Disclaimer: Every character of importance and the world they inhabit belong to J.K. Rowling. The idea of Remus's dad abandoning him a year after he was bitten comes originally from "Cub Scout" by Moon. (I liked the idea so much that it tends to pop up in most of my stories.)
Cave Canem
Chapter Six: The Funeral
Sirius stood shoulder to shoulder with Remus as they watched those gathering at the graveside. He wanted to put an arm around his friend, to support Remus physically as well as emotionally, but he needed his hand near the wand in his robe pocket. He knew that James, standing on Remus's other side, was watching those gathering just as attentively. It was not unknown for Death Eaters to come to the funerals of their victims and quietly strike again. Crowds were almost as useful as darkness in providing anonymity.
However, the small group gathering to say goodbye to Julia Lupin could not truthfully be called a crowd. Perhaps some had stayed away out of fear. But, undeniably, the main reason was that she had so few friends. After Remus was bitten, and her husband had left them, Julia Lupin had retreated into a self-imposed exile with her son. She had shielded him from the world's scorn by hiding him from the world. It was only after Remus began Hogwarts that she had dared to work outside the home and had made a few casual friends. From her former friends and her Muggle relatives, she remained distant.
A handful of witches and wizards whom Sirius did not recognize stood with a witch he knew to be Mrs. Lupin's employer at a small magical publishing firm, Emrys Press. "Friends from work." Professor Dumbledore arrived with Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey. They quietly greeted a small clump of recent Hogwarts graduates. "Here for Remus's sake." Horatio Sinistra, an auror, arrived with his brother Nelson, Nelson's wife, Helena, and a man who Sirius did not recognize. He remembered then that most of Mrs. Lupin's stories about her own Hogwarts days had featured, "My friend, Helena." He wondered if Mrs. Sinistra and Mrs. Lupin's school friend were one and the same. He did recall that Remus was distantly related to the Sinistras.
"That's my mother's sister, Claudia, and her husband, Walter Evesham," Remus said quietly as he nodded in the direction of two people in Muggle clothing hanging back from the witches and wizards. From the other side of James, he heard Lily whisper.
"I'm going to stand with Remus's aunt and uncle. They look a little lost."
"Later," James said tensely. "Stay near me."
"Who's the man with the Sinistras?" Sirius whispered to Remus.
"No one important; just their second cousin."
Sirius saw his own mother arrive. He quickly looked away from her; the last time he had seen her in a black robe had been his own father's funeral. He didn't want to be reminded of the similarities just now. Peter sniffling beside him was not helping in his efforts to stay in control. Remus, on the other hand, seemed completely calm. Seemed was the key word. Sirius had witnessed Remus's reaction when he had learned of his mother's murder.
* * * * *
"Bloody report—wasting my time when I could actually be doing something," Sirius thought as he scribbled out an incident report on a minor skirmish that had occurred the night before outside the home of a high-ranking Ministry employee. An alert neighbor had summoned Aurors while Death Eaters were trying to breach the wards protecting the house. Unfortunately, all three Death Eaters had escaped.
A knock at the door caused Sirius to look up for a moment at Frank Longbottom, but he immediately returned his attention to the report.
"Almost finished the ruddy report, Frank, and then we go play bodyguards for—"
"Change of plans. Word just came in of another attack last night—a murder."
Sirius kept writing. It was hardly an unusual occurrence. "Just one death?" he asked without looking up.
"Yeah, just one," Frank replied. "Julia Lupin." A blot appeared on the report as Sirius momentarily pushed down too firmly with the quill. He dropped the quill and sat back in the chair to stare at Frank. "James is there now with Avis. I'm on my way. James said that he'd met you at your flat as soon as he can." Sirius nodded dumbly and stood up.
"I need to tell Remus," Sirius said. His voice sounded flat even to himself. He moved around the desk, grabbed his cloak, and began down the hall with Frank at his side. "I hate when we have to tell people that someone—and now I have to tell Remus."
"She was his only family, wasn't she?" Frank asked. He had been in Gryffindor with them, but a few years ahead.
"Yeah, it was just the two of them."
"I remember because he used to go home so often when she was sick."
Sirius laughed at this; he didn't know why. Somehow, in the present circumstances, hearing the old lie just seemed bizarre. He glanced at the startled look on Frank's face and felt he needed to explain. However, Remus would not appreciate it if he were to say, "No, Remus's mum didn't have a chronic illness; Remus does." Instead, he just mumbled, "Sorry."
