A/N I'm sooo sorry it's taken me so long to update! This was actually ready to go up last week but I've had zero time at home where I'm not rushing to get out the door or sleeping. But Biathlon season is almost over now so there'll be a bit more writing time I hope. Please forgive me and enjot the world that definitely doesn't really belong to me.
15 October 1973
He was running. Branches and brambles pulled at his hair and tugged at his clothes and he could hear others behind him crashing through the brush as they raced after him.
"Get back here you little brat!" The gravelly voice rang effortlessly through the trees, as though the caller had taken mere steps as opposed to the drawn out chase after a thirteen year old boy. The boy though, was beginning to feel the chase. His heart was racing, his breathing was ragged, his muscles screamed for a chance to rest, his lungs for air, but he knew that if he did that, he'd be caught. And caught, was not something he wanted to go back to. He stumbled, gasping for air that he didn't seem able to breathe, and lost his footing which pitched him headfirst through the thorns and thistle and down the ravine.
The world was spinning but the grizzled face above him was clear enough. "Come along now Lupin, can't have you running off like that. What would your dear mum do without you?" The sounds of the wind grew louder and the footsteps faded out before everything faded to black altogether.
"Lupin?" bright, sterile light filtered through his flickering eyelids as a figure loomed over him. "Lupin can you hear me?" Remus didn't even manage a full moan before his eyes were peeled open one at a time to have wandlight shone into them. "Lupin-"
"Hey, hey" Remus mumbled, swatting away the light. He heard the wood hit the floor and was quite certain that had he not been a cause for concern at the time, that he'd have gotten a good swat. "Has anyone ever told you how bright that thing is?"
Madam Pomfrey, as Remus had correctly assumed, rolled her eyes and collected her wand from the floor. "Yes, well, that is the point Lupin. And if you'd merely opened your eyes sooner it wouldn't have been quite so painful."
"You'd find a way." Remus rolled out of his habitual bed at the back of the hospital wing and started to make his way to the door, though he didn't get very far. He'd winced his way through three wobbly steps before a hand appeared on his collar and dragged him back to bed.
"I'm not having any of this Houdini Lupin today young man." she said pushing him down into a prone position. "You just knocked yourself out cold in front of the entire school and I'm not releasing you until I find out why and deem you fit for class." Remus crossed his arms and set his jaw. Getting out was something he was good at. "Other than the anaphylaxis-"
"What?"
"Allergies?"
"I know what anaphylaxis is. I just don't see how silver made it-"
"Not your only allergy as I'm sure you'll recall." the nurse cut in, "Point is, other than that, I can't figure out why you collapsed."
"Non-conclusive? Great. I'll just be-"
"Sit."
"But-"
"But nothing mister. You're staying." Remus desperately wanted to protest but the light was back and it was making him see stars.
"Could you please put that away?" he asked somewhat weakly.
"Sensitivity to light. Noted. Nox." Pomfrey tucked her wand into her apron and pulled out a notepad instead. "Other symptoms?"
"Of what?"
"For Merlin's sake Lupin, I'm trying to help you. You tell me where it hurts" She poked his chest with the quill, "And I" the feather turned towards herself, "make it better."
"Right."
"The sooner you tell me what's wrong, the sooner you can leave."
Remus rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands and conceded. "Fine. My head hurts, I'm dizzy, I'm itchy, my wrist and ankle are killing me, my mouth feels like it's full of cotton balls…"
The matron nodded along and scribbled out her notes, frowning all the while. "When did this all start?" she asked once he had finished his exhaustive list.
"The soreness is probably just left over from Friday night. But the rest of it started when you stuck that light in my face."
Pomfrey crossed her arms and scowled. "You were unconscious for almost ten minutes by then." Remus waved her off as if so many minutes out cold meant nothing regarding bright lights. "It was my duty to check your reaction."
"I told you what was wrong. Can I leave now?"
"No."
"But you said-"
"I said the sooner you tell me the sooner you could leave." Remus opened his mouth to inform her that she had just proven his point but shut it again when she continued. "As in the sooner you tell me, the sooner I can treat you, then and only then can you go back to your dormitory. You have yet to hit the cause stage of that timeline."
