Disclaimer: I do not own the original canon nor am I making any profit from writing this piece. All works are accredited to their original authors, performers, and producers while this piece is mine. No copyright infringement is intended. I acknowledge that all views and opinions expressed herein are merely my interpretations of the characters and situations found within the original canon and may not reflect the views and opinions of the original author(s), producer(s), and/or other people.
Warnings: This story may contain material that is not suitable for all audiences and may offend some readers. This particular story has thoughts of self-hatred. Please exercise understanding of personal boundaries before and during reading.
Author's Note(s): I surprisingly like writing a very young version of Remus, despite how much he grapples with hating himself. It made a nice change of pace from characters who hate themselves due to the deliberate & calculated abuse of their guardians. I really liked writing Hope, especially in the ways she's just treated all of the lycanthropic traits of her son like symptoms of a medical condition opposed to things that were shameful.
Notice: This story had been previously published in a collection in which it didn't belong. It is now being published as standalone story. Any competition-centric notes that are not in the Block have been removed.
Challenge/Competition Block:
Stacked with: Houses Competition (Term 3); Shadows of Consequences; Paranormal Phantasm; Lessons Learned; Not Commonwealth; Seriously Important (Not); Terms of Service; By Any Other Name; Fem Power Challenge; Ravenclaw MC
House: Hufflepuff
Year: 4th (In-House Stand-In)
Category: Standard (750-1491 words)
Additional Requirement: House Trait (Loyalty)
Prompt: "Why do you smell like that?" (speech)
Representation: BC Use; Magic; Going to School; Remus Lupin; Slice of Life; Policy Makers & Parents; Lupins & Blacks; Hope Howell Lupin
Bonus Challenge(s): Machismo (Sensitivity); Second Verse (Not a Lamp; Ladylike – Aggressiveness; Mouth of Babes; Wabi Sabi; Middle Name; Tomorrow's Shade; Unwanted Advice; Hot Apples; Creature Feature)
Word Count: 1490
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Shades of the Past
Loyal Puppies
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Remus stumbled as he exited the emerald flames into the King's Cross transportation hub. His trunk bumped against his calves, threatening to unbalance him further. He moved away from the fireplace as quickly as he could so he wouldn't block his parents coming behind him. The sounds and scents of the large room threatened to overwhelm him, but he gritted his teeth against the urge to retreat from the noisy people and intrusive smells. He couldn't give his father any excuse to take him back home, not when this was probably his only chance at a magical education.
The Floo flared again with his parents' arrival. Immediately, his mother rushed forward to hug him as if it had been months since she saw him instead of minutes. Under the guise of the hug, she rubbed her cheek against his, soothing the monster that had been struggling to break free of his control. He whined quietly as he returned the gesture. He didn't understand how his Muggle mother knew how to silence the beast so well when his father who worked for the Ministry did not, but he appreciated it now more than ever.
"Hope, darling, let the boy go," his father complained. "You're embarrassing him."
"My only son is going away for months, Lyall," his mother countered without loosening her hold. "I'm allowed to hold him for as long as I want so long as he's on the train by the time it pulls out. Now shush before I remember that I wanted to ask that nice coworker of yours 'round for dinner if I happen to see her while we're getting Remy squared away."
"Augusta Longbottom is not a coworker. She's a menace in the form of a witch."
"What your father doesn't realize," she stage-whispered in Remus' ear, "is that all this grumbling just makes me want to meet her more." With a final rub of their cheeks, she straightened and glanced at her now-sputtering husband. "Do you think she's a pot roast person?"
"Hope, darling, please," his father begged. Her response was to run her fingers through Remus' hair, scratching in spots. Then she straightened the collar of his shirt so that it laid flat over the neck of his jumper. Without another word, she urged him further into the station, all while ignoring his father. "By Rowena's Wit, you'll be the death of me, woman. You can't just invite the Lady Longbottom to dinner. Society doesn't work like that!"
"Now, Remy, I expect a letter in the morning to let me know how your Sorting went," Hope declared as they weaved through the crowd, completely ignoring Lyall who followed behind them, still grumbling about his wife conspiring with the woman who kept blocking his bills in the Wizengamot and challenging him at every turn. Remus pressed against her side as they walked, doing his best to ignore all the things trying to pull his attention to them. "I need to know right away what colors I'm to use for your quilt. I know your father is hoping for Ravenclaw, and these Houses are some sort of big deal, but I want you to remember that they don't actually matter, sweetheart. School's only for a few years and you have your whole life ahead of you. You just be my wonderful boy and let the professors take care of any problems."
