Phew people, really hard to write this chapter so sorry if it seems weird I just needed to put this in place so I could introduce the next part without tons of explaining.
anyway review and add to alerts please, thats what makes me write :)
The days before Remus was able to go home for Christmas wrapped up quickly and sooner than he thought he was saying goodbye to Sirius and James in the entrance hall of the castle.
"See you Remus, Have a nice holiday" James told him cheerily before clapping him on the back and moving over to say bye to Peter who was in the great hall grabbing some food before they left on the horse-less carriages that would carry them into Hogsmeade.
"Have fun Rem, don't get ill either, you don't want that hanging over your Christmas" Sirius said warmly before pulling him into a fleeting hug and shooing him out of the door with Peter who had just appeared.
"Merry Christmas!" the two of them shouted as Remus and Pete climbed into a carriage and waited to begin the journey home.
~o0O0o~
Remus pulled a book from the inside of his travel bag he was taking with him, seeing it unnecessary to take his whole trunk for just a few weeks away from school. Peter having stuffed himself full of rich, tasty food had fallen asleep and was now snoring loudly as his face slid slowly along the wet window leaving a slightly greasy trail.
Folding the worn paperback on his knees fondly, Remus flicked through the pages till he found where he had last left off, and began to read.
"There are some upon this earth of yours," returned the Spirit, "who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us and all out kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us."
Just when Remus was about to let himself be drawn into the book, the arrival of the food trolley covered in chocolate frogs grabbed his attention, so too that of the sleeping Peter who rose a bleary head to smell the sweet aromas that were wafting his way.
"Anything off the trolley dears?" the kind faced woman behind the glittering pile of sweets asked them pleasantly. Remus nodded mutely and pulled out the handful of Knuts he had in his pocket, and purchased a fair amount of chocolate to keep him going till he could pillage his own home for the creamy treats.
"Mmm, this is good" Peter cooed happily as he began to devour a pumpkin pasty, leaving crumbs all over the dark seats and all over himself, Remus resisted the urge to reprimand him for causing a mess like his father would have done if it was him.
Eventually they rolled into the teaming platform 9¾ where parents and siblings were waiting for their family members to come and met them. Remus pulled his bag onto his shoulder and pushed through the throngs of students clamouring to escape the train, he had left Peter in their compartment having already said his goodbyes.
He stood waiting for the crowd to thin and the smoke to disappear before plunging forward to find his father. After he had searched the whole floo fireplaces for any sign of him waiting, Remus looked up and saw a familiar head of salt and pepper hair standing to the side of the main entrance to the muggle train station. Confused, Remus pushed his way towards his father and when he finally reached him only managed a smile before he was interrupted.
"Remus, I'm sorry I haven't been able to tell you about the change in our meeting place. You see your aunt wanted to come along too but you know how he detests of all magical forms of transport, so we were forced to come here by muggle car" His father told him quickly before gripping him in a tight hug and dragging him through the barrier.
Trotting along happily, they reached the car parked just outside the station in a matter of minutes. John Lupin slid into the front passenger seat whilst Remus struggled to open the nearly rusted through back door, when he finally managed to yank the door open a large chunk of it fell off into his hand, recoiling in disgust he scrambled in and scooted onto the other seat just in case the door decided to fall completely off when they were driving.
A cloud of fluffy violet hair blocked his view thought the front window, but was soon replaced with the gleefully smiling face of his eccentric aunt.
"Lovely to see you Moonshine" she crowed warmly in her aged voice, her twinkling eyes magnified by her purple rimmed glasses with the small fluttering butterflies on either side. Remus blushed at her nickname for him before answering.
"I'm fine thank you Aunt Luminessa; umm do you actually know how to drive?" Remus asked her suddenly worried at being a car with an 89 year old driving virgin.
"Of course not dear, your father drove us down here and it looked ever so easy so I thought I'd give it a go" She told him with a shake of her head and a sceptical look as if Remus had asked her if she knew how to brush her teeth.
Taken aback, Remus stared at his father incredulously who in return just shook his head and clutched at his seatbelt tighter so as to hopefully keep him from smashing through the windscreen in the case of the inevitable crash that was coming their way. Shaking a little bit, Remus clipped his own seatbelt into place and gripped the seats base with a grip that would have broken bones.
His Aunt jerkily reversed his father's decrepit car out of the parking lot and began to roll it slowly down the small incline that led to the road, quickly however they picked up speed and aunt Luminessa seemed adamant to not stop as they hit the cross road. Holding his breath and closing his eyes, Remus prayed he would not meet his end by the hands of his estranged aunt.
Miraculously they didn't hit a single other vehicle, but when Remus open his eyes he caught his father muttering a quick prayer to anyone who was willing to help him to escape the slow torture that was his aunt.
~o0O0o~
Climbing out of the car, Remus stretched his arms and cracked his wrists, the journey in the car had been the tensest he could ever think of, being constantly on guard in case they flipped over and crashed in a pile of burning wreckage had given him a migraine and his now his head was profusely trying to fall forward and he stumbled upstairs to his musty bedroom.
