Redemption

Chapter Twenty-Nine:

"So, you talked, huh?" Hermione muttered as they made their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts, slightly behind Ron. "About, stuff?"

"Okay, how do you know?" Harry asked, pausing mid-step.

Smiling sweetly, Hermione played dumb. "Hmm? Know what?" When Harry glared at her, narrowing his eyes, she laughed. "Okay, okay, Ginny told me. Don't be angry, though."

"She told you?" Far from angry, Harry looked a little panicked. "What about Ron? Does Ron know?"

"If he did, don't you think he would have said something? He can hardly keep his mouth shut about Ginny and me. I doubt that-"

"Ginny and you?"

"Mhmm," Hermione answered, then continued walking.

Harry hurried to catch up to her. "So, that's what Ron was talking about. Er, exactly how did Ron find out?"

"He walked in on a somewhat private moment in the Infirmary." Hermione grinned cheekily. "Then passed out cold."

"No wonder you recovered so quickly. Note to self, lock all doors whenever possible."

"So, what else did you and Wufei get up to?" Hermione asked, changing the subject.

Harry grinned. "Oh... stuff." Then, he hastened to catch up with Ron, leaving Hermione to make of that what she would.

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Trees... lots of green foliage... maybe a couple of swallows, a small trickle of water down one of the walls...

Ginny thought of all this as she paced back and forth, three times, in front of the Room of Requirement. Finally, she stopped and opened the door.

This room was so handy. It was much easier to visualize becoming a fox when you were surrounded by nature, rather than on a hard, stone floor, or squishy mattress.

Stepping into her artificial forest, Ginny closed the door behind her. She found her usual tree root and sat cross legged, leaning against it. Closing her eyes, she relaxed all of her muscles and concentrated on shallowing her breath.

Unfortunately, she couldn't focus. Something was nagging at her mind. Hermione...

Giving up, Ginny drew her knees up to her chest. It wasn't normal for someone to recover so fast. Surely Madam Pomfrey knew that. Why on Earth would she let Hermione go? Granted, the girl had sounded perfectly normal. Cheery, even. That was even more disturbing.

'I had this strange notion of being your light. Of being there for you.'

What Hermione didn't realize, was that she'd already touched something deep inside of her, that Ginny had thought was broken.

'Ron, I know this is difficult for you to understand, but I care about Ginny, very much. In fact, I love her.'

I love her.

Ginny blinked away the wetness in her eyes. She had to make sure that Hermione was truly okay. In truth, Hermione really was her light. Without her, Ginny was afraid of losing herself to the same dark path she'd started to tread after second year.

Learning to become an animagus had helped for a while. It gave Ginny something to focus on. Sirius had understood that. That was why she'd risked asking him to help her. But, now that he was gone...

Returning to her meditation position, Ginny shook her mind free of negative thoughts. She had to do this - for Sirius.

Today, she would make her first full transformation.

Over the last few weeks she'd made a lot of progress. First her nose would change, then she'd feel fur grow over her skin, a tail would sprout from her bottom - at which point she'd lean forward onto her hands and knees - then her feet and hands would become paws, and ears and face elongate. She was determined that this time her body would change.

That was the riskiest part of all. When changing body shape, all the internal organs had to shift as well. The outward appearance was only the first step. Still, Ginny was ready.

She felt the changes begin, very slowly. Her whole body tingled as she felt the fur grow in; it was such an odd sensation. Soon, her ears lengthened, and all of her senses heightened considerably.

For the first time, her thighs and arms began to shift, the muscles condensing, bones regrowing so that her limbs were situated beneath her body. Then, her spine changed, followed by her neck, chest, stomach, and lower regions. Before she realized it, Ginny was entirely fox.

Letting out a loud and happy yip, she attempted to jump as a human would, and found herself sprawled on the ground. Now that the shifting part was over, she really had to learn how to use her new body.

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Hanging back, Harry waited for the rest of the class to file out. He'd been asked to stay behind. Probably something to do with the D.A., he figured. Finally, he made his way to the front of the classroom.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Do you think you could do me a favor? There's a lonely werewolf cooped up in my office, marking papers, who misses you terribly. Why don't you go visit him?" asked Professor Peacecraft, his cool blue eyes flicking pointedly towards the door.

Harry grinned. "I think I could do that," he said.

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Lupin sighed and rubbed his eyes. The kids never seemed to realize just how serious this subject was. They'd put minimal research into their homework and then copied the rest off of others, fudging words as they worked. Some of this information could very well save their lives one day.

