Adam was sitting on the edge of a bed in the hospital wing, feeling very annoyed. As soon as he and Ginny had disembarked from the carriages and entered the castle, they had been immediately sent to the hospital wing. The professor from the train had obviously told Madam Pomfrey that they had passed out.
He liked chocolate, but after the amount Madam Pomfrey had given him and the chunk that the professor had given him on the train, he was full. He still hadn't puzzled out what had happened on the train, he was sure that he had heard a woman screaming and seen lots of green light. He definitely hadn't imagined it.
"You definitely didn't hear anyone scream, Ginny?" Adam asked when Madam Pomfrey had bustled over to the other side of the hospital wing.
"No," Ginny replied; she still looked tired and drawn from the encounter earlier, "b-but I did hear something else."
"What?"
"I-I c-could hear T-Tom from the diary; he was calling me a stupid girl and saying he was going to kill you," Ginny said, her lips trembling slightly.
"Oh, Ginny! That's terrible!" Adam exclaimed, and instinctively hugged her.
"Thanks," Ginny said with a watery smile, when Adam released her.
"Right, you two are cleared to go. You need to get to the Great Hall before the feast begins!" Madam Pomfrey announced when she returned a short time later.
After leaving the hospital wing, Adam and Ginny made their way back down to the Great Hall. As they slipped in the door they could hear Professor Dumbledore speaking.
"Welcome to another year!" his voice boomed across the hall. "I have one very important announcement: you will have noticed, after their search of the train, that the school is currently playing host to the Dementors of Azkaban. These creatures are stationed at each entrance and exit to the school. They are not kind creatures, so give them no reason to harm you. I look to my prefects and Head Boy and Girl to enforce this. Secondly, it is my duty to remind you that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students."
Adam was sure he felt Professor Dumbledore's eyes on him as he slipped into his seat at the Gryffindor table.
Professor Dumbledore continued. "Mr. Filch has also asked me to remind you that there is to be no magic in the halls and the list of forbidden items is posted outside the door to his office." Professor Dumbledore paused. "I must also introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Art's Professor Remus Lupin; unfortunately Professor Jones has had to step down, due to her mother's ill health."
The hall erupted in applause for Professor Lupin.
"I have one final announcement to make," Professor Dumbledore announced and the hall grew silent again. "It is my painful duty to announce that the inter-house Quidditch cup will not be taking place this year."
The room was filled with the sound of startled gasps and a few cries of outrage. Adam felt incredibly disappointed. He had really enjoyed being part of the team last year, even if it was only as a reserve. The feeling when he caught the Snitch in the one game he had played, had been one of the best he had ever felt. He looked around at the reactions of the others sitting near him; Ginny's mouth was hanging open in shock and the twins looked completely appalled.
"This is due to an event," Professor Dumbledore continued, "that will be taking place during the school year, starting in October. This event will take much of the teachers' time and energy. I am sure, however, that you will all enjoy it immensely," he paused and the hall was very silent in anticipation. "So, it gives me great pleasure to announce that Hogwarts will this year be hosting the Triwizard Tournament!"
There were some gasps of surprise throughout the hall and Adam noticed that Ginny was suddenly looking very excited. Adam himself was mystified as to what this tournament actually was.
"The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. Unfortunately, the tournament was discontinued as the death toll mounted. There have been several attempts to reinstate the tournament, although none have been successful until this year, and so our very own Departments of International Magical Co-operation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt."
Spontaneous applause filled the hall.
"The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween."
"I'm going for it!" Fred exclaimed to the Gryffindor table as the entire school broke out in excited whispering.
"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," Professor Dumbledore continued as the whispering died down, "the Heads of the Schools have decided to impose an age restriction on contenders. Only students who are of age, that is to say, seventeen years or older, will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration."
Adam saw Fred and George's faces both fall immediately and he laughed as he watched them both begin whispering to each other.
"What?" Ginny asked.
"The twins are up to something," Adam replied with a wink.
"They're always up to something; I bet they're trying to find a way to enter despite being too young," Ginny replied with a grin.
"It is now late and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. So it is time for bed! Chop, chop!" Professor Dumbledore finished.
Along with the rest of the students, Adam and Ginny stood up and left the Great Hall to head back to Gryffindor Tower.
