Author's note: Mom is still in the hospital and we're not sure when she'll be back, so while I did manage to get today's chapter out I cannot promise I'll manage on Tuesday, it's still a… wait and see sort of thing.
Also trigger warning for abuse in this chapter; mostly emotional.
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James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus all slept in the next morning, the latter of which waking up to shrieks and chaos at around ten-thirty in the morning. He sat up, watching sleepily as his friends ran around throwing things into their bags.
"DON'T! SAY! IT!" James yelled when he saw Remus watching. "We know, we know. You told us so."
"I did," Remus yawned, slithering out of bed. "I can help."
He sat in the middle of the room between three suitcases, catching things as they were thrown and putting them in the proper suitcase. Well, 'catching', more like being smacked by bits of clothing because he missed. Once they were all done, Remus went to get ready for the day, forgoing his usual shower since he slept in so late.
They barely had time to get food, mostly wrapping stuff up and shoving it in their pockets. Remus found Aegis for a quick goodbye, since he wasn't going away for the holiday. Lily was, so he'd be able to say goodbye to her properly on the train.
"Urgh," James moaned when they hurried to the carriages. There weren't very many left, and the thestrals attached to them seemed a little impatient. Remus silently agreed with James, though he was beginning to think the thestrals weren't as horrifying as he initially thought they were. He was getting a little more used to them.
Soon, they were settled in a compartment as the train rolled down south. James brought a radio to play and since Remus had his earplugs, the music could be blasted at the loud level the others liked. They ate their stolen food while playing cards, getting crumbs and bits of food all over the compartment until James and Sirius scarpered off to pull pranks. Remus and Peter stayed behind, chattering about various things. Peter spent a lot of time complaining about his Muggle cousins, telling Remus that they tended to make fun of him.
"Call me stupid and stuff," sighed Peter. "Plus they make fun of me for going to a boarding school. They think it's some fancy, rich thing, and say that's the only way I could stay in school, if my parents paid for it."
"They're the idiots," Remus said.
"They're not completely wrong." Peter slumped down in his seat, tugging at his lip. "I mean, they talk 'bout what they've gotten from school, and what can I say? They talk about—about chemistry and I can't talk about Potions. That's why they say I'm dumb, cause when they talk about that stuff I… can't."
Remus reached over, giving his arm a little squeeze. Before he could say anything to try and help, the door burst open and James and Sirius stormed in.
"What happened?" Pete asked.
"Oh, we got snitched on," Sirius grumbled, throwing himself back into his seat next to Remus, knocking into him.
"That fourth year girl who's always poking her nose into everything?" James growled. "Jorkins? She caught us before we could transfigure the pebbles into bugs, and got a prefect."
"I say we prank her when we get back," Sirius said as he swung around to sit sideways in the seat, his legs across Remus's lap; James gave him a thumbs up. Presumably for what he said and not for taking over Remus's personal space.
After several uncomfortable, flustery moments, Remus excused himself to go find Lily. They spent a good forty minutes together before he returned to the guys. A little bit later Lily showed up with Magpie in tow, suggesting they play some games together to pass the time. They paired up for the games and Remus somehow wound up with Magpie like before; at least James was with Sirius so there wasn't any screaming between James and Lily.
The six of them spent the rest of the train ride together, and James pretty much bought out the treat trolley when it came by. There was still a pile of sweets when the train pulled into Kings Cross, so James divided everything up six ways, making sure everyone got some. Even Lily.
"Feeling generous?" Lily teased, dumping the sweets in her handbag.
"Bribing you to never talk to me again," James replied.
Lily rolled her eyes then stood up. "Don't need to bribe me for that."
"Oh, hey, Remus, can I talk to you privately for a moment?" Sirius asked.
Remus raised his eyebrows, assuming it was something to do with his nightmare the previous night—but why wait till now? "Er, sure."
He hugged James, Peter, and Lily goodbye which felt a little awkward in front of Magpie. She told him goodbye too, offering her hand. He mumbled a goodbye, shaking her hand. Sirius exchanged hugs with James and Peter, then they were left alone in the compartment.
"Is something wrong?" Remus asked, pulling his suitcase out from the overhead.
"Nah, just figured it'd be better for you if you didn't exit the train with your friends." Sirius gave him a wane smile. "Since you're not supposed to have any."
"Er…"
"You planned on hanging back again, eh?"
