Disclaimer: I own nothing you may recognise in any of my fics. I simply
borrow the odd character and play with them a little.
Not Alone Anymore – Revelations.
~~~
Silence washed over the group and all the Weasley's stared at Remus in disbelief and horror. Harry couldn't bring himself to look at any of the people he'd once proudly called 'family'. Instead he looked at his daughter. The child was wisely remaining quiet and seemed content with playing with the tip of her braid.
"Lupin?" Mr Weasley said in disbelief. Remus just nodded. "But. but you two." The red-haired man looked from Remus to Harry and back again. "You're twice his age!" he exclaimed loudly causing Harry to wince. "It's disgusting! It's not right! A man and a man. together. You two should be ashamed." He spat and then rounded on Lily. "And I feel sorry for that child. Having two parents like 'you'."
"Now wait just a minute Arthur!" Sirius rose from his seat to stand behind Harry's. "Remus and Harry's relationship has nothing whatsoever to do with you and Lily Certainly isn't!" He said, glaring at the man he would've once described as one the gentlest men he knew. The other man glared straight back.
"I'll not have such 'filth' in, around or anywhere near my home!" Arthur snapped and it was then that Molly decided she'd had enough.
"Arthur Weasley! Calm down this instant!" she yelled at her husband, effectively silencing him. "Harry is part of our family! How dare you say such things!" Her hands-on-hips form complete with menacing, threatening eyes was enough to force Arthur into silence. He kept his mouth shut and settled for glaring at the far wall.
"So, you and Remus are together then Harry?" Bill asked, being the third to come out of his shocked state and Harry turned his attention to the eldest Weasley child.
"No, we're not." He answered. "We were mated, bonded as life-mates. soul- mates. But when I thought he had died, I severed the bond so I could focus on Lily." The red head nodded in understanding then smiled at the saviour of the wizarding world in what Bill hoped would at least ease any fears Harry might have of him being against him.
"How can you be so accepting of this Bill?" Demanded the youngest male Weasley angrily making everyone turn around to face him. "It's. its filthy!" This only caused the adults around that 'disagreed' with his thoughts to glare daggers at him.
"Ron shut up." Fred spoke up from across the table. "You're his best friend! You of all people should be accepting of it." Reasoned the twin but Ron was having none of it.
"No! I 'was' his best friend. This is. its just revolting!" He then got up from his seat and after sending a sneer that Snape would have been proud of in Harry's direction, apparated from the pub leaving everyone staring at the empty space he'd been standing in.
Bill was at a loss. On one hand, he whole-heartedly agreed with Harry. He thought it was Harry's right to love who he wished to love and be with whoever he wished to be with. Especially given the life the younger wizard had been through. But on the other hand, he had his family. His family was actually famous for their loyalty to one another, their devotion to each other and this episode just now; though it wasn't enough to break the unit up totally, it would certainly cause a huge rift very soon if all wasn't settled.
The oldest Weasley sighed internally, wondering just where he should place his loyalties. His thoughts were interrupted however when his little sister screamed out in frustration.
"Bill how could you!" The young woman exclaimed, anger flashing in her eyes. Bill merely sat there, looking calmly at the irate Weasley. "Ron's your brother! How could you side with. with 'him'." She said the word 'him' with so much venom that out of the corner of his eye, Bill could see Harry wince.
"Ginny sit down! I refuse to take sides. I just think that Harry shouldn't be discriminated against because he's gay! I don't even think he is. a werewolf determines his mate by scent. Did you learn nothing at Hogwarts?" Harry smiled at the man's words. It was true that he'd never really been attracted to anyone other than Remus but the thought of him not being gay had never really occurred to him. until now that is.
"Mate or not. it's abnormal! And you're taking his side!"
"Virginia Weasley!" Molly finally cut in having had quite enough of shouting. Ginny stood still inwardly fuming but remained silent, glaring at her brother and Harry in turn. "Will you all calm down! Harry is apart of our family no matter what!" She rounded on Ginny. "As there is a child here you will watch your language. Is that in anyway unclear?" The younger female Weasley shook her head and sat down, folded her arms across her chest and glared at the wall.
