Lupin's True Love

November 20, 1972

Veronica woke early on the cold November morning. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling above her four-poster bed. Slowly she opened the curtains surrounding her bed and looked at her calendar. She smiled broadly as her eyes fell onto the date. She jumped from her bed, pulled on her robes, and rushed down the stairs to the common room. She looked around the common room and frowned slightly as she made her way to the sofa in front of the roaring fireplace. Footsteps echoed on the stairs that led to the boys' dormitory. Veronica turned as James stepped into the common room.

"Excited about our first game?" James yawned as he sank into a chair. "Or nervous?"

Veronica hugged her legs to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. "Yes to both."

"Good." James climbed to his feet and moved to the window. He opened the window and a freezing cold wind whistled through the common room.

"James! Close that window!" Veronica tightened her arms around her legs. "It's freezing out there!"

Just as James made to close the window, seven owls flew into the common room. Six of the owls were carrying a long thin package. The seventh owl dropped a letter onto the table in front of Veronica. The package landed on the sofa next to Veronica. She watched as the owls flew out the window. James shut the window behind them.

"Surprise!" James sank onto the sofa as Veronica unfolded herself and opened the letter.

Dear Veronica,

Thomas and I were so proud when we received your letter telling us that you and James had made the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. We went to Quality Quidditch Supplies and ordered you a new broom. (We can't have you flying around on the school's old Shooting Star.) In the enclosed package you will find a Nimbus 1900. It is the latest in the Nimbus line. I am sorry it took so long to send it to you but Thomas had to try it out and make sure that there were no extra hexes on it. I hope you like it. Good luck on your game.

Evelyn Potter

P.S. Thomas and I might come for the game but don't tell James. We want it to be a surprise. E.P.

Veronica refolded the letter and turned to the package. "Want to help me unwrap it, James?"

"Sure." James began untying the strings with Veronica as Remus stepped into the common room.

Remus made his way to the sofa as Veronica pulled the paper from the broom. "What's that?"

"A Nimbus 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Potter sent it." Veronica smiled softly as Remus sank onto the sofa. "What do you think?"

"Looks great." Sirius bounded across the common room. "No way we can lose."

Veronica rolled her eyes as she turned to Sirius. "Are you always as hyper as a six week old puppy this early in the morning?"

"Maybe we should turn him into a six week old puppy." Remus laughed as Sirius flopped into a chair.

"No way! We'd be cleaning up more messes than we can count." Veronica laughed as Sirius scowled at them. "I'm sticking up for you, Sirius."

"I know you are, Vee, but you started it." Sirius tried to maintain the scowl but failed as his laughter broke through.

"Don't call me Vee. I hate that nickname." Veronica climbed to her feet and picked up her broom. "I'm going down to breakfast." She scooped up the letter. "I don't want you reading my mail, James."

"What?! Don't you trust me?" James watched as Veroncia flounced out the portrait hole. He turned to Remus and Sirius. "Guess not."

Remus climbed to his feet. "I'm going to get a shower. I'll see you guys later."

"Not time for..." Sirius glanced at the dorm stairs.

"Not tonight but within the week." Remus disappeared up the stairs.

"We should head down to breakfast before Vee hexes it." James turned toward the portrait hole.

"Sure." Sirius followed James into the corridor.

Veronica jumped over the invisible step and slowly made her way down the stairs. She heard a whimper coming from an unused classroom. She carefully moved toward the room. Can't be too careful with Slytherins running around, Veronica's mind raced as she carefully opened the door. "Hello?" Veronica looked around the darkened room. "Anyone in here?" She heard the whimpering again only it was a little louder. "Where are you?" Suddenly a scratching sound echoed from the back wall. Veronica removed her wand and tightened her hold on her broom. "Lumos!" Her wand tip lit and she moved across the room. She saw a closet door and tried the handle. It was locked. "Locked? In an unused classroom?" She pointed her wand at the door as the scratching and whimpering resumed. "Alohamora!" She heard the lock click open. She leaned her broom against the wall and held her wand ready. Slowly she opened the door. A furry something bounded out the door and jumped into Veronica's arms. "Hello, little one." Veroncia laughed as her arms tightened slightly around the creature. "Let's go into the corridor so I can get a better look at you." Veronica picked up her broom and carried the squirming bundle of fur into the corridor. "Nox!" The tip of her wand extinguished as the creature squirmed a bit more. She looked down at the creature. It looked exactly like a Jack Russell Terrier except it had a forked tail. "I guess I should take you down to Professor Kettleburn. He'll be able to tell me what exactly you are."

