Chapter Two: An Interesting Solution

Two hours later, a cloaked and hooded figure ran through the corridors of Hogwarts, impatiently waiting for the moving staircases to reach the right setting for him to pass. Once or twice the figure seemed to vanish behind a tapestry only to show up again only a moment later behind another one a floor or two higher. The man obviously knew his way around the castle, which worked in his favour, because he wanted to reach the headmaster's office as fast as he could manage.

When he finally reached the stone gargoyle that covered the entrance, he barked the name of a muggle chocolate bar at it, and the gargoyle moved away to reveal the spiral staircase. Though this device was moving on its own accord, the man ran upstairs taking two steps at once until he reached the wooden door. Just as he raised his hand to knock, a voice sounded from the inside.

"Come in, Severus."

Severus Snape, Potions master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, opened the door and literally stormed into the room, his robes and cloak billowing around his ankles. He was panting from his mad chase through the castle, and as much as he tried to speak, he could not manage to utter the words between his breaths.

Snape tried to catch his breath, bent forward and with his hands on his knees. Every student might have laughed to see their otherwise composed and sour Potions professor so completely out of breath. But then again, upon seeing his Death Eater robes, most students would have decided not to laugh about him, anyway.

After some moments, he seemed to have composed himself enough to speak, but he nevertheless allowed Dumbledore to push him into a chair and gladly accepted the glass of water the old man handed him.

"Did you manage it, Albus? I tried to delay them for as long as I could without raising suspicion, and I left as soon as it was possible for me."

Dumbledore nodded.

"And for that I have to thank you, Severus. But to answer your question, yes. We did arrive in time, and Harry is now sleeping soundly in the infirmary. I had Madam Pomfrey give him a sleeping potion, we'll explain it all to him in the morning."

Snape drowned the water in the glass and put it onto the headmaster's desk.

"The muggles?"

"Haven't been seriously harmed. The Ministry is in the neighbourhood at this moment, obliviating the neighbours and Harry's family. In the morning, Harry's aunt and uncle will think that he has gone on a field trip for the rest of the holiday, just in case Voldemort sends somebody to them to find out Harry's whereabouts. But I don't think that's probable."

Snape nodded.

"He can't return there, then."

Dumbledore sighed deeply.

"No Severus, he obviously can't. It would take too much time to replace all the wards, and after they have been breached once we can't be sure they won't be breached again.

I have decided to locate him somewhere else, without the Ministry knowing where. It would be too dangerous to tell them as long as we don't know whom we are able to trust there and whom not."

"He can't stay at the castle?"

Dumbledore shook his head.

"No, not with only Argus and Sybil as a protection at times. I will be absent for quite some time during the remaining holiday, and so will Minerva. It would be different if I could trust you to be here all the time, but as this isn't possible at the moment, staying at Hogwarts is no alternative for Harry now."

Snape nodded. Of course he was glad that Dumbledore didn't assign him as Potter's baby sitter for the remaining holidays, though he would have done it had Dumbledore asked him. He would have done nearly anything if Albus Dumbledore asked it of him. But he knew that keeping Potter at Hogwarts was impossible with him trying to get back into the inner circle of Voldemort's followers. And he had to agree that Argus Filch and Sybil Trelawney could not provide any protection for Potter at all.

He raised his hand as he saw Dumbledore attempting to speak.

"Don't tell me, Albus. Don't tell me where you will place Potter. I don't want to know, and even if I wanted, it would be too dangerous for everybody involved if I knew it. I'll return to my rooms now. That is, if you don't need me anymore tonight."

Dumbledore smiled and shook his head.

"No, you've done enough already. Good night, Severus."

"Good night Albus."

And with a swish of black robes, Snape left the headmaster's office.

Dumbledore sighed and pulled out a map from a drawer of his desk, staring at it intensely. He had already received word from most of those Sirius had been sent to alert, the last one having been Mundungus Fletcher's letter two days ago. That meant Sirius was on his way to Remus' at the moment. He had left Fletcher's about three days ago, which meant that it would take him another day or maybe two to reach Remus'. Enough time, more than enough time to prepare everything.

