CW: moving, mentions of war, custody cases

:NINETEEN:

Moving was comically easy. Petunia had already packed most of her belongings when she left Vernon, so all that was left was Remus' possessions and Harry's. She conveniently turned a blind eye when Remus used magic each night to pack up various rooms of the house. By the end of the week, everything was neatly stored in one large box and a small suitcase for Harry to carry. They told Dudley that Remus had been taking things over each day, which is why they had so little to bring over.

Petunia also took Dudley off for lunch and shopping while Remus and Harry unpacked, so there wouldn't be any difficult questions. Harry squeaked with delight as Remus sent items flying all over the flat, finishing unpacking in minutes. They did the same thing to Petunia's items, except for her bedroom and clothing boxes. By the time the pair returned with groceries and boxes of furniture to build, everything was ready.

"We got a TV!" Dudley yelled as soon as they entered their flat. "Harry, look how big it is!"

Harry got up from the floor where he'd been resting and raced into the living room to look.

"Oh," Petunia said, looking surprised as she looked around the flat. "Thank you, Remus. We've picked up the essential furniture, would you mind helping?"

Remus smirked. "If you'll take Dudley into the kitchen, I'll have all this inside in just a moment."

Petunia sniffed and walked away, though Remus thought he may have caught a hint of a smile.

"Into the kitchen, you two!" Remus called to the boys, who were oogling the TV in the back of Remus' car. "Lunch is being made."

"Race you!" Dudley yelled, taking off with Harry hot at his heels.

Remus shook his head, amused. Then, with a few subtle flicks of his wand, sent all the furniture carefully into the living room. They'd have to set everything up the muggle way, Dudley would definitely notice otherwise, but carrying them in would have been the worst bit. And Remus had spent long enough on his own to know how to work with muggle tools, having spent most of that time in the muggle world.

He immediately got to work on the TV stand, since it had the least amount of components and would distract the boys while he made the bed-frames. The very last screw was left when Harry came in to prod Remus into the kitchen.

"Aunt Petunia says you're not allowed to eat in here!" Harry sing-songed as he playfully pushed Remus along.

"Alright, alright," Remus chuckled, taking a seat in the kitchen. "Thanks for the food, Petunia. I think I've about finished the TV stand."

Petunia nodded her thanks, already organizing the kitchen like a very calculated tornado.

Remus just shook his head, having already expected her to react this way. He finished his lunch and the TV stand, leaving the two boys with a movie so he could 'set up' the two bed frames for Dudley and Petunia. In order to make it seem reasonably long, Remus unpacked all of Dudley's clothing and toys. After the custody case was settled, Petunia was able to finish collecting the rest of Dudley's things. Remus was still processing the sheer amount of items Dudley had in his possession.

If he was overwhelmed, Remus couldn't imagine how Dudley felt. So, he organized the toys and set up Dudley's room in such a way that Dudley could tell where everything was without always being bombarded by them. Pleased with the results, Remus then went into Petunia's new room. He set up the bed frame and made her bed, respectfully leaving her things in boxes. He felt pretty safe though because he'd taken so long in Dudley's room.

Harry and Dudley were engrossed in their movie still, so Remus went back into the kitchen to check on Petunia. He found her still organizing, taking sips from a cup of tea every so often. She was moving quickly and working hard, but there was a softness to her movements now. A control that hadn't been there before the divorce. It made Remus happy, seeing her already improving so much.

"I'm going to head upstairs," Remus said casually. "I still have some things to organize there. Will you just send Harry up when the movie's over?"

Petunia looked at him, nodded, and then returned to her sorting. Remus nodded his head bemusedly, leaving the kitchen and heading upstairs.

As he crossed the threshold of his flat, Remus felt a sense of peace. It was the first time since Harry's birthday that he'd been truly alone. He didn't count transformations, as they were incredibly stressful and painful. Though he knew he needed to organize his belongings before bedtime, Remus found himself flopped over on the couch relaxing for the first twenty minutes instead.

I should write to Sirius about all this.

The intrusive thought came into Remus' head without warning, leaving him feeling conflicted all over again. In truth, he'd been using Petunia and Dudley's entrance into his life as a distraction from thinking about Sirius. He hadn't been writing in his notebook, let alone writing the letter he intended to actually send to Azkaban. But, now that their lives were beginning to settle again and the boys would be heading to school, Remus knew the distraction was coming to an end.

Pushing it back down, Remus sorted through their home items. Magic was great for most things, but Remus thought it was better to organize by hand. He was never particularly strong at house-hold spells and charms.

Though, sometimes Remus wondered if he would've been quite so adept at Defense Against the Dark Arts if he hadn't been bitten by a werewolf so young in life. He had been so helpless back then, and it pushed him to become not only capable of defending himself, but others around him. Then the war had broke out, where he found his skills tested again and again until they became hardened by experience.

But that was over now. Remus was taking care of Harry now, he had a job, and he was now living with two other people who relied on him in their own ways. Though he couldn't regret fighting because he absolutely believed it was the right thing to do, he would like to spend the rest of his life in peace. Especially for Harry's sake, Remus wanted to keep their life as stable and calm as possible.

Notes:
Oh boy, the dramatic irony my poor friend Remus.

But now that I've fixed the practical stuff, we can get back to saving Sirius and sending Harry to school!

Happy Reading!