A knock at the door caused him to smile in relief. He could do with a short distraction. Placing his quill in its holder, he invited the person in. When he saw that it was Harry, his smile grew, and he embraced the boy.

"It's about time you came to see me!"

"I know. Sorry I haven't been round more often. It's just been kind of hectic lately." Something about Harry's tone suggested that he was quite exhausted.

"What's wrong?" Lupin asked, sitting down again.

"Nothing... Well," Harry took a seat on the office couch and closed his eyes. "I got kicked out of Potions this morning."

"What?" Lupin's exclamation was all but a growl. "We'll see about that."

When Harry opened his eyes again, the grim smile he'd developed never reached them. "You sound like Sirius."

"Wha-" Thinking twice, Lupin paused. Slowly, a small smile of his own crept over his features. "I suppose I do, but that isn't the point. Snape can't kick you out; he's not allowed."

"As much as I hate to admit it, he had every right to," Harry confessed.

Lupin shook his head. "It doesn't matter. He's literally not allowed. Let's face it. You need to be treated differently, and you've earned it. Dumbledore is determined that you'll become an auror, and for that to happen, you need Potions. Snape knows that. He just wants to see you squirm. Slimy bastard that he is."

A small twitch began at the corner of Harry's mouth and soon spread to a grin. "He really can't kick me out? That must really piss him off."

Laughing at the sheer malicious glee in Harry's voice, Lupin couldn't help but grin too. "Now, tell me why you think you deserved to be kicked out."

"Well, I never put it in those words, but I was late. Really, really late. I'd run into Wufei in Gryffindor Tower, and he was with Heero. Although, I didn't know who Heero was at that point. Before I realized it, I'd been standing there for over half the lesson, trying to decide whether I could trust 'Fei or not. When I finally got down to Potions, Snape tried to send me away for the lesson, but then Wufei came down, saying he needed to speak to me. I kind of snapped at Snape. He didn't really like that, as you can imagine. So, he kicked me out."

"I wouldn't really call those fair grounds. For a week of detentions, maybe, but not to kick you out." Resting his elbow on the desk, and chin in his hand, Lupin peered at Harry, his grey eyes taking in the faint circles under the boy's eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, much better. I felt fine after a little sleep," Harry answered. "What would I do without Madame Pomfrey? The Infirmary is like a second home to me."

Lupin chuckled. "It was the same with James. He just couldn't stay out of trouble. Speaking of, what was so urgent that Wufei thought to interrupt your class?"

"He said that if he didn't tell me right away, he didn't think he'd have the nerve. And it was true; I had to drag it out of him." Harry drew his feet up onto the couch. "He told me about what he used to do, before he met Mr. Weasley in the Leaky Cauldron. He said that he was part of an underground group called G.U.N.D.A.M. and that they were working against the Muggle senator Treize Kushrenada who, in basic terms, wants to take over the world. He was ashamed to tell me before, because he's done a lot of things that he isn't proud of. I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but I need to talk to someone, and I trust you... He's killed people, and even tortured one man."

Remus grimaced. On one hand, he was glad that Harry trusted him, but on the other, he didn't like what he was hearing. To him, Harry was still too young to be caught up in the wizarding world's troubles. "You're okay with that?" he asked, keeping his voice a neutral as possible.

Harry seemed to curl in upon himself. "I am," he whispered, eyes fixed to the floor. "I love Wufei, and whatever he's done, he's done for the greater good. Sometimes, people talk and talk about what should be done, but no one will because they can't handle it. Eventually, someone has to do something. 'Fei and those other boys just happen to be that someone. How could I condemn him for believing enough in his cause to do what I've thought about a million times?"

"Oh, Harry." Whatever he'd been expecting Harry to say, it wasn't this. "I don't know how I failed to see just how fast you've grown up." Lupin moved over to sit next to Harry and drew the boy into his arms. He could understand where Harry was coming from. After all, he'd been quite shocked by some of Milliardo's confessions. Then, a completely random thought struck him. "Just how much HAVE you grown up?" he asked suspiciously, holding Harry at arms length.

The blush that spread over Harry's cheeks was more incriminating than any answer. "Uh, well..."

"Do I need to buy a shotgun?" At Harry's indignant glare, Lupin laughed. "Sorry, I couldn't resist that one. But do I?"

"No shotguns, but I'll let you shoot him with a water pistol."

"Ahuh! I knew it!" Lupin cried, trying all he might to hide his grin, but with no luck.

"Shouldn't I be getting a lecture right about now?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrows.

*Cough.* "Marauder." *Cough.*

"Good point."