Enigma's Love

Enigma's Love - Part 4 - Winds of Change

The first and second years at Hogwarts went very fast for Harry, Hermione, Ron, and the twins. It seemingly flew by when they were happy. Remus and Dory made it one of their personal projects to almost act like surrogate parents to him, doing their best to keep him out of trouble. During the summer, the young quintet, especially Harry, had a habit of spending most of their time at the Lupins' house just outside London. The Lupins were more than happy to have Harry practically live with them. It kept him away from the wretched Dursleys. Harry spent so much time at the Lupins' during the summer prior to their third year at Hogwarts; he had to be told about one secret. One mid-July day, Harry happened to have been staying for a few days right when the full moon came. Dory and Remus had managed to keep it hidden that night but in the morning it was a bit harder when Remus was particularly sick to his stomach. Dory was then forced to tell him the secret once she cleared it with her very ill husband. Dory was not surprised when Harry absorbed it so quickly. He understood and was quite compassionate about it and promised that he wouldn't tell. Dory knew then that he definitely had James' heart.

Summer passed and soon it was time to return to Hogwarts. But this year was different; Remus had been invited to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He had accepted it happily even though he hid his nervousness. The term was to begin on September 1^st, when everyone would be returning, and the full moon was on August 31^st. Dory could clearly see how upset Remus was. He knew no matter what he had to be back at Hogwarts, ignoring whatever condition he found himself in the next day. Dory had a solution which she hoped would make this as easy for him as possible. For a few days before, she had started giving Remus the wolfsbane potion to build it up in his system, and on that night, after she had made sure the twins and Harry were ready for the following day, Dory locked herself in the bedroom with Remus to keep him as calm as possible. It took all her strength to cast all the protection spells on herself and him and keep him asleep until he transformed back. When the sun's rays broke through their window in the morning, Remus was thankfully free from injury and serious illness. The only side effect was that he was exhausted, but this could be worked around. Dory let Remus sleep for as long as she could before they had to leave. He told her before going to bed that he would take the train there because he was too exhausted to go any other way, and at least then he could sleep for a bit. Dory agreed with no argument on that front as she made sure the kids had everything before the train left at 11. Just before 10, Dory had reluctantly woke Remus and more or less shoved him into the shower so he could get ready. She could see that he was still half asleep and needed any shove that was necessary to get there on time.

Shortly before 11, at King's Cross station, Remus, Harry and the twins boarded the Hogwarts' Express while Dory apparated to just outside Hogwarts. Remus went to the last car, the Marauders' former car, and promptly fell asleep. The twins and Harry knew he was feeling awful and wanted to let him rest but they couldn't avoid the car, being it was the only one not filled. Harry, Cesare, Anastasia, Hermione, and Ron took their seats and tried to be as quiet as possible to not wake poor Remus.

Remus awoke just before the train pulled into the station, almost as if he knew when it was coming up. He remembered taking this trip when he was a student and now he was the professor. "So this is how Dory must have felt." He mused to himself as he took the carriage up to the castle and then walked into the Great Hall. He took his seat next to Dory and gave her a soft kiss. "See, I did make it here." He stated with a small laugh as the banquet was beginning. He had so much sheer fun that he had forgotten that the previous night was the moon. At the end of the evening, when the students were heading to their Houses to retire, Remus followed Dory to their now joint office. She could easily see that his exhaustion was setting in furiously again and helped him into bed once again before she lay down next to him and both fell asleep.

Life was perfect at Hogwarts until the first full moon of the term. The new surroundings had unfortunately shocked his system and the day prior to and a few after, Remus was recovering from a particularly harsh transformation. Snape was selected to cover his classes and ravaged those poor children with work. When Remus returned, he was infuriated when he heard what Snape had done and begged Dory to come with him to Dumbledore.

"Headmaster, I do not want Snape covering my classes after the moon. He was going against everything I had done with my students. I respectfully request that you have someone else do it," Remus pleaded.

"Do you have any suggestions, Remus? I would gladly try to fill your request."

"I can do it, Headmaster," Dory spoke up. "Remus' classes and mine don't conflict and I am capable of covering the material. And the students would still have Professor Lupin...just the other one."

Dumbledore looked at the two Professors Lupin and gave them his blessing even though worry was written across his face for Dory. "Are you sure you can handle this, Domenica?" he asked.

"Of course I can. I'll be exhausted but I can do it." She replied proudly.

The next month, Dory had to prove herself. On the day of the full moon, Remus was suffering from a fever, chills and a horrid cough from the moment he awoke. He buried himself in the blankets as Dory sat with him as long as she could. She whispered gently to him, telling him how much she loved him and she would check on him whenever she could during the day. Just her comforting touch and tone made Remus feel a bit better as he drifted off to sleep.

