And in the end
By Semmel
~ Part One ~
Chapter 1
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of Number 4 Privet Drive had a completely normal morning, thank you very much. Mr. Vernon Dursley happily read the newspaper, his son Dudley threw a tantrum, and his wife Petunia tried everything to please both. It was actually the moment when she discovered that the milk was all but gone that everything started to go down hill. Upon opening the front door to retrieve the bottle earlier placed there by the dairyman, she not only found said container, but also a small bundle. Curious the woman bend lower and reached out to uncover what was hidden beneath. Seconds later a shrill and earth shattering scream filled the still air of Surrey and successfully woke the small baby boy on the front step.
Mr. Dursley was just in time to catch his wife before she hit the floor in a dead faint. He carefully brought her inside the perfectly tidy house and put her on the equally neat couch. In a wild dash the man raced back to the door and quickly shut it. God only knew what would happen to their home if the freak would be able to come inside. For the baby was not any normal baby, indeed. Just one look at the - thing and he knew. It was the son of his wife's sister and her awful husband - wizards! Weirdoes! Something with which his little Duddikins would never come in contact with if he could help it. When Petunia Dursley came around only moments later her husband's mind was already made up and the day she'd disagree with him on that decision would be the day hell froze over.
The plan of action that was devised in Privet Drive N° 4 was unknown to the wizarding world, of course. To be honest, they didn't exactly spend any time thinking about these Muggles or any Muggles at all. No, witches and wizards from London to Aberdeen, from York to Liverpool, from - well you get the picture - the magical community was busy celebrating the downfall of the darkest sorcerer of all time - Lord Voldemort. Of course, nobody ever said his real name. People usually referred to him as You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, for they were frightened to speak his name - even after he was gone. And gone he was. Defeated by - who would have thought it - a small boy of one year. Their hero, their saviour. Harry Potter - The- Boy-Who-Lived.
Yet, not everyone was in the mood for excessive partying, although cases of shooting stars firings and spontaneous dances on the streets were reported constantly. Not all were jolly. There were people who thought the world must have turned against them, who felt betrayed, who mourned the losses of two of their best and most wonderful friends on earth, the Potters. Remus Lupin was one of them. It was doubtful that there was anyone who was more shaken by the late events than him. He had not only lost two, but all of his dearest companions. Three to death and one to the Dark Side. And to top it all the world kept hailing little Harry Potter, who felt almost like his own son and not only the child of Lily and James, constantly reminding him of the fate that awaited the toddler: life with the Durselys, the most horrid Muggles ever.
Even though Lily Potter, nee Evans, never talked much about her sister, the few things she did reveal gave enough information to draw said conclusion. Lily's sister was a gaunt, blonde woman with a neck as long as a giraffe's, who always seemed to wear an expression of bitter distaste. Naturally, it's wrong to judge someone by his or her looks but in this case traits and looks fit together. Petunia Dursley was a nosy, snobbish, and generally unpleasant person. To imagine that Harry would be living with her...
With a sigh Remus closed the shutters of his living room window. Watching people celebrating grated on his nerves. Not that he had paid much attention. His thoughts had kept straying to his best friends' son and to the what if's and if only's. He turned his back to the window.
The living room, like the whole house, was scarcely furnished. There was an old, bluish couch, which could be turned into a bed, two fairly comfortable armchairs, and a small round table, all tastefully positioned around the room. The walls were mostly blank except some nice drawings, mainly showing the whipped up sea. Unlike most wizards Remus Lupin did not have a fireplace. It was too dangerous - not for him but for others.
He would have to sell the house so much was sure. Living here when so many memories haunted this placed would be hell. But he'd miss the kitchen. Due to the architectural design no one who planned to reach the upper floor of the building could avoid to cross the tiny cubby-hole, except, of course, he Apparated. Indeed most people would favour this idea simply because they'd forego a bout of claustrophobia this way; and yet - in Remus opinion it was perfect. Cosy and slightly crowded when his few but close friends had come for a visit. The messiness might have contributed to the crampedness though. Remus had long since given up on trying to keep it neat and orderly. Especially after the partial catastrophic encounters that took place here. Sirius Black versus kitchen tools.
