Lupin's True Love Returns

Carey Ann Lupin

Story Summary:
Eighteen years have passed since Veronica was at Hogwarts. The Memory Charm is failing and Veronica is beginning to remember the times of fun and horror at the school. As a teacher she knows how to make class fun. She learned a lot while away including how to fight. Will she be able to teach Harry all she has learned or will she have to bring others in to help

Chapter 32

Chapter Summary:
Veronica and the X-men are taking the new students shopping for their school things but what happens when Kitty exclaims "There's a rat in my room! A big hairy one with a silver paw!"? What does Veronica and the X-men do to mysterious rodent?
Posted:
10/28/2005
Hits:
469

September 13, 1996

Veronica placed her overnight bag beside her before pulling her office door closed. She tapped her wand against the wooden door.

"'Roni!" Logan hurried toward her, well as fast as he could through the milling students. "You ready?"

"Yes, Logan." Veronica bent to pick up her bag. "I guess Scott's in a hurry."

"When ain't the kid in a hurry?" Logan took the bag from Veronica's hand as Regina, carrying Leo, and Harry, carrying their bags passed a group of First Years. "Hey, Rosie, Harry." He tapped Leo's nose. "Leobug."

Regina shuffled Leo to her right arm and placed a soft kiss on Logan's cheek. "Evening, Logan, Mother."

"Professors." Harry shifted his and Regina's bags slightly. "Are we ready to go?"

"Once we get to the Headmaster's office." Veronica wove her arm through Logan's as they hurried down the corridor. "I take it Scott and Jean are making sure the others get to Dumbledore's office."

"Yeah." Logan shook his head slightly. "Most of them can't wait."

Veronica shook her and smiled softly. "They'll have to. Gringotts may be open but the rest of the shops are closed until the morning."

"Are we staying at the Leaky Cauldron?" Harry glanced over at Veronica.

"Yes, Harry. We'll be staying until Sunday." They stopped before the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office. "Will you do the honors, Logan?"

"Sure. Acid Pops." Logan gave Harry and Regina a lopsided grin as the gargoyle jumped to the side. "I'll never get used to that."

"Sure you will, Professor." Harry gave Logan a quick smile when he growled moments before climbing the stairs to the office sitting hidden at the top.

As Harry raised, his hand to knock the door swung open and Alex stared down at the group standing on the stairs. "Have you seen Scott?"

"Not recently." Veronica pushed her way past Alex and into the office. "Why? Did you lose him?"

Alex rolled his eyes slightly. "Nope. It's just that he's never late. Besides the kids that are here are ready to go."

"Havok, you've got to remember that he's in a castle that keeps changing." Logan dropped Veronica's bag next to the pile of luggage as Harry let the three bags he carried land next to hers. "And he ain't got an enhanced sense of smell, like me."

"Professor, it's tough to try and get through the castle without smelling every filthy Slytherin in the place." Harry moved to the comfy armchairs scattered around the room and hugged Ginny.

"I agree with Harry. The few Slytherins I've met have been rude and snobbish and just plain disgusting." Regina shuddered slightly as she thought about the Slytherin students. "There's one Slytherin in particular that I wouldn't want to smell."

"That wouldn't happen to be ...Severus Snape?" Veronica smiled and her eyes twinkled mischievously as her daughter froze. "Not to worry, dear. I feel the same way."

"You must still be mad at him." Logan shook his head as the door swung open.

In walked Kitty and Marie followed by Bobby, Shiro, and Piotr carrying their bags. Henry and Ororo followed the teenagers into the warm room.

"We found five of the kids, Alex." Ororo looked around the room. "Scott and Jean haven't returned?"

"They're probably trying drag Sam away from all that food in the Great Hall." Henry took the bags from Bobby, Piotr, and Shiro and placed them with the rest of the luggage. "When are we leaving?"

"As soon as Scott and Jean get here with the other students." Veronica sifted through the luggage slightly. "Is this everyone's bags?"

"Ja." Kurt stepped from the shadows near one of the tall windows. He had turned off his image inducer so his blue fur gleamed slightly in the light. "All the bags are here, my friend."

Veronica walked over to her sad friend. "How have you been lately, Kurt?"

"As well as expected considering that my sister is..."

"It's okay." Veronica gave him a swift hug. "We all miss Ani. At least we have Leobug here."

"Ja." Kurt turned slightly and watched the teenage girls gathered around the gurgling baby. "He is going to be a heart breaker."

"With Sirius as his father, you'd better believe it." Veronica giggled slightly. "How's Moonlight been handling things?" She barely kept the growl from her voice as she spoke the woman's name.

"She and Rath are in hiding, I think. I have yet to hear from them." Kurt smiled slightly as Veronica hugged him again.

