Chapter 114: Potters Thoughts and Time Before Meeting (1/2)
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The link is also in the synopsis.
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[The chapter is edited by my Editor: Alan_Loo/AlanL]
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”I think I injured my hands. This really hurts. I definitely need to go to Madam Pomfrey. They don't look well,” said Quinn with his arms raised in front of him and his hands hung limply from below the wrist area.
”Who are you?” asked Sirius Black, while moving his eyes from Quinn to the bloodied face and back to Quinn. ”And what are you doing here?”
Quinn weaved magic into his hands and numbed the pain. He didn't attempt to heal his battered-up hands and only stuck to eliminating the pain from his injured knuckles and wrist.
”Oh, I'm Quinn West, a fourth-year student at Hogwarts,” introduced Quinn while scrunching up his face to portray that he was feeling pain.
He then focused on the Werewolf in the room and said, ”Professor Lupin might know me from his classes.”
Sirius, Remus, and even James, who was checking up on his son, widened their eyes when they heard Quinn address Remus in his Werewolf form as Professor Lupin.
”What are you talking about?” uttered Sirius, while trying to separate Remus Lupin from the Werewolf that stood beside him.
”Oh, please. I already know that Professor Lupin is a werewolf,” scoffed Quinn and turned his head to look at the Lycanthrope. ”The signs were all there; he disappeared for a few days because of weak health and the absence period was always after the full moon.”
Quinn then brought in the statement that would close this line of conversation.
”Professor Snape tried really hard to point out that Professor Lupin is a Werewolf. The preparation he did for the Werewolf revision lesson was outstanding. For once, he was completely involved in teaching. He even asked if anyone of us had doubts,” shrugged Quinn and then finished with a smile. ”It was an unusual yet fascinating day. It made me think that people can accomplish anything if they put their hearts into it.”
”What! That snake did that?!” exclaimed Sirius, his hands tightening into fists at the thought of Snape trying to out his friend. ”I'll blast him when I see that twat!”
Werewolf-Remus put his hairy paw on Sirius to wind his friend down.
After calming down, Sirius continued the conversation.
”If you knew, why didn't you tell anyone,” he paused and then slowly asked. ”... Did you tell anyone?”
”I didn't tell anyone. When I realized that Professor Lupin was a Werewolf, I gave it a thought. Then I realized that if Professor was allowed to work here, then he must've been provided a supply of Wolfsbane,” said Quinn, and then glanced at Remus. ”From the looks of it, he's on the Wolfsbane. Or else, he would've already tried to bite me.”
Werewolves, when transformed, had the instinct to bite anyone they could get their paws on. The average Werewolf didn't aim to kill; their wild instincts knew that the only way to continue their race was to turn other people into Werewolves, so the damage that a Werewolf would do was a few bites.
Sometimes, the bites would be at some of the body's vital spots, and the victim could die because of blood loss and shock. Of course, there were exceptions like Fenrir Greyback, who had that innate desire to kill and slaughter at times.
”Aren't you scared?” asked Sirius.
Sirius knew from experience that Werewolves were proper people and not monsters. He knew better than anyone that, even though Werewolves were dangerous, a lot of them tried hard to live normally and had hopes and dreams like everyone else.
But he asked because there was always a risk. He still asked, even with Remus right beside him. And Remus didn't mind because he understood where the question was coming from and was curious about Quinn's answer.
”Scared? No. I was cautious, not scared. I prepared myself and made sure that if one day Professor Lupin stood in front of me in his current form, I'd be ready,” smiled Quinn as he unveiled his magic prep. ” I know the Homorphus Charm and have practiced it a lot to get it down on my fingertips.”
The Homorphus Charm was a charm used to temporarily change a transformed werewolf back into their human form. It would forcibly turn back the transformation and would revert the Werewolf into a human. Quite valuable for stopping a werewolf in its tracks.
In the room's darkness, Quinn's expression wasn't clearly visible. But Quinn was looking at Werewolf-Remus as he was a test subject.
He was thinking about how the spell would work against a Werewolf. Because the spell only temporarily reverted the transformation, the Lycan transformation would come back very shortly. But that small window was enough to incapacitate the Werewolf.
However, Quinn's usage was a tad bit too powerful than your average user. His spell's effects would linger instead of ending after a bit. And that would cause a tussle between the Lycan transformation and Quinn's magic.