Remus sat back down. "Yes," he admitted.
Sirius sat down too. "We'll give them a few minutes. I don't mind making my parents wait. Besides, they'd probably get all angry if I got off the train with…" He trailed off.
"Dirty half-bloods?" Remus offered, hoping he didn't sound bitter. It wasn't Sirius's fault his family was like that, but it was still frustrating.
Sirius let out a sigh, scooting over to look out the window. "Unfortunately." He stared out the glass, his profile lit by the compartment lights and the glow from the lights on the platform. "Sometimes I wish—" He stopped before he finished the sentence, and changed the subject. "You going to be all right?"
"Hmm?"
"The moon." Sirius twisted back around to face him. "Will you be all right?"
Remus smiled. "I've been fine for the past eight and a half years."
Sirius stared at him. "I forgot for a second how young you were when you were attacked. Merlin. How… how many full moons is that?"
Remus sat back, squinting as he tried to figure it out. "My first would be November of '64, so that would be twelve times eight, and add in January, February, March, and—oh."
"Oh?"
"This—this week will be the hundredth," he whispered, drawing his feet up onto the seat, wrapping his arms around his legs. "My hundredth stretch."
"Oh. Shit."
"Yeah."
"And it's… what, three moons each or so?"
"Thereabouts."
"Three hundred then," Sirius said, his voice squeaking.
Remus set his chin down against his arms. "Less. I mean, sometimes there are four moons but there are also two moons, and then there are nights I don't transform, so less."
"Oh, yeah, a bit less than three hundred, much better," Sirius muttered, and Remus shot him a look. "You know, there's bound to be some way to make it easier."
"Merlin, not this again," Remus hissed, sliding his feet off the seat to stomp them down on the floor.
"Yes this again!" Sirius grouched back. "I don't care what you say about 'it's been centuries surely someone would have figured it out'," he added quickly as Remus opened his mouth. "Yeah, well, I don't care. I'm still going to figure something out." He bent in close, eyes narrowed. "People invent new stuff all the time, why not a way to help werewolves?"
Remus pressed his lips thin, glaring.
"In any case, you can't stop me."
Remus stood up, shouldering his bag. "I should go before Mum gets worried. The others should have gone by now."
Sirius jumped up too. "Now you're mad."
"I'm not mad, just tired," Remus sighed, pushing his fringe back. "And needing to go." Sirius held his arms out and Remus reluctantly stepped forward, hugging him. He smelled so nice.
"See you in two weeks, Remy."
Remus gladly pulled away. "See you in two weeks." He grabbed his suitcase and went to the pet compartment to get Arthur before hurrying off the train. He saw Sirius's mother watching the train with a cold stare, and on the other side of the platform he saw James still with his parents. Peter and Lily were nowhere to be seen.
Then his mother was on him, wrapping her arms around him. "My baby!" she squealed, squeezing him tightly. He hugged her back, trying not to pull away from the clinging. "Darling, I was getting worried!"
"When I pulled my suitcase out, it fell and bust open," Remus lied without even thinking. "I had to put stuff back in it."
"I see." She smoothed down his hair then cupped his face, beaming. "You're looking so well. I've been worried since—since that happened in February."
"I've been doing well with my eating," he promised, scrunching his face up as she began peppering kisses all over. When she stopped he noticed out of the corner of his eye Sirius being hauled to the Apparition section of the train, stumbling as his mother pulled him.
Then he realized his mother was talking.
"…surprise for you which you'll love, and I have a delicious supper planned."
"Surprise?" he asked.
Hope grinned. "Yes! A big surprise. Wait till you see it, baby. You're going to love it. It's very exciting." She touched his hair again then reached down, taking his free hand. "Come on."
As soon as they got in the car, Remus tried to find a station playing music he liked. Hope pursed her lips when rock music began pumping out before they even left the car lot.
"Remus—"
"Just this one trip, Mum, please?" he begged.
She gave a sigh. "All right, but if they start with the… obscene lyrics, we're switching. Or—what is this nonsense?"
Hello, hello, it's good to be back, it's good to be back! Hello, hello, it's good to be back, it's good to be back!
"They're just repeating the same thing!" she complained.
"No, there are more lyrics," Remus said, as the song continued about missing and kissing. Lovely, starting his holidays with an argument.