Dory had now the undaunting task of covering his classes as well as her own. She was fortunate that they alternated. The first class she had though was the third years' DADA class, which contained not only Cesare and Anastasia, but Harry, Hermione, and Ron as well. The students were a bit taken back when a different professor stood in front of them but they were glad it wasn't Snape. Dory introduced herself and stated that she would be filling in while Remus was ill. A few Hufflepuffs asked if she was in any relation to their normal professor when they heard her last name. Dory smiled and replied that he was her husband and moved on to begin her lecture. She took her lecture directly from Remus' notes and added her own spin on it, explaining that dark magic corrupts the mind while white magic comes from the heart. At the end of the class, while the students were filing out, Harry and the twins approached her as she was getting ready for her own class.

"How's Dad doing?" Cesare asked, knowing full well what day it was.

"He's terribly sick this month. I don't want you three to bother him today. He needs to rest," Dory warned. "Now I hate to cut this short but I am doing double duty and I have to get to my own class now." She continued as she left for her own class.

By the end of the day, Dory was almost worried sick about Remus. She had only been able to check on him once during the day and he looked horrible. When she went to check on him at lunchtime, he was soaked with sweat, flushed and running a high fever, and shivering violently. She grabbed a basin, pitcher of warm water, and a wash cloth. As Remus drifted in and out of sleep, she gently washed him down with the cloth, trying to make him a bit more comfortable. In his semi-conscious state, he mumbled a thank you and an I love you to his wife as she tucked him back in and told him she would return later. Later that afternoon, after she had finished her last class, she quickly made a stop to McGonagall's office to ask that she makes sure Cesare, Anastasia, and Harry remained in the tower tonight. McGonagall knew exactly why because she remembered when Remus was a student and Pomfrey took him every full moon. She agreed without question and wished Dory luck. She then quickly ran to the Great Hall to grab something to eat and then back to her office.

The room was quite dark when she got there, seeing Remus had probably closed the curtains sometime during the day. She found her husband soundly sleeping on the bed, buried under the blankets up to his ears. Dory took this opportunity to change into her pajamas since she knew she would go to bed once he transformed back. She emerged from the bathroom a few moments later in a t-shirt and sleep shorts. She walked over to the bed and gently awoke her husband. "It's time, my love," she whispered as she kissed his parched lips.

Remus dutifully got up from the bed and leaned on Dory to stand up to walk to the center of the room where there was nothing he could get hurt on. Dory helped Remus to sit on the floor and then she sat in front of him to help him get undressed. Once all Remus' clothes were removed, he began to shiver more fiercely. The fire in the room was warm, so Dory repositioned herself so Remus could lie on her lap in front of the fire to warm himself. As the moon began to rise, Dory started to cast the protection spells for herself and him as she watched his body contort painfully and transform into the bloodthirsty werewolf. Once he was fully transformed as the wolf, the wolfsbane potion kicked in and Remus fell into a deep sleep in Dory's lap.

Now all she had to do was wait until morning with a large gray werewolf sleeping in her lap. Dory gently stroked his fur to provide him any peace she could until dawn. At dawn, the wolf regressed and left Dory's frail husband in its wake. He remained asleep as his human form reappeared in her lap. Remus awoke only slightly, just enough for Dory to get him into bed and for her to crawl in next to him to catch a few hours rest before her classes.

A few hours later, Dory reluctantly awoke. She found poor Remus snuggled up next to her and sleeping on her shoulder. She did not want to wake him in the least so she eased herself out from underneath him so she could get dressed. When she came out of the bathroom, Dory had found that Remus rolled over on to his stomach and the blankets had slipped down to reveal his bare shoulders. Dory silently pulled the blanket around him and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. Remus stirred lightly under the kiss and gave her a tired wave before Dory had to return to class.

Around lunchtime, Dory was sitting alone in the Great Hall instead of going to check on Remus. She was obviously tired and Dumbledore noticed right away. The Headmaster walked up to the mistress of Ancient Magic and sat down beside her.

"How is he?" Dumbledore asked gently.

"He did fairly well this month," Dory replied in a weary voice. "He is just exhausted and has a slight fever but no injuries. I'll check with him tonight to see when he will feel up to coming back to his classes. He'll probably want to come back as soon as he could."

"He doesn't have to rush. His health is more important." Dumbledore responded as he put a comforting hand on Dory's shoulder. "Now, how are you doing?"

"I'm tired," Dory replied simply. "It's difficult to do all of this and this was when Remus had an easy month. I don't know how I will cope if he has a difficult one," she said in an almost worried tone.

"Don't worry. We will all help you out if you need it. I know Remus is grateful that you would do this for him but I am sure he wouldn't want you killed in the process." The Headmaster said with a small laugh to lighten the mood a bit. "I think he would want his wife around for a little longer."

Dory managed to smile at the Headmaster's comments and it seemed that was what she needed to at least finish out the day. That and the thought of Remus kept her going. By the end of the day, Dory was exhausted with teaching both her own and Remus' classes. She quietly crept back up to their office and ungracefully flopped into one of the chairs by the bed. Remus was only lightly dozing when she came in and he thought his wife had looked like a hippogriff had run over her. He pushed himself up so he was leaning against the headboard so he could see her better. He motioned for her to sit next to him as he opened his arms for her. Dory got out of the chair and fell into Remus' embrace, relaxing as he rubbed her back.