It would be safest for Harry, no doubt, but Albus Dumbledore couldn't ignore the uneasy feeling that overcame him when he thought what he was about to ask of the two men. They had been pawns in other peoples' games for far too often already, he only hoped that he wouldn't make matters worse with what he was about to do.

Getting up from his chair, Dumbledore threw a pinch of powder into the fireplace and bent down in front of it.

"Remus? Are you there?"

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Harry woke up slowly. He didn't know where he was, or what had happened to him, he only knew that his head felt as if a mountain troll had used it as an anvil. Repeatedly.

Groggily, he opened one eye. He immediately wished he hadn't. That one moment had been enough for him to realize exactly where he was, he'd recognize the infirmary of Hogwarts everywhere. And for his liking, he already spent way too much time in here during the school year, he didn't need to lie here during the holidays as well.

"Good morning, Harry."

Hearing the somewhat familiar voice which he couldn't place at the moment, Harry turned his head to the left, but all he could see was the blurred figure of somebody sitting in a chair next to his bed.

"Um, morning. Erm…where are my glasses?"

"Oh, sorry Harry. Here."

The man with the familiar voice handed him his glasses. Harry put them on, looked once more at his visitor and was quite surprised to find himself face to face with a smiling Remus Lupin.

"Professor?"

Remus nodded and smiled again.

"How are you feeling, Harry?"

"As if I had been run over by the Hogwarts Express. What happened? Why am I here and not…"

Suddenly, pieces of what had happened hours ago returned and Harry sat bolt upright in his bed.

"Professor, the Death Eaters! They attacked last night, they…"

Remus shook his head and gently pressed Harry back into his pillow with a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"It's alright, Harry. We know what happened."

Harry looked up, his eyes wide.

"What happened with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon?"
"Relax, nobody got hurt. The Death Eaters caused a bit of fracas in the house, but the Ministry had it restored. You remember being taken here, don't you?"

Harry seemed to think hard for a moment, but then he nodded. His eyes nevertheless told that he still had many questions about what had happened.

"But how?"

"How Albus knew there would be an attack?"

Harry nodded.

"As much as I'd like to tell you the details, but all I can tell you is that somebody alerted Professor Dumbledore before it happened. He went and retrieved you himself."

Harry nodded. He remembered Dumbledore showing up in his relatives' house, and now that he thought about it, he also remembered being brought here, and Madam Pomfrey who had given him a sleeping potion. Harry guessed that his drowsiness was the result of that potion.

"There is only one problem about it."

"What?"

Remus sighed.

"Harry, you can't return to Privet Drive. Now that the protective wards have been broken once, Professor Dumbledore thinks it's too dangerous for you to return there."

Again, Harry's eyes widened.

"But where else shall I go? Can't I stay at the Burrow?"
Remus shook his head.

"Though you'd be surrounded by wizards there and the Burrow as such is protected, it would not be enough. With five children of their own to watch over and with Mr. Weasley spending so much time at work at the moment it would be too big of a risk for everybody involved if you stayed there. They would take you in immediately despite all this, but it's too dangerous for you all."

Harry nodded, though reluctantly. He would have loved to spend some time with his best friend Ron and his family, the only 'real' family Harry had ever encountered, but he could see his former professor's reason. The last thing Harry wanted was to endanger the Weasleys' safety. But where else could he possibly stay?

Remus must have seen the question in Harry's eyes, because once more he smiled down at him.

"Don't worry, Professor Dumbledore and I have talked about it and we think we've found a solution that you might like."

As if seeing the silent question in the teenager's eyes, Remus shook his head with regret. 

"No Harry, you can't stay at Hogwarts either. Professor Dumbledore will be away for quite some time during the holiday. We thought it might be best if you spent the rest of the holiday with me."

"With *you*?"

It came out harsher than Harry had wanted it, and he immediately clamped a hand over his mouth. Remus smiled at him, though this time his smile appeared to be somewhat more forced than before.

