99 Chapter 118 & 119 - Meeting Again

"Cloud! Welcome!"

Cloud got pushed back by a young woman, stopping his body from falling over, glancing at her cheeky smile as she turned, grinning, "I told you two this boy will be a hottie when he grows up."

"We know," Aerith and Tifa sang in unison, and Tifa continued, "You have made your views over how right you were clear over the days."

"Cloud!"

Cloud looked over to Natasha, who weaved through a group of people, jumping into his arms. He gently hugged her while she hugged him tight, "I missed you."

She hastily got down from his arms, hugging Yelena, "I missed you even more!"

"We just saw each other in the—" Yelena covered her mouth, realizing that was a secret, not from others, but even from Cloud. She looked up at Cloud, grinning nervously, being obvious, "Nothing. We didn't see each—"

Natasha covered her mouth, pulling her along, "I'll take her to show around."

Tonks grinned, "That little one is so adorable, nowhere near as cunning as the redhead."

"You better not go and give her tips. Let's keep the little one that way," Tifa gave a warning look to Tonks.

"Yeah, yeah," Tonks put her arm around Cloud's shoulder, making him bend forward as she dragged him in, "Boy. You were going to make sure Gryffindor gets the trophy seven times in a row. You are only one five."

"Well, last year…."

"I don't care! You crushed me during my Captaincy! And now you broke your promise, so you better be ready for all the punishment I will dole out."

Cloud groaned but let her pull him; they met a few others still there along the way. He met with Sirius again, they had only met in passing, but he knew Lupin well. He was the one who taught him the most among all the DADA teachers.

"Hey, Cloud," Lupin hugged him, "I heard of your exploits, boy. You are doing well for yourself."

"Trying to," Cloud hugged him, "Right, I didn't know where to write the letter, so I was going to write to Dumbledore, but now that you are here…."

He stopped, looking at him, "I just cured someone bitten by a werewolf. So…if you want."

"Huh?" Lupin couldn't register for a moment, but Tonks started jumping for some reason, "Oh my god! Yes!! Yes! Yes, he would!!"

"Really! Can you do that?!" On the other side of the room, Sirius rushed over since he wasn't the only one who heard it. The room was silent for a moment, other than Tonks and him.

"I just said that I did," Cloud shot a look at him, making him stop in his tracks, and Lupin burst out in laughter.

He hugged him, "Haha, you are the same…you are the same…."

His laugh seemed like it would soon turn into tears as he pulled back, gripping Cloud's shoulder, "That's how I know…you aren't joking."

"Of course, I am not."

Lupin sniffled, "I…I don't know how to repay you…I don't think I can…ever."

Cloud scratched his cheek, looking anywhere but at him, "It's Christmas…so take it as my Christmas gift. You don't have to repay those…right?"

Lupin let out a sharp laugh, shaking his head, "Ha…No…No."

Though he said that, he fell on his knee, sobbing, with Sirius stroking his back, but unexpectedly to the most, Tonks got on her knees, pulling his collar to make Lupin face her, warning him through tears, "If you reject me now for any other reason. I will kill you."

Lupin abruptly kissed her, their tears touching each other's lips, and there were a few gasps in the room that was now crowded.

"Huh. Cloud made them cry. He always makes people cry; there was this grandmother and a boy who seemed a bit silly. He also made Uncle Murdock cry."

"Shh," Aerith covered her mouth; her shoulders shook from the laugh she was trying to hold back. It wasn't just her; there were more than a few people who tried to hold back the smile, mainly enjoying seeing Cloud so distressed.

Lupin couldn't continue to kiss Tonks; he fell back on his butt, laughing, "Hahaha."

"Come here," He looked over to Yelena, calling her over, and she did, taking permission from Aerith, who let go of her. He watched the little girl and pulled her in a hug, breathing out, "I am sure the ones he made cry had happy tears…just like I do."

"Happy tears…? Mm…Cloud made me cry like that…once. Even Big Sis cried."

"I did not," Natasha shouted with a light flush on her cheeks.

"Hahaha," Lupin patted her head, looking up at the roof and then at Tonks, "I want a child…hopefully as cute as her."

Tonks grinned, "Pretty forward for someone who wouldn't even kiss me before."

She blinked at him, "I'll think about it."

"All right!" Sirius raised his cheerful voice, "I say we have a feast today!! Kreacher!!! Kreacher!!!"

"Where did he go to now!"

Mrs. Weasley covered her ears, "Don't shout. I'll cook."

Cloud gave his hand to Lupin, "We should start. We'd be done way before dinner."

Lupin took his hand, "I can't wait."

"Can I watch?" Arthur was still bandaged even though Aerith removed the point and cured him of most injuries. Still, Molly wanted him bandaged, just in case, even though there was nothing to worry about.

"As long as you can make sure never to talk about it to anyone, ever."

