Chapter Thirty-Nine
"Resurgence"

Page Two

His head began to clear just as his vision had, progressively improving detail by detail, until finally…

He sat up like a bolt of lightning, looking frenetically around him. He was surrounded by trees with rich heavenly starlight breaking through gaps in the leaves of the canopy above him. The shadow had moved to his right, but it wasn't a shadow any longer. A massive beast - half horse, half human - was smiling softly at him.

"Welcome back, Remus."

Lupin looked down at his chest to see it covered in a rich silvery liquid, drying and hardening quickly, seeping in through his skin, disappearing as it found its way inside. His eyes darted back up at the centaur, his breathing becoming more rapid with every moment that passed.

"Please, calm yourself, wolf," said the centaur, stepping slowly toward him. As the creature moved his shadow followed the directions of the stars. His shadow now parted, revealed a lone centaur, lying still in the grass. The creature shone vibrantly in the limited light, its pure white coat so bright it was difficult to look at. A female centaur with a snow-white mane, its eyes closed…

"What's happened to her?" he asked fervently, pointing at the fair creature on the ground.

"She has given her life to you," said the other centaur, continuing to approach Lupin slowly. "She bore your friend's burdens, now she has shared yours as well and died."

Lupin looked back at his chest and saw the silver liquid had nearly left him. With each drop that seeped through his skin, he felt a sense of vitality that he hadn't felt since he was a child. A sense of health entirely unfamiliar to him.

"I had heard rumors…" whispered Lupin, "Speculations about why centaurs kept their females in seclusion…"

"None of them are true," interrupted the centaur, standing next to the bed that had been prepared for their guest. "And none of them ever came close to the truth."

Lupin looked back at the graceful creature lying at the base of a tree, a few feet away from him. "Did she do so of her own free will?"

The centaur nodded. "The females are the ones in power, wolf. They have dominion over their own destinies and more importantly, over yours."

Lupin looked up at the centaur's face, sitting up slightly in his bed made of leaves.

"Do not look distressed," continued the centaur, "She has given of her life for a purpose much larger than herself. She has given you her lifeblood and with that comes a responsibility. You have a job to perform; the reason for which you were spared."

Another centaur stepped out from behind a tree, leading a large hippogriff on a leash. The hippogriff was large, covered in thick gray feathers, strikingly in contrast to its large orange eyes.

"I believe Buckbeak belongs to your kind," smiled the centaur. "Take the creature and fly to Dumbledore's tower."

"But what am I to do in the moonlight?" interrupted Lupin. "You've called me 'wolf', you know I can't survive out there."

"I knew you couldn't survive out there," said the centaur placidly. "Have faith, she was aware of all your burdens when she chose death for your life. You haven't much time, go."

Utterly bewildered, but unwilling to argue with the imposingly large centaur, Lupin walked over to Buckbeak and quickly bowed before him. "It's nice to see you again, old mate."

Buckbeak bowed in return, quickly clicking his beak, urging Lupin to forget pleasantries and climb onto his back. Lupin mounted the large gray bird, but before he left, he turned toward the centaur.

"I don't know if this is real or this is death," he said slowly, staring the centaur straight in the eyes, "But either way, I thank you."

"You may thank me later," said the centaur, his posture erect. "Right now, you have someone else to whom you owe a debt. Don't ever forget, wolf, this is your second chance. Use it judiciously, leave nothing undone."

Lupin nodded and quickly prodded Buckbeak's sides, urging him to depart. Buckbeak trotted through the forest until the canopy had broken enough to allow for an easier take-off. His wings extended and they were launched into the air, Lupin holding on with strength he didn't know he had.

The wind and rain beat against Lupin's face as they flew toward Hogwarts. Sensations were amplified as he felt every drop of rain against his skin. His sight was equally magnified, as he could see every curl of the waves of the giant squid's lake below him. He fought to retain his concentration on the orders which the centaur had given him, restraining his curiosity and wonder as he considered the wondrous gift that had been bestowed upon him.

The tallest tower of Hogwarts lay directly ahead of him; unsure of what the centaur had meant by "Dumbledore's tower", he had assumed it was meant to be this one. He stared hard at it, hoping for a sign. Not a moment had passed before that sign became manifest.

The roof directly in front of the tower burst, sending shards of stone flying through the air. Buckbeak shrieked as colossal wings appeared at the roof, fighting their way through the crumbling masonry. The wings broke free in an instant, revealing what seemed to be an oddly disfigured bird, holding a personage in its claws.

Lupin urged the hippogriff forward, recognizing the misshapen creature for its true identity. Stories had circulated during his childhood of visions of the Dark Lord in his highest form. The tales of evil in flight; what Muggles often mistook for signs of the angel of death. A thin, almost skeletal creature, with wings as black as hellfire. If anything fit such a description, it was the demon that had broken through the roof before him.

Buckbeak soared intently toward the creature who was stumbling slightly in the air as shrapnel began to succumb to gravity. Buckbeak approached the hideous winged monster along the side, bringing Lupin close enough to recognize the person being held by Lord Voldemort's hands; Harry Potter was being taken off as the prey of a mammoth Beelzebub.

Voldemort sped forward, Buckbeak in hot pursuit. Knowing only that they must be grounded to get Harry safely away and unsure of any other means of doing so, Lupin leapt from Buckbeak onto the back of Voldemort's wings. Under the immediate pressure of added weight, they began to tumble downward, Harry quickly slipping from Voldemort's grasp. Buckbeak attempted to circle below them in an effort to catch Harry should he fall, but it was too unexpected. Voldemort let go, letting Harry drop to the banks of the giant lake.

Lupin, his arms tightening around Voldemort's neck, tried diligently to steer them away from the castle, into the open green. They flew several feet before tumbling to the earth, rolling rapidly away from where Harry lay unconscious.

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