Hey, everyone! This is the third installment of a series centered on the Marauders' Era of the Harry Potter universe, so if you want the whole story, I suggest you start with James Potter and the Sword of Gryffindor, which can be found on my profile page. If you just finished with James Potter and the Lost School, have fun reading this continuation!
An Afternoon in Diagon Alley
Awakening when the sun broke through the slats covering his window and shined on his face, thirteen-year-old James Potter rolled over on his mattress and faced the opposite end of his room to stare at the neighboring bed's newest occupant. Still fast asleep, Sirius Black lay with his face pressed against his pillow, a bit of saliva dotting the corner of his mouth as his arm dangled limply over the edge of his bed. He looked incredibly peaceful, exhibiting a tranquility far unlike when James had first met him over the summer, and James decided to let him rest for a few more moments.
As James stared at the ceiling, his mind wandered back to their recent encounter. Nearly two months ago, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter had arranged to pick up Sirius to spend the summer with their son, and James had managed to convince them to let him come along. Although his mother had expressed hesitance at first due to the nefarious reputation of the Black family, his father had eventually persuaded her otherwise, saying that James had every right to see where his best friend lived. In the end, all three traveled from Godric's Hollow to Islington, using Floo powder as a pre-arranged transportation system between the two families' fireplaces. Since 12 Grimmauld Place resided in the middle of a Muggle apartment system, the residence was not visible to non-magical folk, and the Blacks did not desire unwanted attention from their Muggle neighbors by having their three visitors mysteriously vanish from the street.
Therefore, when James took his mother's hand and stepped into their fireplace, he emerged with her already inside of the Blacks' home, and he brushed himself of the stray soot before stepping out of the unlit hearth. Having used the Floo Network just before his wife and son, James' father stood a few paces away, facing a dreary-looking sofa from which a middle-aged man and woman rose to greet him. James could easily see the resemblance between the dark-haired couple and their son Sirius, but his friend did not seem to be anywhere in the near vicinity after a few seconds' examination.
Instead, his search revealed earthy wallpaper covering every square centimeter of the walls and ceiling, broken only by the small, bronze chandelier hanging in the center of the room. Although intended to bring light into the otherwise dark space, the chandelier did nothing more than to make the ceiling easier to see with its few points of light, which more closely resembled dying coals than actual flames. At the other end of the room, a lone doorway signaled the presence of a hallway leading further into the house, but James could not see past the closed entrance. Nothing of interest adorned the walls aside for a few scattered canvases, which displayed scowling wizards and witches who James assumed were old family ancestors of the Blacks. Casting a glance over his shoulder, James spotted a heavily-serrated, double-edged sword hanging over the fireplace that he had just walked out of, and he took a step closer before being pulled back by his mother's hand.
"You must be Sirius' parents!" she greeted the Blacks after depositing James next to his father. "I don't believe we've officially met."
After eyeing her up and down, Mrs. Black slowly took her raised hand and made no effort to fight the force curling her lip. When she spoke, her voice was much too loud for the solemn, enclosed space. "Walburga."
"Orion," Mr. Black introduced himself in a tone only slightly less clipped than his wife's. "Sirius should be down any minute."
"Thank you ever so much for letting us entertain him," James' father told the Blacks. "James has talked of nothing else since coming back from school, and Sirius always makes our house a little cheerier."
Now both Blacks turned to look down at James, and he felt a sudden sense of suffocation as if their eyes were holding him down for interrogation. Sirius' father looked almost bored, but Mrs. Black stared at him with an intensity he had never known before, and James had the sudden impression that he, like her strong voice, was strangely out of place in the dismal surroundings.
Thankfully, the soft padding of feet from beyond the door broke the spell, and everyone turned to watch as Regulus, the youngest of the Black family, opened the door and stepped into the room. Although he froze in place as if having accidentally stumbled upon the small party, James recognized the sort of satisfaction in his eyes that only comes after relieving one's curiosity. Oblivious to his son's calculated intrusion, Mr. Black beckoned him forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Regulus, you know James Potter, don't you?" he asked, and Regulus turned his pointed nose towards James. Although they had crossed paths several times during the last school year, James could not remember ever addressing Regulus directly, and he cleared his throat experimentally.