"You know you are family, right?" Veronica cocked her head to one side as she gazed up into his face. Kurt nodded as Veronica smiled. "Good. You're coming home with Remus and I this year for Christmas and I don't want to hear you say no."

"You are a true friend, Veronica." Kurt gave her a hug before turning toward the door. "Here come Scott and Jean. They'll be a minute."

"Fabulous." Veronica turned and looked around the room.

Neville and Luna were sitting on the couch and talking with Logan, Alison, and Shiro. Harry and Ginny's hands were tightly interlocked as they sat on the couch chatting with Regina, who was bouncing Leo in her arms, Marie, and Bobby, who were wrapped up with each other. Kitty and Piotr sat on the sofa across from the chair that Ron and Hermione were occupying together. Michael Corner rolled his eyes from his position near the fireplace when Ron and Hermione started to give each other gentle kisses. Alex had plopped himself on the arm of the sofa next to Lorna when the door swung open to reveal Scott helping Jean into the office. Sam was laughing at a joke that Roberto had told him while Rahne and Danielle just shook their heads.

"Is this everyone?" Scott looked around the room.

"Yes, Cyke." Logan tossed his cigar butt into the roaring fire.

Veronica opened a small jar on the mantle. "I'm going to send the luggage on to the Leaky Cauldron."

"How are you going to do that, Ms. Croft?" Bobby cocked his head to one side.

"Bobby, my last name is Lupin now and I'm going to show you." Veronica pulled out a pinch of Floo powder and tossed it onto the fire. The flames turned green.

Logan jumped away from the strange flames. "What the hell is that?"

"That was Floo powder, Logan. Now I'll send the luggage on to its destination." She waved her hand and the pile of luggage wedged itself into the fireplace. "The Leaky Cauldron!"

Bobby's eyes bugged out slightly as the bags disappeared with a slight whoosh. "Is our stuff going to be alright?"

"Yes, Bobby. It'll be taken to your rooms so you can all freshen up when we get there. Tom will know how to arrange the sleeping arrangements." Veronica pulled a piece of rope from one of her pockets. "We're taking a Port Key since we don't want to clog the Floo Network and Logan simply despises the Knight Bus."

"A Port Key?" Piotr cocked his head to one side. "What is a Port Key?"

"A Port Key is a mode of transportation in the magical world." Hermione had started in lecture mode making Ron and Harry roll their eyes. "It can transport you from one location to another simply by touching an item."

"Thank you, Hermione." Veronica smiled slightly as she pulled out her wand and tapped the rope. "Portus!" The rope glowed blue for a moment. "We'll be off as soon as everyone touches the rope."

Bobby held out a hand to Marie while Piotr grabbed Kitty around the waist and placed her on her feet. Marie wrapped an arm around Bobby as Hermione scrambled off of Ron's lap. Harry and Ginny stood as one. Michael barely kept his anger from showing when he watched them move toward the fireplace. Regina shifted Leo slightly as she approached her mother and Kurt. Shiro helped Alison up from the couch while Neville and Luna climbed to their feet. Roberto and Danielle moved away from the corner they were discussing their future subjects while Lorna shoved Alex off the arm of the couch. Scott and Jean clasped hands while Ororo and Henry ushered Sam and Rahne over to Veronica.

"Are we going to be safe traveling this way, Mrs. Lupin?" Roberto's hand tightened slightly.

"Perfectly safe, Roberto, dear." Veronica reached for Leo. "Perhaps I should carry him, Regina."

"Sure, Professor." Regina smiled as Leo wrapped his tiny hand in Veronica's soft brown hair.

"You can call me Mother outside of the classroom, dear." Veronica watched as the group each picked a place along the rope. "Everyone touching it?" She placed a bit of the rope in Leo's tiny hand before grabbing the remaining section of rope. "And we're off."

Harry heard the gasps from the group as they all felt the familiar tug of a hook behind their navels. Several of the girls were trying hard not to scream only to have little squeals escape from their mouths. Just as suddenly as they had been 'hooked' they landed. Veronica was the only one to land gracefully on her feet.

"Son of a bitch! 'Roni, you could have warned us!" Logan struggled slightly to untangle himself from the pile of arms and legs of the gangly teenaged boys.

"Language, Logan." Veronica smiled softly as Charlie grasped Regina's waist and set her on her feet. "We have children present."

"You've said worse." Logan managed to free himself from the pile of teenagers.

