Disclaimer: Not mine
Other Notes: This story takes you through Harry's pre Hogwarts years and is Remus and Sirius centric. The story of his Hogwarts years has not yet been posted, but I will get to it soon. Its going to be called A Beginner's Guide to Dimension Hopping. The story of him traveling to an alternate, mostly canon dimension Post Hogwarts is already being posted and is called Harry Potter and the Dimension Hopper.
Harry Potter and the Marauder'sDen
There was no use in denying it anymore. Remus could be downright Slytherin if he tried. And he was trying. There was just no right way left to go about it. It wasn't really bravery, he decided, looking around the cabin. And it wasn't out of a sense of loyalty to James and Lily, or even a sense of devotion to Harry.
The fact of the matter was, Remus didn't want to be alone. Especially not in this cabin where he used to curl up with Sirius on cold nights.
He was cowardly in that aspect, he supposed. It was just that the loneliness was crippling and the silence was driving him mad and he was wearing a hole into the carpet with his constant pacing and his throat hurt from howling all night.
It was the only thing to do, really. The logical thing to do. Selfish too, there wasn't any reason to deny it.
And it was Sirius's fault, even if he wasn't there to blame.
Remus had found an old Muggle notebook stuck between the mattresses. It was full of Sirius's loopy handwriting, in five different colors of ink. Not surprisingly, the majority of it consisted of Sirius's signature, scrawled out as Sirius Orion Lupin-Black, or alternatively, Black-Lupin. The part that surprised Remus was the extensive list of baby names that could be found at the back.
They'd never talked about marriage, or children, or conjoined names. They'd never even put a name on their relationship as far as Remus was aware.
So what surprised him even more was the box under the bed with two vials of blood under a stasis charm and extensive instructions on how to perform a blood adoption ceremony.
Remus could work with that.
Later, Remus decided that this was obviously slightly more complicated then what he had anticipated. And required a huge amount of planning. He didn't know the first thing about children. Not to mention that he was a werewolf; he wasn't allowed to have children, and so he'd never imagined himself as a father. He was at a loss.
He told himself it was for Harry. For Sirius, even. For James and Lily.
"I'm getting custody of my nephew," he told the woman in the shop earnestly, a lie, a necessary lie. "I'm so nervous," he said, a little more truthfully.
She was delighted and proceeded to take him around the shop.
The downside of the entire thing, was that Sirius was not there. He didn't want to raise a child on his own, and he had no legal reason to do so. The upside was, of course, that Sirius was not there. Remus was absolutely certain that Sirius would be more of a child then the actual child, and Remus wasn't prepared for that.
Slowly, Remus began to understand the world of nappies and baby food. The shopping trip was a bit of a blur, and while he was reluctant to spend Sirius' money, he was sure the man wouldn't mind.
Anything for you, Moony, he'd say with a cheeky grin. Remus hastily wiped at a tear.
When he got back to the cabin, he sat down on the floor and cried and whimpered into his hands at the horrible feeling in his stomach and the pain in his chest. His wolf rumbled in his head. He let it; he was too lonely to protest.
Eventually, he collected himself enough to put away the variety of toys and blankets and books and snacks that he had bought earlier for Harry.
He took a deep breath to steady himself and rifled through his closet. He had to look presentable. Normal enough that no one would give him a second glance.
Remus' hair was getting long now. It hung all around his face, a little past his chin, curling around his ears. But there was nothing to do about that. He got dressed hurriedly and jammed his feet into his shoes. As if it were an afterthought, his fingers brushed against his ears where Sirius had convinced him to get them pierced. No, he thought. It was too late for that, and it didn't matter.
He Apparated before he could change his mind.
In an instant, he was walking up Privet Drive and trying to take deep breaths through his nose. It was fine. He could do this.
There was obviously some kind of dinner party going on at number four, and Remus' stomach twisted. He knocked on the door.
"Yes?" Petunia asked, eyeing him critically. The guests all stared at him unhappily. Remus tried not to feel self-conscious about his scars.
"I'm Harry's uncle," he said, lying through his teeth. "We spoke on the telephone earlier." That was what it was, wasn't it? Not that it was true. "I'm here to pick up Harry? We're going on holiday for the rest of the summer?" His voice sounded false to his own ears.
Petunia merely stared at him, and Remus gave her a meaningful look. "Or maybe forever," he added under his breath.
She jumped into action. "Oh, of course."
"No need to grab his things," Remus added, offering her a thin smile.
Petunia practically ran up the stairs and was shoving Harry into his arms before he had time to react. "Good riddance," she snarled at him as she shoved them out of the door. "Don't bother bringing him back."
Remus scowled. "As if I would," he said. He didn't do her the courtesy of backing off before he Apparated off of her doorstep.