"Hullo," he greeted, trying on a welcoming smile, but Regulus only nodded curtly and looked away.
After this, an awkward pause drifted around the room until James' father finally cleared his throat. "How's work treating you?" he asked Mr. Black. "You're employed in the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol, isn't that right? The Safety Regulation Division?"
"Busy as usual," Mr. Black answered, not even bothering to acknowledge his question. "The amount of incompetence displayed by the wizarding community at large is quite astounding. What's your line of work? I don't recall having ever seen you in the Ministry."
"Oh, I haven't had to work in years," James' father replied. "I had a lucky break when I was still very young, after developing Sleekeazy's Hair Potion. You've heard of it, surely?" As Mr. Black's mouth twitched, James' father smiled reminiscently. "Those were the days . . . though I can say, one almost misses the daily grind."
Another heavy pause settled as he trailed off, during which Mr. and Mrs. Black regarded the significantly older Potter couple with a sort of disinterest. After James tried and failed to catch Regulus' eye again, Mrs. Black finally seemed to recollect her thoughts and turned to her guests.
"Will you be wanting tea, then?" she asked the Potters, her voice once again much too loud after the deafening silence.
"Tea would be lovely," James' mother agreed in a subdued voice; James suspected that she did not know how to politely decline.
"KREACHER!" Mrs. Black screeched, causing James and his parents to jump and set the chandelier to swinging. In a few moments, a wrinkled old house-elf had stuck his head drooping nose through the door leading to the hallway, his few strands of white hair quite unlike the snowy mop of the Potters' own house-elf, Winthrop.
"What does Mistress command of Kreacher?" the house-elf asked, his voice musty and parched despite his upturned ears.
"Get some tea for us and our guests," Mrs. Black snapped, and the house-elf bowed before exiting and closing the door. James' mother looked like she was regretting her decision to ask for tea, and Regulus fidgeted underneath his father's arm. No one seemed to want to be in the room, but no one looked comfortable with leaving, either. Finally, James turned to the Blacks.
"Where's Sirius?"
No one answered at first, but Mrs. Black eventually pressed her lips together. "He said something about a packing emergency nearly an hour ago. I suspect that he's in his room."
For a moment, James thought of asking to look for him, but he decided against it when he remembered how Mr. Black had scowled at him when he had caused the chandelier to teeter back and forth. Silently, James waited until Kreacher reappeared from the hallway, bearing two trays balanced in his hands. The house-elf approached the Potters first at a wave from Mr. Black, but he regarded them with narrowed eyes as they each accepted a cup of steaming black tea. Using a bit of his magic, Kreacher levitated two small pitches of milk and sugar from the tray, but he waddled away again when the Potters declined the offer. Of all the Blacks, only Walburga accepted a cup of tea from Kreacher, who responded with a giddiness which suggested that this reception was a rare one. Whispering animatedly to himself under his breath, he waddled towards the door just as the sound of pounding feet echoed from outside of the room, signaling someone's rapid descent down a staircase.
Turning their heads towards the door sharply at the loud interruption, Mr. and Mrs. Black watched as it burst open and slammed into the wall. Holding his suitcase in one hand and the door handle with the other, Sirius grinned at the sight of the Potters and released the breath that he had been holding.
"Someone could have told me that you had come!" he exclaimed, unfreezing and lugging his suitcase forward, almost knocking Kreacher over in his wake.
"Sirius, how many times do I have to tell you: we do not run down the stairs!" Mrs. Black snapped at him, but Sirius ignored her and plopped his suitcase down in front of James.
"Can we leave, then?" he asked James' parents, and they exchanged a quick glance.
"If you're ready," James' father agreed with a shrug. "Have you got everything you need?"
In reply, Sirius gave his suitcase a short, thudding kick. "I've packed my wand, three sets of robes, and enough snacks to last the whole year! I'll just need a trip to Diagon Alley for my books." Frowning, he stared at the bits of fabric protruding from his suitcase, signaling the rapid pace at which he had thrown his items inside. "Though I'm not sure where I'll manage to fit them."