Remus closed his mouth. He wanted to argue more but he also figured that he'd get sprung sooner if he shut it so that's what he did. He said nothing unless directly asked as the school's matron evaluated his injuries, and though the silence from her generally smart-mouthed patient was unnerving, she reached a conclusion of sorts.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you fell down a hill Mr. Lupin, though I can't fathom how you managed to do that in the Great Hall." She stood and fetched a pair of pyjamas from the storage cupboard and tossed them on the bed. "Though if anyone were to find a way…" Remus tossed the striped bottoms at her and she scowled. "Change Lupin. You're concussed and you're staying."
It was Remus's turn to scowl when the pyjamas were tossed at his face and the curtains around his bed rattled shut. Once he was done- a rather impressive feat considering how sore he was, he flicked his own wand to open the curtain and then the door to the hospital wing. The heavy door creaked open and groaned on its hinges.
"Oh, what now?" Remus swore he heard snickering as Madam Pomfrey bustled out of her office to check for new patients. He had to stifle a laugh when she hollered down the corridor at Peeves, who was likely across the castle hassling Filch and his cat, informing him that if he started goofing off around the infirmary again the castle would be getting a visit from an exorcist. "That Poltergeist is a right pain in my- what on earth is so funny Lupin?" She was glaring at her only patient for the evening with a stare that was usually reserved for shutting students up so that others could sleep.
Remus, who had lost the battle with his sense of humour when Peter had started making a rather impressive imitation of Peeves's voice with some fairly crude commentary, just shook his head and tucked his feet under his blankets. Pomfrey shoved the door closed with a huff and dimmed the lights with a wave of her wand, scooping up his uniform and wand as she passed. "No sleeping Lupin. Not if you expect to ever wake up again."
"Can I have a book to read then?"
"No, that could make things worse."
"So you expect me to lie awake all night in a bed covered in warm blankets and wearing pyjamas?"
"Yes."
"So what am I supposed to do?"
"I don't know, count the rafters?" Pomfrey said, heading to her office. "You'll figure something out. Ring if you need me."
As soon as they could be certain that she had left, James pulled off his invisibility cloak and Remus burst into laughter at their state of dress. James and Sirius were wearing their quidditch robes, James without a shirt, and Sirius -seemingly- without his trousers, though Remus wasn't about to check. The robes weren't all that surprising, not really. There were enough team practices that the occurrence was rather common. It was Peter's attire that had Remus bursting at the seams. First, the pyjamas were purple. Second, they were one piece footy pyjamas with little paws for feet, and third, Peter Pettigrew was wearing a purple rabbit suit, carrot in the pocket and all.
"What?" hissed Peter, indignantly crossing his purple arms, which only succeeded in causing his friends to double over further.
Once he could breathe again, Remus sat himself up in his bed and faced Peter once more. "Eh, What's up doc?" he asked in a nasally voice. James, Sirius, and Peter all whipped their heads around frantically, not understanding the reference that had been made. "It's from a- you know what? Never mind. Apparently I need to educate you further." That note seemed to excite the trio and in his excitement, Sirius produced a handful of chocolate frogs, which Remus eyed suspiciously. "Do I need to move my stash again?" he asked, defeated.
"What stash?" Sirius asked with a sly smile. "I found these in the common chocolate storage box under the loose floorboard by the foot of your bed. " Remus drew his arm from his covers and winced at the soreness in his muscles as his palm made contact with Sirius's face. "Ouch! Remus what was that for?"
"Teach you not to steal my chocolate you mangy little-"
"POTTER, BLACK, PETTIGREW!"
"Uh oh."
"I think you were a bit too loud mate." Peter whispered from behind the other two.
"Well if Moony here hadn't slapped me…"
"OUT! Unless you've managed to injure yourselves yet again playing that infernal game of yours…" Madam Pomfrey was storming her way out of her office and towards her only patient's bed.
"But…" James stopped mid thought, mostly because if he drew attention to himself, Remus would be seen stuffing his sweets under his pillow
"I mean, my face is pretty sore right about now." Sirius mumbled.
"Consider it payback for last December." Remus said, just loudly enough that Sirius could hear him.
"Aw, you poor boy," Pomfrey said sarcastically, "do I need to kiss it better?"
Sirius slid up beside the nurse, a corny grin on his face. "Would you? It'd make it feel much better."
