Title: A Late Friendship
Rating: T
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Remus, Harry
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 2,046
Summary: Remus met Harry on the train before his year as a professor. Who knew that his best friend's son would become one of his dearest friends?
Notes:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Transfiguration Class – Write about one of Hogwarts (or not Hogwarts) exceptional professors
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Scavenger Hunt – Spell Used – Expecto Patronum
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Little Leagues – Keeper – Write about a cross-generational friendship
Taming the Muse Livejournal Community: Prompt Used – Smirk
Writerverse Community: Prompts Used – Pale, Skirt Around the Issue
Remus pretended to be asleep when the carriage door opened. He suppressed a smirk when he heard the students discussing his presence. His mind went blank though when he heard a voice. It was a voice he instinctively knew belonged to Harry James Potter, the son of his late best friends. He wasn't sure how he knew it was Harry because he never heard the teenager talk, but he just knew it to be the truth.
He wanted to open his eyes and gaze at the boy he knew as a baby. He was curious about what he looked like. He never paid any attention to the Daily Prophet even though he knew the paper had shown of Harry. He wondered if he looked more like James or more like Lily. Who did he act more like? Did he have James brashness and Lily compassion? There were all of these things that he wanted to find out, but to do that, he had to open his eyes and at least meet the boy.
Just as he built up his Gryffindor courage to do just that, a chill swept through the train as it broke down. He opened his eyes in time to see the lights to go out and a cloaked figure enter the compartment. There was commotion everywhere and the cloaked figure headed straight for Harry.
Remus heard a thud and took out his wand, saying, "Expecto Patronum!" The creature fled.
When Remus, along with Harry's friends were finally able to arouse him, the boy was exceedingly pale, which was common after that kind of attack. He got some chocolate and split it up among the students. "Eat up. It'll make you feel better." He took a piece for himself, slowly biting into it and chewing, savoring the rich taste.
He then explained about the Dementors, a horrible creature that was looking for Sirius Black. He noticed Harry seemed troubled, and considering the kind of reaction he had to the creature, Remus didn't blame him.
Although Remus looked at Harry during meal times, especially at the opening feast since he was worried about the aftereffects of being near a Dementor, he didn't get to talk to him until the Defense against the Dark Arts lesson.
They were studying Boggarts for the first lesson. Remus had to smile at their enthusiasm as well as some of the fears. A fear of Snape seemed to be pretty prevalent. There was also spiders and getting a failing grade on an exam.
When Harry stepped forward, Remus almost swallowed his tongue. Afraid that the Boggart would turn into Voldemort, he stepped in front of Harry. When the Boggart changed into a moon, he immediately got rid of it by shouting, "Riddikulus!"
He noticed Harry was sad but didn't think much of it when he dismissed the class.
It wasn't until Harry came to see him that Remus realized his interfering bothered Harry. He was impressed that Harry's fear wasn't Voldemort. Instead, it was the Dementor, indicating Harry's greatest fear was fear in general.
Although Remus wanted to spend time with Harry, he didn't know how to without it being suspicious. Harry solved the problem. After the awful Quidditch game, he approached Remus about learning how to drive away the Dementors. Remus was hesitant because he wasn't sure Harry would be able to do the Patronus charm. It was high-level magic that even some Aurors weren't capable of doing. At seeing Harry's look of dread though, Remus gave into the boy's pleading. They could at least try.
Throughout the year, Remus continued to be impressed by Harry's determination, bravery, and honesty. It was thanks to Harry's thirst for the truth that Remus found out that Sirius hadn't been guilty after all.
After everything they went through, including discovering Peter, Sirius was still forced to go on the run. At least he hadn't been kissed though, and hopefully in the future, they'd find the evidence to clear Sirius' name for good.
Remus was in the middle of packing up his office, not making Dumbledore actually verbalize his firing. He knew Snape told everything the truth about his furry little problem and he'd need to leave. The parents would be against a werewolf continuing to teach their children.
When Harry stepped in the room, he seemed upset by the knowledge of Remus' leaving. He also seemed resigned. With the rumors of the curse on the DADA teaching position, it's no wonder that Harry didn't bother arguing about Remus' departure.
He handed Harry the Marauder's Map. "Take good care of it."
Harry nodded as he stared down at the currently blank parchment. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"You were best friends with my dad. And I'm assuming you were friendly with my mum."
Remus nodded. "I was. Both of us could have easily been sorted into Ravenclaw because of our love for knowledge. We bonded over books and studying."
Harry nodded, green eyes sparkling at the little tidbit of information about Lily. "Then why didn't I know you before this year? I'm assuming you weren't allowed to adopt me..." He trailed off uncertainly, afraid that Remus had been given the option to adopt him but had turned it down.
Remus sighed sadly. He thought about skirting around the issue but knew Harry deserved the truth. "No, I wasn't allowed to adopt you. Although werewolves are allowed to have children the natural way, they're not allowed to adopt unless the child is a werewolf."