James and Sirius walked down the corridor and saw Veronica trying to keep a bundle of fur from licking her face.

"Hey, Vee." James walked up to Veronica and the creature. "Where'd you get the Krup?"

"Krup?" Veronica looked down at the squirming Krup in her arms. "I found it in there." Veronica pointed to the classroom behind her. "It was locked in a closet."

"You found this Krup locked in a closet?" Sirius stepped into the classroom.

Veroncia nodded. "I'm going to take it to Professor Kettleburn and see if he was using it for a class." Veronica handed James her broom. "Could you carry this for me, James? I'm going to need both hands to take care of this bundle of energy."

James took the broom. "Sure. We'll walk you to Kettleburn's classroom. Right, Sirius?"

"Yeah but first you need to take a look at this, James, Vee." Sirius called from within the classroom.

James glanced at Veronica and she shrugged. Together they moved into the classroom. "What is it, Sirius?"

"Take a look." Sirius motioned to the open closet.

Veronica screamed and tightened her hold on the tiny Krup. James knelt next to Sirius and took in the five small bodies lying in the closet.

"Vee, take it to Kettleburn and then bring him back here." James watched as Veroncia ran from the classroom.

Veronica flew down the stairs and through the corridors to the Care of Magical Creatures classroom. She slammed open the door and a middle aged man jumped to his feet behind his desk.

"May I help you, Miss?" He moved from behind his desk.

"Professor Kettleburn, I'm Veronica Croft. I found this Krup in an empty classroom closet. I thought it was a bit odd that the closet door was locked. When Sirius looked in it, there were five other Krups." The Krup in Veronica's arms licked at the tears flowing down her cheeks. "They were dead, sir. Who would do that to defenseless babies?"

"Put him in that pen over there." Professor Kettleburn pointed to a pen in the corner. As Veronica placed the Krup with a dozen other Krups, Kettleburn grabbed a box and his wand. "Now, Miss Croft, show me where this classroom is."

Veronica led Professor Kettleburn to the empty classroom. James was standing outside the door of the classroom as Veroncia and Professor Kettleburn stopped in front of him.

"Professor Kettleburn, I'm James Potter." James took the empty box.

Professor Kettleburn led the way into the classroom. James and Veronica followed him. He knelt next to Sirius as James placed the box next to him. Professor Kettleburn carefully lifted each of the dead Krups from the closet and placed them into the box. He found a small bowl and also placed it in the box. Veronica gasped when she saw Professor Kettleburn place a larger Krup into the box.

"It's okay, Miss Croft." Professor Kettleburn climbed to his feet. "That's the last of them."

"Can you tell what killed them, sir?" Veronica moved closer to Professor Kettleburn.

"I'm not saying for sure but I believe they were poisoned." Professor Kettleburn placed a hand on Veronica's shoulder. "That Krup was lucky that you heard him whimpering or he would have joined his family."

"He sure was lucky, Vee." James hugged Veronica's shoulders.

"If his brothers and sisters are anything to go by, he's only about six weeks old." Professor Kettleburn picked up the box. "I wonder if the three of you would look after that Krup for me. I have my hands full with the dozen that I have already."

Veronica looked at James and Sirius. "Well, guys?"

"He can sleep in your dorm room, Vee, if it's okay with the other girls." James ran his hand through his tousled black hair. "Sirius, do you think Remus and Peter will help you watch him while we're at practice?"

"I'll watch him but we'll have to ask Peter and Remus." Sirius followed James, Veronica, and Professor Kettleburn down the corridor. "We'll ask them at breakfast."

Professor Kettleburn opened the door to his classroom and the four of them were assaulted by high-pitched barks. He placed the box onto his desk as Veronica walked over to the pen of Krups. "He can stay here during your games." He watched as Veroncia knelt and scooped up the tiny Krup pup.

Veronica hugged the squirming furball. "Will he be okay here with these other Krups, sir?"

"He'll be fine." Professor Kettleburn took the Krup and placed him back into the pen. "The other Krups will take care of him." He placed a hand on Veronica's shoulder. "You three should go down to breakfast. I'm going to feed these Krups and figure out what killed the other Krups."