Harry chuckled slightly as he helped Ginny to her feet. Ron helped Hermione to her feet and blushed as his oldest brother, Bill, jeered at him for having a girlfriend. Marie started to rip her glove off to drain them but Bobby stopped her. Shiro frowned slightly and shook his head as he helped Allison to her feet. Rahne transformed herself into a red furred wolf and started to chase Bill around the large room of the Leaky Cauldron. Ron ignored Bill's plead for him to call off the 'crazy wolf girl'. Sam and Roberto were trying to contain their laughter to no avail. Scott and Jean leaned against one of the tables scattered around the room while Ororo, Kurt, Henry, Alex, and Lorna moved toward the edges of the room to avoid the chase. Danielle focused her mind on Bill's. She projected his fears into his mind causing him to scream shrilly. Fleur shook her head slightly as she and Piotr helped him up from the floor. Michael, Neville, and Luna laughed slightly as they listened to Danielle try to explain her powers.

"...That's why no one messes with my friends or the X-Men." Danielle turned slightly and nailed Bill with a stern look. "Next time you should think before you speak."

"You've pissed off the wrong female, Billy." Veronica draped her arm around Bill's shoulder making Fleur frown slightly. "Stop that Fleur. You know I'm married to Remus."

"Speaking of Remus, where's he?" Tonks looked around the room. "I thought he was supposed to meet us here."

"He is. Tonight's the full moon, Nymphadora." Veronica ignored the slight growl coming from the young woman. "Consider it punishment for not paying attention to the lunar cycle."

"Don't you kids even think of calling me that. I'll hex your hair off your heads." Tonks fingered her wand slightly making the teenagers laugh nervously. "I mean it."

"Trust us." Harry hugged Tonks slightly. "She'll do it."

Tom approached the group and bowed. "Your rooms are prepared, Mrs. Lupin."

"Thank you, Tom." Veronica bowed slightly in return before Tom hurried back into the kitchen. "Well I guess we should all go up to our rooms and freshen up before supper."

"Good idea, Vee." Alex started to look around the room for the stairs. "Where are the stairs?"

"There will be a time when you're going to wish that you hadn't called me Vee, Alex." Veronica just growled as she pointed toward one of the corners. "The stairs are over there. Just give me a minute while I give out the room assignments." She started to rummage through her pockets before pulling out a long sheet of parchment, which was a feat in itself because Leo was still clinging to her shoulder. "Here it is. Room One has Rahne, Luna, Allison, and Danielle. Room Three has Hermione, Ginny, Kitty, Marie, and Regina. Room Five contains Michael, Roberto, Shiro, and Sam. And Room Seven has Harry, Ron, Neville, Piotr, and Bobby." Each of the groups gathered together and waited for her to give the adults their rooms. "Scott and Jean, you're in Room Two. Bill and Charlie, you're in Room Four. Molly and Arthur, you're in Room Six. Alex and Lorna, you two are in Room Eight. Remus and I will have Room Nine. Logan, you're next to us in Room Ten. Ororo, you're in Room Eleven. Between you and me we ought to be able to make Logan behave. Tonks and Fleur, you're across the hall in Room Twelve. Kurt and Henry, you guys have Room Thirteen right next to them. I'll go over the groups while we eat."

The large and rowdy group finally headed to the stairs. Veronica collapsed into a chair as Tom brought her a cup of tea and a cradle for Leo. Veronica smiled as she laid Leo into the cradle.

"I thought you would like some tea." Tom bowed slightly to Veronica.

"Thanks, Tom." Veronica picked up the delicate cup when suddenly she heard a loud scream. "Now what are those kids up to?"

Kitty raced down the stairs and toward Veronica and Tom. "A rat is in my room. A large hairy thing with a silver paw."

"Pettigrew! Watch Leo!" Veronica dropped the cup and ignored the shattering sound as she hurried up the stairs. She flung open the door and saw Hermione and Ginny with their wands trained on the rat in question. With her hand she raised the rat into midair and slowly approached it. "Well, hello, Peter. I guess you never thought to see me again, did you?" The sound that they heard was a high pitched squeaking. "What's that? We don't speak rodent." Her necklace pulsed slightly as she pulled her wand from her robes. "Ostendo tui fidelis formo!"

A bright blue light surrounded the rat and slowly his form twisted in on itself. The shadow got larger and larger until it was the size of a small man. The man dropped to the floor but Veronica, Hermione, and Ginny kept their wands trained on him. He glanced up at them with his watery dark eyes and his long pointed nose. Neither Peter nor Veronica noticed the crowd of students and mutants gathering around the door.

"Pettigrew." Harry's voice didn't carry above a whisper as he stared at the traitor before them.

"Please don't hurt me, Lioness." Peter started to shuffle forward.

"NEVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN!!!!" Veronica's voice floated down the stairs making Leo squeal slightly with delight. "I'm not your friend. I never trusted you. There was a reason your form is a rat, you traitor. How could you do that, you coward? How could you betray James and Lily?"

