A/N I'm back, and I'm sorry. I had a bunch of tests, assignments, and commitments so I was pretty busy. On the flip side, I only have a week and a half left until the holidays so I should be able to write more. I don't really know where some of this came from, but it makes me so happy that I can stop having to rewrite things because I forgot that Remus can't speak. Enough rambling, you've been waiting.

Disclaimer: Why would I willingly spend money on a program that has ridiculous mandatory hours and zero breaks if I could make money writing?

7 January 1973

With the new year came the inevitable return to school. Platform 9 ¾ was almost as busy as it had been in September, but not quite. Hope and Remus had had to take the Knight Bus from their village to the station, as Lyall had been called off for a job, but Remus wasn't really thinking about the fact that he'd not be seeing his parents for another few months. I see Peter, James -so Sirius is here, but no Rom so far. DAMN. the train leaves in ten minutes…

Hope pulled her son from his frantic searching with a hand on his shoulder, and leaned over- not down really, at least not much- and whispered in his ear. "I'm sure he'll show up, but you should maybe stop sniffing the air for him."

In an instant, Remus went from pale to pink.

"Of course I know about it, you practically get dragged by your nose when the time comes." she chided as her son tried to make himself as small as possible. She pulled him in for a quick hug and kiss and left him to board the train with his friends free of embarrassment.

The Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station in a flurry of 'Goodbyes', 'we love yous', and 'don't forget to wear clean underwear'. Amidst all this, the car at the end of the train sat in silence. This actually caused a few prefects to stick their heads in, because quiet from these boys was usually a pretty good indication that the shit was about to hit the fan.

Neither James nor Sirius wanted to broach the subject of Romulus, as neither had seen him on the platform, and Peter was blissfully unaware of the issue. After twenty minutes of uncomfortable silence, Peter asked the dreaded question.

"Has anyone seen Romulus?"

The question was met with Remus standing abruptly, leaving the compartment with an I need to take a walk, and a hard glare from the remaining two Gryffindors.

Remus didn't walk very far. He turned left out of the compartment, walked to the door, and stepped outside. He sat, legs hanging off the back of the train, staring down the tracks until a prefect tapped him on the shoulder and practically dragged him back inside an hour later.

"Are you alright Lupin? You look frozen, Why didn't you do up your cloak or anything?" The prefect - a Ravenclaw that Remus didn't know continued to grill him until he had warmed his hands adequately to write legibly.

Have you seen my brother? Haven't been able to find him.

"Bugger, I'm sorry, no I haven't" She frowned, realizing that she was not speaking to her housemate. "You two are like identical twins. I'll keep an eye out though."

Finally someone who realized we aren't twins, though if we were we'd both been here… Thanks. Then Remus turned and began to roam the train, grateful that the majority of students were in their own compartments. It was on his third pass up and down the cars that he noticed something was off. The last car seemed to be shorter than the rest. And was the faintest flicker in the hall at the back, and every time he stepped pat the last compartment, where his friends were watching him with concern every time he passed by, he felt the briefest period of vertigo. He shifted back and forth, trying to find where the feeling began and ended, trying to find the anomaly.

He did, and he proceeded to stumble back into the wall. Only, he didn't hit the wall. He windmilled for a few moments before tumbling down to the floor. What just happened? And WHERE am I? Remus had found himself in a large, cluttered compartment that appeared to be some sort of former kitchen. The worn hardwood counters and wood stoves were coated in a thick layer of dust. Fine particles of dirt and hair swirled up around him, displaced by his body.

Sitting up, Remus deemed himself to be in some sort of kitchen though it hadn't been used in ages. The cupboards were filled with teacups and saucers, teapots, sugar bowls, and various other items. I guess they used to run afternoon tea on the train, wonder if there's anything left?

Remus continued to rummage through the cupboards until he found some viable tea, picked up a kettle, pointed his wand and thought aguamenti! Still relishing in the fact that it worked, and set the kettle on the stove. He knew he could have just warmed the water with magic, but there was something to be said about a properly made cup of tea. Plus, this way he could make it as hot and as strong as he liked.

Returning to the compartment with three hours left on the tracks, Remus knew what his parents were getting for Christmas the following year. He slid open the compartment door with his foot, cradling his steaming cup- with the Hogwarts crest intricately painted on the porcelain- and slipped into his friend's compartment.

"Remus, where have you been? We looked everywhere for you when the trolley came."

Remus said nothing, but it was not like James to give up.

"I take it you found her though? I didn't realize they served tea on the train."

Sirius noted that his roommate was still upset and switched benches to sit beside him, also giving Peter more space to snooze.