Arms and face crossed, Poppy Pomfrey stared Sirius down. "You'd better get out of my infirmary and stop harassing my patients or you'll need a fair bit more than a peck on the cheek to be right again Black."
"We were just leaving…" Peter said hastily ushering James and Sirius out the door. "Sleep well Remus." he called over his shoulder.
Remus rolled his eyes and slid back down in the bed. "You should know better Lupin. You need your rest."
"You keep saying that, but you also keep telling me I can't sleep."
"Rest and sleep are not mutually exclusive. Please don't make me stand guard over you to make sure you rest." And with that, Madam Pomfrey turned and made her way back to her office, only closing the door halfway this time.
"Easy for you to say." Remus muttered to himself as she left him. In his attempts to stay awake, Remus counted the rafters, then he did the math to calculate the number of tiles covered the floor. He evaluated that the cupboard in the nightstand must be magically enlarged to be able to hold a student's uniform, bag, and shoes, though his cupboard was empty. When the sky clouded over and Remus lost his light, he settled on practicing his occlumency techniques. Instead, however, of clearing his mind as most texts instructed, Remus tried a different approach. He built a mental wall around his mind. He had originally hoped to cage the wolf that resided on the darkest corners of his consciousness but he found that it required the cooperation of the wolf, which was not something he was going to get. So he settled on barricading himself from it. Around eleven, he found himself completely bored and desperate for a soul to talk to if he was going to stay awake.
Remus, ever the master of stealth, sat up and listened. What he heard was the faint rustling of the trees on the grounds, wolves howling in the forest, and the soft whistles that were the school's resident nurse snoring. As carefully and quietly as he could, Remus slid out of his bed and placed his feet firmly on the cold floor. A little cold wasn't going to stop him from making it back to his dormitory where he was sure his roommates were still up doing some last minute studying for their history of magic test in the morning.
Remus shot one last longing glance at the warm bed he was leaving behind and crept out of the infirmary. It's a wonder she hasn't placed a caterwauling charm on that door yet… Remus crept down the dim corridors and hauled himself up the staircases as quickly as he could. On the four occasions that he heard someone else coming his way, he ducked into a passageway or behind an outcropping in the stonework.
Filch as his cat almost caught Remus out of bed that evening. He'd been on the fourth floor behind a suit of armour as soon as he'd heard the caretaker muttering to his pet, and the cat, to it's credit had made it all the way to the plinth before it caught a whiff of a scent that sent it running back to it's master.
Professor McGonagall was already frustrated with her students. She had gone into the tower to post an updated notice to students regarding the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend, and had been bombarded with questions on countless other topics.
"Professor McGonagall, can I fill in for Zimmerman for the quidditch match in November? I heard he's not going to be able to do it."
"Mr. Zimmerman has yet to say anything to me Mr. Richards and I'm sure he can make the time in his schedule for an hour or two." Elliott Richards's face fell and he trudged up the stairs as Melinda Sidler pranced down wearing the most ridiculous costume Minerva had ever seen. She supposed it must have some sort of muggle influence because putting numerous holes in one's stockings was rather redundant and…
"Oh, Professor!"
"Yes Miss Sidler?"
"I know he's only a second year but can Rousseau come to Hogsmeade with me?"
McGonagall fought the urge to roll her eyes. "No." The fourth year walked off in a huff and her head of house let loose the eyeroll.
"What can I do for you Mr. Gallhager?" She asked tiredly, wanting desperately to return to her quarters, as a seventh year nervously approached.
"Uh, well, I think I made a mistake on the test Friday but I can't remember if I did or not and…" He trailed off looking rather put out.
"I've yet to mark it, and if I can get back to my office any time soon, you'll know at the beginning of class tomorrow."
Gallhager's face lit up and the transfiguration professor smiled to herself as the remaining students in the common room began to drift up to bed. Sleep seemed like an excellent idea, but alas, there was marking to do and she had just committed herself to completing at least one stack before bed. She pushed open the Fat Lady with a resigned sigh and stepped down into the corridor just in time to see a bare foot and striped pyjamas disappearing around the corner.
Minerva shook her head thinking that Poppy would be in a right state when she woke to find a patient missing. The thought crossed her mind to reprimand the boy but if he'd made it this far across the castle he must be alright. She'd have a word with her student tomorrow.
"C'mon Remus, don't want to miss breakfast do you?"