And did you love me, yeah, like a good little girl. Did you tell that naughty boy not to call, did you love me, yeah, in your little world.
Hope gave a loud, disapproving sniffle. "This sounds like nonsense."
"I like it," he said stubbornly.
"They're repeating that hello thing again. What kind of music is this?"
"What are the lyrics to 'All Together Now' by the Beatles?" he snapped out. "Other than 'all together now' a million times!"
"Don't give me attitude—"
"I'm not, I'm only—"
"You've been back for five seconds and already giving me lip!"
"I'm merely pointing out that song lyrics that are repetitive are in—"
"What did they say that fellow's name was?!" Hope asked, staring at the radio. "Gary Glitter? What sort of name is that?"
"A rock'n'roll name, Mum, it isn't that strange."
Hope began searching for a new station, and Remus groaned, covering his face. "Stop that. You like Buddy Holly. This is nicer anyhow."
Remus glared out the window. "Peggy Sue is rock'n'roll, you know."
"Yes, it's good rock music," Hope said, clenching the steering wheel.
Remus sank lower in his seat, sulking. All right, he liked 50s rock and he certainly liked Buddy Holly. He just wanted something a little more modern at the moment. It wasn't fair he wasn't ever allowed to listen to his own music! He wished he had something to play music at home. A player, like James had, and a few albums would be amazing. Even his own radio would be nice.
Maybe that's the surprise, he thought, knowing it wasn't but unable to stop the flutter of excitement at the possibility. Maybe someone brought a phonograph player into the shop and his dad decided to give it to Remus instead of selling it! He couldn't think of anything else the surprise might be, actually. Unless… a new owl?
Remus looked over his shoulder at Arthur sleeping contently in his cage.
Hope and Remus didn't talk much on the long trip home, only occasionally speaking. Remus drifted in and out of sleep, waking up fully about fifteen minutes from their house. Hope was getting more cheerful, talking again about the surprise she and Lyall had for Remus.
By the time they pulled into the garage, Remus was super excited too. No matter what it was, he was sure it'd be great! But first, supper. It took over three hours to get from London to Dragon's Field, and none of them wanted to put off their meal any longer.
"Welcome home," Lyall said, squeezing Remus's shoulder.
"Thank you!" Remus slid into his seat, glancing around as if expecting the surprise to be right there. He noticed his parents exchanged smirks that were obviously intended to be secret. What is it? he wanted to yell. Show me now! But he quietly accepted his food, talking with his parents as they ate. He talked about his classes, finding it difficult to make conversation while editing out ninety percent of his life at Hogwarts.
They also wanted to talk about what happened at the beginning of the week, since the school had written to them informing them of his rule-breaking. They weren't as upset as he thought they'd be. The biggest problem in their head was the fact he had purposely drawn attention to a lycanthropic issue! Then Lyall rambled for a while about how that sort of broken rule would result in suspension at Beauxbatons. Remus explained that was the suggested punishment, as per the rules, however McGonagall had chosen to simply give him detention.
"If you were suspended, what would happen?" Hope inquired casually.
A lump formed in Remus's chest. "Er, I'd—I'd be sent here for the duration of the suspension."
"I see," she said.
"Good thing you weren't suspended," Lyall said as he finished off his food.
"Yes, good thing," Hope echoed, unable to hide the slight disappointment in her voice.
Then Hope began putting away the dishes and Remus jiggled his foot, curiosity burning away about the surprise. He hoped what happened wouldn't deter them from giving him his surprise! But he supposed if it did, his mother never would have mentioned it in the first place.
"Remus, why don't you help your mother with the dishes?" Lyall asked in a teasing tone.
"Y—yes, of course," Remus said, trying to sound impassive and failing. Slowly he got up, going over to the sink.
"These will take a while," Hope sighed in an exaggerated way.
"It's not like we've got anything to do tonight," Lyall said.
Remus bit his lip, trying not to beg.
"What do you think, Remus?" Hope asked.
"W-we can do the—the dishes," he managed to say. "They need to be done."
Lyall got up, pushing his chair back in. "Or we can show him his surprise."
Remus let out a squeak.
Hope laughed. "I think we should, before he goes crazy."
Lyall pulled out his handkerchief. "You'll need to be blindfolded."
"Blindfolded?" Remus asked, but didn't complain as Lyall wrapped the cloth around his head, tying it. "Is it big, then?"