"I know it comes as a surprise, after all you hardly know me. But my house is very secluded, there are hardly any other people around, and there are already many protection charms surrounding it. You wouldn't be as safe as under the protection of your blood relatives of course, but you'd have two fully qualified wizards around to protect you."

Harry nodded, then suddenly his head snapped up. What had Lupin just said?

"Two?"

Remus smirked mischievously, and for a short moment Harry saw the young prankster his former professor was supposed to have been once shine through.

"Yes, two. You see, I expect another houseguest in a day or two, a houseguest who could also do with some seclusion and protection. And if I already hide an escaped convict, then I guess offering a place for you as well isn't a problem at all. Besides, I bet you two will get along splendidly."

Harry's eyes widened again, this time shining with delight.

"Sirius is going to stay, too?"

Remus nodded, returning the huge smile that suddenly started to spread across Harry's face.

"As I said, he won't arrive before tomorrow, maybe even the day after that. Until then, you will have to bear with me."

"Professor, I…I didn't want to sound ungrateful, everything just happened so fast and it came somehow as a surprise…"

Remus raised a calming hand.

"It's alright Harry, I understand. Now, Professor Dumbledore is currently setting up some additional wards around the house, so there is enough time for you to eat some breakfast and get dressed before we leave. Alright?"

Harry nodded, then his brow frowned.

"What about my things? They're still at Privet Drive."

"No, they aren't. I went and retrieved them this morning."

Remus' eyes narrowed a little as he continued.

"Tell me Harry, is this just the memory charms muddling up your relatives' minds a little, or are they always so…*so*…"

While Remus still searched for the right words, Harry waved his hand at him.

"No, they're always like this."

Remus nodded, though somewhat startled as it seemed.

"Alright. Your trunk is at the foot of the bed, I'm going to fetch you in half an hour."

"OK."

Remus was already at the door when Harry once more called for him.

"Professor?"

He turned and raised an eyebrow.

"Thanks for letting me stay."

Remus smiled.

"You're welcome Harry. Really."

But as he turned around and left the infirmary behind, Remus couldn't help but wonder how this would turn out.

He had not lied to Harry when he had told him that his presence was welcome, but somehow he couldn't help but dread to live under one roof together with Sirius while Harry was present. Even more than he had dreaded it before.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"How are we going to get there?"

Harry's question made Remus look up from Harry's trunk, which he had just shrunk and put into his pocket. Harry's owl Hedwig had not been at Privet Drive during the attack, and either she would find her way to his house on her own, or she would return to Hogwarts and Hagrid would send her. It had the advantage that Harry didn't need to carry around her cage during the travel, there was enough space for Hedwig amongst Remus' own two owls in the attic.

Currently, Harry and Remus were standing in the entrance hall and checked that they had everything they needed before they returned. Of course, this mainly concerned whether Harry had everything he needed, because Remus had been at the castle for hardly five hours.

As an answer to Harry's question, Remus rummaged around in the pocked of his robe, until his fingers closed around something and he pulled it out.

Harry's stomach sunk to a location somewhere beyond his knees. His former Professor held out a muggle tennis ball, and this could only mean one thing.

"A Portkey?"

Harry couldn't keep the slight quiver out of his voice. He had hoped never to use one of those again, not after what had happened the last time he had. Not after what had happened to Cedric.

A chill ran through Harry as he remembered his fellow school mate's astonished face when the cup of the Triwizard Tournament had taken them to the old graveyard.

'Wands out, d'you reckon?'

'Yeah.'

"Harry?"

'Kill the spare!'

"Harry!"

'Kill the spare!'

"Harry!!"

Hands that were shaking his shoulders brought Harry back to the present, back into the Hogwarts entrance hall. Shaking his head slightly, Harry tried to focus his eyes again and immediately found himself face to face with a worried looking Remus crouching in front of him.

"Harry, are you alright? You suddenly turned all pale and started shaking."

Looking down at his hands, Harry found that they were indeed shaking quite badly, his palms all sweaty. Desperately willing them to stay still, Harry tried to free himself from the effects of his flashback.

"I'm…it's alright. I just don't like portkeys."

Remus stared at him for a moment, then his eyes widened a little as realization dawned.