Giving a short laugh, James' father clapped him on the shoulder. "I'm sure we'll figure something out. Say goodbye to your family now, and we'll be off!"
Facing his family, Sirius stared blankly at them for a moment. "Bye," he finally said; still put off by his sudden entrance, his parents only nodded.
"That's it?" James' father asked when Sirius had looked up at him again. "Aren't you going to hug your brother goodbye?"
Eyes widening, Sirius wrinkled his nose and shot a look at Regulus, who looked equally as horrified. "Of course not!" he exclaimed as he turned back to the Potters. "Why would I do a thing like that?"
At this, James' father quickly cleared his throat and addressed the Blacks one last time. "Thank you again for letting us look after Sirius. We'll have him safely at King's Cross in a month, and I'm sure that you can catch up then!"
Once again, the dark-haired couple glanced at Sirius, who had started tapping his foot as he stared at the fireplace. "I'm sure," Mr. Black replied, not sounding sure at all.
Herding James and Sirius into the empty fireplace, James' mother allowed them to make use of the Floo Network; a few seconds later, they had left the gloomy house behind and reappeared in Potter Cottage. There, it had not been more than a few minutes before Sirius pulled James close in their otherwise empty bedroom and retrieved a book from his suitcase.
"Lycanthropy: The Complete Guide by Hophias Dingle?" James remembered asking, his heart leaping. After having discovered the previous year that one of their roommates at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was actually a werewolf, James, Sirius, and their remaining roommate had vowed to find a way to ease his painful transformations over the summer. "Where did you find it?" James inquired.
"I nicked it from one of my parents' bookshelves," Sirius answered with a smirk, wiping off a bit of dust from the book's corner. "I remembered it right before I had to leave, and I only just managed to fit it in. My parents will never miss it—I reckon we've had it for ages, and I don't think they've ever so much as looked at it."
"This is great!" James praised. "I'm sure that we'll find something in here to help Remus!"
"I haven't found anything about a cure yet," Sirius told him, "but I haven't even gotten through the second chapter." To emphasize his point, he picked up the hefty book and patted its cover firmly, drawing a surprisingly thick thumping sound from its bulk. "There's more to read in here than what McGonagall assigns to us in Transfiguration, and it's hard to understand most of the time."
"Then we'd better get to it," James suggested, and they opened to where Sirius had last left off.
Throughout the next week, the two boys had poured over the old volume, but as Sirius had said, they found little in the vein of treatments or possible cures. In fact, for knowing so much about lycanthropy, Hophias Dingle seemed to hold a rather negative if not inflammatory view of werewolves, and James wondered if he had ever in fact met one.
As James now studied the sleeping form of Sirius, he opened Lycanthropy: The Complete Guide once again to go over what they had already learned. Supposedly, werewolves posed little to no danger towards animals, but they attacked humans without reason during the full moon and even earned the classification of XXXXX in the Ministry Classification of Magical Creatures, which was the highest and most dangerous class. In the margins of the second chapter, Sirius had written down some notes next to a few sentences that he had circled in the text:
Silver and dittany used to close wounds caused by werewolves—can be used as cure? Ask Professor Slughorn about potion.
Caught up in his reading, James did not hear footsteps coming down the hall until Winthrop the house-elf had already opened the door to his bedroom. Snapping the book shut, James shoved it underneath his pillow as Winthrop entered and eyed him with a frown, his arms crossed.
"Master James and his friend Mr. Black have slept past eleven, and Mistress Euphemia will not allow it any longer. Diagon Alley is waiting, and Master still has to get his books."
"Right!" James answered a little too hurriedly. "Thanks, Winthrop!"
His frown deepening, Winthrop raised one of his white, bushy eyebrows. "Did Master hide Master Fleamont's handkerchief in the icebox again?"
"No, of course not," James replied, sliding off his bed and grabbing his round-lensed glasses. "Why would you think that?"
"Because Winthrop found it there."
Across the room, Sirius awoke and waved his dangling arm as if brushing off a fly. "Be quiet," he groaned, his voice muffled from his pillow. "It's not morning yet."
"It's past eleven, Sirius," James corrected him.
