The next morning was cloudy and grey, but at least the rain had stopped for the moment. The students who had stayed an extra day to attend the wedding, were milling about restlessly. They were waiting for the Hogwart's Express which was scheduled to arrive later to accommodate the now cancelled festivities. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Luna Lovegood were sitting on the courtyard wall watching a few of the Ravenclaw members kicking a football about.
“Aren't you even the least bit curious about who sabotaged Mika's wedding?” Ron looked at his friends. “I figure it had to be an inside job.”
Harry just looked at Hermione. She always seemed to have all the answers.
“Well,” she sighed. “I agree that only someone inside the grounds could have smuggled the message in, but I doubt anyone here would have the knowledge or skill to cast such a curse.”
“What about Snape?” Harry almost growled.
“What about him? Remember the voice? That had to be the voice of the one who cast it and it was most definitely not his. Anyway,” Hermione sniffed, “haven't you seen the way he looks at Mika? Even if he hated Lupin, he would never harm Mika. Not like that.”
“I think you give him too much credit as a human being,” Ron mumbled. Hermione gave him a very disgusted look, but decided to save that lecture for another day.
“Well if not him, then who?” Harry pushed his glasses up on his nose.
Then Luna spoke up. “My father says that only the one responsible for creating a werewolf has any power over it. So I would guess, look for the one that turned Professor Lupin. There you will find the one that derailed the wedding.”
Hermione gave her a thoughtful look. “So you're saying it was sabotaged by another werewolf? The one that bit Lupin originally? But why?”
Luna shrugged. “Beats me.” She bent down to tie her left shoe, which was nothing like her right one, but at least she had shoes on.
“Well, whatever the reason, I'm worried about Mika. We haven't seen her at all today and it's nearly time for us to go.” Hermione hopped off the wall and headed towards the inside.
“Where are you goin'?” Ron called out, frowning.
“To check on her,” she answered simply.
“Don't you think she might need a little time to get over this though, without you butting in?” he countered.
Hermione looked at him in surprise and Harry had to stifle a giggle. “That can't possibly be Ron Weasley I hear, caring about someone else's feelings?” she sniped as his cheeks turned beet red. “She's my friend and she just might need someone to talk to, you know?” With a sniff and a flip of her wild hair, Hermione disappeared inside and headed up towards Mika's quarters.
Ron looked at Harry. “She might be right,” Harry shrugged. “Girls usually are about these things.”
Luna just grinned and stared straight up into the clouds.
* * * *
Hermione found Mika in her favourite place, in the clock tower, the huge pendulum swinging silently behind her. She was staring out of the window onto the courtyard and grounds below.
“I've been here since before sunrise, such as it was,” she said as the girl approached.
“How... oh yes, you saw my reflection in the glass,” Hermione reasoned out. “Stupid question, I know, but are you okay?”
“To be perfectly honest, I feel fine.” Her words came as somewhat of a shock to Hermione.
“But the wedding? Lupin?...” she questioned.
Mika sighed, her breath condensing upon the cold glass separating her from the world outside. “I know. It is strange, but somehow it all feels like it was just a dream. And now, having awakened, the memory soon fades.” She turned to face her young friend. “Odd don't you think?”
Hermione nodded. “If I didn't know better I'd say you had been under some sort of a spell.”
“Perhaps you're right,” the time lord shrugged. “But then if that is true, it begs the questions 'who?' and 'why?'”.
“Well,” the young witch pondered. “I can think of a few 'whos' but not many 'whys'. But tell me,” she hesitated. “Um, was any of it real to you? I mean, I don't doubt Lupin's feelings for you but what about yours?”
The time lord leaned her back against the glass and slid down to the floor, her knees drawn up to her chest. “Of course I was fond of him. I still am. I don't doubt my feelings were real at the time, but , I honestly don't feel anything now. At least not what one should feel at such a loss. I suppose I should be grateful for that.”
Hermione joined her friend against the glass and nodded in agreement. “So what happens now?”
After a moment's silent thought, Mika smiled and put her arm around her companion and gave her a gentle hug. “Life goes on, doesn't it? And I daresay we'll find out who is responsible for playing with others' feelings like this. Oh, I'm not so concerned for myself, but it was indeed a cruel thing to do to poor Remus. You know,” her smile faded as her eyes narrowed, “it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the same person was responsible for bringing us together as was for tearing us apart. It would make sense anyway.”
“In that case,” Hermione continued the thought, “whoever it was just used you as a means of exacting some sort of cruel trick or even revenge upon Lupin. Now who do we know that would hate him that much?”
They looked at each other. Mika gave a heavy sigh. “I can think of only one person, but I know for certain he was not responsible.”
Knowing full well to whom Mika was referring, Hermione did not look convinced, but if Mika was then that was good enough for her. “Then perhaps it was two people? One who thought Lupin should be happy with you, and another who was so desperate that they wanted you apart? Like, say, someone jealous of one of you?”
“Now that I would believe,” Mika nodded and climbed to her feet, holding her hand out to help Hermione up, “But you know, it doesn't really matter now does it? Shall we go downstairs so I can say goodbye for the summer?”
Hermione smiled and gave Mika hug, then the two friends headed downstairs.
After saying their goodbyes, Mika scribbled a short note for Dumbledore and left it in his office. Then she made her way as surreptitiously as she could and slipped inside her TARDIS and made her own exit for the summer. Not many were left in the huge old castle to hear the whining grinding sound of the time machine's engines as she left, but those that were knew what it meant. Most wondered when she would return... one of them wondered if.