Reaching the outside of the building, Sirius fixed the hallway outside his flat in his mind and disapparated. He paused only a moment before entering the flat. Experience had taught him that postponing a difficult task only made it more difficult. He saw Remus as soon as entered. Remus was sitting with his back to him as he worked at the writing desk between the windows, but had given him half a glance as the door opened.
"These are the last moments in his life that he will define as 'before'," Sirius thought as he crossed the room in few steps. His own life had become defined as 'before' and 'after' with the moment he had learned of his father's murder.
"Do you need something, Padfoot?" Remus asked as Sirius drew near.
"Um—I need—I have to tell—"
Remus turned and looked up, giving Sirius his full attention. He frowned slightly as he saw the pained expression on Sirius's face. "What's wrong? Did something go wrong last night? Is James O.K.?" A slight trace of panic was in his voice; only someone who knew him well would notice it.
Sirius nodded and knelt down on one knee so Remus wouldn't look up. "It's your mum, Remus. They killed your mum last night."
"But—she—why?" Remus clutched Sirius's wrist.
Sirius shook his head. "James is at her house now. He can probably answer most of your questions when he gets here, but not that one. No one will ever be able to explain why good people have to die. I'm so sorry, Remus."
Remus nodded. The pained expression on his face disappeared as Remus tried to bury his feelings.
"No, Remus, you don't have to hold—" Sirius heard two small but distinct crackling noises just behind Remus. He glanced toward the sound and saw that the glass in the framed photos on the desk had cracked. Suddenly the windows exploded; Sirius instinctively pulled Remus down onto the floor, throwing his own arm over Remus's face to protect him from the flying shards of glass. Remus tried to pull away from Sirius even before the tinkling sound of falling glass ceased, but Sirius just clung to his friend more tightly. "Any more?" Remus shook his head slightly.
Sirius relaxed his hold, but Remus didn't try to move. "I'd better make sure no one on the street was hit by falling glass," Sirius said as pulled away. Pieces of glass fell from his robe and crunched underfoot as he took a few steps and looked out. Fortunately, it appeared that no one had been passing below. On the other side of the street, however, a woman had apparently been walking her dog when the window had shattered. She clutched the cocker spaniel to her chest as she stood staring back at Sirius.
"Are you all right?" Sirius asked as he smiled and waved at her. She nodded, but her eyes were wide and frightened. "Just a little accident; nothing to worry about." He pulled his head back inside, making a mental note to mention the woman to the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad. They might want to modify her memory slightly before she reported to the police that Remus and Sirius were IRA terrorists building bombs in their flat. Fortunately, Padfoot had played with that particular cocker spaniel before, so he knew which building the woman lived in.
Remus was now standing and looking down at the shattered glass. He had his wand in hand, but was making no effort to repair the damage. Sirius took his own wand from his pocket and pointed it at a window. "Reparo!" Shards and splinters of glass flew from the floor, the desk, and the street; they reassembled themselves so perfectly that one would never guess the window had been broken. Sirius repeated the spell for the other window. One shard had fallen down into the back of his robe; it nicked his skin as it flew up and out of his robe, but Sirius chose to ignore it.
"Do you want to sit down, Remus?" Remus sat on the sofa, but he was still staring at the floor. Sirius almost had the impression that he was sleepwalking, moving without awareness. "Is there anything I can do?" Remus did not acknowledge the question. "I hate feeling helpless like this," Sirius thought. "I wish James would get here. He usually knows what to say." Not knowing what else to do, Sirius simply sat beside his friend and waited.
* * * * *
The clergyman in somber vestments read prayers from the small black book he carried and spoke familiar platitudes that were meant to be comforting but instead rang hollow. It didn't help that he hadn't known Julia Lupin. However, since the vicar of her local church would have been very surprised to see the mourners dressed in robes and pointed hats, and even more surprised to see the coffin levitated into the grave, this wizard who was also an Anglican clergyman was the more appropriate choice. "He's becoming all too familiar a face," Sirius reflected. "I'm going to too many funerals."
When the coffin had been gently lowered into the grave, Sirius lowered his wand and saw Peter, Remus, and James all do the same. James then spoke on Remus's behalf, thanking those who came and inviting them to return to the Lupin's home for lunch.