"I'll watch. I'll die with that secret," Tonks grinned, and Arthur nodded, "Me as well."

"I am coming for sure," Sirus said.

"Ok, but no more," Cloud felt there were more who wanted to see it but refused. These people might be in order, but he wouldn't trust all of them as far as he could throw them. And he could throw them far.

Arthur and Tonks, he could, and Sirius could only trust him because of his experience, but the other few didn't want to, "A private room. Any would do."

"Over here," Sirius guided them up the stairs, where they came across Fred and George rushing down.

"Oh! It's!"

"Him!"

"Cloud!" They said in unison.

"Not now, boys," More than Lupin, Tonks, and Sirius pushed one away and went up the stairs, and Cloud looked back, "I'll see you soon."

A shine appeared in Fred and George's eyes, but before they could, their father, who had the same shine, warned them, "Stay away from this, both of you."

And then he climbed the stairs faster, excited to know the revolutionary cure.

"Tsk."

"Not fair."

"Not that ever stopped us."

"You will not," Hermione overheard them, warning since she knew what it was—The Cure.

"Oh, come on, Hermione."

"You don't think you can stop us, right?"

"No," Hermione narrowed her eyes, "But I will tell your mother."

The twins gasped, "You wouldn't!"

"I will!"

Inside the room, Cloud focused his attention on his sense; his sense of space allowed him to map the whole house if focused. Otherwise, it remained only about three to four meters around him.

"Kreacher, is your house elf?"

"Yeah. He must be somewhere around here, hiding in some corner. Anyway, forget about him. How are you going to do this?"

"It's simple, actually," Cloud put his hand in the inner pocket of his jacket, taking out a test tube with a drop of blood in it. He transfigured his glove into a syringe, taking in the drop of blood and taking Lupin's hand.

"This will hurt."

"I am not scared of a needle or two."

Cloud knelt in front of him, injecting the blood, and Lupin looked at him, "That al—"

He lurched over, trying to hold back, but the scream came out of his throat; thankfully for him, Cloud had already solidified the air to stop his scream from leaving the walls of this room.

"I wasn't talking about the needle," Cloud took the chair in the room, sitting down as he watched Lupin writhe in pain.

"Lupin!" Sirius tried to hug his friend, but Lupin attacked him, nearly slapping him away. Only they pulled away.

"What did you do? Why is he in so much pain?" Tonks hugged Lupin's head, even though he was savagely pushing her.

"You have Metamorphmagus, right?" Cloud looked at Tonks, who nodded, and Cloud's hair turned black, "Well, I have something similar, and a few dozen other Magical Powers like that."

"Not the right time to brag," Tonks would have been impressed if she wasn't worried about Lupin. Arthur nodded, agreeing with her, but his eyes were fixed on Lupin.

"Not bragging. One of them…someone named it Perfect Graft. It allows me to replicate DNA and take it back to gain a particular Trait. If I give you my blood, then it will replicate Metamorphmagus. When I take my blood out, which I can because of my connection with it, and another of such Magical Powers that all my DNA will always find its way back to me by controlling the mind of the ones it had been implanted in. Anyway, I will have that trait when I take it out."

"You are replicating? Why?" Arthur muttered.

Cloud shook his head, "I can't just replicate, but I can also destroy the DNA or a part of it. Though it's unnecessary in most cases since it would kill a normal person, here it's destroying that trait or a part of it from inside, Professor."

"The Werewolf part?"

"Well…yes and no…I am leaving the parts like Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and senses and making them a basic part of his structure. It'd help him stay alive. He's in pain…because all of his body is being strengthened and torn apart simultaneously."

Sirius finally managed to hold him down, but after hearing Cloud, he felt Lupin's strength grow with every growl or scream.

"A little longer," Tonks caressed his hair, wishing he'd stop feeling this pain, "Just a little longer."

She bit her teeth, seeing him in pain, "I'd rather he stay a Werewolf!"

Cloud took in her angry look and walked away, "I'll tell them to cook more…he'd be famished."

He opened the space in the airbox, walked out, and shut it as soon as possible. He opened the door, only to find Hermione outside, waiting, and he closed the door, "Thank you…."

Hermione nodded, "I heard a scream?"

"Yeah, this part is painful," Cloud nodded, "Can you tell them to cook more for him?"

"Mm," Hermione was about to leave when she stopped, confused, "Can't you give him anesthetic drugs or something? My Mom and Dad give them. I feel nothing in my teeth."

"I want to say I didn't think about that, but having external substance when changing the genetics of the whole body…especially something like anesthetics might cause that to become permanent. He'd never be able to feel pain…or anything. And then we'd have to go through this all over again."

"Oh, right, sorry."

Cloud gazed at her back, "It was a good idea. I didn't think of it until a week or two later."

Hermione looked back, and a beautiful smile appeared on her lips as she ran back to him, "Ok. Then I have one more suggestion. Ever thought of trying it on yourself? Using Anesthetics on you when you take the blood back?"