//"Let me! I've found a new -"
"Oh Gawd! Not again!"
"What do you mean? My cooking isn't that bad!" Green eyes narrowed dangerously. If Sirius Black had any common sense he would drop his act immediately. Yet, he didn't have any and so he started to pout instead.
When Padfoot pouted - and he did it like a professional, affronted demeanour and all - every member of the female population in sight swooned. 'He always looked so adorable when offended!' Yet, since exceptions confirmed the rule, and probably because she already belonged to another, there was one woman whose heart could not be melted by his antics - Lily Evans-Potter. It never hurt to try, though!
The red-head in questions had masked her face into one of long-suffering. A bad sign. It was inevitable now that she'd slip into one of her seemingly 'controlled' moods which were actually worse than her legendary fiery temper-tantrums.
James and Remus shared a look. No way their friend would get out of this situation without help. Still, no one in their right minds would interfere and so they didn't.
"It's not your cooking, my friend", Lily replied in a low voice, "it's the fact that afterwards the kitchen always looks like a battlefield; and strangely enough the one responsible for the mess just happens to disappear when the time comes to clean it up, leaving others", and here she pointedly looked at the werewolf , "to clean up after him. Every time!"
Sirius had to make an important decision now. Either he'd apologise and promise to help in future which would result in only a medium reproach or he could try to justify his deeds which would end in far more fatal consequence. Never one to chicken out - except when it came to washing the dishes - he went for the latter.
"C'mon, there are not even any stains anywhere!" Which was quite an accomplishment in Sirius' eyes since anything he owned had at least one blot somewhere; but it didn't seem to appease Lily. Her expression had grown darker the moment he'd opened his mouth.
"And why is that so, my friend? Because this man here had the questionable honour of working his hands off scrubbing, regardless of which time of the month it was."
Remus would have preferred it if she hadn't mentioned that. It was true that he was a bit under the weather, well, maybe, quite under it, after the full moon but Lily tended to overrate ever since she became pregnant. Sometimes he felt like he was the child and not Harry. And anyway, the way she said it sounded like it was PMS and not lycanthropy.
On the other hand Lily had a good reason to be put out with their friend since even when it was already mere weeks before she gave birth the woman insisted on helping the werewolf. They were the only ones to clean the kitchen then as, although they had offered their assistance, neither James nor Peter had been allowed near since both of them were a bit clumsy when it came to handling fragile goods.
"Well, it couldn't have been that much of a problem with the All-Purpose Magical Mess-Remover." And when you thought it couldn't get any worse. In next but no time Sirius found himself the subject of one of the longest and most colourful orations on housework ever heard on earth. It wasn't long before his point view changed. Literally. Suspended in mid-air, upside down one might add. His robe however still obeyed Newton's law of Gravitation. Now a half naked man dangling in a kitchen is a sight for itself. Add a furious red-head and an astounded baby carried by the equally surprised Wormtail, who was accompanied by his mother, and you have a disaster!
Mrs. Pettigrew had probably never got over the shock of seeing one of her son's friends in such a... position. She went as white as the spotless! kitchen ceiling, fainted, fell backwards and hit her head against the door frame. Luckily, she got away with only a bump. Sirius on the other hand...let's just say there was a camera handy. //
Having made himself a cup of hot chocolate Remus headed up the stairs and into the bedroom which contained the only luxury object of the whole house - a large four-poster bed. Placing his cup on the night-stand he undressed and climbed into bed. It was obvious to him that he probably wouldn't be able to sleep, but he needed to at least try to get a good night's rest, especially after the last tiring days - and nights. While changing he heard a soft pop from downstairs and quickly turned around. Throwing on a bathrobe he grabbed his wand and headed towards the sound. It was not usual for him to get visitors and with all of his friends gone, and the Dark Times having barely ended, one was bound to be careful. Better paranoid than dead. All of this however vanished instantly from his mind when he saw who the mysterious guest was.