Peter had set up three portkeys for those who wished to use them to travel to the house, and he pointed them out. "The three blue spheres, there, just behind you, and there, are the portkeys. He looked at his watch. "They'll activate in two and half minutes. If you wish to use one, please be touching it then."
Lily and James walked over to the Eveshams and introduced themselves. Sirius saw James gesture toward the nearest portkey, obviously asking if they wished to travel back to the house in that manner. Walter Evesham shook his head and gestured up the hill to the road and, undoubtedly, his car. A few of their Hogwarts classmates drew close to Remus and Sirius. While Louisa Grey, a Ravenclaw, spoke quietly to Remus, Aoife McLaughlin, one of their Gryffindor classmates, laid her hand on Sirius's arm.
"How is he holding up?" she asked.
"He'll be all right, in time."
"It's ironic," she said as she looked sadly at Remus speaking with Louisa and another classmate. "She was so sick for so long, and then to die like this. Does anyone know why they killed her?"
* * * * *
James dropped his cloak on the floor as he entered the flat. He crouched down on the floor in front of Remus and looked into his friend's troubled eyes. "I'm so sorry, Remus. She was a wonderful person, and I know you're going to miss her terribly. I'm so, so sorry this happened."
Remus nodded and took one shaky breath. "Tell me everything."
"It was the Death Eaters. There wasn't a Dark Mark over the house by the time one of her coworkers found her, but it was pretty late in the morning by then. There may have been one last night, but no one saw it since she had no near neighbors."
"Why are we so sure it was them?" Sirius asked. He knew in his heart that it was, but James seemed certain for another reason.
"Someone—there was a Dark Mark in the house near her." Sirius saw James glance down for just a moment as he mentally edited what he was willing to tell Remus. "The wards were still up when we arrived, and she was in the middle of making tea when she died. Three tea cups were on the table."
"She knew her killers," Remus concluded.
James nodded. "It looks like she knew one or both, and she willingly let them in."
"She didn't know many people," Remus said, "and she trusted even fewer." He seemed to mentally run through a list of people.
"It does narrow down the possible suspects," James agreed, "but the truth is, many people would allow even casual acquaintances in if they have a good excuse for showing up at their door."
Remus nodded, acknowledging that even his cautious mother was not cautious enough for times like these. "Why? I mean, why her? Was there any clue why they chose to kill her?"
"No."
"Then it was because of me, because I've been helping Dumbledore and the Order."
"No, Remus. Don't even think that!" Sirius insisted.
James took a different tack. "It might have been because of you." Sirius glared at his usually intelligent friend, who was, he believed, being particularly stupid at the moment. James ignored him. "We may never know the reason, but you have to admit there were other possible motives. We're going to look into whatever she was currently working on. Perhaps the publishing house she works for is about to print something Voldemort wants suppressed. And we can't forget that she was Muggle-born, and many Muggle-borns have been targeted for no other reason than that." The pained look on James's face clearly showed that it was something he could not forget. The attempt on Lily's life had been less than a week ago.
Remus nodded and put a hand on James's shoulder as if he were the one who needed comforting. He no longer seemed as certain that his mother's death was linked to himself. Then he steeled himself to ask his next question. "She was tortured, wasn't she?"
"No," James insisted a bit too eagerly.
Remus didn't seem to believe him; he fixed James with the "Don't even try to lie to me" glare.
"She was in the middle of making tea when she died. The tin of tea fell on the floor beside her. She probably died before she even realized that she was in danger."
"You avoided telling me something, and don't deny it."
"Can't lie to Remus," Sirius thought automatically.
"You're right. Someone drew the Dark Mark on the floor in her blood, but Avis is certain the wounds were made after she died."
* * * * *
Lily had wisely suggested that they temporarily charm the kitchen and living room to make them more spacious than they normally were. "Clever girl," Sirius thought as he squeezed past three of Mrs. Lupin's coworkers and into the kitchen. Even this small number of people would have overwhelmed the tiny cottage in its normal state. He found his mother, Lily, and Remus's aunt refilling the platters of food on the kitchen table.
"What can I do to help, Mum?"
"There's nothing left to do in here, at least for a little while. Just make sure Remus eats something."
"James just brought him a plate, but he's only pushing things around on it."