"Ginny we know things have been tough on both you and Ron, but you can't take everything out on Harry, Remus and their child." Charlie spoke up, looking at his little sister in understanding. The younger Weasley looked back at her brother and her hard look softened. She turned around and for the first time since her arrival, really looked at the four year old Lily.
"I." Ginny felt her face break out in a smile at the sight before her. The child was still fascinated with the end of her braid; plaiting it into smaller braids and twirling it around her small fingers. The red-haired woman turned to Harry and attempted to show her apology through her eyes as well as through her mouth. "Harry I. I'm sorry. I just-'' The man held up a hand to stop her, his face alight with happiness.
"It's ok Ginny. I'm sorry to have sprung this on all of you like I have. It wasn't fair of me, I know that." He sighed and put his head in his hands. "I only hope I can talk Ron around all this."
"I don't have any problem with anything either Harry!" George exclaimed as if just realising he was also a part - small or not - of the conversation.
"I concur." Fred spoke after his twin.
"Don't worry about it Harry. Ron's not mad at you. It's just the timing. You always did have crappy timing Potter." Charlie grinned wryly from across the table and Harry mock-scowled in return.
"Hold on. Did that woman, um. Mrs Potter? Call that guy, Prongs?" George broke the uncomfortable silence after a few minutes, staring at James curiously. James himself looked at the twin confused at how he could know the nickname.
"Yes. I'm Prongs." Harry's father said slowly, worried slightly. He heard both Mrs Weasley and Harry groan out loud. "What's wrong?" he asked perplexed.
"If you're Prongs, then who's Padfoot? Moony and Wormtail?" At this, everyone stared at both twins like they were Lord Moron and Duke Slow of Dunceville.
"You really don't know?" Harry spoke up, his face showing true shock at what he'd just heard.
"No." The twins said in unison.
"Should we have?" Fred asked.
Charlie was the first to crack; the small smile on his face transformed into a fully-fledged grin that made his jaw ache. He then started to laugh uncontrollably. Bill followed then Harry, Molly, Ginny, and then everyone else joined in. all bar the twins who were now staring at them all with slightly worried expressions.
"What the hell is going on?" George demanded half angrily/half dumbfounded. Harry got himself as under control as he could be before answering.
"You should know." He began, still chuckling lightly. "They. you." but that was as far as he got before he dissolved back into fits of laughter.
By now both Fred and George were both getting extremely annoyed. How could they know who the other three were? And why in Merlins name was it so funny?
"Ok! Everyone. SHUT UP!" the twin whose jacket had a small, gold 'F' embroidered into the lapel yelled and the laughter died down, albeit at a slow pace. This fact only succeeded in annoying both Weasley twins more so than they currently were.
"Why in Merlins name are you all bloody laughing at us?" George demanded heatedly, glaring at each of them in turn. Finally after a minute of relative silence and a few cough-covered laughs Remus cleared his throat.
"Fred, George." The man was having a hard time keeping his face straight, that much was for sure. "I. well, I am actually, Moony." The twins just looked at him like he was a psychotically crazed loon that desperately needed admittance to St.Mungo's.
"Professor Remus J Lupin. a Marauder? Moony?" Fred spoke up, disbelief lining his tone thickly. The werewolf nodded while internally he desperately fought to keep the grin from spreading across his face.
"And I," Sirius piped up cheerfully. "Am Padfoot." This man didn't even bother trying to hide the huge, triumphant, proud smile stretching across his face. And if he didn't try to hide his original expression, he certainly wasn't going to hide it when the smile on his lips grew further at the sight of the gob smacked faces of Fred and George Weasley.
"So, what about Wormtail then?" Fred asked and Harry perked up slightly. The young werewolf turned to his daughter and knelt down at her feet.