Remus rolled himself out of bed at James's urging and hauled himself off the bathroom to shower hoping the steam heat and steam would help his soreness.
"I didn't mean-"
"Are we waiting, Remus or are you meeting us down there?" Sirius cut in impatiently.
"I'll see you guys in history." Remus yelled over the roar of water, exhaustion evident in his voice.
James and Sirius shrugged and headed out the door, but James poked his head back in when Peter didn't follow. "You coming Pete?"
Peter shook his head and sat down, eyeing the door to the bathroom that they shared with the next boys' floor down. "No, I'm going to wait."
"Sirius, hold up!" James called down the stairs before stepping into the doorway. "You sure?"
"Yeah," Peter nodded, "I'll make sure he eats something and gets to class on time."
"Alright," said James after a moment. "See you there." Then he was barrelling down the stairs to get to breakfast before the pastries ran out.
Peter pulled out his notes and started reading them over as he waited to hear the water stop and his stomach grumbled. Remus had dragged himself into the dormitory at eleven-thirty at night and had promptly collapsed onto his bed. The four of them had stayed up talking to him for two hours before sleep had taken over and Remus, had stayed awake the whole night; obeying Madam Pomfrey for once. While they'd been awake, Peter, James and Sirius had attempted to keep the conversation light, but questions kept nagging at them. Like: what the hell happened at dinner? And: How is Rom finding Ilvermorny? I can't imagine making a transfer like that. They knew he'd snuck out of the hospital wing again because he didn't have his wand or his robes, but Peter didn't think that was the reason for the strange quietness in his friend.
Remus spent a shocking thirty five minutes in the shower and it probably would have been longer if Peter hadn't intervened. Now dressed in a fresh set of robes and an extra layer of socks to ward the cold from the stone floors, Remus and Peter rushed their way down to the kitchens for bite to eat without Remus risking getting dragged back to the hospital wing.
"You know Peter, you could have just asked me to hurry up." Remus muttered irritably, still trying to warm himself back up.
Peter shrugged. "I tried. But somehow you think that you can keep saying five more minutes without time freezing."
Remus crossed his arms glared at his friend. Peter glared right back until Remus broke the stare, fearing that he'd get too aggressive without realizing it. "Fine. But did you have to make the water so bloody cold?"
"Got you out of the shower didn't it?" Asked Peter with a grin spreading across his face.
"Lupin, you do realize you are meant to be practicing the Lapifors spell don't you?" Professor McGonagall asked, pulling Remus out of his daze. They'd begun working on changing various carvings into rabbits the week before and though Remus had had some success with it, the hairs of his rabbits tended to be rather splinter-like.
"Yes Professor." he replied meekly, ignoring the stifled sniggers from his friends.
"Would you care to demonstrate why you think you don't have to practice?" Asked the professor, pulling back her knowing smile and using instead her schooled 'inquiring teacher' expression.
Remus let his gaze fall to the wood in front of him and his eye caught a shapeless lump of oak hopping away from Peter. "Not particularly."
McGonagall's eyes narrowed. Internally she was feeling a little guilty about how much she was enjoying her student squirming. "Why would that be? As I recall, you almost had it last class. Has it not improved? "Sirius was stroking his successfully transfigured rabbit and uttering nonsensical baby talk to it and yet, that was all Remus could manage to hear in that moment. "Why don't you show me what you've got and we'll see what we can do?" The professor seemed to have noticed that Remus's demeanor was off and she was beginning to get concerned.
"I can't"
"Why not?" McGonagall tried to ignore the fact that Remus had a habit of talking to the desk and not the person when he was nervous.
"I, er… I don't have my wand…" he mumbled. At this point James and Sirius snapped to attention.
The professor raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?" she asked.
"Hey! Watch where you point that thing James!" Sirius exclaimed, though his words sounded slightly odd.
"I was aiming for the rabbit!" James retorted. "It's not my fault you moved."
"I didn't move!" McGonagall sighed at the squabbling and froze when she turned to tell them off. "How you're a chaser with aim like that I'll never know."
