the bell. Her hand was shaking slightly, but she took a deep, audible breath and seemed to steady herself. The gate opened, and they walked up to the door, which was opened by a very pretty woman who was holding a baby in her arms.

If Charlotte was surprised, there was only a very small pause that showed it. "Madame Dauphin?"

"Yes?" She replied, looking half-anxiously, half-curiously from one to the other.

"Charlotte Merlot, and this is Monsieur Lupin."

The woman swallowed. "Please come in, Mademoiselle, Monsieur..." She led them into a spacious, cosy living-room. "My husband is outside walking the dog. Would you like a cup of coffee?"

They declined, and followed suit when Mme Dauphin sat down in an armchair in front of the crackling fire.

For a moment or two, there was an uncomfortable pause, then Charlotte said, "Mme Dauphin..."

"How is Anne-Laure?" the woman interrupted her, almost in a whisper. Remus was surprised to see a mixture of pain and guilt on the woman's face for a second before she looked down, pretending to adjust the blanket wrapped around the baby. Charlotte seemed to have seen this too, for her voice sounded more hopeful when she replied.

"She's very well. She has made lots of friends, and her marks are good. She is quite talented at Charms and Arithmancy."

Mme Dauphin smiled, her eyes shining. "Charms used to be my favourite subject. And Arithmancy, she must have got that from Jacques..."

Charlotte smiled back. "I wouldn't be surprised if you shared more than this. Although she never talks about it, I know how much Anne misses her parents."

A very small sob escaped the woman's mouth, and she looked down again. Her child had woken up and was starting to cry. Mme Dauphin rocked the child in her arms and looked up again. "I... I'm ... I'm so -"

They heard the door open, and the next moment a large terrier came bounding into the room, licking his mistress' hand. She stroked him absently, her eyes fixed on the door.

"Noémie?" a man's voice called, and her husband came striding towards them. "I heard François crying, what is it?" He looked at Charlotte and Remus with distrust. "Who are these people?"

"I... they're..." Please don't tell him, Remus thought, who had a very bad feeling about the man.

"They're the people I told you about, darling," she said, standing up to kiss him. "The ones from the orphanage..."

Remus exchanged a glance with Charlotte, and he could see that she thought as little of Mme Dauphin's method as he did. She stood up, approached the man and held out her hand.

"Charlotte Merlot, Monsieur Dauphin. I'm your daughter's teacher."

Instead of taking her hand, M. Dauphin took a step back, staring at Charlotte. He looked from his wife back to them and finally said, in a hard voice, "I have no daughter, Madame."

Mme Dauphin gave an even louder sob and clutched her son, who was crying louder and louder. "Jacques..."

"No, Noémie," he said, his voice still calm, but steely. "We decided long ago that this ... girl ... is nothing to us anymore. We have François, remember? Now, Madame, I must ask you to go." He beckoned imperiously towards the door. Next to him, his wife was staring at them, lost for words, her cheeks now wet with silent tears.

Remus wanted desperately to leave, and he looked at Charlotte trying to catch her gaze. But her eyes were fixed on Anne-Laure's father, and he could see that she was pressing her teeth tightly together in suppressed rage.

"Monsieur," she said, and it seemed to be costing her every ounce of effort to not shout at him, "I am appalled at your behaviour. How can you ignore having a daughter, when she is still out there, a live, feeling teenager, probably thinking of her parents night and day, not understanding why they don't love her as she loves them?"

The man did not seem impressed by this at all, for his hard look never wavered. "This is where you are quite wrong, I think. I do not believe that ... werewolves ... have feelings."

At this, Mme Dauphin gave a loud gasp and fled away from them. They could hear her crying with her son upstairs.

Charlotte was looking livid and seemed ready to murder him. "Monsieur Dauphin..."

Remus laid a hand on her arm. "Monsieur Dauphin," he said, "I'm afraid it is you who are quite wrong. Werewolves do indeed have feelings, as I myself am willing to testify."

The man stared at him as though really seeing him for the first time, and his hard look turned into one of revulsion. "You had better leave this house quick, werewolf, before I call the Ministry," he snapped. "And you," he spat at Charlotte, "never contact me or my wife again."

He practically pushed them towards the door and slammed it shut in their faces. Charlotte, her arm in Remus' grip, made a move forwards, but he held her back.

"Remus," she said, her voice shaking. She turned towards him, and he could see that her eyes were on fire. "Let me go."

"No." He gripped both her shoulders. "We will leave now."

"Remus!" She struggled under his firm grip, and for a moment the expression on her face frightened him. Then she looked down, and said quietly, through gritted teeth, "Fine."

They walked all the way back to Aix without saying one word, Charlotte occasionally kicking a stone on their path. Then, just when they were entering the outskirts, she stopped and turned to Remus. For a moment she seemed unsure what to say; then she smiled, ever so slightly.

"I knew it was a good idea to take you with me."

He smiled back, and they continued the rest of their journey in silence.

***