Harry's age: 8
AN: No, none of the OCs is a Mary Sue. This is the only chapter when they are mentioned.
~ Part Two ~
Chapter 6
"Mr. Remus?" He looked down at the nine-year-old, surveying him with large, chocolate brown eyes. Three years ago Remus had taken up baby-sitting when his job at a muggle fast-food restaurant and his paintings didn't pay for the things Harry and he needed anymore. Actually he didn't get any money for it. He and some of his co-workers had thought up a system that would make it possible for them to work and be assured that their children were watched all times without anyone of them paying for a babysitter. And with the monthly help of Mrs Figg and very rarely Mrs Longbottom it worked pretty well. Thus money wasn't such a big problem for him, anymore. Well, they made ends meet.
"Yes, Madeleine?"
"I've painted a picture.", the girl said, presenting a colourful piece of paper showing a raven black horse with a blonde little girl.
"This is me," she ventured, "and this is Blacky. Mum says when I'm bigger I get a horse just like him."
Remus shifted the baby he was holding and smiled at the young artist.
"Very nice. You are talented."
Madeleine grinned happily and skipped over to the table to draw another picture. Unnoticed by the girl his smile faded. Mrs. Miller, Madeleine's mother, was about as much holding up as Remus and he knew that she had only promised her daughter this to stop the girl from bugging her. Harry had had similar notions recently, the difference was that he had understood that his Uncle Moony couldn't buy him a BMX bike. Madeleine, however, was adamant about it that she'd get her wish. There were several other things Remus had discovered upon taking on the profession of a baby-sitter that were different about Harry, aside from the obvious, namely his famous scar and his magical heritage. Harry was unnaturally quiet and withdrawn now and then, and often the werewolf wondered just how much he really knew about the child. Sometimes it was impossible to tell what was on the boy's mind as he brooded about one thing or another. These incidents were accumulating recently.
Then, at other times, Harry was so exuberant that it was almost impossible to control him, like today.
"Harry, please, put that down!"
The prankster in question stopped in his tracks.
//It starts to get creepy.// Harry thought, as he placed the half-filled watering-can on the floor. A shower would have done Madeleine good. At least, it would have remedied the smell of horses and dung. Harry couldn't understand how someone willingly and without paying helped cleaning out a stable but Madeleine Miller did so gladly in her free-time.
"But she stinks!"
"Harry!! To your room! Now!"
The dispute had woken up the baby. Remus cursed inwardly. He glanced had Madeleine who had chosen to ignore the younger boy and saw that she was still painting away happily. //Well,// he thought, //it's time to feed Joseph, anyway.//
Mrs. Miller laughed as Remus apologised for Harry's lack of manners later that day.
"He's right, you know. She does smell."
Madeleine glared at her mother angrily but refrained from commenting. Mrs. Miller's shift had just ended and the girl knew that she was not in the mood for arguing when she came home from work.
"Joseph didn't give you too much trouble, did he?", she asked.
The werewolf assured her that, indeed, he had been very good and even held his nap without a fight.
"Sometimes, I wonder how you do it."
Mrs Miller said and she and Madeleine said good-bye and departed. Remus closed the door and headed towards Harry's room. It was time for a looong talk on the subject of manners.
The following morning the two of them rode the bus to Harry's primary school. Yes, both. The reason for Harry's presence was obvious, of course; it was late January, the day was a Thursday and Christmas holidays were long over. Remus on the other hand should have been at work already for his shift started at six a.m. Well, he had swapped with a colleague whose shift began at four p.m. and found a temporary baby-sitter for Harry in old Mrs Longbottom. This was why it had been so important that he instruct his ward in good behaviour, yesterday. Mrs Longbottom was a formidable and very strict witch. Her grandson Neville's manners were extremely refined - if he didn't stumble over his own feet.
The bus stopped and Remus and Harry got off. They crossed the school yard, passing a group of rather giggly teenage girls. They were dressed in their black school uniforms, wearing medium long black skirts, dark shoes and white socks. One of them showed something that looked suspiciously like a love letter to her friends. Unbidden a memory resurfaced from the depths of his mind.
//"What's this?"
Sirius Black flopped down next to him on the large four-poster bed, cocking his head slightly and leaning over to take a closer look at the letter Remus was holding. Fortunately for the werewolf he caught on soon enough and stuffed the piece of parchment back into its envelope. "Nothing." Sirius gave him a look, Remus glared back. The animagus considered the boy next to him, taking in every detail from his ruffled black Hogwarts uniform to his tousled light-brown hair. His eyes were red and the frayed-out sleeves seemed wet. As he averted his gaze to Remus' face again it had been turned into a mask of calm.
