Hidden Stories
Disclaimer: Forgot to write this on the last chapter. It was kind of a spur of the moment thing so… whatever. I don't own the Mauraders or Harry Potter. I do own this… strange plot so… there!
"Remus, honey? Is that you?" A voice drifted calmly through a door.
"Yeah, mum. We have a visitor." Remus called back, his arm still around Sirius' shoulder. Sirius was trying to control his tears.
"Really? Well, show him in. I have extra cookies." The voice returned. Remus grinned at Sirius.
"What kind of cookies?" Remus asked, dragging Sirius with him into the kitchen. The blond woman at the stove looked up, a slight smile on her face.
"Chocolate chip, of course. If it doesn't have chocolate it's not worth tasting, now is it?" The woman held up a plate.
"Sirius, meet my mum." Remus said, shoving Sirius forward. Sirius looked back at him, quickly, not sure of what to do.
"Hello, Sirius. Remus said to expect you. It seems you have a bit of a bruise. Hold this, I'll get my bruise balm." Remus' mum pushed the plate of cookies on him before hurrying off.
"Um… okay." Sirius answered, slowly. Remus laughed, rolling his eyes and leading his friend to the table.
"She does that a lot. It always seems like she's one step ahead of you. Usually you don't even have to say what's wrong. She just… knows." Remus smiled, pushing a dazed Sirius into a chair.
"Here we are. Bruise balm." Remus' mum sang, returning to the kitchen in a flurry of activity.
"Mum, lay off. Let him breathe." Remus sat down next to his friend, smiling. Him mother scowled, setting the bottle of bruise balm on the table.
"Well then, eat. If you are not going to let me heal him, at least eat my chocolate chip cookies." She flipped her hair and turned back to the stove. Remus stuck his tongue out at her back.
"You always have to have the last bit don't you, Moony?" Sirius mumbled. Remus made a face at him.
For several minutes, all that could be heard was the sounds of the two boys eating. Sirius took the time to look around. The kitchen was spotless, a large room with tiled floors and oak cabinets. In the middle of the room, was the table they were sitting at, a large circular thing made of the same wood as the cabinets. The stove was stainless steel and the counter looked like marble. You could tell that Remus' family spent a lot of money on the kitchen.
"Are you boys done?" Remus' mum asked, turning around.
"Yes Mum." Remus answered, rolling his eyes.
"Have you breathed Sirius," The woman asked, a sarcastic tilt to one of her eyebrows. Sirius nodded, "Good. May I heal him now, Sir Remus?"
"As you wish." Remus replied, the corners of his mouth tilting upwards. Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Thank you. I have something for you to take too." She snapped at Remus. He grimaced.
"I'm going to go make up a place for Sirius to sleep. Yell for me when Dad gets home." Remus grinned.
'Coward.' Sirius mouthed to him.
'I know.' Remus replied. Sirius stuck out his tongue at him, which he returned.
"Sirius, sit," Mrs. Lupin pointed to a chair. Sirius sat, "This will cure the bruising. The swelling will take a while." She was applying the balm to his face.
"Anyone home?" The front door opened and a friendly male voice floated in through the living room. Mrs. Lupin stopped and smiled.
"Remus, Dad's home!" She called up the stairs. Remus came running down the stairs. Sirius grinned. He knew that Remus really loved his dad.
"Well, well, well. What's this then?" A tall, man with soft brown hair and a friendly face smiled from the doorway, one arm around Remus' shoulders.
"This is Sirius, Dad." Remus answered, grinning. Sirius winced as Mrs. Lupin pressed down on his bruise and then smiled at Mr. Lupin.
"Of course. You would think I would recognize you with all the stories I've been told. I must have heard your name a hundred times." Mr. Lupin nudged his son.
"More then that, for sure. Your pranks are the only stories we hear about school. We don't even hear his grades until several weeks in." Mrs. Lupin scowled at Remus.
"Well, we are the greatest pranksters ever. It's our legacy." Remus snapped, faking indigence.
"Defiantly." Sirius put in, grinning at him.
"Still… Hmph. Sirius, your face should be better by tomorrow. Now, Remus. It's your turn. Sit." Mrs. Lupin pointed to a chair. Sirius laughed at the murderous expression on his friend's face.
"Hello, dear." Mr. Lupin kissed his wife on the cheek before leaning against the counter. Sirius stood up to let Remus have his chair.
"Have fun, Moony." Sirius mumbled to him.
"Oh, shut up, Padfoot." Remus muttered back, sitting down and glaring at him. Sirius laughed.
"Sirius, come here for a moment, there's a good lad." Mr. Lupin motioned him over, smiling. Sirius leaned against the counter next to him.
"Yes, sir?" He questioned.
"What happened to make you come here? And why is your face swollen?" The older man looked down at him. Sirius had the distinct feeling that Mr. Lupin was looking right down into his soul.
"Oh, just… uh… my dad let me come. The bruise happened on the way here. It was dark. I ran into a stop sign." Sirius lied quickly. Most knew of his problems with his family at school but there was no need to trouble the Lupin's with it.
"Of course. It was much too dark for you to see a nice, bright red sign. I'm not at all surprised. It could happen to anyone." There was a sarcastic edge to Mr. Lupin's voice though his face revealed nothing. Sirius was reminded unpleasantly of the time Remus had wheedled the story out of him. Strangely enough, it had begun almost exactly how this conversation had. The family resemblance was growing.
"Yep. I was just… having trouble seeing." Sirius knew that the grin he flashed the man looked rather forced. This was happening much faster then it had with Remus. It had taken Remus three days to get it out of him.
"Maybe you need glasses. That would probably help wouldn't it?" Mr. Lupin suggested, mildly.
"Uh, maybe. I'm pretty sure it was just because it was dark." Sirius shrugged.
"Hm… and your dad said yes? I thought your dad didn't really like our family." Mr. Lupin pointed out.
"He doesn't know that I'm exactly here. He just said I could go stay with a friend." Sirius knew that the lie was crumbling.
"Ah, of course. And where does he think you are?" Mr. Lupin questioned. Sirius hesitated for a moment.
"He doesn't know… exactly where I am. I just told him I was going to stay with a friend from school." He shrugged again.
"So, he'll eventually come looking for you right?" Mr. Lupin turned away and stuck his head in a large muggle contraption Sirius didn't know the name of.
"Naw. He sent me off with a pretty nasty parting gift. Oh shit." Sirius realized at the last moment that he had slipped up. Mr. Lupin pulled his head out of the big… thing with a small smile on his face.
"There we go. You going to tell me the real story now?" The man asked, softly. Sirius looked away.
"I can't." He mumbled. Mr. Lupin patted him on the shoulder.
"It will heal eventually. Everything does." The man smiled and headed up the stairs.
"You think so. That's because you haven't heard the story yet." Sirius whispered to himself.
What do you think? This chapter was longer. It took me forever to finish because… well I ran out of juice several times. That seems to happen more the longer I'm in school. Hm…
Review… :wanders off pondering some obscure fact: