FIC: Once in a Blue Moon - Ch 27 (WIP)
Start of the story, including summary, full ratings, warnings, pairings etc. Here
Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognise. J K Rowling retains all copyright.
Dreams Are Never Free (PG13 for mild violence)
The stack of letters requiring his attention seemed to be never ending. No sooner had Remus replied to all those in the first pile, than another one seemed to appear. Rita seemed to be delighted to get them off her hands and brought him more every day. It probably wasn’t helping that so many students had taken the school newsletter home with them for the holidays.
Unfortunately for Remus, not all of them were simply from people asking how he was doing and expressing their sympathy for his situation. There were plenty that appeared at first glance to be supportive, but when you read between the lines they were far less so. Some were even openly hostile.
“Don’t let them get to you,” Sirius told Remus as he pulled the latest of these letters out of his hand and tossed it across the room. “You’re at Hogwarts and there’s nothing the complainers can do about it.”
Remus stood up and walked across the room to retrieve the letter. “You know that’s not true.” He straightened out the parchment again and picked up a blank sheet to begin his reply. “What do you think is the politest way I can tell them to mind their own business?”
“By not replying at all.”
Remus shook his head and sighed. “Have you heard from your mother again?”
“Yeah, her reply arrived this morning.”
“What did she say?”
“Don’t know, I’ve not read it yet.” Sirius nodded towards the bedside table, indicating that Remus could read it for himself if he liked. Remus, ever the procrastinator, put down the letter he was about to reply to and went to read Walburga Black’s reply instead.
“The usual rubbish?” Sirius asked a minute or two later.
“Yeah,” muttered Remus, his face dark with suppressed fury as he walked over to the fireplace and tossed the parchment into the flames.
“Hey! I do still have to write back eventually.”
Remus didn’t bother to try to retrieve the letter. Instead he walked across the room and pulled Sirius into a tight hug. “I’m sorry you’re family is like they are,” he whispered.
Sirius didn’t reply as he watched his mother’s letter burn to ash in the grate of the common room fire. He wondered what she had written before realising that it didn’t really matter. He could guess what she had to say to him and he didn’t want to hear it any more. He would stay friends with Remus whether his parents liked it or not. They were in London and he was in Scotland; it wasn’t like they could do anything about it.
-o-xXx-o-
Sirius and Remus found they had Gryffindor Tower all to themselves during the holidays. They got used to leaving their things lying around in the common room and taking the best seats closest to the fire. They often talked long into the night as there was no need to get up early the next morning and there was no reminder from anyone else as to how late the hour was.
Remus had nodded off to sleep on the sofa half an hour beforehand and Sirius was staring into the dying embers of the fire, his own eyelids drooping occasionally.
“You should go up to bed,” Romulus suggested as he drifted through the door. “You both look exhausted.”
“I’m not that tired,” Sirius lied, yawning widely and prompting a laugh from Romulus.
“Really though, you should get to bed. The rest of the school comes back tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to wake him up,” Sirius replied with a nod towards the sofa.
“Then don’t.” Romulus sat down on the arm of the sofa and looked down at his brother with a smile. “Just because he’s sleeping on the sofa, it doesn’t mean you have to sleep in the chair.”
“I don’t like to leave him on his own.”
Romulus sighed. “Remus can take care of himself for a few hours,” he pointed out. “You can’t watch over him all the time.”
“He needs someone to watch over him. He’s pushing himself too hard.”
“He’s got me to keep an eye on him.”
“But you’re not here all the time, you come and go from Merlin knows where…”
“No one can be with another person twenty four hours a day, not even me…and certainly not you. Remus needs to learn to take care of himself and stand on his own two feet.”
“I like taking care of him.”
“That’s not the point. Remus has always wanted to come to Hogwarts and a part of being at Hogwarts is growing up and maturing. Remus will be fifteen in a few months and he still acts like he’s twelve half the time.”
“Just because we’ve pulled a few pranks and got some detentions...”
“That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the fact he shadows you all the time and doesn’t seem to know how precarious his position here at the school is.”
“He knows he could be kicked out any time, if that’s what you mean?”
“He does?”
“Of course he does. Why do you think he’s been replying to all the parents who’ve written in after seeing Rita Skeeter’s newsletter? He’s trying to prove to them all that he’s not dangerous, and that their kids are safe with him here.”
“Those that have taken the trouble to write aren’t the ones he should be worried about. I’d be more concerned about those who are watching silently and waiting for him to slip up and make a mistake.”
“He won’t.”
“You don’t know what he’d do without you watching over him all the time.”
“He wouldn’t do anything to risk losing his place here. You say he acts like he’s still twelve, but you’re wrong. He’s really changed since he’s been accepted. Even with all the pranks, he’s keeping up with his schoolwork. His grades are getting good; they’re better than at least half the year. He’s even talking about trying out for the Quidditch team next year.”
Romulus waited quietly until Sirius had reached the end of his speech in defence of Remus. He turned to Remus and moved as though brushing a hand over his hair. “I guess my baby brother’s growing up after all,” he replied quietly. “I just wish he’d be a little more careful and learn to take care of himself more. You can’t be there for him forever.”
Sirius stood up and walked towards the sofa. He sat down on the floor and looked at Remus fondly. “Maybe not,” he said. “But I can be here for him now.” He caught the quick tilt of Remus’s lips and realised that the other boy had woken up at some point during his discussion with Romulus.
“I just worry about him,” Romulus explained. “How’s he going to cope when you’re not around?”
“He’ll muddle through the same way I do.”
Remus opened one eye and looked at Sirius and his brother mischievously.
“How long have you been awake?” Romulus asked suspiciously.
“Long enough,” Remus admitted, turning his head so that he could look up at his brother properly. “You shouldn’t worry so much about me. I’m not a child any more. You said it yourself: I’m nearly fifteen. I’m studying hard and you can ask any of the teachers about my grades. In fact, I bet you’ve already spoken to them all. I’m not going to risk getting kicked out of here. I don’t care what it takes to stay here; I’ll do anything. I’ll give up my Christmas holidays to reply to all these owls. I’ll live in the library next year if I have to. Whatever it takes to appear normal and safe like the rest of the students are…that’s what I’ll do.”
Romulus nodded quietly as Remus spoke, the younger boy getting louder and louder with each word.
“I’d never do anything that would get me kicked out of here!” Remus declared. “I’m not some stupid kid any more!”
Romulus reached out to try to calm Remus, but his hand went straight through him. Sirius climbed up onto the sofa and placed one of his own hands on Remus’s shoulder. The other boy drew in a deep breath at the contact and shook his head as though to shake off the last remnants of his temper.
Romulus looked thoughtful as he contemplated the two boys sitting in front of him. “Okay, Remus. I’ll back off a little and leave you to make your own decisions. You say you’ve grown up and I’ll give you the chance to prove it.”
“Thanks, Rom.”
Romulus nodded and grinned. “Now, bedtime,” he ordered, clearly unable to help himself.
Remus stood up and smiled at his brother. “Just so you know…I’m going to bed because I’ve also decided it’s past time I went up to the dorm, not because you told me to.”
Romulus laughed and shook his head as Remus turned towards the dorms, calling goodnight over his shoulder as he started to make his way up the stairs.
“Just so you know…” Sirius repeated with a smirk.
Romulus laughed as Sirius stood up to go to bed as well. “Oh, get out of here.”
-o-xXx-o-
“Are you sure we’re allowed to go to the camp during the holidays?” Sirius asked. Not that it would make any difference if they weren’t, they were already well on their way. It was just handy to know whether they should be sneaking back into Hogwart’s or not.