~**~
"That's just like Lily! Getting herself killed at a time like this!", Petunia fumed lolling on the couch, her arms crossed in front of her. "Couldn't she have waited for her urchin to be grown up? Is that too much too ask?!" Her husband seemed to dare speaking up at that point, probably to affirm her, but she ignored him completely and jumped up. She most certainly wasn't done yet! "But that's them - absolutely no manners! Her kind is one of the most unreliable, egoistic, narrow-minded, and short- sighted folk in existence!" A tasteless silvery-blue vase with little dogs scratching themselves behind their ears - a present from Vernon's sister Marge - crashed to the floor. Unabashed the irate woman continued, widely gesturing with her arms. "Then they expect us - us! - to care for their insufferable brat!" She handed in a high-pitched cry. Vernon, who sat on the couch while watching his wife ranting, kept unusually quiet. Normally it was him who went off like that and his wife waited it out. Today was different, though. Petunia was in hysterics about her sister and rightly so.
"Oh, Vernon!", she sobbed finally coming to rest beside him, "I don't want him in my house!" Strong arms embraced the distraught, soothing her. 'Of course, we won't keep him', Mr. Dursley thought darkly. While his wife's argumentation was based solely on the emotional level he also considered the material aspects. A child costs money! Not that they wouldn't spend anything on their own little tyke but that was something different altogether. If they kept the Potter boy they might not be able to afford the new caravan which he had had an eye on for quite some time now. It was the new and improved Traveller 2000. A top-notch caravan with super-powered air-conditioning, an unimaginable high number of hps, and an extra-springy suspension in the shock absorber for more motoring comfort. The dream of every man!
"And what will the neighbours say?!", his fantasies were abruptly interrupted by Mrs. Dursley. Wiping away the tears from her eyes another horrible scenario crossed her mind. If he was anything like his mother he'd desperately try to best her own son, and she couldn't let her little Duddikins suffer the same fate as she did in her youth!
In the end it was decided, half an hour after the door had been opened for the first time this morning Vernon strode out again and grabbed the blanket which Harry was still wrapped in. His large green eyes wonderingly observed his uncle putting him into a big moving thing and driving off with him, far, far away.
~~**~~
After Albus Dumbledore had discovered that his attempts of leaving Harry with the Dursleys were not destined to be successful, he removed the boy from St. Andrews Orphanage. So now he, yet again, had to ask himself the question "Where do I take the child to?". By any means it had to be someone he trusted, someone who always kept his cool and had a reasonable mind, someone like Remus Lupin. The old man stopped short. Of course, why not? He was perfect for the job. Befriended with the Potters, living quite separated from the wizarding world, and definitely one of the most loyal men he knew. There was only one problem... though they could deal with that! A temporary babysitter for these times, and for the ministry...
When the Headmaster of Hogwarts arrived he was almost attacked by the owner of the house. The old man smiled bemusedly. Remus Lupin was definitely one the most capable wizards Albus could think of. He would make an excellent guardian. Albeit Remus didn't quite agree on that. He would protect Harry with his life but he just couldn't take care of him. Not with his 'disease' plaguing him every month. What did Dumbledore think he was doing? There was a big chance of him killing the boy, or worse: making him one of his kind. But the older wizard wouldn't be convinced. Instead he promised to look for a babysitter during these times, and left. The werewolf sighed for the second time this evening. 'I start to sound like Moaning Myrtle', he noticed absent-mindedly. Sitting down in an armchair he carefully positioned the baby on his lap. What was he going to do now? He didn't have a cot let alone baby food. Hell, he didn't even have the slightest experience in dealing with babies! What was Dumbledore thinking? What - was - he --- thinking? With his new ward cradled in his arms Remus fell asleep.
Chapter added on 06/15/2003. Please review!