"I don't know about Potter's chasing abilities," called Jamal Coltter of Hufflepuff. "But you've done a decent makeover on Black…" While the class erupted in laughter, marvelling at the fluffy ears and buck teeth that Sirius- among other things- had sprouted, McGonagall docked ten points for attempting transfiguration on another student
"Mr. Pettigrew, would you please escort Mr. Black to the hospital wing before he trips on his feet?" At this, Remus and Peter both looked down to see that Sirius's feet had indeed quadrupled in size and his shoes were holding together by threads.
"Nah, Pete needs the practice. I'll take Remmy." Professor McGonagall's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly but she allowed the swap nevertheless, internally agreeing with the statement.
"Sirius, do you have any idea what Pomfrey is going to do if I show my face in there while I'm still conscious?" Remus hissed as they approached the hospital wing, finally breaking the silence of their trek. "She'll skin me alive to give herself a reason to put me back in the hospital wing!"
"In all fairness mate, you really don't look that well." Remus was limping and wincing heavily with every step. As opposed to the usual pale complexion, the werewolf was looking a bit grey with a yellowish tinge and he looked like he was about to keel over. Remus's eyes met Sirius's with a flicker of gold. Sirius was prevented from asking about the colour change when Remus tore his eyes away.
"I'm fine okay?" he stated. "If this was all some trick to get me back in bed I'm afraid you're out of luck."
Sirius just smiled and shook his head, his ears flopping about. "I'll be out in a few minutes Moony."
So Remus waited. He tucked himself just around the doorframe to eliminate any chances of Madam Pomfrey spotting him if the doors opened, and as soon as Sirius the bunny disappeared into the hospital wing, he very nearly collapsed against the wall. Under normal circumstances the walk from the transfiguration classroom to the hospital wing would be a walk in the park, but on this particular day he did feel horrible. His head was pounding all the time and as soon as he started moving it started spinning to the point that he couldn't see straight. Add in that his transformation had been only three days prior and he was still feeling some of the aches and he half agreed that he should still be in the hospital wing. But ever since that July afternoon nine years previous when he had woken to his mother sobbing over his small frame, he'd detested the smell of hospitals. It reminded him of the night it had happened. It reminded him of the pain it caused him and the emotional stress it had put on his parents. For a normal nose, the smell of antiseptic is a strong one but for a werewolf, it's an overpowering stench that is almost nauseating. The other thing he didn't like about the hospital wing, other than the fact that it reminded him of the fact that he wasn't a human, was that Madam Pomfrey was in there. The witch meant well, but Remus was smothered more by the school nurse than his own mother. The hospital wing was a prison and it drew attention, neither of which were things that Remus was particularly fond of.
So he leaned against the wall and pressed his forehead to the cool stones and closed his eyes.
The cell was just as filthy as it had been when he'd somehow managed accidental magic and slipped out the day before, though the bucket had been emptied. That in itself was a huge relief. He flinched when he heard the door at the end of the hallway creak open and began to back against the wall as the scratchy voices he had come to despise drew nearer.
"Want to tell us how you got out now?" the larger of the two asked.
"I don't know exactly." His stomach growled furiously at the sight of the peanut butter sandwich on the plate that the man he'd heard called Crawler held. His throat scratched for the water.
"See, that doesn't help us much?" Crawler said with a twisted grin. "Now spill or I'll eat this all for you."
"Honestly." the boy said, trying to get his arms to stop reaching out for the food. "It wasn't as if I tried to get out, It just sort of happened."
The larger man, name still unknown, frowned deeply and stuffed the sandwich into his mouth. Then he took the plate from his accomplice and hurled it through the bars, narrowly missing his thirteen year old target. "You'd better start cooperating Lupin…"
Sirius had emerged from the hospital wing, his feet fitting back into his shredded shoes, and immediately noticed that his friend was not there. He was about to go back to class, well, no he wasn't. He was about to go to lunch, when he saw a worn brown sneaker kick out from the nook by the doorframe. "Remus?" he called, walking back to the edge of the door. His friend's eyes were flicking back and forth under the lids and his body was writhing against the corner in which he was propped. "Remus?" he tried again, but to no avail. Tentatively, he reached out and grasped Remus's shoulder. Eyes snapped open and Remus ducked around his roommate and made it fifteen painful steps before realizing where he was. Once he did though, he stopped and waited for Sirius to approach.
"You sure you don't need to go in there?"
Remus didn't need to look to see the thumb that was pointing back to the large doors. "No, just fell asleep. I'm fine."