Remus September 1st 1994
Remus followed Albus back to his office after the Welcoming Feast. He didn't speak, however, until he was safely in the Headmaster's office, with the door closed.
"Harry encountered a Dementor on the train," he stated flatly, sitting down in front of Albus' desk.
"Yes, Poppy mentioned he was in the hospital wing. Remus, you must get used to using the name Adam. It would be most undesirable for you to slip up in class," replied Albus.
Remus growled. "That is not his real name."
"Remus, please. Don't make this any more difficult than it has to be. My mind is made up about this."
Remus sighed. He wasn't going to win this battle. He either needed to accept not telling the boy or leave the school. If he left, Albus would never let him near Harry again. Remus needed to be part of his life, for James.
"I'm guessing, Remus, that you are here because the boy saw something when the Dementor approached?"
"He saw Lily's death," Remus stated, attempting to keep any emotion out of his voice.
Remus was pleased to see Albus pale slightly at this revelation.
"He doesn't understand what he saw. He says he heard a woman screaming and saw a lot of green light," said Remus. "Unless he has seen any other women killed by the Killing Curse, I can't see what else he could be seeing."
"It is a big assumption, Remus. We don't even know how Lily died. He could, for instance, be hearing Lily screaming when James was killed."
Remus swallowed the lump in his throat at the mention of the death of his best friend.
"However, your assumption is a fair one," continued Albus. "Regardless, we must limit the boy's contact with the Dementors. It would be unwise for him relieve any other memories of that night, for his sake and ours."
"How?" Remus asked.
"He will not be allowed out of the grounds. I will instruct Minerva that he is not allowed to Hogsmeade and I will ensure the Dementors do not enter the grounds."
"What about going home for Christmas and the end of year?" asked Remus.
"I think that this year we will have very few students going home for Christmas," Albus sighed. "And I fear that the situation with Sirius will come to a head much before the end of the year."
"What do you mean?" questioned Remus. "Surely Sirius will be in hiding now he has finally escaped?"
"He had been heard muttering, 'He's at Hogwarts', in the days before his escape. When the Aurors searched his cell they found the news article with a picture of Adam on it, the one from the World Cup."
Remus was silent. Sirius was the only person that knew about Adam's real identity other than himself and Albus.
"So Sirius is after Harry?"
"We believe so."
"He's coming here?"
Albus nodded gravely.
"That's why you caved so easily to the Minister's request to have the Dementors positioned at the school."
"Yes, Sirius must be caught before he reaches Adam. To reach him, he must get past the Dementors, the castle wards and the staff. Adam's safety must be our top priority now."
Remus nodded in agreement; his stomach churned at the possibility of coming face to face with his old friend. Remus knew with certainty that if Sirius ever did cross his path, he would kill him for what he had done to James and Lily.
Ginny September 1st 1994
When Ginny arrived in the common room she immediately dashed up to her room to make sure all her things had arrived safely. She'd never had anything go missing, but it never hurt to check.
Even though Professor Dumbledore had sent them up to bed, the older students wouldn't actually go to sleep for some time yet. They would stay up and talk in the common room; catching up with friends that they may not have seen since the previous school year.
When Ginny returned to the common room, she saw that Adam had sat himself down on one of the sofas and a small crowd had gathered around him.
"So did you do it?" one of the first years said.
"My dad says he couldn't. If he did, he wouldn't have been allowed back in school," a second boy added.
"What?" Adam only just seemed to have caught on to what was going on around him.
"Did you cast the Dark Mark at the World Cup?" the first boy asked.
"No!" Adam said, raising his voice. "Now Leave. Me. Alone!"
"But you were there? What happened?" the first boy said excitedly.
"GO!" Adam roared.
The first years scarpered quickly at the sight of an angry Adam and Adam sank down into the chair in relief.
"Very fearsome," Ginny commented casually as she sat down next to him.
"Shut it!" Adam said with a smile. "You know I hate the attention, I just want to sort-of blend in, ya know?"
"Sometimes a bit of attention is good?" Ginny asked. She wasn't quite sure why Adam felt this bad about all the attention.
"Not for me," Adam replied adamantly. "I've told you about what it was like at the homes right?" Ginny nodded. "When I was there I was always different because I did magic, although I didn't know what it was then. Now I'm here and magic is normal, but somehow I'm still different. I don't want to be different!"