Sirius wondered where the Sinistra's cousin was. In the living room, he had spotted Horatio Sinistra speaking with Frank Longbottom, and Nelson and Helena speaking with Professor McGonagall, but the cousin hadn't been in sight. And now, he saw that he was not in the kitchen either. Something about him made Sirius uneasy. Perhaps it was because he was the only person for whom Sirius could not assign a motive for coming to the funeral. Perhaps it was because he looked vaguely familiar, but Sirius couldn't place him. He was just about to go ask Horatio if he had come to the house or left from the cemetery, when through the window, he caught a glimpse of him outside.
"Excuse me," he said to Lily as he slipped behind her and out the door.
The man had just reached the metal shed in the back garden and was headed toward the one tiny window. Remus had been a bit nervous about everyone seeing the shed. In his mind, its purpose was completely obvious. The others had reassured him that it looked like any other garden storage shed, and that no one would pay it any mind. In fact, in recent years, Remus used it for the full moon so rarely, that his mother had indeed begun using it for storage. They merely removed the various pots and gardening implements when Remus needed to use it. "Remus would have a stroke if he saw how curious this bloke is being. And why is he so curious about the shed, anyway?"
"Excuse me. Can I help you?"
The man turned and blushed slightly, embarrassed at having been found snooping, no doubt. "I saw it through the window, and I couldn't resist looking more closely. You're Remus's friend, aren't you? I saw you standing beside him at the cemetery."
"I'm one of his friends," Sirius answered coldly. Sirius's initial uneasiness about this man had not been helped by finding him to be so curious about the shed.
"Yes, Professor Dumbledore said that you were all in the same house at Hogwarts, dorm mates." Sirius nodded once. The man looked at the shed again. "Amazing that Dumbledore allowed him to attend. No other headmaster would have taken the risk."
"He knows." "Who the hell are you, anyway?"
"Sorry, I thought you knew," the man said as he turned back to Sirius. "I'm—"
"No one," Remus interrupted as he approached them and stood beside Sirius. "No one who matters." His voice was low, almost a growl, and there was a cold fire in his eyes as he glared at the man. "He isn't welcome in the house, Padfoot." Remus addressed the man again. "I'd give you back her wedding ring, but she sold it years ago to afford my first wand. The rest of her jewelry was already long gone by then. It's hard to afford enough food to feed a hungry young werewolf," he smiled sardonically, "but she didn't want me snacking on the neighbors, of course."
Sirius looked between them. Now he understood why the man looked vaguely familiar. Remus more closely resembled his mother, but there was something of this man, his father, as well—the jaw line, the way his hair fell into his eyes, the height and build. Remus started to walk back into the house, confident that Sirius would take care of the situation.
"You have two younger sisters, you know," Mr. Lupin called to Remus. Remus paused, but did not turn around.
"No, I did not know," Remus replied angrily. "How could I know when you haven't contacted me in twelve years." He bowed his head for a moment as if in thought or making a difficult decision. "If they ever want to meet their brother, the monster, I'll be happy to meet them, but I do not ever want to see you again. Do you understand?"
Mr. Lupin nodded and then realized that Remus could not see him. "Yes," he said with a nervous quaver in his voice.
"He's afraid of Remus," Sirius realized.
Mr. Lupin waited until the door closed behind Remus before he spoke again. "He hates me. I assumed that he would, but I hoped that he wouldn't. He doesn't know my side of it. I tired and tried to help him, to find a cure for him, but there wasn't anything I could do. I couldn't bear to watch him suffer."
Sirius looked carefully at this man—he did not wish to think of him as Remus's father, for he had forfeited that role—and he felt pity. He had been given an opportunity to be a parent to an extraordinary person, but because the job had been more difficult than he expected, he'd abandoned Remus. Unwilling to watch his son suffer, he'd caused his son even more suffering. He had missed the opportunity to help Remus grow and mature from the shy, mistrustful boy who struggled daily against the wolf, to the confident young man, who loved and was loved by his friends, who had learned to channel the best of the wolf, and control the rest. And now, Remus had made it clear that he would miss the opportunity to know the man he had become as well.
Part of Sirius wanted to say something cruel and cutting—after all, the man before him had hurt his friend very deeply—but the hurt look in his eyes reminded him strongly of the way Remus looked when he was hurt.
