The Squib and the Werewolf (book 2)

69. The Half-blood Prince

Raya was glad to have Dumbledore off her back, and she felt safe with the knowledge that he wouldn't try and send her on any dangerous missions.
She would send him information she heard on Voldemort and his death eaters, but she would not hunt them down. Her years of fighting were over.
For once, Raya was putting her family before the needs of the Order.
This included bringing Sophia home.

With Remus off conversing with werewolves, Raya realised she would have to stand on her own two feet, and not rely on his help.
Raya would have to become the mother her children deserved, by herself.
She began having Sophia back home for several hours a day, so that she could get used to caring for her alone.
And by the middle of December, she was back to looking after her full time, without anyone elses help.

Molly wanted to keep an eye on her though, which is why she invited Raya and the family over every single day during the holidays.
Jamie loved spending time with the Weasleys, and Raya enjoyed being around Harry, who was staying at the Burrow over Christmas.
The twins had also come home for the holidays, so the Burrow was very crowded and pushed for space.
On Christmas Eve, they were all squished into the living room at the Burrow, listening to Molly's favourite singer on the radio; Celestina Warbeck.

"Mum, guess what" said Jamie, as he came running over to where Raya was sat on the sofa, beside Remus.
"What is it?" Asked Raya.
"Mrs Weasley says we can all stay the night here, so that we can all wake up together tomorrow morning for Christmas" revealed Jamie excitedly.
Raya turned from Jamie to look over at Molly who was sat in her armchair.
"Are you sure Molly?" Questioned Raya.
"Of course" answered Molly.
"But you've already got a house full" reminded Raya.
"I'm sure we'll all manage to squeeze in together" replied Molly.

"Where will you put us all?" Quizzed Raya.
"I get to share with Ron and Harry" informed Jamie, with a grin.
"Yes, the three boys still at school will be in Ron's room, and Fleur will be sharing with Ginny, since I'm putting Bill in with the twins. Remus will be in Bill's room, with Sophia in the bed I had her in when she was living with me" added Molly.
"I'll share with Remus if that helps" offered Raya.
"Are you sure?" Asked Molly.
"Positive. Me and Remus used to share a bedroom when we were kids afterall, because our house only had 2 bedrooms" smiled Raya.
"O.K then. We should be able to give everyone somewhere to sleep then".

A few minutes later Harry and Ron entered from the kitchen, where they had been chopping up vegetables.
"Did you have fun?" Teased Raya, as Harry collapsed on the sofa beside her.
"If I ever see another brussel sprout again, it will be too soon" groaned Harry.
"Well, you'll be seeing them all again tomorrow, when we have Christmas dinner tomorrow night"
"Oh great".

"So, how has school been since I last saw you in October?" Asked Raya.
"It's been O.K. Except for the whole Katie being Cursed thing, but you already know about that... Actually there was something I wanted to ask you and Remus about" admitted Harry.
"Ask away" encouraged Raya.
Harry then told her and Remus about a conversation he had overheard between Snape and Draco Malfoy, because he wanted their opinion on the matter.
"Before I answer you, may I remind you that you promised me that you would stay away from Draco, and not get involved in what he was up to" said Raya sternly.
"I'm sorry, but Draco's been acting weird all term, I had to know what he was up to, which is why I followed him and Snape at Slughorn's Christmas party" replied Harry.

"Has it occurred to you Harry, that Severus was simply pretending to help, so that he could find out what Draco was up to" said Remus.
"Yeah, I thought you'd say that. But how do we know for sure?" Asked Harry.
"It isn't our business to know. It's Dumbledore's business. Dumbledore trusts Severus, and that ought to be good enough for all of us" answered Remus.
"But, just say that Dumbledore is wrong about Snape-"
"It comes down to whether or not you trust Dumbledore's judgement. I do, therefore I trust Severus" interupted Remus.

"But Dumbledore can make mistakes, he says so himself... And, I mean, do you honestly like Snape?" Questioned Harry.
"I neither like nor dislike Severus" informed Remus.
Raya scoffed, and Harry raised an eyebrow, not believing Remus.
"It's true that we shall never be bosom friends, after everything that happened between James and Sirius, and Severus. But I do not hate Severus. I have not forgotten that during the year I taught at Hogwarts, he made the Wolfsbane Potion for me every month, so that I wouldn't have to suffer on the full moon. And he made it perfectly every time" continued Remus.

"But he did tell everyone that you are a werewolf" reminded Raya.
"The news would have got out anyway. We all know that he wanted my job, and he could've tampered with my potion, and done serious damage to me. But he didn't, and for that I am thankful" admitted Remus.
"He wouldn't have dared to mess with your potion with Dumbledore watching" pointed out Harry.
"You are determined to hate him, Harry. And I understand why. With James as your father, and Raya and Sirius as your godparents, you have inherited an old prejudice" sighed Remus.

"For good reason. Snape is an evil little snake, who should not be trusted" announced Raya.
"He saved your life, more than once" reminded Remus.
"Only to make up for the many times he tried to kill me" countered Raya.
"I give up. You are never going to like Snape, so there is no point in me trying to defend him to either of you".
Raya turned from Remus to face Harry, "Even if Snape and Draco are up to someone, I do not want you getting involved, for it is just too dangerous".
"But I can't just sit back and do nothing" exclaimed Harry.

"Merlin's beard, you're just like your father... Look Harry, just leave it up to the adults. It is not your job to keep an eye on death eaters and threats to the school. When you are a grown up, you can make your own decisions. But until then, I am responsible for you. Which is why I don't want you getting involved in something too big for you to handle" informed Raya.
"Fine... Have you ever heard of someone called the Half-blood Prince?" Asked Harry, changing the topic.
"No, why?" Questioned Raya.
"I came across the name in a book".

"Is this a new title you are thinking of giving yourself? Isn't the Chosen One enough?" Teased Remus.
"No, the name has nothing to do with me. I've got his old Potions book that's all. He wrote spells all over it, spells he invented like Levicorpus" revealed Harry.
"That one was popular when we were at school. There were a few months in my 5th year, when you couldn't move for being hoisted into the air by your ankle" reminisced Remus.
"My dad used it on Snape, it was in the memory I saw in the Pensieve" replied Harry.

"He wasn't the only one though, Harry. Like I said, it was very popular back then. Some spells go in and out of fashion" explained Remus.
"But it sounds like it was invented while you were at school" replied Harry.
"Not necessarily... I know what you're getting at Harry, but no, James was a pure-blood afterall, and he never asked us to call him Prince" informed Remus.
"What about Sirius?"
"Absolutely not".

"James and Sirius always liked to think of themselves as Kings of the school. They never would have settled for the title of Prince" admitted Raya.
"I know it's silly, but I kind of hoped the Half-blood Prince was my dad, even though I knew he was a pure-blood" Harry said quietly.
"There's nothing silly about it. It is perfectly understandable that you want to connect with him anyway that you can. But the Half-blood Prince was not your father. The Marauders didn't go around making up spells, that was always creepy Snape's thing. The boys were too busy becoming illegal animagi and making enchanted maps of the school. And if the book you found was a Potions book, then it definitely wasn't your fathers. Potions was never his thing. It was your mother who was the Potions genius, and Sirius's brother Regulus"
"Nevermind then. It was just an idea".