"Pup. Tell Fred and George who Wormtail is." The child looked at the twins in fascination. She got up from her seat and walked over to where they were sat and motioned them to come closer to her as if she was going to whisper in their ears. They both leaned over and waited for their answer.
"RAT!" she suddenly yelled causing the twins to yelp loudly in surprise and jump just over a foot in the air. The surrounding adults burst out laughing - including Arthur - as the boisterous child marched around the twins and chanted at the top of her voice "Rat rat rat rat." changing the sound level of her voice to create a melodic chant.
"Alright pup!" Harry called out through the dying stages of his laughter. "No more Lily. You may have burst the twins' ear drums." A few snorts were heard across the table and both twin brothers glared at everyone again.
"Wormtail was Peter Pettigrew." Moony finally told them after a few more minutes of trying to calm Sirius and James down. The brothers looked at each other then back at the three men.
"So you're the Marauders?" The trio nodded and identical grins spread wide across Fred and George's faces.
"Alright then!" Harry stood up and clapped his hands together, successfully grabbing everyone's attention. "As much as I'm sure we all want to hear you two bow down and pledge your undying gratitude to my father, my godfather and my mate for their ingenious invention that was the Marauders map and express to them just how much it had aided you throughout your first five years of Hogwarts. we have an alley to get re-acquainted with." He smirked at the twins' crestfallen expressions before moving to talk to their mother.
"I'll come by and visit some time soon Molly." The woman rose from her seat and pulled the young man into a fierce hug.
"Where are you staying Harry?" She asked into his shoulder. He pulled out of the hug and smiled serenely.
"I'm the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts."
"Oh really?" the woman exclaimed happily. "Congratulations! I will try and get up to see you at the weekends. And that lovely daughter of yours." She turned her attention to the 4 year old stood behind her father, knelt down on one knee and gathered her up in a warm hug.
Lily froze for a moment but after a smile and a nod from Harry, she returned the hug. The child had heard a lot about the Weasleys' from her daddy. He'd told her they were among the nicest people you could ever dream of meeting; they were kind, loyal, friendly. but the show she'd witnessed today contradicted what she'd heard - for a small part anyway. She was positive though, that her father would be explaining everything to her soon. He always did.
"Lily, go with your Daddy." Harry said after the girl had been released from Molly's clutches. Remus picked her up and carried her to the back of the pub where the remaining Marauders and both Lily's waited for the other wizard to join them.
"Is something wrong Harry?" Bill asked from his seat at the table. Harry shook his head, smiling slightly.
"I wanted to know where Ron lives now. I need to get things sorted out with him maybe find out where Hermione is." At the mention of his other best- friends name, Harry could feel the temperature in the room drop several degrees. The face's of the Weasley's weren't hiding anything either. He looked around confused at their attitude. "What? What's wrong?"
"Harry." Molly put a soothing hand on his shoulder. "Hermione actually." she trailed off, looking away from the man. Charlie stood up and walked around his family, stopping as he reached the saviour of the wizarding world. He handed Harry a small slip of paper and offered a small, forced smile.
"That's where he lives. He'll be in after 8 on a weekday evening and after 6 on a weekend evening. He can tell you all you want to know. It's not our right." Harry nodded at the cryptic words. With a wave goodbye and yet another hug from Molly he left the pub with his family.
Back at the table where the Weasley's were once again sat, Molly watched the exit-way where the man that she thought of as a son and his own family had not a minute before stepped out of. Heartache and sorrow were clearly visible in her rich, chocolate brown eyes as she thought of what Harry may feel when he finally finds out the news about Hermione.
~~~
I apologise for the delay of this chapter: my readers can all blame my father, as he's a great tit and gave me this cold I'm currently suffering from.
Anyway, many many thanks to Chris for his aid as usual and to my new friend Callie for agreeing to edit it all. If any mistakes are there... blame her :] Alright don't but ho hum. Also for the additional help Callie provided me with (Chapter name) – thank you again. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.