“I don’t know,” Remus replied. “But I’ve not seen Firenze for ages and I’m worried. If I ask and McGonagall says no, she’ll be keeping a close eye on me in case I try to sneak out.”
“At least he can live in the camp again,” Sirius commented as they trudged along the muddy path. “That’s good, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know. On the one hand, it means he doesn’t have to hunt for his food all the time and can live in one of the huts, instead on living rough.”
“But…?”
“But at what price?” Remus replied.
Sirius didn’t know. Neither of them did.
It was slow going, but neither of them had any place else they needed to be and they knew they could take their time.
The centaurs didn’t celebrate Christmas, although they did hold festivals and celebrations for the coming of the New Year. That being the case, it was these preparations that Remus and Sirius arrived just in time to help out with.
“We can always do with a couple more pairs of hands,” Magorian stated. “Even if they are merely human hands.”
Sirius scowled, but Remus stated that he was happy to help out and cheerfully wandered over towards where Firenze was standing waving at them.
“You’re looking more cheerful than the last time we saw you,” Remus said.
“There’s a new year upon us,” Firenze replied.
“And?” Remus asked, sensing something else had happened.
“And Ebony and Magorian are bonded.”
“Is that good news?” Sirius asked. He was far less knowledgeable about the ins and outs of the centaur tribe and wasn’t entirely sure this was a good thing.
“It’s good news when it means less earache for those of us who have to live with the whining mare,” Firenze replied with a wink. “But from the point of view of regaining my birthright, no, this isn’t really good news. Now, with this bonding, the last remaining stallions who were opposed to Magorian being chief are coming around. They’re being talked around by their own mares, who Ebony had already won to her side with her talk of equal rights. Ebony has my father’s blood in her veins and is bonded to Magorian. The mares see her as some sort of pioneer, ruling the herd through Magorian.”
“Is she?” Remus asked.
“No. But the stallions who were thinking of challenging Magorian are letting the mares convince them it is. That way it isn’t so bad. Instead of opposing the centaur who murdered my father, they can say they are supporting my father’s daughter.”
“You sound like you don’t think you’re going to get the leadership back?”
“Sometimes I don’t think I will.”
“Does it bother you? Will you be very disappointed if you don’t?”
“It’s not my disappointment that worries me,” Firenze replied. “It’s my father’s.”
“Can anyone ever live up to the expectations of their father?” Sirius asked quietly.
Firenze looked at one boy and then the other. “Good point,” he said with a smile. “Now, are you two going to help us get ready to bring in the New Year, or are you just here for the food?”
“Just the food,” Remus replied as Sirius nodded in agreement.
Firenze laughed and set them to work.
The two boys weren’t able to sneak out on New Year’s Day; much to their annoyance, Professor McGonagall was keeping a suspiciously close eye on them. They did find that they both received gifts from Firenze, a new set of arrows for Remus and a large collection of herbs and instructions on how to use them for Sirius.
Both boys resolved to put their presents to good use as soon as they could. Sirius succeeded in making several successful potions with his herbs. Remus, after an incident involving several older Slytherin students, the portrait of Wilfred the Wanderer, and Mrs Norris, found his bow and arrows secured safely in Professor McGonagall’s office and himself in detention once again.
-o-xXx-o-
The winter turned to spring and with the warmer weather came the reminders that exams were fast approaching. The teachers were working the students harder than ever and even though the O.W.L.s were a year away, the four Gryffindor boys were spending more and more time studying and far less time pulling pranks…much to the relief of students and teachers alike.
Remus also found that as the months passed by the teachers were watching him far less closely. At first he thought that he had simply got used to them monitoring him so closely. Then he suddenly realised that they weren’t watching him at all. For the first time since arriving at Hogwarts, he felt like just another student.
“Guess you’ve proved yourself,” James commented with a wide grin. “Which is great news for those of us you like to call your friends, since it means they aren’t watching any of us as closely as they were before either.”
The rest of the boys nodded in agreement of this assessment and were soon plotting ever more spectacular magical mischief.
Of course, with the good came the bad, and it soon became apparent that there was also a downside to the less frequent presence of the staff, something Remus found out one April evening as he returned from the library.
“Looks like they’ve let Dumbledore’s pet werewolf off its leash,” a sneering voice announced from the top of the staircase that Remus was climbing.
Remus halted halfway up the stairs and saw that three Ravenclaw students were blocking the landing. They were all older than he was, sixth years if his guess was correct, and each of the three boys was quite physically larger too. He was fairly certain that one of them was a beater on the house Quidditch team.
He continued up the stairs, refusing to turn round and take the longer route back to Gryffindor Tower. He had lost track of time and unless he took the shortest route back to the common room, he knew he would be late for curfew.
“Excuse me, please?” he asked as he reached the landing.
“Got a question for you,” one of the Ravenclaws commented instead. “Thought you could help us out with a special Defence project.”
Remus frowned slightly. Defence Against the Dark Arts was his best subject by far, but he had no doubt that he was still far less knowledgeable than any of the NEWT students.
“Cat got your tongue?” the apparent leader of the group asked. “Or should it be the wolf?”
Remus tried to side step around him, but he had gone no more than a pace when a flash of white drew him to a halt. The knife was made of bone and pointed right at his throat.
Remus’s eyes darted to the paintings on the wall, but he quickly realised that the Ravenclaws had chosen the place of their ambush very well. There was not a single portrait on the landing, only landscapes and animals.
“Like I said,” the Ravenclaw continued, as though Remus hadn’t tried to brush him off and he hadn’t pulled a knife on him. “We thought you could help us with a little project.”
Remus nodded slowly and reluctantly.
“That’s better. You like this?” He nodded to the knife, still at Remus’s throat.
Remus shrugged slightly.
“You’ll notice it isn’t silver. We’ve seen you using the silver cutlery in the Great Hall and know that one’s an old wives tale. But, we wanted to find out about one of the other myths, find out if it was true or not.”
“Which one?” Remus whispered.
“The one that says wounds inflicted by werewolves never heal.”
Remus reached down and pulled up his right sleeve, revealing a thin white scar. “That answer your question?”
“You could have got that anywhere, but not got it treated quick enough to have it heal completely,” the second Ravenclaw suggested.
“It was healed as much as possible,” Remus replied. “If you don’t believe me, I can’t help you.”
The leader chuckled and shook his head. “Oh, you can help us all right. This knife was carved from the bone of a werewolf. My dad gave it to me just after he read you were coming here to Hogwarts. He said he wanted me to be able to protect myself and what better way to fight off a werewolf than with a werewolf bone knife?”
“But, we don’t know if it’s genuine or a fake,” the second Ravenclaw added.
“I say it’s a fake,” the third one announced.
“So, we’re going to test it,” the first stated. “Not on ourselves of course, that would be pretty stupid. But since you’re a werewolf no one will notice a new scar amongst those you already have.”
“I’m not going to let you slice me up with that thing,” Remus snapped.
“You can’t stop us. Not without us screaming to the teachers that we were attacked by the werewolf whilst he was human. And you know what would happen if we did that?”
Remus was trapped, completely, totally and utterly. He took a step back, feeling for the top step of the staircase. Missing his curfew was the least of his problems; he would take the long route and be thankful if all he got out of the evening was another detention.
“Oh no you don’t,” the Ravenclaw with the knife warned and Remus felt the cut of the knife as it sliced across his face. His hand shot to his face and he felt the warmth of the blood as it trickled from the shallow cut. He stepped backwards, blindly reaching for the staircase railings with his free hand.
It was only when he felt the empty space beneath his feet that he realise the staircase had rotated away from him whilst he’d been on the landing.
Tumbling backwards he fell, his scream echoing through the corridors as he plummeted down. He felt the pain of the impact as he hit solid ground, then everything went black.