~ Part One ~
Chapter 1
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of Number 4 Privet Drive had a completely normal morning, thank you very much. Mr. Vernon Dursley happily read the newspaper, his son Dudley threw a tantrum, and his wife Petunia tried everything to please both. It was actually the moment when she discovered that the milk was all but gone that everything started to go down hill. Upon opening the front door to retrieve the bottle earlier placed there by the dairyman, she not only found said container, but also a small bundle. Curious the woman bend lower and reached out to uncover what was hidden beneath. Seconds later a shrill and earth shattering scream filled the still air of Surrey and successfully woke the small baby boy on the front step.
Mr. Dursley was just in time to catch his wife before she hit the floor in a dead faint. He carefully brought her inside the perfectly tidy house and put her on the equally neat couch. In a wild dash the man raced back to the door and quickly shut it. God only knew what would happen to their home if the freak would be able to come inside. For the baby was not any normal baby, indeed. Just one look at the - thing and he knew. It was the son of his wife's sister and her awful husband - wizards! Weirdoes! Something with which his little Duddikins would never come in contact with if he could help it. When Petunia Dursley came around only moments later her husband's mind was already made up and the day she'd disagree with him on that decision would be the day hell froze over.
The plan of action that was devised in Privet Drive N° 4 was unknown to the wizarding world, of course. To be honest, they didn't exactly spend any time thinking about these Muggles or any Muggles at all. No, witches and wizards from London to Aberdeen, from York to Liverpool, from - well you get the picture - the magical community was busy celebrating the downfall of the darkest sorcerer of all time - Lord Voldemort. Of course, nobody ever said his real name. People usually referred to him as You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, for they were frightened to speak his name - even after he was gone. And gone he was. Defeated by - who would have thought it - a small boy of one year. Their hero, their saviour. Harry Potter - The- Boy-Who-Lived.
Yet, not everyone was in the mood for excessive partying, although cases of shooting stars firings and spontaneous dances on the streets were reported constantly. Not all were jolly. There were people who thought the world must have turned against them, who felt betrayed, who mourned the losses of two of their best and most wonderful friends on earth, the Potters. Remus Lupin was one of them. It was doubtful that there was anyone who was more shaken by the late events than him. He had not only lost two, but all of his dearest companions. Three to death and one to the Dark Side. And to top it all the world kept hailing little Harry Potter, who felt almost like his own son and not only the child of Lily and James, constantly reminding him of the fate that awaited the toddler: life with the Durselys, the most horrid Muggles ever.
Even though Lily Potter, nee Evans, never talked much about her sister, the few things she did reveal gave enough information to draw said conclusion. Lily's sister was a gaunt, blonde woman with a neck as long as a giraffe's, who always seemed to wear an expression of bitter distaste. Naturally, it's wrong to judge someone by his or her looks but in this case traits and looks fit together. Petunia Dursley was a nosy, snobbish, and generally unpleasant person. To imagine that Harry would be living with her...
With a sigh Remus closed the shutters of his living room window. Watching people celebrating grated on his nerves. Not that he had paid much attention. His thoughts had kept straying to his best friends' son and to the what if's and if only's. He turned his back to the window.
The living room, like the whole house, was scarcely furnished. There was an old, bluish couch, which could be turned into a bed, two fairly comfortable armchairs, and a small round table, all tastefully positioned around the room. The walls were mostly blank except some nice drawings, mainly showing the whipped up sea. Unlike most wizards Remus Lupin did not have a fireplace. It was too dangerous - not for him but for others.
He would have to sell the house so much was sure. Living here when so many memories haunted this placed would be hell. But he'd miss the kitchen. Due to the architectural design no one who planned to reach the upper floor of the building could avoid to cross the tiny cubby-hole, except, of course, he Apparated. Indeed most people would favour this idea simply because they'd forego a bout of claustrophobia this way; and yet - in Remus opinion it was perfect. Cosy and slightly crowded when his few but close friends had come for a visit. The messiness might have contributed to the crampedness though. Remus had long since given up on trying to keep it neat and orderly. Especially after the partial catastrophic encounters that took place here. Sirius Black versus kitchen tools.