"At least wait two more hours," Sirius mumbled, and Winthrop waddled out of the room to avoid seeing James whip out his friend's pillow from underneath him.
"Get up! We're going to see Remus and Peter today!" James exclaimed, ripping off Sirius' comforter as well. As Sirius grunted and slowly sat up, James added, "By the way, did you put my dad's handkerchief in the icebox?"
Suddenly wide awake, Sirius gaped at him. "I thought that was yours!"
"Mine isn't nearly that frilly," James said reprovingly, throwing the pillow at him. "Besides, our initials are different."
"Well, the 'F' looked an awful lot like a 'J,'" Sirius retorted, catching the pillow and stuffing it under his head again.
When James finally managed to drag him out of bed, the two of them ate and joined James' parents in front of the fireplace, this time to travel to the Leaky Cauldron on Charing Cross Road. In the alley behind the small pub, they entered Diagon Alley by opening a hidden entrance in the brick wall that cut it off from the Muggle world.
"We're a little late," James' mother said, looking around the clusters of busy stalls and shops. "The other families should already be—"
She did not have time to finish, because Remus and Peter had walked out of a nearby supply store and ran across the street in front of their parents, waving and calling out their friends' names. They made it across the road in a matter of seconds, and their families hurried to catch up behind them.
"You made it!" Remus exclaimed when he and Peter had skidded to a halt in front of the Potters. "We've already been in half the stores."
"The Apothecary has a sale on knotgrass right now," Peter told James and Sirius, struggling to balance several small packages in his arms. "We've just been stocking up for Potions."
Joining their son at last, Mr. and Mrs. Lupin halted beside Peter's mother; Mr. Lupin, a fair-haired wizard with a beaming smile, was the first to extend his hand.
"I'm Lyall. Hope is my wife, and we just met Marjorie near a half-hour ago."
Taking Mr. Lupin's hand, James' father smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you. You can call me Fleamont, but I'd prefer it if you didn't."
"Call him whatever you like," James' mother cut in, shaking her head. "I mostly call him a fool, but you can be creative. I'm Euphemia, by the way."
"I'm afraid that we did some of the shopping without you," Mrs. Lupin reported with a sheepish smile. "Marjorie didn't want to wait, and the rest of us were only too willing to give in."
"No use waiting while there's shopping to be done, I always say," Mrs. Pettigrew spoke up, her flower-patterned dress jiggling as she adjusted some of the bags draped over her shoulder. Turning to Peter, she patted him on the shoulder and handed him another package. "Here, take this, will you? There's a wee dear." Fumbling with the box as he stumbled under the extra weight, Peter received an affectionate pat on the head from his mother as she turned back to James' parents. "So, shall we be off? Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment isn't going to stay open all day!"
"Sounds wonderful!" James' mother agreed, smiling. "We'll start there. Fleamont," she added, turning to her husband, "can you run down to Gringotts and grab a few more Galleons from our vault? I could use the extra money on hand."
"Of course," he replied, reaching into his robes' pocket to examine his coin purse. As Mr. Lupin stepped forward to join the women, Mrs. Pettigrew held up a hand to stop him.
"You can't join us!" she announced. "This is a girls' outing!"
Throwing her head back to laugh, Mrs. Lupin turned to her husband. "She's right, you know. You can look after the boys in the meantime. But Remus," she added, lowering her voice and placing a few bronze Knuts into her son's palm, "can you run down to the Junk Shop and look around? You might be able to find a few quills there still in decent shape."
Although quickly reddening around the ears, Remus nevertheless took the coins and glanced at his friends before dragging his feet down the street. Turning away, Mrs. Pettigrew led the way towards Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment, and the other women struck up an amiable conversation.
"Come on, boys, Lyall," James' father beckoned, turning towards Gringotts Wizarding Bank. "You're sure to find some shops that interest you along the way."
As they followed the adults, James and his friends fell back a little way to talk amongst themselves. "Have you done any research on werewolves?" James asked Peter, and the smaller boy shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets.
"Not a lot," he replied. "The bookstore a few blocks away from our house didn't have anything about them, and I was too nervous to ask my mum if I could go to Diagon Alley before meeting the rest of you."