Veronica followed James and Sirius to the Great Hall. She sank onto the bench between James and Sirius.

"Let's eat and head down to the Quidditch Pitch." James loaded his plate with sausages.

"Are you sure that Krup will be okay?" Veronica picked at the eggs on her plate.

"What Krup? Remus sank onto the bench across from Veronica.

"Vee found a Krup puppy locked in a closet this morning." Sirius handed Remus the platter of sausages. "Kettleburn asked us to look after it since he already has a dozen to take care of and the poor thing is only about six weeks old."

"Yeah, Remus. Vee and I were wondering if you and Peter would help out a bit. Sirius has already volunteered to watch him during our practices but you know how immature he can be sometimes."

"Hey!" Sirius playfully punched James' arm. "I resemble that remark!"

"It's 'I resent that remark', and James is right. You are too immature to take care of such a tiny creature." Veronica pushed her plate away. "I'm not hungry. James, I'll meet you at the pitch. See you guys after the game." Veroncia climbed to her feet, grabbed her broom, and made her way out of the Great Hall. She passed Olivia, Sean, and Robert as they descended the stairs.

"Hey, Veronica." Olivia waved Veronica over to them.

Veronica wove her way through the milling students toward Olivia, Sean, and Robert. "Morning."

"Are you ready for the game?" Olivia's grip tightened slightly on her broom.

"I'm a little nervous but otherwise I'm as ready as I'm going to get." Veronica held out her new broom. "Look at what the Potters sent me this morning."

"A Nimbus 1900!" Sean ran his fingers gently across the surface of the handle. "We are going to grind Slytherin into the dust!"

Veroncia laughed as Robert admired the broom. "That's the same thing that Sirius said. You two must share a brain."

"Sometimes I wonder." Olivia rolled her eyes.

"All the tricks they help to play on others." Robert smiled slightly as he turned to Veronica. "Where are you headed so early?"

"The pitch. I thought I would go down a little early and get a feel for my broom and maybe meditate for a while before the game." Veronica shrugged slightly.

"Maybe you should take James, Remus, Sirius, and Lily with you." Olivia inclined her head toward the four arguing Gryffindors sitting and standing around the Gryffindor Table. "Just as a precaution. We wouldn't want to you to be attacked before the game."

Veroncia rolled her eyes this time. "Fine but you get to be the one that tells them that they have guard duty."

Olivia laughed and went into the Great Hall. Veronica watched as Olivia broke up the arguing Gryffindors and spoke to them. Each one nodded and left Gryffindor Table.

"I don't believe it. She got James and Lily to stop fighting for more than a minute." Sean laughed as James, Remus, Sirius, Lily and Olivia approached them.

Veronica rolled her eyes again as James and Sirius stood directly behind her. "Yeah but now they get to annoy me."

"It's for your own protection, Veronica." Remus laughed as Veroncia stuck out her tongue at him.

"We have been designated as your guards until the game." Lily snapped to attention and gave Olivia a salute. "Any other orders, mon captain?"

"None for now. I'll be in touch." Olivia gave a return salute. "I'll see you within the hour along with the rest of the team. Dismissed."

Veronica managed to stifle her giggles as James and Sirius gave the silliest salutes in the world. Together they made their way past Hagrid's hut and onto the pitch.

"Looks like it's going to be a good day to play." James stamped his foot onto the ground. "Solid pitch for a good kick off. A little bit of cloud cover so we won't have to worry about any glaring from the sun."

"I'm going to try out my broom." Veronica swung her leg over the Nimbus 1900 and kicked off from the ground.

She raced from the middle of the pitch to the far end. Then she pointed the nose of her broom into a deep dive. She barely heard Lily's scream as she pulled out of the dive. She flew higher into the air and did barrel rolls and corkscrews. When she finally looked down, she saw James waving her down to the pitch. She dove quickly, landed softly next to James, and jumped off her broom. Veronica smiled as James moved closer to her.

"Nice flying." James threw an arm around Veronica's shoulders. "There is no way those lousy Slytherins will get close to beating us."

"Thanks." Veronica blushed slightly. "I guess we should go and change into our uniforms."

"Let's go." James pulled Veronica away from the group. "See you guys later."

"Good luck, Vee." Sirius managed to squeeze between James and Veroncia to give her a hug. "Good luck, James."