-o-xXx-o-
“I’ve been saying for years that those staircases are an accident waiting to happen!”
“Rowena Ravenclaw’s moving staircases were the magical achievement of the century when they were built.”
“They’re far too dangerous to be in a school.”
Remus recognised the arguing voices as those of Professors McGonagall and Flitwick. For a long moment he wondered what had happened, then he remembered. The staircase had moved and he’d fallen.
He wondered how he’d managed to survive the fall at all. He’d been high up and he’d fallen for such a long time. Or maybe it had just seemed like a long time…it was difficult to tell.
“I think he’s awake,” Madam Pomfrey said in a low voice. “Remus?”
Remus opened his eyes and turned his head towards the healer. His cheek brushed against the pillow and he felt a stinging pain as the fabric made contact with his damaged cheek.
“Don’t try to move,” Poppy warned him as she pointed her wand at his face and murmured a spell.
“I don’t know why you’re trying that spell again,” McGonagall muttered impatiently. “If it didn’t work the first dozen times…you need to try something new.”
“I don’t understand why it isn’t working,” Poppy replied, equally impatiently. “Every other cut and bruise he got has healed fine, but this one is just not co-operating. If I didn’t know better I’d have sworn it was self inflicted during the full moon.”
Remus felt his face flushing as Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey stared at him, waiting for any explanation he might be able to offer. He squirmed slightly and tried to sit up.
“Lie back down,” Poppy ordered. “You took quite a tumble there. You’ve very lucky you only fell two floors before your fall was broken by another staircase.”
Only two floors? It had seemed like so much more.
“Can I go back to the dorm?” Remus asked.
“Certainly not. You’re staying here until tomorrow morning. I may even keep you in here for a day or two longer if you don’t lie still and do as you’re told.”
“My friends…they’ll be wondering where I am.”
“They know where you are,” McGonagall told him. “Mr Black has been waiting outside the doors for the last few hours. Adamantly refused to go back to the dormitory when I told him to.”
“You couldn’t make him go?” Remus asked.
“He’s cast a permanent sticking charm on his shoes,” McGonagall muttered, although Remus could detect a hint of begrudging admiration in her tone.
“He didn’t?” Remus grinned up at his head of house.
“The only way to get him out of those shoes without his co-operation would be too risky. He’d probably end up in the next bed with injuries of his own.”
“Can I see him?”
“Not yet,” replied Poppy, in between tutting over her lack of success at getting the scratch on Remus’s face to disappear.
Remus frowned sulkily but didn’t argue. He knew there would be no point. Poppy Pomfrey was in her ‘mother hen’ mode, and until she was done there would be nothing happening in the hospital wing without her approval.
Finally, she nodded to Professor McGonagall to tell Sirius he could come into the room for a few minutes.
Professor Flitwick disappeared out of the door, muttering about staircases and clumsy students. Remus heard his squeak of annoyance as Sirius apparently barrelled into him as he skidded into the room, his shoeless feet sliding on the polished stone floor.
“What happened?” Sirius asked after he’d given Remus the once over and assured himself that he was okay.
“The staircase moved,” Remus muttered, his face flushing in embarrassment.
Sirius shot a look towards Madam Pomfrey’s office before turning back to Remus with a glare. “They’ve always moved and you know it. What really happened?”
“Someone got me with a werewolf knife,” Remus whispered. “But you can’t tell anyone. Promise me you won’t breathe a word.”
“What’s a werewolf knife?”
Remus explained what it was and Sirius listened in horror as he looked at the new scar that was adorning Remus’s face. He sat on the edge of the bed and reached up to trace his finger along the scar, carefully avoiding touching it. “You’ve got to tell Madam Pomfrey.”
“You promised you wouldn’t say anything.”
Sirius didn’t bother to point out that he hadn’t actually promised anything of the sort. He wanted to call Madam Pomfrey from her office, but one look into Remus’s pleading brown eyes and he was nodding his agreement to keep quiet.
“Is it really bad?” Remus whispered, even though he knew the answer already. A wound from a werewolf would never truly heal, no matter how it was inflicted.
“You’ll have to practice those concealing charms that Romulus keeps on pestering you about.”
“He’s not been hassling me about them since I came here,” Remus reminded him. “It was mainly so I could blend in with the rest of the world without being recognised as an on the run werewolf. Now I’m not wanted by the Ministry of Magic there’s no need…”
“Except for vanity,” Sirius interjected.
“I’m not vain,” Remus huffed, folding his arms across his chest and scowling at his friend. “I know I’m nothing much to look at.”
“Who told you that?” Sirius asked with a frown of his own. It was on the tip of his tongue to say that he thought Remus was gorgeous, but he couldn’t quite pluck up the courage to say it out loud.
“I’m a teenage werewolf who has nearly ten years of scars already. The girls aren’t exactly beating a path to my door.”
Sirius snorted and shook his head. “First of all, most of your scars are hidden under your clothes, and you know it. As for the girls, they’re not exactly queuing up for any of us Gryffindor fourth years. Peter thinks we’ve pulled too many pranks on them, so now they’re just running when they see us coming.”
Remus smiled slightly. “But, still…”
“But nothing,” Sirius scolded. “The girls won’t care if you’ve got a little scratch on your face. They’ll probably think it’s all sexy and cool. Girls like that sort of stuff.”
“Girls are stupid,” Remus muttered, his hand wandering up to touch the scratch again. “Madam Pomfrey’s keeping me in overnight. Did you learn any concealing charms?”
“Sure.”
“Um…”
“What?”
“Would you be able to…you know…hide it for tonight?”
Sirius smiled and pulled out his wand. “Sure.” He spoke the spell that would conceal the wound from the eyes of anyone who looked upon Remus Lupin. It would only last a few hours, but he would make sure that he was around to cast it again whenever it was necessary.
“Remus, what about those Ravenclaws? You can’t let them get away with this?”
“It’ll only get worse if you tell the professors,” Remus pointed out. “Other kids will see me as a telltale. Besides, McGonagall and the others will be watching me closely again now. It’ll soon be forgotten.”
“But they can’t get away with it!”
“What good will telling tales do?” Remus asked. “Just let it go.”
“Okay, I won’t tell the teachers,” Sirius agreed. “But we can’t let them get away with it. We have to do something!”
“We will,” Remus replied with quiet determination. “I’m thinking about that list of pranks that James has been concocting all year.”
“You mean the ones we’ve all been pulling all year?”
Remus shook his head. “No, I mean the list of the ones we’ve told him are too dangerous and risky.”
“Which one do you have in mind?”
“I don’t know, but I’m not going to let them get away with this.” Remus lifted his hand towards his face and he looked warily at Sirius. “You don’t have to help me, not if you don’t want to.”
Sirius took Remus’s hand in his own. “Do you even need to ask?” he whispered. “I’ll take a look at James’s list tonight and whatever you decide, we’ll help you do it.”
-o-xXx-o-
“How is he?” Peter asked as soon as Sirius walked into the dormitory.
“He’ll be okay.”
“How did he manage to fall from the stairs?” James asked incredulously. “I’ve never heard of anyone doing anything so stupid before.”
“He got cornered by a bunch of Ravenclaws,” Sirius explained. “They attacked him with a werewolf knife and when he backed up from them he fell.”
“They’ll be expelled for sure,” Peter whispered.
“No, they won’t.”
“Why not? They can’t just attack another student like that. He could have died.”
“Remus won’t tell the teachers who it was.”
“You mean he’s going to let them get away with it?” James asked. “He doesn’t seem to me to be the type to just let bullies get away with it.”