"We've had better luck than you," Sirius announced, too eager to proclaim the news to reproach him. "My parents have a book about werewolves that I stole from my house, and it has everything there is to know about lycanthropy!"
"Really?" Peter asked, brightening. "Did you find a cure?"
"Well . . . no," Sirius replied, calming somewhat from his original excitement, "but you can't have everything, can you? It's sure to come eventually."
"The book said that silver and dittany can be used to close werewolf bites," James supplied helpfully. "Maybe those can be used to make a potion that can help Remus."
"Do you think so?" Peter questioned.
"We won't know for certain how much of a challenge it will be until we ask Professor Slughorn about making one," James told him, "but I'm sure that either he or Professor Sprout will be able to help us."
"Won't they get suspicious if we ask for help?" Peter pointed out.
"We've thought of that," Sirius replied. "We'll just tell them that we're working on a research assignment. After all, I'm sure that we'll be learning a lot about werewolves in Care of Magical Creatures this year."
"I'm just a little disappointed that we haven't found anything yet," James admitted, sighing. "We don't have anything to show Remus yet."
"Yeah," Sirius agreed, kicking at a rock on the street. "I wish there was something we could do right away, but there's no use telling him about our plan before we know that it'll work. Besides, he won't like us trying to research a cure behind his back, even though it's for his own good. I really don't understand him sometimes."
"We could always buy him something to cheer him up," Peter suggested, balancing his armload of packages precariously.
"That's a great idea!" James agreed, looking around at the nearby shops. "But what should we get him?"
"We could look in Sugarplum's Sweets Shop," Sirius interjected, nodding towards the brightly-colored storefront on the other side of the street. "He's always happy to get chocolate."
"I don't know," James hesitated, frowning. "It just doesn't seem special enough."
"Let's look around anyway," Sirius said, stopping, and he waved ahead to Remus' father. "Mr. Lupin! We want to stop here!"
Hearing his call, Mr. Lupin turned and walked back towards the boys as Sirius and Peter headed for Sugarplum's. Just before James could follow, however, the older wizard stopped him with a question. "You're James, right?"
"That's me!" James answered. Smiling, Mr. Lupin looked over both shoulders before leaning closer to him.
"Remus has told Hope and me all about you," he said, "and I must say that I'm grateful for your friendship. He never really had any close friends until going to Hogwarts, and I can tell that he's happy by the way he talks about you."
Nodding, James stepped preemptively in the direction of Sugarplum's, but Mr. Lupin threw another glance over his shoulder and continued eagerly, "And then just this summer he told us that you and the others—well, found out about him, and—" Breaking off, he took in a breath and smiled. "And he told us what you said to him. You're a remarkable young man, James, and I'm truly grateful for your selflessness. Our family owes you a great deal."
"It's no problem," James assured him, no longer attempting to follow his friends. "It's not like I would rat him out after two years of being his roommate, after all. He's not a bad sort, once you get to know him."
Laughing, Mr. Lupin rose to his full height and shook his head. "No, he really isn't! I can't take the credit for that, though—his mother did most of the work." Growing serious, he asked, "You haven't told your parents about his . . . condition, have you?"
When James shook his head, Mr. Lupin regarded him with a sparkle in his eyes, a small smile creeping across his face. "I can't say that I've ever met anyone quite like you, James. Again, I must thank you, but I should request that you continue to keep it a secret. I'm sure that your parents are trustworthy people, but perhaps it's for the best that they never know."
Once James had nodded in understanding, Mr. Lupin gestured to a street stall on the other side of the street, manned by a witch in a tall, pointed hat. "If you boys are looking around, I think I'll stop here and see if I can find any cleaning supplies. We're running low on Winchum Crockett's Elbow Grease."
Leaving James in the middle of the street, he walked off to talk with the hatted witch just as Sirius and Peter reemerged from Sugarplum's Sweets Shop. "Nothing really caught our fancy," Sirius told James with a shrug when they halted in front of him. "I guess you were right."
Glancing around the street, James skimmed over the shop signs until his eyes stopped on one of the larger stores. "How about the Magical Menagerie?" he suggested, pointing at the open windows displaying a cage filled with colorful Puffskeins. "Remus doesn't have a pet, does he?"
