bDisclaimer: I'm JK Rowling! Of course I'm not, if I was, I'd hardly be putting this here. I'd be writing it into a book to make myself more money. Please people, gimme a break. I own none of the recognizable characters or settings.
Romulus Lupin frowned at the roll of parchment in his left hand. His younger brother, Remus, had sent him a letter, the first contact they'd had in the seventeen years since Romulus had moved away.
Romulus and Remus had always been competitive brothers. Everything between them had been a contest. However, they had remained fairly close, even with the rise of Voldemort on the horizon. Until Remus turned eighteen. He had joined the Order of the Phoenix. Soon after, some Death Eaters had come to the Lupin home looking for Remus. Romulus had been there for a visit. Remus had not been in the house, so the Death Eaters had done the next best thing. They had killed Remus and Romulus's mother and father, Jarred and Isabelle Lupin. Romulus recovered from the Cruciatus curse placed upon him just long enough to prevent one of the Death Eaters from escaping.
Invor...Inor...Igor. That was it. Igor Karkaroff. Romulus later found out that the man had turned in some names and been released from Azkaban. And he blamed Remus. Remus, whose stupid interference with members of the Order had sent the Death Eaters to begin with.
Now, Remus was writing to him, about the new rise of Voldemort and the new Order. Romulus was lost. Remus wanted him to move back to London and join the Order. But Remus wasn't aware that Romulus hadn't done nothing in the past seventeen years. He'd not only been married, but had a teenage daughter, Althea.
Romulus decided he wanted to help. He didn't want to die, never having spoken to his brother again. But how could he ask his wife and child to simply pick up their home in Nice, France, and go to live in London, England? Althea could probably still attend Beauxbatons, but that wasn't the only issue. He and his wife had jobs here, friends, and were very well established and, very rich. All his contacts were in the area. But, if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. And Romulus, no matter what, wanted to help stop Voldemort. With a moments hesitation, he picked up a quill and began to write.
***
Remus Lupin sat at a table in the Black home, an hour after a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix, with two-thirds a cup of cold tea in front of him. It had been only a week since the end of school terms, but for Remus, the days had dragged on endlessly since Sirius had died. The twelve years Sirius had spent in Azkaban had not been half as hard. When Sirius was in prison, Remus had hated him. Hated him for what he believed Sirius had done to James, Lily, Peter, and poor baby Harry. But then he'd found that wasn't true, and it was a light in the dark he couldn't have imagined brighter. And Now he'd lost him again, like an earring or contact lense.
Sirius's death had reminded Remus that when you go, you might not get to say goodbye. Losing his friends, whether to death, or to Voldemort, or both, had made him realize that you should never cut ties with anyone you love. That realization had hit a few days back while brooding, and had prompted him to send a message to his brother, Romulus, which he was now worried may have been a mistake.
He heard a sound in the hall. At first, he looked up, expecting Molly Weasley. Instead, a snowy white owl flew in. At first, he thought it would be a periodical letter from Harry, saying he was alright and that the Dursleys were treating him better. Then he saw, that unlike Hedwig, this bird had a large black V on it's white forehead. It carried a letter sealed with a fancy silver and black seal. He reached forward, took it, and then ripped it open upon noticing the return address to Romulus Lupin. He unrolled the letter, which was surprisingly short.
My Dear Brother Remus,
It has been a long time since we last talked, so let me start off with a simple question. How are you|? My life has changed greatly since you were eighteen. Do you remember Brooke Swan? She was four years ahead of you at Hogwarts, as I was six. We're happily married now. We have a beautiful daughter, Althea, who, strangely enough, looks more like you then me. She just turned sixteen. She attends Beauxbatons.
I know I have long held you accountable for that September eightennth, seventeen years ago. Your letter, however, finally made me see that it wasn't your fault. I never blamed you for being a werewolf, Remus, and I won't blame you for any other circumstances that are out of your control. For that, I am truely sorry.
I have decided that I, like you, would like to help defeat Voldemort, and join this Order. Brooke agrees. We will have to talk to Althea, but we will be moving to London as soon as the money from the beach house in Paris comes in.
Expect another letter from us within two weeks. We'll arrange to meet at the Leaky Cauldron.
Sincerely,
Your Brother,
Romulus
Remus slowly put down the letter. He was somewhat surprised. After the argument that had taken place after the Death Eaters had come, and the punch he'd gotten in the face, he had expected an angry reply from Romulus. Or, at the very least, no reply at all. He was both startled and glad that his brother had so willingly agreed to help. And he couldn't get over the fact that Romulus was married and had a kid Harry's age. Slowly, he sat back, smiling his first true smile in weeks.
***
Harry Potter sat on his staring straight at the wall. On the first day of summer vacation he had snuck out of the house, ridden a train to London, covered himself in a cloak and gone to Diagon Alley. There, he had cleared out a large section of Flourish and Blotts.
Now, books titled things like "So You Want a Ghost" and "Bones, to Dust, to Spirits" surrounded him. Unfortunately, Harry had found that in Order to call forth a ghost, you need not only the bones of the person, but also must have the power to bridge the gap between worlds. Part-demons, Veela, Seers and fairies were just a few creatures which had that power. Also, humans with soul-splitting power such as invisibility or astral projection. As soon as he read that, Harry's mind flew to the Invisibility Cloak, lying in his trunk under the bed. Then he read on, and found that only natural invisibility would work, because cloaks, potions, and spells do not separate the soul.
Anger and resentment were in Harry, accompanied by an aching grief he was growing accustomed to. By rights, it should have been his best summer yet. The Dursleys were feeding him properly, giving him everything he wanted. They tried to avoid him, going out of the way not to be in the same room with him on the rare occasion he ventured downstairs.
But, Harry could not be happy, because everything he saw reminded him of Sirius, the closest thing he'd ever had to a parent. Although Harry had not known Sirius long, he'd become as important to him as a life-long friend. And then he'd been taken away, snatched from him by Bellatrix. Harry hated her, and not a day went by where he didn't wish he'd managed to hurt her more.
Angry, Harry threw Calling All Dead to the floor. He checked his calender on the wall. Three days were almost up, and he didn't want Lupin and Tonks to show up on his doorstep and find these books. He'd better get to writing that letter.
***
Althea Lupin was, in a word, pissed. Her parents had come in, and explained to her that she had an uncle, her fathers brother. Then they said that they were joining some club, and that they all would have to move from London. Her first concern was whether she would be able to remain at Beauxbatons. Her father said he didn't know,
"Father! How could you not know?" She frowned unhappily, thinking of all her friends.
"I just don't Althea. And don't you raise your voice to me again. If you cannot attend Beauxbatons, you will attend Hogwarts. Remus said that a number of parents from Durmstrang are having their children transferred after six of their teachers turned out to be Death Eaters. You will blend right in with the new students if you go."