Sirius held his tongue and pressed two things into a clammy hand. The first was a cool vial filled with an orange liquid. Pain Relief Potion. Remus recognized it on site, though there was no way on earth that he could brew it properly. The second thing was-"My wand!" Remus spun and wrapped his arms around his friend. Sirius, once the shock of the hug wore off and once he felt he wasn't going to be crushed to death, awkwardly patted the werewolf on the back before wrestling himself free at the sound of approaching footsteps.
"Lupin?" Remus stopped, but didn't turn. "Might I have a word?" He and Sirius had returned to Transfiguration just in time for the bell to ring and were about to make their way to Potions. "In the office." She directed, a student's privacy was something she tried to respect and if she herself had to be privy to something, that didn't mean others did.
Remus motioned for James, Sirius, and Peter- who had been planning on grilling their roommate for information for their essays- to go on ahead and then he turned and led the way to the Transfiguration office nextdoor. The door was locked when he arrived. Instead of waiting for his professor to unlock it however, Remus merely drew his wand, pointed it opposite the lock and muttered an incantation.
McGonagall watched in curiosity as she heard three metal plinks on the other side of the door. He had apparently retrieved his wand. Curiosity turned to shock when her student grabbed the door handle and pushed on the wood where the door would swing, only instead of swinging on its hinge as expected, the door was pushed in and then pulled to the side and propped against the wall to reveal an empty doorway to the desk. Annoyed as she was that a student had gotten past her magically locked door- which was much more complicated than a simple locking charm- she couldn't help but feel a little prideful that it was one of her students that had managed it.
"What-" She began to say as Remus limped pointedly to the desk and sat heavily in the chair. "How-" She pushed the question from her mind and took her seat opposite Remus.
"What does Pomfrey have to complain about now?" he grumbled, "was writing a test for Binns too strenuous a task?" His arms were crossed, his head was down, and his sandy hair was still matted because he couldn't lift his arms high enough to comb it without pulling at his healing wounds, and James's attempts to flatten it had proven disastrous.
"No, actually," Remus's posture became slightly less guarded and he allowed himself to look up at his teacher, less concerned now that he would lose his temper and say or do something he'd regret. "Can I assume she'll be wanting a word?" A flicker of a guilty smile passed over Remus's face. "Something concerned me about what you said a while ago."
"Please don't write my mother," Remus grumbled, "she'll see to it that my mouth gets washed with soap."
McGonagall offered a smile. "While your vocabulary does concern me on occasion, I feel that it is significantly more sophisticated than our peers. Though that is not what I wish to speak with you about either."
"Oh. What is it then?"
"Have you heard anything from your half-brother recently?"
Remus's expression went blank. He was pulling his thoughts into his internal form and trying to keep his emotions from the beast he shared his mind with.
"I see." McGonagall said accepting his silence as a negative.
"He did better when he was home with his stepfather." Remus replied grumpily. "I'm worried about him. It's not like him not to respond to my letters." Upon seeing the puzzled look on his professor's face, he hesitantly gave a surface-level explanation of his relationship with his brother and Aster. "Why the sudden interest?" He asked after a moment's silence.
"I assure you, the interest is not sudden, nor is that of his own Head of House." Filius had been badgered for several weeks about the missing Ravenclaw and had thought that Minerva, as the other Lupin's Head, might have some insight. The only thing she'd known was that Remus had heard nothing for months and the fact that nobody had heard from the elder Lupin brother had caused a great deal of concern in the staff room. "I received a letter from Professor Nelson this morning."
Remus looked up, and McGonagall strongly debated whether or not she should be telling her student this now- his eyes were glittering with amber, and the last time she'd seen that colour in his eyes, it hadn't ended splendidly. "Who's Professor Nelson?" Remus tried to keep his voice calm but his own worry was feeding his instincts and he wavered.
"Professor Nelson holds my position at Ilvermorny." The gold was beginning to win out and McGonagall took a moment to steel herself. It would break him, yes. BUt it was also unethical to keep the news from him. "He wanted to know if Romulus had returned to Hogwarts because he didn't make it to his flight from Halifax."
A/N Comments, Questions, Concerns? Ideas? Let me know and I'll take them under consideration.
Until next time,
The One Eyed Wolf, OVER, 9 Feb 2020