Curiosity piqued, Sirius and Peter followed him into the shop, where they were immediately hailed by bustling activity. Just to the right of the door, a few crows sat together on a single perch, eyeing the boys with their beady eyes while they emitted a few loud squawks. Crawling over each other, the Puffskeins strained to climb to the top of their cage, and a ginger cat just below the counter growled deeply, attempting to snatch a bright orange toad from a bowl.
Head jerking upright at the sound of the door, the sales-witch behind the counter knocked her head against a cage of chirping finches, all of which started popping loudly as they disappeared and reappeared inside the confines of their prison. "Looking for anything in particular, lads?"
"Just browsing," James answered, walking around the room slowly. Peering into a nearby glass case, he watched as a striped iguana stuck out its tongue and swelled to twice its size.
"We've got birds, lizards, snakes, cats, rats, and supplies for all of them!" the witch told the boys, waddling out from behind her desk as Sirius and Peter began to scan the room. "We even received a large rainbow snake two weeks ago, and we're giving it to a good home for only ten Galleons! Whoops!" she grunted as she knocked against a wicker basket next to the desk, spilling its contents of several spiky, bush-like plants; grumbling under her breath, she pulled out her wand to repair the damage.
Spotting a clump of dirty gray fur in the corner behind the counter, James slipped around the witch to get a better look. At first, he thought one of the cats had left behind a hairball, but then the tiny lump of hair moved, revealing a pink mouth and two rows of pin-like teeth as it yawned widely. When it again dropped off into a heavy doze, James turned and tugged on the storeowner's sleeve.
"How much is that one?" he asked, pointing at the pile of fur.
Spinning around, the witch picked up the gray ball and shook it out, revealing the four tiny legs and triangular head of a kitten. Eyes still closed, the kitten hung limply in her grasp, moving its feet feebly in its sleep.
"This?" the storeowner sniffed. "She's the last of her litter—the rest all went a month ago. I'd put her at six Galleons, at most."
"We'll take it," James told her earnestly, and she shrugged.
"If you say so," she replied, and the boys quickly turned to each other and split the cost.
In a few minutes, James had slipped the tiny kitten into the pocket of his robes, and he exited the shop with the others and joined Mr. Lupin in front of the cleaning-supply stall, where he had just completed his purchase.
"Found everything you were looking for?" he asked them, and they nodded. "We'd better join the ladies at Wiseacre's, then. Fleamont's already on his way."
Together they started off down the North Side of Diagon Alley, reaching Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment just as the other adults walked out of the store along with Remus, who had evidently returned from his errand. Taking a few packages from his wife's arms, Mr. Lupin told her, "I found an excellent deal on cleaning supplies just down the road. I nearly bought out the stall for a fraction of what we normally pay."
"I'll bet that you didn't find anything as good as we did," Mrs. Pettigrew commented with a beam. "I haven't seen such a great sale on cauldron ladles since 1956." Staring up at the drifting clouds, she sighed fondly. "That was a good year."
"Remus, we have a surprise for you!" James announced to his friend, unable to wait any longer.
Speechless, Remus watched as James grabbed the fluffy, gray kitten by the scruff of its neck and plopped it down onto an empty rack in front of Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment. Giving its tiny head a shake as if shocked to find itself on all four feet, the kitten opened its pale, yellow eyes and took one look at Remus; arching its back, it hissed as loudly as its tiny lungs allowed and jumped down from the rack, racing towards James' father. In just two bounds, it had climbed all the way onto his shoulder, where it stood quivering with fear and indignation, and everyone except Remus began to laugh.
"It's precious!" Mrs. Lupin exclaimed, prying out the kitten's claws from James' father and causing a few strands to come free from his robes. Cradling the kitten in her arms, she asked, "What's its name?"
"She doesn't have one yet," James told her.
"What do you think, Remus?" she questioned her son, holding out the drab bundle of fur. "Do you want to take her?"
Biting his lip, Remus backed away. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."
Executing another small hiss, the kitten buried its head in the crook of Mrs. Lupin's arm as she continued to rock it. "You can at least name her," she pleaded with her son.
