Chapter 23
A/N: We made it! Hello, and sorry for the long wait, you've all been very kind and patient.
This is it, the end of First Year! As with the Christmas Holidays, I plan to have a couple of chapters in the gap before we pack the boys back off to Hogwarts.
Anyway, Happy Halloween (Samhain from me and Siri) I hope you are all safe and well, and enjoying the spooky season
Friday 16th June 1972
Peter had worried about his end-of-term exam results. What would happen if he failed? Would Professor McGonagall hold him back a year? Expel him? Would they make him change House? Though, maybe that wouldn't be so bad. Sharing the dorm with Remus after Sirius and James had told him had been scary. He pretended it wasn't so bad, treated Remus as though nothing had changed. The others seemed to think that was safest. And he supposed Remus hadn't… well eaten them in their sleep or whatever it was werewolves liked to do to their victims.
He deliberately sat next to Remus at breakfast, their last breakfast of First Year, even though the moon was not much more than a sliver in the sky. Remus passed him the toast, and the excellent venison sausages, just like everything was normal. Because they were facing Sirius and James it was Peter who saw the blonde Slytherin prefect approach their table over Sirius' shoulder.
"Sirius, un moment de ton temps?"
Her voice was sweet, almost too sweet, and the flicker of fury in Sirius' face was unmissable. The others seemed to think Pete was oblivious to their friend's mercurial moods. He wasn't. He often wondered why people were so surprised by Sirius' outbursts of temper, when the warning signs were so obvious. It was what bothered him most about Remus, he didn't act like a monster.
"Je suis l'héritier, tu me parleras avec respect, Narcissa." Remus must have heard the ice in Sirius' voice too because his leg tensed next to Peter on the bench, "And also in English. You are being rude."
She rolled her eyes. Her face would be pretty, Peter thought, if she didn't look like someone had just farted.
"Fine. Oh, dearest cousin, beloved Aunt Walburga has written to me. She wants you to sit in my compartment on the train – "
Sirius finally turned in his seat to look at her, "So I'll see you five minutes before we pull into King's Cross?"
"Oui – yes. However…"
He sighed, "What? Neither of us want to spend the entire day together on a train. You are not doing me any kind of favour, you'll be in as much trouble for disobedience as I will."
Peter watched their back and forth. The only people he heard speak like that were adults. His sister Leah was the most grown-up not grown-up that he knew and even she didn't manage to sound quite so much like adults negotiating business plans as Sirius did when he spoke to someone other than them.
Narcissa sighed dramatically, "I need your support on Litha, I have an announcement to make. If you agree to back me up, I will keep up this delightful little charade of yours until I leave school, d'accord?"
Even though Peter couldn't see Sirius' face he could hear the smirk, "Ah. I understand. Oui, of course."
Without even sparing a glance for the other boys, Narcissa turned on her heel and returned to the Slytherin table. Peter watched the sway of her hips in fascination.
As Sirius turned back to his crumpets, one part of their cryptic conversation stuck in Peter's mind, "Hey, Siri-us – ", Sirius had reacted poorly to Peter using his pet name before, and interactions with the rest of the Black family never seemed to leave him in a good mood, "– what's Liffa?"
"Litha. Wednesday – " Sirius said in the same moment as Remus replied,
"Midsummer, Pete."
This did not enlighten Peter one bit, his confusion must have shown on his face, because James took pity on him.
"Siri's family still celebrate the old holy days. The Summer Solstice – y'know, the longest day – is on Wednesday."
Sirius sighed, "Actually, Litha just means June."
Remus nodded slowly, "I suppose you wouldn't call it Gŵyl Ifan Ganol Haf would you?"
He snorted, "Non, absolument pas. It's the same idea though."
Peter hesitated, wanting to ask but deathly afraid of being laughed at. The others had all picked up bits of French and Welsh from Sirius and Remus, but he hadn't.
He was spared the humiliation by their end of year reports zooming down the table. Peter picked his up with trepidation, sending a quick glance at Remus who was unfolding his own results one handed and sipping tea with the other.
