Heart of Darkness

Chapter Eighteen

1993

I looked across my kitchen table at Remus Lupin. He grinned, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Albus?" I asked, walking into his office, uninvited and probably unwanted.
"Yes, Angelica, I know you're uncomfortable with the Dementors--"
"Uncomfortable? No. I'm pissed as all living Hell."
"Was uncomfortable too mild of a term for you?"
"Yes." I said seriously, even though I knew he was trying to joke. It was too mild of a term. There were Dementors surrounding a school for no reason. I didn't want to be subjected to that, much less have the children.
"I know you're upset."
"I'm more than merely upset, Professor. Harry--"
"I know, Ms. Black. I have to appease the Ministry--"
"But Sirius--"
"I know. If he does show up here--"
"He will!"
"If he does, I've no doubt that if he could get past the Dementors in Azkaban, he can get past the ones here."
"How did he do it, Professor?" I asked quietly.
"I don't know. When you find out, however, you wouldn't mind imparting your knowledge to me, would you?"
"Of course not. Thank you."

"Professor Black?" Harry asked in a crowded hall.
"Yes sir?"
"Are you related to Sirius Black?"
"Yes. He's my nephew." I almost cried.
"Do you... Are you... Is he--"
"Is he going to hurt Harry?" Hermione interrupted.
"No." I said.
"How do you know?" Ron asked.
"Because I raised him."

I sat in Remus' office one night, waiting for him to return.
Return he did.
"What's wrong?" I demanded.
He was shaking and a little pale, but he was smiling. "Harry came into possession of this." He held out a paper to me. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He said.
Words began writing on the paper:
"Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
are proud to present
THE MARAUDER'S MAP"
"What is this, Remus?" I asked.
"Wait." He smiled.
"Mr. Prongs would like to send cordial greetings to Mr. Moony and Aunt Angie." The map wrote.
"Mr. Padfoot wishes to convey his gratefulness for all that you've done for him (mainly Aunt Angie, but Professor Remus too)." The map continued.
"What is this?" I asked again, a lump in my throat.
"Mr. Wormtail bids thee both good days."
"Look at that." Remus pointed to a moving spot on the map labeled Peter Pettigrew.
"But he's dead." I said.
"Obviously he isn't. The map's never wrong."
"Mischief Managed." He said, and the paper went blank.
"Would you like to explain this?" I put one hand on my hip and held the map up with the other.
"We made it in fifth year." He looked down fondly at the now blank paper. "We mapped it all out with their animagi and James' Invisibility Cloak."
I handed it back to him. "And what did you do with it?" I raised my eyebrows.
His face flushed. "I'd rather not say." He said as he reached for it.
I jerked it away and gave him The Look. "What did you do with it?"
"I swear it was all Sirius' and James' ideas--"
"Tell me, Remus." I purses my lips.
"Aunt Angie--" He sighed.
"Remus John Lupin."
"We used it to try to get into the girls' bathrooms at the right time."
"That does sound like Sirius and James." I resisted the urge to smile.
"Also to hide from Filch."
"That's more like it." I handed it back to him.
He put it in a drawer of his desk.
"Remus, do me a favor, sweetie, and don't look at that all the time."
"Pardon?" He looked up at me.
"I don't want you spending every second of your free time torturing yourself over that, all right? Please?"
"All right--yes ma'am."
I wrapped the little boy in a hug--yes, he'll always be a little boy. "Are you all right, sweetheart?"
"Yes ma'am. Are you?"
"Mhmm."

I overheard Harry talking about how in Divination he kept getting the Grim in his tealeaves. Hermione told them it was rubbish like the wise, overachieving girl she is.
"Professor, would you please tell Harry and Ron that the whole of Divination is absolute rubbish?" She said, irritated.
"For the most part, yes." I said, thinking about the prophecy that got James and Lily killed. "But no, Harry, you aren't going to die. What does the Grim look like?" I asked out of pure curiosity.
"A large dog." Harry said.
"Crookshanks!" Hermione said and ran off.
I gave the boys questioning looks.
"Her stupid cat keeps chasing my rat." Ron said bitterly.
"Ron, your rat is missing a finger, isn't he?"
"Yes."
"Get to class." Severus said sternly to the boys.
"I'm talking to them, Severus." I said.
"Really? Because I think you're finished." He said.
I gave him my best What-The-Fuck-Did-You-Just-Say look. "Well, I'm not."
"Class, Potter. You too Weasley." He snapped.
"Go on." I told them.
They left and I rounded on Severus. "You may think you're the boss, but you are not. You have absolutely no right to bully the students solely because Lily Potter didn't marry you."
He looked offended, and I was glad.
"If you continue treating Neville Longbottom like you do, so help me, I will hex you into next month. I appreciate you protecting Harry, but you needn't be a knobhead."
His eyebrows shot up. "I'm sorry, but what did you just say?"
"You heard me right. I called you a knobhead."
Several students close enough to hear ran away laughing.
Severus blinked.
"And I will give you detention, so I suggest you watch yourself."
"You can't give me detention."
"Do you wanna bet?"
"Aunt Angie," Remus said, coming up. "Come with me."
"Do you want detention?" I asked Severus.
Remus had to walk away because he was laughing so hard.
Severus looked like he could strangle me, but it was so worth it. "No."
"No what?"
"No ma'am." He said.
"That's what I thought. Now, don't you have a class to teach?"
"Yes." He said, and walked away.
"That was fun." I said as I walked over to a still laughing Remus.
"Did you really call him a knobhead?" He choked out.
I nodded, and he burst into harder laughter.