"Maybe you should," he suggested, still looking hurt.
After thinking for a few moments, Mrs. Lupin looked down at the kitten and smiled. "I think her name should be Mussmug."
"It's perfect!" Mr. Lupin agreed, and he patted Remus on the shoulder while addressing him. "I'll buy some food for her while we're here, and she can come home with us while you visit the Potters. Is that all right?"
Nodding without a word, Remus stared warily at Mussmug as his parents exchanged handshakes with the other adults. "We're about wrapped up here," Mrs. Lupin told the other families. "It was a pleasure to meet you! We'll come pick up Remus in another three weeks."
"I still don't understand why he can't stay for the entire month," James' mother argued. "Peter's staying with us until they go back to Hogwarts."
"Remus still has some packing to do," Mr. Lupin told her, but James shared a knowing glance with the other boys. "Don't worry: he'll be back with the others in no time."
"I'd better be going as well," Mrs. Pettigrew announced, turning to Peter and taking a few packages from his arms. "You treat the Potters kindly now, you understand?"
"Yes, Mum," Peter responded, grateful for his lessened load.
"Your children are in safe hands," James' father told the others, taking Peter and Remus by the shoulders. "We'll make sure that James doesn't have any negative influence on them."
"You should be worried about Sirius, not me!" James protested, earning a kick from Sirius and scattered laughter from the parents.
After saying goodbye to their children, Mrs. Pettigrew and the Lupins walked further down Diagon Alley while James, his parents, and the other boys started for the Leaky Cauldron. As they ambled down the street, James and his friends fell behind his parents so that they would not be overheard.
"I think I'm starting to like that cat!" Sirius laughed, looking back at Mr. and Mrs. Lupin as they headed down the street. Nudging Remus, he added, "I'm sure that Mussmug will warm up to you eventually."
Averting his eyes, Remus opened his mouth to speak, but James beat him to it. "We thought that Mussmug would help take your mind off things whenever the full moon comes. In fact, maybe it would help if—"
Taking in a large breath, Remus glanced at the others and interrupted him. "You still aren't looking for a way to cure me, are you?"
After shooting a quick glance at one another, James, Sirius and Peter immediately shook their heads. "Of course not!" they exclaimed as one, and Remus narrowed his eyes.
"Look," he told them firmly, "I appreciate what you're trying to do about the whole werewolf thing, but there's no way to ignore what I am. You have to face it: there's nothing you can do for me. If thousands of talented wizards over the centuries haven't found a cure, there's no chance that three schoolboys are going to succeed. I really appreciate your efforts, but you shouldn't get your hopes up. Maybe it's best if you just forgot about it."
"Forgot about it?" James questioned, gaping.
"At least for now," Remus told him. "We can let things go back to how they used to be, before you knew that I was a werewolf. It's not that bad, honestly; at least, I'm used to it. There's just no point in hoping for something that's never going to happen."
"Remus, we could never forget about you," James told him, but he shared a disheartened look with Sirius and Peter. Although he had not wanted to admit it, he had begun to doubt the usefulness of Hophias Dingle's book after going through the first few chapters with Sirius. Even though Dingle seemed to know a lot about werewolves, he had not yet mentioned anything about possible cures or other healing processes, and his obvious prejudice against his subject matter suggested that he never would. Still, James was resistant at the thought of giving up so easily, and he resolved to look through the rest of the book without Remus' knowledge.
To Remus, however, he said, "Okay, you're right. We won't get our hopes up." When Sirius and Peter both gave him a sharp glance, he shook his head and winked at them, making sure that Remus would not see.
"Good, then it's settled," Remus replied with a sigh. "Let's not bring it up again, all right? I don't want anyone to overhear."
Nodding, James, Sirius, and Peter shared another look as they exited Diagon Alley behind James' parents. When Remus walked ahead of them, Peter opened his mouth to speak to James, but Sirius gave him a hard nudge in the stomach to stop him. Raising his finger to his lips, James motioned for Peter to stay quiet until they could talk in a more private setting, and Peter seemed to understand enough of his friends' objections to remain silent as they entered the Leaky Cauldron.