//"Let me! I've found a new -"
"Oh Gawd! Not again!"
"What do you mean? My cooking isn't that bad!" Green eyes narrowed dangerously. If Sirius Black had any common sense he would drop his act immediately. Yet, he didn't have any and so he started to pout instead.
When Padfoot pouted - and he did it like a professional, affronted demeanour and all - every member of the female population in sight swooned. 'He always looked so adorable when offended!' Yet, since exceptions confirmed the rule, and probably because she already belonged to another, there was one woman whose heart could not be melted by his antics - Lily Evans-Potter. It never hurt to try, though!
The red-head in questions had masked her face into one of long-suffering. A bad sign. It was inevitable now that she'd slip into one of her seemingly 'controlled' moods which were actually worse than her legendary fiery temper-tantrums.
James and Remus shared a look. No way their friend would get out of this situation without help. Still, no one in their right minds would interfere and so they didn't.
"It's not your cooking, my friend", Lily replied in a low voice, "it's the fact that afterwards the kitchen always looks like a battlefield; and strangely enough the one responsible for the mess just happens to disappear when the time comes to clean it up, leaving others", and here she pointedly looked at the werewolf , "to clean up after him. Every time!"
Sirius had to make an important decision now. Either he'd apologise and promise to help in future which would result in only a medium reproach or he could try to justify his deeds which would end in far more fatal consequence. Never one to chicken out - except when it came to washing the dishes - he went for the latter.
"C'mon, there are not even any stains anywhere!" Which was quite an accomplishment in Sirius' eyes since anything he owned had at least one blot somewhere; but it didn't seem to appease Lily. Her expression had grown darker the moment he'd opened his mouth.
"And why is that so, my friend? Because this man here had the questionable honour of working his hands off scrubbing, regardless of which time of the month it was."
Remus would have preferred it if she hadn't mentioned that. It was true that he was a bit under the weather, well, maybe, quite under it, after the full moon but Lily tended to overrate ever since she became pregnant. Sometimes he felt like he was the child and not Harry. And anyway, the way she said it sounded like it was PMS and not lycanthropy.
On the other hand Lily had a good reason to be put out with their friend since even when it was already mere weeks before she gave birth the woman insisted on helping the werewolf. They were the only ones to clean the kitchen then as, although they had offered their assistance, neither James nor Peter had been allowed near since both of them were a bit clumsy when it came to handling fragile goods.
"Well, it couldn't have been that much of a problem with the All-Purpose Magical Mess-Remover." And when you thought it couldn't get any worse. In next but no time Sirius found himself the subject of one of the longest and most colourful orations on housework ever heard on earth. It wasn't long before his point view changed. Literally. Suspended in mid-air, upside down one might add. His robe however still obeyed Newton's law of Gravitation. Now a half naked man dangling in a kitchen is a sight for itself. Add a furious red-head and an astounded baby carried by the equally surprised Wormtail, who was accompanied by his mother, and you have a disaster!
Mrs. Pettigrew had probably never got over the shock of seeing one of her son's friends in such a... position. She went as white as the spotless! kitchen ceiling, fainted, fell backwards and hit her head against the door frame. Luckily, she got away with only a bump. Sirius on the other hand...let's just say there was a camera handy. //
Having made himself a cup of hot chocolate Remus headed up the stairs and into the bedroom which contained the only luxury object of the whole house - a large four-poster bed. Placing his cup on the night-stand he undressed and climbed into bed. It was obvious to him that he probably wouldn't be able to sleep, but he needed to at least try to get a good night's rest, especially after the last tiring days - and nights. While changing he heard a soft pop from downstairs and quickly turned around. Throwing on a bathrobe he grabbed his wand and headed towards the sound. It was not usual for him to get visitors and with all of his friends gone, and the Dark Times having barely ended, one was bound to be careful. Better paranoid than dead. All of this however vanished instantly from his mind when he saw who the mysterious guest was.