"I guess it's a bit different for me," Ginny commented. "Growing up as one of seven, we had to battle for Mum and Dad's attention, so I like standing out a bit."
"Yeah," Adam replied with a strange expression on his face. "I can understand that," he paused. "Well, I'm off to bed. Night, Ginny!"
Adam got up off the sofa and disappeared up the stairs to his room. Ginny watched him go, feeling slightly bemused by the conversation they had just shared.
September 2nd 1994
Ginny skipped with excitement as she and Adam walked down from the castle to their first Care of Magical Creatures class. When Ginny and Adam reached Hagrid's hut, they gingerly pulled out their books and patiently waited for the class to begin. Neither Adam nor Ginny had the courage or the time to try and open the book, which looked decidedly suspicious, plus, Ginny was sure she had seen it wriggling in her bag.
"Did you see the notice up in the common room about Hogsmeade?" Adam asked her while they waited.
"Yes!" Ginny exclaimed. She couldn't wait until they could go to Hogsmeade. "I can't wait!"
"Um, what exactly is in Hogsmeade?" Adam asked.
"There's the pub, the Three Broomsticks! Zonko's Joke Shop and Honeydukes, which sells sweets!"
"Cool!" replied Adam. "Lots of shops, then?"
"Yep, I've been saving my pocket money for it," replied Ginny with a grin.
"It'll be nice to get out of the school grounds. I bet there's lots to explore," Adam mused.
Ginny laughed. "You'll have to ask the twins. They'll probably know most about it," her voice lowered to a whisper as Hagrid emerged from his hut to begin the lesson.
"Ron and Hermione always say what a good teacher Hagrid is. I hope these lessons are good!" Adam said.
"Right, class," Hagrid's accented voice boomed across the assembled students. "Today I'm going to show you how to open your books safely and then we are going to look at some Flobberworms!"
Ginny groaned.
"What?" Adam whispered.
"Flobberworms are really boring! They just sit there and do nothing."
"Well, I guess we have to start somewhere," Adam replied weakly.
Ginny shrugged, maybe, just maybe, Ron had exaggerated how cool these classes were.
Adam September 8th 1994
Adam waited eagerly for his first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. Yet again they had a new professor. Adam was keen to see what Professor Lupin would teach them, because he had certainly dealt with the Dementor on the train well enough.
Professor Lupin entered the room and strode to the front of the class. Adam was surprised that he was still wearing the same scruffy robes that he had worn on the train. His light brown hair also seemed continually scruffy, a problem Adam knew all too well.
"Good afternoon," Professor Lupin said. "Now, all of you, put down your bags, take out your wands. and follow me."
Adam followed as Professor Lupin led the class out of the classroom. This was probably the most interesting start to a lesson, ever. The class walked through the now-deserted corridors of Hogwarts until they reached the staff room and the class filed in. The room was filled with a collection of mismatched chairs, all of which were currently empty. At the far end of the room a large wardrobe stood and when Professor Lupin moved nearer to it, it began to wobble backwards and forwards as if there was some creature inside trying to escape.
"This wardrobe contains a Boggart," said Professor Lupin. "A Boggart likes dark, enclosed spaces: wardrobes, beneath beds and cupboards under stairs. You get the idea. This one moved in yesterday and I asked the Headmaster if it could be left to give the third-years some practice. So can anyone tell me what a Boggart is?"
No one in the class raised there hands.
"Anyone?" asked Professor Lupin. When he did not get a reply he continued. "A Boggart is a shape-shifter; it takes the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us the most."
Adam listened as Professor Lupin taught the class the Riddikulus spell, wondering what the Boggart would turn into for him.
"But saying the spell alone isn't good enough. Anyone care to tell me what they are most afraid of?"
A host of hands shot up in the room. Professor Lupin pointed to one of the Gryffindor girls, one of Ginny's roommates. Adam thought her name was Demelza. Professor Lupin waved her to the front of the class.
"What are you afraid of, Miss Robins?"
"Spiders," she replied with a giggle.
"So visualise the largest spider you can image, and then do something silly with it. Dress it as a clown or put it in a frilly pink dress. This is what you must visualise when the Boggart comes out."
With a flick of his wand, Professor Lupin opened the wardrobe and a giant spider leapt out. Adam shuddered; it reminded him of the spiders he and Ginny had found in the forest the previous year. Demelza screamed when she saw the spider.