The room housed his childhood, well whatever had remained, tattered and old. It was oddly still and quiet unlike his dorm room in the Gryffindor tower which was always awash in rich laughter and colours. Drab curtains hung limply on the small window and a smell of stagnant air hit his nose. Dragging his heavy feet he flopped on the quilted cover that was laid on his bed, and dug his parchment and quill out of his bag. Though he had only been from Hogwarts for a couple of hours, he felt cut off once more from the Wizarding world.
Carefully placing his quill on the paper he began to write to Sirius and James who had instructed both him and Peter to write them the second they arrived home.
Hello Sirius, James
I fear I may be dead long before I return back to Hogwarts, My dear aunt Luminessa, though by far my favourite relative really does seem adamant in accidentally killing herself plus father and me. The only reason I say this is because she has already shown she is capable of this. I really do hope my father sees sense and forbids her from driving his muggle car ever again.
I'm sorry if I caused you unwanted worry by the fact this letter is late, and don't try and deny it Sirius I know you were. Oh also your Christmas presents are under my bed in a Zonkos bag but don't go looking for them just yet like I know you are now both itching to do, I promise you I will know if you open them a second to early and it will be very bad for you, Madam Pomfrey will be most displeased with your stay in the hospital wing.
Remus
Finishing the letter with an untidy scrawl, Remus walked back out into the garden where his father was still trying to fix the large dent that now crumpled across the driver's side of the car, smiling at each other they quickly went back to their own tasks. Snow was lightly falling from the sky and it clung to Remus's hair before melting, skirting around the muddy puddle in the middle of the path, he walked towards the stone hut that used to house his mothers potion ingredients and cauldron. It was now home to their three owls, Marshal, Alexander and Valentine; holding out his hand Valentine flew over to him and nipped his finger affectionately.
"To Sirius and James, you remember them don't you?" Remus told the owl as he tied to letter to her leg, she hooted softly before gliding out of the small window and into the sky. Seeing the snow had begun to get thicker and thicker he ran to the backdoor they rarely ever used and pushed it open, smiling as the homely smell of beef stew hit his nose. Following the entrancing aroma into the kitchen Remus found his great-Aunt stirring the thick stew with her wand and occasionally adding odd spices that caught her eye from the spice rack just above the sink.
"How are you moonshine? Not too tired to miss dinner I hope, I've been working on this for a while and I think it will be one of my better creations" She asked him, her green robes glinting at the hem where an intricate pattern of stars, moons and suns was stitched in golden thread.
"I'm fine thanks, just got a small headache" Remus told her carefully, balancing the glass tumblers in his hand whilst snapping the wooden cupboard closed. Setting them down on the scrubbed table he fetched a jug from under the sink and filled it with the ice cold water that came from the lake just behind the copse of trees.
"Oh well dear, it's probably just the excitement of coming home" Luminessa told him as she placed three bowls of the stew down. "John, get in here, I've made food" she called towards the parlour that Remus's father used as his office.
Remus began to spoon the thick stew into his mouth, revelling in the tastiness of it as it hit his taste buds. Stumbling through the dark hallway that separated the two rooms, John Lupin finally sat down next to his son with a bump and a sigh.
The three of them sat in silence, the only noise that of the spoons scraping across the china and the clink of glass on teeth. Stretching his arms out in front of himself, Remus pushed away from the table with a contented smile, bidding the two adults goodnight he wandered slowly through the empty rooms, occasionally drifting his fingertips over dusty photos and trinkets that had long been forgotten.
Darkness had fallen and the first floor was shrouded in a blanket that refused to let light pierce it, flicking the old light switch on Remus wandered over to his desk, books and parchment littered the small space available.
A scratching sound coming from the window caught Remus's attention; Valentine was perched on the window's sill trying to get inside. Leaping across the room, he quickly unlatched the bottom pane and let the golden bird fly in; she landed gracefully on his bed stead and stared at him with large eyes. Untying the slice of parchment, he quickly scanned the familiar loopy writing.
Remus
Not to be drama queens, but we thought something horrible had happened to you. Sirius was all for breaking out of Hogwarts and looking for you when your letter didn't come within the hour of Peters. We thought you had been kidnapped and Peter didn't help, he said he saw you wandering around the platform with that annoyed expression you get when you can't find the right information you wanted from your beloved books.
Anyway it good that you are safe, and your aunt sounds great, I just hope she doesn't actually kill you because that would be depressing. Sirius would be writing this with me but he didn't heed your warnings about the Christmas presents and is now sporting a lovely purple elephant's trunk, have a nice Christmas
James
Remus placed the letter on top of his pile of books and crawled into bed.
~o0O0o~
By the time Christmas reared its head, Remus's transformation had been and gone and the twinges of aching muscles were just faded memories that occasionally made themselves known. His Great aunt Luminessa had taken it upon herself to decorate the small cottage with as much tinsel and magical ornaments as possible which meant that where ever you went the chance of walking past tinsel that could grab you and strangle you to death was fairly high.
On the morning of Christmas day Remus awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs wafting up the stairs and into his nose, blearily pulling his night robe on, he stumbled downstairs into the living room where his father was already sat drinking a mug of tea.
