Remus Lupin was not having a particularly good evening. He was in total distress for the entire Order meeting, unable to focus on any of the issues at hand except for Mr. Weasley's attack. He struggled to not fall asleep for the last part of the meeting; however, when he finally did get the freedom to traipse up to bed, he found he couldn't even close his eyes. He was very uncomfortable. Possibly because of the full moon approaching... But Remus just couldn't help but think of Harry's situation.
What would James do? He wondered. What would Lily do?
Well, for starters, they would talk to Harry about it, no doubt... but it was so hard to know what exactly to do about it, about Harry's discomfort, about his fear, about his pain, and everything he tried so hard to hide. Remus couldn't very well go in there and hug and comfort Harry like a parent would...maybe Sirius might, be Remus couldn't. At that moment, Remus regretted being Harry's teacher before his friend or a father figure.
So the only question he could ask himself was "what would Remus do?" And that wasn't really helpful at all.
Remus took a long drink from the goblet of water he had brought up, and sat it back on his bedside table. It was going to be a long night, no matter if it was 3:00 in the morning already. He climbed into bed, dreading the non-sleep of the entire night.
He had long ago recognized that he was loud in his sleep, not only due to his wolf-like tendencies and terrible discomfort around the full moon time, but also because of his over-troubled mind; as such, he had taken to casting silencing charms around his room during the night and around full moons.
Eventually, though, his thoughts carried him into a doze of sorts, and Remus' sleep was full of the unfinished thoughts of his waking moments and the dread of turning into a wolf in just over week's time. However, he was completely exhausted, and didn't awaken.
So he didn't hear the screaming.
Remus roused about ten minutes after the screaming had begun, startled awake by a devastating image of himself as a wild wolf eating his family (which wouldn't actually happen, thanks to the Wolfsbane potion, but it was frightening nonetheless).
He rubbed his eyes and, parched, drank deeply from the water goblet on the table once more. Placing the now empty goblet down once more, Remus was about to get his wand from the bedside table to restore his water supply, when he noticed the wand wasn't there. A little alarmed, he swept over his room quickly and carefully, searching for his wand. At last, he decided he must have left it in the kitchen, and strode softly from the room to retrieve it.
And he knew something was wrong as soon as he stepped from his open door.
He could hear Sirius practically running down the dark corridor, his steps echoing loudly. Sirius did not know that Remus had cast silencing spells on his bedroom, so Remus was sure the noise was call for something serious. Questions burst into existence in his head; he listened carefully for answers.
A low groan escaped the silence. It sounded like both the cause of annoyance and the cause of a lot of pain.
It must be Harry, Remus thought, his stomach twisting uncomfortably with new worry, recalling his thoughts from before bed. Oh God, please let no one be hurt, whatever he's seen...
Remus knew in his heart of hearts that Harry was not possessed whatsoever. They (that is, the Order) would know if he was. They wouldn't have had conversation after conversation, with everyone from Mundungus Fletcher to Albus Dumbledore himself, to confirm their thoughts on the connection. These conversations, exempting the one with Dumbledore, were completely unnecessary, as Remus was constantly pointing out. First of all, the only person who would have an inkling of what was going on, besides Harry, was Dumbledore, and they, therefore, must trust him. Secondly, hadn't anyone noticed that no one within the actual vicinity of Harry was being injured, or otherwise harmed in any way?
It hurt Remus to know that the connection was hurting Harry, but if it was hurting Harry so much, if he actually knew what was going on, how in the world could he be possessed? Remus had heard stories of possessions, particularly the story of Ginny Weasley's possession, and this was nothing like that. This was a mind connection, as Harry could see into Voldemort's mind as equally as Voldemort could see into Harry's. And, at least in Harry's case, the sight wasn't by choice.
Teacher or not, I'm going to go help, Remus decided firmly. He cared about Harry as much as Sirius did, and felt his words were as important as his best mate's. Sirius was the godfather here, but Remus might as well have been, too.
It's okay to open up, Moony. You're not doing anything wrong at all. In fact, it's quite alright to be involved here...
He gingerly tiptoed down the hall, careful not to be the cause for any more unease. As he approached Harry's room, he heard Sirius call Harry's name with profound panic laced into his voice. Remus stopped and listened, second guessing his continuation.
He heard whimpers and soft cries, the sound of vomit making contact with wood, and, finally, a sigh and a deep breath.
He opened the door a tiny crack and peeked in. Sirius was seated on Harry's bed, Harry was sitting up. Sirius had his hand on Harry's shoulder; they were not looking at each other. And Remus saw the apprehension in Harry's eyes, the fading pain, and the humiliation. His heart sank. Remus couldn't bring himself to reveal his presence; it may just cause Harry to close his feelings up again. He retreated back behind the door, a little more into the shadows of the hallway.
Why Harry? He pondered wearily. Why not someone else? Why anyone at all?
He considered the weapon, the stupid, blasted, unknown weapon.
It's Voldemort, he reminded himself. It's always Voldemort. And he stood there thinking a long time.
Remus broke out of his reverie to hear gentle crying, and peered through the doorway's crack to see Sirius embracing Harry, both with tears falling like tiny waterfalls down their faces and small smiles on their lips. Remus smiled, too, glad to see that Harry's discomfort had ended.
"It's okay to be afraid," Sirius spoke now. "Just know you don't have to be afraid by yourself."
Remus became aware of the lump in his throat and his own tears threatening to billow over. He saw Sirius stand up and hurriedly reigned in his emotions. Sirius opened the door and seemed unsurprised to find him standing there. Remus considered his friend for a moment, and addressed him warily.
"Is he...okay?" Remus asked, knowing he wasn't doing a good job of seeming calm. He saw stress, he saw overtiredness, and he saw bottomless concern and affection on his best friend's face. Sirius nodded. Remus examined him for a moment.
"Are you okay?" he continued, raising his eyebrows a fraction. Padfoot, my best friend, my best, living friend...please be okay...
"Yeah," Sirius said, and Remus was quite surprised, and relieved, to hear the peace in his speech. "We both are. It's fine." Remus couldn't say how very glad he was for that.
Patting his friend's shoulder, Remus nodded with a small and satisfied smile, before they both parted, heading back to their own rooms.
It's okay, Remus sang in his mind. It's okay.
And, for once, he slept well.
A/N: Ah I'm just throwing out the updates, aren't I? I really like this story, and hopefully you as readers do, too. I'm thinking there'll be one more chapter, which will have a bit more excitement in it, generally. Please read and review; it's sooo amazing to discover your inbox with even one review sitting inside. Thanks, and please continue to review, whether anonymous or signed :)