"Remember the spell!" shouted Professor Lupin.
"R-R-Riddikulus!" she called.
A loud crack sounded in the room and suddenly the spider was wearing a frilly pink dress. It had a clown hat on its head and its legs had been transfigured into wheels. It skidded around the front of the staff room comically and the entire class burst out in laughter.
"Creevey, next!" shouted Professor Lupin.
Colin Creevey stepped in front of the spider. Its form changed into a Basilisk. The sight of the Basilisk caused Adam to jump backwards violently. He also heard Ginny emit a terrified squeak and suddenly felt her hand gripping his.
"Riddikulus!" Colin shouted.
Crack! The Basilisk changed. The long muscular body was now gone and the Basilisk’s disembodied head bobbed up and down attached to a large spring, just like a jack-in-the-box.
"Next!" Professor Lupin called.
As the next student took their turn with the Boggart, Adam turned to look at Ginny who was still gripping his hand, hard.
"You okay?" Adam asked in a whisper.
"Yeah, it just surprised me," Ginny replied softly. "I'm okay."
"Um, Ginny," Adam said awkwardly as he looked at his hand.
"Oh," Ginny blushed. "Sorry," she said, quickly releasing his hand and turning to look towards the front of the room.
They watched as Professor Lupin gave each of the class a turn with the Boggart. As Adam and Ginny had backed away from the Basilisk, they were near the back of the clas,s so the last to go.
"Right, that's it for today! Well done, all! Head back to the classroom, pick up your books and I will see you next lesson," Professor Lupin announced and with a wave of his wand sealed the Boggart back in the wardrobe.
Adam and Ginny looked at each other, bemused.
"Why didn't he let us have a go?" Adam asked.
"Maybe it's because he saw us collapse on the train. He probably thinks we're useless," Ginny replied; she was looking moderately annoyed. She turned on the spot and ran out of the room calling. "Professor Lupin!" as she went.
Adam chased Ginny down the corridor, eventually catching up with her.
"Why didn't you let me and Adam tackle the Boggart, sir?" she asked.
Professor Lupin was staring blankly at Adam.
"Sir?" Adam asked, wondering why he was being stared at.
Professor Lupin blinked at Adam. "Oh…" He hesitated. "Professor Dumbledore warned me about the incident in your first year. He was worried that Tom Riddle might appear in the classroom and I didn't think you would have wanted to explain that."
"But Tom isn't my greatest fear," replied Adam.
"Oh, sorry, then, but I must go now. I've got a class to teach. Goodbye, Miss. Weasley and you, too," Professor Lupin finished and nodded at Adam. The professor then turned around and walked down the corridor away from them.
"I wish he'd let us have a go," said Ginny, summing up Adam's thoughts as they walked towards the Great Hall.
"Well, maybe he will let us have a go in the next lesson," said Adam, as they walked in through the large entrance doors.
They walked together towards the Gryffindor table and Adam sat down next to Ron.
"Hi, guys," said Adam.
"Hi," said Ginny as she sat down next to Adam.
"Hello," replied Hermione, looking up from her meal.
Ron grunted.
"What's up with him?" asked Ginny.
"Oh, Scabbers is ill and Ronald is convinced that Crookshanks is responsible," stated Hermione, with an angry glare at Ron.
"What else would affect a rat AND it started just after you arrived at The Burrow! That cat has never liked Scabbers anyway," Ron said, looking up.
"That doesn't mean that Crookshanks is responsible!" Hermione snapped in return. "He could have picked something up at the World Cup!"
Ron's only response was a grunt.
The answer seemed obvious to Adam. "Has anyone taken him to Madam Pomfrey, she could probably tell what's wrong with him?" he asked.
"Madam Pomfrey won't treat pets," said Ron.
"What about Hagrid?" asked Ginny.
Adam watched as Hermione stared at Ginny in shock.
"Why didn't I think of that!?" Hermione exclaimed.
Hermione stood up from her chair and grabbed Ron by the collar of his robes. Pulling him to his feet she said. "Come on, Ron, we'll go to Hagrid now and he will tell you that it wasn't Crookshanks!"
Adam turned around and grinned as he watched Hermione dragging Ron towards the staff table where Hagrid was currently sitting.
Authors Note: Big thanks to my beta, Arnel, for all her work and thank you to all reviewers!