Peter didn't know if he was relieved, or not. Sixty-two and an eighth in Potions was just about a passing mark, and the rest were all a little higher. He hadn't failed First Year after all, which meant that after the holidays he had to face another school year sharing a dormitory with a werewolf.
Sirius was genuinely shocked to step out of Narcissa's carriage onto platform nine-and-three-quarters and see both his parents standing next to Cygnus, waiting for him. Even as he turned to offer Narcissa his hand as she followed him, his gaze hunted for the slight figure of his brother. But Regulus was not there.
Narcissa pressed a light kiss to his cheek, even though she had to stoop to do it, before she skipped away to greet her father, their family House-elf already heading onto the train to fetch her trunks. Sirius had pushed his own trunk out first and dragged it towards his parents. He had barely made it two feet when Walburga's wand flashed in her hand, his ever muscle tensed, expecting pain, fire, possibly even the Imperius. His trunk floated gently off the ground bumping lightly against his hip.
He forced himself to keep walking. Walburga offered her hand to him as he reached them, and he bowed his head over it. "Mother, hullo."
Another flick of her wand and his trunk vanished, Sirius could only hope it would be in his own room, and not somewhere in the Sahara for example. Walburga didn't smile, wouldn't in public like this, but a warm flicker in her eyes almost made Sirius sigh in relief. He kept his mother's hand in his, heedless of the looks from older students passing by and bowed politely, if shallowly, to Orion.
"Father."
The Black Patriarch simply nodded in return, "Your mother fancied the walk."
Remus and James stood shoulder to shoulder, watching Sirius from behind a group of Sixth Years loudly saying their goodbyes. Peter had already run off to find his own parents but neither of the other two could tear their eyes away.
"You're definitely going to invite him?" Remus murmured to James.
"Absolutely. I'll write you the moment I hear anything back."
Remus nodded, "And don't forget – "
"I know! No mention of you, or Pete, just in case it's intercepted." James sighed and pushed his glasses back up his nose where they had slipped, "Do you think it will be bad?"
If it is, I'll tear them to pieces myself – the wolf in Remus' chest growled in agreement at his darkest thoughts, but he pushed them aside. Remus looked down at James, opening his mouth to reassure their happiest friend, but for the first time in his life, Remus found himself unwilling to lie.
"Not yet. But summer is a long time."
James bumped his shoulder against Remus' arm, "It is, but I'll see you in a few weeks. And if it comes to it, we'll just send my dad round to drag him out of that place, alright?"
Remus tried to smile, tried to believe James. Even though he knew if – when – James told his parents, his good, law-abiding parents, they would never see each other again. They hadn't spoken on it. He hadn't even spoken to Sirius on the subject, since Sirius confessed, they knew.
He managed a nod, "Alright. And I'll let you know if I hear anything from Sirius too. I can probably borrow an owl from Dad…"
James grinned, "You can always Floo the Manor if you want to, just yell until someone comes."
Remus smiled and nodded, aware James had no clue how much Floo Powder cost. He opened his mouth, not even sure what he was about to say, when a gruff voice cut across him.
"Ach, Remus lad, here ye are."
He couldn't help but spin and throw himself into Lyall's arms, he had missed his parents deeply.
"Oooft, you've grown, lad" Lyall chuckled, he wrapped one arm around his son's shoulders and held his free hand out to James, "Lyall Lupin, and you must be… James, is it?"
James, beaming from ear to ear, shook Lyall's hand eagerly, "Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Lupin. Is Mrs. Lupin with you?"
"Aye, she's in the car mind, we couldn't find a parking spot."
"You brought your car?" James' eyes lit up further, "Would you like to come and meet my parents, Mr. Lupin?"
Chuckling, Lyall allowed himself to be steered by an excited James towards the Potters, and Remus followed along behind, still occasionally staring over his shoulder to where the Black Family had vanished and trying to quell the fear in his heart.