Cloud looked thoughtful and patted her head, with a short smile on his lips, "I didn't think of that. It should work."

Hermione pecked his lips, grinning brightly, "I'll tell them to cook more."

Cloud watched her rush down the stairs with slight worry that she'd fall if she kept running this fast.

"Lying to girls now?"

He leaned against the wall, hearing Lucrecia shaking his head, 'It's better if she thinks she solved the problem and I won't feel pain again than having her worry about it. She might even tell them…and that'd be a problem.'

"What about System Log?"

'I blocked it. Just in case.'

"They wouldn't like that."

'I am fine with that.'

It wasn't long, only for a minute or two longer than Lupin felt this pain, though that might have been hell for him; once the pain was gone, a soothing feeling came from the changes. Cloud's palm faced him, and the drop of blood flowed backward to his finger and, coming out of it, fell in Cloud's palm. He put it in the glass tube and the tube back in his jacket's pocket.

He looked at Lupin, "Sorry…congratulations."

"Wait," Lupin said between breaths, but Cloud had already left by then, "Ah…that boy…he always takes these things to heart. This pain…it's nothing compared to being ostracized my whole life."

"I'll go after him," Arthur did as he said.

"Yeah, that's my fault," Tonks scratched her cheek, nervous, "He might have gotten an idea that I was angry at him and didn't appreciate what he did."

Lupin looked at her, "How might he have gotten that idea?"

"Oh, I'll apologize later!" Tonks grinned, "Want to make babies now?"

Sirius cleared his throat, reminding them he was there too, "After the feast? Do whatever you want. For now…."

He hugged Lupin, "Congratulations, my friend."

"Haha," Soon, they went down the stairs, though the food was nowhere ready; even with the magic, Lupin got busy, and the children came one after the other. He realized the changes in his body and showed off his Super strength, among other new abilities. They even tried to time his running speed.

The whole house was in a celebratory mood, and it seemed like Christman more than it did the whole day.

"Still upset," While others were happily playing around, talking, and laughing, Tonks walked over to Cloud, who was watching others.

"I am not upset…I get where you are coming from," He raised the glass, drinking butterbeer, "I am…glad that he's ok…but seeing everyone so happy…it worries me."

"Worry you?"

"Yeah…that something might go wrong…and this happy feeling would be snatched away."

Tonks gripped his arm, and he felt her palm and fingers tremble, making him look up at her face, "You are not the only one…I am scared too. Scared. That's why we fight…to protect this happiness."

Tonks raised her body on her toes, kissing his cheek, "Thank you, kiddo. Best Christmas gift ever."

She grinned, "I even forgive you for not winning the cup seven times."

Cloud looked away, smiling, and he raised his eyes to see her rush up and jump into Lupin's arms, "Why we fight…."

He muttered, looking at the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, but mainly at Velena, Natasha, Tifa, and Aerith, "Yeah…I'll protect…this happiness."

Though, the next day, they all seemed hungover from being too happy and talked about everyday things, "I heard something happened at the hospital yesterday. Something big, anyone heard about that?"

"Well, everyone thinks I am still injured, so I got no calls," Mr. Weasley laughed since he was pretending to be hurt to get a break.

Cloud chewed on the crunchy toast, "You must be talking about Bode…I don't remember his first name."

"The Unspeakable Bode?"

"Broderick Bode?"

"What happened to him?"

"From what I can judge, it was Imperius Curse. The interesting thing was that someone gifted him Devil's Snare. I only noticed it when I went to treat him, the nurse took it as Fitterbloom, and it wasn't her fault. You can't imagine that someone would gift Devil Snare."

"Someone tried to kill Unspeakable Bode?" Mr. Weasley's eyes were as wide as they could be.

"You are surprised about that part?" Moody's eyes moved in the socket, "He was under Imperius Curse?"

"Yeah."

"Shut up, all of you," Molly patted the table, looking at Cloud, "What do you mean when you went to treat him? Are you trying to cure the after-effects of the Imperius Curse?"

"Right, Cloud, are you?" Tifa narrowed her eyes, hearing this for the first time.

Cloud stopped eating, hesitating, "Not curing it. I only rearrange their memories, save them in a place, and make them rewatch them in the correct order. It helps them know what is real and what's not. Though it only helps those who are mildly damaged."

"So you did listen to me after all," Aerith grinned, only Cloud ignored her, "Right. It was Lucius Malfoy who used the Imperius Curse."

"I am not surprised," Ron muttered aloud, but he didn't get scolded. Most others in the room agreed with him.

"How's Bode now?"

"They called the Ministry. I had to run since I don't want others to know that I am treating a few people there, gaining a few favors just in case of a need in the future."

Tonks curled her lips, "He seems so grown up. You must be proud."

"Ah, I am," Aerith grinned.

"Shut up."