"Morning Remus" he said cheerfully whilst pushing a small pile of presents towards his son. Remus eagerly pulled them towards himself and sat on the worn carpet careful prizing off the largest present's shiny paper. A note fell out that read 'Merry Christmas Remus' in James neat hand, and with further unwrapping revealed its self to be a large box of Zonkos merchandise, Remus smiled and turned to a smaller but equally nice gift wrapped in Gryffindor colours.
"Who are those presents from Remus?" John Lupin asked pointing at James's and the present in Remus's hand, "They arrived by post this morning and I was wondering who had sent them"
"Oh they are from my friends James Potter and Sirius Black" Remus told him before turning back to the gift in his hand. Sirius had sent him a small pile of Honeydukes finest chocolate and a black leather wrist band that he tied around his skinny wrist and knotted firmly. When he had finished opening all of his presents, Remus returned back upstairs to change into more suitable clothes than his pyjamas, when he returned downstairs his aunt was laying a full plate of bacon and eggs down on the table, they never ate a full Christmas dinner, but they had adopted the tradition of eating a bulging plate full of bacon and eggs for breakfast.
When Remus felt that he might explode, he dragged his coat from behind the door and ventured out into the cold determined to walk of the massive meal he had just consumed. The grass was crunchy underfoot where the frost had turned it into glittering spears and the air was sharp and crisp in his throat.
Jumping from the patches of ice to the gravelled pathway, Remus wandered into the copse of trees that had used to be a small wood until his father had cut it down. Reaching the other side of the copse Remus began to gather up snow until he had enough to make a rather small lopsided snowman. He stood and smiled down at it before wandering on again.
By the time Remus began to head back to the small stone cottage, night had begun to fall and the sky was a strange shade of purple flecked with the falling snow that had appeared as the weather cooled. Stopping short of the houses backdoor, Remus pushed into the hut that housed the owls.
"Merry Christmas" He whispered before stroking Valentine and Marshals feathers. He wondered if Sirius and James, not to mention Peter had had a good day and that they had received what they had asked for even if it was ridiculously expensive.
He stood in the quiet petting the three owls for quite some time but was suddenly jerked out of his calm demeanour when a spine chilling scream reached his ears. Remus felt his breath hitch and his muscles tensed praying that the scream would stop, but it didn't it just keep crawling into the night. Suddenly without warning he found his feet carrying him towards the backdoor and through to the parlour.
He stopped short; the world had suddenly plunged into a murky sea that muffled all sounds except for the raspy voice of an unfamiliar man.
"Once more Lupin before I lose my patience, where is the boy?" The voice growled, it was terrible sound like ripping flesh magnified into a thick liquid.
"He-he-he's not here" Remus's father choked desperately, fear and pain leaking through his voice.
Remus stood to scared too move, terrified the man would hear his breathing and grab him too. He was a Gryffindor but all courage had left him and replaced it with bone chilling fear that gripped at his legs and arms, refusing to move them.
The man growled again, obviously intent on causing John Lupin pain but before he uttered a single word, he stopped and sniffed.
"Well well, looks like the little cub has come of his own accord" The man sneered before yanking the door open and grabbing Remus harshly by the wrist. He was dressed in shabby robes with ominous stains streaked down the front, his hair was knotted and his bared teeth were a dingy yellow colour like that of a dog.
"I think we should teach daddy a lesson about lying shouldn't we" the man breathed into Remus's ear causing him shudder violently. Looking into his father's eyes he saw his own fear reflected back, John Lupin was covered in bruises and one of his arms was bloody, Remus felt tears welling up in his eyes, he was more scared then he had ever been before in his life, he didn't want to die.
The man laughed before pointing his wand at Remus's head and muttered Crucio.
Remus screamed and writhed around in the man's tight grip, it seemed to last forever, black began to invade his vision but before he was fully engulfed the pain was lifted. Lightheaded, he felt himself fall forward onto the floor, too exhausted to move or open his eyes.
"You bastard! He's only a child" Luminessa screeched from where she was tied to the armchair.
"Be quiet you old hag" the man spat before casting a silencing charm over her, she struggled shouting silent threats at him. Remus felt himself being lifted off the ground but didn't move, his legs felt like lead as did his head.
The man grabbed his hair and yanked so that Remus's head lolled back exposing his pale neck.
"Little cubs tired, but we can't have slackers so we'll have to punish you" The man drawled gleefully before slowly wrapping his grubby hands around Remus's throat and squeezing. Snapping his eyes open, Remus flailed around trying to break the man's grip on him but before he could, a shooting red spell just missed the dirty man's shoulder and bounced off the wall.
Cursing, the man let go of Remus's throat and dug his nails into the soft flesh of Remus's upper arm instead before spinning on his heal.
Remus was only dimly aware of the vacuum he was being pulled through as the oxygen slowly returned but took away his consciousness.
I'm soo mean that you arn't even going to find out what has happened to poor remus in the next chapter but the chapter after that :) also if you have the word 'Poo' anywhere in here where it's not suposed to be blame it on twin sister who only recently told me she has been attacking the final copies for fun. :)