"The Dark Lord is powerful. What would you have done?" Peter cowered on the floor.

"I would have died! Just like James and Lily would have done for you! Sirius and Remus would have died for you!" Veronica raised her open hand again. Her voice went wispy. "You will pay for the crimes you have committed against the House of Gryffindor, servant of Slytherin. My House will be clean once more!" Peter collapsed unconscious onto the floor.

Regina took a tentative step toward Veronica. "Mother?" Veronica passed out and Regina caught her. She started to shake her slightly. "Mother? Come on. Wake up, Mother." Tears ran down her face. "Please!"

Scott stepped into the room. "Esmeralda takes a lot out of her." He scooped her into his arms and carried her down the hall to her room but not before stopping Logan. "Go make sure that guy doesn't go any where until the police come, Logan."

"I'll gladly contact the Aurors." Harry raced down the stairs as Logan extended his claws and stalked into the room.

Veronica groaned softly as Scott laid her onto her bed. Her eyes fluttered open. "Scott, don't let that rodent get away."

"Not to worry, Veronica. Logan's got his claws on him and Harry's calling the Aurors, whatever that is." Scott pulled a blanket up over her.

"They're like the cops, Scott." She struggled to sit up. "We can clear Sirius' name." Tears raced down her cheeks. "We can finally clear his name."

Scott looked over his shoulder at Tonks who nodded with tears in her eyes. "He was convicted of a crime he never committed. Now he's free. That rat is going to suffer for what he's done."

Scott shook his head and left the room. Veronica allowed Tonks to gather her into her arms and together they cried. That was how Kingsley Shacklebolt found them twenty minutes later.

"I knew I was going to find two very happy people but I didn't expect the waterworks." Kingsley leaned against the doorjamb.

"Hey, Kingsley." Veronica ran her hand across her eyes. "Today's a good day."

"We've got the rat that betrayed your friends." Kingsley sank onto the edge of the bed. "I just need to know what happened and who found him."

"I'd just sent everyone to freshen up when Kitty screamed and came running downstairs. She said there was a rat in her room." Veronica sighed slightly. "A big one with a silver paw. I knew it was Pettigrew. When I got to the room, Hermione and Ginny already had their wands trained on him. I'm the one that changed him back into his human form."

"Then what?" Kingsley started to scribble furiously in his notepad.

"I asked him why he did it. Why he betrayed James and Lily." Veronica shook her head. "The reason he gave me was total rubbish. I told him that I would have died for him. Just like James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus."

"Who knocked him out?"

"Esmeralda."

"Esmeralda? Who's Esmeralda? None of the kids are called that."

"She resides within me. She's the one, which legend tells us, who gave her powers to her husband, Godric Gryffindor. With her powers, he defeated Slytherin." Veronica sighed deeply. "She was madder than a wet hornet. She wanted to kill him outright but I wouldn't let her."

"That's good. We wouldn't want to have to lock you up as well." Kingsley smiled. "I'd better head over to the Ministry and get all this taken care of. I'll also run by headquarters and tell Remus the news."

"I'll talk to you later." Veronica looked over at Tonks who was still sitting on the bed. "I guess Sirius will be able to rest in peace with Ani."

"If he isn't, I think we'll blame James." Tonks laughed slightly.

Veronica flung the blanket from her and climbed off the bed. "I'm staving. Let's go eat."

As they made their way downstairs, a delicious aroma filled the air. Tom had outdone himself. They gathered around the table and celebrated the downfall of the traitor.


Author notes: I just loved how this chapter turned out. I mean I just started to write and suddenly I had hte idea to put Pettigrew in there. Originally I was going to have Peter jump in front of a Killing Curse to save Veroncia but I liked how this turned out instead. I hope you enjoyed it as well.

spankinmonkey333 - I'm not sure where the idea came from but I think it started when AnitheSiriuslover gave me free reign over her story when Ani and the others popped in. Then I read argonaut57's work and I thought why not have ALL the kids taught by Logan and the others. It's just kind of spilled over from there.

Argonaut57 - I hope you got my owl about where I'd place the adults. I had a bit of fun thinking that through. By the way thanks for all the info you sent to me.

AnitheSiriuslover - You know she'll be back. I hope to have her and Logan teach at least one fighting lesson together.

darkcelestial - That sounds like a good idea but if I read through it I'm going to find all the mistakes and try to fix them that's why I don't reread things. I have too much other stuff to do like laundry and taking care of Victoria.

Happy Halloween Everyone! I just love my costume. I'm dressing up as a Hogwarts Professor and Victoria is going as a student from Gryffindor House. I can't wait!