Aunt Rose

56.

Hi. Did you miss me?

Sorry this update took so long, over a year I know, but I kind of phased out of Harry Potter for awhile and didn't feel any inspiration to write this story. I've had some now and finished this chapter and I do want to keep writing but I'm not sure how long this stint will last either.

Thanks for sticking with me though and I hope you enjoy!

Rose knew just how serious their situation was becoming. Remus hadn't gotten his last dose of Wolfsbane before the full moon. And he was standing five feet away from three helpless children.

Immediately, as Remus became paralyzed by the moon, Rose and Sirius put themselves between him and the kids.

Sirius tried to grab onto Lupin, somehow force him to stop his transformation. He was trying to use words to keep Remus human, to try and remind him of his humanity.

She knew it wouldn't work. They both knew it wouldn't. But in a situation where the lives of three children were at stake, Rose would take that over doing nothing.

So she grabbed onto her friend and tried to hold him still. But as it was, Harry and Hermione were watching and Ron couldn't move. They needed to get back to the castle, to get away from Remus. Sirius and Rose would be fine if the kids weren't within Remus's reach.

"Run! Take Ron and Go!"

It was becoming incredibly difficult to keep hold of Remus. As he transformed, he gained his strength and he lost his rational mind. Rose hated seeing him in so much pain, in so much anguish. But she had to protect Harry.

Though, that plan was put on hold for a moment. With a great roar, Lupin gained his strength and he could not handle the forces pulling him down. He threw his arms out to the side, sending Sirius to the left, into the side of the hill and Rose right, over the edge of the small cliff they were standing next to.

She sailed through the air, landing on the small shelf beneath the cliff. Rose had the air knocked out of her chest as she landed on her back. She coughed and gasped, rolling onto her stomach.

Rose took only a moment to collect herself and breathe. She needed to return to the kids. But she couldn't do it as a human. It was clear she needed to become an animal, to protect herself from getting infected by Remus's bites.

The metamorphmagus knew she only had enough focus in her for a familiar form. Her red panda.

It wouldn't be able to take Lupin down. But maybe she would be enough of an annoyance, a distraction, to keep his attention off of the kids. She had to try something.

So with all the focus Rose could muster, she forced her body to assume the composition of a small red panda. It wasn't menacing in the slightest.

No matter her small stature, Rose made for the cliff again. At least she was a little more agile than a real panda. She scaled the edge of the cliff she'd fallen over and made it back on the same level as Remus, who was stalking toward the three children. They were huddled behind a conscious Snape.

To any outside spectator, it would have looked like an extremely strange sight. A small red panda going up against a massive wolf. No matter the incredulous situation, Rose was determined to protect her nephew.