"They don't. I remember my parents ranting about how they cancelled it back when they believed I could redeem myself."

"Where did you get it if the trolley doesn't do tea?" James asked, though he didn't really care for tea.

Sirius, apparently, did. He took the cup from Remus, intending to take a drink. "SHIT, ow, BLOODY HELL REMUS!" he hollered as the teacup crashed to the floor. "Why is that so bloody hot?" He cradled his hands for a moment before determining that he should cool them off.

Remus screeched when the scalding tea landed on him, drenching his torso and legs.

Peter woke at the outburst and flung open the window in an attempt to help. It was not appreciated.

James, currently the most level-headed of the group, panicked, and acted, blurting out the first spell that came to mind.

"Aguamenti"

The taller two of his three roommates turned on him in an instant. ""JAMES!" Sirius's eyes had shifted from his usual rainstormy or cloudy grey to hurricane, and Remus bore into his friend with gold-flecked green. Ordinarily, the pair would be pissed about being drenched. Then again, normally was not generally on a train with the window open, snow falling, and temperatures hovering around freezing. So, while normally they would simply be pissed, they were murderous.

After drying themselves off with hot air from their wands, Remus and Sirius pounced on the only boy left in the compartment- that would be James seeing as Peter slipped out after the shower. By the time a prefect arrived to dispel the commotion-which really only took about a minute by Remus's internal clock, a clock that functioned perfectly and without failure until the moon rose; Then it took a few days to re-calibrate.

When the compartment door was flung open, Remus was pinning a beaten, but not broken, James Potter to the wall with one hand while Sirius, though also angry with his friend, stood by in awe and fear, fully prepared to get a few hits in himself.

"Twenty points each from Gryffindor for fighting, not that I would mind if you put him in the hospital." The sneering voice caught the attention of the aggressors and Remus released his grip, though James would not take his eyes off him. "Lupin, detention." With that, Lucius Malfoy, pompous Slytherin Prefect spun out of the room and strutted away.

"That bastard!" Sirius seethed at Remus, who would not and could not respond; besides, they deserved some sort of consequence.

"Twenty points each?" James, despite having been on the pummeled side of the dispute, was flabbergasted. He and Sirius began griping about the loss and planning retribution. Remus on the other hand hung his head in shame, silently closing the window, repairing his teacup, and returning to the abandoned kitchen.

He returned not ten minutes later to find James once again pinned against the wall, though this time the look of fear was replaced by one of curiosity and confusion. Sirius was apparently attempting to test his strength, and he was failing. He was resorting to using his weight as well as his strength-which as a beater was not insignificant- his arm was locked and shaking. Not to mention that the balls of James's feet were still on the ground.

Rolling his eyes in the doorway, freshly made hot chocolate in hand, Remus wrote his friends a message. Not likely.

"Not likely?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

James motioned to the door and by extent, Remus.

Still hyped on his anger-fueled adrenaline, Sirius spun to face the door, dropping James the inch to the floor. He eyed his roommate's pale frame. "Think you can beat me in an arm wrestle Remmy?"

Remus pretended to contemplate the question for a moment and set his cup down before responding. Yes

"Care to put your money where your mouth is?"

The noise had once again attracted the attention of the students, though since they were not being violent, there were no points to be deducted.

The betting pool favoured Sirius significantly, and only three of fifteen bets were placed on Remus. The students in the corridor took one look at each participant-Sirius, the broadly built beater, and Remus, with his long and lanky frame, who happened to look pale, ill, and underfed ninety percent of the time, and chose their champion.

With James as their referee, both boys lied down on the floor: right arm up, left as a stabilizer. Hands clasped, and James led the car in a dramatic countdown.

"Three, two, one, GO!"

The contest, or lack thereof, was on. Sirius immediately put all his strength into pulling down his friend's arm, figuring he would end it nice and quick.

He was in for a bit of a wake-up call, because Remus had a very different idea. As soon as James said 'GO' Remus simply clenched his muscles, locking his arm in place, so Sirius might as well have been wrestling a wall. It was only once Sirius's eyes widened in realisation of this that Remus put an end to the wrestle by quickly and smoothly forcing his friend's arm to the floor with a glimmer of triumph in his eye and a smirk on his face.

All everyone else could do was stare at the hands on the ground, speechless at the pale thin hand on top of the beefier olive one. Eighty percent of the crowd had just lost their sickles on a sure bet.

Remus stood, dusted off his already-too-short robes, and extended his hand to his beaten friend. Both standing, Remus turned to the door, took a bow, and held out his hand to James for his winnings. James was still staring at the floor where their hands had come down. Catching movement in the doorway, the three Gryffindors looked up to see two more. Lily Evans and Frank Longbottom both nodded to the competitors before holding out their own hands to James for their winnings.