"I have no intention of going into detail.", he announced stiffly.
'Bad sign.' Sirius thought. When he had first met the soft spoken and kind- hearted boy, Remus had been rather formal. Sirius thought him to be stuck up. It was months later, after many escapades on his side and three or four cover-ups Remus provided when McGonogall questioned him about his dorm- mates whereabouts, that Sirius realised that this was the werewolf's way of dealing with a tricky and unpleasant situation or a new and shocking experience. Remus did not become nervous, he became formal. Sirius relented. "Well alright. I'll be on the Quidditch pitch." The other nodded in acknowledgement and his friend left.
Remus pulled the letter out again. His breathing hitched as he again read the simple message it contained.//
He pulled himself out of his reverie as they neared Harry's classroom and chided himself firmly. It had been so long since he had last reminisced about his Hogwarts days, so why do it again now? All it ever did was making him feel sad and depressed. It would not do to dwell on the past when the present was difficult enough already. He banished the memories resolutely and said goodbye to Harry. The boy grinned and went inside. He prolonged the departure for a moment, watching through the window in the door as Harry strolled to a desk in the back and commenced to unpack his things. Remus smiled and set out to find Ms Bittergreen.
As he stood in front of the office door, fingering the sleeve of his worn out shirt nervously, he felt at least 10 years younger than he actually was. There was a stone the size of a Quaffle in his stomach as he heard the raspy and strict voice of a woman who was just letting some poor kid have it. He remembered all too well those not so rare times when he and his friends had played yet another prank on Snape, or somebody else, and waited for their final judgement by Professor McGonagall. He pitied the kid. A second later he told himself off again. This was getting ridiculous! It must be because of the school, he decided, that these memories are so insistent. The ranting stopped suddenly and the door opened. Out of it stepped a middle-aged man with a stack of corrected tests held tightly to his jest. His eyes seemed rather watery as he slunk past Remus. The werewolf swallowed and prepared for doom.
******* A/N: a rather short chapter, I know. The next one will be longer, promise! Chapter added on .... 2003. Reviews will be answered in Chapter One entitled "Author Notes, Disclaimer, Answers to Reviews, etc." Constructive criticism welcome! Please, review!
AN: No, none of the OCs is a Mary Sue. This is the only chapter when they are mentioned.
~ Part Two ~
Chapter 6
"Mr. Remus?" He looked down at the nine-year-old, surveying him with large, chocolate brown eyes. Three years ago Remus had taken up baby-sitting when his job at a muggle fast-food restaurant and his paintings didn't pay for the things Harry and he needed anymore. Actually he didn't get any money for it. He and some of his co-workers had thought up a system that would make it possible for them to work and be assured that their children were watched all times without anyone of them paying for a babysitter. And with the monthly help of Mrs Figg and very rarely Mrs Longbottom it worked pretty well. Thus money wasn't such a big problem for him, anymore. Well, they made ends meet.
"Yes, Madeleine?"
"I've painted a picture.", the girl said, presenting a colourful piece of paper showing a raven black horse with a blonde little girl.
"This is me," she ventured, "and this is Blacky. Mum says when I'm bigger I get a horse just like him."
Remus shifted the baby he was holding and smiled at the young artist.
"Very nice. You are talented."
Madeleine grinned happily and skipped over to the table to draw another picture. Unnoticed by the girl his smile faded. Mrs. Miller, Madeleine's mother, was about as much holding up as Remus and he knew that she had only promised her daughter this to stop the girl from bugging her. Harry had had similar notions recently, the difference was that he had understood that his Uncle Moony couldn't buy him a BMX bike. Madeleine, however, was adamant about it that she'd get her wish. There were several other things Remus had discovered upon taking on the profession of a baby-sitter that were different about Harry, aside from the obvious, namely his famous scar and his magical heritage. Harry was unnaturally quiet and withdrawn now and then, and often the werewolf wondered just how much he really knew about the child. Sometimes it was impossible to tell what was on the boy's mind as he brooded about one thing or another. These incidents were accumulating recently.
Then, at other times, Harry was so exuberant that it was almost impossible to control him, like today.
"Harry, please, put that down!"
The prankster in question stopped in his tracks.
//It starts to get creepy.// Harry thought, as he placed the half-filled watering-can on the floor. A shower would have done Madeleine good. At least, it would have remedied the smell of horses and dung. Harry couldn't understand how someone willingly and without paying helped cleaning out a stable but Madeleine Miller did so gladly in her free-time.