"Very big," Hope said.
"It's in the cellar," Lyall said.
Remus felt a brief second of despair. The cellar? My wolf room? he wondered as he was guided to the cellar door. Maybe—maybe they put stuff in his wolf room. Something to make it cozier! Perhaps his letters talking about how he was glad there was furniture in the house in Hogsmeade had convinced them to spruce up the room a little bit!
Lyall was in front of him and Hope was behind them, both of them holding onto him as they helped him down the stairs. To his confusion once they reached the bottom they turned him to the left. The storage room?
The cellar was actually fairly decently sized. At the bottom of the stairs straight ahead was his room which had been the main reason they chose this house. Apparently back during World War II, the old owners had turned a small part of the cellar into an air-raid shelter with the (unfinished) plans of converting the entire cellar. So what had been a small wine room (from what Lyall understood) was turned into a reinforced bomb shelter which was now a little room for a werewolf to go wild in.
To the left of his little room was what had been storage. It was usually damp and yucky, and Remus couldn't figure out why his surprise would be there. He heard the door swing open and he was taken in. Immediately he could smell something was very different. It didn't smell anywhere near as damp or moldy, and he could smell wood—a lot of wood. New wood.
Then the handkerchief was pulled away, and Remus stared in utter disbelief.
The storage room was no longer a storage room, but a bedroom. His bedroom, to be specific. All the furniture from his attic room had been moved down to the storage room. There were also loads of new bookshelves along the walls, a few handmade rugs on the floor, and a little area for Arthur. There was also a small corner curtained off.
Remus blinked a few times.
"I… wh—what?"
Hope wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly from behind. "Your new room! It's bigger!"
"Room?" he echoed. "My new room?" He didn't understand—couldn't understand. He was being relegated down to the moldy cellar?
"It's bigger," Hope said again, as if that made all the difference. "Plus your father made you all these lovely shelves. And new books! Come here." She pulled him across the room to some shelves that had several books on them that he had never seen before. "Someone brought in a trunk full of old books, and Otillie said your father could keep them."
"My new room?" he asked, still not sure if he knew what was going on. "Wh—what about the attic? Did something happen?"
Hope glanced at Lyall and Remus turned to look at him.
"Remus…" Lyall approached him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're getting older now."
Not this again, he thought miserably.
"It's something Hope and I have been talking about for a while. To be frank, this should have been set up as your room from the beginning."
"What?"
Lyall pulled him over to his bed, sitting down and making Remus sit as well. "Your mother cannot carry you anymore. It's getting very difficult getting you all the way up to the attic after your—after the full moons. If I'm not here and your mother has to, and you've had a bad night where you cannot move… she's not going to be able to get you up the stairs."
Hope hovered nearby, wringing her hands.
"I've been spending all winter fixing this up." Lyall smiled encouragingly at him. "I've put loads of spells to keep this place dry, getting rid of all the mold and dirt. The last time it rained heavily not a single drop got in, I promise. It's safe. It's exactly like your old bedroom, only bigger. It took a lot of work getting everything fixed up!"
"We put in a window!" Hope added, hurrying over to one of the walls, indicating a window that looked out at ground level. Their house was on a slight slope, and that was the only section of the cellar that was technically above ground. Only just. "For Arthur," she added. "So you don't need to bring him upstairs. Oh!" She ran over to the curtained area and pulled it back revealing a toilet, sink, and a tub. In his room. Right there in his room.
"That took a long time," Lyall said, as if that made it better. "I studied a hell of a lot of plumbing books but it all works, though flushing might be a bit weak."
Remus stared at the toilet right there in his room—but where else would it be in the cellar?
"Wh—why couldn't you put a—a bed down here?" he whispered without even thinking. "In a corner somewhere? I—I could stay down here after the—the moons then—the rest of—of the—the t-t-time—the time—the—" He began spluttering, unable to speak.
Lyall frowned. "This was easier."
"All the work?" he wheezed out. "It was—so much—so much work—?"
"Darling, we did all this work to make it nicer for you," Hope said, forehead wrinkling as she began wringing her hands once more.
"You could—you could leave me. In the other r-room. When it's bad. I d-d-don't mind. You could put a blanket in—"
"Leave you?!" Hope shrieked, and Remus winced. "Don't even suggest such a thing!"
"Don't upset your mother like that," Lyall snapped.