~**~
"That's just like Lily! Getting herself killed at a time like this!", Petunia fumed lolling on the couch, her arms crossed in front of her. "Couldn't she have waited for her urchin to be grown up? Is that too much too ask?!" Her husband seemed to dare speaking up at that point, probably to affirm her, but she ignored him completely and jumped up. She most certainly wasn't done yet! "But that's them - absolutely no manners! Her kind is one of the most unreliable, egoistic, narrow-minded, and short- sighted folk in existence!" A tasteless silvery-blue vase with little dogs scratching themselves behind their ears - a present from Vernon's sister Marge - crashed to the floor. Unabashed the irate woman continued, widely gesturing with her arms. "Then they expect us - us! - to care for their insufferable brat!" She handed in a high-pitched cry. Vernon, who sat on the couch while watching his wife ranting, kept unusually quiet. Normally it was him who went off like that and his wife waited it out. Today was different, though. Petunia was in hysterics about her sister and rightly so.
"Oh, Vernon!", she sobbed finally coming to rest beside him, "I don't want him in my house!" Strong arms embraced the distraught, soothing her. 'Of course, we won't keep him', Mr. Dursley thought darkly. While his wife's argumentation was based solely on the emotional level he also considered the material aspects. A child costs money! Not that they wouldn't spend anything on their own little tyke but that was something different altogether. If they kept the Potter boy they might not be able to afford the new caravan which he had had an eye on for quite some time now. It was the new and improved Traveller 2000. A top-notch caravan with super-powered air-conditioning, an unimaginable high number of hps, and an extra-springy suspension in the shock absorber for more motoring comfort. The dream of every man!
"And what will the neighbours say?!", his fantasies were abruptly interrupted by Mrs. Dursley. Wiping away the tears from her eyes another horrible scenario crossed her mind. If he was anything like his mother he'd desperately try to best her own son, and she couldn't let her little Duddikins suffer the same fate as she did in her youth!
In the end it was decided, half an hour after the door had been opened for the first time this morning Vernon strode out again and grabbed the blanket which Harry was still wrapped in. His large green eyes wonderingly observed his uncle putting him into a big moving thing and driving off with him, far, far away.
~~**~~
After Albus Dumbledore had discovered that his attempts of leaving Harry with the Dursleys were not destined to be successful, he removed the boy from St. Andrews Orphanage. So now he, yet again, had to ask himself the question "Where do I take the child to?". By any means it had to be someone he trusted, someone who always kept his cool and had a reasonable mind, someone like Remus Lupin. The old man stopped short. Of course, why not? He was perfect for the job. Befriended with the Potters, living quite separated from the wizarding world, and definitely one of the most loyal men he knew. There was only one problem... though they could deal with that! A temporary babysitter for these times, and for the ministry...
When the Headmaster of Hogwarts arrived he was almost attacked by the owner of the house. The old man smiled bemusedly. Remus Lupin was definitely one the most capable wizards Albus could think of. He would make an excellent guardian. Albeit Remus didn't quite agree on that. He would protect Harry with his life but he just couldn't take care of him. Not with his 'disease' plaguing him every month. What did Dumbledore think he was doing? There was a big chance of him killing the boy, or worse: making him one of his kind. But the older wizard wouldn't be convinced. Instead he promised to look for a babysitter during these times, and left. The werewolf sighed for the second time this evening. 'I start to sound like Moaning Myrtle', he noticed absent-mindedly. Sitting down in an armchair he carefully positioned the baby on his lap. What was he going to do now? He didn't have a cot let alone baby food. Hell, he didn't even have the slightest experience in dealing with babies! What was Dumbledore thinking? What - was - he --- thinking? With his new ward cradled in his arms Remus fell asleep.
Chapter added on 06/15/2003. Please review!