The train arrived at the station with many pockets emptier that when they had boarded. Remus, not usually one to have money in his pocket was particularly pleased as he disembarked the train with two of his friends.

His smile faltered when he took his first breath of fresh air since getting drenched. Looking to his right, he found a rather cross Professor of Transfiguration. The cross look, he noted, was for him. Well, not just him.

"Black, Lupin, would you come over here please?"

Remus gulped. He could hear Sirius do the same. It was one thing to be yelled at, but when the voice calling was calm with that look. That struck fear into students.

She also had the sense to wait until the platform had cleared before tearing into them. The waiting made it worse.

"Lupin, head up to the hospital wing, your wiring is coming off." Remus nodded at her curt orders, his features washing over in relief. "You are to wait for me there."

His relief vanished, replaced with worry, shame, and perhaps terror. Slowly, Remus turned and made his way to the second to last carriage waiting for him, dreading not only his later encounter with his head of house, but also his next encounter with Madam Pomfrey.

Fortunately for Remus, the new matron was busy restocking shelves in the back and it was Nurse Biddle who met him. Unfortunately for Remus, she was apparently training Pomfrey and as such, she believed that Poppy should be the one to free his speech. Again Remus gulped. He tried to keep his eyes averted during the procedure, which was rather painful, an as he had refused to look at her, the nurse determined that no, he did not want a pain relief potion. In the end, he ended up closing his eyes while she worked. Firstly so he didn't see the mirth that he was sure to be there, secondly because he didn't think he could after his previous interaction with her.

"The muggle techniques aren't quite as accurate as ours, so i'm afraid there's a bit of offset."

Remus had opened and closed his mouth a few times as commanded, slid it back and forth, and side to side. "It feels weird" Talking felt weird, and not just because he hadn't done it for a few weeks. His mouth didn't quite move the same, and his teeth didn't line up the way they used too.

"I can break it and reset it again for you?" Laughter sparkled in her eyes, and she was struggling to keep the smirk from playing onto her face.

His eyes widened in horror and he and his cloak were out of the room before the witch could blink.

Shit he thought as he rounded the corner, leaning up against the stone. I was supposed to wait for McGonagall. Remus slumped down the wall, hitting his head softly on his knees as he thought about where to go. He began hitting his head harder when he heard footsteps approaching from down the hall.

Eyes closed, he didn't notice when a shadow fell over him and a the professor in question cleared her throat.

"I do believe that I asked you to wait in the hospital wing did I not? And should you care not to have to return this evening, I suggest you you stop attempting to concuss yourself."

Remus looked up, focusing on the forehead of his head of house.

"You are allowed to speak now Mr. Lupin, the spell wore off a week ago." The pupil merely nodded, back to fearing what she had heard about the scrap on the train

"Would you rather continue this conversation here or in my office?"

With a sigh Remus stood. "Office please."

Choosing the more comfortable of the two chairs facing the desk, Remus sat and awaited his verdict.

"Would you like to explain Gryffindor House lost forty points today?"

"Malfoy overreacted."

"Remus, how many times am I going to have to tell you to look at people when you speak to them?"

"Sorry Professor." He moved his eves back to her forehead.

The professor rolled her eyes. "You are going to have to get over that someday."

Remus drew his feet up to rest on the bar under the chair.

"Now, would you care to explain why Gryffindor lost any house points today?"

"James drenched us with the window open." He was beginning to pick at a loose thread on his trousers.

"You are not generally one to lose your temper, so why, might I ask, was Mr. Potter being held up against the wall?"

"Rom wasn't on the train and his mum wants to transfer him." The look his teacher was giving him told him that that wasn't good enough. "She- We ran into each other at Mungo's. It didn't go well and she stopped Romulus from communicating with me."

"How did you know she wanted to transfer him then?" The professor hid her annoyance for the woman's intolerance, as this was what she assumed had caused the change of heart.

Remus smiled and relaxed a bit. "His step dad snuck it out of the house and mailed through muggle post."

"I see. Would you care to know that your brother is currently on his way up from dinner? At least he should be. I never can tell with that boy. Especially now that he's found the kitchens." With the last accusation, she sat higher in her seat and forced her student to look her in the eyes.

Remus snapped away as fast as he could. "I didn't tell him!" He declared, looking aghast. "He'd eat all the marshmallows" was added quietly as he realized he had not been able to find any for his hot chocolate the last time he had looked.