"I think you seem worse off than me." He said with a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood but was greeted with a deadly glare and vicious growl from Dory. "And you have been spending too much time around me on full moons."

"I'm glad to see you're feeling better. Soon I can happily give your classes back to you."

"I think I may be able to go back tomorrow afternoon as long as I can rest a bit through tonight and the morning."

Remus felt Dory give a sigh of relief against him. "Thank Merlin! Any longer I think I would need a time-turner..." she mumbled.

Remus heard this and felt guilty of what he was doing to the woman he adored more than anything. "I'm sorry," he whispered in a shaky voice as if he was about to cry.

Dory heard her husband's joking tone change and she whipped her head up to see tears forming in his eyes. "No, Remus...I'm sorry," she whispered gently as she kissed him softly and caressed his cheek. "I didn't mean to upset you, I was just venting. I want to do this for you. I am just going to have to adjust to this." Dory straightened up and wrapped her arms around Remus, pulling him close to her and letting him rest his head on her shoulder. "Please don't cry, my love. Everything will be alright," she whispered soothingly as she felt small sobs coming from Remus. The last she thing she wanted to do was to make him feel like this was his fault and she knew that's what she did.

Neither one knew how long they sat there together but it was long enough for them both to fall asleep. When Dory awoke the next morning, with her back spasming for sleeping in such an odd position, she saw the morning sun and started swearing at it under her breath. She wrenched herself from Remus' sleeping arms and got ready for her last day doing double duty. Before she left, she kissed Remus softly on his forehead and whispered that she would see him later that afternoon.

And just as planned, after lunch Remus was back at the head of his DADA classes, much to Dory's relief. He was glad to see that she had done well with them. Unlike the first time when Snape has given them obscene amounts of homework and the students did nothing but whine and complain, this time they were all smiles and had nothing but praise for his wife, giving Remus a huge sense of relief and letting him continue his classes as if he was never missing.

That evening after dinner, Remus and Dory sat alone in their office, seeking some time to themselves, when Cesare knocked on their door. Remus got up and found their son looking very concerned about something.

"What's the matter?" he asked his son.

"It's Harry," Cesare started sadly. "He got a letter from the Dursleys saying that he can't come back because they didn't want him anymore."

Dory immediately snapped to attention when she heard this and got up from the couch to see about more information. "Where is Harry now?" she asked.

"He's in the Gryffindor common room with Anastasia, crying. He's upset that he has no where to go now. He thinks no one cares about him," Cesare replied softly, trying to fight back his own emotions about what his friend had to endure.

Dory and Remus could see that their son was very distraught over this. Dory pulled her 13-year old son in to her arms and wrapped him in a warm hug. "Don't worry. We'll take care of this," she whispered and then she turned her gaze to Remus. "Go talk to Dumbledore. Go see if what we have always wanted he will give into now."

Remus knew exactly what she was talking about - becoming Harry's guardians. Without another word, he grabbed his robes and headed down to the Headmaster's office. When Remus left, Dory insisted that Cesare take her to Harry and Anastasia. They walked with determination to the Gryffindor tower to make sure he was all right. Cesare called out the password and the two walked in to find Harry crying his eyes out as Anastasia tried to comfort him.

"Harry?" Dory called softly as to not startle the poor boy as she sat on the couch. Harry looked up slowly from where Anastasia was holding him and he looked at Dory with bloodshot eyes. He had taken off his glasses while he was crying but he could still recognize his friends' mother. She was the closest thing he had to a mother and he sort of accepted her as that. Dory opened her arms and Harry fell into them to be wrapped in a gentle hug. As Harry began sobbing again, mumbling how no one wanted him and no one cared about him, Dory comforted him as if he was her own son, stroking his hair and whispering that he was loved.

After some time, Harry's tears had quieted and he managed to look up at Dory, feeling a little embarrassed that he had completely lost it in front of a professor. "What am I going to do now?" he asked quietly as he wiped his eyes.

Dory could clearly see the pain and anguish in his eyes. A thirteen year old should never have to go through the pain that this boy has had to. "Don't worry, Harry. Remus and I are trying to arrange something."

Then almost on cue, Remus made his way into the Gryffindor common room. Dory looked up at him expectantly and she saw the joy and happiness etched on his face. He walked over to the couch and sat down on the other side of Harry. Harry turned to him nervously, trying to keep his emotions under control.

"Harry...after what just happened; Dory and I decided we should ask Dumbledore again about something that we asked after your parents died," Remus started to explain gently. "What I am trying to say is that we have always wanted to have you with us. We only felt that it was right since your parents were our best friends. You don't have to worry about anything any more since Dumbledore finally consented and we are going to be your guardians. You get to come live with us now, permanently."

Harry was beyond overjoyed. He looked to Cesare and Anastasia, who had smiles as big as his at this new development, and then to their parents. He happily hugged both of them freely, not caring about who was watching. "Thank you, thank you, thank you..." he rattled off without stopping. "This is all I ever wanted." Harry would finally have his chance to be happy. The boy had never known his parents and never knew what it was like to be loved and taken care of...and now, he would get that chance.