"See you after the game, Sirius." Veroncia returned the hug. "And stop calling me Vee. I hate that name."

"I know." Sirius smirked as Veronica followed James to the locker rooms.

Veroncia stuck out her tongue at James before she entered the Gryffindor girls' locker room. She found Olivia already changed and pulling on the last of her protective gear.

"What took you so long?" Olivia finished lacing up her arm protector.

"I had to tell Sirius to stop calling me Vee. Again." Veroncia quickly changed from her school robes into the scarlet and gold Quidditch robes.

"So they've been annoying you again." Olivia watched Veroncia nod as she gathered her sandy blonde hair into a ponytail. "I'll get them for this. They know better than to upset the Seeker before the game."

"They're not why I'm upset but if I tell you now I will only get even more upset." Veronica finished braiding her hair. "I'll tell you and the rest of the team after we trounce Slytherin into the ground."

"Okay." Olivia picked up her broom. "Let's check on the guys." Olivia led the way to the Gryffindor boys' locker room. She knocked and swung the door open. "Women on the floor! Darn it! You're already dressed."

"We know better, Livi-love." Sean chuckled as Olivia tried to hit him. "We have to keep some things secret."

"That's not why I want to kill you, Seany-pooh." Olivia crossed her arms and smirked as Sean glared at her.

James turned to Olivia. "Livi-love?"

Veroncia giggled as she turned to Sean. "Seany-pooh? I never realized that the two of you were dating, Seany-pooh."

"Wait... until Remus... Sirius...and Peter... hear about...this." James collapsed onto the floor. "They'll...love...it!"

"Tell them and you're off the team." Olivia glared threateningly at James and Veronica.

"Wouldn't dream of endangering my position as Seeker to reveal your love life." Veronica held up her hands in surrender as she tried to stop giggling. "I'll try to keep him from spilling the beans as well." She pointed at James who was trying and failing to get to his feet.

"I ...won't...tell...either...but I can't...promise not to...if they...ask." James was panting slightly as Veronica slapped him across the back of his head. "That hurt, Vee."

"Be glad I'm not the Beater." Veronica inclined her head toward Sean. "He looks mad enough to kill."

"Oops." James slowly climbed to his feet and shrugged. "Sorry, mate."

"Enough!" Olivia raised her hands over her head. "Let's go trounce Slytherin!"

"Yeah!" The team grabbed their brooms and followed Olivia out of the locker room.

They made their way across the Quidditch Pitch to the cheers of the entire Gryffindor House. Veroncia watched as the Slytherins approached from the other side of the pitch. The captains extended their hands to each other. Olivia's smile faltered slightly as the Slytherin captain tightened his grip. Veroncia was the only one who heard Sean's low growl.

Madam Hooch slowly lifted her whistle to her lips. "I want a nice clean game from all of you." She blew the whistle.

Veroncia swung her leg over her broom and kicked off fast from the ground. She shot over fifty feet into the air as the balls were released from the crate. She zoomed past Olivia as she caught the Quaffle and passed it quickly to James. James dove deeply to avoid a Bludger as Sean hit it back toward the Slytherin Chasers. Veronica flew high over the crowd and watched as James passed the Quaffle to Robert and Robert threw it through the middle hoop. She watched as the Slytherin Seeker flew up behind her and tired to knock her off her broom but Veroncia heard his grunt and spun out of the way. Her gaze slowly made its way around the pitch as James took possession of the Quaffle. She noticed a glimmer of gold around the foot of the Gryffindor goal posts. She wove her way through the players as James passed the Quaffle to Olivia and Olivia dove to avoid the Bludger sent toward her. Jason hit the Bludger toward the Slytherin Seeker as he tried to follow Veronica through the players. Veronica sent her broom into a deep dive to avoid a Bludger as Olivia passed the Quaffle to James. Her hand hovered slightly to the left of the Golden Snitch as the Quaffle soared through the far left hoop. It flew directly into her hand and her fingers tightened around the struggling ball. She pulled out of the dive as a Bludger hit the ground ahead of her. The Slytherin Seeker knocked Veronica from her broom as Madam Hooch's whistle sounded.

"Gryffindor wins!" Madam Hooch's voice could barely be heard above the noise of the Gryffindor House.

Veronica managed to land her broom before Remus and Sirius pulled her off. They lifted her onto their shoulders as the rest of Gryffindor House cheered for their team.