"I was able to convince his family that he should at least stay for the rest of the year, curriculums get mixed about, and goodness knows the my American counterpart doesn't teach in a logical pattern."

Laughing softly, Remus stood to leave. "Thank you Professor."

The corner of her mouth twitched, threatening to smile. "Don't thank me yet Lupin, report here at seven o'clock Wednesday evening for your detention."

"Yes ma'am" The smile on his face flickered ever so slightly before he tore off out the door and up the stairs, turning left instead of right at the top.

"Gryffindor Tower is the other way Lupin" called the professor with a groan, half-wishing that Romulus Lupin did transfer, and that he took the rest of her second year boys with him, ridding the house of the boisterous, detention-seeking, point-sacrificing miscreants. Remus could stay though. He was usually calm, quiet, and studious. But let Isaac Rinkoski deal with the lot of them. She smiled softly at the thought of the bumbling and passive transfiguration teacher at Ilvermorny attempting to corral the troublemakers.

Remus floored it up six flights of stairs, six because he had one move on him and the most convenient detour was up and then down again, sunk into three trick steps, and very nearly made himself dizzy with the speed that he climbed the spiral staircase from the fifth floor, following sounds of students softly discussing homework. He winked at the eagle knocker that had come to life to ask him a riddle- clearly without realizing that he had caught the door with his toe.

"Lupin, but he just-"

"Isn't that-"

"Hey-"

"You can't"

Heads turned and with were shouts of protests the Ravenclaws realized that the second pale, skinny, 5'3"ish boy with sandy brown hair and sharp features that was on his way up the stairs was not the Lupin belonging to their house.

Remus barreled up the stairs to the dormitories, pausing on each landing and seeking out the scent of his almost-twin. He bumped into a fourth year on the third landing when he closed his eyes to concentrate on the slurry of smells around him.

"What are you-" The rest of his sentence was ignored as Remus pushed his way past to bound the steps to the next landing. This time he had no need to pause. It seemed, and this is before opening the door mind, that Romulus had a similar cleaning habit to Sirius because the socks could be smelt by the werewolf from the hallway.

They smelled like feet and sweat and mud and Romulus. Without taking a single second, Remus shoved his way through the door- nearly tearing it off its hinges in the process, saw the mess, and pounced on his brother's bed, pinning him to the mattress.

Two of his roommates yelped, one sat slack-jawed, and the fourth simply shrugged it off and left for the showers.

Romulus on the other hand wheezed. "Coul.. geroff?"

Remus responded by grinning widely and licking his brother's face.

Romulus spluttered and coughed before managing to shove the taller Lupin off of him. "Could you never do that again?" he exclaimed, glaring at the green eyes that wouldn't meet his blue ones.

"Sorry" Remus glanced around the room, checking to see if any Ravenclaws had noticed what had happened. Fortunately they all seemed to be either reading or scribbling away at something. "Got a little carried away. How'd you get back?"

Romulus shuddered at the question. "I hate the intercontinental floo connections." Remus shared the wince.

The pair fell into an animated discussion of their holidays and the homework that had gotten done until an irate sixth year prefect knocked on the doorjamb. "Lupin, Professor McGonagall would like to see you." he said, pointing at the boy in red-trimmed robes, "and professor Flitwick would like to see you." This time the finger was pointed at the boy who actually belonged in the room. "I really hope you don't lose us any points for this Lupin."

The boys looked at each other, Remus still-much to his brother's annoyance as they had found they could communicate silently- refused to meet his eyes.

"I'd get to it, neither of them looked very happy." When the Lupins stood, the prefect that had come to fetch them turned with a smug grin on his face, and disappeared up the stairs.

All eyes were on the pair as they made their way through the common room to the door. A soft "Good luck" was muttered somewhere near the window but otherwise, they were being regarded as though they were walking to their executioners.

Romulus sighed in relief when there was no one to greet them at the door. "Thank Merlin. Hopkirk was just messing with me again."

Remus caught his shoulder as he turned to re-enter the tower. He could hear the professors speaking at the bottom of the stairs. "This is serious Rom, they made us think we were safe…"

Rom gulped, remembering when the times that their father had lulled them into a false sense of security when they were young. "Fuck."

Had it been any other occasion, a smack would have been rewarded for the language, but as it was Remus was more focused on the waves of anger that he could smell wafting off the teachers a few steps below them.

Both attempted to steel their nerves as they halted at the bottom of the steps, but peeves threw them off their game. "Ooh, are the loonies in trouble?" Remus growled softly at the poltergeist but all that seemed to do was encourage him. "They are!" He surely would've gone on for longer but professor McGonagall glared at him menacingly "Good luck Loopy loony Looney twins!" He buzzed down the hallway cackling when a wand was drawn.