"Oh, I'm sorry Harry. I didn't think about that."

Harry just shook his head.

"No, it's alright."

Remus obviously didn't really believe him.

"I'm afraid there is no other way to get to my house right now. We'd have to walk quite a distance, with the anti-apparition wards here and around my house, and Professor Dumbledore doesn't think it would be wise to floo there in case somebody keeps track of the floo connections.

Harry waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.

"Really, it's alright. I just spaced out for a moment, nothing to worry about. Can we leave, then?"

Inwardly, Harry wasn't as calm as he pretended to be. Not at all.

'Great Potter, now you've done it. Now Professor Lupin thinks you're either a complete weakling, or already well on your way on the road to insanity.'

Not wanting to dwell on the sore topic of portkeys anymore, Harry stared at his former professor expectantly. Remus nodded after a short moment and held out the tennis ball in his hand. Harry put his own hand on top of it, glad that its solid surface covered up the fact that his hand had started shaking again.

"Ready?"

Harry nodded and ignored the encouraging smile Remus gave him. The older wizard touched the tennis ball with the tip of his wand, then pocketed the wand again. A moment later, Harry felt the dreaded feeling of a tuck somewhere behind his navel and the Hogwarts entrance hall swirled out of focus.

When his vision stopped to blur and finally came into focus again, Harry swayed slightly in search of his balance, until a hand on his arm steadied him. He couldn't help but sigh in relief as he found himself not in Voldemort's clutches this time, but in a cosy looking living room of what had to be Professor Lupin's house.

When the last feeling of dizziness had left his head, Harry took a closer look around. The room wasn't as big as the living room at Privet Drive, but it looked far more inviting. A comfortable looking sofa, though a little worse for wear, stood on the wall opposite of the fireplace, in front of a low coffee table and next to two mismatched armchairs.

There were wizarding pictures on one wall, most of them showing people Harry didn't know. He guessed that they were some of Lupin's relatives. But in some of the pictures Harry recognized the Hogwarts grounds or the Gryffindor common room and decided to have a closer look at them later that day. Maybe his parents were in some of the pictures.

Two large windows behind the sofa brightened the room with daylight from outside, and the door next to the window seemed to lead into the back garden.

Remus waited patiently until Harry had looked around the room, and when the teenager's eyes finally settled back onto him, he smiled.

"Well, welcome to my house. It isn't big, so I guess I'll give you the tour around and then let you settle in, how about that?"

Harry nodded and followed Remus' lead out of the room. The only other door in the living room led directly into the small kitchen. A wooden table and four wooden chairs stood inside, next to the counter and the stove. The rest of the space was filled with various cupboards and shelves.

"Well, this is the kitchen, easy enough. Feel free to just make yourself something to eat if you get hungry between the meals. You'll find your way around here in no time, it's not that big."

"Thanks, Professor."

Remus gave Harry another smile and then led him out of the room towards the staircase. Before they went upstairs, he opened the door on the wall next to the stairs.

"This here is my study."

One look inside revealed another room, slightly bigger than the kitchen, but it appeared to be much smaller. The reason lay in the shelves that covered every wall, all stacked to the ceiling with books and parchments. Two or three stacks of books had been taken out and lay on the floor in seemingly no order at all, but Harry supposed that there was some kind of system behind it. The small desk in front of the window was completely covered in parchments.

"I spend a lot of time in here, doing researches for Professor Dumbledore. Some of the books are from the Hogwarts library, by the way don't tell Madam Pince about it or she'll be after my and Albus' hide. If you need something for your homework, you just have to ask. I'm sure some of the books here can be of help for you."

They went upstairs, where Remus gestured for the first door on the right.

"That's my bedroom. The door far down on the right is just a larger closet, in there are bed sheets, some more blankets and towels.

First door on the left is the bathroom."

Remus opened it and revealed a white-tiled bathroom with just a sink, a toilet and a bathtub in the corner and a small cupboard under the sink.

Closing the door, Remus led Harry to the last door on the floor, the second door to the left.