"But she stinks!"
"Harry!! To your room! Now!"
The dispute had woken up the baby. Remus cursed inwardly. He glanced had Madeleine who had chosen to ignore the younger boy and saw that she was still painting away happily. //Well,// he thought, //it's time to feed Joseph, anyway.//
Mrs. Miller laughed as Remus apologised for Harry's lack of manners later that day.
"He's right, you know. She does smell."
Madeleine glared at her mother angrily but refrained from commenting. Mrs. Miller's shift had just ended and the girl knew that she was not in the mood for arguing when she came home from work.
"Joseph didn't give you too much trouble, did he?", she asked.
The werewolf assured her that, indeed, he had been very good and even held his nap without a fight.
"Sometimes, I wonder how you do it."
Mrs Miller said and she and Madeleine said good-bye and departed. Remus closed the door and headed towards Harry's room. It was time for a looong talk on the subject of manners.
The following morning the two of them rode the bus to Harry's primary school. Yes, both. The reason for Harry's presence was obvious, of course; it was late January, the day was a Thursday and Christmas holidays were long over. Remus on the other hand should have been at work already for his shift started at six a.m. Well, he had swapped with a colleague whose shift began at four p.m. and found a temporary baby-sitter for Harry in old Mrs Longbottom. This was why it had been so important that he instruct his ward in good behaviour, yesterday. Mrs Longbottom was a formidable and very strict witch. Her grandson Neville's manners were extremely refined - if he didn't stumble over his own feet.
The bus stopped and Remus and Harry got off. They crossed the school yard, passing a group of rather giggly teenage girls. They were dressed in their black school uniforms, wearing medium long black skirts, dark shoes and white socks. One of them showed something that looked suspiciously like a love letter to her friends. Unbidden a memory resurfaced from the depths of his mind.
//"What's this?"
Sirius Black flopped down next to him on the large four-poster bed, cocking his head slightly and leaning over to take a closer look at the letter Remus was holding. Fortunately for the werewolf he caught on soon enough and stuffed the piece of parchment back into its envelope. "Nothing." Sirius gave him a look, Remus glared back. The animagus considered the boy next to him, taking in every detail from his ruffled black Hogwarts uniform to his tousled light-brown hair. His eyes were red and the frayed-out sleeves seemed wet. As he averted his gaze to Remus' face again it had been turned into a mask of calm.
"I have no intention of going into detail.", he announced stiffly.
'Bad sign.' Sirius thought. When he had first met the soft spoken and kind- hearted boy, Remus had been rather formal. Sirius thought him to be stuck up. It was months later, after many escapades on his side and three or four cover-ups Remus provided when McGonogall questioned him about his dorm- mates whereabouts, that Sirius realised that this was the werewolf's way of dealing with a tricky and unpleasant situation or a new and shocking experience. Remus did not become nervous, he became formal. Sirius relented. "Well alright. I'll be on the Quidditch pitch." The other nodded in acknowledgement and his friend left.
Remus pulled the letter out again. His breathing hitched as he again read the simple message it contained.//
He pulled himself out of his reverie as they neared Harry's classroom and chided himself firmly. It had been so long since he had last reminisced about his Hogwarts days, so why do it again now? All it ever did was making him feel sad and depressed. It would not do to dwell on the past when the present was difficult enough already. He banished the memories resolutely and said goodbye to Harry. The boy grinned and went inside. He prolonged the departure for a moment, watching through the window in the door as Harry strolled to a desk in the back and commenced to unpack his things. Remus smiled and set out to find Ms Bittergreen.
As he stood in front of the office door, fingering the sleeve of his worn out shirt nervously, he felt at least 10 years younger than he actually was. There was a stone the size of a Quaffle in his stomach as he heard the raspy and strict voice of a woman who was just letting some poor kid have it. He remembered all too well those not so rare times when he and his friends had played yet another prank on Snape, or somebody else, and waited for their final judgement by Professor McGonagall. He pitied the kid. A second later he told himself off again. This was getting ridiculous! It must be because of the school, he decided, that these memories are so insistent. The ranting stopped suddenly and the door opened. Out of it stepped a middle-aged man with a stack of corrected tests held tightly to his jest. His eyes seemed rather watery as he slunk past Remus. The werewolf swallowed and prepared for doom.
******* A/N: a rather short chapter, I know. The next one will be longer, promise! Chapter added on .... 2003. Reviews will be answered in Chapter One entitled "Author Notes, Disclaimer, Answers to Reviews, etc." Constructive criticism welcome! Please, review!