Sirius smirked at him; silently reminding James that he knew first hand that this was indeed the case.
Peter, who was a little faster on the uptake on this occasion, realised what James had not. “He’s going to get revenge himself, isn’t he?”
Sirius nodded. “He wants to do one of the pranks from the ‘too dangerous’ list.”
“Really?” James looked at him in surprise, but wasted little time in pulling the list from the bottom of his trunk. “Which one?” He scanned the list quickly. “Most of these were focusing on the Slytherins and their quarters. Never thought we’d want to pull anything like this on one of the other houses.”
“Never thought that it’d be the Ravenclaws who’d attack Remus either,” Sirius muttered.
“What’s that?”
Sirius jumped as Romulus appeared in the dormitory.
“Well?” Romulus asked. “What’s this about Ravenclaws attacking Remus?”
“Three of them cornered him with a werewolf knife,” Sirius explained. “He fell from one of the staircases and they sliced up his face.”
Romulus didn’t say anything as he took off through the nearest wall in the direction of the hospital wing.
The three boys were still contemplating the list of pranks, and considering which ones could be adapted to be used in Ravenclaw Tower instead of the Slytherin dungeons, when Romulus reappeared.
“You can put the list away boys,” he advised. “I’ve spoken with Remus and it won’t be needed.”
“You’ve talked him out of revenge?” James asked.
“I thought you’d be all up for it,” Sirius added. “You’d let these gits get away with it? What happened to doing anything to protect your baby brother? What happened to tracking down anyone who hurt him?” What happened to making anyone who hurt him pay for it?”
“Oh, they’ll pay for it,” Romulus hissed. “Won’t they?” He turned around and Sirius saw that they had more company than he had first realised.
Sir Nicholas, the Fat Friar and the Grey Lady of Ravenclaw were right behind Romulus and looking as furious as any of the boys had ever seen them.
“A disgrace to the school,” the Friar muttered. “That’s what they are.”
“Three against one,” Sir Nicholas added. “Highly unfair and the mark of cowardice.”
“What do you plan on doing?” Sirius asked.
“We’re going to haunt them,” Romulus said with a grim smile. “For every waking moment as long as they are here at Hogwart’s, they will be trailed by one of the school ghosts.”
“At least until they confess what they have done this night,” Sir Nicholas explained.
“We will be acting as their consciences,” the Friar explained.
“They won’t get a minute of peace,” Romulus insisted.
“So, you’re all going to haunt them and torment them until they confess, and once they do they’ll be expelled for sure.” Sirius smiled to himself. It was a fitting revenge and far better than the juvenile pranks they had been plotting.
The three Ravenclaws held out for less than a month before the first one cracked. After that the other two were quickly brought before the Headmaster and were immediately expelled from Hogwart’s.
Remus had not seen any of them since the night on the stairs, but he did watch them leave in one of the school carriages from his seat at the common room window of Gryffindor Tower.
He hoped that these three would be the last of the bullies he would have to face at Hogwart’s, and that Dumbledore’s swift punishment would be a warning to others not to try the same thing again.
He raised a hand to his face and traced the invisible scar.
“They’re gone now,” Sirius commented from across the table. “They won’t hurt you again.”
“What’s to stop someone else trying it though?”
“We won’t let them,” Sirius whispered harshly. “I won’t let them. No one’s going to hurt you again, not if Sirius Black has anything to say about it.”
Remus smiled softly and turned back to his essay, but he couldn’t help wondering how long it would be before he was once again on his own and there was no Sirius to protect him.
-o-xXx-o-
Two weeks later and Remus knew that he could put it off no longer. Sirius had been painstakingly casting the concealing charm every morning, reinforcing it at lunchtime and again before dinner. As such, Remus had no idea of the extent of the damage the werewolf knife had done.
He slipped from the Gryffindor dormitory and down the corridor to the bathroom. None of the other boys were awake yet; it was far too early in the morning for them. He crept into the bathroom and approached the mirrors from the side. The side of his face that bore his injury was turned away from the mirrors and Remus steeled himself to turn and look himself in the face.
The scratch wasn’t deep, but it was clearly visible and stretched from his temple, down his cheek and towards his chin. He raised a tentative hand upwards and gently touched the wound.
“Finally decided to take a look at it?” a voice behind him asked.
Remus jumped, startled and turned to face his brother.
“It’s not as bad as all that,” Romulus continued as he looked appraisingly at the scratch.
“I’ll never get rid of it though, will I?” Remus turned back to the mirror, rather than face the truth that he could see in his brother’s eyes.
He pulled out his wand and pointed it at his face, his mind scrambling for the appropriate words for the charm.
“Oooh, that looks awful!” a gleeful female voice declared as she swooped towards him for a closer inspection.
Remus jumped backwards, his hand rising reflectively to cover his face. “Who are you?” he asked.
“This is Myrtle,” Romulus said. “She usually haunts one of the girls’ bathrooms downstairs.”
“Not always,” Myrtle replied with a coy smile towards the older Lupin brother. “I’ve been looking for you for hours.”
“What for?” Remus asked even as his brother edged his way towards the door.
Myrtle ignored him as she moved towards Romulus. “We’re the only ghosts here in Hogwart’s who’ve been dead less than fifty years. We’ve got so much in common, both dying so tragically young. Don’t you agree?”
Remus couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Romulus looking so alarmed. A small smile threatened to escape as Myrtle moved even closer to his brother. “Rom, is there something you’re not telling me?” Remus asked with a smirk.
“Remus…” Romulus shot him a warning glare.
Remus’s grin was about to blossom into full blown laughter.
“There’s a lovely romantic spot at the far side of the lake,” Myrtle suggested. “I saw it when I got flushed out of the castle last month. No one ever goes there.”
“I’m too old for you,” insisted Romulus, his voice barely more than a panicked squeak.
“I died before you were even born,” Myrtle pointed out with a smile. “That makes me older than you, and time doesn’t mean as much when you’re a ghost. The years just drift together…long, lonely years.”
“She has a point,” Remus teased. “I’d hate for you to be lonely.”
Myrtle shot him a grateful look and Romulus immediately took advantage of her distraction to make his escape, shooting a dirty look at Remus before he disappeared through the wall.
Myrtle looked disappointed, but followed after him, leaving Remus to fall to the floor in borderline hysterical laughter. Eventually the laughter died down, although the tears of mirth continued to fall for a much longer time.
That was how Sirius and James found him a short while later when they had finally emerged from the dormitory.
“Remus? Are you all right?” Sirius asked as he hurried to his side. “Why didn’t you wait for me to cast the concealing charm?”
“It’s not as bad as all that,” James added, looking at the scar for the first time.
Remus shook his head as tears continued to stream down his face.
Sirius sat down beside him and put an arm around Remus’s shoulders. “Don’t cry, Remus,” he pleaded. “It’s not that noticeable, really.”
“I’m okay,” Remus gasped. He rested his head on Sirius’s shoulder as the tears of laughter continued to fall. “I’m not upset.”
Once Remus had recovered enough to talk properly he explained the reason for his laughter and the source of his tears.
James grinned widely and Sirius chuckled. They were in complete agreement with Remus that the idea of Myrtle having set her sights on Romulus Lupin was certainly cause for amusement.
“Maybe we should set them up?” James suggested wickedly.
“I don’t think Rom will let you,” Remus pointed out. “Though it would be fun to try. I don’t remember him ever having a girlfriend.”
“Not ever?” Sirius asked.
“Well, I suppose he might have had one that I didn’t know about. Though I can’t imagine why he would keep it a secret.”
“Maybe because you’d tease him like mad?” James asked.
Sirius grinned, knowing that all three of them were thinking the exact same thing; that teasing Romulus was on their agenda immediately they saw him again.