"Well, this is the spare room. It's not that big, but we'll see what we can make of it."

He opened the door and revealed a small bedroom, though slightly larger than the one Harry had been living in at Privet Drive. The furniture consisted of a bed on one side of the room, a bedside table next to it, a wardrobe on the opposite wall and a small chest of drawers in front of the window.

Remus smiled somewhat apologetically at Harry.

"I've not had any time to prepare the room for your arrival, but I'm sure we can make it bearable."

Harry realized that Remus had taken his silence as a sign of disappointment with his living arrangements, and he quickly gave Remus a smile.

"No, don't worry, it's really all that I need."

Remus shook his head.

"I think you won't be needing that chest of drawers there."

Before Harry realized what Remus was talking about, his former professor had taken out his wand and transfigured the chest of drawers into a desk for Harry.

"You'll need that for your homework, I guess. If there is anything else you need, just tell me. A shelf might come in handy, and we could do something about the wall colours if you like. I have just one request."

Harry turned towards him.

"Which?"

"If you want something done in this room, come to me. Don't ask Sirius once he has arrived."

Harry frowned his brow at this strange request.

"Why not?"

Remus smiled and his eyes slid slightly out of focus, as if he wasn't looking at the room anymore but was replaying some memory in front of his mind's eye.

"Let's just say that your godfather is every decorator's nightmare. At school, James and I had the strong suspicion that he is colour-blind, though we never found any real proof for it. And you don't want to know what he did to the interior of our flat after we left Hogwarts. I thought I'd go blind every time I came into the be…the bathroom."

Remus hoped that Harry had not noticed his near-slip, but the teen's eyes had widened during the last sentence.

"You and Sirius have been living together?"

"We've been sharing a flat, yes. For two years, before…before you were born and your parents went into hiding.

Now, why don't you settle in for a bit. I'll be downstairs in the kitchen and see to lunch if you need anything. Just come down when you're ready."

Quickly pulling Harry's reduced trunk out of his pocket to cover up his sudden change of topic, Remus placed it at the foot end of the bed and returned it to its normal size. Then he quickly left the room before Harry could ask more questions about something Remus didn't want to remember.

When the door had closed behind him, Remus leaned against the wall and sighed. This was harder than he had imagined it to be, and Sirius had not even arrived yet. He should have known that Harry would ask questions about the past at every opportunity that proposed itself, but only now did he realize that he was not ready to answer them.

Truly, thinking about the past had become a lot easier during the past two years, ever since he had learned the truth about the events that had led to James' and Lily's death. Now that he knew Sirius had had nothing to do with their deaths, remembering his deceased friends didn't hurt as much as it had done for over a decade anymore.

But thinking back to Sirius, to Sirius and himself, was something Remus wasn't willing, nor able, to do yet. He and Sirius had been in regular contact during the past year, sending letters to and fro as often as possible, but there were some things that could not be said in a letter, even if there hadn't been the danger that the letters could fall into the wrong hands and reveal too much. There were still things he and Sirius needed to talk about, and urgently so, but with Harry in the house it would not make things easier.

And until they had had the chance to talk, Remus would have to watch carefully what he said in Harry's presence.

Running his hands over his face, Remus asked himself how everything had turned from difficult to bloody hard within only a couple of hours.

'Get a grip on yourself, Remus. Brooding and lamenting won't get you anywhere. Do something useful for a change, how about that? The kid looks as if he could do with a good meal for a change.'

Remus sighed again. That nagging inner voice was especially insufferable when it was right. He should really start with preparing lunch.

An hour later, Remus and Harry were sitting on the kitchen table, eating lunch. They had not spoken much since Harry had come down and asked if he could help Remus with anything, and slowly the silence was growing uncomfortable.

Inwardly, Remus was kicking himself. That was Harry sitting in front of him, James' and Lily's son in Merlin's name. He should be able to at least have a small talk with him. During the year he had been teaching at Hogwarts, Remus had more than once had to restrain himself from inviting Harry into his office to get a chance to talk to him. Then, he had had so many questions for the boy, so many things he wanted to talk about, but he had not been able to reveal their common past to him.