Even though Quinn hadn't tested it out against a real Werewolf, he, at some level, was sure that the tussle between the transformation and his magic would be very painful for the target. Two opposing forces trying to forcibly change a person's body wasn't optimal, and it would, in normal circumstances, cause immense pain.
As Quinn finished his thinking, James spoke for the first time and informed everybody of Harry's condition.
”Harry's fine. He's just knocked out. I checked for the basic signs, but we should send him to Madam Pomfrey just to be sure,” informed James with his eyes still on his son.
”Alright, then let's divide the tasks,” nodded Sirius and looked at everyone in the room. ”I will take these shits to Holdings and see if I can get something worthwhile out of them. James, you take Harry, and... Quinn to Madam Pomfrey and inform Dumbledore of what happened here. Remus, you stay here. I know this isn't good for your body, so take a rest and go to sleep.”
Sirius took the lead and assigned everyone their tasks, all the conscious people nodded in consent and understanding.
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James Potter, with Harry Potter on his back, walked with Quinn. They made their way through the secret tunnel that connected Shrieking Shack and Whomping Willow tree.
Harry was still unconscious while Quinn's hands were still injured. Sirius and James had tried to offer to cast Healing spells on him, but Quinn had politely refused and said that he could wait for Poppy, the Medi-healer, to take a look at them.
”Why do you know about this passage?” initiated James to fill the very silent underground passage with conversation.
”Hmm? Oh, I found it a few years back when I tried to get a good look at the Whomping Willow. Saw it when I finally figured out that I needed to shoot a pocking hex at the knot at the base of the tree to make it calm down.”
The Whomping Willow would attack anyone who would come closer, but if you pressed the knot at the base of its trunk, the magical tree would calm down for a while.
Pomona Sprout used this method when she needed to check if the Whomping Willow was healthy, and so did Quinn when he needed to use the secret passage.
”I know that, too,” smiled James as he reminisced about the later of his school years when the Marauders would sneak in after Remus to keep him company.
The elder Potter glanced at Quinn while wondering whether he should say it or not. He, then, decided to say it.
”Quinn, about the thing that person said about me doing those things to you and your family,” said James carefully. ”None of those words hold any truth. I would never do any of that. Those actions wouldn't be ethical, and no matter what could've happened back there, I would have never blamed you for any of it.”
James wanted to erase the thought that Aurors would take advantage of their position. Aurors were the people who withheld justice, and he wanted to make sure that a child around the same as his son wouldn't build a negative image.
”Don't worry about it. I actually don't care about the threat,” smiled Quinn. ”Even if things went south and you developed a grudge. I wouldn't be worried if you tried to do what that man said.”
”You wouldn't?” questioned James confusedly.
”Not at all. I'm a West,” smirked Quinn. ”If you tried to do things that you describe as unethical, you wouldn't be able to move a finger. I would've been out of your reach before you could've even thought about what to do.”
When Quinn mentioned his last name, James finally recalled Quinn's full name, and then it hit him what Quinn was trying to say.
”West, as in George West?” asked James, his eyes widening.
He had only met George West a couple of times. He didn't know the man personally. But he knew who George West was. His work at Wizengamot and in the political circle made sure that he knew of the man who held a substantial amount of influence in every social and professional circle.
James also knew that his parents knew George West. He sparsely recalled that his parents had been invited to dinner with George West a few times and had a business relationship with the head of the West business empire.
”Yes, West as in George West. He's my grandfather,” confirmed Quinn, and that was why he wasn't worried. As long as Quinn didn't do anything wildly illegal or wrong, he would be fine.
James was still surprised that Quinn was the grandson of George West, but then it dawned on him how dangerous things could've turned out.
'What would've happened if he had got severely injured or harmed? What if he had died?' thought James in mild horror.
He could almost imagine what George West would've done when he found that his only grandson had been involved in a potentially dangerous situation. James was sure that his life would have been terribly difficult for a long time.
James looked at Quinn's hands and nervously thought, 'He won't make a big deal about this, right? He did that to himself on his own and isn't very bothered about it. So we are good, right…? Right?'
While James was thinking about if he was in trouble, Quinn was silently thinking about what would happen when they reached Hogwarts.
'I need to handle this carefully. There will be only one chance for me to work with,' thought Quinn. He saw the end of the tunnel. 'Let's hope he won't come out and stay inside.'
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- (Scene Break) -
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Quinn and James, along with the unconscious Harry, entered the hospital wing.
”Madam Pomfrey! I am here to visit~!” called out Quinn with a chipper voice.