"Okay, I understand that. I don't like it because I hate discrimination against something that can't be helped on your part, but I understand that you weren't allowed to adopt me. Were you not allowed to visit me either? Maybe if I knew I was a wizard from early on, things would have been better. Did you not care about me enough to visit me? Was I not important enough to you?"
Remus heard the genuine heartbreak in Harry's words and guilt enveloped him. He strode around the desk and pulled Harry into a crushing hug. "No, no, no. Do not ever think you weren't important enough. It's not that at all."
"Then why?" Harry whispered into Remus' robe, clutching it in tight fists.
Remus knew Harry wasn't the kind to show any amount of weakness, so he knew this had probably been bothering Harry all year for him to be so outright emotional where there was a witness.
"When it first happened, I was distraught. It was bad enough that I lost two of my closest friends, three if you count Peter. And then my other friend was said to be the cause of their deaths. The wolf in me cried out for its los pack. I'm ashamed to say it, but many weeks following that night I was drunk."
"Wasn't I part of your pack, though?"
"Yes, you were. You were my cub, which is a very important place in the pack. The overall loss overshadowed everything else, though. By the time I pulled myself out of my depression, you had already been at your relatives for six months. I talked to Dumbledore about maybe visiting you, making sure you were okay, but he said there was someone watching the house and you were fine. He thought it was best that you didn't know about the wizarding world until it was time for you to go to Hogwarts."
"You didn't fight him on it."
"I've never really gone against Dumbledore. I'm sorry my staying away hurt you, but I thought I was doing what was best for you."
Harry's eyes locked with Remus'. "What about when I started at Hogwarts? You couldn't visit me then? If Dumbledore didn't want my relatives' location disclosed, you could have come to the school to meet me."
"I thought about it..."
"But?" Harry urged.
"So many years had passed already. I thought it was too late to meet you. I never planned to be a professor here, but when Sirius escaped, Dumbledore asked me to come and help protect the school since no one alive knew Sirius better than me. I couldn't say no, and I admit, I wanted to finally see you. I'm sorry I let you down."
Harry backed away. "You should have found a way to see me when I was a kid. I don't care what Dumbledore said; you should have found a way." He walked out of the room, not letting Remus reply.
Remus didn't see Harry again until the summer before his fifth year. Although Harry was a bit standoffish at first, he seemed to warm up to Remus' presence by the time he went back to Hogwarts, something Remus was grateful for.
The year went from bad to worse, culminating in Sirius' death via the veil. Remus was forced to hold Harry back as the distraught young man wanted to jump in after Sirius.
Harry chased after Bellatrix and was forced to battle against Voldemort who tried to invade his mind. Afterwards, Harry collapsed in on himself, realizing Sirius was gone and there was nothing he could do.
Remus silently vowed that he wouldn't let Harry down this time. He hadn't been there for Harry as a child when Remus was needed. Remus wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
Dumbledore was ignored when he told Remus it would be better if Harry was left alone to come to terms with what happened. Remus knew how bad grief could get – he knew it intimately – and wouldn't allow Harry to suffer alone, not if just Remus being there would lighten the load a bit.
"I didn't know Sirius as well as I would have liked," Harry quietly admitted one night.
Remus squeezed his hand. "If you have any questions, you can ask me. I think the only one who knew Sirius better than me was your dad."
"Did he do well in school?"
"He was really good in Defense, Transfiguration, and Charms. Potions wasn't his strong suit."
Harry smiled sadly. "Just like me. Did he date a lot in school?"
Remus chuckled. "He dated many girls, didn't seem to stick to one in particular. No one seemed to hold his interest for long."
They went back and forth. Harry asked any question that popped into his mind, and Remus did his best to answer it truthfully, even if it didn't always paint Sirius in the best light.
After Harry went back for his sixth year, Remus' contact with the last remaining member of his pack was limited. The war was picking up and everyone was stretched thin. Besides an explosive argument where Harry told Remus he was being an idiot to even consider abandoning Dora, they didn't have much time for each other.
Remus was worried about Harry He was afraid that the too young boy wouldn't survive a war, one that should have never been his to fight, in the first place. Even with that fear, he asked Dora if it was okay to name Harry as godfather to their son. He couldn't think of a better person, and Remus knew Harry would make sure Teddy was loved and taken care of in a way Harry himself never was.
Dora knew it, too, and easily agreed.
When the final battle started, Remus was caught up in defending himself. Amidst all of the fighting though, he saw Harry doing his best to make his way to the forest so he could get to where Voldemort was.
While holding up a shield charm, he sent up a silent prayer. 'Please, let Harry survive.' He saw a Death Eater aim the Killing Curse at him and there was no way to dodge it. Before it hits him, Remus silently urged Harry to live and take care of Teddy in his place. Remus knew he was leaving his son in good hands so he could allow himself to go onto the next great adventure, like Dumbledore always said.
Remus got to speak to Harry one last time through the Resurrection Stone, and he knew Harry would be fine. He was a survivor.
He would watch over Harry and Teddy, just like he knew Sirius, James, and Lily would as well. They had nothing better to do after all.