And now that he didn't have to hide his connection to Harry's parents anymore, now that Harry knew who he was and they finally had a chance to have a private conversation, Remus didn't dare to speak. It was ridiculous, really. And pathetic.

Remus was glad when Harry finally broke the silence, but soon became uneasy again once Harry had finished asking his question.

"What's in the basement?"

"What?"

"The basement. There are stairs leading down, and well, I was asking myself what was in the basement."

"Oh. Well, there is a small storage room where I keep the supplies that don't fit into the kitchen cupboards, and also some old stuff I never found the time to bring up into the attic. And…and there is another room for me, where I lock myself in during the transformations."

Harry quickly looked away and blushed a little.

"Oh, sorry. I shouldn't ask that much, Professor."

Remus put down his fork and looked at Harry until the teenager returned the gaze. Once he was sure that Harry was looking at him, Remus answered.

"First of all Harry, you don't need to call me Professor. I'm not your teacher anymore, and though I know that we hardly know each other, I'd be glad if you would call me Remus."

Harry slowly nodded.

"Thanks. It might take some time to get used to it, though."

Remus smiled encouragingly.
"I know. I don't want you to if it makes you uncomfortable. I know that this whole situation came as quite a shock for you, and you might need some time to get used to it, but I think it would make things easier if we weren't too formal around each other. You're supposed to feel comfortable here for the rest of the holidays, Merlin knows you're entitled to it. And after all, I already knew you only an hour or so after you were born. If you don't call somebody by his first name who changed your diapers when you were a baby, whom else?"

Harry scratched his head.

"I really don't know if that thought makes me more comfortable, Pr…Remus."

But he smiled as he said it, a genuine smile which Remus couldn't help but return.

"You have a point there, Harry. If it puts you more at ease, I don't have any incriminating photos that could be used as blackmail material."

Harry laughed.

"That's a relief."

"Good. On a second note. If you have any questions, you shouldn't be uncomfortable to ask them. The question about the basement just caught me a little off guard, I'm afraid. I'm not that used to talk about my lycanthropy that openly, not after years of keeping it a secret. But if there is anything you want to know, just ask it. I'll try to answer as best as I can."

Harry nodded, but obviously he was still hesitating to ask what seemed to be on his mind. Remus thought that maybe he was a little uncomfortable asking things in a direct conversation, so he quickly took the empty plates and pots and carried them towards the sink.

Harry immediately got up.

"I can help with the cleaning."

Remus turned and looked at him, somewhat confused.

"You're not allowed to, you know that."
Seeing Harry's puzzled expression, Remus frowned. Then suddenly he realized and couldn't hold back a chuckle.

"Ah, I keep forgetting that you never lived in a completely wizarding household. A pity muggles can never experience the joy of a good cleansing charm."

With that, Remus pointed his wand at the sink and immediately the dishes started to wash themselves. Harry couldn't help but feel a little sheepish. After all, he had been at the Burrow for a couple of times already, and there he had seen Mrs. Weasley use those charms often enough.

"Professor?"

Remus turned around and shot Harry a mock scolding look.

"Erm, Remus I meant. I was asking myself, erm…when is the next full moon?"

Remus realized that he had been right. Harry truly wasn't comfortable asking that question, but he was glad that he had done so nevertheless. Without having to think about it, he answered.

"It's in eight days. By then, Sirius will surely be there, so you don't need to worry. I'll floo over to Hogwarts once a day for my Wolfsbane, and during the night I'll be locked in the basement. And if something should not go as planned, Sirius will be up here."

Harry quickly shook his head.

"I'm not worried. Well, not really. It's just…I don't know, after what it was like the last time…"

Remus frowned a little as he tried to find out what Harry was talking about. What last time? He had not been anywhere near Harry during a full moon night. Well, not except from that one time at the end of Harry's third year.

"Harry, if you're referring to what happened the night after we left the Shrieking Shack with Sirius, you really don't need to worry. That night, I didn't take my potion and was careless enough to go out without realizing what danger I was putting the three of you into. It won't happen again."
Harry shook his head.