-
Chapter 28
Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognise. J K Rowling retains all copyright.
Dreams Are Never Free (PG13 for mild violence)
The stack of letters requiring his attention seemed to be never ending. No sooner had Remus replied to all those in the first pile, than another one seemed to appear. Rita seemed to be delighted to get them off her hands and brought him more every day. It probably wasn’t helping that so many students had taken the school newsletter home with them for the holidays.
Unfortunately for Remus, not all of them were simply from people asking how he was doing and expressing their sympathy for his situation. There were plenty that appeared at first glance to be supportive, but when you read between the lines they were far less so. Some were even openly hostile.
“Don’t let them get to you,” Sirius told Remus as he pulled the latest of these letters out of his hand and tossed it across the room. “You’re at Hogwarts and there’s nothing the complainers can do about it.”
Remus stood up and walked across the room to retrieve the letter. “You know that’s not true.” He straightened out the parchment again and picked up a blank sheet to begin his reply. “What do you think is the politest way I can tell them to mind their own business?”
“By not replying at all.”
Remus shook his head and sighed. “Have you heard from your mother again?”
“Yeah, her reply arrived this morning.”
“What did she say?”
“Don’t know, I’ve not read it yet.” Sirius nodded towards the bedside table, indicating that Remus could read it for himself if he liked. Remus, ever the procrastinator, put down the letter he was about to reply to and went to read Walburga Black’s reply instead.
“The usual rubbish?” Sirius asked a minute or two later.
“Yeah,” muttered Remus, his face dark with suppressed fury as he walked over to the fireplace and tossed the parchment into the flames.
“Hey! I do still have to write back eventually.”
Remus didn’t bother to try to retrieve the letter. Instead he walked across the room and pulled Sirius into a tight hug. “I’m sorry you’re family is like they are,” he whispered.
Sirius didn’t reply as he watched his mother’s letter burn to ash in the grate of the common room fire. He wondered what she had written before realising that it didn’t really matter. He could guess what she had to say to him and he didn’t want to hear it any more. He would stay friends with Remus whether his parents liked it or not. They were in London and he was in Scotland; it wasn’t like they could do anything about it.
-o-xXx-o-
Sirius and Remus found they had Gryffindor Tower all to themselves during the holidays. They got used to leaving their things lying around in the common room and taking the best seats closest to the fire. They often talked long into the night as there was no need to get up early the next morning and there was no reminder from anyone else as to how late the hour was.
Remus had nodded off to sleep on the sofa half an hour beforehand and Sirius was staring into the dying embers of the fire, his own eyelids drooping occasionally.
“You should go up to bed,” Romulus suggested as he drifted through the door. “You both look exhausted.”
“I’m not that tired,” Sirius lied, yawning widely and prompting a laugh from Romulus.
“Really though, you should get to bed. The rest of the school comes back tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to wake him up,” Sirius replied with a nod towards the sofa.
“Then don’t.” Romulus sat down on the arm of the sofa and looked down at his brother with a smile. “Just because he’s sleeping on the sofa, it doesn’t mean you have to sleep in the chair.”
“I don’t like to leave him on his own.”
Romulus sighed. “Remus can take care of himself for a few hours,” he pointed out. “You can’t watch over him all the time.”
“He needs someone to watch over him. He’s pushing himself too hard.”
“He’s got me to keep an eye on him.”
“But you’re not here all the time, you come and go from Merlin knows where…”
“No one can be with another person twenty four hours a day, not even me…and certainly not you. Remus needs to learn to take care of himself and stand on his own two feet.”
“I like taking care of him.”
“That’s not the point. Remus has always wanted to come to Hogwarts and a part of being at Hogwarts is growing up and maturing. Remus will be fifteen in a few months and he still acts like he’s twelve half the time.”
“Just because we’ve pulled a few pranks and got some detentions...”
“That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the fact he shadows you all the time and doesn’t seem to know how precarious his position here at the school is.”
“He knows he could be kicked out any time, if that’s what you mean?”
“He does?”
“Of course he does. Why do you think he’s been replying to all the parents who’ve written in after seeing Rita Skeeter’s newsletter? He’s trying to prove to them all that he’s not dangerous, and that their kids are safe with him here.”
“Those that have taken the trouble to write aren’t the ones he should be worried about. I’d be more concerned about those who are watching silently and waiting for him to slip up and make a mistake.”
“He won’t.”
“You don’t know what he’d do without you watching over him all the time.”
“He wouldn’t do anything to risk losing his place here. You say he acts like he’s still twelve, but you’re wrong. He’s really changed since he’s been accepted. Even with all the pranks, he’s keeping up with his schoolwork. His grades are getting good; they’re better than at least half the year. He’s even talking about trying out for the Quidditch team next year.”
Romulus waited quietly until Sirius had reached the end of his speech in defence of Remus. He turned to Remus and moved as though brushing a hand over his hair. “I guess my baby brother’s growing up after all,” he replied quietly. “I just wish he’d be a little more careful and learn to take care of himself more. You can’t be there for him forever.”
Sirius stood up and walked towards the sofa. He sat down on the floor and looked at Remus fondly. “Maybe not,” he said. “But I can be here for him now.” He caught the quick tilt of Remus’s lips and realised that the other boy had woken up at some point during his discussion with Romulus.
“I just worry about him,” Romulus explained. “How’s he going to cope when you’re not around?”
“He’ll muddle through the same way I do.”
Remus opened one eye and looked at Sirius and his brother mischievously.
“How long have you been awake?” Romulus asked suspiciously.
“Long enough,” Remus admitted, turning his head so that he could look up at his brother properly. “You shouldn’t worry so much about me. I’m not a child any more. You said it yourself: I’m nearly fifteen. I’m studying hard and you can ask any of the teachers about my grades. In fact, I bet you’ve already spoken to them all. I’m not going to risk getting kicked out of here. I don’t care what it takes to stay here; I’ll do anything. I’ll give up my Christmas holidays to reply to all these owls. I’ll live in the library next year if I have to. Whatever it takes to appear normal and safe like the rest of the students are…that’s what I’ll do.”
Romulus nodded quietly as Remus spoke, the younger boy getting louder and louder with each word.
“I’d never do anything that would get me kicked out of here!” Remus declared. “I’m not some stupid kid any more!”
Romulus reached out to try to calm Remus, but his hand went straight through him. Sirius climbed up onto the sofa and placed one of his own hands on Remus’s shoulder. The other boy drew in a deep breath at the contact and shook his head as though to shake off the last remnants of his temper.
Romulus looked thoughtful as he contemplated the two boys sitting in front of him. “Okay, Remus. I’ll back off a little and leave you to make your own decisions. You say you’ve grown up and I’ll give you the chance to prove it.”
“Thanks, Rom.”
Romulus nodded and grinned. “Now, bedtime,” he ordered, clearly unable to help himself.
Remus stood up and smiled at his brother. “Just so you know…I’m going to bed because I’ve also decided it’s past time I went up to the dorm, not because you told me to.”
Romulus laughed and shook his head as Remus turned towards the dorms, calling goodnight over his shoulder as he started to make his way up the stairs.
“Just so you know…” Sirius repeated with a smirk.
Romulus laughed as Sirius stood up to go to bed as well. “Oh, get out of here.”
-o-xXx-o-
“Are you sure we’re allowed to go to the camp during the holidays?” Sirius asked. Not that it would make any difference if they weren’t, they were already well on their way. It was just handy to know whether they should be sneaking back into Hogwart’s or not.
“I don’t know,” Remus replied. “But I’ve not seen Firenze for ages and I’m worried. If I ask and McGonagall says no, she’ll be keeping a close eye on me in case I try to sneak out.”
