Bitter
When Harry awoke, he didn't find anyone around him. The room was completely dark except for one lit candle. There weren't any windows and it was extremely cramped.
He judged by the fact that the room was probably meant as a closet that he was in Lupin's house. The bed was so small that his legs hung off of them and touched the ground. He sat up abruptly and almost hit his head on the ceiling. The 'bedroom' had a cot for a bed and a small table to the side. Even though they were in diagonal corners, they almost touched. He tried the door handle knowing that it would be locked, and wasn't disappointed. He pulled up his legs to get comfortable, since he knew he would be in there a while. He didn't bother making a fool out of himself by pounding on the door, demanding to be let out.
What the hell was Lupin playing at? He expected to lock him up in a closet all summer until he was ready to cooperate? The fuck with that! He was sick of closets, and he was definitely sick of the Wizard world and their screwed up tactics. The hell if Dumbledore thought that the way to get him to collaborate was by locking him up in cupboards with people who didn't give a shit for him.
He checked his pocket and found he still had his wand, his pack of cigarettes, and his lighter. To hell with dignity! The person who went through his pockets would have a serious problem with some of their limbs; they wouldn't work.
He lit up a smoke and assumed that the closet would have some ventilation. Otherwise… well, he had his wand.
In fact… he could just magic the door open. The fact was, he really didn't intend to go back to Hogwarts. Why not get himself expelled? He really didn't feel like dealing with Dumbledore. If he just used magic, nobody would be able to force him to go back, because he wouldn't be allowed.
He drew his wand, but something – something strange – stopped him from casting a spell. At first, Harry thought it was a ward or something, but then he realized that it was himself. For some reason, he couldn't get himself expelled. His instinct had never proved wrong before. Well, except for last year.
He settled back on the cot; eager just to do the thing he had been doing the rest of the summer. Lay on his bed and brood. In a while, Lupin would probably check on him. His main priority now was to figure out what the hell he should do next. Lupin probably knew that he was going to be willing to make a break for it at any opportunity, so he was going to have to look for potential ways to get out all the time.
When his cigarette was too small to smoke anymore, he just
turned on his side and tried to fall asleep.
He heard the door open and saw Lupin in the entrance.
"What? Is time out done already?" He said mockingly. "Oh wait, this was supposed to be a room wasn't it?" He almost cringed when he noticed that he sounded a bit like Draco Malfoy admiring the Burrow, but the fact was that it was a pathetic attempt making him feel welcome. Not that he expected he was very welcome.
"Well, I was going to let you out. Do you think you can behave?" Lupin said in a voice that made him sound like a parent reprimanding a five-year-old, and Harry wouldn't take that.
"The hell I will, with you talking to me like that. I'm not your fucking toy! If you think that you're doing someone a favor here, you're even more fucked up then I thought. Acting like you're doing me a great service by locking me in your closet." His voice held a confidence that was faked – and skillfully, in his opinion – completely. Yet it all seemed so true that it made him believe his own words. "You think that you owe it to someone to take me in? You're fooling your own damn self."
"Come out." Lupin told him.
He didn't move.
"I said come out. You want to talk so much about shit you don't know, so come on! Face me. Tell me what's what." Lupin told him in a dangerous voice. At one time he would have been afraid of such a statement. Not anymore. He smirked like it was an opportunity he had been waiting for, and stood up to face him.
"Do you want to fight me? See who's the real man here?" Lupin asked him, still dangerously. There was no doubt that he would in a heartbeat, but he wasn't done fooling with him yet.
"Oh, but how would Dumbledore feel about that? He would be unpleased to find out that you're trying to beat up his tool. You might wound it! Then it won't be good for anything anymore and it'd just be kicked out of Hogwarts since it's so useless otherwise." The tone of voice he used made Lupin's eyes narrow.
"I really don't care if you think the world revolves around you, you little punk. Go ahead and think that. You can believe that the world is out to get you, and to make you as miserable as humanly possible. I really don't care. Your happiness is not my priority. My main concern is that you learn some respect, and if beating the crap out of you is the way to do it, then so be it. Come on, oh great Harry Potter! Lets see if all your talk is worth anything."
"Sorry? Couldn't hear you past all the bullshit coming out of your mouth." Harry taunted. They had begun circling each other, like dogs getting ready to attack. "And if your goal in life is to make sure I learn respect then you're going to die pretty damn unhappy."
Lupin raised his fists, and Harry snorted. "What, you aren't going to use your wand? Oh, I'm sure I'd fair out well without magic. It shouldn't stop you anyway. It hasn't before."
"If I wanted fair odds, I would just stand there and see if you could manage to hit me if I were standing a foot in front of you."
"No, if you wanted fair odds, you would just transfigure me into a kitten. Oh wait, you probably couldn't manage that, could you?"
"I know that I can manage to stand in front a dementor without fainting."
If Lupin wanted to go below the belt, he had a lot he wanted to say as well.
"But which one of us can conjure an actual patronus? And I was in, what? Third year?"
"Oh bravo! You want an order of Merlin? Now here's a real goal for you; try to get through a year in Hogwarts without getting someone killed." He had to admit, that stung.
"Here's one for you; try and keep a friend for more then a year without them dying. Oh, wait, there's no one left, is there?"
"No, of course not! You're too busy killing them off-" Lupin cut himself off. His eyes widened at the realization of what he had just said but it was too late. Harry felt a bolt of rage run through him.
His fist meet Lupin's jaw before he even realized what he had done. He didn't regret it. Before Lupin's hand could even shoot up to hold his broken jaw, Harry had already nailed him the stomach. "You want respect? Maybe I'll go to your funeral." He said before he punched him in the ribs.
Author Notes: Hey. How was that? Bitter enough for you? I'm beginning to like all this anger! ^~^ I'm sorry it took so long to get it out. I'm working on another fic that should be up on this account soon. Cheers. R&R.
Ckat44: Believe it or not – not is my opinion – but I'm headed in that direction. If Harry and Remus can get beyond hating each other, there is the smallest chance that they might kind of become close, but only if they can make up.
Clairepotter: Thanks a lot. I'm not sure if Author Alerts will work cause I don't have that service, or whatever. But thank you.
Chi7890: Wow! Thank you very much. Sorry it took so long. How this met your expectations.
MegOfAllTrades: Thanks a lot. I'm glad that my spelling and grammar are pretty good. I don't like stories with bad spelling; it's usually a sign of a bad plot line. I'm glad you like it. Thank you for reviewing.
Srialb: Thanks a lot.
Alvit-Valkyrie: Thank you very much
Ms: Issues: Thanks a lot. That was a really great review, so thanks. It's so true. And Harry was pretty… docile… so when he snapped, I imagine it had to be a pretty drastic change, right? I tried to take Remus's calm behavior when writing this, but Harry was… a jackass. I think I would have just smacked him, so you can tell he was taking this pretty well. Thanks again for your review.
Helen: I don't think that Harry is going to go back to calm and peaceful Harry for a while… if ever. Thank you for your review.
Lady Arwen of Rivendell: Thanks once again for your great reviews. They're very well critiqued, so thanks. I know that the stunning was a bit clique, but if Harry just kept running then the story would go nowhere, and Harry obviously won't agree to go with Lupin. I'm trying to make my chapters progressively longer. Sorry if I'm doing a poor job of it. Remus obviously isn't going to approve of smoking – especially at fifteen – but at the time, and in Harry's rebellious mood, telling him to stop it is just going to make him enjoy doing it around him. I'm sure in the future, he'll say something. Thank you for the long review. I'd rather a couple of long ones then a lot of little ones.