"You're getting me wrong, that's not what I meant. I mean, you told us that the transformations were really painful, and that they were easier when Sirius was with you. I just wanted to say that he doesn't need to baby sit me if you'd rather have him with you. I wouldn't want it to be worse for you just because I am around."
Remus couldn't hide the smile that spread across his face while Harry was talking. He didn't know where it came from, and Harry himself surely wasn't even aware of it, but his concern was so much like his mother's, it was downright scary. Of course, Lily had never been so shy around him, not around anybody if Remus thought about it, but Harry's mother, too, had always been concerned about his wellbeing at full moon.

James had kept Remus' lycanthropy a secret from her for as long as possible, because even though Remus had gained a lot more confidence during his time at Hogwarts, he had still been concerned about her reaction. The fact that his dorm mates had accepted him without as much as a second thought about it had not convinced him that anybody else would, too. So Remus had not told anybody else about his lycanthropy. He had been afraid that Lily would despise him, though he should have known her better, and the last thing he had wanted had been to put James into a position where he had to chose between his fiancé and his friend.

Only when Lily had all but accused James of having an affair because he spent one night a month away without telling her where he went, had Remus finally found the guts to tell her the whole truth, including telling her about James, Sirius and Peter becoming animagi for him.

Ever since then, Lily had been literally fretting over him whenever the full moon approached.

'Remus, we don't need to go to that party tonight if you'd rather have James over with you.'

'Remus, are you sure Sirius and Peter are enough to keep you company next month? James could floo home for that night.'
'Remus, I don't think the baby will come three weeks early, James will come over tonight and there's no discussion about it.'

Yes, Harry surely had inherited a lot from his mother. He'd have to tell him, once he was sure it wouldn't upset the teenager.

When the dishes were cleaned, dried and banished back into their respective cupboards with another flick of Remus' wand, Remus and Harry left the kitchen and went into the living room.

Once more, there was a slightly uneasy silence between them. Remus sat down in his favourite armchair, leaving the sofa for Harry.

"Now, what do you want to do today? The garden is good for flying, though you'd have to go alone. I'm not that good company on a broomstick, I prefer keeping my two feet at the ground."

Harry shook his head.

"No, I'm not in the mood for flying on my own. I guess I'll wait until Sirius comes for that. Do you have a chess-set? I definitely need to brush up my skills, just for once I at least want to come close to beating Ron."

Remus smiled and got up to retrieve his slightly battered chess set from the shelf in the corner. While Harry set up the pieces, Remus went into the kitchen to prepare some tea and biscuits. When he came back, the chess board was set and Harry was waiting for him to make the first move. Remus chuckled.

"I might have to warn you, it's been ages since I last played against anybody other than myself. I might not be that useful if you want to improve your skills."

Harry smiled.

"You haven't seen me play, yet. Sometimes I think everything might be an improvement to the way I play now."

In the end it showed that both had been underestimating their skills to some degrees. Remus turned out to be a good strategist and he won the first three games until Harry finally started figuring out his style. Once he had adjusted to it, Harry stood a much better chance and managed to even out the situation.

When they stopped, it was already way past dinner time and slowly getting dark outside. Neither of them had realized how quickly the time had passed.

Deciding that cooking would be too much effort for this late hour, Remus and Harry had some sandwiches for dinner, and after another hour of talking during which Remus carefully avoided any possibly sore topic, Harry bid him goodnight and went upstairs in his room.

It took him some time to adjust to his new room, to the bed he wasn't used to and the sounds that came in through the open window. At Privet Drive, the only sound at night had been caused by the crickets and the occasional dog bark, but here, so close to the forest, a huge scale of different night-birds and other animals filled the warm summer night with their songs and cries. It took Harry some time to get used to it enough to fall asleep, and only when exhaustion finally took over did he close his eyes and sleep in.

It didn't take him long to find himself back where he had spent every night since his return from school: the old graveyard where Voldemort had resurrected himself. It swirled into focus as the portkey transported them there, him and Cedric. Harry knew that he was dreaming, but seeing Cedric Diggory alive and breathing again made it hard for him to cling to that sole rational thought his brain provided him with. It was too real to see him like that again, too good to be true.