“At least he can live in the camp again,” Sirius commented as they trudged along the muddy path. “That’s good, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know. On the one hand, it means he doesn’t have to hunt for his food all the time and can live in one of the huts, instead on living rough.”
“But…?”
“But at what price?” Remus replied.
Sirius didn’t know. Neither of them did.
It was slow going, but neither of them had any place else they needed to be and they knew they could take their time.
The centaurs didn’t celebrate Christmas, although they did hold festivals and celebrations for the coming of the New Year. That being the case, it was these preparations that Remus and Sirius arrived just in time to help out with.
“We can always do with a couple more pairs of hands,” Magorian stated. “Even if they are merely human hands.”
Sirius scowled, but Remus stated that he was happy to help out and cheerfully wandered over towards where Firenze was standing waving at them.
“You’re looking more cheerful than the last time we saw you,” Remus said.
“There’s a new year upon us,” Firenze replied.
“And?” Remus asked, sensing something else had happened.
“And Ebony and Magorian are bonded.”
“Is that good news?” Sirius asked. He was far less knowledgeable about the ins and outs of the centaur tribe and wasn’t entirely sure this was a good thing.
“It’s good news when it means less earache for those of us who have to live with the whining mare,” Firenze replied with a wink. “But from the point of view of regaining my birthright, no, this isn’t really good news. Now, with this bonding, the last remaining stallions who were opposed to Magorian being chief are coming around. They’re being talked around by their own mares, who Ebony had already won to her side with her talk of equal rights. Ebony has my father’s blood in her veins and is bonded to Magorian. The mares see her as some sort of pioneer, ruling the herd through Magorian.”
“Is she?” Remus asked.
“No. But the stallions who were thinking of challenging Magorian are letting the mares convince them it is. That way it isn’t so bad. Instead of opposing the centaur who murdered my father, they can say they are supporting my father’s daughter.”
“You sound like you don’t think you’re going to get the leadership back?”
“Sometimes I don’t think I will.”
“Does it bother you? Will you be very disappointed if you don’t?”
“It’s not my disappointment that worries me,” Firenze replied. “It’s my father’s.”
“Can anyone ever live up to the expectations of their father?” Sirius asked quietly.
Firenze looked at one boy and then the other. “Good point,” he said with a smile. “Now, are you two going to help us get ready to bring in the New Year, or are you just here for the food?”
“Just the food,” Remus replied as Sirius nodded in agreement.
Firenze laughed and set them to work.
The two boys weren’t able to sneak out on New Year’s Day; much to their annoyance, Professor McGonagall was keeping a suspiciously close eye on them. They did find that they both received gifts from Firenze, a new set of arrows for Remus and a large collection of herbs and instructions on how to use them for Sirius.
Both boys resolved to put their presents to good use as soon as they could. Sirius succeeded in making several successful potions with his herbs. Remus, after an incident involving several older Slytherin students, the portrait of Wilfred the Wanderer, and Mrs Norris, found his bow and arrows secured safely in Professor McGonagall’s office and himself in detention once again.
-o-xXx-o-
The winter turned to spring and with the warmer weather came the reminders that exams were fast approaching. The teachers were working the students harder than ever and even though the O.W.L.s were a year away, the four Gryffindor boys were spending more and more time studying and far less time pulling pranks…much to the relief of students and teachers alike.
Remus also found that as the months passed by the teachers were watching him far less closely. At first he thought that he had simply got used to them monitoring him so closely. Then he suddenly realised that they weren’t watching him at all. For the first time since arriving at Hogwarts, he felt like just another student.
“Guess you’ve proved yourself,” James commented with a wide grin. “Which is great news for those of us you like to call your friends, since it means they aren’t watching any of us as closely as they were before either.”
The rest of the boys nodded in agreement of this assessment and were soon plotting ever more spectacular magical mischief.
Of course, with the good came the bad, and it soon became apparent that there was also a downside to the less frequent presence of the staff, something Remus found out one April evening as he returned from the library.
“Looks like they’ve let Dumbledore’s pet werewolf off its leash,” a sneering voice announced from the top of the staircase that Remus was climbing.
Remus halted halfway up the stairs and saw that three Ravenclaw students were blocking the landing. They were all older than he was, sixth years if his guess was correct, and each of the three boys was quite physically larger too. He was fairly certain that one of them was a beater on the house Quidditch team.
He continued up the stairs, refusing to turn round and take the longer route back to Gryffindor Tower. He had lost track of time and unless he took the shortest route back to the common room, he knew he would be late for curfew.
“Excuse me, please?” he asked as he reached the landing.
“Got a question for you,” one of the Ravenclaws commented instead. “Thought you could help us out with a special Defence project.”
Remus frowned slightly. Defence Against the Dark Arts was his best subject by far, but he had no doubt that he was still far less knowledgeable than any of the NEWT students.
“Cat got your tongue?” the apparent leader of the group asked. “Or should it be the wolf?”
Remus tried to side step around him, but he had gone no more than a pace when a flash of white drew him to a halt. The knife was made of bone and pointed right at his throat.
Remus’s eyes darted to the paintings on the wall, but he quickly realised that the Ravenclaws had chosen the place of their ambush very well. There was not a single portrait on the landing, only landscapes and animals.
“Like I said,” the Ravenclaw continued, as though Remus hadn’t tried to brush him off and he hadn’t pulled a knife on him. “We thought you could help us with a little project.”
Remus nodded slowly and reluctantly.
“That’s better. You like this?” He nodded to the knife, still at Remus’s throat.
Remus shrugged slightly.
“You’ll notice it isn’t silver. We’ve seen you using the silver cutlery in the Great Hall and know that one’s an old wives tale. But, we wanted to find out about one of the other myths, find out if it was true or not.”
“Which one?” Remus whispered.
“The one that says wounds inflicted by werewolves never heal.”
Remus reached down and pulled up his right sleeve, revealing a thin white scar. “That answer your question?”
“You could have got that anywhere, but not got it treated quick enough to have it heal completely,” the second Ravenclaw suggested.
“It was healed as much as possible,” Remus replied. “If you don’t believe me, I can’t help you.”
The leader chuckled and shook his head. “Oh, you can help us all right. This knife was carved from the bone of a werewolf. My dad gave it to me just after he read you were coming here to Hogwarts. He said he wanted me to be able to protect myself and what better way to fight off a werewolf than with a werewolf bone knife?”
“But, we don’t know if it’s genuine or a fake,” the second Ravenclaw added.
“I say it’s a fake,” the third one announced.
“So, we’re going to test it,” the first stated. “Not on ourselves of course, that would be pretty stupid. But since you’re a werewolf no one will notice a new scar amongst those you already have.”
“I’m not going to let you slice me up with that thing,” Remus snapped.
“You can’t stop us. Not without us screaming to the teachers that we were attacked by the werewolf whilst he was human. And you know what would happen if we did that?”
Remus was trapped, completely, totally and utterly. He took a step back, feeling for the top step of the staircase. Missing his curfew was the least of his problems; he would take the long route and be thankful if all he got out of the evening was another detention.
“Oh no you don’t,” the Ravenclaw with the knife warned and Remus felt the cut of the knife as it sliced across his face. His hand shot to his face and he felt the warmth of the blood as it trickled from the shallow cut. He stepped backwards, blindly reaching for the staircase railings with his free hand.
It was only when he felt the empty space beneath his feet that he realise the staircase had rotated away from him whilst he’d been on the landing.
Tumbling backwards he fell, his scream echoing through the corridors as he plummeted down. He felt the pain of the impact as he hit solid ground, then everything went black.