Remus rubbed his forehead, feeling ill.
Hope took in a deep breath, trying again to help convince Remus. "It's very cozy down here."
Cozy? Cozy?! It was a cellar! Right next to his—his wolf room! Which was the point, all right, but still!
"We thought it would be better for you to have everything at hand after your transformations," Lyall said, rather darkly. "Your room. Not just a rickety old bed but your own bed. Your own everything."
"I thought it would be more comfortable." His mother sounded very sad. "I thought you'd like it."
Remus held back his feelings, held back what he wanted to say which was how ridiculous this was. Being shunted down into the cellar. Not only on the nights he transformed but every night he was home! He kinda felt like crying.
"What—what about the attic?" he asked.
"Storage now," Lyall said brusquely, standing up. "The lavatory has been torn up too. Remus, this is how it's going to be. It is easier for everyone."
"Easier for you," Hope said swiftly.
Remus was unable to stop the words from bursting out. He had been doing well enough up to that point and then he couldn't hold it in anymore. "I don't want to be down here!"
Hope's eyes grew watery. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. It's for the best. I can't take you upstairs anymore, it's—I'm not strong enough. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Remus, darling, I—"
Guilt quickly banished the anger and he rushed over to his mother, hugging her. "No, it's all right. It is. I'm sorry. I understand. I completely understand. It's just a—a sudden change, is all. A big change. I'll get used to it."
Hope hugged him tightly back, pressing her face into his shoulder. They clung to one another for a minute or two before pulling apart.
"It's fine," Remus promised, looking up into her face. "It does make sense for me to be down here." He didn't want to be. He hated it. He absolutely hated it! But his mother was right. If he had a bad moon and Lyall wasn't around then Hope couldn't do anything to get Remus out of the cellar. "Thank you," he finally added, realizing he probably needed to say that.
Hope kissed his forehead. "I'm glad you're giving it a chance. I—I think I need to lay down. Love you, darling, and welcome—welcome home…" She sounded unsure saying that.
"It's good to be home," he said, hoping he sounded more honest than he felt.
Hope nodded and left the room. She was halfway up the cellar steps when Remus heard her sniffling. He stared at the door then flinched as Lyall grabbed his shoulder, spinning him around.
"You need to apologize to her later," Lyall said, gripping Remus tightly. "You were being very ungrateful and rude."
"S—s-sorry!" he whimpered. "I'm sorry. I am, I—I know it's—it's better for me down here. I know. It was—it took me by surprise."
Lyall eyed him suspiciously. "She put a lot of work into making this room comfortable for you. We both did. I worked my arse off getting this place comfortable for you, and she did as much as a Muggle could do to help! Moving furniture, on her hands and knees scrubbing the damn floor—she made those rugs!" He waved his hand at the three knit rugs on the floor. "She put so much effort—"
"I know. I'm grateful," Remus said, shrinking back since Lyall was practically right in his face. He was terrified of being hit again. "I am. I promise. I love it. I mean, I will once I get used to it," he added, doubting his father would believe him if he straight up lied about loving it. "There's so much more room. And—and the bookshelves are wonderful. Thank you."
Lyall released him and Remus stepped back, shaking a little. "You still need to apologize to her tomorrow," he warned, and Remus nodded. "I think you should stay here for the rest of the night. It's getting late anyway."
"Yes sir."
Lyall left, slamming the door shut. Remus stumbled back then sank down on the edge of his bed, covering his face. Grateful, he told himself. I need to be grateful, they put a lot of work into the room, they made it comfortable for me, and it makes perfect sense for me to stay here. It's easier for them. It's easier.
Footsteps on the stairs then Remus's door opened. Lyall had brought his suitcase and Arthur's cage down. Remus mumbled a thank you, taking them. Lyall shut the door again, storming back up the stairs.
Remus took Arthur out of his cage. "Our new room," he said, trying to sound cheerful. "You know, if I had been put in Slytherin I'd be underground too." He took Arthur to his little tree, lifting him up into the nest. "Dad made it safe. It won't get wet." He wandered over to the window, having to drag his dresser over and climb on top in order to open the window. There was a screen so he could keep it open if he wanted to without any animals getting in.
He folded his arms on the sill and rested his chin, staring out at the grass and trees, and up at the sky.
"It's for the best," he said shakily, and then buried his face in his arms as he tried not to cry.