'Wands out, d'you reckon?"

'Yeah.'

Harry knew what was coming next, he knew what was waiting for them. But as desperately as he wanted to stop it, he just couldn't. His legs kept on moving on their own accord, and no warning came across his lips, no matter how desperately Harry struggled to tell Cedric to turn around and run. And then it was too late, the next pictures flashed past Harry in a blur nearly too fast to really take them in. It didn't matter, because he had re-lived it often enough, more often than he had ever wanted.

Wormtail.

Voldemort.

'Kill the spare!'

A flash of green light.

Cedric. Dead on the ground, no chance to defend himself.

'Kill the spare!'

The command repeated itself over and over in Harry's head, way beyond his ability to fight it. Again and again he heard Voldemort say it, again and again he saw the flashing green light of the curse, again and again he saw Cedric fall to the ground. Saw him die.

'Kill the spare!'

He had earned seeing it again and again.

'Kill the spare!'

Cedric would never again have any nightmares.

'Kill the spare!'

Compared to him, Harry had come off easily.

'Kill the spare!'

He was alive, Cedric wasn't. He had earned to be reminded of the life that had been lost because of him.

"Harry."

Startled when he heard somebody call his name, Harry looked around. There was nobody there, nobody except from Cedric and him. And Cedric was dead.

"Harry, wake up."

Wake up?

With a loud gasp, Harry sat bolt upright in bed. The room around him was dark, but the waxing moon threw enough light through the window for Harry to realize that he wasn't at Privet Drive. Not knowing where he was, Harry frantically scanned the room with his eyes, searching for any clue that might give away his whereabouts.

His eyes fell onto a shadow next to his bed. Somebody was standing beside his bed! Not able to suppress an alarmed cry, Harry moved back as far as he could, his hand searching the bedside table for his wand.

"Lumos."

A dim orange glow lightened the room from where the figure was standing next to Harry's bed, and a relieved sigh escaped Harry's lips when he realized that it was only Remus Lupin, standing there in blue pyjama pants and a white t-shirt, an alarmed expression on his face.

Now Harry remembered where he was, he was at Remus' house somewhere in Kent.

"Sorry Harry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Remus slowly sat down on the edge of Harry's bed, watching him with a concerned expression. Harry rubbed his eyes and tried to drive away the last reminders of his dream, desperately willing his frantic heartbeat and breathing to slow down.

"No, it's alright. I just couldn't remember where I was at first, and I didn't know who it was standing there beside the bed.

I woke you up, didn't I? Sorry, I didn't mean to."

"You don't need to apologize, Harry. I'm a light sleeper, nearly everything wakes me up."

Hesitancy showed in Remus' gaze. He wanted to ask Harry about his dream, but he didn't know if the boy would answer him, would entrust him with the nightmare. Remus was sure that they weren't close enough for that, but he felt that at least he had to try.

"You had a nightmare, didn't you?"

Harry hesitated for a moment, then he nodded. But he quickly smiled and tried to cover the haunted look in his eyes with it.

"It's been nothing, really. I'm just still a little confused about everything that has happened during the past couple of days, that's all."

Remus nodded, though it was obvious that he didn't completely believe Harry.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Remus' voice was warm and gentle, but as much as Harry told himself that he could trust his father's former friend, he knew that he couldn't talk to him about it. Remus already had enough to worry about, he didn't need to concern himself with the stupid and cowardly problems of guilt Harry was battling against as well. So he shook his head.

"No, it's really not necessary. But thank you. I think I'll just go back to sleep."

Remus nodded and got up from Harry's bed.

"I'm just across the hall if you need me. Good night."

"Good night, Remus."

Remus extinguished the light and left Harry's room, giving him one last glance with which he tried to tell the teenager that it really would be alright if he woke him up and talked it off his chest if the nightmares returned. He only hoped that the message got across, tough he doubted Harry would take upon the offer anyway.

But if Harry thrashed around in his bed again that night, Remus would hear it.