-o-xXx-o-
“I’ve been saying for years that those staircases are an accident waiting to happen!”
“Rowena Ravenclaw’s moving staircases were the magical achievement of the century when they were built.”
“They’re far too dangerous to be in a school.”
Remus recognised the arguing voices as those of Professors McGonagall and Flitwick. For a long moment he wondered what had happened, then he remembered. The staircase had moved and he’d fallen.
He wondered how he’d managed to survive the fall at all. He’d been high up and he’d fallen for such a long time. Or maybe it had just seemed like a long time…it was difficult to tell.
“I think he’s awake,” Madam Pomfrey said in a low voice. “Remus?”
Remus opened his eyes and turned his head towards the healer. His cheek brushed against the pillow and he felt a stinging pain as the fabric made contact with his damaged cheek.
“Don’t try to move,” Poppy warned him as she pointed her wand at his face and murmured a spell.
“I don’t know why you’re trying that spell again,” McGonagall muttered impatiently. “If it didn’t work the first dozen times…you need to try something new.”
“I don’t understand why it isn’t working,” Poppy replied, equally impatiently. “Every other cut and bruise he got has healed fine, but this one is just not co-operating. If I didn’t know better I’d have sworn it was self inflicted during the full moon.”
Remus felt his face flushing as Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey stared at him, waiting for any explanation he might be able to offer. He squirmed slightly and tried to sit up.
“Lie back down,” Poppy ordered. “You took quite a tumble there. You’ve very lucky you only fell two floors before your fall was broken by another staircase.”
Only two floors? It had seemed like so much more.
“Can I go back to the dorm?” Remus asked.
“Certainly not. You’re staying here until tomorrow morning. I may even keep you in here for a day or two longer if you don’t lie still and do as you’re told.”
“My friends…they’ll be wondering where I am.”
“They know where you are,” McGonagall told him. “Mr Black has been waiting outside the doors for the last few hours. Adamantly refused to go back to the dormitory when I told him to.”
“You couldn’t make him go?” Remus asked.
“He’s cast a permanent sticking charm on his shoes,” McGonagall muttered, although Remus could detect a hint of begrudging admiration in her tone.
“He didn’t?” Remus grinned up at his head of house.
“The only way to get him out of those shoes without his co-operation would be too risky. He’d probably end up in the next bed with injuries of his own.”
“Can I see him?”
“Not yet,” replied Poppy, in between tutting over her lack of success at getting the scratch on Remus’s face to disappear.
Remus frowned sulkily but didn’t argue. He knew there would be no point. Poppy Pomfrey was in her ‘mother hen’ mode, and until she was done there would be nothing happening in the hospital wing without her approval.
Finally, she nodded to Professor McGonagall to tell Sirius he could come into the room for a few minutes.
Professor Flitwick disappeared out of the door, muttering about staircases and clumsy students. Remus heard his squeak of annoyance as Sirius apparently barrelled into him as he skidded into the room, his shoeless feet sliding on the polished stone floor.
“What happened?” Sirius asked after he’d given Remus the once over and assured himself that he was okay.
“The staircase moved,” Remus muttered, his face flushing in embarrassment.
Sirius shot a look towards Madam Pomfrey’s office before turning back to Remus with a glare. “They’ve always moved and you know it. What really happened?”
“Someone got me with a werewolf knife,” Remus whispered. “But you can’t tell anyone. Promise me you won’t breathe a word.”
“What’s a werewolf knife?”
Remus explained what it was and Sirius listened in horror as he looked at the new scar that was adorning Remus’s face. He sat on the edge of the bed and reached up to trace his finger along the scar, carefully avoiding touching it. “You’ve got to tell Madam Pomfrey.”
“You promised you wouldn’t say anything.”
Sirius didn’t bother to point out that he hadn’t actually promised anything of the sort. He wanted to call Madam Pomfrey from her office, but one look into Remus’s pleading brown eyes and he was nodding his agreement to keep quiet.
“Is it really bad?” Remus whispered, even though he knew the answer already. A wound from a werewolf would never truly heal, no matter how it was inflicted.
“You’ll have to practice those concealing charms that Romulus keeps on pestering you about.”
“He’s not been hassling me about them since I came here,” Remus reminded him. “It was mainly so I could blend in with the rest of the world without being recognised as an on the run werewolf. Now I’m not wanted by the Ministry of Magic there’s no need…”
“Except for vanity,” Sirius interjected.
“I’m not vain,” Remus huffed, folding his arms across his chest and scowling at his friend. “I know I’m nothing much to look at.”
“Who told you that?” Sirius asked with a frown of his own. It was on the tip of his tongue to say that he thought Remus was gorgeous, but he couldn’t quite pluck up the courage to say it out loud.
“I’m a teenage werewolf who has nearly ten years of scars already. The girls aren’t exactly beating a path to my door.”
Sirius snorted and shook his head. “First of all, most of your scars are hidden under your clothes, and you know it. As for the girls, they’re not exactly queuing up for any of us Gryffindor fourth years. Peter thinks we’ve pulled too many pranks on them, so now they’re just running when they see us coming.”
Remus smiled slightly. “But, still…”
“But nothing,” Sirius scolded. “The girls won’t care if you’ve got a little scratch on your face. They’ll probably think it’s all sexy and cool. Girls like that sort of stuff.”
“Girls are stupid,” Remus muttered, his hand wandering up to touch the scratch again. “Madam Pomfrey’s keeping me in overnight. Did you learn any concealing charms?”
“Sure.”
“Um…”
“What?”
“Would you be able to…you know…hide it for tonight?”
Sirius smiled and pulled out his wand. “Sure.” He spoke the spell that would conceal the wound from the eyes of anyone who looked upon Remus Lupin. It would only last a few hours, but he would make sure that he was around to cast it again whenever it was necessary.
“Remus, what about those Ravenclaws? You can’t let them get away with this?”
“It’ll only get worse if you tell the professors,” Remus pointed out. “Other kids will see me as a telltale. Besides, McGonagall and the others will be watching me closely again now. It’ll soon be forgotten.”
“But they can’t get away with it!”
“What good will telling tales do?” Remus asked. “Just let it go.”
“Okay, I won’t tell the teachers,” Sirius agreed. “But we can’t let them get away with it. We have to do something!”
“We will,” Remus replied with quiet determination. “I’m thinking about that list of pranks that James has been concocting all year.”
“You mean the ones we’ve all been pulling all year?”
Remus shook his head. “No, I mean the list of the ones we’ve told him are too dangerous and risky.”
“Which one do you have in mind?”
“I don’t know, but I’m not going to let them get away with this.” Remus lifted his hand towards his face and he looked warily at Sirius. “You don’t have to help me, not if you don’t want to.”
Sirius took Remus’s hand in his own. “Do you even need to ask?” he whispered. “I’ll take a look at James’s list tonight and whatever you decide, we’ll help you do it.”
-o-xXx-o-
“How is he?” Peter asked as soon as Sirius walked into the dormitory.
“He’ll be okay.”
“How did he manage to fall from the stairs?” James asked incredulously. “I’ve never heard of anyone doing anything so stupid before.”
“He got cornered by a bunch of Ravenclaws,” Sirius explained. “They attacked him with a werewolf knife and when he backed up from them he fell.”
“They’ll be expelled for sure,” Peter whispered.
“No, they won’t.”
“Why not? They can’t just attack another student like that. He could have died.”
“Remus won’t tell the teachers who it was.”
“You mean he’s going to let them get away with it?” James asked. “He doesn’t seem to me to be the type to just let bullies get away with it.”
Sirius smirked at him; silently reminding James that he knew first hand that this was indeed the case.