Review!
Thank you!!
Not Alone Anymore – Revelations.
~~~
Silence washed over the group and all the Weasley's stared at Remus in disbelief and horror. Harry couldn't bring himself to look at any of the people he'd once proudly called 'family'. Instead he looked at his daughter. The child was wisely remaining quiet and seemed content with playing with the tip of her braid.
"Lupin?" Mr Weasley said in disbelief. Remus just nodded. "But. but you two." The red-haired man looked from Remus to Harry and back again. "You're twice his age!" he exclaimed loudly causing Harry to wince. "It's disgusting! It's not right! A man and a man. together. You two should be ashamed." He spat and then rounded on Lily. "And I feel sorry for that child. Having two parents like 'you'."
"Now wait just a minute Arthur!" Sirius rose from his seat to stand behind Harry's. "Remus and Harry's relationship has nothing whatsoever to do with you and Lily Certainly isn't!" He said, glaring at the man he would've once described as one the gentlest men he knew. The other man glared straight back.
"I'll not have such 'filth' in, around or anywhere near my home!" Arthur snapped and it was then that Molly decided she'd had enough.
"Arthur Weasley! Calm down this instant!" she yelled at her husband, effectively silencing him. "Harry is part of our family! How dare you say such things!" Her hands-on-hips form complete with menacing, threatening eyes was enough to force Arthur into silence. He kept his mouth shut and settled for glaring at the far wall.
"So, you and Remus are together then Harry?" Bill asked, being the third to come out of his shocked state and Harry turned his attention to the eldest Weasley child.
"No, we're not." He answered. "We were mated, bonded as life-mates. soul- mates. But when I thought he had died, I severed the bond so I could focus on Lily." The red head nodded in understanding then smiled at the saviour of the wizarding world in what Bill hoped would at least ease any fears Harry might have of him being against him.
"How can you be so accepting of this Bill?" Demanded the youngest male Weasley angrily making everyone turn around to face him. "It's. its filthy!" This only caused the adults around that 'disagreed' with his thoughts to glare daggers at him.
"Ron shut up." Fred spoke up from across the table. "You're his best friend! You of all people should be accepting of it." Reasoned the twin but Ron was having none of it.
"No! I 'was' his best friend. This is. its just revolting!" He then got up from his seat and after sending a sneer that Snape would have been proud of in Harry's direction, apparated from the pub leaving everyone staring at the empty space he'd been standing in.
Bill was at a loss. On one hand, he whole-heartedly agreed with Harry. He thought it was Harry's right to love who he wished to love and be with whoever he wished to be with. Especially given the life the younger wizard had been through. But on the other hand, he had his family. His family was actually famous for their loyalty to one another, their devotion to each other and this episode just now; though it wasn't enough to break the unit up totally, it would certainly cause a huge rift very soon if all wasn't settled.
The oldest Weasley sighed internally, wondering just where he should place his loyalties. His thoughts were interrupted however when his little sister screamed out in frustration.
"Bill how could you!" The young woman exclaimed, anger flashing in her eyes. Bill merely sat there, looking calmly at the irate Weasley. "Ron's your brother! How could you side with. with 'him'." She said the word 'him' with so much venom that out of the corner of his eye, Bill could see Harry wince.
"Ginny sit down! I refuse to take sides. I just think that Harry shouldn't be discriminated against because he's gay! I don't even think he is. a werewolf determines his mate by scent. Did you learn nothing at Hogwarts?" Harry smiled at the man's words. It was true that he'd never really been attracted to anyone other than Remus but the thought of him not being gay had never really occurred to him. until now that is.
"Mate or not. it's abnormal! And you're taking his side!"
"Virginia Weasley!" Molly finally cut in having had quite enough of shouting. Ginny stood still inwardly fuming but remained silent, glaring at her brother and Harry in turn. "Will you all calm down! Harry is apart of our family no matter what!" She rounded on Ginny. "As there is a child here you will watch your language. Is that in anyway unclear?" The younger female Weasley shook her head and sat down, folded her arms across her chest and glared at the wall.
