A sharp, sudden pain caused Harry’s eyes to fly open as he gasped for air. He saw a flash of red hair as the air was being squeezed out of his lungs.

“Hermione.” Harry gasped as he put his glasses on his face. “Hermione, I can’t breathe.”

“Oh.” Hermione released the death squeeze that she had on his ribs. “Sorry, Harry.”

Harry raised himself up on his elbows slowly, when he heard steps somewhere outside of the room.

“What happened?” Harry asked as he looked around.

He was laying in a bed with no shirt on. His mid-section was wrapped in bandages, which is where the source of pain was. The room that he was laying in had bright blue walls and sunlight was beginning to creep through the windows.

“I don’t know. Dobby….” But she didn’t get to finish.

Ron appeared in the room and Lupin followed behind him, standing in front of Harry’s bed. Harry snatched the wand he took from Draco off the bed side table and pointed it at Lupin.

“Harry!” Hermione exclaimed.

“What did Professor R.J. Lupin say to me about my mother the day we were on the bridge while everyone else went to Hogsmead during my third year at Hogwarts?” Harry asked.

He had good reason for aiming his wand at Lupin. The last time they saw each other, Lupin nearly cursed Harry through a wall.

“What are you doing?” Hermione asked in shock, but Harry didn’t pay attention to her. He was concentrating on Lupin.

“What did he say?” Harry asked again.

“You mother was there for me at a time when no one else was. Not only was she a singularly gifted witch, she was an uncommonly kind one. She had a way of seeing the beauty in others, most especially when they couldn’t see it in themselves.”

That was what Harry was looking for, but he hesitated to put the wand down. Harry stared at Lupin for a few seconds then lowered his wand reluctantly. He placed the wand on the bedside table then fell back on the pillow in pain. Lupin ran forward.

“Easy Harry.” Lupin whispered as he helped Harry to sit against the pillows.

Now that Lupin was closer, Harry could see that something had changed. Lupin was paler and his scars were more distinct.

“He knows.” Harry said. It was a comment directed at Ron and Hermione.

“Who knows?” Lupin asked.

“Lord…” Harry began but Ron cut him off.

“I THOUGHT YOU WOULD OF LEARNED AFTER WHAT HAPPENED!”

“What happened?” Lupin questioned

“They found us and took us to Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix tortured Hermione. They threw me and Ron down in their dungeon. Snape was down there.”

“SNAPE!” Lupin exclaimed

“Yeah. He was there and he was badly hurt. He helped us escape, but he got really hurt during the battle. I think You-Know-Who tortured Snape for months. What happened after Dobby got me out?”

“We don’t really know. We heard a crack and we waited for you to come through the door, but it took you a long time. The door opened and Dobby was pulling you through the door. He said that you fell. So he set you down, and we saw a lot of blood…..you almost died, Harry. We had to do CPR on you. Dobby went to find Lupin….He saved you Harry.” Hermione informed Harry as tears ran down her face. Ron wrapped an arm around her and held her tight.

“You lost a lot of blood Harry.” Lupin continued. “The elf told me that you were hurt, so I went with him. I didn’t think that you were almost dead. I kept doing CPR and sewing the wound up. You were in bad shape there for awhile.”

“Who told Dobby to find you?”

“I did.” Hermione answered. “He was the only one who I could think of.”

“Harry, could you explain to me what happened to Professor Snape?”

“When we found him, he was really hurt. One of his arms seemed to be broken. An eye was swollen shut, his face was covered in blood, one of his hands kept twitching, and he was hunched over like an old man. When we got up stairs, he fought Bellatrix and Malfoy. The two of them shot a spell at the same time, and they combined and made on spell.”

“What do you mean they combined?”

“Two spells merged and became one. I don’t know how it happened, it just did.

There was a crack in the room. Bill and Dobby appeared.

“Harry Potter.” Dobby yelled and jumped on the bed in excitement. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine Dobby. How did you know where we were?”

“Dobby was helping a barman and the barman heard noises from a mirror he was holding. He told Dobby to go help. So Dobby left and found Harry Potter and his friends.”

“Did this man ever tell you his name?”

“The barman never told Dobby his name or what bar he owned.”

Well there went all chances of knowing the unknown barman. Harry would have enough time to dwell on that later. He turned toward Bill.

“How is Professor Snape?”

“They didn’t tell me much. They took him up to the spells damage ward. They think that he has a large amount of nerve damage, but that was all they told me. I tried to tell them as much as I could. Harry, tell me what happened?”

So Harry explained the story again. When he got to the part about the spells, Bill looked at Harry strangely. When Harry was done, Bill and Ron looked at him like he had gone mental, while Lupin and Hermione were deep in thought.

“Are you sure that’s what happened?” Bill questioned after a few seconds of silence.

“Yes, I’m sure that’s how it happened. Why would I lie about that?”

“No one is saying that you are lying, Harry.” Hermione said. “It’s just that something like that isn’t suppose to happen. I’ve never read anything about that.”

“Hermione, It’s dark magic. Does anyone, besides Death Eater, really know a lot about it?” He questioned

“Dumbledore and Mad-eye know more about the dark arts than anyone else I know.” Lupin answered. “They told me all about the dark arts and they told me about the magic the Death Eaters perform. Neither of them mentioned anything like that to me.”

“Did anyone really know everything about the dark arts?” Harry argued

“Dumbledore was one of the most informed people. He knew a lot about the subject.”

“See. Not even Dumbledore knew everything. Bill, I understand if you don’t believe me, but you have to tell the doctors. Dobby can go with you if he would like to.” Harry looked to Dobby for an answer.

“Dobby will go with master Weasley.” And within a minute, Dobby and Bill were gone.

Lupin sat down in a chair, placed his head in his hands, and let out a deep, heavy sigh.

“Are you okay, Professor?” Hermione questioned

“I messed up, Harry.” Lupin confessed

Harry wanted to say something along the lines of “Of course you messed up. You almost hexed me through a wall.”, but he stayed silent.

“What makes you think you messed up?” Ron asked

“I never should of had a child with Tonks. What if the child is like me?”

“What do you mean?”

“Were....his kind aren’t...” Hermione tried to explain to Ron, but Lupin cut in.

“It’s alright Hermione. My kind aren’t suppose to breed. When we do, our children become like us.”

What are you going to do?” Hermione questioned

Lupin sat in silence for a few seconds. He was about to answer, but Harry spoke first.

“You better not leave them.” Lupin looked away from Harry for a moment, like he actually thought about it for a second. “If you leave him and Tonks, then it’s like giving up on the memory of James and Sirius.”

“What else am I suppose to do, Harry?”

“You are suppose to stay and be with your family. James did it, even though he knew that he and Lily were being hunted down. He never left his wife and child. If you leave them, then you are nothing more than a coward.”

Harry looked to see if Lupin would reach for his wand because calling him a coward is what got Harry blasted with a hex last time they met.

“What am I suppose to do? My son can’t have a werewolf for a father.”

“You are going to do what you’re suppose to do. You are a Gryffindor and that means you have the courage to do what is right.” Harry yelled at Lupin.

Silence covered the room for what seemed like a long time.

“So what is next?” Lupin questioned, breaking the silence.

“We can’t tell you.” Harry retorted forcefully.

“Harry, I’m just trying to help. You know that if Sirius were here, he would want to help.”

“Yeah, but he would accept the fact that I couldn’t tell him because of Dumbledore’s orders.”

Harry snapped and an akward silence filled the room.

“Fine. I just want to know what you have to do next.”

Ron, Harry, and Hermione looked at each other. Harry turned to look at Lupin.

“We’re taking the next step.”