They were led without a word to adjoining classrooms, where it was motioned that they separate.

Door sealed and locked, his professor motioned for him to sit. When he did, albeit grudgingly and more out of fear than the willingness to comply. For the umpteenth time that day, Remus gulped.

"Why is it always students in my house that get themselves into trouble?" Professor McGonagall took a step towards her student. You are aware that you are not permitted in the common rooms of other houses?"

"Yes" Remus responded meekly, looking at his shoes.

"Would you care to explain why you convinced Mr. Lupin to show you his house?"

"He didn't?" The questioning tone irked his professor.

"Then how is it Mr Lupin, that you managed to find yourself there?" Her hands were on her hips, wand still clenched.

Remus straightened with pride, and looked at her nose. "It was an accident." Eyebrows rose in suspicion. Now on he was on the defensive. "It was! S'not my fault the riddles are so easy." he crossed his arms and slouched in his chair.

"Do I even want to know how long Ravenclaw Tower has been compromised?"

Remus smirked. "Do you want to know how many times Gryffindor Tower has been compromised?" The eyebrows went higher and she pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. "Plausible deniability it is."

"Why might I ask did you burst in this evening?" She asked, now sounding more tired than stern.

He propped his arm under his chin and pondered the question. Why did I go up?

Trust

Proof

Because I could

Because I could would only dig him deeper, so he chose the less delinquent option

"Instinct I guess." Wonder where that scar on her nose came from, looks like it was a cursed blade or something…

Her features softened. It seemed that the 'werewolf' card players with the 'protective instincts had been the correct move. He still lost points, and was given very stern reiterations of the rules regarding other houses, but no more detention.

He didn't see Rom until the following day though, He had been let odd with a warning about encouraging mischievous behaviour once the circumstances had been explained.

Neither Lupin saw it prudent to admit that they had both been in both towers on several occasions.

James and Sirius were both grilling Remus on the rules and strategies of quidditch- which he had picked up on rather quickly- and were heatedly debating the standings and statistics of the international quidditch teams when the post came in at breakfast the next day.

They were pulled from their discussion when the amplified and furious voice of aster Betts filled the Great Hall.

ROMULUS LUPIN

HOW DARE YOU SNEAK OUT! I HAD HOPED THAT YOU WOULD EMBRACE YOUR NEW SCHOOL, BUT NO! I CAN ONLY ASSUME YOU'VE RUN BACK TO HOGWARTS TO INTERMINGLE WITH DISPARAGING CRETINS.

Romulus was cowering on his bench, his breakfast forgotten as his mother chewed him out. The rest of the students seemed to be taking her words as personal insults, but none more than for whom they were truly intended. Remus's eyes flared to gold in about a second, and he was another away from tearing over to Beaver Bank to give her a piece of him mind, but he caught Professor McGonagall glaring a warning at him so he stay put, although the strict professor looked as though she wanted to ignore her own advice.

I AM BEYOND OUTRAGED BY THE VILE FILTH THAT THEY ALLOW TO ATTEND THAT PLACE, AND YOU WILL BE AT ILVERMORNY IN THE FALL DO YOU UNDERSTAND?

Romulus nodded in fear at the rhetorical question, all eyes in the great hall on him and the screaming letter.

Oh, and dear,

The calmer and quieter voice was unnerving.

You can kiss your hopes of seeing your father over the summer goodbye.

Another voice cut into the letter.

Rom, I'm-

I'll get to you next Benjamin! Study hard honey, because the school here shouldn't need to do the job of Hogwarts Professors for them.

An outraged Ravenclaw set the envelope on fire just as it began to tear itself to pieces, but the damage had been done. Romulus flung himself from the table and escaped the hall and the stares that followed.

Silence followed in his wake. Complete and utter silence. Most of the students were seething. They sat in shock and anger, meals forgotten as they stared at the door and one another. Remus made to follow, but an arm tugged him back down.

"Give him some space for a few minutes okay?"

He nodded and retook his place beside Frank Longbottom. For a few minutes at least.

Up the table, a few red-headed seventh years took it upon themselves to lighten the mood a bit and the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry appeared at the front of the hall, only to be stampeded and shredded by a horde of opossums, chipmunks, and flying squirrels.

A/N There you have it! There should sill be something up on sunday too. Sorry again about the delay.

Now, I really am looking for input, so comments, questions, concerns, ideas, suggestions, editing advice, writing advice... the list goes on, PLEASE let me know. I'm actually begging the whole ten people that I think are following this.

One-Eyed Wolf, OUT. Dec.6 2018