"I don't think he ever hated you, before today that is," Sirius said. "He's missed you terribly for years. He once bought a Romanian-English dictionary because he heard you might be living in Romania. But today, all he can think of is what a difficult life his mother had, raising a son who is a werewolf and doing it all alone." "Well, maybe it was a bit cutting, but it's the truth."
Mr. Lupin pushed his hair back out of his eyes, a mannerism Sirius had seen Remus perform many times. "Please tell Nelson and Helena Sinistra that I went back to their house. I'm going home tomorrow, so Remus doesn't have to worry about running into me anywhere."
"So you don't have to worry about running into Remus, you mean. Coward." "What are their names? Remus's sisters, I mean."
"Anna is almost ten, and Nadia is six. Perhaps—" he bit his bottom lip nervously. Perhaps it would be best if I wait until they are older to tell them about Remus." He disapparated before Sirius could say any more.
"Bastard."
Sirius found Remus in the kitchen, listening to a conversation between two of his mother's coworkers. Remus watched Sirius carefully as he entered the house.
"He's gone," Sirius mouthed. Remus nodded and gave Sirius a brief flicker of a smile before returning his attention to the others.
Sirius grabbed a handful of small sandwiches before passing back into the living room, stuffing one in his mouth as he went. He saw Peter standing alone by a window, not far from where the Sinistras were speaking with the Eveshams. After quickly delivering his message to Nelson Sinistra, Sirius joined Peter at the window.
"How are you holding up, Peter?"
"Fine—most people are starting to say their goodbyes—I'm just a bit hungry."
"Hungry? There's a ton of food in the kitchen. You know what my mum is like." Sirius held out his two remaining sandwiches as he spoke.
Peter took them with a grateful smile. "Thanks. I just can't—the kitchen—I just can't go in there."
Sirius put an arm around his smaller friend's shoulder and gave him a comforting squeeze. Peter always was sensitive about such things. It should have occurred to him that he might be reluctant to see the place where someone he knew had been murdered. Remus had handled it without batting an eye, but Remus had a lifetime of practice at controlling and hiding his emotions.
"I'll get you a plate of food," Sirius promised as he started back toward the kitchen. However, a late arrival, a witch charming an ink stain off her mossy green robe, stopped him in his tracks. Sirius changed direction and met her near the front door.
"Ms. Stirling, it's so nice of you to come," Sirius said as he enclosed her small hand within both of his own. "I know Remus will be happy to see you."
"Please call me Charlotte. I'm so sorry that I'm late, but something came up at work that couldn't wait."
"No apology necessary," Sirius said as he slowly steered her toward the kitchen. "No one valued the work you do, and the kind way you do it, more than Julia did."
"It's such a loss," Charlotte said. "Too many deaths, too many funerals. Do you know that in the past three months, this is the fourth time a family member of one of my clients has been murdered? As if their lives weren't difficult enough."
Sirius stopped just outside the kitchen door and stared at Charlotte. To the best of his knowledge, neither the Aurors nor the Order was aware of a pattern of murders involving the families of werewolves.
"Four murders? All by the Death Eaters?" Comprehension of their possible significance dawned on Charlotte's face as he asked. He glanced around the room, caught James's eye, and gestured for him to come over.
"Well, let's see," Charlotte said. "In addition to this, one murder was definitely the Death Eaters, the Dark Mark over the house and all. One was officially labeled unsolved, but that family is Muggle, so only the Muggle authorities investigated. And the first of the four," she thought for a moment. Just as James reached them, she said, "I don't know, but that family is Muggle as well."
James smiled at Charlotte and extended his hand. "Hello, Charlotte. Thank you for—"
"Is Dumbledore still here?" Sirius interrupted.
"No, he had to get back. Why?" James sounded either slightly annoyed or slightly amused by Sirius's rudeness. Sirius didn't know which, nor did he care.
"Is something wrong?" Peter asked. He had come over when he saw Sirius beckon James.
"Tell them what you just told me," Sirius instructed Charlotte quietly, "but let's not tell Remus until we know more. It'll only make him feel worse."
Author's Note: Thank you all for your patience while awaiting this chapter. I have been doing lots of writing, just not on this story. (Darn writer's block!) I won't make any promises that the next chapter will be up soon, but I can tell you this—Morris Burdock may be gone, but he is not forgotten.
If you'd like to read about the Romanian-English Dictionary in Remus's past, it's in my story "Visiting the Werewolf's Den."