Corrupted Souls | remus lupin

leather-winged

You could imagine Neoma's surprise when a heavy hand beat upon her door at nine o'clock the following evening. She'd been waiting for Alastor Moody's arrival all day, and had given up on the idea of him coming about an hour prior to his arrival.

Per his request she tried to practice the patronus charm, though each attempt was more pitiful than the last. When she was finally brought to tears by her ineptitude she took a break to stop by Flourish and Blotts, checking out a book on wandlore. She felt oddly motivated to impress the auror, and figured he'd be pleased to know that she followed his advice to read up on the meaning of willow wood. 

A quote by the famed wandmaker Garrick Ollivander was cited in the chapter dedicated to this particular type of wand: 

He who has furthest to travel will go fastest with willow.

 Neoma found it quite fitting. 

When she opened the door the gruff man stepped into her room without a 'hello', taking a disgruntled look around. "How the mighty fall."

"I was never mighty and I never fell."

"I've seen your home. This is quite a shit-hole in comparison."

Neoma wondered when he had ever been in her house. Perhaps it was at the start of her sixth year, when her father owled about an auror raid at the Nott residence. 

"I see you read about your wand," Moody plucked the recently-purchased book up from off of her nightstand and flipped through it. "What'd you think?"

"It was interesting. I always took my wand for granted, but now I have a better appreciation for it."

"Glad to hear." Moody threw the book onto the bed and sat down. "So, how is the patronus coming along?"

Neoma's guilty expression answered his question. 

"What memories are you thinking of, exactly?"

"My mum ... my friends - old and new. My dad."

"Okay, but what's happening in these memories?"

"Laughter, I guess. Y'know ... people being happy."

"People? Or you?"

Neoma shrugged. Moody sighed. 

"Tell me about your mother. Not the death part - I know about all of that already - but the good parts."

It wasn't surprising that Dumbledore told the rest of The Order her sob story, but it annoyed her. "She was a very beautiful woman."

"And that brought you great happiness?"

Neoma fought the urge to roll her eyes at his impatience. 

"She was beautiful and gentle. She loved me, and she loved my dad, I think, but she was lonely. I remember her gardening when I was little, enjoying the sun. She would be happy - she would laugh."

"And these are the memories you use?"

"When it comes to her, yeah."

"Well that's no good."

"Why not?"

"Because that's her happiness you're recalling, not your own. How about your friends?"

"I mostly think of Cissy or Remus. Cissy and I had lots of fun when we were younger ... I try to recall the love we held for each other. And Remus has been a very kind friend to me since January - we would go into the kitchens and eat these delicious truffles -"

"Ah, so you don't have friends either."

"Excuse me?"

"Albus told me that Narcissa Black and the rest of your Slytherin buddies did not hesitate to abandon you when it suited them, and Lupin isn't your friend - not really."