Peter, who was a little faster on the uptake on this occasion, realised what James had not. “He’s going to get revenge himself, isn’t he?”
Sirius nodded. “He wants to do one of the pranks from the ‘too dangerous’ list.”
“Really?” James looked at him in surprise, but wasted little time in pulling the list from the bottom of his trunk. “Which one?” He scanned the list quickly. “Most of these were focusing on the Slytherins and their quarters. Never thought we’d want to pull anything like this on one of the other houses.”
“Never thought that it’d be the Ravenclaws who’d attack Remus either,” Sirius muttered.
“What’s that?”
Sirius jumped as Romulus appeared in the dormitory.
“Well?” Romulus asked. “What’s this about Ravenclaws attacking Remus?”
“Three of them cornered him with a werewolf knife,” Sirius explained. “He fell from one of the staircases and they sliced up his face.”
Romulus didn’t say anything as he took off through the nearest wall in the direction of the hospital wing.
The three boys were still contemplating the list of pranks, and considering which ones could be adapted to be used in Ravenclaw Tower instead of the Slytherin dungeons, when Romulus reappeared.
“You can put the list away boys,” he advised. “I’ve spoken with Remus and it won’t be needed.”
“You’ve talked him out of revenge?” James asked.
“I thought you’d be all up for it,” Sirius added. “You’d let these gits get away with it? What happened to doing anything to protect your baby brother? What happened to tracking down anyone who hurt him?” What happened to making anyone who hurt him pay for it?”
“Oh, they’ll pay for it,” Romulus hissed. “Won’t they?” He turned around and Sirius saw that they had more company than he had first realised.
Sir Nicholas, the Fat Friar and the Grey Lady of Ravenclaw were right behind Romulus and looking as furious as any of the boys had ever seen them.
“A disgrace to the school,” the Friar muttered. “That’s what they are.”
“Three against one,” Sir Nicholas added. “Highly unfair and the mark of cowardice.”
“What do you plan on doing?” Sirius asked.
“We’re going to haunt them,” Romulus said with a grim smile. “For every waking moment as long as they are here at Hogwart’s, they will be trailed by one of the school ghosts.”
“At least until they confess what they have done this night,” Sir Nicholas explained.
“We will be acting as their consciences,” the Friar explained.
“They won’t get a minute of peace,” Romulus insisted.
“So, you’re all going to haunt them and torment them until they confess, and once they do they’ll be expelled for sure.” Sirius smiled to himself. It was a fitting revenge and far better than the juvenile pranks they had been plotting.
The three Ravenclaws held out for less than a month before the first one cracked. After that the other two were quickly brought before the Headmaster and were immediately expelled from Hogwart’s.
Remus had not seen any of them since the night on the stairs, but he did watch them leave in one of the school carriages from his seat at the common room window of Gryffindor Tower.
He hoped that these three would be the last of the bullies he would have to face at Hogwart’s, and that Dumbledore’s swift punishment would be a warning to others not to try the same thing again.
He raised a hand to his face and traced the invisible scar.
“They’re gone now,” Sirius commented from across the table. “They won’t hurt you again.”
“What’s to stop someone else trying it though?”
“We won’t let them,” Sirius whispered harshly. “I won’t let them. No one’s going to hurt you again, not if Sirius Black has anything to say about it.”
Remus smiled softly and turned back to his essay, but he couldn’t help wondering how long it would be before he was once again on his own and there was no Sirius to protect him.
-o-xXx-o-
Two weeks later and Remus knew that he could put it off no longer. Sirius had been painstakingly casting the concealing charm every morning, reinforcing it at lunchtime and again before dinner. As such, Remus had no idea of the extent of the damage the werewolf knife had done.
He slipped from the Gryffindor dormitory and down the corridor to the bathroom. None of the other boys were awake yet; it was far too early in the morning for them. He crept into the bathroom and approached the mirrors from the side. The side of his face that bore his injury was turned away from the mirrors and Remus steeled himself to turn and look himself in the face.
The scratch wasn’t deep, but it was clearly visible and stretched from his temple, down his cheek and towards his chin. He raised a tentative hand upwards and gently touched the wound.
“Finally decided to take a look at it?” a voice behind him asked.
Remus jumped, startled and turned to face his brother.
“It’s not as bad as all that,” Romulus continued as he looked appraisingly at the scratch.
“I’ll never get rid of it though, will I?” Remus turned back to the mirror, rather than face the truth that he could see in his brother’s eyes.
He pulled out his wand and pointed it at his face, his mind scrambling for the appropriate words for the charm.
“Oooh, that looks awful!” a gleeful female voice declared as she swooped towards him for a closer inspection.
Remus jumped backwards, his hand rising reflectively to cover his face. “Who are you?” he asked.
“This is Myrtle,” Romulus said. “She usually haunts one of the girls’ bathrooms downstairs.”
“Not always,” Myrtle replied with a coy smile towards the older Lupin brother. “I’ve been looking for you for hours.”
“What for?” Remus asked even as his brother edged his way towards the door.
Myrtle ignored him as she moved towards Romulus. “We’re the only ghosts here in Hogwart’s who’ve been dead less than fifty years. We’ve got so much in common, both dying so tragically young. Don’t you agree?”
Remus couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Romulus looking so alarmed. A small smile threatened to escape as Myrtle moved even closer to his brother. “Rom, is there something you’re not telling me?” Remus asked with a smirk.
“Remus…” Romulus shot him a warning glare.
Remus’s grin was about to blossom into full blown laughter.
“There’s a lovely romantic spot at the far side of the lake,” Myrtle suggested. “I saw it when I got flushed out of the castle last month. No one ever goes there.”
“I’m too old for you,” insisted Romulus, his voice barely more than a panicked squeak.
“I died before you were even born,” Myrtle pointed out with a smile. “That makes me older than you, and time doesn’t mean as much when you’re a ghost. The years just drift together…long, lonely years.”
“She has a point,” Remus teased. “I’d hate for you to be lonely.”
Myrtle shot him a grateful look and Romulus immediately took advantage of her distraction to make his escape, shooting a dirty look at Remus before he disappeared through the wall.
Myrtle looked disappointed, but followed after him, leaving Remus to fall to the floor in borderline hysterical laughter. Eventually the laughter died down, although the tears of mirth continued to fall for a much longer time.
That was how Sirius and James found him a short while later when they had finally emerged from the dormitory.
“Remus? Are you all right?” Sirius asked as he hurried to his side. “Why didn’t you wait for me to cast the concealing charm?”
“It’s not as bad as all that,” James added, looking at the scar for the first time.
Remus shook his head as tears continued to stream down his face.
Sirius sat down beside him and put an arm around Remus’s shoulders. “Don’t cry, Remus,” he pleaded. “It’s not that noticeable, really.”
“I’m okay,” Remus gasped. He rested his head on Sirius’s shoulder as the tears of laughter continued to fall. “I’m not upset.”
Once Remus had recovered enough to talk properly he explained the reason for his laughter and the source of his tears.
James grinned widely and Sirius chuckled. They were in complete agreement with Remus that the idea of Myrtle having set her sights on Romulus Lupin was certainly cause for amusement.
“Maybe we should set them up?” James suggested wickedly.
“I don’t think Rom will let you,” Remus pointed out. “Though it would be fun to try. I don’t remember him ever having a girlfriend.”
“Not ever?” Sirius asked.
“Well, I suppose he might have had one that I didn’t know about. Though I can’t imagine why he would keep it a secret.”
“Maybe because you’d tease him like mad?” James asked.
Sirius grinned, knowing that all three of them were thinking the exact same thing; that teasing Romulus was on their agenda immediately they saw him again.
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Chapter 28