"Ginny we know things have been tough on both you and Ron, but you can't take everything out on Harry, Remus and their child." Charlie spoke up, looking at his little sister in understanding. The younger Weasley looked back at her brother and her hard look softened. She turned around and for the first time since her arrival, really looked at the four year old Lily.
"I." Ginny felt her face break out in a smile at the sight before her. The child was still fascinated with the end of her braid; plaiting it into smaller braids and twirling it around her small fingers. The red-haired woman turned to Harry and attempted to show her apology through her eyes as well as through her mouth. "Harry I. I'm sorry. I just-'' The man held up a hand to stop her, his face alight with happiness.
"It's ok Ginny. I'm sorry to have sprung this on all of you like I have. It wasn't fair of me, I know that." He sighed and put his head in his hands. "I only hope I can talk Ron around all this."
"I don't have any problem with anything either Harry!" George exclaimed as if just realising he was also a part - small or not - of the conversation.
"I concur." Fred spoke after his twin.
"Don't worry about it Harry. Ron's not mad at you. It's just the timing. You always did have crappy timing Potter." Charlie grinned wryly from across the table and Harry mock-scowled in return.
"Hold on. Did that woman, um. Mrs Potter? Call that guy, Prongs?" George broke the uncomfortable silence after a few minutes, staring at James curiously. James himself looked at the twin confused at how he could know the nickname.
"Yes. I'm Prongs." Harry's father said slowly, worried slightly. He heard both Mrs Weasley and Harry groan out loud. "What's wrong?" he asked perplexed.
"If you're Prongs, then who's Padfoot? Moony and Wormtail?" At this, everyone stared at both twins like they were Lord Moron and Duke Slow of Dunceville.
"You really don't know?" Harry spoke up, his face showing true shock at what he'd just heard.
"No." The twins said in unison.
"Should we have?" Fred asked.
Charlie was the first to crack; the small smile on his face transformed into a fully-fledged grin that made his jaw ache. He then started to laugh uncontrollably. Bill followed then Harry, Molly, Ginny, and then everyone else joined in. all bar the twins who were now staring at them all with slightly worried expressions.
"What the hell is going on?" George demanded half angrily/half dumbfounded. Harry got himself as under control as he could be before answering.
"You should know." He began, still chuckling lightly. "They. you." but that was as far as he got before he dissolved back into fits of laughter.
By now both Fred and George were both getting extremely annoyed. How could they know who the other three were? And why in Merlins name was it so funny?
"Ok! Everyone. SHUT UP!" the twin whose jacket had a small, gold 'F' embroidered into the lapel yelled and the laughter died down, albeit at a slow pace. This fact only succeeded in annoying both Weasley twins more so than they currently were.
"Why in Merlins name are you all bloody laughing at us?" George demanded heatedly, glaring at each of them in turn. Finally after a minute of relative silence and a few cough-covered laughs Remus cleared his throat.
"Fred, George." The man was having a hard time keeping his face straight, that much was for sure. "I. well, I am actually, Moony." The twins just looked at him like he was a psychotically crazed loon that desperately needed admittance to St.Mungo's.
"Professor Remus J Lupin. a Marauder? Moony?" Fred spoke up, disbelief lining his tone thickly. The werewolf nodded while internally he desperately fought to keep the grin from spreading across his face.
"And I," Sirius piped up cheerfully. "Am Padfoot." This man didn't even bother trying to hide the huge, triumphant, proud smile stretching across his face. And if he didn't try to hide his original expression, he certainly wasn't going to hide it when the smile on his lips grew further at the sight of the gob smacked faces of Fred and George Weasley.
"So, what about Wormtail then?" Fred asked and Harry perked up slightly. The young werewolf turned to his daughter and knelt down at her feet.