"Yes, Mama," Remus answered dutifully and getting a squeeze in return for his loyalty to her game.
Remus might not understand how adults thought most of the time, but he did like the playful bickering his parents did constantly. It may seem mean to outsiders, but they couldn't fool his nose. They never smelled anything less than completely loving as they sniped and snapped at each other. It reminded Remus of the neighbor's puppies tugging at each other's ears. It was surprising calming. He was going to miss that feeling while he was away.
His father took the lead as they entered the platform for the Hogwarts Express. Despite being almost an hour early, the platform was already full of people. Remus pressed his face into his mother's side, whining at the sensory riot threatening to overwhelm him again. Immediately, he felt himself being pulled out of the walkway and followed the motion easily. His mother would never abandon him, no matter how much he was acting like a baby—he refused to think about the beast within as a possible reason for her to hate him, because that was too logical for him to refute at the moment. He could remember the things his father had said over the years, when he thought Remus couldn't hear him, so he knew that it was a monster he carried within himself. His mother shifted their position so that she could press his nose into the spot where her shoulder met her neck, the spot where her scent was always the strongest and Remus wouldn't be able to focus on anything other than her.
Then a screech like a banshee rose above the din around them. It was immediately followed by the sour-tang flavor that Remus associated with the few hexes and jinx that his father used around the house. The beast snarled in his chest, defensive and fearful. Remus was barely aware of turning away from his mother, of standing before her with instinct to protect her with his own body if need be.
Remus barely saw the other boy running from the flying spells before they collided. They went down in a tangle of limbs that just barely managed to not take Hope as well. When they stopped moving, Remus found himself struggling to regain his breath as the collision had knocked it out of him. Arching above him, the other boy was panting a bit even as he was grinning like a loon. His dark gray eyes were laughing as well, genuinely happy despite whatever had made him run through a crowded platform in the first place. The boy cocked his head to the side like a curious puppy and leaned down to draw in a deep breath through his nose, more blatantly sniffing than Remus would have ever dared to do.
"Why do you smell like that?"
"Excuse me?" Remus asked, half-offended by the question (he had bathed just that morning!) and half-terrified by the implication. Was the monster strong enough that it was manifesting in ways that he couldn't prevent? Was it obvious, even to people who couldn't possibly know?
"You smell like honeysuckle, moss, and tea," the boy declared. He leaned down to sniff at Remus' neck, either ignoring or refusing to acknowledge the intimacy of the act. Sitting back up, the boy nodded to himself. "Definitely your scent, despite the old lady aspects. You best be careful, or you'll go gray before you're twenty."
"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! Where did you run off to, you horrid little beast?"
The boy paled a bit and ducked down as if he could hide in Remus' jumper. Not fully realizing what he was doing, Remus ran a hand through the boy's black hair before patting his shoulder. Remus' wrist tingled a bit where the motions had brought it into contact with Sirius' cheek. The hair on the back of his neck raised a bit before settling again.
"Is that your mum?" Remus asked quietly. Sirius shook his head.
"Worse," he muttered, before shaking himself like a wet dog and sitting back up. Sirius flashed a grin at him, seeming to recover his previous brashness. "Bella's my cousin. My least favorite one at that."
"Does she smell as horrid as she sounds?" The question popped out before Remus even realized that he was thinking it. He could feel his face flushing. His mother was the only person he had ever openly talked about people's scents with and now he was doing it with a complete stranger? Luckily, Sirius just barked out a laugh.
"Worse," Sirius repeated. With more care than he had shown thus far, he got off of Remus and stood. Then he offered a hand to help Remus off the ground. Remus took the help. "She smells like blood and ashes. Not as pleasant as your old lady-ness."
"Will you leave off already?"
"Oh, I'm never gonna let you live down smelling like flowers," Sirius declared, pressing his left hand over his heart and giving a half bow. "I'm nothing if not loyal to my promises."
"Oh, like a dog then?"
"With a bone," Sirius agreed, grinning widely and taking no offense at the comparison. Then his grin widened, and he turned towards Remus' mother. "Now, who is this enchanting vision of loveliness?"
Hope giggled at Sirius' antics as Lyall sighed in resignation. Remus inwardly agreed with the feeling but introduced his parents to his new friend anyway. He had a feeling that he had just gained his own puppy to tug at his ears.
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An Ending
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