"Pup. Tell Fred and George who Wormtail is." The child looked at the twins in fascination. She got up from her seat and walked over to where they were sat and motioned them to come closer to her as if she was going to whisper in their ears. They both leaned over and waited for their answer.
"RAT!" she suddenly yelled causing the twins to yelp loudly in surprise and jump just over a foot in the air. The surrounding adults burst out laughing - including Arthur - as the boisterous child marched around the twins and chanted at the top of her voice "Rat rat rat rat." changing the sound level of her voice to create a melodic chant.
"Alright pup!" Harry called out through the dying stages of his laughter. "No more Lily. You may have burst the twins' ear drums." A few snorts were heard across the table and both twin brothers glared at everyone again.
"Wormtail was Peter Pettigrew." Moony finally told them after a few more minutes of trying to calm Sirius and James down. The brothers looked at each other then back at the three men.
"So you're the Marauders?" The trio nodded and identical grins spread wide across Fred and George's faces.
"Alright then!" Harry stood up and clapped his hands together, successfully grabbing everyone's attention. "As much as I'm sure we all want to hear you two bow down and pledge your undying gratitude to my father, my godfather and my mate for their ingenious invention that was the Marauders map and express to them just how much it had aided you throughout your first five years of Hogwarts. we have an alley to get re-acquainted with." He smirked at the twins' crestfallen expressions before moving to talk to their mother.
"I'll come by and visit some time soon Molly." The woman rose from her seat and pulled the young man into a fierce hug.
"Where are you staying Harry?" She asked into his shoulder. He pulled out of the hug and smiled serenely.
"I'm the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts."
"Oh really?" the woman exclaimed happily. "Congratulations! I will try and get up to see you at the weekends. And that lovely daughter of yours." She turned her attention to the 4 year old stood behind her father, knelt down on one knee and gathered her up in a warm hug.
Lily froze for a moment but after a smile and a nod from Harry, she returned the hug. The child had heard a lot about the Weasleys' from her daddy. He'd told her they were among the nicest people you could ever dream of meeting; they were kind, loyal, friendly. but the show she'd witnessed today contradicted what she'd heard - for a small part anyway. She was positive though, that her father would be explaining everything to her soon. He always did.
"Lily, go with your Daddy." Harry said after the girl had been released from Molly's clutches. Remus picked her up and carried her to the back of the pub where the remaining Marauders and both Lily's waited for the other wizard to join them.
"Is something wrong Harry?" Bill asked from his seat at the table. Harry shook his head, smiling slightly.
"I wanted to know where Ron lives now. I need to get things sorted out with him maybe find out where Hermione is." At the mention of his other best- friends name, Harry could feel the temperature in the room drop several degrees. The face's of the Weasley's weren't hiding anything either. He looked around confused at their attitude. "What? What's wrong?"
"Harry." Molly put a soothing hand on his shoulder. "Hermione actually." she trailed off, looking away from the man. Charlie stood up and walked around his family, stopping as he reached the saviour of the wizarding world. He handed Harry a small slip of paper and offered a small, forced smile.
"That's where he lives. He'll be in after 8 on a weekday evening and after 6 on a weekend evening. He can tell you all you want to know. It's not our right." Harry nodded at the cryptic words. With a wave goodbye and yet another hug from Molly he left the pub with his family.
Back at the table where the Weasley's were once again sat, Molly watched the exit-way where the man that she thought of as a son and his own family had not a minute before stepped out of. Heartache and sorrow were clearly visible in her rich, chocolate brown eyes as she thought of what Harry may feel when he finally finds out the news about Hermione.
~~~
I apologise for the delay of this chapter: my readers can all blame my father, as he's a great tit and gave me this cold I'm currently suffering from.
Anyway, many many thanks to Chris for his aid as usual and to my new friend Callie for agreeing to edit it all. If any mistakes are there... blame her :] Alright don't but ho hum. Also for the additional help Callie provided me with (Chapter name) – thank you again. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.
Review!
Thank you!!